Hardcastle, Beale & McCormick

by Voyager Tip

What if J.J. Beale had stayed with Hardcastle and was living in the Gatehouse when Mark arrived? How would Mark compare to Beale (the genius) and how would he cope with living in the gardener's trailer? How would he win over Sarah and the judge? This AU story shows how closed off the judge's feelings were. Starts right after Rolling Thunder and ends with Mark in the ER... as usual.

4. The Rainy Night Problem

Ch 4 The Rainy Night

Mark finished the lawn and put the mower away, then wandered to the far side of the house, past the gardener's trailer, to Beale and the pile of mulch. It didn't look like much had been accomplished during the day.

"How ya doin?" he asked.

Beale looked up at him and shrugged, "how bout you?"

Mark shrugged too. It didn't look like any conversation was going to take place, and Mark was about to leave when Beale finally spoke.

"So, what happened in Vegas?" he asked.

Mark sighed, "we ran a scam and caught Cody, he's going to jail for a long time."

"I meant, how was the old man?"

"Well, don't let him hear you callin him old," Mark began. "He was okay," he paused, "better than okay...decent, why?"

Beale leaned on his shovel, "now that you caught Cody, how much longer are you planning on staying?"

Mark shrugged, "I said I'd stay and help with his cases, so...a while anyway, why?"

"If I take off, do you want in?"

Mark paused, unsure of what to say, then shook his head, "no man, I'm lookin at hard time if I split, I'm gonna give it a go here."

Beale shook his head, "he treats us like dirt. I'm made for better things than shoveling mulch."

"At least you get to live in that nice house," Mark said quietly. In the back of his mind he'd thought that he might be able to get J.J. to let him stay in the Gatehouse too, but after this exchange, he had a bad feeling about this ex con. And he had the distinct impression that Beale wouldn't want a roommate. He'd just have to keep trying to cope with the gardener's trailer for a bit longer.

"Yeah, how do you like the gardener's trailer anyway?" Beale jeered.

"It's better than prison," McCormick murmurred.

H&M

Supper was a quiet affair, so Mark was surprised when Hardcastle asked both him and Beale if they wanted to watch some TV. J.J. declined and headed out the back door, but McCormick decided that anything was better than the gardener's trailer. He accepted as Sarah shook her head in disapproval.

The movie was old, just like the old donkey, but Mark still managed to enjoy it. His comments on a few scenes caused Hardcastle to smile, but the judge was careful not to let the ex con know that. At 11:30, he opened the front door to leave and as he jogged back to the gardener's trailer, the rain began in earnest.

He washed up in the small, prison like bathroom and decided to put the plan he had formulated earlier in the day into action.