This is not such a serious chapter, and I had some fun writing the dialogue. You will know what I mean when you get to it.
Chapter 38
The spare office next to Gate's was a reasonably good place to hide and to prevent being spotted and recognised by any of the 12th Precinct detectives on the night shift. As each person in Kate's team had commented on at least one occasion that evening, none of the other detectives had a clue Beckett was alive and literally sitting right under their noses. The guys were right. The detectives had no idea.
But! In all fairness to detectives who were not a part of Kate's team, they hadn't see her regularly enough when she had been on duty to quickly recognise her. Detectives' shifts were constantly scattered and broken over weekends and weekdays, day and night. Everyone mainly saw their own team members and those who worked similar hours.
Even Kate didn't recognise some of them on duty. The team working was fairly busy with a murder that had taken place a few hours ago. Curious and wanting to be part of the investigation, Beckett frequently peeked between the blinds to learn what the detectives were investigating. She wanted to be out there, wished she had a murder case to concentrate on. Whenever she peeked, she also checked the elevator foyer to see if the guys had returned with dinner.
She was damn hungry too. The mug of decaffeinated coffee Rick had made her before they left was long gone, her water was down to a couple of mouthfuls, and the bags of healthy snacks and gummy bears were almost finished. She had sent Castle a text telling him supplies were low and that she needed to use the bathroom, again. His reply had been she had to wait or sneak to the bathroom.
The TV was on mostly as background noise for Kate. She was aware the channel playing had a marathon repeat of a TV series about a space cowboy that Rick loved. She did ponder about why on earth Castle was so fanatical about it. The show was consistent with his wild imagination, he had previously said he liked the show's concept and she was sure his alter ego was attracted to the main character who happened to look a lot like him.
While it was playing, Kate jotted down notes in preparation for the arrival of Special Agent Jordan Shaw at the Precinct. Shaw had texted earlier to say she would be delayed by at least a half hour. It made it a very late meeting at the end of a long day, but the delay also gave Kate the chance to prepare for the meeting, to rest and eat beforehand. Time had never bothered Kate. She could work late into the night and get up early and be on the go again in the morning. Being pregnant had changed that. She could still stay up late but getting out of bed early in the mornings wasn't happening anymore. With Shaw's delay it would also give Ryan and Esposito time to run a few searches in relation to the photographs once they ate dinner. They might have the result once Shaw was present.
With Castle, Ryan and Esposito still out buying dinner and her note taking done, she rested her feet on the desk and leaned back in the chair to watch Firefly. She texted all the guys, ordering them to hurry up.
She was envious that Rick had the freedom to be out in public. Tomorrow night she figured they would either be in the apartment at Montreal which would at least give her freedom again, or at home in the loft with limited freedom. In some ways, going back to Montreal had more appeal for her as she had freedom and felt safer.
She received three messages back, each of the guys advising they were on their way back. They were probably laughing at her. She responded to all, ordering them to make their return to the Precinct snappy.
And they did. The men returned to the Precinct with dinner minutes later. They had orders from a few restaurants as none of them had reached agreement on what type of food to eat. They were loud enough that she heard their voices before they left the elevator foyer.
Kate unlocked the office door when one of them rapped on the glass. It was Castle who entered the office first, grinning at her. "Hey." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You look like you slept."
"I didn't but I relaxed. It's been a long day."
"I know. You should see what we bought, Beckett." He held up a plastic bag filled with food containers, smiling at her, then distracted by a sound on the TV his attention and eyes turned to flat screen. "Not one of us could make up our minds." He added as the guys followed him in carrying their own bags.
Kate shut the door. "Anything would be good." She replied.
"I knew what I wanted." Esposito said. "Your boy and boy wonder here couldn't make up their minds."
"I just didn't want your choice." Ryan replied.
Rick pointed at the screen, "Cool. Firefly is on and you're actually watching it, Beckett!" He teased.
"No!" She strongly denied, "It's just on that channel."
"I can't believe you are a fan this show." Ryan commented to Castle as he winked at Kate.
"Thanks Ryan." Kate replied acknowledging his support. "I can't believe he does either."
"It's a good show." Esposito cut in, "Castle even has the Malcolm Reynolds costume!"
Kate scoffed and giggled. "Maybe I should tell the boys when you prefer to wear your space cowboy costume, Ricky?"
