Guardian Angel

Chapter 78

Martha perches on the edge of Richard's office couch, and jerks Jack down beside her. "So it was supposed to be a one-night stand?"

"No, Martha, it wasn't," Jack protests. "I believed I'd be in the city for a while. And you know damn well how attracted to you I was." Jack's lopsided smile is eerily reminiscent of his son's. "Still am."

"Screw the B.S., Jack," Martha spits out. "That night, you managed to convince me we had a future together. Even if you hadn't needed to flee the country, assuming you're not making that up too, you never intended to have a real relationship with me, did you?"

"I explained that, Martha, I can't have one with anyone."

"Then what the hell are you doing here?"

"Richard invited me."

"He invited you because he wanted information on homicides, not because he was expecting a confession of fatherhood."

"You made that happen, Martha. I was just going to slip away."

"Which would have left Richard and Katherine to go off on their honeymoon with the fate of an innocent man hanging over their heads. You might as well have not shown up at all as pull that kind of a disappearing act. If nothing else, you owe Richard, both of them actually, and your granddaughter too, a few facts."

Jack squints at her. "You mean like genetic diseases? I'm not carrying any that I know of. There's DNA testing for that kind of thing now, and the government likes its assets healthy.

Martha shakes her head. "Thank heavens for small favors. How about the rest of the family background, Jack? Alexis had to do a family tree for school, and a quarter of it was blank."

Jack reaches for Martha's hand, but she pulls away. "Martha, I don't know any more about that than you do. I was too young to remember, but I'm told that I was found abandoned in a bus station bathroom. I grew up a ward of the state, in a string of foster homes and institutions. For some reason, I have a talent for languages. Someone picked up on that, and I was recruited right out of high school. Uncle Sam sent me to school to learn six of them and taught me the other skills I needed for my job. That's been my life. I don't know anything about families. I've never had one. Until I discovered you'd given birth to Richard, I never expected to."

Martha slowly exhales a breath. "I suppose that explains a lot."

"Then maybe you can explain something to me," Jack proposes. "How did Richard learn to be a father? He didn't have a model either."

"He worked at it, Jack. Alexis' mother is pretty useless. She isn't even a decent actress. I don't know what Richard saw in her. When she went off and left caring for Alexis to him, he wanted his daughter to feel secure and loved every minute. That was more than I managed to do for him some years." Martha confesses. "Richard swore he'd be the best father ever. So he read the books and took parenting classes before becoming what Alexis calls "the cool dad." He'd jump in front of an oncoming train to save her. And now I think he'd do the same for Katherine. It's like he wants to give them everything he missed and then some. You sired a good man, Jack."

"I can see that, Martha," Jack agrees as the lights come back on.

Martha blinks in the new illumination. "Perhaps this is a sign that you do. I'm going to join the celebration now. Will you be joining me?"

"I can't, Martha. You have to understand now that one question will be one too many. But I will be around. Whenever I could, I always have been."

"Are you looking for someone?" Castle asks as Kate gazes around the great room.

"My mother. She showed up just after the lights went out. At that moment, I really needed a mom. She stayed for the ceremony too, but I don't see her now."

Rick lightly brushes Kate's hair with his lips. "You told me she might come when you needed her. It sounds like she did. Maybe she'll be back if you ever need her again."

"You think your father will ever be back?" Kate wonders.

Castle shrugs. "Who knows? It seems that we both have unpredictable parental figures, even if yours is of the angelic persuasion." He shakes his head. "I don't know what to call mine."

"Martha called him Jack. It's as good a name as any. Papa Jack?" Kate suggests.

Rick strokes his carefully shaved chin. "Sounds like a pizza vendor, not that selling pizza isn't an honorable calling. I suppose it's as good an appellation as any. How long do you think it's going to take to get these people out of here? After everything that's happened, I could use some alone time with my lovely bride."

"And I could use some alone time with my handsome husband. Esposito's already made his toast," Kate considers. "If you ask Ryan to make one, it could move things along."

"I don't know. That could qualify as cruel and unusual treatment of our guests. I could just ask the caterer to stop putting out fresh trays of food."

"And start boxing up pieces of cake," Kate adds.

"Just so long as there are enough leftovers for us." Rick's eyebrows dance. "I can think of all sorts of interesting things we could do with that frosting."

"Yeah, I can, too," Kate agrees.

Rick grabs another quick kiss. "I'll go talk to the lead server now."

Epilogue

Kate surveys the shelves of banker's boxes, hoping her next cold case will jump out at her. She can almost still feel the tropical sun on her skin, and the incoming tide tickling her toes. "I can't believe how fast our honeymoon went."

Rick draws her against his side, appreciatively tracing her curves. "It was only a week. In the future, we can have a second one, and a third, a fourth, or however many you want. But I count myself blessed that we can be together, even down here. So, what kind of inspiration do you have to choose your next frigid mystery?

"I have no idea," Kate admits. "Maybe there's one that's been buried for a long time."

"Like that box that's been shoved back behind all the others on the top shelf?" Castle queries.

"Maybe," Kate considers. "I can have a look at it if we can get it down. The step ladder seems to have disappeared."

Rick's voice strains as he stretches upward. "I think I can get it. I'll just, yeah, got it." Papers rain down as the lid loosens. "Oops!" He lays the box on the floor and joins Kate, gathering up the fallen evidence. "What the hell!? Kate, this says Marlowe Prep. My daughter is attending a murder school!"

"Babe, look at the date on the case. The murder was in 1967. I'm sure the perpetrator is long gone by now, maybe even dead him or herself."

"Still, maybe I should have her switch schools or hire a bodyguard." Castle worries.

"You try to pull Alexis away from her friends or embarrass her like that, and you'll have her plotting a homicide — yours. But we can make this our next case. If there's still a killer on the loose, we'll make sure there are no more Marlowe murders."

Castle gathers her into his arms. "I love you."

Kate snuggles against him. "I love you too, and I think I know where to search for our first clue."

Finis

A/N This may seem like a strange place to stop, but the next story will be about a murder at Marlowe Prep and will continue in this universe. Rick and Kate will still be married, and who knows who might pop in? So, join me tomorrow for the opening chapter of "The Marlowe Prep Murder." Love, Sally