885. Chapter 885

After Room 147

Episode 6.16

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I want to confess to not owning Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Your room is just like you left it, Alexis. All ready for you to move back in."

"Dad, I do have to get my things." The redhead said, giving her father a look.

"Of course. I can drive you over there tomorrow and pick up your stuff. No, problem, Pumpkin." Castle felt a bit of a thrill in being able to call Alexis by her nickname again. I never want that kind of estrangement between Alexis and me again. He thought.

"I'm off work tomorrow and I've never seen her place. Do you two mind if I tag along?" Beckett asked.

"Dad! Beckett!" Alexis interrupted. "I want to pick up all of my stuff. The chairs, the table, the futon, everything."

Castle grimaced. "That furniture? But it's so…."

"Mine." Alexis finished for him. "We'll need a truck and probably a couple of guys to help us move. You're not as young and limber as you used to be, Dad."

Castle immediately took offense to that, but both Alexis and Beckett managed to convince him that getting professional movers was best.

As always, Castle knew a guy, but he couldn't get there for two days. So, when he showed up, Beckett was at work.

"Hey, Mr. Castle! And this is little Alexis? I ain't seen her since forever."

"Hi, Carmine. Alexis, you probably don't remember Carmine or his cousins Vito and Giovanni. They helped us move when you were just a toddler, before we got the loft."

Alexis looked at the battered truck and noticed it had no logo on it. "Dad, are you sure these guys are professional movers?"

"Carmine owes me a favor, Pumpkin. And he and his cousins are great at moving things."

"Hey, Rick." Carmine called. "Vito and Giovanni are going to take the car. Why don't you and Alexis sit with me in the cab? We can catch up. But first I gotta make a delivery in Brooklyn. Okay?"

"No problem, Carmine." Rick said cheerfully.

Very little catching up was done as a half a dozen police cars pulled them over within a block of Castle's loft. Carmine, Vito and Giovanni insisted they had no idea how the load of stolen flat screen TVs got into the truck. Rick and Alexis insisted they had no idea either, but it did them no good, either.

It was evening by the time Rick and Alexis found themselves sitting by Kate Beckett's desk.

"You asked three members of the Cardano crime family to help Alexis move?" Kate said disbelievingly. "Really?"

"Carmine and his cousins helped me move to the place we lived in before I bought the loft. You wouldn't believe how careful they were. Alexis had some little figurines and they…"

"Castle!" Beckett said sharply. "After a great deal of effort on my part, Robbery has conceded that you two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why don't you just leave it at that? And tonight you're cooking dinner for me and Alexis."

Castle agreed at once.

Alexis was put in charge of getting a moving company for her move. But the time she had thoroughly vetted various moving companies, Kate had another day off. The three drove over to the apartment building and walked up with the movers. They were stopped by a man in a gas mask who was covered from head to toe.

"Sorry, folks. You can't go in. The place is full of African killer bees. It'll take us all day to fumigate the place and another couple of days for the insecticide to go away. Maybe more."

"Bees!" Castle yelled. "The place is full of bees? What did Pi do?"

"Miss Castle?" Said a voice from behind them. A large balding man in a wife beater tee shirt and dirty khaki pants was behind them. "We need to talk. This is costing more than your security deposit. As lot more."

"But it was her roommate that was involved with bees!" Castle said, trying to control his temper.

"Um, Dad. I was the only one on the lease. Pi didn't have a job when we moved in, so Mr. Patel would only rent to me."

Mr. Patel nodded. "I got the bill right here." He handed a slip of paper to Castle.

"Fifteen hundred dollars! That's outrageous! It can't possibly cost that much to fumigate an apartment."

"That's how much it costs after I take out the security deposit. If you don't believe me, ask my cousin." Patel pointed to the man in the gas mask.

"Will you take a check?" Castle asked, reaching into his coat.

Patel shook his head. "Cash or cashier's check."

It was four days before they could get back to the apartment. When they got there they found two men wearing the standard issue Fed blue suits with white shirts and conservative ties. "Alexis Castle?" one asked.

"Yes. What is it?"

Castle closed his eyes and shook his head. He knew this couldn't possibly be good.

"We're from the US Customs. A Mr. Patel alerted us to the fact that there are several species of plants being grown in your apartment that have been imported. Do you have the appropriate permits to import such plants, Ms. Castle?"

"Really?' Rick said. "Plants? You're giving her a hard time because of some plants? And besides, that was her ex-boyfriends doing."

"The importation of exotic plants can be quite serious, sir. Japanese kudzu in the south eastern US, for instance. Chestnut blight is a type of fungus that can…"

"Yes, but that was her ex-boyfriend's doing."

The Fed shook his head. "Ms. Castle is the only person on the lease. I'm afraid she'll have to come with us."

"Let me call my lawyer, Pumpkin." Castle said, reaching for his phone.

Four days later Rick and Alexis came back to the loft to find Kate there. "I made dinner since I thought you'd be late and really tired. How did things go?"

"Just fine, eventually. My lawyer managed to track down Pi and guess what? He had all of the necessary paperwork for those damned plants. He just forgot to take them with him. And so Alexis is no longer suspected of being an international plant smuggler."

"Dad, I'm sorry. I'll pay you back for the cost of the lawyer."

Castle shook his head. "No. It's not your fault, it's Pi's fault. If it wasn't for the fact that I never want to see him again, I'd track him down and punch him."

"No you wouldn't." Kate said. "Your fiancé wouldn't let you."

"Good point." Castle agreed.

The next day they drove over to the apartment with the moving company people who were thrilled to have Castle for a client. They had driven back and forth several times and hadn't moved a thing, but charged Castle for the time.

When Alexis tried to open the door to her apartment, it wouldn't open. "Patel changed the locks?"

Before she could say anything, the door opened and a very large young man stood there. He appeared to be your basic three hundred pound Samoan.

"You want something?"

"My furniture. The furniture in here is mine."

The man shook his head. "No, Patel rented me the apartment as furnished. You can't have it."

Kate went to Patel's apartment and brought the owner to Alexis' old apartment. Patel said he thought that Alexis had abandoned her furniture, so he rented the apartment as furnished.

"So, take your furniture."

The new tenant leaned over Patel threateningly. "You rent to me a furnished apartment. Manu is not happy he has unfurnished apartment now."

"You got a problem, little brother." Your basic three hundred and fifty pound Samoan came out of the bedroom.

"Patel is trying to cheat us."

"Patel!" Alexis said quickly. "What if you buy the furniture from me? Fifteen hundred bucks. How about it?"

Patel was about to try to negotiate, but he saw Manu and his brother flexing their muscles.

"Okay."

Once back at the loft, Alexis handed the check to Rick. "You deserve this, Dad. You paid for the fumigation, the lawyer and for the moving van that drove back and forth and never picked anything up."

Castle handed Alexis the check back. "Keep it." He pulled Alexis and Kate into a hug. "I'm just glad all of my ladies are here with me."

At that point, Martha walked into the loft. "Richard, can you help me with a little problem?"