Chapter 10. And the Disappearing Act. Part Two.
As Beckett walked towards the bathroom she could feel the thumping of her erratic heart. Had she really lost Castle's kid?
"Alexis,... Alexis!?"She yelled when she entered the women's bathroom. Crap, crap, crap...This can't be happening to me.
She ran back to Esposito's and Ryan's desks. Ryan was the first one to notice her.
"Hey, what's up boss?" he asked seeing Beckett standing up in front of them.
"I think I might have lost Alexis?" She cringed while she thought how she was going to explain that one to Castle.
"You lost a little girl" Ryan exclaimed shocked.
"I know. No need to yell"
"Let's tell the captain" Ryan said getting up and walking to the captain's office.
"No, no, no. He doesn't even know Alexis is here and he has a rule against children here or something"
"And why would that be?" Esposito said sarcastically.
"Help me find her" Beckett pleaded.
"You know what? Maybe we should call Castle. He probably knows what to do" Ryan smiled while he returned to his desk and reached for his phone.
"No! Don't you dare!" Beckett threaten while trying to reach for Ryan's phone.
"You do realize that when he returns he's going to know that something's missing, right?" Esposito asked her seriously.
"I know. I just prefer to tell him what happened 'after' we find Alexis" Beckett tried to persuade her teammates, however, they maintain undeterred. Ryan grabbed his phone first and started to dial while Beckett struggled to take it away. Short seconds later, she realized she was actually a grown woman, not a 5 year old, so she stopped.
"What's in it for us, huh?" Espo asked.
"How about I won't have you working traffic for the rest of your life?" Beckett stated. She was after all their boss.
"Tempting. How about you do next's case paperwork? Both mine and Ryan's" Espo offered.
"No!" It was Beckett's turn to be outraged. She was not going to let them manipulate her. By that time, Ryan was standing behind his desk with Espo and Beckett front of him. He was really calling Castle, though he had not given it much thought to the fact that he might really pick up. Which he did.
"Hi, Castle. How are the meetings going? I hope I'm not keeping you from anything important" Ryan greeted Castle and avoided eye contact with a furious looking Kate.
"Don't!... Ryan!..." Beckett hissed. She was two seconds away from chasing Ryan across the bullpen.
"Good.. Why am I calling? Well, there's this thing with Alexis" Ryah continued trying to stall the conversation a bit.
"God, ok, ok. I'll do it, just don't tell him!" She whispered.
"She didn't know if you had taken her purple crayon because she couldn't find it so she asked us to call you... Oh, ok... Don't worry, I'm sure Beckett has everything under control, bye." Ryan hung up and pocketed his phone.
"You owe us. Big time." Esposito informed her as if she didn't already know that.
"Yeah, yeah, now can we find the kid?"
"Ok, let's make a plan" Esposito commanded.
"Operation find lil' Castle" Ryan named it enthusiastically.
"Nice name, bro" Esposito commented.
"Do you seriously have to call it that. Or even more, do we have to name it at all?" Beckett complained.
"If you don't like it, maybe you would prefer Operation-Fix Beckett's screw-up" Ryan jibed.
"Ok, I get the point,. Proceed."
"She can reach the elevator buttons, so we have to consider that she might not even be on this I don't think she'll press the call and just leave... right?" Esposito continued, not sounding entirely convinced.
"What if someone else called it and she got in. Oh god, she can be in the streets right now getting run over by a car. I just killed Richard Castle's kid" Beckett said. She was freaking out a bit, which was odd, because most of the time she didn't let her emotions get in the way. Especially while she was in the precinct.
"Highly unlikely. No one would let a kid wander out alone. First let's call Mike, ask if he has seen a little red head, and to call us if he does." Esposito remained calmed and focused.
"On it" said Ryan, calling Mike, the cop who guarded the precinct door.
"Ok. Next we should go to the last place you saw her"
"The hallway" Beckett told her two men team.
"No one has seen her, and they're advised to call you, boss" Ryan informed after having called Mike.
