123. Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Jenny looks good," Kate said as she and Castle came home after the party, and she toed off her shoes at the door. "She's due early in July, and she and Ryan look so happy about it."

"They said it's a girl. With any luck, we'll have one of our own before long, and they can play together while they grow up." After hanging their coats in the closet, he said, "With the party to worry about, we didn't have time for you to tell me how things went on the first day with a new team."

"It's going to take a while before I stop turning and expecting to see Esposito machoing his way around…or Ryan. I mean, I still saw him today, but he was across the room trying to get his footing with his own new team. I like Jennings. He's Detective first grade now and ready to run his own team, and we know he's good at his job; but watching Ryan move everything to Karpowski's desk was hard. And seeing Archer at Esposito's desk and Jennings moving his things into Ryan's… It feels off; but we got a new case today, and we worked together without a problem. It's just going to take a little time to work out the rhythm between us. Sully kind of fell into what we had already established. This is like starting over, but with some experience to work from. Jennings will pick up lead from me, but I don't know yet who the fourth member of the team will be when I leave."

Castle wrapped his arms around her sympathetically. "You already miss them, don't you?"

She nodded and put her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer, and she cuddled into him as he held her and placed a couple of little kisses on her head.

"Thank you for the party," she said from where her head rested on his shoulder. "You made all of them feel special tonight, even the ones who weren't promoted or moving somewhere else. You're good at that. I'm pretty certain everybody left tonight in better spirits than when they came in."

"Careful, Mrs. Castle. You're feeding my ego."

"I need to do that now and then. You're pretty special yourself, Mr. Castle."

Just after Kate planted a sweet kiss on his lips, Martha came downstairs with an empty wine glass in one hand, asking, "How was the party?"

"It was great, Martha. Thank you for watching Jamie for us."

"He was his very most delightful little self. I was glad to do it." She went to the kitchen to add a little bit to her glass and said, "He's such a good audience for story time."

"Well, it isn't every two year old who gets his bedtime stories read by a professional actress," Kate answered.

"Feeding Mother's ego, too? You're walking a dangerous line," Castle whispered.

Kate backhanded his chest, and Martha narrowed her eyes at her son. "Making disparaging remarks about his mother again, isn't he, Darling?" she asked, never taking her eyes off her son.

"Don't answer that," Castle told his wife.

The two women of the house shook their heads but looked at him lovingly.

"Have you and Dr. Parish been shopping yet?" Martha asked. "You still need a matron-of-honor's dress, and her wedding is coming up soon, you know."

"We haven't, but we're having lunch together tomorrow to plan something, and mine is the last dress she has to find. Now that the councilman's case is over and the personnel changes have happened, it should be easier; and I'm looking forward to it. Lanie and I haven't had a shopping trip together in too long."

Martha took the last sip of her wine and announced that she needed her beauty sleep and was going to bed. She hugged Kate and patted Castle's cheek and went upstairs.

"It looks like she left about one serving in that bottle. Want to split it?"

"Why not?"

They sat side by side at the breakfast bar, chairs pulled close together, and sipped their small servings of wine, talking about odds and ends and taking their time.

"I hope we're lucky enough to have a baby Beckett to play with the Ryan's little girl," Castle said.

"You really want that, don't you?"

"I really do."

"It didn't happen yet."

"No?" He looked over at her questioningly, and she took his hand, playing with his fingers.

"No. This afternoon," she said in explanation. "So no practice tonight, either. I warned you she'd be a Beckett woman…stubborn."

"As long as she gets here within our timetable. We'll start loving her as soon as we know she's there."

"You already love her," Kate challenged, "and she's only in your mind. And what if I do get pregnant and it turns out she's another he?"

"Then we love him as soon as we know he's there," he answered, dropping a kiss on her forehead. "My babies are always loved."

"That's the first thing that attracted me to you. You loved your baby so much." She took their empty glasses, rinsed them, left them beside the sink, and said, "I'll take care of those in the morning. It's been a long day. Let's go look in on our baby boy and then get some sleep." And she took his hand and led him toward the stairs.

xxxxx

Beckett's new team worked on their case together during the morning, Beckett taking time to quiz Archer on what should come next and asking her questions that led her to think in the right direction. She was doing well, and Beckett let her know. When Archer left for a few minutes, Jennings looked at Beckett and said, "I've seen firsthand that you're a good detective, but you're a good teacher, too."

