Doppelgänger 22
Kate was standing in what was now her half empty apartment. Lanie had made good on her threat and the boys had just left with another large piece. Even Lanie was gone with another load of her clothing.
"You're sure you're good with this? It wasn't my idea. Lanie just wouldn't…" She was forced to stop talking when she suddenly found herself in Rick's arms being thoroughly kissed.
"Where else would I want you?" he murmured after breaking from the kiss.
"What about Alexis and Martha? Surely they get a say." Her moving in was going to upset the balance that those three had.
"My mother already loves you and Alexis truly cares about you. Your stay in the Hamptons told both of us that." Rick looked her in the eye. "Do you really want to stay in this place alone?"
If truth be told Kate couldn't think of anyplace else she would rather be than with him. Mutely, she shook her head, buried her face against his chest, and let him hold her. She loved him and he was showing that he returned her love.
Of all her dreams about escaping her world and finding a new life, this wasn't one of them. But right now she couldn't think of why she hadn't ever dreamed of this.
"We're going to have to keep our secret forever… you know that," Kate warned. If any of their family found out that the real Kate Beckett and real Richard Castle were both dead, it would devastate them. She really didn't like that they had to lie to those who cared about them.
"The alternative is to break their hearts, Kate," Rick said stoically. He felt her trying to escape and was starting to question why when Espo, Ryan, and Lanie returned to get the next load.
"You two planning to help or are you going to give us a show in the middle of the floor?" Espo joked and got a swat to his arm from Lanie.
"Not cool, bro, not cool." Ryan was not impressed with his partner.
Red-faced, they broke apart. Rick proceeded to help with the next large piece while Kate retreated into her bedroom with Lanie close behind her.
"I told you Castle would love the idea," a smug Lanie remarked.
"Yeah, I just wish…" Kate wished for a lot of things.
"Wish you had done this a year ago?" Lanie still didn't understand why Kate was holding back. It was clear to her and everyone else in the building that she loved him.
Snohbal knew, though, that if she had done what she had done a year ago, she wouldn't be living this life. She might not even be on this plane. She probably would have rested that night then gone back out into the stairwell and moved on.
"The timing wasn't right," Kate replied briefly as she gathered up an arm full of clothes followed by Lanie doing the same.
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They'd unloaded the furniture into a storage unit while her clothes and a number of boxes were sitting all over the place in the loft. "I'll buy everyone lunch tomorrow," Rick offered after dropping the last box in the living room.
Espo pressed his luck. "That and drinks after work, man."
Rick didn't bat an eye. "Deal."
Lanie was the last one out; she was hugging Kate at the door. "Do not get scared, girlfriend. Castle's the absolute best thing in your life. Yes, you'll have fights; just remember that man loves you for who you are, not who you want to be."
"I'll try," Kate promised. She hugged her friend and closed the door after her.
"It's just us," she told him with a soft smile. Rick wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. He backed up a step and began to undo her first button when the front door suddenly opened and they guiltily jumped apart.
"I saw Esposito, Ryan, and Lanie downstairs," Alexis remarked, staring at all the boxes and piles of clothes. "What's going on?" The answer was obvious but she wanted to hear it.
"I'm, ah… moving in," Kate answered hesitantly. She waited for Alexis to erupt and tell her how stupid an idea that was.
The fact that it was Kate answering her question made Alexis happy. The fact that Kate was moving in also thrilled her. It meant that Kate wasn't going to let her dad love her without loving him back. It meant she wasn't going to hurt her dad.
Alexis smiled widely and stepped up to Kate so that she could hug her fiercely. "Need some help?" She let go of Kate, scooped up an armload of clothes still on their hangers, and started walking to her dad's bedroom. "You can push some of Dad's clothes out of the way while I hang these up. Then we can empty some of the drawers to make room for your stuff." Alexis strode into the bedroom leaving the two perplexed adults in her wake.
"And you were worried," Rick chided.
Kate began laughing then wiped away the tears that had started. She picked up a pile of clothes. "You heard her, empty some drawers for my stuff." Kate smiled at the man she loved and headed to the bedroom.
She was standing next to Alexis while they both were hanging clothes in the closet. "What did you do with your furniture?" So far all Alexis had seen was clothes.
"We put it all in storage till we could decide what to do with it," Kate answered. Much to her surprise, she found herself being hugged by Alexis.
"I'm glad you're here… Kate." Alexis needed to get used to calling her Kate instead of Detective.
She relaxed and hugged her back. "I'm glad you think so. Alexis… I'm not trying to replace your mother." She didn't want the young woman to think she was taking over.
That caused Alexis to chuckle. "My mother. I love her but only because she's my mother. I learned long ago that she was no mother and never was going to be one. Honestly, Kate, don't worry," Alexis assured her while not letting her go.
