Love
Chapter 11
Kate had relished finding Castle lying naked next to her come the next morning. He was right where she wanted him to be. She still couldn't believe how good a lover he was; she was thankful that he was her lover.
She went into work early with a smile on her face and turned on her computer; she had new information to use in her search. "Pazunia." She tried different spellings of the word and couldn't find a country with that name. It had her defaulting to using a Google search.
Pazunia – Horrors of the Abyss
There was page after page of information. All of it dealt with it being the first level of the Abyss. Filled with demons along with pools of molten iron that would allow access to lower levels of the Abyss.
Avernus. Oinos. Lunia. These are all names for the first Layers of their respective realities. Much to the sorrow of the rest of Creation, the Abyss is no different in having a single Layer which allows access to the deeper and more nightmarish terrors that lie beneath. In the case of the Abyss this first Layer is known as the Plane of Infinite Portals, or the Layer of a Thousand Closets. However, in the common tongue it is generally named Pazunia. For the vast majority of those that dare to enter the Abyss it is the first Layer they encounter. For those who are particularly foolhardy it is the last Layer they encounter instead.
Kate was still reading, oblivious to everything around her, when Ryan finally got her attention. "We've got a body. You in?" He waved his Post-it note at her that had the address.
She really wanted to keep reading but was afraid of what she was going to find out. It was looking more and more like Castle had been telling the truth: he was a demon. It had her remembering what the doctor had told her.
She needed to be careful or the demon was going to kill her, or worse.
"What?" Kate looked up from her screen and saw Ryan waving his Post-it note. "Yeah, I'm coming." She turned off her screen but left her computer on so she could pick up where she had left off later.
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"She lived two blocks away. Likely on her way home," Kate was told.
"Cause of death is strangulation with a rope," Lanie informed her.
"Young, blonde, strangled with a rope. Sounds familiar." Kate's mind was really still on her computer screen and not on the dead body.
"That was four years ago. No one has heard from him since," Ryan said.
"Care to share with the class?" Kate didn't see the connection.
Ryan looked at her incredulously. "Seriously, Beckett? He murdered several women in just this way. Granted all of them were in their apartments and not in an alley. The triple killer. 3XK." Did that help her memory?
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Kate was with Lanie in the morgue. Lanie handed over a folder with a picture in it. "Three eighths inch rope with tight winding. Made of green and white nylon fibers. I found the same fibers in her neck." Lanie motioned to the dead body on her table.
"He's back. The triple killer." He had been missing for four years. So why was he back now?
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The entire homicide floor was up and listening to Captain Montgomery.
"3XK. I was on the task force that was hunting him down. The closest we ever came was a profile from the FBI. White male, aged 25 to 45. He could impersonate anyone. A power company electrician, delivery man, cable installer. He gained entrance after studying his victim for weeks possibly. Then killed them and left them posed in a certain manner. He killed three women in one week. If he keeps to this schedule we're already behind. This is the third day. Get to work people." Roy walked over to Kate. "I need you to take point on this one."
"Yes, sir, right after my doctor's appointment. I've had it scheduled for two weeks. It'll only take me an hour." She really needed this visit. She was scared.
Roy nodded his assent. "Make it quick. There's a woman out there somewhere who doesn't have much time left."
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"So what brings you in, Kate?" Doctor Kathryn Weaver knew her and her aversion to doctors well.
"I'm late." Kate had been having her periods like clockwork. It was just that she was having so much sex of late she was worried that her pill had let her down.
"Your period. Have you used any of the over-the-counter test sticks?" Was she here because she was just afraid or did she have reason to be here?
"No, I haven't. To be honest I'm too big of a coward to use them." She shrugged. "And I don't trust them. What if it came up positive and it was really negative? Or the other way round?" She didn't need the drama in her life.
"Well we haven't done a complete physical in a long time so we're going to do the entire thing." The doctor moved over to a cabinet and pulled out a gown for Kate. "Put this on and I'll be back. In the meantime I need you to pee in this cup. We'll run a pregnancy test for you. We're going to start with that. After that Angel's going to take you to x-ray. It's time for a mammogram. You're of that age that we need to keep watch. I hope you're not in a hurry." The doctor was going to keep her for a while.
