CH49
Gotta love how "Guests" take pot shots at the writer about how they hate the story now because it didn't go where they wanted it to go.
Have a little back bone and take credit for your criticism! Or keep quiet! Only cowards stand in the shadows and complain.
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Rick sent Kate down to Alexis's room when they talked about going to bed.
"You know, don't you?" Kate looks at him shyly.
Rick steps up and takes her in his arms. "I've known you've been sleeping in Alexis's room for some time now. She had you wrapped around her little finger some time ago. And you're racing out to the school from work to rescue her from Meredith told me all I needed to know."
Kate started to say something but Rick put a finger over her lips. "You loved her even then, you just needed to believe it yourself. I fell in love with her the moment she was born. And she's had me wrapped around her tiny little finger ever sense."
"You're not mad I slip away to her room?" Kate has to ask.
"I don't know what you gain from sleeping with her but you've changed ever since you started. And I happen to like this version of Kate Beckett the best. .. Pardon, Mrs. Castle the best. And I'm sure you'll explain it to me when you're ready. And I can wait. Besides it brought you to me and that's what I care about most.
And if you want that baby you will not be sleeping with her all the time. And your sleeping with her has brightened her life considerably, and that alone warms my heart and make me love you more.
And I do love you." Rick tells her. Kate responds by kissing him. "Now go down there and curl up with her and make her happy." Rick tells her.
"I love you Castle." And Kate heads down to Alexis's room feeling like a giant weight had been lifted off her. She was going to enjoy cuddling with Alexis tonight and it was probably going to be the last time.
Kate was sitting at her desk. "Beckett, you need to see this." Espo calls from a doorway.
After Kate joins him and Ryan. "Ok, we've gone thru everyone who has come and gone from this place. All exits are covered by security cameras. Now watch this lady here enter and get in the elevator. She gets off on our floor and walks down the hallway and uses a key to get in with.
Now we fast forward and this lady, a different looking one comes out. She gets on the elevator and gets off on the lobby level and walks out the front door.
We're assuming that she takes a taxi from here." Espo tells her.
"I've already got calls into several taxi companies. With the date stamp we should find the right one. Provided she took one." Ryan tells her.
"What about the second body?" Kate asks.
"That's where it gets interesting. See this lady pushing this old fashioned trunk down the hall on our floor. She looks different from the other two. Now watch a different lady come back out with the same trunk.
Down the elevator and out the front door. It's too big for a normal taxi so she would need something bigger, like a minivan." Espo points out.
"Taxi companies with mini vans are not that many. With the date stamp I knew when to ask for. And I got a hit. A taxi picked her up and took her to this address." Ryan holds up another of his post-it-notes.
Kate snatches it from him. "Got a warrant?" Kate asks.
Ryan holds up another piece of paper that he yanks away when Kate swipes at it, grinning.
"Let's go, and grab a couple of uniforms just in case. If there really is more than one they might all be there." Kate tells them.
They all arrive at the address and open their trunks to get their vests out to put on.
"You two stay down here. One on the stairs and one on the fire escape." Kate tells the uniforms.
Kate and the guys go upstairs. Finding the door they are after. Kate and Ryan are set while Espo moves to kick in the door.
Kicking open the door Kate is first in followed by Ryan. "NYPD!"
Just inside standing in the kitchen chopping something. She immediately turns and throws the knife just as Kate yells. "Drop it!" Followed immediately by a scream.
Kate had a knife stinking out of her arm just below her shoulder. The woman immediately grabs another knife and Ryan shoots her, causing her to drop the knife and fall to the floor.
Then a side door opens and another woman shows up. However she slams the door closed. Espo moves over and tries to open it but it's locked. So he kicks it in and sees her just exit the window out onto the fire escape.
Espo pulls out his radio and calls down to the uniform. "One white female, long brunette hair, dressed in green stain looking pajamas coming down the fire escape." And runs over to the window and watches the uniform down there waiting for her and take her into custody.
Ryan is cuffing the lady he shot while Espo goes to the only other door and clears the room.
