Kate Beckett let out a small sigh of relief from her desk chair, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear as she straightened up the case file, placing it on top of her 'storage' stack. She leant back in her chair, stretching her arms out in front of herself contentedly. The case was finished; Mr Jace Masters was going behind bars where he belonged, and she was going home to her family, where she belonged.
She watched as Ryan strode casually over to her, "All nice and clean," He folded his arms, already in his jacket, ready to move out for the day, standing right in front of her, "Masters is going away till the trial, then hopefully for a long while after. Shame we couldn't pin anything on Pakenham, that guy gives me the creeps." Ryan grimaced.
Kate nodded in agreement, rolling her chair back to the desk and gently pressing the switch on her computer, "Well, he's sneaky, but we'll get him next time Ryan." She had to admit though; there was something about this particular guy, Duke Pakenham, which sent a chill sparking across her skin, the way he had looked at her in the interrogation, with pure unadulterated hatred. He had one of those faces, even though he looked like your average middle-aged white guy, with brown hair and eyes, thin lines on his brow, a shadow of stubble and a small scar on his upper lip, he somehow seemed ugly. She banished the unsavoury thought of his face, and collected the last of her things as it drifted from her minds-eye.
"Where's Espo?" Kate asked.
Ryan cocked his head suggestively, "Wandered down to the morge about an hour ago, haven't seen him since."
"Uh huh," Kate bit her lip, straightening her stationary, standing and beginning the walk out, she began to smile at the thought of home.
The noise of the elevator interrupted her thoughts as she reached the hallway. The scuffle and tap of four pairs of small feet running across wooden panels was strikingly familiar. And so was the chorus of "Mommy" as two little boys dressed in identical blue jerseys barrelled toward her at top speed. They were identical in every physical feature; in the length of their steps, the curve of their jaws, and the brightness of their cobalt blue eyes. It looked like home had found her first. Alex was the first to slam into her legs, always the leader, closely followed by Joey. The boys were sporting identical, unnervingly Castle-like grins as they gazed lovingly up at her, their heads, . But, happy as she was to see then, it was a bad idea for them to be in the precinct, which of course meant there was only one possible person in the world that could have brought them.
That's when he appeared, well dressed as ever, carrying two little red backpacks in his fist, his blue eyes twinkling. He held his hands up in surrender, the bags still dangling, as his wife shot him a withering look, "It's their fault. I was bombarded; they kept asking to go to the precinct to see you." Castle blamed his sons.
"So you gave in?" Kate said, exasperated yet amused, "Parenting 101 Castle: Don't give in."
Kate swung Joey up onto her right hip; he kissed her cheek without saying a word and then nuzzled into her neck. Joey didn't talk much; he didn't seem to feel the need. Alex hopped cheerfully over to Ryan, his tiny baby teeth shining.
"Hey buddy," Ryan greeted the little boy cheerfully, ruffling his hair, picking his keys up off his desk, "Gotta' get home now." He looked up at Beckett and Castle, "Promised I'd cook tonight. See you two tomorrow." And with that he strode away, doing up his coat buttons as he went.
Alex skipped back over to his mother, grabbing her hand and holding it to his chubby cheek, bringing big 'puppy-dog' eyes up to meet her own, "Can we have Dinosaurs tonight?" Kate smiled, sharing a knowing look with Castle as he leant against the frame of the arch; the dinosaur shaped chicken pieces were the boys' favourite.
"No, not tonight Sweetheart, tomorrow okay?" She squeezed Alex's hand.
Just then, Beckett's smile faltered, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, like a cold chill had just wafted through, but the temperature in the precinct was the same as ever. She watched as Pakenham, the man she had tried so hard to exile from her thoughts, was led past her, escorted by a uniformed officer. His dark eyes pierced into hers as he strolled past with an ambling, but purposeful, corrupt gracelessness. Following her line of sight Castle froze. Detective Kate Beckett held their young sons closer, unable to shield their innocent faces from Pakenham's dirty glare as he was led by. Joey whimpered, gripping the back of his mother's blazer as tight as he could. Rick, sensing Kate's distress, moved quickly take Alex's other hand and stand in front of her, hiding his family from Duke Pakenham as he entered the elevator. As soon as he was gone, Beckett could breathe normally again.
"Mommy," Joey said in a quiet voice, "Who was that man?"
Kate's chin trembled a bit; she hated the idea of a criminal she had angered seeing Alex and Joey, "A bad man, but you don't need to worry about him okay."
"Yeah," Castle put on a smile, and grabbed a giggling Alex, placing him on his shoulders, "You never have to worry about any bad people, because your mommy is a hero." Rick looked straight into Kate's eyes, "And we'll always be there to protect you."
"Even from Aliens?" Alex questioned, placing his small hands over his dad's forehead to help hold himself upright.
"Yes, even from Aliens." Castle chuckled.
Kate felt Joey relax against her again, "Thank you," Kate mouthed.
Rick gave her a thin-lipped smile, leaning in to give her a quick, soft kiss, before asking, "Home?"
Kate nodded, "Home." She agreed. Rick took her hand, Alex still balanced on his shoulders, and a weary Joey held against her hip.
As they entered the elevator, just as the doors closed, Castle added, "But if the Aliens want someone to eat, I'm giving your mother to them first." Kate slapped his arm causing Alex to burst out into giggles.
This will be a story if it gets enough attention, or maybe if I just really feel like doing it. :D
