The Bear and I
CH1
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to 2016. This story is at the request of Lady Ailith who is also my beta reader and has been for a couple of stories now. She manages to find almost all of my mistakes and i have my fair share of them. Bless her and the hard work that she puts in.
She has a favorite theme (Plot) of books that she likes to read. She asked if i could take her favorite theme of books and make a Caskett story using it. This story exists thanks to her vision. I hope you enjoy it.
Daily updates will continue as is typical for my stories. However i have a cruise to go on at the end of January into the first week of February so during this time there will be a pause in updates.
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"I'm going into work now Mom," Kate yelled but got no response. She sighed heavily and lowered her head. It had been like this for weeks. She herself was hurting but her mother was shutting down, becoming completely withdrawn. It was all Kate could do to get her to eat. Even then all her mother did was pick at her food. It was causing Kate's heart more pain than she could hardly bear.
Her mother didn't get dressed anymore and moped around the house in her pajamas all day and that was when she decided to stay up at all. Kate was at least thankful that she still showered. She wasn't even cooking any more, although her mother had been a pretty good cook. Or at least Kate thought so. Now she wished she had paid more attention to the cooking lessons her mom had tried to teach her. Her blowing the cooking lessons off were coming back to haunt her. They couldn't keep eating take out day after day.
Kate pulled her weapon out of the drawer that she had commandeered, hooked her badge into place, gathered up her handcuffs, radiation detector, and stuffed her back-up weapon into her ankle holster. With her wallet in her back pocket and keys in hand, she went out the door, locked it behind her, and prayed that they didn't get a body drop today so she could make it home at a decent time and try and reach her mother.
It was only as Kate got in her car that it occurred to her that she had a meeting with their lawyer during lunch. Lunch then, unfortunately, was going to have to be eaten on the fly today. Maybe a hot dog from one of those little carts, wolfing it down followed by some of the city's worst coffee.
"Not today. …Today I'm going down the street and get real coffee," Kate told herself. It was an indulgence that meant the rest of the week she'd have to drink the crap in the homicide department's breakroom. Money was just too tight right now.
That was another problem that needed to be solved. They were living off of her paycheck since her mother didn't go into work anymore and was on an extended medical leave. It had taken all of Kate's hard work and persistence to get her mother's office to accept an extended medical leave just to keep her job. The problem was that she had no idea of just when, if ever, her mother was going back to work. Her mother likely had a bank account, however she wasn't talking and barley living, Kate didn't know what was in it and had no access to it.
Kate was sitting at her desk waiting for the rest of her team to get into the 12th precinct. Even Montgomery wasn't in his office. Still he was likely around here somewhere.
"Hey Beckett," Esposito called as he entered the bullpen and headed for his desk. "Hi Espo." Kate wanted to be upbeat, but she just didn't have it in her. Espo took the hint and shook his head at his partner when he entered so they both left Kate alone.
Eventually she spotted Captain Montgomery in his office and cursed internally that she was so out of it she hadn't seen him enter his office. Still she needed to talk to him so she was up and knocking on his door frame. "Do you have a minute sir?" She had already told him what had happened and he had been more than understanding up to this point."What can I do for you Beckett? How's your mother?" He really was concerned about the people that worked under him. Some people were hard cases in the New York Police Department, but he wasn't one of them.
"I have an appointment with our lawyer during lunch today. I should be back by 1:00 pm sir," Kate informed him. "Take whatever time you need Beckett. You can meet up with Esposito and Ryan if they catch a case while you're gone," Montgomery told her. "Thank you sir. I'll try not to let it interfere with my work." Kate turned to leave.
"Beckett!" She turned back to face him. "You have more than enough accrued time off if you choose to use it. Take the week off and tend to your mother," Montgomery suggested. "I prefer to keep busy sir, but I'll consider it sir. Thank you."
She headed back to her desk and waited until about 20 minutes before her appointment to see their lawyer. "I'm headed out guys. Text me if we get a body and I'll meet you there," Kate told them and emptied her drawer. "We've got your back Beckett. Take all the time you need," Espo answered and watched Ryan nod in agreement. "Thanks guys." She knew she was lucky to have them as partners.
