CH51 – Epilogue
It is now one year later:
Kate moans as she gets out of bed and away from Rikki's arms and warm body to walk over to the crib that was in their room. "And how is my little man?" Kate coos in-between forcing down a yawn.
"I forgot about this part." Rikki moans and buries her head into her pillow.
"Ooooo, stinky diaper." Kate comments as she takes it off him and places it in the sealed trash can they had bought just for this. Wipe, lotion, diaper and onesie later and Alexander was in her mother's arms and latched onto her nipple.
"I forgot about those things too." Rikki takes her head out of her pillow to look at Kate who was nursing their son. Kate merely glared at Rikki and stuck her tongue out at her.
They were both secure in the knowledge that Dara up on the fourth floor and Amity up on the fifth floor were likely doing the same thing about now.
Kate had come up with the idea of creating another 20' x 20' space in each of their bedrooms, by using their closets and doorways, so they tried it on the rooms in the basement first. They found out real fast that the signal from the baby monitor couldn't escape the extra-dimensional space, so Kate's idea of giving each baby his or her own space was shot down. They needed another plan for when the three kids started getting older, but still needed a baby monitor.
"We still on for later today?" Rikki asks, not trying to swallow her yawn.
"Yeah, it seems like the right thing to do. I just don't know how she's going to take it." Kate answers back.
"Sounds like we're going to find out." Rikki pulled herself out of bed and kissed Kate's head on her way to the shower. By the time she was done, Alexander was done eating and back in his crib. Kate kissed Rikki and took her place in the shower, while Rikki picked up Alexander after getting dressed.
"Hi handsome, you know me, I'm your mommy. …. Well your other mommy. You'll adapt." As Rikki kisses his head and heads upstairs.
Luke and Dara had one of the two bedrooms on the fourth floor while Alexis had chosen one of the two bedrooms on the fifth floor, next to Amity and Giles. Jordan and Godfrey each got their own rooms down in the basement. It put them closer to the exercise room and the two pools. Jim and Johanna were also down there.
Rikki got Alexis into the tub in the one bathroom on the fifth floor and reminded her to hurry in case Amity or Giles needed to use it. "I know mom, I'm not a little girl anymore." Which got Rikki to moan internally. Alexis was six and almost seven now. Her baby was growing like a weed.
Rikki with Alexander still in her arms hoped into the elevator and went down to the first floor and into the kitchen to start work on breakfast and found Elka and Jack Jack already running around the place in and out through their doggie door.
Elka had caught on fast that having Jack Jack for a new friend meant she got to run and this new house had lots of space to do just that. "You two want breakfast!" Rikki calls out getting the two of them to come crashing in through their doggie door and stop next to Rikki. "Yeah I thought so."
This got Rikki to put in her last piece of bacon and feed these two monsters their breakfast.
People breakfast this morning was simple enough. Grilled toast, sausage pattie, two strips of bacon, egg, and two different kinds of cheese and a little seasoning. Toast with jam, fruit that was already cut up into pieces, milk and juice.
Johanna and Jim were the first ones in, having come up from the basement. "Well don't you two look happy." Rikki teases them since Johanna was positively glowing.
Johanna's blush started up her neck until it reached her face. "I don't know what you're talking about." Johanna counters, getting a quick kiss from Jim, one of the countless kisses that Jim had given to Johanna all over her body this morning, along with a little fun in the basement bathroom.
"Uh-huh, sure. … You two better be careful or there is going to be another pair of tiny feet in this house soon." Rikki counters.
This got Johanna to quickly turn her head to look at Jim. They both knew that Amity had cast every spell she knew on both of them, so that they were both now in top physical shape. It had taken a lot for them to have Kate. It was why Kate was an only child.
Rikki had her back turned to them and was finishing up on her last breakfast sandwich while Johanna whispered into Jim's ear that got Jim's mouth to fall open and his eyes to open wide, and before he could say anything Johanna had her fingers over his mouth to silence him.
"WHAT THE!?" Johanna quickly called out as a white standard sized poodle came walking into the kitchen. "When did we get another dog?" Johanna asks, as Jordan and Godfrey come up from the basement.
"Well don't look at us." They both hold up their hands.
Rikki turns around to look at the poodle that was just standing there looking at all of them, if it could smile it would be. "MOTHER!" Rikki yells out, since this just had to be her work.
This however got Elka and Jack Jack to come running in from outside and both of them initially growled at the intruder and then started sniffing up the new dog in the house and they were both soon bending down on their front paws offering to play without injury with it.
O-kay, so Elka and Jack Jack are in, but still. "MOTHER!" Rikki tries again.
Dara came jogging into the kitchen with Luke a little behind her carrying their daughter. "What's all the, …. who got the new dog?" Dara saw the white standard poodle that was still being sniffed up again by Elka and Jack Jack.
