111. Chapter 111

Chapter 111

As they drove, Castle, as usual, frequently looked over at Kate and checked on Jamie, as well as the traffic, in the rear view mirror. Kate looked curious for a short while, and then Castle, noticed the same expression she wore at work when something began to make sense.

When he saw her smile as he left the bypass in favor of driving through the second small town they had come upon. He said, "The interstates and the by-passes are for the sole purpose of not having to go where there are interesting things to see, so we always drive through the towns. We just haven't found any of the good stuff yet."

"I thought that's how this was working. I had just figured out that's what you were doing. You know, I'm beginning to think your mother wasn't kidding about having mind readers in your family."

"I just know you well enough to read your expressions."

Looking out the window, she said, "Even if we don't find the really good stuff today, it was worth the trip to see the fall foliage. I'd forgotten how spectacular it is. We used to go to the cabin a couple of times in the fall before the weather got too cold, and I loved all the colors."

"Dad and I haven't done this for a long time. I'd forgotten, too. Spectacular is a good word." Alexis agreed.

"So do we look for any particular kind of 'good stuff', or are we looking for something that could turn into 'good stuff'?"

"We're looking for the 'probably good stuff,'" JD answered. "It's one of those things where you'll know it when you see it."

"We've been driving for a while now," Kate said. "If we don't see it in this town, maybe the next one will have an interesting pit stop with snacks and something to drink…and a restroom."

"Now you're getting the hang of it," John answered. "This is a low pressure operation."

"If I remember correctly, there are several little towns clustered pretty close together around here," Castle said. "We'll stop in the next one."

When they crossed the county line and arrived in another little town, they found that the main street was blocked to traffic. Traffic around the signs wasn't bad, so Castle put the window down to speak to the officer who was watching the intersection.

"We're just passing through. What's going on?"

"Founder's Day Parade," he answered. "It starts in about an hour. If you'd like watch, parking is at the elementary school. Turn left at the next street and you'll see it. If you'd rather keep driving, the detour signs will take you out on the other side of town."

"Thanks," Castle answered.

"How does everybody feel about a parade?" Kate asked.

"We haven't been to one of those in a long time, either," Alexis said.

"Then let's find that elementary school and park the car," John suggested. "Adventure time, Jamie. You ready?"

"'Venture?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, Buddy," Castle answered enthusiastically. "We're on an adventure." He turned the corner, and the elementary school was immediately visible.

"Look!" JD pointed at the playground. Next to the old brick building that housed the school was a playground with two jungle gyms, one in the shape of a boat and the other in the shape of a train. "Told you we'd know it when we saw it," he said to Kate. "We have half an hour or so to kill before we need to find the parade, and Jamie's gonna love this."

"Because he has three man-children to share it with him?" Kate asked with a grin.

"That and the two women we're dragging in with us," JD answered.

"Somebody has to take videos," Kate said to Alexis. "I know these guys aren't going to let an adventure opportunity go to waste. I've seen them in action when they weren't even claiming an adventure."

"We'll take turns," Alexis promised her. "The guys can do video duty at the parade. You know they want an excuse to get to those jungle gyms with Jamie."

The three men let Jamie climb the bottom bars of the train before getting into the space with him as much as they could and playing train for a few minutes, complete with chugging sounds and train whistle noises. Then they moved to the boat and became pirates in a matter of seconds. Jamie had a book about a child friendly pirate, so when Castle whispered it to him, he had no problem yelling, "Ahoy, Matey," to the others from where his father had him standing on a cross bar, holding his boy in place. Then Alexis joined them to play ship. Castle put his son down and decided he would be the villain and steal their treasure, but when he pretended to sneak aboard and hide, they always found him. Finally, Jamie and Alexis fought him off. Castle dramatically held an outside bar, dropping down as he yelled, "Oh, no! I'm falling into the water. Splash!" All of his children, son-in-law included, were laughing along with everyone else.

"Did you get all that, Kate?" Alexis asked.

"I did, but I was laughing so hard you may not be able to see or hear anything. Is this how your adventures always went?"

"Yeah. Sometimes other kids at the playground would join the games. Once we even had some other parents in it. It was great."

"If we don't find anything else today, I'm already glad we did this," Kate answered.

Castle got the stroller from the SUV, and all of them went in search of a parade. They made a quick stop for a bathroom break and something to drink before finding a place to watch the fun. Most of them being tall, they looked for a place where they wouldn't be blocking anyone's view, they left Jamie in his stroller with his drink until they heard the sound of a band from the other end of the street. Then Castle sat Jamie on his shoulders with his legs dangling around Castle's neck and told his son, "I hear the band playing music. Do you hear it?" That's the band making the music. Do you remember pictures of the band in your book? Tell me when you see them." When Kate caught the first glimpse of them, she pointed it out, and Jamie bounced with excitement.

