The round table discussions begin. This is mostly a recap of previous seasons, as recalled by Alexis and her siblings. You may infer some references to season 6, but the next chapter will definitely have them.
The Castle characters are not mine and their use, or the use of any other characters, living or dead, real or imaginary and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them.
After the funeral and internment, when the spouses went back to work, when the siblings and cousins went back to work or school, I spent the whole day with my mother, Alexis, my uncle Jack (Jackson) and my aunt Joanne. We were at the poker table in the family room and talked while we played cards.
James Rodgers Castle-White, (JRCW): Mom, this group has all heard the story about how Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick met, but now for the record tell us again.
Alexis Harper Castle-White. (AHCW): Great-grandma Martha, Grams as I liked to call her and I were at another of Grandpa Rick's book signings. This one was a little different though. He had just killed off his main character, the hero of so many of his successful books, Derrick Storm. Dad, oh sorry, you'll have to forgive me if I slip back and forth between Dad and Grandpa Rick. You get the general gist.
Jackson Beckett Castle. (JBC); It will probably happen to me too. Also when I refer to Mom, I mean Grandma Kate.
Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox, (JBCC): Me too.
AHCW: Dad was having some writing issues. He was long overdue for his next book and his publisher, my ex-step-mother, Gina, was really mad. Gina, you know was Grandpa Rick's second wife. His first wife, my biological mother, Meredith was not there.
James Rodgers Castle-White, (JRCW): You mean the one Grandpa Rick referred to as the "Deep Fried Twinkie."
Alexis Harper Castle-White. (AHCW): Hey, watch it now. That is your Grandmother too. If it weren't for her, I would not be here.
JRCW: Sorry Mom, please continue.
AHCW: Well Dad was not in the best of moods. He was not enjoying the party as much as he usually did. I overheard him arguing with Gina about the new book being due and why did he have to kill Derrick Storm off so dramatically. Dad, said writing Derrick Storm was not fun anymore, it was too much like work. Grams had told Gina that Grandpa Rick was having trouble writing. I was sitting at the end of the bar, doing homework when Dad came over to me. He tried to give me an alcoholic drink even. He was missing the surprises of life. That's when Grandma Kate came up to him, surprised him and changed all our lives.
JRCW: How did she surprise him?
AHCW: We were talking about his fans and their lines to him. He said "Just once I'd like someone to come to me and say something new." At that moment, Grandma Kate came up to him. He turned around to her and said, "Where would you like it?" She held up her badge and said, "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, we need to ask you about a murder that took place earlier tonight." Dad was stunned. That was case where a murderer was killing people the same way Dad did in some of his books. Grandpa Rick was very curious about this case. Curious is the polite way to describe it. To have a copy cat killer was 'red badge of honor, criminal Cooperstown.' He wanted the pictures to show off. When he came home, he regretted that he wanted the pictures, only a little bit (smile). He seemed excited.
JRCW: Excited?
AHCW: As part of the investigation, Grandma Kate asked Dad for all his fan mail. There was a lot of it. As a show of good faith, he went to the Captain of the precinct at the time, Roy Montgomery and offered to help with this matter. The Captain thought it would be a good idea. Grandma Kate was not happy, but Captain Montgomery told her to deal with it. When they were reading the mail together, Grandma Kate asked him why he was doing this. Dad said maybe reading these letters would jog his memory about something. Truth was he enjoyed reading his fan letters complementary or otherwise. Also, he was very taken with Grandma Kate.
Jackson Beckett Castle. (JBC); I remember Dad finally admitting to that. They were talking about things at their 40th wedding anniversary. Dad teasing Mom about who liked who first.
Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox, (JBCC): I remember that. I think Aunt Lannie said something about it taking a bomb to have Mom admit that she loved Dad. That is when they both went into the "discussion" about who liked who first, who was jealous of who, who said what to who. James, I bet you can picture it. Your grandparents got into this grove, they started to finish each other's sentences, say things at the same time, all of which was very funny. The whole party started to laugh.
JBC; Then Dad told Mom he had another anniversary gift for her. In front of all their family and friends he said, "Kate, my love, my dearest, in front of all these witnesses, I admit to you that from the time we sat down to read those letters on our first case together, I found you very intriguing. I could not resist you. You were a mystery I was never going to solve. Even now, after spending all these years with you, I'm still amazed at the depths of your strength, your heart and your hotness. I fell in love with you very soon after that and have not stopped loving you since."
Alexis Harper Castle-White(AHCW): Yea, I remember that. Mom got up to say that she was flattered by all the attention she was getting from him on that first case. She was a big fan girl from the start, even if her mother, Great-Grandma Johanna, was the first to enjoy Grandpa Rick's books. Grandma Kate said she first thought my Dad could be her 'one and done' after the Dick Coonan matter. She had some doubts after Dad left with Gina that one summer, but when they met up on the counterfeiting case and Dad told her the universe put them together again, she had renewed hope, even though there were still hurdles.
