Twas the Night Before… Halloween.

An AU Witch Kate story which explains one of the unknown reasons why Halloween is celebrated.

All standard disclaimers apply.

A/N: I apologize to those e who aren't fond of long chapters, but I just didn't see a good place to break it around the half way mark, and since it's a one shot…

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Katherine Beckett-Castle was a happily married woman. She was also a witch. That part of her life she had only discovered recently when her mother-in-law and her husbands' two ex-wives, witches all, had performed some spell which had released her true self.

Apparently Kate hadn't know she was a witch. She was a woman whose witchy powers had still been latent and needed to be awakened. It was also true that her husband's attraction to her was partially because she was a witch. Castle was for some inexplicable reason drawn to witches.

But he was hers now, and there was no way that he was going to be attracting anymore witches to himself. He may have chosen poorly the first two times, but Kate was in this for the long haul, and had no plan to ever let him go till death do they part.

Having only been awakened to her powers recently, Kate found herself doing a lot of studying trying to catch up. Many things were instinctual once her powers had been awoken, but others were learned skills, and she had been working frantically in her spare time to expand her witchy skills.

She had borrowed Martha's grimoire to help her in her education. Each witch was expected to create her own grimoire, or book of spells. But no one said they couldn't learn from others to do so.

Rick had bought her a beautiful bound book of blank pages that she could use to write down spells, and conjuring's to create her own personal reference volume.

Because the calendar was working against her, she'd taken a few days off of work at the precinct and had been studiously learning and then copying anything from Martha's grimoire that she could understand and master.

Kate took a moment to stare at her new 'book of spells'. It had hundreds of pages made of a heavy stock parchment like paper. The sturdy cover was bound in a gorgeous fine textured leather the color of her own hair. It had been spelled to change in color as the seasons would also make minor changes in her own hair. Lighter in the spring and summer, and darker in the fall and winter. And when age finally caught up with her, it would show her true grays even if she chose to color her hair, like Martha did.

Rick was in a meeting at Black Pawn, but he'd be home soon and then they'd both be busy preparing for the dinner for two that was planned. Alexis was going to her Grams for dinner. She was going to get the 'talk'. Meredith was also going to show up, at least that was the plan. Together Martha and Meredith would explain to Alexis her heritage.

Even though she wasn't quite at the age where she would come to her powers, it was felt that she was old enough to become aware of what was to come. Especially considering what day was almost at hand.

Kate heard a bell like sound, and suddenly Martha's grimoire disappeared from the table that Kate had set it on. Martha had called it back. It was a good thing that Kate had been able to copy over many, if not most, of the spells and such that had been in Martha's book.

Kate was looking forward to a pleasant dinner for just the two of them, then she was going to have Rick help her with some practice on her spells and castings. Time was short, and if she was to take her rightful place in the sisterhood, she needed to be ready. After all, she would soon be tested to the limits of her powers.

Rick had gotten home a bit sooner than he'd expected he would. It seems that Gina was in some sort of hurry. She was constantly fidgeting the whole time, and she kept forgetting what they were talking about. Needless to say it hadn't been a very productive meeting.

Rick didn't really care, it just meant that he'd be able to get home to his wife that much quicker. And coming home to Kate was his second favorite pastime. His favorite was never leaving her side in the first place. And now that he'd found out that she was actually a witch. He was thrilled. He knew he didn't have to worry about things getting mundane around the Castle loft anytime soon.

The smells of a much anticipated dinner hit him full on when he came through the door. He knew that Kate had the next few days off and he appreciated that she liked to cook when she had the chance. Rick took care of most of the cooking because Kate's job wasn't exactly a nine to five sort of occupation.

"You're home!" He heard her exclaim as she flew over to him and gave him a hug and a sweet kiss. She had literally flown over the furniture to land in his arms to greet him.

Castle chuckled as he held her in his arms. "Someone might think you are glad to see me."

She just blushed. "I'm always glad to see you. And dinner is almost ready."

Rick shook his head as he waved over toward the kitchen that Kate had come from.

"That's not something I was aware you could do? I thought you needed your trusty broom to fly around."

She slapped him on the chest. "Oh you. That wasn't flying. We can just make longer and more controlled leaps if we need to. We call it gliding. We have to use our brooms to actually fly any distance."

