A/N: Just a one shot which got stuck in my head. Not perhaps the most exciting of stories but I like it so excitement be damned :-)
Could be set anytime after the first few episodes of season 6 (no explicit spoilers although you definitely need to have seen Valkyrie as this assumes the reader knows the outcome of the proposal - you have been warned) and no doubt takes liberties with the American financial system...but we all know that's not a first and at least this one is purely fictional! Also, any estimates for revenue from the 'Heat' series of books in the below is purely my own invention, although I did look up estimated incomes for some well known authors so hopefully it's vaguely realistic.
Kate sat at her desk in the precinct trying to get her head around the report in front of her. Buried somewhere in the gibberish might be the clue she needed to break this case open but whatever tech had written it seemed to have forgotten not everyone had a degree in chemistry! Over the years she'd gotten pretty good at deciphering reports from the crime lab but this...this may as well have been written in Klingon or Martian for all of the sense it made to her.
Kate sighed and reached for her phone. It was no good, she wasn't going to get anywhere trying to understand this nonsense and she needed help. Lanie would give her grief for weeks for asking her to translate but what choice did she have. Already grimacing as she imagined the teasing she would get from the M.E. she scrolled down to her friend's number and was just about to click on the call button when her cell buzzed unexpectedly in her hand. Kate jumped at the sudden vibration and her heart rate probably doubled in shock. Gritting her teeth, she jabbed the answer button several times harder than she needed to and brought the cell to her ear.
"Beckett," she barked into the phone.
"Oh...um...," came an uncertain male voice from the other end, doing nothing to calm her annoyance. Whoever it was called her didn't they? Why should they be surprised when she answered her phone?
"What is it?" She demanded. By God, if it was another cold call from an insurance company she would personally go round to their offices and shove her badge down however many throats it took to get them to stop calling her!
"Ah...I...was looking for a Katherine Beckett?" the voice replied timidly.
"You've got her," Kate replied. "What do you want?"
"Oh...ok...right. Um, this is James Anderson. From Deloitte's..."
Kate waited for the rest of the explanation as to why he'd seen fit to disturb her at work but nothing was forthcoming. "And..." She prompted, her temper deteriorating by the second.
"Err...we manage the accounts for Black Pawn publishing and Mr Richard Castle."
"Okaaaay. So why are you calling me?"
"We've been trying to get hold of Mr Castle this morning but he's...ah not picking up his calls."
"Castle is out of the country on a book tour, I would have thought you would have known that," Kate replied. She glanced down at her watch and made some quick calculations. "And he won't be answering his phone as it will be just gone 3am where he is right now."
"Um...yes, we thought that might be the case but it's an emergency you see..."
"An emergency?" Kate interrupted him. "You said you were Black Pawn's accountancy firm yes? What kind of emergency could you possibly have that would mean you would need to talk to get Castle out of bed half way through the night and half way around the world? Can't his tax receipts wait for a few hours? Or better yet two more weeks when he's back on the country."
Kate realised that her voice was getting louder as she spoke and she was half out of her chair in irritation. She closed her eyes and dropped back into her seat, telling herself to take a few deep breaths. Why was this idiot ringing her anyway? She'd been wound up enough by her case and the nonsensical file in front of her and then this fool had to go and remind her that not only was Rick not by her side but also that she wouldn't see him again for two more weeks! The two weeks he'd been away already felt like a lifetime and being reminded they were only half way through this enforced separation was definitely not improving her mood!
"Um...err...there are some papers that...ah...Mr Castle should have signed before he went away," James Anderson stuttered in reply.
"Mr Anderson," Kate said, trying to get her temper back under control "As you can probably tell, now is not a good time. If Castle forgot to sign something then I'm sure he'll be happy to rectify that when he gets back. Or, at a more sociable hour in his current locale, you can perhaps send him the documents and he can sign and send them back to you."
"Um...the papers need to be signed and filed before midday today otherwise it will be more than month before we're legally allowed to file them again. It involves rather a large sum of money..."
Money! She had a young women laying dead in the morgue whilst this fool wanted her to talk about money!
