A/N): I am declaring myself officially crazy. I was in the middle of the first chapter of night patrol when this particular 'gem' popped into my mind. Enjoy and please forgive the typos and grammar snafus

"A Ghost Story"

Castle Fan Fiction

By Dethwalker

Chapter 1

"Nightmares"

Beckett and Castle

Beckett 3:01am EDT

Kate stood in the narthex of Golden Oak Memorial Church, looking down the aisle to a casket in front of the Communion rail. This was where many of the Police funerals were held. The church was full with many policemen and their families. She scanned the crown for familiar faces. She saw Esposito and Ryan in their dress blues seated by Captain Montgomery and the Mayor. Beckett wondered who had died. She searched her memory but could not remember and deaths.

The Sun was bright outside and the stained glass windows shot splinters of colored light across the floor. Kate looked down to see that she was wearing the red dress that Castle had bought her for their first "date", where they were tracking down the home invader. She felt embarrassed at the inappropriateness of her attire.

"It is time to go in and sit with the family" the reverend told her firmly.

"No I am not dressed right; I need to change into my blues."

"It is too late for that, go and pay your respects to the honored dead."

Nonplussed Kate began her walk down the aisle. Clouds must have covered the sun, because the church became dark. The church doors must still have been open because she felt a cold wind wrap its icy skeletal fingers around her. Gooseflesh broke out all over her body and she shivered violently.

Beckett felt an odd sensation pass through her, as if she were both frightened and sick at the same time. She looked at the mourners but they all sat staring straight ahead, their faces blank and emotionless, Fear lodged itself deep in her stomach and she could feel it clawing inside her trying desperately to break free. She had never in her whole life felt such paralyzing fear. She felt as if her lungs had deflated. She wanted to scream but she could not. She wanted to gasp for breath but she felt she was suffocating.

Kate didn't know how but she made it to the pew where Javier and Kevin were. She moved to sit but in unison Esposito, Ryan, The Captain and the Mayor all looked at her and intoned in dead voices. "You must pay your respects to the honored dead."

She felt as if she were actually dying from fright. She now knew who was in the casket and she knew that her life would end when she look into the face of the man she had loved but not found the courage to tell him. Kate looked toward the front and saw a lone figure standing beside the coffin. She was dressed all in black and a black veil obscured her red hair.

When Beckett passed the row of family she felt compelled to say something. She looked at Martha who was dressed as if ready to go on stage, her make-up almost garish.

"Martha…." Kate began.

"Don't talk to me!" Martha spat, "If you could've just told him that you loved him, he wouldn't have killed himself."

"That's right Martha." Meredith agreed, "Kate felt that she was too good for him. She is too emotionally stunted to love."

Kate could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her grief and anguish caused her to fall to her knees. She wanted to scream that she had loved him, but had no breath. When she looked back at Martha and Meredith they were both expressionless. "You must pay your respects to the honored dead"

Kate pushed herself up and moved closer to Alexis. Beckett's body was now wracked with sobs. "Alexis… Alexis… I am so sorry. I loved him. I did…." She said in a whisper.

Alexis was as stone faced as the rest. She looked at Kate coldly. Kate could see tears welling up in Alexis' eyes. When she spoke it was in a dead tone:

"When the Lovers cross the Portal lost,

And the witches Bell doth toll the hour

The curse-ed dead will raise his head

And touch them with his power"

"Alexis, Honey, I don't understand" Kate stammered.

Alexis just intoned again but with all the people in the church joined in:

"When the Lovers cross the Portal lost,

And the witches Bell doth toll the hour

The curse-ed dead will raise his head

And touch them with his power"

Alexis pointed at the open casket. Kate finally got the courage to look inside. As she knew she would, she saw Castle lying there, but he was not composed as the mortician would have done. He lay there dead eyes staring at her in condemnation. His face was pale and bloodless. There were two ugly gaping wounds on each arm, which were still bleeding. The wounds went from wrist to elbow. A bloody straight razor was clutched in his right hand. Beckett screamed….

Kate covered her mouth to stifle her scream. She was sitting up in her own bed, drenched in sweat and shaking. She was thankful that it was only a dream. It had felt so real. She looked at her clock the red numbers seemed to glow a blood red.3:01 am. How much she wished that she was with Castle right now. She wanted to reassure herself that he was ok. But he was not here. He wasn't even in New York. Once he had recovered enough from his bullet wound to travel, Black Pawn and demanded that he go on a book tour. They had wanted to reassure his readers that he was alive and well. He had been gone a month and she missed him horribly.

Beckett got up and made her way to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was plastered to her forehead. Her eyes, which Richard loved to gaze into, or so he said, still looked haunted. She was aghast to notice that she was still crying. She had never, ever been this affected by a dream before. She was fairly sure that she had just experienced a Night Terror. If Castle's nightmares had been this bad and he had had them nightly for more than a month, she was amazed that he was still sane. She let her sweat drenched pajama's fall to the floor and with a still shaking hand she drew the shower curtain aside and stepped in. For a half hour she stood unmoving letting the hot water take the chill in her soul away, knowing that the hot water would not last forever she quickly washed and got out. After drying off she went into her closet. As she grabbed her robe off the hook on the back of the door, something caught her eye., The red dress hanger and all lay on the floor.

Her phone buzzed from a text message she looked to see three messages from Castle. As she was picking up the phone to reply, it rang.

"Beckett."

"Kate," came the familiar voice. "I'm sorry I know its late, but I just had to call…."

