A/N: Well, here it is...the chapter you've all been waiting for. All thanks and praise go to the wonderful DMarx who not only gave me the inspiration to finally get this chapter done, but beta'd it as well. I hope it meets your expectations...
DISCLAIMER: Oprah Winfrey belongs to herself. This is the one and only time I've ever tried to write in the voice of a real-life person, and it is *hard*. I hope I've done her at least some semblance of a decent tribute...but if I didn't, please don't hesitate to let me know...
"Richard Castle, right?" asked Oprah. She held out her hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Oprah..."
"Of course, of course," Castle cut her off with a smile as he shook Oprah's hand with his free one. "Please, call me Rick."
"Rick," Oprah repeated with a smile as she entered the apartment. She then focused on the woman holding Castle's other hand. "You're Kate Beckett, right? The NYPD detective who inspired Nikki Heat?"
Beckett blushed, as she often did at comments about being the inspiration for Nikki Heat. "Yeah...that's me," she replied as she shook Oprah's hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Detective," Oprah greeted her. She noticed the other woman's clear hesitation. "I know this is nerve-wracking, Detective..."
"Call me Kate," Beckett countered.
"Kate," Oprah repeated, slowly approaching the woman she was there to interview. "Try to relax, Kate. This isn't live; there's no one here you need to pay attention to besides me and Rick. Just tell me your story. That's what I'm here for."
Beckett studied the woman in front of her. It was clear to her how Oprah had become the trusted source the world had come to know and love. The woman had been in the house less than five minutes and already Beckett knew she liked her. "Would you like a cup of coffee, Ms. Winfrey?"
"Call me Oprah," Oprah replied. "And yes, I'd love a cup." The trio went to the kitchen, where Oprah smiled in appreciation of Castle's earlier handiwork. "Someone likes to cook like a Southerner..."
"That would be me," Castle admitted, blushing. "I...I cook when I'm nervous."
Beckett turned a surprised eyebrow to her boyfriend. "Really? You cooked all this?"
Castle didn't get the chance to answer. "Rachael Ray cooks when she's nervous, too," Oprah commented, trying to reassure the couple. "Of course, she cooks when she's feeling just about any emotion. It's a wonder that woman isn't 400 pounds..." She let out a small chuckle at her own joke, which Castle and Beckett soon joined in on. This seemed to give Oprah a moment of inspiration. "Hey," she suggested, "my team thought we should do the interview on the couch, but if it would make you more comfortable, we could all grab plates and sit down at the dining room table..."
Beckett and Castle readily agreed to the idea. The on-site producer had to resist his urge to roll his eyes in front of the boss. "You heard the woman," he announced to the room, "let's make it happen!"
As the room erupted in controlled chaos trying to follow their boss' suggestion, Castle went to grab plates for himself and the two women. They dished up full plates of food, and Beckett took Castle's plate to the table while Castle pulled out three coffee mugs. "Oprah, how do you take your coffee?"
"Milk, little bit of sugar," replied Oprah. "Thanks, Rick."
Castle brought three mugs to the table, setting Beckett's down in front of her first. Oprah noticed the action immediately. "He knows how you take your coffee, Kate?"
Beckett tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she blushed. "He's brought me my coffee every morning for years now. It's kind of become our thing."
"Really?" Oprah exclaimed, raising a curious eyebrow. "And how long has that been?"
"A little over four years," Castle replied with a loving smile in his girlfriend's direction.
Oprah's eyes widened at the number Castle quoted her. She quickly realized that there was more of a story between Richard Castle and Kate Beckett than what her producers had told her...Oprah quickly pulled out her phone, dialing a number while the couple watched. "Yeah, it's me," she announced to the woman on the other end of the line. "Go ahead and cancel the interviews with Michael Connolly and James Patterson. We can *easily* get an hour out of this thing with Castle. Thanks...bye."
Castle couldn't wipe the smile off of his face as he ate...which Oprah noticed as soon as she got off her phone. "What's with him?" she asked Beckett.
"Castle's a little competitive when it comes to the two authors you just mentioned on the phone," Beckett replied, rolling her eyes with a smirk. "So to know that you find him interesting enough to interview him *instead* of them..." She leaned in the other woman in a conspiratorial whisper, "he may never let them live this down."
Oprah laughed loudly at Beckett's explanation. "Yeah, I'll bet..." She then called out to her producer, "Tom, how soon until we're ready?"
"Just a second..." Tom called out in response as he adjusted one last light to get the right tone to his boss' skin. "Okay, we're ready anytime."
Oprah turned to a second man, ostensibly her director. "Martin? Everything's ready?"
"Yes, ma'am," Martin replied with a nod, "just say the word."
Oprah took a bite of her biscuit before speaking, smiling as she enjoyed the results of Castle's cooking. She swallowed, enjoying the silence in the room before announcing, "All right then, let's get this show on the road." As Martin and the cameramen prepped to start actively filming, Oprah told the couple, "At this point in the show, we'll do a brief overview of Castle's career as a writer and the gossip column about your relationship going public. Don't worry about that; my team will put that together when we edit the footage from today."