"Ok, thanks."
"How exactly did you lose her?" Ryan inquired while they walked together.
"She sent her to the bathroom... Alone." Esposito filled him in.
"Wow. Even I know you have to go with them" Ryan said surprised.
"I...Shut up." Beckett had run out of energies and excuses.
They arrived to the bathroom shortly after, Kate entered while Espo and Ryan entered the men's room. Who knew, maybe she had entered the wrong one.
"Clear" Beckett shouted from the bathroom, hearing the same from the men's bathroom. She exited the bathroom and joined the guys outside.
"Ok, so if you were a little kid, where would you go?" Espo wondered out loud.
"I have no idea" Beckett unwisely answered.
"Of course you don't" Ryan quipped.
"Hey!" Beckett complained. Ryan looked at her like saying 'come on, look in the situation you're in'..."Ok, you're right."
"I think she'd continue down the hallway." Espo said.
"Right, let's go" Beckett said already rushing down the hallway in hopes of finding the girl.
They checked all the rooms, but didn't find trace of Alexis. Kate noticed her partners looked a bit nervous, which until that point she had attributed it to the fact that there was a 4 year old missing. However, now that she had a break from her freaking-out-fog, she could see that it wasn't it.
"I think we should start checking other floors" Esposito announced.
"Wait. You guys are nervous" Beckett remarked, feeling more suspicious.
"What? Of course we are. You lost a little girl!" Ryan tried, but Beckett could see right trough his act.
"You know something" She accused. They looked at her as if she was insane.
"We? Why would we know something else that you do not know?" Esposito's rambling was no better in trying to fool her.
"Yes, why indeed? You're hiding something" She continued accusing them, this time she started to walk towards them slowly.
"I think you need a break. This thing is making you a bit out of your mind" Ryan tried to convince her it was all in her head.
"Call me crazy all you want. You guys are lying" With every step she took, they backed one step as well, until their backs hit the wall. They were trapped between concrete and a raging Beckett. It was safe to say they had a better chance at escaping through the wall than through Beckett.
"It was Espo's idea!" Ryan stopped pretending. He knew that you don't mess with a trained cop whose best friend is an ME. Especially when said cop has you cornered.
"Dude! I thought you were my partner" Espo couldn't believe Ryan broke so easily.
"Hold on. Are you telling me this is all a game and I didn't actually lost the girl?"
"Oh, no. You did." Espo answered and then looked straight at Kevin. "I can't believe you."
"Well, I'm sorry. Scared mama bear Beckett is scary!"
"Care to explain?" Beckett asked Espo.
"A cop found her wandering the halls a few minutes after you sent her to the bathroom. So we decided to teach you a lesson. Emphasis on the 'we' part." He informed her, but looked at Ryan for the last part.
"I said I was sorry"
"I can't even look at you right now"
"If we're all here, where's Alexis and with whom?" Beckett asked them.
"In the break room. Safe and sound with the rookie that found her." Espo smiled at her, though he knew he was going to have to pay for that later.
"I'll deal with you guys later" Was all she said before running towards the break room.
"Oh, thank god" Beckett exclaimed as soon as she laid eyes on the girl. She started to examine her for wounds or other signs of damage a 5 minute walk in the precinct hallway could have done.
"What?" Alexis said, not really knowing what was happening
"Nothing. Hey I like your drawing" Beckett commented, trying to keep herself from further questioning.
"She does know Alexis was only missing for like 5 minutes, right?" Espo commented as they looked at the pair through the window (basically because they thought that was the required distance to not get hurt by Beckett). Motherhood suited Kate was the thought that ran through both of the detectives as they looked at Alexis showing Beckett her drawing. The next thought that ran through their heads was to run like little girls because Beckett was going out of the room and they really wanted to live to see another day.
After her near anxiety death experience, detective Beckett kept a closer eye on Alexis. Thankfully the girl had apparently stopped wondering about her father's romantic future or future prospects for that matter, so the detective was able to work without interruptions for a few minutes. Nonetheless, fate was against her today.
