592. Chapter 592

After Cool Boys

Episode 8.06

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'm not cool enough to own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Beckett." She said crisply when she picked up her phone.

"Hello, Kate. How's the meeting going?"

"Long and boring, sir. But that's what I expected."

Victoria Gates laughed. "I warned you, didn't I?"

Kate laughed also. "Yes, you did, sir."

"Actually, all things considered, now that you're a precinct captain, I think you can call me Victoria and not sir. Okay, Kate?"

"Sure, Victoria."

There was a slight pause, then Gates spoke in a more serious tone. "I've heard something, quite unofficially, and I doubt that I'll ever hear anything officially, but I wanted to talk to you about it."

Kate froze. Had someone found out about her investigation of Loksat? "Yes, si…Victoria?"

"I've heard that your husband stole a police car."

"Rick?" Kate was simultaneously relieved and worried. This wasn't about Loksat, but it was about Rick. "That doesn't sound like Rick at all."

Gates snorted. "It sounds exactly like your husband. He stole a police horse once, you know."

"That was a very long time ago. He's changed a lot since then. He wouldn't steal a police car." Would he? She thought.

"It was Ryan and Esposito's unit."

Kate breathed a sigh of relief. "They've been Castle's friends for years, Victoria. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. That's why you've heard nothing officially. There's nothing to report."

"When your husband stole the unit, there was a murder suspect in the back. Apparently Mr. Castle felt he wasn't guilty and took things into his own hands. As he has done before."

"A murder suspect? Are you sure? Why would Castle try to escape with a murderer?"

"I didn't say he was a murderer, just a suspect at the time. It was Detective Slaughter, but he was cleared and the real killer arrested."

Kate was shocked. "Wait! Detective Ethan Slaughter? From the gang task force?"

"Slaughter was kicked off the gang task force for the many complaints against him, but he appears to have managed to avoid any real punishment. This time."

"I'm sure Rick was just trying to help. Apparently he was right about Slaughter not being the killer."

"Whether he was right or not isn't the problem. You need to rein that husband of yours in, Kate." There was a brief pause. "Are you still in touch with Mr. Castle?"

"What? Of course. He's my husband."

"However, you're not living together. I had my doubts about your marriage to Mr. Castle, but…"

"Victoria, I love Rick and he loves me. I have a personal problem that I have to resolve by myself, but I fully intend to be married to Rick for the rest of my life. I'll look into this."

"Very well. But remember, this is still unofficial. Don't do anything that might bring this to my attention officially unless you have to."

Kate hung up feeling sick inside. What the hell was Castle doing with someone like Slaughter? Of all the people he shouldn't be involved with, Slaughter comes close to the top of the list. Now what am I supposed to do now?

When she returned to her office, Kate immediately went to get the files on the robbery/murder case. She read over them carefully. A heist from the most secure building in New York, by Louis Prince and Victor Lee. A second theft and then a murder committed by Mark West and finally a confrontation with a violent crew led by a David Lacey. Although it looked to Kate as if Castle's fingerprints were all over the case, his name was hardly mentioned in the reports, either by Slaughter, or Espo and Ryan. To read the reports you would think he had just wandered by now and again.

She called Ryan and Esposito into her office.

"You need us, boss?" Espo asked.

She tossed the file at them. "You want to tell me what really happened? Especially what happened with Castle?"

Ryan and Esposito exchanged glances. Finally Ryan spoke. "It's all pretty much there in the report." Esposito nodded.

Kate glared at the two detectives. "Oh? Then tell me. How exactly did Castle get to an abandoned warehouse, at night, with a heavily armed crew inside?"

"Um, I think he came with Slaughter." Ryan said.

"And was that in Slaughter's unit or yours?"

"He borrowed our unit." Espo said quickly.

"Borrowed?" Kate said acidly. "After you arrested him, you let him borrow your car?"

"Castle borrowed it." Ryan said. "But when we talked to Castle and Slaughter and the guy from Lacey's crew, we thought better of arresting him."

"We were right. "Esposito added. "Slaughter was innocent."

"So you all went in together?"

Ryan and Espo exchanged glances again. "Not exactly together."Espo said. "Independently. We went in independently."

"Are you planning on telling me anything about what happened with Castle and Slaughter?"

The two detectives shrugged. "Everything is right there in the report." Ryan said.

"At least from our perspective." Espo added. "You could always talk to Slaughter. Or Castle."

"Get out of here, you two."

They got out.

