Richard Castle, Watcher (Castle/Buffy) (Complete)

[Starfox5]

Île-de-France, December 2009

Kate Beckett didn't look back when the SUV in which she was sitting left the grounds of Volkov's manor. She didn't need to see how the first flames were flickering inside, rapidly devouring the wooden furniture and paneling, growing until they would ignite the gas streaming out of the open lines. She didn't want to see it either.

The gun in her hand was enough of a reminder of what she had done. Killed humans in cold blood. Of course, they had been criminals - murderous kidnappers - and Alexis's life had been at stake, but cops didn't act like she had acted. Good cops didn't. Bad cops, vigilantes, government killers and criminals acted like that. Kate wondered in which of those categories she fit.

Sighing, she looked up. She was in the third row of the SUV. Vi was driving, with Hunt in the passenger seat. The middle row was taken up by Alexis and Castle, though the way Rick was hugging his daughter, another passenger would have been easily able to fit in there as well. Like Mary, who was sitting next to Kate and looking at Castle and his daughter, their daughter, with what Kate thought was both jealousy and relief. Father and daughter were talking, but Kate couldn't make out what they were saying - a few bullet holes had managed to ruin the insulation, and the noise of the air flow made normal conversation rather difficult.

They drove into a warehouse near Paris, where they changed cars. Mary must have noticed her glances during the drive since walked over to Kate while the Slayers - with much grumbling and pouting - unloaded the weapons and other gear from the cars. Castle was sitting on an improvised bench and wasn't showing any sign of letting Alexis out of arm's reach anytime soon.

"You've grown since I last saw you."

Kate's first impulse was to snap at the other woman. She had heard quite enough remarks about the age difference between her and Castle - especially after someone had spilled that she had met him as a fan when she was twelve - and she wasn't in the mood for more. But Castle's ex-wife wasn't wearing the nasty smile of the typical socialite bimbo Kate had met since she started going to parties with Castle. Instead, she looked simply tired. So Kate forced herself to smile as well. "It's been a while, yes." Which might have been a slight dig at the other woman's age, just in case Kate was wrong.

"You look rather down considering that we saved Alexis."

Kate narrowed her eyes slightly. What was Mary implying? "I'm happy, very happy, that she's safe. But I'm not that happy with what I did to save her."

Mary looked puzzled. "You are a police officer. You have killed before."

"Not like this. We attacked them like…" She didn't want to say criminals. "... like soldiers in a war. We killed them all, without giving them a chance to surrender." Not that she would have had any jurisdiction in France anyway.

"We are in a war. A war against demons who see humanity as prey, who would slaughter humans like cattle, to feed or simply out of pleasure." Mary's tone reminded Kate of a preacher.

"Volkov and his men were humans, though, not demons," she countered.

"They attacked one of our own, which meant they fought for the enemy - knowingly or not. We cannot afford to treat them differently. We're soldiers, not police officers."

"I am a police officer," Kate answered. "A detective."

"You were one," Mary stated, "until you found out the truth and decided to fight. Now you're a soldier as well."

Kate wanted to deny it, wanted to tell the woman that she wasn't a watcher, wasn't a demon hunter, but a cop first and foremost. But that would have been a lie, she realised. Compared to the dangers Castle and Vi fought, fighting crime was… it wasn't unimportant, but Castle needed her help far more than the precinct.

"Richard took a while to recognise that himself," Mary said with a faint smile, nodding towards Rick. "He deluded himself for years, tried to claim that he had retired from the war. But all he was doing was taking a break to raise Alexis. Once he was needed, he stepped up without hesitation and did what he had to, to save the world. As we all did, and will keep doing. You, me, Rick and soon Alexis as well."

Kate didn't want to dwell on that. Not so soon after killing… she didn't exactly know how many she had killed. Others had shot at the same people. So she snorted. "That's the weirdest talk I ever had with the ex of a boyfriend."

"You haven't talked to Gina then, I take it," Mary said, with another faint smile. "I still don't know why Rick decided to marry that woman. Alexis ruled out demonic possession - eventually."

Kate laughed - she had met Gina, after all. "I wouldn't rule it out myself - Gina's, that is."

Mary laughed as well. "We checked for that, too. Thoroughly."

Kate saw that Rick was glancing back at them now, and had a slightly worried look on his face. Giving in to a mischievous impulse, she turned to Mary. "So is it true that it was love at first sight when you met Castle, just delayed, as he put it?"

Mary's laugh was even louder this time. "If he hadn't been hurt I would have been tempted to stake him a little, actually."

Kate nodded, understanding that feeling all too well. "He grows on you, though."

"Eventually. He's a good man, a good father, but a terrible child."

Kate could only agree with that description. Emphatically.

Castle was looking very worried.

*****​

Over the Atlantic Ocean, December 2009

"What did you talk about with Mary?"

Kate Beckett clenched her teeth and pressed her eyes shut. "Castle! I told you - we just talked about our first impressions of you. Nothing more. Now go away! I need to sleep or I'll be dead on arrival."

What good was a luxurious private jet with big seats that changed into beds if your fellow travelers didn't let you sleep? Especially if your fellow travelers only consisted of Vi, Castle and Alexis, the Scoobies having disembarked at the layover in London.

"That talk was far too long for 'It was love at first sight'!" Castle whispered.

"Shouldn't you be with Alexis?" The girl would have nightmares about her ordeal, Kate was certain.

"She sent me away."

Probably because Castle had managed to annoy even her, Kate thought snidely. "She didn't mean it."

"I know."

"So, go back to her. And let me sleep. If I have to face Will without a wink of sleep, I'm likely to shoot him." Kate opened her eyes and glared at him.

"You know, that isn't exactly an argument for letting you sleep…"

"I will shoot you right afterwards!" she hissed.

"Vi will protect me!"

"No, I won't. I want to sleep as well, and you're too loud!" came the yell from further down the cabin.

Castle glanced at the curtain behind which his Slayer was apparently also trying to sleep and sighed. "Whatever Mary told you about me, don't believe her! Unless it's flattering. In that case, believe her." With a curt nod, he took a step back and closed the curtain around her seat.

Kate grinned - Castle had reacted exactly like Mary had predicted. She did know him very well. Better than Kate, even. Probably. She frowned at that thought.

But then, Kate hadn't been with Rick that long. Yet.

With that thought, she fell asleep.

*****​

New York, December 2009

"I don't believe for a moment that Castle paid any ransom. We didn't hear about any ransom demand!"

Even though she had slept for most of the flight, Kate Beckett was sorely tempted to shoot Will. In the foot, maybe. Or the butt. "It was relayed to Alexis's mother. Probably because they knew Castle's lines would be monitored by you."

"And why didn't he contact us at once?"

"Because it was out of your jurisdiction. The proper authorities in the United Kingdom were informed and handled the affair." Kate wasn't even lying - technically, handling the kidnapping was covered by the Council's charter. Whether or not the British police would share that view was another question. But they didn't know about it - all they would have been told was that it was a matter of national security. Which, incidentally, was correct as well.

And because she hadn't slept that long, and couldn't shoot Will, she added: "So, both girls were released unharmed after the ransom was paid. That's not going to look good in your report."

Will worked his jaw without saying a word, then turned around and headed to the break room. Whether he was going to take a break, or to break something, Kate couldn't tell. But if it was the latter, then she hoped that he'd pick the coffee maker. Castle had really rubbed off on her, she realised. Or it was just the lack of sleep, and the stress. And the nightmares related to the battle.

"Detective Beckett."

"Agent Walker." She nodded to the older woman.

"What happened in France?"

Walker wasn't even commenting on the scene with Will, Kate thought. She was either very focused, or knew that Will was 'too close to this case' as well, to borrow Walker's own words. Kate didn't really care either way. She simply repeated what she had told Will. "The ransom demand was delivered to Castle's first wife, Mary Wilkinson. Friends of hers arranged the exchange."

"In France."

"I can't tell you anything else, Agent Walker."

"You're still a detective of the New York Police Department. I expect your cooperation with a federal investigation."

"I'm sorry, Agent Walker, but you will have to pass such questions through the proper channels. I was not involved in any official capacity - which you were already aware of before I left the country - and therefore I am not under any obligation to answer your questions. That was explained quite clearly to me."

Walker knew as well as Kate that that wasn't true, but there was nothing the woman could do, other than pass the request up the chain of command until it reached an official in the know, who would bury it. And she knew that as well, if not the reasons for the burial.

"If that is all, I'll return home. Alexis was not physically hurt, but it was a traumatising experience."

"Aren't you going to ask what happened to the other victim?"

"I was informed that she was released after ransom was paid." Kate hoped that Esposito and Ryan were not listening in and giving themselves away.

"That was true. Though this happened in upstate New York." And if they hadn't caught the kidnappers, then the El-Haddads probably hadn't cooperated with the FBI either. Walker frowned. "One victim, flown to Europe. Another driven a few dozen miles north. That doesn't add up."

Kate agreed. "No, it doesn't."

When Kate didn't say anything else, Walker's frow turned into a scowl, and she walked away without a further word.

Kate had to hide a grin - then sighed. Castle was a really bad influence on her.

*****​

To Kate's surprise, Castle's father was still in Castle's apartment when she arrived after her trip to the precinct. She had expected him to be gone - to finish what dirty work he had interrupted to deal with the kidnapping, or to report to his superiors. Hunt looked… not quite furious, but certainly not happy. Castle on the other looked like he was having trouble not laughing out loud each time he glanced at his father. Which was every few seconds, or so it seemed. Martha was presumably with Alexis in her room, since Kate didn't see either of the two. And she caught a glimpse of Vi in the kitchen.

No choice. Kate sighed and went straight to Rick. "What's going on now?" she demanded.

"Ah, well, there have been complications…" Rick began.

"The short version, Rick. I've had a long day."

"My father has been reassigned by his superiors." Rick grinned widely.

"To 'paranormal liaisons'," Hunt cut in.

"That's their code for us," Castle added.

"It's a desk job." Hunt was glaring at his son.

"Bah!" Rick waved his hand. "When an apocalypse is looming, it's all hands on deck, everyone fights, no one quits." His impression of a drill sergeant was still awful, Kate thought.

His father raised his eyebrows at him. "And how often are you facing an apocalypse?"

"Roughly once a year, I think," Castle said, frowning and rubbing his chin. "I'd have to check with London for more precise data."

Hunt looked shocked.

"Why do you think the Scoobies were all acting like they did? Compared to fighting a Hellgod, or the First Evil, kidnappers are nothing to get really excited about," Castle laughed. "Don't worry, you'll fit in soon enough. Next mission, you'll be cracking inappropriate jokes with the rest of us."

That was what Kate was afraid of. And Hunt looked like he shared her fear.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, January 2010

Richard Castle rotated his shoulder, expecting it to hurt. It didn't. I seemed as if his doctor had been correct - his broken shoulder had healed. Finally. He was thoroughly sick of moving with the utmost care just so he wouldn't feel like someone was stabbing a glowing hot needle into his flesh. He hadn't even been able to open his Christmas gifts by himself! Although finding safe positions to enjoy Kate's special gift had been…

He sighed at the memory and straightened his collar. It was time for him to return to his work. All of his work, at that - he didn't need two working shoulders to revise his latest draft. "Let's head to the precinct!" he announced to Vi, who was lounging on the couch and munching on last evening's leftovers - Kate had left for work in the morning, Alexis was in London for the rest of the week, with Mary, and Martha was in the Hamptons. With an older gentleman Rick neither knew nor wanted to know. His father hadn't visited since Christmas, citing work keeping him busy. So much for having a desk job, Rick thought.

"Finally decided to stop being lazy?" Vi grinned while she rose from the couch with the fluid grace of an experienced Slayer.

"I've been recovering from an injury!" he answered. He wasn't pouting, not at all.

"Ah, so you admit that they don't need your brain, but your brawn? As pitiful as that is."

"You would know that, of course," Castle retorted.

Vi took half a minute to get the implied insult. He smirked when she gasped at him. Point Castle.

*****​

"So, when are you gonna ask her?" Vi asked five minutes later.

"Ask who? And what?" Castle tried to sound casual while Vi took a turn with just two wheels touching the ground.

"Beckett of course. And as far as what you will be asking her..." Vi grinned. "Will you make me the most henpecked man alive, and marry me?" Her impression of him was abysmal, in his opinion. And he'd know best how he sounded.

"Why do you think I am planning to marry again, after Mary and Gina?" he shot back in the tone of a man who had survived the worst the world could throw at him. His hand wasn't even near the pocket where he kept the ring.

"Because you never learn," she answered, grinning at him while overtaking a speeding delivery van. "And because I overheard you practicing."

Damn that Slayer hearing! He sighed. "I need to find the right moment. I can't ask her next to a corpse, or after a fight with demons. It has to be perfect." She deserved nothing less.

"Right after a fight with demons would be perfect!" Vi said.

He looked at her. Dear Lord, she was serious! Utterly serious.

*****​

"So… middle-aged man in an expensive suit takes a shortcut through a side alley. Ends up shot and missing his wallet and presumably expensive watch." Castle stared down at the corpse on the ground between two trashcans. "Apart from the apparent lack of any sense of self-preservation, that looks like a really boring case. Barely worth a detective's attention."

"Thank you for your input, Castle." Kate shot him a glare that made him wince. Even if Vi had been correct, this was totally not the moment he was waiting for.

"So, even you think that this wasn't the work of supernatural monsters?" Lanie asked, checking a probe.

He glanced at Vi, who was shaking her head. She hadn't smelled any demon then. "No unexplained loss of blood. No missing body parts - he still has his liver, as you just demonstrated, and many demons love human livers - and a gunshot wound as probable cause of death. That looks about as supernatural as the average murder-robbery. Of which this case looks like a textbook example."

"And who is the murderer then, oh great detective?" Ryan had his witty moments, Castle admitted. Unfortunately, they happened often when Rick was the target.

"Random robber?" He shrugged. "He'll probably try to hock the watch at the pawnshop of his confidence."

Kate frowned, but judging by the sighs from Esposito and Ryan, they expected to check a lot of pawnshops in the near future.

"We'll need to ID him as well. Check the missing persons."

"If only people had the foresight to wear tags with their name and address on them," Castle said.

"Not everyone expects to be killed and robbed," Kate answered.

"It also helps cab drivers deliver you to your flat." Rick caught her raising eyebrow. "I'm definitely not speaking from experience!"

It didn't look like she believed him. Damn.

*****​

"We've got the ID of our victim," Kate announced an hour later, dropping a picture on her desk. Castle interrupted his latest attempt to set a new record of turns on a swiveling chair with a single push and peered at it.

"Frank Bellardo. Fifty-five years old, independently wealthy - and an antique book collector."

"Oh." Castle perked up. Antique books often meant magic books!

"He was at an auction last night, and never returned to his apartment. The maid called the police this morning."

"The Vanderwilt collection?" Castle asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Kate frowned at him.

He sighed and was about to start his next attempt when her glare stopped him. "A British librarian already checked it out before the auction catalogue was made. There are no dangerous books in there." Not any more - they had taken the two real grimoires into custody.

"It's still a murder we have to solve, Castle." Kate's smile was anything but friendly. "KiIlers have to be caught even if they aren't demons."

Definitely not the right moment either, he thought as he stood up. "Then let's get to it, so we can solve a more interesting case next time!"

*****​

"Ah, yes, I know Mister Bellardo. He's a serious collector, and often attends our auctions." The old man looked like a distinguished auctioneer had to look, Castle thought: Grey temples, dark hair, open, honest face, and slightly boring.

"Ah. Do you remember if he made any purchase yesterday evening?" Beckett, of course, was only interested in the facts pertaining to their case.

"Yes, in fact. He purchased the diary of an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the American Revolution. An original edition from 1786. Quite rare - it wasn't very popular in Britain, and few copies reached the USA."

"Was anyone else interested in that diary?" Kate asked while Castle gestured at Vi, who was making faces at a particularly ugly statue in the corner, to stop. The Slayer stuck her tongue out at him - fortunately, behind the auctioneer's back.

The man smiled. "Yes, indeed. There was a fierce bidding war between Mister Bellardo and Mister Cartwright."

"Mister Cartwright?"

"Another collector, a regular as well."

"Did Bellardo and Cartwright know each other?"

"Oh, yes. They were… friendly rivals, I think would fit them best. Fiercely competitive during an auction, but good friends otherwise." The auctioneer sighed. "All of us will miss Mister Bellardo."

First among them the auctioneer's commission, Castle thought. But they had their first suspect, at least.

"Do you record the auctions?" Kate went on.

"Oh, yes, we do. It was deemed necessary when one customer claimed that his bid had been ignored and sued us."

They got the records as well. As they left the auction house, Castle saw two uniforms overseeing the victim's car being towed off. "That's weird… if he left his car here, but was found in that alley there…"

"...then he wasn't taking a shortcut to his car, but to somewhere else," Kate completed his thought. "Or with someone else."

*****​

"Frank is dead? Murdered? Robbed? Oh my God!"

Mister Cartwright either had the talent to become a professional actor, or he was genuinely shocked about his 'friendly rival's death', Castle thought.

"I didn't know that anyone took the rumours of the diary hiding a treasure map seriously!" Cartwright mumbled while shaking his head. "If I had won the bid, that could have been me!"

So much for his empathy for Bellardo, Castle thought. But...

"Treasure map?" Beckett asked.

"There were rumours, silly rumours, not substantiated by any serious expert, that Commander Baker had found the map to a buried pirate's treasure during his service in the West Indies. Completely ridiculous, of course - almost no actual pirate buried their treasure, and those who did either recovered it quickly, as Sir Francis Drake had done, or lost it, like Captain Kidd." Cartwright shook his head. "I can't believe anyone actually murdered Frank over that!"

"Where were you last night between ten and midnight, Mister Cartwright?" Kate focused on the case again, not on the interesting bits of lore, Castle thought as he studied the books on display in Cartwright's living room. Who knew where a dangerous magical tome could be hiding? Vi was sniffing around as well - literally.

"After the auction? I went straight home. I would have gone for a drink with Frank, but he said he had an appointment."

"Can anyone confirm that?"

"The appointment?"

"No, the time you arrived at your home."

"The garage has a camera. Do you want the recordings?"

"Yes, please." Kate stood up and stashed her notebook.

*****​

"You've been rather quiet today," Kate said as they drove back to the precinct. "Anything wrong?"

Just the moment, Castle thought. Out loud he said. "No… I just didn't want to jump back in with both legs, you know - I've been away for weeks, after all." He touched his shoulder for emphasis.

Vi coughed, and he could tell that she was grinning widely.

Beckett, on the backseat, frowned. "You've been chomping at the bit to get back on a case for weeks."

"Oh, kinky! Do you use a riding crop as well?" Vi exclaimed.

While Kate rolled her eyes at the madly giggling Slayer, Rick sighed. Definitely the wrong moment now.

*****​

"Does the alibi check out?" Castle asked as he entered the precinct with three cups from the closest Starbuck's.

"It's his car on the record. But the driver isn't clearly visible. Hat and beard match Cartwright, but..." Kate shook her head. "Something doesn't add up here."

