Around the World Series

Part Five

North American Dream

Chapter 4

. . . . .

"So?"

Javier shot a confused glance to his partner. "So what?"

Kevin shot him a look he usually reserved for the criminals that lied. Badly. "So, tell me."

"Tell you what?" Javier didn't like riddle games. Puzzles, okay, but riddles? That was why he had Kevin. And Beckett.

"So tell me what you did to have Lanie calling me, instead of you, and being snappy about it to boot," Kevin retorted as he merged smoothly onto the I-195 towards Queens. Since Beckett had fielded the Knockwood interview and Kevin and Javier had been stuck on research, they'd both been very happy to nominate themselves for the interview with Kelvin Reinhart's family. And Kevin wasn't stupid enough to pass up an opportunity to pick away at Javier.

Though Kevin had given the Hispanic detective a difficult time when he'd started dating Lanie, the Irishman was actually happy with the turn out. He worried, as partners did, about Javier off the clock. Beckett had found Castle to give her some relief and some time away from the precinct and Kevin had Jenny, but Javier, for the longest time, didn't have a real way of getting away from the stuff they saw. Or, more appropriately, someone who could listen to the things they saw. And Lanie could do that in spades.

So, contrary to the face he was putting on, it bothered him that Javier was having trouble with Lanie. It bothered him more than just a bit, too. As much as he wanted to get to the bottom of the problem for the sake of curiosity, he also wanted to do it to make sure that Javier wasn't making a stupid mistake.

"What makes you think it's my fault?" Javier snapped. "Maybe she's being… unreasonable."

"Maybe she is. But since we're born and bred to understand that it's always our fault, I'm going with that theory until you can prove otherwise."

"That's a violation of my rights."

Kevin shot him a look as traffic slowed to a crawl. "You're invoking your rights on a relationship question?"

Because they'd been here before, both with Kevin as the interrogator, and the reverse. They were partners, had been partners a long time, and they'd gotten to know each other. Plus, he was Javier's 'guy'. As often as Castle was included in that friendship, at the end of the day, it always came down to the two of them.

Kevin tried not to grin in victory when Javier sighed.

"Lain wants to meet Mam."

It was an innocuous statement at best. Javier's mother was a formidable woman, yes, but not terrifying enough to warrant such a reaction. They'd been dating for a year, they were in love with each other. Kevin could see the logic in allowing Lanie into his family circle. The Espositos were loud, yes, but they were friendly and warm-hearted, welcoming and overwhelming. Kevin was pretty sure Lanie had a pretty big family of her own though, so she'd probably fit right in with the myriad of Espositos that gathered at Mam's house every week.

"Okay."

Javier blew out a breath. "See? I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Of course not. I'm not in your head, thank God, and I wanted Jenny to meet my mom. And my dad. We'd been dating more than long enough."

"The damned thing shouldn't have a timeline on it," Javier snapped. "It's not like, hey, six months, this means it's time for a vacation away."

Okay, Kevin realized, he had to re-think his attack strategy. "You don't want Lanie to meet Mam."

"Look, Lanie… Lanie's clean. She's good, she's white, she's every stupid metaphor. But that neighbourhood? Those people? She deserves better than that. And you know there's no way my familia is going to fit anywhere but Mam's dining room."

And Kevin knew there were explicit reasons why the Espositos didn't go out in public when they were all together. It had something to do with Marco and a bad experience in a banquet hall at a family function.

Still, it bothered him, more than he'd ever admit to his partner, that Javier was against introducing Lanie to his family because of the neighbourhood. It seemed petty, in some ways, and very anti-commitment. Kevin was a believer in the importance of introducing a significant other to the family, especially in situations where family was important to one or both parties. He couldn't fathom any excuse in the world as to why Javier would refuse.

"You think the neighbourhood is what's important to Lanie?"

"Of course not," Javier snapped. "She ain't stupid."

"Then I really don't get it," Kevin admitted. "She's smart enough to see the neighbourhood as a piece of a whole, see your family as a more stabilizing piece, and yet you're still reluctant."

"It's not that easy."

"Of course not. Nothing worth it ever is."

Javier shot him a dirty look. "Want me to hold your purse?"

"Want me to find your balls?" Kevin shot back. "Dude, man up. Or she'll kick you to the curb."

