The final chapter has arrived! Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Beckett raced back up the stairs into the apartment to find Ryan holding up a plastic evidence bag containing a rope.
"One of the drawers in the desk had a false bottom" he said proudly.
"Good catch, Ryan" she uttered as she took the bag out of his hands examining it carefully. "It's white polyester and the braid pattern matches the ligature marks. Let's get it to the lab and see if there is any DNA on it. We need this evidence to be concrete. I want this guy to fry". She was aware of the callous fury seeping from her voice but there was something about holding the rope that Alexis was strangled with that filled her with anger.
The drive back to the station afforded her the opportunity to call Castle and update him on their progress. She knew how difficult it was for him to stay out of the investigation. He trusted her with his life and even with his heart, but this was different. This was his little girl and she wanted him to know that she wouldn't let either of them down.
"Castle" he answered. She could hear in his voice how exhausted he was.
"Hey. It's me".
'It's me'? she thought. When did we get close enough for me to actually say 'it's me'?
"Hey. How's everything going?" he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
"Pretty good. We got a last name for our suspect Simon and an address".
"Did you pick him up?"
"He was gone before we got there. His neighbor said he left in a hurry yesterday. He's still in the wind but we found some solid evidence in his apartment". She didn't want to be more specific. In fact, she shouldn't have told him half of the things she already had about the investigation. It wasn't standard protocol to provide the victim's family with step by step updates, but this wasn't just another victim, this was Alexis. She hoped he wouldn't ask for the details but she knew he would anyway.
And he did. "What did you find?"
"Some photographs of you and Gina and uh…" she hesitated, "the murder weapon".
His end of the phone stayed silent so she continued. "This is a good thing Castle. We know who he is and we have enough to build a case against him now. We just need to track him down. We'll find him".
She could hear him take a deep breath and though couldn't see it but she was pretty sure he was nodding.
"When are you coming home? I mean… uh… if you're done at the precinct maybe you should come over and have some dinner with me. If… if you want I mean".
The way he was stuttering over his words and clearly embarrassed by his slip up of calling his loft her home, made her smile. She thought it was adorable how he was nervous about scaring her away, but little did Castle know she didn't scare so easy anymore when it came to her feelings for him. She was tempted to tease him about it but decided to let it go.
"I need to drop by the precinct real quick but then I'll be over" she responded.
"Ok. See you soon".
After hanging up with Castle, she arrived at the 12th. She updated Montgomery on their progress and grabbed a few files off her desk. On the way back down to her car she realized that if the past few nights were any indicator, she would probably be sleeping at the loft again and decided that stopping by her apartment first to grab some clothes wouldn't be a bad idea. She texted him to let him know she wouldn't be over as soon as she said.
I forgot I need to drop by my place and grab some clothes. Be over a little later than I thought.
His response came not a minute later.
No need. You can just sleep naked. I know that's what I'm doing.
She chuckled as she typed out Duh. I was already planning on sleeping naked. The clothes are for tomorrow. Interrogating murder suspects while naked is generally not very effective, especially with an ass like mine.
She was grateful that they were able to return to the flirty banter she had been craving from him for days but was disappointed when his answer wasn't clever and teasing but serious and concerned.
Can you please take someone with you to your apartment? Or I could meet you there? I don't like the idea of you alone while that guy's still on the loose.
I'll be fine, Castle. I'll be in and out. Besides, he's running scared. DON'T WORRY. See you soon.
OK was all he replied.
Kate walked into her apartment and turned on the lights. Truth be told, she was grateful that she didn't have to stay alone tonight in her apartment. She was almost certain that Marconi wouldn't be stupid enough to come after her but after having her apartment blown up by another stalking psychopath a little over a year ago, she had learned not to take such personal threats so lightly.
She tossed her badge, gun and handcuffs onto the bed, changed into some comfortable clothes and entered the bathroom to retrieve a toothbrush and some other personal hygiene items. She had just grabbed the toothpaste off the sink when she saw something stir out of the corner of her eye. She spun around to see a dark figure leaping out from behind the bathroom door as she was hit in the face with a solid fist which sent her whirling around. She managed to catch herself on the sink but before she could make another move, something tightened around her neck. Still dazed, she reached up to feel what was making it impossible for her to breathe. A rope. Suddenly, all of the pieces fell together. She had been so surprised by the intruder, it had taken her this long to figure out that it was Marconi and he was here to make good on his promise.
She tugged furiously at the rope but was unable to free herself from its grasp as he pulled her out into the bedroom. Trying to land a fist or an elbow on her attacker, she thrashed around frantically, knocking over furniture and lamps as she went but he only tightened his grip. She fell to her knees as the edges of her vision began to blur. Her eyes closed but she continued to fight for consciousness when suddenly, she felt the rope loosen and drop to the floor. She looked up and saw Castle standing in front of them with her gun trained on Marconi. Coughing and choking, she crawled on hands and knees away from her assailant.