He smiled at her. "You surprise me with something new every day."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Well, I have so much yet to learn. I've been working on my grimoire and practicing new spells and powers all day."

Rick gave her a quick kiss. "And here you still took the time to cook me what smells like a wonderful dinner."

She smirked at him. "Well I thought it only appropriate that I feed you since I plan to wear you out big time this evening."

Rick raised a brow. "Really? I think that's something I can get in the mood for."

"Silly," she slapped his chest and giggled. "Not that… at least not right away. I'm going to need you to help me do some serious training tonight."

Rick smirked back at her. "I can't say that I've had any reason to question your abilities in the bedroom?"

She gave him one of her 'looks'. "I'm not talking about making love. I'm talking about making war."

Rick's face blanked. "Huh?"

Kate grabbed his hand and began to dray him over to the dining table. "We'll talk after we eat. Come on, I made all your favorites."

Rick nudged her with his shoulder. "You're my favorite."

"You are such a sap." She flicked his nose with her finger as she laughed. "That will be your dessert… later."

They were getting to the end of a fabulous dinner when Rick decided it was time to push Kate and find out what she seemed all worked up about.

"Okay, we've had a feast fit for the gods, and you've been more attentive to me and my needs that I've ever known you to be. Not that I'm complaining or anything," He smiled at her. "So, are you ready to tell me what this is all about?"

Kate chewed on her bottom lip as she did when she was unsure of herself. "Well, you know I've been trying to catch up with the whole being a witch thing. I've created my own grimoire by copying most of what Martha had in hers."

Castle cocked his head. "Not all of it?"

Kate laughed. "No, not all of them. At least not yet. There is stuff in there that I have no idea how to do what she wrote down, and I have no idea what it is the spell is supposed to do."

Castle reached over and patted Kate's hand. "I'm proud of you. Working so hard to learn how to control and use your new powers, but cut yourself some slack. You've just been woken to your gifts, no need to rush things."

She had trouble looking him in the eye. "Well, that's kind of the point. I need to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can because I'm going to have to be at my best right away."

Rick shook his head. "I don't understand."

Kate took a deep breath. "Rick, I'm now a supernatural being. I'm not exactly an ordinary human anymore. Not only do I have skills and powers that I could never had imagined before. I now have some responsibilities that I didn't have before either."

Castle frowned. "I hate repeating myself but, I don't understand."

Kate wrung her hands. "Tomorrow is October 30th. What happens once midnight comes?"

Rick had a big grin. "It's Halloween! A day of Ghosts and Ghoulies, fun with costumes and candy."

Kate nodded. "That's what it is to normal people. For the witches, it's something else entirely. It's a day of battle and the fulfillment of an ancient pledge."

Castle's shoulders slumped. "I feel like a broken record here, I don't understand."

She reached out and took his hands in hers. "Now, I've only been aware of all this for a few days, but you have to know that there have to be other supernatural beings out there beside witches."

He nodded. "I assumed so. Since I had no indication of the existence of witches before I met Meredith, after which mother came clean about her."

"And Gina," Kate added.

"Gina's a witch too?" Kate chuckled at Rick's surprise.

"I'm afraid so. I guess you are some sort of witch magnet. There's something about you that draws witches to you."

Castle let his head drop. "Seriously?" Kate nodded. "Well, it's a good thing that you are one too, because there ain't going to be any more witches in my life from now on. I'm damn lucky that you are one too then."

Kate smirked. "And Alexis."

Rick pressed his fingers into his temples. "Yeah, I've tried to forget about that. At least she has a few years before she has to deal with that."

"But I don't." Kate pursed her lips. "I don't really know what to expect?"

Rick placed his hands on her thighs and forced her to turn and look at him. "Kate start at the beginning, because I'm lost." She nodded.

"Okay, I'll tell you what was told to me." She took another deep breath. "Throughout history there's been stories and tales of all sorts of supernatural creatures that roamed the lands. Not just the sisterhood. Most of these beings were vile creatures such as ghouls, goblins, werewolves, trolls, and yes zombies, along with many other creatures of evil. And they were generally lead by the Warlocks, the evil sorcerers who were the antithesis of the witches."