Actually Kate was in a hurry. She had a murderer on her hands and he was a dangerous serial killer.
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Still clad in the hospital gown, Kate was sitting all alone in the exam room. She really didn't have time for this. She was just starting to stand when Doctor Weaver came in carrying a large folder.
"Better sit down, Kate." She knew Kate was going to be destroyed by what she had to say.
Kate sat back down and looked at her. "Your pregnancy test came back negative. Your blood work will be back in a few hours. So it's highly probable that you aren't pregnant." Kate relaxed, but why had she told her to sit down? Then she watched her pull an X-ray out of her folder, turn on the lights, and slide it onto the display panel.
The doctor didn't know how to say it except to just come out with it. Rip the Band-Aid off. "I found a lump in your breast. Both breasts, actually."
"What!" That had Kate standing to look at the X-ray herself.
"Do you do self-examination for lumps?" All women should and she couldn't remember if she had ever talked about that with Kate. Kate not doing the self-examination might be on Doctor Weaver's head.
Kate looked at the X-ray and shook her head. "I'm going to want an MRI next. We need to find out if it's already metastasized to other parts of your body. I'm also going to want more blood for testing. That and I want another urine sample. We're going to do different tests this time based on this information.
"Try not to worry. Maybe we haven't caught it too late." But Doctor Weaver feared it was already far too late.
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Kate was walking back into the precinct except she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going. She was on autopilot. She was also very late. Instead of one hour it had taken her just short of six hours including transit to and from.
"Sir," Kate said after knocking on his door.
"Beckett!" Roy was ready to rip her a new one. She'd been gone far too long and some woman out there didn't have the time. However, his lead detective looked totally lost; he'd never seen her that way before. He got up to close his own door and Beckett just stood there. He needed an explanation, needed to know what was happening.
"You're going to need to find someone else, sir." Kate meant not just for this case but someone to take over her job.
"What's going on, Beckett?" Why would he need someone else? Beckett was the best and it was going to take his best to catch this animal.
"I've got cancer. It's terminal." Kate just spat it out and got it over with. She even knew what she was going to do.
Roy froze in place. Of all the things she could've said, that wasn't one of the ones he was thinking of that might save her from him ripping her a new one. "I…" He was at a loss as what to say.
Kate pulled her badge and her weapon off and placed them on his desk. "I'm resigning, sir. I don't have much time so I'm going to spend it doing something else." Saying goodbye to her dad. Spending all her money touring the planet. Going to countries she might never get to see otherwise.
Roy fumbled his way to his chair so he could sit down. "Beckett… Kate." He was lost.
"I'm sorry, sir. …I'm going to go visit my dad." She turned and walked out, leaving a lost and confused Captain Montgomery sitting in his office, his face ashen with shock and sadness.
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"Hi, Dad." Kate was feeling a little better about herself, even if she did feel sad and defeated.
"Katie! What are you doing here? Do you have the day off?" He thought she was at work.
"Yeah, I thought we could spend the day together. I know it's short notice, but I was hoping we could hang out." She didn't know what she was going to do if he didn't have the time.
"I've got a client in three hours, but sure. We can meet up again after we're done. It's a little late for lunch. Maybe coffee and a snack. I know you love coffee." Jim was happy to see her and spend time with her.
"That would be great." Kate waited for him to gather what he wanted and followed him to his coffee shop of choice.
"So how have you been, Katie? Caught any new killers?" Jim sat down with his coffee and handed a croissant to his daughter.
She ignored his first question. "A few. I, um…I'm going away, Dad. I'm thinking of starting with Paris and then take a train to somewhere else when I feel like it." There were a lot of cities she wanted to see. Paris was as good a place to start as any.
"Paris! Paris would be nice." He studied her face. "What brought this on?" It didn't sound like her. She'd been a workaholic ever since his wife had been killed. Even more so since she had joined the force and made it to detective.
"I've decided that I've been working too hard and need some time off. I might put everything into storage and rent my place out while I move around. I've taken an extended leave from the precinct." A permanent leave, actually.
