501Rick took as much of a shower as he could, washing the caked grey out of his hair, scrubbing the gritty remains of makeup from his face. The color swirled around the tub, darkening the water around the drain, and he let out a long breath, watching the traces of his disguise slip away.
A copy of the Sun Times sat on the chipped edge of the sink, its front page vividly announcing Senator Bracken Arrested For Murder. Every television screen and radio and computer in the city was buzzing with the fact that the senior senator of the Land of Lincoln was in custody for the murders of Alex Conrad and Meredith Castle.A U.S. Marshal - unnamed - was quoted as saying Our former fugitive, Richard Castle, has been exonerated. We now believe his original conviction was in error.
He shaved for the first time in a week, running his hand over the newly-smooth skin of his face, and combed his hair. Not perfect, but much closer to the Richard Castle he used to be. And wasn't presentation everything?
With a clean face, unwrinkled shirt, clean pants and relatively clean shoes, Rick took a deep breath.
Time to take the leap.
"Beckett, you've got a visitor."
She looked up to find Espo leaning in, an odd look on his face. "Another lawyer? You know they don't need to talk to me."
"Not quite."
He stepped back, and Richard Castle walked into her office, his eyes fixed on her.
"Hello, Deputy." He smiled wryly. "You've been looking for me."
"Yeah."
"I didn't kill my wife."
She let out a soft breath.
"I know."
There was a long moment of silence. It should have been awkward, but Kate just kept thinking about the pages of notes, the thousands of his words she'd scoured in an effort to find him. The clues he'd left. He looked taller now. He'd shaved, combed his hair. The man she'd seen in the library had looked worn out and hollow-eyed and desperate.
This man had won.
Kate blinked, collecting herself, her fingers flexing absently. "I'm going to have to take your statement."
He nodded. "I figured."
She led him to the interrogation rooms, shrugging off Ryan and Espo, who were at their desk, watching with undisguised curiosity. I'm fine.
"Here. I'll be just a second." She showed Castle to the room, and turned back to the guys. "Call the district attorney. And then call his family."
Inside the interrogation room, Kate settled in the chair across from Castle. His gaze was fixed on her, his blue eyes keen, a sense of relief suffusing his entire presence. "You asked me to tell you a better story."
Kate slid a legal pad and pen across the table at him. It was one of Bracken's campaign pens. She figured he'd appreciate the irony.
"Let's have it," she told him.
By the time he finished giving his statement, Kate heard a knock at the window. She excused herself politely. "I'll be right back."
"I'm not going anywhere," he grinned.
Kate turned away, her face flushing. After trying so desperately to get inside his head, she felt like she already knew him; she had to keep reminding herself that he was, essentially, still a stranger.
His mother and daughter were out in the bullpen, talking to Ryan and Esposito. Martha noticed her first, and immediately turned to her, impatient, hands knotted. "Is he -"
Kate nodded. "Let me get him."
She ducked back into the interrogation room; Castle looked up as she opened the door.
"Come with me."
He followed wordlessly, hands in his pockets, until suddenly Alexis shouted, "Dad!"
His whole face lit up, his eyes welling up with tears, as the girl raced to hug him and he pulled her into a bear hug. Martha came to wrap her arms around both of them, and Kate stood there, awkwardly, watching this little family reunion that might never have happened, her throat tight.
She walked away then, swallowing hard. As confusing and frustrating as the chase was, it was linear. It was a problem and a solution. Kate could handle that. She was good at finding solutions.
This was something she never got to do, though. She never got to mend a family. Her job was tracking down killers.
She never got to save a life.
Kate wiped away the stray tears she wasn't expecting, taking in hitching breaths.
She'd had a clear shot in the library stairwell. Just for a moment. She'd had him. And it was a shot she knew she would have made.
She hadn't told anyone that she'd let him go.
"Kate?"
She looked up, hastily wiping her cheeks, to find Martha looking at her, her face soft.
"Yes? I - sorry, I just -"
Martha pulled her into a hug, warm and gentle, wrapping her in a cloud of perfume.
"You saved my son's life."
"I just followed the evidence."
Martha fixed her with the keen look Kate was beginning to recognize as an inherited trait.
"You listened. You were willing to take a chance. I owe you everything, Kate Beckett."
Kate sat in the back of the courtroom, watching the judge review the charges against Richard Castle.
Castle had cleaned himself up; he wore a suit and tie now, and any trace of the desperate runaway was gone, his posture strong now. He conferred quietly with his attorney, but other than that, said nothing.
Lanie leaned over. "He's hot." Kate glared at her. "What? You can't tell me you haven't noticed."
She's not wrong.
Bracken had traded in his power tie for an orange jumpsuit. He was still deep in conversations with his little phalanx of lawyers, looking for any loophole he could find, but Kate had written up the case for the prosecutors, and she knew he wasn't going to weasel out of charges. The work was solid, and Gina had turned out to be an utter dream of a witness. Hell had no fury like an editor looking at conspiracy charges.
And then there was Castle.
"In light of these events, Mr. Castle, your conviction for the murder of Meredith Castle is voided. You are free to go, and you have the court's apology. You're a free man."
The gallery erupted as the judge pounded his gavel, and Kate took in a long breath, watching the Castle family hugging at the front of the courtroom. She'd pulled strings to have his assets and belongings returned to him immediately, and with his conviction overturned now, it was over for good.
She stood, buttoning her coat, and was about to leave when she glanced back at the defendants' bench. Castle was watching her, and when her eyes met his, he went very still, a grin tugging at his mouth.
Kate flushed, looking away, and followed Lanie out of the courtroom, biting her lip to try and hide the smile.
She was halfway down the steps of the courthouse, trailing behind an impatient Lanie, when she heard the shout. Beckett!
She turned to find Rick Castle running after her, ignoring the trail of reporters hurling questions at him. She held her breath as he stood in front of her, tall and broad-shouldered.
"Deputy Beckett?"
"Yes?" Her heart was thudding against her ribs, so many words trapped in her throat, and if she could just catch her breath -
"I don't even know your first name."
"Kate." She gave him a small smile. "My name is Kate."
fin.