"Well it will have to wait then," she replied through gritted teeth. "If Castle's got his phone off then I won't have any more luck getting hold of him than you did. I don't see how you thought I could help." That was not strictly true, she knew Rick had another cell on him which he would never turn off and only a trusted few had the number, like his family, her and the guys. Probably Lanie as well. But she was most certainly not telling Black Pawn's accountants about that number! That phone was for emergencies only and whatever this guy thought, something money related did not count as either.
"Um...no, I suppose not," Anderson replied. "But that wasn't why I called you. Mr Castle has listed you as a co-signatory for all of his accounts, with full authority to sign on his behalf."
"He did what!?" Kate exclaimed, jumping to her feet again. A few of her fellow officers turned round to look curiously at her after her sudden outburst so Kate threw the report she'd been holding down on to her desk and strode off to an empty conference room.
"Ah...Mr Castle was quite explicit in his instructions," Anderson replied, his nervous voice sounding even more timid than before. "He arranged for you to have full authority over his accounts three months ago..."
Kate put her hands over her eyes and slumped against the table. She vaguely remembered Rick asking her something about money a few months back. She'd only been half listening at the time, her focus more on the murder board in front of her than on her fiancé's mumblings about money and shared accounts and other such nonsense. She'd told him she didn't care about his money but if he'd shut up about it and concentrate on their case she'd happily share her accounts with him.
She'd given that little incident no more thought than that and had simply forgotten all about it until now. She'd never been interested in Rick because of his money - quite the opposite - and they both knew it. She'd come to terms with the fact marrying Rick would automatically make her very wealthy but only by simply ignoring it. Her needs had always been relatively simple and as long as she had a roof over her house, clothes on her back and Rick in her bed she couldn't care less how much money they had.
"Um...Ms Beckett...?" Anderson said quietly into her ear, reminding her she'd probably been quiet for the past minute or so.
"Yes?" She asked wearily.
"If you are able to come to our offices to sign the paperwork we can get it filed today. It relates to a regular payment from Mr Castle's royalties which requires an annual renewal authority...for tax purposes you understand. Mr Castle has arranged for the payment in each of the last six years and I'm sure his not signing the authorisation was just an oversight."
"Can't it wait until he gets back?" Kate asked again.
"It can but as I said it will delay payment by at least a month and as a charitable donation it may have an..."
"Wait, stop," Kate said interrupting him. "Did you just say this was about a charity?"
"Um...yes," Anderson replied. "Mr Castle makes the donation out of his royalties each year but as a charitable donation it has an impact on Mr Castle's tax liabilities so requires annual approvals, hence the need for signed authority from either Mr Castle or, as of the last three months, yourself."
Kate pulled her lip between her teeth as she tried to marshal her thoughts. She'd deliberately avoided talking to Rick about his money but one thing she knew for sure was that he was passionate about the charities he supported. He freely gave up his time and money for many charitable events and he would be devastated to learn his forgetfulness in signing a form was the cause of a month or more delay in one of his donations reaching its intended recipient.
"Fine," Kate said, biting the word off. "Where are your offices?"
"Ah...the corner of 70th and 3rd."
Ok, not exactly on her way but she could make a detour to that address on the way to the morgue. It would be better to show Lanie the indecipherable file on her desk anyway than try to read it out over the phone.
"Ok, I'll be there in about half an hour."
"Oh, excellent. I shall let reception know to expect you. Thank you and my please accept my apologies for disturbing you at work."
"No problem," Kate said with a sigh as she cut the call.
"Ms Beckett, thank you for coming in and please accept my apologies for interrupting your busy day." James Anderson said, shaking her hand and gesturing for her to take a seat in his rather plush looking office.
Kate shrugged off a slight sense of having the tables turned on her, thanking people for coming in was usually her line, and tried her best to smile back. Anderson was almost exactly how she'd pictured him from their brief phone call. He was a thin, balding man in his mid to late fifties and several inches shorter than she was. In fact, if she'd not already known he was an accountant she would probably have guessed what he did for a living - there was just something about him that shouted 'good with numbers'.