Traffic was a little heavy so she ended up being 10 minutes late since she refused to use her lights to get people to move out of her way.
It was an hour later. Kate was sitting in her car still holding the large vanilla envelope their lawyer had given her. She just sat there in shock then started chuckling since there didn't seem to be anything else to do.
It was simply too stunning. Her mother hadn't said anything about it. But then again she barely talked at all anymore. It took all of Kate's concentration to remember what their lawyer had told her. Still it was enough to get her to drive to her bank since she was using her bank account to pay for everything. Her car was paid for and the newer one, with the outstanding loan, had been sold. The mortgage, which included insurance and property taxes, was being paid for out of her pay which was eating into her savings account. Housing in the city was not inexpensive.
Kate was standing in line and waited until she had actually reached a teller before she signed her name on the two checks with a shaky hand. She handed over the checks and her deposit slip to the lady who looked at them twice. "Would you wait a moment please?" She didn't wait for Kate to say anything before locking her drawer and walking quickly away.
It took a few minutes but she was back with another woman in tow. This one was older and dressed a little more formally. "Ms. Beckett if I could see another form of ID please?" she asked standing in front of her with the teller a little bit behind her. "Is there a problem? I'm not taking much money out," Kate explained. She was only asking for $100 in small bills, a mere fraction of the amount of money she was putting into her account.
"We don't usually see checks in these amounts, even cashier's checks. We just need to be sure you're you. If you would please?" she asked again. "Sure." So Kate handed over her driver's license, her credit card that was bleeding red, her department photo ID, and included her NYPD detective's badge.
The woman took all of it, looked it over, then signaled to the teller to complete the transaction. "Thank you Detective Beckett. I noticed one of the checks was from a life insurance company. You have my deepest condolences." She handed Kate her ID, credit card, and badge back and let the teller do her job.
Kate was back in her car when she got a text from Espo; they had had a body drop and the text gave the address. She took the receipt for the deposit, looked at it one last time, and stuffed it into her bra. There was no way in hell she was losing it.
First check - $1.425 million. From her father's insurance company. A payout from his life insurance policy. Her mother had the same coverage. Their lawyer had had to sign a receipt for its delivery.
Second check - $425,455. It was the settlement check from the man who had run down her father in a traffic accident. He had wanted to avoid a court fight at all costs. While Kate wanted him to rot in prison for the rest of his life, a little voice in her head told her to take the settlement.
$1.85 million for the life of her father. She wanted to tell them they could keep their damn money, she just wanted her father back. It almost felt like blood money. But it gave Kate hope that she could use it to get her mother out of her shell and move on to the next stage of grief that she herself wasn't all that far along in the process. Still there was a voice in the back of her head that told her better times were coming. She just wished she could believe the voice. Plus the voice was new and had started only after they found out her father was dead.
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"Alexis?" Rick gave a light knock on her bedroom door before opening it. His little girl was 5 years old going on 6, or maybe sometimes more accurately, 30 sometimes.
He found her sitting on her bed, her room filled with boxes, much like the rest of the loft including his own bedroom. "What's wrong pumpkin?" His daughter was half dressed in the clothes he had left out on her bed and her shoes were lying on the floor.
Rick got down on his knees and it was only then that he saw that she had been crying. "Alexis, sweetie, please tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is, I can't fix it if I don't know what the matter is." She sniffled and wiped her nose. "I'm going to be teased in the new school," she whispered. Rick's heart broke as he engulfed his daughter in an award winning bear hug.
"Oh pumpkin, I'm so sorry." He was ready to start crying with her. How he had let Gina and Paula talk him into being a playboy that bedded any single woman that stepped in front of him escaped him now. He had listened to their tale about how it would increase book sales from women in a target age group. It didn't hurt that he had women showing up at his book signings that either Gina or Paula would set up for him. He had even stupidly gotten intoxicated by all flattery from the women that Gina set him up with at all of the parties she sent him to.
All of that ended the very first day his daughter had come home from school where some of the other kids had teased her about what their parents said about him had been the turning point. That one fateful day when he gotten a phone call from her school. Alexis had gotten into a fight defending her father's honor. Rick had driven over, picked her up from school, and listened to his daughter cry herself to sleep that night.
