444. Chapter 444

After Vampire Weekend

Episode 2.06

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Are the peasants storming the Castle with pitchforks and torches? Well, I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Johanna! Roy! Are you ready?"

Preceded by giggles, Kate's two children ran down the stairs. "We're ready, Mommy." Johanna said.

Kate looked them over proudly. "You are the prettiest Princess Leia is have ever seen." She said to Johanna. She turned to Roy. "And you are the bravest Luke Skywalker ever." Roy's chest swelled with pride. "But where is Daddy?" Kate asked.

To the strains of the Imperial March, Darth Vader, AKA, Rick Castle strode out and stood at the top of the stairs. "Kate, I am your….husband." He announced in an electronically modified voice.

"And I am your wife, Lord Vader." Kate replied with a smile.

"You don't have your costume on?" Lord Vader said imperiously.

"I'll change for the party, just not for taking my three children out trick or treating." Kate said with a straight face.

"Martha? Alexis? You are not in costume either?"

"We'll change later, Daddy."

"I find your lack of respect…"He began.

"Completely understandable." Martha finished for him.

"Can we go?" Johanna asked.

So, to the strains of the Imperial March, the Castles left to go trick or treating. They covered their neighbors in the loft fairly quickly and moved on to the building next door. They knocked on the first door and were met by two little girls dressed as ballerinas. "Mommy! There are people here." They cried.

"Give them some candy." A woman called from inside. Johanna and Roy got their candy and thanked the little girls.

"Can you two stay here while we go down the corridor?" Johanna asked. "We're big kids now."

Although neither Kate nor Rick thought of their children as anything like big kids, they agreed. Rick and Kate talked as the children went down the corridor. Suddenly, they looked down the corridor. The kids were nowhere to be seen.

"Rick?" Kate said, trotting down the corridor.

"Right behind you."

They came to an open door with a small, elderly lady standing just inside. "You must be Johanna and Roy's parents." She said in a kindly voice. "Roy had to go to the bathroom and his big sister went with him. I'm sure they'll be all right. But you can come in if you want."

Kate and Rick exchanged a look. "That won't be necessary, Mrs….?"

"Cross. I'm Alice Cross.'

"I'm Kate and this is Rick."

Mrs. Cross nodded. "Oh! You're dressed as…Batman?"

"Darth Vader." Rick said quickly.

"Oh." Mrs. Cross had no idea who that was. "Well, you have a very nice costume. Your daughter is lovely and your grandchildren are precious. You're very lucky."

Kate managed not to laugh. "Rick is my husband. Johanna and Roy are our children." She shot a look at Rick that said: Do not say anything to her that I'll regret. Rick just smiled.

"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry. But you must have married your wife when she was practically a child." She turned to Kate. "And what do, dear?"

"I'm a NYPD captain. I run the 12th Precinct."

"And you?" She asked Rick.

"I'm Richard Castle. I'm a writer."

"Oh, you're so lucky to have a wife with a good job to support you. Writers don't make much, I know. Mr. Cross wrote poetry, you know." Mrs. Cross smiled and looked away. "Of course he was also a corporate attorney. Welles and Burke? The Wall Street firm?"

"I've heard of them." Kate said.

Johanna and Roy ran out of the back of the apartment to their parents.

"Say thank you to Mrs. Cross." Kate said.

Both children said thank you.

"My daughter? The old lady must be nearly blind to think that I could be your father. I'm just a bit older than you are."

"I could go back and tell her what you were like in bed last night. You were a tiger." Kate said in a low, sexy voice.

"What?" Johanna said. "Daddy's Darth Vader, not a tiger."

"How silly of Mommy." Castle said. "I'll correct her later tonight."

"Apples." Kate whispered.

The next building was smaller and the children moved through very quickly, until they came to a unit on the top floor. While Kate and Rick stayed by the elevators, the children knocked on the first door. The door opened and the children stood there for a second, then ran screaming to their parents.

Both children ran to Kate and threw their arms around her. Neither parent could tell what had frightened the children so badly they were yelling, but not making any sense.

Castle walked over to the door and confronted a six foot tall spider. "Whoa! Now, that's a spider." He said, smiling.

"You think so?" The spider said,

"You talk?"

"Of course." A rather shaggy young man stepped into the doorway. "Hi, "I'm Mike O'Brien. I work in special effects. Mostly it's CGI these days, but we do some animatronics like Fred here."

"Fred?" Castle asked.

"Freaking Ridiculous Expensive Disaster." Mike said sadly." He's supposed to be able to walk, talk, pick up things, all kinds of stuff, but all he can do is talk. I have to keep him propped up wires."

"Castle?" Kate said coldly. "I think the children are ready to go home."

"Hey, sorry." Mike said. "I didn't mean to scare them that badly."

"Just don't do it again." Kate said.

As they walked away, Castle looked back. "I'll have to remember him for next year."

"I wouldn't if I were you." Kate said.

Castle nodded. He knew better than to argue.

Once back at the loft, Rick found that Martha was in costume as Scarlett O'Hara and Alexis was still upstairs. "Miss Scarlett?" Rick asked. "Where's Alexis?"

"She can't decide between Madame Curie and Cleopatra."

"She should pick Madame Curie. 19th century women wore lots of clothes."

"Which is why I am the Queen of the Nile." Alexis announced from the top of the stairs.

Rick gasped. Cleopatra's costume was very brief. Too brief. "Alexis, go back upstairs and…"He stopped. "You look fine. And Cleopatra is an inspired choice. A very powerful, competent ruler." He realized this was no time to get into an argument with his adult daughter.

"That was very adult of you." Kate whispered in his ear.

"If I told her to change, she'd just wear that to another party with her friends." Castle confessed.

"I have to get into my costume, lover." She whispered in his ear.

"Xena, warrior princess?" he asked

"Of course, Lord Vader. As you commanded."

"You mean commanding you works?"

"Not at all."

Castle was always interested to see what his friends would come as.

Perlmutter came as Doctor Frankenstein, which everyone thought was very appropriate.

Lanie and her husband, Jimmy, came as a basketball and a basketball player.

"A basketball, Lanie?" Kate asked.

"I'm at least fifteen months pregnant, sweetie. I feel big and round."

Kate laughed. "Lanie, you're a month away from your due date."

Epsosito came as a soldier, as he always did. This time he was Royce from the movie Predators. His date, he introduced as Vampira, who looked the part.

The Ryans were Abbott and Costello, doing "Who's on first?"

"Who's on first?" Ryan asked.

"Of course." Jenny replied.

"What?"

"Second base."

"Who's on second?"

"No, who's on first."

After the party, Rick and Kate stared at the mess they had to clean up. "Tomorrow, Detective Beckett?"

"Who?" Kate replied.

"First base."

"Oh, you'll get to more than first base tonight."