"I'll say! Who wears a hat in this day and age?" Castle shook his head. "Not even Rupert does, and he still thinks of computers as some newfangled fad that will pass! And that beard… Santa Claus would be envious!"

"We've got a hit with a pawnshop!" Esposito announced. "Someone sold the victim's watch to one in Queens." He and Ryan looked rather tired. "The clerk didn't remember anything, of course, but we got the security camera's records."

Which, as it turned out a few minutes later, were not as helpful as Castle had hoped.

"That's the worst quality in a camera I've ever seen! How old is that thing? Was it sold used when Hollywood started to phase out silent movies?" Castle complained. The longer they were stuck on that case, the longer he had to wait until he could ask Kate.

"I think they would lose some business if the quality was any better," Esposito said. "But he's recognisable anyway. Sort of," he amended when Rick stared at him.

"He's right. I've seen the man before... " Kate bit her lower lip in that cute manner of hers, Castle saw. "And he looked just like that…"

"The records from the auction house!" Rick and Kate said in unison.

Half an hour and two telephone calls later, they had their suspect's name: Martin Gavin.

*****​

Two hours later, they had their suspect's body. In the morgue.

"Cause of death: Two gunshot wounds to the chest," Lanie said. "Different calibre than the ones that killed Bellardo. He was killed about six hours ago."

"Shortly after he pawned the watch," Kate said.

"Let's hope this is not another dead end," Castle said. Neither of the two women laughed. "Tough crowd," he muttered, then blinked. "What's this?" he asked, pointing at the man's face. The lower half was covered with red welts.

"I haven't tested it yet, but it looks like an allergic reaction," Lanie said.

"What did he do, eat shrimps by burying his face in the plate?" Castle scoffed. "That looks like…" His eyes widened. "The beard! Glue!"

"He had a fake beard! He was the alibi." Kate exclaimed as she turned towards Castle. "He left with Cartwright's car, wearing his hat and a fake beard. Cartwright asked Bellardo to go get a drink, and led him into the alley."

"The suit on the records matches Cartwright's," Castle added. "But if he had to kill him today, to tie off the loose end, then he couldn't have an alibi for the second murder. And he either knew where Gavin was going to pawn the watch he gave him…"

"Possible, but unlikely. Unless Gavin trusted him," Kate cut in.

"...or he had a way to track Gavin." Castle grinned.

"We need traffic cam footage. And someone to go through Cartwright's trash."

Castle didn't even think to ask as they rushed out of the morgue.

*****​

"All that planning, and then he is caught because he used cheap glue that professional actors don't use anymore." Castle shook his head. "And because the garbage truck was late."

"And because I found the missing diary," Vi added.

"That's not evidence. We can't really tell a judge that you tracked it by the scent of blood." Kate shook her head.

Vi pouted, and Castle cut in before the two could start to bicker. "What's important is that we got the perp, and he confessed. When faced with his beard. I knew that beard was hiding something!" He shook his head. "And he tried the old double-blind bluff, thinking that if he mentioned the treasure map - the reason for the murder, given his financial situation - we wouldn't suspect him. He was simply too clever for his own good!"

Kate smiled, and Rick touched the pocket where he carried the ring. After a solved case, Kate was always in a good mood. Not the perfect moment to pop the question, but good enough. Maybe after dinner, in a more romantic mood… candles on the table… that would only work if he could get rid of Vi, though. Well, why not go for broke?

"How about I invite you to dinner to celebrate another solved case?" He smiled at Kate.

"Yes! Giant Sirloin Steak, here I come!" Vi yelled.

Castle's smile slipped a bit, and Kate laughed. "It looks like the restaurant has already been decided."

He hdn't intended to invite Vi as well. But the damage was done. All he could do now was save face.

"Yes." Castle nodded, forcing himself not to glare at his happy Slayer.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, January 2010

"Hm… do you have something for which you need to apologise?" Kate's tone was light, but her smile had a suspicious edge to it as she cut another piece off her steak. Or so Richard Castle thought.

"No, of course not! I'd never! How did you arrive at such an outlandish conclusion?" He was the picture of wrongly accused innocence.

"That's the third time in a week you have invited me to dinner - in my favourite restaurant. Where I know you have to make reservations weeks in advance, normally." She leaned forward, and Rick thought that her smile turned rather predatory. "So… why are you doing this?"

The truth would have been that the first time they went out, Vi was with them, and the second time, their evening was interrupted by a frantic call from one of his informants about a demon gang muscling in on Clark's, spoiling his plan to propose to her. Rick couldn't tell her that, of course. "Can't I do something nice for my girlfriend more than once a week?" He pursed his lips. "I wasn't aware that there's a limit on such things - my past experiences generally indicated that there was a weekly minimum, actually."

"That sounds plausible, but you didn't make such an effort when you were trying to get me to date you." She was narrowing her eyes now, and her mouth was forming the same line it usually did when she was pushing a suspect into a confession. It wasn't nearly as amusing from this perspective, Rick realised.

"I didn't want you to think that I was trying to buy your affections. Back then, I mean."

"So you're trying to buy my affections now?" She was joking, but there was an edge to it. A small, dull edge, but… Rick certainly couldn't propose to her now. She would think he had been trying to butter her up before popping the question.

That he had planned exactly that didn't change that the moment was lost. For now.

*****​

He had barely stepped into his flat when he was accosted by his Slayer. "And?" Vi asked with wide eyes - about five inches from his face - and a wider smile. A smile that started to falter when she looked over his shoulder and didn't spot Beckett, apparently.

"I didn't ask her."

"What?" Vi stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "What happened? Did a demon cult attack the restaurant? Did a guy keel over at the table next to you, frothing at the mouth from poison? Was she get called in to work?"

"It simply wasn't the right moment."

"What? Her favourite restaurant, a private table, you even bribed the musicians… didn't you tell me before you left that it would be perfect?"

He sighed. "Well… it was too perfect. She thinks I did something I wanted to apologise for. Or butter her up."

"Well, wasn't that your plan?"

He glared at her. "Not the point."

"You said you wanted it to be perfect." She was shaking her head as if she was Alexis. It was eery, actually.

"To quote the younger generation: I wised up." He smiled at her, showing his teeth.

"No one speaks like that any more, Rick." His Slayer sighed. "So, what do you do now?"

"I can't organise another such evening. I'll have to be spontaneous. And patient. When the opportunity presents itself, I'll ask her right away." That was a sound plan. To adapt to adverse circumstances was the hallmark of a smart man.

"Ah… you'll be there, box in hand, and as soon as you sense a weakness - wham! You're on your knee, holding up the box, and presenting the ring. Between her and the exit so she can't escape." Vi nodded enthusiastically.

He couldn't tell if she was serious or sarcastic. "Not quite like that. I'll just go with the flow." He made a waving gesture with his hand.

"The flow usually ends up in a drain, Rick."

He rolled his eyes at her. Why were young people so cynical these days? Maybe it only applied to Slayers, who generally thought that fighting was foreplay and the end of a tight victorious battle was the most romantic moment ever.

"But don't wait too long, Rick! You've got a limited window of opportunity. Seize the day! Make your own luck!"

"We've been together for months now," he corrected her. "I doubt that she'll leave me just because I don't propose in time - she's a modern woman, and would simply tell me if she wants me to ask." Which, kind of, was why he needed the right moment. "So there is no need to rush things, trust me."

The way her face fell told him that she didn't share his opinion. But… he narrowed his eyes at her. "Vi! Did you bet on when I would propose?"

"Uh… no?"

"Vi!"

"Oops… I think I need to go on my late night patrol now. I'll be back in the morning, don't wait up for me, Rick!"

"Vi!" he yelled, but she was already out of the door.

Slayers!

And Scoobies!

*****​

"No coffee?" Kate greeted him when he sat down at her desk.

"And good morning to you as well, Detective Beckett." He smiled at her.

She rolled her eyes in response. "Are you cutting me off from my daily coffee because of my comments last evening?"

She really needed her coffee, he thought. "No." It was, actually, in a way - Vi had stayed out too late to avoid him, presumably, and so she wasn't around to drive him to the precinct, which meant he didn't stop at Starbucks so he'd not miss the right moment, should it happen. Which was looking increasingly improbable this morning. "I was late already, so I didn't stop for coffee."

She drew her lips back in that doubting expression of her. "You didn't want to be late, so you decide to drink the break room's coffee? Didn't you call it coloured dishwater last week?"

"I said calling it dishwater would be an insult to dishwater," he corrected her.

"Exactly So what is eating you? And don't say it's nothing!" She leaned forward.

He closed his mouth. She rolled her eyes at him again. There was something to dating stupid girls, he thought. They weren't even half as perceptive as Kate. But he was a bestselling author and experienced Watcher. He could handle this. "It's just the stress. I'm always like this right before a new book comes out. And since this time, it's a new series, it's even worse."

"You said the test readers loved it." She leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs.

"Of course they did!" It was one of his best, after all!

"And that they haven't been wrong yet."

"Yes. But there's a first time for everything." Although apparently, there wasn't a third time for proposing. Not a good time, at least.

"Really? The same people who loved the stripper name might be wrong?" Her eyebrows rose.

Kate's sarcasm was worse when she hadn't had her usual coffee, Rick noted - not for the first time.

"Everybody loved the name!" he defended his book.

"Probably because sticking my character with it meant theirs wouldn't be saddled with it."

"I assure you that my test readers are professionals who would never compromise their integrity for such selfish reasons."

"I've met them, Castle."

She had him there. And she knew it - she was smirking.

"I'll have you know that my editor also loves the name!" He wasn't beaten yet.

"Gina? Being in favour of saddling the new girlfriend of her ex with a stripper name? What a surprise!"

He winced. He couldn't really refute that - Gina was… a character, to put it diplomatically. A character who, if put in a book, the readers would love to see die, and painfully at that, to put it less diplomatically.

"Beckett! We've got a case! Body down a manhole!"

And once again, one man's - or woman's - misfortune - was another's salvation. Castle was up and halfway to the elevator before Esposito had told them where the body had been found.

*****​

"Maintenance technicians found her when they were called in to deal with a clogged sewer," Ryan informed them when they arrived.

Castle winced at the stench. "Murder, and … what's the punishment for causing the toilets in an entire block to overflow?" It probably was significantly worse, he guessed.

Kate ignored him - she was always so professional - but Ryan snickered, at least.

"Do you have a cause of death yet?" Kate asked Lanie.

"Well… judging by the lack of blood, the two puncture wounds in her carotid artery, and the lack of other visible wounds, I would guess exsanguination. Or, as Castle would say," Lanie added with a smirk, "death by vampire bite."

She looked rather surprised when no one present laughed.

​

"So… is it a vampire?" Kate asked as Lanie was starting to frown at them.​

Rick rubbed his chin. "I don't think so - there are only two puncture wounds. A vampire's bite leaves a different scar." He pulled the collar of his shirt down. "Something like this."

"You were bitten by a vampire." Lanie's voice dripped with doubt and no small amount of scorn.

"Only the once!" Rick retorted with his best roguish grin. "I killed every other vampire that tried to bite me."

"That sounds like a rather dangerous delusion, Castle."

"Vampires are indeed very dangerous." He nodded sagely. "Incidentally, when is Perlmutter supposed to be back from his sabbatical?"

"What?"

"Nothing." The coroners usually told their own about demons and vampires, but Perlmutter had been rather slow to fill Lanie in.

"Castle's all about 'nothing' lately." Kate hadn't forgotten their awkward conversation, then. He pouted at her, but she ignored his plea.

"Well, we have a murder to solve!" He nodded emphatically. If it wasn't a vampire, then it probably was someone trying to fake a vampire attack. And they might have ties to the supernatural. Or maybe it was the work of a dumb demon trying to frame vampires. "Let's focus on that, instead of on me. I think we can safely discard the vampire attack theory for the time being." Unless it was a vampire that had only its fangs and no other teeth left.

"What? Are you feeling alright, Castle?"

Lanie really needed to be told about the things that went bump at night, Castle decided.

*****​

"It's definitely not a vampire," Lanie declared later, pointing at the neck of the corpse. "The second puncture wound was made after the body had been drained of blood. Someone planted a drain tube in the first wound - see how the edges of the wounds differ?"

Castle nodded. Unless it was a one-toothed vampire. And he had never heard of such a creature. "No blood in her mouth either?" The last thing anyone wanted was a newly risen vampire in the morgue. On the other hand, that would easily convince Lanie that vampires existed. If she survived the experience.

"No." Lanie shook her head.

"So, with the supernatural ruled out…"

Castle interrupted Kate. "Only vampires have actually been ruled out. Human blood has many occult uses, so this could be the work of a witch, a demon, or an enterprising human working for such customers."

"It could have been a vampire not wanting to draw attention," Kate retorted.

"A double bluff? That would be a very elaborate plan for a bloodsucker." Castle shook his head. "I don't think this was the work of a vampire." They preferred to suck blood directly; Spike complained often enough about sucking blood through a straw.

"Are you two arguing about what kind of fantasy creatures could have done this?" Lanie sounded as if she was considering having both of them committed. Or just Castle - women tended to blame the man in such situations, in his experience. Then again, from an outsider perspective, it might look as if he had influenced Kate.

"Just humouring him," Kate said with a grin. "He has been in a weird mood lately."

Lanie shook her head. She didn't look as if she was convinced, but she also didn't look like she wanted to call the shrinks down on them.

Castle could live with that. He was rich, after all, so he was at worst eccentric, not crazy.

*****​

"We've got an ID on our vic," Esposito announced when they returned to the bullpen. "We got a hit in the immigration database. Eleonore Petiton, Haitian national. Her tourist visa expired nine months ago, but it seems she stayed in the country illegally."

There might be a voodoo connection, Castle thought. Human blood was used in a number of the darker rituals. The kind that got houngans slayed. By Slayers. On the other hand, disposing of the body like this seemed rather… not disrespectful. Untraditional. Zombies were a thing, after all. "Do we have her address?"

"That wasn't in the database." Obviously, or she would have been deported.

"We'll have to ask around in the local Haitian communities." Kate didn't sound as if she was looking forward to it. Castle wasn't looking forward to bothering countless people with a picture and a name either. It was much easier when he could let Vi beat a few informers up. "All of us," she added when Esposito and Ryan started to shuffle away.

All but Vi - she was checking the local scene for vampires. Just in case this was actually the work of bloodsucker trying to be clever.

*****​

It took them four hours of asking street vendors and their customers until someone finally recognised the picture and was willing to tell them the vic's address. A very ramshackle-looking building.

"I'm pretty sure that this violates several crucial sections of New York's building code," Rick muttered when he and Kate made their way up to the second floor through a stairwell that mountain climbers would be wary of.

"We're here for a murder, Rick, not for building code violations," Kate said, navigating the broken down stairs in her high heels in defiance of physics and common sense. As long as he was bringing up the rear, though, Rick wouldn't complain. The heels did wonderful things to her rear.

"I'm certain that if we fall to our deaths once the stairs collapse underneath us, this will become a murder investigation," he shot back.

"Does that mean you think that you might want to lose a few pounds?" Kate smirked, then turned to a door before he could think of an answer that wouldn't get him shot - women were very sensitive about their weight. Two marriages and dozens of relationships had taught him that. "We're here."

'Here' turned out to be a depressingly run down small apartment - a single room, a kitchenette, bathroom dating back to the Great War, and a walk-in closet masquerading as a second room. And either she had been fond of removing all drawers and emptying them on her bed, or someone had ransacked the place already. And without taking all the valuables.

And someone had painted a ritual circle on the floor. In blood. Surrounded by melted candles.

"I think we just found the missing blood from our vic," Castle said. He snapped a few pictures with his phone and sent them to the Council. If that was a houngan's work then things had just turned serious. Serious enough to call Vi to make her stop hunting vampires, and help them out here. Just in case.

Sighing, he stood up again and looked around. "I bet she collected the furniture before the trashmen could," Castle muttered. "Points for recycling?" He prodded an armoire with his foot, and the thing collapsed when a broken leg gave way. "It was broken already!" he quickly defended himself - he hadn't hit it that hard.

Kate wasn't listening, though - she was picking up a picture that had been pinned to the underside of the armoire. "She had a boyfriend," she pointed out. "Or a lover."

Castle peered at the picture. The vic and a middle-aged man, their arms around each other. "And a well-off one," he remarked. "That's a designer cashmere scarf. And a tailor-made jacket." He looked at Kate. "A poor illegal immigrant, living in such squalor, and a man able to spend several hundred bucks on a scarf and double that on a suit?" He shook his head. "That's not a pretty picture."

*****​

By the time they reached the precinct, Vi was already there. It didn't take long to fill in her and the others.

"A voodoo ritual? With her blood?" Esposito sounded almost scared. No, he was scared, Castle realised.

"We don't know yet. Could be a fake." He shrugged. "Experts are checking the pictures I mailed them."

"Better be fake," Esposito muttered. "Don't wanna become a zombie."

"Don't worry, Javier! I'll protect you!" Vi beamed at the detective, but when he just nodded, without even looking at her, her smile turned into a scowl. Castle shook his head - a houngan wasn't even half as dangerous as a scorned Slayer.

He was about to comment on that - a good Watcher should never miss a chance to keep their Slayer humble - when his phone vibrated. A brief glance later, he smiled. "It's from Dawn. The circle doesn't match any voodoo circles in the Council's archives. I guess you won't have to walk around with the guy's picture and ask if anyone knows this murderous houngan."

Kate rolled her eyes, but Esposito looked relieved. No wonder the man was no longer chasing Vi.

"Back to our suspect, "Kate said in her 'no-nonsense' voice. "Or at least our person of interest. We have his picture, but I don't think we'll find him by walking around designer boutiques and asking sales clerks."

"That would actually work if he is rich enough," Castle cut in. "People greet me by name in all the expensive boutiques."

"That's because you pay for Buffy's shopping tours," Kate retorted. "Do we have her cell phone records?"

"Nothing." Ryan answered. "She probably had a prepaid anyway, with a fake address."

Another dead end then, Castle thought. That pun was growing old, too.

"Why would a rich man murder his illegal immigrant girlfriend anyway? He could easily get rid of her by calling the Immigration Office," Esposito asked.

"I can answer that," Lanie said, holding up a report. "She was pregnant. Four months in."

Castle muttered a curse. And he wasn't the only one.

*****​

"So… we have the motive. We have his picture. But we lack his ID," Rick summed up.

Kate, staring at the murder wall, nodded. "How would a rich man have meet her?"

"Street prostitution," Ryan answered. "Many rich guys get a kick out picking up hookers, even if they could afford escorts."

"We don't know if she was a prostitute. She had a regular job as a waitress, according to her neighbours," Kate said.

"She was poor enough to need additional income," Ryan countered.

"If she was, it won't help us find him." Castle sighed. "But… we know he isn't a houngan. Yet he tried to frame a houngan. That means he doesn't believe in their power." He grinned. "How about we ask them for help to find the man trying to frame them for murder?" That was an excellent idea!

Strangely, the others didn't seem to share his enthusiasm. Esposito looked even paler than Ryan!