"No problem, Mr Anderson. Although I am in the middle of a case and very busy. You said on the phone you had some documentation that you wanted me to sign?"
"Ah...um...yes," Anderson replied, his voice as timid face-to-face as it had been over the phone. He pulled a file out from a cabinet behind him and removed several pieces of paper. He quickly rifled through the pages, nodding to himself when it appeared everything was to his liking.
"Here is the form in question," he said, handing the papers over to her. "It is the details of Mr Castle's current donation and his consent to continue paying 10% of his royalties for the Nikki Heat books and associated merchandise to the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. As you will see, all of the appropriate signatures are there from Black Pawn Publishing, it just requires either Mr Castle's or your signature and we will do the rest."
Kate barely heard what Anderson was saying as her eyes scanned the papers in front of her. Her mind was instead focused on what the papers said and in particular the amount of money that was being talked about. Whilst the paperwork was concerned with obtaining Rick's continued consent to his donation it also detailed just how much money his donation came too for 10% of his royalties last year. The figure was...staggering!
"Ah...you said Rick has made this donation for the last six years?" She asked, her voice quiet and a little shaky.
"Yes," Anderson replied. "He had it written in to his contract with Black Pawn when they agreed on extending the Nikki Heat series beyond the first book."
Kate nodded, more for something to do than for any other reason, whilst she tried to get her head around what she was reading. If Rick had been donating this amount of money over the last six years then he'd donated almost $20 million dollars! $20 million dollars! That was...was beyond her ability to comprehend.
"Err...is there somewhere private I can go to read this?" Kate asked, looking up at Anderson.
"Of course. Please follow me," he replied, standing and walking out of his office. Anderson led her to a line of meeting rooms and, after studying a schedule on one or two of the doors finally selected one and ushered her in. "This room is not in use for the next half an hour. Please, take your time and come back to my office when you're ready."
"Thank you," Kate said sitting down in one of the chairs. Anderson nodded then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. She stared at the document in front of her, reading each line carefully. This wasn't the kind of paperwork she was used to but she knew her way around legal documents and this was certainly much easier to follow than the stupid file in her bag. There was no doubt about it, this document made it clear that Rick had donated 10% of all his earnings from the Nikki Heat series in the last financial year and sought approval for continuing that arrangement into this financial year. All told, last year's donation accounted for just over $3.7 million dollars, all of which went to the NYPD widows' and children's fund.
Kate shook her head in disbelief, as much for the sums involved as for the fact Rick had never told her about this! Okay, so as they'd grown closer over recent years she wasn't all that surprised about his generosity; donating 10% of his earnings to the widows' and children' fund sounded exactly like the kind of thing he would do. But if he'd been doing this since he'd started shadowing her...well, it was exactly the kind of thing she thought he would have bragged about back in the first couple of years. But he'd never mentioned this, not one word!
Kate pulled out her cell phone. The number he'd given her was supposed to be for emergencies only and it would still be early where he was so no doubt he'd still be asleep. But according to Anderson this document needed to be filed in less than, she glanced at her watch, less than 45 minutes and there was no way she was going to sign away $3.5 million dollars of Rick's money without first getting his approval.
Decision made Kate jabbed the call button on her cell and lifted it to her ear. She heard the phone ring four times before it finally connected and a tired sounding Rick answered.
"Kate," he said, sounding groggy from sleep. "Is everything ok?"
"Everything's fine Rick," Kate said quickly. She didn't want him to panic thinking Alexis was hurt or something - she knew exactly what kind of active imagination he had!
"Are you just saying that to stop me from panicking or do you really mean it?" Rick asked.
Kate smiled, that was such a Castle question. "I really mean it Rick. Everybody is ok, no injuries or any other bad things to report."
"Ah, good." He paused for a second. "Well, as I know you know what time it is here and as there are no emergencies then I can only surmise that you must be missing me so much that you were desperate to hear my voice," he said and Kate could picture the smile on his face.
