Doppelgänger 25
Epilogue
"Hi Lily!" Alexis spread her arms wide and was only mildly upset that she couldn't actually wrap her arms around her. Actually not being able to touch anything had been hard at first. Finding out what had happened to her had left her crying and despondent for days. Things had only gotten worse after that.
Ashley was dead and her father was dead. Her real father. She had been pissed at Rick for weeks. Then seeing Kate change forms to resemble a mythic demon had been the next big one. The final straw had been finding out that she couldn't touch anything because she was dead and was now nothing more than a program filled with her memories, that her image was a simple transmission. She could only go where the emitters could send her image.
Today she was sorry for how she'd behaved. It had taken them weeks to get her to see that everything they'd done was because they loved her. They had become Kate Beckett and Richard Castle because they needed a life to live and those two were dead.
"LEXI!" Lily ran at her and came up just short. Lily really didn't understand why Alexis couldn't hold her anymore but she had adjusted a lot faster than Alexis had. The fact that Alexis was still around and would talk and play with her seemed to be enough for her.
"How is my favorite sister?" Alexis asked and saw her little face drop. "What's wrong Lil?" Alexis hoped she could fix whatever it was.
"Where Mama!" Suddenly Lily was ready to cry. She didn't understand. Mama was gone; she couldn't find her daddy and only Alexis had showed up.
That didn't make sense to Alexis. They would never have left her alone. "Dad's here Lil, you just didn't look hard enough. Come on, let's go find him." Alexis held out her hand forgetting that Lily couldn't actually take it. Still Lily put her hand in hers and walked with her.
It only took a minute to find Rick which was good since Alexis couldn't get far. In fact she couldn't leave the house at all. "DADA!" Lily left Alexis and latched onto Rick.
"She said Kate was gone and couldn't find anyone," Alexis explained.
"You were down for a nap, Lil, I'm sorry." Rick knelt down to hug her and kiss her head. "Your brothers are coming so your other sister took her up to her ship. It has the best medical care we can find."
"Bothers?" Lily was instantly excited and started jumping up and down. "See, Dada?" She wanted her brothers and she wanted them now.
"Maybe tomorrow after they come back down." Rick burst her bubble and got the reaction he was expecting when Lily went into a full-blown meltdown. Rick and Alexis understood that Lily was a mommy's girl not a daddy's girl.
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"Yittle!" Lily was seeing her brothers for the first time.
"You used to be that little," Kate told her. Lily shook her head. She was never that small. "They'll grow up fast, just like you did." Kate had no doubt about that.
"Are you finished packing?" Kate asked; Lily nodded. "Are you sure? We won't be back here for a long time." Actually it was going to be three months but to Lily that was going to be a long time. "Did you pack Peetie?" She saw a surprised look come over her daughter's face and giggled when the toddler ran off to pack her penguin.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Alexis questioned after popping into existence.
Kate knew the question wasn't about Lily or the boys. "We're taking the emitters with us and Alexis has Sara making still more. The plan is to make it so that you can even go outside. While we travel even more will be made. Alexis told us that she plans on making a quick stop to purchase a separate power generator, just for you."
"Kate…" Alexis had been thinking about this for a while. And since she never actually slept, a while meant a long time to her. "I've been wondering if living this way is such a good thing." Living as a 3D image with her memories stored in some computer wasn't really living, not to her.
Hearing that, Kate stepped away from the babies who were presently sleeping. "ALEXIS! Now you listen to me, young lady. I know Ashley's gone and that there will never be a replacement for him." This Alexis was only alive in a computer. She would never marry. Never know the joys of sex. Never have her own children.
"You are a part of this family and don't you forget it. This Rick may not be your Rick, at least not completely. But like me, he's no longer sure just where your Rick starts and stops." Kate and Rick had had a long conversation over just who they were now.
"Yes, I'm Kate Beckett and a piece of me is still Snohbal. Both of us are a blend of who we used to be and we are not sad about that. We wouldn't change a thing." It was now that she really wished that she could hug this Alexis.
"You're going to outlive all of us, sweetheart. You'll get to help Lily and the boys raise their children long after Rick and I are gone. YOU are the ultimate survivor of this family.
