Martha's School of Acting

Martha Rodger's school of acting was hosting a one day seminar on Love & Lust - the visual art of making love, having sex, and the perceptions of each. Grand topics of sharing a life force were going to give way to the primal power of lust. The acting tricks of each were going to be demonstrated in a tasteful and non-vulgar way. The Broadway diva had a sold out menagerie of actors eager to hear tidbits from a lifetime of experience.

Just 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the morning session, a team of vice cops walked in and demanded to speak to the person in charge. They threatened to shut down the school until an investigation could be made. The videos planned for the day had not been rated, and underage actors might be subject to inappropriate material. Ms. Rogers easily volunteered to forgo showing them, but the team moved on to other charges about alleged prostitution. Funds had changed hands and sex was the payoff. Money for sex - however you package it, the oldest profession was illegal in NYC.

Martha knew bullshit when she heard it. Not knowing what else to do, she called the first person she thought of: Detective Kate Beckett. The matriarch knew nothing of the brewing storm between the lady and her offspring, so she didn't second guess whether or not asking a favor was appropriate.

Beckett almost didn't answer because she guessed Ms. Rodgers was calling on behalf of her son. Regardless, Kate wasn't going to duck anyone but Castle. It wasn't fair to the daughter or the diva.

"Darling, I am so sorry to bother you on a Saturday morning, but there are a number of law enforcement officers who seem determined to close me down. Can you tell me what I can do about this?"

Beckett had no idea what problem necessitated multiple officers at an acting school, and she didn't want to take time to play 20 questions with Martha. "Give me the names of the officers." Hopefully one of them was someone Beckett knew.

She repeated the names and Beckett knew instantly what was afoot. Every one present was someone she worked with in vice. They were led a woman Beckett more than respected: Lt. Alison Wang. "Please put the lieutenant on the phone."

"Lt. Wang. Who is this?"

"Beckett."

Surprise was evident in the lieutenant's voice. "Why is this woman calling you?"

"Because she is my friend, and despite the stupidity of her son, I will do anything for them."

The ranking officer walked away from the others for privacy. "Stooks said he went behind your back. He implied he was beyond reproach because of the mayor. He has this coming."

"I can't justify what he did. All I can do is plead with you to leave her alone as a favor to me."

Simple and to the point: "Nope. He does not get away with this. He has to learn that there are boundaries he crossed and consequences because of it. Is there some kind of hold that is forcing you to protect him?"

"Yeah, he owns my heart." There was a pause on the line as both women registered the enormity of that statement. Once again police business forced issues in Beckett's personal life. "I'll rein him in." She asked quietly, "Please?"

"Kate, you had your chance." She heard the involuntary sigh over the phone. "If you want his mother off the hook, I am going to sit the two of you down and have my way. You decide which way I get my pound of flesh."

Beckett kept her voice even. "Please leave Martha out of this."

"Fine. We'll be gone in 5 minutes, but I will be knocking at your door at 6. He'd better be there."

Beckett's stomach knotted. "Yeah, ok."

Martha's voice came back on the line after a few minutes. "Darling, I don't know what you said, but it worked. I have a seminar to run but I'll properly thank you later."

"I'll put it on your son's tab. Break a leg."

Beckett took a deep breath and dialed. He answered immediately but she gave him no chance to speak, much less ask questions. "Bring a good bottle of wine and an expensive bottle of vodka. Be at my place at 5 and plan on staying for dinner." She hung up immediately and focused her plan to mediate the impending battle.

She stayed busy the rest of the day cleaning her apartment and shopping for groceries. Beckett didn't often cook, but she had a few special dishes that did her proud. Tonight she wanted, no, she needed, a perfect evening.

She got out her good dishes and set a proper table. The table linens, crystal, and even the center piece were all from her mother. She needed her mother's strength tonight. She relished having these family pieces and having a reason to use them. After her apartment blew up she lost most of her kitchen. Her father thought it was a perfect opportunity to pass their wedding china on to their daughter. She recalled happy family memories as she got out the serving dishes. Quietly she wondered if she would ever start making happy memories of her own. Castle certainly wanted to help her do just that, but then he went and did something stupid.

Thoughts of her undeclared lover and his missteps made her suddenly second-guess using her mother's china. Did she really want to include her mother symbolically considering the conversation that would be taking place around the dinner table tonight? The detective wasn't ashamed of her work, but the way she used her body and words to tease men wasn't something she was comfortable sharing with parents. A naked reveal of her undercover work was going to coincide with lust and vice.

"Deal with it," she thought. "It is out of my control." She hated not being in control. Her fate was in the hands of others. And she deserved this. Her lack of self discipline made the looming punishment necessary. She let Castle in her life and pretended he wasn't in her heart. She pulled a loaded gun on him. She deserved this, or so she repeated to herself.

Most of the meal was ready, except the entrée which was slow cooking for the next hour. She had just enough time to change clothes before Castle's arrival.

Beckett dressed with care. She chose a brown leather skirt and a loose gauze blouse that gave off a carefree vibe. She pulled her hair back in a simple ponytail, although she wandered if she should leave it loose as a shield for her expressions. Since the purpose of the evening was going to be a reveal of another part of her past, she decided to take her poison openly.

