AN: Thank you for all of your continued support with this story. There mmight be some delays over the next couple of weeks as I have family visiting, but know that the rough Draft of this is already complete, so it's just a matter of editing and uploading, and it will be finished. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Kevin Ryan blinked in surprise. It's been almost two years since Rick has been in Manhattan, let alone to the 12th Precinct of the NYPD. And yet, one of his officers has just poked her head into his office to tell him that Rick is here, now. "He's asking to speak with you, Captain," she says.
Ryan shakes himself from his thoughts and jumps up. "Yeah, yes, let him in." He and Rick have kept in touch some, though perhaps not as much as he would have liked. But he would have expected a call from Castle, well, Rogers now, before a surprise visit. He can't help but think, as he waits for his friend to appear, that the last time Rick was in this room would have been when Kate was still Captain.
Ryan had not passed his first Sargent's Exam, but that hadn't been because he wasn't qualified. He had never been great at tests, his nerves often getting the better of him on school exams growing up. But after getting over the initial disappointment, and yes, jealousy, when Esposito advanced and he didn't, the detective had become determined that the next time he sat for Sargent, he would be more level-headed, and make the cut.
He didn't expect it would happen as soon as it did. Kate's death had rocked the lives of all those closest to her, not just Rick and her father, but her family at the 12th. For Ryan, it had hit especially hard. Seeing the state she'd left her husband in, he could only imagine what Jenny and their two children, Sarah Grace and Nicholas, would go through should something ever happen to him on the job. He'd always understood the possibility, and he didn't want to leave the career he loved, but what had happened to Beckett had shaken him up more than anything else ever had.
Ryan had told Rick all of this one day, while he was still in physical therapy and before he had moved to the Hamptons. Rick had become a friend to both Ryan and Esposito over the years, but to Ryan more so, perhaps because they both had similar values, underneath their wildly different surface personalities. They both were incredibly loyal and protective of the ones they loved, especially their families. There had, of course, been some rocky times when Rick and Kate were separated, but Ryan had been quick to move on once the real story had come out. In fact, he had felt somewhat sorry for Rick, the man having been almost as much in the dark as to his wife's actions as they were, at least for some time.
It wasn't long after he'd admitted his fears to Rick that he found himself presented with a chance to sit the Sargent's Exam again. This time he passed, and it seemed he was also put on the fast track to Captain. He knew his friend had pulled some strings. He hadn't said anything, but for at least several weeks after Kate's death he'd had direct lines to the mayor, the commissioner, and of course, Deputy Commissioner Gates. Still, the one time Ryan had approached Rick about it, the other man had been elusive. The only thing he'd finally said was that he didn't want his friend's family to go through the same heartbreak he was experiencing.
When he put it like that, Ryan couldn't be irritated that Rick had interfered. Jenny was quietly grateful, too.
In the meantime, Ryan had done everything he could to honor those who had served in this office before him. Like Montgomery, he put his people ahead of the politics. Like Gates, he made sure his precinct worked as a unit, a team. And like Beckett, his motivation for closing all the cases that came across his desk, many times by somewhat unconventional means, was to make sure the victim's family found peace.
He's pulled from his musings by Rick's walking through the door, offering Ryan a smile. "Hello Captain."
"Rick," Ryan grins back and steps forward to hug his friend. "It's great to see you," he tells him, then pulls back to look Rick in the eye. "How're you doing?"
Rick's smile drops slightly, but doesn't completely disappear. "I'm…okay," he answers, then quickly returns, "And you? How's Jenny? Kids okay?"
"Everyone's fine," Ryan says, then shakes his head a little. "The kids are just growing so fast."
"That happens," Rick quips. "And how's the new Captain of the 12th?"
"You know, I really like it," Ryan admits. "I actually don't mind the administrative side. And I get to see the kids more, tuck them in at night, you know? Jenny doesn't worry as much, either." Ryan suddenly stops his rambling when he catches Rick's wistful expression. He hadn't thought. "I'm sorry, Rick. I shouldn't have said that."
