Christmas Train Chapter 12, a castle fanfic

Christmas Train

Chapter 12

January 5th

"What's our last event?" Kate asked while she got dressed for the day after showering and putting on some makeup.

Rich could hardly wait. "A black hole."

"A WHAT! Surely you're not serious?" Nothing escaped a black hole, nothing, certainly not them.

"Of course I'm serious, …and don't call me Shirley." Rick tried to hide his smile.

"Very funny! A black hole?" Were they really trying to kill them?

"Ready?" Rick was at the door waiting for her.

"To get crushed to death by incredible gravity? …Sure." Might as well die happy.

"We might come out the other side in another galaxy," Rick said and this time couldn't hide his smile.

"Still not funny, Castle." She wasn't amused but followed him down the hallway. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to my dad," Kate muttered along the way. That had Rick smiling as they walked.

Kate entered the bar car right behind Castle. She was in no hurry to die. Instead she saw that a pair of large screens had been added to the room. They covered up a number of the windows on one side.

"Find us a good spot while I get us something to drink. You want your standard coffee or something more appropriate? Like maybe a Grim Reaper? Oh, I know, an Undertaker? … No, no, how about a Liquid Ghost?" Rick was having so much fun.

He was so not funny. "My normal coffee is fine, Castle."

"One order of boring, it is." He left her to go get their drinks.

She had never even heard of those drinks. She was sure Castle was making them up just to rile her. Problem was, it was working.

"One order of boring for you." Rick set her glass in front of her with a flourish. "And one order of Red Death for me." He put his glass on the table and sat down.

Kate looked at his drink and sure enough, it was red. "Okay, Castle, what is a Red Death?" It was yet another drink she'd never heard of and she thought she knew her drinks. Though she hadn't done much experimenting since college.

Rick rattled off the ingredients. "It's made using orange juice, pineapple juice, blackberry brandy, whiskey, triple sec, and sloe gin." Then right before his eyes Kate snatched it from in front of him and took a sip.

"Hey, that was mine," Rick protested.

"Kind of fruity tasting, but not bad." She put his drink back down and took a sip of her drink. He'd once again added his mystery spice to it. She did have to admit that he knew his drinks. More than she did.

"So what's going to happen?" she asked since he seemed to know.

"We get sucked down a black hole, naturally," he grinned. She stuck her tongue out at him since he was using her remarks against her. "Honestly, I don't know. I only know what I read about this event. I guess we wait." He sat back and sipped his drink.

They sat there and waited. Rick was about half done with his drink when Kate suddenly said, "Castle! Your face is red!" She bit her lip to hide her smile as he checked his face with his hands.

If he was red he should be hot, but he didn't feel hot. He glared at her. "Very funny!"

She laughed at him. "I thought so." Playing with Castle was fun. Then without warning the lights went out.

"Here we go, Kate. Tell me you love me one last time," Rick asked.

"I think I'm starting to hate you," she snarked and smiled widely since it was hard to see anyone, let alone Castle.

The screens came to life and showed something. It was really a whole lot of blackness. A crew member came over the speakers and began telling them what they were seeing.

Eventually it was replaced with something else that showed a computer-generated display of what they were seeing. That was the only view that really showed the black hole. They were told it was light years away and this was as close as they were going to come to it. Then the same crew member started telling them about black holes. After that it returned to the normal view that was mostly just a whole lot of black.

"Feel better now?" Rick inquired since she had talked about being worried.

"Better than you, Castle. You're still red," she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny." His drink wasn't killing him. Though he wasn't going to order another one, just to be safe. Not that he would ever tell her that.

Rick poked at her as they walked to their cabin. "You really thought we were going to be sucked into a black hole, didn't you?"

"NO! …Maybe. But only a little. A lot has happened on this trip already, you know." She had, after all, come onboard with a boyfriend who turned out to be a killer and now here she was, engaged to someone else. Who just happened to be Santa Claus.

"No objection here. This has been one of my more exciting vacations." Rick was willing to admit that.

"Do you always take a vacation after delivering toys?" Kate asked then looked around to see if anyone overheard her.

"Every year without fail, so far. It's my only time off. It took me months to convince the elves to throw a party for themselves with me gone. God knows what they're doing while I'm away." He could only imagine…

"My only hope is that they haven't forgotten about the reindeer. Feed them, water them, pick up after them, that kind of stuff. We only have just so many reindeer." He was kind of hoping that they would let their hair down and have some fun.

"Well maybe they'll burn the whole place down," Kate joked and laughed.

Rick's eyes narrowed; he didn't see what was so funny. "We do have a fire department."

They were now in one of the seating areas and just people-watching. One or two were shutting out everyone and reading from a pad. "Castle, tell me more about the North Pole." If she was going to live there it would be nice to know at least a little more.

"Well… The place is very, very old but you wouldn't know it to look at it. It's under a massive dome to keep the cold out. Everything, including the fields where we grow crops year round, is under the dome. We have a number of airlocks to get out of the dome, though. The largest one is reserved for the reindeer and the sleigh.

"There's a room way at the top that rarely gets used and there's an elevator dead center of the place to reach it. You wanted to find out more about your mother, that's where we'll be going." It was really the only place.