*****​

"I don't know why anyone is afraid of a houngan!" Vi complained while she drove through New York's streets with her usual utter lack of care for traffic laws. "I'm much more dangerous than any houngan!"

Rick nodded. "I'm certain that Esposito is afraid of you as well."

His Slayer growled at him, and he smirked. Point Castle.

"Esposito's view of the supernatural is irrelevant," Kate said from the backbench.

"It's not irrelevant!" Vi protested.

"It's not relevant for our case," Kate said, baring her teeth. Almost like a Slayer, Rick thought. Maybe Vi's idea had some merit? He shook his head. No, the right moment would appear. He just had to be patient.

They arrived at the address of one of the local houngans before the right moment had appeared - Kate and Vi had spent the drive bickering. Rick checked his shotgun before he got out of the Shelby.

"Are you expecting trouble?" Kate asked.

"Not really. But I always pack a shotgun when I might encounter zombies."

Kate narrowed her eyes at him, looked at the building in front of them - old and dark, perfect for the haunted house in a horror movie - and grabbed her own shotgun from the trunk.

*****​

"So… someone is trying to frame me and my colleagues for murder." Simon Palanquet, one of the leading houngans in New York, slowly shook his head. "And you expect me to deal with him, so you do not have to dirty your Slayer's hands?" His frown turned into a sneer. "We're not yours to command."

"I'd not have asked but ordered, if you were mine to command," Rick answered before Vi could do more than growl at the man. "But if you find him for us, we can get him arrested and the whole matter dealt with without involving your community."

"Is that a threat?"

The man had a really low opinion of them, Castle thought. Or he was trying to start a fight. Maybe arriving armed for zombies had sent the wrong message. On the other hand, houngans created zombies. That pretty much put them in the dangerous and suspect categories. "No. A threat would be: 'If he dies from a curse or other magic, we'll call the Red Witch and have her deal with you.' You know how she feels about murder through magic." Willow had made her point clear, one warlock a time.

"Self-defence is not murder."

"You're not under any imminent attack," Kate pointed out. "It wouldn't be self-defence."

"That's a mundane definition."

"It's a definition the Council shares," Castle corrected the houngan. "It is up to you if you want risk antagonising the Council, instead of helping us help you."

"You'll owe us a favour."

Ah, they were negotiating now, instead of posturing. "A small favour. Just like this."

"If it was a small favour you wouldn't need our help."

"We don't actually need your help. I can call in the Red Witch. But she might not be too amused if she has to travel to New York to deal with one of your problems." Castle smiled, showing all of his teeth.

The houngan folded after a few more exchanges, and agreed to send them the address as soon as he had it.

Back in the car, Vi shook her head. "If Willow finds out that you are threatening people using her reputation…"

"She has earned her reputation," Castle defended himself. "And where is the harm in putting a little pressure on shady practitioners? It means less apocalypses when they stop before they go darkside." He shrugged. "Besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt me."

He noticed that his Slayer was grinning widely at him, and groaned. "New sword?"

"New sword!"

*****​

They had their suspect a day later, and no one would question the 'anonymous tip' that told them his name and address. Not when they had the suspect's picture to show around. DNA analysis confirmed that the man - Alan Mackenzie - had impregnated the victim. His phone records were the icing of the evidence cake - they got them the number of a prepaid phone which had been used extensively in the block Petiton had lived in, as well as at her work. Mackenzie's lawyer started asking for a plea bargain after being confronted with the evidence - his client's attempt to deny even knowing the woman had made his position even worse.

More importantly, though, Kate had that smile on her face that Rick loved so much while she was taking down her murder wall. A smile full of pride in her work, and satisfaction that she had brought a killer to justice. And they had been working together on this, very well in fact. Even better, the rest of the crew had already left the precinct. They were alone.

This was the moment he had been waiting for. He reached into his pocket and gripped the box with the ring he had made. "Kate…"

"Kate!" Lanie's loud voice interrupted him before he could stand up, much less go down on one knee. He glanced to his side and saw the coroner storm towards them.

"Lanie?" Kate asked, turning towards her friend.

"Perlmutter told me! And he told me you knew! Why didn't you tell me?" Lanie glared at Kate, and then at Rick, tapping her foot. "He told you!"

Rick sighed and sat down again. The moment was gone.

Why couldn't Perlmutter have waited another day? Granted, Rick had told him to step on it, but… he hadn't expected the old coroner to actually listen to him!

Someone had it really in for him! Maybe he should check if Gina hadn't sold her soul to prevent his marriage to Kate.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, January 2010

Richard Castle had a fresh, hot cup of Kate's preferred overpriced coffee with him when he entered the 12th Precinct - he could and did learn, despite of what everyone in his family claimed! He also had Vi with him, but that couldn't be helped - his Slayer had told him bluntly that she'd not let him out of her sight, not so shortly after his meeting with Palanquet. She had claimed that he had a talent for making people mad at him. That, coming from a Slayer!

Kate was at her desk, nose almost buried in some files. He swiftly approached her, ignoring the waving from Ryan - he knew his priorities.

"Good morning!" he greeted her with a bright smile - which almost froze when she raised her head to look at him. Bloodshot eyes, eye bags, and an expression that would have curdled milk at ten yards. Handling her in that state without getting hurt would require every little bit of tact and diplomacy he could muster.

"Bloody hell, Beckett! What did you do, empty out Budweiser by yourself? You look like death warmed over!"

Rick made a mental note to impress upon his Slayer that blunt honesty wasn't always the best approach. In fact, when it came to women, it was usually the wrong approach.

To his relief, Kate didn't try to shoot Vi or him, but simply glared at the Slayer instead and hissed: "It was a bottle of Absinthe and some other liquors. And it's all Castle's fault!" With that, her glare turned back onto him, and Castle had to wince at the sheer rage contained in her eyes. He smiled weakly and held out her cup. "Coffee?"

"Castle, what did you do?" Vi, always quick to shift the blame, frowned at him.

"I didn't do anything!" he defended himself while Kate guzzled down half the syrupy concoction in less than a second.

Looking marginally less possessed by an evil spirit, she scoffed. "It's what he didn't do that's the issue! Lanie gave me hell because she hadn't been told about demons," she explained in a lower, but still slightly growly voice. Which he knew was a word - he was a bestselling author, after all. If need be, he could create a new word!

"What? That was Perlmutter's duty! I even told him to get to it a day earlier!" It wasn't his fault!

"You should have done that far earlier!" She emptied her cup, and Rick felt almost sick thinking about the amount of sugar and caffeine that would enter her blood. "You probably found it too amusing to leave her ignorant so you could make the truth look like a joke!"

"Certainly not!" And he bet that Kate had felt the same - wanting to put one over the all-knowing coroners was completely understandable, after all. As long as they didn't get hurt.

She huffed. "She was already mad for that. And hearing that her corpses had been checked for demonic possession without her knowledge made it worse!" She eyed his own coffee and he handed the cup over without a word. He knew how to pick his battles. Usually. At least with Kate.

She gulped down his coffee as well, then took a deep breath. "It took half a bottle of Absinthe to calm her down. And I had to match her glass for glass. Sugar cube for sugar cube."

"Sugar?" Vi blinked. Castle hissed "Later!" at her. The last thing he wanted was his Slayer getting a taste for something that would result in both a sugar rush and inebriation.

"So… you see, it's all your fault." Kate growled. "If I hadn't calmed her down, she would have probably done something to you with her scalpels by now."

"Well, you have my utmost gratitude for saving me from dismemberment!" Rick said. He was honest, too - doctors, be they surgeons or coroners, were not people you wanted as your enemies. The imminent danger of getting shot having passed, he sat down in his usual seat while Vi, for once, didn't annoy Beckett by sitting on the edge of the detective's desk and instead dragged another chair over.

Kate huffed again. "Be glad it's a slow day - if I had to deal with a case while my head is hurting like this…"

"Stop!" Castle clenched his teeth, hoping he had been in time.

She blinked. "What?"

"Beckett!" the Captain yelled through the bullpen, loud enough to make even Rick, who had neither a hangover nor supernaturally enhanced hearing, wince. "You've got a case! Workers found a body stuffed into a cement mixer in a construction site."

"You just had to tempt Murphy, did you?" Castle sighed, then winced, when Beckett glared at him again, as if this was his fault! Well, it wasn't - but it certainly wasn't the right moment to propose to her either. Probably not even the right week.

*****​

"So, what are the chances that this is just an accident? Drunk frat boys want to make a barbecue, end up grilling themselves?" Castle asked as they crossed into the cordoned off area in the middle of a half-built building.

"Slim to none I would say, Castle." Lanie sounded cold enough to freeze nitrogen. Or whatever the saying was.

"Good morning, doctor!" he said in his most charming manner. "What makes you say that?"

"People don't tie themselves up before accidentally jumping into a cement mixer." Her sarcasm was thick enough to be visible in good light.

"Well… certain sex practices could result in that, I think…" He trailed off faced with enough raised eyebrows and glares to embarrass a Scooby.

"Vi?" He usually didn't draw attention to his Slayer when she was checking out a body, quite the opposite actually, but this was an emergency.

The redhead was standing at the mixer and sniffing the air.

"What's she doing?" Lanie asked.

"Checking for signs of demonic involvement," Castle explained. Apparently, Kate hadn't covered that between Absinthe and other liquor.

"With her nose?" Lanie's voice was dripping with incredulity.

"She's like a bloodhound," Kate said, grinning slightly.

"I heard that!" Vi spat.

"Ears like an owl as well," Kate added. Rick was so proud of her.

Vi huffed and stood up. "Smells like demon. Faint, but it's there. Haven't encountered that kind before, though."

Lanie sighed. "Do I have to fake a report now? For the first time in my career?"

She sounded actually concerned about that, so Castle shook his head. "Not for that body, I think. But we might produce a few more, depending on the demons involved."

Strangely, that didn't seem to improve her mood. She probably was still suffering from her hangover, he thought.

*****​

"The Vic's been identified as Martin Kowalski, student at NYU, freshman, Biology major. Home address on record is the Lambda Kappa fraternity house," Kate announced back in the precinct. "Probably a pledge. Esposito and Ryan are checking the address out. I sent them a message about the demon scent."

Castle winced. Vi looked grim.

Kate had that look that meant Castle better explained, right now. He was quite familiar with it by now. So he did. "Demons and frat houses don't mix well. Too many targets or corruptible people close together. The ideal hunting ground."

Vi nodded. "Or they form a cult and sacrifice virgins to a patron demon."

"He could have run into a demon while doing whatever the senior frat boys made him do," Kate said. "It's not unheard of for pledges to be ordered to organise alcohol for a party." Glancing from Castle to Vi and back, she added: "This is not Sunnydale."

"I don't know of any demon who'd tie up a human and then stuff them into a cement mixer," Rick said. "They usually eat the body, cut off parts or sacrifice their victims in rituals."

"Vi didn't recognise the demon's scent," Kate countered, "So it might be a new kind of demon."

"In that case, it's best to expect the worst. Esposito and Ryan might need backup," Castle said.

"They definitely need backup," Vi stated, huffing. His Slayer carried grudges.

"I'll call them," Kate said, putting her phone on speaker.

Ryan answered after two rings. "Yes?"

"Ryan? Any trouble at the frat house?"

"No. They don't know anything. Kowalski took a walk late night and didn't return. His room is clear, the alibis check out. Dead end." Ryan sounded as if he was talking about the weather.

"Thank you, Ryan. Are you on the way back to the precinct?" Kate asked with a frown on her face.

"Yes. We should arrive in a few minutes." If they checked the whole house in the time they were away, they would have been faster than Buffy at a shoes sale, Rick thought. He wasn't the only one.

"See you then." Kate hung up and looked at Castle. "Mind control? Possession?"

He touched the box in his pocket so he could refrain from telling her that he had told her so. Instead he simply nodded. "Or something. We'll have to intercept them."

"We can get them in the elevator, and go down to the morgue." Kate was already standing up. Castle nodded and followed her. Then he noticed that Vi was grinning widely.

She noticed his look. "I get to beat up Javier! In the line of duty! Isn't it great? Teach him to dump me!"

"You were never together - you turned him down when he asked for a date. Repeatedly," Rick pointed out.

She sniffed. "He dumped me because I'm stronger than him. I'll show him stronger!"

Castle sighed. Slayers!

*****​

"They're in the garage, entering the hallway," Vi whispered. She and Castle were hiding in out of the security camera's view in said hallway. "I can hear them." She sniffed the air. "And I can smell them - and the demon scent."

"Alright… remember the plan," Rick said.

"Knock them out and drag them to the morgue; I'm not Buffy," Vi said in her best 'bored teenager' voice.

"Without getting seen," Rick added.

"I'm never seen unless I want to be!"

Rick was about to mention a few occasions that had not held true when she suddenly tensed. A minute later, the two detectives walked around the corner. Vi was on them before they could react and knocked their heads together with an ugly crack, then grabbed the two unconscious men before they hit the ground. "Hah! Two with one blow!" She beamed at him.

Rick shook his head. "Five more, and we'll call you Tailor."

"Huh?"

"Later." Obviously, German folktales were not part of the Slayer curriculum. He would have to mention that to Rupert. Though to be fair, Rick only knew the story thanks to his research for his books. "We need to get them to Lanie and Kate."

*****​

"So… how do we check for mind control? Or spells? Or possession? Do we drip holy water on them?" Lanie asked with a bit more sarcasm than the question warranted, in Rick's opinion. "I'm a coroner, not a witch doctor."

"Your impression of Bones needs some work," Kate shot back. "And yes, we will use holy water," she added, already pulling out two vials. Rick wasn't surprised - she was one of his best fans, after all, and he had taken care to faithfully portray the various ways of dealing with demonic possession in his work.

"Holy water?" Lanie asked again.

"Blessed by a priest." Rick nodded. A priest getting quite the donations for his church in exchange.

"If my Chemistry teacher knew I was party to this, he'd retroactively fail me," Lanie muttered.

The water didn't do anything to the two unconscious - and likely concussed - detectives.

"I think we can rule out possession, at least the most common forms," Rick said. He hoped they didn't have to get a witch to check for spells. "So… Vi?"

The Slayer was sniffing Ryan, then bent down. "The stench's stronger here…" She flipped the detective over with a flick of her wrist. "There!"

"A bezoar hatchling!" Rick exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"You knew it? You didn't say anything!" Vi complained.

"I meant I knew that we should have expected the worst," Rick explained. Then he saw the thing move. "Don't let it escape! And watch the other one!"

Two thrown knives later, they had a pair of demons to dissect.

Strangely, Lanie didn't seem to be looking forward to that. Castle blamed her hangover - demons stank.

*****​

"So, we have a fraternity house full of demon-controlled students," Beckett summed up back in the precinct. "And they might have spread to other dorms already."

Vi nodded. "Sorority girls are the ideal carrier - they will sleep with anyone who asks."

Judging by Kate's glare, she had been in a sorority as well. Rick was so not touching that.

"And thanks to our overzealous Slayer, Kevin and Javier have concussions and can't help us deal with this," Kate said. 'Our Slayer' - Rick liked that.

Vi sniffed. "They wouldn't have been a big help anyway."

"Three against a horde of frat boys?" Kate raised her eyebrows.

"Sounds like the title of an 80s porn movie," Rick quipped.

"You would know that, would you?" Kate was now glaring at him, as if Vi's actions were his fault.

"Anyway, we just need to kill the mother bezoar and her children will fall off, shrivel up, and die. The exact sequence of the process can vary," Castle said, trying to make the others focus on the problem at hand instead of on his imaginary faults.

"And by we, you mean me," Vi added, looking less eager to slay a demon than usual. "Buffy told me all about how messy they die. I'll need new clothes after this! A whole new wardrobe!"

"You can wear old clothes for the mission," Castle retorted.

"And be seen in rags? I need to blend in with students!" Vi exclaimed.

"You said that the only time you're seen is if you want to be seen. Unless you want to be seen by demon-controlled fratboys…"

Vi huffed, and Castle chalked up another point to himself.

*****​

"Are you certain that the bezoar is in the dorm's basement?" Kate asked early in the morning as the three of them were sneaking up on the frat house in question.

"All of the accounts of battles with those demons agree that they are hidden below the ground," Castle explained. "So, we sneak in through the old coaling chute, find the monster, Vi kills it with the rocket launcher, and we open a gas line for a bit, to explain everyone dropping unconscious." And his Slayer could brag to the other Slayers that she got to use a rocket launcher. And would hopefully stop trying to get his permission to use one on Clark's just so she could say she did.

"Easy," Vi said, and Castle groaned - did they never learn?

*****​

"See? That's why you don't tempt Murphy!" Rick yelled five minutes later, trying to hold the basement door closed against the onrushing horde of demon-controlled frat boys.

"I didn't set them off!" Kate yelled back, dragging another keg of beer - the fraternity had stashed enough booze to make an Irish pub jealous - to reinforce the barricade they were building.

"I'll find it soon enough," Vi yelled from further down the basement, "the stench is growing stronger!"

"Hurry up!" Rick shouted when the door started to splinter under heavy blows. "They've got axes!" Axes they would use on him and Kate once they broke through. He should have brought his flame thrower - his shotgun might not be enough, should worse come to worst. He would hate himself for killing mind-controlled people, but he'd hate himself even more if Kate and himself died.

Kate hefted the keg up and dumped it on the others. The whole barricade was shaking now; the door had been broken down. He could see more axes and baseball bats. The worst, though, was the silence. For all their zeal in storming the basement and killing them, the frat boys were not saying anything - it was worse than a zombie attack.

"That was the last keg," Kate said, panting.

He cursed and lifted his his gun. If he shot them in the legs… he shook his head. That wouldn't stop them. "We have to hold the choke point here," he said through clenched teeth. "If they break through we'll be surrounded and killed."

"They're not aware of what they are doing," Kate said, looking at him.

"I know." They were pushing hard now, the barricade was shaking. The first keg tumbled off it, breaking as it hit the ground, spilling beer all over the floor. Not even that terrible waste broke the demonic hold over the frat boys, though.

The leader, a tall, buff blond, was crawling over the barricade now, axe in hand. Castle raised his shotgun.

"I've found it!" Vi yelled from behind them. "Take that!"

Then the basement behind them blew up, and Castle was thrown into the puddle of beer, with Kate falling on top of him.

"Yeehaw!" he heard his Slayer yell in triumph. "Roasted Bezoar!" A quick glance confirmed that the blond leader had fallen unconscious. Then smoke filled the basement.

He was lying in a puddle of beer, in a room full of smoke, with the woman he loved on top of him, surrounded by unconscious frat boys and the dying babies of a demon brood mother.

"Kate?"

"Yes, Rick?"

He pressed the box into what he identified by touch as her right hand.

"Will you marry me?"

*****​

"I told you so!" Vi said an hour later, for the tenth time that night. "Didn't I? The best moment is right after a battle, and with the exit blocked!" She was cackling with glee, too.

Castle didn't care. Kate may have laughed almost hysterically for over a minute, then coughed for another minute to get all the smoke out of her lung, and he had ruined a suit with beer and smoke, but she had said yes!

