A Convergence of Storms – Part 1
Summary – A post 6x23 fic previously titled Hours Lost Forever. What happens when Castle shows back up after the car crash and thinks the crash happened after the wedding and Kate was in the car with him. Will be 3 parts and 3XK or Bracken are not involved. This looks at some new "old" mythology based on Castle's time shadowing the CIA.
Author's Notes – Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews – they really mean a lot. You are awesome. Come on September. Yes, I'm borrowing dialog from the show with a slight twist. All OCs are mine.
And as a side note, if you ever notice any unusual reactions from any of the prescription meds you're taking, talk to your doctor immediately. There are several I can't take because I turn into the wicked witch of the west when I do.
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle – Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do.
Chapter 8 – The Patter of Rain
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"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you." Joseph Heller, Catch-22
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When Beckett woke up the next morning, Castle was snoring softly, his face more relaxed than she had seen in several days.
She watched him sleep for several minutes and then quickly made up her mind, gathered her clothes and dressed in the spare bedroom upstairs so she wouldn't wake him.
She had heard him get up in the middle of the night and pad into the kitchen, and then come back several minutes later before snuggling up against her. They simply held each other, enjoying being together before sleep claimed them.
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Several hours later, Castle's eyes popped open and he frowned, looking around the room flooded with daylight, wondering what time it was. He was aware of three things – Kate was gone (probably to work), he was hungry, and he was definitely up. Too bad Kate wasn't home.
He quickly showered, dressed, and walked into the kitchen.
Beckett had left a note on the counter, saying that she was at the precinct and would be home later. There wasn't a note from Alexis though and he could hear her upstairs.
He smiled to himself and pulled out the makings for emergency cheering up pancakes to apologize for his behavior last night.
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Alexis was reading a book in her room when she smelled something delicious cooking and walked downstairs.
She smiled when she reached the bottom, standing there for a minute watching her father as he expertly fixed…cheering up pancakes?
"Dad?" she asked hopefully. "What's this? Emergency cheering up pancakes?"
Castle smiled at her. "Well, they're emergency make-up pancakes now." He walked over to her and gave her a big hug and kiss on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Alexis. I know that I've been a bear lately and I just wanted—"
"No," said Alexis, shaking her head. "You've been under a lot of stress lately – with the wedding and the wreck. I understand."
"Thanks for being you," Castle said, giving her another kiss, and then returning to the stove to flip the pancakes. "So dinner tonight? My treat."
"Okay," said Alexis, beaming.
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Beckett stared at the murder board. So far, they hadn't caught a break on the case. The man had no enemies that they could find, nothing strange in his financials and life that would lead someone to murder him. Espo and Ryan were running his records again to see if they missed anything.
She picked up her blue coffee mug and stared at the contents when the smell of fresh brewed coffee reached her nose and she looked at the to-go cup that mysteriously appeared on her desk.
"So, I was thinking it was a 1-fanged vampire," said Castle as he sat down in his chair by her desk and looked at the picture of the man on the board.
"Oh?" Beckett said as she smiled and picked up the cup. "I didn't think vampires could go out in daylight."
"Just a rumor spread by werewolves," Castle commented.
"Got nothing," said Ryan, looking over at Beckett.
Castle stared at the picture a moment longer before looking at Beckett. "That puncture wound on his neck – that look a lot like a viper snake bite."
Beckett shrugged. "Lanie will have the tox reports back this afternoon, so maybe we'll have something then, but a viper snake in New York City?"
"Yeah, and there's only 1 puncture wound," said Espo. "Wouldn't there be 2?"
"Not necessarily," said Castle getting up to examine the picture. "I interviewed a snake wrangler one time and he was showing me all of the scars from his bites."
"Must not have been a good snake wrangler then," said Espo.
Castle quirked an eyebrow at him. "He said sometimes the snake only gets one fang in." He thought a moment. "Picture this, Stahlman is running along the path; his shoe comes untied and he leans down to tie it. He hears a rustle in the bushes and looks up and sees a snake. Before he can react, the snake lunges at him and he moves aside enough so that the snake only gets one fang in. The snake can't get free and he runs along the path, holding his hands to his neck trying to get the snake off. So Mrs. Wysman didn't see a scarf, she saw the snake."
