Magic

Chapter 1

Rick needed a break, so he was taking a quick one. Sure of what he wanted, he went to a local coffee shop and planned to take his coffee to a local park, where he could drink in peace.
While he stood there, waiting for his order, he saw a lovely young lady sitting there nursing her drink and nibbling on a bear claw. She looked so sad. So after he got his drink, he went over to her. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked her and sat down. She looked up at him but didn't say anything.

"You look like you just lost your puppy. May I ask why?"
She looked away and shook her head slightly. "No."
"Fair enough. I won't pry." He picked up her napkin, took out a Sharpie pen, wrote something down, and handed it to her. Well, more like laid it next to her drink and bear claw.

"If you ever feel like talking, I'm a good listener, or if you need something, anything at all, call me or just come and see me," Rick told her. "I hope you get your puppy back. No one should look that sad." Rick took his drink and left her alone. He went to the park, drank his drink, and didn't think about her again.
She finally picked up the napkin and looked at it. A name, address, and phone number were on it. The name was familiar to her. He had written Richard Castle on it. The man was her mother's favorite author.
She looked to see where he had gone but didn't see him. But she had his address and phone number. For just a moment, she thought about crumpling it up and throwing it away. But at the last second, she changed her mind and stuffed it into her pocket instead.

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Rick never thought anything of his encounter with the young lady again. It had been a week since he met her, but he dismissed the idea he would see her again.
A knock on his door got him to leave the kitchen to answer it. He opened the door, and there the lady stood. She still looked so sad. Maybe even more so, if that was possible.
She looked at him pleadingly. "My dad threw me out, and I didn't know where else to go. Could I stay here for a couple of days? Just while I figure out what to do?" She took a deep breath. "Please?"

"Of course you can. Come in." Rick stepped to one side and watched as she picked up a suitcase and walked in. "It's up the stairs and the first door on the left." He watched her take the stairs slowly, walk into the room, and close the door. "Looks like I have a house guest," Rick told himself and returned to the kitchen.
Kate crawled on the bed, curled into a fetal position, and wept. She was in a stranger's home with a single suitcase to her name. She didn't know where else to go; she didn't have a cell phone to call him and didn't dare use the house phone. Kate just packed and got out of there as fast as possible. It was only luck that she still had his napkin.

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She eventually got out of bed and left the bedroom. She spotted the man in the kitchen, where he looked to be cooking something. She went down the stairs and sat down at the breakfast bar.
"Thank you."
Rick turned to face her. "It's not a problem. Are you feeling better?"

"A little. I'm Kate, by the way."
"A pleasure to meet you, Kate. You'll tell me why you're here eventually. Are you hungry?" Rick inquired.
"Not really." It was a lie, of course, but Kate was already using his bedroom and didn't want to be a bother.

"I made enough for two anyway. If you'll excuse me." Rick turned down the heat and retreated to his bedroom. It wasn't long before he came out of the bedroom with a baby in his arms.
"You have a baby?" Kate didn't know that, but then she knew nothing about him.
"Here, hold her." Rick turned Alexis over to Kate, who held her. "Not like that, like this to support her head. …There, that's better." He went back to what he was doing.

Kate looked down at her as the baby girl looked up at her. Alexis reached up, caught hold of her lower lip, and pulled on it, but let go immediately.
Kate smiled a little. "She's cute."
Rick smiled. "I think so, but I'm biased. I love the orange hair, personally. I started calling her 'Pumpkin' since she reminds me of one."

Kate could see that. She looked down at her and saw the baby only had eyes for her.

"Here, you feed her while I work on dinner." Rick held out a bottle for her to take.

"But I don't know how!" Kate already had her hands full. Rick adjusted her hold on the baby while using just one arm. He handed her the bottle and returned to cooking. Then he thought better of that, retrieved a hand towel, and put it on Kate's shoulder.

"For after she finishes feeding and needs burping. She may spit up on you," Rick warned her.

Kate fed her the bottle, and she grabbed it and held on to it, and started sucking while looking up at her. It was all new to Kate since she had never babysat before.

She watched as the baby girl held on to the bottle and looked up at her. Kate felt herself melt inside as she looked down at her. "What's her name?"

"Alexis. Alexis Harper Castle," Rick told her. "And dinner's ready. You can eat when Alexis finishes."

"Where's her mother? You are married, aren't you?" Kate forgot to ask him that; she just moved in.

Rick shrugged. "No idea where the woman is now. I got her pregnant, and she stayed with me until late in the pregnancy. Then she came home with a crying baby. She handed Alexis to me, then packed her bags and left. I haven't seen her since."

"That's awful! What mother doesn't want her baby?" Kate didn't understand her.

"She didn't. There's more to the story than that, but I'll save it for later."

"I think she's done but didn't finish the bottle." Kate put the bottle on the counter, lifted her, and put her on her shoulder, patting her back until she heard a burp. Kate looked up at him. "Now, what do I do?"