Castle and Beckett nodded in acknowledgement as Martin started a silent countdown with his fingers. "5...4...3...2...1..." He then pointed to Oprah in a gesture that Beckett could only assume meant "Action."
"We're here with author Richard Castle to get the story behind the story of his relationship with his girlfriend Kate Beckett, who he has very publicly credited as being the inspiration for his latest iconic character, Nikki Heat. Good morning, Rick, Kate."
"Good morning, Oprah," Castle returned her greeting, turning on the charm for the cameras.
"Let's start at the beginning," declared Oprah. "How'd you two meet?"
Beckett started their story. "In 2009 I was working a case where the victims were being killed in ways that copied three of the murders portrayed in the Derrick Storm novels..."
Castle broke in at that point. "...I had just killed Derrick off in Storm Fall..."
"So," Beckett continued her side of the story, "after the second murder I...brought Castle in for questioning."
Oprah's eyes widened just slightly. "So you arrested him?"
Beckett replied with a sly smile. "Not that time."
"Really?" Oprah was clearly growing more fascinated by the minute. "How many times have you had to arrest him?"
"Four times," replied Beckett, a ghost of discomfort flashing across her face.
"Anyway," Castle interrupted the two women to steer the interview away from the uncomfortable potential subject, "I was so intrigued by the idea of having a copycat that I offered to assist the police with the investigation, and by the time we caught the guy..."
Oprah latched onto the pronoun immediately. "We?"
Beckett glared at Castle for giving Oprah extra information to work with. "Castle likes to be a little more 'hands on' when he offers his assistance to the department."
"Truth be told, she had trouble getting rid of me," Castle countered with a smile. "They thought they got the guy, but I had started to suspect the real killer was framing the guy they had arrested for these murders. So I...borrowed...the file from Beckett's desk..."
"Which is when I arrested him the first time," declared Beckett with a smile and teasing glare at Castle. "And when I realized that I wasn't going to get rid of him that easily, I figured if you can't beat 'em..."
Oprah, by this point, was completely invested in their story. "So, Rick, you were there when they arrested the real killer?"
"I was," replied Castle. The smile on his face clearly showed the world how deeply in love he was with Kate Beckett. "She was amazing."
"And that was when Nikki Heat was born?" asked Oprah.
Castle nodded. "Kate was the most interesting person I had met in a long, long time. It wasn't a stretch to believe that other people would be interested in her, too."
"So is this when the two of you started dating?" Oprah asked the couple, convinced that that was the reason for the number she had heard earlier.
"No," Beckett replied firmly, hoping to put that rumor to rest once and for all. "At that point I had *no* interest in dating Richard Castle."
"Admit it, you had a *little* interest," Castle countered, his tone unabashedly teasing. Beckett simply glared at her boyfriend, annoyed beyond words that he let loose with that kind of comment in front of television cameras.
Oprah glanced down at some notes she had next to her breakfast plate. "You started your ride-along with the NYPD shortly after that, right, Rick?" Castle nodded. Connecting the exchange she had just seen with her question, Oprah turned her question to Beckett. "I take it this wasn't your idea, Kate?"
"Absolutely *not*," Beckett declared firmly. "It felt like I was babysitting a nine-year-old on a sugar rush at first."
Oprah turned to Castle. "So you requested the ride-along, Rick?"
Castle nodded. "I wanted to know everything about how Beckett did her job. So I could get the details right for the book."
"So there was only going to be one book?" asked Oprah.
Castle nodded again. "Initially. As much as *I* was sure the public was going to love Nikki...my publishers weren't quite as sure."
"But Nikki proved you right when Heat Wave became an instant best-seller," countered Oprah. "Leading to three more best-sellers in the series and an upcoming movie based on Heat Wave."
Castle smiled, blushing just slightly. "I've been quite fortunate over the years."
"Frozen Heat has been flying off the shelves," continued Oprah. "And if the reviews are any indication, it seems like you've got quite a handle on Nikki's character. Is that because of all the time you've spent with the NYPD?"
"Absolutely," insisted Castle. "By working alongside the NYPD, I've been able to pick up all sorts of little details about how cops do their jobs that I've transferred into the books. It has given the books an authenticity that my...competitors aren't able to replicate."
Oprah picked up on the beginning of Castle's answer. "You said that you work *alongside* the NYPD. So when you ride-along with the NYPD, you're not just quietly sitting in the car? You're actually contributing to their investigations?"
"Yes," admitted Beckett. "Castle's theories may be a little...outlandish, at times..."
"Outlandish?" asked Oprah.
Beckett decided to pay Castle back for his earlier comments. "Apparently everything starts out as a CIA conspiracy with him."
Oprah was clearly amused by the idea. "Oh, really?"