Espo talks into his radio again calling for a unit for transport and an ambulance and a medic for Kate. Then pulls out his cell phone and calls in CSU to sweep the place.
Then Espo goes over to Kate. "I'm fine." She tells him.
"That must be why you are bleeding all over the floor." Espo teases.
Kate just glares at him.
"The ambulance will be here in no time. Looks like you'll be stuck at a desk for a little while." Espo tells her.
"Just so long as I'm better in two weeks for the honeymoon or someone is going to pay." Kate tells him.
There is an ambulance for their suspect and one for Kate. Not that she doesn't put up a fight about it, because she does.
Once patched up and back at the precinct Roy sends her home and tells her not to come back for two days to rest that arm. Roy had to threaten her a little to get her to do it.
Kate is forced to take a taxi since her arm is in a sling so driving was out.
Unlocking the front door and stepping in early Kate finds Rick doing some light packing for the upcoming move.
Rick has spotted. "What happened." With worry in his voice.
"We went to pick us a suspect or three and one of them threw a knife. Just my luck it hits a part of me that my vest doesn't cover." Kate tells him while Rick escorts her to the sofa.
"Does it hurt?" Rick asks then decides that was probably s stupid question.
"Not much actually. They gave me something at the hospital. But it probably will when it wears off." Kate tells him.
"Good thing I haven't boxed the bathrooms yet." Rick comments, getting a chuckle from Kate.
"I think snuggling with Alexis is out for a few days." Rick breaks it to her.
"Yea, I'm not looking forward to not getting to snuggle with anyone for a few days." Kate tells him and means it. If she didn't would her nightmares return?
"We may have to delay our baby making practices too." Rick tells her not liking this idea much himself.
"Oh no Castle, you're not getting out of it that easily. Even if I was stuck in a hospital bed we're going to make love." Kate tells him and grabs his shirt and pulls him to her with her one good arm. "Now shut up and kiss me."
An hour and half later Rick left Kate in their bed resting while he went to pick up Alexis from school.
Rick had warned Alexis on the ride home about Kate so she wouldn't be scared when she saw her.
"Does it hurt?" Alexis asks softly.
"No sweetie it doesn't hurt." Kate tells her. Though it probably will when the pain medication wears off.
Kate had the next two days off following the orders of her Captain, and she kept Castle busy in bed the entire time. Getting in all the baby making practice that she could.
This caused Castle to fall a little behind in boxing everything up for the move. Since they were going to be gone on their honeymoon and only back just before the actual move into the new house.
And they were due to sign all the paperwork the day after they got back.
Kate was still in a sling when she went into work. With her usual bagel, coffee and a kiss that had her moaning wanting to drag Castle back to bed and get in some more practice.
Once at her desk she turned on her computer and found a file waiting for her from the tech searching the name Wichita.
She had one name that fit the parameters Kate had given her. However he had died in Afghanistan. "Damn it." Kate cussed at the screen. His wife had died of breast cancer a couple of years later and his daughter had died in an accident the same day he did.
She had pictures of all of them. And the picture of the little girl looks at lot like the girl she had seen.
They had nothing on the possible third woman and the other two had asked for lawyers, so they got nothing out of them. They hadn't yet found the body they suspected being taken out in the trunk. Actually they hadn't even found the trunk yet.
And the guys had left her some of the paperwork dealing with Frankie. She made a mental note to thank them somehow.
Roy found her sitting at her desk doing paperwork. "Beckett, how's the arm?"
"It's fine sir, just a little sore still." Kate tells him honestly. This morning's pain pill hadn't quite kicked in yet.
"Well you're confined to your desk with that arm until you leave on your honeymoon." And Roy starts to walk away. "And Beckett, I catch you out in the field with that arm and you'll be doing paperwork for the rest of your life." And Roy continues on to his office.
"Yes sir." Leaving off the 'Thank you sir.' Since she didn't want to thank him for shackling her to her desk.
Now that she was interrupted she decided it was time for some coffee. So she pulled out Castle's latest bag and went into the break room to make a pot.