Castle kept the gun aimed at the aggressor as she recovered, gasping for breath. Marconi was standing still with his hands in the air but his face held a calm, evil grin.
"So good to see you again, Ricky" he said tauntingly.
She had just begun to breathe normally when she took in Castle's facial expression for the first time. His eyes were gray, almost dead. He was still and focused like stone. He didn't look angry, he just looked hollow. She had never seen this look on him before and was scared of what it meant.
"Get on your knees" he told Marconi.
She saw the same confusion she felt pass over Simon's face.
"Get. On. Your. Knees." He repeated slowly, without an ounce of emotion as he took a step forward. This effectively shut Marconi up and he complied quickly.
Kate knew it was time to intervene. "Castle, what are you doing?" she asked softly.
"I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna end this" he said coolly, taking two more steps forward. Now the gun was less than a foot away from Marconi's frightened face.
She stood up slowly, knowing that any drastic moves could get somebody killed. "Hang on, Castle. You don't need to do this. Just give me the gun so I can take him in".
"Then what? Maybe he'll spend the rest of his life in prison, but why should he even get a life? Why should he get to live when Alexis is dead?" He cocked his head to the side and never taking his eyes off Marconi, continued, "We could even make it look like self-defense" His tone was cold and calculating. She had never heard him talk like this before. It was like he was an entirely different person.
"Listen to me". She kept her voice low, calm and tender. "If you do this, you won't come back from it. I know you. You're not a killer". She approached him cautiously. "If you pull that trigger, you'll never recover. It will haunt you and I don't want you to have to carry that burden. Alexis wouldn't want you to have to carry that burden". She carefully edged closer to him. "Look at me". He turned his head and his face softened when she placed a hand gently on his cheek. "Please, Rick. Please don't make me live with just your ghost". With her free hand she reached down and slowly took the gun from him, still taking care to keep it aimed at Marconi.
A moment later, Ryan and Esposito came rushing into the room looking flustered and panicked. Their faces relaxed when they saw that the situation was under control. Castle walked passed them without a word back out into the living room.
"What're you guys doing here?" Beckett asked as they handcuffed Marconi.
"Your neighbor called 911 to report a disturbance in your apartment, and considering Marconi threatened you too, we figured we should come make sure you weren't being murdered" Ryan answered.
"Looks like Castle beat us to it though" Esposito added. "By the way, he's the one who kicked in the door, so make him pay for it".
She did her best to smile at their jokes but the intensity of the past few minutes weighing down on her made it nearly impossible. She followed the two detectives as they escorted Marconi out of the bedroom and out to their car.
"We'll take him in. You should probably see a doctor, Beckett. It looks like this asshole did a number on your neck" Esposito said worriedly.
"I'll be fine. Nothing some ice can't fix. Castle and I will come to the precinct in the morning to give our statements. It's been a long night; I don't think either of us are really up to it right now".
Relief struck as she watched them drive away. She hoped Castle was feeling the same as she hurried back up to her apartment. He was still sitting on the couch with his eyes closed when she walked back in and sat down next to him. He opened them and looked down at her. She felt another wave of relief when she saw that his that his eyes no longer filled with anger. They still held the same sadness that she had grown accustomed to over the past few days but also something else, something brighter, something a little like hope. His expression quickly turned to worry as he noticed the bruising around her neck. He gently tilted her chin up so he could get a better look and softly touched the discolored skin.
"Are you ok?" he asked with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to you".
He shook his head indicating there was no thanks needed.
She finally asked the question she had been dying to ask since he got there. "How did you know to come?"
"I didn't. I was just worried about you being alone. So in typical Richard Castle fashion, I came even when you told me not to. I was about to knock when I heard a crash, then…"
"Then you kicked the door in" she finished for him with a grin on her face. "Very macho by the way".
He smiled and she couldn't imagine a more wonderful sight. She could have lost him tonight and just seeing him smile made her heart soar. Silent tears of thanks started to fall down her cheeks. At seeing this, he pulled her to him and kissed them away. She wrapped her arms around him as he whispered in her ear. "Everything's gonna be ok now". And for the first time, they both believed it.
The End
A/N: Well, that's all folks! This was a blast to write and I am so thankful for all of the overwhelming support it received! I'm still a little unsure about the ending and even though the story is finished, please send me a review and let me know what I can do better the next time! I'm always trying to improve as a writer and your suggestions are so helpful. Thanks again!
