21. Chapter 21

After Anatomy of a Murder

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: No. Rating: K Time: See above.

Author's note: If you want to read these in the same order as in the TV series, go to After 3XK, which is Chapter 2 in my series.

"You coming, Castle?"

Castle strode after Beckett to the elevator. "Where to?" He asked.

"We need to interview the witness on the Livingston murder, a Mr. Galloway. It'll give you some good insight into low-lifes. Maybe Nikki can beat one up in the next book and save Rook."

"Or maybe Rook will come up with some brilliant insight into the case."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that'll happen."

They were halfway across Manhattan when Kate got a call. "Beckett."

"Bad news." Ryan said. "Mr. Galloway got into a small disagreement in a bar this morning."

"How bad?"

"With the O'Malley brothers? All five of them? The O'Malleys are in jail, but Galloway is in the hospital. You won't be able to talk to him until day after tomorrow at the earliest."

"Damn!" Kate muttered as she hung up.

"Hey, look!" Castle cried happily. "There's Burger Heaven. It's the first store in the franchise to open in the whole state. Can we have lunch there?"

Kate checked her watch. "I don't know…"

"I'll buy, and it is lunch time. Manhattan magazine said it was the best burger franchise in the US. I've been dying to try it. Please? You can kick me under the table while we eat."

She smiled. "Okay, Castle. We'll go."

"You aren't wearing those heavy boots are you?"

Castle interrogated the counter girl in Burger Heaven with a tenacity that would have impressed Kate if he had used it in an actual case. But when the cheeseburgers, fries and shakes arrived, Kate had to admit they were excellent.

Castle sat across from her at a table and studied her while eating. So much for my Scotch fueled plan to leave town, move to Asia and become a war correspondent. One call from Kate Beckett and I show up salivating, just like Pavlov's dog. I have to face it, I'll be with Kate until she kicks me out. He had an awful thought. That might be sooner than I think. Motorcycle Boy is Doctor Motorcycle Boy, a heart surgeon no less. I had hoped he'd turn out to be an outlaw biker, but no such luck. "What did you do this morning, Castle?" she asked. Okay, I have saved a life, hers, in fact. But apparently that doesn't impress her. I wonder if there is anything I could do that would impress her?

He smiled, remembering what she had said just before they had left the precinct. Mom said that true love meant you would break your love out of prison. Of course, that isn't what Beckett said. She just said she'd get me out. Small difference there. She'd review my file to see if I was guilty or not. If I was, I'd rot in prison. I do know Kate Beckett. There's no way she'd send me drugs in prison to fake a stroke and then fake my death. With my luck, she'd send me drugs in prison and they'd be poison, so I'd die and not have to suffer from bad prison food, un-stylish clothes and a lack of intellectual conversation.

No doubt about it, though. If Beckett got sent to prison I wouldn't rest until I had freed her, guilty or not. Come to think of it, her being guilty would be more fun.

Why the hell am I doing this? It's just going to make me miserable in the end.

Did anyone say love was rational?

Kate looked up just in time to see Rick look at her. She quickly dropped her eyes back down to her plate. How does he do those things to me? She wondered. He was just reading Amy's letter to Greg and read where she had written "I love you." but the way he said it and the look he gave me sent cold chills up and down my spine. It's not like he was telling me that he loves me. He didn't mean that. I think.

No! I will not think this way about him. To begin with, he's Castle. He drives me crazy with his inability to behave like an adult, his inappropriate sense of humor, his wild theories.

Speaking of wild theories, you don't need a ghost at the typewriter to explain the letter allegedly from Mrs. Marchand. Eyewitnesses are notoriously inaccurate. They just got their times wrong, that's all. Mr. Johnston was there pounding on the door when Mrs. Casillas was still inside. That's all. And the Alexander nonsense Penny brought up? She did the same as her mother did with Castle. She looked us up. That Castle's real middle name is Alexander is on the internet, as is information on our cases. How hard would it be to know he's saved my life, or that, being my partner, he's important to me? Really!

And if I don't believe in magic, how will I find it? How absurd of Castle! You can find magic in the real world. I'm sure I'll feel the same as I did with Castle when Josh, or someone else, tells me they love me.

Okay, I'll admit he's not as bad as when we first met. He's actually an excellent detective. Who knows how many killers we would have missed without Castle? And he's fun to be with when he doesn't overdo things, which he almost always does. He can be quite sweet. He insisted we look up Amy's record. I wasn't halfway through it when I realized I would never have sent such a slipshod case to the DA. Referring it back to the DA was the only thing I could do. And he was so kind as to drive all the way to Burgeropolis for Greg and Amy.

Damn it! That's not the point! I'm with Josh now. I have a chance for something with him that's real and good. Exactly what I've always wanted. I can't have that with Castle! I know that.

And he's with Gina. She's his publisher and his ex-wife. She knows what she's getting into with him. I guess the things that drive me wild with Castle don't bother her. Anyway, I'm glad Castle has found someone. He deserves someone, too.

"Are you done?" Castle asked.

Kate looked down at her plate and found she had eaten every bite. "Yes. And you were right. This place is great. We'll have to eat here again."

"I'd love to." Castle said with a smile.

Cold shivers ran up and down Kate's spine.