"Will it work?" She hated getting her hopes up but couldn't help it.

Rick shrugged. "Like I said, we don't use it much. I've only been up there once and that was just to see it. I've never actually used it." He needed to warn her. "It might not work, Kate."

"It needs to work," she told herself softly. It was the only lead she had and she had only just gained it.

"What else? Where does everyone live? How do you buy food?" Then she remembered that they didn't have money. "Get food and other things?

"It depends. If you're a farmer you have a home. If you're one of the toy makers you have an apartment. Actually most everyone lives in an apartment no matter what you do. Even me. It's just that where they're located varies greatly.

"There are places to get the food you need all over the place, either restaurants or grocery stores. Not everyone that lives there is directly involved with toys. We really are a city. We just happen to be filled with elves instead." Rick wasn't sure what else was there.

"We have hospitals, we have veterinarians – people do have pets. We generate trash just like any other city. It's just that almost all of ours is recycled. You wouldn't believe where some of it goes." Rick rolled his eyes over what he had learned over the years.

"Don't arrest us but whenever a movie comes out we get a copy of it and play it in our theaters. The same for TV."

"I'm a homicide detective, Castle, not a copyright enforcer. …It does sound nice, though." Kate was looking forward to exploring it all.

"Everything is Christmas year round. There are Christmas decorations large and small all over. Christmas lights large and small. We even have Christmas trains everywhere. Some of them you can ride while others are quite small. Oh, and there's Christmas music everywhere." It was the North Pole after all.

"Wow, you really love Christmas." Kate wasn't sure she loved Christmas that much.

"It's what we do. You'll get used to it. That or you'll kill yourself." Rick laughed at her a little with his joke.

"Funny, Castle." She went back to people-watching and didn't think about the North Pole again.

Then they watched as train employees entered the car. Two were handing out cards while two others looked to be collecting money and then handing over a different card.

When they got to Kate she found out that one card talked about options for their final Christmas dinner of the trip. "Some of the options are limited so we need to find out what everyone wants," she was told.

The next group was selling raffle tickets. The raffle tickets were in two parts. One was that if you won you could win one of their items based on how many tickets you purchased.

One was a beverage tub filled with beer from all over. Another was a movie basket filled with Christmas Classics. While another was a fiber optic Christmas tree that emitted a light show of dancing colors along its branches. It used LEDs to illuminate fiber-optic tips that lit a room with twenty-three different displays using seven different colored lights.

The other part was that the more tickets you purchased you stood a better chance of getting the meal of your choice.

"I don't have any money on me." Kate had just realized that she hadn't paid for anything since getting on the train. Especially this second time.

"Everything's charged to your room, miss. You'll pay your bill before you leave the train," the employee said.

"In that case I'll take fifty and I'd like the lamb shanks." Kate had gone through the list and was given her tickets while they took down her name, cabin number, and her dinner choice.

"Good luck."

She looked at her tickets that had come out of a box an employee was carrying around. It was mostly red and had a not-very-Santa-looking Santa in the middle. He had his bag over his shoulder and a wrapped Christmas gift in his other hand. She thought Castle looked so much better as a Santa.

She watched Castle being told and saw him buy tickets. "Good grief, Castle!" It looked like he'd bought every ticket in the box. The employee had to go get another box so he could continue with the other passengers.

"It's for a good cause. Besides I'm going to donate everything I win to the trains' guests. Save for the dinner option. That I'm eating." Rick set his box full of tickets on the floor.

Kate was ready to get up and kiss him for being so kind when another employee came along taking drink orders. Since she could really use a drink she saved her kiss for him for later.

Kate was wondering what to do next after finishing her drink. The train was only so big and there was only so much to do on it.

She was rescued when another employee walked in and started handing out pieces of paper. Kate took one and read what it said. "A Christmas movie marathon, Castle." She was betting he would be interested in that. Based on the number of movies listed it was going to last until they arrived at the station tomorrow. It started in about half an hour and would last all night long.

Rick took his and read the list.

A Christmas Story

Love Actually

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Holiday Affair

The Polar Express

It's a Wonderful Life

The Man who Invented Christmas

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Miracle on 34th Street

Four Christmases

White Christmas

Scrooged

The Nightmare before Christmas

Holiday Inn

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

A Christmas Carol

The Holiday

Arthur Christmas

Joyeux Noel

The Bishops Wife

A Christmas Tale

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

It Happened on 5th Avenue

Remember the Night

Frosty the Snowman

Christmas In Connecticut

Kate was going down the list as well. "I've never even heard of some of these, Castle."

"Then those are the ones we're watching. Just make a note of when they're being shown and we'll be there," Rick said.

"I don't have a pen." She had nothing to mark with. Suddenly a pen fell in her lap. She picked it up and saw that it was a Christmas pen. It was red and green and said Merry Christmas on it. "I kind of expected something more from you, Castle." It was rather plain-looking. Suddenly another pen landed in her lap. This one actually jingled when it landed. It had red and green stripes and had a red pom-pom on one end that had three bells on top of it. One was red, one was green, and one was silver. Kate shook it to get the bells to jingle. "Better, Castle." She used it to put check marks on the ones she didn't recognize. Then threw both pens back at Castle and smiled at him since he had tossed them and she had thrown them at his chest.

