Doppelgänger 11
Kate wasn't sure this was fun, but it was certainly new. She had drawn in her line to find her bait gone three times already. "I think I'm feeding the fish instead of me." She baited her hook… again.
"It might be Andy's bait," Rick said just as he got a nibble, followed by another and another. Pulling in his line he found all of his bait gone. "You might be right, though." He held up his naked hook and Kate burst out laughing. She threw her line back out into the water and waited.
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"So what's for dinner?" Kate asked, sitting at the table that had a bench on three sides.
"Spaghetti with marinara sauce and meatballs." It was one of the few meals Rick knew how to make. "The sauce is mostly home made. I found a can of tomatoes in the cabinet."
"We tried." Alexis sat down next to her and watched her father cook a different dinner that didn't involve fresh fish.
Martha stuck a spoon into the sauce and tasted it. "It needs something," she announced and picked up the salt shaker. She was all set to empty it into the sauce when Rick caught her arm.
"The spices are over there." He pointed to a cabinet, took the salt from her and set it down.
"I think Dad gets his overdoing it from Grams. She was probably going to dump the whole thing into his sauce," Alexis explained.
"If a little is good, then even more is better," Kate said softly.
"Too much of a good thing…" Alexis continued.
"Would be paradise," Kate smiled.
"A fantasy world," Alexis added.
"A place we are all trying to achieve." Kate knew she was reaching for it.
Alexis looked at Kate as she watched Rick help Martha select spices to add to the sauce.
"I think I approve, Dad, just don't let her hurt you." Alexis still had one reservation about Kate Beckett.
Kate felt really good about their little trip out into the ocean. She had gotten to fish but didn't understand the appeal. Though maybe it didn't help that they hadn't caught anything.
Right now she was watching Alexis pilot the boat into its berth in the marina. She knew Castle was dropping those bumpers over the side so that the side of the boat didn't get scratched. She was doing fine when suddenly a vision took over.
She was watching a strange man come into her apartment. He quickly pulled out a weapon and carefully began searching her home. He had been out of sight for a little while in her bedroom. But he came back empty-handed which told her he wasn't a thief. Then she watched him move around the living room and kitchen until he decided on a location.
"What is he doing?" Kate didn't understand, though Kate Beckett's memory gave her an idea of what he was doing. "Why is he planting those?" She searched Kate Beckett's memories.
She had no NYPD cases either pending or closed that came to mind that would result in this. Kate took a guess. "It has to have something to do with Kate Beckett's mom's case." It was, after all, something that Kate could tell that Kate Beckett was obsessed about. "But why now?"
"Kate… KATE!" Hearing Alexis's voice brought Kate out of it.
"Sorry, I spaced out for a second," Kate apologized as she watched him leave. Her little crystal parrot was doing his job. It was obvious that someone was interested in her. At least she wasn't going to be home for another week and a half.
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Kate was dressed in one of her new sundresses – one she'd bought for herself, not the sexy white one the redheads had bought – since today Alexis and Martha would be going home, leaving her alone with Rick. So far he'd kept his distance and hadn't put much pressure on her to kiss him. However, that was likely to change.
Kate found Alexis downstairs already and noticed her bag was near the door. "Leaving so early?" Kate sat down at the counter and popped a chunk of watermelon in her mouth.
"Grams informed me last night that she had forgotten that she had something just after lunch today so we're leaving a little sooner than originally planned."
"I'll talk to Dad about trying to give you some space after we're gone." Alexis hadn't failed to notice that Kate had spent most of her time with her. And truth be told Alexis had liked that. It told her that Kate was interested in her.
"I'm sure I can handle your father." Kate had a little more faith than Alexis apparently did. "I'll kick his ass if I have to." Kate had noticed that she was now a little stronger than Kate Beckett had been based on her memories of what Kate had been able to do.
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Kate was standing next to Rick, waving as Alexis and Martha left in a town car that had come to pick them up and take them both back into the city. She thought about what Alexis and even Martha had said to her while they were here.
"What now, Castle?" It was just them at this point.
"We could run naked through the house since it's just us." Rick grinned at her.
"You run naked, I'll just watch," Kate countered dryly. "I'm going to go change and go out to the beach. YOU need to go write. Alexis told me you have a deadline and haven't written a thing since we got here." She patted his arm and went inside.