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, January 2010

Kate Beckett woke up feeling… conflicted. Not about having accepted Rick's proposal - she had known that it was coming for a while; his hints hadn't been half as subtle as he had thought. She had just wanted to let him fidget a little, to see if he was really serious. Although given how he seemed to double down when faced with a challenge or obstacle, that might not have been a valid test. Not that she had really doubted him, not once she knew him. She looked to her side, but Rick had already woken up and was… yes, she could hear him singing in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She smiled and closed her eyes again.

No, she did not regret saying yes. Not even when she thought about Rick's family and friends, who couldn't be called anything but 'eccentric', in Rick's words. With the exception of his daughter, and possibly his mother. Alexis at least seemed to be the only fully responsible in the family, apart from her wish to become a Watcher.

Not that Kate could criticise that - she was pretty much an unofficial Watcher herself. An official one, she reminded herself - Rick had registered her with the Council, as he had told her in France. And while the Scoobies were crazy, they were good friends to have. The best, even, when you needed someone to cover your back - in a battle at least.

No, what made her second-guess her decision was the timing. 'Heat Wave' was about to be released. A new book, first in a series, with the leading character - and she was the leading character; everyone but Vi could see that clearly - styled after the author's girlfriend, now fiancée? Shortly after a kidnapping in the family?

The tabloids would be in a feeding frenzy. And the 'stripper name' comments would be the least she had to look forward to. A cop, from a decent, but middle-class family, marrying a rich writer and socialite? She scoffed. They'd call her 'gold digger', or 'whore', depending on whether it was in an article, or in the comment sections on the web page. Or they'd assume she was just another notch on the playboy's bedpost who got lucky.

She set her jaw. She could take it. She was a cop, not a whore or gold digger. She knew it, Rick knew it, her friends knew it, his friends knew it, his family knew it, and… her father knew it. But he didn't know yet that she was engaged. She would have to tell Dad, before he found out through the news. Or, worse, by journalists accosting him for a statement.

She snorted. That wouldn't happen - Castle wasn't that famous. And no one but them, and Vi, knew about their engagement so far.

"DAD!"

A high-pitched scream interrupted her thoughts.

Alexis must have just been told.

*****​

Her phone had a dozen messages on it when she checked it after getting up. All of them from Britain. So, the Scoobies already knew as well. Vi must have called them right when they got home. Well, they were discreet - more or less. And they were an ocean and five time zones away. But she should tell Dad, and Lanie and… Oh God - she had to tell the precinct. And that would get out - she'd known someone at work had been talking to a tabloid after that article on page six. And it wasn't as if she wanted to hide her ring - that would hurt Rick. He was so happy, he had wanted to shout to the heavens, as he worded it. And he had tried - fortunately, they had been in the basement of the frat house still, and her ears had already been ringing from the rocket launcher Vi had fired earlier.

She slipped into the robe Rick had bought her a month ago. It was an expensive one - silk - if a tad short. But it made her look sexy as hell and she really liked how it felt on her skin. After a glance at the mirror, to check that she wasn't showing any signs of the battle with the Bezoar, she made her way to the kitchen.

There she was greeted by all members of the Castle family currently in New York.

"Kate! You said yes!" Alexis seemed to jump on her seat with excitement.

"Yeah she did. And made me win the pool!" Vi grinned like a shark.

The redhead looked far too well for having spent most of the night dealing with demons, Kate noticed. As usual for Slayers. Wait… "Pool?"

Castle sighed. "Apparently, they had a betting pool running on when I would propose."

Kate glared at the Slayer, who didn't look ashamed in the least. Alexis, though, looked embarrassed. Wasn't that like insider trading, those two betting on Castle's engagement? Kate blinked - that was another sign of Castle's influence; she wouldn't have had such a thought before getting involved with him. "They didn't bet on whether I would accept the proposal?" She looked at Castle, who was carrying two plates with pancakes - no, crêpes - to the table.

"Apparently, that was 'a sucker's bet', as Buffy put it," Castle said.

Kate didn't know if she should feel flattered or insulted at that. Then Rick put down the plates and grabbed her around the hip for a kiss - with a dip. She managed not to yelp with surprise and ruin the effect. And somehow, the comments from VI and Alexis didn't register until they broke the kiss, sometime later.

No, Kate didn't regret her decision, not at all. Not even when she had to rearrange her robe, which had slipped a little.

*****​

Any thoughts Kate might have had about just telling Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and the Captain - he had to know, of course, even if Castle technically wasn't one of his officers - evaporated when she saw Castle's expression as they entered the elevator to the bullpen. He looked like a kid who had been told that, yes, Santa Claus had approved his whole wish list. It felt oddly satisfying to see that expression on the face of a man who could have just about everything, and to know that it was because of her. And not because of someone else. Like his agent, or an English upper class woman. Or a Slayer.

Like the one who was pulling a rather large package out of the Shelby's trunk. Rick's smile grew even bigger when he noticed her glance. "The precinct will finally get a real coffee maker! The best my money could buy!"

"One of those fake-Italian ones? With the overpriced coffee capsules? Which the precinct lacks the budget to cover?" Kate resisted the urge to shake her head when Rick winced in sudden understanding. "I'm sure you can return it."

"Do you mean I carried that thing to the car, and then to the elevator, just to return it?" Vi complained.

"You don't even feel the weight," Rick said.

"It's the principle of the thing!" Vi huffed and held the package in one hand while she gestured with the other, completely ruining her own point.

"Well… our coffee maker at home is not the newest…" Rick looked thoughtful.

"It wouldn't fit into your kitchen, Rick - that's double the width of your current one," Kate pointed out.

"Well… the kitchen isn't the newest either. And since we're about to wed…" Rick trailed of when he found himself faced with Kate's glare, and Vi's snickering.

"Are you really contemplating to remodel your kitchen, rather than admit that you made a mistake?" Kate frowned at him; that was just like him.

"A new kitchen for the wedding? You know what kind of message that is sending?" Vi was still snickering.

Rick was pouting during the whole ride up to the precinct - but the coffee maker was back in the car's trunk.

*****​

"He did? And you said yes?"

Kate nodded.

"Girlfriend, that's great news!" Lanie beamed at her and hugged her. Fortunately, she had been typing up a report and not cutting up a body, so she wasn't wearing one of her aprons. Still, Kate was glad Lanie was over her grudge about not having been told about demons and magic.

"Show me the ring!"

Kate did, and Lanie made all the right appreciating noises a best friend was supposed to make. It felt oddly normal, these days.

"So… how did he propose? During a romantic dinner in a séparé, with soft music in the background and the stars shining through the glass ceiling?" Lanie looked at her expectantly.

Kate coughed. "Not exactly."

"He didn't ask in the middle of a family dinner, putting pressure on you in front of an audience, did he?"

"No, he asked me after we had just fought a bezoar and its mind-controlled horde." Kate winced at her friend's expression, and decided not to mention any details.

She still didn't regret her decision. Rick was worth those odd moments.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, January 2010

"'Stripper Cop Nabs Author'? 'Undercover for Vice Sting'? I was never undercover, least of all as a stripper!"

Richard Castle, checking his schedule for readings and other promotion events following the official release of 'Heat Wave' on his computer, winced when he heard his girlfriend's - his fiancée's! - angry voice from the living room. He hadn't expected that - not seriously. A little bit of teasing, maybe, from friends. Not definitely unfriendly slander from tabloids.

He heard her coming towards his office - Kate had not just mastered running and fighting in high heels better than any other non-Slayer he knew, but stomping as well. A moment later, she stormed inside.

"Rick! Have you read this?" She waved the tabloid around as if she was under attack by a swarm of bees.

Lying would be pointless, so he nodded. "I did, yes."

"And you didn't tell me? Never mind, what can we do about this?" She put both hands on his desh, flattening the tabloid, and leaned forward.

He winced again. "Not much, I'm sorry to say." Very sorry.

"What? That's slander!"

He took a deep breath and hoped for the best. "It's not exactly slander. They just speculate about your career - but as long as they only claim you worked as an undercover cop, there's not much we can do about it."

"They called me a stripper!"

"Not exactly… they said you were allegedly an undercover cop investigating strip clubs. Allegedly. And a cop is an honourable profession."

"Of course it is! But the way they insinuate that I seduced you while working undercover as a stripper…" She shook her head and he could tell that she was clenching her teeth. "That's…"

"... utterly ridiculous, and will make a good story at our golden anniversary?" He smiled as sincerely as he managed.

"No," she answered in a very flat voice. Well, he had tried.

He sighed. "I hate it too - but there's not much we can do. Legally, they are in the clear."

He hadn't known Kate could growl like that. Outside the bedroom, at least. And with more menace than lust. He better had to do something about this rag - she was his wife to be, after all, as in 'for richer, for poorer'. And there was the possibility that she she might, inexplicably, and without any reason, of course, blame him for her unfair association with stripping. He cleared his throat. "Well… we might take recourse to certain extra-legal means…"

"What?" She frowned at him.

"Nothing strictly illegal, of course. But, technically, this is an attack on your honour," - and his, but he didn't need to mention that - "and since the charter of the Watcher's Council, even the latest version, is positively ancient, we have a certain leeway with what is considered self-defence."

"What do you mean, Castle?" She was baring her teeth now.

"Err… Willow's a great hacker?"

She blinked. And then she smiled, and Rick wondered what kind of evil he had just unleashed upon the world.

*****​

"'New York Daily Post under investigation for tax evasion, slander, blackmail and... bestiality?" Richard Castle looked up from the New York Times - which had printed a very favourable review of 'Heat Wave' - and at his family, and family to be, who had gathered for breakfast.

"Who would have thought that such despicable people were behind that slanderous rag?" Kate wasn't even bothering to hide her satisfied smile.

And the sage nod and serious expression of Alexis clearly indicated that she had had a hand in that event as well.

"Isn't that going a bit far?" Bestiality? Really?

"No." Kate said. "We didn't actually frame them - we just… speculated."

"Alluded to. In places the FBI was observing. With online handles that might have been also used by certain people in the newspaper's employ," Alexis explained, with a wide grin. "Although Willow said that the Feds will find enough proof of actual crimes that the newspaper is finished anyway."

Vi nodded enthusiastically. "That'll teach them to speculate about Castle dropping me for Kate! As if he'd ever do that!"

"Because he never had you to drop," Kate said, with a slightly thinner smile than before.

"Technicalities! It's the thought that counts!" Vi stated, then refilled her plate for the third time.

Castle meanwhile was trying to decide if he should be proud or afraid of his family. Or both.

*****​

"Rick? Do we have anything scheduled for tomorrow evening?"

When he heard Kate's question from the living room, Rick checked his agenda, which was quite packed for the near future - it was really ironic that he had less time to relax after he had finished a book than when he was writing it, he thought. But tomorrow evening looked good. "No, it's free - unless Gina's asking for another dinner with obnoxious publishers. In that case we're busy."

"Thanks!" He heard her laugh, and could picture her in his mind, her expression, carefree… maybe she had something planned. A surprise, a candlelight dinner… or something else, with candles - Kate was quite a bit more adventurous than one would expect from a cop.

And there she was! Smiling, and standing in the doorway to his office.

He grinned. "I assume that tomorrow's evening is now solidly booked."

She nodded. "Oh, yes. My dad's coming to dinner."

His grin slipped.

"What?"

*****​

"So… your father is coming for dinner, and Dad's freaking out."

Castle glared at his daughter. "It's not like that."

"It's exactly like that," Kate said. "He's been moaning about his upcoming doom for an hour."

"I haven't been moaning," Rick corrected her. "I'm just - completely understandably - concerned about making a good impression on my future father-in-law. Whom I have never met before, I have to point out." Castle would certainly not have a favourable opinion of any boy whom his daughter decided to marry and whom he had never met.

"Translation: He feels guilty about not having asked your dad for permission to marry you - despite that being a very sexist and archaic custom any intelligent woman will take offense to," Alexis said. He could hear Willow's influence in her words, and Mother's in her loud, suffering sigh. "He probably thinks that because he would be going up the walls should I bring a fiancé home whom he had never met. Which I will not do, Dad, by the way." His daughter knew him far too well, Rick thought, but he was happy that she respected his opinion in that matter at least. Then she went on. "I would marry him before bringing him home, so Dad can't wreck the engagement."

"I would never!" Rick protested. No one seemed to believe him, though. He huffed. "Let's focus on the problem, please."

"Castle! My father isn't a 'problem'!"

"I didn't mean it that way!" Why was everyone thinking the worst of him today? "For the record: I didn't say that I shared those sexist and archaic views. But, seeing as your father is not as young as I am, he might have a different opinion on this subject." What father wouldn't? Rick thought.

"Dad, do you really think Kate's father would be that old-fashioned? He had no problem with her career choice, after all!" Alexis declared.

Kate, though, suddenly looked guilty.

He was so doomed.

*****​

"So… Your dad wasn't happy with you becoming a cop?" Castle asked an hour later, when Alexis had gone to tell Vi everything, after his slayer had returned from her evening patrol.

Kate, sitting on the couch and reading the advance copy of his book, glared at him, but she didn't deny it. Instead she sighed. "He worries too much. Ever since my mother…" She trailed off.

He nodded. He completely understood a father worrying for his daughter.

"... which is why he is so happy about the engagement."

"Wait, what?"

She sighed. "I haven't told him about your real work. He thinks you're simply a rich Fantasy author."

"Bestselling Fantasy author," he corrected her automatically. "But… why would he be so happy about that?" Apart from the rich part, of course, but Castle didn't think Kate's father would be that concerned about money. On the other hand, Rick didn't know him at all, and Kate hadn't talked about her father that much.

She sighed again. "He thinks that you'll persuade me to quit my job."

"But… that makes no sense!" He shook his head. "We met because of your work, and I even joined the department as a civilian consultant so I could work with you!" She stared at him, and he coughed before continuing. "Well, unofficial consultant, at least."

"You convinced the Mayor that you needed me as your inspiration so you could check our cases for demonic influence." And get her to date him.

"Yes. That's like the FBI providing assistance to the department." Her frown reminded him just how much the local cops liked the Feds meddling in their cases. "Anyway… so, your dad will try to convince me to convince you to stop being a cop?" That was a lot of convincing.

"Yes."

"And he won't like it when we tell him that I'm actually hunting demons."

"No."

Her father would kill him.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, January 2010

Contrary to Richard Castle's expectations (or fears), the dinner with Kate's dad - his future father-in-law - started out very well. Or relatively well. Vi and Alexis were late - apparently, Alexis's meeting at school had ran later than expected - but that might have been a blessing in disguise, allowing Castle to make a good impression before his family arrived to undermine him.

"Dad!"

"Mister Beckett!" Rick beamed at the older man and stepped aside to let him inside. Kate's father looked slightly puzzled but followed him inside. Kate, though, glared at him behind her father's back. Rick frowned at her - you didn't invite anyone, not even your family, inside your home. Everyone knew that!

Jim Beckett was looking around their living room, apparently surprised by the amount of medieval weaponry on display.

"It's great, right?" Rick said quickly. "All of the pieces are authentic!" He smiled and pointed at a random blade. "Like this sword here: It's an estoc, 15th century. Most mistake it for a rapier, because it's also optimised for thrusting, but there are a few differences, like the thickness of the blade, and the width, and of course the period it was used."

"Kate told me you were an blade enthusiast."

Was that a good thing? He glanced at Kate, but she was ignoring him now. "Oh, I'm at best an amateur. You should see Vi, she's the real enthusiast. Girl loves her blades; she makes me buy her one or two per months."

"Really? Aren't antique swords really expensive?" He looked like Kate when she spotted some inconsistency in a suspect's claim, Rick thought.

"Oh, yes. My bank account is weeping each time we go shopping." He chuckled. Once again behind her father's back, Kate was baring her teeth at him - was he doing something wrong? He was just being witty while being honest.

"Ah." Jim Beckett nodded. "I've heard a lot of things about you from Katie."

The non sequitur threw him - what had Kate told her father? And why hadn't she told Rick a lot about her father? She had even blocked his attempt to have Willow investigate Jim Beckett's background. "Really? Only good things, I hope." He forced himself to laugh.

"Well… mostly."

"Mostly? Only mostly?" Rick frowned at Kate, who was laughing - it sounded a bit forced as well, though.

"Oh, I wouldn't have agreed to marry him if I didn't think he'd make a great husband." She waved at the couch. "Let's sit down."

"Let me give you the tour," Rick said at the same time. He quickly added: "After we've taken an apéritif." And Kate was frowning at him again! Oh, right - she mentioned her father had been an alcoholic! "I mean… orange juice?"

"Thank you, Mister Castle."

And now Rick knew from whom Kate had inherited that expression. He managed not to wince until he was on the way to the kitchen and their guest couldn't see his expression.

"What are you doing?" Kate whispered - hissed - at him after she had joined him in the kitchen.

"I'm getting rid of the evidence," he whispered back as he emptied the cocktails he had prepared into the sink.

"I mean talking about swords like other men talk about their Ferraris!"

Oh. Did he really sound like that? "I just wanted to break the ice, you know? What man doesn't like to talk about swords?"

"My father doesn't like weapons." Oh. That man, apparently. But how could he have known that? With Kate being such an expert shot? "And I told you that," she continued.

Oh, again. He winced. "Well, swords aren't actually weapons. Very few people want them banned, after all."

"Tell that to Vi!" She whispered through clenched teeth as he filled three glasses with orange juice.

"Are you crazy?" He blurted out before he noticed her grim and yet smug smile. "Point taken," he replied in kind. It wasn't one of his best saves, anyway.

As they returned to the living room, he saw that Jim Beckett was bending down from his seat - apparently he had dropped a peanut or other. Castle rushed forward. "Don't bother, don't bother! I'll pick it up!"

He all but dropped the glasses on the low table, then knelt down to grab the spilled snacks - and checked if the pistol Vi had strapped beneath the seat 'for emergencies' was still in place.

Kate, quick on the uptake, was distracting her father. "Oh, don't mind him - he's always like this when we have guests."

"I wouldn't have expected that based on what you told me about his office."

"Oh, I'm different when I'm working - you might say my true nature comes to the fore. Spontaneous, creative, unbeholden to rigid rules." Castle smiled widely as he sat down next to Kate on the couch. "Cheers!" he added, raising his glass.

"So, you're an author."

"Bestselling author," Castle responded automatically, then had to fight not to wince when Kate stepped on his foot. "Kate's my biggest fan. The biggest fan of my books, I mean." That sounded less like a good thing than it had in his head.

"Yes. You've met the first time when she was twelve. I remember her telling me everything about it for hours afterwards," Mister Beckett said. Castle nodded - he counted that as a good thing, mostly. Even if it emphasised their tiny age difference. "Your first wife taught her how to shoot a crossbow, I think."

Rick grinned. "Oh, I wasn't like that. It was more like letting her shoot a few bolts. To effectively use a crossbow in combat, you have to train a long time." If you were hunting vampires, at least - the council had been quite clear on that.

"You seem to have a lot of experience with weapons."

"Oh, yes. I pride myself on the authenticity and realism of my fight scenes." He smiled, widely - most critics agreed that this was one of his strengths.

