Whiteout

Epilogue

They were trapped at the South Pole for four months, nearly five, because of the severe winter that season. All three of them—Kate Beckett, Richard Castle, and Reggie Talbot—were stuck at Amundsen-Scott Base for the duration. For Beckett, the quiet was a welcome respite from the intense and deadly case, offering her time to mourn Dr. Mark Marston, and the man she had thought he'd been. It was still a shock to her, emotionally draining anytime she thought of it. It was Roy Montgomery all over again. She talked to Castle about it. They talked a lot. Not just about what had happened, but about everything.

Castle recovered quickly from his injuries. And, much to his delight, he did have a battle scar. He primped and preened over it, making her laugh. That was something she did a lot more often now that Richard Castle was back in her life. Beckett liked it. She felt better, more free and open with him than she had with anyone. They spent a lot of time together, discussing plans, the past, how their friends and families were doing, reliving the good times, and making love. She found comfort and joy in his arms, resting her head against his chest in the afterglow. His heart beat strong and steady.

"For you," he had proclaimed after one particular vigorous round. "Always for you."

It was almost like they were horny teenagers. She couldn't get enough of him. And they had a whole base as their playground. They even had some awkward moments when Reggie almost walked in on them going at it like rabbits. After one particular close call, Castle had—albeit reluctantly—agreed to regulate their activities to the privacy of her quarters.

When she wasn't having gloriously, hot, mind-blowing sex with Castle, Beckett made daily rounds of the facility, keeping it up and running during the winter-over until the weather conditions allowed for the return of the crew and staff. Castle would sometimes join her, and they'd talk and banter like old times as they worked. It was comforting to her that they were able to fall back into the routine with ease, that the intimate change in their relationship didn't change that aspect of it.

Because of the strong and fierce winds, the planes were grounded indefinitely, so Reggie took the opportunity to tinker, making the necessary repairs on all the vehicles left in the hangar. Castle tried assisting him, wanting to gain some new skills before they returned to the world. His enthusiasm for learning was greatly endearing. All in all, the pilot welcomed the company and the chance it gave him to poke fun at Castle whenever he made what he considered a glaringly obvious mistake. It amused both Beckett and Reggie when, once over dinner, Castle asked the pilot if there was a way to hotwire an airplane. They had laughed, and he'd puffed up his chest, pouted like a little boy, and proclaimed it was for book research.

About a month into their stay, Beckett had discovered Castle installed in the conference room across from the operations center. He'd requisitioned one of the white boards from the science labs, and had set it up by the table, covering it with notes and outlines scrawled in his elegant handwriting. He'd also appropriated one of the laptops from storage. Beckett had hung back, observing unseen as he paced in front of the whiteboard, brainstorming, before pulling the laptop over and writing for a long stretch. And then the cycle would repeat.

She left him alone during that time, unable to suppress the beaming smile at seeing him write. It was a process she had never actually witnessed in spite of all their time together. Beckett still remembered the feeling of awe that had overcome her when she'd entered his home office for the first time. It had been like sneaking into the Batcave, a reference he wholeheartedly approved.

"What's it called?" she had asked one night, naked and sated, lazily playing her fingers along his slick back, memorizing the play of the muscles beneath his skin.

"Raging Heat," he had answered with a delighted grin.

"Nice title," Beckett had joked, smacking his magnificent ass.

Castle had then rolled over onto his side, spreading his hand across her hip to tug her closer. "Figured I'd have Nikki and Rook solve a crime in the midst of a hurricane."

"Sounds thrilling," she had replied. "When do I get to read it."

"Soon," he had promised, and then had silenced any more teasing by slanting his mouth over hers in a passionate kiss, gently rolling her over, and thoroughly distracting her with another round of spectacular sex.

Now winter was almost over. The storms had started to lessen and the sun shone brighter with each passing day. Beckett had made a decision during the months of winter-over, one that had been far easier than she had expected. She sent her decision to resign her position with the United States Marshal Service to Van Decker in Sydney, and he then bounced it up the ladder to Washington.

Tugging her parka over her shoulders, Beckett flexed her fingers, glancing down at her left hand. Marston had been right. It still hurt, and she still felt her missing fingers, but it wasn't as bad now. When she had been shot, Beckett had run away, hiding from everyone and everything. She couldn't do that here. Yes, she could still hide herself away, and wallow in solitude, if she wanted to, but in the end, Castle would always come and find her. All in all, she believed it helped being stuck down here with Castle. It allowed her to adapt and accept what had happened to her hand without needing to put on a brave mask to the rest of the world.