Beckett and Espo frowned at him, but Ryan narrowed his eyes in thought and nodded. "That could actually make sense." He leafed through some papers on his desk. "One of the people we talked to was in the park looking his pet. He didn't say what the pet was, but the name he was calling was Nagaina."
Ryan quickly pulled up the man's information. "Thomas Cummings, 460 Forsyth. And he was busted 4 years ago for having several pythons in his apartment."
"Sounds like he's got a thing for exotic animals," said Castle, sipping his coffee. "And what better name for a king cobra?"
Beckett frowned at the picture and then back at Castle. "Let's bring him in for questioning."
Castle smiled smugly over the top of his coffee cup. "It's like I was never gone."
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Thomas Cummings admitted to having lost the king cobra that he was keeping illegally and pleaded to involuntary manslaughter charges.
The city police put out a BOLO on the snake which was quickly rounded up.
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A couple of mornings later, they got a call about a body in an alley.
Castle and Beckett were dressing after a quick shower.
Castle looked at his watch and made a face. "You know, I can move my meeting at Black Pawn to another day."
"And give Gina any more excuses to make your life miserable?" Beckett commented as she tucked in her blouse.
Castle nodded as he put the cufflinks through the cuffs of his button-down shirt. "Yeah. I guess I should just stand up and take it like a man," he commented.
"And you are the man," Beckett said, kissing him lightly on the lips as she walked past.
"Well, when you put it like that, we could be a little late," Castle said as he drew her to him.
They kissed for a few moments before Beckett's phone rang again, quickly followed by Castle's.
Beckett slowly drew away. "We'll just have to put this on hold for a little while, but save my place."
"Always," said Castle as they touched foreheads.
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Beckett walked into the alley to meet Espo, Ryan, and Lanie. "What do we have?"
"Male victim, early 70's, single GSW to the back," said Lanie. "I would say from the lack of blood splatter, he was killed elsewhere and then moved here."
"They dumped him here, probably hoping that he'd picked up and in a landfill before he was reported missing," said Espo.
"Yeah," nodded Ryan. "And no identification on the body."
Beckett nodded. "Okay, let's canvass the area and check for any security footage."
Espo and Ryan nodded.
Lanie waited a few minutes as Espo and Ryan moved off to start the investigation. "So I hear that Castle's feeling better now," she said quietly.
Beckett nodded, smiling. "Yeah, almost back to his normal self. We still have some issues we're dealing with."
"And the wedding?" Lanie asked.
Beckett wrinkled her nose. "We're working on that too." Her phone beeped and she pulled it out and laughed as she read the text. "He's stuck in a meeting at Black Pawn. He doesn't want us to solve the murder without him."
"Aren't their offices a couple of blocks from here?" asked Lanie. "Maybe you should pop in and surprise him."
Beckett smiled as she typed in a reply. "I just might," she said thoughtfully.
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While Espo and Ryan canvassed the buildings around the alley, Beckett walked to the street to see if any of the storefronts had surveillance video that would show what had happened.
She talked with the several owners, but so far, found nothing, and then walked back out to the street.
She was about to go into another store when she saw Castle walking down the other side of the street and smiled to herself, and then paused. She hadn't told him the location of the body – he must have called Ryan or Espo to find out.
Beckett started to wave at him when he stopped suddenly and looked into the window, combing his hair with his hand. She watched him for a few moments with an amused expression when he started walking again. That man and his hair.
Castle stopped suddenly again, looking at the window display.
Beckett frowned. She could tell from the angle he was looking, he wasn't looking at what was in the store window but at the side walk behind him.
She watched him as he started walking again and then stopped suddenly again several yards later. He started walking again, this time passing several stores before stopping suddenly and whirling around, scanning the area around him.
Apparently he spotted whatever he was looking for because he pointed at a man standing on the corner half a block from him and yelled, "Hey, you!"
The man ignored him and quickly crossed the street to the other side to the bus stop, where a bus had just pulled up.
Beckett gasped as Castle dashed out into the street, almost being hit by several cars, horns blaring and drivers swearing, as he rushed toward the bus.
"Wait!" he called, but the bus pulled away before he could reach it.
Castle jerked in frustration and ran a hand through his hair.
Beckett watched him for a moment and then pulled out her phone. "How's the meeting going?" she texted.
