92. Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Over the next month Beckett finished her two weeks of half days and was working full time again. But, unless a body dropped or a huge break happened just before it was time to go home, she usually sent the team home pretty close to the end of work hours. The lives of everybody in her original team were changing…for the better…and all of them were ready for that. Esposito wasn't married yet; but in effect, he had a family. That's the way he was thinking now. Sometime in the next year, Ryan and Jenny would probably have a baby, too. And Beckett was certainly feeling the difference.

Their approach to schedules was adjusting accordingly, but the work wouldn't suffer from that. They were all too conscientious for that. Soon after getting over her snit and giving him a fair chance to prove himself, Beckett discovered that Sully fit well into their work ethic. The camera was getting a workout. Castle wasn't consulting for every case, but the record of the original crime scene was there if they needed it for either him or themselves. The team still worked hard and communicated after hours if one of them had a question, an idea, or a sudden revelation; and their closure rate was still impressive. Gates wasn't complaining.

The times Castle had been working with them on a case, it had generally been just a day, or maybe part of a second one; but they had recently asked him to help with the murder of an elderly couple, a man and his wife who had been killed in their home. Their son was devastated, and after the initial necessary questions, they had no thought that he would have been involved. But nothing about the situation seemed to fit. This time Castle was at the precinct for several days. Meagan was staying with Jamie, and the entire family was adjusting their schedules to help as well so she could have a break now and then.

Sully had met Castle when he came into the precinct before, and they got along well. With the extended time that Castle was there this time, though, Sully was getting a feel for what the team was like before he was there; and he understood why their closure rate was so high. Castle and Beckett seemed to share the same mind sometimes, finishing each other's sentences, sometimes making their points to one another in phrases that were barely long enough to make sense to anyone else. Ryan and Esposito were so used to the other two that they picked up on a lot of it and asked questions or volunteered to check on things. When he noticed them falling back into their old patterns, Sully watched for a while, hesitant to break into the energy between the four of them.

That lasted until about an hour into the following morning when Beckett looked at him and asked, "Did you resign and forget to tell me? I haven't heard much of anything out of you since yesterday morning. I know Castle talks a lot, but it's okay to butt in. I do it all the time."

"I can hear you," Castle sing-songed at her from where he was taking another look at the murder board.

"I guess I was just observing," Sully answered. "It's interesting to see how it worked before…when Castle was here all the time."

"Beckett ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry, Sully. We've been working around you, haven't we? The four of us do work well together. We had four years to get it down to a science. I'll admit I like working with Castle, but having him here now is temporary. You need to be willing to step in the way you usually do. You're part of this team, so keep thinking that way."

"Well, I was wondering…"

He asked his question, and Castle bounced one back at him. Then the boys joined them at the murder board adding speculations fueled by the previous questions, which set Castle's mind in a new direction.

"We looked at the victims' financials and the son's. Did you look at the son's wife's?" Castle asked.

"Of course we did," Ryan answered. "You must have seen that. Her business was in a little trouble lately, but not enough to kill for. There were a couple of good sized withdrawals from the beauty shop's account, but she said they were for equipment she had to replace. She said she'd paid cash for used equipment and she'd look for the receipts when they got back home."

"His wife was the son's alibi," Beckett reminded them, suddenly sounding a bit suspicious, "but they live out of town. It's about an hour's drive once you're out of the city."

Castle answered, "The son said he slept like a log that night…hadn't slept all night like that in months…"

"Which means the wife…" Sully chimed in.

"Exactly!" Beckett interrupted, and Castle bumped fists with Sully.

"What just happened?" Ryan asked.

"I think Sully just broke into the mind meld," Esposito answered.

They all laughed, and Beckett told the boys, "While the son and his wife are busy here taking care of the estate and the paperwork, you drive up and talk to the people who know them, especially the wife. See if anything unusual was going on with either of them. I'll call ahead so the local precinct knows you're coming."

"Road trip," Esposito said, and he and Ryan grabbed their jackets and and left.