"Hey, no," Rick rushes to assure him. "No worries, my friend. I'm glad for you guys." He pauses only briefly before continuing, "You hear from Espo much?"
"Yeah," Ryan replies, "we stay in touch. He loves the ESU. And getting his promotion to Lieutenant was something he'd been working towards for a while, so that was good for him. He's doing well, overall."
"I'm happy to hear that. Kate would be proud of her boys." Rick's smile at that was genuine, but Ryan could tell it was still a pained one.
"I miss her every day, Rick," Kevin says quietly, then adds, "But I've really missed you, too." Rick nodded in acknowledgement, unable to reply. "How are you really doing?" Ryan presses.
Rick sighs heavily and averts his eyes away from his friend, staring at some blank space on the wall. "I'd be lying if I said I was alright," he finally admits. "Sometimes it just hurts to breathe. Writing helped, and the ending was therapeutic, I suppose, but then I stop and think about what could've been, and I am right back there in that kitchen." He looks back at Ryan, and the captain can see the tears in his eyes threatening to spill over. "It's hard, Kev." Ryan just nods. What can he say? Then Rick clears his throat. "But, hey, listen, there's a favor I need from you. It's why I'm here."
"Sure," Ryan agrees readily, "name it."
Rick studies him. He knows Ryan cared about Kate, cares for him now, but he's also logical. This might be a bit too unbelievable for him. Still, Rick thinks, he needs to try. "Kevin," he starts, "this is going to sound crazy, but I have evidence that Kate is alive and I want your help in tracking her down."
He says it without pausing, not wanting to give Ryan a chance to interrupt. Apparently that wasn't really necessary, because the captain just gapes at him in silence for a few seconds, before he eventually works his way around to ask, "What evidence?"
Rick takes the envelope out of his jacket and hands it to Kevin, then does his best not to fidget while the other man reads it. He has gone over and over this, wondering if he was crazy, if he was seeing things that weren't actually there. But he knows it's her.
Unfortunately, Ryan isn't convinced. "Rick, this could've been sent by anyone," he says flatly.
"Kevin, this is Kate. I know it is."
"Rick," Kevin's tone is sympathetic, and Rick does his best not to look irritated. "Kate died two years ago. I miss her, so much, and I know that isn't even close to what you must feel. But this," he holds up the letter, "this isn't her. It's not, Rick. I know you want it to be but it's not." His voice cracks on the last word, and it makes Rick determined to try again.
"Kevin, I know it's Kate. Think about it - it makes sense. No body. No straight answers from her doctors. Everything screams cover up." Ryan's listening but he isn't believing. "She was taken," Rick insists, "and I need to find her." He looks his friend straight in the eyes. "And I need your help to do it."
Ryan pauses, wishing his friend wasn't putting him in this position. He wants to be loyal to Rick, to help him, but going along with this won't help if Rick's wrong, and he likely is. He tries reasoning. "Rick, why now? How is it she writes you, now, after your book is released? Doesn't that show whoever wrote this is free, able to do what they want? If she can write this letter, then why hasn't she called, told you she's alive, told you she needs help?"
Rick knows now that he won't convince Ryan. Not without more evidence. He doesn't really blame him. They may have known each other longer, but Ryan doesn't know Kate like Rick does. Still, it's hard to hide his disappointment. "I don't know, Kev. I don't have the answers. I don't even have the strength to speculate. What I do know," he says determinedly, "is that I am going to find her. Whatever it takes."
"Rick, please." Ryan tries once more. His own emotions and those he sees in his friend's face strain his voice. "We buried her ashes next to her mom. There is no finding her." His tone turns pleading. "You have to let her go, Rick. Talk to someone that can help you let her go. Please," he adds in a whisper.
