155. Chapter 155

Chapter 155

The family had decided to meet in Munich because several of them hadn't been to the Bavarian countryside to see, of all things, the castles; and there were a lot of bad jokes bandied back and forth among them about that as the decision was being made. But in their travels, Meagan and Kate had never been to Germany; and although Martha and Alexis had, they had never ventured into the Bavarian countryside. The day after the shopping excursion, Castle was giving his mother a little sass at breakfast.

"Mother, I know you've been here several times, twice with Alexis," Castle said. "How could you have missed this, and how could you not have taken my daughter to see such an iconic part of the area?

"We were busy, Richard. They don't sell clothes at those castles." Martha answered airily.

"Well, you're going with us this time, so find your comfortable shoes. We have a driver with a vehicle that can accommodate all nine of us, and he's taking us on a tour of the castles. The manager of the car service said he has a good knowledge of the area and its history and should be an excellent tour guide. And we're going to tour one of King Ludwig's castles.

"Oh, alright," Martha agreed. "But I don't promise to be happy about it."

"Just keep any negative vibes to yourself, please." To soften his words, he tucked her into his side and kissed her temple. "Now get ready to go, Mother. We all need your company."

Martha backhanded his chest and said, "You always did try to sweet talk me into what you want. She left with a little smile and returned wearing slacks, ballet flats, and an eye catching shirt; and the entire family embarked on the day's excursion.

The large van had been modified to allow more window space for viewing, it was comfortable and well suited for its job, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the drive. There were a number of castles, one whose original building dated to the eleventh century and two that dated back to the thirteenth. As they got farther into the countryside, the driver started sharing information about the area in general, its history, and tales of the eccentricities of "mad King Ludwig" and his apparent need to build palaces. They made necessity stops along the way and visited a couple of the castles for quick jaunts to get a better look without committing to a full tour. When they reached Neuschwanstein Castle, they indulged in the full tour of the opulent interior…everything on a massive scale, large murals on the walls, carved wood everywhere, heavily textured lavish fabrics, huge chandeliers…no expense spared. When they reached the throne room, they discovered there was no throne. Ludwig died before it was finished.

After learning that Ludwig II had been Richard Wagner's patron and that some of the murals had to do with the stories that inspired his operas, Martha seemed inclined to pay more attention. When she discovered that the man who drafted the concept for the castle was a stage designer and was responsible for scenery for one of Wagner's operas, her interest picked up again.

At the end of the tour, as she stood aside for a better look at a piece of art work, Castle walked over to her for a little more teasing.

"See, Mother, you could have learned all this in one of your earlier trips."

"Oh, hush, Richard. It's just as well I waited until now. You know you enjoyed seeing me admit I enjoyed it...and you've had your moment to gloat."

"It's an amazing place, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. I'm glad you insisted I come along…and wear comfortable shoes."

The rest of the family came to meet them and they investigated what they could of the exterior before going back to the car and heading back to the hotel. Castle asked the driver if he knew of a place to eat Bavarian food on the way back to the hotel, and he drove them to a place whose food and ambiance they thoroughly enjoyed, and they insisted on including their driver in the meal.

It was dark when they returned to the hotel, so all of them went to their rooms for a good night's sleep. The reception/party in Castle's honor was the following evening, and the day after that, they would be on their way to Paris.

xxxxx

After a book signing the next morning, all three Castles took naps in the afternoon before getting themselves ready for the party. They helped Jamie into his suit and hoped this lesson in "suit wearing manners" would work as well as it did the last time.

There was a short receiving line near the door. Bentley Keane started the line, introducing Gina, and the introductions passed down to Paula, then Kate and Castle. The rest of the family took Jamie and went inside, watching the guests move efficiently through the receiving line and begin to fill the room.

When the line dwindled down to nothing, the five who were welcoming guests moved into the room as well. Alexis looked up as Kate and Castle walked toward them.

"That was about as fast as I've ever seen one of those lines move," she said.