Javier didn't like that idea one bit. He didn't want to rock the boat, didn't want to risk ruining things with Lanie because she mattered too damned much. Couldn't anyone see that?

They made the rest of the drive in tense silence, both of them on opposite sides of the argument and refusing to give way. It wasn't often that they argued, at least not about things that mattered. And Lanie mattered. It was the problem of a metaphorically incestuous friendship.

They hadn't solved the problem, or spoken more about it, by the time Kevin pulled into the address of Mary and Stefan Reinhart. Both of them were, in a sense, thankful for the interview they were about to conduct, if for no other reason than separating themselves from the personal problem that was becoming almost pervasive.

Mary was the one who opened the door. "Can I help you?"

They both flashed their badges.

"We need to speak to you about your son, Kelvin."

Her eyes darkened, as if knowing exactly where this was going. "What did he do?"

Both detectives filed away the reaction.

Javier stepped up. "He was killed last night, ma'am. In a car accident."

She stepped aside with a tight smile. "I guess it's better than a drug overdose."

"We're not certain on that," Kevin told her with an apologetic smile. The woman shut the door behind them and waved them into the living room. "Drugs weren't new?"

"No," Mary admitted. "He's been a drug addict since he was a teenager." She looked up at them. "You have to understand, out here, it's…"

"A way of life," Javier offered.

She sighed. "You're from Queens."

"I am," Javier agreed.

"So you know that… If you're not part of the drugs, you're killed by them. Maybe an overdose, maybe to send someone a lesson. If your lucky," she acknowledged with a small smile. "You get out. Kelvin wasn't so lucky."

Kevin withdrew Sheridan Knockwood's picture. "Do you know this woman?"

Mary shook her head. "No. I've never seen her before."

"Did your son ever talk about Sheridan?" Javier inquired.

"My son barely made it home. I have no idea who his friends are."

Javier didn't believe that. As much as drugs were ways of life, the grapevine in Queens' neighbourhoods rivaled the watercooler gossip at the precinct. Javier knew from experience. "Was he associated with a particular group?"

"Like a gang? No. He ran with Johnny."

Javier was on edge immediately. The name struck a chord, rang a bell, though 'Johnny' wasn't exactly an uncommon name. "Johnny what?"

"Um…" Mary was obviously wracking her brain, trying to think of the man's last name. "Hanson. Johnny Hanson."

Javier stiffened at the same moment Kevin's phone rang. He apologized quietly and glanced at it. Not recognizing the number, he offered an apologetic look to Mary and a significant one to Javier. His partner could handle the interview for a few seconds, though he wasn't oblivious to the Hispanic man's less-than-comfortable expression.

"Ryan."

"Kevin?"

It took the detective a moment to place the thickly accented voice. "Mam?"

"Si. I need un favor, Kevin."

It put him on edge immediately. Getting a call from the matriarch of the Esposito family was a new experience for Kevin and he was a little wary of the outcome. They'd met, more than once, because Mam had been adamant that she meet her son's partner and Kevin, coming from a family of cops, could definitely understand that. But a phone call? "Okay…"

"My Javi. He has a girl, yes?"

"Yes," Kevin answered. It wasn't like it was a secret.

"This girl, she is ugly?"

Kevin almost laughed. Though Lanie wasn't his type, he definitely wouldn't classify her as ugly. "No, Mam."

"She is stupid, then?"

"She's a medical examiner. Med school doesn't allow idiots to graduate."

"She is… adecuado? Not good enough?"

"She's not." And Kevin believed that. Very much so. Lanie was more than good enough for Javier.

"Well, my Javi has not brought this Lanie to visit."

Kevin was on the verge of laughing at this point, simply because Mam sounded so upset. "He told me."

"He did? So there is trouble?"

"Not really." He paused, glancing back towards the living room. He was still working, so he didn't really have time for twenty questions. "Mam, what do you need?"

Silence floated over the line for a moment. "I need Miss Lanie's phone number."

Kevin only hesitated for a split second. Then he listed it off by heart. He was old school with his numbers, memorizing them instead of simply pressing the contact.

"Gracias, Kevin. You come for dinner soon. I put meat on your bones."

Kevin grinned. Sometimes the stereotype Mam embodied amused him to no end. "Sure thing."