"What, no ghosts? You can't have Halloween without ghosts."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Ghosts don't actually exist as you are thinking of. Ghosts are merely a portion of a deceased person's life energy field which for some reason didn't completely make the journey to the afterlife. Eventually that lost energy will be reunited with the deceased.

Castle frowned. "Oh, that's kind of disappointing."

Kate took a breath. "Anyway, as I was saying before you interrupted. The main examples of things that go bump in the night, along with other evil creatures, they nearly destroyed the fledgling race of humans. But the sisterhood took on that evil and over the millennia apparently the witches were continually successful in banishing those who could only create terror and destruction. They were shunt away into a dimension of empty blackness."

Castle leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Why am I thinking that there is a 'but' it this story?"

Kate had to shrug her shoulders. "Because you are too smart for your own good?"

Rick nodded. "I'll accept that."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Anyway, these evil creatures prayed to their gods of darkness and those gods petitioned the gods of light to relent, and allow their subjects a fair chance to get back what they had once controlled."

Castle frowned. "You're kidding. Those gods of light couldn't be that dumb… could they?"

Kate just spread her hands out. "I'm just telling you the story I was told." She shook her shoulders. "So anyway, it was decreed that the creatures who served the dark would be given a chance one day a year to reclaim what they had lost."

"Okay, I'm guessing Halloween is that day."

Kate nodded. "Yes, but once the arrangement had been made, a way into our world had to be created. So the gods of light and the gods of the darkness created 13 portals between the dark and the light, and those portals open for one day, October 31st."

Castle seemed confused. "Where are these portals located?"

"The one we'll be fighting at, is in the Catskill mountains. Apparently there's an infamous hiking path called Devil's Path which on every day of the year but one is just a difficult trail to hike. On Halloween it leads to the local portal to the darkness. That is where we meet them on the field of battle. It's up to us to drive them back into their cage for another year."

Castle still seemed confused. "So where are the other 12 portals?"

"I don't know, Rick. They are scattered across the globe. I just know I'm supposed to go to the one I just told you about."

Rick shook his head. "But that doesn't make any sense. They'd all be in different time zones. How would you coordinate the battle and know when it was actually over?"

Kate let go an exasperated huff. "I don't know. Its magic Rick, it works out somehow. This is my first battle. Ask your mother if you really want to know."

"Mother? Are you saying that my mother is going to be there too?"

Kate's laugh was borderline hysterical. "Be there? Rick, your mother is one of the captains of our battle group!"

Castle's eyes went wide. "My mother? The crazy red-headed actress who still thinks that the live stage is something that people actually still want to go see?"

Kate slapped Rick's arm. "Be nice. Your mother is an experienced witch." Kate put her finger on his lips. "Don't say it." Kate shook her head. "She'll be in charge of our coven."

Rick had trouble keeping his smirk under control. "You actually have covens? Like bubble, bubble, toil and trouble type of medieval covens? Do you have a large black kettle?"

Kate glared at him. "It's not like that. We aren't in the Middle Ages anymore you know. Now days a coven is merely a localized group of witches who report to a particular senior witch. In our case that person is Martha."

"So how many of you are there." Rick asked.

Kate shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't met everyone yet. I am the newbie you know."

Castle grabbed Kate's hands and squeezed them. "Do you have access to modern weaponry?"

Kate shook her head. "No, the gods of both light and dark don't allow modern technology to function on the battle grounds. The conditions are supposed to be neutral and the outcome is supposed to rest on the abilities of the combatants."

Castle frowned again. "But your side, meaning our side, has won every battle since this all started all those centuries ago? That's a pretty good record."

Kate nodded. "I know, right. But when I asked about that I was told that we have two definite advantages over the hordes from the darkness. First, they don't work well together. The only real teamwork they have is the dominance that the more powerful have over the less powerful. Their attacks, I've been told, tend to be uncoordinated and haphazard."

"And the other?" Castle asked.

"Evil isn't very smart. In fact, you could say they are, on the whole, pretty stupid."

Castle found himself laughing. "Well, for a newbie, you seem pretty well informed as to this big battle coming up."

Kate smiled. "Well, since I was woken so recently I've been drilled on this stuff relentlessly these past few weeks." Kate nodded her head. "I think I'm ready."

