A/N: I've probably re-written this about 5 times, so hopefully it's improved since the first version. And you may be able to expect more regular updates in about a week, but this is my final week of high school & I've got full-blown Senioritis. Anyways, I'll stop talking. You all know I own nothing.
XxXxXxXxX
Only moments after Castle and Jonah had left, Kate allowed her head to drop and hit her desk with a dull thump. "You okay?" Esposito craned his neck to study her.
"Yep. Fine." she said, in an unconvincing mixture of sarcasm and misery. "Javi, my kid's getting into fights at school. It's one thing when a hockey game gets a little rough and he gets a few bruises. But this is actually fighting other kids."
"A fight. One. And, if I heard correctly, only two punches were thrown."
"Doesn't matter. I'm his mother," she trailed off, lifting her head to rest her chin on her balled fists.
"That's right." Ryan nodded, ignoring the glare Esposito shot at him. "You're his mother, and it's your job to overreact about everything. He'll be okay."
Esposito stood from his desk and made his way to hers, pulling Castle's chair up and wrapping his arm around her. She let her head fall onto his shoulder and made a frustrated noise.
"Get it out now, before that kid comes back. He'll be less likely to spill if you're looking at him like a criminal."
Kate laughed quietly. "You're right. I know. I just don't want him to be one of those kids who tries to solve his problems with his fist."
"Oh, come on." Ryan shook his head. "He's got a better head on his shoulders than that. He's seen enough, heard enough that he knows better."
She nodded. "Yeah, he even came clean about the chair thing." she looked slyly at the two men, both of whom maintained stoic expressions.
"And what is that?" Ryan asked innocently, flipping through a file with ease.
"Covering for my kid? I don't know whether to throttle you or buy you both flowers." Kate knew that the male influences in Jonah's life were somewhat lacking. Both Ryan and Esposito had gracefully slipped into their roles as uncles to the almost-10-year-old, and the fact that they were willing to shoulder the blame for a mere accident endeared them to her even more.
Esposito chucked. "I have no idea what you're talking about, girl." as Ryan's forehead creased in mock confusion.
Kate raised her eyebrows knowingly at them. "Yeah, whatever." she shook her head and turned to rummage through one of her drawers.
Esposito smirked slightly and mouthed a few words at his partner.
"Best. Uncles. Ever."
XxXxXxXxX
After he'd convinced Jonah that it was probably time to continue walking back towards the precinct, Castle couldn't help but feel pride for the young boy walking in front of him. Not many kids had the guts that he had, and he had a definitive feeling that it was hereditary. He knew that it would be fitting for the detective's son to be as equally headstrong and stubborn as she was, but seeing it up close and personal was something entirely different. Not only that, but the kid also had a killer sense of humor and was a perfect companion to tease and rib the entire walk back, hopefully taking his mind off of his troubles for a while.
"I'm still waiting for her to kill me." Jonah mumbled as they stepped into the elevator together, and Rick couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Try buttering her up, always worked with my mother."
Jonah sighed, revealing a small package in his pocket. "Got it."
Castle smirked as the doors slowly revealed the familiar bullpen, and he winked at the younger Beckett before they stepped out of the elevator.
As soon as Kate noticed their return, the young boy crept forward, waving the bag of Skittles from his pocket. She rolled her eyes at him and opened her arms. He walked forward into them, speaking into the embrace. "Does this mean I can still go with Matt and his dad tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.
Kate sternly spoke into his hair. "I don't know, can you hold in the rest of your violent urges until you can get back on the ice?"
"Mom." he dragged out the vowel, eyes doleful.
Kate pulled back to look at him seriously. "I already paid him so I could get rid of you, of course you're going."
Jonah frowned up at her and scrunched his face at her. "That's kinda mean."
She shrugged at him. "I'll be nice mom again when those knuckles of yours return to their normal size. You'd better go put that ice back on them." she scolded, steering him towards the break room. "There should be one in the freezer, wrap it up in some towels and chill on the couch for a few."
Jonah nodded and weaved skillfully in between people before slipping into the break room, going straight for the cookies that were set on the counter.