There were floats built by local organizations, nothing spectacular, but colorful and exciting to Jamie. There were miniature cars from a regional fraternal group, prompting Castle to tell Kate it was her turn to host their literally bouncing baby boy. The bouncing started on Kate's shoulders when a group of people on horses came into view; and Jamie, pointing it out to Grandpa John, said excitedly, "Real horsies!"

Kate looked at her husband and told him, "If we find any more 'good stuff' today, it may take us two days to get this kid to sleep again."

"Are you having fun?" he asked her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and adding his hand to hers to help hold on to their son when he bounced a little too high.

"Yeah. I'm so glad I married you. Life would be so boring if you weren't in it. Best family I could ask for. Best husband I could ask for."

He couldn't help himself. He leaned and planted a soft kiss on her lips, and they both smiled contently.

The next float that came around the corner was built by the local farmers association. They obviously included the dairy farmers because half of the large float was a cow, with other farm animals and crops distributed around it in more reasonable sizes.

"Cow, Daddy!" Jamie exclaimed in awe. "Big cow!" He threw his arms out to both sides the way he did to indicate something really big, holding his fingers with an adorable, very slight twist that was unique to Jamie.

"That's one humongous cow," JD agreed.

"Real cow?" Jamie asked, looking at his dad.

"No, Son," Castle answered. "That's a pretend cow."

"A humongous pretend cow," JD clarified.

"'Mongous?"

"Really, really, really big," JD explained to his little brother-in-law, throwing his arms to both sides like Jamie.

"'Mongous cow, Mommy!" Jamie echoed, still sitting on her shoulders but holding on and trying to lean around Kate's head to see her face.

The whole family was laughing by then, as well as a few people around them. Another band passed by and the big Founder's Day float followed. It was a short parade, but it definitely provided entertainment and undoubtedly a few new memories.

"I recorded the humongous cow and its accompanying entertainment," Alexis reported. And varying forms of "Send it to my phone." immediately came from all the adults.

A couple near them who were there with their son, introduced themselves as Larry and Sandra, and their son, Ross.

"Your little boy was as entertaining as the parade," Larry laughed, giving Jamie a little wave and getting a shy smile in return.

"Are you new to town?" Sandra asked. "I don't think we've seen you before."

"Just passing through," Castle explained. "We heard about the parade and decided to stop." Pointing at Jamie, he said, "First parade. Could you tell? I'm Rick. Pointing everyone out as he spoke, he said, "My wife, Kate, our son, Jamie, our daughter, Alexis…well, actually my daughter, but we share well…my son-in-law, JD, and his grandfather, John. Nice to meet you. You, too, Ross."

"Jamie's cute," Ross said, "and funny."

"Is there anything else fun that follows the parade?" We're kind of taking the day as it comes. No rigid plans."

Sandra answered, "Well there are a couple of things that always go on in the town square." Then she leaned in and said conspiratorially, "But they're usually a little stodgy, so we're going to the apple festival this afternoon. They have all kinds of things to do…hayrides, pony rides, petting zoo, craft show, apple and pumpkin activities, jack-o-lantern display, food vendors, and a lot of space to run off some energy." She smiled up at Jamie as she ended her list. "It's always run well. They've been doing it for years."

"And where is this apple festival?"

"A big farm just before you get to the next town. You can't miss it," Larry told him. "When you leave the school parking lot, turn left and follow the detour signs. That points you in the right direction. There are plenty of signs well before the entrance."

"Thanks," Kate said. "It sounds like exactly what we were hoping to find. Right, JD?" He just grinned at her in agreement.

They went back to the car and headed a little farther north, finding the farm as easily as the other couple had said. They started with the food vendors and found places to sit on hay bales spread out for seating. About the time they finished their lunch, they heard clopping sounds and whinnying. Having heard a similar noise during the parade, Jamie went on high alert, asking. "Horsies?" It turned out to be the hayride wagon coming back from a trip around the entire farm, so that was where they started.

"Might as well see a little bit of everything they've got to offer," John said. "Then we can pick and choose when we get back. We should keep an eye on our phones, too, and see if we all have service here."

"Good idea. Then we know we can find everybody if we separate," Kate pointed out. "We don't expect you to spend all your time helping us with Jamie,"

"I really would like to see the craft show," Alexis answered, "but if he does anything else as much fun as the cow, there better be video."

"How long have you known me?" Castle asked in mock insult. "You think there's a chance I'd miss recording a memory?"