Rick took her hands in his once again. "Since you can't use the type of weapon you are familiar with, what are you planning to use?"

"Well mostly, like my sisters, I'll be using spells and my innate powers. But I've also been working with a sword and a staff if I get into any close up hand to hand type of situation."

Suddenly Castle was all excited. "Oh cool, I'm quite good with a sword."

Kate grinned. "I know, I've heard about your prowess with a blade from both Martha and Alexis. You and Alexis used to fence not too long ago?"

Castle nodded. "Yeah we did. It was good exercise. I also was forced to have a sword fight with a guy when we were on that case where we were following those clues to find some sort of fortune?"

Kate frowned. "So how come you never mentioned it to me."

He shrugged. "I didn't think you'd believe me."

"Ohh, I'm sorry." She leaned in and planted a sensuous kiss on Rick's thirsty lips.

Castle wagged his brows at Kate. "I've got an idea. Why don't I spar with you to help sharpen up your sword play until we get all sweaty? Then we can take a shower together, and get ready for bed."

Kate placed her hand on Rick's cheek. "Then we can get all sweaty all over again."

The two of them grinned at each other as they began shoving furniture out of their way.

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Rick Castle sat at the counter island in the kitchen staring at his cup of coffee. It was his third of the morning. The love of his life had left about a half an hour ago to battle mythical creatures of evil to keep them from over running the earth as they had millennia ago.

He never mentioned any fear that he had for her. He didn't want to her think that not even for a second did he not have complete faith in her and her ability to overcome another challenge. She was his Kate, and she was in his mind, invincible. If a professional killer failed twice to put her down, than he was sure she would always find a way to survive…for him.

She had looked so adorable in her leather mini skirt, and the oraculum breast plate she wore over the fine silver chain mail shirt. Her footwear was thigh high boots made from a fine mesh of silver and leather. Silver was the go to metal because it deflected and dispersed most spells designed to inflict physical damage.

She wore, sheathed at her tiny waist, a gleaming broad sword scaled down to someone of her stature. It had a blade of oraculum, the hardest metal ever forged. Yet it was feather light to wield.

To Rick, his wife looked like a cross between a Roman gladiator and… Wonder Woman.

Kate and Castle did a little more sparring in the morning to give Kate a chance to get familiar with its weight and length. She was a quick learner. Another byproduct of her witchy gifts.

When she finally left, she tried to leave Rick with the assurances that she would survive the battle just fine. That she, being a rookie, would be mostly in the rear dealing with the few creatures that managed to slip through the main lines of conflict.

After another soul shattering kiss, she left to meet up with Martha and Gina to travel to the rendezvous point, and then on to the portal up in the Catskills at the end of the Devil's Path.

Castle had tried to get some writing done, knowing he probably wouldn't get two words written before he walked away from it. He was wrong, he wrote three words, deleted them, and shut down his laptop.

He spent the afternoon worrying, even though he absolutely knew she would get through this and come home to him.

He nursed a couple glasses of scotch, but didn't drink to excess. He still needed to keep his wits about him.

He had just gotten up from the couch, with the idea of fixing something to eat, when there was a knock on his door. He wondered if it was a confused early trick or treater.

He moved quickly toward the door and opened it and at the same time reached for the basket of candy by the door.

Once the door was open he was greeted by a smiling redhead.

"Hi dad." She grabbed the piece of candy he was holding in his hand. "Thanks." She walked in with a smile on her face. "I decided to come over to see if you needed company, and to get a decent meal. The food at the dorms isn't always very good."

Castle stepped back and waved his daughter in. "You are most welcome. Just making sure I'll be set for the trick or treaters tomorrow. I set Eduardo up with plenty of candy down at the front door for any who decide to walk the neighborhood, and I'm not sure how many from the first two floors will actually do the hallways of the building." Rick looked at his daughter. "Are there even any young children living in this building?"

Alexis laughed. "Not a clue, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. For now I know a young woman who could use a good meal before heading back to her books."

Castle put his arm around her. "Stay for the night, I think we have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

Alexis gave her father a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess we do." She hugged her dad. "Kate is with Grams isn't she?"

He nodded. "Let's decide what to eat first, then we'll talk."