Before they started their trip back home, Ryan called to let Beckett know that the wife had been gambling. She had confided in a friend that it was a shady gambling operation and she had been losing big. She said she owed way more than she realized and was being threatened. Actually, her children and grandchild were being threatened, and she believed the threats. "Sounds like motive to me," he concluded. "There was a lot of money in the victims' estate."

"Stay there until I see if I can arrange for a warrant today," Beckett ordered. "If I can, we'll join you there and get it out of the way." She handled the paperwork, made the arrangements, and hand delivered the warrant for a signature; and by early afternoon, they were on the road. They left ahead of the worst of the outgoing traffic, made good time, cleared the warrants with the required people, and went to work.

By the end of the day, their warrants for the home, the shop, and the vehicles had paid off. When they returned to the precinct, they had the gambling records, the wife in custody, and the murder weapon. The woman obviously wasn't a practiced killer.

It didn't take too long in interrogation for the wife to admit that she killed her in-laws for their insurance and estate. "They were old," she explained, "and I couldn't let my children or my grandchild be hurt or killed because of me. I didn't know what else to do. I put something in Garry's hot chocolate to make sure he'd sleep through my leaving, drove down here and killed them. I cleaned up and changed clothes and dumped the ones I was wearing on the way back, and got back home before he woke up. Gary didn't know anything about any of it. He's never going to forgive me."

It was well after working hours, but they called and Meagan agreed to stay longer with Jamie. After work, Jim had joined her at the loft to help with his grandson; so she had good company. Knowing Jamie was in good hands, Castle treated the team to drinks at The Old Haunt to celebrate before they all went home.

"Never thought an evening out without the kids would turn into tossing somebody's house looking for a murder weapon," Castle said to his wife.

"Good times, huh? The price of marrying a homicide cop," Beckett responded with a grin.

"Worth it," he answered, draping his arm around her shoulders.

"What? Tossing a house isn't as much fun as you thought?" Esposito teased.

Castle chuckled and turned to Kate. "We should go home and relieve Meagan and your Dad. I don't want to take advantage too often. She's been pretty generous with her time this week."

"Yeah, And I miss the kid. If he's asleep, I may have to pick him up and hold him anyway," Kate answered wistfully.

"Stay as long as you want, guys. The bartender knows to put it on my tab," Castle offered. "And Sully, I added your name to the those-who-drink-for-free list."

"One of the perks of being on this team," Esposito said to Sully.

"Thanks, Castle," Ryan answered. "Jenny's out with her sister tonight. I might stay for one more."

They heard appreciative sounds from the other two men, too. Castle waved at the bartender on their way out; and he and Kate went home to their baby. He planned to stay home with Jamie the next day and lavish attention on his little boy. And the two of them would treat Kate to coffee and a short Jamie visit mid-morning to help make up for getting home too late to tuck their little one in the night before.

xxxxx

During the same month, John's injuries were gradually healing. JD went to his classes, and he and Alexis took time for themselves during the day; but after classes, he stayed with his Grandfather, and Alexis was a frequent visitor.

Jim had a couple of phone calls from Lloyd Hopkins, the man who was responsible for John's injuries; and they met for coffee a couple of times. After John was moving around on his own again, he met them at the coffee shop one day; and Lloyd apologized to him more than once.

"My wife died within a month of the diagnosis," John told him. "My twelve year old grandson was what kept me sane. The boy didn't realize that I needed him as much or more than he needed me right then, so I understand how it could happen. Of course, my aging body wishes it didn't."

"I'll still never get over that I did such a thing."

"Well, son, it's sad that this is the club we all belong to, but we've all found ourselves suddenly without the women we loved. If it turns out this accident is what keeps you from falling into what Jim did, I guess it's worth a few weeks of recovery time to me. I did get a lot of extra attention from people who care about me. Some of that was a revelation. And it got my grandson back together with his girlfriend. I can't say it was all fun, but it wasn't a total waste."

The three of them had a good conversation before they parted ways, and on an impulse, Lloyd went from the coffee shop to the twelfth precinct.

