This chapter relates to a particular episode. If some details are wrong it's because I had to make some changes because of AU things.
This chapter sort of jumps around a bit, changing perspectives and whatnot.
Please enjoy.
-Z
Over the next couple of months, Javi started making small changes to accommodate his relationship with Lanie. She had yet to spend the night at his place because Sebastian was still sleeping in his room.
When he first brought up the idea of moving Sebastian into the nursery Lanie encouraged him not to do anything he wasn't comfortable with.
"I just don't want to be the reason you do something too quick, you know." She told him over the lunch he had delivered to the morgue. Over the three months they had been dating it had become almost a ritual. If they were working a case, he would bring her favourite lunch down and they ate together.
"I want to, Lanie. He's big enough now to sleep in his crib."
"Only if you're comfortable doing it." She loved the idea of being able to spend the night at his place but she didn't want to be the reason for him to do anything he wasn't ready to do.
"So, I was thinking, that you could come over tonight after shift? I'll cook you dinner."
Lanie found his offer too difficult to refuse. "Sounds perfect. But I gotta get back to work." She kissed him and he made his way back to his desk, feeling indescribably happy.
"We're not getting out of here any time soon are we?" Javi asked Ryan as they walked through warehouses, trying to track down an arsonist.
"Nah, man."
"I was going to cook for Lanie tonight."
"Sorry man." He consoled. "Maybe you could get out later. Have a late dinner?"
"Hm." Javi pulled out his phone and dialled Lanie's number.
"Hey baby, figure out what you're cooking me yet?" She answered.
"About that, it doesn't look like I'll be able to get away until late."
"Aw, really?"
"I'm so sorry."
"No, no, Javi, its ok." She assured him, "How about this: I'll pick up Sebastian from your mom's and cook you dinner for whenever you get home."
"It sound amazing. You are the greatest."
She chuckled, "Tell me something I don't know."
Javi hung up, "What?" He asked Ryan, referring to the look he was giving him.
"Nothing." He tried.
"What?"
"Things going well?"
"Yeah," Javi thought for a moment, "I love her, bro."
"Hey, Kate, can I talk to you for a sec?" Lanie asked the detective.
"Uh, I only have a sec, Lanie, big case."
"Oh, well if you're busy I'll come back later." Kate was tempted to let her go, this was a huge case and she really had no time to spare, but she could tell something was really bothering her friend.
"Talk to me."
"I just had lunch with Javi."
"How'd that go? Did you tell him?" Beckett asked referring to the conversation they'd had a week prior.
"No, I was going to but you called him away."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He promised to cook me dinner tonight."
"At his place?"
"Yep."
"I thought he had a rule against his place because of Sebastian?"
"He did." Lanie smiled shyly. "He's moving Sebastian into the nursery."
"So are you gonna…?" Kate let her question trail off knowing that Lanie would get it.
"It's not like we haven't slept together before, but we've never spent the whole night. He's always had to get home to Sebastian."
"And you're happy that you get to spend the night." Kate finished Lanie's thought, feeling happy for her two friends. "So you're going to tell him that you love him?"
"Tonight." Her cheeks flushed crimson. "I'm just scared. You know, what if I scare him off?"
"Lanie, stop worrying!" Kate touched her friend reassuringly. "Ever since he's had Sebastian he's grown up. He sort of had to, but I really think he's ready."
Lanie was about to say something else but Beckett's desk phone rang. "I'll leave you to it. I'm off now anyway. Thanks for the chat."
"Anytime." She picked up the phone, "Beckett."
Lanie left her friend alone to work and left the building. She loved Javi and his son and this was the first time she would get proper one-on-one with the baby.
Javier didn't see much, the only thing he saw when the blaze engulfed the building was the two most important people in his life: The woman he loved and his baby boy.
"Ryan!" He yelled, attempting to stand. "Ryan!" His head was spinning and there was a persistent ringing in his ears. He coughed, smoke was finding its way into his lungs. That's when he noticed the figure pinned beneath some rubble, "Kev is that you?" He knelt next to his best friend, making sure he was ok. "You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," Ryan replied, somewhat weakly. "I can't move. My legs are stuck."
Javi attempted to lift the concrete beam that trapped his partner. "It's too heavy!" He looked for something sturdy he could use to free Kevin from under the beam.