Besides, who knows. Maybe Alexis will find someone who can help you to be someone more. Put you in a body, let you feel and live. I don't know, I'm a succubus and not used to the technology that Alexis talks about.
You know of the stairs where I came from. Maybe some day you can enter them and find a whole new life for yourself. What little I understand of the stairs is that the places you can go using it are endless.
You've seen the magic of the dagger and my books. Who's to say that there isn't a magic that can give you what you want most.
Maybe take your dad's wristbands, my dagger and books with you. See things none of us will ever see. Do things none of us have ever even dreamed of doing.
Please sweetheart, don't give up." Kate could feel her tears running down her face and did her best to hug Alexis even if her arms and even her body touched nothing. Kate knew she had a future, she just needed to be there for it.
"I'll try," Alexis agreed; Kate's plea had touched her heart.
"No. Do or do not, there is no try." Kate tipped her head and began chuckling; she couldn't help it. Alexis laughed. Leave it to Kate to remind her of her father and his love of Star Wars. Then a thought hit her. Maybe if she made it to those stairs she would find the real Kate Beckett or maybe her real father.
"I'd ask you if you're packed, but you are packed," Kate chuckled, trying to bring some levity to this now heavy room.
"Just don't forget to pack the emitters and my computer." Alexis smiled at Kate feeling much better about who and what she was now.
"NEVER!" They would forget those over her dead body.
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"This is the power core?" Kate asked in disbelief. Alexis had just come back on-board her ship after making a quick stop. It looked like a large, blue, glowing egg inside a glass cylinder surrounded by metal rods to her. It had a metal top and a metal bottom.
"Yep, it's a fusion power core and it cost us a very pretty credit. It will last for centuries, perhaps even a millennium, before it needs a new fuel core. That's the blue egg on the inside," Alexis explained and started plugging it into the computer that held Alexis.
"Where's Rick?" Kate didn't see him. However, going to see him was interrupted when one of her sons started crying. "If he's hungry his brother probably is, too."
Alexis appeared and watched Alexis work. "So this is my new power source?"
"Uh huh, this beauty is state of the art. If we're careful and can keep finding new cores, you'll live for thousands of years," Alexis replied. She changed the subject. "How goes your reading?"
Alexis chuckled. "It's a good thing I'll live a long time. I feel like I'll be in school for the rest of my life." She couldn't believe the amount of information that Alexis's ship had in its computer core. Sara was turning out to be a terrific teacher.
"You just wait till I can plug you into the Central Library on Vulia. They've been gathering information from several of the surrounding systems and storing it all in their main computer core. They even purchase information. I've sold a number of things to them. You fear being in school forever, you just wait," Alexis said with a wicked grin.
Suddenly Alexis had an idea. Maybe they had information that would help her make a body for her so she could go where she wanted, not just where the emitters allowed her to go.
"Do they have Wi-fi?" Maybe she could be plugged in now and start learning. Seeing Alexis shake her head shot that idea down. Still she now had hope.
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Kate was standing on the back patio holding James while Rick was next to her holding Levi. The place was beautiful in its own way.
He'd built his home on a moon and the gas giant that it circled was bright in the sky. The sky was made up of various shades of purple off the glow of the gas giant. But the trees, if that was what they were, were a shade of green as were the grass and weeds and most of the other plants.
She watched something small with large wings sprint past them. "They're harmless, they actually eat the insects so seeing one is a good thing," Rick told her, hoping to ease her fears.
"This is what you spent your money on?" Kate had been given a quick tour and found herself out back. She pointed to the light green water beyond. "And that's the ocean of this place, yes?" It seemed to have veins of blue and white with white being the dominate color where it met the shore.
The house Rick had had built was high up on the side of an extinct volcano. It got some of its power from solar; collected rain water that was in turn treated to make it potable for them to drink. Waste water was treated and released into the ground where it would be cleaned even more naturally as it made its way underground to the sea.
It had a main power generator while each room had a small back-up power source.
