761. Chapter 761

After Flowers for Your Grave

Part Two

Episode 1.01

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: if I didn't own Castle in the first part of the story, would I own it now? Rating: M Time: See above

Castle couldn't help himself. He laughed. "That story is absurd. You were a teenager. If your dad hadn't come after me with a shotgun, your parents would have sued me. They were lawyers, remember?"

Kate huffed. "I was an adult in the story. What could they have done? And my mother loved your books and she would have loved you. She never would have let my dad do anything to you."

Castle grinned and shook his head. "I'm just glad that never happened. No matter what you may think, I would have been dodging buckshot blasts. And you were too young for me, Kate."

Kate rubbed her breasts against his chest. "Are you trying to tell me that eighteen year old Kate Beckett wouldn't have made you fall hopelessly in love with her?"

He had to admit he was beaten. "I've never been able to resist you and at no point in your life could I have ever not loved you. Happy now?"

She nodded. "Yes, but you may have been right about that story. There is another possible story, though….

She had managed to make it through the funeral without falling completely apart and she had made it to Coney Island with her father and had walked along the wintery beach with him with dry eyes. Then something happened. She began to cry. She sobbed and cried and began to run to try to escape her own misery. Running around a corner, she slammed into someone. "Can't you watch where you're going?" She screamed. But then, disoriented and unable to see through her tears, she ran into a plate glass window, momentarily stunning herself.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right, miss?" A gentle voice asked.

"Yes. No. Just leave me alone."

"Are you hurt? Should I call 911?" The voice persisted.

"She's dead. We buried her today." Somehow those words unleashed a barrage of tears that she couldn't stop. She leaned against the man and sobbed her heart out.

"There's a bench over here." He said, leading her to it. "And it's kind of cold today." She felt him put his jacket around her shoulders. She wanted to say something, but the sobs wouldn't let her. She sat there with her face pressed into his chest and sobbed.

Finally she looked up at him. She had seen that face before and in an instant she knew who he was. "Oh, my god. You're Richard Castle, the author."

"You're a fan?"

She shook her head. "My mom loved your books. Just loved them. She was your biggest fan. She had them all and she even went to a book signing and got…." The memory was too much for her and she began sobbing again.

"It was your mom's funeral today?"

She nodded and managed to choke out the word, "Yes."

After she had cried for another five minutes, she looked up at him. "Oh, shit. I've ruined your shirt. It has my makeup all over it. I'll pay for it." She began fumbling for her wallet.

"Nonsense. I and my shirt are happy to be of assistance to the daughter of my biggest fan. Don't worry about it. Are you okay now?"

She shook her head. "I don't know if I ever will be okay again."

"I wish there was something I could do or say that would help. But I know there's nothing that'll help. I'm lucky I guess. If anything goes wrong with my daughter, Alexis, I can fix it with ice cream."

In spite of everything, Kate smiled at the mental image of Richard Castle solving his daughter's problems with ice cream. "Ice cream couldn't hurt, I guess."

"Orlando's is right around the corner. Would you like some ice cream, Miss…?"

"Beckett. Kate Beckett."

Rick handed her his handkerchief so she could wipe her runny makeup off, then they headed for Orlando's and his biggest, most extravagant ice cream sundae available.

Kate explained to Rick what had happened to her mother. "It's like the police didn't even care. I read a copy of their report. They didn't even try."

"A random killing by some gang member would be nearly impossible to solve, Kate."

She smiled shyly at him. "That's right. You know all about murders, don't you?"

He shook his head sadly. "Only from the point of view of a writer. I'd solve this in one of my books, but in the real world, I'm afraid…."

He stopped as Kate's phone rang. She grabbed it out of her pocket. "It's my dad. He must be frantic wondering where I got to." She answered the call, but it wasn't her dad.

"Do you know the guy who owns this phone?" A strange voice asked.

"He's my father. What is it?"

"He's here in my bar and he's drunk on his ass and can't move. You need to come and get him, or I swear I'll toss him out onto the street."

"No, just tell me where he is and I'll come get him." Kate said frantically.

When she hung up, Rick rose to go with her.

"You don't need to come, Mr. Castle."

"How did you get here from Manhattan?"

"Subway."

"Kate, you'll never get your dad back home on the subway by yourself. I'll call my car service."

Kate tried to decline, but she knew Castle was right.

It was humiliating for Kate, but they got her father into the car and back home. Castle carried her father inside and put him down on his bed while Kate did her best to undress him.

"Thank you. What you did was so sweet…." Kate's tears began again.

Rick handed her his card after writing something on the back. "This is my business card. If you need anything, anything at all. Call me. My personal phone number is on the back. Okay?"