"Beckett, I have a Lloyd Hopkins here. He said you did him a favor and he wants a couple of minutes of your time. Should I send him up?" the desk sergeant asked.

"Sure. Tell him it may have to be pretty short, though. We're swamped right now."

"Will do. He's on the way."

When Hopkins arrived on the Homicide floor, he was directed to Beckett and extended his hand, introducing himself. She turned from where she was adding something to the murder board and accepted the handshake with Sully standing nearby.

"I needed to do this face to face, Lieutenant Beckett. What you did probably saved me from throwing my life away, and I needed to thank you for taking the time to care. It was over and above, and my family and I will be grateful to you as long as we live. I've been to some meetings with your dad, and everybody there has been helpful. I was afraid they might see me as an outsider who doesn't really belong, but they've applauded my foresight in accepting that I might have a problem and dealing with it before it gets worse. I have a good support system now that I wouldn't have had without you, and I wanted to look you in the eye when I told you that. I'll never forget it."

"I admit to checking on the disposition of the case, and your story sounded too familiar to ignore. I'm glad Dad could help. For me, it was just a phone call. He did the rest."

"But without your intervention, he wouldn't have known I existed. I know you said you were busy today, so I won't keep you. I just wanted to thank you properly."

"It seemed like the right thing to do."

"I'll make every effort to see that you don't regret it."

"From what Dad has said, I think I believe that. And thank you for taking the time to stop by."

Hopkins smiled and nodded and went back to the elevator. That was when Beckett, who had decided not to mention the situation to the captain, noticed Gates, who had apparently been paying attention to the exchange.

What was that about?" Sully asked, and Esposito and Ryan indicated their interest, too.

"Later," she answered under her breath. I have the feeling I'll need to explain it to Gates first.

Sure enough, Gates raised an eyebrow and pointed toward her office. Beckett nodded and followed.

"Any idea what's going on?" Esposito asked. He and Ryan had come back to their desks in the middle of Hopkins' appreciative speech, and Beckett hadn't mentioned anything to them, either.

"Looks like it could turn out to be another case of no good deed going unpunished," Sully answered as Beckett followed Gates to her office. "Sure sounded like she made a big difference to somebody."

Gates closed her door. "Care to explain Mr…" Her voice ended with the upward inflection of a question.

"Hopkins, Sir."

"Well? He seemed very grateful that you sent your father, but I have the feeling that it has something to do with being in law enforcement."

"I may have overstepped a little." She took a deep breath and then explained what she had done in relation to John and his injuries. "I only meant to check on the circumstances, but the story was so familiar…"

"And what story would that be?"

"You already know that my mother was murdered when I was nineteen. What you may not know is that my father handled his grief by drinking himself into oblivion when I went back to Stanford. By the time I came home again, he was too far gone for me to make a difference. He finally got treatment, and he's been sober for almost ten years now. Mr. Hopkins wife had died, not violently, but just as suddenly. He got drunk, drove his car up on a sidewalk, and injured a family friend of ours; but other than that, he had no record at all. It was a gut feeling. While he was still in holding waiting for one of his sons to arrange bail, I called and asked Dad to talk to him before his son got here from Albany."

"What were you thinking, Lieutenant?!"

"That I might be able to save another family from the years of torture I went through with my dad. It was a gut feeling, and I went with it. The officer I spoke to said Hopkins was really ashamed to have to tell his son. From what Dad has said about him, it sounds like my father…a good man who made a bad choice. I had to at least try."

"You know this could have easily gone in a different direction…created problems for the department?"

"Yes, Sir."

"But it certainly sounds like you were lucky, and it seems that Mr. Hopkins both appreciated and took advantage of the intervention. I trust that if any such thing comes up in the future, you will speak to me before making any more unsanctioned efforts?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

Beckett got as far as the office door before she heard, "You didn't tell anybody else here about this either, did you?"

"No, Sir. If there were consequences, I wanted them to be only mine."

