A/N: This is a oneshot that takes place right after 6x09 "Disciple" - if you have not watched it, please back off until you have! I am warning you!
For the others, enjoy! :) And for those who were wondering, the song is "We'll meet again" by Vera Lynn.
I fixed some minor mistakes in the meantime.
We'll meet again
don't know where
don't know when
But I know
we'll meet again
some sunny day.
Keep smiling through
Just like you
always do
'till the blue skies
drive the dark clouds
far away.
The expression on her face is unreadable to him and this even though he has known her for five years. As they are standing in his loft, his spacious living room, the room which now gives Linus his habitat, as they standing there, their gazes interlock with one another, her face is unreadable to him.
He knows it mirrors at least one emotion he feels himself: shock.
He had hoped to be wrong, genuinely hoped to be wrong with his deeply rooted hunch that Jerry Tyson either isn't dead or simply a very sophisticated accomplice. The fact that all evidence pointed to both is too much to comprehend. So he stares. As does Kate.
But there is more, he has never seen the expression on her face before and it cannot be described with shock alone. What she looks like, the way her lips tremble and her eyes slowly fill with moisture, none of this really covers the momentousness that this information presents for them. Had he only suspected that 3XK was indeed alive, the note of him and / or Kelly wishing them "better luck next time" would have been proof enough. But this ... this is precisely the kind of low blow Jerry would be going for.
We'll meet again
don't know where
don't know when
But I know
we'll meet again
some sunny day.
Keep smiling through
Just like you
always do
'till the blue skies
drive the dark clouds
far away.
"Cas..." Kate gasps, still trying to decipher the meaning behind all the recent events. Unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a coherent sentence, she still just looks. Stares. Into nowhere. Into the future that has suddenly turned more dangerous.
"I know," Castle replies softly and the meaning of the lyrics is replaced by more imminent questions. Who will 3XK be going after next? Will it be Gates? Or worse, will it be them? What are they supposed to do? How are they going to find someone that doesn't want to be found?
"Castle," Kate starts again, this time she also manages to rip her gaze from his face as she starts to pace around the living room.
"Yeah, I know. Sucks to be right," Castle says dryly in an attempt to lighten their creeped out and frightened mood.
"Couldn't agree more," Kate says sarcastically and shoots him a look that says what she voices next, "what do we do now?"
"I for once have no idea," he says, his tone desperate and unsure. How did one stop a serial killer that could have changed his appearance, his location and his history, let alone his MO?
"Me neither," she replies and sounds as desperate as he does. She isn't able to stop herself from pacing around the room, feels like it is the only thing that is keeping her from going insane. All this time she had doubted her partner's instinct, his connection to 3XK and that knowledge is bothering her now. She should have trusted the workings of his mind, should have known that someone as ruthless as Jerry Tyson would do almost anything to have a fresh start again. And how he could in fact have that. Because they hadn't paid attention. She is sure that this is almost the thing that pisses her off the most. He got away. Again. And this Kelly Nieman persona ... If she really is his accomplice then the serial killer had gotten even more dangerous. If that is even possible.
Mere moments ago he had still been convinced that the triple killer was dead. Now, not so much.
"I don't know what this is all about Kate," Castle says, his voice barely a whisper, "but I can tell you one thing for sure, it cannot be good."
"I agree," she stops pacing and looks at him again," what do we do now?"
We'll meet again
don't know where
don't know when
But I know
we'll meet again
some sunny day.
Keep smiling through
Just like you
always do
'till the blue skies
drive the dark clouds
far away.
"There aren't too many possibilities as I see it, Kate. We gotta be sure he is out there and what does this silly song prove anyways?" He closes the distance to his computer, annoyed by the song that is still playing in the background and furiously hits the button to end it. At the third attempt, the loud clatter of the key finishes the song mid-sentence and Castle sighs out in relief.
"The song doesn't prove anything, Kate. It does for us but it won't do for the authorities that will have to declare him alive again. He has played his cards well, I give him that."
"He did," she confirmes and folds her arms in front of her body. She is scared even though she doesn't want to show.
"I guess the only thing we can do is not to let this get to us," Castle states and makes a few steps towards his fiancée, seeing the first signs of her protest he adds, "and I know how hard that is. This one really hit home. We lost a lot of material on him, but we've had cases, we've had suspects where we had less we could work with. We will make it work next time. We have gotten smarter, faster, he thinks that he outwitted us. But he hasn't. We will have a shot at catching the bastard, Kate, he is too tempted by us. We attract him, we have for a long time. He will be back. And if he indeed is dead, Kelly will be. If she is, as you said, keeping his legacy alive, she'll be around sooner or later. All we have to do is to be prepared."
"But how can we ever be prepared, Rick?" she asks, the use of his first name a clear indication of how frightened she really is.
"We have to be ourselves. And figure it out. Figure it all out before they get too many steps ahead."
"But where do we even start looking?" She asks, desperate for his input.
"If this is his doing or his legacy then the song," Castle gestures toward his laptop, "is where we start. And if this is the case, we better avoid sunny days."
Thoughts?