Halloween Preplay
As far as Castle was concerned, the island still had a few curveballs that it could throw at him that really took him off his guard. He thought he had the majority down pat. He could wheedle clothes from the bin, he could fish like a real man now, and he could talk to fictional characters without starting to speak in an incomprehensible high-pitched tone.
Strange dark clouds suddenly appearing in his path on the way home were not on the list of Conquered Items, but the worst that he could imagine was that it was some kind of fog. And really, had fog ever actually hurt anyone?
He should have kept the impossible in mind because when he started to walk through it, the whole thing changed and the mood went suddenly somber. Also, he really doubted Ryan and Esposito had been standing on the other side of that fog the whole time, framed by Beckett.
"Okay," he drew out the word. "What is this?"
Surprise party, it was not, seeing as how it looked to be a funeral home and there looked to be a casket. "No," he said, instantly, catching a single glimpse of the person in that coffin and knowing that this was very bad.
"Castle, you okay?" Ryan was asking. "I know this is hard, what with this being at the hands of the Nikki Heat killer. What with this being blood on your hands."
"If it were me, I'd just kill myself," Esposito was saying, staring directly at Castle. "Knowing that I killed my little girl, that my direct actions were the cause of her death...?"
Castle had to focus. He knew that wasn't the case, he knew that it was a solved investigation, but it was too hard to overlook the casket and the bright red hair and how young she looked, his baby girl. "No," he choked out, feeling sick and backing up until he hit a wall, at which point he simply slid down to the ground, unable to do anything but stare forward, his guilt and fear fast starting to surround him.
Strange dark clouds suddenly appearing in his path on the way home were not on the list of Conquered Items, but the worst that he could imagine was that it was some kind of fog. And really, had fog ever actually hurt anyone?
He should have kept the impossible in mind because when he started to walk through it, the whole thing changed and the mood went suddenly somber. Also, he really doubted Ryan and Esposito had been standing on the other side of that fog the whole time, framed by Beckett.
"Okay," he drew out the word. "What is this?"
Surprise party, it was not, seeing as how it looked to be a funeral home and there looked to be a casket. "No," he said, instantly, catching a single glimpse of the person in that coffin and knowing that this was very bad.
"Castle, you okay?" Ryan was asking. "I know this is hard, what with this being at the hands of the Nikki Heat killer. What with this being blood on your hands."
"If it were me, I'd just kill myself," Esposito was saying, staring directly at Castle. "Knowing that I killed my little girl, that my direct actions were the cause of her death...?"
Castle had to focus. He knew that wasn't the case, he knew that it was a solved investigation, but it was too hard to overlook the casket and the bright red hair and how young she looked, his baby girl. "No," he choked out, feeling sick and backing up until he hit a wall, at which point he simply slid down to the ground, unable to do anything but stare forward, his guilt and fear fast starting to surround him.