Submitted is the next chapter. Thank my beta who, along with me has spent hours on this chapter along with the next few chapters. This is seriously hot off the press.
Chapter 36
"Go ahead of me and act normal, Castle."
He thought about that. "Normal how?" He inquired unsure about whether he should act as normal Castle with Kate alive, or how Castle might be like if Kate were dead.
"Just act as normally as you can. We have this conversation all the time." She whined.
He frowned at Kate. All the detectives in the precinct, with the exception of Esposito and Ryan, would expect the latter behaviour from him but her wanted Kate's clarification of how she wanted him to be. "Like normal with you alive, or like normal with you dead?"
"Castle!" She hissed, wondering why he always had to be so specific. However, she briefly thought about his question, understanding his dilemma, "Make an entrance like you normally would and when you have everyone's attention, Sorenson and I will pass behind you, walk down the corridor the long way and meet you in the viewing room."
"Sure," he smiled, understanding what she wanted, "I can do that," then thought about it at bit more, "What happens if anyone asks how I'm doing?"
"We haven't really thought this through much, have we?" Kate concluded creasing her brow.
"No, but I'll wing it. I'm glad to be among friends, but not as happy as I'd be if you were with me." He squeezed her upper arm and glanced briefly at Sorenson who was standing about three yards away from them. He muttered to Kate, "I'll see you in there."
"Remember, be your normal self." She stipulated with her usual bossy tone.
Rick produced his submissive look, "I will." He confirmed and proceeded to walk ahead of Kate to the Precinct. He glanced back at her over his right shoulder. She was leaning against the wall of a building looking about as insignificant as the next person in the late evening. Black hoodie poking out of a black leather jacket, black jeans and practical shoes she could run in if she needed to, not that he wanted her running. Will had moved to her side as soon as Castle had gone ahead.
Inside the Precinct's foyer he hit the elevator button and waited. Beckett and Sorenson appeared in the foyer not a minute later and stopped a little way from him to wait for the elevator. They entered the same elevator with several other people. Kate moved to a back corner away from Rick and kept her face partially concealed by the hood of her top. Sorenson stood in front of her. Nobody noticed Kate. People dressed as she was, were constantly in and out of the precinct. She blended and could have been anyone. Rick noticed Kate was chewing gum and behaving totally different. She was a better actress than his mother.
At the homicide squad's floor Rick stepped out of the elevator, gave Kate and Sorenson enough time to slip out behind him, then made one hell of a noisy entrance the moment he saw Esposito and Ryan, an entrance that caught everyone's attention. Yes, Rick Castle was back to say hello as late in the day as it was. As soon as the detectives saw him, they all got up to greet him. Beckett and Sorenson walked along the corridor towards the viewing room without raising any attention with the exception of Ryan who gave Kate a wink.
Ryan nudged Esposito, "She's inside," he quietly said as they approached Castle paying him the attention. They made enough of a racket that it kept everyone engaged with Castle. Sorenson and Beckett successfully made it to the room and closed the door.
Tonight was hopefully Kate's final night as a dead person. She was so relieved to finally see a break, that perhaps she would soon be able to reclaim her life and her real identity. Even if she had become familiar with her alias in Canada, she liked her identity as Kate Beckett a lot more. She sat on the desk and pushed the hoodie off her head. She glanced to the clock. It was just after 6.40 pm. They had been in Montreal four hours ago and it already seemed surreal. Sorenson and two of his agents had met her and Castle at the airport. No one in their families knew they were back in New York City. They had elected to remain low key and stay at a hotel for the night, if they actually got out of the Precinct that evening. There were a lot of questions hanging in the air at the moment and quite a lot to do before they would know the path they were to take. It was highly anticipated by Castle and Sorenson that they would be on a plane and flying back to Montreal tomorrow.
"We made it, Will." She smiled, chewing on the gum he had given her. "I'm still alive."
"It was easy." Sorenson commented. "You both look so different." He looked over her face. "I barely recognised either of you at the airport."
"How? I'm still me!" She was surprised. "Yes, Rick has a beard which makes him look different."