"Don't you dare, Captain Chloe," Castle replied and gazed daringly at Kate for a moment recalling the last night they had worn their costumes. That had been another awesome night. "If you do, I will tell them when you like to wear yours." He warned, his tone provocative, his eyes glistening at Kate.
"Ouch!" Ryan squawked with a chuckle.
Espo laughed, "I never saw that one coming, Beckett, with you being a fan girl of Nebulla Nine and all."
Kate scoffed, "You watched it too, Espo. Never took you as a science fiction fan, when you're a special forces man." She replied.
"Laser guns. It's all about the weapons, Beckett." He confirmed.
"Too right." Ryan agreed. "Swords, Game of Thrones…."
"Swords." Kate laughed. "We carry guns and you want to play with swords."
The guys laughed like school boys, "You're a girl, Kate. You won't understand the sword thing." Esposito said which caused Kate to poke her tongue out at him. She then decided to have another jab at Castle who was once again focussed on Firefly and out of the conversation. "We all have our alter egos. How does that work, Castle, being a space cowboy 500 years from now?"
"It just does." He replied with confidence his eyes staying on the TV.
"There aren't horses or cows in space."
Rick looked at Kate confused, not by her logic, but by her comment, "Have you been talking with Alexis?" He asked, feeling a bit like he'd had this conversation before.
"No. Why would I talk to Alexis about space cowboys?"
"Cows in space." He muttered back simultaneously realising she wouldn't understand his reference to Alexis's comment from years before. He waved a hand in the air, "Never mind. Anyway, it's simple. Being a space cowboy and owning a decent spaceship has a lot more substance to it than being a cadet and the world blowing up." He glanced to her body, "Although, I don't mind the outfit you wear. It has a place in our life as long as it doesn't come with Nebulla Nine marathons."
"Check this," Esposito murmured pointing at the screen. The guys all stopped what they were doing to watch a sex orientated scene with Malcolm Reynolds and a crazy woman who was aboard his space ship. Kate rolled her eyes at how easily the men were distracted, even from food. She then peered over Rick's shoulder and momentarily watched the scene play out with Mal Reynolds whom she had to admit was quite hot. With Rick fully into the show, she went to her tiptoes, leaned against his back close to his left ear and murmured flirtatiously as her finger stroked the back of his neck, "He's so bloody hot!" She smiled the second she had his attention.
He glanced at her and cleared his throat, "I know, and he should be hot to you, Kate." Rick seriously replied, "He looks exactly like me."
She stood back and released a loud scoff. "What? No! He's not like you!" She followed up with amused laughter, "How about it's you who looks like him?"
"That too, but I prefer to look at it from the other way round."
"That broad with the dark hair…" Esposito started to say and both the men responded with noises of approval.
"Oh yeah, she's really hot." Castle replied.
"The other girl is cute too." Ryan added.
Kate rolled her eyes. "C'mon. It only what, survived twelve episodes and a movie? There are far better shows that make milestones like say one hundred episodes. This one hardly got started when it was axed."
"True!" Kevin replied, "And fans of those shows are total fanatics!"
"It was prematurely cancelled." Rick shot back at Kate.
"Agree. They should have kept it going." Esposito replied. "Women in this show are hot."
"Aren't they. Specially her." Rick pointed at the screen.
Kate huffed then impatiently butted in, "Guys! It's time to eat."
"Oh, who's playing the jealous card now?" Rick asked not taking his eyes off the TV.
"I'm not jealous. But I am extremely hungry." Kate stated.
"I thought you needed to use the bathroom." Rick reminded.
"I do! But I used that card to get you back faster. I can wait until I've eaten." She smiled cheekily as they all glared at her.
"You cried wolf!" Castle declared. "Next time we might not believe you and rush back so fast."
"Shut up …." She playfully sung, with a coy smile, then continue, "Your child is making me very hungry, Castle. I need to eat. Now!"
Those words pulled all three of the men from the TV and they placed their bags on the desk. They gathered round to eat and unpacked all the boxes and spread them out in the middle of the desk. There wasn't much conversation as the guys were busy watching the TV and eating and Kate who was starving for food, just ate without much thought or conversation.
Soon after she was sitting quietly and eating she felt the baby start to more. She got Esposito's attention and lifted his hand to her tummy to place over where the baby was moving. Ryan too reached over to feel it.