He nodded. "The locals call it Lake Chaubunagungamaug. It's the closest we can come to an English translation. Just off that way," Rick gestured toward the west, "even if we can't see it from here, is a place called Crater Lake, if we're translating correctly. As best we can tell, it's actually 16 lakes, all interconnected through a series of waterfalls and caves. Each lake is separated from the rest by thin natural dams of travertine, an unusual form of limestone deposited slowly over time from the action of local moss, algae and bacteria. The travertine dams grow at a rate of only 1 centimeter a year, making the lakes extremely fragile. They're off limits to everyone in order to preserve them. There might be some pictures of them around her somewhere. They're quite beautiful."
Kate had seen everything inside and only a little of the outside. It was a four bedroom, three bathroom home that had a pad on the roof where Alexis had landed her shuttle. It looked to be the only way in and out, which was strange. Someone had to have built this place. "Do you come here often?" It was complete but it looked… unlived in. There seemed to be little that was personal about the place.
"Construction was completed about four years ago. I was here after it was done. I've never been back till today." Rick noticed that nothing had changed.
"There's a boat and a small submarine way down there that we can use. Behind us, through that door," he pointed, "is an underground shed built into the mountain. It houses a few hover bikes and carts. Past that through a biometric lock is an armory filled with weapons of all kinds."
"You're expecting trouble?" Kate didn't see the need for that many weapons.
"Dad bought land and built a house in a zone that's not under the control of the Alliance. It means except for the locals there's no law here." Alexis had joined them. "I need to set up the emitters for Alexis. The power core is already plugged in and operational."
"I probably need to feed the boys." Kate left Rick and Alexis and headed for their bedroom.
"Why here, Dad?" Alexis wasn't sure she approved.
"What do you see?" Rick waved his hand. "On a planet within the Alliance I could afford maybe the land this house is on, and it wouldn't be this house. Here I own the mountain the house is on all the way down to the sea. A few extra credits and I had a team build this house and burrow deep into the mountain."
That had Alexis looking at him in surprise and trying to think of why he'd done it. There was little reason to hollow out the mountain, unless… She gave him her two most likely options. "You've either built something or you found something."
"Both actually. They built me an automated mine. I've got tons of raw ore that still needs to be refined." He let her in on his little secret. "…Obtanium."
Alexis's eyes went wide. "My god, Dad! That stuff is a room-temperature superconductor for energy, which makes it very valuable; it's worth 40 million credits per kilogram (2.2 lbs) unrefined; 80 million per kilogram refined." She didn't believe it. "How much do you have?" Her dad could be worth an amount she couldn't comprehend.
"Well the robots started mining about four years ago. If I haven't lost any of them through the years they should be able to dig out 124 pounds of unrefined ore each year," Rick explained. "Provided that the vein hasn't played out."
Alexis did her best to do the math and in the end her mouth fell open. "Holy… That's… that's ten billion, nine hundred twelve thousand credits. Twice that if you can refine it. Can you? Refine it, that is?" Her dad nodded. She stopped figuring and concentrated on how to breathe.
"Half of that's yours, if you want it." He considered what he had to be family-owned and that included his older daughter.
Alexis couldn't help but laugh a little. "What about Lily and the boys? And you and Kate?"
"If the vein's as big as I think it might be, or even bigger, Lily, James, and Levi will be set for years. They and their children." Rick was hoping his family was set for life, or lives.
"Show me. You are keeping records of how much you've mined? Holy…" Alexis shook her head. She couldn't believe it.
"Right after we set up the emitters for Alexis," he promised.
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Kate had put the boys down after feeding them. Then she started unpacking. Her clothes went into a closet while other things went into drawers. She placed her books on the dresser and sent her Crystal Owl outside of the house to keep an eye on it.
She placed the Crystal Parrot in a location so it would watch the boys. Yes, they had an Earth baby monitor, but this way she would know if anyone or anything entered the bedroom. She chose to keep her dagger on her. It was the most powerful item she owned.
"I forgot all about you." She picked up the blue-white gem encased in glass with a wood base. She sat down on the bed, placed it in her lap, and traced a finger all over the edge. She was amused that a stream of energy that she couldn't feel followed her finger.
Then she placed all five fingers on the globe. She watched the flickering energy arc out from the gem and follow her fingers. It still didn't tell her what this thing did. Unless it was just a toy. Something to keep someone amused, much like she was.
Kate decided to place both hands on the globe and watched the flickering tendrils reach out to each finger. Only this time she felt them tickle her fingertips.