"I was trained by some good teachers."

"Well, since the rest of Archer's training falls to me when you go off to be a captain, I'm glad I get to benefit from you and your good teachers."

She smiled and said, "I'm sure they would be flattered."

By lunch time, they had made enough progress that Beckett's lunch with Lanie wouldn't be a problem. She called to see if Lanie would still be able to make it and was able to tell her team that she could pick up the autopsy report while she was out for lunch.

She met Lanie at a little restaurant that had an eclectic menu, very good food, and quick service; and they were taken to a table in a reasonably quiet part of the dining area. It was one of their favorite lunch spots, so they ordered right away and talked while they waited.

"Can we go shopping on Saturday morning?" Lanie asked as soon as the server left.

"I'm on call." Kate answered.

"Me, too. If we have to leave, we'll probably be going to the same place."

"Okay. Maybe we'll be lucky and have enough time to find what we're looking for. So what are we looking for other than a dress? Any kind of dress in particular?"

"The kind that doesn't make your disgustingly gorgeous self look better than the bride," Lanie answered quickly.

Kate laughed and told her, "Okay. Just so it the kind that makes me look hideous."

"As if anything could. Besides, you know I wouldn't do that," her best friend answered. Then with a little giggle, she added, "I might be tempted, but I wouldn't really do it."

"Oh, please. This is your family and friends, Lanie…and I have the picture you sent me while you were shopping for a dress with your mom. Trust me. Nobody is going to be looking at me. Thanks for sending me the pictures for my opinions, by the way. It was almost like helping you shop for it."

"You were right. I did have fun shopping with my mother. She was so excited about it and looked like she was having such a good time. I had to teach her to take pictures with my phone. Then I sent the first one to you and got an answer, and it was like crack. She was addicted. She'd take a picture, hand me the phone, and tell me, 'Send that to Kate.' We argued back and forth like always, but I don't remember the last time we had that much fun together." She stopped for a moment and chuckled. "We argued about the necklines mostly. She refused to agree to anything that let the girls show too much. She said, 'When you walk down the aisle, that isn't what the entire congregation should focus on first.'"

Kate laughed, too. "Well I think you found the perfect gown. It shows the girls off to advantage without making them the center attraction of the wedding. And it looks beautiful on you. Once you make your entrance, Frank won't see anybody but you."

"That's what I was going for." She paused and appeared to drift away for a moment. Then she said, "Bradford has been wonderful."

"Does your mother like him?"

"She absolutely loves him. Instead of calling me, she automatically calls him, and he always has answers. You and Castle couldn't have given us a better gift. Even Frank's mother calls him now and then. He's helping her plan the rehearsal dinner."

"So everything is going smoothly?" There was a little hesitation, and Kate arched an eyebrow in question. "Talk to me, Lanie."

"I'm not exactly getting cold feet…but I'm a little nervous."

"I think that's normal. I was nervous, too, if you remember. But Castle and I are still together, and I've never been happier.

"Yeah, but this is me. I've never been with one man non-stop for this long."

"Do you love him? Does he love you?"

"Yes, and yes."

"Are you feeling like you want to get out of it and move on?"

"No. It's a huge commitment…but it feels right."

"And that alone should tell you something. Trust yourself."

Lanie leaned back in her chair with a sassy smile. "Kate Beckett is giving me relationship advice…and making sense. I never thought I'd see the day." After that they planned the time for their shopping trip and then covered other subjects until their meal arrived. They talked about Lanie's wedding plans as they ate, and before they left, Lanie reached in her large purse and pulled out the autopsy report for Kate's team. "I think everything is self-explanatory, but if you have questions, call me."

"See you Saturday morning."

xxxxx

Back at work, Beckett shared the autopsy results with her team, and a substance found on the victim's arm suggested a possible suspect. She had Archer fill out the forms for warrants for the suspect's phones and finances, explaining that it would be the first of many and she might as well get used to it. Then she took Archer with her to speak to the captain and start the process for getting the records, and by the end of the day, they had them. Since the substance found on the body was consistent with material used in the suspect's business, they started with the business records. Finding a couple of suspicious phone calls, the team made plans to interview some of the suspect's friends and employees the following morning; and not too long after their shift ended, Beckett said, "For our first couple of days as a team, I think we've done a good job. Let's go home and start fresh in the morning."