"I thought you did." Rikki counters looking down at the poodle.
"Two dogs is enough baby, we don't need a third. This house is already filled." Dara knows she didn't do it, so turns on her husband, who was more than capable of getting his own animal companion.
"Don't look at me, I don't have an animal companion yet and even if I did who says it would be a dog?" Luke counters while shifting his daughter in his arms.
"Well then where, …." And Rikki stops talking as the standard poodle quickly changes into Kate.
This had Dara, Luke and Johanna all smiling, while Jordan and Godfrey were snickering behind their hands while Rikki glared at Kate for her little joke.
"Seems you were right, Katie has learned how to do that." Jim comments.
Kate steps up to Rikki and places her arms around her neck. "Not mad?" Kate asks her, getting Rikki to kiss her as her answer.
"Not bad Kate, not bad. We'll make a powerful Druid out of you yet." Dara was smiling wide.
Kate kept a hold of Rikki while turning her head. "I'm more concerned about Giles being the last wizard and Amity being the last cleric or Luke being the last Ranger." Kate was looking at the future.
"That might not be a problem since we have three babies in the house." Dara points out and watches Johanna squirm.
Johanna and Dara had gotten really close over the last year, they had become each other's best friend. "JO?" As Dara walked to Johanna and took both of her hands and looked into her eyes. "YOU'RE!?" Dara could see it in her eyes.
"I'm late." Johanna whispers out.
"MOM!" Kate calls out since Johanna had said it loud enough for most everyone to hear.
Dara however was first to hug Johanna, followed by Kate and then Rikki. "We're going to need more bedrooms again." Rikki was chuckling.
"And I'm scared. … Katie is actually our third child, I had miscarriages for the first two. Jim and I almost gave up having children and I might have missed 13 years, but I'm too old to be having children again." Johanna and even Jim didn't want to go through the pain of losing another baby.
"You let me worry about that." Amity states as all eyes turn to see Amity holding their son with Giles next to her. "Between all of us, you are going to be the healthiest person in this house, I guarantee it, and so is your baby."
It was enough to get Johanna to wipe away some of her tears as Dara moved back in to hug her. "It'll be fine. You have all of your technology and all of our magic to help you. Your baby is going to be perfect."
"Do I take that potion to make me younger?" Johanna asks, not thinking that it would put more age difference between herself and Jim again. Johanna was only thinking of the baby she might have. After all she was only late and hadn't taken any tests yet.
"Too late for that, it would likely affect your baby too." Giles puts a stop to those thoughts.
"I'm going to have a brother or sister." Kate stares out into space.
"Now you know how I feel my love." Rikki offers while kissing Kate's head. "Breakfast is ready." Rikki breaks in since no one would likely want a cold breakfast that was supposed to be hot.
"Kate and I have plans for after lunch since she has today and tomorrow off. Anyone else have plans?" Rikki looks at everyone.
"Luke and I are headed for one of your islands baby, since we left your tent and all of that lovely camping gear there along with all the magical bedrolls that Giles was so kind to make for all of us. Anyone else can come if they like. We were planning on spending the day there. Luke has work tomorrow so we were only going to spend the day there. I'm still on maternity leave." Dara offers up.
"That would be nice, I can actually get some swimming in instead of lounging in the pool, thank you." Jordan takes up Dara on her offer.
"I'm going to get in some practice, make sure my skills are still finely tuned." Godfrey tells them.
"That's code for he is going to go searching for any more undead that escaped us from earlier." Luke was grinning wide, getting Godfrey to make a face at him, since he was right.
"Giles and I have shopping to do, we need more baby stuff." Amity answers.
"Can we come? … I just want to look, just in case." Johanna offers up herself and her husband.
"Of course, you two don't have clients that need you today?" Amity asks them.
"Our next court date isn't for a week yet, no one should be calling us unless it's a potential new client and they can call tomorrow if they still want us and our research is done, so we're both free for the day." Johanna answers her question.
Jim and Johanna had formed their own company and Johanna went back to doing what got her into trouble the first time, however she had learned to talk with her husband about her cases now. While Jim was helping mostly companies that really needed help against the big guys.
They had both learned that Amity did know a few spells that would let them know when clients or other people were lying to them and wore the item Giles had made for them whenever they were at work. It didn't tell them what the truth was, but it did help them direct their efforts on the lie they were being told.
They were slowly being recognized for all their hard work, with no one outside of the house knowing that magic was helping them.
"We leave in about an hour." Dara tells them.
"How goes your project?" Amity asks knowing Jordan had an interest in this.
"We're one year into a two year remodel. The city sold the old manufacturing building that had sat abandoned to us for a song. Which is a good thing since it's going to take millions to renovate it.
