Chapter Four [Video]

[thebestseller]

Who: Richard Castle and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: On the Windrose if you want
When: January 10th, morning

[Video broadcast]

So, folks, I woke up to find that my fleet of cleaning droids suddenly doubled. All of them need names- I only have Cameron, Robocop and Leopardon so far. Got any suggestions? I'm a big sci-fi fan so I'd love to name all of them after famous robots, but I'll take anything.

[Action]

[And on the Windrose, Castle could be found following his new troops, a big, goofy smile on his face.]

Don't work yourselves too hard now, hmm?

Comments

[thebestseller]

... maybe a little bit. I was born in the late sixties, so I like rediscovering stuff I enjoyed in my youth, even if some of it hasn't aged well.

[flickerflash]

[An adult who's still totally cool with cartoons. You're already amazing, Castle.]

What do you mean "hasn't aged well"? Does it have wrinkles?

[Yeah she knows that's not what he meant, but...]

[thebestseller]

[He laughed.]

I mean- once I'm an adult, some of it does seem a bit silly. Like, when I was a little kid I thought "this is so cool", but now as a grownup, I can hear when the acting is bad, or the dialog is cheesy, or things happening onscreen are super unrealistic. That sort of thing.

[flickerflash]

[Man, that's the problem with you adults. She waggles her finger at him.]

You just need to let your imagination patch up all the holes.

[thebestseller]

Well, you have me there, my dear. I'm a writer, so sometimes I use up most of my imagination on my work.

[flickerflash]

[OH A WRITER. She can forgive you for the cartoon thing then, she guesses.]

What kind of books do you write? Mysteries? Science Fiction?

[thebestseller]

Mysteries, in fact! I'm very well-known back home.

[flickerflash]

[Yeeess excellent an actual writerrr]

You mean like Agatha Christie? Or Jessica Fletcher?

[thebestseller]

A bit of both. I do help the police solve murders on the side.

[flickerflash]

Ah! So when I grow up we could work together! I'm going to be a policewoman.

[Who cares if you're from another world we'll wing it]

[thebestseller]

That's a very good goal to have.

[flickerflash]

I thought so! I had to give my parents something to look forward to.

[thebestseller]

What makes you want to be a one?

[flickerflash]

I like their uniform. And they get to carry sticks! [l o l Britain and their no-gun laws in the 80s. But she can't be honest, so she goes for the frivolous answer, then adds:] I suppose it might be nice to look after children, too.

[thebestseller]

[Castle had to stifle a chuckle- that was a pretty typical little kid answer.]

Those are both good reasons, I think. I like helping people, too. I can't fix their loved ones having been killed, but I can at least help them find answers.

[flickerflash]

Do you always find what you're looking for?

[thebestseller]

In the end... yes. Even if it takes some time. [Well, there was the small matter of 3XK, but this poor girl didn't need to know about that one.]

[flickerflash]

That's good! The police must find you very useful.

[thebestseller]

I do try my best. My fiance found me a bit of an annoyance at first, but... well, she's my fiance now, so she grew to like me.

[flickerflash]

Doesn't she like you finding things out so easily? Or is it just you have to spend so much time with the police?

[thebestseller]

I used to be a bit annoying. And I could be flippant about the cases sometimes, but I've grown out of that.

[flickerflash]

Oh! I see. Did you meet her on a case?

[thebestseller]

Yeah... someone was basing their murders off the ones I write in my books, so I was briefly taken in as a suspect. I helped her solve the case and have stuck like a burr to the NYPD since.

[flickerflash]

[She giggles. This sounds kind of like a movie.] Was she the one who arrested you? No wonder you fell in love.

[thebestseller]

That she was- she had to cuff me more than once, in fact. [He'd enjoyed it just as much as Kate had, but there was no need to spoil this poor child's mind like that.]