Rick watched the three of them follow the movement, thinking about the hours he sat with Kate in Montreal just waiting for the baby to move so they could feel it. It had brought them closer together and he could see it was doing the same thing between the boys and Kate now. It was a bonding experience that could not be verbally described. Esposito, who was protective of Kate like a brother, responded the strongest. Kate and Rick saw him embrace a whole new attachment to the life that was developing inside her. It was suddenly very real to Esposito and he didn't want to stop feeling it move against his hand. To make it more active for him, Kate spoke or moved her pelvis in a walking motion which provoked the baby to move after she sat still again. Ryan became openly excited at the prospect that he soon would experience the same thing with Jenny.
Shaw arrived well after they had finished eating dinner and cleaned up. She requested that she initially speak alone with Beckett, and if necessary the others could come in later. Once they were alone, Jordon sat in front of Kate on a chair she had pulled closer. She took a few seconds to familiarise herself with how Kate looked physically. She had changed a lot since the last time Shaw had seen her, "You look a lot better than the last time I saw you," she commented, "I am so happy to see you strong and healthy again. Your hair! It's grown so long. You skin so clear."
Kate smiled then said. "Thank you. It's good to be alive and see you. You look well too Jordon."
Jordon nodded, "Yes, that's made things awkward. I agreed to that decision with Gates after I visited you at the hospital only because the doctors told us your recovery would be slow."
"They didn't know me very well." Kate replied.
"No, they didn't. How is the …." Shaw glanced down to Kate's tummy hidden beneath the oversized hoodie she wore, then over her face as Kate sat up with a broad grin and lifted her top to show Shaw her expanding belly. "It's growing!" Jordon exclaimed, having never seen Kate so glowingly beautiful.
Kate smiled proudly, "Isn't it! I'm almost out of my normal clothes."
"It will only be a week or two." Shaw agreed.
"Get to go clothes shopping. Sweet!" Kate let go her clothing, sat back on her chair and picked up the envelope from the desk. It was time to get down to business as it was almost midnight of a very long day. "Earlier this evening, Jeffrey Stone, who you have been briefed about, handed over these." She showed the photographs to Shaw. "He will come back tomorrow to be interviewed by you and Sorenson, if required."
"This is the information he had to give to you and only you?"
With a nod, but looking down at the handwriting on her notebook that rested on her lap she said, "Believe me, it wasn't easy for me to board that plane this afternoon. My gut instincts are still telling me to go back, which is something I never thought I would say that."
"I can understand you wanting to be somewhere else." Shaw commented completely unaware of where she had been hiding out.
Kate passed the photographs to Shaw. "I came out of hiding for these. Strictly speaking, I think Stone needed justification that relieving himself of these was worth the risk to him. He was only willing to share the verbal information and evidence in the photos if he had proof I was alive."
"Well, if you really were dead … would there be a reason for him to risk his own life?"
"There wouldn't be. Odd that he believed I was alive though."
"Maybe he saw the strength in your eyes and your desire to live. Maybe he thought you had a chance."
"Do you really think someone like him would be that sensitive to a stranger?"
"It's a fact of life Kate, that most of us will instinctively try to save another's life. Look how many times you and Castle have saved each other."
"That's different."
"Is it? Look what you did to save an embryo, barely a foetus, but you still did it."
"Mmm .." She replied, thinking about what she had done. She returned her concentration to the photographs, "Well, Stone has deceived Bracken and still has the burden of having to work for him."
"He does. Let's hope that all the screening and background checks we ran on Stone before we had you came home proves he won't tell Bracken you're alive at least for the next twenty four hours anyway. He doesn't have any infringements against him, not even a parking ticket. I hope he keeps quiet about you, for the sake of both your lives." Shaw started to look through each photograph. On the third photo she paused and looked up to Kate who understood the expression of recognition.
"Who is it?" Kate asked and Shaw flipped the photo around so Kate could see it. Shaw put a finger tip over the image of a male next to Bracken, but Kate wasn't at all familiar with the face. In fact she had nothing but she knew Shaw had identified the male and when Kate considered her expression, it was a significant clue. "He's one Stone didn't identify earlier."
"Has Will Sorenson seen these?" Shaw asked carefully.
"No. He's not here, but he will be in maybe five or ten minutes. I waited for you. The boys are running with the names on this list." She handed over a sheet of paper that she had handwritten the names on for Shaw. "Will's been off the grid a few hours, maybe taking a break."
