The last thing anyone expected was for the deactivation code to fail…yet it had.
Richard Castle is still in the state of complete memories of what took place earlier in his career and the more recent events relating to his abduction from the wedding.
"Kate I still remember everything and I don't want to remember those days." He tells Beckett "There was too much destruction and carnage to deal with. I need these memories gone"
She touches his face with her long slender fingers giving him some relief from the tension as only she can
"Babe, I know but we used the last line in the book. The clue said the first and the last. The first activated you and the last line should have removed the memories"
"But it didn't" Castle responds
"Let's go back to the precinct and see if we can come up with a solution"
They get into her cruiser and travel back to the station. The ride is performed in silence except every few minutes a sigh is heard leave Castle's lips as he has leaned back and seems to try and will his memories to be erased
Once they arrive in the basement Rick asks Beckett to open the trunk so he can get some aspirin from his bag. He says that he has a blinding headache and need to take something.
When he opens the zipper and goes looking for his toiletries bag he finds something he did not pack. He takes it out of the case and turns to Beckett
"Kate, did you put this in my bag?"
She looks at the worn paperback novel and replies "No. Where did it come from?"
"I don't know. It was in my overnight bag, but I didn't put it in there"
Rick looks at the paperback and is somewhat surprised by the author. It is another of the Ian Fleming spy books
"Someone put this in my bag…but who? and Why?"
Rick flips the book so he can see the cover. "It is the book, 'The Living Daylights'"
Castle, you are the expert. Is there any significance in the title of this book or anything inside?"
He thinks for a moment "No…not really. It was the last Bond book Fleming wrote himself…"
It appears a light has gone on in both Rick and Kate's head at the same moment and they speak as one voice
"Casino Royale was the first and The Living Daylights was the last"
Kate grabs the book from his hands and flips to the last page. She looks up to her husband and quotes the final line
"Thanks, driver. Headquarters please"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
EPILOGUE
Richard Castle and his lovely wife have returned to safety of their loft after finishing what seemed like the never ending stack of paperwork
But tonight they came home, to their home TOGETHER
TOGETHER at home for the first time in months and this time no doom or threats hanging over them
She drops her bag in the closet and begins peeling off her clothes "I am going to take a long hot soaking bath"
"And I am going to grab a quick shower and then make a few notes about the case to use in a book one day"
Before she becomes completely naked Kate wraps herself around her husband "you know you cannot tell this story. It is classified to the highest level"
"I know but I can tell a cleaned up version of it"
"That's a good choice of words being we discovered a major laundering operation"
"Touché" and kisses her "now go get your bath and I will get a shower and we can then just relax and have a glass of wine before going to bed"
She turns and disappears into the tub after having her clothes fall to the floor as she moves away from him
Rick follows suit quickly into the shower stall beside the tub and washes the sins of the day away from his body. After toweling off and finishing drying his hair he moves out of the room leaving his wife, in what appears to be a state of full bliss on her face
Completing his shower long before Kate, Rick has moved into his study. When he opened the computer he found a message for an online gamer he had been having a long running battle with over the last several months while Kate was MIA from their home.
A young man named Patel in India had been trampling Rick from every angle. Castle decides that he is not going to let a snotty nosed kid get away with this. He moves to the monitor and activates the game system. He sees that his opponent is primed and ready to go head to head with Castle.
He puts on his blue tooth headset and picks up the controller and the game is afoot. The sounds coming from the game is war and gun battles and canon fire and missiles detonating all around in full 7,1 surround
Castle is talking to his opponent over the blue tooth and it is difficult for anyone else to hear above the din of sound filling the room
"Take that, Patel" Rick can be heard to say "how do you like this" as he ambushes the opponent over the internet connected game of war
"OH YEAH?" Castle continues to chide the boy on the other side of the planet "Have I got something for you…"
It is at that very moment that Kate steps into the light from the bedroom and into the study. Her back is to Castle and she looks over her shoulder and in a very deep and very sexy voice says "and have I got something for you…too" as she slides her hand down her shoulder exposing her back from her neck to her upper arm. The arm that is now only partly covered with one of Rick's long sleeve dress shirts
Castle takes about one second to respond to the voice of his wife and looks up just in time as she turns around and is now facing him. With the light behind her it appears she is wearing his pale blue button down shirt, that she has always loved to see him in, and…
NOTHING ELSE
She has only the second from the bottom button closed but it is evident that the shirt is the only thing between her and the piercing eyes of her husband
Castle is not sure where to look first. The top of the shirt that is open down to the navel or her firm legs that start at the hem of the shirt go on forever
But which ever place he begins it is not going to be long before he will be loosing the game with his worthy opponent since he is no longer moving the controller
His slack jaw look tells her that she still has it when it comes to her man. Kate is enjoying the fact she can still steal his attention even when playing his games. Making sure that the shirt is just barely covering herself she makes her next comments
"Listen Castle, if you need to finish playing your with your friend, I can just go on to bed and let you finish your game and we can take this back up tomorrow or at some other time"
Stuttering into his headset while trying to take it off and without ripping his own ear from his head "I…uh…need…I go …need to…need….go… to go…now"
He listens to the conversation from the other end on the headset "No it is not my mom…" Rick is smiling at Kate "It is much, much better" and a sigh leaves his throat
He drops the headset and controller and follows her into the quiet of their private space. Just as he closes the door his shirt is seen flying across the room and Kate is heard to giggle
"I am back home where I Always want to be"
"And where you belong"
FINIS
Thanks everyone for joining me on the journey.
I am currently in writer's block so I am not sure when of if i can start back up. But I have said that before and then some really great episode of Castle re-ignited me.
Problem this season is there have been no great episodes