"What the…" She spun in place. Everything was changed. The bedroom was gone as were her sons. "What… Where?"
There were buildings, but only a few of them. They were all made of wood which was gray and weathered looking. The buildings all had glass windows, but not very many of them.
Right in front of her was a horse tied to a rail. Then she saw a man riding a horse go past her between the wood building she was in front of and the one across the street. If you could call a patch of dirt a street.
None of this made sense. None of it. She stepped out into the street past the horse and looked up and down the street. There were other horses tied in place just like this one. "What the…?"
Kate spun to face the building she was in front of. The sign said General Store. "What?" It had a wooden door with glass in it so she strode right to it. Maybe there was someone inside that had answers. She reached out for the door knob and stopped when she saw her hand. It was smaller than she remembered. She looked at her left hand. "My ring!" It was gone. She turned in place and looked at the ground. She hadn't gone far; it had to be here somewhere.
She was down on the ground scrabbling through the dirt in an effort to find it. Rick had given her that ring. She was married for god's sake.
"You lose something, Missy?" a man's voice inquired. Kate looked up at him. His clothes were simple and he was an older man. Late 50s or maybe early 60s; she didn't recognize him.
Wait, he'd called her Missy, not Miss. "I… I, ah, no. I thought I'd dropped something is all," she lied.
"I'll let you finish your shopping." He smiled at her and walked away.
Kate stood up and turned to face the door. She reached for the handle again. Except she saw something in the glass – a reflection. It was a bad one and she almost planted her face against the glass to get a better look. "Who are you?" She saw the lips move and heard her voice, except it wasn't her voice. She ran her hand over her face to feel it while seeing the reflection do the same. Nothing made sense. None of it. Steeling her spine, she opened the door and went inside.
"Hello Missy, what do you need today? We just got in a few new things." A man she had never seen before greeted her as he dropped a bag on top of others just like it.
"Mirror, I need a mirror." Kate wanted a better look at her face.
"Sure, I think I've got one around her somewhere." He went off looking for it.
It gave Kate time to look around though she didn't take a step. There were strange things hanging everywhere. Bags, boxes, clothes, tools….
"Here you go." He handed her a small hand mirror. Her hand shaking, she raised it front of her eyes. The face looking back at her wasn't hers. Her first thought was that she had screwed up her illusion somehow so she willed herself to look like Kate. Look normal. Except… nothing changed.
"Is something wrong, Missy? You look lost somehow," he said and dropped yet another bag on top of the other one.
"Yes… no… I don't know. Maybe." Actually everything was wrong. Where the hell was she and why did she look like someone else?
"Well, the sheriff might could help you. Should be just outside walkin' around this time of day."
"Thanks, I'll go look for him." Kate put the mirror down.
"You mean her. Our sheriff's a woman. Grant you I've never heard of a sheriff being a lady before coming here. But she's good, really good." He was impressed. It didn't hurt that she was the best-lookin' woman in town. He'd also learned the hard way that she was married and her husband was equally good-lookin'. Actually those two amazed him.
"A woman?" Okay, she supposed a sheriff could be a woman. After all she was a homicide detective, so it was possible.
"Yes, you know…Kate." He went to pick up another bag to move.
"KATE!" She was the sheriff? Except he had called her Missy, like the man outside.
Kate wandered out the door and left it open. She was just standing there and was startled when the door behind her was closed. She was lost and had no idea what to do next. She saw a man wearing a gun walking down the street. "YOU, where's the sheriff?"
"Last I saw her she was walking to the restaurant." She turned to look the way he was going. "That way." He pointed behind him, a little perplexed that she didn't know that. After all it was the only restaurant in town and he had seen Missy in town before. If he remembered right she was the school teacher for the kids.
Kate ran down the street. It was only now that she noticed what she was wearing. Where had she gotten these clothes and why was she wearing so much? She started running again only this time it was more like hurrying; she took smaller steps. Then she saw someone dressed in black walking down the street. Based on their shape it had to be a woman.
Her long brown hair billowed out from under a black Stetson. She was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and had on black gloves. She was wearing tight black pants and had black boots. However, it was the black corset and the gun belt hanging on her right side that was strapped to her leg that she noticed most.