"Yeah, he looks really different with the beard. Your hair is lighter, you're .. well, I guess you're looking pregnant." He carefully pointed to her tummy and face. It wasn't only that. She was different in her personality. She'd been a little more guarded and stand-offish since the moment he had met them at the airport about two hours ago. Rick was his normal self, with the exception he was far more protective of Kate, but she was more reserved and quieter than the woman he'd said good bye to when they had flown to Montreal. She was healthier, stronger physically and mentally but the confident Kate he knew wasn't completely back yet. Once fiercely independent, she had kept Rick close to her until five minutes ago. The bond between Castle and Becket had intensified with their time in Montreal. Sorenson could see they communicated continuously without words and were living in their own world that being alone for months had allowed them to develop. He felt a momentary pang of jealousy, then firmly shut it down. He'd left her for his career. Rick hadn't left Kate's side, no matter what.
"Explain it properly, Will." She requested interested to hear what he observed. She'd noticed he was different with her since they had met up at the airport. Maybe it was because he could easily see she was pregnant to another man, that it was very real for Sorenson too that she was committed to Castle. He had given her a big hug when he had seen them come off the plane. She had felt oddly uncomfortable as no man other than Rick had touched her in weeks and she hadn't warmed to it at all. She figured she only needed time to adjust to being with the guys again rather than just having Rick for company. They still had closure to make on their lives in Montreal. When they had left Canada, they had packed enough for a few days and cleaned the apartment but planned to return there to completely pack and send their belongings home once they were sure it was safe for her to live in New York. She also needed a few more sessions with Anna to finish up her therapy, although Kate wasn't ready to give up therapy with Anna yet, as she still relied on her psychiatrist to help her on bad days.
She came back to the present when Will said, "Well, this is a compliment so don't be offended. Alright?" He studied her watching for permission to continue.
"Mmm. Go on. I'm keen to hear what's different." She looked over his face, intrigued to hear what he was about to say.
"Your face is fuller, you've put on weight, but in the right places." He quickly said.
Kate smiled in amusement at the pain and anguish he was going through trying to delicately tell her how he thought she had physically changed. "I understand, Will."
He acknowledged her comment of acceptance with a grunt and a nod, secretly smiling at her in a way she understood because she's once been intimate with. After all, their relationship had only been stopped by a career decision.
"You do look really good, Kate. Writer boy has taken fantastic care of you as he promised he would." He seriously said, but also hoped the woman he knew as Kate Beckett would return. He reminded himself that for months she had been living in a completely different environment. She had been cocooned and protected for quite a while.
"I missed you too, Will." She murmured.
"Yeah sure." He rolled on the balls of his feet, acknowledging to himself that there was a little snippet of the Kate he knew just in that comment.
"I did." She stressed playfully.
He laughed with her.
Just over two minutes later there was a tap on the door. Sorenson unlocked it and opened the door slightly. Rick poked his head in with a grin and was shoved in by someone. It was Ryan and then Esposito appeared closing the door behind them. Kate stood off the desk and jumped to both of the detectives, hugging them at the same time. She had been so excited all day about seeing them again.
"Look at you, Chica." Esposito held her by her upper arms. "You look great!"
"You do." Ryan confirmed, seeing she was looking healthy and happy.
Kate glanced at Rick grinning. "He takes care of us." She beamed, so pleased to see them. "You boys are looking fantastic. Have you guys been running?"
"We sure have, and heaps faster now we don't have to wait for the girl." Esposito replied.
"Yeah sure." Kate laughed, "As I recall it, you were usually choking on the dust my runners kicked up."
"Sure Chica."
"He's still slow." Ryan said. "Jenny wants to see you when you are officially here."
"So does Lanie. Man she is missing you."
"Me too. I missed all of you. I can't wait to see them and be at home again."
Ryan smiled and glanced to Esposito, who nodded.
"Tell her, Dude." Esposito urged.
Ryan grinned. "Jenny has news for you. We have news for you."
Kate focused on Ryan, "News? ... Oh, wow. Seriously? She's pregnant?" Kate burst out guessing it by the expression on Ryan's face and saw him nod energetically releasing a big grin. Kate hugged him. "How far?"
