My Next Broken Heart
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: This is Totally AU; Beckett and Castle have moved past her MIA time, and are working toward a relationship. Ryan's Wedding is an opportune time to display their progress, Or is it? NOTE Dates have been adjusted to make this story possible. This story is full of angst, some chapters will be rough, you've been warned.
Taking Literary License to fill in the blanks.
I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only, except the ones I create.
Also, we take liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events to make this a more believable fiction, thanks.
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Chapter 4
NYPD
12th Precinct
Next Morning
Kate had arrived earlier than usual, what was the use of tossing and turning in bed any longer. She didn't sleep, or couldn't until she talked with a certain writer. Things were piling up on her quickly, and by holding everything inside, she was about to lose it.
She heard the ding of the elevator at 6:30 AM but never turned around to see who was arriving at such an early hour. Then the smell, that one, the only distinctive smell permeated her personal space, the smell that could only come from one source, Rick. She glanced up long enough to see him along with another female figure disappear into Captain Gates's office, then the door shut, and blinds drawn.
That was unusual for Gates, she hadn't even heard the Miss by the book Captain arrive this morning. What was Rick doing there so early, and who was the female figure in front of him? Why the hell was he talking to Gates without going through her first?
He knew how much she hated him breaching protocol so this had better be something pretty big, or, or what Kate? Are you going to fire him from a volunteer job? Take away his rights to sit next to you? Just how were you going to punish your writer, even if you could? All she could do now was wait until they came out, and try to get the information out of him. Who the hell was the female?
Inside Gates's office, the atmosphere didn't start so pleasantly, apparently the good Captain had received a call from Mr. Mayor last evening. She didn't elaborate on their exact conversation but Rick knew his friend well enough to know that he wasn't a fan of the lady, and probably really released some pent-up frustration as he spoke to her.
"As I said I received the call from Mr. Mayor rather late, which in itself was unusual, but when he told me that you would be here for the next few weeks Agent Shaw, he was very clear about the cooperation you were to receive.
"He's also concerned about the leak of sensitive information, apparently, one of our detectives has quite the reputation as a gossip, and Mr. Mayor told me that if any information you shared with NYPD was to leak, well, it wouldn't be good for my career, especially this close to my retirement." Gates said in an even tone, peering over her glasses,
"Thank you, Captain, and for starters, you can lose your attitude towards Mr. Castle, as you address him. He's here by request of the Federal Government, his purpose will be clear if you listen and take notes. Notes I might add that will need to be secured in more than a flimsy desk-locked drawer. What we are about to discuss is confidential, and is not to leave this room, is that clear?" Jordan was playing her role to the hilt, worthy of an Oscar nomination.
Rick watched the face of Victoria Gates, and he saw fear, she wasn't this badass cop, she was a woman with fear hiding behind a badge and the power it brought. "It's clear, Special Agent Shaw, I have made arrangements for Detective Esposito to be reassigned temporarily to the gang's squad.
"They are short a detective who speaks Spanish since one of their team is off on medical so the transfer won't raise any red flags and protect the sensitive information you are about to share. I just sent him and his CO, Detective Beckett the email now, the transfer is effective immediately and will last until I rescind the transfer." She said,
"I'm sure that won't increase your popularity with the precinct, especially Beckett and Esposito," Rick said,
"Mr. Castle, I'm not here to win a popularity contest, I have a job to do. If they have an issue with the order, they can file a complaint and go through the proper channels, which will take at least three weeks." She said, same dry voice, same disdain for him as always.
"Very Well, Captain, I caution you again, what I'm about to share with you is classified Top Secret, and you could face penalties, including monetary fines, and possibly jail time if you leak one word of this information, are we clear, now that the recording has started," Jordan asked after she had turned on a small tape recorder, she was playing this to the hilt.
"I understand Special Agent Shaw, and I accept the responsibility for the safekeeping of all information you share with the NYPD, and my office" Captain Gates responded.
For the next hour Jordan laid out the fake scenario that they had concocted about writers, especially well know authors who were being targeted by a foreign assassin. The operation was being financed and directed by a failed publisher, and movie producer who blamed his lack of success on the writers and publishing houses, not his lack of talent.
He had inherited a great deal of money, and he was trying to extort his revenge on the larger publishing companies or successful best-selling authors. Inside contacts had successfully arranged a meeting between him and a writer of his choice, that happened to be Richard Castle, to discuss terms to end the deadly siege. The fear was that Rick could also be his next target.