Lanie remembered feeling dread. She felt her lunch threaten to make a reappearance when she saw the news. She had just gotten to Javi's house, Sebastian content in her arms. She hadn't been paying all that much attention to the tv but she caught snippets. Two NYPD detectives, ongoing arson investigation. What case had Javi been working? She remembered him texting her saying something about a warehouse and an arsonist. Her heart stopped when the reality of it hit her. Javi. He was in that burning building. She clutched his boy to her chest and grabbed her keys. She knew the tears were streaming down her face but she held on to the small part of her head that told her it wasn't Javi. It couldn't be.
"Kate!" She yelled, running to the scene, a tiny flicker of hope burned behind her eyes. Kate gave a small shake of her head to confirm the other woman's suspicions. Lanie felt her heart drop. Not him, not now. She felt her knees grow weak before they slammed into the ground. "No, no, no, Kate." She sobbed into the bundle she held in her arms.
"Lanie, come on." The detective put her arms around her and helped her to her feet. Lanie was vaguely aware that she was being ushered into a waiting ambulance, but she felt detached from the scene before her.
The baby in her arms was sleeping but she still felt the need to comfort him. "It's going to be alright, little man." She told him, opting to use Javi's favourite term of endearment. "Your daddy is strong and brave and he's not just going to leave us like this." Her voice wavered, tears once again threatening. That's when she noticed Jenny. Her friend's very pregnant wife. Pulling herself together she called out to her.
"Lanie, Oh my go– ah," She suddenly clutched her swollen stomach in pain.
"Jenny, are you in labour?" She asked, her doctor instincts kicking in.
"No, no." She tried to convince herself. "I mean, yes, but I can't be. Not without Kevin." Another contraction rippled through her body, causing her to almost double over.
"Come on, we're getting you to a hospital." Lanie adjusted Sebastian so she had a free hand to help Jenny.
"Not without my husband." She declared.
"Beckett!" Lanie yelled out as the two women approached her. "She was at the police barricades." She explained, gesturing to Jenny.
"Jenny, you shouldn't be here." Kate reprimanded.
"The hell I shouldn't, my husband's in there." She challenged. "Oh!" She gripped on to Lanie as another contraction came.
"Wait," Kate turned to the medical examiner, "What's going on?"
"She's having contractions." Lanie explained.
"You're in labour?" Castle asked, shocked.
Jenny nodded through tears.
"How far apart?" Lanie demanded, kicking herself for not asking sooner.
"Five minutes. Maybe."
"Woah, no, she can't," Castle stammered, "We have to get you to a hospital."
"Medic!" Kate called to the passing paramedic, "This woman's in labour."
"No," Jenny pleaded, "I'm not leaving, not without Kevin."
"Jenny, there's nothing you can do here." Kate reasoned.
"He's inside, Kate. If he doesn't make it out, if this is it," She shook her head, trying not to cry. "I need to be here."
Kate didn't answer. She had no counter argument because Jenny was right. If it were Castle in the building she wouldn't leave either.
"Come on, let me get you inside of an ambulance." Lanie said, beginning to lead her to the ambulance she vacated not long before. "You need to lie down so we can make sure everything is ok."
"Ok, but I'm not leaving without him." She allowed Lanie to lead her away. "Lanie?" She asked when they were inside the ambulance. "How are you coping?"
"I wasn't." She informed, hugging Sebastian a little tighter. "Until I saw you. You needed me to be coping."
"What if," She started hyperventilating. "What if he doesn't come out?"
"Jenny! Jenny, I need you to calm down. Kevin loves you, he is going to be ok and you three are going to be a family." Jenny nodded and put all her focus into controlling her breathing.
"Yo, Javi, you ok?" Ryan asked him after he was silent.
"No." He said simply, his throat raw from shouting. "My boy is at home and he isn't going to have a father."
"Don't think like that, man. We are going to be fine."
Javi admired his optimism. "What about Jenny? How's she doing?"
"She's due any day now." His smile turned into a grimace.
The two detectives were silent. Both concentrating on what they had to live for.
"What was it like?" Kevin asked him suddenly, "Becoming a dad, I mean."
"It's like nothing else. I mean, you love this tiny human more than you ever thought possible and every single instinct in your body screams at you to protect him." A tear rolled down his cheek, cleaning a path down his grimy face. "It's the best feeling in the world."
Kevin put his head in his hands and wiped away tears. "You were lucky to have that, Javi."
Kate blinked back tears as she helplessly watched the burning building that tapped her friends. Her phone rang and she sighed knowing she had to be the strong one. "Beckett." There was no reply, only static on the other end. "Hello?"
"Beckett? Can you hear me?" A voice crackled on the line.
"Ryan?" She asked, relief flooding her body. "Ryan is that you?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's me Beckett." He launched into an explanation of the explosion.