Beckett walked down the corridor, heading for the recreation room, where she knew she'd find Castle and Reggie heavily engaged in a game of Madden. Castle had been thrilled when he learned that the activity rooms had a XBOX console and a variety of games. He rapidly turned into a nine-year-old on a sugar rush. He'd tried getting her to play Halo with him, but she declined, preferring to spend her time reading or working out, which, much to her pleasure, she was able to convince Castle to join her. He'd had one stipulation, though, which was that they did some naked yoga. She smirked at the memory of that particular workout, which had rapidly dissolved into a heated quickie on the bench press.

Popping through the door, she was pleased to find Castle where she had expected. And he was, indeed, enthralled in a game of Madden with Reggie.

"Oh you're going down, Rick," Reggie taunted. "TOUCHDOWN!"

Castle stuck out his lower lip in a boyish pout, and feigned a childish tantrum. It was amusing to watch, so Beckett lingered in the doorway for a while to observe, before interrupting.

"Hey, Castle, wanna walk with me?" she called.

"Please, yes, I need to retain some dignity," Castle huffed, standing up and tossing his controller onto the sofa. Reggie chuckled. Castle pointed a finger at the pilot. "Rematch tomorrow?"

"You're on, Rick!" Reggie grinned back.

Grabbing his black jacket from the coatrack, Castle jogged over to her with a smile. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"Good," Beckett said, smiling back at him and hooking her arm through his as they strolled down the main corridor.

She leaned her head against his shoulder as they casually walked in companionable silence through Building B, across the connection tunnel into Building A, and towards the main entrance. Stepping into the vestibule, Beckett slipped on a pair of gloves, which was much easier now than it had been two months ago, and waited for Castle to do the same. The morning storm had dissipated during the afternoon, so the sky was clear tonight. They should be fine in just their standard layers of clothes and their warm parkas. Castle took the lead, holding the outer door open for her as she walked out.

The wind was crisp and biting, but bearable. Both their breaths fogged in front of their faces as they hiked down the steps and into the snow. The flood lights illuminated the white snow, making it glow. Castle followed her as they did a loop around the modules, cutting a path underneath them to stop and stare at the ceremonial South Pole. Beckett sighed, and looked up, seeing the awesome dance of colors from the Aurora Australis: Blues, greens, purples, and reds. They swayed to a silent rhythm that was mystical and inspiring. It was beautiful.

Beckett blinked her eyes as her vision turned blurry. She dropped her gaze and stared lovingly at Castle as he looked up in wonderment at the Southern Lights. He was beautiful. Her chest swelled with all the love she had for this man. Beckett was a strong and independent woman, but she'd spent too much of her life alone—both physically and emotionally. After her mother's death, she had constructed a wall around her heart in an attempt to protect herself from that level of pain and grief. But now, looking at Castle, embracing the love she felt for him, and accepting his love in return, Kate Beckett felt whole.

She was no longer afraid.

Beckett reached out and took Castle's hand in hers. He turned, glancing down at their joined hands, before looking up to meet her warm and soft eyes.

"Kate?"

She smiled at him. Happy. "I'm ready to go home now."

THE END

Acknowledgments

The last scene was one of the first that popped into my head when I came up with the idea for this story. Wow. It is always bittersweet when you come to the end of a story, especially one like this, which I have lived with for a while. I started the initial stages of writing this story on August 1st, 2017, and finished writing it on June 4th, 2018—and then begun posting on June 8th. But the idea came long before. In 2009, before the season 2 premiere of Castle, I saw the movie Whiteout in theaters. It stuck with me, and eventually, after I'd been writing Castle fanfiction for a while, I remembered the movie and thought it would make a fun AU, as is often the case with me when it comes to movies since becoming a fan of Castle. I would find myself saying, what if this were Caskett?

So, that's what I've done with this.

The movie was based off two graphic novels by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. The screenplay for the movie was written by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Chad Hayes, and Carey W. Hayes. I took elements from both graphic novels, the finished movie, and an early draft of the screenplay to cobble together this story, putting Kate Beckett into the role of U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko, played by Kate Beckinsale in the movie. If you enjoyed this story, I encourage you to check out the original graphic novels: WHITEOUT Vol. 1 and WHITEOUT Vol. 2 - MELT.

I'd like to thank all those who offered up their names for the numerous murder victims, and other characters. You know who you are. It's very much appreciated, as it can get trying at times coming up with different names all the times. It was one less thing I had to think about while I wrote this.

Also, many thanks to Anastasia (aka ladyalways47 on Twitter) for helping come up with the name for Russian officer Dimitri Pentrenko, and providing me with all the translations so Beckett could speak proper Russian.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review, not just this story, but my other Castle fanfic stories. Also, to everyone who kept the faith, and understood that despite the hardship our characters faced, Caskett was always endgame and that I would, in time, give them a happy ending. I have several more stories in the works at the moment, just waiting for one to stick and take off.

So, until next time, thanks for reading.

- Travis