295. Chapter 295

After Ghosts

Episode 1.08

By

USCBdad

Disclaimer: It would be slimy of me to claim to own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

By Castle's count, he was two gummy bears behind Kate Beckett, not counting the one he'd eaten. He wondered idly if he could get credit for that one.

"You're right, Beckett. This is not the place for happy endings. That's why I prefer fictional murders."

"And, I suppose, you can always change things around if you don't like how they turn out. That's not so easy for cops. In fact, it's impossible."

"True. And in my books, someone gets a happy ending. Derrick Storm, or Nikki Heat, always survives and the bad guy, or bad woman, as applicable, get their just desserts. And, with Storm, at least, there's always a lovely young lady whom he's saved from a fate worse than death who is eternally grateful to Derrick. Whole nations are often saved from some iron fisted dictator, or a blood soaked terrorist. There are happy endings in my books."

"Um, don't some of the people wearing red shirts always die? Or is that Star Trek I'm thinking of?"

"One death is a tragedy. A million deaths are a sanitation problem."

"What?" Kate said, looking over at Castle.

"Attributed to Stalin. More commonly he's alleged to have said a million deaths are a statistic. No one can definitely say that Stalin said that. He wasn't the kind of guy you'd ask for attribution. But, my point is that deaths are relative. The death of Cynthia Dern is a tragedy to her husband. To him, she was a loving wife, not some terrorist. Ask Michael Goldman to cry for a thousand people who died in any one of a dozen wars around the world that same day and he'd just look at you. And no one in, say, Africa, cares what happened to Cynthia."

Castle realized that mentioning that one death was a tragedy to one particular person brought him too close to the death of Beckett's mother. He decided to change the subject. "So, as a cop, and as a woman, what exactly is a fate worse than death?"

Kate made a show of thinking deeply. "The first thing that comes to mind is being stuck with an intrusive writer."

Castle nodded and smiled. "Touché, Detective Beckett." Castle looked at his cards. "Open for two bears."

Kate called. "So, how is your cop novel coming along?"

"You're curious? That's good."

"Not exactly curious. I'm just wondering how to explain to my dad that absolutely nothing that you write is actually based on me. That's it's all part of your over active imagination. Or should I try to catch up with Susan Mailer and get some tips on how to get a new identity and move to another state?"

"Really, Beckett. You'll like Nikki Heat."

"No. I will never like Nikki Heat. Why would I like a book that portrays me as some slut with a stripper's name? How many people out there are going to think that I'm some slut? How many are going to think that we've slept together?"

Castle was brought up short. "Wait! Wait just a minute. Nikki Heat is a good cop. She's fiercely intelligent, dedicated, caring, in short a good cop, just like you are."

"And I suppose she's a virgin, too. Maybe a nun?" Kate asked sarcastically.

"I'm guessing that you're not a virgin, Beckett."

"No I'm not. And I'm not a slut, either. Tell me, Castle, how many people does this good cop of yours sleep with? In round numbers. Does she sleep with her boss? With her team members? Does she limit herself to men or does she go both ways? I know, does she sleep with suspects? How about a writer who follows her around all the time, making her life miserable? Does she sleep with a writer?" Kate was losing her temper, which she hated doing. Especially with Castle. She hated letting him know what he could get to her like this. And she was afraid that something like this would end up in the book, making her look foolish, she was sure. She glared at Castle. "Well, tell me. Who does she sleep with? You wanted her to be a slut, so you must have written quite a pornographic book. Tell me, Castle. Damn it! Tell me."

Castle let Beckett quiet down. "Nikki Heat is a good cop. She's as good a cop as I am capable of writing. You've read my other books, I know that, and you know that I know. None of them were pornographic. I would never, ever make you, or the main character in my novel, out to be some dirty joke. If you don't believe in my honorable intentions, consider the audience I write for. The people who bought the Storm books didn't want an endless parade of Derrick Storm having graphic sex with one gorgeous woman after another. They want action, adventure, derring-do, and yes, just a bit of sex."

"A bit of sex?" Kate said. "What do you call a bit of sex?"

"Beckett, you're a fan of my work. Did you ever think that maybe you'd stop reading my books because there was too much sex in them? Did you?"

She shook her head. "No. But you didn't answer my question. How many people does she sleep with? Who does she sleep with?"

"She sleeps with two people in the book. One is an ex-Navy SEAL named Don. He teaches her hand to hand combat. They're sort of friends with benefits."

"Sexual benefits?"

Castle nodded.

"Of course." Kate said under her breath. "Anyone else?"

"Yes. Jameson Rook. He's a Pulitzer Prize winning reported who's shadowing Nikki for an article he's writing. "

Kate grimaced. "Oh, no. Castle, a rook is another word for castle in chess. Do you really think that everyone won't believe we're sleeping together?"

"It's a work of fiction. And the story isn't about who Nikki sleeps with. It's about the job she does as a cop. And, Nikki and Rook truly care for each other. It's not just sex between them."

"So it's entirely a work of fiction then." Kate said, loading her words with sarcasm.

Castle shrugged. "If you want to think of it in that way."

It struck Kate then. Is Castle saying that he cares for me? I know he wants to sleep with me. He's made that abundantly clear. But does he want more? A relationship? Something long term? Richard Castle? That's absurd. "Do you know what your problem is, Castle?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll enlighten me."

"You haven't met a woman that wasn't thrilled to go to bed with you since your first best seller. Or you've ignored the ones who didn't want to go to bed with you in favor of the easy ones. Not every woman is like that, Castle. I'm not."

"Duly noted." Castle looked at his cards. "I've got nothing. I fold. How about we call it a night. And, if it's not an insult to you, you can have your gummy bears back."

Kate quickly checked the bears. "I won, right?"

"Yes. You thoroughly thrashed me. Time to go home, I think. Tomorrow, Beckett."

She nodded. "Tomorrow."

Once outside, Castle caught a cab back to his loft. Sitting in the back seat, he replayed the conversation with Beckett over in his head. Beckett's wrong. My readers will love Nikki Heat because she's the kind of cop everyone wants to believe in. Not some paper pusher who takes the route of least resistance, like some that I've seem with Beckett. She'll love Nikki as well.

Castle relaxed in the back seat. Rook does care for Nikki. He cares deeply. He cares as I cared for Kyra, and Meredith before she cheated and…Well, no. I didn't care for Gina that way. I should have, after all, I married her. A thought suddenly hit him. And I care for Beckett as well. I've cared for her from the day I looked into those gorgeous eyes of hers and saw unbearable pain. That's something I didn't expect to happen when I started this. The question is, what will I do about it?