"I'll take her while you serve yourself dinner." Rick leaned down and took Alexis from her. He retreated to the bedroom, put her in her crib, and waited until she was asleep before returning to the kitchen.

He saw Kate eating even though she had said she wasn't hungry. Rick smiled, helped himself to his, and sat next to her. He waited for her to say something.

Kate took a deep breath, then started to tell him everything. "It's my dad. He's a drunk; I can't get him to stop drinking. He screamed at me to get out, said he was tired of looking at me. I was sure he was going to hit me. So I packed a bag and got out of there. It was only by accident that I still had your address, and here I am."

"And I'm glad you are, Kate. You're free to stay here as long as you need. I won't charge you to use the bedroom, and I'll feed you three meals a day if you like. Your bedroom has an attached bathroom where you should find everything you need.

"Go ahead and put your clothes in the laundry room," Rick told her. "I'll do laundry, or you can do it yourself."

"Thank you. I truly didn't have anywhere else to go. And I don't have much money," Kate told him, looking away, embarrassed.

"You don't need money, Kate. Go on, unpack, and rest. Alexis gets me up every couple of hours as it is. You'll find breakfast waiting for you in the morning."

"Thanks, I think I will." Kate got up, leaving her dinner plate half-empty, and headed for the stairs.

"Sweet dreams." Rick watched as she closed the bedroom door. He wasn't kidding. Alexis did have him up every couple of hours.

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Kate didn't unpack since she didn't think she was staying that long. She hoped her dad would change his mind and let her come home. What Kate did after that would be anyone's guess. So she stripped down to just her panties and a sleep shirt, made sure she'd locked the door, then went to bed.

The following morning, she went into the bathroom and used the toilet. Afterward, she searched the shower, and sure enough, she found everything she needed. It wasn't her shampoo, but it got her hair clean. She dressed and went downstairs, where she saw Rick sitting in the living room with Alexis lying on his lap, playing with her.

He looked up and smiled. "Morning."

"Morning." She sat in a chair and watched while Rick got up with Alexis and put her in her lap.

"Here, you play with Alexis while I put breakfast together."

"I, I don't think…" But it was too late as she watched Rick walk away. "Hi," Kate cooed to Alexis, who smiled at her, kicking her legs and moving her arms. She decided to play with her toes first. "You like that, don't you?" She played with them some more. Then she moved to her hands and let her hold her finger.

The baby began to wail just when she was enjoying playing with her. Not knowing what to do, Kate yelled, "RICK!"

"I hear her," he replied. "I'll be there in a minute."

Kate yelled for him again. "RICK!"

"She probably just needs a diaper change. I've got her." Rick reached down and picked her up. "You've never changed a diaper before, have you?"

Kate shook her head. "No, never. I never did babysitting as a job during the summer. I did other things."

"There's no time like the present to learn. Follow me." Rick turned and walked toward his bedroom. He paused. "You coming?"

"This is such a bad idea." But Kate got up and followed him into his bedroom. She passed a bank of books that looked like they didn't have a back to them. She saw a lot of glass in the room behind them.

She watched as Rick laid Alexis on a changing table and removed her diaper. It was just a wet diaper, which Rick dumped into a bin. He held out his hand. "Oil."

Kate looked around and finally saw it. "Oil."

Rick held out his hand, saying, "Powder."

Kate looked everywhere for it and found it. "Powder."

He held out his hand again. "Diaper." And she was ready for him this time.

Kate nodded. "Diaper." She handed the diaper to him and watched him put it on Alexis.

"And we're done. See how easy that is? Here, you take Alexis. I still have breakfast to make." Rick handed her the baby and walked out of the bedroom.

"Hey, cutie." Kate held her like she was supposed to. She looked around his bedroom. It was a tight bedroom. There was little room for anything else between his bed, dresser, changing table, and crib for Alexis. She saw a walk-in closet and the door to the bathroom, which was open. She left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen.

"Breakfast is ready. One waffle, bacon, toast, and orange juice." He put her plate on the counter and took Alexis from her, leaving Kate to sit and eat. She poured maple syrup over her waffle and ate all of it. She munched on her bacon, ate toast, and drank orange juice.

Then she was handed Alexis again so that Rick could eat. "Hi, sweetie," Kate murmured. She was beginning to get used to holding her. The baby yawned and was asleep in no time.
Rick had finished eating. He cleaned up, took Alexis from her, and put her in her crib.
He came out of the bedroom. "Since I'm going to write, what you do is up to you." He picked up his laptop and moved into the living room, where he sat down. Then Rick opened it and began to type.

Kate looked around, not knowing what to do. She headed for the bookcase full of books, looked through them and was sure she saw glass. So she went to the door and opened it, shocked at what she saw. It wasn't just glass; it was a laboratory like one of those mad scientist labs.

Rick's voice came from right behind her. "Find something interesting?"

