I should have said this earlier. I write A/U. Alternate Universe
My storiies will use the legend of the players and might or might not mention a canon story line. This is designed to only need to reference a story happened and not continue a canon episode.
Castle has just dialed Kevin Ryan's phone. The call is answered almost immediate. "Kev, anything new on Kate's shooter?"
"Hey Castle. Nothing more and thanks for calling."
"Listen. I am planning to come in tomorrow and meet with Gates…"
"Are you sure?" Ryan interrupts. "
"Yeah. That is why I am calling. I want you and Esposito to do a little advance work on her"
"Such as?"
"Let her know I am planning on being there and that I was an asset to the precinct."
"OK"
"Then let her select what she wants me to work on"
"How does that help Beckett?"
"She lets me in to the cases. She just will not know I am helping look for Kate's shooter"
"Is that a good idea?"
"It sounds like she may not want to rock the boat with the commissioner and also, I help her and let the commissioner and mayor know I am there and they will have to back off of her. At the same time, we can investigate at will."
"She says we have to keep her updated, in detail, on what we are doing."
"Yes, but she thinks I am worthless, so if I don't get done what she thinks I need to do, she will not think about the time I am there."
"That sounds like a plan, I'll let Espo know."
"Good. We can investigate right under her nose"
When Castle hangs up on the call, his phone rings again "Castle"
A deep baritone voice is on the other end of the line, Mr. Castle…we spoke earlier"
"I remember but I don't have any new information for you. Kate has serious memory loss and she has no idea why she was shot. She does not remember any investigation on her mother's case. She can't be held responsible for any inquiry into the person at the top of this."
"Yes Mr. Castle. I was able to convince …the person on top that she is no longer a threat to them, but they promised if she did start up again they will not hesitate to kill her with no warning."
"I understand. I will make sure she stays away"
"Good, Mr. Castle. I will call you back in a month to see what changes have occurred"
"WAIT Mr. SMITH" Rick gets out before the line goes dead. "Can you give me a non traceable e-mail? That way, if I need something, I will e-mail you and you can answer from anywhere in the world and you are safe."
"Let me check on that." And the line goes dead.
/\/\/\/\/\
The sheets feel too good to be from her own bed. It is like she is sleeping on a cloud on a cool evening. Kate rolls over in the bed and opens her eyes. She stretches her arm up and her legs down to try to shake the fog from her head when she remembers that she is not in her bed and this bed is the closest to a cloud than she has ever been other than when she was in a bed in Las Vegas… a memory from her days at Stanford? No! It has changed and now she is in a suite in California. She is there to look into a murder of a….?
She suddenly sees a it clear. Who was murdered. Her old training officer. Mike Royce.
She looks at the bedside clock and is shocked at the time.
She jumps up looking for her clothes, looks around. She needs to go out and get a murder board to use and talk to…?
Her mind sees Mr. Castle waiting for her.
But why?
Suddenly she realizes that she is not in Las Angeles. She is in New York and her dad is in the next room.
She wraps herself in a robe and moves back into the living room. This is where she sees her dad sitting at the table with a food cart beside him.
"Katie. It is good to see you up."
"Do I smell coffee? I need coffee"
Her dad points to the opposite side of the table. "Please sit" and he reaches over, takes a cup and a coffee carafe and pours the mug to full. Placing the cup down in front of his daughter, "Did you sleep well? You must have since you went to bed 16 hours ago"
She takes a sip and her face presents a look of satisfaction. "I guess I must have needed it?"
"You definitely did."
After she takes another sip. "Dad? Do you remember my old TO, Mike Royce?"
"Sure. He got murdered here last year. You went to Las Angeles and actually helped the LAPD in the arrest."
"OH…" Her mind is playing tricks again. She knows the department would not pay for her to stay at a fancy hotel with the expensive sheets while she was there, so he decides it was just another part of her memory issues.
"Do you remember going?"
Kate looks up to her dad. I thought I did, but I was remembering it wrong."
"You know the Doctor said the memories will be jumbled when they do start coming back"
"Dad? When can we go back to the apartment?"
"The power is still out, so probably tomorrow."
The disappointment is written all over her face. "Then, can we go somewhere else?"
"Somewhere else? Like where and why? We can stay here another night"
She is not going to tell him about the strange feelings or dreams she had "I just want to get away from the city for a little while…how about we go up to the cabin. It's quiet and I promise I will still do my physical therapy…I promise"
Jim thinks a minute. "I never talked to the doctor. Let me call and see what he will let us do. Go give yourself a nice soak and I will see what we can do."
She nods her head "That sounds good. I'll be back" and she walks back into her bedroom and closes the door.
As soon as the latch closes, Jim is on his phone placing a call to the physician to find out what can be done. Unfortunately, when he does reach the doctor the answer a firm NO. He does not want her too far from a medical center that could handle her if something went wrong with her wounds there will be help close by.
Jim hangs up and dials Rick once more. He is actually hoping Castle will finally try to make contact with her. It might accelerate her recovery.
"Jim" Rick starts "Is everything ok?"