Rick watched as Kate rolled her eyes and bit her lip, clearly still battling herself internally. Deciding to take a chance, he idly wondered if it was too late to buy that bulletproof vest before approaching her.
Kate looked at him in confusion as he settled into his chair, not even making a quip as he leaned towards her. "Listen. You know your son. Does this seem like it'd be a regular occurrence with him?" Rick asked her intently, watching her eyes dart around in an attempt to not meet his own.
"No." she said finally, her eyes flickered up to his and then back down, briefly hesitating over his mouth. She was hyper-aware of the fact that he was so close that she was breaking in the smell of the aftershave he used, and that he could probably discern the soft, cherry scent of shampoo in her hair. She began to nervously drum her nails on the surface of her desk and forced herself to look up into his eyes.
Rick smiled gently at her when her eyes met his again, wanting desperately to cover her tapping hand with his own. "Exactly. I'm sure this was extenuating circumstances, and he'll tell you when he feels comfortable."
The tapping stopped as she stared at him. "And how do you know this exactly, Castle?"
"Well," he hesitated before speaking again, "He told me." When Kate's eyebrows shot up, he continued sternly, leaning in even closer to her. "In confidence. I'm not going to break your son's trust. He'll tell you as soon as he's ready."
"Castle," she began, "What is so bad about this that you are covering for him?" her face was slightly flushed as she pushed her chair backwards to put more space in between them. "If he's in real trouble I need to know, Castle. If this was Alexis-"
He held up his hands in protest. "Kate, I'm not covering. It's not anything bad, really. But Jonah chose to tell me, and he will choose to tell you, too."
Kate, clearly unhappy with this development, glared at him. "I don't know where you get off thinking-"
"Mom!" Jonah called from the doorway of the break room, cutting her off before she could begin to rant.
She turned to him, slightly exasperated. "What?"
Jonah looked down at his feet before stubbornly meeting her eyes. "Leave Rick alone, okay? I'm gonna tell you. Promise. Just not, not right now." He begged her, raising his uninjured hand, first raising his pointer, then all of his fingers except his thumb, and then all but his pinky and thumb. Kate gave him a small smile as she repeated the gesture as he mouthed the words accompanying each finger combination. I love you.
Knowing that she had been defeated for the time being, Kate let out a huff and stared glumly at her unfinished stack of paperwork. She picked her pen up and then dropped it back on the desk, head snapping to looking critically at them. "Don't think that either of you are off the hook for this."
"Yes, mama bear."
"Yes, Beckett."
XxXxXxXxX
The next few days were just as slow and boring as the previous few. "Welcome to real police work, Castle." she told the restless author when Friday finally rolled around. "Where ID matches take hours and the paperwork can take days."
"Tell me about it." Ryan grumbled from his desk. "Is it wrong to hope for a body to drop ASAP? Because in my head, it sounds a little morbid."
"Just a little." Castle pinched his thumb and forefinger nearly together as Kate rolled her eyes. "You really don't have to be here on paperwork days, Castle. I'm sure it makes for crappy writing."
"Yeah, man." Esposito agreed. "I'd use any excuse to get out of here if I didn't think Beckett would make me the next body that drops."
They chuckled lightly before returning to their work, the silence only broken by the muttered curses of one Javier Esposito and the sounds of small wads of paper being tossed back and forth carelessly.
Castle, on the other hand, watched in interest. The companionship that the three detectives shared in was intriguing, and he couldn't help but speculate on how the three of them had come to be partnered together. The writer part of him had been so lost in thought that he didn't notice Beckett speaking softly on her cell phone with a grin, nor did he notice a very familiar face approaching.
"Alexis? What are you doing here, Pumpkin?" Castle asked his daughter, who had stepped out of the elevator only moments before. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but you could've called if you needed me."
"She's not here to see you, Castle." Kate bit her lip, grinning.
Rick paused. "Wait, is something wrong?"
"No," Alexis smiled cheerfully. "We just figured, if you can steal hers, she can steal yours."
