Hi everyone. I had a burst of inspiration over the weekend and wrote this fan fiction story that I call The Funeral. It's not quite finished yet, but I figured I could start sharing it in parts since it's 11 pages long right now. So here's part 1. Enjoy!

“How did I get here?” Richard Castle thought as he paused after climbing out of the unmarked patrol car that had been sent to pick him, his daughter and mother up. It’s just so unfair. You’re on top of the world one day and the next, everything comes crashing down. As his daughter Alexis and mother Martha Rodgers came around from the other side of the car, he exhaled heavily, took Alexis’ hand, offered Martha his arm, and the three climbed the steps to the large church.

The sea of police, firefighters, emergency personnel, and city officials got thicker as they walked through the large double doors. An officer in his Class A uniform handed each of them a program. Castle could hardly stand to look at the face on the cover, but realized he didn’t have much of a choice. Today would be about her, only her, to honor and celebrate the life of Detective Katherine Beckett.

“I wonder where we should sit,” Alexis asked. “It’d probably be wrong for us to sit with the police, but on the other hand you and Beckett-”

“I know,” Castle interrupted her. “C’mon. I think I see some seats mid-way up.”

“You won’t need them.” A voice from behind the three of them said. It was Captain Roy Montgomery, Beckett’s boss, followed by her former partners Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito. All three were dressed in their best dark suits with their badges attached to their breast pockets. A black band was stretched across each badge, as is customary when the department loses one of its own.

“Jim says Beckett was very fond of all you and thought of you as her extended family. So you’re sitting up front with us. Ryan and Esposito here will show you ladies to your seats. Castle, follow me.”

Ryan took Alexis’ arm and Esposito Martha’s as Captain Montgomery lead Castle towards the back of the church where Castle could see an honor guard was gathering, ready to process in at the appointed time. He also caught a glimpse of the one person he was very apprehensive about seeing.

“Jim wants you to be a part of the processional.” Captain Montgomery said.

Castle was astonished. “Sir, I-” Castle began to protest, but Montgomery stopped him.

“Look, Castle, I know you blame yourself for getting her into all this in the first place. But let me tell you it wasn’t your fault. There’s no way you could know that this would happen when you decided to base Nikki Heat on Beckett. None of us blame you, just like she didn’t blame you when Coonan was killed.”
Castle still looked doubtful, so Montgomery continued.

“You see everyone in this room in a uniform or wearing a badge? They all joined the police or fire department or Hazmat squad or whatever because they accept the risk associated with the job. Each one of them knows that every time they go out on a call, something could happen. Now they do their damndest to make sure everything goes like it’s supposed to, but … sometimes it just doesn’t happen that way. Sometimes things just aren’t what they seem to be. A crime scene that looks to be under control can go nuts in an instant you know that. And so does he.”

Captain Montgomery gestured towards the man Castle was afraid to approach, Kate Beckett’s dad, Jim, who now had no immediate family left. Castle looked back at the Captain, nodded and composed himself.
“Someone from the honor guard will be over in a minute to give you a run through. Until then, just hang tight.” Montgomery said.

“OK,” Castle answered. Montgomery began walking away, but Castle stopped him. “Captain? I just wanted to thank you for everything. For the whole opportunity, for introducing me not just to her, but to yourself, to Ryan, Esposito, to Lanie, even Perlmutter. It’s been an education like no other. And whatever happens with Nikki Heat, I want you to know that I’ll always be grateful.”

Montgomery grinned. “And I want you to know that as far as I’m concerned you and your family will always be family at the 12th.” They both shook hands and Montgomery stepped away to greet some other arrivals.

You killed of Beckett :( were she and castle romanticly involved?

I'm sorry some folks are already put off. But please be patient. That's all I'll say.

So far so good.I'm going to watch this one with interest.I know that Nev827 will throw a couple of twist in.I know she is a fan of the first order and would not kill Kate w/o a real good reason.

Keep it coming,your fans await.

Your welcome Nev827.Shaping up to be a good one! Will look for your post tonight.
You have inspired me to work on my fanfic as well.

Here's Part 2. It's longer, so bear with it.

Castle gathered himself, took a breath and began walking over to Jim Beckett, when a member of the honor guard stopped him and ran through the procession with him. Before he could talk to Kate Beckett’s last living family member, he was ushered into his position in line along with Ryan, Esposito, Montgomery, the Police Commissioner, the Mayor of New York City, and Jim Beckett. Behind them were honor guards from all over the city, and the State of the New York, each holding their flags along with a state flag and the U.S. flag. Even some representatives from police departments in neighboring states had come and were lined up behind them.