"That's because all of us agreed to stop long conversations by asking the longwinded to come and find us during the party to finish the conversation. We all thought saying, 'Come and find me to finish the conversation later' didn't sound enough like 'Let's keep this infernal line moving' to insult anybody."

"Genius!" Alexis answered. "I'll have to remember that. Kate, I heard a lot of people complimenting your dress and how gorgeous you look, and what a beautiful couple you and Dad make." Castle stood by nodding his agreement. "Jamie has been a perfect gentleman so far." Alexis reported.

A man and his wife approached the author from behind, and the man introduced himself in an American sounding voice. Jamie stood next to his sister and watched his father carefully. Castle shook the guest's hand and said, "Richard Castle. Good to meet you…probably again." He gestured toward the door where the line had been and the man smiled and nodded. "This is my family," Castle told him. My wife, Kate. My daughter and son-in-law, Alexis and JD Farnsworth.

"And who is this?" the man asked, looking at Jamie.

Jamie held out his hand and said, "Jamie Castle. Good to meet you."

To his credit, especially in the Castles' eyes, the man leaned forward and shook Jamie's hand as seriously as he had offered it and said, "It's good to meet you, too, young man. I'll bet your dad is proud of your fine manners."

"There was a quiet, high pitched little sound from the man's wife behind him, saying, "Oh my god, that was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I'm Mrs. Thompson, Mr. Thompson's wife. It's nice to meet you, Jamie." She held out her hand, and Jamie held his out to meet hers.

"That's my mommy. She's my daddy's wife." Jamie answered, picking up on something he sort of understood.

The woman stood up straighter and apologized. "Oh, my. I'm sorry. I'm ignoring the guest of honor. "Mrs. Castle, I'm so glad to meet you, and Mr. Castle, I love your books. My husband's job has him working here for the foreseeable future, but I still manage to find them somewhere as soon as they come out. Your little boy's grown up manners distracted me. He's adorable."

"Don't worry. He upstages me all the time," Castle answered with a smile. "We're hoping the manners hold out for the rest of the evening."

"Who upstages you all the time, Darling?" Martha asked as she joined them.

"And my mother, Martha Rodgers."

"Oh, my. The Martha Rodgers? The actress?"

"Yes, I am," Martha answered, smiling.

"That's Mrs. Thompson," Jamie told his grandmother. "And that's Mr. Thompson."

"Thank you darling," Martha said to Jamie. "Mrs Thompson, I'm delighted to meet you."

"My husband's company has us here for a while. It's nice to hear an American voice, especially yours. I'm a fan…of you and your son."

"Enough about him," Martha said, moving in front of Castle with a teasing smile. "Tell me about the rest."

"I stand corrected. Everybody tries to upstage me," Castle complained.

"Only once in a while," Martha teased. Stepping to her son's side, she took his arm and said, "Tonight is my son's night, and he deserves it. I'm very proud of him. But it's nice to meet one of my fans, too. Thank you."

Kate joined in, and they talked for a few minutes before someone else came looking for Castle's time. It was a multinational party, and Kate had the opportunity to use all her languages before the night was over. Castle even had a short conversation where he was able to use his Mandarin. Meagan wasn't fluent, but could carry on a reasonable conversation in Spanish, and JD was in about the same place with German, and Castle with French. And Martha, Alexis, and Gina put their more fluent French to good use. The entire family wandered among the guests and danced with some of them as well as with each other.

The music was eclectic, everything from the thirties to the present; and Castle always asked Kate to dance when one of their favorite Sinatra songs was played. They danced in each other's arms, occasionally turning in place or Castle spinning Kate out and pulling her back. It was a low key, pleasant party with a bare minimum of folks the family would like to avoid, but they reached a moment when they realized that both Jamie's patience and his stamina were ebbing.

Bentley and Gina had danced together often, and he and Castle had both danced with Paula as well. Castle caught him as he and Gina were leaving the dance floor.