The dad and daughter tag teamed a modest pasta dinner. It was like when his little girl was still in high school. They often made supper together. They usually managed to make a mess, but they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

They both sat on the stools at the island. They sat there eating together, in silence, for several minutes until Rick turned toward his little girl.

"So, you and your Grams had a talk. Was it informative?"

Alexis chuckled. "Not exactly a birds and the bees type of talk. We had that long ago. This was obviously a little more surprising."

Rick's head snapped around. "More surprising? What does that mean?"

She laughed out loud. "Dad, it's not like I didn't already knew all about it. The birds and the bees not about witches."

Castle shook his head. "Not something I need to know."

"Dad, we learned about it in our health class."

"So that's what they call it now days?"

She shook her short red hair. "You really should consider growing up some day, dad."

"Where's the fun in that. Besides, Kate likes me." He smirked.

"So are you okay with all this? With Grams and Kate going off to fight some invasion of evil every year on Halloween?" Alexis frowned and stared at her plate.

Rick leaned back in his chair. "I can't say I'm too crazy about it. And I'd feel better if Kate would have had a little more time to become more familiar and comfortable with her witchyness."

"What about Grams, mom, and Gina? Aren't you worried about them?"

Rick took Alexis' hand in his. "Of course I am, but they've done this before and while that's no guarantee of continued success, they at least know what to expect. Kate is going into this for the first time, and with very little time to prepare for this." He frowned. "I know their win loss record seems pretty good, but I have no idea what kind of casualties that they might encounter."

He smiled at her. "How are you handling all this? Finding out that you will someday soon, become a witch yourself?

The uncertainty was written all over Alexis' face. "I'm not sure how to feel about it. If it wasn't for this yearly Halloween one day war they always have to fight, I think it would be pretty cool. Grams gave me a little demonstration as to what a witch can do once she's learned control of her abilities. It sounds like it could be fun having that sort of power, but I'm not stupid, I realize that there is a lot of responsibility that goes along with those kinds of gifts."

Rick grinned at his daughter. "You sound like a super hero."

She shrugged. "I guess you could say, we kind of are. Only we don't wear capes and spandex."

A dreamy look came over Castles face. Alexis looked at him and poked him in the arm.

"Dad, what's that look for?"

A big smile formed on his face. "I'm just imagining Kate in spandex."

She rolled her eyes at him. He smirked back. "Come on, sit on the couch with me. Let's ring in Halloween."

Alexis glared at her father. "It's not midnight for several hours yet. We might as well clean up after ourselves first." She jumped up from her seat. "I'll wash and you dry."

Castle reluctantly got up from the couch. "Okay fine, but after that we are having a Ghost Busters movie marathon."

Alexis raised a brow. "Why those movies, aside from a Halloween theme?"

"Because they are comedies, the heroes always win out in the end, and Kate told me there aren't any real ghosts."

"Really." Alexis nodded. "Works for me. I'll make the popcorn."

Rick clicked off the movie marathon. Alexis had fallen asleep, her head on Castle's shoulder. He put his arm around her, and glanced at the elegant wooden clock hanging on the wall. He watched as the two hands went from both being straight up to the larger one moving one slot to the right.

It was past midnight. It was officially Halloween, and Kate would be facing something she had no experience with. Kate was a cop, and she knew what it meant to stand up in a fight and protect herself and those around her, but she's never been in a war. She's never been in an all-out battle, where you needed to be watching every direction at all times.

Castle couldn't help but wonder how many witches fell in these battles over the centuries that this conflict had been fought.

Apparently no one had read about, or heard of any time where the sisterhood of witches hadn't been successful in turning back the darkness year after year, but that didn't mean that there hadn't been a cost. Bad luck alone would provide for some losses over the untold number of years this hideous tableau has played out.

He couldn't lose Kate, not now. Her lack of having the full expertise in the use of her gifts and powers would put her in the most vulnerable position that she will ever be in. He just had to pray that her fierce will and incredible belief in 'doing the right thing' will carry her through and bring her home.

Rick shook Alexis awake. "Why don't you go to bed, pumpkin. You missed the last half of the movie." He smiled at her. "It's just a guess, but I'm thinking that you are tired and need some sleep."

She returned a sleepy smile. "Sounds like a good idea." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Night, dad, I'll see you in the morning."