"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Rick asked her, not at all mad if she indeed was skipping, but curious nonetheless.
Alexis smiled indulgently. "We can leave campus for lunch, and then I have a free period. My next class isn't for another two hours or so."
He nodded slowly in understanding, still wondering how he'd missed this development in his daughter's education. "Don't they send newsletters for this kind of thing?"
"Yes," Alexis nodded her head, "I believe it's still unopened on your desk in the study. They sent them out around Christmas break when the rule changed."
"Ohhh," Castle frowned. "Okay, then."
Kate, who had been quickly organizing her desk while the father and daughter spoke, turned to Rick. "Don't touch anything." she ordered. "I'll be back in an hour." She turned to Esposito and Ryan. "I trust that you two can hold down the fort? Make sure you answer the phone if my kid tries to break anyone else's face?"
"You got it." Ryan nodded, eyeing the two other males as Kate pulled her light jacket on on with grin. He couldn't help but smirk as Castle watched, dumbstruck, as his daughter and his muse left.
XxXxXxXxX
"I mean, don't get me wrong, my Gram's great. But, sometimes its nice to hang out with someone a bit less ancient." Alexis stated as they exited the main entrance of the precinct.
Kate had to laugh. "To be fair, I can only hope to look as good as your grandmother when I'm her age." Alexis shrugged in agreement. "So, what sounds good?"
Alexis shrugged. "I'm not feeling picky, you lead the way." Even though she and Kate hadn't spent much time together, she was eager to get to know her better and didn't much care about the setting in which it occurred.
Kate thought for a moment, a small smile beginning to form. "Well, how does pizza sound?"
"Pizza?" Alexis questioned, slightly cautious.
Kate laughed. "Hey, my mom and I were pizza connoisseurs together. We scoped out every great Italian pizza joint in the area."
Alexis tipped her face up, smiling thoughtfully. "Hmm, that actually sounds pretty good right now."
They caught a cab and Alexis curiously listened as Kate relayed an unfamiliar address. When they arrived, Kate led her through a few alleyways until a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant came into view. As they walked through the front door, a wave of delicious aroma hit them both.
The duo slipped into a booth as the only other patrons stood from their own table and paid, and an older man immediately came out to take their orders. As he walked over, a huge toothy grin took over his wrinkled face. "Caterina! It's been too long!" he cried, his Italian accent charmingly overpowering.
Kate stood and embraced him, returning his smile. "Ignazio! Mi sei mancato!"
"Ah, I've missed you as well! I just saw your father last week." he smiled happily, turning to the other occupant of the booth. "And who is this charming young lady you've brought today?"
"This is my friend, Alexis." Kate introduced as Alexis stood, grinning at the girl's light blush as Ignazio pressed a kiss to both her cheeks, beaming at her. "Ah, any friend of Caterina is family here."
"Thank you," Alexis giggled as she slid back into her seat, the old man hurrying off towards the kitchen.
Kate sat back down, laughing at the slightly bewildered look on Alexis' face. "That's Ignazio Giordano." she explained, "He was a childhood friend of my grandmother. When she divorced my grandfather and started her pizzeria, he was the first and only person she hired. Now that she's gone and Leni's Pizza is sold, Ignazio has his own business. He uses a different recipe, out of respect, but he still makes some of the best pizza around."
Alexis nodded, inhaling deeply. "It smells heavenly in here."
Kate grinned. "It smells almost exactly like my grandmother's house. She and Uncle Zio made the pizza and pies in the basement. All five of her kids, and then all of her grandkids, folded pizza boxes upstairs. Our mouths always used to water and Zio would always mess up a pizza or two to give to us."
"That sounds amazing." Alexis sighed, smiling at the faraway look in the detective's eyes.
Kate nodded. "It was." she paused. "So about a year after she passed and numerous crash-and-burn attempts to recreate her recipe, my mom and I were desperate for a pizza fix. Until we found Zio again, not a single one came close to our standards. They're still not quite as delicious as Grandma Lenora's, but they at least come really close."
