68. Chapter 68

After One Man's Treasure and After The Fifth Bullet

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: This is where the disclaimer is. Rating: K Time: Think about it.

"Lanie, I was right there when he said it. Two wives are too many and one wife is too many. Castle is not what I'm looking for."

Lanie shook her head at her friend's stubbornness. "Sweetie, do you have to consider all males as potential husbands? Couldn't you think of Castle as someone who's handsome, funny, a help with the murder investigations, and rich. Rich doesn't hurt you know."

"I am not the type to marry for money. Sure, he has a nice house, nice clothes, and all that, but that's not what I'm looking for."

"Then tell me this? Why is Castle so not what you're looking for? You don't seem to mind him hanging around for months at a time."

Kate shook her head in disgust. "Lanie, have you been listening to me? I'm not some guy's conquest, his one night stand, a quick fling. I went from nineteen to age thirty being a cop. Being nothing but a cop. And here I am. I've decided I want more. Okay, maybe Castle showed me that there's more to life than the job. But I want what my parents had. I want a marriage, children, a life. Castle can't give me that."

Lanie adopted an exaggerated pose of thoughtfulness. "Wait. Wait. Don't I recall a little red headed teenager running around here? What was her name? Alexis…Castle?" Lanie smiled broadly.

Late was momentarily flustered. "Okay, I admit it. Castle is a great father. And a lousy husband. He's been divorced twice. And he obviously doesn't want to try again."

"Hmmph!" Lanie snorted. "So you say. Have you ever thought that maybe he needs a little help from you?"

"Help? With his wild theories? And his bizarre sense of humor. He's egotistical, undisciplined, and…"

"At least as good a detective as you are." Lanie finished.

"What?" Kate yelled. "As good as I am? Not on his best day and my worst."

"So, you never told me how Castle figured out who your amnesia victim was by noticing the plastic bag, remembering the dog and making the connection?"

"There's a lot more to detective work than some lucky guesses!" Kate grumped, realizing that, unorthodox as he was, Castle was quite an excellent detective. She changed tack. "Besides, that doesn't matter. He could be the greatest detective on the planet and that wouldn't mean I'd want to date him. I heard what he said. He isn't interested in marriage, and that's exactly what I'm interested in. Why are you so concerned, anyway? What difference does it make to you if I date Castle, or any other guy?"

"I'm your friend, Kate. I've watched you be all by yourself for years now. And in spite of what you say, in spite of what you may tell yourself, you've been miserable. I just want you to have a little fun in your life before you become an old lady living in her house with her two hundred cats. Because that's where you're headed for, Sweetie. That's where you're headed for."

"I am not!" Kate said, not sounding 100% certain. "And why Castle anyway?"

"Because he's right here in front of you. He's available. He likes you. He likes you a lot. And he's F-U-N!"

"What makes you think he likes me so much? I'm not his type at all."

"And what do you think his type is?"

"Meredith! Great bod, great sex and no brain." Kate said sharply.

"And yet they got divorced."

"Yes, but…" Kate hadn't thought of things that way.

"Why do you assume that Castle's divorces have been his fault? Maybe he just hasn't found the right woman yet? Maybe you're the right woman. Did you ever think of that?"

"I just can't see Castle and me together. I just can't."

"And yet you're together almost every day, aren't you?"

"That's different! We're not dating. I mean I see Perlmutter almost every day. Does that mean I should date Perlmutter?"

Lanie mimed vomiting, which made Kate laugh. "See?" Kate said.

"Okay, Kate. You told me that when you had arrested Jeremy Prestwick for murder, you told Castle that you didn't need a motive. But Castle insisted that while the DA might not need a motive, you two did, and the two of you proved Prestwick was innocent, just like on the first case you two solved."

"So?"

Lanie shook her head slowly. "So? So does that sound like the empty headed, skirt chasing, playboy you seem to think Castle is? He could have gone off to dinner at Le Cirque with some super model, but he preferred to be with you, making sure justice was done. Now tell me I'm wrong."

Kate nodded slowly. "Okay, I will admit that there is more to Castle than I first thought. He's more complex, he can be much more…grown up, more…interesting."

"So, you're interested in him?"

Kate looked at Lanie for a long time. "All right, yes. I'm interested. It's just that he so…so…so infuriating!"

"Do you have any idea how many times I've seen you smile since Castle has been following you around? About a thousand more times than I saw you smile before he came along."

"Okay, I'll admit, he can be a serious detective, and he can be fun, but that doesn't mean…"

"It doesn't mean what? Do you expect that some guy will come along and hand you a list of all his attributes and you'll be able to say, "Oh! This is just what I'm looking for. Let's get married? Kate, you're going to have to kiss an awful lot of frogs before you find a prince, so you should get started. And Castle is a perfect place to start."

Kate thought. "You know, when Jeremy left with his ex-wife, Emma, I said I hoped they got back together. Castle called me a romantic. But then he said that he hoped they got back together, too. As a writer he said he liked happy ending."

"A happy ending sounds good." Lanie said with a sly grin.

Kate suddenly thought of something. "Lanie, he hasn't asked me out since our first case together. Suppose he's not interested?"

"Or suppose he's noticed how nasty you've been to him? I wouldn't ask you out after the death threats, you know. All that means is that you ask him out."

"Me? Me ask him out? How desperate does that make me look?"

"You don't have to ask him to take you on a week-long cruise in the Caribbean, or anything fancy. Just suggest you stop for coffee or lunch somewhere. Start small. Be nice to him and he'll get the idea. He'll ask you out on a real date."

"I'll think about it. I mean I could handle lunch with Castle."

"That's the spirit, Kate!"