Shaw smiled in relief. "Well, Detective Beckett, we now have an ID on our Fed mole. This is Special Agent Damien Brown. It's probably a good thing Will hasn't seen this photo. He may have gone rogue and killed him."
Kate smiled and shook her head, "Not Will. He's too calculating and by the books. I would. How well do you know Special Agent Damien Brown?"
"He used to be on my team. He transferred out about six weeks ago and is still based in New York. He knew you were taken to the safe house. He was one of the men I brought in who organised your transfer. Do you remember one of the last meetings we had before you hid in the alley?" She read through the names that Kate had provided her with then looked to Kate who shook her head no.
"I don't remember a lot of things during that time anymore. I was worried about going into protection and not telling Castle, betraying him. I was happy about being pregnant, then anxious and tired when Will took me to the safe house. After that I was drugged and took a severe hit to my head. So it's completely mixed up and apparently always will be."
Shaw sobered. "I'm very sorry, Kate, about what happened. I promise you I will continue to investigate this alone. I don't want you to tell anyone about this."
"Castle?" Kate asked.
"No. No one but Sorenson and myself. This is a good lead that we'll pick up on first thing."
Kate thought about it a moment. She took back the photographs but she decided she also would tell Castle when she was alone with him so if anything was to happen, another person knew. She also wasn't going to keep secrets from him anymore.
"Ok, so we have another connection. We also have this one." Kate held up the other photograph that she still couldn't look at.
Shaw took it and carefully studied the image of the two men before she looked to Kate. "Bracken and presumably a Russian. Do you know who is with him?"
Kate nodded, agitated by even the mention of him. She unconsciously jiggled her legs in anxiety which Jordon saw but chose to ignore.
"I recognise him but I didn't know his name until tonight. His name is Ivan Andropov." Kate crossed her legs right over left sitting up straight. "Jordon, he's a monster." She glanced through the window into the box to where there was another interrogation going on with two detectives and a guy in his mid twenties. They weren't using the recording equipment. "But he was with another Russian, a man with a creepy red tattoo on his neck, who is not in any of these photographs. He hasn't been arrested nor has he been named by any of the men already charged. Andropov and the red tattooed guy were basically the leaders. The man that was found shot dead in the alley two or so days after the boys found me was working for Andropov and the unknown man."
"And Andropov wasn't arrested either, was he?"
"No. Detectives Ryan and Esposito and also Castle told me after I questioned Stone that they had no idea know about him. The boys, especially Castle, were surprised when I recognised him. Ryan is going to follow it up with SVU in the morning to see if they have something that the guys don't know about. DNA can only do so much. DNA evidence is so overrated on TV shows." Kate commented.
"Agreed. There wouldn't be a CSI series if it wasn't for the power of DNA." Shaw replied sarcastically with a curve of her lips, and Kate smirked.
"No. DNA solves everything on that. And we need a lot more than DNA."
"We do."
"So, when I saw the photograph I remembered Andropov. I had already recorded what he did to me in my statement I passed on to Detective Cahill of SVU, but at the time I wrote it could not identify who had done any of it until I recognised him in this photo. After guys talk to SVU about him tomorrow, I will amend my statement. I haven't signed a final copy of it. If they had stood him in a line up I would have recognised him for sure as just seeing this photo of him was enough to unsettle my nerves. He was definitely at the warehouse and I will proceed with charges against him. The Detectives, Castle and Sorenson, all knew about the guys with tattoos because I constantly dream about them and Rick has made a list of any tattoos I have described to him. It's all in my statement that I wrote just after Christmas. I don't know who the red tattoo belongs to." Kate held up her trembling hand to Shaw to show how much he scared her. "I am positive would recognise him by his voice, his smell, what he looks like, his hands, well any part of him." Shaw instantly took Kate's hand and held it. "He and the tattooed man were terrifying." Kate quietly said, "And I don't talk to Castle about them because I can't let him know what happened."
"Kate, he already knows what they did." Shaw stressed.
"I know, but only based on what he saw. He hasn't heard or read the details. I won't let him."
Jordon squeezed her hand and nodded, realising that Kate found comfort in believing that Richard Castle didn't know what had happened to her in the warehouse. Her partner was a mystery writer with a vivid imagination and above average intelligence, yet she believed she was protecting him. "We'll get him, Kate. We will find the tattooed man one day too, I promise you."
"He's why I would rather go back home than stay in this city." Kate replied without a thought, then realised she'd referred to Montreal as home. "He will kill me, us."
