Well, my friends... Our story ends...Detective Beckett is behaving herself...and they all get justice, catching the bad guys...I loved bringing this story to you, hope all the bumps along the way were not too painful...
I almost killed my betas, but I have promised them...love...love..love and romance next...I'll throw in a little mystery, but no angst...Bree, Marjo, and Stella..on to Hong Kong...
XXOO,
Melody
As the day for the sting got closer, Rick was beginning to have serious doubts, he was frightened about what could go wrong.
"Rick, this is our best chance. I'll be fine. We have to give it a chance. Its important to bring these men to justice, I promised." Kate looked over in Alexis' direction and smiled. "Didn't I promise?"
"Yes, but I don't like it either. You're still pretty weak." Alexis was also worried about Kate's safety.
"I'll be here." Rick stated.
"No, Castle, you can't be in the room. These men wouldn't make a move if you were here.
"I'll stay with her. They won't think I would be a threat." Alexis suggested.
"Absolutely not. I won't have my daughter and my girlfriend both in harm's way."
"Actually that's a great idea. We can have a gun placed where only Alexis can get at it. She is very proficient in using a weapon. If I can get him to confess, he'll want to tell me how smart he is, he'll try to threaten my safety. If he actually attempts to hurt either of us, Alexis can get his attention and the cavalry can arrive."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
On the morning of their sting operation, cameras and microphones were set up in Kate's room with the computer feed placed in the adjoining room. The boys and Castle along with the Captain and the district attorney would be next door, listening and watching while Beckett got the men to confess.
Everything was set up, Alexis was the only person to be in the room. There was going to be a weapon in the drawer, but it would only be pulled out if the situation got dangerous.
Kate spent some time alone with Alexis, reviewing the plan, her role in the sting. Alexis was prepared and interestingly enough, quite calm and ready to bring these men to justice.
They were alerted when the lieutenant and sergeant from the tenth precinct entered the hospital. Rick went over to the two most important women in his life, gave them each a kiss. He whispered in Kate's ear, "Don't leave me, Kate, don't do anything stupid. If something happens to you, my life would be over."
He started to back away when Kate caught his arm and pulled him back to her. "This is important for me, but mostly this is for Alexis, she has to know that justice is possible, then our time in captivity will be of value. We owe her this."
Rick hugged her as tightly as he could. Her eyes were on fire, she was going to get these men, without question. Everyone except for Alexis and Kate left the room.
Kate motioned to Alexis.
"You and I, my friend, partners, we have this. We each have a job, now let's take these bastards down." Ending with their personal hand slap, Kate was running on adrenaline, just needing this rush of energy and strength to last for short period of time.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
They were each reading when the two officers from the tenth precinct entered their room.
"Detective Beckett, I had heard you were feeling better, we decided to come by and wish you well.
"Really, I thought you might be coming back to finish what your goon and his merry men had started."
"What? I haven't a clue what you're talking about?" The lead officer inquired, feigning innocence.
"You think you're pretty smart as always Detective, but you have nothing on us." Sergeant Groves spit out. She had already rattled the sergeant when she had called him a goon.
"I wouldn't count on that, jackass." And she proceeded to lay out the majority of the case against his henchmen and himself, how they had been able to identify the men by their mannerisms and voice imprints on file in the police department.
They had obtained each man's phone record, the lieutenant's number was the number of record the men had called several times during Kate and Alexis' time in captivity, the timing of his final call corresponded with the time the boys and Castle left the precinct to rescue them obviously alerting the kidnappers.
They had subpoenaed various financial and other personal records. The district attorney was prepared to issue an arrest warrant for each of the men on kidnapping. Kate carefully laid out their case, but left some items out, purposefully wanting to antagonize the men enough get their confession, their egos getting the best of them.
"What did you think kidnapping us would get you?" Kate's curiosity was surging.
It was Groves who told her, they believed they could get the charges against them dropped and once they were dropped they could never be charged with that crime again, the rule of double jeopardy applying to the case.
"You are idiots, just as I suspected. You really believed the district attorney would let you walk?" Kate's voice and her words were both laughing at the men.
Lieutenant Samuels remained calm, but Kate could tell sergeant Groves was slowly coming unglued, so she continued to push. She wanted him to lose his temper.
"You thought you were so tough, such a man, didn't you? Did hitting me make you get a hard on, tough guy? Did holding a defenseless girl captive get you off? I've heard that you are all talk and no action." Kate's words were caustic.
With that Groves' demeanor snapped and he leaped to attack Kate. Grabbing her hair, he pulled her head back.
"I should have killed you when I had a chance. Believe me, beating you was the least I could do to you. If Samuels hadn't called, interrupting us, we would have killed you both." His face glaring down at Kate, the rage growing inside him, the two men had forgotten about Alexis, until they heard the click of a weapon being readied to fire.
