There's Always a Story
Summary: Warning – Major Character Death. What if Beckett and Castle never met in "Flowers for Your Grave"? What would be the consequences? Definitely AU since of course, they meet in canon and they didn't die in the series.
AN: Okay, so I'm writing another Castle fanfic again. I've used some of the things that happened in Castle and tweaked them just a bit to fit. I've also used some of the words from various episodes (shown in italics) and I've added a couple of fill-in characters. Disclaimer: I don't own Castle - just writing for fun.
Chapter 1 – Exposition
Richard Castle, the mostly world famous mystery writer, checked the time on his watch again before rolling his eyes at Gina again for the umpteenth time in the last 5 minutes. At this point, he'd be lucky to make it to his flight on time.
Gina smiled sweetly as she continued to draw out her speech, obviously enjoying his discomfort.
"What is it about a hard-boiled detective, a femme fatale, and the cold steel of a gun that keeps our bedside lamps burning into the wee hours of the morning? However the spell is cast, tonight we honor a master of the form and celebrate the launch of 'Storm Fall', the stunning conclusion to his best-selling Derrick Storm mystery series. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Master of the Macabre... Rick Castle."
As she finished, the audience burst into applause and Castle walked onto the small platform, putting on his public smile. "Well, there's nothing I can say to top that, so I won't." He lifted his glass of champagne in salute. "Thanks for coming and have a great evening."
Gina smirked at him as he walked over and sat the glass down on the counter next to where she stood.
"You knew I had to leave by 8:30 to make the flight," he hissed under his breath.
"Oh, don't worry – you'll make it in plenty of time," Gina consoled. "Now, be a good boy and say a couple of goodbyes on your way out."
"You're just jealous because you won't be able to ride me any more about my writing," Castle commented drily.
"Riding you is the least of my worries," Gina replied calmly with a smile. "Besides, lending you to the Brits is making Black Pawn, and me, a ton of money. Just try not to tarnish your image too much while you're across the pond."
"My image is perfectly fine," Castle said as as he headed towards the elevator, stopping to shake a few hands along the way.
# # # # # # # # # # #
Detective Kate Beckett pushed the up button for the elevator and then pushed it again, watching as the display showed where the elevator cars were.
"You know, that won't make it come any faster," remarked LT under his breath. At Beckett's eye roll, he smiled slightly but refrained from saying anything else.
So far, they had 2 murders straight out of Richard Castle's earlier books. He wasn't a suspect at this point, but he might be able to give them a viable lead and she was determined to talk to him tonight.
Beckett was slightly annoyed that it had taken several calls to his publisher Black Pawn to find out where he was, which wasted precious time. The receptionist had finally told her that he would be at the book party for the final Derrick Storm book. She was even more annoyed when the receptionist said that it was by invitation only. Well, Beckett had an invitation – her all-access NYPD police badge.
After the doors opened, she and the 2 uniforms quickly walked on the elevator and she pushed the button for the top floor and then waited impatiently for the doors to close.
As the doors closed, the doors to the elevator to the left opened and Castle rushed out to the town car waiting for him.
# # # # # # # # # #
3 years later
Castle wearily opened the door to his loft and plopped his carry-on by the door. "Mother, I'm home!" he called out carefully, checking to see whether or not Martha was at home.
It was mid-morning and, even though the flight from LA had been non-stop, it was crowded and seemed endless; being in first class had not helped.
Not feeling very sociable (almost a first for him), he hadn't even tried to hit on any of the stewardesses and just wanted a shower and long nap before going to the long-anticipated poker game that the mayor was hosting in his honor that night.
Castle almost sighed as he looked around his home. The last 3 years had been exciting, but it was good to be home among familiar surroundings, even if his mother had redecorated slightly, he thought as he looked around. Oh, yeah, that picture would definitely have to go – and was it a picture of…oh, yes, it was definitely going.
Not hearing anyone stirring – Martha may be sleep or, heaven forbid, hadn't made it back from her outing last night – Castle picked up his bag and walked into his bedroom.
His 3-book series for James Bond had been a hit and movie rights for all 3 were in the offing, so Black Pawn and Paula, his book agent, were very happy with him at this point.