Castle 2:01am CDT

Rick stood in the narthex of Golden Oak Memorial Church, looking down the aisle to a casket in front of the Communion rail. This was where many of the Police funerals were help. The church was full with many policemen and their families. He scanned the crown for familiar faces. He saw Esposito and Ryan in their dress blues seated by Captain Montgomery and the Mayor. He wondered who had died. Rick searched his memory but could not remember any deaths.

The Sun was bright outside and the stained glass windows shot splinters of colored fire across the floor. He looked down to see that he was wearing the splotched rented tux that he had worn to his first Edgar Awards dinner. 'This is different' he thought.

"It is time to go in and sit with the family" the reverend told him firmly.

"No I am not dressed right; I need to change. It will just take a minute or two. I don't live that far awa…"

"It is too late for that, go and pay your respects to the honored dead."

Nonplussed Rick began his walk down the aisle. Clouds must have covered the sun, because the church became dark. The church doors must still have been open because he felt a cold wind wrap its icy skeletal fingers around his spine. Gooseflesh broke out all over his arms and neck and he shivered violently.

He felt an odd sensation pass through him, as if he were having a feeling of Déjà vu, which left him feeling both frightened and sick at the same time. Rick looked at the mourners but they all sat staring straight ahead, their faces blank and emotionless, Fear lodged itself deep in his stomach and he could feel it clawing inside his gut trying desperately to break free. He had thought that he would never feel such paralyzing fear again. Castle felt as if his lungs were burning with the need for oxygen. Rick wanted to cry out but he could not. .

Rick staggered to where Javier and Kevin were. He moved to sit down but in unison Esposito, Ryan, The Captain and the Mayor all looked at her and intoned in dead voices. "You must pay your respects to the honored dead."

He felt his heart freeze with fright. He knew who was in the casket and Rick knew that his life would end when he looked into the face of the woman he loved but not found the courage to ask her to be his. He looked toward the front and saw a lone figure standing beside the coffin. He was drees in black and grey camo uniform with a black helmet obscuring his face.

When Castle passed the row of family he felt compelled to say something. He looked at Jim Beckett in disheveled clothes and smelling of alcohol, his eyes unfocused.

"Mr. Beckett …." Rick began.

"Don't talk to me!" Jim spat, "If you not told Kater that you loved her, she wouldn't have killed herself."

"That's right Jim." A woman who looked a lot like Kate but older agreed, "He is a selfish lover, always taking and leaving nothing behind. She was too good for him. He is too emotionally stunted to love."

Rick could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Oh no, Kate No!" His grief and anguish caused him to fall to his knees.

He wanted to scream that he had loved her, but had no breath. When he looked back at Jim and who he assumed was Joanna they were both expressionless. "You must pay your respects to the honored dead"

Rick pushed himself up and moved closer to Dominic Strom who stood by the coffin. Castle's body was now wracked with sobs. "Dominic you bastard did you do this to her? I'll kill you if you did. Do you hear me… I will make you sorry. I loved her. I did…." Rick said in a whisper.

Dominic was as stone faced as the rest. He looked at Castle coldly. Rick could see the anger in his nemesis eyes. When he spoke it was in a dead tone:

"When the Lovers cross the Portal lost,

And the witches Bell doth toll the hour

The curse-ed dead will raise his head

And touch them with his power"

"What, I don't understand" Castle stammered.

Dominic just intoned again but with all the people in the church joined in:

"When the Lovers cross the Portal lost,

And the witches Bell doth toll the hour

The curse-ed dead will raise his head

And touch them with his power"

Dominic pointed at the open casket. Rick finally got the courage to look inside. As he knew he would, he saw Kate lying there, but she was not composed as the mortician would have done. She lay there dead her one eyes staring at her in condemnation. There was a small bullet hole on the right side of her head and the other half of her face was gone. Kates gun still smoking was clutched in her right hand. Castle cried out….

Castle set bolt upright in bed. He could almost hear the echo of his cry bounce around the hotel. He looked longingly at the bed and prayed that Kate would appear there safe and unharmed. But when he opened his eyes she did not appear.

There was a pounding on his door and a woman's voice "Rick!"

"I am ok Paula." How he wished that it had been Kate

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…. It must have been the Indian food."

"All right… if you are sure"

Castle heard Paula pad down the hall. He got up and washed his face and moved to look out at the Chicago Skyline. Each city seemed to have its own unique configuration, so each skyline was different. He missed the view of the New York skyline that he had from his office. He missed New York, but mostly he missed Alexis and Kate. He picked up his phone and texted Kate

He glanced at his watch and pondered his nightmare. It wasn't the one he had been plagued with since the shooting. A dream he had thought he had shaken before the book tour. He caught himself rubbing his scar. Normally Rick shook off his dreams fairly well, except that other one. But there was something that felt different about this one. Rick's imagination was his gift and his curse, so a normal nightmare could take on ominous tones.

He Texted Kate. She was asleep, he knew. The time difference was only an hour. He just couldn't help feeling anxious. He texted Kate again. The pit of his stomach sank. He just knew something was wrong. He couldn't help himself, he called kate.

"Beckett." came the familiar voice

"Kate," Rick sighed with relief. "I'm sorry I know it's late, but I just had to call…."

A/N): Ok readers what do you think? Are you interested? Do I continue? Let me know your thoughts. Yeah it is kind of a cross between Stephen King and a Bergman film but it was fun… Wasn't it?