"It's true that I miss you Rick," Kate replied softly, and honestly. "But I think I could have lasted another couple of hours or so until you woke up and gave in to your own desperate need to call me so you could hear my voice," she added teasingly, knowing full well that she looked forward to those daily calls as much as he did.
"Ah, too true detective," Rick replied, his tone light and airy and completely unabashed. "I'm not ashamed to admit I miss my fiancé and I look forward to our morning chats. I need something to get me through the days out here without you."
"Sap," Kate replied, grateful he couldn't see her smile or the sappy look she knew was on her own face.
"Guilty as charged. So, Kate," he continued, his tone a little more serious. "Much as you miss my dulcet tones I know you wouldn't call me in the middle of the night unless it was important so what's up?"
Kate turned back to the document on the table in front of her and picked it up. "I had a phone call today from a Mr James Anderson," she said.
"My accountant? What on earth did he have to say that you thought was important enough to drag me out of bed?"
"It seems you forgot to sign something before you left," she replied. "And it needs to be filed today otherwise it will be a month or more before it can be filed again."
"So? I forget to sign things all the time Kate. Why couldn't Anderson wait until I got back?"
"I said the same thing but apparently this has to be done now and he thought it was important enough to call me when he couldn't get hold of you. When were you going to tell me that you'd given me signatory authority on all of you accounts?"
"Ahhh...didn't I mention it?"
"No Rick, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that conversation!"
"But you knew I was going to do it right? We spoke about it at the precinct..."
"You mean when you wouldn't shut up mumbling about accounts and stuff when you knew I was distracted and you took advantage of that distraction to get the answer you wanted without worrying too much about what I actually thought about it? You mean that discussion..."
"Ummm...yeah, that sounds like the one."
"Rick!" She exclaimed. "Didn't you think this is important enough to have a proper conversation about? As I understand it you've given me full access to all of you accounts! All of them!"
"Yes," Rick replied. "Kate, I've tried to speak to you about money and how much I earn and you always shy away from it or simply change the topic. I knew you wouldn't be comfortable about this but you said you were happy to share accounts with me so I just did it."
"Yes, share my accounts Rick. Mine! Which we both know contain a fraction of the amount of the money in yours!"
"What, so it's ok for you to share your money with me but I can't share my money with you? That doesn't make any sense! Besides, we'll be married soon at which point what's mine is yours anyway so I'm only pre-empting what's going to happen anyway."
"Rick..." Kate put one hand over her eyes.
"Kate, you've always known I was very wealthy," he said softly. "And I've always known that you aren't after my money. You've never wanted me to shower you with gifts or any of that nonsense, even though I would happily spoil you each and every day for the rest of your life. I trust you with my life when we're at work and I trust you with my heart every second of every day. Trusting you with my money is nothing by comparison, believe me."
Kate stared at the wall of the meeting room, her eyes suddenly misty as Rick once again reminded her just why she loved him so much. His words had always had the power to profoundly affect her and once again, with just a couple of sentences, he'd completely disarmed her.
"I don't know what I've done to deserve you..." She whispered into her cell.
"Believe me Kate, the very fact you're more annoyed about me giving you access to my money than the other way round just reinforces the fact I'm the lucky one," Rick replied softly.
Kate didn't reply as she tried to gather herself back together again, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye before it could drop and ruin her makeup. God she loved this man and now she was missing him more than ever! The two weeks until he got back home would feel like an eternity!
"So, Kate," Rick said quietly after a few moments, somehow knowing as he always did when she'd pulled herself together enough to be capable of a reply. "What was so important about this document I forgot to sign?"
"The document, right, yes," Kate replied, trying to bring her scrambled thoughts back into order. "Apparently you were supposed to sign a yearly declaration of consent to donate 10% of your earnings from the Nikki Heat series to the NYPD widows' and children fund."
"Ahhh, that. Is it really that time of year already?"
"Rick, according to your accountant you've been making this donation for six years! Since the first Heat book."
"Six years? Wow, time really does fly doesn't it?"
"Rick, this document also contains the details of how much the donation came too last year. It's almost $4 million dollars!"
"Nikki is very popular," Rick replied and Kate could visualise his shrug.