The plumbing was bad and clogged, most of it needed to be replaced, while the rest was flushed out with a pressure washer. All of the water pipe needed to be replaced. The electrical was all aluminum so that needed to be replaced. It needed a new roof.
The structure needed to be reinforced to handle the equipment penthouse on the roof. We've had a few questions about the need for bullet proof glass on the first floor or on the common room area where the large balcony is located." Kate answers.
"Let alone the need for all the bars at the roof over the central atrium." Rikki adds.
"The walls on the ground floor are double thick with an air gap between them that was filled with a new material. They are actually building a building inside of the existing building. There is a pop up barrier at the main front doors and at the access to the loading dock area. It's designed to keep out any heavy truck that comes our way." Kate informs them.
"And all of the new technology for security cameras along with microphones that will cover absolutely everything, including up and down all the streets anywhere near us. Even the roof will have cameras and pop up bars to stop helicopters from landing." Rikki adds.
"It sounds like a prison." Jim moans, even though he knew it wasn't. It wasn't meant to keep people in, but to prevent people from getting IN.
"It's mostly invisible dad, once you're inside it will look like anything but a prison. These women and their families need the protection if they make it to us, and Jordan here is going to go get them if they can't come to us." Kate corrects her father.
Jordan was the perfect choice, with his ability to calm people in an instant who were violent and likely to try and stop his girlfriend or wife and children from leaving him. Losing his control could lead to a physical conflict, possibly resulting in a death. Jordan could prevent all of that with a simple touch.
"Well I think it's the perfect use of all that money, those women and their families need someone and some place to go." Johanna loved the idea and her and Jim had already volunteered their time as lawyers to help them in the courts if needed.
"We still have to finish construction and then begin the process of hiring people. Counselors, security personnel, cooks and helpers. Pretty much everything a large hotel has, plus a playground. Basketball, batting cage, golf simulator, putting green. Even an indoor tennis court that doubles for other things with viewing on the floor above behind glass.
And Rikki and Dara helped design the large atrium area. Grass, plants, trees, water feature complete with fish. And it was Dara's idea to bring in a therapy dog for the children, to help provide some kind of normalcy for them even if what is happening in their lives is anything but normal." Kate points out.
Dara was even working on grooming Jack Jack to be yet another therapy dog for their place. He might even be ready for work by the time it opened.
"You thought up a name for it yet?" Johanna asks.
"We're still working on that one. We want it to sound like someplace safe and yet also sound strong that would keep them safe." Rikki knew they had a small list of names so far.
"And how many rooms again?" Johanna questions again.
"56 studio apartments, 38 one bedroom apartments, 24 two bedrooms and 12 three bedrooms. Each only has one bathroom and a tiny kitchenette space. No oven, mini fridge only, microwave and a two burner cooking plate. All the food is served from the main kitchen and eaten in the dining hall. A lot like in college. You pick up your tray and travel down the line picking only one item from each group." Kate answers, having done just that in Stanford for a short time.
"Well I think it's a perfect use for that money. How long will the money last?" Jim was proud of them, he was even warming up to Rikki having long accepted that Rikki made his daughter happy. Especially since his Katie had not given up having children by marrying a woman.
"Depends on just how many people we need to hire and what it costs us, plus the ever increasing prices of food, power, water, etc. … We roughly think about 20 years. We're thinking of having to go looking for donations after 10 years. We'll have established ourselves by then and corporations and people will recognize us by then." Rikki answers. It really was a lot of money, but if they didn't keep the money coming in, it would go fast and they would be forced to close their doors.
Plus each time a family or woman finally left, they would need to renovate that apartment to get it ready for the next tenant.
Rikki and Kate had the house to themselves after lunch, it was just them, Henry in his usual place, and Alexander. Even Henry had his own 20' x 20' room now that took the place of one of their three closets.
Just like his previous enclosure, it was mostly dirt with real live plants and dead wood. Along with a pool that had plants and fish and frogs of various sizes. Rikki and Dara had turned themselves into a burrowing animal and had hand dug out the tunnels for him.
He had killed Bracken, so he deserved the best. "Ready to go?" Rikki asks Kate watching her pick up Alexander who was awake and with a clean diaper.
"All set. Have you got the paperwork?" Kate answers back, watching Rikki pat the oversized bag that was on her shoulder.