"In a Fantasy story."

"Dad!"

"I'm just saying… fighting vampires and realism don't go that well together." Castle didn't like the man's patronising smile.

He didn't let that show, though, and shrugged. "Well, it's hypothetical realism. If vampires existed, my fight scenes would be the epitome of realism." Take that, sceptic!

"Vampires and superpowered women. And demons."

Castle didn't make the quip that women were the most terrifying of the three. "I'd like to think that Kate is the perfect example of a real superwoman." He turned his head to look at Kate and put his hand on hers. "How she can run and fight high heels is a mystery."

He frowned when no one laughed at his joke. Oh, right - Kate said that her fighting was a sore spot. The sore spot. But wasn't he supposed to support her choices, instead of catering to her parents, or father in this case?

Fortunately the door opened and a diversion walked in. Two, actually - Vi and Alexis. "Mister Beckett," Castle said, standing up - Kate's father had still not told Rick to call him 'Jim' - "here are my daughter Alexis and Vi."

"Hello Mister Beckett," Alexis chirped. "Hi, Kate! Sorry that we're late, Dad - the school newspaper is in trouble, and we talked for hours about possible solutions."

"Do they need money?" Rick refrained from pulling out his checkbook. "Did the principal threaten to cut the paper's funding after they revealed his sordid affair with his secretary?"

"Dad! There was no revelation about an affair!" Alexis pouted at him.

"Oh… you bowed to pressure, and buried the story, and now you're wracked with guilt, and need a way to undo it?" He could see it - the anguish, put between integrity and responsibility. Wait - Alexis wasn't part of the school newspaper team.

"Dad! It's nothing like that! But the core of the staff are graduating, and they are looking for competent successors. There are a number of volunteers, but they are too biased."

"I don't know how I can help you with that, honey," Rick said. "I heard the schools in New York frown on press-ganging students." Though he was certain that a few principals had thought about it when competing for the best sports talents.

"I know, Dad. I didn't expect you any help from you. I was simply explaining why we were late." Alexis turned to their guest and her most polite smile appeared. "Please excuse him - he usually assumes that everything is about him."

Jim Beckett actually laughed at that.

Rick wasn't certain if she should resent him for that, or his - far too responsible and serious - daughter for having more success at breaking the ice.

Vi, who had used the brief distraction to empty the bowls with peanuts, picked this moment to demonstrate her opinion that everything should be about her. "Hi, Mister Beckett!" she said, sitting down on her usual place on the armrest of the couch despite Castle's pointed look at the free seat. "I'm Vi. I've been keeping Rick alive for eight years now. You can trust your daughter to me!"

As Kate glared at his Slayer and her father seemed torn between confusion and amusement, Rick realised that Vi had utterly misunderstood their concerns about Jim Beckett's fear for his daughter.

Slayers!

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, January 2010

"I can't help but wonder why an author needs a bodyguard, Mister Castle."

"Call me Rick," Richard Castle said. "Would you like more lasagna?" Everyone liked his lasagna, and Jim Beckett was no exception. Rick was the best cook in the family, after all. Not that there was much competition. Mother could make sandwiches and a few desserts, Vi could grill meat - barely - and Alexis… well, he hoped that his little daughter would find a boy who could cook.

"Thank you… Rick. It's delicious."

"I know, right?" Rick beamed at Jim - had he told Rick to call him 'Jim' yet? Or was that implied? "Everyone loves it."

"Is that why you have made enough to feed a company?" Jim pointed at the second casserole, which would be generous for double their number - if none of them were a Slayer.

"No, that's just for Vi," Kate said, smiling widely. "She likes to get seconds and thirds. Casseroles."

Vi growled - she couldn't do much else right now, since Kate had timed her remark with Castle's Slayer stuffing her mouth - and Rick intervened with the best smile he could muster: "She's got a healthy appetite."

"Ah." Jim probably didn't think that eating so much was healthy. Or he suspected that the redhead was bulimic. "But as I was saying: Why do you need a bodyguard? You haven't hired her just so you could follow Kate at work. She's been with you for years."

"Did you follow me in the yellow press?" Rick asked. That sounded kind of creepy.

"No, I asked Kate after the first article mentioning a love triangle involving you three was shown to me by my noisy neighbour."

"Vi never was my girlfriend!" Rick said.

"You could show a bit more regret and longing there, Rick!" Vi cut in, apparently having finished stuffing her mouth for the moment - literally, since she was refilling her plate.

"More like relief," Kate added with a glare. Which was so not helping, judging by Jim's - should Castle think of him as Jim? - expression.

"I trust that my daughter wouldn't have agreed to marry a man who was cheating on her with his bodyguard," Jim said. "But you're evading the question, Rick."

Kate's father would make a good prosecutor, Rick thought. "Well, as you have certainly heard, I'm rich and famous. Which means that I and my family need more protection than others."

"Protection that failed last month."

"I wasn't there, or I would've killed every last kidnapper!" Vi said before Castle could step on her foot.

He sighed. "Let me guess: You are wondering if your daughter will be safe with me."

"Actually, I'm wondering if you wouldn't hire Katie as a second bodyguard."

"What?" Rick stared at him.

"Dad!" Kate glared at Jim.

"He doesn't need a second bodyguard!" Vi stated after swallowing another mouthful of pasta.

"Really? You still think I should stop being a cop! And now you're trying to leverage a kidnapping to guilt me into quitting?"

"No, I'm not."

Rick didn't believe him. And neither did Kate - she huffed and shook her head.

"I worry about you, Katie."

"You shouldn't. She's a decent shot. Not as good as me, of course, but then, no one is!" Vi said, not helping. "I don't have to protect her that much in a fight!"

"You sound like she has been in a fight where you had to protect her," Jim said.

"Ah…" Vi blinked, then smiled weakly and turned to Rick with the usual expression on her face that she had after she realised that she had made a blunder.

"No," Kate said. "She didn't have to save me."

Vi bit her tongue. Literally - Rick could tell.

Jim sighed while he smiled rather sadly at Kate. "Katie, you're still doing the 'I'm not lying, but I'm not telling the whole truth either' bit. I can tell."

Well, it looked as if the jig was up. Rick leaned forward. "Jim, you don't have a heart condition, do you?"

"Now I'm even more worried about Katie."

"Is that a yes or no?" Rick asked again. Causing his future father-in-law to have a heart attack would not be a good thing for his upcoming marriage.

"I hope you're just trying to tell me that you're pregnant."

"Not exactly." Rick decided to take that as meaning Jim hadn't a heart condition. "But… you know, Vi is not really my bodyguard."

"That should be 'not just his bodyguard'," Vi butted in.

"Is she your daughter?"

"No. Though she certainly feels like one at times."

"Rick!"

"Dad!"

He cleared his throat, ignoring the outraged expressions of Alexis and Vi. "Now, since we have finished dinner - but for Vi, who already knows this - let me tell you a story." First his father, now Kate's father - he was telling this story far more than usual these days, Rick thought.

"The world is older than you know…"

*****​

"That's a recap of your 'Vampire Hunter' history, just with a few names changed, Rick. Not enough to avoid a copyright suit."

"I did change the story more than that for my books," Rick said. The Council couldn't sue him, could they?

"Really?" Jim sounded like he doubted that.

"Yes. Did you read them?"

"A few. My first was read to me by Katie when she was little."

"Oh!" Rick grinned. He could imagine the scene, little Katie forcing her parents to listen to her favourite book… he was getting off-topic in his head, he reminded himself. Even if he really wanted to ask how Jim liked them. "I hope you'll like my new book, which will feature a heroine modeled after Kate."

"Ah, yes, 'Nikki Heat'."

Jim's tone almost made Rick wince. "You've read the article then." No need to say which one.

"Yes."

Kate cleared her throat.

"Anyway, we're getting off-topic." Rick smiled. "Now, I'm not afraid of a copyright suit because what I told you wasn't a story invented by another author, but a history."

"Demons and history usually don't go together, Mister Castle."

He was back to 'Mr Castle' now? "That's what you believe. But I can prove it to you. Vi here is a Slayer."

"Superpowered hot chick!" Vi elaborated enthusiastically but needlessly.

"Really." Jim's tone was dryer than a martini done wrong.

"Normally, we do this with the couch," Rick said. Before he could continue, Vi had literally leaped out of her chair, over Jim's head with a yard to spare, and landed at the couch. A second later, she was lifting it above her head. One-handed. "Like this."

Jim was gaping. His mouth was moving, but he was not saying anything.

A much more satisfying reaction than the one of Rick's father, all things told.

*****​

"Demons exist… and you hunt them."

"Yes." Rick nodded. "Mostly vampires, but we - that is Vi and I - fought pretty much every type of demon we know."

"And the First Evil!" Vi added. "In hell itself! Well, I did - Rick just looked down into the mouth of hell."

"You hunt demons, and you dragged Katie into this."

Now that didn't sound like a correct summary of the events that had led to this. "I don't think anyone can drag Kate into anything," Rick said, maybe a little sharper than he should have.

"It's more like she barged in and didn't leave until we took her hunting," Vi added her own biased account.

"Demons that hunt humans for food, are impervious to bullets, and many times stronger than the strongest human. Monsters straight out of a nightmare."

Jim had read more than a few of his books, Rick thought.

"Hey! Slayers are human! Just better!" Vi protested.

Jim seemed to be ignoring them. "Katie! This far more dangerous than being a cop! I read enough of those books to know that those women usually die. Violently. And their human helpers don't fare any better."

"It's far more important than the work we do as cops as well, Dad. Sometimes the entire world is at stake."

"Or a city. Like New York. We call that an apocalypse. But they are rare - we've got seldom more than one per year." Rick thought it best to get everything out in one go. Like ripping off a bandaid.

Jim didn't seem to have listened. "But she could leave the hunting to the 'Slayers', couldn't she? She is not as essential as they are."

Kate was grinding her teeth, Rick saw. He quickly said: "Sometimes, it takes a normal human to save the day - or the world. Not that Kate is normal, mind you. She's extraordinary."

That earned him a smile from her, and a scowl from her father.

"I came here to convince you to keep my daughter safe - or at least safer than she is as a cop. And now I hear that she is, in fact, in much greater danger than before." Jim sounded rather bitter as he shook his head.

"Dad…" Kate reached out and touched his hand. He didn't react, though.

"Jim, we've been doing this for a while now - twenty years in my case, actually." Not counting his break until Sunnydale. "Almost ten for Vi, even if she doesn't act like it most of the time."

"Hey!"

"And Kate's been with us for six months now. We know what we are doing. Hell, she probably was in more danger when we stormed that manor full of Russian gangsters in France - demons generally don't use guns."

"You what?"

Oh, he hadn't mentioned that before, had he? "I mean, she wasn't in any real danger back then, we had the most powerful witch on the planet with us, and the most experienced Slayers."

Strangely, that didn't seem to reassure Jim Beckett. And everyone was glaring at Rick, again.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, February 2010

"My dad's speaking to us again. Provisionally."

In front of his bedroom's mirror, Castle stopped tying his tie when he heard Kate's voice from the living room. "Oh? It's just been… a week?" He checked the calendar. "Yes, eight days." So the evening hadn't been a total disaster, Castle thought. "What brought this on?"

"The wedding invitations, I think," Kate said. Or something like it - Castle wasn't really listening when he saw her standing there, in that oh so sexy cocktail dress that was worth every Euro he had paid for it in Paris. It hugged her body in that uniquely French way, classy and yet more exciting than than lingerie. Which, he realised, she couldn't be wearing with how the dress was cut.

"Castle?"

"What?" He blinked.

"I asked if you were listening."

"You mentioned wedding invitations before I was struck dumb by your appearance," he admitted with his best roguish grin.

That made her blush, a little. "Dad said he still hates that we're hunting demons, but he won't create a scandal by not attending the wedding."

"So, will he give you away at the altar?" Rick asked, tearing his gaze away from her legs.

"If he behaves." Kate shook her head. "I'm still angry at him for trying to tell me how I have to live my life."

"Oh, all parents do that. With the exception of my dad," Rick said. "But I'm certain that if he had been involved in my life, he'd have tried to run it too." Or ruin it.

"I suddenly feel a deep connection to Alexis."

Rick frowned. "I'll have you know that I have never questioned Alexis's position as the mature and responsible member of the family."

"And yet you try to run her life for her as well." Kate gave him a look, not quite a glare.

He felt defensive anyway. "It's not as if she actually listens to me. She does what she thinks is best." Like joining the Watchers Council.

"So do I."

"Did you just compare me to your father?" That was wrong on so many levels. "And yourself to Alexis?" That was even worse.

Judging by her grimace, she shared his thoughts.

He cleared his throat. "So… are you ready for the launch party of 'Heat Wave'?"

"Yes. But if anyone calls me 'Nikki Heat'…"

"You'll smile and bear it?"

"No promises, Castle."

"As long as you don't shoot or arrest them…"

"I said 'no promises'."

He hoped that she was joking.

*****​

Vi, of course, was hyped for the party. "I can cosplay as myself!" she declared, grinning widely, when she joined Rick and Kate in his living room.

"Vivian shares certain character with you, but she isn't you," Rick corrected her. "And I think I mentioned that her tops generally cover a bit more than what you're wearing." It looked more like a bikini than a top, actually.

"That's what the jacket is for," his slayer retorted with a shameless smile.

"I thought that's to cover up your weapons," Kate cut in.

"Well, yes. And that doesn't leave much room for anything else. Wouldn't want to cause my jacket to rip," Vi said, pushing her chest out.

"I might be saddled with a stripper name, but you choose a stripper outfit." The claws were coming out now, Rick thought.

"Oh, no. This is a Slayer outfit." Vi bared her teeth. "Just ask Faith."

Who would probably say it was both, Rick thought, just to annoy everyone. He decided to step in before things got out of hand - the last thing he wanted was to have the press focus on a brawl between his bodyguard and his fiancée instead of his new book. Although a catfight between Nikki Heat and Vivian… he would have to fit that into the outline of his next book. He cleared his throat. "Let's go - we don't want to be late." Alexis and his mother were already there, he knew. Alexis to ensure that everything was ready - she still remembered that one launch party where catering had made a mistake - and Mom to boss the staff around to get her the best wine.

"That's not what you said last time," Vi said.

"I simply wanted to avoid breaking too many traffic laws. Rupert gets testy when the Council has to clear up traffic tickets."

"They do that?" Kate asked.

"Well… it avoids certain drivers losing their license for excessive speeding, which in turn avoids more serious trouble with the law when they still drive to save humanity from demons," Rick explained.

"Which could be avoided if Vi learned to drive without breaking the law."

Vi grinned. "I can drive like every normal slowpoke. I just prefer not to."

"That sounds like what a habitual speeder would say."

Rick coughed. "We really should go now."

"Right - oh, I almost forgot!" Vi pulled out a small envelope from her jacket. "I had those made to avoid any embarrassing misunderstandings." With a wide grin she handed him and Kate…

"Badges?" He stared at his badge. "'Hi, I'm the author!`? Really?" People who came to his launch parties knew him.

"I didn't want to let you feel left out," Vis said, adding her own, which read 'Hi, I'm Vivian!', to her top. Castle was impressed that this didn't weaken the straining fabric enough to open a tear.

"'Hi, I'm Nikki Heat?'" Kate wasn't amused. Not at all.

Castle grabbed her badge and dropped it into into his pocket. It would have clashed with her dress anyway. "You know, if you continue like this, I'll have Vivian and Nikki become a couple in the next book."

Both women stared at him with expressions of horror.

*****​

"Could you sign my top?"

At his last launching party, Castle had loved being asked to do that. But with Kate on his arm, it felt awkward. And he couldn't ask the girl to hand the top over so he could sign it without touching her. Then he realised that the girl wasn't looking at him. "Kate, she means you," he said, not bothering to hide his grin.

"What?"

The girl pulled on her top - which rivaled Vi's in skimpiness. "Here, please!" Kate was hesitating when the girl added: "My friend's getting Vivian's signature, but I like Nikki Heat better. She feels more real."

"She does, doesn't she?" Kate said, suddenly all smiles, and signed the top with a flourish.

"You know, Vi heard that," Rick whispered.

"Yes, I know." Kate's smile didn't falter. "Aren't fans great?"

"Usually. But some of the hardcore fans on the forums are…" He shrugged. Words failed him, and he was a bestselling author.

"I know, Rick - remember when we went over them hunting a killer?"

"That's how we met," he said. "Would you have imagined, back then, that we'd be engaged at the next party?"

"No."

"You don't have to deny it that strongly, you know." His ego could take it, of course. But still!

"I'm just being honest. You didn't make the best impression on me, back then. All arrogant, rich, entitled." She shook her head.

"Never judge a book by its cover." Even though his ruggedly handsome face and well-toned body were good cover, if he did say so himself.

"Oh, I know." She nodded at the tower of books in the centre of the room. "My advance copy didn't have a cover."

"Well… it wasn't ready yet."

"Or someone who knew how I would react to two nude women on the cover removed it."

"They're not exactly nude!" he protested. And they were just silhouettes anyway. Like in James Bond openings.

"Stripper name, nude silhouette - what's next, a stripper pole? Mudwrestling?"

Rick buried the idea of a catfight in the next book.

"Although I'm wondering why you didn't insert yourself in the book." She grabbed a fresh glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

"Are you kidding? A self-insert? My family and the Council would never let me forget it!" He grabbed a glass for himself.

"Well, the loremaster certainly isn't modelled after you, but the private detective… there's a certain resemblance." She grinned.

"What? He doesn't look like me at all. And he's younger than her!"

"But how he acts in the bed scene..." Her grin fit the dress now. All too well.

As Kate finished her glass and then went over to pose with Vi, Castle really hoped that his Slayer hadn't heard that remark.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, February 2010

"Well, at least the reviews are very good." Richard Castle folded the New York Times and put it down on the breakfast table.

"Other than The Times," Alexis pointed out. She meant the English newspaper, of course.

"They liked my books before the Council realised that I was their author. I'm certain that Travers and his ilk exerted undue influence on the critic." Any fool could see that the timing of the sudden change was no coincidence.

"And why didn't they change their view of your work after the old Council was replaced?" Alexis had a far too smug expression on her face, in his opinion.

"Inertia. You know how stuffy Brits are. Changing their opinion once was hard enough and probably required blackmail. Changing it twice? No chance, old chap!" Rick shook his head.

"I'm British too, Dad." Alexis said, using her best English upper class accent. Mary had a lot to answer for!

"Only half, dear, and that half doesn't count." They were divorced, after all.

"I was born and raised in Merry Old England. The mother country. I have a British passport, too. And so do you, dear fellow."

He gaped at her. "That's enough of that crazy talk! Besides, you shouldn't be so happy about that critic maligning my work - my books pay for our home, after all!"

"Aw, Dad!" Alexis stood up and hugged him. "I'm just teasing you a little. I'm very proud of your success."

"Why do you sound as if you were the parent and I were the child?"

"Because one of us has to be the mature and responsible one," his daughter retorted and grabbed the Times for herself. The New York one.

