Kate sighed and put her head in her heads as she sat in her office. Today had not gone as planned. The Commissioner chewed her out in front of all of the Chiefs, because the precinct's closure rate dropped. She tried to explain it was because she just lost her two best detectives, Ryan was just promoted to Sergeant, and would be second in command to newly promoted Captain Esposito, Kate's former second in command, at the 10th. The Commissioner was not having it. She had to raise the closure rate, and fast. She barely had anything to work with. Her current detectives should still be in training but unfortunately they were thrown right into it. Kate groaned when she realized she was going to have to hold their hands through their cases for the time being. She certainly didn't blame them. Thomas Green, Frank Ronald, Lizzie Kalvin, and Matthew Fitzpatrick were doing the best they could. It was definitely Kate that dropped the ball. Beckett was going to have to stay late tonight to make a plan. She picked up her cell phone and called Rick.
"Ruggedly handsome writer speaking" Kate smiled and shook her head. Still a clown after all these years. "Hey, shit hit the fan here. The commissioner is not happy with the way the precinct's been running. He wants a report on changes that can be made before the end of the week. I'm gonna have to stay late tonight," "I'm sorry babe. What isn't he happy with?" "Closure rates, especially in homicide. Since Espo and Ryan left, closure has been tanking. It looks like I have to hold Green, Ronald, Kalvin, and Fitzpatrick's hand for a while until they can find their footing. I'm also gonna have to find a way to delegate all of the other shit I have to do on a daily basis. This is so frustrating" Rick laughed lightly. "Don't laugh," she grumbled, "You know I hate training," "I would never laugh at your struggles babe. I'm sure you'll find a great solution soon." She hummed in agreement. "I love you Kate," "Love you too Castle. Tell Nate and Hannah I'm sorry I'm missing dinner and that I'll see them soon," "Will do, bye Captain," "Bye best selling author," He laughed as they hung up, and quickly glanced at the clock. Five o' clock. Nathan and Hannah should be home soon. He's conditioning with his friends for the upcoming lacrosse season. His goal was to make Varsity, even though it's almost unheard of for freshmen to make Varsity at Marlowe Prep. Hannah was more artistic than her twin brother. She was always drawing something, and it was always breathtakingly beautiful. She was in the studio, perfecting a piece for the big Marlowe Prep art show. At 14, she already had more talent than many illustrators at Black Pawn. While Kate and Rick were happy they had found their passions, they made sure they were focused on school, and kept their grades high. After all, Marlowe prep wasn't cheap!
Rick was halfway through making dinner when the twins arrived home, laughing at a shared joke. Nate was still in his work out clothes, sweaty, and pretty gross. Hannah was still in her school uniform, hands covered in some sort of art medium. "Hey, Dad," They called in greeting as they saw Rick in the kitchen. "Hey," he called, "go clean up guys, there's still a little bit till dinner. Nate, take a shower bud, I'm pretty sure I can smell from here," Hannah laughed and Nate made a face as they both went upstairs to clean up.
Hannah came down first and joined her father in the kitchen to grab a drink and sit at the island. "Where's Mom?" she questions as she watched him busy himself through the room. "Precinct," he replied, "Commissioner threw her a curve ball, and she has to stay late to figure a few things out," Hannah groaned, "I have a French test tomorrow I need her!" Rick laughed. "She won't be there late, just missing dinner. When she come home you can abuse her fluency," Hannah smirks, and her father laughs, "Anyway, how was school?" She shrugged, "Same old, same old. I got so much homework tonight. I got a bunch done at the library with friends after I finished in the studio with Ms. Martin," He nodded, "It's good you got a bunch done, did you get your English essay back yet?" Hannah groaned, "Yes, she's such a hard grader Dad, I got an 85 on it, and there were maybe 5 mistakes she found in the entire essay. It's absolutely ridiculous." Rick shrugged, "You'll figure it out. Sometimes it's hard to find what your teacher is actually looking for," Hannah was nodding in agreement as Nate came down stairs, "Perfect timing," Rick said, "Dinner's ready"
Kate looked at her watch as she stepped into the elevator that took her up to the loft. She swore when she saw it 10. She didn't mean to get home this late. This was one of the times she was happy her kids were already 14, she knew they'd still be up. She slid her key into the lock, hearing the sounds of Nate's Xbox. She walked in and her heart filled with joy. On the couch was Nate, Hannah, and Rick, all playfully bickering over the video game on screen. "Hey," she said softly, almost hoping not to disturb them. Three heads swiveled immediately and she saw identical grins spread across their faces. "Hey Mom, you'll never believe what Mrs. Wilson gave me on that English essay," Hannah greeted "Stop whining, it's better than what I got!" Nate quickly responded. Kate laughed as the kids argued over the apparently controversial English essay. She leaned over and quickly kissed her husband. "I'm sorry I got home so late. I promise I was really wanted to be home by eight, but I lost track of" "Babe, it's ok. Your under a lot of stress. Your allowed a late night every now and again," She nodded, and sweetly kissed his 'd she find such an amazing man?
Kate sat next to Hannah on the couch with a glass of wine as they watched some tv. She noticed pretty quickly that Hannah's attention was not on their show, but on her phone. That isn't all that usual, especially for 14 year old girls. But she stared at it anxiously waiting to get a text, and when she got it, she either had a huge smile on her face as she responded, or she blushed. Kate only knew of one thing that would cause that kind of reaction from her daughter. A boy. Kate nudged her daughter's shoulder with her own to get her attention. She looked up and smiled at her mom. Kate smiled warmly back. She so deeply valued the time she spent with her daughter. "How are you Hannah-bear? School's ok?" Hannah nodded, looking slightly confused. "You making new friends at Marlowe?" She nodded again. Kate smirked. "Who's the boy baby?" Hannah's eyes got really big. "How'd you know?" Kate laughed "I was a detective back in the day," "His name is Tyler. He's so nice mom. I think you'd like him," She looked warmly down at her baby girl. "As long as your happy sweetheart," Hannah nodded, "He makes me so happy," "How'd you meet? Do you have a class together?" "Uh, no we don't," she answered nervously, "We met after school. I was hanging up art, and he complimented one of my pieces…" "Huh, weird, I thought you had classes with all of your class since there aren't many of you…" Hannah mumbled her response and Kate didn't quite catch it. "What did you say?" "I said he isn't in my grade," Kate got nervous. When she was younger, dating a older guy never ended well. They always wanted something she wasn't ready to give. "What grade is he in?" she asked quietly. Hannah mumbled her answer again, but Kate was ready for it. "A SENIOR?!"