The congregation fell silent as two bagpipers marched up the center aisle and took up their positions on either side of three easels that displayed blown up images that it pained Castle so much to look at: one of Beckett with her academy class, another of her presumably after she made detective, holding her badge and dressed in those dark suits she wore when they first met, and the third of her as a teenager with her Dad and late mother, Johanna. As they began playing “Amazing Grace”, Jim Beckett, flanked by the Mayor and the Commissioner began walking slowly up the center aisle, with Montgomery, Castle, Ryan, and Esposito following. Since Beckett’s body was never identified, there would be no casket for pall bearers to carry.
As Castle walked up the aisle, he was surprised to catch glimpses of many familiar faces with whom he and Beckett had worked cases. There was Jeremy Preswick with his now-wife Emma, who looked to be very pregnant; Joanne Delgado, the young woman who Beckett had helped after her mother had been murdered and stuffed into the family’s wall safe; Alfred Candela and his daughter; members of the music group Blue Pill; Teodor Hajek, his son and Melissa Talbott; Norman Jessup, the “wordsmith”; Kyra and her husband Greg; Maggie Vega and Lara; and Mickey Carlson. He even thought he saw Brad Dekker, the firefighter whom Beckett almost went on a date with, and her ex-boyfriend, FBI agent Will Sorenson.

As they reached the head of the center aisle, they stopped and waited for the bagpipers to finish the song. When they were done, Jim Beckett stepped into the pew reserved for him at the front. The pew immediately behind was where Alexis, Martha, Lanie Parrish, Beckett’s best friend and a Medical Examiner, and Beckett’s other female detective friend, Roselyn Karpowski, were seated. As Castle settled himself, he noticed that the Commissioner, Captain Montgomery, Ryan and Esposito were lined up in front of the pictures of Beckett and were standing at attention. In unison, they brought their right arms up in a final silent salute to their fallen sister. They next turned on their heels, and joined Jim Beckett and the Mayor in the front pew.
Castle found he could hardly focus on the service being said. Captain Montgomery’s words rang in his ears. The possibility that Kate, this truly extraordinary woman who fascinated him to the point of inspiring a new character for his next successful series of books would be killed when her apartment was bombed by a crazed fan had never ever crossed his mind when he began shadowing her. So, he knew it didn’t make sense to blame himself, but he couldn’t help it. The pangs hit him every time he looked at Jim Beckett. She’d be alive today if it weren’t for me.

When they began working together, he just wanted some good stories to incorporate into a future book or two. Then he figured out that Kate herself was a story, a tragic one that pained her very deeply and drove her to be the tough-skinned, but tremendously empathetic cop that she was. He also learned that the stories weren’t just a series of events that eventually led you to an arrest, but that human emotion drove and was a by-product of those events. It wasn’t just about telling the story or solving the case, it was about helping someone, getting the family answers, calming their fears, drying their tears, and letting the souls of the dead be at peace.

God, was I arrogant, Castle thought as he came to realize how much he had changed, how much they had both changed, and how much she had changed him. She was so serious when they first met that he wondered if Detective Kate Beckett ever smiled. As the weeks went by, he began to see another side of her – the playful side, the real side, the vulnerable side. She delighted in torturing him with her subtle flirtations as much as he enjoyed flirting back at her. They challenged each other – she challenged him because she didn’t fall for his smug charm like so many of the shallow socialites who wanted him to sign their breasts with a sharpie, and he challenged her because he wasn’t a cop, but an intelligent writer who thought differently and who was on the surface a smarmy ladies man, but in reality is a loving father who came to care about the victims of the murders they solved. The two had hit their stride of working together, had even begun finishing each other’s sentences, as Esposito and Ryan once pointed out, when it happened.
Castle had been at home writing and intermittently thinking of just how much he was enjoying this new path his life had taken with Beckett when his cell phone rang. It was Captain Montgomery calling to tell him that the bomb squad was at Beckett’s apartment building trying to diffuse a bomb that was set to go off and destroy her apartment. Ryan and Esposito picked him up in their squad car and they raced over to do what they could.

Castle remembered being surprised by his own feelings during the short car ride. All he could think about was protecting Kate from harm, holding her in his arms, sheltering her from the cruelties of the world that she already knew too well. He would have gladly given all the millions he had earned as a writer to have her sitting next to him, safe and sound. He’d even let her tweak his ear or his nose or shove a bear claw in his mouth if it meant he’d still have her in his life. The thought of never seeing her smile or laugh or roll her eyes at him, never seeing her deconstruct a witness’s story in the interrogation room, or sitting at her computer in the precinct was too much. He was sure they would pull up to the scene and find her hard at work helping the bomb squad with the layout of the building or trying to calm her neighbors. She’d be fine, he thought. She’s Beckett. She has to be fine.

