Cold Cases: A Solid Ground Companion

Lanie

"Ugh! Why are we even doing this!?" Esposito growled as he shoved the papers away from him. He stood up, chest heaving with pent up emotion, and then slumped back down in his chair, burying his face in his hands.

"Javi… come on, man, you know… we always work cold cases when we don't have an active case," Kevin said, trying his best, but not really helping.

"I know that!" Esposito all but snapped at his friend. Ryan looked at him with big eyes, and he sighed, giving a shake of his head and raising his hand in apology. "Sorry, bro, I'm just stressed out."

"We all are, baby," Lanie soothed, leaning over to run a comforting hand down Esposito's arm. Her heart clenched in anguish to see him so upset. Out of all of them, he'd known Kate the longest, had seen her at her highest and lowest points. He probably knew her the best, saved for Rick Castle.

Esposito looked up at her with big watery eyes, but like the macho man he was, he refused to let the tears out. She sympathized with him. But sometimes Lanie wished he'd just let go of his stubborn male pride and just cry. He really needed the emotional release. She could tell that everyday that passed without any news of their friends only made things more difficult for him.

The official search may have ceased, but Lanie wasn't ready to give up on her friends. When she had free time, she'd go to Kate's old apartment, where Alexis was now staying, and would help little Castle in her search for her loved ones. It warmed Lanie's heart to see how much Alexis's attitude towards Kate had changed. The young woman had once blamed the Detective for everything that had gone wrong between Beckett and her father. Now, Alexis was willing to fully acknowledge that relationships were a two way street.

"I was jealous at first," Alexis had confessed one night to Lanie. "Which is silly, really… since my relationship with Dad is entirely different. But, it… it had always just been my Dad and me. You know? I… I guess I just wasn't used to sharing him. In all his previous relationships, I never had to share him before. He's never been that in love, not even with my mom."

Lanie helped Alexis navigate around the financial issues in accessing Castle's accounts, and together they had begun to build a little network that she hoped would eventually help them find Castle and Beckett. Lanie was toying with approaching Esposito with the idea of calling in some favors from his old Army buddies to provide them the means to better resources. With help from Castle's lawyer, they'd gotten the FAA to give them access to all the files and reports pertaining to the missing flight, including the precise GPS coordinates of the plane's last known location. All they needed was permission to use a satellite to survey those coordinates and the surrounding area.

She glanced up at Esposito, watching him battle with his inner feelings. Now wasn't the time to ask him, but later, when they went back to her apartment, she'd discuss it with him.

"Sorry, Javi," Ryan said with apologetic eyes. "I know you're hurting too. We all are, just as Lanie said."

"I know, bro… I know," Esposito answered in a strained voice as he struggled to reign in his emotions. He squeezed her hand tighter, flicking his eyes back to hers, seeking comforting from her.

The disappearance of Kate Beckett and Richard Castle had brought them back together, as they both sought solace in each other's familiar and comforting embrace. Lanie knew that it was still too early to label things, and for now she was okay with that. She could only smile inwardly at the image of Kate chiding her at being so noncommittal. But times were tough, and as a medical expert, Lanie understood that their emotions were still raw and clouded from grief of losing their friends.

Esposito had shown interest around last Christmas, and Lanie had been amenable to it. But if they started down that road again, she didn't want it to just be for late night booty calls. Having spent the better part of five years watching her best girl and writer boy go from stubborn denial to practically playing house had forced Lanie to look at her own love life, and what she wanted out of it. So, she was willing to see where this most recent shift in her relationship with Javier Esposito would take her.

"You think they're still alive?" Ryan asked tentatively, cautiously glancing up at his friends.

"No doubt, Kev," Esposito asserted, shaking his head at his colleague, very firm in his belief. "Have some faith, man. After all she's been through, do you really think Beckett's going to allow a little thing like a plane crash make her miss her own wedding?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Ryan bobbed his head. "Sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." He paused, deep in thought. "They're probably on some tropical island, living it up."

Esposito nodded, chuckling slightly, his eyes brightening. "Yeah, I bet Castle's like Tom Hanks in Castaway, bumbling around all comically trying to survive."

Lanie smirked and raised an eyebrow, pleased for the brightening mood. She was growing tired of the somber gray clouds that followed them everywhere. She decided to play along with the boys, tease them a bit. "Please," she snorted, disagreeing with her man's assessment. "They're totally pulling a Blue Lagoon."

Ryan furrowed his brow in confusion and looked at Esposito, while the latter gave Lanie an appraising look. "What?"

Esposito scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's a movie, bro. Brooke Shields. Running around naked and skinny-dipping. Seriously? You haven't seen it?"

"No," Ryan blinked, looking nervous. Lanie chuckled, shaking her head as he averted his blue eyes and blushed. She leaned forward and gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat. Leave it to Kevin Ryan to still be the innocent one, despite his surprising undercover history.

"You and Jenny should rent it some time," she said.

"Okay," he bobbed his head hesitantly. "Maybe we will."

"Good," Lanie purred out, smiling wickedly, probably giving Ryan a fright. "After all, they were heading to Bora Bora to do just that," she inclined her head, getting back on topic.

"Yeah, I could see that," Esposito concurred with a brief nod, his eyes narrowing a bit. "The sexual tension was always so thick between those two."

"Perhaps too thick at times," Lanie grinned mischievously.

She remembered Kate's first day back on the job after her suspension. Despite trying to act all nonchalant, Detective Beckett couldn't suppress the glow she had about her. Her eyes were brighter and her lips were always curled up in a slight smile. Lanie knew that look. Her girlfriend was getting it… and, judging by her very healthy glow, she was getting it good. It was all too clear to Lanie that a certain writer was responsible for that, because all of Kate's little tells would just seem to increase tenfold when he was nearby.

When Beckett and Castle arrived at the morgue during that first case, Lanie had tried calling them out on it, but Kate—that stubborn girl—played dumb. Though, after some playful harassing on Lanie's part, Kate eventually conceded that she was, in fact, seeing someone. Lanie found it laughable how they tried to cover it up, even to the point of Castle asking if he knew the guy. Those two weren't fooling anybody. And for 'just friends', they certainly stood very close together. Too close.

It had been so fun, and oh so entertaining, prying the details out of a squirming Kate during one of their girls' nights. She'd been sworn to secrecy, which she gladly gave. Besides, Kate soon acknowledged the benefits of having someone to talk things out with. Lanie really didn't know what she had gotten herself into when she'd agreed to be Kate's sounding board. Those two certainly had their issues—a lot of them—and Lanie sometimes felt like she was being pressed into service when Kate needed to vent.

She sighed. Despite the stress involved with being Kate Beckett's friend, Lanie really did miss her. And writer boy, for that matter. Rick Castle had often helped make her sometimes depressing job easier with his glib and lighthearted remarks. The man certainly knew how to tell a joke. And he made Kate laugh, not a fake laugh, but a real honest to God laugh. It was something that Lanie believed was lacking in all of Kate's previous romantic endeavors. And despite the many ups and downs those two went through, Lanie could tell that Kate was truly happy, probably for the first time in her adult life.

It had been nice, seeing Beckett and Castle's relationship develop from that adorably gross lovey-dovey phase to the solid and hopefully lasting union that Lanie had always prayed they'd reach. Took a few bumps to get there, that's for sure, but she believed that those obstacles had only made Kate and Rick stronger as a couple.

"Oh," Lanie squealed, a sudden thought coming to her. "They're probably making babies!"