Charlie III
Chapter 9
Behind one closed door bedroom door Martha could hear her granddaughter sobbing uncontrollably and through an open bedroom door she could hear Kate doing the same thing. And what she wanted to do was go up to her room and cry uncontrollably herself. She didn't know just how much more this family could take.
Having Katherine as part of their family had been a godsend. She would admit that maybe before she and her son got married she had questioned if Kate was really worth it. But they were all past that point now.
Martha decided to start with Alexis, even if she wasn't really sure just what she was going to be able to say or do that would ease her pain. However, she needed to try. Knocking first, she heard, "GO AWAY!"followed by more crying. Naturally she ignored that order and opened the door though she couldn't even see her. The large bump in the bed gave her a clue.
Sitting on the bed Martha began with her name and touched the large bump in the bed. "Alexis, dear?" What she got wasn't what she expected. Instead of being yelled at to go away again, Alexis somehow erupted out from under her covers and wrapped herself around her. She was still crying heavily but at least now Martha was able to hold her. She couldn't really think of anything else to do but be there for her and let her cry onto her.
Martha was still holding her and letting Alexis cry when suddenly the bed shifted a little. She opened her eyes to see Kate was on the bed, putting her arms around Alexis and herself. The fact that she was up here at all made Martha smile. Maybe the three of them could put each other back together again.
ooOoo
Rick had stepped out of the train and found himself in… "Central Park?" Bark.
Okay, he could make this work. At least he was closer this time since it looked like he was on the very southern end of the park. Running flat out had tired him out pretty fast last time so this time he more trotted than ran.
He stopped and sat down at each and every red light, still amazed at just how many people ignored him. Oh, a few did notice him but even then it was a mix between older people and little children. Even so none of them tried to stop him.
Eventually he was across the street and looking at the entrance to the building. As usual the doorman was there. It left him with three options that he could think of. One was to wait for someone to come out or go in then try and rush through the door, hoping not to get stopped. Two, do what he did last time, or three, maybe the doorman would take pity on him and open the door.
He was going to need to make a decision soon since he just felt the first drop of rain. He needed shelter or he was going to get soaked.
Rick chose option three. He raced across the street and slid to a stop at the door under the awning that protected people from the weather. He looked up at the doorman who was outside under the awning instead of inside like he normally was during the cold months of winter. "Give me a break, please?" Bark, bark. I'd give you 20 bucks or even 50 if I had either if you would just open the door. "I'm a friend of Charlie." Bark, bark. Rick knew everyone knew Charlie. He had made certain of that.
Amazed, he watched as the doorman opened the door, stepped inside, and held it open just long enough for him to dart inside just as the clouds opened up and it poured. "Thanks!" Bark.
Now he just had to get up to the top floor and as he expected the stupid buttons were too damn high off the floor for him.
"They just had to make me a puppy again, didn't they? Couldn't make me an adult dog that could reach the stupid buttons." Whimper, whimper, whine, whine. "No, I had to be a puppy again. We don't even have puppy food any longer." Whimper, whimper, whimper. Rick lay down on the floor and looked up at the stupid buttons.
Then suddenly a hand was pressing the up button and the elevator doors opened. Rick was up in a flash and bounded into the elevator, thankful that it was empty or he would have crashed into someone.
Rick turned and saw the doorman who stepped in long enough to press the button for his floor. "Thanks! I owe you!" Bark, bark. His bark sounded different this time and once again it sounded more like woof, woof than bark bark, but if it got the job done he wasn't going to complain. "Wait, I have puppy dog eyes again. WOO HOO!" Bark, bark, bark.
Once the elevator door opened he ran down the hallway to the door to home. Now he just needed to get someone inside the open the door and let him in. If there was anyone home, that was. There was only one way in so he began barking his head off.
ooOoo
Martha was actually the only one who heard anything. Kate and Alexis were busy trying to prop each other up and gain some strength from the other to even start to survive this.
It sounded like a dog barking. She, like the others, had gotten used to hearing Charlie barking but this sounded muffled and softer somehow.
It was more trial and error until she worked out in a minute that it was coming from the front door. It was just that it didn't make any sense. Captain Gates had said that Charlie had died. Katherine was certainly broken like it was true and yet there was that bark.
Opening the door she had just enough time to see something blonde come rushing into the loft. Turning to look she saw it was a dog. A puppy, to be precise, only this one was different. Charlie had been red and this one was more blonde in color.
Martha looked out into the hallway. Except she didn't see anyone. She turned back around and didn't immediately see the puppy until motion had her looking at the stairs. It was taking the stairs one step at a time on the way up. Martha closed and locked the door then went upstairs to find out just what was going on.
Rick knew right where the bed was and at the moment wasn't concerned if anyone was in it or not. He was getting on that bed. Bursting into the room he finally recognized the sounds he'd been hearing since he entered the loft. Kate and Alexis were holding onto each other and crying. Rick jumped and almost screwed it up. He had to really scramble to get all of him on the bed then into Alexis's lap where he licked her face. The result was instantaneous. Alexis was still crying but she pushed him far enough away that he couldn't keep licking her.
