Chapter Thirteen: For Those Who Dare The Eagle's Flight
After leaving the Old Haunt, Rick took a taxi to the loft. Nobody was home. Alexis was on campus and Martha at her acting school. He changed into a polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers, and tried to plan what he was going to say to everyone. That they were not going to take it well was probably the understatement of the decade. He looked at his watch. It was a little after four. There was still time to call everyone important and ask them to dinner. He would break the news after dinner.
He first called Martha to make sure that she didn't stay late at her school, and then Alexis to be sure that she'd be home in time. He called Kate next. He could hear the joy in her voice when she heard his and said that she'd get there early to help him set up. He then called Ryan and invited him and Jenny, and then asked him to give the phone to Esposito. Esposito agreed to come and told him that he should invite Jim Beckett. Kate had finally told her father everything. If the news hit Kate as hard as expected she would need all the support she could get. Rick acknowledged that Kate would need Jim, but her father was not close to him personally and Kate would want to go to him privately. The final call was to Lanie. Rick knew there wasn't time to prepare a meal for so many himself so he ordered it catered from his favorite Italian restaurant. After he ordered he decided that with what he had to tell them he would try to ease it by looking and acting like as much like Rick Castle as possible.
He couldn't do anything about the hair, but other than that he'd do his best. He took a long bath then shaved and used his expensive after shave and cologne. He dressed in a pair of dove gray slacks and a blue dress shirt that Kate had admired several times. A pair of highly polished loafers and a dark blue blazer completed the outfit.
As soon as Kate got off the phone, she asked Captain Gates if she could get off early. Since all she had was paperwork the captain agreed. It wasn't hard for Gates to figure out why, and a happy Beckett beat the hell out of a grumpy one. Kate did have a razor tongue when she was unhappy.
She got home at 4:40 and called Lanie to come over and help her pick a dress. She took a quick shower but took her time with her make-up. Lanie left early also, showered and did her make up at Kate's. Lanie encouraged Kate to wear the lingerie she'd purchased before the trip to California, which included the sexy bra and panties and silk stockings, all in deep purple.
Purple was Kate's favorite color. The dress Lanie picked for her was a lighter purple than the lingerie and matched her shoes. Tight fitting through the bodice with a vee neck, it worked well with the push-up bra to enhance her breasts. The skirt was slightly flared, ending just above the knee. She was going for full-blown all-out sexy. She knew that they had agreed on slow but something in the back of her mind was arguing that maybe that wasn't the best idea.
She didn't have a solid base for her suspicions, but something about that refresher course bothered her. If it was just a refresher, why did Rick have to study so hard that he was too tired to e-mail her? Her detective's antennae were quivering.
She and Lanie arrived at the loft at a quarter to six. Lanie laughed out loud at the expression on Rick's face when he saw Kate. Kate was thrilled when she saw his eyes darken with arousal. However, the old suave Rick was back.
"Why, good evening ladies, to what do I owe the pleasure of your early arrival?" Kate just smiled and put a little extra sway in her hips as she walked in.
Lanie couldn't hide a mischievous smile. "You didn't think that we'd let a mere male mess up the table settings did you, writer-man? Even if you are now a great leader of men." She kissed his cheek and whispered, "Kate wants to show you how domestic she can be."
Rick raised an eyebrow and in an amused voice said, "That's flyer-man now, Lanie, and I've been setting the table for years."
Just as sassy as ever, Lanie said, "Yes, informally, for three people. Get a glass of wine, sit down, shut up and watch the ladies do it right."
Kate knew the loft from the time she'd stayed when her apartment was bombed. She went straight into the kitchen, got an apron, and put it on. Rick got a glass and a bottle of wine and poured himself a drink. Just as he set the bottle down, Kate snapped her fingers and said, "I forgot something."
"What did you forget?" Rick asked.
Kate smiled a very seductive smile. "This." And she kissed him. Soft and sweet, not demanding but making her intentions very clear. Then she said, "Do as Lanie said, go relax while she and I take care of things." Rick chuckled. Same old bossy Kate. Kate knew where the good china and silver was kept and set a formal table including napkin rings and linen napkins.
Lanie wasn't happy with the wine and water glasses so she ran them through the dishwasher. Rick sat on the couch with a bemused look on his face. He thought he was throwing this dinner party. Alexis and Martha both walked through the door at a quarter after six. They put their coats away, and as she turned, Alexis caught sight of Kate in the kitchen.
"Mom!" she squealed and ran to Kate and enveloped her in a hug. Over the month that Rick had been in Quantico, Kate had spent much of her free time with Alexis and Martha. Not only was Alexis determined to have Kate as her mother (step-mother legally), Martha was just as determined to have Kate as her daughter-in-law. She despised both Gina and Meredith, always had. But she loved Kate.