"Sounds like a big change. You could do with some time off. You work too hard." Jim liked the sound of it. But just it didn't sound like her. "What brought this on? Is it a case?" Did she get one that hit too close to home for her?
"It's just time. I'm not getting any younger. I should see it before it's too late. Before I'm too old to enjoy it," Kate added quickly to cover her slip up.
"Maybe you'll meet a nice young French guy. Might be just what you need. That or a nice Italian guy," Jim teased.
That had her thinking of Castle. "I may have met someone already." She just wasn't sure. What she had just learned had had her scared. She wasn't scared any longer. What could he do to her if he was a demon?
"Really? When do I get to meet him? Is it serious?" His daughter wouldn't have mentioned him if it wasn't serious.
"His name is Rick and it's pretty serious. I don't know when you'll meet him, though." She wasn't sure what she was going to do about Rick. She did know that her addiction wasn't going to matter much longer regardless.
"What does he think about you going on a trip?" Was she running away from him because it had gotten serious? "Don't run from him, Katie." It was what his daughter always seemed to do.
"I'm not running away from him, Dad, promise" She was pretty sure because of her addiction that she couldn't run away even if she wanted to.
"So what does he think of this?" Jim got back onto topic.
"I haven't told him yet." She hadn't had the privacy needed to summoned him so she could tell him.
"He deserves to know. You can't leave him in the dark." It still sounded to him like his daughter was running away.
"I know and I'll tell him. We'll see each other tonight." Right after she summoned him and after they had a nice long talk when she got all the answers she wanted. Not that it mattered much any longer.
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"What do you mean she resigned?" Lanie demanded, speaking to Javi who had only just found out himself.
"That's what Captain Montgomery told us. He's taken over finding 3XK before he kills another girl." Espo hadn't been able to talk to him to find anything out. They were too busy to ask him anything.
That little bit of information left Lanie flustered as she had no choice but to stay in the morgue to keep working on the body she had. They needed for her to find something. Anything that would help them. When what she wanted to do was rush over to Kate's apartment and find out what was going on.
"What happened, Kate?" Lanie turned her attention back to her body but her mind was distracted.
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Kate left her dad without telling him about her having cancer. That it was terminal and the end would be sooner rather than later. She felt a little bad about that, but she would eventually tell him. She just couldn't bring herself to do it now.
Right now it was time for answers. "Richard Castle, I need you."
Kate saw him show up right in front of her. Just like always he was naked and had an erection.
"Where are the clothes?" Rick was expecting to find his clothes and go on another date with her.
"Not tonight." Kate wasn't sure if ever any longer. "Have a seat…, please." She patted the space next to her on the sofa and waited for him to sit down.
Rick saw the way she was presenting herself and heard it in her voice. Something was different. "What?" He wanted to understand.
"I need answers, Castle, and I need the truth." Kate turned to face him. "I need to know."
"What's going on?" It didn't sound like her. Though he did feel her hand starting to stroke his cock.
"I…" She was all set to tell him when she noticed her hand was stroking his cock. Even now she couldn't resist it. She was really going to miss his cock. …She was going to miss him. She could actually admit it to herself now.
"I have cancer." Her life was over and she needed to make plans on what to do with what time was left to her.
"Cancer?" He had no knowledge of this word.
Kate looked at him and was a little surprised that he didn't know what she was talking about and yet somehow it all fit with what she knew. "Cancer is…" Her eyes closed briefly while she found the words to explain it to him. "My body is killing itself and it's advanced. I'm dying, Rick." She finally felt the first tears start. It was actually sinking in that she was going to die.
"WHAT! NO!"Rick felt his heart split asunder and it caused him intense pain. A pain he was totally unfamiliar with. "You can't die. Please, no." He grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her, and holding her tight. Rick had no idea what it was but his eyes filled with water and it began falling down his face.
Kate hadn't been sure how Castle was going to react. It obviously hit him hard. She also found herself being held tight and could hear him sniffling. She even thought he might be crying. Hearing him crying over her news and holding her tight finally released what she had been holding in. Her tears soon turned into sobbing. She was going to die. But she didn't want to die. She let it finally overtake her and let herself cry.