"My dear, you have scraped death at the hands of a lot of men in your lifetime, and still survived and I am sure you will live to see this baby and its siblings graduate college. We have serious protection on you now." Shaw put the photographs on the table to concentrate on reassuring Kate but then she realised she had overlooked an obvious point. "This man, Ivan Andropov, and the other one you mentioned. Did either of them leave their DNA on your body?"
Kate shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe there is unidentified DNA that the SVU team have knowledge of, but he and the other one definitely left things like this …." She raised her hand to her forehead and touched the scar on her hairline that Shaw looked at. "…. they were smarter than the thugs Jordan, and there is this one." She then lifted her top a little and twisted her torso to show Shaw a scar near her hip that had received stitches. "There are more." She put down her top and crossed her legs, looking back at the FBI agent. "They played smarter …."
"We will get him." Shaw affirmed. She picked up the photographs again and continued to look through them. She showed Kate another photograph. "This guy here …?" she pointed, "… he was found murdered a couple of weeks ago in Washington DC. It's an unsolved case."
Kate took a deep breath and sat back in the chair thinking hard. "Stone told Castle and Ryan that his name is Russell Ingall."
"Correct. He was a lawyer."
Kate nodded. She was weary, thirsty, already hungry again and seriously wanted her back rubbed, but dismissed all that and said. "This guy's murder is not going to help me. We may however find all these things, events might lead us back to Bracken, but even then I won't be safe."
"We can't charge him with murder, and even if we do find enough evidence to say the Russian was murdered by Bracken he will most likely get off. He has the power to kill you from the inside." Shaw stated.
"I totally agree. I'm not going to lay charges against him for my abduction even with the evidence." Kate admitted to Shaw. "We have the men behind bars who hurt me and they will be tried in the justice system in due course. But we don't have anything on Bracken until one of them decides to squeal and gives us direct evidence."
Shaw nodded, her fingers pyramided to her chin. "It's not worth your while charging him with what currently we have against him. He will get away with it, he will be back on the street and you will be constantly looking over your shoulder dodging the next bullet. I will follow up on that murder in Washington and see how they have come along with that. It may give us leverage too. We needed subject Blue and now we have him."
Kate smiled. "Subject Blue?"
"The code name Special Agent Sorenson and I have used to refer to our suspect FBI mole. We had three agents constantly monitored. Brown happened to be one of them. Nothing came out of it. The second Bracken finds out you are alive and in New York we may have our opportunity to take them down."
"Could we call his bluff? Call a truce between us, a mutual agreement. We just need enough solid evidence to encourage him to agree."
"We can only do so much with you being pregnant. I can't risk your lives again."
Kate shrugged her shoulders and played with the lid of the empty bottle. "Me neither."
"If I had known you were pregnant, I would have never agreed to that plan."
"It's too late to regret decisions already made, Jordon. In the end it was my decision based on what the CIA gave the FBI."
"It was a heavily influenced decision, and one you wouldn't have made if Castle had known about it. But you're not leaving your team of men again. They are so tight with you Kate. You and Castle are the cell of the group and give the group its vitality. Those boys, including Sorenson will protect you to the death."
Kate stared at Shaw a moment, feeling her face blush. She nodded once in agreement. "I won't leave again. Do you feel confident that we'll soon be in a position to negotiate with Bracken? Let him know what we have? Rick also has an appointment tomorrow with his computer analyst to see what he has produced with the file. We will talk about that tomorrow when we know how successful it been."
"Of course." Shaw agreed. "Will and I will follow up the lead on Subject Blue first thing tomorrow. I know Brown believe he will cave quickly. If we're going to negotiate with Bracken, we need the leverage, which is the information to persuade the Senator see it your way."
"I agree."
"It's time for you to have your life back, Detective Beckett. You need reassurance that you can once again safely walk the streets without your life being under threat." She tidied up the photographs. "We'll take scans of these and I want you to keep the originals."
"They are copies. I will ask Ryan to email you them as well."
"Please. Now go get some rest. I will contact you once I have interrogated Project Blue."
Kate stood up. She peered through the blinds to see her four boys were waiting at her desk for her to come out. She also saw they were alone and she could go out in the bull pen. "Good night." Kate said to Shaw and opened the door to step out into the bull pen. She really wanted to be back on the job when she saw the boys sitting about chatting. She had missed them. She smiled to them as they turned to her, Castle's arm reaching out to bring her into the circle.
