Reborn in Castle (TV show)

[1 week later]

The setting sun cast long, golden rays through the trees in Riverside Park, stretching beautiful stripes across the sidewalk.

Laura Washington walked alongside her husband, Justin. She kept one hand tucked into her jacket's pocket while the other hand swung loosely by her side. There was a little blue flower tucked in her bun. The path they followed curved along the Hudson River. A gentle breeze lifted some strands of her dark hair, blowing them across her cheek. She brushed them away.

Justin kept pace a half-step behind her, hands in his pockets too, shoulders relaxed for the first time in weeks. He had taken the afternoon off from the office, something he almost never did, and the decision still felt like stealing time. They had been talking about the future in the easy, unhurried way that only happens when nothing urgent is pressing.

"I keep picturing a little girl with your eyes," he said. "Running around the apartment, knocking over everything we own. We'd have to child-proof the entire place. Cabinets, outlets, the works."

Laura laughed softly and glanced sideways at him. "You say that like it's a bad thing. I think you'd love every second of the chaos."

"I would," he admitted. "I'd be the dad who builds ridiculous forts out of couch cushions and pretends the living room is a castle under siege. You'd come home from shopping and find us both covered in blankets and cardboard, acting like we just survived a dragon attack."

She smiled wider, the kind of smile that reached her eyes and stayed there. "And I'd pretend to be mad about the mess, but really I'd just stand in the doorway and watch you two for a minute before I joined in."

Justin reached over and brushed his fingers against hers. "We could start trying soon. Like, really soon. No more waiting for the perfect moment. The perfect moment is now, right?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah. Now feels right."

They stopped near a wooden bench that overlooked a small stretch of lawn sloping down to the water. A couple of joggers passed on the path. A dog barked somewhere farther off. Laura turned to face him fully, her expression soft and open.

"I want this," she said. "A big family. Messy mornings, school projects, soccer games on Saturdays. All of it."

Justin stepped closer. "Then let's do it. Let's make it happen."

She opened her mouth to answer, but something shifted in her face. Her brows drew together for a split second, and she lifted a hand to her nose. A thin line of bright red appeared just under one nostril and slid slowly down toward her upper lip.

Justin frowned. "You okay?"

Laura blinked hard once, twice. "My nose is bleeding!"

She tilted her head back a little, the way people do when they want the blood to stop, but more of it came anyway. It dripped faster now, warm and steady, staining the collar of her white blouse in dark splotches. She wiped at it with the back of her hand, smearing red across her knuckles.

"Jesus, Laura," Justin said, stepping forward. "That's a lot. Sit down. Here."

He guided her toward the bench, one arm around her waist. She let him lead her, but her steps had turned clumsy, like her legs had forgotten the rhythm. She sat heavily, knees pressed together, still dabbing at her nose with trembling fingers.

"It's not stopping," she murmured.

"Hold on," He took out his phone and called an ambulance.

She nodded, but the color had started draining from her cheeks. There was a faint pressure building behind her eyes, like the start of a headache. The grass in front of her stretched and warped. Everything before her eyes went blurry.

"Laura," Justin said, panic creeping into his voice. "Stay with me."

Her ears rang. The pressure behind her eyes turned into something sharp and electric. More blood spilled from her nose, faster now.

"I'm scared," she mumbled, her voice barely holding together. "It hurts..."

"You're going to be alright. I've called an ambulance. Just hold on, you hear me?" he said. "We're supposed to argue about baby names for the next six months. Remember that?"

She tried to lift her hand toward him, but it dropped back into her lap like dead weight. Her eyes rolled up for a heartbeat, showing white, then refocused on his face with desperate clarity.

"I love you," she whispered.

A thin line of blood slid past her lips now, mixing with saliva. Her body jerked once, sharp and sudden, like a string had been pulled tight inside her.

"Laura," he said louder.

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to answer him. Nothing came out except a wet sound that did not belong in a quiet park on a Sunday afternoon.

Her eyes rolled back.

Then her body went slack. She slumped forward against his chest, head rolling to the side, blood still dripping in slow, heavy patters onto the gravel path. Justin caught her before she could slide off the bench, arms wrapping tight around her, but she was already gone. No pulse under his fingers when he pressed them to her neck. No rise and fall in her chest.

The park kept moving around them. Birds called. Water lapped at the rocks below. A cyclist rang a bell somewhere down the path.

Justin held her there, rocking slightly, face buried in her hair, while the blood kept pooling beneath them both.

...

[Travis's apartment]

Travis sat on the edge of his bed in the small apartment, staring at the wall where a single framed photo now hung. It showed nothing special, just the Twelfth Precinct sign outside the building, snapped on his phone the day he got cleared. He had printed it at a corner drugstore and stuck it up there himself. A reminder that this place, this life, was real.