Kate nearly jumped out of her skin, and her heart rate skyrocketed. "I'm sorry, so sorry. I didn't see anything.".

"You were bound to find it sooner or later. Come on in." Rick stepped into the room.

Kate followed hesitantly. "Are you a mad scientist or something?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. Bwa hah hah hah!" Rick rubbed his hands together and lowered his voice.

"They're Pinky and the Brain,

Yes, Pinky and the Brain.

One is a genius, the other's insane.

They're laboratory mice.

Their genes have been spliced.

They're dinky,

They're Pinky and the Brain,

Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain,

Brain.

Before each night is done,

Their plan will be unfurled,

By the dawning of the son,

They'll take over the world.

They're Pinky and the Brain,

Yes, Pinky and the Brain

Their twilight campaign is easy to explain:

To prove their mousey worth,

They'll overthrow the Earth.

They're dinky,

They're Pinky and the Brain,

Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain.

NARF!"

Kate stood there and stared at him. "You've been watching too much TV."

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?" Rick asked her.

"I think so, Brain," Kate told him, "but what do crocodiles wearing pants have to do with anything?"

"That's good." Rick took her by the shoulders and kissed her right on the lips. Kate was taken aback by that and had only started kissing him back when he broke from the kiss. Rick did that because he realized what he had done. "Oops."
He cleared his throat, then said, "This is my lab. I'm not a mad scientist. I don't concoct anything bad like that here. Mostly, I create potions."
Kate blinked. "You mean like a witch?"

Rick raised an eyebrow. "Do you see a witch's cauldron anywhere?"

"No, not really." She walked into the room and looked around. "Are you making a potion now?" She thought she saw one bubbling.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am," Rick replied. "Some of the potions take a little time to create."

Kate looked around. There were tubes and valves and liquids all over the place. There was even a Bunsen burner set low, cooking something. "What are you making?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," Rick told her.

"Try me," Kate challenged.

"Alright. It's a Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion potion. You throw this one at something, say a wall or stone, and it will create a doorway to a mansion." Rick waited for her reaction.

She shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"Told you wouldn't believe me even if I told you," Rick reminded her.
"Alright, say I believe you. What are you?" Kate asked.
"I'm a seventh-level Wizard and a seventh-level Master Alchemist. I can cast a seventh-level spell, and this is one, except it's in potion form," Rick told her. "I can create three potions each day. Some of them take a few hours to create. The higher the level, the longer it takes."
"Wizard? You mean like magic?" She shook her head again. "Real magic doesn't exist, you know." But Kate continued to watch him.

"I beg to differ. I suppose seeing is believing. Alright, watch closely." Rick moved his fingers, said a word, and created Dancing Lights. He moved them around the room, even making them attack Kate, who ducked her head to avoid them.

Then his spell ended. "That was a simple Cantrip, a zero-level spell. I can cast from zero-level to seventh-level. There are nine levels of spells. I can't cast an eighth or ninth-level spell. Yet."

Kate stood there with her mouth hanging open. She didn't believe what she just saw. It was impossible. She snapped her mouth shut and looked up at him. "Mirrors. It's all done with mirrors."

"Difficult little thing, aren't you? Then explain this." Rick moved his fingers, said a word, and suddenly, there were four of him, who all looked alike. They seemed to bounce around, never staying in one spot.

Kate reached out to touch one of them, but her hand went right through it. She yanked her hand back, fearing she had hurt it or something. But it hadn't even tingled.

She chose a different image of him and reached over to touch him, but her hand passed right through it, too. Now, she started waving her hands through them until she touched him. That one she felt, and she hung onto him.

"It's the real me." He canceled the spell, and now there was just one of him. "Believe me now?"

"How…how do you do that?" Kate asked, her voice quavering.

"Training," Rick said, "lots and lots of training."
"Can you train me?" Kate asked.
"A non-believer like you?" Rick started to say no, but changed his mind. "It will be hard. You'll have to overcome your disbelief in there not being magic. But I suppose it's possible. First, we must find whether you're a Sorcerer or a Wizard."

"What's the difference?" Kate asked him.
"A Wizard gets their power from learning and study, making their magic based on the intelligence stat. For a Sorcerer, the power comes from within themselves or their bloodline, which makes their magic based on the charisma stat.
"We need to figure out which one you are first, but it won't be easy for both of us. You'll try my patience with your non-belief," Rick told her. "You'll grow frustrated by not learning because of your non-belief."

"But you can train me, yes?" Kate asked, waiting for him to answer.

Rick moaned loudly. "Yes, I can train you. But your being open-minded is a must. The more open-minded you are, the quicker the results will be. We'll start first thing in the morning. It will take months, even years. It won't be a quick and easy thing. There will be a lot to teach you."

"I'm ready." Kate hoped she was ready. She wanted to learn. She should have been in college; instead, she would be learning magic.