346. Chapter 346

After I, Witness

Episode 7.13

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I bear witness that I do not own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above

Kate walked into their bedroom to find Castle sitting up in bed, frowning. "Problem, babe?" She asked, sliding into bed beside him.

Castle nodded. "Problem."

"Anything I can help you with?"

Castle smiled. "All you have to do to help me is be there."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Always." When he made no reply, she spoke again. "So, what's the problem?"

"I have horrible taste in old friends."

"How old, old friends?"

"Take Damian Westlake. He was my first mentor. Someone that I tried, and worked very hard at, to be like. It turns out he's a murderer. Oh, he didn't murder his wife years after I knew him, he paid for the murder of his own father while I was still at Edgewick Academy. When I was trying my damndest to be just like Damian Westlake, he was a cold blooded murderer. And as far as I was concerned then, he was my best friend ever. And I never saw it."

"Damian Westlake." Kate said quietly. "You told me that but for him, you're a lawyer, or a grifter or a…rodeo clown? Really? Rick Castle as a rodeo clown? I'd pay to see that."

"I may have exaggerated just a tiny bit." Castle said, smiling at her. "I've been known to do that on occasion. Not that I wouldn't have made a great rodeo clown if I'd put my mind to it. "

Kate just nodded. "But consider this. Because of Damian Westlake you became Richard Castle, the writer. And then Richard Castle the partner of Detective Kate Beckett. And, best of all, from my point of view, you became Mr. Beckett." Kate looked over at him and saw him do a very respectable Kate Beckett eye roll. "So, in spite of Damian being a killer, his effect on you was positive. He may have killed one man, but you've helped solve well over a hundred murders. Prevented the deaths of, who knows how many people? You, my dear husband, are a success. A success due in some small part to Damian Westlake."

"In small part?"

"I give most of the credit for your success to your muse." Kate said very seriously.

Castle nodded. "Speaking of muses. There's Sophia Turner. My first CIA contact. And my first muse. The first actual person I based a character on, and one of my lovers. All she wanted to do was cause World War Three and change the world unimaginably. And who did she find to help her? None other than that brilliant writer/detective, Richard Castle. She almost killed me, and worse, she almost killed you."

Kate nodded. "Okay, Sophia Turner. She did fool you badly. And she fooled the entire CIA as well. And if Sophia was an unbelievably evil person, she failed in the end. And she failed in no small part due to the efforts of one Richard Castle."

"And one Detective Kate Beckett." Castle added. "When you and Danberg ran off to save civilization, I just sat there, overwhelmed by my own stupidity."

"So I took the assassin down. That's what partners are for. And, in the muse department, I think you've done pretty well."

"Agreed. I have the best muse in the world. You're so good, that even before I met you, I was writing Clara Strike more like Kate Beckett than Sophia Turner."

"You're giving me the credit for Clara Strike?"

"I didn't think that through, did I?" Castle said thoughtfully.

"I'm sure you'll figure out how to give yourself the credit."

Eager to change the subject, Castle went on. "And now there's Eva Whitfield. I remember she cheated off of my paper during chem exams at Edgewick. I should have known that she was still a cheater."

"I don't think we can conclude that everyone who ever cheated on an exam in high school will grow up to be a felon, babe."

"Well, she did. She arranged her fake murder, set her husband up to take the fall, and leave with over seven million dollars."

Kate nodded. "And then she grew a conscience, tried to back out and got murdered for her troubles. And then Ms. Haskins had to kill Cole to complete her revenge. There is no way you could have seen any of that coming."

"No, but I still feel bad about Eva."

"Not Cole?"

Castle shrugged. "Okay, he might not have gotten his day in court, but he was a murderer."

"Was he?" Kate asked. "The police in LA never found any evidence that he was. And all we have aside from that is a woman who is obviously not thinking clearly on the whole matter."

"See, that's why you're the detective and I'm the writer/private eye. I'm still not sure I'm cut out for this. And I'm positive that I'll find out that Meredith is an assassin for Al Qaeda."

"You've done a good job on your three cases." Kate shot back, defending her husband from himself.

"I got my PI license so I'd have an excuse to work with you. Being a PI isn't my goal in life. Kate Beckett Castle is my goal in life."

"You've reached that goal."

"And I will be forever thankful that I have." Castle stopped and took a breath. "But…"

"But?" Kate prompted.

"Think of the great private eyes in books and movies. Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. Roy Earle in High Sierra. Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep. What do they have in common?"

"They're all Humphrey Bogart films."

"True." Castle nodded. "But they're all about cynical private eyes who meet up with a femme fatale and things go badly. You can go through the whole canon of private eye films. There aren't a lot of happy endings. Look at Tarantino's movies. People die like flies."

Kate stroked his cheek. "Our life isn't a movie, and Roy Earle was a gangster, by the way. And I'm glad you're not all cynical. You know a lot of cops become that way, seeing the worst that people can do to each other every day. And, in addition to a muse, didn't you end up happily married to a femme fatale?"

Castle nodded. "Here's looking at you, kid."

They shared a long, deep, passionate kiss. Kate lowered her voice to a very sexy growl. "If you want anything, just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? Just put your lips together and…blow."

Castle responded with a long, low whistle.