"That wasn't very mature," he grumbled. "Besides, once Kate is my wife, she can take over that position."

"No, she can't. Marrying you proves she is not mature enough."

"Hey! Kate is very mature - in all the right places!" Which, he realised, was a very immature statement. And an insensitive one, too, judging by the face his his adolescent and not yet so mature in all the right - or wrong - places daughter made. On the other hand, she would be working with Slayers, who were, as a rule, all 'superpowered hot chicks', to quote Faith. Her ego would need to get used to that.

Especially if it meant winning an argument with his daughter. He smiled and opened the next newspaper. Maybe he should cut the reviews out? No, that was so… needy. He hadn't done that since… a few years ago.

He could save the electronic articles on his computer, instead.

"Where is Kate, by the way?" Alexis asked.

"Ah… you were already gone home, right, you wouldn't know," Rick said.

"What happened? Dad!"

Whoa… Alexis had the same intense stare as her mother. He leaned back a bit. "Well… there was a discussion - or an argument - about who was the main character of the book. Nikki or Vivian."

"What? You wrote the book from her perspective. The title includes her name." Alexis shook her head.

"Well, I know that, you know that, everyone knows that. But you know how some fans aren't exactly sane. And you know Vi."

"What did she do?"

"Challenged Kate to a drinking contest."

"And Kate accepted?" Alexis sounded very doubtful.

"Well… remember when we flew back to Paris to go shopping with the Scoobies?"

"No, I don't, since, you know, I stayed with Mum," Alexis said.

"Well… Kate and Buffy talked a lot with each other. Swapped stories, and all."

"Dad! Get to the point. You don't have to meet a minimum amount of words here."

"Hey!" He frowned. He didn't write like that. "Anyway, to make a long story short, Kate accepted the challenge - and she had demon beer ready."

"Oh… but… Oh my god!" Alexis looked horrified rather than amused.

"No, no! It wasn't like it was - supposedly - with Buffy. That beer just affected Slayers like normal beer affects humans."

"So... ?"

"Vi went down, hard," Castle said, sighing. His Slayer had walked right into that.

Alexis winced. "But… where's Kate then?"

"Well, Kate had forgotten that the beer affected normal humans normally as well," Rick explained.

"Hangover?"

"Demonic hangover!" He nodded sagely, but she didn't laugh. Tough crowd.

*****​

New York, March 2010

"You know, I was married twice, and I don't remember that many planning sessions," Richard Castle said, pushing another catalogue with flower arrangements - flower arrangements! - away.

"That's because Mum's parents organised everything for your first wedding, since they didn't trust you or Gran," Alexis said, "and Gina simply wanted to marry you before you came to your senses."

Rick winced at that reminder. "I see. But wouldn't that make me singularly unqualified to decide anything about my wedding, due to my lack of experience?"

"Well, it's not as if we're really listening to you, dear," his mother said with her most patronising smile. "But you can make a good tie breaker."

"I am glad to be so appreciated. I feel married already."

"Really, Rick?"

Now Kate was glaring at him. Apparently, wedding planning was a serious business, and you couldn't make jokes during or about it. Not even gallows humour.

"Shouldn't dear Dad be here a well? I think the males of the family are rather underrepresented." He was outnumbered four to one, after all.

"You represent them," Kate said rather dryly. Damn. "But we have been talking to him. He's coordinating security with Xander and Willow."

"Does that mean that we'll be exchanging our vows in a bunker?" Rick asked. He wasn't entirely kidding.

"No, no," his mother assured him. "We nixed that idea."

He hoped that she was kidding.

Rick leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Is it too late to elope?"

"Yes. Buffy already bought her bridesmaid outfit."

"She's going to be a bridesmaid?" Rick asked.

"Are you going to tell her that she won't?" Vi cut in.

"Buffy asked, and I was happy to agree," Kate explained, with a glance at Vi.

"Ah." They were closer than Rick had assumed. Well, better Buffy than Faith. Or Willow… oh. "Ah… we do have a priest, right? Not a wiccan?"

"Willow insists on blessing the union. For good luck," Alexis said, without looking up from her catalogue of… seats?

"Ah." For a man who had been married twice already, this was certainly a novel experience, Rick thought. "Is there any reason why we can't… outsource this planning? There are professional wedding planners, you know. I think I even know one." Four pairs of eyes stared at him as if he had said the dumbest thing ever. "Just… throwing the thought out, you know."

"Out in the trash," Vi said. "A wedding planner wouldn't know the first thing about the demonic side of the wedding."

"Demonic side?" Just who was going to attend his wedding?

"Security against demons," his slayer clarified. "Although we'll need special accommodations for Spike as well."

Rick would have said that the Vampire didn't need any special treatment, and would better not attend at all, but the smile on his daughter's face made him swallow that remark. He could learn, after all.

"And we need to ensure that there's no silverware that could hurt Oz," Alexis added.

"A vampire and a werewolf attend a wedding… is it just me, or does this sound like a joke?" Rick asked, rhetorically of course.

"Cheer up, Rick - imagine my father meeting them," Kate pointed out.

"Oh!" Maybe he would get to enjoy his wedding, after all.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, April 2010

"There are so many British guests, I wonder why no one has yet suggested that we hold the wedding in the United Kingdom." Richard Castle commented - not complained - when he went over the guest list, which apparently had updated in his absence, before setting it down on the couch table.

"Well, it was considered, actually."

"What?" He stared at his daughter, who was fiddling with the TV remote. "I was kidding!"

"Well, security would have been much easier if we held the wedding in Britain." Alexis glanced at him and smiled weakly.

"I'm glad that common sense has prevailed. To marry in Britain… people would think I'm either mad, or pretentious!" Rick shook his head.

"Well… I think that it was mostly the opportunity of another trip to New York on the Council's expense that doomed the proposal." Alexis looked rather embarrassed. As she should be, Rick thought. Better the council than him, though. -Buffy probably had her own entry in Gucci's annual report.

"You know, I'm actually glad I spent a few weeks on tour, promoting my book. I got to miss all of that." He shook his head. "Although the demon hideouts Vi and I ferreted out while travelling would have been a great opportunity to relieve some of the stress this whole wedding planning is causing me."

"Technically, you're not planning much," Alexis pointed out.

"Technically, I am not allowed to plan much, or anything at all" he shot back. "Every decision is being taken for me." He blinked. "Come to think of it - it's as if I'm already married!"

"Dad! If we came to you with every decision, you'd be complaining about no one being able to think for themselves." Alexis was frowning at him. "And some of your ideas were, frankly, ill-thought-out."

He frowned. "'Ill-thought-out'? Did you talk too much with Mary again?"

"Dad!"

He raised his hands. "Sorry!" He wasn't going to be the father trying to poison his daughter's mind against his ex-wife. Mary could do that all by herself. Or should, at least! Oh. He checked the list again. "Mary's coming too?" He didn't yell; a testament of his iron self-control.

"Of course." Alexis looked at him as if that was self-evident. "Mum and Kate get along well."

"And there are some divorced dads who complain about their new girlfriend not liking their ex-wife…" He sighed.

"Dad!" Alexis glared at him.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just - if your ex-wife is understanding, and all, then that's…" Worrisome. An ill omen. Time to look for the dagger aimed at your back. "…weird."

"Well, I like that Mum and Kate get along well." Alexis sniffed. "It'll make family gatherings much more agreeable!"

"You don't want me to reconsider my decision, do you?" He mock-glared at his daughter.

"No, Dad. If that was the case I'd talk about inviting Gina."

He shuddered. "The anti-demon wards should keep her out."

"Dad!"

"Sorry! No joking about my second wife's inexplicably present soul, I know."

"Not that! We can't have anti-demon wards! Spike's attending, remember?" His daughter was glaring at him again.

"I had successfully suppressed that." He sighed. More seriously, he asked: "But, I just realised - I didn't ask you if you were OK with me marrying Kate."

"I told you you could date her. That implies that marriage is on the table as well," Alexis stated.

"You could have changed your opinion, after getting to know her better." Unlikely, since Kate was a great woman, but… he had to ask.

"If I had changed my opinion, I'd have let you know. And her. Just like with Gina."

He winced. "I had successfully repressed that as well." That hadn't been a fun time. At all.

Alexis proud smile was more than a bit evil, in his opinion.

*****​

"It's right down here, just follow me!" Richard Castle entered the bullpen of the 12th Precinct and went straight to the break room, waving at the four burly men carrying heavy boxes to follow him."

"Castle?"

He turned around. Kate was standing there, in her sharp suit. She was smiling, tough looking a bit confused - but she was calling him 'Castle' and not 'Rick'. "Ah, I'm back from my tour!"

"I can see that. I can also see four delivery men with you." Her smile grew a bit thinner.

"Ah, them, yes." He smiled widely. "I've found the solution to the coffee problem!" He gestured at the break room. "Just go on and install it, I'll be right with you!"

"Castle!"

He turned back to her. "I decided to buy an old fashioned coffee maker - but a high-end one!" Meant for a café, actually. "And it comes with a two year's supply of coffee!" He beamed at her.

"You decided?" There went the eyebrows.

"Well… the captain gave tacit approval when I mentioned my plans to replace the coffee maker." He cleared his throat.

"When was that?" she snapped.

"Last year?"

"Castle! You can't just barge in here and replace our coffee maker!"

"I just did," he pointed out. "And trust me, no one will complain once they have had a taste of this great coffee!" After a year, he knew the staff well enough.

And so did Kate, judging by her sigh. In a lower voice, she asked: "Is this your way to protest your lack of input in the wedding planning?"

"No!" he said firmly and convincingly. "I've been planning to replace this crime against nature for months! It has soiled my breaks for the last time!"

She didn't look too convinced, though, but at least she laughed at his comment. "Seriously, how are you holding up? I have to confess that your family's zeal is impressive." Meaning, it would scare lesser people than Kate.

He sighed. "They mean well. All of them. I think." He wasn't quite certain about Spike's offer to organise the band. It had been shot down, anyway - Oz would cover that. And probably perform. He smiled at her. "As long as we get married, you and me, I don't care about the details."

It was sappy, but true. And he was certain that if they weren't standing in the middle of the bullpen, she would have kissed him right then and there.

*****​

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Richard Castle looked up from where he was writing the last part of his report of his 'tour' for the Council. His mother was standing in the doorway of his office, looking at him with an earnest expression.

"If that question is related to my earlier outburst, rest assured that was simply my frustration about the deadlock regarding the flower arrangements being voiced a bit too strongly." Who would think of combining orange and white like that? The gate would have been mistaken for a traffic signal!

She sighed. "Kiddo, I know you. I'm your mother, even if in the past, I might not have always acted like it. If you're talking like Rupert, you're not happy. Or you're drunk, and you're not drunk. I hope so, at least."

He considered denying it, but his mother was more perceptive than she usually acted. So he sighed. "I'm just…" Anxious? Afraid? "...slightly worried how much this wedding seems to resemble my first." Where he hadn't had much to say either, apart from 'I do.' And he wasn't sure if they would have listened to him if he had said 'no'.

"What you're actually worried about is whether this marriage might fail, like your first marriage did." His mother shook her head. "You shouldn't be, by the way."

"And why do you think that?" That was good to hear, but he hoped she had based her statement on more than 'a woman's intuition'."

"Remember what I told you about Mary? That she was an ambitious woman who ultimately couldn't stand that you became both a renowned Watcher and a famous author while she was still being encouraged by her parents to become a housewife?"

"Bestselling author, too." He nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"Kate didn't know you before you were successful. If she resented you for that, she would have never started a relationship with you, much less agreed to marry you. And she's a police detective, while you're a civilian."

"Civilian consultant," he corrected her.

"Officially, you're an author looking for inspiration for his next book. That's no career in the police."

He pouted, but had to agree with her. "But what if she decides that hunting demons is more important than hunting criminals, and quits the force to join the Council?" He had seen the signs, too - she was considering it. The relative lack of paperwork and regulations held a lot of appeal.

"Oh, Richard! In that case, you'll have to get used to the fact that your wife will soon outrank you." His mother smiled wickedly at him.

Rick gaped, not certain if she was kidding or not. Or if he should be happy or insulted at the insinuation. He settled for happy. "Thank you."

"Anytime, kiddo." His mother waved at him in that lazy manner of hers, and stepped out of his office.

And he went back to his report detailing why the Council had to reimburse that Ice Cream vendor since Vi had had to appropriate his wares to subdue that fire elemental in Phoenix.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, April 2010

Richard Castle watched his Slayer go through her sword forms in her flat's gym for a few minutes before he cleared his throat.

Vi stopped at once, her blade seemingly frozen in mid-motion. "Yes, Rick?" She turned around and lowered her sword.

He pointed to the bench at the wall. "Come on, let's sit down."

"Oh, one of those talks!" She pouted. "Is this about Clark's? He had it coming!"

"Who? What about Clark's?" Had he missed anything?

"Oh, nothing." She smiled widely at him, then sat down on the mats, facing the bench. "So, shoot!"

He knew she was hiding something, but he'd find out what later. For now, there was something more important to talk about than some busted demon heads. "So… You've been pretty involved with the wedding planning." More than him, at least.

Vi shrugged in that too casual way of hers that indicated she was tenser than she tried to appear. "Someone has to be the voice of the Slayers."

"Huh?"

"You know, making sure that there's enough food, the music doesn't suck, and there are enough cute guys and girls around so we don't grow bored - can't count on some demon being stupid enough to mess with the wedding to get some action." Vi's grin showed all her teeth.

Rick nodded. "I see. Good thinking there." The idea of hungry Slayers, no, hungry bored Slayers, was terrifying. The only thing worse would be horny Slayers.

"Always."

He coughed in response, but she didn't even flinch, much less blush. Slayers! "So I was wondering how you and Kate work together."

"You mean you're wondering if we've 'settled our differences', right?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

He nodded. "Well… yes."

Vi shrugged, still a bit forced. "She needs to learn that she's not a Slayer, but otherwise, she's OK."

And that was the crux of the issue. Kate wasn't a Slayer, but she wasn't a Watcher either. So, she had no defined place in the pecking order that Slayers saw the world as. And while Kate didn't share that kind of worldview, she definitely didn't see herself as subordinate to Vi. He made a mental note not to explore that particular thought in a book. He didn't write that kind of Fantasy books. "She is no Slayer. But she'll probably be a Watcher sooner or later."

"What?" Vi blinked at him. "A Watcher?"

"We don't have to be all stuffy and British." Rick laughed.

"I know that! But Watchers are the loremasters. Not the frontline. And you study for years."

"Well, Kate's been reading my books since she was twelve." And she had been a very cute kid. "And you know that all the details about demons in my works are correct."

"Oh. I didn't think of that."

Rick hadn't either, not for some time, at least. But there was no need to mention that. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. Just treat her as a Watcher in training."

"Really? Did you talk to her as well?" She narrowed her eyes at him again.

"I didn't think I had to. She might not have realised that she's becoming a Watcher yet." He grinned.

"And you don't want to spook her, I see. Sneaky!" Vi grinned again, but it slowly gave away to a smile.

"Guilty as charged!" That should have settled that. No need to tell her that she didn't have to fear that Kate would replace her. That would only make her act defensive. Or ask her if she had ever been serious about pursuing him. Some things Rick didn't want to know. "Now… what was that about Clark's?"

"Uh…" Vi started to fidget. "It wasn't my fault!"

*****​

"Most people call before they visit," Richard Castle said when he opened the door and let his father inside the apartment. It might be petty, but for someone who claimed that he would have been part of Rick's life if it hadn't been too dangerous, Hunt had made himself rather scarce after being appointed as the CIA's liaison to the Council.

"Most people don't have to worry about being tracked by assassins," Hunt answered, shrugging out of his coat. Rick knew he was carrying a weapon, but couldn't spot… ah, small of the back, a slight bulge over the belt.

"You have an unhackable magically protected cell phone," Rick pointed out.

"I can't use that for my other work, and I can't afford to get sloppy," Hunt answered as he walked over to the couch. "I need to keep up the routines that keep me alive."

Rick shook his head.

"Do you invite people into your apartment?" Hunt shot back.

"Touché," Rick acknowledged. "Drink?"

"Whisky, please."

"Shouldn't you ask for a Martini, shaken not stirred?" Rick chuckled as he went over to the bar.

"You know that Bond isn't exactly a realistic secret agent." Hunt sounded a bit touchy.

"Fleming actually was involved in the 'business'," Rick countered. "He just dressed it up for the readers. They did crazy things in his time." Just like himself, he thought.

"Things have changed." Hunt nodded when he took his drink from Rick.

"Cheers!" Rick sat down and raised his glass.

Hunt mirrored him, then took a sip and nodded appreciatively.

"There are some advantages to working for the British," Rick said. He was proud of his single malt of choice.

"And disadvantages."

"I got divorced of her." Rick grinned, then sighed. "I assume that you deliberately picked a time to visit when all my redheads and my fiancée were not at home."

"I thought we should talk, you know, father to son."

Rick almost corrected him with 'absent father to son with a family', but controlled himself. It would be stupid to drive his father away when he was reaching out to Rick. No matter how awkward this conversation felt. "Teach me the facts of life before I get married?" he quipped.

Hunt nodded slowly. "In a way."

Rick frowned. "I wouldn't think a man who gave up on his family to keep them safe from his job's dangers would know much about marriage."

"You would be wrong, son." Hunt smiled faintly and raised his hand. Something caught the light on his ring finger.

Rick blinked. "You're married?" That he hadn't yelled this was a testament to his iron self-control.

"Yes."

"But… what about all that 'if my enemies knew about you, you'd be in grave danger' bit?" He couldn't help feeling more than a bit resentful at that.

"Well, my wife's in the business as well."

"Oh." That might excuse it. Might - the jury was still out there. If Rick's stepmother was just a secretary in the CIA, a real live Moneypenny...

"Yes. She's an agent, and a damn good one."

Apparently, she wasn't a secretary. "She's not a Russian spy who you seduced into switching sides, is she?" When his father stared at him, he quickly added: "Just checking… although you would react like that if she was. A Russian spy, that is." That's how it worked, after all - misdirection and subterfuge. "So… will she be your plus one?"

"Unlikely. She's an active agent." Hunt took another sip from his glass. Was that a tell?

"So are you," Rick pointed out.

"Not as active as I'd like to be. Not anymore."

Oh, that was a glare alright. Rick smiled. "If you want to come on a few demon hunts, that can be arranged. We'll call it familiarising yourself with our modus operandi." That sounded nice and professional. Much better than Buffy's 'See if you wet yourself or not'. "I'll even loan you a flamethrower."

"I'm not qualified on them," Hunt said. Seeing Rick's doubtful expression, he shook his head. "We don't actually use flamethrowers anymore."

"Well, you should. The Ack Pack has saved my life many times." It was a great weapon. Especially against vampires. "And the psychological effect is even better."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Alright." He'd change his opinion once he saw it in action, Rick thought. Everyone hunting vampires loved fire. He took a sip from his own glass, savouring the taste. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Hunt finished his glass. "I just wanted to tell you that you shouldn't have second thoughts about marrying a woman in your business. I never regretted it."

