A/N There is a very small spoiler here for 707 if you haven't seen Sneak Peek #2

After the Vows

Jim Beckett's Journal

Chapter 1

Dear Johanna,

Finally! The kids really tied the knot this time. They have been through so much and after the last setback, I wasn't sure that Katie would ever get her head straight. She knows so solidly in her heart that Rick would never leave her willingly, but knowing that he chose to forget, well she just didn't seem to be able to get past it.

We talked about it several times, usually in the early hours of the morning. Rick would get up to write or grab a midnight snack and she'd see an empty bed and panic. He would hold her and touch her, but he couldn't quite reassure her. She called me for comfort. I'm glad I've been able to be there for her.

Things were even worse for Alexis. She has, perhaps with the exception of moving in with her former boyfriend Pi, always been a sensible girl. But she's also always been a daddy's girl. That's quite understandable given her mother's flightiness and absences. It is interesting to consider that Rick is by far the most responsible parent and has been an excellent one. That does bode well for the possibility of grandchildren. Still, that attachment meant that Alexis had a very difficult time with Rick's disappearance. It's also led to some obsessive behavior now that he's back. She's needed to know where he was every minute and waited on him hand and foot. That was upsetting to Katie, who has not appreciated having a doting daughter hovering over Rick's every move. Alexis's behavior finally got to Rick as well and he has been working make her feel secure enough in his presence to back off.

Of everyone, it seems that Martha has been the most excepting of the situation. Many times I would have sworn that she was privy to some information the rest of us, including Rick, just don't have. Perhaps that's just been my imagination.

For all that Katie and Alexis were going through, Rick had his own problem. He was trying to cope with the guilt of the pain he caused the others. I'm not sure why he considers it his fault. The evidence Lanie Parrish found indicated that Rick had been shot and had contracted, or at least had been exposed to, Dengue fever. I doubt that he did that willingly. Whatever happened must have been so horrendous that he couldn't come back to Katie and his family remembering it. Regardless, he was carrying that burden. I think he still is, but something happened during the last case that caused him to accept it enough to want to move on with his life anyway. I really don't know what to say about his experience. Katie thinks he was knocked out by a flash bomb and had a dream, but he says he was sent to an alternate universe by an Incan artifact.

Obviously Katie's explanation seems more likely, but something happened at the wedding that makes me wonder. When I was standing behind Katie as she said her vows, I felt your presence so strongly, I could almost see you. The sunset painted the sky with the most beautiful colors I have ever seen and it was as if your spirit held the brush. I choose to believe that what I felt was real and that you were there for the most important day of our daughter's life. If you could be with me then, perhaps anything is possible.

I'm not sure where the kids will go from here. The arrangements they made for an elaborate honeymoon in the Maldives are long gone and they haven't had the time to make any new ones. Martha, Alexis, and I returned to the city so Katie and Rick could have a night alone at Rick's beach house in the Hamptons where the ceremony took place, but Katie didn't have time to request any leave. They had to come back in the morning. I believe Katie may already be on another case and of course Rick would be at her side. I really hope they get some time together without Martha, Alexis, or Katie's colleagues interrupting.

Martha was wondering if the ship of her career in the theater had sailed, but she told me that Rick urged her to audition for a role. She has done that and if she gets it, it should tie up a lot of her time. I think that would be very good for both her and the kids right now.

I've worked out a little distraction for Alexis. She's had an interest in the Innocence Project, something I know would touch your heart. I've joined a group of attorneys examining old records, looking for wrongly convicted people who might be freed by the examination of evidence by modern methods. I can almost see your eyebrows going up. That sort of thing was much more your area than mine, but I have come to feel that there is no greater injustice than putting someone behind bars, or worse to death, who doesn't deserve it.

I'm still doing class action suits, but I am am doing the new work as well. That's where Alexis comes in. Like her father, she reads very fast and more importantly, remembers what she reads. I have asked for her help on the project and she has been very enthusiastic about giving it.

I am hoping that while Alexis and Martha are occupied with matters about which they can be passionate, the kids will have a chance to be passionate with each other undisturbed. I remember so clearly what we had together. I want that so much for Katie and Rick.

Katie tells me that there are a few noses out of joint at her precinct. The wedding was just family, Alexis, Martha and me, which should be easy enough to explain, but Esposito and Ryan feel that they are family and at times Katie has referred to them as such. Lanie, who is now very involved with Esposito, was supposed to be Katie's maid of honor the first time and was left out this time. I can imagine that might sting a bit. Apparently she kept to a diet so she could wear the dress again. The kids have made some mention of throwing a party to salve hurt feelings and give people a chance to celebrate with them. They haven't had the time to do anything about it yet and I don't know when or if they will. I hope so. Those relationships are precious and I wouldn't like to see them diminished.

I imagine that in the coming days there will be much more to tell.

Forever love,

JB