Authors Note: As a mental health therapist, I used to watch Castle and be amazed at how much the writers understood the depth of character in people, both good and bad. But season 8 to me has been a host of ridiculous "They wouldn't really do that would they?" and yet they do and keep doing. So, because of that I decided to write a series of stories about all the really ridiculous ways that they could eliminate Kate Beckett. If you don't like sarcasm, this fic may not be for you.
"Kelly Nieman? You are supposed to be dead," Castle cried as the woman pulled him into the storage closet.
"Castle, it's me." She said, a softness falling over her face that Castle had never seen on the serial killer before.
Castle knew he was in trouble if he didn't get out of there. What if she had a weapon? He had to get to Kate in order to keep her safe. He wondered if he could hit this woman over the head with a broom. Just as he grabbed for it, the woman put her hands in his, intertwining their fingers.
"I know this will be hard to believe, but if anyone can believe it, you can." The woman locked her gaze with his. "I'm Kate."
"Kate, who?" Castle said, pulling their hands apart. "My wife? I don't think so."
"Listen to me, Castle. Kelly Nieman didn't die that night. She switched our faces. She had me locked in a basement all of this time. The bloody corpse wasn't Kelly Nieman, it was someone else. Someone that she had prepared before that."
Castle couldn't believe what this woman was telling him. It didn't make any sense. If his Kate was out there, she would find him at any cost. "Why didn't you look for me?"
"I couldn't escape. I tried so many ways to escape but couldn't. She would show me video of you two together. The hardest thing I ever had to watch was the video of your broken heart after she left you. Castle, you have to know, I would never ever leave you. Not for a quest, not for anything." The woman's face was filled with longing.
As Castle's eyes wandered over this woman, he wondered if she was telling the truth. After all, his Kate had done so many weird things this year. He knew his wife would never leave him, and then she left him anyway. It also had seemed odd that she liked different foods and different…positions. The bile rose up in this throat as it occurred to him what he had done with Kelly Nieman, if in fact this woman was telling the truth. He had to know for sure.
"Tell me something only you know about me, if you want me to believe this." Castle said, giving the woman an accusatory look.
"On our last Hamptons weekend, you kept saying the word, "Geronimo" in your sleep. I teased you about it all weekend."
"What? No one knows that. Kate…it is you. What do we do about that other woman pretending to be you?" Castle asked, knowing he would never be able to convince Ryan and Esposito of this.
"There are things about Ryan and Esposito that I only know as well. We can convince them." The woman who Castle now realized was his wife, said as she linked their hands again.
So they did, and the woman that appeared to be Kate Beckett was placed in jail for life. Castle was so happy to have his wife back, he would just have to get used to her serial killer appearance. At least he knew that eventually the desire to flinch when she walked in the room would dissipate and for that, he was grateful.