Beckett nodded, her tone quickly becoming more serious and affectionate. She blushed as she continued, "But once you get him to focus on the *evidence*, Castle's extremely helpful. A large part of solving a murder is using the evidence to reconstruct the story of the victim's last hours. When you combine the evidence with Castle's years of experience thinking like a criminal, it's surprising how often he points us in the right direction."
"Is that why you're still working at the NYPD?" Oprah asked Castle. "After four and a half years, you can't still be there for research. The NYPD Police Academy is only six months long..."
Castle nodded. "It's nice to be able to use my expertise to make a difference."
"We talked to a couple of your co-workers, Kate," said Oprah. "A detective...Kevin Ryan and a detective...Javier Esposito. They both referred to Rick as your partner. Is that how you think of him?"
Beckett reached for her boyfriend's hand, holding it as she answered the question. "When we're at the precinct...absolutely. He doesn't have a gun and a badge, but I've never had a partner who's had a better understanding of what it means to have my back. He's an invaluable asset to what I do on the job."
"And when did this relationship switch from just being professional to being professional *and* personal?"
Beckett squeezed Castle's hand and shyly smiled. "Six months ago. I'm sure that you have it in your notes about how I was shot at the funeral of my former captain..."
"Roy Montgomery," Oprah chimed in, filling in the details as Beckett suggested. "Rick dedicated Heat Rises to him. It was, in fact, the only one of the Nikki Heat books he didn't dedicate to you."
Beckett nodded, her face darkening as she remembered one of the worst times in her life. "I...I was really grateful that he did that. Anyway...after I was shot...it put life in a little clearer perspective for me." She squeezed Castle's hand a second time as she admitted, "I finally realized that the man I really wanted had been the one who was in my life all along."
Oprah checked her notes. "But...that was almost a year before you *say* you started dating? What took you two so long to finally get together?"
"We had a couple of...miscommunications," Beckett replied cryptically. "It took most of that year for us to get the air cleared between us. But once we did..." The smile that lit up Beckett's face showed that she was just as in love with Richard Castle as he was with her.
Oprah was so enchanted by the obvious love the couple had for each other that she set aside the vagueness of the circumstances that led to them getting together. "What is it you love most about Rick, Kate?"
Kate tucked another wayward lock of hair behind her ear. "I was a fan of his books long before I ever met him," she admitted shyly. "He makes me laugh all the time...even when he's determined to drive me crazy. He's incredibly smart. He's an amazing dad...you should see him with his daughter sometime. And he shows me how much he cares about me in a hundred different ways, every day."
"And what about you, Rick?" asked Oprah. "What makes Kate Beckett so extraordinary?"
"She's the strongest, bravest woman I've ever met," Castle replied matter-of-factly, as if it should have been obvious to anyone who was watching the interview. "But it's so much more than that. She has the most incredible level of compassion for the families of the victims that she's seen day in, day out for years. And I've never seen her blow off a family or act like someone's case wasn't the most important thing she could possibly be doing. She's got a wicked sense of humor. She's...beyond brilliant. She's fiercely loyal to the people that she cares about. She's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. As much as I've tried to reflect that in Nikki Heat, it's only a pale imitation of who Kate Beckett is in real life. I am, truly, a very lucky man."
Oprah had to take a second to collect herself. "Rick, Kate, thank you for talking to us today." Beckett and Castle nodded as the director wrapped the filming of the interview. Oprah then got up to shake the couple's hands. "That was a fantastic interview, Rick, Kate. People are just going to love you two. Anyway, thank you for having me, but I have to run. I have a meeting at OWN in an hour."
Castle and Beckett both stood up along side their guest. "Let us walk you out," Castle volunteered.
Once the couple led Oprah through the maze of people packing up to leave, the talk show queen turned her attention to Beckett. "When you're finally ready to tell the rest of your story...I hope you'll call me."
Beckett tried to look confused. "Rest of my story?"
Oprah nodded. "I noticed how you both didn't want to talk about the time when you finally went from being just friends to becoming a couple. I can only assume that it has something to do with your mother's murder?"
Beckett reacted with only the slightest flinch...which was enough of a reaction for the seasoned journalist to know she had hit pay dirt.
"It's still an open investigation, isn't it?"
Beckett flinched more obviously this time...a clear sign to Oprah that Beckett was extremely anxious about her even bringing it up. "Don't worry," Oprah reassured her, "I promise I won't go digging into the case. I know your people asked me not to discuss the matter in this interview..."
"Which you didn't," admitted Castle.
Oprah pushed as far as she felt she could. "And I *won't*. Still...when you've found whatever it is you're looking for, I would love to hear about it. If it got a writer like Richard Castle to fall in love with you, then it's got to be one hell of a story..."
"Okay," Beckett finally relented as she returned the older woman's warm hug of goodbye. "I can't promise I'll ever get there...but if I ever do get to the point where I can talk about it, I'll give you the whole story."
Please comment! I'd love to hear what you think. One last chapter to go...
