Richard Castle, Watcher - December 1989
Richard Castle, Watcher
Author: Starfox5
Rating: FR18
Crossover: “Castle”
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Castle Characters belong to Beacon PIctures and ABC Studio. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
Summary: Hunting a vampire was not as easy as it had looked like the first time Ricard had seen it.
London, December 1989
“For a ‘fledgling’, this vampire is quite the overachiever,” Richard Rodgers managed to say while running for his life up a flight of stairs, his shoes making squelching noises on the steps wet with rain. Slick too, he almost slipped twice already.
Next to him, Mary Wilkinson shot him a glare. “That’s no fledgling, but an experienced vampire.” She flinched a bit when they heard the sounds of superhuman strength tearing a sturdy door into pieces behind them. “That won’t hold him for long.”
“And we cannot outrun them,” Richard added. Not without the sun up to offer them protection in the open. Or what passed for the sun in the fog and rain of London in winter. What had possessed him to think stalking a vampire in an abandoned factory at night was a good idea? Or to believe Mary, the girl who went to hunt a vampire by herself, at night, when she claimed that they could handle it? Granted, she had saved his life, and she was pretty, but she might just have killed them both.
“We need a plan.” Mary was panting now, huffing between words.
“Apart from splitting up, and hoping he’ll get confused, I don’t see…” he trailed off when he spotted a particular piece of abandoned machinery. “I’ve got a plan!” Rushing forward, he started to work on the valves. Hopefully it had not… the liquid flowing out and spreading on the ground looked good enough to him.
“I am not sure I like your plan,” Mary stated, standing next to him. When he fished out a zippo from his jacket, she added: “I didn’t know you smoked.”
“I don’t. I got a lighter in case I meet a pretty woman who smokes.”
“Why am I not surprised, Mister Rodgers?”
“Call me Rick. And I’d say it’s because you’re a know-it-all.”
Her response was cut off by the vampire chasing them dropping down in front of them. When it stood up from its crouch, a wide grin exposing its fangs, Rick lit his zippo and dropped it in the spilled gasoline. The demon’s yellow eyes widened in the second before the puddle he was standing turned into a bonfire.
“Yes! It worked!” Richard exclaimed, balling his fists as the vampire turned to ashes.
“You were lucky. What if the gas had evaporated since the factory had closed down?” Mary had, like himself, retreated to a safe distance.
“The important thing is, it didn’t.” He frowned at her. “And I told you, it’s better to be lucky than skilled.”
“Of course you’d think that, Mister Rodgers.” She sniffed.
“I told you, call me….” he trailed off when he noticed that the fire was not dying out, but spreading.
“Did you close the valve down?” Mary asked, but his face must have given her his answer already, since she was slightly ahead of him when the two were running for their lives for the second time that night.
They made it out just before the factory went up behind them.
“I do not think that this will make for a good report for the Council.” Richard stated. So much for the plan of impressing the old men with their initiative.
“No, it wouldn’t.” Mary shook her head.
“We probably shouldn’t be here when the fire brigade and the police arrive.” Richard looked around for any witnesses.
“No, we shouldn’t.” Mary agreed with him again.
As they started to run away for the third time that night, Richard vowed to take up jogging. It seemed far more useful for a vampire hunter than anything else. At least if judging by his experiences so far.
*****
“Why are you so fixated on hunting vampires?” Richard asked as they were walking normally a good 15 minutes later. Less tiring, and less suspicious. He could still hear the sirens of the emergency services reacting to the fire behind them. And to their right side.
“They are a danger to humanity. A mass-murdering disease who needs to be contained at any cost.” Mary stated without looking at him. She might have been searching a cab, or a working phone booth to call one.
“That’s the party line. But the other Watchers are not as reckless as you. We almost died twice today because of your wish to kill a ‘fledgling’. So, I don’t really believe it’s just duty that makes you go out alone.” He tried to look as earnest as possible at her.
This time she met his eyes. “No one asked you to come with me. You insisted.”
“And it was a good thing I did, or you’d be dead.” He flatly stated.
“You don’t know that.“ She glared at him, but she sounded a bit too defensive.
“Bullshit. Do you even carry a lighter?”
“Of course.” She showed him a cheap plastic model. “You’re not the only one who can think of setting things afire.”
“Well, you didn’t. Not today at least.”
“I would have.”