"Sounds good to me," Jennings answered.

The next morning involved talking to friends, relatives, and co-workers of both the victim and the suspect; and a pattern of answers emerged that led to a motive and enough probable cause to gain a warrant for the suspect's home, office, and vehicle. They never got a confession, but they had enough hard evidence for a murder charge.

xxxxx

Lanie and Kate planned their shopping excursion for Saturday morning, hoping that even if they were called in, they might have time to finish their shopping. Lanie stopped to meet Kate at the loft at nine and was met with a squeal of "Aunt Lanie!" and a little body slamming into her and wrapping his arms around her legs. She laughed and reached down to pick Jamie up, giving him a big hug and tickling his tummy.

Jamie giggled and said "Daddy got me a firetruck. Come see." And he wiggled to get down. She let him get to the floor and take her hand while she was still bent toward him, and he pulled her toward Castle's study. Lanie laughed as they moved, and Kate and Castle laughed with her. She made appropriately excited noises about the firetruck and asked some questions before easing herself back to the project at hand.

"Mommy and I have to go somewhere. Next time I'm here, maybe we can play with your firetruck."

"Okay."

"Can I have a kiss before I go?" she asked

She was sitting on the floor with Jamie, and he stood and gave her a kiss on her cheek. She kissed him back and said, "I love you, Munchkin," as she stood.

"Love you, too, Aunt Lanie." Jamie was back to being fascinated by his firetruck, and Lanie took the opportunity to slip away. Kate kissed her son's head, and Castle moved in to help play fireman, plopping a Jamie sized fire fighter's hat on his son's head as he joined him on the floor.

Kate and Lanie made their escape, laughing after they closed the front door behind them.

"Castle loves playing with him, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does," Kate answered. "He's such a good parent. I don't know if Jamie has been such a good baby because he would have been anyway or if Castle is actually that good at being a dad. I mean, look how Alexis turned out. That was all Castle."

"Are you going to have more?"

"Maybe. We've talked about it. He has his mini-Castle, and now he wants a baby Beckett. I've told him how foolish that is, but he says I'll be able to control her because I'll already know how she thinks. I'd be happy if it happened, but I'm getting older. I don't know if it will."

"What? The mini you or the being able to control her?"

"Either one," Kate answered with a grin. "Let's hail a cab and go shopping."

Eduardo obviously heard the last piece of conversation as they exited the elevator in the lobby. He stepped outside and had a taxi stopping for them in short order.

Kate thanked him, and the shopping trip was on. Once in the taxi, Kate said, "Okay, best friend. Let's see if we can find something that won't look like I'm trying to upstage the bride but not so ugly that it looks like the bride doesn't like me."

Lanie laughed. "This is going to be fun."

By the time they finished the shopping, they had been to several stores. At each one, Lanie made Kate try on at least one really unappealing dress…to remind Kate of what she could have insisted on, she explained. Lanie took pictures, and sent them all to Castle. When the final decision was made, they ended up back at the first store they had gone to, buying the second dress Kate had tried on, and then they stopped for coffee and pastries and talked for a while. Lanie took home bags with several new pieces of lingerie for her trousseau, and both friends went home smiling.

Castle met Kate at the door with his phone in hand asking, "Were these serious choices? I got no explanation, only pictures."

Kate laughed and showed him what she bought. "She just wanted to mess with your mind. Lanie made me try on one really bad dress in each store to remind me of the power the bride holds over her attendants and how lucky I was that she was merciful. You can delete those."

"Are you serious? I never delete blackmail worthy pictures."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Where's Jamie?" she asked as she checked in the living room and the study.

"Down for his nap. Are you tired? We could lie down for a while, too. I was thinking about it anyway. He's been a bundle of energy today."

"Not too tired, but I can always use a good Richard Castle snuggle."

"The baby monitor is on. Let's lie down while the boy is asleep." He pulled a light blanket from a closet shelf and unfolded it on the bed before they stretched out on top of the comforter and pulled it over them. They snuggled for a while and drifted into naps of their own.