Kate had noticed and reached out her hand to touch him while Alexis was still holding him. "It's me! It's really me!" Bark, bark, bark! Kate wiped away tears with one hand while now petting the puppy.
Alexis was still crying but was calming down quickly and was petting the puppy. But this was a puppy and it wasn't Charlie. It wasn't making any sense to her or Kate.
Kate noticed Martha enter the room and looked up at her for an explanation. Martha told them what little she knew. "It was outside the door barking. I opened the door and it raced straight up here. Nowhere else, just straight here. There was no one else out there, just him."
Kate was sure if her heart got any more broken it would actually stop beating. At the moment she would take anything that even hinted at being able to piece it back together for her. She reached out to pet the puppy that was in Alexis's lap and simply looking up at them with those eyes of his.
ooOoo
It felt like an hour later and maybe it was. All three of them were still on Alexis's bed while Alexis clutched the puppy that was in her lap. Kate and Martha were content to just get in a few strokes on his body.
Alexis needed something or someone. Anything to help her recover from the pain. It just hurt so damn much. First her dad then Charlie. She was still crying but at least having a puppy in her arms seemed to be helping.
Since Kate was looking better Martha chose to relay Captain Gates' message. "Captain Gates said you were on paid medical leave for four weeks." Since the puppy seemed to be doing what she couldn't Martha didn't try to do too much to help either of them.
Kate simply nodded. Rick's money meant she really didn't have to work at all. However, she liked her job so she would go back when she was ready.
"So what do we name him?" Kate asked since this time she was skipping the found puppy poster. They were broken yet again but if another puppy could piece them back together then Kate wasn't just handing him over to some other family. Not this time.
"Charlie," Alexis answered and held the puppy a little tighter.
Kate was thinking of arguing that they'd already had a Charlie and didn't need another one. Though as much as another Charlie might hurt, the name Charlie actually helped a little. Kate amended his name to, "Charlie the second," knowing it would be shortened to just Charlie.
The need to pee was the only thing that got Kate up and into the bathroom upstairs. Looking into the mirror as she washed her hands told her just how broken she really was this time. She looked like shit!
Kate took a deep breath. It wasn't actually there but she still saw Charlie's blood all over her from having pulled him into her lap. Just thinking about it had new tears forming and falling down her cheeks. Charlie was just a dog and she knew that. It wasn't like he was her husband or anything. Still the pain was just as intense. Someone had clearly cleaned her up and changed her clothes for her even if she didn't really remember it happening.
"Rick." Did he really have to die? Did her mother really have to die? Did Charlie have to die in her lap?
"Rick." Kate turned to look in the direction of Alexis's bedroom. It was stupid but she'd been around Rick long enough to almost start thinking like him. It made no sense and was impossible. Still a piece of her heart had her head thinking. Her head was rejecting it but her heart had her walking back into Alexis's bedroom where she found Alexis still sitting up in bed clutching the new puppy tightly. Her tears were still flowing but at least she wasn't sobbing any longer.
Martha had spotted her and saw something on her face. "Katherine?" Martha was part concerned and part curious.
"Rick?" Kate got his name out. She knew she still always called him Castle except for when she loved him the most. When being more intimate meant something. Then he was Rick to her.
"That's me!" Bark.Rick did his best to twist in his daughters arms to look at his wife who was standing in the doorway looking in.
"Come on, Kate, try." Whimper, whimper.
That had Martha looking between Katherine and the puppy and back again. "Katherine?" Just what was she thinking?
Kate moved to the edge of the bed, got down on her knees, and looked straight at the puppy. "Rick?" It was ridiculous but she also knew Castle would gobble this up in an instant. The man who believed in Santa Claus, aliens and CIA conspiracies, ghosts, and demons wouldn't have any trouble with this.
"That's me!" Bark, bark! Rick tried to get out of his daughter's arms but all that accomplished was for her to hold onto him even tighter. What he wanted to do was move over to Kate so he could lick her face.
"Katherine, you're not actually thinking…" Martha was thinking that she was and shut up when Kate waved her hand at her.
"You're Rick?" Kate questioned, not sure why she was even thinking this. Maybe it was her broken into tiny pieces heart. The wish that her husband hadn't actually left her or maybe after all this she had finally lost her mind.
"Yes!" Bark!
"This is beyond crazy." Kate ran her hands down her face and though her hair. "Once for yes and twice for no. Got it?" Kate looked only at the puppy.
"Got it!" Bark!
"Oh, dear Lord!" Martha was following what Kate was thinking but this was really stretching what even she was willing to believe.
"Yes." Bark. Rick knew God was involved in this somehow. Who else would give serial killers a second chance and have them review the lives of people that had died? Granted even he was having a little trouble but it all made sense to him.
"Oh, good Lord!" Martha placed both hands over her mouth. The puppy had actually answered her. Or so she believed.
Kate tried again. "You're Rick? As in Richard Castle the author?"
