Beckett: Unfounded

Tuesday 16 October

The precinct smelled of sweat and surface cleaner, the odour one she didn't normally notice but now hugged her with its sense of home. She dumped her purse and coat on her desk and surveyed the bullpen for her colleagues. It must be a day of needing to be out in the field as only a couple of other detectives sat hunched at their desks trudging through paperwork. Gates sat upright in her office focused on her enormous desk. Beckett snuck back out of the bullpen, tucking her hair behind an ear with her head down as she passed her Captain's office. As she headed into the corridor, she almost ran into Esposito coming round the corner.

'Oh! Beckett! What are you doing here?'

'Castle called. There's been an arrest?' She had quickly wrapped up lunch with her father, who had insisted on paying, and headed straight to the precinct.

'Two actually.'

'You caught them both?'

'We can manage without you. Somehow,' he said, crossing his arms and fixing her with a piercing stare.

'I know that, I-'

'You didn't both need to come down here.'

'Castle is here?' she said, shocked. 'Is Erin with him?' Surely, he wouldn't be that stupid: Erin was terrified at the thought of seeing these men again. Also, she needed right now to concentrate on the case as a detective not as Erin's worried parent.

'No, why would she be with Castle?' Esposito's suspicious tone caught her by surprise, her mouth dropping open as she was distracted from her relief.

Their heads both snapped towards the interrogation doors as Ryan banged out, smiling as he saw her, and he gave her a little wave. She turned back to find Javi's sniper-trained eyes fixed on her. She recognised that look: the one when he was cottoning on to something, the cogs turning, his eyes narrowed to slits and then brightening.

'Yo, Ryan,' he called. Kevin trotted over, that intuitive reading that his partner had juicy gossip obvious in the quirk of his lips.

She grabbed them both by their arms and shoved them into the nearest room, looking both ways before she followed them in; in her heels she towered over them.

'Beckett just asked if Castle was with Beckett's kid? He's been here pretty much the whole time working on the case. Now why would she be with him? He's hardly your babysitter. Something's up, spill it, Beckett.' Javi crossed his arms, his upper muscles pulsating through his shirt.

She knew she couldn't keep it from them any longer, that their private romantic bubble had burst.

'Look, you can't tell Gates, okay,' she hissed.

'Tell her what?'

'Yeah, tell her what?' Ryan chimed in stepping shoulder to shoulder with Esposito, his eyes gleaming. The gurning pair were going to make her say it.

'Castle and I…' She chewed on the corner of her lip, glaring at them. They were going to pay for this.

'Castle and you…' Ryan prompted. God, that smile was annoying. His hand rolled with encouragement to continue.

She rolled her eyes dramatically. 'Oh, shut up. We're, you know. Dating,' she stammered through gritted teeth.

'Dating?' Javi and Ryan smirked at each other. 'Is that what the cool kids are calling it these days?' Esposito grinned, flashing his white teeth with enormous satisfaction.

Ryan contorted his features into one of mock seriousness. 'Do we need to have a word with him? Talk about his intentions?'

She shook her head attempting to hide her pursed smile. She didn't like to let them know that secretly she enjoyed their brotherly protectiveness: they'd be insufferable. 'Just don't tell Gates, she'll kick him out the first chance she gets.'

'It's cool, we got you,' Esposito swiped a gentle punch at her bicep, his smile one of knowing affection.

Damn them both, they were enjoying watching her squirm. 'You knew, didn't you?' She narrowed her eyes. Did everyone just know everything today?

Esposito and Ryan remained impassive and unblinking. Ryan turned instead to Esposito:

'He owes me fifty bucks,' he said, holding out his hand, his face innocent and expectant.

'You bet on us?' she said, appalled.

Esposito shrugged. 'We bet on you two all the time. In fact,' he said, turning to Ryan and knocking his hand away, 'you owe me fifty bucks.'

'What for?'

'When Castle first showed up here, what did we bet?'

'That was years ago!'

'No time limitation on a bet. A bet's a bet. I called it when he first walked in. Fifty bucks.' Espo held out his hand. Ryan shuffled and frowned in confusion.

'There's something else. Erin and I are living with Castle. Who wins that bet?' Beckett held out her hand, her eyebrows raised. She rubbed her fingers together. Huffing, they each pulled out a fifty and stuffed it into her open palm.

'That's what I thought,' she said as she held the door open. Behind her she could hear Esposito whispering furiously: 'This is all your fault, you just couldn't keep quiet, could you.'