"I think it's time for us to leave, Bentley. We need to get Jamie back to the hotel for some sleep."

"I still don't understand why you couldn't have let the hotel find you a sitter," Gina said.

"Because I'm not leaving my child alone with someone none of us know in a city on a different continent with different languages than the places he knows. I won't do it. He's behaved admirably tonight, so we're going to take him back and tuck him in. All of us have to be on that plane tomorrow, and it's no fun for anyone when there's a grumpy toddler on a plane." Turning to his host, he said, "Thank you for everything, Bentley. You did a fine job with the party. It was a pleasure and very much appreciated."

"Let me say goodnight to your family before you leave."

When they reached Castle's family, a very tired, droopy little boy was snuggled against Kate's neck, and she had planted a little kiss on his head just as they walked up.

"Hey, Little Guy. I just came to say goodnight. I'll see you on the plane tomorrow," Bentley said, squeezing Jamie's arm gently.

Jamie's eyes opened enough to see the man talking to him. 'Night, Mr. Bentley," he answered just before his eyes slipped closed again.

"Looks like your timing is perfect," Bentley whispered. "See you in the morning."

After he and Gina left Castle and his familial entourage to meet the cars that brought the family there earlier, they returned to the dance floor; and Bentley used the time to ask his captive audience of one a few loaded questions.

"Gina, I know you and Richard Castle had a short marriage. I need to know if you still have feelings for him…or anybody else, because my feelings for you are growing fast."

"I suppose I'll always have some feelings for him, but more for his welfare than anything. I don't wish him ill; but I don't want him back, if that's what you're asking. We almost gave it a second try once, but it came to a stop before it even started, and I'm sure that was for the best. By the end of that summer, he was with Kate; and by the end of that year, they were married. He's found exactly what he's always wanted. They belong together. We didn't. We didn't do well as a couple…wanted different things out of life. At the time, we thought we made sense, and we were both lonely, both needed somebody. We got along pretty well at first, but work got in the way, and we didn't translate well to twenty-four/seven."

"You and I make sense, too. I know we could crash and burn, but I'd like to give something longer term a try if you want to. You have to understand, though, there's a side of me that I suspect you had trouble dealing with in Rick. There's a lot of kid left in me. I don't want children of my own; but I love them and I like being around them. You've seen me in action. I suspect you would have trouble with both of those things."

"You looked so happy talking to Jamie and doing…whatever that was with the chocolate ice cream. You reminded me of Richard with Alexis when she was about seven. I realize now that there were a lot of times I took the joy out of things for him...probably for both of them. He's an absolutely devoted father." She paused a moment, looking a bit misty eyed, and continued. "My feelings for you are growing fast, too; so I'm trying to be honest. Richard told me he and Kate promised to never lie to each other. Apparently whatever it was keeping them apart had something to do with not being honest, so they always are. I'm trying to be honest with you…and open. I can't promise to join you in the kid things or the silliness, but I can promise to try to get used to it. If that's enough for now, I think I'd like to give us a chance, too."

"Oh, thank god. I hated starting this conversation that way, but maybe it's a sign that honesty will work." He pulled her closer to rest her head on his shoulder and ran his hand over her back a time or two before leaving it settled at her waist.

"I hope so," she said from against his chest.

xxxxx

The various parts of the family went to their respective rooms after the party, and Kate and Rick's first job was to get Jamie to sleep. Then Rick helped Kate out of her new dress, telling her again how beautiful she looked that night. "It's like you were lit from the inside to emphasize it."

"I spent some of the time imagining the ways I could get you out of that tuxedo."

"And what were some of the choices?"

She started to work as she told him what to expect, and by the time she had slid the pants down his legs, he was taking care of the rest and then working on hers. She laughed, and he grinned as he said, "What are you laughing about, Woman? This is serious business…nakedness, body parts fitting together, sexy sounds…"

"Shut up and just make it happen," she ordered playfully. "We have to be on that plane along with Jamie, you know," she teased.