She watched him pull his phone out of his pocket and then smile slightly. "Must have been good – got out early – took a walk. Need me at the precinct?" he texted back.
Beckett nodded once. Okay, he wasn't lying to her but she had to know what he thought was going on. "How about home in 30 minutes? We can have a quick lunch."
"See you there," was the reply.
She watched him hail a cab and then waited a few minutes before hailing one herself.
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Castle was already setting out a salad and grilled chicken breasts when Beckett walked in the door.
"Hi, babe," Beckett said as she walked over to him and hugged him from the back. "How did things go at Black Pawn?"
Castle shrugged slightly. "The usual but I think I was killing a character in my head while they were talking," he replied. "So how was your morning?"
"The usual," Beckett said as she released him. "Dead body in a dumpster in an alley."
"Yeah, you'd think they would find some place new." Castle looked at the food and then at Beckett. "Do you want some wine?"
"Still on duty," she said, wrinkling her nose.
"Oh, yeah," said Castle.
Beckett took his hand and looked at him seriously. "Babe, we need to talk."
"Okay," said Castle, looking a little leery. "Hey, I'm sorry about the other day. I just wasn't paying attention. It won't happen again."
Beckett shook her head. "No, no – it's not that," she said as she led him over to the couch and sat him down. "Rick," she said after a moment, "The body was in the alley near Black Pawn. I was talking to some of the shop owners and I saw you – it looked like you were chasing someone – you almost got hit by a car."
"Oh," said Castle, swallowing slightly and leaning back. He released Beckett's hand and drummed his fingers lightly on the arm of the couch, thinking. "Beckett, you'll probably think I'm crazy but ever since the wreck, I've had the feeling that people have been watching me – following me."
He stood and started to pace. "I'm sure it's just the stress of everything that happened – the wreck, the panic attack. But there's been these guys every place I go – when I look outside at night, I see them sometimes."
He sat down on the couch and looked at Beckett. "And I haven't been truthful, Kate," he admitted. "I stopped taking the pills a couple of days ago and I haven't made an appointment with the neurologist."
Beckett nodded and leaned forward, pressing her lips together, thinking about what to say and decided it was time to come clean. "That's because you are being followed," she said simply, waiting for his response.
Castle blinked at her. "What?" he asked, with a stunned expression on his face.
"Since the wreck," Beckett continued. "It wasn't an accident," she said, shaking her head. "There was another car involved – a black Escalade – and the people in it took you and torched your car. They wanted information from you."
"What are you talking about?" Castle asked as he looked at Beckett in almost disbelief.
"After the wreck – when they took you to the hospital," Beckett said, tears forming in her eyes. "You couldn't see me – you thought we were married and that I died in the wreck." She stopped for a minute, squeezing her eyes shut, and then opened them again to look at Castle. "Two doctors came – I thought that they were the specialists who had been called. Well, they were specialists, but they weren't the ones that Dr. Freas had called. They're CIA. They found out what happened and they fixed you. But they were concerned that you might remember something."
Castle shook his head. "How do you know this?" he asked quietly.
Beckett dropped her head and said in a quiet voice, "Someone had to make sure you didn't remember."
"Are you a part of this?" Castle asked.
Beckett nodded miserably. "I was just trying to keep you safe."
Castle swallowed and nodded. "Uh," he said, and then started again. "How do you know the doctors were who they said they were?"
"Martin Danberg came to the hospital while they were there. He signed off on what they were doing," Beckett replied, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
Castle nodded and thought for a moment. "What did they say?"
"They said when you were shadowing the CIA, you were given some reports to read that weren't properly redacted. The people who took you wanted the information in those reports. The only way you'd be safe is if you didn't remember the information or the incident."
"So you knew what was wrong all this time and you've been lying to me?" Castle asked, the hurt evident in his voice.
Beckett nodded. "Rick, these people who took you – they did horrible things to you – they made you think that I died in the car crash – that you couldn't rescue me from the fire." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "The doctors gave me the choice of either erasing all the memories from the kidnapping or making it just a bad dream. But if they erased it, they weren't sure how much of your memory they'd actually erase."
"So you chose to make it a bad dream?" Castle asked.
Beckett nodded. "I'm so sorry, Castle."
Castle nodded and then began to pace again. "Althea," he said finally. "I need to call Althea."
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