"Alexis looked at JD and John. He's got a point there. We're not going to miss a thing."

"Go line up for the next hayride," Castle said, shooing everybody in that direction. The hayride gave them a good look at the size of the farm, the size of the festival layout, the apple orchards, and a huge field of pumpkins. Small person excitement was in high gear at the sight of the pumpkins. There was an antique cider press operated with mule power, and there were demonstrations every hour, so they made sure to be there to watch after they got back.

All of them marveled at the amazing display of artistic and inventive jack-o-lanterns. The display took them close enough to the orchard for them to buy some apples that Jamie picked from a tree himself. Grandpa John stood by to take them from him while Castle held him up high. Then they went to another large area of already picked pumpkins and chose one to take home. That brought them close to the pumpkin grower's contest. There were about ten of the biggest pumpkins any of them had ever seen, prompting their small child's voice to point out the 'mongous pun'kins several times to anybody within earshot.

Kate and Castle managed to see a lot of the craft show, buying Jamie a couple of toys to keep him busy in his stroller while they wandered around. He bought Kate and Alexis jewelry from one of the booths, finding something for Martha before they moved on, and he found a couple of gadgets for himself and bought an intricate ceramic vase he and Kate both liked. Alexis went with JD and John to see more of the craft show while Kate and Castle took Jamie to the petting zoo, where all the enthusiastic responses to the animals were recorded, of course. He and Kate took turns being behind the camera and in front of it.

There was a pumpkin toss game for all ages, a distance toss. Different sections and different lengths were marked off for children Jamie's age up to adults and all those in between. They watched for a couple of minutes, joking about the ones that "splatted". Then Kate and Castle took turns trying.

"Want to try, Jamie?" Kate asked. "They have Jamie sized pumpkins down at the end."

Castle stood Jamie at the throwing line and the attendant gave him a small pumpkin that would easily fit in the palm of Castle's hand, and he and Kate cheered each time Jamie threw it. On one of the five tries, he actually threw it across the line. The others were basically gutter balls…or more accurately gutter pumpkins. As they put Jamie back in his stroller, they waved at the family they met at the parade, who passed by on the hayride. After stopping for the pony ride with Jamie again chattering about real horsies, they took their time as they walked, looking for anything else of interest.

"I think we should start rounding everybody up to head back," Kate suggested. "Otherwise this might become a two day adventure, and none of us have a change of clothes."

"You're getting tired, aren't you? Your week was a couple of days of frustration longer than mine."

"A little bit, maybe, but I've had such a good time."

"I love doing this with my children. I hoped you would, too," he answered, sounding pleased.

"I think I'm going to like adventures. Alexis hasn't outgrown it, either. I miss Martha, though. Too bad she's working on that production for next weekend."

"She'd have found another excuse if she didn't have that one. She's never been too interested in this, although we did similar things around the city now and then when I was a boy. She's definitely a city girl…no appreciation at all for the great outdoors."

As she pushed the stroller, Kate said, "I have the feeling you were just like Jamie when you were his age…smart and eager, full of excitement and curiosity, and charming everybody around you." She giggled and looked up at him. "I think I just described you now. What was I thinking? You just got bigger…and wiser." Leaning and bumping his shoulder with hers, she whispered, "And sexier."

"Why thank you, Mrs. Castle," he whispered back. "You're pretty sexy yourself." They grinned at each other before calling the others to decide where to meet. As they headed to the meeting spot, Castle wrapped an arm around Kate's waist and said, "Not long after we started working together, I'd see somebody with a little girl in a stroller and think of us pushing a stroller…and then think I was going crazy. I couldn't believe I was even allowing a flash of ridiculous thinking about starting over again with a baby. And I was pretty sure you'd never consider being there to help me. But my brain kept firing these little flashes of insanity…and hope. And it simultaneously excited me and scared me witless. You're so much more than I ever hoped for."

"You know you're the same for me, don't you?"

"Yeah."

Nothing else needed to be said. When they looked down at the stroller, Jamie was fading, his eyes slipping closed now and then.

"I think our timing is perfect," Kate said softly.

They met with the others and conferred about leaving. Everybody else had seen what they wanted to see, so they went back to the SUV and headed home, all of them tired and happy.

"So, are all your adventures this much fun?" Kate asked the more experienced adventurers.

"No. We hit the jackpot today," John told her.

"It was like the adventure gods came together for you and Jamie so you'd have a good initiation," Castle added. Reaching over to take her hand, he smiled one of the smiles that lights his face and crinkles the corners of his eyes. "I'm glad you had a good time. I love seeing you relaxed and laughing."