“Of course you’d have.” His sarcasm was so thick one could have cut it with a knife. She grit her teeth and whirled away from him. “For God’s sake, woman! I saved your life tonight!” It was a cheap shot, but he had not much else to say.
“Then that makes us even!” she spat over her shoulder and started to walk away at a brisk pace.
“That’s not what I meant!” He ran after her, then grabbed her arm. Or tried to - she twisted away, and he found himself flying through the air, then landing on the pavement, hard. Pain shot through his leg. “Ow!” He had forgotten that she was very well trained in Aikido and Judo. And that she was quite ready to use her skills.
For a moment, Mary stared at him, mouth slightly open as if she was surprised by her own action. Then she huffed, and turned away. Richard started to stand up, but as soon as he put weight on his left leg, his ankle seemed to explode with pain, and he collapsed with a scream. Mary stopped and looked at him, hesitating.
“I think I’ve broken my ankle.” He touched it, and winced at the pain.
“Let me check.” Before he could protest, she had crouched down and grabbed his foot, poking it and twisting it around, ignoring his howls of pain. “No, it’s just sprained.”
“Since when are you a doctor? You act more like a torturer!” He clenched his teeth together, gripping his leg in a futile effort to deal with his pain.
“In any case, you cannot walk. There’s a phone booth ahead, I’ll call a cab.” With that she left him on the cold, damp street. Not for the first time, Richard asked himself what he was doing here. Looking at her walk away, in thight pants, gave him one answer, at least.
Fortunately, Mary didn’t take long. A few minutes later she was back with him. “We’ll have to wait a bit.”
He nodded at her, and scooted back until he could lean against the nearest wall. Mary remained standing for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, then sat down next to him. They remained like that for a bit. Richard couldn’t tell how long, the pain in his ankle was too distracting.
Suddenly, the girl spoke up again. “My brother was killed by vampires. He was a Watcher too. Since then, my parents have done what they could to keep me safe, or as safe as a Watcher can get. Research duty, secretary jobs, that kind of work. They would lock me up in a cell if they could get away with it.”
“And you hate it.” He stated. It was obvious.
“I’d go mad in such a life. To see the others go out, fighting, risking their lives, losing their lives, while I sit back and stay safe…” She snorted. “I’d feel like a coward, like I was letting my brother down.”
“So that’s why you moonlight as Miss van Helsing.” He didn’t mention that he thought she was already at least a bit crazy. “There’s something to be said for growing old though.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Coming from a man who all but blackmailed me into helping him to risk his life?”
“Touché,” he acknowledged. “But I am not completely reckless. I plan to have a plan in advance next time.” Frowning, he added: “That sounded much better in my head.”
Mary laughed at it, at least. Both were slightly dirty from their frantic flight through one of the ruins of Britain’s former industry, and he couldn’t tell what were smudges and what were freckles on her face. Suddenly, he had a thought. “I just realized that Travers must really hate me!”
Blinking, she frowned. “Why do you think that?”
“He assigned me to a mentor with suicidal tendencies!” It all made sense now!
She hit his biceps for that remark, but half-heartedly. His flippant remark probably struck a bit too close to home, he realized.
He didn’t apologize though, but continued. “Violent too.”
Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, heedless of the dirt it left in her hair. “Do you ever shut up?”
“I’ve got a reputation to maintain. But I’ll make you a deal. I’ll tone it down if you’ll tone down your efforts to get us both killed.” He grinned at her.
“You won’t try to stop me from going hunting?” She didn’t sound as defiant as he expected. Almost vulnerable.
“Do you think you’re the only who’d get mad stuck in a library?” He raised his eyebrows at her and grinned.
The arrival of a cab down the street prevented her from answering. She stood up and waved, then started to shout when the cab driver seemed to have missed her. Richard wasn’t surprised the cab stopped, then turned towards them - Mary was hard to ignore.
Before the cab reached them, she bent down and held her hand out to him. He took it, then used the opportunity to slip his arm around her shoulders - just to be able to stand up, of course. She briefly rolled her eyes at him, but didn’t slip away when the cab driver came to help him too.
Once inside the cab, he turned his head to look at her. “So, deal?”
She held his gaze for a moment, then nodded, with the hint of a smile. “Deal.”
“My dear, I think this is the start of a wonderful relationship! I mean partnership! Partnership!” He held up his hands as Mary started to frown.
“I know exactly what you meant.”
“Perfect! I love experienced women!” He grinned, until her elbow met his ribs. “Ow! Apple, Apple!”