Alexis had gone with him to England so he had been fairly well behaved during his trip. During the time they were there, she had completed her high school diploma and now it was time for her to choose a college. He was a little selfish in that he wanted her to go someplace near home and not spend more time across the pond, so he had turned down the opportunity to do 2 more books.
They had celebrated his books and her graduation by taking an extended excursion to New Zealand, with a stop in Hobbiton, and Australia, and had then flown to LA so that Alexis and Meredith could visit. Meredith had finally convinced him to leave Alexis there for a couple of more days so they could have mother-daughter bonding time.
So he found himself at home alone and relished in it as he peeled off his clothes and stepped into his shower.
# # # # # # # # # #
The evening had been relaxing and just what Castle needed to reconnect with old friends. They spent the time swapping money, bragging rights, and stories of their exploits for the last 3 years, with Castle's being a little more self-incriminating since English jurisdiction didn't reach New York, or at least they wouldn't rat on him.
The mayor finally called an end to the evening. "Boys, I hate to break this up, but I've got an early morning and a long day tomorrow," Bob commented after looking at his watch.
Judge Markway nodded, frowning sympathetically. "Yeah, that was sad to hear. I had hoped Detective Beckett would recover."
Castle looked at them curiously as he sat back in his chair. "Sounds serious. What did I miss?"
"It's been a bad couple of weeks for the NYPD," replied Assistant Chief Costales, quirking an eye brow. "Made the national news when it happened."
Bob nodded as he raked in the cards and put them back in the boxes. "Three weeks ago, two of our finest were attacked at the 12th and killed – Captain Roy Montgomery and Detective Kate Beckett."
Castle frowned – Kate Beckett – where did he know that name from?
"Detectives Ryan and Esposito had brought in a suspect for questioning," said Costales. "He didn't put up any resistance at first, but as he was walking by Beckett, he grabbed her and slammed her into the wall and then used her gun to shoot Montgomery. Ryan and Esposito took him out before he could hurt anyone else."
Bob nodded. "Montgomery died on the scene and Beckett suffered major head trauma. We were hopefully there for a while, but then the scans showed no brain activity so her father took her off life support two days ago." He stood up from the table. "Her service is tomorrow."
"Kate Beckett?" Castle asked thoughtfully. "I've heard that name before…oh, the copy-cat killer," he snapped his fingers as he remembered. "She was the lead detective on the case of the killer who was imitating my books a couple of years ago. She came to the book signing party but missed me by a couple of seconds."
"Yeah, it's a shame," said Costales. "She was a damn fine detective and Montgomery wasn't a slouch either. The precinct is taking it hard."
Bob nodded in agreement. He paused for a moment and then looked Castle. "Hmmm, you're between books right now, aren't you, Rick? How would you like to do something for the city?" he fished.
Castle shrugged. "I'm always up for a challenge. What are you thinking?"
"The NYPD hardly gets any good press," Bob replied. "Firemen are heroes, so when a fire fighter dies, everyone remembers forever. But a policeman's death in the line of duty is overshadowed by claims of police brutality." He studied Castle. "So maybe you could write some articles about Montgomery and Beckett – they were good cops and they deserve to be remembered."
Castle thought for a moment and then nodded. "Sure; let me see what I can come up with."
"Great," Bob exclaimed, shaking Castle's hand. "Call Sandra tomorrow and she'll set something up."
# # # # # # # # # # #
The next morning, Castle flipped on the TV to the live stream of Beckett's funeral possession as he sipped his cup of coffee.
Intrigued by commentary on the youngest woman to make detective, he started jotting down notes as he watched the solemn event.
Yeah, he could do this and he would do them justice.
# # # # # # # # # #
AN: So one reviewer of a fanfic story blamed Castle for everything that happened because he looked into Beckett's mother's case. And yes, let's face facts – it was his fault but there wouldn't have been a story if he hadn't. So the plot bunny of what if they never met jumped into my brain. (And yes, I watched the first episode of Brain Dead and I did check my pillow to see if my brain had slipped out.) I think even if Beckett wasn't looking into her mother's death that Bracken would have tied up loose ends – her and Montgomery – at some point to ensure they weren't going to be a problem when he ran for President, hence this story… And there is no LocSat in this story.