The Haunting - Epilogue

Fall 1900

Seven years.

It had been seven years to the day that Richard Castle brought the shade of Katherine Houghton Beckett back from the black abyss of death. The memories of the dark incantation and magical ritual were still vivid and terrifying after all these years. He had been afraid that it was not going to work. Yet, in the morrow, Castle had awoken to find her in nothing but her bare skin, alive and well. Her flesh was warm and her heart beat beneath her breast.

The haunting was over.

The days that followed had been a blur of activity. Castle had worked with haste to utilize some of his former contacts from his previous career as an attorney to acquire certain essential documentation the could provide a backstory for the now living Katherine Beckett. He loathed dealing with such shady individuals, however it was a necessary evil to ensure nothing about Katherine's sudden appearance aroused any unwanted suspicions. She became Miss Katherine Jean Houghton from London. And Castle was finally able to introduce her to the Ryans.

Not soon after, they married in a simple winter ceremony held at city hall. It was not the grand affair Castle had always envisioned for them, but with Katherine as his bride, it was still perfect.

They honeymooned in Paris, marveling at the massive iron lattice tower constructed several years prior by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair. Neither Castle nor Katherine could understand why many of France's leading artists and intellectuals were so critical of the design. They both found it an extraordinary feat of engineering and industrial fortitude. They really were living in a new era.

When they returned to New York and their brownstone, Castle resumed his writing while Katherine settled into her resurrected life. It was a struggle at first. For a long while, she had wanted to seek out her parents. However, they both agreed that the revelation would probably be too much of a shock for the older couple, and there was also the concern over the mysterious fiend who had been responsible for poisoning Katherine.

In the fall of 1894, after much discussion between husband and wife, the Castles decided to exhume Katherine from her grave. Having retained his license to practice law, Castle obtained the necessary paperwork, and with the assistance of Inspector Kevin Ryan, they had Miss Katherine Houghton Beckett exhumed. It took all of Castle's courage to examine the former body of the woman he loved. The task would have been much difficult if he had not known his ladylove was alive and breathing in the other room.

After spending countless hours examining the corpse, the gruff city coroner—an unpleasant man named Sidney Perlmutter—found some distorted visual signs of poisoning. He grumbled and frowned, cursing the original medical examiner for missing such crucial evidence. The body was too far decayed for Doctor Perlmutter to determine what sort of poison, but the discovery was enough for the New York Police Department to reopen the cold case.

It was then, however, that some issues arose with Kevin Ryan. The young police inspector had been reacquainting himself with the case by once again reading over the case notes, and within the many files, he had stumbled upon a photograph of the deceased. The man was quite perspective and he immediately noted the familiar visage of his friend's beautiful new wife. Ryan confronted him over the similarities, and Castle used all his powers as a weaver of stories to convince his friend that the reason for the similarities was because the two women were related. Katherine joined the conversation to confirm the tale, telling Ryan that she was related to Katherine Beckett, on her mother's side. She cited her maiden name of Houghton, and told him that many woman of her family had carried similar facial features.

However, Kevin Ryan, being the investigator that he was, was unconvinced.

Reluctantly, Castle told him the truth. Ryan thought he was mad… at first, before Katherine affirmed Castle's story, and the sincerity of her tone with which she spoke was enough to convince Ryan that they were not pulling some jest to amuse themselves. They even showed him the spell book Castle had used to bring her back into the world of the living, and had also shown him all the various notes they had exchanged during Katherine's time as a haunting ghost.

In spite of the unbelievability of it all, Kevin Ryan believed them. He promised to keep their story secret, and to do all in his power to bring the man who had poisoned Katherine in her other life to justice, which eventually, after three more years, he did. Senator William Harcourt Bracken, champion of the poor and impoverished, was revealed to be the corrupt crook he really was. As it turned out, Katherine was not the only person whose life he stomped out on his quest for power. Witnessing his fall from grace had been both a relief and release for Castle and Katherine. That mystery was no longer hanging over them, freeing them to live their life without fear.

And then, in 1895, something miraculous happened. Something that they had thought would never happen.

Katherine became pregnant.

They had both wept tears of joy when they discovered the happy news. It was the very fulfillment of one of their most cherished dreams. And then nine months later, they welcomed Alexis Harper Castle into the world. She had vibrant red hair like her late grandmother, the great Dame Martha Rodgers, and bright blue eyes like her father. The rest of her was all Katherine. She was beautiful and perfect in every way.

Now it was the dawn of a new century and little Alexis was turning four, and the Castles were expecting another child.

Castle had just finished tucking Alexis into bed. The little girl had protested, quite vehemently—so much like her mother—but in the end, she succumbed to the pull of sleep. Castle pressed a kissed to her forehead, and smiled softly as he left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar, before making his way down the staircase to join his wife in the parlor.

He stepped through the doorway and paused, milking in the beautiful sight.

Katherine was sitting by the hearth in a high back settee, her long brunette tresses tied up in a messy bun, providing Castle's hungry eyes with a delightful vision of the graceful slope of her long and delicate neck. She was squinting in the dim light supplied by the gas lamps, reading through a typed manuscript of Castle's most recent foray into the world of Jameson Rook and his ghostly love Nicole. As she read, Katherine tenderly stroked her fingers up and down the gentle curve of her slightly swollen middle. She was now nearly in her thirties, so she was understandably concerned, in spite of the fact that their family doctor assured her that she was coming along just fine.

Unable to resist any longer, Castle stepped into the room, and leaned down to press a kiss to his wife's cheek, before brushing his lips down the exposed skin of her neck. Katherine giggled breathlessly and smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness and loving affection.

"Is our firstborn finally to bed?" she inquired with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

"Yes," he declared with an exaggerated sigh, slumping down besides his wife in the settee. "After a long and arduous battle, I return triumphant!"

Katherine laughed lightly, and eased into his side, her body deliciously warm and pliant. "What did you have to do to get her to go to sleep?"

"I used my secret weapon," Castle admitted with a boyish wink.

"And remind me, husband, what is that?"

He grinned wickedly, and playfully nipped at her neck, causing her to giggle and squirm against his side. "I told her our story." He paused and pressed a soft, loving kiss to Katherine's lips, before asking, "Would you like to hear it?"

The beaming smile that met him glowed with such vibrant and stunning life that it almost made him weep with the remembrance of just how bleak things had once been, and how drastically they had changed. Katherine gently put his manuscript down and slowly shifted until she was nested snuggly against his side, her head resting on his shoulder and her fingers playing absently with the ruffled frills of his shirt.

"Yes, please," she whispered in a voice reminiscent of past hauntings. "I do love a good ghost story."

The End

*A/N: On this day, one year ago, I started writing a ghost love story. I had no idea just how amazing a journey it would become. And I can't thank you all enough for joining me on it and showing this story so much love. For Richard Edgar Castle, Esq. and his ghostly love Katherine Houghton Beckett love truly did conquer all. Happy Halloween everyone!