"Let her go, you son of a bitch. Don't make me shoot you, though I will if I need to."
Alexis had the gun firmly pointed in both men's direction, the look in her eye convincing Samuels she would pull the trigger with no regret.
"Let her go." she demanded again. Groves tossed Kate's body to the floor and started to move towards Alexis, when Samuels grabbed him.
"We gotta get out of here now."
The boys and the rest of the team immediately entered the room before the offending men could leave. The two men were quickly subdued and cuffed, Groves face was forced into the door frame, resulting in blood spurting from his nose and mouth.
Alexis put the weapon down and went to Kate's side, her father was close behind and the two of them got Kate back into bed. There was no doubt Kate had been roughed up, but she was thrilled with what they had accomplished.
"Great job, Alexis. Remember it's about justice, and that's so much more satisfying then vengeance. They will be locked up in prison and as police officers, they will not last long, their lives will be hell."
"Kate, are you hurt?" Rick was closely looking Kate over.
"Just a little, nothing some pain medicine won't help." Kate responded, the adrenalin quickly leaving her now that the job was completed.
"Kate, you have to quit doing this stuff, I may not survive." Rick dropped his forehead into his hands.
"Come here and kiss me." Kate suggested.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Everyone was in Kate's room was celebrating their success in solving their kidnapping. The two men had confessed to everything and had implicated the other three men who had been arrested. All five of the men were going to be arraigned the next morning.
The boys described how awesome Captain Gates had been during the interrogation, she was relentless, a tiger stalking her prey, never giving them a chance to wiggle out of the trap. Ryan and Espo commenting on how beautifully the Captain had gotten all of the information out of the five men, making the case for the grand jury a slam dunk. They were being charged with kidnapping and attempted murder of a police officer.
Rick was hanging on each word; so envious that he hadn't been present for the interrogation.
"Man, I wish I had been there." Rick started complaining and whining.
Both the boys gave him an all knowing smirk as Ryan pulled out a DVD.
"We have video." Ryan announced.
"Wow, okay, let's watch." Rick was giggling like a kid at Christmas.
He loaded the DVD in his computer, set the computer on the over bed table, moved Kate forward so he could squeeze behind her, Alexis curled up beside the two. Ryan and Espo flanked the threesome and they started the video. They kept pausing it and rewinding the video, everyone was enjoying watching the action.
Rick had Kate leaning into his chest with his head resting on her shoulder, reaching over to kiss her neck and whispering intermittently to her. Alexis found the interrogation fascinating, having never observed one previously.
After several rewinds of the video, the boys, Castle, Beckett and Alexis did several high fives. Captain Gates had indeed done a marvelous job in Beckett's place.
Kate was noticeably tired and under the influence of some fairly strong pain medications, she had been quiet during the viewing, simply smiling and nodding, completely exhausted.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Rick ordered take out from some of the best restaurants in town, feeding all of their friends and the hospital staff. While everyone was congratulating themselves on how the case had worked out, how first class the sting operation had gone, Castle set back carefully observing Kate and his daughter.
Alexis's face appeared more open, freer than since the kidnapping. Obviously being part of the sting had given Alexis much needed closure on her kidnapping. Kate also looked relieved, but was very tired.
Rick thought of kicking everyone out, but both of the ladies were laughing and having a great time, talking about their part in the sting.
Ryan and Espo were trying to best each other with who had figured out the lion's share of the case. Kate lay in bed and smiled at her partners, but her biggest smile was reserved for Alexis, who had made her way to Kate's side.
Kate tugged her down and whispered into her ear, bringing a huge smile onto the young woman's face. Alexis backed away, then leaned back in and rubbed her nose with Kate's. Kate looked over at Rick, smiled and winked, both expressions reflecting her degree of satisfaction.
Rick walked over to Kate, bent over her, whispering into her ear, she brought a hand up, tousled his hair and allowed her eyes to close.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Steve came into Kate's room the next morning, looked at her chart, examined her and talked to Angela about Kate's progress.
"Detective, you seem to be doing better each day. Could I interest you in going home today?"
Kate's face broke out in a huge grin, Rick was nearly jumping up and down with excitement and Alexis let out a screech of joy.
"I do have some ground rules though. First, you have to take it easy, no hard core exercising. You have to take pain medications around the clock, until I completely give you a clean bill of health. You will get short of breath, you need to expect that. At the first sign of shortness of breath, sit down." He smiled before he continued, knowing the answer before he even asked. "I'll write down all of the instructions. When do you want to leave?"
"Yesterday." Kate chimed in and smiled. Rick started making a number of phone calls, getting the loft ready for Kate's homecoming.