Once back at their desks, they put their heads together to talk. "Do you think we should have told her everything?" Ryan asked.

Espo shook his head. "No. I have no idea what's going on with her and Castle, but I'm on Castle's side on this one. She walked out for no reason that anyone can see and he's hurting badly. If she wants to find out what's going on with Castle, she can damned well ask him. They are married, after all."

But she didn't go to talk to Castle. She found Slaughter at bar that he frequented, talking to a young woman. Kate walked up to the table and flashed her badge. "Get lost." She said to the woman, and sat down facing Slaughter.

"Captain Beckett. What a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the honor? Wouldn't you normally have your pet leprechaun and his sidekick to drag me to your office?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing, dragging my husband into one of your cases?" She snapped.

Slaughter laughed. "He's a PI and a consultant to the NYPD. I needed some help. You're boy is smart and I needed some smarts for the case I was working. And it all worked out fine. And he's not only smart, he's tough. He lit into Lacey's bums like he was John Wayne and they were the Viet Cong. Sure, I had to do most of the heavy lifting, but we had them all subdued by the time the SWAT pussies got there. I was really proud of the boy."

"You got him involved in a gunfight? With Lacey's crew?" Kate was angry.

"No. it wasn't a gunfight. Only Lacey's girls had guns. For some reason Castle doesn't pack and through a mix up, I was without my piece."

Kate leaned across the table and pushed herself into Slaughter's face. "Listen to me, and listen good. You are never, ever to have anything to do with Castle. If you ever come near him again, I will make you regret it and don't think I don't know how to use my captaincy to get what I want or that I won't do anything that I have to."

Surprisingly, Slaughter laughed. "Now there's no doubt who wears the pants in your family. Are you planning to make Castle start wearing skirt, just so everyone will know?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're deciding who your husband can have as friends? Do you plan on telling him he can't see nasty old Detective Slaughter anymore? Do you have a list of who he can and can't be friends with?"

Kate nodded. "Okay, you're right. Stay away from Castle in the course of your job. If you want to go to the Old haunt, go ahead and hoist a few with him. If you want to drop by his office and BS with him, be my guest. If he invites you over for dinner, I'll even cook for you."

Slaughter's smile widened. "That's a good idea. I'll call up Sherlock and invite myself for dinner so I can get a good home cooked meal. Okay?"

Kate blushed.

"Except you don't live there anymore, do you, Captain?"

"I have a personal problem that I have to work out. I'm just taking a break so I can work on that. And it's none of your damned business."

"Except that it's tearing my friend apart, and from the looks of you, it's tearing you apart."

"Slaughter, it's not your damned business."

"Because you want to have everything your way, just like you always have with Castle."

"Did he tell you that?" She snapped, regretting the words as soon as they were out of her mouth.

He shook his head. "No. But in some ways the NYPD is like a small town. If you know who the town gossips are, you can learn a lot. Castle found the evidence that started you on the chase after Bracken, but you got pissed off at him for it. Refused to work with him for a while. Even better, I heard that when you got shot, Sherlock told you he loved you. Man, talk about lousy timing. But you lied to him for a year. Told him you didn't remember anything. In fact, I even heard that…."

"Enough, Slaughter." Beckett's eyes blazed with anger. "No one has to tell me how many mistakes I made with Castle, or how close I came to losing him. And that is all in the past. I'm his wife and I will be until the day I die." Kate stood up. "We're done here. Remember what I told you about Castle." Before Slaughter could respond, she walked out.

Later that night, Kate lay in bed in her small room. She couldn't help but look to the other side of the bed now and again, wishing she'd see Rick there. And knowing she wouldn't. Slaughter was right. Our relationship has always been about me. My walls. My problems. My mom's case. My fears of any intimacy. I don't just love Castle, I need him desperately. That's why I'm taking this break from him. If he died, it would be worse than when Mom died. I was young then and had a mission. I'm too old to start over if I lost Castle. I'm too much in love with him. I don't know if I could go on living without him. He's all that's keeping me from falling completely apart. I need to settle this Loksat thing as soon as possible and get back to Rick. Not just get back to him, but start putting him first. I need to think about that. We need to be alone more often. The Hamptons? Maybe a short trip? Florida? LA? Maybe Hawaii? Our real honeymoon? And I need him back with me at the precinct. I hate not having him there every day. I can make this work. We can make this work. We have to. I have to.

Author's note: And tomorrow we start again on After Flowers for Your Grave and go forward.