"Hi Vicki, sorry to bother you on the weekend, but something has come up. My wife told me last night she no longer sees me in her future. I guess she has met someone and decided they fulfill her. She told me this could be quick or drawn out depending on my acceding to her terms. She expects to have that done in a week or two and wants the announcement made soon after. She has rejected counseling with some retorts that sound like she has a matrimonial lawyer on speed-dial. Kind of too bad I ignored my lawyers and never insisted on a prenup. Now she is in the driver's seat for what could be a very bumpy time with the media."
"I am sorry to hear that Senator, but not sure how I can help?"
"Well, Vicki, my advisors think this is a PR nightmare waiting to happen. The press will pile on no matter how much we plead for privacy. It is the price you pay for being in the limelight. Anyway, they have told me I need to get ahead of this by requesting an on-call NYPD detail to keep these vultures at bay, while I try to project an image of business as usual regardless of her distractions. This strategy has worked for others, and I think your best detective is the perfect person to coordinate it. It wouldn't be full-time and probably last a couple months - three tops."
"Detective Beckett is a good cop, but given your history, I question whether she is a good choice. She has some unfounded fetish about you and her mother's murder."
"Vicki, I am surprised by your reluctance to provide me with the best cop you have. That's not what friends do. Besides, our new association might rid her of that ridiculous notion once and for all. Its a win-win as I see it. I could have called someone higher up, but I thought you would be willing to help me out here. You know how the press will turn this into a feeding frenzy, and that just encourages the crazies to perform acts of foolishness for the notoriety."
"Senator, I'm not sure how she will take this. She might just refuse even if it does come from 1PP."
"I thought of that and think you can change her mind. She desperately wants to get out of your doghouse, and perhaps you could offer her just that. If you do, you know I will be forever in your debt." Put that way, there was little she could do, and the phone call ended amicably. When she came back to her husband, she immediately headed for the shower without inviting him. Not exactly the plan he had in mind.
In the shower, Vicki tried to calm her rising anger. The Senator had played her; everything with him was transactional. Her ambition had made her his pawn. She wanted Beckett to be the poster child of how she would deal with egregious behavior. Now she would relent far earlier than she intended and send a far different message. She took this job to be in charge, and clearly this was a step in the wrong direction. The Senator, on the other hand, was quite pleased with the way things were left. He understood that Kate Beckett was a smoldering problem and subscribed to the old adage to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.
Kate left the cabin in the predawn light hoping to avoid any traffic snarls on her way back to the city. Castle suggested a late Sunday brunch at the loft. He wanted it to be private and asked Alexis and his mother to either be upstairs or out. She arrived a tad bit early and considered a pit stop at her apartment to wash off the accumulated road grunge. She opted not to hoping Castle would do the honors after some serious make-up sex.
When she got to the building Eduardo welcomed her in, the elevator was waiting, and Castle handed her a mug of fresh coffee before she could offer any sort of greeting. As she glanced to the sparsely set table, she asked, "Where are Alexis and Martha?"
"I told them you were coming. They guessed we've had a spat, and both made them selves scarce in the hopes we can resolve this. They probably would not have been so accommodating for Gina or Meredith. They like you."
While Castle busied himself with filling all the serving dishes, she perused the place with renewed interest. If things went right, this would be her home. Her day of having a solitary refuge would be over. Instead she would have a noisy family where she knew her dad would always be welcomed. Moving in together was the next logical step, and she caught herself wistfully visualizing where some of her cherished belongings might end up. When Castle coughed, the wistful moment was broken as she starred down at a plate of piping hot waffles, sausage, and fruit. He was taking care of her regardless of their spat just like he always would.
Midway through finishing her plate, she said, "First and foremost, I am here to apologize and ask your forgiveness. What I asked of you was selfish. I was only considering me and not us. Old habits die hard, but die they must, if this is going to work."
"Asking you to put your daughter and mother in harms way was wrong. They did not sign up to be part of this, and they are not just collateral damage. They mean everything to you, and I had no right to ask you to put them at risk. If you had asked me for the same thing with my daughter, you would have gotten a bitter tirade and a firm 'NO'. I value us Castle, and that includes everyone in our family; that must always come first."
Castle was overjoyed and scooted around the table to kiss her like a man in the desert getting his first drink. Nothing - absolutely nothing, could make him any happier. "Kate, you have made me the happiest man in the world right now. Needless to say the remaining food on their plates grew rather cold as they quickly adjourned to his bedroom where clothes were discarded and two wonderful rounds left them sated and very happy. Lying next to each other, all was right with world at least until Monday.
Kate arrived a tad bit late that Monday due mostly to Rick's charms. She kept buttoning; he kept unbuttoning. When she threatened bodily harm, he reluctantly stopped and informed him she would make the deal with Lara later morning if no case got in the way. Upon arrival, Lara immediately noticed that her grumpy boss from last week was now all smiles and guessed quite correctly the reason for her sudden good humor.
Later that morning when Lara hit the breakroom, Kate followed and closed the door. "I guess I should thank you. You are quite observant. That is a quality you will need if you want to win in the box. Starting today, you are to be in observation whenever Castle and I are doing an interrogation, and once a week we will do lunch to discuss what you are learning. I will clear this with Kevin. He has his sites on a staff job because of his daughter. I don't think he'll mind your initiative in the least."
Lara nodded and added a bit of advice of her own. "I would cool the PDA moments with Castle. We work surrounded by detectives; they are trained to be observant. If I can figure this out, one of them might as well. You aren't the most loved person around here and ratting to Gates might seem perfectly justified to some."