248. Chapter 248

After Scared to Death

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'd be terrified to claim I own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Author's note: Chapter 143 in this series is Entitled After Scared to Death, Again, implying that I previously wrote one called After Scared to Death. However, I can't find it. There are two possibilities: I made a mistake, or an evil spirit stole my original After Scared to Death and took it to another realm. Right! Evil spirit it is. So, this one is titled as above.

Detective Kate Beckett closed her eyes and stretched. After chasing down and arresting Amanda Lowery, she had decided to stay at the precinct and finish up the paperwork so that she could have her day off tomorrow with a clear conscience.

"Castle not joining us?" Esposito asked.

"To do paperwork?" Kate smiled. "That would take some kind of powers from the great beyond. Something of unimaginable power. But, he knocked Amanda out and probably saved Mark Heller, so I won't complain."

"That was quite an interrogation." Ryan added. "That chick is seriously disturbed."

"No kidding, bro? She kills two people and goes after a third and you think she's disturbed? Very astute. They ought to make you a detective."

Ryan gave Esposito the finger, then blushed when he saw that Kate was looking at them. Both detectives had always looked at Kate as a sort of an older sister and Ryan couldn't imagine giving someone the finger in front of one of his sisters. With his sisters, if he did, he'd be short one finger.

To cover his partner's embarrassment, Espo spoke up. "Why did she go to all the trouble of making that bizarre DVD? Making it look like this was some sort of evil risen from the grave anyway? I never could make sense of her explanation on that part."

Kate shrugged. "One part of it was that she, on some level, saw herself as an avenging spirit, although she thought of herself more as an avenging angel. I think subconsciously she wanted to throw everyone off by blaming something from the great beyond. Last, I think that deep down inside she's laying the groundwork for an insanity defense. Maybe not so deep down inside. She may not be as crazy as she'd like us to think."

"As far as I'm concerned, she is every bit as crazy as she looks. Maybe crazier." Ryan said.

"She was right on one count." Espo said. "Castle bought into the idea that the boogeyman was on the loose, kicking ass, taking names and killing folks."

"Don't sell Castle's ideas that short." Kate said. "He did the research on the items seen in the DVD which led us to the Brunswick Inn and that got us our connection between our two vics. Without Castle, we may not have gotten to Mark Heller in time."

"You wouldn't be giving him credit because…" Espo looked around to make sure Gates was gone…"he's your boyfriend?"

"Did any of the three of us find the Brunswick Inn?" Kate was prepared to mention Espo's startle reaction and he knew it.

"Granted. Castle was a help, in his own Castlesque way."

"Why, thank you, Espo." Castle said, walking over from the elevator.

"Castle?" Beckett said, surprised. "Is some evil force compelling you to come here while we do paperwork? Do you have any idea how the evil spell can be broken?"

"There is no evil spell." Castle held up two large paper bags. "While I do not do paperwork, I do make sure that my friends, and the love of my life, are well fed. Chinese anyone?"

Kate blushed at being referred to the love of Castle's life. Fortunately, the boys were too excited about getting a free dinner to notice.

They spread the food out on Kate's desk and gathered around.

"And, Javi, I was not that far off in my ideas about the killer." Castle said seriously.

"Really?" Kate said, teasingly. "You think that Amanda was from the great beyond? Or was she the undead? A vampire?"

"Perhaps our lord and savior, Cthulhu?" Ryan offered.

Castle shook his head. "May I point out that all of Amanda's victims thought that they were in danger from some sort of unstoppable evil being. Jason Bennet was alone in his apartment in New Jersey. Val Butler locked herself in her apartment and didn't call 911 until it was almost midnight. Mark Heller fled to a cabin in the woods, talk about your cliché, with no help for miles until Beckett and I showed up. In short, all of the victims, to some extent, bought into the mythology of evil. So, the lesson here is, if you're ever threatened by a nameless evil and you think that the evil might be human after all, head for some place with lots of people and lots of police. If our three vics had done that, Amanda would never have gotten near them, or would have been caught after the very first killing."

Kate, Espo and Ryan exchanged glances. Finally, Kate spoke. "That's actually a very well thought out idea, Castle."

"Are you suggesting that I have ideas that aren't very well thought out, Detective Beckett?" He asked, trying to look hurt and not succeeding.

"You've done worse, at times." Was all that Kate would say.

Later that night, they were wrapped in each other's arms in bed. Kate kissed him gently and stroked his cheek. "That was very sweet, Castle. Making being with me the first thing on your bucket list."

"You couldn't have guessed that you were number one? You've always been number one to me."

Kate thought back. "If you wrote that three years ago, that's about the time I was with Tom Demming."

"About."

"And then I was with Josh, and then with no one for almost another year." Kate frowned and looked away from Castle.

"Hey, I didn't show you that to make you feel bad." Castle pulled her close. "I would never do that."

"I know. It just reminds me of how far we've come. How much we had to get past. How much I had to get past. If you felt that way then, there must have been times when it was hell to be you."

"Never." He said firmly.

"Never?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"What did I tell you once, Kate? If you believe magic, you'll find magic. I believed in us and we found each other. It couldn't possibly have worked out any differently."

She looked at him skeptically. "You really believe that?"

"I believe in the universe."

She thought for a moment. "I suppose I do, too."