"She's about six weeks behind you."
"That is so exciting."
"Pretend you don't know. She's dying to be the one to tell you."
"You're covered. Christmas baby?"
Ryan blushed, "Yeah, bit after maybe."
There was a knock on the door that caused Esposito to go to the door. They heard a voice say the people had arrived. Espo relaxed slightly and said, "Come on, Ryan, we need to do this."
"You stay here with Castle, Kate. We've got this." Ryan said and with a final glance to Castle to ensure he understood to keep Kate in the room, he followed Esposito out of the room.
Will said to both Rick and Kate, "I'm going out. Text me later once Special Agent Shaw has arrived."
"Will do. Thanks Will." Kate smiled at him as he left behind the detectives.
Whilst they waiting for the Ryan and Espo to bring the subjects into the interrogation room, Kate turned her attention to Castle to take in his appearance, a small smile spreading over her face. He caught her expression.
"What?"
"Nothing, Castle." She smiled thinking about how cute he looked with his beard. She had warmed to it over time. Another glance to his face and she saw it was killing him to know what she was thinking about. "It's nothing Castle, really. Sorenson said before that he didn't recognise us when we came off the plane." She explained.
Rick laughed. "No doubt he didn't. I've put on weight and grown a beard."
Kate assessed his body, "I hadn't noticed, but now you mention it."
"Hey!" He responded and laughed with her.
"Well, it's the same here, except not the beard part." She blew out her cheeks and widened her eyes then cheekily grinned.
"Cute. I'm happy with the puffy cheeks, but no, I don't want to think about you sporting a beard." He let his gaze wander down her body. "I do love the tummy though."
She smirked and glanced down to her body, "Yeah, that's okay, but no to the beard."
They turned their attention to the interrogation room when they saw the door open, finished with their silly conversation. They saw a reasonably built man with, dark hair, olive complexion in his late twenties and a woman of similar appearance but younger enter the room ahead of Detectives Esposito and Ryan. Ryan closed the door and glanced to the mirror. The plan was for Ryan and Esposito to question Stone while Kate observed to give her a chance to profile the guy. Kate reached over to the recording equipment and hit the record button. Both she and Rick stared at it until they were sure it had started recording. It was usually Ryan who monitored the equipment.
Kate stood beside Rick to focus on the man who claimed he had the evidence to change her life again. The detectives were about to start. "Jeffrey Stone." She murmured. "Why is he doing this? What's motivating him Castle, to insist on telling me?" She stepped closer to Rick.
"I don't know. Maybe we will find out." He replied and wrapped his right arm about her shoulders once she was standing in front of him. He rested his chin on the back of her head. "You ok?" He caressed his fingers over the side of her neck, her cheek.
"Mmmm… never thought I would say this, but I like it in Montreal." She replied softly. "We're safe there."
"Too much snow, but yeah, I understand."
They fell silent when Ryan commenced to speak. The detective was going back over why Stone was at the Precinct, in order to get the conversation flowing.
"Do you remember this guy?" Rick asked when he saw they conversation was going over old information.
Kate shifted on her feet, then leaned against Rick taking refuge in his arms, as she shook her head. "No," she whispered.
Rick took a deep breath a little disappointed she didn't remember Stone because it meant that when she went into question him, she had nothing to go on, no defining moment that she could circle with her line of inquiries. No remembering him would cause her to be fearful and had the potential to compromise her line of question. The photo of Stone the detectives had sent to Kate's cell phone when in Montreal hadn't spiked any memory in Kate. During phone calls before they had decided to come back to New York, and even only a half hour earlier, Esposito had commented to Rick that Kate had probably been too weak and traumatised to remember the five minutes this guy had said he'd seen Kate in the warehouse. They had hoped seeing him would jolt Kate's memory. The details of Stone's statements had been specific enough to prove he had seen Kate at the warehouse even if she didn't remember him. Like it or not, Stone had a more reliable recollection than Kate did. The men had made the decision to advise Kate that Stone was a reliable source but to spare her the details. The boys being in the room was a last ditched attempt to have Kate remember stone. After a few minutes of silence, he inquired again.