"But Rick, that's $4 million dollars! $4 million!"
"Ummm...yeah?"
"$4 million dollars that you're giving away, just like that!"
"Yeah, I know," he replied. "Why, do you disapprove of my choice of charity?"
"What!? No, of course not!"
"Then you disapprove of how much I'm donating to them?"
"No! It's your money, you can do what you like with it!"
"No, it's OUR money Kate, I thought we'd just established that. I set this up years ago but I should have thought to ask you about it this time."
"Ask me!"
"Of course. When I initially set it up I ran it past Alexis to make sure she was happy with it but I should have thought to check it with you this time round as well."
"You don't need to ask my permission to..."
"Kate," Rick interrupted her. "Are we or are we not getting married in a few months time?"
"Ah...yes," she replied, taken aback by his sudden question and change of topic.
"At which point we will be husband and wife and will spend the rest of our lives together yes?"
"Of course."
"Well, then any decisions we make, both now and in the future, affect the both of us. I know you don't like thinking about the money I earn but it is a fact of our life together and yes, from this point on I will be asking for your opinion and agreement in any major money decisions."
Once again Kate allowed the silence to stretch as she absorbed his words. There was no escaping the fact that up until now she'd shied away from thinking too much about the money Rick earned but he was right; they couldn't go into their marriage unless they were both able to share and discuss anything and that included the millions of dollars Rick earned each year from his novels.
"So why the NYPD widows' and children fund?" She asked quietly.
"It seemed...appropriate at the time," Rick replied. "I'd been shadowing you for about a year and had seen firsthand just how much the NYPD gives to this city. Oh, we both know not all cops are good cops but the majority are out there each day risking their lives for the good of the rest of us. I knew there was no way I would ever convince you to take a cut of the royalties..."
"You thought about trying to give me some of your royalties!" Kate squeaked in surprise.
"Of course. The words on the page may have been mine but you are the inspiration and just as important to the success of the novels as me. Anyway, I knew you'd never take a cent from me like that..."
"Damn right!"
"...so I approached Montgomery and asked his opinion."
"You spoke to Montgomery?"
"Yes. Initially I wanted to do something specifically for the twelfth, for the cops I knew and saw each day. But he convinced me doing so would look too much like a bribe and even though my intentions were good the press would simply have a field day with headlines like 'Wealthy author buys his way into the NYPD' or 'What 'protection' has Richard Castle brought from the NYPD'. He was right of course but I felt bad about earning so much money from the Heat book but not being able to give anything back, especially as by that time Black Pawn were talking about sequels. Montgomery, you, Espo, Ryan; you'd all allowed, reluctantly maybe, some playboy author to tag along and play cop potentially risking your lives in the process. And here I was making millions and you weren't getting anything. It didn't seem fair or right.
"It was then that Montgomery suggested the widows' and children fund. It was a long established charity which does great work for the families of cops and like all charities it could always do with more money. He reminded me I only saw what went on at the twelfth but his precinct was no different to any other and there were good cops all over this city who could benefit. And as a charitable donation the money would be a matter of public record so it would be difficult for the press or anyone else to spin it as a 'bribe'.
"It was the perfect solution so when I sat down to agree my contract with Black Pawn I put it forward as one of the conditions. I would donate 10% of my royalties to the fund and so would they..."
"What! Black Pawn put in 10% as well!?"
"Oh yes. They weren't happy about it but I made it a condition and they eventually caved."
"So the money shown on here...?" Kate asked, looking at the document Rick could not see.
"Is only my part of the contribution. There will be another amount from Black Pawn which will probably be even higher. Either way, around about 2% of each Heat book sold ends up in the fund. It's not much but I thought it was the least I could do."
"Not much," Kate said faintly. It was so much more than she would ever have believed. She knew cops whose kids had directly benefited from that fund; though scholarships or specialised healthcare. Many a cop owed a debt of gratitude to that fund and for the past six years Rick had anonymously become a major benefactor to it. "Why did you never tell me?"