He walked with her to the stairs, and kissed her hair as she stepped on the first step toward the upstairs bedroom that she had grown up in.

Rick detoured through the kitchen, making sure they'd left nothing undone after their dinner. He then moved slowly toward his bedroom.

He wasted little time stripping down to his sleep shorts and a stretched out T-shirt. One of his that Kate often wore to bed because it was so comfortably worn.

After the nightly routine had been taken care of, he moved over and settled down in the king-sized bed. He reached over and turned out the lamp on the side table, rolled over and stared at the ceiling. He was tired, but his mind was not going to shut down for anything.

He knew the hours of October 31st were going to drag along like sitting in the ante room of your dentist's office waiting for your appointment. The longer you sat there, the worse you imagined it was going to be.

Castle finally drifted off at about five A.M.

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There was a knocking on his bedroom door which was able to drag him out of his uncomfortable sleep. He glanced, blurry eyed toward the small clock radio that sat on the side table on his side of the bed. It gave him the bad news, that it was only eight o clock.

Since he had clothes on, for a change, and he was able to conjure up a reasonable guess as to who was knocking, he responded.

"I'm awake. Come on in, Pumpkin."

Alexis opened the door slowly, not looking toward the bed straight on. "Are you decent?"

Castle had enough wits about him to give a reasonable answer. "If you mean, am I clothed, than yes I am decent. If you mean in any other way… probably not."

She grinned at her sleepy headed father. "I've made some breakfast if you want it."

He planted his feet on the floor. "Thanks sweetheart, I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

Alexis ducked back out from the doorway while Rick grabbed a pair of sweat pants and slipped his bare feet in his favorite ratty slippers.

He stumbled out through the doorway, rubbing the too little sleep from his eyes. He was greeted with a collection of pleasant breakfast smells. His wonderful daughter had made happy face pancakes with chocolate chip eyes and mouth. He could smell the scrambled eggs and bacon. He hoped there was a lot of bacon because he needed bacon this morning.

He also noticed a bottle of syrup on the counter, and a large pitcher of orange juice.

He walked up behind Alexis and gave her a hug. "Best daughter ever."

She giggled and shooed him over to a stool at the island. The two of them just enjoyed filling their stomach with a warm, tasty breakfast, and pleasant company. They didn't need anything else. Well, it would have been nice if Kate was there too.

"You're the best, Pumpkin. Thank you for all this." He pinched her cheek. "If left up to me this morning, I don't think I'd be eating this well."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "That's for sure. You might have a piece of dry toast and some coffee eventually."

Rick leaned back and studied his daughter. A daughter that in a few short years would join the ranks of the Sisterhood of Witches. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that. For that matter he still wasn't sure how he felt about Kate being one.

"So, are you going to be able to stay a while and keep your old dad company for a while?

She shook her head. "I have some tests coming up, and I need to study. I can hang for the morning, but I have to cut out right after lunch."

Castle nodded. "I see, you can hang around for another meal, but then you abandon your lonely old man and leave him with nothing but terrible soap operas on the TV."

Alexis scrunched up her face like she was thinking hard. "Yeah, I guess that about sums it up?"

"I have an idea." Castle crowed.

"Finally!" Alexis exclaimed then began to laugh.

Castle rolled his eyes. "Funny. No, why don't we get cleaned up and then take a walk around the park. We can stop now and then and check out the pedestrians and imagine what Halloween costume they would be wearing at a party."

Alexis raised a brow and shrugged. "Okay, sounds like a relaxing morning. As long as it ends at a nice place to eat lunch."

Rick pursed his lips like he was wrestling with an idea.

"Don't hurt yourself." Alexis laughed.

He mock glared at her. "Well, if you don't want to have lunch at Romano's. I guess we can eat from a hot dog vendor."

She slapped his arm. "Go shower, Romano's will be just fine.

They had a pleasant morning walking around the park and other places in town. They imagined what kind of costume the people they passed by would most likely wear to a party. And they finally did end at Romano's for a carb filled delicious lunch. By the time they made it back to the loft, it was well after noon and Alexis had to beg off, to go back to the dorm to study.

Rick pouted. "Aren't you going to help me hand out candy to the kids who trick or treat?"

Alexis shook her head. "Dad, I doubt if you will even have two kids stop at the door."

