265. Chapter 265

After The Good, The Bad and The Baby, Again

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: It's good that I don't own Castle, how would I have ever gotten it on TV? It's bad because I'd love to. I have no idea how a baby fits into this. Rating: K Time. See above.

"Good evening everyone." Castle said cheerfully as he walked into his loft and greeted his family.

"Good timing." Kate said. "Dinner will be ready in about five minutes. How did the talks with Black Pawn go?"

Castle groaned dramatically. "I can't believe the book signing schedule they have set up for me for the next year. I'm on the road for about two months all together and I get almost nothing but second tier cities."

"Second tier?" Martha asked.

"Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Boise, Idaho, El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico, Taos, New Mexico, Reno, Nevada…"

"Okay, Rick. They may not have the amenities of New York or LA, but I'm sure they have their own charms." Kate said.

"I was in a touring company of Hair once and we played Kansas City for a month." Martha said with a shudder. "The aroma of the stockyards was overpowering."

"Hair?" Alexis looked up, curious. "Didn't the cast take off all of their clothing and…"

"Too much information!" Rick said loudly.

"Perhaps if you had someone with you to enjoy El Paso or Taos, it might not be so bad." Kate said softly, looking at Rick through her eyelashes.

"Someone?" Rick said hopefully.

"Someone." Kate confirmed.

Rick stared at the ceiling. "Let me see. Alexis will have classes. Martha won't want to relive the glories of Kansas City. So that leaves…You."

Kate smiled. "You should be a detective, Castle. I can take a vacation day or two in conjunction with my days off and fly out to be with you."

"Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Not often enough, Elvis." She teased.

"Perhaps, if I also gave you a present?"

"Castle, you don't have to do that."

"Actually, I have presents for everyone, including me." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of lottery tickets. "I was in such a bad mood after leaving Black Pawn that I went and had an ice cream. They also sold lottery tickets, so I bought everyone ten lottery tickets."

Kate shook her head. "Castle, you're just wasting money."

"Well, it's a very good thing he's never done that before. Richard always makes sound investments, like property on the Moon."

"Laugh if you will, Mother, but one day our grandchildren will have a lovely place in the Mare Australe because of my forethought. I hope they'll remember to invite grandpa and grandma at Thanksgiving."

"I'm sure they'll want us in costume." Kate said under her breath.

"I heard that, my lovely fiancé, and I also heard your little remark about wasting money. Most of the funds raised by the lottery go towards funding education. So, I am contributing to New York's school system. Even as we speak, some lucky child is wondering who provided him with his new text book."

Alexis smirked. "More likely he's wondering who provided the casserole he got in the school cafeteria. Will you take credit for that?"

"I decline the honor. Even in private schools, the cafeteria was to be avoided at all costs."

"What time is the lottery drawing, Richard?"

"Ten AM. We have plenty of time to eat."

Just before ten, they sat down in front of the TV to see if they had won. In spite of their initial skepticism, Castle's enthusiasm was contagious. Everyone, including Kate was a little excited.

As Miranda Vail read the numbers off, everyone checked their tickets. Martha was the first to speak. "Wait. I have that number, and that number. Here's that number, and…I have all of the numbers! I'm rich!"

"Let's see, Grams." Alexis scooted over to Martha's side on the couch. Martha held out her lottery tickets. "Grams, you have the numbers all right, but they're on different tickets. You only have two numbers on any one ticket."

"So I don't win?" Martha said, somewhat deflated.

"I'm afraid not."

Martha tossed her tickets. "Easy come, easy go."

Castle noticed that Kate was sitting very quietly, staring intently at her tickets. "Kate? Do you have something?"

She nodded slowly. "I don't have all of the numbers, but I do have five numbers."

"All on the same ticket?" Alexis asked.

"Yes. Is that worth anything?"

Castle pulled out a flyer that he'd gotten with his lottery tickets. "Kate, you've won a hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

Martha and Alexis jumped up screaming and ran over to Kate to congratulate her. Kate appeared to be stunned. Even as the two women asked her what she was going to do with the money, she could only shake her head and say she didn't know.

When Kate and Rick went to bed that night, Rick came out of the bathroom to see Kate sitting on the bed with her knees drawn up under her chin. "Problem?"

She nodded. "Rick, it's not like I was ever poor, my parents were lawyers. We had money when I was growing up. I had enough money to put a down payment on my place. And it's not like this is so much that I can think about retiring. But I've never had this kind of money before. I've never had a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in one lump sum before."

"To begin with, the government will take twenty five percent off the top. So count on getting a hundred and ten or so."

"Castle, I don't have any idea how to do this. I don't know what to do. I never thought that one day a huge pile of money would just fall into my hands."

Castle leaned over and kissed her. "Which is another reason I love you so much. You've always loved your ruggedly handsome partner, and not the millionaire author."

"Castle, your money is…"

"Our money, once we get married. That's the law. Since I refuse to have a prenup, that's the way it will always be." He kissed her again. "I'll call my lawyer in the morning. We'll make an appointment to go see him and then we'll go to the lottery office and get your money. And don't worry. I told you once before. Money doesn't change who you are, it just magnifies you. And considering how spectacular you already are, I can't wait to see the magnified Kate Beckett."

Kate got some teasing at the office from Ryan and Esposito and there were a considerable number of jokes at her expense which she took good naturedly. But nothing really changed in Kate's life.

She walked into the loft and went into Castle's office. She pushed him away from his laptop, sat on his lap and kissed him. "I've decided what to do with the lottery winnings." She pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to him. "I've donated the bulk of the money to the Johanna Beckett Legal Scholarship Fund. Just like you predicted I would."

"The bulk?" Castle asked.

"Yeah. Come with me." She took his hand and led him downstairs to the building's garage. There Castle saw her '94 Harley softtail with another bike next to it.

"And that is?" He asked.

"A 2014 Harley Davidson Heritage Softtail Classic. It's yours. I bought it for you. You told me you knew how to ride, right?"

"It's been a while, but I'll get it back."

"And one more thing. I bought us matching leather jackets. They even have our colors on them." She held out a jacket for him.

"We have colors?"

She nodded. "Look at the back."

The back of his jacket said, "Hers."

She held up her jacket. It said, "His."

"Those are our colors." He said and then kissed her.