Jordan was very convincing in her delivery, for a brief moment, Rick was even believing what she was saying. She concluded her presentation by saying, "Captain Gates, it's apparent to everyone, local and Federal, how you feel about Rick Castle, but I assure you, what he's doing is far braver than sitting at a desk, checking police manuals to make decisions on day-to-day operations of a well-tuned precinct.
"You were fortunate to succeed Captain Montgomery, all you have to do is not fuck it up. Now, it is strongly suggested that you put your personal feelings aside and do your job, meaning you let me do mine, just stay the hell out of the way." Jordan seemed to enjoy busting on Gates, Rick fought to keep his smirk hidden as well. "Any questions?" She ended with a deeply deflated Victoria Gates looking at the floor.
"None, let's inform the detectives of the move, I would ask you do it, I want to ensure nothing is leaked on my watch," she said meekly,
"Very well, Captain, Rick and I will be back at 8:30 AM, have your troops assembled, and be sure Esposito is at his new post. You might want to mention that this mission has the eyes of the very top, just in case someone decides now is the time to slack off." Jordan said as she stood by the door, "Come on Rick, we both need a good cup of coffee," and out the door, they went, straight to the elevators and down to the entrance.
Kate sat there in bewilderment, she had recognized the mystery woman as Jordan Shaw during the time she stood at Gates's open door, but what the hell was she doing in New York? An even better question was what was she doing with Rick? She was a married lady, and Rick didn't play in that arena.
She was jolted out her curiosity by the voice of her Captain, "Beckett, my office now" she bellowed, and Kate thought, oh Christ, what has Espo fucked up now? It wasn't even 8:00 AM and she was about to get her ass handed to her, "Coming Sir" as she took one last sip of her cup of coffee and grabbed her notepad, and proceeded to the den of the lioness.
"Sir, you called for me?" she asked as pleasant as she could,
"Yes, yes I did. Come in, close the door, and lower the blinds, what we're about to discuss can't leave this room, is that clear?" She was staring at her as if her eyes would burn a hole through her,
Kate was a bit taken back but quickly recovered, "Of course sir," as she sat in the chair Gates was pointing to.
"First, have you checked your emails, since you arrived, I'm guessing you haven't so when Detective Esposito arrives, he is being stopped at the entrance desk, he is temporarily assigned to the gang's unit, effective immediately." She said, and couldn't continue before Kate interrupted with a loud sound,
"WHAT? WHY Sir?" She had spit out before she even realized it.
"Well, first because I signed the transfer order, and as for the why, Esposito speaks Spanish, the unit is down a man and requires someone fluent in the language as well as understands gang mentality. I understand Detective Esposito fits both. Not only that, but the mayor called me at home and told me to get rid of the old lady gossip, his reputation is very impressive Detective." Gates replied,
"For how long sir, I mean Ryan is going on his honeymoon, I'll already be one detective short," she chose not to mention Rick's status was in peril, she had enough to deal with Espo being transferred.
"Does he know Sir? If you sent the email this morning, then I'm sure he hasn't checked them today" Kate tried to cover,
"You mean he hasn't checked his email this month, but sooner or later he is going to understand what a read receipt does for an email. If you wish, you may meet him at the desk, tell him it's temporary, at least for now, unless I get any more information about his gambling games or if he sticks his nose into what is going on here, understood?" Gates was hot now, regaining some of her old bravado,
"Yes Sir, but what about his replacement, sir?" Beckett pleaded,
"Wait for the briefing, Special Agent Jordan Shaw and Mr. Castle will be back at 8:30 AM to brief everyone on what is going on. That's all I'm going to say, for now, dismissed detective Beckett" she turned her back letting Kate know the discussion was over.
"Yes Sir," Kate got out through clenched teeth, heading for the entrance to head off one Hispanic detective who was going to lose it, being transferred by email? No guts, no class, no real reason given, but if he wanted to keep his job, Kate had to convince him to keep his mouth shut and stay away from the 12th.
XxX
Java Hut
Next Door to Precinct
Rick held the door as he and Jordan entered the Java Hut, he placed their order while she found an open booth, and smiled as he sat down, once again with her packets of Splenda, yellow packs.
"Do you ever forget anything Rick?" she said, as she smiled, and prepared her coffee,
"That depends, I try not to when it comes to people, I care about, sometimes that's a double edge sword that cuts deeply." He looked off into space, then caught himself, "That was a hell of a story you sold Gates on." He said with a half-smile,
"Thanks, Rick, but it wasn't mine, it was your, eh it was Hunt's." she flushed,
"Well, I'm sure he could never have sold it the way you did, hell you had me believing it for a while." He smiled,
"That's because it's true, not now of course, and Jackson won't reveal any more details but it was taken from one of the cases his team closed." Jordan looked over to Rick with that give him a chance look but didn't say a word.
