Thank you to all you guys. You guys really make me smile. So here's the long anticipated next chapter. Hope it goes well!
Castle's day got off to a deceptingly good start.
For starters, he woke up to the sound of a blender whirring and the quiet voices of two very familiar voices. His eyes shot open and he skittered out of his bedroom door to see his daughter and mother stop mid-conversation to smile at him.
"You're back!" Castle pulled Alexis toward him in a bone crushing hug. Dressed in a light tee and sweatpants, it was like she had never left. The mess in the kitchen almost confirmed it. "When did you arrive? I didn't even hear you!"
"Hi, dad." Alexis looked up happily at her father's face, crushed against his robe. "We got back last night around one in the morning last night. We didn't want to wake you so we kept quiet."
"You should've woken me." Castle released her and moved on to his mother, pecking her on the cheek. Martha looked even more radiant than usual, dressed in a leopard print suit with a wild amount of jewelry. Martha patted his cheek fondly and then looked around the loft.
"How are you, my dear? I see the house isn't in shambles which is always good news."
"Very funny, mother." Castle gave her a derisive smile. First day back and already a comedian. Life was officially back to normal.
Alexis grabbed a Pop-tart from the toaster and bit into it, strawberry jelled crumbs spraying out as she tried to talk and swallow at the same time. "So how was your book tour, Dad? We tried to return on the same day as your tour ended but we kind of got caught up."
Castle looked at them with interest. "Oh? Caught up, how?"
Alexis lowered her voice in a stage whisper and put her hand up by her mouth as if to tell him a confidential secret. "Grandma… wait for it… met a guy."
"No!" Castle gasped dramatically, placing a hand to his heart. "I would never have guessed!"
"Really," Martha rolled her almond shaped eyes at them. "He was very handsome. Reminded me of Hugh Grant. And smart, too. He could recite all the great works of Shakespeare, plus all the lines from Les Miserables, which is a Broadway play I absolutely adore."
Alexis grinned widely. "He was the orientation guy from Yale. He was simply charmed by Grandma."
"And I, too, was placed under his spell." Martha sighed in the theatrical way that was now second nature. The other two in the room stifled laughs.
"So how about you, daughter? Gain any world class knowledge about navigating the world of college essays and dorm rooms?" Castle plopped down into a kitchen stool and stole a piece of Alexis' Pop-tart.
The red head sighed in dismay. "It's so complicated. There's so many things I have to do." She shook her head in exasperation. "I'm going to be so busy this year."
"Just remember," Castle picked up her dishes and placed them in the sink. "Enjoy senior year. Knowing you, you'll probably study the year away."
"I'll try to go to more frat parties and get blow off tests more often, Dad." Alexis smirked.
Castle smirked back. "That's my girl."
Martha poured out a glass of a thick, dark green drink made out of a variety of fruits and vegetables she had just blended together, and pushed it towards him. "Drink up."
He stared at the glass. He could see a bit of spinach that hadn't been completely ground up yet hanging on the edge. "Mother, not to offend, but what is that?"
"It's a health drink." She gazed at him reproachfully. "It's supposed to be good for you. Now drink."
"You know what?" Castle began getting out of his seat and making his way back towards his room. "I'm late. I agreed to come in today to help Kate with paperwork and well, look at the time. Sorry, Mother. Another time, maybe."
Martha invoked a well-practiced sigh that was often accompanied when dealing with her son's musings. "Very well. Go. But you and I both know poor Kate will end up doing all the paperwork while you play on your phone."
"You know me too well, Mother." He shot her a mischievous grin and then disappeared into his room, emerging several minutes later, shaved and showered, wearing dark jeans and a royal purple button down.
"How's Detective Beckett anyway?" Alexis asked.
"Fine." Castle said confidently. "We talked yesterday and she's doing fine." He started walking toward the front door.
"Richard," Martha called him back. "Why don't invite Kate over for dinner? If I know her right, I'm guessing she hasn't been eating as well as she should."
"Sure, I'll ask her." Castle said with one hand resting on the door knob. "But she might be too busy."
"Oh, but this will be sort of like a thank-you-for-putting-up-with-my-father-on-a-daily-basis dinner!" Alexis exclaimed with an impish smile.
"Now that I can understand," Martha said under her breath. Castle gave them both a look. Regular comedians.
"Okay, okay, I'll ask her." Castle opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, imagining the look on Kate's face when she would realize how much she means to all of them.
Early morning traffic was always a mess. Taxis blared their horns, construction workers drilled deafening jackhammers into the concrete sidewalks to reach sewer lines, angry pedestrians flipped off anyone who crossed their paths, and throughout the headache-inducing monstrosity that made up Manhattan traffic, steam and the smell of motor oil rose through the grates of the subway.
More often than not, Castle was like the other New Yorkers and busy trying to find holes to squeeze through in the long lines of vehicles or swearing at the insolent business man who managed to cut him. But today, he was more worried about what he was going to say to Kate. He could count on one hand the number of times she had accepted a dinner invitation at his house.
A casual 'Wanna grab a bite to eat after this?' wouldn't work – too relaxed. She would reply that she had paperwork to finish and brush him off. And he couldn't say 'Mother and Alexis wants you to come over because they feel bad that you have to put up with me.' That would only give her more ammo to tease him with. And she already had plenty.
He was still brainstorming when his phone suddenly let out a shrill ring. He made a vague swiping motion at it with one hand while swerving to avoid an incoming delivery truck.