"Really good but Katie wants to go to our cabin in upstate, but I just spoke to her doctor. He said he does not want her that far from a hospital."
There is a pause "I would suggest you bring her here. She has stayed before when her place blew up"
"I know she will definitely not do that."
"I know…I know what. Take her to my place in the Hamptons. There are several very good medical centers there and she has never been, so even if her total memory returns she will not know the place."
At one point, Jim truly believed his daughter and Rick had hooked-up but his reaction said that it did not happen. "Rick, you have already done so much, I can't ask you do that."
"You're not asking…I'm offering. Let me send the directions to you. I will contact my house manager and have him meet you and let you in and show you around"
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes. Absolutely. Tell her the house belongs to one of your clients. As long as we keep Kate out of my study, she will not know who owns the house…" then under his breath "as if she knew who I am."
"Rick. You do not know how much I appreciate this"
"I am so glad to help. Keep me in the loop of how things go." The phone call ends.
Rick is looking out his window. "I want her to recover her memory, even if it means she remembers Josh and goes back to him, if that is what makes her happy."
Jim replies with words that make Castle feel better "I certainly hope not"
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Kate and Jim are in route to the Hamptons to stay a couple of days. Jim has not given Kate too much information about where they are going.
She is looking out the window as the scenery changes from cramped city to more open spaces and more opulent homes. "Dad." She looks across the front seat "Where are we going?"
"UH…a client offered to let us stay here a couple of days."
"It must be a really nice place. The houses we are passing are mansions"
Under his breath "Yeah, they are." Then audibly "He is very well -off so I expect it to be really nice."
Just as he says that, the GPS tells him to turn onto a street then turn again into a driveway ""You have reached your destination"".
The two are in the driveway of a two story home with a large amount of lawn in front and, from what they can tell, a large rear facing the ocean.
As soon as the car stops, the front door opens and a man steps out, "You must be Mr. Beckett and Ms. Beckett?" Once more being greeted by name.
"Yes. That is us"
"Welcome. Mr. Rogers has asked me to meet you, show you around, and get you settled. Please let me get your bags."
The three enter the front and are immediately captured in the beauty of the home. Kate steps a little further past the foyer giving Jim the chance to speak to the caretaker. MR ROGERS? Who is Rogers?"
Looking to make sure Kate is out hearing of range. "Mr. Castle's birth name is Rogers."
Jim acknowledges understanding with a nod "That will make it easier to handle with Kate."
"Yes. All items in here that indicate 'Castle' are locked away"
Jim smiles "Thank you"
After being told about how things work, Jim and Kate unpack their bags and meet on the veranda. "This is a wonderful place, dad. Who owns it?"
Jim Beckett was not considering her asking that question. "You know I really can't talk about my clients"
"Sure dad. I didn't think about that…but when you do see him, tell him how much I appreciate him" she closes her eyes and Jim can tell that she has gone to sleep.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Captain Victoria Gates is walking from the records room thru the bull pen when she sees a man she had hoped would never cross her doorway ever again, Richard Castle. He has just exited the elevator and is walking toward the desks of Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito, She stops him mid path as she calls out to him.
"Mr. Castle. Can you join me in my office, please?" Her tone is as neutral as she can manage considering she thinks of him as a disruptive civilian.
She waits at her threshold for him to enter, then closes her door and walks around to her side of the desk.
"Please sit" she points to the chair across from her.
Rick has planned to co operate with the new captain so he will be able to stay in the precinct without her looking over his shoulder every moment he is there.
"It seems, Mr. Castle, you have some friends higher up in the department than I do."
He chooses to not reply with any snide remark to keep the atmosphere somewhat calm. Instead he just acknowledges with a nod of his head.
"Were you responsible for my recent visit from the commissioner?"
"No, ma'am"
"Sir or captain" she firmly replies.
"No, sir. I did not know Sean came by until Ryan and Espo came looking for me and told me."
"Very well. It has been …suggested to me that you have been an asset to this station."
"I think I have."
"Then I would like to ask you to return to that position…as a civilian consultant."
"I am happy to help in any way I can."
"Very well…but there will be some rules. You will not go to crime scenes, gather evidence, question suspects…"
"Ma'am…I mean Captain. My best work has involved observing the crime scene from a non- detective perspective or observing the evidence as it is gathered and listening to the interrogations."
Knowing she has been trumped like a well- played game of bridge. "Very well, Mr. Castle, if you will respect the detectives in their pursuit we will be good. Agreed?"
"Yes, but I do need access to the computer system so I can look for information."
She pauses a few seconds thinking of an answer. "Very well. I will have A terminal set up for you to use but it will have limited access to sensitive data. I still must protect an individual."
"That will be good"
"OK, Mr. Castle you may go and see if you can begin helping"
He stands and opens the door.
"Oh Mr. Castle" Gates stops him "I will be watching you"
He nods his head and exits her office.
When he arrives beside Ryan and Espo they both look up "Well?"
Rick smiles "She bought it hook, line, and sinker. I'm back."