"So, what's my role in this going to really be, Jordan since it's based on a true case, I'm sure Hunt has something lined up," Rick asked,
"He won't say, only to keep you next to me, actually he said, to keep you under my skirt if that kept you safe, she smiled. I guess he doesn't want to have to face hurricane Martha if you get hurt and she gets wind of his involvement."
"Sounds like the stories Mother told about him, she is a human terror though to be fair." He smiled,
They enjoyed two cups of coffee, both careful not to ask questions about sensitive subjects. He knew she was hurt deeply by her husband's betrayal; they were both attracted to each other physically, all he needed to do was make the first move, he was sure she would sleep with him.
He never wanted that, not with Jordan, not with Kate, not any woman, not on the rebound. He never had conducted "revenge sex", the term for sleeping with someone, anyone to make your ex or current partner sorry they had ever cheated on you.
Things were getting deep with looks into each other's eyes, and simple touches of their hands when Jordan suddenly looked at her watch, "Hey we better get back to the troops, I wonder what they're going to say."
She looked at him, with a look of love on her face, knowing that he had been hurt deeply by Kate and other women in his life. He was and always had been the one man who had showed her that morals mattered, he didn't want his daughter to see any of those other men in him. He gently took her arm, ever the gentleman, and escorted her through the door and down the few storefronts to the precinct.
They entered the bullpen, Gates had the complete floor all assembled, minus one Javier Esposito, who Kate had managed to talk into reporting to his new assignment, not giving the brass any more reason to fire him. Whispers were spreading throughout the crowd by all, except for Kate Beckett and Kevin Ryan, who were standing next to Captain Gates.
"Let me have your attention please," Gates said, in a commanding and loud tone, the whispers and conversations all stopped, and there was silence,
"Many of you know Senior Special Agent Jordan Shaw, from the FBI, for those of you that don't please provide her with anything she requests for the next several weeks. She's here, attached to the NYPD for a special assignment which I'll let her explain.
"One last note, there has been a transfer, temporary at this time, Detective Javier Esposito is now assigned to the Gang's Unit, until further notice, no questions of why will be entertained concerning any personnel matters. Since Detective Ryan is getting married and leaving for his honeymoon for two weeks at the end of this week, effective next Monday Detective Beckett and Detective Karpowski will be acting as co-leads of Karpowski's team until further notice. Senior Special Agent Jordan, the floor is yours." Gates said
"Thank you, Captain Gates, what our assignment here is closely guarded, meaning don't ask, and we won't have to tell your superiors of you being nosey. You all know Mr. Castle as your Captain refers to him, Rick will be working with me closely on this assignment, so he will NOT be available for normal cases.
"You may be called upon from time to time to perform various tasks, as Captain Gates has outlined, you are to perform those without question, for either Rick or I. This mission is critical, and we need everyone's cooperation, thank you, Rick do you want to say anything?" she turned to her new partner.
"No, you have it covered, thanks all for your usual fine support, that's it," Rick said as he stepped back, standing too close to Jordan for Kate's liking, but what could she do about it.
"Very well, people, let's get to work" Gates ended the briefing, still shaken from the earlier blunt conversation with Shaw.
Kate thought it would be polite to say hello to Jordan, they had worked a very intense case together a few years back, one where both had almost died.
"Hi Jordan, how are you doing? I was going to ask what brings you to New York, well before the briefing, but forget I asked now" Kate smiled, or at least tried to.
"Well, you know how it is, one case after another. I've kept busy, how have you been?" She asked,
"I'm OK, well, some days I'm OK, other days I'm a wreck. I still don't know how you do it, your career, your marriage, and your child, God, I fail at just one of those" Kate said, just noticing the prominent diamond ring Jordan had worn was missing from her left ring finger.
"Well, don't use me as your benchmark, Tom and I divorced, two years ago, he got custody of Brianna, even though he was the cheating SOB, he had a job that didn't involve unplanned travel." She said sadly, a slight mist coming to her eyes,
"I'm so sorry Jordan, I didn't know, I mean, I never would have brought it up"
"Relax Kate, it's OK, you'd think after two years, I could talk about it without showing emotions, I'm sorry," Jordan said,
"Don't apologize Jordan, say, why don't we have dinner one night while you're in town, no case talk I promise. Where are you staying, the Four Seasons?" She asked,
"Well, I guess you're going to find out sooner or later, I was registered there, but once I talked to Rick, he sent for my bags without me knowing it. The next thing I knew, I was being shown the guest room and given a key fob so I could come and go as needed. He wouldn't take no for an answer, especially when he heard about Tom and me." She looked at Kate directly in the eyes, "Kate, that's not a problem with you, is it?"
