A Future Caskett
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: You know this by now, right? Rating: K Time: See below.
"Castle, this is the wrong coat."
"No, this is your coat. "He pulled the coat up over her shoulders.
She looked down at it. "This is a leather coat, mine is…." She stopped and turned around. "Castle, I can't take a gift from you."
He put his hands on her shoulders. For just a second, she felt a jolt from her past, when her father would hold her and tell her that everything would be all right. 'Why not?" He asked, seriously, but with a twinkle in his eye.
"I'm just doing my job. The job I get paid to do."
"And you're helping to do my job. Look around you, Kate. What do you see?"
She looked briefly. "It's your home."
"I can afford this home and everything in it and everything else because I make a lot of money writing books. Of course, the Ministry of Culture, who publish my books, make money, too. But Kate Beckett, who works very hard helping me out, gets no money. The least, the very least, I can do when I see my muse shivering in her thin jacket like I did this morning, is buy her a nice, warm coat."
"How did you know my size?"
When she said that, he knew she'd take the coat.
"It's in your police records. I assumed you hadn't changed much since you wore a uniform."
She smiled. "Thank you so very much, Castle. That's very sweet of you."
"Any time, Detective." He smiled back. "And this is just the beginning."
"Castle, you can't…." But he was leading her out the door to where the armored limo was waiting.
When she took the new coat off back at her apartment, Kate noticed the tag. It read: Made for Katherine Beckett by Miss Alicia. Kate checked the coat closely. It was hand stitched and the material and the workmanship was first class. It had a thick, warm lining that was covered in real silk. Castle had given her a coat that was made for Elites by an Elite.
Once in bed, she tried to figure out Richard Castle. He'd bought her a very expensive coat. Okay, he could afford to buy her one for every day of the week, but he didn't have to do anything. And he'd seemed genuinely upset when he'd learned about what she'd gone through in Vice. He'd apologized, something she'd never even heard of an Elite doing to a non-Elite. She also remembered the feeling that washed over her when he'd out his hands on her shoulders. She'd wanted to put her arms around him and just let him hold her.
She rolled over to try to go to sleep. I can't let myself get involved with an Elite. She thought. Nothing good can come of it.
When she got to the precinct the next morning, she got a message from Castle that he was going to be in a meeting at the Ministry of Culture until at least lunch time. Just before noon she got a call from him.
"Beckett, I won't get out of this meeting for a while. Have you eaten lunch yet?"
"No. That's okay. There are plenty of places to eat around here. Or I can eat a sandwich from the machine."
"A sandwich from the machine? That's not happening. A person could die from eating those sandwiches. I'm going to have my car service pick you up in fifteen minutes and take you to Woody's. it's a sandwich shop that's pretty good. I think you'll like the steak sandwich. I'll order one with the works for you. Okay?"
"Castle…." She began.
"Gotta go. They're calling me. Fifteen minutes." And he hung up.
Woody's wasn't as intimidating as La Finca had been, but it was way nicer than anything she was used to. As she ate her steak sandwich she idly wondered if she'd ever manage to get used to her old life again once Castle left her life.
Castle picked her up outside of the precinct at five o'clock on the dot.
"Was Woody's okay?" He asked.
"Of course."
"Oh, before I forget, you'll be meeting someone new at my place."
"Who?"
He grinned at her. "It's a surprise."
Kate began to worry. Was Castle about to show his true Elite colors? Would she be meeting a group of his male Elite friends who wanted to bed a cop? Or would it be just one man. Perhaps some important Elite that Castle wanted to give a special present to. Or a woman? Either an Elite or perhaps a highly trained courtesan who would do things to Kate that she'd never imagined herself doing? Whatever happened, Kate would be stoic through it all.
They went in through the front door and Kate got a colossal shock. Waiting for them was a young girl, hardly into her teens by Kate's guess. Castle couldn't be so depraved as to expect her to go to bed with him and this girl. Then Kate got another shock.
"DADDY!" The girl screamed and ran to Rick, putting her arms around him and hugging him.
"How was the field trip, Pumpkin?"
"I missed you the whole week. "She grabbed Castle's hand and began to drag him away. "Let me show you what we learned at the observatory."
"Alexis! Manners. We have a guest."
The girl turned around. "Oh! I'm sorry."
"Alexis, this is my good friend Detective Kate Beckett. She's helping me with my book. Kate, this is my daughter Alexis."
The girl held out her hand which Kate took. "I'm very glad to meet you, Miss Beckett."
"I'm glad to meet you, too, Alexis." Kate managed to keep from blushing from embarrassment at what she had thought Alexis was.
"Alexis has been at the Mount Berend observatory for eight days now." Castle looked around. "Oh, I was thinking of making a cauliflower casserole for dinner. Is that okay with everyone?"
"Daddy!" Alexis said sharply. "You promised!"
"Promised what?" Castle did his best to look confused as to what Alexis meant.
"You said we'd have pizza with everything on it when I got home."
"I did? Are you sure?"
