Sorry if you guys thought there were two chapters posted tonight, I just remembered something I needed to fix.
I really hadn't expected this chapter to end where it did. But once I'd written the last sentence, I couldn't see having the next part be a part of this. So I guess you can call this the "Gina" chapter. But don't worry-remember, I DON'T like Gina. The only one I like less is Josh. He will not be in this story, though. He is gone in the show, and that's enough for me.
Disclaimer: I get to write fan fics. That's enough. For now. :) And as long as Caskett gets together SOMETIME this season, I'm content to leave the show in Andrew Marlowe's capable hands. (As if I have any say in the matter. LOL)
Rick Castle was used to fame. It wasn't uncommon for a person to ask for an autograph, or for a woman to throw herself at him. But in the over two decades he had been penning his tales, Rick had never experienced anything like this. What he had just gone through went far beyond mere fame. He had felt like royalty. Although part of him wondered if even Prince William and Kate Middleton had received the type of welcome he had.
Rick wracked his brain, trying to come up with a theory, any theory, to make it all make sense. For the first time in his life, he was at a complete loss. All his brilliant imagination was able to come up with was one big giant question mark.
He had barely made it to the doors of the precinct when he heard excited voices mentioning Lanie. He whipped his head around, frantically searching for the M.E. The isle the crowd had made for him was gone.
So where was Lanie?
It was when he heard a voice cry out, "We love you, Lanie!" that he spotted her. His jaw dropped when he saw hands holding her above the mass of people, obviously guiding her towards the precinct.
Rick barely had time to process that before he noticed the crowd parting again. He wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or not when he recognized the two red heads making their way towards him.
"So, Writer Boy, is there some kind of party happening today that you forgot to tell me about?" Lanie asked once she was close enough to the man that he would be able to hear her.
Rick numbly shook his head.
"Dad, are you all right?" Alexis's tone was frantic when she reached her father's side.
"I'm fine, Pumpkin," Rick assured his daughter, putting his arm around her.
Martha put her hand on her son's shoulder, quietly asking, "Richard, what is going on?"
Rick opened his mouth to reply, not that he really had a reply in mind, when his cell phone started playing "Ding Dong, The Wicked Witch Is Dead" from 'The Wizard of Oz.'
Rick groaned. Gina was the last person he wanted to be dealing with right now. Considering the uniqueness of the situation, he knew avoiding her would be a very bad idea. He hadn't chosen that ring tone for her for nothing.
"Castle," he answered the phone in his usual manner.
"Richard Castle, you better tell me what is going on, and you better do it right now!" Gina yelled.
"I might if I actually had any idea myself," Rick snapped. He usually forced himself to have more patience with his ex-wife and publisher, but his patience was frayed as it was. Although the crowd seemed to be friendly towards him now, the writer knew enough about mob mentality to know that could change in a heartbeat. And there had to be thousands, if not millions, of people. Not even the entire 12th precinct would be enough to deal with them all. He wasn't even completely certain the entire NYPD force would be enough.
"Don't give me that, Richard," Gina snapped back. "This has all the markings of a Richard Castle stunt."
"You give me entirely too much credit," Rick told her. He might have been flattered at the thought of anyone assuming he could get a crowd this size to do anything, but for Gina to think it was beyond absurd.
"Richard, if you don't put a stop to this right now, so help me-"
All of a sudden, Rick heard a loud roar rumble through the crowd. He had been so focused on his argument with Gina that he had forgotten to keep an eye on the mob. The sliver of fear that shot through him quickly died as he realized that no one in the crowd faced his direction at the moment. That meant that he, Alexis and his mother weren't in immediate danger. But he had a feeling that someone else was. Although the idea seemed crazy to him, he was almost positive that person was Gina.
The shippers' had had enough. They had no intention of letting Gina through, but they were willing to be civil as long as she didn't cause any trouble. As soon as she had arrived, they quickly linked arms, creating a solid barrier against the detested blonde. It was like the child's game of Red Rover, Red Rover, and there was no way they were going to let Gina come over. And this was no game.
"I can't believe she's bugging Castle," Megan, one of the shippers that was at the back of the crowd, ground out between clenched teeth, taking a menacing step towards the woman.
Leana, standing to Megan's immediate right, put a restraining hand on the other shipper's arm. "You'd better wait a minute," she warned. "Castle might not want anything bad to happen to her."
"But it's GINA!" Megan protested.
"I know," Leana said with a shudder.
"She's right," agreed Janeen, a shipper that was a few rows away from the other two girls. "You don't want to make Castle mad. And he might not be happy if his publisher ended up in the hospital."
"Fine," Megan reluctantly said, folding her arms across her chest, her lips pursed in a pout.
The shippers waited in tense silence as they listened to Gina argue with her most talented writer. Although Vicki, standing next to Janeen, muttered, "Idiot. What is she going to do if she pushes Castle too far and she loses her meal ticket?"
"I think that's what she's worried about now," Janeen whispered.
Vick's response to that was an eye-roll that looked remarkably like Beckett's own familiar response of irritation.
It was when the shippers heard Gina threaten their beloved author that they snapped. As one, they all roared with displeasure. Luckily for the stupid woman, they didn't charge at her. Instead, they all yelled with one voice, "How DARE you threaten Castle! If you don't leave right now-"
Although it came from the middle of the crowd, Lizzie could be heard shouting, "You've already made enough trouble for Caskett!"
"Yeah!" Nat shouted next. "None of us want you here. So leave. NOW!"
"You'd better listen to them," Esposito said, suddenly at Gina's side.
The shippers, all focused on Gina's insult to Castle, hadn't even noticed the Hispanic detective approach. Each one felt that no one was better qualified to handle the present irritant. After all, it was his warning that had spurred Beckett on all those months ago to take a chance on Castle. And it was Gina who had ruined everything. For that summer, at least. The shippers weren't going to give her another chance, and each shipper was certain Esposito wouldn't give her one, either.
"I'm not going anywhere," Gina hissed. "I demand to see Richard!"
"You aren't in a position to make demands," Esposito said and before Gina had a chance to respond, he slung her over his shoulder, fireman style, and stomped over to the limo that she had arrived in minutes earlier. With a disgusted grunt, he opened back door and tossed her in.
"Take her as far away from here as you can," Esposito ordered the driver. "And don't let her get within a hundred miles of this crowd. By special order of the NYPD."
"Yes, officer," the chauffer said. As soon as Esposito had slammed the door shut, the driver slammed on the gas. Within seconds, the limo was out of sight.
The good thing about this being a short chapter-I can post it tonight. And I think I'll start on the next chapter tonight, too. Although it won't be posted until tomorrow, at the earliest. Sorry. And I WILL be getting back to "The Beckett Clones." Although now I'm starting to wonder if I'll be finishing this story first. These plot bunnies have got to stop long enough for me to get that story finished.
So, what did you guys think of this one? I'm not sure if it's quite as crazy as the other chapters, but the next chapter will make up for it. Promise.
Two things: One, if anyone of you wants to be mentioned by name in thie story, let me know. I'm looking for a few more, just in case. Anyone who says they want to be in the story, I WILL give you at least one line of dialogue or a noticable reaction to the events (sometimes that's even better). Who knows? Someone might even be able to speak with Kate or Castle, or maybe Lanie, personally. We'll have to see how it goes.
The other thing: I need to know how to say "Kate, Castle loves you" and "Castle loves you, Kate" in multiple languages. I'm specifically looking for Russian, French and Chinese, but I'd like to have at least 5 langues.