"Okay." Kate mumbled, having no intention of bothering Castle again after all he'd done for her.

But ten days later she had to call him. "Mr. Castle? It's me, Kate Beckett. You probably don't remember me, but…"

"Of course I remember you. How could I forget? Is there a problem?"

"My father. He's…." Kate stopped.

"Tell me where you are. I'll be there ASAP."

This time Castle made sure that the driver they sent was very strong so that the driver could carry Jim Beckett inside his home. Again, Kate swore to herself that she wouldn't ever bother Richard Castle again. And once again, she had to call him.

"I don't know how to thank you, Mr. Castle." She said, having gotten her father back home from another bar.

"Start by calling me Rick, okay?"

"Rick." She said shyly.

"Are you hungry?" He asked suddenly. "I could sure use a pizza."

"I'd love one. There's a place close to us that delivers. I can call and order one if you…."

"I'll call." He said quickly. He was pretty certain that with her mother gone and her father drinking, Kate was short of money.

When they had finished the pizza and Rick was ready to leave, Kate shyly brushed her lips across his. "Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me."

"I have a daughter myself. I just hope that if she ever needed help, someone would help her like I helped you."

The next time she had to call Rick, she didn't feel so guilty. Nor the times after that.

Rick checked to see who was calling, then accepted the call. "Hi, Kate. Where are you? I can be there in no time."

"No, it's not my dad this time. He's with my Aunt Theresa this weekend. I was wondering if I could cook dinner for you tonight? You've been so good to me and Dad. I want to do something for you."

Rick smiled. "I'd love to have a home cooked meal. As it happens, Alexis is with my mom for the weekend at a play in Boston. When should I come over?"

He had to admit that he had been worried about Kate's cooking skills, but she turned out to be an excellent cook. After dinner they sat on the sofa and got ready to watch TV. Suddenly, Kate moved onto his lap and began kissing him. Her tongue pushed against his lips and he opened his mouth to let her in. He felt her begin to unbutton her blouse.

"Kate, you owe me absolutely nothing for what I've done for you. If you think you have to go to bed with me because…."

She laughed. "I know you well enough to know I don't have to do anything. I also know that I like you a whole lot and I want to do this. And I hope you like me and want me as well."

"Why don't we go into your bedroom then?"

They stopped by her bed and stood facing each other. Rick finished unbuttoning her blouse and unclasped her bra, letting them fall to the floor. He bent down and kissed each nipple and flicking it with his tongue until they had hardened. He could hear Kate breathing rapidly. He reached down and undid the top button of her pants and then slid the zipper down. He pushed both her pants and her panties down, then knelt in front of her, removing her shoes then lifting first her feet to get her pants and panties off. Then he leaned in and kissed her, running his tongue up and down her slit, then stopping at her clit and nibbling at it. When he slid a finger inside of her, she moaned and put her hands on his head to steady herself. "What are you doing to me?" She groaned.

"Something you like, I think." He stood up and put his arms around Kate, lowering her to her bed. Then he knelt between her thighs and resumed kissing her, going up as far as her navel and down her thighs, but always coming back to her clit. Kate screamed his name as the first orgasm washed over her and lifted her ass off the bed to force him further inside of her.

"Please. Now. Inside me, Rick. Please. Please."

Rick crawled up her body and began kissing her lips, allowing her to taste herself on his lips. He rested the tip of his erection at her entrance. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Please, please, please." She moaned over and over again.

When he was done, Kate could hardly remember anything but one wave of pleasure after another. She thought she had begged him to keep doing everything to her, she was sure he had run his hands over her boobs, her ass and her thighs. She thought he had told her that she was gorgeous, sexy, passionate and remarkable, but her mind was just too fogged with lust, sex and love to be sure of anything other than that he was holding her in his arms.

After that night, they became lovers. But, when summer came to an end, Kate was sure things were about to change.

She was once again wrapped in his arms. "Rick, I've told Stanford that I'm not returning in the fall."

He nodded and ran his hand across her cheek. "Good idea. There are plenty of good schools here. Columbia, NYU, Princeton, or where ever else you want to go."

She took a deep breath. "I'm not going back to college. I've been accepted at the NYPD Police Academy. I can't just ignore my mom's murder like those detectives did. I know I can't expect you to…."

"Lose the remarkable Kate Beckett." He finished for her.

Kate raised her head to look him in the eyes, not minding that he saw the tears she had begun to shed. "What?"

"I'm not letting you get away. I love you, Kate."

"I love you, too."

Although Kate began as Police Trainee Kate Beckett, she graduated as Officer Kate Castle.