A few minutes after the nurse left, Kate brought her empty tray to the wall panel. "Castle, what the hell did you want 300 sugar pills for?
"Poker! I can't play my best unless I'm playing for money. So while we are in here, the white pills are worth $100.00, the orange are worth $500.00 and the green are worth $1000.00. Hey, it's the best I could come up with in here, unless you have another stash of gummie bears.
"No gummie bears. So what happens tomorrow if we do get out of here?"
"The whites are a dime, the orange ones are a quarter and the greens are worth a dollar. I wouldn't feel right taking all your money to pay off what you'll owe me."
"Don't you mean you don't want to owe me the entire check for your next book advance?"
"Bring it, Beckett! After all it's only money." Rick moved a hospital table between his bed and the one Kate had fallen asleep in. "Cut to deal."
"Easy for you to say that! What's a few thousand dollars to you? I want something more than money if I win." Kate won the cut and dealt the first hand.
"Such as? And for your information, my last advance check from Black Pawn was three million dollars."
"Did you say million?"
"Yes, and don't change the subject. If you win, what do you want? Kindly remember that I once saved your life, all I asked was that you never call me by my first wife's pet name again."
"OK kitten, you can tell me more about Richard Castle and not that publicity crap they put on the dust covers for your books." Kate won the first hand and Castle threw away his cards.
"My life is an open book, literally and figuratively. What do you want to know?"
"Why were you nude when you were arrested for stealing, excuse me, borrowing a police horse in Central Park?"
"I would think a smart detective like you would have figured that one out by now. Do you remember the date? I do, it was June 18, 2005...that was the date my divorce from Gina was final. I met with my lawyer at Tavern on the Green. He gave me the final bill on the cost to end my second marriage. Between the alimony and his fee I was five million poorer."
"Five million dollars?"
"I had been drinking a nice white Chablis with dinner but immediately switched to vodka. To save time for the waiter, I bought the whole bottle. By the time I left the restaurant, I was quite drunk. A short time later it started to rain. I got very wet and didn't want to catch a cold, so I took off all my wet clothes. Soon after I was much too drunk to walk…"
"So you borrowed the horse."
"Unfortunately, the horse didn't know my address and brought me back to the police horse barn in Central Park, where I was promptly arrested." Kate giggled and Rick smiled at the sound.
For the rest of the night, they played poker and swapped stories: her first days on the force, his "wild child" days as a teenager, her not quite so wild days in college and his search to find his father. Then he made a big mistake. He asked Kate about her mother's case. If she had ever thought of re-opening it. Going back to see if she could find something that the police and Detective Raglan might have missed.
"No, I...can't! Castle, you touch my mother's case, then you and I are done. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, I understand...but why?"
"For the same reason a recovering alcoholic can't drink. You don't think I haven't been down there? I've memorized every line in her file. My first three years on the force, I spent looking for something...anything that was missed. It took me a year of therapy to understand that if I didn't let it go, it would destroy me, so I finally let it go!"
"Sorry, I didn't know...but I have resources, maybe I can..."
"No!" Kate got up and walked away. "For once in your life you have to listen to me, drop it now, Rick. Please!" She went into the bathroom. He could hear Kate brushing her teeth. She came out from behind the curtain, got into bed, put in the ear buds and turned on the IPod.
He spent the next few hours thinking about everything she had told him. Her mother's murder answered so many whys but left the biggest why unanswered. He felt that with his money and contacts, he could find that answer for her but at what price?
Castle woke to the sound of the nurse entering the isolation room. He rolled over and was not surprised to see that Kate was still asleep or at least pretending to be asleep in her bed. He had no idea what time it was. The only way to mark time in the isolation room was when the nurses came in as the shifts changed at 7AM, 4PM and 11PM. The late night nurse came in during their poker game, she checked their vitals and drew blood. After she left, they had played and talked for hours...until he had stupidly brought up her mother's case.
The nurse walked to Rick's bed. Frowning, he sat up automatically and stuck out his arm for the woman to draw blood. It was only then he noticed she was wear scrubs and not a hazmat suit.
"Hello Mr. Castle. I'm Ruth. It's nice to finally be able to shake your hand without gloves."
Stunned, Rick shook the small black woman's hand in a daze, he was still processing the meaning of her in scrubs. "You mean it's over? We are OK and we can leave?" He hugged the woman quickly, then ran over and shook Kate's shoulder. "Kate, it's over! We are free to go." He looked back at the nurse again to confirm that statement. The nurse just smiled and nodded her head.
Kate looked first at the nurse and then Castle. Laughing, they both started to hug each other. "We can go home!"
Kate was the first to think of more practical matters. "So what happens now? Can we just leave and wear these home?" She tugged at the scrub top she was wearing.