Then she spotted the gold badge that was pinned just above her left breast. Kate increased her speed and stopped right in front of her, a little winded. "You alright Missy? Is something wrong? Isn't there school in an hour?" the lady in black asked.
Kate sucked in a breath. It wasn't possible. This lady looked exactly like her. "Kate?" she inquired softly.
"What's wrong, Missy." The lady in black was now on alert. She was looking around for trouble and had her hand on her weapon.
"My name's not Missy." Kate took a breath and did her best to convince her. "It's Kate…. Actually, it's Katherine Houghton Beckett."
"Very funny, Missy. Now if there isn't a problem I'm going to go have breakfast." The lady in black dismissed her.
Kate reached out and grabbed her arm. "My name is Kate Beckett. My father is Jim Beckett, my deceased mother was Johanna Beckett. I'm a homicide detective for the 12th precinct of New York City. You need to believe me." She was doing her best to reach her.
And based on the look of shock the lady was looking at her with, she had. BIG TIME.
"How do you…? You better come with me." The sheriff took hold of the arm that had hold of her arm and escorted her into the building.
There were a few people out front eating and Kate could smell cooking; her stomach began to growl. "This way." The lady took her through a back door into the kitchen.
It was here that Kate saw a man cooking, and not just any man. "Rick!" She was now beyond surprised. Even the lady in black had an equally shocked look on her face.
"Are we having a guest for breakfast?" Rick asked as he watched them both enter.
"Stay here," the lady in black ordered then walked over to Rick. "I don't know what's going on, but she says her name is Katherine Houghton Beckett."
"Really, since when?" He knew her name was Missy and she was the school teacher.
"Castle, she knows the names of my dad and mother. She knows about the 12th precinct." She saw the look of shock on his face.
Both of them turned to look at Kate who gave a little wave and very tentative smile.
"Kate, we're in the Wild West. We don't have electricity yet, save for the little bit we have upstairs. We don't even have running water, save for what we have upstairs," Rick said.
"I know all that, Rick. So how does she know so much? New York City is hundreds and hundreds of miles from here. It would take us weeks on horseback to get there, and it's not the New York City we both know," she pointed out.
He was dumbfounded and didn't know what to do. "Go lock the front door; the restaurant is closed this morning. At least until we have answers. ... Castle," Kate hissed since he hadn't moved.
"Lock the front door… right." Rick left Kate and walked past Missy. He hustled the few customers they did have out the front door since it looked like they were done. He locked the front door and turned the sign to CLOSED.
Rick found Kate standing close to Missy who was sipping coffee. "No vanilla?" Kate asked Kate.
Kate chuckled. She would kill for some vanilla in her coffee. "No, sorry."
Rick stood next to Kate. "I don't know how to explain it, but I'm Kate Beckett. You're Richard Castle and you write novels. Derrick Storm and then Nikki Heat which you based on me," Kate told them.
They looked at her in shock. "We don't even have much in the way of books. Most of what I write that gets published are short stories that are printed on pamphlets," Rick explained.
"Who do you work with at the 12th?" Kate was obviously testing her.
"Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan with Lanie Parish as the head medical examiner and Roy Montgomery as our precinct captain." Kate was amused at the look on their faces.
"It's the year 2011, your mother Johanna was born February 4, 1951, and died in January 9, 1999." She still saw the shocked look on their faces.
"As best we can tell it's 1876. June, we think. General Custer should be killed at the Little Big Horn soon," Rick said.
"Do you remember dying?" Kate inquired.
"We were both picked up and questioned about someone that we knew nothing about. There was someone but it's all kinda hazy. I think I was dropped in the same alley where my mother was killed," Kate replied.
"Same for me, except they broke all of my fingers and dropped me near the 12th to be found dead," Rick explained. "There was someone, I can't really picture him, he asked questions. It's all very confusing."
"I found you in a pool of blood. My real name is Snohbal," Kate related as she heard Kate say Snowball at the same time. "I'm a demon, a succubus to be precise. I escaped from my plane of existence and encountered you just outside of the door I selected from the staircase."
"A demon, like a mythical demon?" Rick asked excitedly. She nodded. "That is so cool! Are there other types of demons? Ones with big horns, sharp nasty teeth? Do you have wings?" He was on a roll and totally intrigued.