There was a baritone growl and she was suddenly in the bed looking up at his mischievous grin again. "Didn't see that coming, did you?" he asked. "I'm a ninja like that."

She laughed again and pulled him to her for a kiss. "Then show me the rest of your moves, Ninja Rick."

xxxxx

The flight to Paris was barely over an hour, so they were checking into the hotel before lunch. Castle had a signing that afternoon; so various splinter groups went off on their own and came back to meet for dinner to make plans for the next day, which was entirely free. Castle and John wanted to go shopping with Martha, Alexis, and Kate. Bentley wanted a day of sight-seeing with Gina. Meagan wasn't much of a shopper, so she was content to go with Jim and JD; and they volunteered to take Jamie. Paula decided to go with the shoppers. Each group made its own plans, and they decided they would all meet for a late-ish dinner at a restaurant Martha and Alexis insisted they had to visit while they were in Paris.

The hotel concierge had arranged a nice stroller for them; so the next morning, Team Jamie took that along, working with half a plan and enjoying the freedom of it.

The shoppers took full advantage of the Paris fashion scene. Castle was insistent that he be allowed to buy Kate whatever she wanted. His method began with watching her, and he knew her tells. If she tried it on and liked it but put it back, he signaled an assistant in the store to hold it for them, especially if he liked it, too; and Martha, Alexis, and Paula kept their eyes open for him. John was enjoying Martha's enthusiasm, but he was also keeping a business eye on things and taking some notes now and then.

"Castle, I know you're probably up to something behind my back, but it would really make more sense to find a few things I can wear for the next month or maybe two and look for maternity clothes for those last few whale months. When I'm back in shape after the baby, I might want some new clothes to celebrate. Please don't get carried away. I don't need that much more."

"We can find maternity clothes. Ask where to find a nice store. I'll bet mother and Alexis haven't found any of those."

Within seconds, their eavesdropping relatives had mentioned two stores that they had scouted on Alexis's graduation trip…hoping for news of a baby Castle soon.

You can't miss it," Alexis said. "Middle of the next block, opposite side of the street, big purple sign over the door." She played with her phone for a moment and then told her dad, "I just texted you the address of the other one."

Castle turned just in time to see Paula in a cocktail dress asking Martha what she thought of it. "Paula, that looks great. Mother, see that she leaves with that one…on us. We wouldn't have this extra time to enjoy some vacation time together if she hadn't stood up for us. We owe her one."

"Really?" Paula asked.

"Hush, darling." Martha told her. "Let the man say thank you. Just hand over the dress and let the people ring everything up."

"Yeah, really. It should look great at the next big event," he added. "It's you."

"Well…thank you," Paula answered, dumbfounded.

"We're going to pay for what we've chosen, and we'll have Paula's dress included," Castle promised. "Then we're going to check the store down the street."

They left the maternity shop with jeans, and shirts that would work with her growing middle, then went to the next place and found a couple of nursing tops, two summer dresses, and three more nice looking shirts for later expansion, as Kate put it.

Even though Kate had put her foot down about most of the excess Castle had squirreled away with the assistant at the store where they left the others, they still had enough bags that she found it embarrassing. They went to a coffee shop, and Kate indulged in a sinfully good cup of real coffee and a chocolate muffin, and Castle sent Alexis a text saying he and Kate were going back to the hotel. As they reached the street, the doorman at the hotel they were passing recognized Castle's difficulty with all the bags, smiled, and hailed a cab for him.

"Maternity clothes," Castle explained in his 'getting by' French and started to put down enough to find a tip.

"Non, non, monsieur. Mes félicitations."

"Merci," both Castles said, and waved. The cab driver opened the trunk for all the bags, and they waved to the still smiling doorman as the cab pulled away.

xxxxx

Castle had the next day free, and most of the family had decided to stay in the hotel and do what the spirit moved them to do that day. All the men left with Jamie, and as soon as they were gone, Martha knocked on Kate's door.