"Writing." Rick looked up at the sky after Kate was inside. He'd been avoiding it since he knew nothing about writing. He'd learned, though, that writing was how this Rick had so much money.
He hadn't seen Kate since he had gone into his den to attempt to write something. And he'd missed seeing her dressed in a bikini again. Only this time she had a bag with her that held a few items.
She loved the feeling of the heat on her body. It wasn't nearly as hot as home so that made her love it all the more. It was… comfortable.
Kate's eyes sprang open. She had fallen asleep and was a little disoriented at first. The sun wasn't where she remembered it being. She wondered how long she had been asleep.
Since Rick hadn't come outside to pester her she reached into her bag and pulled out one of her books thinking that she had time. She started turning pages until she found a page that she could read.
This prophecy seemed to be talking about children. "Why do they make these things so cryptic?" It was like it was a code in addition to a prophecy.
She turned pages until she found another one she could read. She flipped ahead to see the next one and the next. Her eyes widened; it looked like the next few were ones she could read.
She read and reread the first one. "Something about a linchpin being killed. What's a linchpin?" She turned to the next one.
Yet again she read and reread it. "I think it talks about… a love gone bad?" She wasn't sure. She sighed. "These things are impossible!"
Still she turned to the next one and read it followed by, of course, rereading it. "A love dies? No… a love changes. Changes to what?" Kate turned to the next page, now a little more upset than when she had started.
Reading and rereading the next one. "Murder… Hunted? Wait, more hunted to murder."
"What are you reading?" Castle's voice startled her and she slammed the book closed.
"You write, I read," Kate replied disingenuously.
"May I see? I'm curious as to what Kate Beckett reads." It might give him insight into her.
"Sure." She decided to risk it and opened the book to a page that she couldn't read.
At forty-five degrees, the sky will burn,
Fire approaches the great new city,
Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up
When they want to have verification from the Norman.
"You read prophecies. I'm impressed, Kate."
She jerked her head around to look at him. "He can read this?!" She couldn't read a word of it. Kate challenged him. "Okay, what does it mean?"
Rick read it again and tried to puzzle it out. "Well forty-five degrees refers to New York. The sky will burn might mean death or a number of deaths. Fire approaches the great new city might mean someone's returning. Maybe someone was out of the city and he's returning. Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up would suggest that he has power and intends to use it. When they want to have verification from the Norman. Maybe something about Norman being the man with the power. Whoever Norman is. You actually read these?" He was having a hard time believing it.
"They are a challenge to understand. Besides maybe one of these has me in it." Since the book was from her world it might have magic associated with it. So who knew?
"And Kate Beckett loves a challenge." Rick liked learning something about her. "Well you've missed lunch, so would you be interested in helping me with an early dinner?" He wanted to get her off the beach and him out of the sun.
"Sure." Kate stuffed her book into her bag and stood up to follow Rick inside.
He questioned himself, wondering how Kate could read that since it wasn't written in English. Actually until he could gain access to one of his units even he didn't know what the language was, only that his contacts had translated what was written for him.
"You slice the vegetables and I'll slice the chicken for the wok, okay?" He glanced at her and gave free rein to his curiosity. "When did you start reading prophecies?"
She decided to tell him mostly the truth. "Today, actually. I only got the book a short time before I came here. Most of it makes no sense."
"And you can read all that?" Rick asked. Whatever she answered would tell him something.
"Some of it, though some of it I can't," Kate admitted and kept slicing. "How could you read what I couldn't? And what language was that?"
She changed the topic, focusing on his sunburn. "How's the sunburn?"
"Still painful. That cream kind of helps but not a whole lot." He wished he could take his shirt off. "I might want to change into some swim trunks later to get rid of this shirt."
"If you want I can apply some more cream to your burns," Kate offered. She really did want to run her hands over his body.
"That would be nice, thanks." Rick was only too willing to let her run her hands over him. Maybe it would lead to something else now that Alexis and his mother were gone.
Being a writer that had a deadline had been a small blessing. It meant he hadn't had to interact with his mother or his daughter the entire weekend. It was hard being someone you weren't.
Dinner was quiet and it was grating on both of them. "Kate, have I done something? Not done something?" His memories of this Rick indicated that Kate shouldn't be avoiding him like she had been. Even now when they were alone she was being quiet.