He fumbled it before finally tucking it under the shell of his ear. "Castle."
"Hello, Mr. Castle." The voice was high and eager, the voice of an excited rookie that resonated on the line.
He bit back a sigh. He didn't recognize the voice but he had received his share of prank calls before. It was probably a journalist from some obscure newspaper seeking a sound bit. He didn't have time to answer questions about Nikki Heat right now. "My publicist receives any questions about my personal and professional life. Her number is –"
"Be quiet." The voice was suddenly changed, deep and authoritative, the voice he imagined belonging to a dictator or a military general. Definitely not a rookie journalist. What the hell? "Mr. Castle, I'm going to tell you something and I want you to listen very carefully. It's about Kate."
Castle abruptly sat up in his seat, feeling extremely vulnerable. He was in a car in the middle of New York traffic but he felt eyes on him at that moment. He swallowed with some difficulty, his mouth felt dry and desiccated. "Are you going to me your name?"
"Cole Maddox."
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't. He couldn't perform the simple act of drawing air into his lungs because this couldn't be Kate's shooter. This couldn't be the person who was responsible for almost killing his partner. This couldn't be happening.
When Castle failed to form a coherent response, Maddox's voice grew mocking. "Oh, please, Mr. Castle. Take your time. It's not like this is our only time to talk."
His voice returned, fueled by sudden anger and the need for retribution. If Maddox was contacting him in such a blatant and arrogant manner, it must be important. The sniper was too smart to risk capture for a just a snide remark. "Why are you calling me?"
"I'm afraid Ms. Beckett will refuse to heed my warning, even after I warned her in person." His voice became silky again. "Tell her that if she doesn't call off this foolish investigation of hers – in a public manner, I might add – I will personally kill each and every one of her friends and family."
Castle sucked in a quick breath, pretending to misunderstand. "What investigation?"
He knew that technically the case of Kate's sniper case - the case Maddox was referring to - was still active and that Kate worked on it whenever she had time, but when was the last time he had seen Kate looking through that file? He suddenly realized that Kate hadn't picked up even her mother's file in weeks – a strange contrast to her usual workaholic routine.
Maddox snorted with derision. "The one where the NYPD is searching for me with the passion of an 18th century witch hunt. That investigation."
He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again, his mind stumbling over something else the sniper had mentioned. "What do you mean, you warned her in person? When did you last see her?"
Maddox laughed, a horrible grating sound because he seemed to be relishing in his panic. "Well, I see that she followed my advice, after all. You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?" He had trouble keeping his voice even. What had Kate gotten herself into?
"I just added to her collection of scars, that's all. And I told her that if she ever told anyone what I had done, I will kill the person she's closest to. Apparently, she interpreted it to mean you." He said it in such a nonchalant manner, Castle had to restrain himself from punching in the dashboard. What the hell had that damn sniper done to her now? More important question: Why the hell hadn't she told him?
Castle swerved and took a right, heading north on Central. "Why didn't you just kill her?"
"She wouldn't be of any use to me. If I killed her - and I very well could have - it would just be a senseless act of brutality. A waste of talent, if you will."
"That makes it sound like you have a brain, Maddox. Congratulations." He added softly, the writer in him not being able to resist goading the man. It was childish and most likely dangerous, but this was just a little part of the revenge he would be able to partake in.
Maddox's voice turned deadly calm. "Watch it, Mr. Castle. I've left you alone because my employer has ordered me to but I've been known to break rules now and then."
He swallowed the lump in his throat and focused on his driving, gripping his cellphone even tighter. "And who's your employer?"
"Nice try. Oh, and Mr. Castle? Tell Kate that I'm glad she followed directions. But if she tries to catch me… there will be consequences."
"Like what?" Castle asked softly. He was close to the precinct, less than ten minutes away. He could talk to her then.
Maddox was so silent, he almost feared the man had hung up. Then, "Tell Kate her mom says hi."
Kate was sitting at her desk, surrounded by piles of paperwork. She had arrived here early, intending to get start on the day and was already regretting it. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at the document in front of her. Something about budget cuts and processing new funding. She signed it without even reading through it. She was halfway done with her pile - the rest she'll leave for Ryan and Esposito since they tended to get bored and fidgety if they don't have stacks of files looming over them - when she heard the door of the precinct slam. Hard.
Annoyed, she looked up and brushed her hair out of her eyes to see Castle storming his way to her. At first, she hadn't even recognized him. Every line on his face was drawn taut with worry, and his ocean blue eyes, usually smiling and twinkling, was narrowed into slits. He stood in front of her, his jaw muscles ticking.
Kate stood up, feeling the anxiety and panic radiating off of him like heat waves. "Castle, what -"
He slammed his phone down on his desk with a loud thump. They were starting to attract stares from the beat cops milling around the water cooler. Castle gazed at her, his fists clenched by his sides. "Guess who just called me?"
She had a feeling she wouldn't have to guess long. She was right. "Um, Alexi- "
"Maddox. Cole Maddox."
Oh. Damn. She fought the rising wave of panic that climbed up her throat like bile. "Wh- what did he say?"
He stared at her with an inscrutable expression, his throat muscles working. To think that his biggest problem an hour was how to ask her to dinner. Did he even want to ask her to dinner after this? "He said that he and you met a few weeks ago." His voice softened, stone instead of steel, until she could tell how truly worried he had been for her.
"Kate," he said, his voice impossible soft. "What did he do to you?"
That awkward moment when someone doesn't review...