I Dream of You
Summary – This has been done before but after reading the spoilers (such as they were which wasn't much) about Castle's father returning in season 6 (yeah, James Brolin), this plot bunny popped into my head. It's probably not going to be more than a couple of chapters but sometimes these stories take on a life of their own so you never know.
All names of cities are made up.
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle. ABC and Marlowe do. Just writing for fun.
# # # # # # # # #
Chapter 2 – Revelations
Present Day
Gates quickly ushered them into her office, away from prying eyes, and closed the blinds.
"Now, Mr. Castle," she said, perching on the corner of her desk. "Would you care to explain where you've been?"
"Muscovia in Russia," Castle said, holding a cup of coffee between his hands, savoring the warmth and the smell, Kate sitting next to him, her hand on his knee. "I think we were near Muscovia."
"How on earth did you get there?" exclaimed Espo.
He looked around for his father and shrugged before continuing. "You remember the tattooed Russians?"
"From the poker game?" asked Kate.
"Yeah," replied Castle. "It seems I made his wife cry when I killed off Derek Storm and no one makes his wife cry."
# # # # # # # # #
3-1/2 Months Ago
Castle put his overnight bag in the compartment above him and settled down for the flight back home. He had already texted Beckett several times to let him know he's be back and, after this unexpected trip, that his number one priority now would be her – a wedding venue, wedding cake, whatever she wanted.
"Mr. Castle," said Jacinda, smiling at him. "Is there anything else you need before take off?"
"No," said Castle, shaking his head, smiling back. "And it's still Rick."
"Just let me know if you need anything," Jacinda said, preparing for take off.
Take off went smoothly; Jacinda brought him a Scotch shortly after the seatbelt sign turned off; and he spent his time reading a manuscript that Gina had given him and threatened all sorts of bodily injury if he didn't finish by the time he got back to NY.
Castle quickly finished it – it wasn't such a bad read after all, nothing spectacular, but pleasant – and stretched, then got up to use the facilities.
Both of the first class facilities were in use, so he went to the economy section, quickly finished, and started back to his seat. There was a slight bump and he quickly grabbed the back of a seat beside him.
"Sorry," he apologized to the man sitting there.
"Eh, just a little turbulence," replied the man.
As Castle was straightening up, he felt a sting on his hand and quickly shook it, noticing a slight mark. He frowned and started to walk forward only to become dizzy. He sat down in an empty seat with a slight huff and then watched as the cabin turned dark around him.
"Time to wake up, Mr. Castle," said the Russian accented voice as Castle blinked his eyes, bringing both hands up to rub his eyes.
"Huh – what – where?" he said and then coughed slightly to clear his throat.
"You're my guest for the time being," the voice continued.
Castle squinted at the man, trying to place him.
"I told you that I loved Derek Storm and my wife loved him too. You made her cry when you killed him off and no one makes my wife cry."
"I'm sorry?" said Castle.
"So, here's the deal. You will write a story that brings him back and I let you go," the man said.
"I write and you'll let me go?" Castle asked.
"Yes, that is what I said. You make my wife happy and I'll personally deliver you to the American embassy in Moscow. Her name is Pola – you might use that for one of your better characters." He looked at Castle. "Deal?"
"You're holding me captive and you expect me to write?" said Castle in disbelief.
"No, you're free to go. But where will you go? The nearest town is 75 kilometers away and it's freezing outside. And then there are the wild dogs. You had better luck at the poker game," the man said, shrugging. "Your choice."
"So where do I work?" said Castle, looking around.
"Here – in this room. There's everything that you need – laptop, printer, paper. Anything you want, you just have to ask."
"I want to go home," Castle responded.
"Then I suggest you get busy."
"And you seriously think you can get away with this?" Castle asked.
"Of course, I can. I'm a Russian mobster. Who is going to mess with me?"
# # # # # # # # #
Present Day
Castle took a sip of coffee and looked around.
"And that would have been his 2nd in command, Demetri. Seems he didn't like being in his boss' shadow and staged a coupe a couple of weeks later with the help of the local police."
# # # # # # # # #
2-1/2 Months Ago
Castle had never written so fast and furiously in his life. He wasn't sure it was publishable, as wildly improbable as it was, but the pages appeased Pola and that was what mattered. He would be finished in a couple of days and then hoped that the mobster would hold up his end of the bargain.
He was so involved in the scene he was writing that he didn't realize the explosions and gun fire he heard in his head were real until the room he was in shook slightly and the lights blinked, bringing him out of the zone.
"What?" Castle said as he heard more explosions outside and gunfire coming closer.
He walked to the door and cautiously opened it, listening to the silence before creeping down the hall, hugging the side of it, to see what was going on.
He had almost gotten to the end of the hall when he heard booted footsteps running up the stairs at the end of the hall and turned to race back into the room. He had only made it half way back when the figure dressed in black reached the landing and fired at him.
The first bullet hit him in the thigh and spun him around, the second bullet grazing his forehead as he dropped to the ground, stunned.
The man ran up to him, roughing rolling him on his back and yelled at him in Russian.