"There's still nothing you remember of him?"
"No. I don't think he was one of the guys who hurt me, if that's what you're asking me." She replied calmly, not moving.
Rick cursed under his breath and gritted his teeth. "No. I wasn't implying that."
"But if I had said he hurt me, then you won't be any good for me in there when we get our turn with him, because you will want to beat him to death."
"Yes, that's probably quite true, but I'm already very sure he didn't hurt you. I only want you to remember. When you remember events, you're fearless and will face them." He sighed and kissed the side of her head. "You're always brave."
Kate half turned her head towards him, physically acknowledging his comment before she also murmured, "Please keep calm with him as I need you there as my partner. He's willingly here to give us hopefully what will be a good lead. He's not a suspect, he's an informant."
"Okay. I will."
On the other side of the mirror, the conversation between the detectives and Jeffrey Stone wasn't going in any progressive direction. It was circling because everything Stone was willing to tell them had already been exhausted between the men days ago. Nobody said it, but all of them knew the only way it would gather momentum and progress was if Beckett took over as Stone wanted. It was evident to Kate the sister, Lisa Denham, had significant control over her brother and utilised that power to prevent Stone responding to the detectives. The sister was beginning to annoy Kate as much as she was irritating Esposito.
As he had said during previous discussions, Stone reiterated to the detectives he had evidence to prove beyond a doubt that Bracken had arranged the contract on Beckett, but he also repeated that he risked his own life by telling the NYPD what he knew. Stone wanted to continue to live in New York and if Beckett wouldn't show up to make it worth his while risking his own life, then there was no point in handing over information that could result in him being murdered. Esposito and Ryan wouldn't budge from their position with him. They were in a deadlock. Stone wasn't willing to provide any information without seeing Beckett. It was futile to take it any further. His sister, Lisa Denham, kept telling him to stay quiet. Ryan's more subtle approach wasn't getting around her any better than Javy's more direct route.
Ryan opened his note book and picked up a couple of photographs. He placed them face up on the table and slid them towards Denham, hoping his manoeuvre would weaken her and would prevent them having to expose Kate.
"Detective Kate Beckett looked like that when your brother visited her at the warehouse." He stressed. "Why was he there? Why didn't he help her when she was alive?"
Denham peered at the photographs, looked to her brother then to the Detectives. "If my brother gives you the information, he could end up like that." She replied, but kept glancing back at the photographs. The repulsion was obvious over her face. "They did that to her?"
"And a lot more." Esposito said.
"Jeffrey, they could do this to you. She's dead. What is the point in risking your life?" She said to her brother.
"Because I don't believe she's dead." Stone replied. "Why did you get me back here if the detective is dead?" He asked Ryan.
In the observation room, Kate was seething with anger once Ryan presented the photographs, so much so she started to grind her teeth.
"Kate." Rick simply said to stop her.
She relaxed her jaw. "That's enough." She stated to Rick in response and stepped away from him to the window, her hands on her hips in a pose of determination to get on with the job she was there for. "I need to do this." She told Rick.
"You sure?" He glanced between the group and Kate. "You don't want to think this through a bit? He's not really giving us much to trust him."
"I agree." She took a deep breath. "But his sister is stopping him. She doesn't see the point of it because she thinks I'm dead. I would do the same thing if I were her."
"Then you need to get around the sister. She's very bossy." He cleared his throat, then said feeling stupid. "I see your point." All Kate had to do was be herself, as the sister was, and Stone would buckle.
Kate made sound in response, understanding Rick's subtext about her being bossy with the men. "We have more than being bossy in common." She replied studying Lisa Denham closely. Gut instincts told Kate that Stone was their key to progress the case. By his expression alone she could see he had significant information for her. Stone's motivation, his insistence she was alive and that she was only person he would talk to had Kate a little confused but also intrigued. Why would he risk his life to give a stranger the information needed to take down a powerful person? Did he think that she was the only person who had the power to take down Bracken? She stared into his eyes. Flashes of memory that told her she'd seen his face, his eyes before today. "He was there, Castle."
