371. Chapter 371

After A Dance with Death

Episode 4.18

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: There's no point in dancing around it. I don't own Castle. Rating: K+Time: See above.

Kate Beckett slid into her bed, all alone. As usual. She turned over a few times and ended up staring at the ceiling. Castle said that dreams are what keeps us going. He asked me about my dreams. Yes, I wanted to be a lawyer, like my mom and dad. I wanted to be the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. And then my dreams changed. I wanted, no, I needed to find my mom's killer. And that was my only dream for so many years, being a cop. Now I have another dream. I dream of Richard Castle. He didn't ask me what my dreams are now. I suppose he thinks that my only dream is still to find my mom's killer. I wonder what his dreams are? Us becoming a couple? I hope so. I can make those dreams come true. I'm getting so close. Dr. Burke has been such a help. If only I could just change. Barbra changed. She had a chance to become another person entirely and took it.

If only I could be someone else. If only…

Kate drifted off to sleep.

"Detective Heat!" Detective Ochoa said sharply.

Nikki Heat looked up to see her two detectives looking at her. "What is it, Roach?" She asked, using the mashup name for Detectives Raley and Ochoa.

"We've got a fresh one. A hotshot lawyer got killed in her office in midtown."

"Who called it in?"

Roach exchanged a glance that told Nikki that she was about to be disappointed in someone.

"Schlemming." Raley finally said.

Nikki shook her head. "Not Schlemming. Please, anyone but Schlemming. Please tell me it was Larry, Moe and Curly."

"No such luck, boss." Ochoa said. "I'm afraid he may have contaminated the crime scene and the body a little."

Nikki glared her patented glare at Roach. "Just how contaminated is a little?"

"He set fire to the building. FDNY says is should be out in a few hours."

Nikki cursed imaginatively in several languages. "Who's the vic?"

"Her name was Katherine Beckett. Rumor was that President Weldon was going to appoint her to the Supreme Court."

"We'd better get moving then. This is political which means that TPTB will expect a guilty verdict by the five o'clock news." Nikki said bitterly. "Not that we are incapable of solving it before then." She added with a bit of sass.

Raley nodded, thankful that he'd had Schlemming taken to the New Jersey pine barrens to look for some cannoli that was evidence in an old cold case. Schlemming would never figure out it was a wild goose chase intended to get him away from Detective Heat.

As she approached the crime scene in her Crown Vic, her eyes widened in surprise, a smile lit her face and her heart beat faster. She fingered the engagement ring that hung on a chain around her neck. It was her fiancé, Jameson Rook.

Exiting the car, she carefully schooled her face to show no interest in Rook. After all, for bizarre reasons having mostly to do with moving the plot along, she couldn't acknowledge her love for the ruggedly handsome writer. (Hey, you try writing fanfic in a universe where Kate can make out openly with Demming but can't let anyone know she's with Rick.)

"Rook, how are you?"

He smiled at her. He replied by telling her he'd be much better if he could just get her in bed and spent ten minutes describing in great and salacious detail what he'd do with her.

She nodded. "Okay. If you can get three hundred gallons of chocolate sauce, the same amount of whipped cream, the trampoline, and the trapeze, I know guy who can loan us a herd of alpacas."

Rook nodded. "It's a date."

They walked to the building where lawyer Katherine Beckett had died, moving carefully past fire equipment and firemen muttering about getting a tall tree and a short rope for a certain NYPD detective. "This is the third one this week." Nikki overheard one fireman say. "We have to do something about this Schlemming before he burns Manhattan to the ground. I mean, how can a guy burn a concrete parking garage to a fine white ash?" Nikki and Rook hurried on.

Arriving at what had been Beckett's office, Nikki spotted her friend, ME Lauren Parry kneeling over what appeared to be a badly charred hot dog. "Where's the body, Lauren?" She asked.

"This is it, I'm afraid. Not much hope of getting anything out of this. Just out of curiosity, who called this in?"

"Schlemming." Nikki admitted guiltily,

"Excuse me." Parry said, then let out an ear piercing scream. "I'd like to slam my head against the wall over there, but with the damage to the building, I'm afraid the wall would break and the building would collapse. Schlemming? Really?"

"Detective Heat?" Said a familiar male voice.

Nikki sighed. "Yes, Captain Bottom?"

Captain Wally "Iron" Bottom waddled into the office. "Where are the TV cameras? I want to announce that we've solved the crime. I have to do it now so I'll make the five o'clock news. My pal, Bill Bracken says this sort of coverage will help my political career." Bottoms whipped out a mirror and checked his receding hairline, but not his advancing stomach. "You will remember to vote for Bill on election day?"

All four nodded. "He'll make a fine dog catcher for Manhattan, sir. This is the eleventh time he's run for the job. You know what they say: Eleventh time is the charm." Nikki said with all of the false honesty she could manage. "And you do know that we just got here. We haven't even positively identified the victim yet."

Captain Bottom airily waved that away. "I have every confidence you'll solve it in time for film at eleven." He said, walking towards the glare of the TV lights.

"What the hell happened to my office?" Demanded an angry woman.

"And you are?"

The woman bridled. "Who am I? I'm Katherine Beckett, soon to be nominated as the first female Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court! That's who I am. What are you people doing in my office? I'm an important person. I can't be bothered with little people like you."

"I'm afraid there's been a murder here." Nikki pointed to the charred remains on the floor.

"Murder?" Said Beckett. "Don't be absurd. That's just one of my many discarded lovers. His name is Jason? Jordan? Jack? No, it was Josh something. When I told him we were over, he poured gasoline over himself and committed suicide. That sort of thing has become so common, I've had special cameras installed to record the deaths. I'll have one of my unimportant people call one of your unimportant people. Now if you'll forgive me, I'm keeping the President waiting." Katherine Beckett nodded. "Not that I shouldn't keep him waiting, the schmuck."

"That let's Schlemming off the hook." Raley said.

"Keep him in Jersey looking for the cannoli anyway." Nikki growled.

"You knew?" Ochoa said.

"Of course she knew." Rook said. "She's the remarkable Nikki Heat."

"And I need to go see a guy about some alpacas." Nikki said, leaving the burned out office, with Rook following closely behind.

Kate Beckett at up in bed. "What the hell?" She asked herself out loud. What did that dream mean, if anything? That I don't want to be me? That I want to be Nikki and have Castle make love to me in a vat of chocolate and whipped cream? I could really go for that, but the alpacas are out. I think that's it. I want to be someone I haven't been since I was nineteen. I want to be happy, fun loving, adventurous Kate Beckett again. And I want to be that person with Castle.

Kate settled back in her bed, feeling happier. I wonder if I could get back to that dream in time to tell Rook that we don't need any alpacas?