"Castle! …Focus!" Kate chided and Kate watched Rick let Kate take control.
"The answer is yes." Kate was amused by Rick and how Kate controlled him.
Suddenly a high pitched wail got their attention. Rick walked a little ways off and lifted a baby out of a simple crib. "She just needs her diaper changed." He got to work.
"Her name is Lily and she's about 9 months old," Kate told Kate, her love for her daughter very evident on her face.
"Really?" Now it was Kate who was shocked. "My little girl is named Lily and she's two. My twin boys were born just a few weeks ago."
Both of them look shocked. "Who… who's the father?" Kate queried a bit hesitantly.
"Rick." Kate grinned at the implications of what that meant.
Kate turned and glared at Castle. He immediately defended himself. "It wasn't me, I swear, I've been right here all the time. Besides how could I get her pregnant in 2011 when it's 1876?"
"My Rick, I mean you, Rick. This is really complex." Kate wasn't sure how to explain this. "Okay, I found you, Kate, and a Richard Rodgers found you, Rick. I took over your life and made myself look like you. Rick, for reasons we don't understand, looks just like your Rick. I connected my mind to yours and gained most of your memories and Rick used a device to download your memories. I'm you and Rick is Rick. Does that make sense?" Kate asked them. "Oh, and my Rick has a daughter named Alexis." Just to make things even more complex.
"ALEXIS!" Rick was all over that name. He came up next to Kate carrying Lily who was being quiet.
Kate scrunched up her face not sure how to tell him. She decided it was best to be blunt. "She's dead, killed by the same person that had you both killed and your mother killed, Kate."
Kate was fast and snatched Lily from his arms just before Rick collapsed to the floor. "Dead… Like in dead, dead?" He looked up at her as tears started. Kate nodded and saw him begin to break down.
Kate had news that they didn't know. "She's not completely dead."
"DEAD IS DEAD! WHAT OTHER KIND OF DEAD IS THERE?" Rick screamed; he started to sob. It wasn't possible, just wasn't possible. His little girl was dead.
"Castle." Kate wasn't sure what she could do for him. She knew how much Alexis meant to him. It had taken him months to get over never being able to see her again. He'd even worked out just how old he had to be when she was born.
Then he had launched into how him being an old man would encounter himself as a younger man as Meredith gave birth to his little girl. He could tell himself all kinds of things. Like how to get rid of Meredith and not let her into his life again. How to meet and fall in love with Kate Beckett and this time to actually talk to her. Tell her how much he loved her. To avoid all the mistakes they had made.
Kate tried to explain. "She's not really dead, sort of. Like you two, we downloaded all of her memories. Alexis is a 3 dimensional image projected by emitters. It is Alexis. She has all her memories. Granted her finding out that she was dead and just a program now didn't go over well at first. But she's alive Rick. It is Alexis."
Rick swiped at his eyes and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "A 3D image. Like Vader in Star Wars?" He latched onto what little hope he had been offered.
Kate had to think about that. "More like the Jedi council in Return of the Jedi, but yes. It's Alexis, she just can't go anywhere without an emitter." Alexis had limitations.
Kate knelt down to his level. The fact that Alexis had been killed affected her, too. She had learned to like Alexis. True, she wasn't in love with Alexis, she hadn't had that much time with her. "I'm sorry, Castle, I know what Alexis means to you." The fact that he was hurting caused her own heart to hurt. Then something occurred to her and she turned to look up at Missy.
"You said the person who killed her and killed my mom." Had she heard correctly?
"Rick and I worked out who'd had her killed. Both your mother and Alexis most likely, though we were never able to prove it was him for either." Kate was betting there were others, she just didn't know who.
Kate stopped breathing. They'd found out who had killed her mother. The one case that meant the world to her. "Who? Dammit, who?" She had to know.
"He was an assistant district attorney at the time your… my mother was killed." To her Johanna was her mother. "His name was Senator William H. Bracken," Kate said and listened to Kate speak the name softly.
"He was arrested and convicted of processing and distributing illegal drugs with intent to sell along with tax evasion. Rick and I, along with information Roy had, helped to get him convicted," Kate tried to explain.