"At the warehouse? Are you certain? Did he hurt you?" He asked with worry, digging his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. Her memory was jogging which is what they wanted from her, but he was suddenly fearful Kate might spiral downwards after all their hard work to get her back to her current and good state of mental health. She was reasonably confident, maybe a little backwards to where she was in Montreal, but he didn't want her progress destroyed. She had worked so hard to overcome the experience.
"No, he didn't hurt me, I'm quite sure of that, but he was definitely there, I'm certain of it. I can see him in my memory, staring at me." She glanced to Rick, noticing his posture. She touched his shoulder. "I'll be ok. I'll get him to talk."
"How are you going to do that? Other than using the bossy approach …."
Kate coyly smiled at Rick and said, "Hey, this is me, Castle. I will appeal to his weaknesses. His sister, who has control of him and his need to relieve himself of burdens he carries for not helping me when I needed it. I need to make her understand it from my perspective, and when she breaks, which she will, he will talk." She reached to the window and rapped her knuckles on the glass several times aware Rick gave her an odd stare because he didn't completely understand her comment. She had a trick up her sleeve that even Rick wouldn't see coming.
The boys looked around to the mirror, glanced to each other immediately comprehending the communication. Kate saw Stone instantly lift his gaze and stare at the window, a smile spreading over his face. His expression told her he knew it was her who had tapped the glass.
"Detective Beckett is there," he pointed with his right hand, "behind the mirror, isn't she detectives," he confidently stated. He jabbed his hand in the air several times, "She's really there!"
Both men ignored him. They cleaned up their paperwork without communicating any further then stood and left the room. Ryan deliberately left the photographs on the table in front of Denham.
Kate returned to the table she leaned on next to Rick and they waited for the boys to enter the viewing room. They closed the door once they were inside.
Kate stared into the interrogation room, her teeth unconsciously messing with her bottom lip in thought. Her brow was creased. The men waited in silence. She glanced to all of them, "It's time for me to go in there and find out what he knows."
"You'll be risking your life, Kate!" Esposito said.
"No one is going to believe Stone saw me alive. Anyway, he wants to stay in the city. He won't tell anyone I'm alive."
"What about the girl, his sister?" Ryan asked.
"She's his weakness. She controls him. As Castle said she's bossy with Stone. He doesn't want to go into witness protection because of her but I'm not sure why he wants to talk to me. What's motivating him to tell me what he knows? That's what I don't get. If he kept quiet he could continue his life uninterrupted. Why risk all that for a person he doesn't know?" She looked to each of the boys. They all had the same expression on their faces. Kate crossed her arms and glared at each of them one by one. They knew the answer. "Spill." She ordered.
Castle, Ryan and Esposito remained dead still and silent.
Kate waited several seconds and when she didn't receive a response she decided to single out the weakest man. She glared at him, "Esposito?"
Javy's shoulders collapsed, "Stone is motivated by his own selfish needs, to get the burden of you and what he didn't do for you off of his conscience. He said you haunt his dreams most nights and he wants to be clear of that. He feels bad for you."
She held up a finger, thinking, "He saw me at the warehouse." She closed her eyes a few seconds the opened them looking to Rick, "He was there when the Russians were fighting. I remember him."
"Yep." Rick said.
"And he feels sorry for me? I don't want his sympathy. I want what evidence he has." She strongly said.
"Well, go get it, girl." Esposito encouraged, a smile creeping over her. The Kate Beckett they knew was back.
"I will." She said with determination. "He's here for his own selfish reasons. Well, so am I. He wants peace of mind, I want to live. I don't want his sympathy." She made a grunt of disgust.
"He's way in over his head. He doesn't stand a chance." Rick commented, raising an eyebrow to the male detectives who returned the same expression. They all knew pissed off Kate Beckett would extract exactly what she wanted from Stone.
Kate ignored Rick subtext and stared at the sister for several seconds then said with typical Beckett determination, "Ok, I'm going into that room after her. She is the one stopping him. It's important for him to be involved with his sister's life." Kate had an equally determined expression on her face. She peered down at her body. To get in the Precinct unnoticed she had worn clothing that concealed her pregnancy, her femineity. "Ryan, would you please go to my locker… do I still have a locker?" She looked to the detectives with a questioning look.