Soon, Ignazio brought out a steaming pizza, the same huge smile on his face. The two girls dug in, Kate listening intently as Alexis chatted about school and her upcoming Sophomore year. After this year, Alexis explained, she would have to choose whether or not to start taking AP classes the next year or to wait until her Junior year. The fifteen year old was sorely tempted by the college credit, but she'd heard many horror stories from older students warning her to stay away.
"Ugh," Kate groaned, running her finger on the edge of her plate, collecting the excess sauce and licking it from her fingers. "May is still one of my least favorite months. With scheduling classes and exams, it was a nightmare."
"Tell me about it." Alexis shook her head, taking another gooey bite.
Kate smiled at the younger girl. "Don't stress too much, Alexis. And don't overload yourself. It's way better to take a few APs and score mostly 5's than to take a bunch and score a bunch of 3's and 4's. One year I tried taking like ten AP tests and just about bombed every single one."
They discussed the subject a bit more, with Alexis deciding to test out the waters with a few classes with the option to drop down, before she broached the topic that had been nagging at her for days. "So, what's going on with you and my dad?"
Kate shook her head adamantly, reaching for another slice of pizza. "Nothing,"
Alexis sighed. "I know that none of us have really known each other for that long. But I also know that my dad may seem childish. At first. But he's a really great guy."
"Alexis, you've met my son. I'm no stranger to childishness." Kate teased.
The redhead giggled. "Yeah. I figured. But," she trailed off. "I mean, you're different. In a good way. You're not diving into his pockets and you're about as un-bimbo as they come."
Laughing, Kate rested her elbows on the table, cradling her chin in her palms. "Alexis, I don't doubt that your dad is a great guy. He can't be half bad, seeing as how you've turned out." At the other girl's flush, Kate leaned forward, trying to explain. "But we're just barely friends."
"I guess...either way, you're good for him. You don't buy into any of the crap, and he knows it. Even just spending time at the precinct with everybody has been good for him. " Alexis said softly.
"And for that I'm glad, especially for you and your grandmother." Kate teased. "But I think you might have been talking to one Maximiliana Jones a bit too much."
At Kate's knowing smirk, Alexis turned bright red yet again. "How did you know?"
Kate laughed. "I've known Maxie since she was a toddler, and she's been setting people up at least since then."
Alexis shook her head. "But everything I've just said is true, Kate."
She smiled sadly at the hopeful face of Alexis Castle. "Trust me, Alexis. Anything between me and your father besides this quasi-partnership thing we have going on would be incredibly messy."
"But aren't the best things in life messy?" Alexis pointed out, holding up a piece of pizza. Her eyes widened comically as it nearly dripped cheese and sauce.
Kate smiled a bit sadly as shook her head, helping herself to another slice. Alexis turned her focus to admiring the classic Italian cinema posters that adorned the walls as Kate twisted cheese around her pinky. They also inevitably burn you, she thought to herself as Ignazio returned, eager and infectiously happy.
XxXxXxXxX
Sinking into her bubble bath with a content sigh, Kate finally let herself go.
Lanie had claimed she was in need of a date with her "favorite man", so both her best friend and her son were out seeing a new action film and heading back to Lanie's for a sleepover with her nephews. Kate decided to take the opportunity to finish reading a novel that had sat abandoned at her bedside for weeks, enjoy a relaxing bath without interruptions, and just relish a few hours of silence.
She had been thinking about Alexis' words for the better part of the afternoon, and she was thankful that Castle had been called into a last minute meeting so he never saw that her focus had been completely shot. She knew that even entertaining the idea of any sort of non-working relationship with the writer was a horrible idea, but forbidding her brain from that line of thought proved more difficult than she'd hoped.
After the water had significantly cooled, she gingerly stepped out of the tub into and dried off, slipping into an oversized t-shirt. Her damp hair began to curl naturally as she finished the last few chapters of her book, and she closed it with a sigh. Jonah wasn't exactly a gale-force wind of terror, but the empty silence in the apartment was borderline creepy when he was gone.