"Kate… May I come to you and ask you questions?" Alexis loved her dad and they'd done many things together. She and her dad had suffered through a lot. The first thing that came to mind was puberty. She really wished she'd had a mother back then. However, Alexis was sure there were other things that she was going to be thankful for to have Kate around.
"You can ask me anything you want, Alexis. Anything at all." Kate squeezed her. "We should finish before your father starts filling the drawers with my underwear."
Alexis laughed. She let go of her and left Kate to finish hanging clothes while she went into the bedroom to rescue Kate's delicates from her father.
"Did you catch a case today?" Alexis called out from the closet. She jumped a little when suddenly Kate was standing next to her. "We did, but I'm more interested in you and Ashley," Kate responded.
The young woman studiously ignored her. "There's nothing to tell."
"Alexis… I may not be the best person to come to for advice given my track record with relationships, but you love him and he obviously loves you. Look how long it took me to admit that I love your father. Besides, I thought you wanted to go to Stanford as much as he does, and his willingness to stay in New York should tell you something."
"It's too late, I already broke up with him." Alexis had made her choice even if she hated it.
"So make up with him. He's ready for college and you're still in high school. You're smart, graduate early and join him at Stanford," Kate suggested.
"I'm already graduating as early as I can." Alexis used the same reasoning on Kate that she used on her father. "Long distance relationships hardly ever work out. I don't want him hating me because he stayed in New York for me." Alexis wanted him to keep his dream.
Kate tried something else to reach her. "So this is you giving up? Are you planning to give up on everything? The second things become difficult are you going to give up? That doesn't sound like the Alexis I know."
The redhead's temper flared. "Like you're not going to give up on Dad. Like you're not going to hurt him again," Alexis retaliated heatedly. She hated what she said the moment she said it, but it was too late to take it back.
"I suppose I deserve that. But Alexis, I'm not giving up on your dad, not now and not ever." Kate had reached a point and was willing to share. She wrapped her arms around the young woman. "Between you and me, just you and me… If or when your father asks me, the answer is going to be yes." A shocked Alexis turned her head to look up at her.
"I've got one more thing to share with you – only you – for now." Kate didn't know for certain but she had her suspicions. "Don't tell your father, but… I think I'm pregnant." She was pretty sure, just not yet 100% sure.
"Pregnant?!" Alexis clapped a hand over her mouth. "Pregnant?" she repeated, only far softer and saw a smile blossom on Kate's face.
"You and Dad." Alexis thought this changed everything. She knew her dad. If or when he found out, he was never going to leave Kate. He would throw his entire heart into their relationship.
"Of course, your father and I. You don't think he's been with another woman do you?" Had Castle been involved with someone else and she didn't know?
"What! No." Alexis knew for a fact that her dad hadn't even dated anyone else since meeting Kate.
"Oh, you mean me. I'll admit that I was involved with Doctor Davidson for a while, but I promise if I'm pregnant – and I think I am – he's not the father. Your dad is, I give you my word." Kate laid her hand on her heart as she spoke.
"Don't give up on Ashley because of your fears. Believe me I know about fears. I gave your father a chance, you need to give Ashley a chance. Maybe he's not the one for you or maybe he is, but don't let your fears rule you. I let my fears rule me until I met your father."
Kate used every memory she had from Kate Beckett to talk to Alexis. Every time a relationship started to get serious, beyond just having sex, she dropped them. Snohbal didn't know just how far Kate Beckett was willing to go with Richard Castle, but she knew how far she was willing to go with Rick.
Alexis hugged her back. "I need my phone." She ran out of the closet and past her dad who was just entering the bedroom.
"What happened?" Rick asked, looking at Kate who had followed Alexis out of the closet partly to see her follow through as well as to rescue her underwear from Castle.
"She's going to give being a couple with Ashley a chance and call him to see what he thinks," Kate explained then took what Castle had in his hands from him.
"Good." He knew from his memories that Rick approved of Ashley. His Alexis, he'd learned, was about a year or two older than this Alexis. Still the two were so much alike it was amazing.
"What do you think?" Rick inquired, not being very specific.
"The case? Well until Jeremy Kyper turned up dead I thought he was good for it. Now…" She and the team would pick it all up in the morning.
"I meant Roy," Rick clarified.
"Oh… He said today was his anniversary. Thirty years of marriage to one person." Kate could only hope for her marriage to last that long.
"Is there a legal marriage that's to more than one person?" He realized what he had said. "At the same time, I mean. And for the record that was this world's Rick."
Kate twisted her head to look at him. Had he just offhandedly proposed? Or was it something far worse. "Does that mean you've never wanted to get married?" Like to me, for example.
"It didn't really work well with my chosen profession. What woman wanted to be left behind wondering when her husband was going to come home and for how long. Just long enough for a quick roll in the bed, or wherever?" He shook his head. "It's one of the arguments my Alexis and I have most often. She's young and most of the people she meets are wanted and she arrests or kills them. Not really the life I wanted for her."