He had been the cause of it and it broke him. He wasn't Richard Castle anymore. Maybe he had ignored who he really was for far too long. He had thought coming to New York City would change him. Perhaps he was wrong all along. He, too, had cried himself to sleep that same night for what he had done to his daughter. Alexis was the most precious jewel of his heart. There literally was no one more important to him.
"No one is going to know who you and I are when we get there. I promise, you will not be teased again. You'll get to make some friends. You can invite them over for play dates and tea parties. Invite them over for your 6th year birthday party," Rick told her.
Alexis sniffled and gave him the barest hint of a smile. "Promise?" Her daddy never went back on his promises. "I promise. It's all going to be different." He was going to do everything he could to make sure he kept that promise. "Hey, maybe we could even get a dog. Would you like that sweetheart?"
Rick had actually thought about getting one here in the loft, but it didn't seem right somehow. A dog needed space to run in, something that was in short supply in their part of the city. Alexis instantly perked up. "Really?" Maybe, just maybe, things would be different in their new home. "Yes, really."
Rick lightened up, happy that he had reached his daughter and started tickling her, getting her to laugh. "Now let's get you dressed and put your shoes on. I have one final meeting at Black Pawn to attend and you're coming with me. Then we're going to come home and finish packing for the movers tomorrow. After that we're going to the airport and fly to our new home," Rick said and helped her get dressed.
"I can do it daddy." Alexis took exception to having him put her shoes on. There weren't any laces for her to tie so putting them on was easy for her. Rick lifted up his hands. "Sorry." He grinned and let her put her shoes on by herself.
Rick had sold both his Mercedes and his Land Rover. Even his precious Ferrari was gone; it had been the hardest to part with. The loft had been sold and a cleaning crew was coming in after the movers to remove any trace that they had ever lived there. Even the house in the Hamptons had been sold and another moving company had already boxed up everything save for the furniture and placed it in a Pod that was scheduled to arrive at their new home the same day as the moving company with everything from the loft, including the furniture. He had also sold the other two buildings that he owned in New York City.
The deed to their new home was under his new name making it hard for anyone to follow them. It wasn't finished yet but it was complete enough for them to move into. They would have to put up with the construction crew for a while yet, however the contractor had promised that their house would be done before the first snow which was in just about 3 short months.
Rick had arranged for a car service to take them to the office of Black Pawn. "I'm Rick and I have a meeting with Gina Cowell at 11:00 am." He didn't want to confuse Alexis by using the name Castle since he had been spending a lot of his time trying to get Alexis used to her new last name.
"Just one moment, please," the receptionist told him and picked up the phone. "You can go into the conference room; it's down that hallway through the first door on the left. They're expecting you." Rick tried to keep his poker face but it was a struggle. THEY!? He thought only Gina was attending. This did not bode well.
Rick went into the conference room and found Gina, Paula, and three men, all of whom were wearing suits. One of them Rick recognized. He was the CEO of Black Pawn. Rick was furious at what was shaping up to be an ambush.
"Richard!" The CEO was happy to see him. He stepped and took his hand, a hand that Rick hadn't offered, and he shook it with both hands. "I heard through the grapevine about this meeting and just had to stop by to offer my hope that you will stay with us. I have somewhere I need to be or I would stay and make sure all your needs are met. However I'm sure Gina will take good care of you. Your books have been good for Black Pawn, it'll be good to keep you in the fold here." And he took Rick's hand that Rick still hadn't offered and shook it again then walked out.
"Richard, perhaps the receptionist can look after your daughter during our meeting," Gina suggested. "Alexis stays with me. Besides we won't be here long. I promised her pizza at her favorite place and I'm not letting her down…again." Rick growled the last word showing Gina and the others just how displeased he was with them.
"Fine!" she snapped as she sat down and the others followed with Rick and Alexis being last, seated close to the door. "We asked you here to work out a plan for a new contract for another set of books," Gina began. Rick interrupted her. "I presume you didn't get my letter that my lawyer sent you? He sent it as signature required, meaning that you personally had to sign for it," he practically snarled. "I did and dismissed it. We have a well-established working relationship Richard, one that doesn't need to end," Gina responded. "Then we have nothing left to discuss," Rick said as he started to rise and collect Alexis then head out for lunch.