"I knew it was you!" Espo tells her standing in the doorway. Shocking Kate and making her jump just a bit. "That stuff is the greatest that's been in here in a long time. Make that forever. …. Where'd you get it?" Espo would like to know so he can make it at home too.
"Castle." Kate breaks down and tells him.
"So you married him for his coffee?" Espo teases.
"Right Espo, I married him just to get to his coffee." Kate rolls her eyes.
"Good to know. I'd hate to think you married him because you loved him. … You're not pregnant are you?"
"ESPO?" Kate glares at him. Wishing she was pregnant. They were certainly getting a lot of practice at it lately.
Espo goes back to his desk satisfied at the results of yanking on Beckett's chain, leaving Kate standing at the coffee maker wondering if she was pregnant. She was going to find out in three days since her period ran like clockwork.
The boys filled her in on where they were with the third woman, which was nowhere. They were however making headway on why. However Kate didn't like the idea. It didn't sit right somehow, but she did have an idea and a thought on just who could help her.
Kate pulled out her cell phone and called Lanie, who was out of the hospital and stuck at home recovering.
"Girlfriend! I thought you had forgotten about me. You don't call, you don't visit." Lanie knew that wasn't true. Kate had been to the hospital a lot before she was discharged.
"Sorry Lanie, I had my own little run in the other day." And Kate tells her the story of her getting stabbed, well hit really, with a knife.
Then Kate started on Espo's theory about the three women and how it didn't make sense to Kate somehow, but she just couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"That's because you are not thinking through the all-girl network." Lanie tells her. Getting a "HUH?" from Kate.
"All-girl network. You sit around with the other girls and share your stories about how much you hate the man in your life and how much you wish he was Brad Pitt or George Clooney. And while you could divorce him or dump him you just want him to go away, but he won't.
So you sit there and dream up ways on how to get rid of the man in your life so you could go out and get a real one. Week after week until someone comes up with a plan. And it's hurtful and spiteful and will show him just how much you hate him for what he's not." Lanie tells her.
"So they go out and get dressed up and kill him?" Kate doesn't get it.
"Oh heavens no. They get dressed up in the sexiest thing they can think of and seduce the other girl's guy. Maybe tie him to the bed so that when they all pop out he finds out what it's all about just before they kill him, together." Lanie explains.
"One girl has access to the outfits or the money to buy them, another has access to a place where they can kill him and one of them does the seducing to get him there in the first place?" Kate is catching on.
"That girlfriend is the all-girls network. Sort of a twisted sick one, but still a network." Lanie tells her.
"Thanks Lanie, you're the best." Kate now had a lead for them to work with.
"KATE?" Lanie calls out before she can hang up.
"Yea?"
"How's Castle?" Lanie needs gossip info, being stuck at home.
"He's terrific Lanie." Kate tells her while suddenly going all soft.
"And when's the honeymoon?" Lanie knows the plan just doesn't remember the exact date.
"In about a week and a half. Technically 8 days, give or take an hour or two." Kate tells her still all soft and gooey.
"And then it's back to the apartment to start making Castle babies." Lanie teases.
"Well about that." Kate goes chicken.
"Katherine Beckett?" Lanie questions. Thinking she is already pregnant.
"We close on a new house 2 days after we get back." Kate barely whispers out.
"YOU BOUGHT A HOUSE?" Lanie screams through the phone. Forcing Kate to pull it away from her ear.
"You better get your sorry skinny butt over here tonight and show me, or so help me, ….." Lanie threatens.
"I promise I'll be over tonight to show you the listing. It's gorgeous Lanie it really is." Kate even sounds all mushy now.
"How big is it?" Lanie asks, wondering where it is.
"It's 8,600 sq. ft." Kate tells her cringing and holding the phone away from her ear.
"8,600 SQ. FT.?" Lanie screams out through the phone. "Just how many Castle babies do you plan on having? Never mind! Just get here, I want to see it. And you better show girl or I'll have Espo and Ryan hunt you down and have them deliver you to me." Lanie warns her.
"I promise I'll be there." Kate confirms.
Kate however made a single mistake. She didn't tell Castle she was going to be late. Kate was still thinking single while living married. Not a good mix.