"Daddy! You know you did."
"I honestly don't remember that, Pumpkin, but by a wild coincidence I just happen to have a pizza with everything on it in the freezer. I'll start cooking. Why don't you tell Kate what you learned at the observatory?"
Alexis led Kate to her laptop which was sitting on the kitchen island. "Did you study astronomy in school, Kate?"
Kate recalled having an hour long discussion of the solar system in a science class, so she replied, "A little."
Alexis began showing her photos of the fourteen planets in their solar system. "I didn't take these, of course. They were downloaded from the observatory."
As Alexis spoke, Kate discovered that the girl was very well educated.
"This is the planet Cerberus, the largest planet in the solar system. The astronomer said that if Cerberus was just a little bit bigger it would have become another sun and probably made our world uninhabitable."
Alexis brought up another photo. "I'll bet you don't know what this is."
It wasn't a planet, that was for sure. It was some kind of a tubular object with some sort of square wings sticking out from it. "A part of the observatory?" Kate guessed.
"No, it's an artificial satellite. The astronomers said it's a Union spy satellite taking pictures of us from out in space. Since the Shadow War between To-AAn and the Union ended with the collapse of the To-AAn, the astronomers said that the Union is getting ready to attack us. Do you think there'll be a war, Kate?"
Kate had no idea. She rarely watched her TV and never watched the news since it was mostly speeches by Lord Protector Bracken interspersed with mind numbing propaganda. "I really don't know, Alexis. I haven't heard anything that would indicate a war was about to happen."
"I hope not. A war would be terrible. People getting killed and hurt." Alexis shivered, then quickly changed the subject. "Where did you go to school, Kate?"
Kate took a breath. Time to get it over with. "Public High School Number Eight. In Junktown."
Oddly, Alexis seemed impressed. "Wow! You must be awfully smart to have come so far."
"I had help." Kate said, modestly.
"Pizza's ready, ladies." Rick called. "One white wine for Kate and one lemonade for Alexis as well."
After dinner, Rick retired to his office to start work on his next story while Kate and Alexis watched a movie. It was a silly movie about a princess who was kidnapped, but managed to escape with the help of a young peasant. After many adventures, the princess and the peasant returned to her castle and lived happily ever after. Although she thought it was silly, Kate remembered watching similar movies as a kid and wishing some handsome boy would come and take her out of Junktown. But she had gotten out of Junktown on her own.
Back at her apartment, Kate lay in bed looking up at her darkened ceiling. She had decided that Richard Castle wasn't going to tear off her clothes and drag her into his bed. He was really a nice person, a great father and he was her friend. For now.
When Castle arrived the next morning, Kate already had her murder board set up.
"Who's the victim?" He asked.
"Tina Donaldson, age fifteen, blonde hair and blue eyes. Five feet and two inches tall, one hundred and three pounds."
"Cause of death?"
"She's a kidnap victim."
"I thought you only did homicides."
"Four girls, age fourteen to seventeen, all blondes with blue eyes and a slim build have been found murdered in the last two months. They were sexually assaulted, severely beaten and strangled. We're hoping we can get to Tina before she's killed."
"Who are these?" Castle pointed to a group of photos on the far side of the board.
"Possible suspects. People in her building, a creep across the street, others in the neighborhood. We have nothing on them except they live in her area."
Castle examined the photos. "Here's one. Gerald Tyson. I know that name." He pulled out his phone.
"What are you doing?" Beckett asked.
"Linking up with my computer at home." Castle fiddled with his phone. "Here he is. I was on a patrol with the Field Police about five years ago. We came across Tyson fighting with a young blonde. When they saw us, the girl ran and we caught Tyson. He said it was just an argument with his girlfriend."
"So the Field Police had to let him go?"
"Yes, but they broke both of his arms first."
"We should go ask this Tyson some questions." Beckett said, getting up.
Officers Lockwood and Marks met them about a block from where Tyson lived.
"Good morning, Mr. Castle, Detective Beckett." Lockwood said with a smile.
"We'll walk to his flop." Beckett said. "Hopefully he won't see us coming." She turned to Castle. "And this time, Mr. Castle, stay outside. If he's our guy, he's dangerous."
"Even is he's not, he's still dangerous. "Marks added.
Arriving at his apartment, Beckett placed Castle a good ten feet from the door and silently picked the lock. They entered the apartment silently. There was a front room, a bedroom and a bathroom. All were empty.
They were standing in the bedroom when Castle said, "Doesn't this bedroom look awfully small to you?"
Before Beckett could reprimand him for entering the apartment, the wallboard in the bedroom came crashing down and Gerald Tyson came out, screaming and aiming a club at Castle. He blocked it with his arm and Kate reacted at once, punching Tyson in the solar plexus and then head butting him under the chin. Both Lockwood and Marks reacted, grabbing Tyson. Marks held him while Lockwood punched him in the stomach repeatedly.
Castle was on the ground.
"Castle!" Kate screamed. "Are you hurt?"