The past week had been a blur of tests and evaluations. Doctors poked, prodded, and scanned every inch of him. The physical came next. He ran the timed mile in record time, pushed through pull-ups and push-ups like his body had never been broken, and lifted weights that made the instructor double-check the numbers twice. The shooting range was next. He grouped every round inside a dime at twenty-five yards, both standing and moving. The psych eval lasted three hours. The shrink asked hard questions about trauma, loyalty, and impulse control. Travis answered straight without any bullshit.

When the final report landed on Montgomery's desk, the captain called him in personally.

..

[Flashback]

"Highest scores we've ever seen," Montgomery said, tapping the folder. "You beat Beckett's old record on the course by ten seconds and outshot everyone in the building. Congratulations, Detective. Desk duty ends tomorrow. You're back in the field."

Travis had only nodded and said thank you. Inside, though, something settled. The body that woke up whole after the grenade had proven itself again. Whatever this second chance was, it came with upgrades. And by upgrade means certain unnatural abilities like enhanced strength, speed, stamina, and focus. He noticed this during the evaluation. It was like peak human form, as if he had taken SSS or some bio-enhancers.

..

[Present time]

Travis stood up and walked to the bedroom mirror. He adjusted the collar of his dark button-down, smoothed the jacket over his shoulders, and checked the fit of the badge clipped to his belt. He took a slow breath, held it for a count of four, then let it out.

"Alright," he said to his reflection. "Let's go and catch some bad people. Then, maybe catch a movie after work."

He grabbed his keys, locked the door behind him, and headed down the stairs. The morning air outside was crisp. Sunlight bounced off the parked cars and made the sidewalk glow. Travis walked the three blocks to the precinct, already running through the rhythm of the day in his head. Coffee first, then the morning briefing, if there's an important case, then whatever case landed on the board.

He felt ready...

Actually, more than ready.

...[12th Precinct]...

Inside the Twelfth, the bullpen was already alive. Phones rang, keyboards clicked and someone laughed too loudly near the coffee station.

Ding!

The elevator's door opened.

Travis walked in and scanned the room. Ryan and Esposito stood at the case board, taping up fresh photos. Beckett sat at her desk, head bent over a file, hair tucked behind one ear. Castle hovered nearby, holding two coffees and talking fast about some wild theory involving a rare poison and a jealous chef.

Travis crossed the room and dropped his bag beside his desk. The panda clock blinked its tiny blue eyes at him. He gave it a quick tap, then looked up.

Beckett glanced over first. She studied him for a second, then nodded once.

"Welcome back to the field, Wilson."

"Thanks," he said. "Missed the fun."

Esposito turned from the board and grinned. "Heard you broke every record they had. You trying to make the rest of us look bad?"

"Just doing my job," Travis replied.

Ryan chuckled. "Modest too. Dangerous combination."

Castle spun around, eyes lighting up like he had just spotted fresh plot material. "Detective Superhuman returns! I need details. Did you bench-press the shooting-range target? Run the obstacle course backward? Tell me everything so I can exaggerate it properly in the next book."

Travis gave a small smile. "Nothing worth exaggerating. Just passed the tests."

"False humility," Castle declared. "I love it. Makes the hero arc even better."

Beckett rolled her eyes but kept the corner of her mouth turned up. She closed the file on her desk and stood. "Save the hero worship for later. We have a fresh body in Riverside Park. Woman in her thirties, sudden collapse during a walk with her husband. Nosebleed, seizure, dead before the ambulance arrived. No obvious trauma, no drugs on scene. ME is pulling the prelim now."

Travis walked over to the board. The top photo showed a young woman slumped on a bench, head against a man's chest, blood streaked down her face and onto her blouse. The husband held her tight, face buried in her hair. The image hit like a quiet punch.

"Any history?" Travis asked.

Beckett shook her head. "Husband says they were talking about starting a family. She got a nosebleed out of nowhere, then everything went south fast. She had no known medical conditions, no enemies and a clean background."

Esposito pointed at the map pinned beside the photo. "Husband was still holding her when the medics arrived. Poor guy is wrecked."

Ryan added, "Lanie's doing the autopsy this morning. She promised results by noon. Until then, we're working the scene and the husband."

Travis studied the photo again. Something about the suddenness of it, the blood from the nose, the way her body simply shut down, tugged at old memories from undercover days. He had seen poisonings disguised as natural causes more than once. Cartels loved that method when they wanted silence without noise.

"Could be toxin," he said quietly. "Fast-acting, something that hits the brain and blood vessels hard. Nosebleed and seizure fit a few nasty ones. How long did it take for her to die?"

Kate replied. "From what the husband said, maybe a minute or so."

"Yup," Travis nodded. "Fast-acting toxin. Someone must've poisoned her around five minutes or so... Maybe less. Find out who they talked to or came in contact with in the park, and we can narrow down our suspect list."

--

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Find me in the link below for advance chapters: https://unknownmaster.carrd.co/

[25 advance chs] + [Modern Family: 11 chs Early access]