"I don't have second thoughts." Rick had seldom been as certain of something as of his desire to marry Kate.

Hunt nodded at him. Rick nodded back. Then he refilled their glasses. "Are we actually bonding over marrying women who are active in our business?"

"Are we?" Hunt asked back.

"I think we are." Awkwardly, though.

But it was more than Rick had had before. "So… when do I get to meet my stepmom? And did you tell her about me?"

"She knows you exist."

"I mean, about what I really do."

Hunt took another sip from his glass instead of answering.

Rick shook his head. "Well, let me give you a little bit of advice: Don't keep such secrets from your wife. Countless failed relationships taught me that." Though to be fair, Rick hadn't been trying too hard to make them work.

"Both of us are used to keeping secrets," Hunt finally said.

"From each other as well?"

"Yes."

"That sounds…" Bad? Stupid? "... complicated."

"It works for us."

"You should still tell her. So I can meet her." Rick had to meet her. A woman who had captured his father's heart? A spy, to boot?

She would make a great character! Although Rick would have to change her a lot - angry stepmothers were bad enough when they weren't trained assassins.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, May 2010

Richard Castle had thought that the last few weeks had been hectic as the preparations for his and Kate's wedding took over more and more of their and their families' time. But, looking at the charter jet taxiing over to them, he realised that he hadn't seen anything yet.

"I might have made a slight miscalculation," he whispered to Vi, who was leaning against the first of the rental cars they had organised.

"Huh?" He didn't have to turn his head to know she was looking at him.

"They're coming for a wedding. Not to stop an apocalypse, or to rescue Alexis," Rick went on.

"Yes?"

His Slayer still didn't understand. He sighed. "They are coming to celebrate, to party, not to hunt demons."

"Oh! You mean…" Vi trailed off.

He looked at her, meeting her suddenly wide eyes. "Yes. They'll not even be trying to be professional."

"Fuck."

And then the jet came to a stop in front of the gangway, and the Scoobies descended on New York. And on Rick.

Buffy was the first out of the plane, dressed like a model, though a head too short for the runway, even with her high heels. She was lugging around a suitcase big enough to fit two people inside. Or her weapons and a few of her shoes. "Rick!" She spread her arms, not bothering to lose the suitcase, and Rick was lifted off the ground. Fortunately, she only prevented him from breathing and didn't crack a rib.

"Yo, Rick. Vi." Faith, wearing jeans, boots and a leather jacket waved at him, a bag slung over her shoulder. "B, let the man breathe, or he won't pay for your shoes!"

Rick found himself released as Buffy went and hugged Vi. "Vi! How's it feel, getting a stepmom?" Rick wasn't the only one to wince. Fortunately, Vi couldn't breathe either, and so couldn't retort.

"Hello, Rick, Vi." Dawn was dressed in a business deux-piece and not quite sensible heels. Probably chosen in deliberate contrast to her sister's minidress. "Don't mind Buffy, she barely managed to sit still during the flight. Worse than a toddler."

"Hey!" Buffy protested. And pouted when Dawn seemed to ignore her. But before the blonde Slayer could act half her age, or less, Willow arrived.

"Behave, everyone!" the witch said. "We're here for Rick's wedding, not another shopping trip." She was with Kennedy; apparently their on/off relationship was currently 'on' again.

"We're good enough to manage both!" Buffy said, nodding for emphasis. She ignored Dawn rolling her eyes.

"Hi, Rick!"

"Hello, Rick."

Xander and Anya were next. Anya's smile was too wide, though at least Rick didn't feel the urge to get out the shark-repellent any more, and Xander was wearing the ugliest shirt Rick had seen this side of Hawaii. Business as usual for the couple, then.

"Hi! Rick!" Andrew stumbled down the gangway, carrying several smaller bags and backpacks. His shirt and pants made Xander's fashion choices look like runway material.

"Hello, Richard." There was his ex-wife. Looking… as she usually did, Rick decided. Slightly disapproving of him, in other words.

"Hello, Mary."

And finally, Rupert arrived. Rick's oldest friend among the Council looked slightly stressed - Spending a few hours locked in a plane with the rest of the Scoobies would do that, of course. Not that Rupert admitted that he was part of the Scoobies, hating the name.

"Rupert. You look like you could use a drink."

"I fully agree, Richard."

"I thought Spike would be coming as well," Rick said. He had organised a car with covered windows in the back, after all. Not that he'd mind it very much if that particular corrupting influence wasn't in the same city as his daughter.

"He was convinced that covering up himself with blankets and a parasol would be catching too much attention, given your celebrity status" Rupert explained, then looked at the top of the gangway, where a crew member was pushing out a very large suitcase. Even larger than Buffy's.

"You managed to convince him to travel in that?" Rick stared, then checked for flying pigs. After all, Andrew was here as well, and might have messed up another ritual.

"Just for disembarking," Rupert clarified. His smile told Rick that he'd not mind if the disembarking took a bit longer than needed.

The wedding was off to a good start, Rick thought.

*****​

"I'll say, you have outdone yourself, Richard," Rupert said later when Rick and his friend had retired to his office. "To house so many guests without complaints is no small feat."

"Complaints from me, or them?" Rick asked, opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a bottle of his favourite whisky. "Because there were complaints. Several, actually." Buffy, of course had wanted a bigger room, which had prompted Faith to ask for one as well, just because, and Xander had wanted a bigger TV. He had been joking, at least.

Rupert chuckled. "Oh, that was just the usual grumbling. I tend to ignore it." He held out his glass, and Rick filled it. "But I meant from you. You have provided our rather large group with all we need for our stay here to be both comfortable and safe as well as ready for any eventuality."

"Oh, it's not the first time we've had the Scoobies as visitors, after all," Rick answered, filling his own glass. He smiled when he caught Rupert's slight wince at the name. "Cheers!"

"But I was most impressed by how you and Mary got along," Rupert remarked.

Rick frowned, if a bit exaggeratedly. "You mean how we didn't call each other names? We stopped that once Alexis scolded us for our behaviour." Having your little girl tell you off tended to be a sobering experience, even in the middle of a divorce. "But you're right, we do manage to remain civil with each other. And Kate and Mary are even… friends." And wasn't that a strange thing to say? Terrifying too! Who knew what they were talking about right now? He had told Kate repeatedly not to believe anything Mary said about him - unless it was flattering - but she had rolled her eyes in that manner of hers, and Rick didn't think she would actually heed his words.

"Quite so. Mary spoke highly of your intended."

And now Rick wanted to know what Mary had said about Kate. He clenched his teeth and took a sip from his glass. He wouldn't ask Rupert to gossip. Not when Rupert had that smile that told Rick that he was all too aware of Rick's thoughts, and found the situation amusing. Probably still wasn't over Rick's rejection of his ideas for the latest book.

Rick cleared his throat and smiled. "Do you like the whisky?" It was a good one. Expensive too, but that went without saying.

"Yes. Quite a find, in the colonies, I would assume."

"Oh, we have decent beverages here," Rick said in his best, or worst, New York accent. "Comes with throwing tea into the harbour - more room for good drinks."

"I thought that that was the work of your neighbours in Boston, not New York. I might have to ask Faith if I misremembered."

Rick glared at him. Faith was unreasonably proud of her home town, despite her experiences as a child there. "I was speaking of the USA as a whole."

"Ah. As you colonials are wont to." Rupert had emptied his own glass in the meantime.

"Yes, us 'colonials'. Who have taken over most of the Council in the mother country." Rick smiled.

"I have faith that proper British manners will prevail. And your own daughter seems to agree with me."

Rick shot the man a glare. That was fighting dirty. And venturing too close to the subject of his first wife.

Rupert must have noticed, since he held up a hand. "Enough banter, I think. This is an occasion for celebrating your good future, not for dwelling on past regrets."

Such as Mary, Rick thought. "You're very supportive of my upcoming nuptials, though you haven't married yourself."

For a moment, he thought he had touched a nerve, since rupert seemed to tense. He relaxed quickly, though. "Indeed. My family, and the old Council, as you would know, were quite intent on getting me married. To a proper wife, of course."

"Yes. The old 'heir and spare'," Rick commented.

"More than one spare, given our profession," Rupert said. "But I was a bit of a rebel in my youth, and in a small part, that carried over even after I became a Watcher."

"Somehow I don't think that you refused to marry because of a teenage rebellion."

"By the time I was reconsidering my choices, I had already been chosen as Buffy's Watcher." Rupert raised his glass.

"Part of the reason behind that appointment probably was your rebel attitude," Rick remarked.

"I think, in hindsight, that it was more aimed at my family. Travers wanted to weaken their influence in the old Council."

Rick laughed. "He'd be aghast to know that you're now the Head Watcher of the Council."

"Oh, yes. The miserable pillock would spin in his grave, if we had found enough of his remains to bury them properly." Rupert's grin was properly feral. Too much time with Slayers like Buffy and Faith, Rick thought.

"But isn't there anyone, you know?" Rick gestured, not quite willing to openly ask about his friend's love life.

"Usually, people wait with trying to matchmake their friends until after their wedding," Rupert said. He was grinning, but Rick understood the message.

He had to ask the other Scoobies if he wanted to know who Rupert was seeing!

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, May 2010

Getting someone to talk about Rupert's love life was surprisingly difficult, Richard Castle discovered soon enough. Dawn claimed that she didn't care about gossip - a claim as convincing as Buffy stating that she didn't care about shoes. Xander said that he was sworn to privacy, whatever that meant. Willow scolded him for prying. Which meant that Kennedy wouldn't answer his questions either. Faith simply laughed. Buffy somehow managed to turn him asking her into him paying for her next shopping trip. Without spilling the beans, even! Anya, of course, wanted an inappropriate amount of money. And dental, whatever she meant by that. He wouldn't ask Mary the time of day if it wasn't an emergency or concerning Alexis. And his own daughter chose the wrong time and occasion to rebel against her parents, again!

Which left Rick with just one source willing to brave whatever Rupert was holding over the Scoobies' heads. Even if he really disliked them.

"Hey, Spike!" he greeted his least welcome guest, standing in the doorway to the vampire's room. Rick had wanted to house Spike in the basement, but Vi had volunteered one of her guestroom's. And everyone had looked at Rick as if he had proposed to buy a few kittens to play poker! They were the people who had transported Spike in a suitcase, after all!

"Rick!" The vampire smiled widely at him, as if they were old friends and Spike hadn't taught Alexis how to pick locks and bust cars - granted, both were useful skills, but Alexis should have learned them to prepare for her professional career! And not from Spike! "Feeling jittery about the wedding yet?"

"I've been married twice," Rick pointed out.

"Right!" Spike nodded in what Rick thought was supposed to be sympathy. "Then you know how women change as soon as you're married."

Rick smiled thinly. "I prefer to think that the do not change, but rather stop pretending - in some cases, at least." Like Gina. Kate, though, was one of the least pretentious women Rick knew. And in his first marriage, Rick had been the one to change. Or at least his career had changed.

"Well, Dru certainly did change. Granted, we weren't married, and she was crazy to start with, but…" Spike shrugged. "Can't trust a woman who leaves you for a Fungus Demon - I mean, that's like dating a fungus infection!"

If he hadn't sought out the vampire to ask about Rupert's love life, Rick would have gladly pointed out that Spike did trust Drusilla after that incident. And asked if vampires could get STDs - he knew dying cured them, but could the undead get sick again? As it was, he shrugged noncommittally. "Speaking of women… I noticed a certain evasiveness when I inquired after my dear friend Rupert's love life."

Spike laughed out loud, even slapping his thigh. "That's one way to word it! Giles got'em spooked right and proper, does he?"

"He does. So, I thought I'd come ask the one person I know who would be brave enough to defy Rupert." Or stupid enough.

"You've come to the right man then!" Spike seemed as pleased as Rick had hoped he'd be. "Although if you expected something good, like Giles dating a Slayer, or a demon, then you'll be disappointed."

Rick had had such thoughts, actually. An older, experienced man and a younger woman in his charge, or an affair with the enemy - the lure of forbidden love was a literary trope for a reason, after all. He had even suspected that Buffy and Rupert might be an item, until Buffy's reaction to his casual inquiries. "Well… if it's a normal affair, why has he put the fear of Ripper into the other Scoobies?"

Spike chuckled. "Because they ruined his last normal relationship."

He hadn't heard about that. "Really? Do tell!"

The vampire grinned. "They were sworn to secrecy, of course, afterwards, but from what I found out, they apparently feared that his girlfriend - a librarian, even! - might be evil. Or a demon. Or both."

A sensible stance, in Rick's opinion. He was certain that Xander would agree. "Nothing a little spell wouldn't tell."

"Well… they were also concerned that the woman in question might be a golddigger," Spike explained. "That's your fault, by the way."

"My fault?"

"You were the one who married your agent - against everyone's advice. So, the gang got a bit concerned when Giles was seen with a young and pretty woman. And when she was revealed to be a librarian, they agreed that, as Buffy put it, she was too perfect to be genuine."

Rick winced. He could see what was coming.

Spike nodded. "Yes. The whole shovel speech. By everyone. The poor thing was so terrified, she left the mother country for Australia." Spike frowned. "Although I also heard that she was mad at Giles for not telling her that he was taking care of disturbed young people. Or that she was mad that he didn't tell her about demons." The vampire shrugged. "Either way, the bird's flown, and Giles laid down the law."

That explained it. Rupert had his nickname for a reason, after all. Rick smiled. "So… who's he dating?"

Spike closed up. "A perfectly normal, nice woman."

"That sounded like a quote from Rupert."

"Yes."

"You're not going to tell me who he's dating either?"

"Mate, you know how he is. He said he'd get Willow to do a spell to make me forget everything about Passions!" Spike was shaking his head. "Sorry, but there are things I don't risk. Not even for you." He shrugged. "Besides, you've got more important things to worry about than which bird Rupert's seeing."

Rick hated to admit it, but the vampire was correct - he was about to marry the love of his life, after all. And for all his lack of involvement in the planning, he was still quite busy with the preparations. He was the one paying for it, and signing all the checks. Of which there were a lot.

Before he could comment on that, though, Spike went on: "Your stag night, of course!"

Rick froze.

*****​

"Dad! You look like…" Alexis trailed off, apparently not wanting to swear in front of him. At least Spike's bad influence hadn't reached that far, Richard Castle thought. Yet.

"It got a little late last night," Rick said, looking around for the coffee maker in his kitchen. He needed fluids. And caffeine. And something for his headache, before he decided that shooting himself in the head was most effective. But coffee first. Where was… ah, there! Where it was supposed to be. Who'd have expected that?

"What happened last night?" Alexis asked.

"I don't remember."

"What?"

"I don't remember." He didn't want to, and Rick was old enough - and rich enough - so he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to. Like remembering his stag night.

"Dad!" Now his daughter was frowning at him. He needed coffee to deal with this. Or not deal with this. Why was the coffee maker taking so long?

"Yes, Alexis?"

"Even if you drank so much you lost your memory, you would remember the start of the evening."

Ah, logic - his old foe. He stared at the coffee dripping into his cup. "It's complicated."

"That excuse worked when I was four, Dad. It doesn't work any more."

"I think it worked at least until you were five. Maybe six, even," he joked. She didn't laugh. Well, he was not at his best. "Some things are not meant to be spoken to anyone who wasn't there. This is one of those things."

"So you do remember!" she said, jumping on his lapse. That had to be Kate's influence.

"I plead the fifth."

"You're not on trial here."

"It certainly feels like it!" he protested, then gripped his cup, which had finally filled with his dearly needed coffee.

"That's probably because you did something you feel guilty about."

"I'm innocent until proven guilty." He took a big sip from his cup, then cursed when the hot coffee burned his lips.

"If you don't want to tell me, then I'll have to ask someone else who was there, and they'll not be trying to make you look good," Alexis tried a different tack.

"They would be incriminating themselves," he pointed out. At least he thought they would - his memory was a bit hazy when it came to the end. After the fourth pub they visited trying to prove to Rupert that you could have a decent pint in New York.

"They can turn Queen's evidence."

"It's state's evidence. We're a proud republic, not a kingdom." He huffed, then took another sip. Still too hot.

"We have a royal charter, though. And we're all subjects of Her Majesty the Queen. Even you, according to your diplomatic immunity."

And uncomfortable facts joined forces with logic. Why was everyone ganging up on him? All he had done last night was drinking too much, singing too loudly, defacing public property, and teaching Javier and Kevin how to use a flamethrower. Which anyone should be able to. Was it arson if no one one was going to complain about a fire?

"RICK!"

He winced - his Slayer had strong lungs.

"How could you!" Vi stormed into the kitchen. She was ignoring the croissants in their basket. Instead, she was focusing on him. That was a bad sign.

"How could I what?"

"How could you burn down Clarke's without me?"

"He did what?" Alexis asked.

So, that was the hazy part at the end. He had been wondering where he had gotten the moving targets for his impromptu lesson from. "Technically, it wasn't me, but Kevin, Javier and Rupert," he defended himself. "And I think Xander too. And Spike!" he added, with a frown at Alexis.

"They all decided to burn down a demon bar. Without you saying anything." His little girl sounded far too doubting, in his opinion.

"We were all very drunk," he defended himself. "I don't remember who had the idea. Really."

Vi huffed. "A likely excuse! You never forgot anything bad I did!"

"I'm usually not drunk when that happens," Rick pointed out. "Believe me, I'd certainly like to forget certain things you did," he added with a sigh.

"Don't try to distract me with Vi's sordid past," Alexis said. Her frown had grown worse, Rick noticed.

"It was worth a try," he mumbled. "But why are you interrogating and berating me? I was but one of six!" It was so unfair! "Even Rupert indulged himself!" Although were he in Rupert's place and had to deal each day with the Scoobies, Rick would probably be an alcoholic.

"You're the groom," Alexis pointed out, "and the host. And you paid for the evening."

"Logic, my old nemesis," Rick muttered. At least the coffee had cooled down enough - barely - to be drunk without sipping. "But I really don't remember anything past… well…" He gasped. "We took my car!"

"You left it in the garage." Vi was was narrowing her eyes at him.

"We took it when we came for the flamethrower." He recalled that now. How could he have thought that this would be a good idea? Drunk driving, drunk arson… Rupert would have a fit once he heard of this… no! Rick perked up. Rupert was implicated as well!

"What did you do with my baby?" Vi's guttural growl made his good mood disappear in an instant.

"We drove to Clarke's with it."

"You were six. The car seats four, maybe five." Alexis said.

"Five. And one vampire fits in the trunk."

"You put Spike in the boot?" His daughter was staring at him as if he had maimed a cat.

"He was the only one who didn't need to breathe and needed the protection from sunlight it offered." Rick refilled his cup. More coffee would help even more.

"It was night," Vi said.

"We were planning ahead." Damn, still too hot. Or again too hot. Rick winced and licked his lips.

"You said you were too drunk to remember anything. And you claim you were planning ahead in that state?" Vi scowled.

"Hey!" Compared to his Slayer, who tended to act very much impulsively, Rick was a master strategist.

"It's true, Dad. This doesn't sound very convincing." Alexis had that 'I'm so disappointed' look again.