"Jamie certainly enjoyed it," Alexis said. "And I haven't laughed this much in one day in ages.

Martha was gone most of the weekend, working at her school; so it was a lazy day at home for the Castles. They wore their pajamas until the middle of the afternoon, and dressed then only because they decided to take a walk to the park and let Jamie play on the swings and the slide. After stopping on the way back for ice cream, they took their time walking home. Since they were all still a bit tired from the day before, they made sure Jamie's activities after the park were quiet ones. They were both hoping for an early bedtime for themselves.

xxxxx

When Kate's alarm went off on Monday morning, Rick moaned and pulled her closer. She giggled and snuggled close enough to give him a good morning kiss before trying to escape, but he held on tighter and said, sleepily, "Mine. They can't have you yet."

"I was yours all weekend…especially last night," she added suggestively.

"Mmmmmm… Yeah. Last night," he answered dreamily. "Who knew we could do that when we were both so exhausted."

"So I deserve a reward. I should be allowed to get to work without trouble while you get to lie here and imagine last night where it happened. I certainly can't be late today. Who knows what's been going on over the weekend? And I definitely can't go in without a shower."

Without releasing his grip, he said, "Well, at least give me a good enough kiss to last all day."

She kissed him very thoroughly, and he joined in the spirit of the kiss; but he still didn't let go. "Richard Castle, I have to get ready for work; and for another couple of months that's still in the Bronx…farther away than the twelfth. Don't make me hurt you. Parts of your naked body are pretty vulnerable right now."

"Oooookay," he whined as he relaxed his arms. "Not because of your threats to my sensitive body parts, because I know how you like taking advantage of said body parts…like last night." He grinned at her then before trying, and failing, to look innocent. "It's because I'm being a good husband and supporting you in your chosen profession."

"Tell yourself whatever you have to." She laughed as she got out of bed. After going into the bathroom, though, she peeked her head back around the door and said with a teasing smile, "You do have a select group of body parts I enjoy a lot, so I'd probably go easy on them."

"Ha! I knew it!" he called out as the door was closing. Then he smushed his face against her pillow, deciding he could breathe her scent if he couldn't have the rest of her, and continued to enjoy his bed.

She dressed and looked at him fondly and longingly before she left.

xxxxx

Alvarez was occupying Bronson's office for the time being. The desk sergeant had told her where to find him when she came in. The deputy chief was just entering the bullpen when Beckett stopped at her desk and fired up her computer. She turned to go to the captain's office and almost ran into him within her first few steps in that direction.

"Were you coming to see me, Lieutenant?" he asked. "I assume Cortez relayed my message."

"He did, and I was. But I didn't mean to almost run you over in the process. Where do things stand?"

"Come on back with me." As they walked to the office, he told her, "IA was able to make the arrangements to look into the bank and phone records for all the people involved in the cover-ups. They'll work through those today; and they're planning on interviews in all divisions to determine how many cases, and which ones, were reassigned and relegated to cold cases to take care of Bronson's deal with the Tandys."

"And what about Mason? I know he's been one of Bronson's friends since they were pretty young, but he doesn't…"

"You know, all of them seemed to look at Mason the same way Craig defended his cousins. Every one of them said Mason probably suspected Bronson had something extra going on, but none of them mentioned it in Mason's presence. They all knew he was a straight shooter and didn't want him to have to choose between his friends and his conscience. I believe they thought they might lose to his conscience."

"I'm glad to know that. That's the impression I have of him."

"Sit down, Beckett. We need to talk about how to handle the mess Bronson left behind. Tell me your full impression of how he ran his precinct. Don't be hesitant. I'm sure your impression can't be any worse than mine. I just need to know we're on the same page."

She took a deep breath and sighed it out before starting. "Under the pro column, he generally backed his people in the field. He saw to it that safety gear and necessities were readily available and called in outside resources when it was necessary; and he hadn't interfered with any of our investigations until Tandy entered the picture. I wouldn't know if his reports were on time and accurate, but the precinct ran pretty normally as far as the everyday operation. On the con side, he definitely wasn't considerate of his staff. Morale was low. There was no evident appreciation for their hard work, and for the most part, this precinct is populated with hard working, conscientious cops. There was very little encouragement for them to improve, no mentoring that I could see. The general instruction appeared to be understood as, 'Just do your job, and don't bother me unless you have to.' Other than drinking with friends from his old neighborhood, he seemed to have no connection to the community at all…no outreach, no effort to work on community problems. His first response to individual problems from the community was to blame the cop and complain about how much trouble it caused him.

