657. Chapter 657

After Kick the Ballistics

Episode 4.04

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: It's a real kick in the head that I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above

"Damn, Castle. Look at you. Thinking like a real cop." Kate smiled at him, but saw something just briefly flash across his face. "Something wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"No, not at all." He said, smiling at her and heading for the chair by her desk.

She sat down at her desk and pulled out the Jane Herzfeld file, staring at it and wondering. "Is there something wrong with the case? Did we miss something? Something wrong with Philip Lee? What?"

He frowned. "No, of course not. You did an excellent job, as always."

"We did an excellent job. Remember who found the connection between Jerry Tyson and Philip Lee?"

He shrugged. "Okay, we did an excellent job."

Something in his voice rang false in Beckett's ears. "Okay, Castle. What is it? You know I can tell when you're lying to me and you also know I'm not going to give up and go away. Talk."

He looked at Beckett for a second and mentally gave in. She won't either. That's one of the things I love about her. She is relentless, I just wish she wasn't relentless right now. "When we found out that it was Ryan's gun that had killed Jane Herzfeld, you….indicated that I wouldn't understand why Ryan was so upset. It was a cop thing, something I wouldn't understand."

Beckett silently cursed to herself. Why the hell do I have to keep doing that to Castle? Am I trying to sabotage my relationship with him? Am I so afraid of any kind of commitment that I'm trying to get him to leave? Castle loves me. I've know that from before I was shot, and I want to be ready and able to love him. I want this to work, don't I? Then I have to talk to him. I have to actually say something important to him.

Castle went on. "I've been thinking about that. That I'm just pretending to be your partner and being one of your team. And just now you told me that I was thinking like a real cop. I don't think you would have said that if I was a real cop."

Beckett shook her head. God, why can't I just drag Castle off in a corner somewhere, have a long talk with him about how I feel about him, what I want, and then go off somewhere and screw ourselves silly? At least I can fix this and fix some of what I've done by lying to him.

"Castle, where are you sitting?"

He looked confused for a second. "In my chair."

"Right. In your chair. You sit there because you're my partner. You are my partner. Repeat that back to me. Say, "I am Kate Beckett's partner." Say it."

He smiled at her. "I'm the extraordinary, remarkable and tall Kate Beckett's partner."

She smiled. "You just can't ever do what I ask you to, can you?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Depends on what you ask me to do."

Kate decided she had to tell him more before her courage ran out. "Do you remember our talk at the swings? I told you that I had this wall that was keeping me from being the kind of person I wanted to be and that the wall would be there until I solved my mom's murder?"

He nodded slowly, wondering where this was going to go. "I remember."

"I really need you to be my partner. I know that I have a much better chance of bringing that wall down if you're my partner than I ever would if I were alone. So, yeah, you may not know all about being a cop and you don't have a badge or anything else, but I need you as my partner, Castle. The most important thing in my life right now is catching the bastard who had her murdered and the most important part of doing that is having you with me. That's how important Rick Castle is in my life. And what I've just told you doesn't come close to telling you how important you are to me. She thought. "So, don't worry about anything. You belong here, okay. I need you here. Don't ever think that I don't."

Castle felt a little glow of pride. She needs me and I need her. I love her and she….I'll just have to see about that. "Beckett?"

"Yes?"

"Always."

They both sat there smiling at each other until Ryan interrupted them.

"We have something." Ryan said, unknowingly upsetting his two partners.

"What is it?"

"A con in the Tombs wants to talk to someone about Philip Lee."

Castle shrugged. "So? We have enough to convict him and then some."

"We can always use more." Beckett said, grabbing her jacket. "Come on, Castle."

Andres Villalobos was skinny, muscular and had his criminal history clearly shown on the tattoos that covered his body. In fact, Beckett thought, he was probably more at home in an orange jumpsuit and behind bars than anyplace else.

"I got something from Philip Lee. Should be worth something." He said.

Beckett shook her head. "We've got him dead to rights. We don't need a jailhouse snitch."

"It's about 3XK." He said, smiling.

Beckett smiled back, forcing herself not to show any excitement. "Yeah, like you'd know 3XK personally."

Two hours later, after some negotiations, they were back in the precinct.

"Why would Clifford Lee want us to know what Tyson told his son about where he was going or what he was doing?" Castle asked.

Beckett smiled at him. "Damn. There you go again, Castle, thinking like a cop again. I'll have to get you a badge if you keep this up."

"Thanks. But Villalobos was entirely too calm. Ratting out anything Philip Lee said should have him sweating bullets for fear that Lee would hear he was talking to the cops. He was totally relaxed. The Lees are giving us this information. Why?"

"Tell me why, Castle." Kate said, teasingly.

"We told their lawyer we didn't believe that Tyson would tell Philip anything that wasn't an out and out lie. Clifford Lee is giving us this in hopes that it'll somehow help us track down the man who set up his son. It may be inaccurate, but if we can figure out where Tyson isn't and who he isn't, it may tell us something."

Kate smiled back at Castle. "Right." I love Castle. I know I do. If I could just…But I can't. She picked up the notes she had made at the Tombs. "So, according to Villalobos, Philip said Tyson's new name was Joseph Hebert, from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Now working in a chemical plant in Houston, Texas. Let's see if we can find anything about Mr. Hebert."

Meanwhile, far from New York, Houston or Louisiana, Mike Boudreau was a happy man. His old pickup truck was working better than it had in years, thanks to his new pal. He finished his test drive around the neighborhood and pulled into his driveway.

"Damn, Rick. It drives like a dream. You're one hell of a mechanic. How can I ever thank you?"

The man now known as Rick Rodgers just smiled. "Don't worry, Mike. I'll think of something."

And Jerry Tyson would think of something, although Mike Boudreau wouldn't like it one bit.