"We're done." Kate said to all of them.
"Ok. Let's wrap this up and get you to the hotel." Sorenson stated, then heard his name called by Special Agent Shaw. He excused himself and left the group. He was back just over five minutes later and herded the group out of the Precinct.
It was past 2.00 am when Sorenson departed the hotel to go home to bed. He was due to be up at five, Esposito, Ryan, Castle and Kate were seated closely around the small table to eat the pizza that had been delivered. The guys were drinking beer from the bar fridge.
Once locked safely within the hotel room, they mutually decided to drop any case talk so they could wind down for sleep. Esposito and Ryan had told Jenny and Lanie they were working an all nighter at the Precinct because they had made unexpected progress on a major case. They needed to conceal their true whereabouts because it was top secret Beckett was in the city. They hadn't mentioned Castle was there either. Kate desperately wanted to see the girls and Martha but she knew she had to wait until things were resolved.
Kate grabbed a pillow she dropped between Rick's feet and sat on it between his legs rather than beside him on the seat. She was right where she wanted to be once she crossed her legs and leaned against the seat.
"Kate, don't sit on the floor!" Rick started. Esposito and Ryan both stopped eating.
"Beckett you should be in a chair." Ryan supported.
"I agree. But she does look comfortable." Esposito commented.
"I am Espo. Really, guys, get over it, I'm okay." She replied with a tone that told them she was perfectly okay. It resulted in a silent argument consisting of facial expressions between her and the detectives. She enjoyed the light hearted banter between them. She'd missed it. She stayed cross legged where she felt comfortable and she knew that given time, she was certain Rick would massage her shoulders after he ate his portion of the pizza that he'd been pining for.
It didn't bother either Rick or Kate to be awake so late because they were often up most of the night in Montreal amusing themselves or writing together but the detectives were showing signs of fatigue.
Rick ate his pizza with a keen hunger surprising Esposito and Ryan who were both struggling to keep up. They had, after all, consumed dinner quite late. He mumbled something particularly to Kate about a comparison of the pizza restaurant they had bought meals from in Montreal. He preferred the pizza from Montreal and planned to take the boys up there just so they could try it out for themselves. They sustained a lengthy and debatable conversation on the best pizzas they had tasted. It then moved onto which brand of beer tasted the best. No one could agree.
In the meantime, Kate nibbled on a piece of pizza and half listened to the conversation between the guys who were catching up on their months apart. As they talked, her mind digested every bit of information, every clue that had been delivered to them that evening. The case was building in her favour towards completion and hopefully her freedom to resume a normal life. The case was also on the edge of digressing to a battle of supremacy between herself and Bracken. Currently, they had evidence to convict him for organising her kidnapping but overall, Bracken still held the card of power over her. They lacked the solid evidence to support her unofficial claim that what had happened to her was Bracken's doing and responsibility. They just missed that piece of evidence that gave them a direct link. Just her kidnapping and the fact Stone had said Bracken wanted her dead was good but not enough to charge Bracken. The photographs were good evidence and they were being examined for their authenticity. Their evidence to date had created one hell of a case, but it still failed to hold specific or solid material, even with records they now possessed of phone calls between the men, to convict Bracken. They needed somebody else to divulge the truth, to be willing to speak out, to support their evidence. Although most of the information was aged by three or so months old, it remained reasonably fresh and needed to be followed up sooner rather than later.
Finished with the pizza, she shifted on to one side more and leaned over Rick's thigh, resting her head on her arm. The boys were telling Rick about an afternoon they had been playing online games. She was more relaxed with Ryan and Esposito's company than she had been earlier on. She always trusted them but she had been fighting fears all day since they had left the apartment in Montreal. It felt normal again to be with the guys. She had become accustomed to having only Rick's company and to him being the single male who touched her. Then tonight, well since she had left the airport, the men were physical with her which had taken a bit of internal adjusting on Kate's part. She knew Castle had put them up to that. Every time they had come too close to her earlier she had felt a knot form in her gut that was out of her control until the half hour the boys had been feeling the baby move. That had diminished any insecurities she had experienced.