"Psst Beckett" Ryan stage whispered across the bullpen to get her attention. "The captain is here. I think you mentioned there was some sort of rule for not having kids here."
"Craaapnberry juice" She saved herself from saying 'crap' in front of Alexis. "Erhm.. I mean would you like cranberry juice?
"Yes" Alexis said noticing Kate was acting a bit weird.
"Ok, let's go to the break room then" She whispered as she grabbed the little girl's hand and jogged across the bullpen to safety.
"Why are we whispering?" Alexis asked whispering as well. However, she did found the whole situation entertaining, even if she didn't understand most of the reasons.
"Shh" Beckett ushered Alexis to the break room door, when she heard the captain's voice from behind her.
"Detective Beckett, A word please?" Roy Montgomery asked. Beckett acted on instinct, pushing slightly Alexis towards the room.
"Wait a sec, kay?" Kate whispered before closing the door and turning quickly to face her captain.
"Yes?" Beckett asked as if she hadn't tried to smuggle a little girl into the break room.
"Was that a little girl or is my mind playing tricks on me? I did took a pill for my headache this morning so maybe it's just a side effect" Apparently it was tougher to fool the Captain
"You had a headache this morning?, oh no" She tried to change the subject, trying too hard to sound concerned. Deep down she knew it was futile.
"Don't play games with me detective" He said raising an eyebrow at her.
She gave up trying to keep the charade. She opened the door and let Alexis out.
"This is Alexis, Castle's daughter. She's 4. He didn't have anyone to leave her with."
"And naturally a police station is the first place to leave her?"
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm sure he will be here any minute" Beckett lied.
With Alexis beside her, she thought maybe she could use her the same way Castle did when he practically put her on the spot so that she couldn't refuse taking her.
"Alexis, this is Captain Montgomery." She introduced the captain to the girl.
"Hello Mr. Captain. I'm sorry if I'm bothering you" Alexis apologized and looked at him the same way as she had looked at Beckett before.
"Don't apologize. I'm sure everyone loves having you here. But you are not supposed to, it's not safe, ok?" Captain Montgomery tried to explain that to Alexis.
"Ok" Alexis answered smiling at the adults.
"Poor Castle. How can anyone say no to those eyes." The captain commented as soon as Alexis left to find the cranberry juice the detective had offered.
"I know sir. Believe me, I know."
"Ok. I'll pretend I didn't see anything. But don't let this situation happen again." The captain ordered.
"Thank you, sir."
"For what?" he said winking at her. The detective smiled and entered the break room praying there was cranberry juice somewhere.
The rest of the morning didn't have any more surprises for detective Beckett. At midday Castle arrived from his meetings bringing lunch for the guys and Beckett, in a way of saying thanks for keeping an eye on Alexis.
"I'm back!" Castle announced as he set foot on the bullpen. The first one to react was Alexis, who practically jumped off the chair and launched herself to her father. Rick had to maneuver the boxes of chinese takeout so that he could greet her child without bathing her in Mu Shu Pork.
"Daddy" She shouted in case anyone in the bullpen hadn't seen or heard Rick.
"Pumpkin! How was your day here?"
"Fun!" Alexis informed him while the boys and Beckett approached them.
"Really?" He said looking at Beckett, wondering what kind of magic must have happened so that the awkward looking Beckett he left a few hours ago made Alexis think of her as fun.
"Don't ask"
"Actually, do ask her. Is that chinese?" Esposito inquired.
"Yeah, I thought lunch was the least I could bring you guys. Is that okay?" He asked Beckett
"Sure. The guys will eat anything, and I particularly love chinese" Beckett answered.
"Ok, great. I'll go get her stuff and well be out of your hair in a second." Castle said, handing the rest of the bags to Esposito and Ryan.
"You're not staying? I'm sure there's enough food here for you guys, too." Beckett invited them surprising even herself. She really didn't see the harm on them staying, but she knew she was going to find out when the boys informed Lanie og that little detail.