"NO! No, Rick, you've been great. I just… it's hard to explain." Impossible was more like it. "Can we take it slow? I need some time." Time to find a way to kiss him and not kill him.
"We can go at any speed you want. But…" There was something from his memories that was warning him. "Promise me that you won't run. Let me help you figure it out." He felt he was pushing it somehow. But if she ran he might not be able to win her over.
Kate could feel from her memories that running was just what Kate Beckett wanted to do. Except she had stopped and made love to him. She loved him. She needed time to figure out all these memories.
"You drove us here. Where am I going to go?" She needed an answer before they left. She just didn't know how she was going to get one.
A week and a half. He had a week and a half to win her over. "I can do that." A week and a half to woo Kate Beckett all over again. Or for first time in his case.
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Rick had gotten up really early and had driven a short distance to get the local paper. Now he was sitting at the kitchen counter going through just one certain section of it. Pen in hand, he circled three possible contenders. "Morning," Kate yawned and sat down next to him.
He actually jumped since she had surprised him. He was so focused on trying to come up with a plan that he never heard her. "Morning. Breakfast?" It would be up to him now to cook he was guessing.
"Toast and juice would be nice, thanks." She wasn't really that hungry. This family appeared to eat a lot even if Alexis and Martha looked overly thin, much like herself.
"Toast and juice it is." Rick got up and moved around to start work on her order.
"What's this?" Kate took over the paper.
"I was thinking of taking you to a movie. See anything that interests you?" He started spreading jelly on her piece of toast.
Kate couldn't help but notice he had already selected three options. She looked over his choices. A couple of them didn't sound like something she would be interested in. She did have to search Kate's memories to understand what a movie was.
"This one?" She spun the paper so he could read it and put her finger down on her selection.
"Limitless." With the help of a mysterious pill that enables the user to access 100 percent of his brain abilities, a struggling writer becomes a financial wizard, but it also puts him in a new world with lots of dangers.
"An interesting choice. Any particular reason?" Rick was curious.
"You're a writer, he's a writer. Maybe you'll learn something," Kate teased.
Actually he'd hoped for one of the others since it looked like it would have more action. "Limitless it is. What times does it say it starts?"
She looked closer. "12:15 is the first."
"That works. We can stay in town and maybe have an early dinner before coming home. Or we can stay and find something else to do." That meant he wouldn't have to cook and show that he had limited skills at cooking.
"Sounds nice. I'll be out on the beach when you're ready to go. Come get me a little early so I can shower first." Kate washed her last bite of toast down with her juice.
Rick watched every move as she walked away wearing some kind of sleep shirt that showed a lot of leg. "No wonder you love her."
He saw her come back down dressed in one of her bikinis. He wished he could kiss her or make love to her, but she wanted to slow things down. This Rick's memories had shown that they hadn't dated much, if at all, so he could see why she would want to take it slow.
"You could try the pool instead this time," Rick called and immediately thought that if she did, he could join her since there was at least some shade around it.
Instead he watched her walk out onto the grass and head for the beach. It meant he was left to himself until a little before their movie. "Our first date!" He scrambled for an idea of what to get her for their first date.
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He was finally home and had bought a new burner phone along the way. Now he just needed a moment alone to make a call and provide the new number. He was still a little angry that he hadn't shown more restraint. He prided himself on his control and he had lost it.
It took four rings before he answered. "Where are they now?" he demanded.
"They are both at his home in the Hamptons. Roughly two hours outside of the city. It is believed that his daughter and mother left the location this morning."
"Why do you think those two have left? Do you have eyes on the house?" He needed information. Knowledge was power.
"A car service was called and our contact says that she has been suspended for two weeks. Staying with him at his house for two weeks is a very likely answer. Since the daughter has school tomorrow it's probable that his mother is returning with her."
"I want confirmation that those two are gone. I will make arrangements. Call me at this number when you have the information." He ended the call only to call another number.
"I need you at his property in the Hamptons as soon as possible. Watch them and decide on when and how to kill both of them. Your usual payment applies." He ended the call.
Being in the Hamptons, in all probability, would mean a less than thorough investigation by the local authorities. Also relaxing out in the Hamptons would mean that their defenses would be down making it easier for his man to kill them.
Certainly by the end of the week he would finally be rid of the threat posed by Detective Kate Beckett. He had plans for his future and he didn't need her investigating anything in which he was involved.