Where she had been all right walking the streets of Montreal, in New York City she was jumpy. She had spooked at nearly every noise on the way to the hotel, until Rick had silently positioned her between himself and Sorenson, with Esposito and Ryan walking ahead. Rick had held her hand firmly, muttered several words of encouragement and they had continued to walk the short distance from the Precinct to the hotel. She knew they had looked like any bunch of guys and a girl, all indistinguishable together and walking about in plain sight.
Kate sat up and fidgeted a little, looking to each of her friends, a smile creeping over her face. She felt Rick's fingers stroke the side of her neck. The boys stopped their conversation when they saw her expression.
"You okay?" Ryan asked.
She smiled, nodded, "Mmm," she moistened her lips, reached for Rick's hand she held a moment, "I'm perfectly okay. I'm not alone. We're all together again."
The guys smiled at each other.
"And remember that Chica!" Esposito stated, "Never go rogue alone again. You have us to back you up."
In the bedroom a half hour later Rick closed the door after he said good night to Esposito who had elected to sleep on the couch. Ryan had taken the second bedroom and had crashed a quarter hour ago. Kate came from the bathroom in sleep shorts and loose top, rubbing hand cream into her hands.
"This time tomorrow night we could be back in Montreal." Rick said quietly, admiring her as he walked to the bathroom. Pregnancy really had let her blossom into a beautiful woman, as Jordon Shaw had mentioned earlier to him. "Sexy," he crooned giving her a wicked smile.
She smiled then poked her tongue out at him.
"Not so sexy." He replied and heard her make incomprehensible noise in response.
"Maybe we will still be here." Kate replied seconds later. While he was in the bathroom Kate pulled down the bed sheets and crawled over the king sized bed to her side. Once she was sitting up on the bed, she checked through recent photos on her iPhone then began to fiddle with the alarm. "What time do you want to wake up, Castle?"
"Six?"
Kate growled, noting it was almost 3.00 am. Left them with three hours of sleep. "Seriously?"
"I have to be at the analyst's apartment by seven, so yeah."
"Maybe I will sleep in." She replied as she set it for 6.15 and left her phone on the bedside table. As he returned to the bedroom she said to him, "I have to tell you something, Castle."
Castle smiled boyishly, his eyes twinkling as he suggested, "That you think I'm sexy and have thought so since the moment you met me?"
"No!" She smiled at him. "Never that!"
"You will feel a lot better if you just confess your true feelings you know."
Kate scoffed and loudly replied "I've always told you my true feelings." She paused, "Now, can we be serious a second so I can tell you what I need to say?"
"I'll give you a second of seriousness. Go ahead." He replied as he undid his shirt buttons at his side of the bed.
Kate turned her body to face him a little better. She was being quite serious but she could see Castle was waiting for her to come out with something silly, "Jordon Shaw identified the FBI mole from the photographs Stone handed us. Shaw asked me not to tell you, but in the event something happens to me, I need you to know it was Special Agent Damien Brown of the FBI."
"Nothing will happen to you." He stated adamantly as he pushed off his jeans. Rick knew there was more to her reasoning for telling him what Shaw had asked her not to, and he was going to pry it out of her. In the meantime, he held out the shirt to her in case she wanted to wear it in bed, but she declined with a shake of her head.
"Is that what you take from that?" She asked watching as he took off his shirt. His blue eyes stared at her to reinforce his statement that nothing was going to happen to her. Kate saw the questioning look on his face. Why did he have to know everything? He'd clearly heard the subtext in her statement. She sighed, her eyes not leaving his and she saw his shoulders drop. He waited for her to speak. "Geez Castle." She sighed, "I also told you because I don't want to keep any information from you as I did before. No more secrets."
"Uh huh. That's more like it." He commented and tossed the shirt over a chair with his jeans. Satisfied he forgot it and moved on, "Like I say, nobody is going to hurt you again," he reinforced, "The software guy said he has something for us tomorrow, well today, and the evidence we got last night was worth coming home for." He took off his socks then peered down at himself deciding boxers and a t-shirt were good for sleeping in.
A grin suddenly appeared on his face that Kate caught. "Castle, don't!" She squawked but it was too late.
He deliberately flopped heavily on the bed so Kate would bounce. It's exactly what happened. Her laughter made him laugh as he rolled over and got up on his hands and knees to crawl to her for a playful kiss that turned into several.
She pulled away grinning at his eyes, "Why do you do that in hotels?" She inquired still on the edge of laughter.
