364. Chapter 364

After Dial M for Mayor

Episode 4.12

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Dial IDOC for I don't own Castle? Rating: T Time: See above.

Kate stood in front of the mirror checking out her outfit and hair. She was wearing her hair up, which she really didn't like, she had more makeup on than she usually wore and her dress was too tight.

She shook her head slowly. "Rick, do we really have to do this?"

Rick came up behind her, put his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. "Is there some reason we shouldn't?"

"You know I'm not very political."

Castle laughed. "You're not being asked to make a stump speech, or write a new law. We're just going to a fund raiser for Bob Weldon." As he spoke he ran his hands over his wife's body. Doing so, he noticed something. "Um, Kate, are you wearing anything under this."

"No." She backed up a bit so that she was pressed against him. "The material of this dress is so thin that anything I wear shows."

Rick began to gently squeeze the globes of his wife's magnificent ass. "You are the most incredibly beautiful, sexy and totally hot woman in the world." She began kissing her neck.

She backed up just a bit more. "We could stay here. I could take off this dress and you could play with my ass all night long. Other body parts might be involved as well." She whispered huskily.

He sighed and then shook his head. "I promised Bob."

Kate frowned. "I remember when asking you to spend some time in bed with me got a far more enthusiastic response from you. Are you taking me for granted?"

"Never. And our having to go to the fund raiser instead of going to bed is all your fault anyway."

Kate turned, raising an eyebrow. "All my fault? How do you figure that?"

"Do you remember me when we first met?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"I was immature, irresponsible self-centered. Just the sort of person who'd blow off his civic responsibilities to play with Detective Kate Beckett. But you've changed me. I'm a responsible member of society now. Bound and determined to do my civic duty and honor my commitments no matter what."

"Really?" Kate said, grimacing.

"Can you say hoist by your own petard?"

"Yes, Mr. Shakespeare. And what is a petard by the way, and how do you get hoisted by it?"

"Always happy to educate my already fiercely intelligent and unbelievably knowledgeable wife. A petard was an early gunpowder weapon. Basically an early smart bomb, except they used a person rather than a computer to guide it. You ran over to what you wanted to blow up, lit the fuse and ran. Occasionally you were blown up, or hoisted, as they said."

"So, all that means we're still going?" Kate asked.

" 'Fraid so."

They arrived at Mayor Weldon's fund raiser by limo and were ushered into the ballroom of a Manhattan hotel. Kate knew very few people there, knowing most of them from previous forays into New York's high society with Rick. As usual, Rick attracted a lot of attention from various women who Kate knew would not be put off by the wedding ring on Rick's hand. They certainly weren't put off by the wedding rings that were on their own hands. So, Kate put her arm around Rick's and held on with a death grip.

Kate was surprised, but happy, when one of Weldon's aides came and asked them to please join the mayor. They were led out of the ballroom and through a corridor to a small, discrete room. Bob Weldon was the only person there.

"Rick! Kate! I'm so glad you could come. Or should I say that I'm very happy that Kate could come."

Castle laughed. "Should I be worried that you're making a move on my wife?"

All three of them laughed.

"No, but she's the reason I'm able to hold this fund raiser tonight. I wanted to thank Kate personally and maybe give her a little reward."

Kate was confused. "I don't know why you'd want to thank or reward me. My investigation of Laura Cambridge's murder almost totally derailed your career."

Bob Weldon shook his head. "No, the conspiracy that Bracken orchestrated almost derailed my career. All you did was follow the evidence that Bracken's people left for you to find. Most detectives would have gone no further. You kept digging and exposed the conspiracy. Naturally, it did damage me at the time, but look at the end result. Bracken is in prison as is his hand-picked successor as senator from New York. A lot of his supporters here are either following him into prison, using all of their energies to stay out of prison, or, as the cliché goes, leaving public service to spend more time with their families. And who do I have to thank for that?"

Kate blushed. "I wanted to solve my mom's murder. I didn't do it for you."

"But now, a certain handsome, charismatic, hard-working, man of the people has an excellent shot at being New York's next US Senator. That's me, in case you missed it. And, either as mayor or as a senator, I'm in a position to help the people who got me here. Oh, I know you well enough not to offer you anything too grand. You'd never accept. But is there anything at all that I can do for you?"

Kate thought, then shook her head. "No, sir. Oh, I'd like more personnel for the precinct, but I know enough about the budget that any increase I got would mean a decrease somewhere else in the NYPD." Kate laughed. "Unless you could figure out some way to get Rick to do paperwork."

Again, all three laughed.

"Kate, you need a magician, not a senator for that. Are you sure I can't do something."

Kate shook her head, but Rick spoke up. "Evelyn Montgomery has been pretty upset ever since the Bracken case. After all, it showed her husband to be a crooked cop, even if it was a long time ago. Is there anything you can do?"

Weldon thought. "She still gets her pension based on Montgomery's service, right?"

"Yes, sir. By the time this broke, Montgomery had been dead for a couple of years. There was no way to charge him with any crime. There was no basis to revoke her pension."

Weldon shook his head. "I can't think of any way to restore his good reputation when he actually didn't deserve it, or at least some of it."

"He was a good man, sir." Kate said. "She's been heartbroken ever since. She hardly ever leaves her house I hear."

Bob Weldon just shrugged.

Castle smiled. "You know, I may just have an idea."

Several weeks later at the 12th Precinct, both Castle and Beckett smiled at the homicide squad's new secretary as she came in.

"Hi, Evelyn." They said together.

Evelyn Montgomery smiled back. "Mr. Castle. Detective Beckett. How are you two today?"

"Just fine." Kate said. "And how are you?"

Evelyn nodded. "A lot better. A lot better, indeed. But, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Kate smiled at her husband, then gave him a quick kiss. "She's better because she's surrounded by people who knew, loved and respected Roy Montgomery. And all because of you."

"No, all because of you." Castle replied.

"Because of us?"

"I suppose." Castle looked around and then whispered to her. "So, to celebrate, would you like to play Dial a Goddess tonight?"

She smiled wickedly. "How may I become your obsession?"