"Ok." Rick said trying desperately to wipe the stupid grin off his face.
The went to the conference room, the boys sat on one side, and Castle, Beckett and Alexis on the other side. They started eating, passing the boxes of food around.
"So, what did Espo mean before?" Castle asked after some minutes.
"She lost Alexis" Ryan informed him when Beckett failed to produce words.
"You lost her?" Rick asked taken aback.
"Yes, I'm so sorry" Beckett apologized quickly.
"Is she okay?" RIck asked but from the looks of it, Alexis was fine.
"Yes, she was just lost for like 5 minutes."
"How did that happen?"
"I maybe sent her to the bathroom alone. I didn't know she was going to wander off." She said cringing. Now she realized how stupid that move was.
"It's ok. Don't worry" Castle told her when he saw she was being too hard on herself. It was the first time she had to look after a child so she wasn't supposed to know everything. Although he was a bit surprised about the fact the detective lost Alexis, he didn't blame her. It was just a mistake.
"You're not mad?" It was Beckett's turn to be surprised.
"Not really. I'm just glad you told me" He gave her an understanding smile
"If it's any consolation the boys scared the crap out of me" Beckett offered
"How's that?"
"A few minutes after I sent her, a rookie returned her to Espo and Ryan. However, they led me to believe me she was still lost" She narrowed her eyes at the boys, still felling a bit angry for that.
"Yeah, you should have seen her face" Espo intervened.
"We made her look all over the floor for her. We were going to go through every floor, but she realised we were lying" Ryan also filled Rick in.
"hey, it's not funny! I nearly had a heart attack when we didn't find her!" She said when he saw him shocking on his food laughing.
"I'm sorry. But I would have paid to see your face when they told you it was a ruse"
After they finished eating, the boys excused themselves saying they had tons of work to do given that they'd had a hectic morning (Not because they didn't want to be in the same room as Beckett for too long).
"Pumpkin, go get your stuff, ok?" Castle instructed his daughter.
"Are you sure she wasn't trouble today?" He asked as soon as Alexis was out of earshot.
"Are you really the right person to ask that?" Beckett wondered.
"Hey! Are you somehow implying I get in the way?" He feigned offence.
"I'm not implying it, I'm saying it. But seriously, she was just fine. In fact, I think the precinct is much better with little Castle instead." Beckett teased him
"What? I'm so much more fun than her." Castle whined.
"Whatever you say." Beckett said as she left the room.
"Ready?" Castle asked Alexis as he walked to the bullpen.
"Yes .Bye uncle Javi, bye uncle Ryan." Alexis said giving each of them a hug. She liked the precinct, but she was more than ready to return home.
"Thanks for today" Castle thanked Beckett one more time.
"No problem"
"You owe me, though" Castle said smirking.
"You just said we were okay" Beckett exclaimed.
"Well yeah, bu do you really think I'd let you off the hook that simple?"
"Can we call it evens? I took her when you didn't have anyone to leave her with... And I have to put up with you every day. So basically you owe me" Beckett tried to reason with him. She wasn't going to let Castle get away with that.
"You lost my kid for god sakes!" Castle exclaimed with feigned offense. He wasn't going to let his attempt backfire.
"Bye, Kate" Alexis interrupted their conversation. She opened her arms to hug the detective, so Beckett bent down a bit and Alexis launched towards her. Alexis gave her a big hug which surprised both the author and the detective.
"You told her your name and you didn't tell me, 'Kate'? I'm offended" Castle tried to tease her, but it lack his usual spark because he was mesmerized by the hug he had just witnessed.
"Goodbye, Castle." Kate said, making Castle smile. Castle grabbed Alexis' hand and started walking towards the elevator. He didn't turn back because he noticed the piles of files for him in Beckett's desk and he really didn't feel like doing any paperwork. So if he was fast enough the detective wouldn't suddenly remember he still had work to do that day