507. Chapter 507

After Pandora

Episode 4.15

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Open the box and you'll find I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Author's note: This is a sequel, of sorts, to chapter 105.

Kate could see him directly below her. She knew the man and she was sure she knew the woman. She just couldn't place them. Who were they? Why were they so familiar? She thought.

"Oi see yer back agin' wi' us, Katie." Said a voice beside her.

She turned to look at the man standing next to her. At least he was a cop. He was, but there was something wrong with him. What's wrong with me? Seeing people I can't identify? It's not like me.

"You'll not be rememberin' me, Katie. You'll not be mindin' me callin' ye Katie, will ye? You bein' a detective an' all and me bein' just a patrolman?"

"No, of course not. But who are you?"

"Francis Xavier Doherty, formerly o' the New York Police Department, but now Oi'm yer guardian angel. Shot to death I wuz on Christmas Eve, 1923. That's yerself doon there. An' the love o' yer life, Richard Castle, doing his best ta keep ye alive wi' the Say Pay Are, or whatever they calls it."

"Guardian angel? Castle's giving me CPR? I'm dead?"

"No! Hivins no, dear Katie. Ye'll have many years ahead o' ye, yet. But sometimes the soul sort of comes loose fra the body an' we get a chance to talk, all private like. Whin ye wuz shot by that villain an' yer doctor feller was savin' yer life, we had a bit of a chat. But, you'll no be rememberin' that, do ye?"

"We talked before?" Kate was puzzled. "About what?"

Doherty laughed. "What else? Aboot Himself doon there what's saving yer life, again."

"Why?"

"Why, lass? Because yer a hard headed Irish lass, Katie darlin', an' ye needs a little chat fra yer guardian angel. Now don't ye?"

"Well, if I am so hard headed, do you think talking to me will do any good?"

Doherty nodded. "Oi'll be doin' me best. Now, ye knows that Castle loves ye, right?"

"I know he said he loves me."

"Ah, Katie, Katie! Ye can lie ta yerself, but ye can na lie ta yer guardian angel. Ye didn't need ta hear Castle say he loved ye whin ye was lyin' there on the grass, did ye? He's been tellin' ye he loves ye every day fer a very long time. The things that boyo will do fer ye, makes me bones shiver. I recalls ye were facin' death wi' some sort o' infernal machine right in New York City. Did Castle hev ta be there wi' ye? No, he did not. But he saved yer life."

"He saved his own, too." She shot back.

"Look into yer soul, Katie. Do ye love Richard Castle? Tell me true now, lass."

"I do love him, but it's complicated."

Doherty shook his head. "Love isn't complicated. It's the simplest of all emotions, darlin' Katie. We knows a great deal aboot love oopstairs, ye know. Thim what are doonstairs know aboot other things, but not aboot love."

"It's about more than Castle and me. It's about my mom. She was murdered and that's why I became a cop. And now whoever killed her is after me. Everything I've done, what I've become since I was nineteen was to get justice for my mom. I can't stop. Castle was right about that, I don't know who I am if I'm not trying to solve my mom's case. I know. I gave up on the case once and it damned near destroyed me. I was Kate Beckett, top homicide detective, and I felt like a complete failure. If I walk away from my mom's case to be with Castle, I don't know who I'll be, or what I'll be."

"Ye know who an' what ye'll be, Katie, 'cause lovin' Castle will no change ye. Tell me, lass? Wha' would ha' happened ta Harrison Tisdale if Castle no was wi' ye?"

"He'd have slipped up eventually and we'd have…" Kate stopped. "He would have gotten away with murder and been a rich man."

Doherty nodded. "An' so he would hev. An' how many more cases did Castle help ye wi'?"

Kate shrugged. "I don't know."

"Katie?"

"He's my partner. He's helped solve every case we've worked."

"Now, Roy Montgomery sez that ye wasn't havin' any fun until Castle come along but it's no aboot fun. It's aboot results."

"Wait! Montgomery is here? Can I talk to him? How about my mom? Can I see her?"

"It's agin' the rules, Katie. An' the Big Feller is mighty big on rules as ye'd expect. Now, back ta Castle. If he's helped ye wi' every case ye've ever worked, what do ye think will happen whin he works on yer ma's case wi' ye?"

"We'd be…" Kate was coming to a realization.

"Ye'll be more likely ta solve the case wi' Castle than wi' out him. Ye're more than the sum o' yer parts, lass. Ye need Castle ta solve yer ma's case. Plain an' simple that is."

Kate nodded. "I can see that now. But after we solve her case? What then?"

"Ye'r worried aboot the likes of Sophia Turner, aren't ye, lass. No need to be worryin' aboot her. She's the past and ye're his future. All thim other women is his past."

"He had a future with other women as well. He married Meredith and Gina and he was in love with Kyra. And I have no idea how many other women he's been involved with."

Doherty shook his head glumly. "Sure an' the boy ha' made more mistakes wi' the ladies than any feller has a right to, but ye've seen how capable of love he is, wi' Alexis an' Martha. Rick Castle is yer one and done, Katie. Ye know he's the one, an' yer deeply in love wi' him, aren't ye?"

Kate nodded. "So much so that it would destroy me if he ever left. He broke my heart before, you know."

"Aye, that he did. But he didn't leave wi' that blonde on his arm to hurt ye, Katie. He left ye thinkin' he was givin' ye what an' who ye wanted. That's all the boyo wants to do. Ta give ye what ye need. Ta make ye happy an' keep ye safe. Just like he's doin' now."

Doherty looked down. Below them, Kate was starting to move. "Ye'll be goin' back, now Katie, an' ye'll no remember talkin' wi' me, but ye'll always know what's in yer heart. Trust yer heart, Katie. Now, Detective Katherine Beckett, go solve them murders."

Kate coughed and spat up some water into Castle's face. She looked down to see his hands were resting on her boobs. "Jeez, Castle, if you want to sneak a kiss and cop a feel, you don't have to half drown me first."

"You're okay." Castle's face which had been filled with concern and fear, broke into a smile.

"Of course. Now help me up."

Castle stood and took her hands, pulling her up. She fell into him, resting her head on his chest.

Trust my heart. She thought. Why did I think of that? She shook her head, spraying water around. "Oi needs ye ta help me wi' a murder."

"What?"

"I must have hit my head or something. We have to solve a murder, Castle. You coming?"