Kate Beckett, Investigator Chapter 12
Not bothering with a robe, Castle pads barefoot into the kitchen in his t-shirt and shorts. Kate is sitting at the counter. "Couldn't sleep?"
Kate points to a mug in front of her. "Warm milk. It isn't helping."
"Yeah, I can't sleep either." Castle pulls open the fridge, stares inside, and pulls out the milk jug. "I don't know if it would help with sleep any, but this would be more fun turned into hot chocolate. If nothing else, it would give us something to do, especially if we go the from scratch route."
Kate shrugs. "I don't care. Do what you want."
"Kate, we both know that the reason we're not both in dreamland is about what you want."
"Castle, you don't have to remind me. But you know how I always hated to go after a suspect without solid evidence. Before I can think about making any kind of decision, I want to know what's in those lab results."
He nuzzles her head beneath his chin. "I know. Of course, if you want to switch to tea, we could go with tasseomancy and read the leaves."
Kate leans back against his body. "I don't think that will help."
"No, probably not. I checked out the stats on tasseomancy when I was considering alternate plots for Hell Hath No Fury. The accuracy leaves something to be desired. No pun intended. The readers see what they want to see – or what the client pays them to see."
Kate grabs for Castle's hand and pulls him down to take the seat beside her. "That's just it, Babe. I'm not sure what I would want to see. I'm not sure what I want Dr. Scott to hear from the lab. I'm not sure about anything."
Kate presses a kiss to her palm. "Yeah, I get it. Well, if we can't pass the time in slumber, and even the wondrous powers of the cacao bean can't make the clock tick any faster, how about some totally useless time waster?"
"You're the connoisseur of those, Castle. Like what?"
"Watching late-night commercials and counting how many times we hear, 'Wait! There's more!'"
"I did that in school, but as a drinking game."
"It would be more fun that way," Castle considers, "but not necessarily advisable in our current situation. Hmm, as a writer, I have one, but I'm not sure I'd class it as a time waster. I've come up with a couple of interesting plot twists doing it, and it does tend to engage the mind."
"Don't keep me in suspense, Babe. What?'
"Going through the list of conspiracies on Wikipedia and picking holes in them."
"But you love conspiracy theories."
"Only the ones I can't disprove. I mean, I can't prove them either. That's why they're theories. But some of them can be very creative and backed up with something that at least appears to be real data. However, it is in all the others that the real game lies. Want to have a competition for the best debunker? Seems like it would be right up your alley."
"Why not? I'll give it a shot," Kate decides.
Castle rubs his hands together. "All right then! Let's go at it!"
"I think I've got a good one," Kate reports as the first light of sunrise penetrates the loft's tall windows.
"What strange hypotheses are you exploring now?" Castle inquires.
"The ones about the moon landing being faked. I'm looking at the theory that Stanley Kubrick directed the footage that was shown on TV. I checked out his filmography. At the time he would have had to set up everything for the moon landing in 1969, he would have already been working on A Clockwork Orange. Then, I found an image of a shooting schedule for the movie that someone put up for sale on eBay. It was date-stamped and had Kubrick's notes all over it. There's no way he could have been doing all that and directed the moon landing."
"Excellent work, Beckett! When you put your mind to it, you have a real flair for useless investigation."
"But I'm also pretty good at real investigation, Castle."
"You're more than pretty good, and we both know it. So, has this deliberately distracting activity accidentally directed your thoughts somehow?"
"I don't know. I still want to hear what Dr. Scott has to say about my lab results."
"Mmm-hmm. Well, it's probably going to be a few more hours before he calls. Going to attack another conspiracy?"
"Yeah, in a weird way, it's fun. Which one are you working on now?"
"The thing about Jesus marrying Mary Magdelene and their descendants still being alive in Europe somewhere."
"The one Dan Brown used for the Da Vinci Theory?"
"Uh-huh."
"Wow! After he got a movie with Tom Hanks and everything?"
"Yeah, well, he lucked out. You read two Dan Browns, and you've read them all. The villain is always some trustworthy figure the reader should never suspect. But after you've read a couple of his books, you can't suspect anyone else. Not exactly the epitome of clever writing."
"Castle, you're jealous!"
"No, I'm not. I just detest predictable mysteries, that's all. Life isn't that predictable."
"No," Kate agrees, "it isn't."
"Hey, I'm sorry. Saying that was stupid."
"No, it was true."
Castle shakes his head. "It was still stupid. I need coffee."
"Now that," Kate proclaims, "is predictable."
By the time Kate's cell buzzes at 9:30 a.m., she and Castle are both wearing tracks in the floor. Castle looks up as she grabs it. "Is it?"
Kate nods and puts the phone on speaker. "This is Kate Beckett."
"Kate, this is Colin Scott. I have your lab results. Everything is within normal ranges."
"And what does that mean?" Kate demands.
"That aside from your blood pressure, so far, the pregnancy doesn't appear to be affecting your body in any way that raises a concern. So, it would be a good idea to come in and have your pressure checked again. You don't need an appointment. I'll ask a nurse to do it whenever you show up."
"And what will that tell you?" Kate asks.
"If it's still elevated, it will still be a matter of concern. If not, we'll have to keep an eye on it, but it will lower your level of risk somewhat. Can you make it in this morning?"
I'll drive you right now," Castle mouths.
"I'll be there," Kate says.
"Sonofabitch!" Castle exclaims at his fourth red light.
"Good thing no one's taking your blood pressure, Babe. Calm down," Kate urges.
Castle's fingers tighten on the wheel. "You know, Kate, what I said in the park still holds. Whatever happens, whatever you decide, you're the one that matters most to me. I mean that your dad wasn't the only one who breathed a hell of a sigh of relief when you decided to leave the NYPD. And I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
"But you want our child?"
"Of course, I want our child, but not at the cost of my wife's health – or life. Still, if Dr. Scott thinks he can get both of you through this safely, that would be incredible."
"We're almost there," Kate notes. "We'll know soon."
"Not soon enough."
Nurse Gwen smiles. "120 over 80, Kate. That's perfect. I'll let Dr. Scott know as soon as he comes out of the exam room."