She let herself melt into him. Since it was all over she could admit it. She was falling in love with him if she hadn't already and she was going to lose him. She was going to lose everything.
Rick didn't know what to do. She couldn't die. She just couldn't. She meant far too much to him now. He had to keep her. He already knew he wasn't handing her over to his master. His master would rape her and kill her.
Her death would kill him. "Please don't die." Rick didn't even recognize his own voice. It was cracked and weak and didn't sound like him.
"I'm sorry, Castle." She really wanted to keep him, but that wasn't possible any longer.
They clung to each other as if that alone would solve everything. Then Rick made a decision. He wasn't sure she was ready yet, but if he had any chance at keeping her he had to risk it. "I have a plan. …I want you to come with me." He didn't have anything back in the Abyss that was his. He only ever went there to get the gold his master sent him.
Kate reached up to wipe away a few tears. Was he talking about her going where he went when he left her? It was time to start asking her questions that she had feared to ask him.
"Castle, are you truly a demon?" Thanks to him getting her to fly and what Doctor Gallagher had told her, it suddenly all fit into place.
"Yes. I'm an Incubus. How did you know?" He feared that it would be such a shock that she wouldn't want anything to do with him.
Kate pulled away and let go of him so she could look at him. What she saw was a look of hurt and anguish. His face was wet with tears. She reached out to brush a few away. It all hit her heart. It also told her that he might love her.
"Research." She swiped at her own tears and wiped her nose. "You seduce women." Meaning her.
He was surprised yet again. How had she learned so much? No other woman had ever learned this much. "Yes, it's my job to find women and give them to my master."
Kate was starting to put it all together. "The Abyss. The 56th level."
Rick was impressed with her tenacity and intellect. "Not you. Never you. I can't give you to him. I care too much to let him rape you and kill you. I can't allow that to happen." His master couldn't have her.
Kate wiped at her tears again and looked at him. "Go to the Abyss with you." She was pretty sure she wouldn't like it there. What the doctor had told her made it sound more like a living hell.
"No, you wouldn't like it there and you wouldn't last ten minutes before a demon killed you or captured you and gave you to my master." Rick made his pitch. "Kate, I want you to come live with me on my ship." He thought he was ready to abandon his master and hide on his ship in the Astral Plane.
"Your ship." Kate thought about it. While it would be a big step for them, she was still going to die soon. "Where is this ship and how big is it?" If it was the size of a dingy he was nuts. Even though she was dying did she want to make such a big step?
"It's located in the Astral Plane and it's about eighty feet long. It's a heavy scout ship that had a crew of about fourteen on it. It has a captain's cabin, crew quarters, kitchen, and dining room and lots of storage. It even has a bathroom." The bathrooms was meant for the crew and one for the captain.
Kate tried to remember what Doctor Gallagher had said about the Astral Plane though that didn't really help a whole lot. His ship sounded large enough. However, it still left a problem.
His plan had a huge hole in it that couldn't be fixed. "I'm still going to die soon, Castle."
"I can fix that," he insisted. He knew it could be done. There was just one or two problems. "It will be difficult and dangerous…for both of us." Mostly for him, though.
Kate didn't dare hope that he could save her, but she couldn't help it. She really didn't want to die. "You're talking about magic, aren't you?" Believing in real magic was still very difficult, even after she'd been shown it.
"You need to believe, you just need to believe. …Please, Kate. I don't want you to die." He stroked her cheek with his hand and cupped her face. "Let me save you. I..." Rick didn't have a word for it. Actually what he was feeling was totally alien to him. He'd never felt like this before in his life over anyone or anything. Though his ship came close.
Kate laid her hand over his and smiled at him. He was an evil demon that seduced women so they could be raped and killed by his master. Yet for her, he was weeping and she could see the hurt and hope in his blue eyes. It sounded like he really did love her; he just couldn't say it. Much like herself.
She couldn't help it. "What's your plan, Castle?" She could at least listen to him.