Sunday was a lazy day…big breakfast, Jamie time, including a walk to the park on the other side of the block, and dinner at the loft with Martha, Alexis, and JD. Then Kate's phone rang, and she was off to another crime scene.

xxxxx

Archer's training was going well, and Ryan and Beckett had conferred several times to compare notes on their two new detectives' progress, Ryan willingly accepting a few minor pointers that Beckett offered. He had been with her long enough to have seen the way she worked with younger, less experienced detectives, and he didn't need too much help. Both of the younger detectives on their teams were progressing well, and Ryan was handling his new team as if he had always been in charge.

At the end of April, a couple of days before her formal promotion, Beckett arranged a day off to visit Captain Dohrman at the fifteenth, the same way Captain O'Conner had done before he took over from Beckett at the fifty-first.

"Lieutenant, soon to be Captain, Beckett. It's good to meet you. I understand I'm leaving my precinct in capable hands," Captain Dohrman said, extending his hand to her. He was a tall, sturdy man with a command presence about him, but with an easygoing manner to accompany it.

"I hope I can live up to that, Sir. And I'm glad I can offer you the time you want to enjoy your wife and family unencumbered."

"Ah. So you've been made aware of the health issues."

"No more than necessary to explain the time factors of the assignment. I don't expect more details than you feel I need to know."

"I appreciate that, Beckett. I'm still reeling from the diagnosis and not quite ready to speak as freely as I'll probably be able to later. My wife and I have had to make some big decisions quickly; and I've been assured that, based on your work at the fifty-first, I can spend my extended leave time without worrying that my precinct will fall apart in my absence."

"I'll do my best, Captain. I'm here today because I wanted to get the lay of the land. I'd love a quick tour of the building, and I'd like to know what you consider the precinct's strengths and weaknesses, and a few names of those you feel I could comfortably depend on as I find my footing in a new place. And I'm interested in community influences…good and bad, and community contacts who might be valuable if a situation calls for it.

"Excellent requests. I'm feeling more confident already. Why don't we start with a walk around the precinct, and I'll introduce you to a few key people. If we miss anything you need to know today, they should be able to fill in the blanks later."

Beckett nodded her approval, and they walked to the edge of the bullpen on the homicide floor.

"Lieutenant Chen," Dohrman called. "A moment, please."

A tall Asian man rose from his desk and came to meet them. "Sir?"

The captain led them back to the hallway where they had more privacy. "Chen, this is Lieutenant Kate Beckett. She'll be promoted to captain and will be taking over for me on Friday. I've told her you'll be a good source of dependable information if she needs it. We're covering a wide variety of questions she's already asked today, so she may not need it; but I trust we can both depend on your cooperation."

Whatever you need, Sir…Ma'am."

"I'm sure I'll have questions, Lieutenant Chen," Beckett told him. "Nobody goes into a new place the size of a police precinct without having some questions. I'll look forward to working with you. Do you still have your own team, still involved in field work?"

"I do. I'd miss the field work if I had to give it up."

"I'm having a little trouble with that myself," she admitted. "May I meet your team? Might as well start learning a few names and faces."

"I'm sure they're dying of curiosity by now, anyway" he answered with a chuckle. Leading her to the back corner of the bullpen, he indicated each member of his team one by one. "Captain Beckett, meet Detectives Vatter, Welch, and Garrett."

She shook each of their hands, calling them by name; then a shorter, stockier man at a desk nearby stood and introduced himself. "Captain, I'm Detective McCade. My team, Flores, Soltan, and Eddleman."

"Good to meet you, McCade," she answered. She repeated her hand shake and acknowledgement of each member of the team by name. "Do you have open cases? she asked the two lead detectives.

They both did, and showed her what they had. She looked at Chen's board a little more closely and asked about an object near the body in one of the pictures.

"We have no idea what that is. It looks like it could have some significance, but we haven't found anything yet."

"My husband has researched a lot of things for his writing, and his memory is amazing. We solved a few cases at the twelfth because he recognized something that we didn't. If you don't mind, I could take a picture and see if it rings any bells. The worst thing that could happen is that he has no idea either."

