921. Chapter 921

After The Last Seduction

Episode 8. 07

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: In spite of the time out from the time out, I don't own this one either. Rating: K Time: See above.

In spite of the air conditioning in the airport, Richard Castle was sweating heavily. His flight from Miami, where he'd been signing books, to New York was already an hour and a half overdue and he was getting more and more worried. He went to the clerk at the check in kiosk again.

"Is there any word on when the aircraft will be here?" He asked, giving the young lady behind the counter his friendliest smile.

She smiled back, but shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Castle. We realize that today is your wedding anniversary, but we're doing the best that we can. The aircraft that is supposed to be replacing the aircraft you would have flown home on is just about ready to leave Tampa. It'll be here in no time."

"And I'll be sure to get a seat?"

She nodded and smiled. "Of course. It's a larger aircraft, so there will be plenty of room."

"Thank you. Thank you so very much."

The clerk smiled at him again. "I must say your wife is a very lucky woman, Mr. Castle."

"Maybe, but I'm a very lucky man."

Castle went back and took a seat where he could watch the clerk and the electronic board above her. He pulled out his laptop and debated about whether he should e-mail her and tell her he would be late. He decided against it. Beckett was at a meeting of police officials in Albany and wouldn't be back until later that night. Just in time for the romantic dinner he had planned for their anniversary. He thought about checking the websites of the businesses he'd contacted for that little dinner, but again decided against it. I'll be a little later getting home than I planned, but I'll still have plenty of time to make dinner, chill the wine and prepare my gift for Kate. After the fiasco that was our first anniversary, I want this one to be memorable. More than memorable, I want it to be historic. I want this to go down in history as the greatest of all anniversaries. Kate stayed away from me last year because she was afraid I'd get hurt or killed, which I almost did anyway, but I can forgive Kate just about anything as long as she does it for love. Castle smiled to himself. I'm kidding myself. I'd forgive Kate anything, anytime.

In less than a half an hour there was an announcement over the PA system. "Passengers for Global Air Flight 440, please be advised that your plane has landed and we will be boarding shortly.

As always it took longer to board than the word "shortly" might imply, but Castle was soon in his seat and headed for home.

"Aren't you the writer, Richard Castle?" His seatmate asked.

"Yes, I am." It would have been hard to deny it as the man was holding a copy of Frozen Heat.

The man smiled. "I read the first of these, Heat Wave, about two weeks ago, and I liked it so much that I bought the whole set. These are absolutely fascinating books."

Castle smiled. He always like to hear from satisfied customers.

Then things changed. "I'm a doctor myself, semi-retired now, but I have lots of time and I've been thinking about writing myself. Do you know how many of the world's problems could have been prevented if first class, modern medical care had been available?" The doctor proceeded to tell Castle in agonizing and endless detail about his plans for a series about a time traveling doctor who brought first class medical care to the world, halting wars, revolutions, starvation and pestilence. Rick hated to tell him that the idea of a time travelling doctor had already been taken.

They were interrupted when the pilot made an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, we regret that there's been a problem at JFK, so the plane is going to have to land at Newark, New Jersey. We should be landing just minutes after our scheduled arrival at JFK. Sorry for the inconvenience."

They did land just a little after their scheduled time, but in the wrong state. Castle grabbed his luggage and headed for the taxi stand outside. There he discovered that passengers from planes coming in from all over the world had landed in Newark and had grabbed all the cabs available. He did manage to get a seat on a minivan with six other people, all headed for Manhattan. As they announced where they lived to the driver, Castle realized that they all lived closer to Newark than he did, which meant that he would be the last one taken home.

"Um, today is my wedding anniversary." He said, "And I'd like to get home early. I'll be willing to pay a hundred dollars to anyone who'll let me take their place. And a hundred for the driver, too."

One woman did agree and she was the one who lived the closest to Castle. For two hundred dollars, he'd saved about ten blocks. But it was worth it.

"We got problems on the George, people. There was some kind of accident on the bridge." The driver said. "We could be here a while."

"How long?" Everyone asked.

The driver just shrugged.

Castle decided to call and make sure that everything was now in readiness at the loft. He first called the bakery."

"Jimmy, Rick Castle here. How's my anniversary cake. Is it at the loft?"

"Rick, there was a problem. Jim Junior was delivering all the special order cakes today. But when he got out to deliver Mrs. Metzger's birthday cake, a garbage truck lost its brakes and kind of crushed our truck and….your cake. But don't worry. I'll have to work all night, but I'll have a new one for you tomorrow."

Castle hung up, feeling sick. He then called the gourmet grocery where he'd bought the ingredients for tonight's dinner.

An unfamiliar voice answered the phone.

"Is Gerald there?" Castle asked.

"Naw, Jerry is out sick. The flu or something. He was pukin' his guts up this morning. This is Dave, his cousin. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Rick Castle. Did my order get delivered to my loft?"

"Probably not, pal. I never could figure out the password to Jerry's computer, so nothin' went out today."

"Look, I can pick it up later, okay?"

"Sorry, pal. I gotta go home. The wife wants me. She never liked Jerry." And then he hung up.

Castle called back, but only got voicemail.

He then called his jeweler to make sure that the diamond earrings and pendant he'd bought for Kate were ready for him to pick up. All he got was voicemail.

Once he got home, he rushed to the jewelers, only to find it closed. Broken hearted, he went back to the loft wondering how he could salvage what he had wanted to be the best anniversary in history.

He opened the door to his loft and almost ran into a huge cake, obviously made of cardboard. "What the…."

The top of the cake flew off and Kate Beckett, wearing a very short, very tight black dress stepped out and kissed him, passionately. "Happy anniversary, lover." She whispered in his ear once she broke the kiss.

"Happy anniversary, to you, too." Then Castle inhaled. "Wait a minute! Are those the Kobe steaks I ordered that I smell?"

She nodded and smiled. "I got back this morning because there was no way in hell that I was going to let you do all the work for our second anniversary. I picked up the food and the wine and asked Jerry to help me out, and the same with the cake and the jewelers. I hope you aren't mad at me or them?"

"Never. Not unless you set that time travelling doctor on to me?"

Kate looked puzzled and shook her head.

"It's okay. I'll tell you about him later."

"So, let me finish our dinner, then we'll eat, have dessert and I'll open your present." She took his hand and placed it on the zipper on the back of the dress, "And then you can open yours." She kissed him again. "Happy anniversary, Mr. Castle."

"Happy anniversary, Mrs. Castle. And may I say, this one is historic."