243 W 60th St. #2A
243 W 60th St #2A This lofty two bedroom, two and a half bathroom condominium apartment offers ample entertaining and living space for the sophisticated city dweller. Located in one of Manhattan's most culturally relevant neighborhoods. Lincoln Center. and steps away from Central Park, this north-facing unit boasts 11'4" ceilings along with a huge (Approx. 1,921 Sq. Ft.) private, landscaped terrace with outdoor fireplace! Let the sun rays flood your apartment with light through the floor-to-ceiling windows in your living room, master, and second bedroom! Thanks to its efficient design, the great room can... be divided into entertainment and formal dining areas which both have access to the terrace. The open, eat-in kitchen layout allows guests to gather around the stylish Caesar-stone countertop island for any occasion. The fully equipped kitchen counts a Miele double oven, a five-burner Gaggenau stove, a large Sub-Zero refrigerator and wine cooler, a Bosch dishwasher, and an oversized pantry. From the Brazilian wide-plank hardwood floors to the Makassar wood, metal and glass cabinetry, this unit exudes an unparalleled level of elegance and refinement. Both bedrooms have direct access to the private terrace and all-marble en-suite bathrooms with heated limestone floors. The master bedroom has an additional rainforest shower stall, his-and-hers sinks, and a massive walk-in closet. For convenience, you will find a Bosch washer and dryer unit next to the oversized coat closet in the entrance. The Adagio is a boutique luxury condominium building with a gorgeous Andres Escobar-designed lobby with a fireplace. The building's amenities include a fitness center, a pool, a bike room, private storage, a landscaped Zen garden, a laundry room, and access to a third-party garage.
They wanted to talk her into it and were not taking no for an answer. They had talked about asking her to join them in their home, since Jim and Johanna were likely going to be moving out soon, since they were getting their feet back under them and becoming husband and wife again. The news that Johanna might be pregnant might slow that until after the baby, but it was likely to happen. They just didn't think she would go for it.
They had also gone over their story to explain all this. It wasn't the complete truth; it's just that the best lies all had a touch of truth in them.
Rikki had chosen a car service for this trip since she could ask him to wait, since if everything went the way they wanted, they would be taking a trip to show the place to her and fight to get her to take it.
The place they stopped at was an older building. There were worse buildings and likely worse apartments to live in, they just didn't want her to stay here.
Rikki helped Kate get Alexander out of the car in his carrier, while Kate pulled the baby bag with her. "Nervous?" Rikki could feel it in her heart, since half of it was pounding.
"A little, I've only ever seen her once or twice. I can remember watching a Temptation Lane episode with my mother long ago when she was on that episode and gone a few episodes later. I think I saw her in a Broadway play once again with my mother.
I hope she takes this well." Kate looked up at the building.
"Alexander is our son, but in a way he is her grandchild, we can even prove it if she is willing to give us a DNA sample." Rikki points out. "And there is no way in hell I'm leaving his blood grandmother living here." Rikki looked around.
The place was heavily tagged and made Rikki uncomfortable. Rikki pulled out her cell phone and searched for the moving company to come and pack her place and move her. Rikki just wanted to verify that they were going to show up on time, today!
Rikki hung up after making her call, confirming the address and that the moving people would be here in two hours to box up everything and only move the furniture if she actually had something she wanted to take with her, since her new apartment came furnished.
"We've got two hours, time to get started." Rikki went into the building first.
They decided to take the stairs not trusting the look of the elevator. It was only on the fourth floor. Hell their own house was 6 floors tall counting the roof deck. Her door turned out to be roughly middle of the hall.
Rikki knocked since she could still feel Kate's half of her heart still pounding in her chest, since they had switched baby and baby bag between them.
It took a moment for the door to open to show an older woman who was flamboyantly dressed. Her color choices instantly told them that this woman was very outgoing and definitely not depressed, or at least from outward appearances, since the dress she was wearing likely glowed in the dark with the vibrant colors that it was made of.
"Mrs. Rodgers?" Rikki asks.
"Yes, can I help you dear?" Martha responds back.
"My name is Rikki Rodgers and this is Kate Beckett and this little guy here is Alexander James Beckett-Rodgers. …. We wanted to talk to you about your son, Richard Castle." Rikki puts on her best smile, this was going to be a very important conversation. A life altering conversation, and maybe, just maybe give this woman some peace over losing her son.
And maybe, just maybe after Martha had gotten more accustomed to them, they would introduce her to Amity and her True Resurrection spell, plus Rikki still had one vial left of that 'Elixir of Youth' potion that had Martha's name written all over it.
True Resurrection - This spell functions like raise dead, except that you can resurrect a creature that has been dead for as long as 25 years. This spell can even bring back people whose bodies have been destroyed, provided that you unambiguously identify the deceased in some fashion (reciting the deceased's time and place of birth or death is the most common method).
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Thank you for reading, I leave it to your imagination as to what Martha does or says and what actually happens to Richard Castle.
Isn't magic amazing. Just pray that what Amity can do doesn't get out. I can't begin to think of what her life would be like if the general public all over the planet found out that she could bring their loved ones back to life. Or what would happen when it failed because the dead person wanted to stay dead.
Still working on an idea for the next story, I started one but didn't like where it was going, so it's off to plan B.
Happy reading. Mine or someone else's.