Ryan nodded. "Yes. We kept it, like we've kind of kept your desk as it was saying we're using it."
"Good. Thanks. There are a couple of tops in the locker. Would you please retrieve them for me?"
She passed him her keys, holding her locker key so he knew which keys to use. He was gone.
"What do you have planned?" Rick asked glancing between Kate and Javy, still not understanding what Kate saw.
"The sister is pregnant." Kate replied confidently.
Castle and Esposito turned and gazed through the window at the woman sitting beside Stone. "How can you tell?" Castle asked, looking over Kate to compare the two women. He easily saw Kate was pregnant, but he had no idea the woman in the interrogation room was. Rick noticed Esposito also wanted answers.
"I can see she is." Kate replied. "Call it woman's intuition." She stared at the woman in the chair. Kate was at a minimum, a month further along in her pregnancy compared to Stone's sister but it was easy for Kate to recognise the telltale signs of a pregnant woman now she'd been there.
Ryan returned a couple of minutes later and handed Kate two knitted tops, one in red the other in a cream colour. She took off the hoodie and hung it over Castle's forearm that he automatically held out for her. He in turn discarded the garment over the back of a chair. Beneath it Kate wore a long sleeved thin top. Ryan and Esposito glanced to each other with similar expressions of captivation as it was the first time either of them had seen that Kate really was pregnant. She was still able to wear her jeans but her body had definitely changed to accommodate the growing baby.
"Stone might not notice until I point it out, but she will." Kate said glancing down her body. Her breasts had grown and her tummy was definitely showing that she was pregnant. With the red top she was now dressed in, the baby bump was quite obvious.
Rick smiled proudly when the two boys looked to him with broad grins.
"Too much beer, Beckett?" Javy asked which immediately caused the men to snigger. Kate rolled her eyes at their foolish behaviour.
"Guys!" Kate stated. "Unbelievable!"
"It's weird seeing you, arrrr …." Espo paused looking for the right word as his arm circled in the air.
"Knocked up?" Castle offered and instantly received a glare from Kate.
Esposito shrugged and smiled cheekily, "Up the duff."
"In the oven." Ryan added.
"Get over it, comedians!" She ordered ruthlessly, then smiled at the men, sharing a moment with them that words were unable to describe. Esposito and Ryan were extremely proud too. She rubbed her palms over her tummy. "When it next moves, I will let you have a feel of your future god child. But that's only if you're both good." She teased and smiled mischievously at the boys who proudly beamed at her. The banter had eased the internal stress of what was about to come. She sobered and asked, "Do you have the file here?"
Ryan said, "Yes, I have it. You sure you want to see it?"
"I lived through it, Ryan. If I need to put pressure on his sense of guilt with more photos than you put out there, I will have them at my fingertips."
Ryan nodded and handed her the thick file.
"Thanks," She glanced at the file as she tucked it under her arm with her notebook. She found her pen then turned to Rick and said, "Castle, please keep it cool."
"I will."
"And if I pull photographs out of the file, please don't look at them. I know you saw it all, but I don't want it to stimulate any retaliation from you, it has to come from me. Remember, he didn't do it to me, okay?"
"I promise."
"Let's go. I'm tired and want to eat."
"You don't want to do this alone?" He asked in surprise as even though she'd said earlier she wanted him in there, he had thought she would want to chat with Stone on her own.
"No. I need the father of this child, being you, in interrogation with me on this occasion. She needs to know I was in the same place as she is now so I can relate to her." She pulled her hair out of the pony tail she had walked in the Precinct with and combed her fingers through it. "With my hair down, I might get noticed." She thought aloud. She had made it past a few people who knew her this evening without any of them noticing her but now they would probably see her. Her hair was half way down her back in length and lighter in colour then when everyone had last seen her.
"Let's go." Castle stated and looked over her face. "We are more than ready. We'll need to close the blinds." He ushered her toward the door he opened.
Next chapter is not far away …