A few minutes before the appointed hour, a soft knock came at her door. She called out for him to enter, and stayed busy in the kitchen. When she finally turned to look, his myriad of expressions were too numerous to read.

He held out the bottles as if they were peace offerings. "As requested, I brought alcohol. The vodka was easy - Absolut. I didn't know what kind of wine would pair with the food, so I brought a variety." He shut up when she came over to claim the bag. Castle was wearing a pair of black jeans and an untucked white dress shirt. He radiated nervousness, but he looked ever so good.

She kept up her neutral expression giving him no insight to her mood. She took the vodka and put it in the freezer. "Since we won't be running out of wine, open a bottle now and pour us each a glass." Beckett went into the main room lighting a few candles and then waited for him to bring her a glass.

Castle was just short of terrified. He expected to be yelled at or physically abused. Being invited over for what smelled to be a delicious dinner was foreshadowing of the worst kind. He figured she was trying to soften the blow of telling him he was through shadowing her. She had an unreadable countenance and he only had eyes for her.

He handed Beckett her wine and was going to sit in the chair when she patted the spot beside her on the couch. "Is it too early to beg for forgiveness or too late to say I'm sorry?" He gulped some wine to fight the dry mouth making his words sound pathetic.

"Oh Castle, it's out of my control. Wait until the hard liquor comes out for the hard part. Until then you need to listen. Have you spoken with your mother today?"

"She called during lunch and told me you took care of a misunderstanding with the vice squad. Something tells me it wasn't a random chance that my mother had this problem." First Esposito had an encounter and now his mother drew fire. His actions were putting bulls-eyes on people around him.

She settled in for a long talk, "I told you Pandora's Box was opened." She paused, struggling with what to share. "I assume your mother's struggle as a single woman in an industry dominated by men is enough of a background for you to understand similar predicaments for female cops."

He nodded, intrigued despite the stakes in play. There has to be more to the story than boys vs. girls.

"Because cops are a tight knit group to begin with, female cops formed a strong network to counter the good-ole-boys club. It wasn't so long ago that women were only allowed to type the reports and do parking patrols. Of course that changed with time. A disproportionate number of women worked vice, so that became a battle ground for the unspoken war between the sexes."

Beckett took a long drink of wine. She was usually indifferent to "politically correct behavior" at the workplace, but nature assigned her a role to play. "When Esposito pulled up a vice case for no reason, it flagged him for a friendly visit to remind him to mind his own business. What he did was no big deal and nothing would have come of it."

"I'm still sorry." Rick Castle, the shadow, began to hope Beckett, the detective, wasn't pissed beyond repair. The damage to their personal relationship was too buried to be assessed.

"Listen and learn, Castle. When you took credit for his actions, you made yourself a target. The case was nasty, and they don't know what you plan to do with the information. Yes, they went after Martha to warn you off."

So there is more to it. I was right. "Thank you for coming to her rescue." He said it tenderly.

Beckett looked away from him. "The penalty hasn't been paid yet. Lieutenant Wang will be joining us for dinner and taking her displeasure out on me this evening."

Castle was worried. He failed to notice the table set for three. What else am I missing? She's wearing flats, not heels with a skirt. Why? Never mind. Was Internal Affairs going to come after Beckett? "You didn't do anything wrong. Why is a lieutenant coming after you and what is she going to do?"

"She is doing this because I didn't keep my boys under control. I said I'd be able to rein you in. As far as what she plans, I assume she is going to lay my record bare. She is in charge of the vice squad including the time I spent there. I'm guessing she'll tell you any and all details that she knows I'd never share with you." Wang's hope was to reveal so much tonight that Manny's case would be lost compared to other stories. She paused to watch his reaction. "Tantalizing isn't it? You'll get to hear all kinds of juicy situations for Nikki Heat research."

He had the saddest look on his face. The most private woman he knew was going to be symbolically stripped by a coworker for Castle's entertainment. "I promise you not a word will ever see print. If I leave will this heartless betrayal end?"

"The situation won't go away, but I realize you may not want or be able to stay. I'll understand." She wouldn't maintain eye contact with him.

Once again he climbed around in Beckett's life like she was his personal jungle gym and there was fallout. Castle suspected something in Beckett's manner. "Do you think this is going to change how I see you?"

"Please don't belittle what you are about to hear by making some grand statement now. There is a reason I asked you to bring a bottle of vodka. When it gets opened you can have your say - if you last that long." She continued to stare at the flicker of the candle flame. Its dance with the unseen swirling currents was a sign of things to come.

He had to reassure her that his devotion really was always and forever. "The only thing I find repugnant is that you are being made to pay for something I did." This was worse than messing in her tragic past. This was messing with her professional life - the very essence of the woman she became after putting the pieces of her life back together.

She faced him so he could read the sorrow on her features. "I'm the one who pointed a loaded gun at you and called you by a name of another man."

"Because I burst into your room in the middle of the night." This was a burden she was shouldering that really belonged to him.

"Because I keep you close but not too close."

"Kate…"

An insistent knock came at the door.