"To make you laugh at me acting like a twelve year old." He grinned at her and stole another kiss before he sat back on bed and pulled the blanket over his legs. He then tidied it on Kate's side. He laid on his back and stretched his arm out so Kate would come to him and rest her head on his shoulder. She did exactly that, pressing herself firmly against his body.
They lay quiet for a minute or so after Rick had turned out the lights. "Kate?"
"Mmm…?" She stroked her hand over his chest.
"The baby is kicking my side." He mumbled quietly as though speaking louder would disturb it.
Kate laughed. "Seriously, you can really feel it?"
"I can. Barely. First time I have felt it this way."
"It's been active all night. Can you really feel it?" She asked again surprised that he could.
"Yes. Slightly." He confirmed, "and irregularly." He rubbed her back, "Like right now."
"Hope it doesn't keep me awake."
"No, he puts you to sleep." He whispered and stroked her head.
She smiled, silently agreeing with him then realised what Castle had said. Louder she said, "He puts me to sleep?"
"Oh yeah. It's a boy." He confirmed smiling to himself in the dark because she'd heard the one word he'd deliberately used that he knew would get a reaction.
"You are so sold on that aren't you?" She stated with a high voice.
"That's because I know, Kate." Rick confirmed smugly.
"How do you know?"
"Look at the clues."
"Like what?" She asked wide eyed.
"You eat hotdogs. That was the first one."
Kate broke into laughter, "You are still on about the hotdogs!" She declared in disbelief, "Oh my God, Castle!" She sat up and peered down to him in the minimal available light.
"Of course!" He too sat up.
"Give me a reason!"
"Well, when you made me walk you to the hotdog stand in the middle of a snow storm so you could eat a hotdog. It's saying something, Honey, and that's boy!"
"Yes, It was saying I was hungry. How pissed off was I when he was closed?" She chuckled.
"It was snowing. Who would buy a hotdog in that weather?"
Kate looked at him with an expression that said enough.
"Yeah, well, we continued on to the grocery store to buy a pack of them."
"No!" She objected.
"How many hot dogs did Kate Beckett eat when we got home?"
Kate laughed clearly recalling the day she had been obsessed with hot dogs.
"Eight!" He squawked, then covered his mouth when she hushed him, that they may be disturbing Esposito. They laughed more.
"I did not eat eight, Castle."
"Eight hotdogs in buns in one afternoon!" He stared at her a moment thinking about how beautiful she looked at 3.00 am, with her eyes shining from laughter, her cheeks blushed and grinning, totally captivated by his argument. "God you look beautiful." He heard himself say under his breath.
Kate's whole face softened in response, then she cutely said, "Still not admitting that I'm having a boy."
"But you are."
"What else do you have as evidence?"
He bit his lip, his eyes looking at the ceiling as he thought. Then he pointed a finger at her, his expression determined, "He messes with your head already." He sat back, satisfied with his response.
Kate stayed quiet waiting for him to continue his form of storytelling. When he didn't continue, she prompted him, "Well? Give me an example, Castle."
"It annoys you at night, like I do." He replied and laid down again.
"Uh huh. I can't argue with that." She agreed and returned to where she had been against his body. She moved until her head was comfortable on his shoulder. Most nights for the past week or so, once she was quiet in bed, she felt the baby move and continue to do so as she drifted calmly off to sleep. She smiled feeling it start. "It's started again." She whispered.
"I can't feel it."
They stayed silent for a minute or so. "Do you want to go back to Montreal?" Kate asked.
"Undecided … it's safer there for you." He paused then added. "There's Anna. You like your obstetrician." He paused again. "Down side there's too much snow and I miss Alexis terribly. I will visit her today by the way. Surprise her. You?"
"Yes, all that." She caressed her hand over his chest. "We continued our lives up there, wishing we were at home. Now I'm here I want to go back. I adapted to life up there more than I realised."
"Our lives are here as well."
"I know." Kate closed her eyes and wriggled her body into his for a tighter hug. "Goodnight, Castle."
"Good night." He closed his eyes, then held her head in comfort. In the darkness he murmured to her, "You did really well with Stone tonight. I was so proud of you, Baby, so proud." He pressed his lips to her forehead.
"You make me brave." She replied.
"Me too." He gave her a squeeze.
"It was a hard day, but the good that came out of is we reconnected with Espo, Ryan and Sorenson."
"Yes, we did." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Espo is excited about the baby."
"I know."
"Today is going to be a big day. Go to sleep." Castle whispered.