"Officially. Don't do it again. Unofficially? It's good to know that one of my officers has made the difference it sounds like you made for that family."

Beckett looked back and smiled. "Thank you, Captain."

Gates made a shooing motion. "Finish this case. Keep our numbers up."

When she returned to her desk, all three of her partners were waiting impatiently for an explanation, and they got it, including the captain's two conflicting opinions. Then, after a few words of encouragement to Beckett, they got back to work on the case that was driving them insane.

xxxxx

After John was able to care for himself on his own, JD moved back into his own apartment closer to the Columbia Campus. He took Alexis to dinner once he was settled back in, and after a little alone time at his apartment, she stayed for the night.

They spent a few minutes saying "Good morning" and just being quiet and close before they got up to make coffee.

While they waited for the coffeemaker to do its job, JD put his arms around Alexis from behind and said, "Last time we did this, I had hoped you might stay an extra night. I wanted to keep you close as long as I could, so…"

"I'm not running away this time," she assured him, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "But I do need to go back to the dorm and change clothes."

"That's what I was about to say. I have other clothes here that you can wear to class. I had them the last time you were here, and I couldn't make myself get rid of them after you left. There's a garment bag in the back of the closet on the left if you want to use them. I even have decent food in the house again. We can have breakfast here and take our time."

"That sounds like a great way to start the day. Might even earn you some homemade cookies."

"Waking up with you is way better than cookies."

"I like waking up with you, too." Alexis seemed thoughtful for a moment before she said, "I told Dad what I had done because I felt so guilty. I needed to know how much I had hurt you…and I told him everything so he'd know how to answer."

"He knows about this?"

"Well, he knows about the other time."

"Everything?" he gulped.

"Eeew! No. Not everything. That will always be just between us. But I told him the things you did to make me feel special…like the clothes, the respect…"

"Does he hate me?"

"No. I defended you. He knows you let it be my decision…no pressure. Did he act like he hated you any time you saw him after that?"

"No."

"He has to back me up, but I think he's been secretly hoping we'd get back together."

"Good. I'd fight for you if I had to, but not having to is good. Granddad hasn't been so secret about it. He's been right up front about hoping we'd get back together."

"Did he hate me?"

"No. I defended you, too. I told him I had promised no pressure and then pushed you too hard and scared you away. He just shook his head and said I should have talked to him. He said maybe it would work out in time. Then he hugged me like he did when I was little…and didn't say anything at all about it when I cried. I missed you so much, Alexis." He pulled her close and hugged her tight, and she turned to face him and responded the same way.

"I'm sorry, JD. I'm so sorry. I'll never do that to you again."

"Looks like we both need to get over feeling guilty, but we're gonna be okay. I feel it…like you and I are supposed to happen.

xxxxx

The team had caught a case the day before, and were in the middle of discussing what each of them had found so far when Lanie called Kate.

"I found something that might help, and there's something I want you to see," she said. "Can you come down now? Maybe we can squeeze lunch in, too. It's about time for it."

"Let me see what I can do about that. Either way, I'll be there in about twenty."

Turning to the rest of her team, she explained, "Lanie found something, and she said she has something she wants me to see. She wants to go to lunch while I'm there, too. Are we at a good enough stopping place for that?"

"Yeah, sure," Ryan answered. "We've got another couple of things to go through. Sully can help with that, and we can talk through all of it when you get back. We'll get something to eat while you're gone."

"Okay. Be back as soon as I can."

When she walked into the morgue, Lanie told her what she had found.

"You could have told me that on the phone. You said you had something to show me. Did you find something weird?"

"That's not what I wanted to show you," the ME said, smiling as she removed her gloves and dropped them in the trash. There was a flash of something that caught Kate's attention when Lanie moved her hand, and Kate reached out to grab it.

"Is that…"

"Yes!"

"When did this happen?" Kate asked with a big smile.