"He seemed to hold grudges for a while if someone displeased him, warranted or not. I found that most of the homicide division wasn't happy with him, and it came to my attention that the majority of at least one other division felt the same way. But most of them hadn't worked for other captains and didn't realize the atmosphere was different in most other precincts. Or they had known him long enough to just overlook the bad attitude. I wondered at first why he seemed to despise anything to do with me, but I realize now that it wasn't just me. He would have hated the thought of anybody who had a reputation for finding answers coming in and being so close to all his secrets. And it didn't help that I was a woman. I don't think he's fond of females in authority positions."

When Beckett finished her comments, Alvarez lifted the file on the desk and said, "Most of that was a very concise description of what I have here. The file also includes the bribes and obstruction activities and other accusations to be investigated. IA is hoping to make short work of all this. It's going to require a diplomatic touch in dealing with the public, which we will have to do. You have demonstrated that skill in the past, and we'd like to be able to call on it again if necessary."

"That isn't my favorite part of the job, but wherever you need me…"

"We have a couple of well qualified candidates who can permanently replace Captain Bronson after the investigations and hearings are over. Considering the recorded confessions and the phone and financial records already available, it's more a formality to present the charges and have the in-house hearings before dismissal decisions are finalized; but after that, the captain can be officially replaced.

"How long do you expect that to take?"

"I would say it should be over by the first of the year. Until then, we'll need an interim captain. The chief and I have spoken to Captain Gates, and your name has come up in positive contexts from our random interviews at the twelfth. You've passed the captain's exam with an exceptionally high score, and you just outlined to me almost exactly the things I wanted someone to be aware of in temporarily handling this command. With that in mind, we would like to offer you that job…give you a chance to wade in the waters a bit before your first full command."

"Sir, I'm honored that you're considering me, but don't you think there would be some resentment here? The FBI operation I was working with is what exposed the captain and threw the precinct into this mess. We bear no responsibility for his decisions, but everyone here may not see it that way."

Alvarez shook his head, chuckled, and pushed a small, stapled packet of papers across the desk and close to her chair. Tapping it, he told her, "Lieutenant Beckett, we had already decided, but we received that this morning. Mason led the request. He and the others you had worked with in homicide talked to their friends in the other divisions and gave us a long list of signatures requesting that we give you the temporary assignment; and listed their quite valid reasons for doing so. In the time you've been here, you've obviously earned their respect, and that's something that will be sorely needed during this transition. You're assigned to be here that long anyway. It might as well enhance your credentials as well as the precinct's closure rate. What do you say?"

Taking the papers from the desk and looking them over, Beckett breathed out, "I can't believe this. I guess I'd better hope I can live up to their trust."

"I have no doubt you will. Shall we go and make the announcement?"

"Might as well," Beckett answered with a little smile.

When they entered the bullpen, hopeful faces looked back at them.

"Should I call a couple of people to represent the other divisions for this?" Mason asked expectantly.

"Up to you, Lieutenant," Alvarez told her.

"First of all, thank you for all of this," she said to the group in general, holding up the petition with all the names. I can't tell you how much your confidence means to me. No need to call the others, though. They went to the trouble to add their signatures to the request. I need to personally thank them, too."

"Breath of fresh air, this one," Mason said with a smile.

Alvarez announced, "As of today, Lieutenant Beckett is your interim captain. You'll need to give her a few days to orient herself to the new job."

"But if you need me, you know where to find me," she reminded them, looking over at the three men she usually worked with.

Beckett's team looked at her with huge smiles. "Mom's moving to the big office," Esposito said to Ryan while the room of homicide detectives gave her a burst of applause. "You up for a little razzing later?"

"We take her to lunch and give her a hard time?" Ryan suggested. "Sounds good."

"Me, too?" Sully asked.

"Of course you, too, Dork." Ryan swatted the back of Sully's head. "Now that Beckett's doing captain duty, we're gonna have to keep an eye on you. Make sure you don't hurt yourself."

"I'll go arrange it," Esposito volunteered. He appeared at the office door and both Beckett and the deputy chief looked up. "Sorry to interrupt. Ryan and Sully and I thought maybe we could take you for a congratulations lunch at Frenchy's. You interested?"

"I have a lunch meeting today anyway. We'll be finished by then," Alvarez said. "You should go with them. The pressure will still be here waiting for you when get back."

"Then, sure," she answered. "Lunch is on you today," she told Esposito with a grin.

She and Alvarez made a stop on each floor to for him to make the announcement and for Beckett to thank the others for their efforts. Then they spent some time going over a number of things he wanted to be sure she was aware of, and as soon as he left, she closed her new office door and called home.

When he answered, she said, "Castle, you're not going to believe this."

"It must be good," he answered. "I can actually hear that 'mongous grin in your voice."