Castle's face brightened as he pointed at the dish of candy near the door. "All the more for us."

Alexis just smiled and pinched his cheek. "I have to study." She stopped at the door and gave him a hug, then looked him in the eye. "You know that Kate will be fine. Somebody once told me that she was extraordinary. They'll all be back as soon as they can, and Kate will need some comforting when she gets home." She opened the door. "Can you think of someone who can do that for her?"

Rick smiled at his daughter. "I've got someone in mind."

"See ya later, dad." And she left.

Rick spent the rest of the afternoon and evening wandering around the loft. He watched the news. He tried to write. He watched some old hokey Halloween movies with Bella Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Those he liked.

He had snacked most of the day so he was never hungry but he assumed the Kate might be really hungry when she got back so he spent some time preparing a nice dinner that he could just heat up when she came in.

Finally, the lack of sleep the night before caught up with him and he sat down on the couch and leaned his head back. He was out within minutes.

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It was as if his subconscious was focused on one thing. The sound of the door being opened. Rick sat up and turned his head toward the bright red door as it swung inward. He was standing by the time it was fully open and he saw his wife coming into their loft.

Kate looked like she'd been in a fight, but he saw no significant injuries that he could recognize. Her clothing and armor was smudged with dirt and had stains of many colors here and there. Rick was pleased that very few of those smudges and stains were blood red.

She looked tired, but not as much as he would have expected. She had some bruises and scratches on her arms and legs. Rick walked quickly toward her and gathered her up in his arms for a gentle hug. He didn't want to aggravate any injuries he couldn't see.

Kate grabbed his head with her hands and pulled his lips onto hers. The kiss was hard and needy, and lasted until Castle had to break to catch his breath.

"Hi," she said with a smile.

Rick leaned back and gave her another visual examination. His brow furrowed as he reached up and touched a blackened patch on her head. Once he made contact it turned instantly to ash.

Kate shrugged. "There was this little dragon flying around spitting fire at everyone, until Sonya was able to spell a small rain cloud to hover constantly over the dragon's head." She reached up and brushed her hand through her hair. More turned to ash and fell to the floor.

"I'll take care of it in the morning." She patted Rick's cheek. "It won't take long to grow it back."

Rick placed his arm around her back and led her toward the bedroom. "Why don't we get you out of what's left of your armor and go right into the shower. After that, we can both get dressed in our jammies, and I'll finish heating up the dinner I prepared. I imagine you'll be hungry?"

She nodded. "Oh yeah, I guess we witches are always hungry after expending a lot of our energies for spells and constructs."

Rick smiles got bigger. She was home. "Let's get you in the shower. You can tell me all about it while we eat.

Once the two of them were both standing next to each other, naked in the bathroom Rick took a large fluffy towel and gently wiped the moisture from his wife's body. His body continually wanted to betray him and convince him to just jump directly into bed with her, but he knew that she needed to eat, and wind down from a full day of battle.

As he toweled her off he noticed that many of the smaller cuts and bruises began to heal right before his eyes. She didn't seem to be in pain, but he knew she'd never tell him if she was. At least not yet.

Kate steered him over toward the counter sink, where she handed him a comb. He quickly began to comb out the tangles in her damp hair, and he began to see the damage that had been done to it. He examined her scalp to make sure there were no blisters or burns, but it seemed to just be large chunks of her chestnut colored hair had been singed during the conflict.

After he set the comb down, Kate reached up and took what was left there in her hand and used a hair tie to put the remaining locks in a thin ponytail.

"We can shave it off in the morning, then it will be easier to grow back evenly. Right now, I'm starved. And knowing you like I do, I know you have something delectable just waiting for me."

They both, quickly put on their robes and went out into the kitchen. She sat at the island counter while Rick began to pull dishes from the refrigerator and set the various containers either in the oven, or in the microwave. It didn't take long for the meal he had planned for her to be ready to eat.

It was clear that Kate needed to restore her energies. Once the feast was ready she dived in like a little kid at a birthday party with three different cakes to sample. In deference to Kate's raging hunger, Castle didn't feel ignored when she didn't talk while she ate. He knew that they'd get to that when they took some wine over to the couch and she would unburden herself to him.

