For her first meeting with Beckett as a colleague, Lara expected a lot of bravado in heels. In fact it was neither. Walking into the empty box, she was immediately struck by the shrinking Beckett. Wondering why, she looked down to find plain, but new running shoes had replaced her signature heels. It took a huge notch off her commanding presence, and Lara hoped it was part of a new charm offensive with the troops after her huge gaffe with Ann.
That new humility was just fine with her. It would allow her to make a quick study of the Beckett ways. After all, she had no intention of being Beckett's flunky forever. Her goal was to become an arrogant, surly, and effective investigator just like her. Helping the Senator in the interim was fine, but she had her sights set on way more than that.
The orientation meeting itself was almost cordial. Beckett outlined a collaborative process that would involve her doing every aspect until deemed proficient. After that, the work would be parceled out based on proficiency for the task at hand. The board needed to be fed and their job was to keep it updated for impromptu brainstorming sessions often started by something Castle said.
She then went over the odd sock in all this - Castle. He was a crime writer with a penchant for wild theories that often led to unconventional ways of looking at facts. They had discounted his musing early on only to be surprised by how often those quips put them on the right track. Lara was surprised by how laudatory she was about him and his involvement. He was rich, handsome, and according to the tabloids quite a lady's man. Lara surmised there might be more than a professional regard lurking somewhere in the background.
Her immediate task was to takeover Javier's former desk, get her new computer clearances, and review all the procedure updates waiting in the pending file. Lara nodded, but explained she had one appointment in records for later this afternoon. It was an order from Gates to review the Johanna Beckett file. Kate was miffed by Gates going right to her dirty laundry, but stifled her annoyance.
Castle had told her the best policy right now was to keep her head down, and she had reluctantly agreed. Now, faced with her first test of that commitment, she donned her best poker face and walked Lara into the breakroom for a quick tutorial on Castle's super-confusing coffee machine. Later at her desk, Lara was surprised that Kevin was nowhere to be seen. Ellen Karpowski noticed and came over to explain that Kevin was finishing up some work with her team and should be back full-time in a day or two.
That night Kate came home to her apartment where Castle was in preparation mode for another scrumptious meal. She was in a foul mood because of Gates and her rather blatant directive to Lara. Castle was not surprised by the red lines Gates was drawing around her mother's case. She was an advocate of procedure over everything else, and she needed to show there would be no exceptions even for her best detective team. He counseled Kate to disregard these slights while she rebuilt her reputation with Gates and the rest of the staff.
When he inquired about Lara, he got barely a shrug. He guessed Kate was keeping her counsel watching to see if the promise played out in the field. Two days later when he finally met her, he was surprised by her youth and enthusiasm. In the breakroom he learned a bit about Dale and her young daughter, Alice. He gushed about his own Alexis, and hoped her family ties would make her a restraining voice if Beckett's old habits resurfaced when he wasn't around.
Lara walked away surprised by how much the tabloid pictures did not do him justice. He was single, and her mind wondered if his way with ladies was due to his charm, sexual prowess, or both. If the right opportunity came along, she wouldn't mind finding out. Perhaps it was time to mine the closet for some provocative outfits and see if he had a wandering eye.
She had honed a sixth sense about that after having great sex with a guy who perused her in two different bars before an impromptu tryst in an adjoining alley that she would fondly rate in the top ten. Most ended up in the not-unpleasant category, but a few did stand out. Dale, her husband, was moving up, but the Senator was still in the lead. Experience had its advantages, but a well trained Dale had far greater potential. Yes it was time to redouble her efforts in that department starting this weekend. The baby slept through the night now, and the monitor would pick up anything concerning. Time to open the gun safe and get stuff out he had never seen before.
Their first case involved a body drop in a park. Lara and Kevin got there while the unis were still setting up the tape. The ME, Lanie Parish, arrived next and said hello to Kevin and nothing to her. The victim's pocketbook told them her name, address, and employer. Beckett and Castle arrived next, and the discussion with Ms. Parish was brief and left them with little concrete to go on. Kevin told her later that Lanie's abruptness was unusual. She was best friends with Beckett, Kevin, and dated the guy she was replacing. The relationship soured over the Ann thing and the decision by her boyfriend to quit the force entirely.
Kate and Castle decided to head to the employer, but instructed Kevin and Lara to both oversee and help with the canvass. Lara thought nothing of it until Kevin explained that a Beckett canvass was like none other. She expected everyone to be contacted, and every odd sock followed-up. In most cases the not-home group outnumbered those the unis met that first day. That subgroup was theirs to follow-up on. It was a tedious and hardly efficient process that could involve odd shift hours ferreting out the many who probably knew nothing and had little interest in making nice with cops.
When Lara volunteered to do the bulk of the follow-up canvass, Kevin was a happy man. Lara thought it was a way to grab the limelight and perhaps provide an opportunity for a naked debrief with the Senator about her first impressions of the new Beckett team. Dale would of course understand her need to go the extra mile for her new boss. A call to the Senator's private number found him quite receptive to her suggestion, and a plan was hatched for a room service date the next week.
On the night in questions everything went according to plan until she got in the room. Bill was in a combative mood about some meeting that day and decided it was her job to do the pleasing that night. She was fine with it. Afterwards, she went over her impressions so far, and he was quite pleased with how his warning system was setting up. She also went into detail about the Beckett file and professed her astonishment about how Beckett in her wildest dreams somehow connected him to that. He concurred and chalked up to some pathetic need for closure.
In her brief tenure with her new team, she was convinced that Beckett was all about the evidence except for quips from Castle. During theory building sessions, some of his observations were startling astute, but other times he would blurt out comments about aliens that bewildered everyone. After showering, she headed for home when something quite profound danced into her mind. She guessed Castle's need to always find context was rubbing off on her. If Beckett's claim was as outrageous as the Senator professed, why did he enlist her to watch her. Yes, that was the right question, and if she discovered the answer, the sky was the limit of where a fearful senator might take her.
Author's note - Updates for this story will slow down while I refine it for a wider audience.