James Rodgers Castle-White, (JRCW): Such as?
AHCW: Dr. Joshua Davidson
JBC/JBCC: Mom told us he was no big deal.
AHCW: Maybe not in the long run, but at the time Mom, really, really liked him. It made Dad very unhappy. Still, Dad saw signs that Davidson would probably not last very long. His frequent trips away, the infrequency that Grandma Kate actually talked about him and other little things. After Mom recovered from being shot, Davidson was out of the picture and Dad realized the biggest obstacle was Grandma Kate herself. She was so involved in bringing Great-Grandma Johanna's killers to justice that couldn't give all the time and attention to anyone she liked that was necessary to form a strong, long lasting relationship. All her other boyfriends eventually left because they could not or would not wait. She admitted that to Dad on the swings.
JRCW: What did Grandpa Rick think when Grandma Kate admitted that?
AHCW: He told me that Mom's admission to him was a huge break through for her and him. He said he could wait and that admission was enough for then.
JRCW: It still took another year to get together and two more crisis before the proposal.
Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox, (JBCC): Mom told me about those things when I was having love issues one year. She had heard Dad admit his love after she was shot. She really loved Dad too, but was still unsure of herself. The shooting, that fact that her attempted killer was still out there. Her extreme anger at what happened, all consumed her while she recovered. And when she got back to the precinct, Dad was not there. When Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin told her what Dad found during the investigation, she had to get him back.
Jackson Beckett Castle (JBC): Funny, Dad told me about that one time too. I was in love with my now wife, and I knew she at liked, but she wouldn't admit it. There were family issues which plagued her, a bad relationship with her mother, father and brother. Many a time we were off and on, on and off. I did not know what to do. Dad said to tell her that you love her but you have to move on. Well I did and a week later her father died. She came to me and told me she wanted me, she loved me. I asked her what happened. On her father's death bed, she had it out with him and her mother. All sat stunned, but each admitted to the other their hopes and fears and by the time my wife left the room, she had made peace with them all.
JBCC: Yeah, Jack, but it still took you awhile to get married.
JBC: Just like Mom and Dad.
Alexis Harper Castle-White(AHCW): Well, what you guys have left out was that Mom and Dad still had issues. Sure they got together and were having a good time. I was there and it appeared to me that they were very happy about the status quo. For over a year everything was good and there biggest worry was keeping their relationship a secret from Captain Gates, Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lannie. Uncle Kevin finally figured out Mom and Dad's relationship. He kept it quiet until the time Dad got in trouble by 3XK. Then he told Uncle Javi and Aunt Lannie before Mom did. That was good because I think that if they did not know and Mom told them, they would have been hurt, even though Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin had been trying to figure it out themselves, with Dad misdirecting them.
James Rodgers Castle-White, (JRCW): Then what happened?
AHCW: During that horror show, Grandma Kate really showed her Dad, her love for him. With all the evidence pointing against him, including very incriminating e-mails suggesting that Dad was having an affair with the victim, Grandma Kate believed him. Even the boys (Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin) had a hard time believing Dad. When that was over, Dad knew that Grandma Kate was the one.
JBCC/JBC: What about Mom?
AHCW: Well, I do not know for sure. I can only tell you the facts as I saw, or heard, about them. The rest is my take on the whole thing. Mom loved Dad. She had broken the restraints that Great Grandma Johanna's death had over her. Mom made several gestures to demonstrate her love for Dad, the most grand was the most simple. On their first Valentine's day together, Dad got Mom gorgeous earrings. In trying to make is a surprise, Dad accidently put them in Captain Gates' pocket. He had to tell Mom and it ruined the surprise. Eventually he got them back, after Gates dressed Dad down.
JRCW: Hold on a second, Captain Gates knew the about the earrings, but did not put that together with the fact that Grandpa Rick was dating Grandma Kate?
AHCW; Good connection my dear boy.
JRCW: Thank you.
AHCW: The answer to that though is inconclusive. Grandpa Rick told Gates that the earrings were for her to try and get in her good graces, especially after they had bonded, well sort of, over the Wives of Wall Street Realty show. Whether she actually believed his story can be debated.
JBC: I remember. Mom told me once that after the Bomb scare, she was kissing Dad when Captain Gates came up to them. The Captain told her to kiss the man for staying with her and helping to save her. "You knew," they both asked Gates. She said she had known for some time, but could continue to work with them so long as they did not fool around at the precinct. Dad started out with one of his jokes, but then he and Mom agreed. It seems very plausible that Gates knew about the dating as early as when the earrings were found in her pocket.
AHCW: Very good. That is why I say inconclusive.