"What changed Richard? Everything was going so well. Your name is popular and you are constantly in the papers or talked about on TV," Paula remarked. "That's exactly the problem. The exposure I get is not that of a family man. In fact it's the exact opposite," Rick said angrily, looking at Paula who was unfazed. "Your image is what helps sell books Richard, and I don't remember you complaining." Actually Paula remembered the exact opposite.
"Things change. I'm done with your playboy image and if that's all you two have to offer, I'm done with you as well!" Rick shocked them. Paula and the men in suits look stunned while Gina looked angry. "Let's go pumpkin, we're leaving." Rick stood and reached for Alexis's hand.
"Richard stop! Think of the money you're throwing away!" Gina implored. "Your money isn't worth the loss of my daughter. You and your image are costing me just that. I have all the money I will ever really need to live my life and raise my daughter," Rick said as he took Alexis's hand and started to leave.
"You should never have had her in the first place," Paula said brusquely. She was extremely blunt, not shy or bashful in the slightest. Rick had never been so furious in his life. "YOU'RE FIRED! That goes for you too." He turned on Gina.
"Go ahead and sit there and compete with each other over who's the biggest ice princess and who's the most callous and cold-blooded of anyone else on the planet. However you are going to do it without my input or contribution. Let's go pumpkin." Rick held Alexis's hand and started walking out the conference room door.
"Richard!?" Gina said, trying to regain control but Rick interrupted her again. "Good luck keeping your jobs," he tossed back over his shoulder. Meaning that the CEO of Black Pawn was likely to fire Gina and the two suits that hadn't said a word, at least Rick hoped he would.
He was finally outside. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly and found Alexis looking up at him. Her face told him that she was scared? Concerned? Confused? Some combination perhaps.
Rick put on the best smile he could. "Pizza?" he asked with as much lightness in his voice that he could manage as he watched Alexis finally smile and nod enthusiastically.
He started to flag down a taxi just when his phone signaled that he had a new text. Rick took a quick look. 'You'll be back.' It was from Gina which instantly darkened his mood. He opened the back of his phone, pulled out the battery, and threw it one way, while the SIM card went another and landed in the gutter where it would go down the storm drain at the first rain. The rest of his phone shattered beneath his heel where he left its pieces on the sidewalk. Rick put his hand back up and got Alexis into a taxi. "Daddy?" Alexis had watched his mood change in an instant.
"I'm fine sweetie. I just wanted to get one of those new iPhones and now I have an excuse to get one." Rick smiled at her which finally got her to smile back at him. He knew Alexis was too smart to buy all of that and could likely read his body language so he did his best to remain upbeat as he could during lunch. He did his very best to get Alexis to talk and giggle as much as possible.
It was only while waiting outside the ladies room for Alexis to pee on her own, because she was a "big girl now," that it occurred to Rick that he also needed a new number with his new phone. Then it hit him - given where they were moving to it was probably better to get a satellite phone instead of a cell phone. He wouldn't need to worry about bad cell reception with a satellite phone.
Note to self: research the best satellite phone to purchase and what satellite plans were available. Well, there was no time like the present. Fortunately he knew just where to go to get the phone and hoped they had plans available. The land line at the loft was already disconnected and with no cell phone, he had no way to get help in the event of an emergency.
Ninety minutes later Rick walked out of the store with an Iridium Extreme 9575 with a monthly plan and a global SIM card. He had 1,000 minutes per month with a 2 year plan. The phone was $1,295 and the SIM card, $1,449.
"The battery life isn't the greatest so it pays to always have a spare, already charged battery handy. Keep in mind that the phone works best if it has an open sky line to one of the 66 low earth satellites. Meaning don't expect to get a signal while on an underground subway. Also Iridium is the most reliable network. It's because of them that the general public can afford satellite phones. Otherwise you would need to be one of the Fortune 100 companies or a government to afford to use one," the sales rep had told him.
It was actually perfect for where they were moving. There were no underground anythings where they were going. Plus cell phone coverage just might be rather spotty.