"That's why it's true - fiction would have to make sense. Reality doesn't have that handicap!" Why didn't anyone believe him when he was telling the truth? It had made sense at the time, too.

"That still doesn't excuse burning down Clarke's without me!" Vi said, huffing.

"You wrecked it several times," Rick said. "Burned it once as well."

"Exactly! It was mine to burn down!"

"What?" Rick stared at her. That didn't make any sense to anyone. Well, with the possible exception of another Slayer.

"So, you owe me compensation for the emotional pain this callous betrayal caused!" Vi nodded emphatically.

"And me for the worries I had because you were so irresponsible!" Alexis added.

He blinked. "Are you two trying to extort money?"

His innocent daughter shrugged. "What is it worth to you if we don't mention this again?" Her grin was positively feral. Rick added Anya to the list of Scoobies with whom his daughter shouldn't associate. Or shouldn't have, seeing as the damage had been done already.

That didn't mean that he wouldn't pay, of course. No getting reminded of this at every opportunity? Cheap at any price. "How much?"

They told him. Definitely Anya's influence. But then, it was better that they picked up her greed and not her other flaws. Like the violent vengeful streak. Sighing, he looked for his wallet. Before he found it, though, another far too loud voice coming from the door made him wince.

"CASTLE!"

That was Kate. But she only called him Castle if she was angry...

Kate made a beeline towards him. "The captain just called me. Why is your car on the Precinct's roof?"

"So that's where we left it!" Rick exclaimed happily. Which, he discovered a moment later, hadn't been the smartest thing to say.

He blamed the coffee, of course.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, May 2010

He should have held his stag night on the eve of his wedding, Richard Castle thought as he was faced with an angry fiancée. The groom wasn't allowed to see the bride until the ceremony, after all.

"So… you have no idea how your car ended up on the precinct's roof." Kate had her arms crossed an expression on her face she usually reserved for the interrogation of suspects.

"I suspect a prank by someone with supernatural powers. Like a witch," Rick said. It wasn't even a lie - Giles was no Willow and couldn't simply float or teleport a car on a roof, but he had enough talent and skill to mute a helicopter.

"Or a Slayer?"

"I would never suspect Vi, Buffy or Kennedy of doing such a thing," Rick quickly said. Only a fool would try to frame a Slayer. Like Xander. Or Dawn - but she only did that with Buffy, so that didn't count.

"You didn't mention Faith."

"Well…" He winced. "I'm not exactly certain if she would be more offended if I falsely accused her of doing such a thing, or if I claimed that she would never do such a thing."

"Even with supernatural strength it would be difficult to lift a car to the roof without being spotted."

"Not exactly. The side alley is not really patrolled, and the camera there has a blind spot." Vi had used that a few times to sneak into the Precinct. "Granted, it's probably not large enough to carry a car through, but still…" he trailed off. "I'm not helping my case, am I?"

Kate shook her head.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I can guarantee you that if that miniscule hole in the precinct's security was used to transport a car on its roof, it was done without my knowledge."

"That's remarkably specific." She narrowed her eyes.

"Really?" He gave her his best innocent look. Judging by her frown, it wasn't enough. Story of his life. He tried another tack. "In any case, I don't understand why people are making such a big fuss about this. I'm the car's owner, and I'm not that concerned. Isn't this just illegal parking?"

"What?" She looked surprised, but recovered quickly. "And trespassing. Probably breaking and entering, too."

"I honestly doubt that they - whoever they are - actually took the car inside the precinct," he quickly said. "And trespassing isn't exactly a capital crime either." Didn't diplomats use their immunity to ignore parking tickets all the time? Giles couldn't object to that, could he?

"What did you do, Castle?"

"Me?" He touched his chest. "I told you, I have no idea."

"You have several theories, at the very least, which you just mentioned."

His mother had always told him that he was too clever for his own good. "Mere speculation after the fact."

She rolled her eyes at that. "Castle, stop stalling. The press has caught wind of this, and the Captain's not happy."

Rick winced. This complicated things. And Kate knew that he wasn't as innocent as he claimed. Should he blame the alcohol? Or… "Let's blame my ex-wife. Second ex-wife, I mean."

"What?" She had that cute surprised look again, with her mouth half-open. As if she couldn't believe what he had just said.

"Publicity stunt. Unapproved, of course. By me, that is."

Kate snorted. "I somehow doubt that Gina will go along with this."

Rick grinned confidently. "Trust me - she'll do anything for money. And this is a good publicity stunt." Maybe he should add such a scene to his next book.

And, he added after he saw Kate frown, maybe he shouldn't show so much enthusiasm for the prank after he had spent so much time and effort denying any involvement in it. Even if it was a good prank.

*****​

"Rick? I need to talk to you." Anya strode into Rick's office.

"You and everyone else." After spending months preparing for the wedding, it was remarkable how many things hadn't been settled yet, Rick Castle thought.

Anya looked around. "I don't see anyone else here."

"You caught me during one of the few times I've got a little peace." Of course, hiding where everyone looked for him first might not have been a good idea. Hindsight almost always was 20/20.

"Good." She nodded, apparently happy about this, instead of taking the hint that he needed a break. "We have to talk about an important thing which I think has been neglected so far."

"Money?"

She blinked. "Yes. How did you know?"

"Because that's the reason for which everyone comes to see me." And, he thought, because the former Vengeance Demon almost exclusively cared about two things: Xander and money, usually in that order. Although… "Unless you're also here to talk about Xander." The man had been involved in Rick's stag night, after all.

She shook her head. "I already spoke with him. He assured me that he did nothing untowards with another woman."

Rick nodded. "He didn't. Neither did I or Giles, of course," he quickly added. The unattached men who had attended his stag night would have to fend for themselves.

She frowned. "I wasn't concerned about the stag night, but I have to watch out at the wedding. At weddings, women get ideas. And I don't want them to get the wrong ideas about my Xander!"

"Of course not." Rick made a mental note to make sure that the guests not in the know about the supernatural would be informed that Anya was a very jealous and occasionally violent woman. And maybe he'd tell Gina that Xander was very rich. He cleared his throat. "You mentioned money."

"Yes." She nodded in that slightly exaggerated manner of hers. "I was informed that you haven't made a prenuptial agreement, so I prepared one for you. It'll save you a lot of money in your divorce."

"I'm not planning to divorce Kate. Especially not before the wedding."

"Well, you should. Failing to plan ahead is one of the most common causes for substantial financial losses. Even taking my commission into account, this agreement will save you a small fortune."

"Your commission?"

She nodded. "I deserve a reward for saving you money, don't I?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I told you: I'm not planning to divorce her. We're not getting divorced."

"Well, your history indicates otherwise. You divorced all your earlier wives, after all. That's a clear trend."

He clenched his teeth. "Third time's a charm, as the saying goes."

"The saying also goes: Better safe than sorry." She smiled in that slightly too wide way of hers.

Rick was sure that it wouldn't be very safe to propose whatever agreement Anya had prepared to Kate. "I'll be thinking about it."

"That means 'no', right?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Yes?" she asked with a hopeful expression.

"No. It's just a polite way to tell you that I won't be making a pre-nup with Kate," he clarified.

She pouted. "I don't see what's so polite about getting a girl's hopes up."

"Well, most people understand what it means."

"Then it makes even less sense. Why should you lie if everyone is supposed to know that you're lying?" She shook her head.

Rick shrugged. He really wasn't in the mood to discuss the trappings of modern society with a thousand years old former Viking. Or Norsewoman. "It's probably our ancestors' fault for starting it."

"Well, no wonder we raided them, then!" Anya retorted.

"Actually, this may have started sometime after the Norman invasion," Rick said, "so it would be your ancestors' fault."

She sniffed. "Those weren't my ancestors. They were obviously assimilated by the French before conquering the British."

"Let's blame the French for this duplicity, then, alright?" Rick said with a smile. After all of the money their fashion industry had drained from his accounts thanks to the redheads in his life, they deserved this anyway.

*****​

"...and I came home afterwards. Just another boring patrol." Sitting on Rick's desk, Vi made a show of yawning and stretching despite the clock on the wall showing that it was barely midnight.

"I don't like this!" Rick Castle said.

Vi looked doubtful. "I'd certainly like some action, but you should be glad it's boring. You don't want to attend your wedding while injured, do you?" She pointed at a bruise on her upper arm. "Without magical healing, this would last a week or two, and the wedding's in two days."

"I don't want 'action', as you put it," Rick explained. "But it's too quiet. Right before the wedding, that means something's afoot."

"Or every demon has either fled or is lying low because Willow's in town. And Buffy and Faith." Vi shrugged. "Burning down Clarke's will have driven away a few more," Castle's Slayer added with a reproachful glance at him.

He ignored that. It wasn't his fault, anyway. And it wasn't as if she had a monopoly on demon slaying. Or arson. The more the merrier. For demon slaying, at least. "No. Something is brewing. The wedding - they'll strike at the wedding."

"Are you certain that you're not simply projecting your own anxiety faced with your third marriage?"

He shook his head. "Of course not!" He had gone through this twice before, after all. There was no reason to be anxious unless demons were involved. Or Gina. And Gina wasn't involved, other than handling the car prank. So it had to be demons. His gut told him so, and his gut wouldn't lie to him. Unless it concerned spicy food.

He had to find a way to carry his flamethrower at his wedding. Just to be ready for anything.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

New York, May 2010

"You won't be carrying any flamethrower in the church, Castle."

"But Kate! It's for our safety! When the demons storm the premises I need to be able to defend us!" Rick Castle said with all the passion he could muster. "You should carry your shotgun, too - we can hide it in the bouquet."

Kate was staring at him, then scoffed. "And brain the female guests with it afterwards when they try to catch it?"

"I don't think the bouquet will survive the shooting," he reasonably pointed out. "We should check your bridal dress too - can you fight in it?"

"Castle."

"Maybe see if it can be ditched quickly. Weaken the seams or something?" It worked in the movies, after all. "Or can we get a kevlar version?" Months of preparations, and they had completely missed the most important parts! He started to pace in front of his desk.

"Castle!"

"In fact, we should probably hold the ceremony in the open. The sun will keep vampires away. The reception as well. We can claim that we converted to a nature church, or became Wiccas, to explain it to the other guests." Catering should be able to handle it. They could double up on the finger food, and skip the meal. "We can protect the perimeter with Claymore mines and flame traps." He still remembered how to build those from Sunnydale.

"Castle..."

"Bombs! Demons could use bombs! We need dog patrols too. Sniffer dogs. And Poison! Canaries should work. Do pet shops deliver?"

"Pet shops don't sell sniffer dogs, Castle."

"What? Why not? That's discrimination! Or something. Where can we get sniffer dogs then?"

"We don't need sniffer dogs, Castle."

"Of course we do!" What was the woman thinking? "Slayers aren't trained to detect explosives. And we can't teach them in just two days. Or could we? They're Slayers, after all, not dogs. Of course we can! We just need samples of explosives for them to sniff! I'm sure Dad can deliver a wide range of all sorts of explosives." He probably had tons of them stashed all over the city - it's what Castle would have done in his place.

"Castle, are you planning to get bombs for our wedding?"

"We need them to be safe!"

"Castle… how much have you slept last night?"

"I haven't slept at all. I had to plan the improved security measures."

Why was she staring at him like that?

*****​

"Alright," Rick Castle said an hour later in the most reasonable tone he managed, "I might have been overreacting a little." Not enough to deserve this, at least.

"A little?" Kate snorted. "You were talking about procuring explosives to train Slayers as sniffer dogs!"

He would have also used the explosives afterwards to secure the perimeter with more traps, but Rick didn't think it would be smart to mention this. Vi was still glaring at him from where she was leaning against the wall. "I may have panicked, but you can't deny that the threat is real." A lot of demons wanted him dead. Even more wanted the Scoobies dead. And Gina's soul must be a prize among the demons. Probably the holy grail - or would that be unholy? - for collectors of corrupted souls.

"That's why Buffy, Willow and Xander are handling the security." At least Kate was smiling again at him.

"They are guests. They'll be distracted." Rick's third wedding was the event of the year, after all. At least for the Council. And Xander would probably barely be able to move with Anya clinging jealously to his side.

"Willow already has cast her spells on the Church and the reception area. Do you think any demon can match her?" Alexis asked from his other side. He felt slightly surrounded and outnumbered. At least Mother was out shopping or something.

But his daughter, as usual, had made a good point. "Probably not," he admitted. "But magic isn't everything."

"I'm your bodyguard!" Vi said. "Anything that can get through me wouldn't have been stopped by anyone anyway!"

Kate nodded. "We also have normal physical security. And Hunt will be attending in disguise. And if he can ignore you for forty years to keep you safe, then he will certainly not let your wedding distract him in any way."

Rick thought that he detected some resentment in her tone. Or maybe it was just exasperation. Having lost her mother, she had a strong opinion on parents choosing to leave their children. "My stepmother might be present as well. In disguise. Or watching from a sniper's nest."

"Granddad didn't mention that to us," Alexis said.

"He didn't say anything to me either," Rick admitted. "But I have a feeling that he would ask her to help provide covert security." He noticed the three exchange glances, and scowled. "It's a reasonable expectation knowing my father and his habits." Well, it depended on whether or not his father had heeded Rick's advice about telling her the truth. But it would fit well into a story!

"In any case," Alexis said, "this just means that the wedding is even safer than we assume."

"Which means your paranoia is just you being jittery about marrying again," Vi commented.

"It's not paranoia when they are really out to get you!" he countered.

"It's paranoia when you pull an overnighter a day before your wedding to search the internet for bomb detectors," Alexis retorted.

"And bombs," Vi added. "Willow had to remove your name from a few watchlists."

She did that regularly, so Castle wasn't worried. A writer had to research such topics, anyway. He shrugged, then flashed his most charming smile at them. "So… now that this has been cleared up, could you tell Willow to remove the spell that's keeping me in bed?"

"No," his traitorous daughter stated in that overly serious tone she often used when addressing him over a minor issue. "You need to rest, Dad. The spell will end tomorrow morning."

"And we can't spend the night keeping an eye on you in case you have a relapse," Vi said.

"Or decide to get drunk and do another publicity stunt." Kate added with a snort.

"That wasn't my idea," he shot back. "And I don't remember anything anyway." That was his story and he was sticking to it! "But what if I have to go to the bathroom?"

"Use the bedpan." Vi pointed at the side of his bed.

He looked at it. "Wasn't that for when someone's stuck to their bed for medical reasons?"

"Sleep deprivation is a medical condition," Alexis said.

"As is paranoia," Kate added.

Both smiled and Vi laughed, and all three left before he could come up with a comeback.

Maybe he did need his sleep, after all - he usually was more witty. But he still wasn't convinced that he was entirely wrong about the danger.

*****​

"I still say that we should play it safe. Cancel the wedding and cancel it again, so the third time will work out," Richard Castle whispered.

"I'm afraid to say that there are several flaws in your plan, my friend," Rupert, standing at his side, said. "First, this is your third wedding. Second, 'gaming the system', as Xander calls it, usually doesn't work when the rule of three or magic in general is concerned. And third, I dare say that if you call off the wedding while standing at the altar, there might not be a second attempt at all. Your intended would certainly take grievous offense at such a slight."

"You might be right," Rick grudgingly admitted as the next hymn started up. "I still want my flamethrower with me, though." Or at least close by.

"Leaving aside the wisdom of defying your future wife, a flamethrower is not an ideal weapon for fighting in a church full of civilians. The firearms you and the groomsmen carry should be more suitable should the improbable occur and an attack take place."

Rick glared at his best man. Rupert remained unfazed, of course. If you had to deal with the Scoobies' antics each day, the reasonable concerns of a fellow watcher would seem minor issues to him. Rick wouldn't be able to convince him.

He sighed and surreptitiously looked around the church again. Javier, Kevin and Xander were at the door. Nothing would get through there even if Willow's spells should fail. Faith and Kennedy were sitting with the witch on the groom's side and he knew that if needed, the two Slayers could be at any entrance in a second.

"Patience, Richard," Rupert interrupted his inspection. "Buffy and Vi are with Kate, Alexis and Lanie. They will arrive on schedule."

"Not if Buffy decides to drive," Rick muttered. Not that Vi would let her.

"Then they'll simply wait inside the area protected by the spells."

"Or have to make a detour to the hospital, to treat the heart attack her driving would cause to my future father-in-law."

Rupert actually laughed at that! Talk about British black humour! Of course it fit the decidedly British style of the entire wedding. Alexis's work, Rick thought. And probably Rupert's too - the man could be remarkably subtle and underhanded when he wanted to. Well, a British wedding on American soil might ruffle Mary's feathers some, which was a good thing. Show her that the Colonials could do ceremonies as well as the Mother Country. He glanced at his first wife, who was sitting on the bride's side. She didn't look ruffled, alas. At least Gina had had the decency not to attend. Not that she had been invited anyway. And the Fed-Ex was still in Alaska. Or Ontario. Or wherever he had been transferred to.

And his mother was chatting up another old friend of Rupert's parents. Or renewing their acquaintance - Rick wasn't certain, but she might have met the man at his first wedding. Although his mother flirting was better than her spreading embarrassing stories about him.

A flash almost made him draw his Glock, but it was just the stupid photographer Jane Varshney had brought with her to cover the wedding. He had been told not to do that! Rick wanted to give the man a piece of his mind, but a security man was already handling it. A security man looking remarkably like his father, Rick realised. No wonder he hadn't spotted him among the guests! Rick quickly tried to spot his stepmother among the female security staff, but couldn't see anyone who fit his expectations - but then, she would have chosen a disguise that wouldn't fit his expectations anyway, wouldn't she?

He checked if Andrew was sitting still and not trying to help with security - which the man wasn't supposed to; Rick shuddered at the thought of what could have happened on his stag night had Andrew not been such a lightweight that he had passed out before the real fun stuff had even started - and then looked at the door again. Shouldn't Kate have arrived by now? The groomsmen were not moving.

As if on cue, the Wedding March started, and the groomsmen were escorting the bridesmaids inside. Buffy, Vi, Alexis and Lanie entered, looking as radiant as the money he had paid for the dresses had promised. And so grown up, he thought with another glance at Alexis. Javier looked to be paying a little too much attention to Lanie for Vi's ego, Castle noticed. Maybe he should have a talk with his Slayer later.

But then Kate arrived, on the arm of her father, and he forgot everything and everyone else. The way she walked down the aisle, the way her dress hugged her curves, the faint and just a little shy smile under the thin veil…

A subtle elbow from Rupert shook him out of his daze in time to hear the priest. Not that he cared much about what the man was saying, but it simply wouldn't do to miss his cue. Kate deserved no less than a perfect wedding.

And then the time had finally come to say their vows.

"I, Richard Edgar Castle, take thee, Katherine Houghton Beckett, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow."

"I, Katherine Houghton Beckett, take thee, Richard Edgar Castle, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow."

He had a moment to realise that they had actually done it - that the wedding had happened without any demon attack or other incident - but then it was time to kiss the bride, and Rick forgot everything and everyone but Kate again.

*****​

The End.

*****​