"I need to talk."

"Come on in."

When Martha entered the room, she was obviously upset; and she started pacing as soon as the door closed, her phone in her hand.

"Martha, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

"This happened." She opened a text and showed it to Kate.

The text read, "It's Alex. We're in the same city. Will you meet me for coffee? I owe you an explanation."

"I don't understand. Who is Alex?"

"Richard's father."

"Oh, Martha. No wonder you're…"

"Why now, after all this time? How did he know I'm here? What does he want? I don't know what to do."

"I can't tell you what to do. Do you want to hear the explanation? And do you want that bad enough to meet him to get it."

"I don't know." She pressed her fingers against her temples as if she had a headache.

"Are you going to tell Rick?"

"No. That's why I waited until he left to talk to you. I know you and Richard don't keep secrets, but can you not mention it until I tell you to?"

"Of course. Let's sit down and talk it through. When does Alex want to meet you?"

"This afternoon at three, in one of the private rooms at a little restaurant. I know the place. I've been to a party in one of the private rooms, and it all seemed very respectable, nothing shady."

"So you think you'd be safe?"

"I don't think he'd hurt me, if that's what you're asking."

"But you don't know that much about him, do you?"

"I know he was gentle with me, thoughtful the day and night when we were together. I don't believe he would hurt me, or try to take advantage. I just don't understand. Why a private room? Why not out in the open? And why after all this time…"

"I think you have to decide how badly you want answers. You have to make the decision; but if you want to go, I'll go with you if you want me…not to be in the room, but close by if you need me."

"I do want to know why he just up and left. And I'd like to see him one more time, even if all I do is slap his face for leaving us." She paced a few more steps and turned, then threw her hands up in a frustrated gesture. "I can't even be sure he knows about Richard."

"But if he knew you were in town, chances are pretty good that he does. When should we leave?"

"Two fifteen?"

"I'll leave Rick a note."

"I don't expect this to be a particularly long conversation. What will you tell Richard?"

"That you wanted some company when you went to visit an old friend that you thought I might enjoy meeting."

"Thank you, Katherine." Wrapping her arms around Kate, Martha held her tight and said, "I couldn't love you more if you had been mine from the day you entered the world."

"I love you, too," Kate answered, running a comforting hand over Martha's back. "I'm going to get dressed. If I can't tell Rick, I'd rather not be here when he gets back, but we can test the lay of the land before we have to face him.

Later, the two women took a taxi to the restaurant, asked for the man whose name Alex had given Martha, and Kate went with her to the door of the private room.

A tall, white haired, well-built man about Martha's age stood to meet them. "I should have expected you, Captain," he said. He watched as Kate took in the white tablecloth with a small spray of simple flowers on the table with a coffee carafe and mugs. She looked around the entire space and checked for points of exit or entrance. It was the same thing he always did when entering a room. "I might have been disappointed in you if you weren't here. You've cleared the room now. I promise you, Martha is in no danger here."

"I'll be at a table not far away if you need me," she promised Martha. Turning to Alex, she unintentionally said, "He has your eyes." Then she walked out and closed the door.

"I believe I was promised an explanation," Martha announced, still standing and presenting her words as a challenge.

"Martha, I have to start with I'm sorry. It's woefully inadequate."

"You're damn straight it is," she shot back.

"I intended to come back. I thought I would be back in a few weeks and come to find you and apologize. Please, sit down." He indicated the chair across from his.

"And what kept you away for well over forty years?" she asked angrily, relenting and seating herself stiffly across from him.

"My job. I'm with a government agency. When we met, I had just returned from a mission, and we thought it was closed. I got a call while you were sleeping and something had gone wrong. I had to go back. My superiors didn't understand anything but following orders. If I had told them no and quit right then, I could have come back to you; but things took a much darker turn once I was out of the country again. By the time I was back in New York a few years later, I had done things in the name of our country that… I was a different person, someone who didn't deserve you…if I ever did. And added to that, I could have been a danger to you and Richard. I was always very good at my job and I had some dangerous enemies by then, so I had to stay under the radar. If any of them could identify me and connect me to you or Richard, you would both have been in danger. The best way I could take care of you was to stay away."

