Chapter 11- The Promise

Kate woke at her normal 6am Thursday morning; actually, it was a bit before her clock went off. She had been doing that for a couple of weeks now - unable to get to sleep and unable to stay asleep. The pill had helped a bit last night - at least she had gotten to sleep fairly quickly after it had had time to take effect. She stretched and rolled up to sitting on the side of the bed. Her appointment with Dr. Burke was for 9 o'clock, so she had time to wash clothes before she went. Yeah. With a resolve she didn't actually feel, she pulled herself out of bed. It was going to be a long day.

Martha stood backstage with her granddaughter. This was her first recital since entering college, and the girl was a bundle of nerves. She had been playing the violin for several years now, so the recitals were nothing new. However, this was the first one she had ever played without her father in the audience. Martha realized this would be the first time she wasn't sitting beside her son ready to tackle him if he started to cheer as though it were a football game and not a formal occasion. He lost all sense of decorum where Alexis was concerned. Now he was gone on his damn "road trip". Neither she nor Alexis had heard from him since he left, even though he had promised to give them a call when he got "where he was going".

"Darling, you will do just fine. You've got this! It's almost time to start, so I'm going to go find a seat."

Alexis nodded her head nervously. She looked past her grandmother's shoulder as she started toward the wing steps. Suddenly she hissed, "What's she doing here?"

"Who, darling?" Martha stopped and looked back, wondering what had gotten into the girl.

"Detective Beckett!" Alexis practically spit the name.

Martha backed up a few steps into the shadows and looked toward the audience. It took her a few seconds to finally spot the detective. She had apparently just arrived as she was just making her way down the aisle. Martha had to admit she had seen the detective look better. The dress was a familiar one, a rather simple LBD with straps, almost a sundress style, that normally fit her just so. Not tonight. Even though Martha wouldn't have thought it possible, it seemed as though the detective had lost a few pounds since the dress was much looser than the last time she had seen her wear it one evening when her son had taken Kate out for dinner. She remembered how nice the detective had looked. Martha, being an actress, also knew make-up. Katherine Beckett had bags under her eyes no amount of concealer could hide, and the rouge on her cheeks did nothing to hide the sunken look. All in all, she looked much less put together than Martha had ever seen her show up at a public event. Apparently her son wasn't the only one suffering through this - whatever it was. Now to cool her granddaughter's jets before she got herself too worked up to actually play her piece.

"Hmm, yes. I see her. Well, I do recall her making you a promise to attend if there was any way possible. Apparently she's keeping her promise," Martha stated mater-of-factly. "She probably should have stayed home and rested judging by her looks."

"What? She looks fine. She's dressed just like she was to go out to eat with Dad," Alexis retorted. How dare she look nice when her dad was who knows where! Especially considering how he had looked the last time she saw him.

Martha proceeded to explain what she had noticed, not that Alexis was willing to concede the point. Not yet at any rate. Martha left it alone and walked back out and down to her seat. She didn't say anything to Katherine, or even acknowledge she had seen her. She figured if the detective wanted to talk, she knew where to find her. Otherwise, she would leave the woman her privacy. She did sit across the auditorium and at an angle to be able to see her out of the corner of her eye. She was very curious about exactly why this attention to a promise made long before the fallout from the job offer.

Alexis spent the time before her performance going over her piece, fingering the notes as she did. The familiar action calmed her so that when it was her time she had her emotions under control. She walked out and took her place, took a deep breath and, putting bow to strings, let the music take her away. The song, "Melodie" from Orpheus & Erudice, was a melancholy piece to begin with, but she poured all her heartbreak and sorrow into it. By the time she finished there were quite a few teary eyes in the house, not surprisingly her grandmother was one. She was shocked to see Detective Beckett smiling while wiping tears from her eyes as she applauded. What was even more surprising was the look of pride on her face. Detective Beckett was proud of her?

Martha clapped for Alexis' lovely performance. The girl might not act, but she could certainly put feeling into her music! She happened to glance over to see a certain detective was mo less affected. She also caught the look of pride directed toward the girl. She wasn't sure what to think, except she very much wanted to pop the woman and her son on the back of the head - hard - and then lock them in a room until they finally talked out their differences. She had been around the both of them enough to know neither was very good at actually talking, and non-verbal communication could only get you so far. Not to mention, in her book anyone who loved her granddaughter so much that they would still keep a promise, even after all that had been said, couldn't be all bad.

Alexis couldn't help but look out at the audience after she got backstage, her curiosity getting the better of her. She saw Kate check her watch then gather up her purse and light wrap before slipping out of the row and heading back up the aisle toward the exit. So. Obviously Beckett hadn't been there for a night of music alone. She had made the effort so come just to hear her play, like she had said she would. Alexis tried to ignore the niggling voice that mentioned that even her own mother never made that much effort.

Saturday night came and it was Martha's turn to be a bundle of nerves. Her first and second year students were putting on a performance, staged and directed on their own. Sort of a final exam. It had been very difficult to step back and let them go, only being a resource if they asked a question. Balancing between giving too much help and not enough was nerve wracking!

Tonight was the performance, utilizing a small venue since they didn't have a huge audience coming - mostly friends and family of the students. The seating was small tables and half circle booths. The audience was able to order from a limited menu - burgers, pizza, sandwiches - sort of a low budget dinner theatre. She and Anthony, the owner, went way back, and had been good friends almost since she arrived in New York. He had been happy to offer her the services of his establishment which usually saw musicians, comedians, and such. A play was a departure for him, and hopefully would work out well for both. If so, he and Martha planned to make this a regular occurrence for her students, though next time it would be her advanced students.

Martha was bustling out from the back stage area to take a seat in the rear - the better to judge projection, staging, and the like - when she bumped into someone.

"Oh, pardon me, I.." She stopped mid sentence. "Hello, detective."

Kate flinched at the formality. "Hello, Martha. Nice to see you. I was just heading over here…"she said, pointing to a small two-top to one side. Could the conversation get any more inane?

"Certainly. I hope you enjoy the show," Martha said as she retreated to her designated table. "Well, that was some winning dialogue!" she thought. She was glad her students hadn't heard it! Pitiful! But she had been caught flat-footed at coming face-to-face with Katherine. "This is twice in less than a week," she mused. Obviously the woman had something on her mind. She would have to think on what to do…later. Alexis had slipped into the chair next to her as the lights dimmed for the opening act. Showtime.

I wanted to show a bit of what was going on with Alexis and Martha during this week. I know we haven't heard anything about Alexis and her violin lately, but it just seemed like something to continue that wasn't academic. I also wanted to show that bridge wasn't completely burned, at least not from Kate's side. I never wanted to be a writer that asked for reviews, but they seriously do help. I am humbled by the 130+ of you who are following the story, and those of you who have "favorite - ed" it. (How the heck do you spell that anyway?)