With very little conversation beyond 'pass me the potatoes' it didn't take them long before they had their glasses, a nice bottle of red, and they moved over to the couch.

Castle started first as he poured the glasses of wine. "For someone who has been up for more than 36 hours plus straight, you still look like you could go another 24 if you needed to."

Kate laughed. "I think part of it is being a witch and having the ability to pull energy from your surroundings, and part is just pure adrenalin." She chuckled again. "I think that I'll make it through a couple glasses of this excellent wine, then I'll become comatose for at least 12 hours."

Castle had one hand on her thigh. "So, are you allowed to talk about it? Was it bad? I know you've been in firefights before, but this seems like it would have been much more personal. More one on one, and close quarters combat."

Kate pursed her lips. "Well, it was and it wasn't."

Castle rolled his eyes. "Vague much."

"I think I know the reason why the sisterhood hasn't been defeated in these battles in many centuries." She held her hand up to stop his obvious question. "The force we came up against seemed… small compared to what I'd been prepared to face. We outnumbered them by a significant margin, and they seemed ill prepared, and completely undisciplined." Kate shook her head. "That's not to say we didn't come up against some real dangerous creatures, but there was no coordination in their attacks. There was no strategy beyond individual attacks."

"Was that unusual?"

She shook her head again. "Apparently not. As I mentioned before I left. The creatures of the dark aren't prone to cooperation. I have the feeling that they spend the rest of the year fighting amongst themselves. The only thing that brings them together for this fight is that they hate us more than each other." Kate took a large sip from her glass. "Also, on a one against one situation, we clearly had the advantage of superior tactics and straight on power. That's not to say they didn't have some heavy hitters on their side. There were two obviously experienced Warlocks but our commanders kept them busy, and away from the rest of us."

She reached out and took his hand. "One was Martha." Rick's eyes expressed surprise. "And the other was Serena."

Castle cocked his head. "Serena? As in Serena…"

"Yep, your favorite insurance bounty hunter slash art thief."

Rick shot her a mild glare. "Come on, you know she had retired from that life before we met her."

Kate rolled her eyes. "If you say so."

"Did you have time to speak to each other?"

Kate slowly nodded. "She asked about you, if I'd seen you lately."

Castle grinned. "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nope, I just flashed my wedding ring in her face. The conversation died out rather quickly."

Castle chuckled. "Well it's interesting that she turned out to be a witch." Castle held up his hand. "Don't say it." He smirked. "Just tell me more about the battle."

"Well, in some respects it was somewhat disappointing." She quickly held up her hand. "Not to say that I wanted to be in a long bloody battle. It just wasn't what I expected. As I said they were under manned, poorly lead, and as likely to strike out at each other as against us. That's not to say we escaped unscathed. Three girls did get injuries that are going to need some extra help in recovery, but no one died. We managed to drive them back through their portal after only three hours of actual fighting."

"What?" Rick was astonished.

"Yeah, we spent the rest of the time guarding the open portal until it sealed itself. During that time we tended to our wounded and planned our eventual retreat."

"I know this sounds somewhat disingenuous." Rick lowered his voice. "But with all this build up about this great battle between good and evil, didn't you feel even just a little bit disappointed that it wasn't what you expected?"

She shook her head. "Not in the least." She paused. "Okay maybe a little. But Rick, I'm a cop and results are what matters most. And to me when I check that outcome meter with good all the way to the left and bad all the way to the right. The more that meter's needle is to the left the happier I am."

Kate stood up and reached out for Castle's hand. He was still a bit vexed. "You didn't even get to cover yourselves with the glory you all deserved for what you were doing for mankind."

She laughed. "Rick, no one knows this war even exists, and that's the way it needs to stay." She pulled him to her and gave him a sensuous kiss. "Look at it this way. If the inequity of this fight continues that way it has been. Maybe by the time that Alexis will be involved it won't be anything more than a policing operation."

Rick put his arm around Kate's waist. "I like the way you think Witch Kate."

Kate smirked. "And I'd like to go to bed. I'm tired, but first I need my husband to properly welcome me back home."

Castle waggled his eyebrows. "I can do that."

FIN.

A/N: I hope you all have a pleasant Halloween, and don't steal too much of your kid's candy.

All Readers are Appreciated, Review if you wish.