But as they pulled to within only a couple blocks, they heard the explosion, a booming sound that shook the windows of their car and broke windows in the buildings all around them. The three of them cursed like sailors and Esposito floored the gas. They got as close to the building as they could and stood in shock as flames poured from the corner of the building where they knew Beckett’s apartment was located. For the first time since he’d known them, Ryan and Esposito looked completely helpless, like lost children in the middle of a shopping mall on Black Friday. For his part, Castle felt like his shoes had turned to cement blocks. He couldn’t move and stood transfixed staring at the burning corner apartment out of which he imagine Beckett was trying to escape. The image of her trapped under rubble barely able to breathe through the smoke got his adrenaline pumping and he suddenly broke into a run, heading straight for the building’s front door. But Esposito and Ryan each caught him by an arm. It took another two uniforms to restrain him, ultimately. When he finally quit fighting, he felt the sweat rolling down his cheeks, or what he thought it was sweat. He realized now it was tears.

They stayed on the scene all night that night, doing whatever was needed. With every gurney that was rolled into an ambulance, Castle’s heart leapt at the thought that it carried Beckett’s injured but still living body. Around every corner he hoped to see her, to run to her, wrap his arms around her, press his lips to hers. He suddenly realized he was in love with her, in love with her like he hadn’t been with either of his wives, but like he was with Kyra. He also realized that now he’d never have the chance to tell her. She was gone.

When the service inside the church and the brief ceremony outside were over, Castle, Martha, Alexis, Lanie, Montgomery, Ryan and Esposito headed out of the church to the limousine that was waiting for all of them. Castle held the door for Alexis and Martha, but stopped Lanie before she got in and gave her a hug. Until this point, Lanie had let silent tears fall down her cheeks throughout the service, but now, as Castle held her, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She wept quietly on his shoulder for almost a full minute. When she had composed herself, she broke the embrace.

“Thanks Castle,” she said, still choked up, then added something unexpectedly. “I have to tell you something. I’ve known Kate since she joined the force and I gotta tell you I’d never seen her so happy as she was when you guys worked together. God knows she needed someone to give her permission to let loose occasionally, and you did that. Besides helping her find her mom’s murderer, that was probably the greatest thing you did for her. And I know it’s gonna be hard for you to hear this, but you two had something really special. I know she denied it, but even the bodies on my table could see it.”

Castle chuckled at the comment and tried to find his voice to thank her. Again, he was surprised to find that he was so moved he could hardly talk. He felt tears welling up in his eyes too.

“Thanks Lanie. It took me until the night that bomb went off to realize it, but I fell for her, completely. I just can’t believe I’ll never see her again, or be with her. I’d give all my money to pick up a phone and hear her voice on the other end…” His voice trailed off.

“I know. Me too,” Lanie responded. She hugged him again, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and disappeared into the limo. Castle stood outside for a moment and wiped his eyes. As he did, he caught Jim Beckett’s eyes as he stood outside the limo that would ferry him, Captain Montgomery, the Mayor and Police Commissioner to the cemetery where Kate’s headstone was waiting. Jim looked him straight in the eye, gave him what Castle realized was a characteristic Beckett family grin, and nodded respectfully. He then mouthed the words “call me” and “we’ll talk” before getting into his limo.

Castle heaved a sigh of relief. Captain Montgomery was right. Jim Beckett didn’t blame him.
Castle turned and climbed into the limo, sitting himself next to Alexis and across from Ryan, his girlfriend Jenny, who had come for extra support, and Esposito. Lanie sat towards the limo’s rear. Both detectives looked more emotionally drained than he had ever seen them. Alexis took her dad’s hand as Martha, on the other side of Alexis, asked how he was doing.

Before he could answer, Castle felt his cell phone in the inside pocket of his top coat buzz. Who on earth could that be, he thought. He had little to no desire to actually answer the call, but his curiosity about who was on the other end got the better of him. He pulled the phone out to check the LED screen that usually flashed the name and number of the caller. When he saw the display, his heart practically stopped and he felt his face drain of all color.

“What’s up, Castle?” Esposito asked, noticing his reaction.
“Yeah, you OK?” Ryan added.
“I don’t know.” Castle answered.
“Who is it?” Martha was the first to ask.

“It’s Beckett,” Castle said as he stared at the image on the screen of the cover of his first Nikki Heat novel that featured the silhouette of a woman holding a gun upright in front of her chest and the words above it that read “Beckett cell.”

WOW,We have a winner. I have been waiting for you to post for 2 hours and fourty five minutes. It was worth the wait. I love it.You obviously have a great talent and it humbles me to read your work. Please keep it coming.