"Sure. Can't hurt."

She took out her phone and snapped a picture, and the captain told the others, "I promised Beckett a tour, and we have a lot to discuss before the change of command, so we'll be moving on."

After the tour, during which he introduced Beckett on each floor, he saw to it that Beckett others besides Lieutenant Chen who could be in her first line of go to people in each unit; and she took notes. By the end of the day, Beckett and Captain Dohrman had discussed all of her concerns, as well as a couple of things he thought it would help her to know. They seemed to have a similar sense of what was most important both on the job and for life in general.

xxxxx

"How did things look?" Castle asked from the kitchen when his wife came home.

"So much better than my first impression of the fifty-first," she answered before a bundle of baby Castle came running to meet her. She lifted him into her arms and gave him his hugs and kisses.

"Move over, Buddy. You gotta share. Daddy needs kisses, too." He planted a firm but child appropriate kiss on his wife's lips and said. "Dinner is five minutes away."

"It smells great," she answered. Then, turning back to Jamie, she asked, "Want to read a book before dinner?" When he nodded enthusiastically, she put him down and said, "Go pick one from your shelf in Daddy's study."

He hurried off to the study and came back with four books, almost dropping one in his haste.

"I said pick one, not four," Kate said, smiling indulgently. "Pick the one you want and put the rest on the table."

He chose one, then Kate picked him up and sat him in her lap. They both enjoyed the cuddle and the story time, and by the time they finished the book, Castle had dinner on the table.

"What did you think of the captain you'll be replacing?" Castle asked as they ate.

"I liked him. He reminded him of Montgomery. To look at him, you'd never know he had any health issues at all. It's sad that someone who appears to be so fit has to live the rest of his life knowing it's going to be slowly taken away from him. I he asked a lot of questions, and he answered all of them willingly and thoroughly, and added a few more answers to questions I didn't think to ask. He even pointed me toward several people I can count on for dependable help if I need it." She paused for a moment. "He seemed to feel comfortable with leaving his precinct under my command while he's on leave, and I like thinking I might be able to give him some peace of mind while he enjoys the time with his wife." She paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. They know my promotion isn't until Friday, but some of the detectives called me Captain Beckett. In spite of wishing the circumstances could be different, I have to admit, it felt good.

"Nothing can change the circumstances, and you certainly had nothing to do with causing them. All you can do is provide the peace of mind he needs. You don't need to feel guilty about the promotion; you've earned it. And if not you, someone with less compassion could be the one to handle it. If Dohrman reminds you of Roy, his precinct will probably be feeling the pain of his coming struggle, too. Someone else might not be aware enough to deal with that. Two days to being a captain, Kate. I'm so proud of you. Jamie and I will be there."

"I'd be disappointed if you weren't. Actually, I'd be crushed if you weren't."

"Always, Sweetheart. I'll always be there. You may have to introduce the entire family this time, though. I think they're all planning to be there."

"How many is all of them?"

"Eight. You haven't figured that out from family dinners yet? This is a big thing, Kate. Of course your whole family will be there."

"Sometimes it still overwhelms me that I have this many people who love me."

"Mother is out shopping. She's looking for a dress that, and I quote, "Looks dignified without blending in with all those drab, boring blue uniforms."

"I picked up my new boring blue dress uniform from the tailor on the way home tonight, so I'm ready to shatter her sartorial sensibilities."

"Oh, I like it. Vocabulary and a touch of alliteration. I do love alliteration."

"So, later I could…um expand my vocabulary for you if you'd like."

"Oh, I'd like," he answered flirtatiously. Dinner was finished, and Castle stood and said to his son, "Come on, Buddy. Bath time." Turning to Kate, he said, "You take care of washing the dishes. I'll take care of washing the kid."

"Okay." Turning in his direction, she very deliberately said, "I'll do that because…dirty dishes are a disgraceful declaration of domestic disarray."

He stopped in his tracks at the bottom of the stairs, tucked Jamie under one arm, holding him at his waist like a ragdoll, walked back, placed his free hand at the back of her head, pulled her close, and planted a toe curling kiss on his wife's lips before jogging up the steps with a dangling, giggling little boy still tucked in his arm and a giggling wife loading the dishwasher.