Leaning back in her chair after pouring herself some of the coffee in a carafe on the table between them, she answered skeptically, "You do realize this sounds a lot like one of Richard's novels?"

"I know. I've read all of them, and they're good. But it's the truth. I didn't know about him until he was a little over two years old, and I couldn't afford to take the chance of being near you. I've managed to be close enough to see you and Richard and his children now and then, though. I was at the party in Germany a couple of days ago, but I had to stay out of sight. It's one of my specialties. Hiding in plain sight. It keeps me alive. You and the Captain looked beautiful."

"You've been stalking us all these years?"

"I guess that's how it sounds, but…" He ran his fingers through his hair and chuckled. "Maybe I should have kept that to myself. I met Richard twice when he was younger. He didn't know who I was, and I was careful to make it look random to anyone around. One day at the public library, he was looking for books in a section that looked a little above his reading level. I asked what he was looking for, and he said he liked spy stories. So I gave him a book I had just bought…Casino Royale."

"He told me about that. He said a man gave him a new book. That was one of the first brand new books he'd ever had. He's always said that was the book that made him want to be a writer."

"Something I didn't know," Alex answered with a pleased smile. "Thank you."

"When was the other time?"

"He was playing alone at one of those little neighborhood parks, making paper airplanes that kept crashing. I was dressed as a maintenance worker, picking up paper with one of those sticks. I walked over to the stack of paper he was using, made a nice sleek one, and sailed it past his shoulder. He turned around and smiled and asked how I did that, and I showed him. We made a few more before I had to leave. I've followed everything the two of you ever did, and Alexis…and now Jamie. I saw him at the party in his suit. I'd swear Richard cloned him. He looks just like him. He's a smart one, too."

"Too bad you were never involved to know even half of what you missed."

"I deserve that. Richard was a rascal, but he was a good kid. And he's grown into a fine man. You did a good job with him, Martha. I'm so sorry you had to do it alone."

"There's no fixing that now. I managed, but it was hard. I wasn't about to give him up, but we had some rough times. We both endured a lot of derogatory remarks and financial struggles, but we made it without you. You were never there. You have no right to sound proud of him. You never earned that. He's mine."

"I did what I could. I dropped some money into your life now and then. It was all I could do. I cleared the way for his CIA research for the Derrick Storm books."

"Then you should be aware that the hussy you sent him to work with tried to kill him…and Katherine, twice…and taunted him about you before she died without telling him anything specific."

"Does it help that I handled the overseas part of the operation that brought Bracken down?"

Martha just stared. "Who are you?"

"CIA. I'm pretty high up these days, still mostly in the field, but the job owns me. It's relentless and lonely. Don't worry. I'm not asking you to take me back when I retire. It might not be safe even then; but even if it were, I couldn't ask that. There are things about me…things I've done for the job that I don't want near you. You deserve someone whose soul isn't this dark. You've been spending a lot of time with a good man, probably better than I ever was."

"How dare you."

"I know, but I won't apologize for that. I just want to know all of you are safe."

"Then where were you when Katherine was shot?"

"A cave in Afghanistan, trying to stay alive myself. I didn't know until I left that mission. That was when I started gathering information on who was behind it. When I could be sure it was Bracken, I looked for more evidence. After Gates called in the FBI, I fed them information and gave them a way to contact me with what they had. They never knew who I was, but I was still able to pass along intel.

"Well, Richard would be impressed with your credentials and would be glad you helped."

"That brings up the other reason I wanted to see you, Martha."

"You've given me your explanation, and you aren't trying to rekindle anything between us. What else could you want?"

"I want to meet Richard."