"Roy? Roy Montgomery? Captain of the 12th?" Kate didn't understand; how could he be involved in this?
"According to Roy, when he was a rookie, he and two other officers – detectives actually, from Homicide – had been kidnapping members of the Five Families and then ransoming them back for money. Bracken found out and took the money and blackmailed the three of them.
Roy collected all the information he could and used to to try and protect his family and you from Bracken. He didn't really have enough to convict him, but he did have enough to get all the news organizations involved. Along with lots of paparazzi. Toward the end even the FBI got involved," Kate revealed.
"How does that get Alexis killed?" Rick didn't understand. He didn't see the connection.
Kate kissed Lily's head who was being a good girl. "Retaliation from prison," she reasoned.
"We think so, yes. Then Alexis killed him so that he couldn't kill anyone again." Kate responded; both of them looked at her with confusion.
"Not your Alexis." Kate tried to think this through before trying to explain. "You, Rick, have a daughter named Alexis. My Rick also has a daughter named Alexis. She's about two years older than yours. My Rick is an interstellar hunter as is his Alexis. A bounty hunter if you will." Kate had found something similar on her world. Well, Kate's world.
"Interstellar bounty hunter?" Rick tried to wrap his mind around it and Missy nodded.
Kate had her own questions. "How did you two meet? I dropped your body into the Astral Mist to get rid of it. If I was going to be you I couldn't have someone finding your body."
"We… I found myself in this town right after its sheriff had been killed. I picked up a weapon and attempted to arrest the killers. I ended up killing both of them instead. They didn't give me a choice. I was grazed by a shot and was shocked when I found Rick tending to my wound. Both of us just kind of showed up here.
Since I killed the two killers, the town asked me to be sheriff, at the urging of Rick. At first I resisted but Rick, he wouldn't let go of the idea of me being sheriff. We used my first year's salary to buy this building and opened a restaurant. Our home's on the floor above us," Kate explained.
"I'm the cook. It makes us decent money," Rick shrugged. "Between Kate's salary, the restaurant, and my little books we do pretty well. Better than some."
"How did you get here and what are you doing in Missy's body? She's our school teacher, just so you know," Rick inquired.
"I escaped from my world since I didn't like it. I knew that I wasn't evil like all the other demons that inhabited it. I had found a way out but wanted to steal an item from the prince that ruled my world. I spent months watching and planning.
I stole a magical dagger, four books, and this globe that had a blue object inside it. The dagger houses a massive red dragon…" Kate was interrupted by Rick.
"A real dragon? A red dragon like in the movies?" Rick couldn't resist and Kate simply rolled her eyes and let her husband have his fun.
"Pretty much, yeah. I was examining the globe and found myself here. I don't know why I look like Missy. Actually it was a shock to find myself looking like her. Are we even on the same world?" Kate wasn't even sure about that.
"Castle has a number of theories about that. Most of them thankfully don't involve aliens or the CIA," Kate teased. In truth she loved some of his wild theories.
"It's still possible, you know." Rick defended his theories and tried to glare at her knowing she was immune to his looks.
Kate simply ignored him. "So how do you get back and we get Missy here?"
Kate wasn't even sure how she got there let alone how to get back home. "Wait, maybe? Most magic has a time limit," she suggested. "If this works I can come back monthly. It doesn't look like I can bring anything with me except knowledge. You can ask me for something and I'll try to memorize how to make it or what happens in this time," Kate offered.
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Kate had what she would call a muscle spasm then found herself in their bedroom with the twins and a blue globe in her hand. She singsonged excitedly, "I found them and they're alive!" She began wiping at the tears that had started. She laughed, hugged herself, and spun around. Then she was up and running.
"Alexis!" Kate found the hologram Alexis first. "I need to memorize what it takes to make penicillin and how to make a pill that will purify water." Those were the two things Kate and Rick had asked about.
"And Alexis, I have something I need to tell you. It's about your father," Kate beamed.
She thought Kate was happy with what she was doing with her life as was Rick. Now she could do something for Alexis and that made her heart soar. They could use the globe monthly to talk to each other. Find a way to give things to Kate and Rick and let them talk to people here through her or Rick or even Alexis.
Kate was so very happy.