"Honestly? When I first set it up Montgomery asked me not to. He said it would make some cops I worked with feel uncomfortable taking money from the fund if they knew I was the source of at least some of it. Black Pawn tried to make some press out of it; the donation is all in their name, even my part. But as you know good deeds don't sell papers so I don't think many people noticed. And then after a while it was only once a year when I signed that form or maybe when someone mentioned something about the fund at the precinct that I really thought about it and even then there is never really a good moment to say 'Hey, did you know I give millions to that fund each year.' without sounding like an egotistical jerk."
"But Rick," Kate said. "It is millions...people should know what you did, and do, for them."
"Maybe, maybe not," Rick replied, sounding embarrassed. "To be honest Kate I'm happy for my donation to remain anonymous. Montgomery was right, I know you and the guys don't care about what I earn or anything but even though my presence there is accepted these days we both know I'll never truly be 'one of the boys' with most of the other cops."
"Oh Rick,"
"No Kate, its fine. I get that and they're right. I'm not a cop and I do have, and do earn, stupid amounts of money. They risk their lives each day and I write books yet I earn millions and they get thousands. Life isn't fair but that's the way it is, I can't change that. So I know I'll never truly fit in at the precinct but I'm happy not to highlight the difference by advertising about things such as the fund."
"Richard Castle," Kate said, her heart in her mouth. "You never stop amazing me."
"I'm not trying to amaze anyone," he replied, once again sounding a little embarrassed. "It just seemed like the right thing to do, that's all."
Kate shook her head. The right thing to do. Yes, it probably was the right thing to do but she wondered just how many others in his position would have done the same thing, would even have thought about it in the first place. She was willing to bet that he would be in the minority, not so much for his generosity but simply because he had felt he should do something and acted on it, all off his own back and without making a fuss. And to think she'd once thought he was the shallowest man she'd ever met!
"Kate?" Rick asked, bringing her back to the here and now.
"Hmmm?"
"So, are you going to sign the form?"
"Of course I am Rick!" Kate exclaimed.
"Good. It's a pain having to do it each year but the IRS insists upon it. I'm sorry I forgot about it and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it. There are probably one or two other things like this you should probably know about."
"More of them," Kate groaned.
"Yeah, sorry," Rick apologised.
"Don't be sorry Rick just...can we save them until are you get home? I don't think I can deal with any more of this kind of stuff today."
"Yeah, of course. I should probably ask James to put something together and we'll go through it at some point."
"Sounds like an exciting evening," Kate replied.
"Well, you're always telling me off for not doing enough paperwork," Rick quipped.
"Paperwork, shit." Kate looked at her watch; the time Anderson had given her to get this submitted was almost up. "Sorry Rick, I've got to go. Anderson said he needed to get this back so he could file it by twelve and my time is almost up."
"Ok Kate, no problem. Do you still want me to call later?"
"Of course...if you want too that is?"
"Of course I want too Kate," Rick replied with a laugh. "Talking to you is the highlight of my day. Getting to do it twice is just an added bonus!"
Kate smiled, she couldn't agree more. "Ok, so I'll speak to you in a couple of hours then," she said.
"That you will my dear detective, that you will."
"I love you Rick."
"I love you too Kate, speak soon."
"Bye," Kate replied, cutting the call. As she pulled her cell phone away from her ear she rubbed her thumb tenderly over his name on her contact list, lost in her emotions and missing his voice already. Who would have thought she'd come to this, so desperate just to hear his voice; to have him back by her side where he belonged. It was sad and sappy but she wouldn't change it for the world.
Kate dug around in her bag and pulled out a pen. She signed the consent form where the post-it flags indicated and gathered the document together to drop it in with Anderson so he could do whatever he needed too to ensure Rick's donation kept coming. She dropped her pen back into her bag and sighed as she saw the manila folder which contained her own paperwork. There would be time enough later for her to try to get her head around everything she'd learnt today, and no doubt some more eye-opening discussions with Rick, but right now she needed to drop this off with Anderson so she could get on over to the morgue where no doubt Lanie would bring her back to reality with her teasing over her asking for help translating the ridiculous report!