"Last night. Sorry to get you here under false pretenses, but I couldn't wait to show you," she said excitedly. "I met Frank's parents, and it wasn't bad at all. And at this point, my parents would love anybody who gave me a ring and said he'd marry me…as long as he's a good guy and has a decent job. I called them this morning and told them, and my mother squealed so loud I'm surprised she didn't wake you up at the loft. My hearing is just now getting back to normal. I already had time off for Christmas. Frank has the weekend after Christmas off and managed to get one extra day, so he's coming then. I think he and my dad might actually get along pretty well. Then there's my mom. Never know what to expect there."

Kate gave her a big hug. "We're definitely going to lunch, and you can tell me all about how he asked you and any other details you want to part with. I can't believe somebody has finally pinned down the elusive Lanie Parish."

"Me. either. I'm scared to death and so excited I can hardly stop smiling all at the same time. Girl, I never thought I'd be asking you for advice on how to get past that; but I'm open to suggestions."

"I'm so happy for you, Lanie. Hurry up and get your stuff together so we can go. I want to hear it all."

At lunch they talked with purpose. In the short time they had, they skimmed from the engagement to Kate's advice to possible times for a wedding.

"When I pick a date, I'll expect you to reserve it, 'cause I'm not having a wedding without you there to hold me up if I get weak kneed. You understand me?"

"I wouldn't miss it, and neither would Castle. Whatever you need, Lanie. I guess we'd both better get back to work. We'll have a girl's day soon and take time for more conversation. And put your wallet away. Today is on me. Congratulations."

They walked to the corner together then went back to their respective jobs, both smiling.

"So what did Lanie find?" Sully asked.

"She said everything she found confirmed our suspicions. Textbook perfect."

"She could have told you that on the phone. What did she want to show you?"

"The engagement ring Frank gave her last night."

"Wow!" Esposito answered. "Quite a step for her."

"Yep." Speaking of rings, when are you going to get around to offering Maria the one you were in such a hurry to buy?"

"I was going to do it right after I got it, but then her mother was in the hospital for a few days and she had her hands full while her mother was recovering. She was exhausted taking care of her mom and Gabe both. It just wasn't the right time, but her birthday is coming up in two weeks. I thought I'd take her somewhere nice and ask her that night."

"So you're basically giving her yourself for her birthday?" Ryan razzed. "Think you're that special?"

"Yeah. I'm not a bad catch," Esposito answered with his typical swagger. "And she gets a nice diamond, too. I even got something for Gabe. Thought I'd ask him if it's okay for me to marry his mom. He likes me. I think he'll be okay with it."

"What did you get him?"

"He loves baseball, and I managed to get his favorite player to autograph a ball. I took the ball to the stadium on a game night…made sure I had my badge around my neck to make a little connection with security. The man I talked to was an older guy, former cop, looked like somebody's grandpa. When I told him what I was trying to do and why, he ran interference for me. After the game, the pitcher not only signed the ball, he signed one they used in the game that night; and he wrote a short note to Gabe on a picture…thanked him for being a baseball fan and helping to keep him in a job. He came out to talk to me, congratulated me, and everything...said he was honored to be part of it. Didn't cost me a thing. Real nice down to earth kind of guy."

"I'm impressed," Beckett told him. "They're both gonna love what you're planning."

xxxxx

When Kate got home to her own two males after work, they were both happy to see her. She and Jamie had their rocking chair time, and she played with him on the floor of his room for a few minutes before she took him back downstairs. She and Castle worked on dinner together and kept an eye on their son while Jamie entertained himself with the toys Castle had out for him.

As they had dinner, she told Castle about her day, including their friends' new plans. And he told her about his progress on his book and something Jamie had done that afternoon, the storytelling making her laugh as much as her husband had when it happened.

"I can barely remember not having him," Kate commented later, watching Jamie play. "And I don't want to try. We did good, Castle," she said, holding her arms out to her son as she sat down near where he was playing.

Jamie smiled and crawled over to her, and when she picked him up, he said, "Ma-ma".

She turned to Castle in hopeful surprise and asked "Did he just…"

Castle smiled a satisfied smile at her and said, "We've been practicing."