A few minutes later, she found herself falling into an adolescent guilty pleasure as she flipped through her collection of CDs before triumphantly pulling out her mother's old mix-tape of favorites.
The opening chords of a classic flowed through the air and she began to move around her living room. She still felt herself drawn to oldies stations, and the feeling of being spun wildly around the living room by both her parents to the sounds of The Temptations and Marvin Gaye never faded each time they played. A tentative knock on the door interrupted her mid-twirl and she froze, knowing that know one she knew would be knocking after 9pm without letting her know beforehand. Just to be safe, she quietly pulled her gun from the drawer next to the door and held it close to her side.
She pulled the door open quickly, holding her weapon firmly as the person on the other side jumped in shock.
"Castle?" she realized, recognizing him immediately.
"Hey, Beckett." he said nervously. "Wanna, uh, wanna put your gun away?"
Kate rolled her eyes and slid it back into the drawer as Castle moved to stand in the doorway.
"The Coasters?" Rick raised his eyebrows as the music playing inside became audible.
Kate rolled her eyes once more as she walked back into the room. "Can I help you, Rick?"
Rick grinned at her as he stepped through the threshold, pulling something from behind his back. He held out a familiar, well-worn Marvel notebook towards her. "Your kid left this under my kid's bed."
Kate sighed, unsurprised. "Of course he did." She looked back at him as she took it from his outstretched hand. "You know, kids usually don't need school supplies until very late on Sunday. You didn't have to come all the way over here tonight."
"I know." Rick slid his hands in his pockets stubbornly, shooting her a grin.
She sighed. "Would you like a drink?"
Rick looked at the glass of red, fizzy liquid she had sitting on her coffee table and shrugged. "Whatever you've got is fine." She returned from the kitchen with an empty glass and a can and he smiled briefly when he realized it was an old favorite.
"You keep Faygo products stocked in your apartment?" he grinned at her, popping the top of a 60/40.
She rolled her eyes at him. "I told you, Castle, my dad's from Michigan."
He nodded in realization. "Well, I guess that explains the Yakety Yak then too." he chuckled, as another song began to play.
"Nah," Kate smiled. "The Motown music was all my mother. My dad's more of a country man."
Rick nodded, gladly taking in the new information. He slowly walked around the edge of the living room, taking in the variety of pictures that were on the shelves and walls. He paused when he got to one of a younger, very pregnant Kate.
"How old were you?" he asked gently, before realizing she'd probably pull her gun back out and shoot him for even asking. Kate, realizing where his eyes were trained, felt her stomach clench.
"Young." she replied softly before rolling her eyes in self-depreciation. "And utterly unprepared."
"It must have been hard."
Kate laughed humorlessly. "Yeah."
"Where's his father?" Rick whispered, immediately regretting the question when Kate tensed up.
"Gone." she said shortly, turning from him and walking towards the kitchen to refill her glass.
Before he his mind had the presence to filter what questions in his head made it out of his mouth, it popped out. "Why?"
"We were both twenty one, Rick." she said hotly. "And he hightailed it out of there as fast as possible. But we made it out okay. And I'm proud of that, and I'm glad that he isn't around because he never deserved Jonah. He never will."
"I didn't mean to-" Despite Castle's attempted apology, she stalked towards him.
"Get out."
He realized that even though her voice was angry, her eyes were hollow and slightly sad. He didn't protest when she pushed him towards the door until he was hovering in the threshold once more, trying desperately to rectify the situation. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry."
Kate rolled her eyes in frustration as she tried to pretend that the baleful look he was giving her didn't affect her. "Who are you kidding, Castle? Of course you do."
Rick sighed. "Kate," he began, taking a step towards her. She held her hands up in front of her, halting any more movement. "Goodnight, Castle."
He sighed once more, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek, not even hesitating when she recoiled slightly from his proximity.
"Goodnight, Kate." he said softly before pulling away, her glistening eyes following him as he walked away.
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Well, you have two options here: review, or don't review. Either way, I already posted this crap. Whether you like it or not.
But if you do review, you'll keep me cheerful during exam prep. So. There's that, too.