A/N: Is anyone reading this? Please review I'm starved for feedback lol :)!

Disclaimer: Again, neither Castle or the show Twice in a Lifetime belong to me. Othneil and Mr. Jones belong to Twice in a Lifetime as well.


When Kate opened up her eyes a harsh, bright light assaulted her senses. Kate blinked quickly to stave off the offensive glare, grateful that after a few

moments the source of the light seemed to dim, allowing her to catalog her surroundings. She was standing in what appeared to be the hallway of an

empty courthouse; although it couldn't have been any in New York City because it was too clean, and Kate had never seen a public courthouse deserted

before. Before she had a chance to figure out how she had ended up here the heavy oak doors of one of the courtrooms opened slowly and out came a

man dressed in a suit and tie. Average height and build with dark hair, of indeterminable age, he was entirely unremarkable in any way. "The judge will

see you now" he told her, holding the door open, and seeing no other alternative Kate followed him through the door, hoping someone would tell her

what in the world was going on.

The judge who presided over the empty courtroom was unfamiliar to Kate as well; with his stark white hair and thick glasses she would have guessed he

was long passed the age of retirement, yet when he looked down at her his blue eyes revealed the keen intelligence of a man fully in control of his

mental facilities. Kate and the man that had escorted her into the courtroom stopped in front of the judge's bench and waited as the judge stared at

Kate, his penetrating gaze making her feel as if he was examining her very soul. Finally the judge turned his gaze from Kate to her escort. " You may

proceed Mr. Jones."

Mr. Jones cleared his throat. "Honorable Judge Othniel may I present my client Katherine Beckett. She is here to stand judgment and receive her final

sentence."

At this statment Kate couldn't help but interject "Wait a minute! Judgment for what? I haven't committed a crime. What's going on here?"

Mr. Jones turned toward her. "You are here Katherine Beckett to face judgment for your life. Judge Othniel will to determine your fate. Your eternal fate."

"My eternal fate?" Kate asked incredulously. "But that would mean….am I dead?"

"Yes I am afraid you are" Mr. Jones replied.

Kate wanted to respond, wanted to deny this terrible claim, but then all at once her memories came back to her…the sound of a gunshot, the blinding

pain, the cold ground beneath her, and Castle's profession of love. "How…how long?" she whispered.

"A second, an hour, a millennia, it's all the same," Judge Othniel answered. "Time doesn't pass the same here as it does on Earth. I can tell you that on

Earth, barely a minute has passed since your spirit has vacated your body. It makes you a very special case, Katherine Beckett, very special indeed.

Which is why we must begin at once. Please proceed, Mr. Jones."

"Your honor, I profess that one, Katherine Beckett, has lived her life thus far with honor and dignity, to the best of her ability. She has taken great

personal tragedy and transformed it into a measure of strength, working tirelessly each and every day as a public servant, keeping others safe. I argue

that she has performed her duty to the fullest extent, and is deserving of her eternal reward."

"You make a valid point, Mr. Jones. However, while Ms. Beckett has lived an exemplary professional life, her personal life leaves a lot to be desired for.

Failed relationships and very few emotional attachments are what you are leaving behind Ms. Beckett. While you were alive you hid behind a wall, afraid

of living and the pain that it might cause. You stifled your capacity to love." Judge Othneil lectured a stunned Kate. "This cannot be overlooked"

Mr. Jones interceded, "yes your honor, but how can we count that against my client? To lose a parent so young, and in such a violent way can only be

expected to have such a deep emotional impact. And if we are to examine my client's last three years on Earth we will see what amazing progress she

has made in that time. How can we determine how much her ability to love and open up her heart could have changed if she had been granted more

time?"

"And now we arrive at the crux of the issue. What could have been; what should have been. Questions that make all the difference, don't you agree Ms.

Beckett?

Startled, Kate couldn't think to form a response. "I'm..I'm not sure what you mean your honor" she hedged. "I know that I'm not the most open person;

that I've allowed my mother's murder to influence me. I've let it drive me to be the best cop that I can be, but I've also used it as an excuse….an excuse

not to open my heart to others, to keep everyone at a distance. It's just that after losing my mother I don't think I could go through that again. To allow

someone all the way into my heart just to lose them again…I don't think I'm strong enough to survive that." Kate ducked her head shamefully.

"My child, you would be surprised what the heart can survive" Judge Othniel replied. "What say you, Mr. Jones?"

"I believe that my client has said all that needs to be said. Had it not been for her mother's murder her life would have taken a very different path, one

that would have allowed her to open up her heart to others."

"Yes, I do believe that is the case. Although different does not all way mean better, don't you agree Mr. Jones? That leads us to your sentence, Katherine

Beckett. Under ordinary circumstances the men and women I see in my courtroom are given two choices. However, in death as in life you are

extraordinary, Katherine Beckett. You have done your duty, you have kept people safe, brought closure to those who need it, and for those works, if you

wish it, you may receive your eternal reward and enter the gates of Heaven. However, there is still much more work for you to do on Earth and if you

decide that your time is not yet up, that there is still more for you to do you may return to your Earthly body to continue to live out the rest of your days."