JBCC: Alexis, what about Valentine's Day?
AHCW: Well, I am sure you both heard the story. Mom and Dad were teasing each other about who got who the better gift. When they went back to Mom's apartment, she showed Dad and empty draw. It was his draw in her apartment. Her gift to him. It was perfect.
JRCW: I get it. Concrete proof of her affection for Grandpa Rick. With all these signs of love and affection, what was happening? Why did it take so long for Grandpa to propose? And why after that did it take so long for them to get married?
AHCW: Well, you guys know that Grandpa Rick could be very childish. It was not a mental issue, just that he loved to play. He did not take a lot seriously, or more correctly, he did not like to show his serious side too often. He was having fun doing what he could. He told Grandma Kate once that his money did not fundamentally change him. It rather allowed him more freedom to do what he wanted, i.e. spend time with me, Grams, his friends and play.
JBC: Mom told me that his persona "was like a nine-year old on a sugar rush." It was actually one of the things that she loved about him.
JBCC: Yeah but nine-year olds can get board of things very quickly, right James? And sometimes they do not share well. I remember you and I playing at Mom and Dads. You kept taking the toys I wanted away from me. Eventually, I got tired and left.
JRCW: What's that got to do with Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick?
Alexis Harper Castle-White(AHCW): That is one of the things that Grandma Kate was worried about. I overheard her talking to Aunt Lannie about it when she interviewed for the job in DC. Grandma Kate did not know where the relationship was going. Both she and Grandpa Rick were having a great time, but given Grandpa Rick's reputation and two failed marriages, there was a little itch at the back of Grandma Kate's neck. She knew that it was not Dad's fault about the marriages. Still, he was the common denominator to both and maybe he contributed just a tad. I think her biggest fear was that Dad would get tired of this game they were playing.
JRCW: What was Grandpa Rick's fear?
AHCW: Well Grandma Kate had a history of diving into work if things got to tough or too close. He appreciated the fact that she had let him in. That she claimed her obsession with Great-Grandma Johanna's murder. He believed that she believed she was over it. That was a huge breakthrough but then two incident's came up that almost wrecked the whole thing. One was the DC job of course and the other was the English Billionaire incident.
JBC/JBCC: We don't know about that?
AHCW: That was not either of their finest hours. But in the long run, it brought them together. Erik Vaughn was an English Billionaire. Handsome, charming. He was in NYC at dinner with friends and co-workers when one of them died in a restaurant. Mom and Dad were assigned to the case. Vaughn asked that Mom to be his bodyguard while the killer was loose. She had to spend an overnight with him at his hotel suite. Dad was not happy about that. He was jealous. He urged the Boys, Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin, to help him solve this case right away. At one point a sniper's bullet barley missed killing Vaughn. When Dad and the Boys got to the scene they found out that the reason the bullet missed Vaughn because he was leaning in to kiss Mom. Although she did not kiss him, she was tempted.
JBC/JBCC/JRCW: Wow
JRCW: How did that make Grandpa Rick feel?
AHCW: I do not know for sure. I saw him moping around the loft a lot. When Grandma Kate came over, he was a little bit more attentive. One night before I went back to the dorms, I saw him setting up the bathroom with candles, flowers and he said they were to show Grandma Kate how much he cared. I told him that was a good start but she may want more. He asked me, "What?" but I told him I really did not know. They should talk about it.
James Rodgers Castle-White, (JRCW): Did they?
Alexis Harper Castle-White(AHCW): No.
JRCW: Why not?
AHCW: I am not really sure. Maybe both were scared about what the other would say or think. Maybe they thought that actions spoke louder then words.
JRCW: What do you mean by that?
AHCW: Well you know about Grandma Kate on the bomb. Dad stayed with her to the end, at the risk of his life. They figured out the disarm code and they both walked out alive. I think at that point Grandma Kate knew that Dad would always have her back.
JRCW: What did Grandpa Rick get out of that?
AHCW: Grandma Kate for the first time, told Grandpa Rick that she loved him.
JBC/JBCC/JRCW: What's saying 'I love you' got to do with it?
AHCW: I guess you all missed the romantic, theatric gene from Dad, and Great Grandma Martha. The first time you say it to someone it is a public affirmation, whether said in public or just to your love, of your true feelings. Actions can be misinterpreted but saying I love you cannot.
JRCW: I love you Mom
JBC/JBCC: We love you sis.
AHCW: Now you are getting the picture.
JRCW: There is still the DC phase and then coming back to NYC.
There will be at least one more chapter, to get Castle, Beckett and the family through the DC phase and back to NY. It will also include some speculation as to what the rest of season 6 will bring and what a possible season 7 could look like.
THANK YOU FOR all the wonderful and constructive reviews. I will keep them in mind when I write. As always, please let me know what you think, good bad or indifferent.