"Yes." She breathed. "I know, Ryan. We're right outside. We've got the whole fire department here. We thought you guys were dead!"
"We will be soon!" Esposito's voice came over the line. "If we don't get some help."
Beckett answered her phone and Javi almost cried with relief. He listened as Ryan explained the situation to her.
We thought you guys were dead! All Javi could think about was Lanie. Did she think he was dead?
"We will be soon!" He took the phone from Kevin, "If we don't get some help." He closed his eyes and tried to picture what was going on. Right now Beckett would be notifying the Fire Department and would be coordinating a strategy on getting them out. He thought about Lanie. Was she at his place cooking him dinner, blissfully unaware? Or was she with Beckett? Did she have his son? If he got out he wanted to see his boy as soon as possible.
"We're going to be ok." Ryan whispered to him. "They're going to get us out."
"I hope so."
An unfamiliar voice came through the phone, asking him where they were. Javi told him, making sure to let him know that there was no way out from their end.
"That doesn't make sense." He said. "According to these plans this building has a slab foundation there is no basement."
Javi cursed, "I don't know what to tell you, pal. We're in some kind of basement. There's something wrong with your freaking plans." Javi knew that he shouldn't take it out on this guy, it wasn't his fault but he couldn't help his anger at the current situation.
He passed the phone to Ryan, his anger taking over. Ryan spoke to Beckett for a few minutes before asking for his wife.
Lanie was talking tinny through contractions when Kate handed her a phone.
"It's Kevin?" Beckett nodded and Jenny pressed the phone to her ear, "Is it you? The baby's coming."
Lanie tried not to listen in, especially after Beckett gave her a look that said there was nothing that could be done.
"We need a name for the baby. We need to do that together." Lanie couldn't control her emotions when she heard that. She knew Javi and Kevin were going to die in there and she couldn't do anything to help them. She busied herself by rocking Sebastian so the tears wouldn't spill over. She tuned out of the private conversation, but after a couple of minutes she heard Jenny say, "Kev, Lanie's here. Put Javier on for her."
"Lanie?"Javi's voice crackled through the phone.
"Javi!" She heard her voice waver and felt the tears stream down her face. "I'm so glad you're alive." She fought to keep her voice even. "Listen, we're going to get you out, ok? You won't die in there. Me and Sebastian will be waiting here when you walk out."
"Hey, you won't get rid of me that easy." He tried to keep it light hearted, but his voice was heavy with emotion. "Listen, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
"No. Don't you dare tell me anything, Javier Esposito!" She used her free hand to wipe tears from her face. "You get out of there and tell me in person."
"Lanie," He wanted to explain that the chances of getting out alive were slim, but she wouldn't hear it.
"Javi I please." She pleaded, "Promise me."
"I can't promise." She heard tears in his voice.
"Just promise me, Javi." She stared down at his son, no longer sleeping in her arms. "Promise us. Because once you say it, you've given up. Promise, and tell me when you get out."
She heard him sigh in defeat, "Promise." There was a small pause before he added, "I promise you both. I'll see you soon."
"You'd better not be lying to me, Javier." Her voice broke, her emotions getting the better of her.
"Hey, hey." He soothed, "I promised I would never lie to you. Remember?"
"I remember." She sobbed.
"Tell me, Lanie." He ordered, in an attempt to distract her. "Tell me what you remember."
She let out a small laugh at his attempt. "You got off early." She recollected. "Your mom had Sebastian so you broke into my place and cooked dinner." She paused to keep her voice even.
"What happened when you got home?" Javi asked.
"I broke down." She explained. "I had a bad day and you were so distracted, I thought you were going he break up with me." She took a breath, "But you didn't. You wrapped your arm around me and told me I was being stupid. You explained that Sebastian was sick and apologised for brushing me off."
"I cooked you dinner because you were having a bad day but I was too caught up in my own problems to realise." He closed his eyes and willed his voice to remain steady. "Beckett knocked sense into me."
"I thought you were cheating on me."
"Never."
"That's what you said. Then you kissed me and promised that you would never lie to me."
"And I kept that promise." He whispered, no longer trusting his voice.
Lanie was about to reply when the phone died. "Javi?" She sobbed, knowing that it was pointless. She handed the phone back to Beckett and whispered to the baby, "We'll see daddy real soon." She didn't believe her words. "Because he loves you and he won't ever leave you." That, she believed.
"You didn't tell him." Kate whispered, giving her a sympathetic look.
"He knows."
Sorry for ending it like that… I promise I won't keep you waiting too long.
-Z