Despite the ups and downs of their relationship, Kate's influence had made Rick into a better man. He'd gone from his hedonistic life style back to a man with the willingness to serve his city and find justice for victims. He'd found a sense of service that he'd lost after leaving the Corps. He'd quit chasing skirts and one night stands, doing the walk of shame in the wee hours, to devote himself to one extraordinary woman.
He'd faltered in that devotion last summer, and broke two hearts doing it. But he couldn't be faulted for that. She brought that about. Maybe it wasn't right that he chose that route but very understandable. Hopefully they were on the way back to each other. Martha prayed that they were.
Not only was Alexis looking at Kate like her mom, Kate was acting like it. She kissed Alexis's cheek and said, "Go get cleaned up and come back down. The food's being catered but you and I will serve it, if that's okay with your dad."
"That will be okay, won't it Dad?" Alexis exclaimed. Rick chuckled and nodded his acceptance.
The food arrived about fifteen minutes later. Rick had ordered a veritable feast. There was green salad, antipasto salad, lasagna, spaghetti bolognaise, beef ravioli, chicken Alfredo and pizza. In that assortment there had to be something everybody liked. He'd ordered ice cream, cheesecake and tiramisu for desert choices, with wine, beer, soda, or coffee to drink. The guests all arrived in a group promptly at seven o'clock.
Lanie was worried the minute she saw Esposito's face. Everyone else was looking happy and greeting Rick. Espo did the feed the birds and a man-hug but his eyes were troubled. She could tell that something was bothering him. Lanie walked over to him. "Javi, what's wrong?"
Esposito shook his head. "Not mine to tell, chica."
"Well, cheer up before you bum everybody out."
The dinner went fabulously, with lots of laughter, everyone happy to see Rick home. Kate was actually enjoying her impromptu role as hostess, as Martha had happily ceded that role to her.
After dinner, everyone was sitting around, sipping their drinks, laughing, and telling stories. Rick hated what he was about to do but he had no choice. Kate was sitting near him on the couch, one hand resting on his forearm. He stood up. Kate turned her eyes up, some sixth sense telling her that something bad was about to happen. Rick cleared his throat.
"Hey, please be quiet for a minute. There is something I have to tell you." Kate's unease turned to a sense of dread. "I am so happy that you came to dinner tonight for this little homecoming party. I love all of you and I've missed all of you. I thought that I was coming home for good, except for book tours, Marine PR assignments and airshows. When I signed up I was told and my family was assured that that's all I'd be doing except for normal reserve duties. Things change.
"The needs of the service change. Those statements were never in writing. I have been called to active duty. I leave in two weeks." Rick choked up. He pulled a copy of the orders out of his jacket pocket. "Javi, will you read these out loud, I can't do it right now."
Esposito's voice wasn't much steadier than Rick's as he read: "Richard A. Rogers, Lieutenant Colonel United States Marine Corps Reserve. You are ordered to active duty for an indefinite period but no less than ninety days. You are ordered to report to the Naval Flight Training School, Pensacola Florida for transition to the F-18E/F aircraft. Report not later than…
There was absolute silence at the stunning news. Kate sat there in shock. The words ricocheted around her consciousness. Active duty, Pensacola, F-18. She didn't break down, that wasn't Kate, but the tears filled her eyes. No, this couldn't be true, not now. Martha's face lost all color and a pained expression crossed her face. Oh God, my only child not again, not again. Both Alexis and Kate saw the look of pain and went to Martha, the three of them standing in a tight embrace. Jenny and Lanie both looked stricken with tears in their eyes. Kevin just sat and stared.
These eight people might not be a family in the conventional sense but they were a family, nonetheless. Alexis broke away from the hug and went ballistic. The youngest Castle had quite a temper. "Dad, how could they do this? They promised, they promised that you would be doing PR type things! That general talked to me directly, he promised no hazardous duty and it would not take you away! That lying smug moron had to know if this was a possibility, he had to know, and he didn't care, he just cares that this makes the Marines look good, it's all a bunch of crap politics!"
Rick reached for his daughter and tried to soothe her. "Alexis, I know you're upset, but it's my orders and I need to follow them. Things can change, like I said, and there was always the possibility-"
"No," Alexis ground out furiously. "No, there's a difference between possibility and flat-out lying to my face. This is a general, Dad, a general, and if he'd said we're going to do our best to keep it to PR, that would be different, but he didn't! He promised something that they have no problem breaking!"