Their bickering tailed away as she walked to the interrogation room. Castle stood in the little observation room, besuited and gazing through the two-way mirror. They'd had so little time over the last week just the two of them that she allowed herself a little shiver of delight at his masculine frame. Then, she was back in the room, professional as ever. She joined him by the screen.

'Where's Erin? Does she know about the arrests? I didn't know you were coming in.'

'No, she doesn't, I didn't want to worry her. She's fine, Beckett, she's with Mother. I left them acting scenes from Electra.'

She thrust a hand on one hip, turned towards him and tilted her head in disgust. 'Really, Castle. The one where she kills her mother?'

'Erm, umm, probably not that bit,' he stammered. 'She's doing a series of scenes from Greek tragedy for her theatre school, that's all. Don't read anything into it,' he scoffed.

'Says the man who finds symbolism in a sandwich?' she muttered. Never mind, her daughter was being looked after and she could focus. They hadn't yet left Erin alone in the loft, unsure of how flighty she might be. At night, Kate couldn't quite hold back the thought that Erin could up and leave at any moment. Although she hadn't given any indication that she had one foot out of the door, her recent history put her on alert.

She turned her attention to the dishevelled red-haired and freckled twenty-something in an oversized Jets shirt sprawled in the metal chair. 'Tell me,' she commanded, jutting her chin towards the suspect.

'The other one is in the other room. Brothers, Cooper and Parker Bradley. Wannabe drug lords; in actual fact: idiots.'

'What happened?' Castle turned towards her, his hands poised before him, his face lit up, excited by the story he was about to tell.

'So, imagine the scene: two brothers, brought up on a diet of Goodfellas, The Sopranos and Breaking Bad – have you seen that show, by the way, so many months to wait until the final episodes! - think they can make it big as drug lords, that they can side-step the system. Their father is a low-level thug involved in racketeering for an established New York crime family, in and out of prison, barely a presence in their lives. But when he does appear, he brings gifts and elaborate stories of gangster glory.' She was about to ask where the father is now, but she knew better than to interrupt him in full flow. 'However, they see their father's misfortune and decide they're gonna be smarter; they are not going to be on the lowest rung of the criminal ladder paying the penal price while those above them reap the cash rewards. So, the way to do that is to run their own business. And they won't stick to one thing, no, they will 'diversify' their talents. Drug distribution and loan sharking.' He paused for breath.

'Ryan said Noah Campbell's financials rang alarm bells?'

'Indeed. Young Mr Campbell had a rocky relationship with poker. He lost big three weeks ago. Parker Bradley was his dealer, and he knew he also loaned. They had been at school together. Noah thought it was an easy loan, a friend helping him out. Instead of using the loan to pay off the poker debt, he tried to win it back but-'

'He lost. The brothers were not as friendly as he thought,' she said, taking over, taking a step towards him.

'Exactly.'

'But how did that end up in a shooting? They won't get their money back now. And how was the woman involved?'

'As I said, these two brothers dreamt big but were not as smart as their aspirations. What's the first rule of drug dealing?'

'Don't get high on your own supply,' she intoned.

'They were caked. Utterly paranoid. It wasn't premeditated. By chance they ran into Noah and his date coming out of a bar. Noah had missed the repayment deadline, panicked and ran with Briony, and they were shot in the back – we'll see now what they have to say. My money is on them blaming the other for shooting first. The bloody shoe print belongs to Parker, Noah's school friend. My guess is he checked to see if Noah was alive.'

Kate was impressed though she didn't let it show. 'How do you know all this?'

'Ryan and Esposito are pretty good detectives, they did their jobs. You've rightly been busy with Erin, who, by the way, gave excellent descriptions. Eye for detail that one.'

She turned back to the screen. 'I'll go in to interview this man.' She recognised him now as the second man Erin had described. Castle was right, her observational skills were uncanny – the sketch had included details such as a mole on one side of his chin.

'Actually, no,' he interrupted gently. 'You're the mother of the witness. We have to leave this to Ryan and Espo.' She clenched her jaw, staring hard through the screen, her arms crossed. Mist began to form on the pane in front of her.

'Let's go home. We've seen them now; we have to trust them.'

She didn't move. 'How are they pleading?'

'Nothing yet, neither has talked. But neither has had the sense yet to ask for a lawyer.'

'We need a confession. We need more than circumstantial evidence otherwise if they plead not guilty the weight of the case is going to rest on Erin's witness account.' She hated that she couldn't quite keep her voice calm, the desperation to protect Erin seeping through every pore.