Kate flushed, stammered for a moment, then replied, "No, no Jordan, of course not, why should it be?" still trying to camouflage her love for him.
"Kate, I saw you two up close and personal, I profile people for a living, and I'm pretty damn good at my job. Please don't insult me by trying to act like Rick is just another co-worker to you. We both know there's more, how much more, I think still remains up to you, and how much you are willing to commit to a real relationship." Jordan said,
"By the way dinner would be great, but I think you really need to talk to Rick before we go out. I told you the last time I saw you that you may not be ready, you may not want to see it, but I think your time is running out quickly Kate," Jordan said softly as Kate hung her head,
"He asked me a simple question over two days ago, and I still haven't answered him, I want to go with him, but I'm afraid, and now"
"What about now Kate? If you think for one minute Rick and I have or will have anything more than a friend's relationship, you need to go back to your therapist, quickly." Jordan interrupted quickly, her tone breathing fire,
"I didn't mean it like that Jordan, I just meant, you're single, he's single, not promised to anyone and I know how much Roz and Anne have hit on him the last year. You can't blame me for my mind going straight to the gutter." Kate wined,
"Yes, I can, and I do, unlike others, I know you know Rick well enough to know he doesn't play in more than one game at a time. He's been holding out for you for so long, even when you take up with the losers that you did.
"You know Kate after I heard about your hookup with the doctor, I thought, and perhaps this is wrong, but I thought Rick should take up with Roz or Anne, or hell both of them, you're getting your jollies off. God knows he deserves to be happy, and you weren't too concerned about anyone's feelings but your own."
"Jordan, I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you, nor infer anything about your relationship with Rick. I know he's about at the end of his rope with me, but I do need to talk to him, I do care about him and don't want to hurt him, any more than I have already." Kate backtracked, her face flushing with embarrassment from Jordan calling her on her bull shit.
"Well, you better do it today sometime Kate, things are about to get crazy here for the next several weeks, you may not even see Rick for a while so take advantage of the time you have," Jordan said as she walked away,
Kate walked away and ran into Rick coming around the corner, the awkwardness they both felt hadn't been present since he had worked his first case with her.
"Excuse me, detective, my fault, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," he said after an awkward moment,
"No, Rick, No, it was my fault, it was me who wasn't watching, I'm sorry. I do need to ask you something, in private, can you take a minute?" she asked, finally getting her voice,
"Sure, where do you want to talk Detective?" she looked around, the conference rooms were all taken, one by Jordan's group of people, the other by Karpowski and Anne with their team going over a case.
"Come with me, please Rick, no questions," Kate said,
He looked confused but caught the thumbs-up sign from Jordan out of the corner of his eye as they headed to the stairs,
She walked down to a mid-flight of stairs, and stopped, and turned to him to speak, before she could say a word he said,
"Detective, I don't want to visit your old make-out spot with Detective Demming," he watched as her face turned beet red, "What? Did you think no one saw you two acting like high school kids?" Rick said with some bitterness,
She took his hand and reversed course, and walked to the roof, propping the door open with the heavy stone that was next to it. She knew that this was his spot, "I'm sorry, I know this is where you come to be alone, to think, to get over what I've done to hurt you. I won't take long Rick, I promise" she said, noticing just how uncomfortable he was around her alone.
"What is it Beckett?" he asked, not beating around the bush.
"I talked to Jordan, I know she's staying at the loft, so I was wondering would you like to come to my place tonight, we need to talk in private and it's the only place I can almost bet we won't get interrupted at." She said,
She thought he would stammer, or hesitate but the first words out of his mouth, were, "What time, and is Chinese food OK?" he asked, still not showing the emotion that she had hoped, some happiness, but nothing.
"Is 7:30 PM OK, and Chinese is fine. I still have that bottle of wine you gave me, so no need to bring any booze." She said, still searching his eyes, his face, for some emotion, stone cold.
She glanced at her watch, it was almost 4:00 PM, so she didn't have much time if she wanted to get home before him and straighten up a bit,
He sensed her hesitancy and just said, "See you at 7:30 PM, with your usual," turned and was walking down the stairs before she even realized he was gone, again.
TBC