"So, like father like daughter. And if you did get married, do you think she would take the hint?" Kate queried.
It was a question Rick didn't have an answer for since getting married wasn't something he had given much consideration to.
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"We've got all your clothes. Your pictures, books, and countless other items are in the living room. Any thoughts as to what to do with your furniture?" They'd quickly loaded and unloaded everything without really thinking things through.
Kate hadn't thought about all of those items yet, either. "I know what I want to do with these clothes," she told him softly and started unbuttoning her shirt, which made Rick grin.
"What is all this?" A new voice that sounded much like Martha got their attention. Both of them sighed as Kate hurriedly began buttoning her shirt back up then followed Rick out into the very crowded living room.
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"Okay, that was unexpected," Rick commented as they made their way up to the loft in the elevator.
"All of his previous contestants that he'd supported were all failures; she was his last chance. He was just as surprised as everyone else that she was a blackmailer and was in it with her old boyfriend," Kate remarked.
"The boyfriend had to die so that she wouldn't get back with him, plus he thought it was all the boyfriend," Rick added.
"At least we solved it. Now if I just knew how to solve Lanie." How Lanie had talked her into a girls night out later tonight still escaped her.
"She's your friend," Rick pointed out.
"You can come with me!" Kate started praying that he would say yes just as they reached the front door.
"Nah, Lanie's all yours. Besides Roy roped me into joining him for drinks tonight. You should be happy Lanie rescued you from that." Rick pulled out his keys.
"I still can't believe that whoever was holding his family captive just disappeared. Seeing Evelyn and the girls walk into the Homicide Division actually had the entire 4th floor in tears. Now if she just had something that could help us find who had taken them and held them," Kate lamented.
Neither Evelyn nor the girls had really seen anyone. The men who held them were always dressed in sweats, wore Halloween masks, and barely spoke. The night crew was all over the location that Evelyn told them about and how to get there. Hopefully there was something there that would help them. Neither of them were holding their breath, though.
Opening the door revealed a new shock. "Alexis?" Rick was shocked.
"Ashley?" Kate was equally shocked.
"Hi, Mr. Castle, Detective Beckett." Ashley was sitting next to Alexis who had her laptop in her lap.
Alexis was all smiles. "Guess what, Dad, I'm going to Stanford. We're checking to see when I can apply for early entrance. I'll have enough credits to get in earlier than I thought. Ashley will still be there months before I will, though."
"Stanford, that's…" Rick wasn't sure what to say. "Where's Stanford?" he asked Kate quietly.
"California." She knew that from Kate's memories. "That's great, Alexis. So you took my advice?" Kate was happy for her.
"We know it won't be easy, but we're going to give a long distance relationship a try till Alexis can join me," Ashley chimed in.
"Your advice?" Kate could hear the steel in Rick's voice.
"Excuse us." She took hold of Castle's arm and dragged him into their bedroom.
"You're sending my daughter to the other side of the country?" Even this Rick wasn't a fan of that.
"Will you relax. Even I can see that they love each other. And a long distance relationship means there will be no sex involved. Fortunately," she added.
"Well, when you put it that way." Rick suddenly liked the idea.
"Plus so long as you keep writing you'll have the money to go see her anytime you please." That was another problem they had yet to solve. They knew Gina was dead but so far no one else did. And with no body, thanks to Castle dissolving her like he had the hired killers, there was no corpse to find.
"Gina." Rick hung his head. He felt a little responsible for her death even if he hadn't anticipated it happening. The chance that man's hand would spasm was a bit of a shock.
Then a thought struck him. "Time to send another piece on Bracken even if I'm not sure it's still necessary." Rick and Kate both knew Bracken was in the news which had gone from local only to national. There were news organizations camped out all around him. Some of them had even managed to get inside the Senate Building to pepper him with questions before security escorted them back outside.
"One main problem left," Rick said.
"Yeah, Lanie," Kate grumbled.
Rick shook his head. "Bracken. He may be in trouble but he's not gone yet. Someone like him doesn't just quit. Unless he owns a remote island somewhere and has access to a bank account filled with money so he can disappear." Rick was thankful that this planet didn't have space flight yet. He was certain that if it had, Bracken would have escaped into the heavens. And since his ship was gone, Rick would've had no way to hunt him down.
"I'm going to shower and change and get ready for Lanie." She was giving in to the inevitable.
"Want some company?" Rick was willing to shower with her.
"With Lanie, sure." She would gladly take his help.
"With the shower." He tried a Kate Beckett glare. It didn't get him much but he was soon naked with a naked and soaking wet Kate next to him as they let their hands roam over each other, soaping each other up then rinsing off.