At this pronouncement Kate was stunned. She had believed Mr. Jones when he said that she was dead, that there was no longer any hope, and

although she certainly hadn't had any time yet to process this fact, let alone accept it, she had certainly not been expecting to be given a chance to

return to her life. This would be her chance to become a better person: a better cop, a better daughter, a better friend. She would get a chance to go

back and tell Castle that she loved him too...she wouldn't have to leave him alone with his guilt. And yet…. "you said that you normally give people two

choices..are these them? What makes me extraordinary?"

"You are extraordinary Ms. Beckett, because you are being granted a third option; orders that have come straight from the top! If you choose, instead of

going back to your life as it is now, or going forward to your afterlife, you will be given the chance to go back into your past and prevent the one event

that forever altered the course of your life." Judge Othniel decreed.

For a minute Kate was unable to process what was being offered to her. But then her brain caught up and an almost suffocating feeling of hope rose in

her chest "Do you mean that I can go back and save my Mom?" she whispered, scarcely daring to allow herself to hope.

"Yes I do." Judge Othniel replied. Kate could hardly breathe. "That's all I've ever wanted to do. To have my mom back…oh please let me save her," Kate

begged, unable to keep the hide her desperation.

"The choice is yours to make and yours alone." Judge Othniel declared. "However" he cautioned "it will not be an easy decision, nor should it be taken

lightly. For everything that is gained something is lost. You will be given three visions, and three visions only, to help guide you in your choice. You are a

free agent in the universe, go with the blessing of God Almighty and his court…" and with a bang of his gavel the floor gave way beneath Kate's feet and

everything once again went dark.


When Kate woke up she was surrounded by darkness. The hard wooden pillow beneath her head seemed vaguely familiar, until the tentacles of sleep

released their hold on her consciousness and she realized the "wooden" pillow was merely the hard surface of her desk. The familiar shapes of the

empty precinct materialized in the hazy glow from the emergency lights, and coupled with the taste of stale coffee clinging to her tongue led Kate to the

conclusion that she had worked into the night and once again had fallen asleep at her desk. Wiping the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes, Kate looked

around to see if she could catch a glimpse of a clock, and instead noticed the glow of a light emanating from Montgomery's office, and Montgomery

himself sitting at his desk going over paperwork. For a minute Kate stared uncomprehending at the familiar form of her Captain, until a crashing wave of

relief engulfed her. It was all a dream! Lockwood's escape, Montgomery's death, the sniper at the cemetery, even the bizarre supernatural trial. With a

relieved laugh Kate bereted herself for working too hard and allowing her psyche to manufacture such bizarre fiction. Perhaps she really had been

around Castle for too long...his zany ideas was starting to rub off on her!

Slowly Kate started gathering her things to go home, when Montgomery appeared at the threshold of his office. "Now Beckett, what have I told you

about working till all hours of the night," he bereted her in his refreshingly familiar baritone.

"Sorry Sir, I must have fallen asleep." She replied sheepishly. "I was just about to head out. What about you, Sir? You're never here past 6."

"Well, I had some unfinished business here tonight" Montgomery said. "But I'm almost done now. Why don't you sit down." Kate sat back in her chair as

Montgomery leaned against her desk, silently offering her the silver flask that he normally kept in his right hand desk drawer. Kate took a sip, winching

as the whiskey burned its way down her throat. "You know Kate, I've been the Captain of this precinct for a very long time. Longer than my wife would

have liked, that's for sure," He chuckled, taking his own sip of whiskey. "That's why I promised her I would retire. Course I've been saying it for years

now, so it isn't a surprise no one believes me."

"Are you saying that you really are going to retire, Sir?" Kate wondered, trying to picture the precinct without Montgomery and winching when images

from her nightmare ran across her mind.

Montgomery shook his head. "Don't think I'd ever be able to say goodbye. This precinct is my home, and every cop who's gone through the twelfth is my

family. I don't think I would ever have been able to retire knowing that there was still work to be done, and sins to atone for."

Kate looked up sharply. "Sir?"

"You can drop the Sir, Kate. We are off duty. Have been for quite a while" Montgomery to another long sip of whiskey. "You know Kate, when I first laid

eyes on you in that record room I knew you'd make one hell of a cop. That tenacity, that passion for justice drove you to look deeper, push harder, and

to be better than any cop I've ever known. I've tried to teach you everything I know, but you surpassed me long ago. I know that it was your mother's

murder that has made you into the cop you are today. As terrible as it was, losing your mother, never having the answers that you needed, that is

precisely what has made you such a damn fine cop. It's because you know what it's like to not have answers, and you'll be damned if you'll leave any

one of your victim's families with the same questions you have. No one else cares as much as you. Not even Espositio and Ryan. That's your strength. But

it can also be your downfall. Don't let your drive get in the way of your life. Don't put everything on hold to solve the case. You deserve to have a little

fun. To live."

Kate sighed. "I know Capt'n. And I'm trying. I just get caught up sometimes. But I am going to work harder on letting go. Particularly when it

comes to leaving on time." She laughed. "Although I guess tonight we're in the same boat, right?"

Montgomery didn't smile. "You know it's not your fault, Kate" he said, grabbing her hand.

"What do you mean," Kate asked in confusion. "What's not my fault?"

"My death."

Kate's eyes widened and her heart dropped into her stomach. "No…no that was just a dream!" She whispered in horror.

Montgomery shook his head sadly. "No Kate, I'm afraid it wasn't. Everything was real. I'm dead. And so are you."

TBC...