Rick nods slowly. He knows it's over for now, with Kevin. He'll have to pursue other options, come back with something stronger to convince him. In the meantime,
"Okay Kevin," he says. "Okay, I hear you. Told you I was having a hard time." Ryan gives him a nod, wary of him letting up so easily. "Thanks for hearing me out," Rick adds.
"Course," Ryan replies. After a few minutes more of small talk, the captain got a phone call. Rick gave him another hug and took his leave.
The moment the elevator doors closed, he pulled his phone out and scrolled through the contacts. When he found Hayley Shipton, he hit send.
It isn't long after that Rick walks into his old PI office. After Kate's 'death', he had signed it over to Alexis and Hayley, keeping only a small share for himself just in case he, for some reason, ever wanted to come back. He figured he wouldn't, but it was a way to stay connected to his daughter and his past. Once she moved to Southern California with Chris, however, Alexis sold her share to Hayley. Hayley was now majority owner of Richard Castle Investigations, and by the look of it, she was doing quite well.
After his meeting with Ryan, Rick really did not want to go through another round of trying to convince someone else, even Hayley. But he knew he couldn't find Kate on his own. So he braced himself and walked in. "Hi, Hayley," he says when he spots her coming out of his old office, where she has apparently taken up residence. "Thanks for meeting with me," he tells her.
"Hey, Rick," Hayley greets him with a smile. She walks over and gives him a hug. "You're looking good. What brings you back to the city?" she asks, getting right to the point.
"A plea for help, Hayley," Rick answers. Just as he did with Ryan, Rick takes out the letter and shows it to the younger detective, but this time he waits to say anything until after she reads it, which she does twice, glancing up at Rick in between.
When she's finished and looks up at him again, Rick tells her. "It's Kate. I know it is." His voice is resolute, belying the desperation he feels. He's not sure who to go to next if she won't help him, either.
"How?" Hayley asks, but her tone is curious, and that gives Rick a little spark of hope.
"It's her story," he explains. "It's what she told me when we first became partners, about her mom and my books. And losing her husband?" Hayley is just watching him, so he keeps going. "And more than anything else," he says, "it's our word. Always. That's me and Kate." As he says it, he believes it even more. He's not crazy. Kate is alive. He will find her.
But he needs help.
Hayley's silent for a moment, searching his face, studying him. Something she sees must finally satisfy her, however, because she finally nods once and asks, "What do you need from me?"
Rick only barely restrains himself from doing a fist pump.
"The letter was sent from France," he tells her, the words coming out in an excited rush. "That's all I have to go on. Can you help me track her down? Hack into somebody over there and find out what's going on?"
"Rick," Hayley says, and her tone is one of amused long-suffering, "that's not how it works and you know that." She pauses, thinking. "Let me see if any of my contacts in MI-6 know anything. If she is in France, then maybe they have an idea of what's going on. They may have at least heard of some new player coming in." She hands back the letter to Rick. "Give me a couple of days to get with them. With the time difference, it'll take that. Are you staying in the city?"
"Yeah," Rick replies, "I'm at the Plaza."
"Good. Keep your phone close by. I'll call you as soon as I know anything."
Rick smiles in relief and backs up toward the door. "Thank you, Hayley," he says, and he means it.
"Least I can do for you, Rick," she returns, then pauses before adding, "But listen, you have to be prepared that this isn't her. That she is gone. Can you do that?"
Rick nods immediately, not wanting to give her any reason to change her mind. "Yes, yes, I promise, if we find out that this letter did not come from Kate," he holds it up in front of him, "then I will let her go and move on. I'll even see someone to help me do that. But I have to know for sure." His last sentence is resolute, and Hayley tips her head at him in acknowledgment as Rick turns to leave.
He smiles as he walks down the street. He knows it won't come to him finding help to move on. He won't have to. She's out there.
Which is why he's excited but not surprised when Hayley calls him two days later asking him to come in.
"My contact came through," she says. "Rick, you were right."