Author: Starfox5
Rating: FR18
Crossover: “Castle”
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Castle Characters belong to Beacon PIctures and ABC Studio. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
Summary: Hunting a vampire was not as easy as it had looked like the first time Ricard had seen it.
London, December 1989
“For a ‘fledgling’, this vampire is quite the overachiever,” Richard Rodgers managed to say while running for his life up a flight of stairs, his shoes making squelching noises on the steps wet with rain. Slick too, he almost slipped twice already.
Next to him, Mary Wilkinson shot him a glare. “That’s no fledgling, but an experienced vampire.” She flinched a bit when they heard the sounds of superhuman strength tearing a sturdy door into pieces behind them. “That won’t hold him for long.”
“And we cannot outrun them,” Richard added. Not without the sun up to offer them protection in the open. Or what passed for the sun in the fog and rain of London in winter. What had possessed him to think stalking a vampire in an abandoned factory at night was a good idea? Or to believe Mary, the girl who went to hunt a vampire by herself, at night, when she claimed that they could handle it? Granted, she had saved his life, and she was pretty, but she might just have killed them both.
“We need a plan.” Mary was panting now, huffing between words.
“Apart from splitting up, and hoping he’ll get confused, I don’t see…” he trailed off when he spotted a particular piece of abandoned machinery. “I’ve got a plan!” Rushing forward, he started to work on the valves. Hopefully it had not… the liquid flowing out and spreading on the ground looked good enough to him.
“I am not sure I like your plan,” Mary stated, standing next to him. When he fished out a zippo from his jacket, she added: “I didn’t know you smoked.”
“I don’t. I got a lighter in case I meet a pretty woman who smokes.”
“Why am I not surprised, Mister Rodgers?”
“Call me Rick. And I’d say it’s because you’re a know-it-all.”
Her response was cut off by the vampire chasing them dropping down in front of them. When it stood up from its crouch, a wide grin exposing its fangs, Rick lit his zippo and dropped it in the spilled gasoline. The demon’s yellow eyes widened in the second before the puddle he was standing turned into a bonfire.
“Yes! It worked!” Richard exclaimed, balling his fists as the vampire turned to ashes.
“You were lucky. What if the gas had evaporated since the factory had closed down?” Mary had, like himself, retreated to a safe distance.
“The important thing is, it didn’t.” He frowned at her. “And I told you, it’s better to be lucky than skilled.”
“Of course you’d think that, Mister Rodgers.” She sniffed.
“I told you, call me….” he trailed off when he noticed that the fire was not dying out, but spreading.
“Did you close the valve down?” Mary asked, but his face must have given her his answer already, since she was slightly ahead of him when the two were running for their lives for the second time that night.
They made it out just before the factory went up behind them.
“I do not think that this will make for a good report for the Council.” Richard stated. So much for the plan of impressing the old men with their initiative.
“No, it wouldn’t.” Mary shook her head.
“We probably shouldn’t be here when the fire brigade and the police arrive.” Richard looked around for any witnesses.
“No, we shouldn’t.” Mary agreed with him again.
As they started to run away for the third time that night, Richard vowed to take up jogging. It seemed far more useful for a vampire hunter than anything else. At least if judging by his experiences so far.
*****
“Why are you so fixated on hunting vampires?” Richard asked as they were walking normally a good 15 minutes later. Less tiring, and less suspicious. He could still hear the sirens of the emergency services reacting to the fire behind them. And to their right side.
“They are a danger to humanity. A mass-murdering disease who needs to be contained at any cost.” Mary stated without looking at him. She might have been searching a cab, or a working phone booth to call one.
“That’s the party line. But the other Watchers are not as reckless as you. We almost died twice today because of your wish to kill a ‘fledgling’. So, I don’t really believe it’s just duty that makes you go out alone.” He tried to look as earnest as possible at her.
This time she met his eyes. “No one asked you to come with me. You insisted.”
“And it was a good thing I did, or you’d be dead.” He flatly stated.
“You don’t know that.“ She glared at him, but she sounded a bit too defensive.
“Bullshit. Do you even carry a lighter?”
“Of course.” She showed him a cheap plastic model. “You’re not the only one who can think of setting things afire.”
“Well, you didn’t. Not today at least.”
“I would have.”