It turned out that they had set up two movie theater areas to show all of the movies in the few short hours remaining. ANd that was just this car. Kate looked at her list then at the list of what movies were being show where. "It looks like I'm going to miss a couple." They were being shown at the same time.

"Pick and choose." It was all Rick could tell her.

Kate sighed and picked her first movie. The Man who invented Christmas

They took a break for bathroom and lunch then went back to watching movies.

Kate decided Joyeux Noel was next. "The Christmas truce during World War I." She had no idea what to expect but this was a surprise.

They had time for one more movie before it was time for their dinner choices. If they won.

Arthur Christmas was her next choice. "It's animated!" Again she hadn't been expecting that. It turned out to be about Santa's bumbling son, Arthur.

"We're having girls," Rick whispered to her since he didn't want a bumbling son like this guy. That earned him a swat to his chest.

But that did have Kate looking at him while he watched the movie. He was talking about them having children. She really wasn't all that sure about having children but at least she knew he didn't hate them. Then she started kicking herself. Of course he didn't hate children. He was Santa for goodness sake. Still she took peeks at him while they watched the movie. Children?

They were already seated for dinner when Shrom and Vile joined them.

"What did you two order for dinner?" Rick inquired, wondering how many tickets they'd purchased.

"We won't win. Mr. Big Spender here only bought two tickets." Vile glared at her husband.

"We'll be fine, besides I didn't want any of those baskets." Shrom was willing to take what they got.

"We both ordered prime rib," Vile said.

"I ordered the lamb shanks. Mmm, lamb shanks." Kate could feel her mouth watering already.

Rick sat there quietly and wiggled his fingers so that everyone got what they wanted.

"Have you had a good time?" Kate had completely enjoyed the trip and hoped her new friends had as well.

"It was a bit boring until that assassin suit." Shrom had really enjoyed that part.

"Don't listen to him. It's been fun." Even if she also thought the best part was the assassin suit.

"The assassin suit. Oh, my god…Will!" She had spent most of this trip trying not to think about him. "What's going to happen when we get home?"

"We'll all be detained and questioned. Someone will have to blow his door off to get him out. They'll likely try and threaten us to pay for all the damages. We'll have to explain all we know about an assassin suit and how we know about one. Verify that we didn't plant it on him. Things like that," Vile said.

"Wonderful, that'll take hours." Kate knew she would interrogate all of them if it was her.

"It'll take some time before they release us. However, they'll take his life apart piece by piece. He'll be questioned about who he got the suit from and where. After he's convicted they'll lock him up for life." Shrom knew it was a life sentence to be caught in possession of an assassin suit.

"I wonder if he's killed anyone." She had at least prevented him from killing anyone on this train like he had the first time.

Vile offered her opinion. "Most likely. That's what an assassin suit's for. It isn't called that for nothing, Kate."

"They'll find out who. His entire life's going to fold out in front of him. Even after he's locked up they will keep digging. An assassin suit is the most hated item known." He was still trying to figure out how to keep it for himself.

"What?" Rick noticed an odd look on his friend's face.

"Nothing." Shrom was never going to admit it. If he was caught in possession of one he would get the same treatment. Vile wasn't going to rat out her husband so she said nothing.

Since tomorrow was going to be a really long day they said their goodbyes now.

Rick handed Shrom something. "Here, call me next time you're on Earth or need something. I owe you for your help with Bracken. Maybe another Christmas vacation somewhere." He was more than willing to take another vacation with his friends.

"We'll think about it, Pink Skin." Shrom couldn't think of anything at the moment but it was a year from now so anything could happen.

"Maybe an invasion; we could bring our ship," Vile offered and started smiling.

"Yes!" Shrom was in. It reminded him why he'd married her. She knew him so well.

"Stop an invasion of Earth. …Great. Little green men." Kate began shaking her head.

"Technically they're gray with big black eyes," Shrom said.

"I thought they were scrawny, with really big heads under a large glass dome, large white eyes that poked out of their heads, no lips, and white teeth. Oh, and they all said, 'Ack, Ack. …Ack, Ack, Ack.'" Rick did his best impersonation.

Kate whacked him in the arm. Vile looked lost. "What?" Shrom wasn't following.

Rick moaned; no one liked his joke. "It's a movie called Mars Attacks. It's stupid," Kate explained.

"It was great! It had Jack Nicholson in it. It's a classic! I'll send you a copy. You'll love it!" It was full of aliens killing humans. He was sure Shrom would get a kick out of it.

"Don't listen to him." She didn't need her friends to watch something so stupid.

"I'll send it as a Christmas gift." Rick knew Kate couldn't stop him that way. Kate moaned since he was Santa and could probably do it.

"Remember, we found the suit in his cabin. His cabin, not someone else's and he's the only one assigned to that cabin." Shrom needed to make sure everyone had their story straight. Kate however knew she was also assigned to that suite and she was gong to be drilled with quiestions