"Yes." Bark. We've been over this already and it's about damn time you saw the light, Kate. I know you're stubborn but jeez, I mean really!?
"How to prove it?" How to ask yes or no questions that only Castle could answer.
"My middle name is Rose." Kate began there since it was all she could think of at the moment.
"No!" Bark, Bark. Honestly, Kate. Your middle name. You couldn't think of something better to ask me?
"This is creepy." Kate stood up and paced around the bedroom trying to think up yes or no questions to ask a puppy. "You're a puppy." That wasn't actually a question she was more talking to herself than the puppy.
"Yes." Bark. I never even dreamed something like this could happen. Okay, maybe I did once. What I don't get is why I know everything. Why am I not just another ordinary puppy living his life?
Kate stopped pacing and stared at the puppy. She'd actually asked a question and it had actually answered her. "Do you own a piece of the moon?" Kate suddenly had lots of questions.
"Yes." Bark. Pretty cool, huh? As I recall you own it now since I'm dead.
"Do you know now who abducted you at our wedding? The first wedding." Kate questioned him. Though even if he did know how was he going to tell her who? Definitely a stupid question.
"No." Bark, bark. And I'm still angry at them for that.
"Katherine?" Martha was listening to all of this and it was still hard to believe.
"Did you hate Tom? Or Josh?" Maybe those weren't the best questions to verify that this was her dead husband. But she had a lot of questions now.
"Yes." Bark. But I still forgive you. I made my own mistakes.
"Did I almost screw up everything with Eric Vaughn?" Kate had to admit that he had almost reached her but at the last second she had come to her senses and pushed him away.
"Yes!" Bark! Had you kissed him we would have been over. I don't accept being cheated on.
"OH GOD!" Kate cupped her hands on her face. "This isn't possible."
"Dad?" Alexis had been listening and until now had been willing to just listen. Besides where Kate was going took a lot of imagination for it to be real.
"Yes." Bark. It's me, pumpkin, and I didn't mean to get myself killed. …Either time.
Alexis lifted the puppy but kept it at arms length and looked at it. "You're Dad?"
"Yes." Bark. Trust me this is really weird but it is me.
"Not a dog from outer space pretending to be my dad? So why can't you talk?" Alexis asked him.
"No." Bark, bark. And if you mean that cat from outer space he had a collar that allowed him to do all that. And I am talking!
"This is just weird." Alexis put the puppy down and tried to think while she wiped her tears away.
"I have to pee!" Whimper, whimper. Since he was loose Rick jumped off the bed, ran between Kate's legs, and out the door. He stopped to look down the stairs. "You couldn't put some puppy pee pads upstairs? These things are fucking dangerous, you know."
Still Rick went down the stairs one step at a time. Kate, followed by Alexis, then Martha stopped at the top of the stairs, watching.
"Where's he going?" Alexis wondered since the door was closed and there wasn't really anything down there. "Thirsty, maybe?"
The three started down the stairs and watched as the puppy stopped at the puppy pee pads, stood there, and peed.
"Now this is really weird," Alexis stated as they reached the pads just about when the puppy finished.
"No bladder control again." Whimper, whimper. "This is so not cool." Whimper.
"Katherine?" Martha questioned her since she had just watched the puppy leave them and head straight for the pee pads and use them. A normal puppy should have or would have just peed wherever because the had to pee. But not this puppy.
"Don't look at me, Martha. None of this makes any sense." Kate was still trying to get her head to believe what her heart was telling her.
"Dad." Alexis used her finger to get him to come to her and watched as the puppy did just that. "Sit!" Alexis watched as the puppy sat right in front of her.
Now Alexis had a really big question. An incredibly stupid and impossible question. "Were you Charlie? The Irish Setter?"
"Yes." Bark. Pretty weird, huh?
"I need a drink!" Martha announced and went to the refrigerator to see if there was an open bottle of wine.
"I'm thinking this calls for something a lot stronger, Martha." Kate went into the kitchen to find the bottle of vodka.
"So you died, came back as a dog then died again, and came back as another dog?" Alexis questioned him.
"Yes." Bark. I could have come back as an Orca, a Horse or even an Earth Worm, you know. Actually being a dog isn't so bad. There are worse options out of 8.1 million or so possibilities.
"Vodka, lots of vodka," Kate muttered and poured both of them a glass.
"So you're really Dad?" Alexis inquired since this meant he hadn't actually left her. Or them. All right, he had, but he'd come back. But why a dog and not as a ghost?
"Yes." Bark.
Kate didn't bother with sipping; she chugged hers and refilled it. Then emptied it when she remembers that she is pregnant and shouldn't have really even drank the first one.
"So why a dog? You could have come back as a ghost or something," Alexis questioned him and watched as he just sat there staring up at her with those eyes of his.
"Yes or no questions only, pumpkin." Bark, bark, bark. "I wonder if they make laser tag vests for dogs." Bark, bark. "Except I can't hold the gun!" Whimper, whimper, whine.