Rick said nothing, but hugged her tightly. He had the feeling that the general's office was going to hear quite an earful from Alexis before the next day was done, and really, he couldn't blame her, and he knew better than to stand in her way.
Kate didn't break, but she made no attempt to keep her temper in check. She left Martha and walked to Rick. He started to back away as he could see the anger blazing in her eyes. She reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her. In a low voice, she said, "I'm mad, I'm mad as hell, but I'm mad at the Marine Corps, and like Alexis I'm furious with that lying son of a bitch general. I'm not mad at you. I love you, Rick. I'm not mad at you but I'm confused. Couldn't you see that this was a set up from the beginning?"
Rick frowned and opened his mouth, but Kate beat him to it.
"You told me the story," she said, her eyes holding his. "You told me how they had uniforms and quarters waiting for you, how the general had all the paperwork ready. I may not know much about the military, but the way they had the school ready for you…"
She paused to pick up her wine glass and take a sip. "And all the rest. Rick, couldn't you see how streamlined it all was? You're a writer; didn't it seem almost like a novel how everything fell into place? It wasn't a spur of the moment operation either."
Rick paused, and for the first time really thought about how easily everything had come together. He'd been absent from the military for more than 18 years; he did know that things like this took time…unless someone was greasing the wheels. He set his jaw. He'd been so distracted by what had happened with Kate and with the Wings of Fury Foundation that he'd not done the one thing he'd been doing all that time with the 12th precinct: he hadn't looked closely.
Kate watched the emotions play over his face, and she set down the wineglass and took his hands in hers. He looked back at her. "Rick, the timing in this is so horrible for us. I need the time to prove to you how much I love you, that I'm in all the way and that I won't run. The damn Marine Corps has stolen that time from me." She squeezed his hands and looked down, and Rick felt a drop fall on his hands. She looked back up at him, and his eyes widened at the tears swimming in her eyes. Fiercely, she whispered, "I won't give up, Rick. I won't let them take you from me." With that, she kissed him, putting everything she felt into that kiss. Rick was surprised by the kiss. It was a passionate kiss in front of everybody important to her, and he suddenly knew, with complete surety, the truth of her words. He started to return the kiss, but broke off when he tasted salt on his lips. He pulled away.
Kate looked up for a moment before she buried her head in his shoulder and clung to him. Astonished, he gently wrapped his arms around her and felt her shaking as she cried. And she was crying intensely but softly; no loud wails from his determined homicide detective. He felt a spurt of anger. He would do his duty as a Marine, but the people who'd wrangled behind the scenes to get what they wanted, who'd hurt his daughter, who'd hurt Kate; they would definitely hear about it. He realized, again, with some surprise that he'd pushed it away so long, that it hurt him to see Kate hurt, the same way he'd seen her feel his hurt, and it had never been that way with Meredith or Gina. That was the missing piece he'd thought he didn't have with Kate; love was one thing, and often not enough, but to feel hurt with her…that was it. That was enough to prove they completed and needed each other. It would take him time to process it all, but he knew it was the beginning that Kate had so desperately been working for.
Rick gently rubbed circles on Kate's back as she cried, trying to soothe her, but the writer, the man of words, couldn't think of anything that would help. He was in a kind of shock. He'd never believed that Katherine Beckett, tough cop extraordinaire, could be this vulnerable or show it this much. Kate the cop was nowhere to be seen. Kate the woman, so deeply in love and so very scared, was shaking in his arms.
The rest of the room was silent. The people she loved were sharing her pain. The other four women in the room all had tears streaming down their faces. Ryan was trying to comfort Jenny and Esposito stood rigidly with his fists balled at his side, furious that a woman he thought of as his sister was hurting and a man who he considered a brother was possibly going in harm's way.
Esposito had been Special Forces, an elite soldier. He knew the brotherhood of fighting men, the faith they had in one another. He also knew the adrenaline rush of action and how one could crave that, almost an addiction. He knew the thrill of pushing the envelope. So he was worried. Rick could easily be drawn back into that. He had been a fighter pilot, a highly decorated one.
It was an article of faith with him that fighter pilots were all crazy and carrier pilots crazier than most. He wasn't an overly religious man but he would go to Mass and pray that Rick remembered all the three women who loved him and not get caught up in the rush. His death would destroy all three.
Rick moved both of them to the couch and sat, pulling Kate with him and holding her until the shaking stopped. When she stopped shaking, Rick tipped her face up. She opened her eyes. Red and puffy, they were still beautiful. She gazed into his blue eyes, so close to hers, and could see the warmth that had been missing for so long. He smiled the soft smile that said more than words. "It's okay, Kate, we'll get through this." Her eyes closed as he kissed her and her heart fluttered with new hope.