Javier looked up the minute Kevin stepped back into the living room. Kevin apologized again and catalogued the dark shadow in his partner's face. Javier stood and Kevin understood that there was nothing else he felt they could get from the woman. That, more than anything, clued him into Javier's decision that they had everything they needed. What that 'everything' was, Kevin wasn't totally sure. So he asked the minute they were settled in the car.

Javier didn't answer immediately, just kept his eyes out the window. Finally, he turned to his partner.

"I know Johnny Hanson."


Amelia Susana Isabel Esposito had one fundamental rule: don't mess with Mam.

She had raised four rowdy boys and two equally as rowdy girls into loving contributing adults with that one fundamental rule. Yet here she was, with a son that was blatantly ignoring it. She'd sworn, multiple times, in all four languages she knew at her Javier.

The boy wouldn't bring his novia home.

And he knew he had one. Amelia knew her children like the back of her extremely competent hands. Her Javi had a girl and she'd had to resort to underhanded tactics to figure it out.

Never had she been more thankful for Kevin Ryan in her life.

Javier had brought Kevin by more than once. They were partners, and Amelia knew that the pasty Irishman watched her baby boy's back from dawn until dusk. They made sure the other made it home, safe, sound and in one piece. Or at least with minimal scarring. In fact, the first time Amelia had met Kevin had also been the first time she'd met Kate. Cinco de Mayo.

Amelia loved a loud house. She always had. With six children and a husband it didn't get much louder. So as her babies started to move out, spread their wings, start their own lives, Amelia had started to build up her own new traditions that kept her family coming back for more. Cinco de Mayo was one of those times. The celebration was beyond massive and one of Amelia's favourite holidays because of all of the people who came and all of the people she met.

Kevin Ryan had been one of those people. And he'd been more than happy to help her in her little plan.

So now, armed with a phone number, Amelia very carefully punched the numbers that would put her through to Doctor Lanie Parish.

"Parish."

"Doctor Lanie Parish?"

. . . . .

Lanie sat up straighter. "Yes. This is she."

"Doctor Parish, my name is Amelia Esposito."

Lanie tensed completely. She had enough of a Spanish accent and Lanie was smart enough to know exactly whom she was talking to.

Javier's mother was calling her.

Calling her.

"Can I help you, Mrs Esposito?"

"Mami or Mam, Doctor Parish. I have a question about my boy."

"Javier?" Lanie looked down at her feet trying to blink back the frustration that welled up in her again. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask."

"You are with him yes? Dating?"

"Yes," Lanie answered. There had been no mention of a break up. Just… Just a lot of frustration. A lot of hinting.

"And yet, you have not come by."

"Mrs Esposito-"

"Mam."

Lanie smiled. There was fire in this woman. "Mam. I… It's not deliberate."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

An invitation, she thought, but there was something that told her Javier's mother wouldn't be all that accepting of the idea that Javier wouldn't bring a woman home.

"You come this week."

Lanie's head shot up. What?

"You come this week."

The repetition forced Lanie to accept that she'd actually asked the question. Out loud. She hoped to God she sound as incredulous as the single word had sounded in her head.

"I'm not sure-"

"I will tell mi niño tonto to bring you this week. We have dinner on Sundays."

Of course they did. And, well, if Javier's mother was going to be the one to talk to him, Lanie figured she could explain this away. She was backed into a corner. How was she supposed to say no to the woman? What did Javier think, she was a saint? Insane, maybe? Hadn't he said more than once that saying 'no' to his mother was the dumbest thing anyone could ever do?

Sounded good enough for her.

"I don't think I have plans on Sunday," Lanie said.

"You change the plans," came the warning. "This week, niña."

Lanie grinned. "Okay."

"Good."

Lanie bit her lip for a moment. Then, "Can I bring something?"

"No, no, no," came the quick response. "You bring you. That is enough."

"Yes Mam."

There was obvious happiness in the voice that replied, "Good answer."


I know I say this a million times, but I could not get Javier and Kevin to behave. It took me forever to get even that sketched out. Which would be the fundamental reason behind why this took… Huh. Maybe a couple of weeks isn't so bad. But still. I'd hoped that it wouldn't be week-upon-week between updates.

I hope you guys like Mam. I do. You've only really seen parts of her, but I'm hoping she'll be a fun character. And the case kink I was having problems with finally worked itself out too. So…. Happy days all around. At least on my end. With this.

Thanks for reading!