Alexis helped Kate get dressed in her yoga pants, a loose t-shirt and some flat shoes. Kate was getting impatient, she longed to get home, lie in their bed and have Rick's arms around her, she had missed their time together.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Their ride home was uneventful. All anyone of them wanted was to be home, relax and heal together. The staff at the hospital had done a remarkable job caring for not only Kate, but everyone else in the family.
Kate refused to be carried from the car to the loft, she managed to walk to the loft clinging to Rick's arm, her progress was painfully slow, but she was determined to make it the entire distance. She was thrilled when Martha opened the door and greeted them with her usual enthusiasm.
Kate's movements had nearly stopped, her mouth was clinched tight, her vision focused on the couch. A comfortable smile appeared as she spied the nest waiting for her and she quickly moved towards the couch. Rick helped her take off her shoes and get comfortable, lifting her legs into place.
Rick took her into his arms and squeezed her perfectly, his face buried in her hair.
"Welcome home, love. Promise me, you'll behave."
I promise." She pulled him to her and kissed his mouth, her tongue working his mouth open, begging for more. He tasted wonderful, he made her feel warm and loved, their kiss ending sooner than each other wanted.
Martha joined them and offered Kate a hot cup of her favorite tea, which Kate willingly took.
"I have cooked my fingers to the bone." Martha announced grandly.
"Gram, who are you expecting? You have cooked enough food for an army." Alexis commented on the amount of food covering the table.
"I didn't know what Kate would like, so I improvised."
"Thanks, Martha. I think I'm ready for some food and then perhaps a nap."
Martha leaned over, murmured, "Welcome home, kiddo." and retreated to the kitchen.
Kate scrunched down, settling into the nest, managing to eat most of the food she was presented with, and after eating was asleep quickly.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The next few days were very low key. Kate spent the majority of her time in the nest, reading, watching TV and eating various foods, but her favorite time was at night in their bed, winding herself into Rick's arms.
She had missed this time together. While she longed to have him make love to her, she knew it would only be detrimental at this point.
She walked around the loft, trying to gain strength and stamina, increasing her time up, but still managing to return exhausted. Her frustration level was high, but she had promised both Rick and Alexis she would behave as well as not take it out on anyone.
Rick and Steve had discussed how Kate's progress might take a long time. Kate interestingly enough was showing restraint in pushing herself.
"Kate, I'm really proud of you. You really are allowing your body to heal."
"When I'm better, I know I can return to work without reservations, but it may take time."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Rick returned to the living room, he had been on the phone for nearly an hour, he was frowning and very quiet, which was so unlike him.
Kate immediately noticed his mood change, "Hey, what's up, writer boy?" Her brow lifted, asking for clarification.
"My publisher wants me to take a business trip, for nearly a month. I told them no. End of discussion."
"When do they want you to travel?"
"The end of the month, but it's not an option."
"Why is it not an option?" Kate had no intention of dropping this subject.
"I'm not leaving you alone. Remember, never again. The subject is closed."
"Where do they want you to go?" Kate was relentless with her questions.
"It doesn't..."
"Where?" Kate was becoming increasing more insistent.
"Hong Kong."
"Wow, I've always wanted to go there."
"Well, someday we'll go."
"Why not at the end of the month?"
"Um, do I need to remind you what has happened over the last few weeks, because I remember every gruesome detail."
"Now who's trying to be difficult?" Kate shot back at him.
"There is no way you'd be cleared to travel in less than a month."
"Why not, I was in better shape than I had been in years before the kidnapping. Come on, let's talk to Steve, see what he says."
"It could be just you and I, very romantic, imagine lying in bed overlooking Hong Kong harbor, feeding each other fresh raspberries, making love for all of Hong Kong to see. It sounds delicious in every respect. Come on, Rick." Kate was tempting Rick unmercifully.
Kate grabbed her left side securely, crawled over to Ricks arms and curling up in his lap, started kissing him, teasing him, running her tongue around his neck, her hands through his hair.
"You make an excellent point, Detective Beckett." Rick was holding onto Kate, feeling like life, their life, would indeed be right again.
"Then when we can come home, I'll be ready to return to work...Because I am not afraid, not anymore." Kate's eyes met Rick's, her gaze very convincing.
Rick trusted what she told him, and picking up the phone, he contacted his publicist to arrange the trip details.
"My Detective is demanding to see Hong Kong. So please let's make it happen." He spoke into the phone, rubbing his face into Kate's hair.
As he ended his call, he gathered Kate up and headed to their bedroom, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her head resting on his shoulder.
"I may need some more persuading, Detective."
"I'm your gal, Mr. Castle." Kate answered, as the door closed behind them.
This story ends...but my stories of this remarkable couple will continue...I hope you have all enjoyed our time together...Let me know...thanks for coming along...Next stop as I said Hong Kong...Yippee