"Your Captain was notified when the last blood test came back negative. He contacted your families and they are on the way now. They should be here shortly and will probably bring a change of clothes for you. The doctor will be here in a minute with some final instructions for you both. Oh yes, since you weren't infected it is OK to take home the books, cards and magazines you have in here with you."
Kate smiled, she was very glad because she would be able to return the IPod to Alexis.
The doctor arrived moments later, he walked over to hand Castle a large envelope. "The hospital administrator asked me to give you this." Rick opened the envelope and was thrilled to hand Kate her mother's ring and father's watch. He put on his Rolex and confirmed it was still ticking. "They were all inspected for bacteria, both you and all the jewelry came back clean. You are free to go but I strongly suggest that you take a few days off before returning to your regular work schedule. We put you on some powerful antibiotics as a precaution and Mr. Castle, you had a severe case of food poisoning. If you should have any symptoms, questions or problems, you can call me or consult your own doctor immediately."
As he left, the Captain, Esposito and Ryan arrived escorting a very scared looking Alexis Castle. Seeing her dad, she all but launched herself into his arms. "DAD!" Kate was still standing near Rick. She put both her hands on his back and was able to stop him from staggering backwards from the force of his daughter's greeting.
"Hey pumpkin, I have missed you so much!" When he could finally pry her arms loose, he pushed her back slightly. "Let me see that adorable face of yours. What's with the tears?"
"I was scared that I'd never see you again." Rick held her close for a few more minutes and then nuzzled his daughter's neck and she started to giggle. "Your face is fuzzy and it tickles."
"Kate says I should grow a beard. What do you think?" Rick turned to smile at Kate with Alexis still plastered to his chest. At the mention of Kate's name, Alexis let go of her dad and hugged a very surprised Beckett.
"Thank you for keeping him safe for me."
Kate hugged the girl back and whispered, "Thanks for the IPod. I played it when he was driving me crazy." Alexis giggled, took the IPod, gave Kate a quick kiss and returned to her father's arms.
"Speaking of driving me crazy, where is my mother? Is she off trolling for a cute doctor."
"Here I am, my darling! I've never missed a cue in my life. Lanie and I waited to show Mr. Beckett the way down here. Good heavens, this really is a dungeon. Well, I have come to rescue you both and take you home." Martha hugged Kate first, then her son. Alexis joined in to make it a group hug of the Castle clan.
"Why is everyone crying? This is a happy day." Rick looked up to see Kate run into her father's arms and he was also in tears. The next few minutes were a happy jumble of introductions, handshakes, hugs and tears. Rick finally got a hand free to shake her father's hand. "Mr. Beckett, it is wonderful to finally meet you."
"Please, I'm Jim, Mr. Castle. Katie has told me so much about you and your books for so long, I feel that I already know you."
"Well then, please call me Rick. This is my daughter, Alexis and you've met my mother."
"Your captain has been giving me daily updates on you both and Martha was kind enough to send a car for me today. The driver is waiting to take us homel, we should go."
"Nonsense! Come back to the loft and we'll have a celebration."
"Mother, that is very sweet but no! All I want to do is go home, get cleaned up and sleep in my own comfortable bed...I'm sure Detective Beckett's not up for a party, she has to work."
Captain Montgomery stepped forward at that point. "The doctor said that you need a few days off, so you are both on vacation until Monday. What no arguments, Detective?"
Kate was hugging Lanie, Esposito and Ryan. "No sir, no arguments."
"OK then, everybody go home! The Captain tried to stay stern but opened his arms to give Beckett a hug."
Lanie gave Kate a bag of clothes and she quickly disappeared behind the curtain to change.
Castle high-fived a happy Esposito and Ryan, he then hugged a weepy Dr. Parrish. He shook hands with the Captain. He turned around just as Beckett ran out from behind the curtain, she was now dressed in her usual jeans and a sweater. She came into Caste's arms for a hug. "I'll miss seeing you in nothing but scrubs...and having you all to myself." The hug kept getting longer and longer as Kate suddenly realized that she wouldn't see him for a few days. Neither wanted to let go but hearing a few chuckles and a teenage giggle, they slowly broke apart.
Martha shook her head in exasperation and stage whispered, "Will you please just kiss the girl."
Blushing, Kate walked back to her dad and turned to leave arm in arm with him and Lanie.
Castle shook his finger at Martha, who handed him a bag of clothes. Smiling, he dropped the bag and pulled her and Alexis into another hug. Once outside the room, Kate stopped and called out to him, "Hey Castle, see you Monday!" He turned, smiled and winked. "See you Monday, Detective!"
AN: This turned out much longer than I expected and I apologize if the ending seemed abrupt. As I said in the intro, this takes place at the end of season one. For all of those who wanted a steamy sex scene, we can only hope for one in season three. (PLEASE!) The last line in my story was a nod at the writers of the show, they wrote a wonderful cliffhanger that will keep everyone guessing until September.