“Of course you’d have.” His sarcasm was so thick one could have cut it with a knife. She grit her teeth and whirled away from him. “For God’s sake, woman! I saved your life tonight!” It was a cheap shot, but he had not much else to say.
“Then that makes us even!” she spat over her shoulder and started to walk away at a brisk pace.
“That’s not what I meant!” He ran after her, then grabbed her arm. Or tried to - she twisted away, and he found himself flying through the air, then landing on the pavement, hard. Pain shot through his leg. “Ow!” He had forgotten that she was very well trained in Aikido and Judo. And that she was quite ready to use her skills.
For a moment, Mary stared at him, mouth slightly open as if she was surprised by her own action. Then she huffed, and turned away. Richard started to stand up, but as soon as he put weight on his left leg, his ankle seemed to explode with pain, and he collapsed with a scream. Mary stopped and looked at him, hesitating.
“I think I’ve broken my ankle.” He touched it, and winced at the pain.
“Let me check.” Before he could protest, she had crouched down and grabbed his foot, poking it and twisting it around, ignoring his howls of pain. “No, it’s just sprained.”
“Since when are you a doctor? You act more like a torturer!” He clenched his teeth together, gripping his leg in a futile effort to deal with his pain.
“In any case, you cannot walk. There’s a phone booth ahead, I’ll call a cab.” With that she left him on the cold, damp street. Not for the first time, Richard asked himself what he was doing here. Looking at her walk away, in thight pants, gave him one answer, at least.
Fortunately, Mary didn’t take long. A few minutes later she was back with him. “We’ll have to wait a bit.”
He nodded at her, and scooted back until he could lean against the nearest wall. Mary remained standing for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, then sat down next to him. They remained like that for a bit. Richard couldn’t tell how long, the pain in his ankle was too distracting.
Suddenly, the girl spoke up again. “My brother was killed by vampires. He was a Watcher too. Since then, my parents have done what they could to keep me safe, or as safe as a Watcher can get. Research duty, secretary jobs, that kind of work. They would lock me up in a cell if they could get away with it.”
“And you hate it.” He stated. It was obvious.
“I’d go mad in such a life. To see the others go out, fighting, risking their lives, losing their lives, while I sit back and stay safe…” She snorted. “I’d feel like a coward, like I was letting my brother down.”
“So that’s why you moonlight as Miss van Helsing.” He didn’t mention that he thought she was already at least a bit crazy. “There’s something to be said for growing old though.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Coming from a man who all but blackmailed me into helping him to risk his life?”
“Touché,” he acknowledged. “But I am not completely reckless. I plan to have a plan in advance next time.” Frowning, he added: “That sounded much better in my head.”
Mary laughed at it, at least. Both were slightly dirty from their frantic flight through one of the ruins of Britain’s former industry, and he couldn’t tell what were smudges and what were freckles on her face. Suddenly, he had a thought. “I just realized that Travers must really hate me!”
Blinking, she frowned. “Why do you think that?”
“He assigned me to a mentor with suicidal tendencies!” It all made sense now!
She hit his biceps for that remark, but half-heartedly. His flippant remark probably struck a bit too close to home, he realized.
He didn’t apologize though, but continued. “Violent too.”
Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, heedless of the dirt it left in her hair. “Do you ever shut up?”
“I’ve got a reputation to maintain. But I’ll make you a deal. I’ll tone it down if you’ll tone down your efforts to get us both killed.” He grinned at her.
“You won’t try to stop me from going hunting?” She didn’t sound as defiant as he expected. Almost vulnerable.
“Do you think you’re the only who’d get mad stuck in a library?” He raised his eyebrows at her and grinned.
The arrival of a cab down the street prevented her from answering. She stood up and waved, then started to shout when the cab driver seemed to have missed her. Richard wasn’t surprised the cab stopped, then turned towards them - Mary was hard to ignore.
Before the cab reached them, she bent down and held her hand out to him. He took it, then used the opportunity to slip his arm around her shoulders - just to be able to stand up, of course. She briefly rolled her eyes at him, but didn’t slip away when the cab driver came to help him too.
Once inside the cab, he turned his head to look at her. “So, deal?”
She held his gaze for a moment, then nodded, with the hint of a smile. “Deal.”
“My dear, I think this is the start of a wonderful relationship! I mean partnership! Partnership!” He held up his hands as Mary started to frown.
“I know exactly what you meant.”
“Perfect! I love experienced women!” He grinned, until her elbow met his ribs. “Ow! Apple, Apple!”