Castle put his hands up, saying the one phrase that some of the guards had taught him, thinking that it was "I don't speak Russian."
The man quickly brought the butt of his gun down on his head and Castle felt his world go back.
# # # # # # # # #
Present Day
"So when did you figure out that the phrase really didn't mean what you thought it meant," asked Beckett.
"At the hospital," said Castle. "When a nurse slapped me."
He looked at the faces around him. "And I also didn't know that my fa – that Feds had figured out what had happened and were looking for me. They were going to stage a rescue when the coupe happened."
# # # # # # # # #
2-1/2 Months Ago
Hunt checked his GPS one last time and then drove the utility vehicle he had acquired in the direction indicated.
He had just finished a case two weeks ago and was relaxing over a cup of coffee when he saw the article about the unexplainable disappearance of Richard Castle.
Hunt had called in several favors and it had taken another two weeks to actually find where they were holding Castle before he could make his move.
Imagine his surprise when he crested the top of the ridge and saw the battle in the compound between the mobster's force and the local police.
Hunt swore and pulled back, parking the vehicle where it couldn't be seen, and then climbed back to the top of the ridge to watch what happened.
The war was quickly over, won by the local police who outnumbered and outgunned the mobster's force.
Hunt pulled out binoculars and searched the yard as the police brought out the bodies. It took an hour before they finally carried Castle out of the house, plopping him roughly down on the ground.
The writer was quickly checked by a doctor, who waved the medics over. They loaded him onto a stretcher and then put it in an ambulance with several other survivors.
Hunt swore again and backed down the hill. This was going to be more complicated than he thought.
# # # # # # # # #
Present Day
"So they took me to the local hospital and did surgery to patch me up," said Castle. "But when they intubated me, they nicked one of my vocal cords, so I couldn't talk for about two months. They didn't know who I was and no one could read English. Apparently they thought I was crazy."
"Bro – you not being able to talk," said Espo. "That must have been hard."
"Yeah, it wasn't easy," said Castle. "So they got me out of the hospital and then we wound up back here, although I'm not quite sure how."
"And that is not open to speculation," said CIA Operative Martin Danberg as he walked into the room. "Mr. Castle, it's good to see you back on US soil."
"It's good to be back."
"I'm sure all of you know that this incident is highly classified. We've fixed the security breach that allowed Mr. Castle to be removed from the plane and we'll come up with an appropriate cover story that explains your disappearance, but if we see any of this in a book, you will be spending the rest of your life in jail," Martin said pleasantly.
Castle shook his head. "No one would believe it anyway."
"As long as we have an understanding," Martin stressed.
"We do," said Castle.
# # # # # # # # #
Present Day
After Danberg left, Martha and Alexis arrived, and the reunion had both tears and laughter.
Castle finally declared a stop to it when he said he was famished and they stopped by Remi's on the way home for a cheeseburger.
He hadn't eaten much though, claiming that he had lost his taste for food because of the bland food he had been eating for the last couple of months.
Castle feigned a headache when they had gotten home and given Beckett a chaste kiss before they both slid into bed.
It was several hours later when Beckett woke up to the sound of the shower running in the bathroom and smiled before going to back sleep. Danberg had assured Castle that he had been checked for "varmits" after they got back and he didn't have any, but Castle still seemed jittery all night.
When she woke up again an hour later, the shower was still running. Beckett quickly got up and walked to the closed bathroom door, knowing that the hot water wouldn't have lasted this long. She tried the door, only to find it locked, and frowned. Castle never locked the bathroom door.
She reached above the door and found the pin that Castle kept up there ever since Alexis had locked herself in the bathroom when she was little.
Beckett quickly popped the lock and slowly opened the door. "Castle?" she said softly, looking inside. What she saw shocked her and she quickly rushed in the room.
Castle lay on the floor, curled into a tight ball, shivering uncontrollably, pressing a washcloth to his mouth to stifle the sounds coming out.
"Rick," Beckett said softly, kneeling next to him, gently touching him, stroking his arm. "It's okay – you're okay – you're home," she repeated over and over again.
Her litany finally reached him, calming him enough that she could get him to sit up against the cabinets.
"Take a deep breath," she said, holding a hand to his chest, feeling the hammering of his heart. "Just breathe," she continued watching his pale face as he leaned his head back again the cabinets. "And breathe. It's okay, you're home."
She continued talking as they sat there for a while, Castle slowly calming down until he opened his eyes and smiled tiredly at Beckett.
"Sorry," he whispered hoarsely.
"No," said Beckett, shaking her head, gently stroking his sweaty face. "It's understandable after what you've been through." She thought a minute. "Do you want me to make an appointment with Dr. Burke?"
Castle laughed slightly. "And wind up in jail for life? No, he can't help," Castle said, shaking his head.
"Then tell me," said Beckett.
Castle leaned his head back against the cabinet and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at Beckett. He took a deep breath. "I lied at the precinct," he said simply, a tear running down his cheek. "My father wasn't sent to rescue me – he was sent to kill me. And I think I killed someone."
# # # # # # # # #