Castle turned towards her, pulling her by an elbow to face him. 'What about ballistics?'

'They found the guns?' she said, disbelieving.

He nodded slowly, a grin breaking out; his eyebrows teased her with their slow waggling. 'You mean they found the guns?' she asked again, almost panting with relief, this time the meaning clear. 'Why didn't you say so straight away?' She slapped him on the shoulder with the back of her hand.

'I hadn't got there yet,' he pouted, his lips then morphing into a smile to match hers. 'It's over. She's safe. Ryan says her written witness account plus the sketches with the physical evidence will be enough for the DA to mount the case. Unless they can get them to plead guilty which they are about to attempt.'

She let him link an arm through hers, her tense mood shifting with the contact. He pulled away suddenly, jolting her from her relief.

'No, babe, it's okay,' she soothed, reading his mind, and pulled him back towards her, one hand reaching round to his lower back, her fingers tripping along his belt under his jacket as she stroked his arm. 'Esposito and Ryan know about us.'

'What about Gates?' His voice seemed to catch in his throat as he looked over her shoulder in panic.

'They won't tell her; we can trust them. And I don't see her in here right now, do you?' she grinned softly, pulling up her shoulders slightly, flirting and teasing, as she squeezed his arm.

His eyes darkened; she shouldn't enjoy that look so much: it was primal and predatory but for all the womanising she had witnessed over the years she had only ever seen that look for her. She loved that she could so easily have him at her mercy. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth then bridged the gap to brush a feather-light kiss on him.

'Let's go home.'

Castle could barely speak, his jaw loose and open. He stumbled forward to chase her kiss as she turned away, grabbed him by the hand and dragged him with her, seductively dropping her lashes slowly over her shoulder.

They had each driven separately, so she walked him to his car first. Out of the observation room, they now physically separated, aware of their environment. Nevertheless, she wanted this moment to last a little longer. The week had been gruelling and knowing that they wouldn't have to worry about the murder any more was a relief she hadn't realised she needed; if Ryan and Espo could secure a confession then not even a trial would be on the horizon. Having just a cheeky few minutes together at her work, without any of their family around, reminded her that she missed him and their newfound intimacy. What time they had spent together over the last week had been all about Erin's needs, romance put to one side.

'Babe, let's get a coffee. It would be good to talk about everything, away from home. You're right, Erin is fine with Martha.'

'Katherine Beckett, you can't lead a man on like that,' he grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his trousers.

'Oh please, Castle. With your mother and my daughter at home what did you think was going to happen?' She giggled slightly at his discomfort.

'You are a cruel, cruel mistress.'

'Your mistress though and don't tell me you don't love it,' she murmured, biting the tip of one thumb.

They found a local café they knew not to be frequented by cops; it had a French bistro vibe with artisan coffee and cakes written on a blackboard in colourful chalk. Still, they kept their hands to themselves, wrapping them around their hot mugs instead.

'How did it go with your dad?' Kate looked out of the window. The street was full of cars, buses, people walking with intent. Wet autumn leaves collected around the base of the landscaped trees lining the sidewalk. Life was happening regardless, as it always does.

'He knew. He's known from the beginning,' she said, the statement somehow obvious now the surprise from just a short couple of hours ago had subsided.

'And he didn't tell you?' Castle seemed disgusted; his face suddenly riddled with shadows. His chest puffed forward in righteous alpha anger.

'I didn't tell him either,' she reassured. Her own turmoil of emotions had abated as her conversation with her father had progressed, she didn't need her anger reignited. She shook her head slightly. 'It was…good. To talk to him. I guess I haven't felt like I can trust him, the way he was after my Mom died. It's possible that things will be different with him from now on. Maybe we can be a little more open with each other.'

'Does he know about us, about our living arrangement?' Ah, their living arrangement. It had, like many things, been on her mind to talk to him about it.

'He does and… about that. What would you think about me bringing some of my stuff over?' she said, shuffling forward on her chair, and resting a palm in the middle of the table next to the tiny panda-shaped salt and pepper shakers.

'Yeah, of course, sure. You need your clothes.' As he spoke he leaned backwards to scan the blackboard for the cake specials, the front legs of the chair lifting off the ground.

'Not just my clothes, Rick,' she said, lowering her voice to a gentle softness, and tapping her fingers lightly in an attempt not to be annoyed by his inattention. 'My stuff. Books, trinkets, wall hangings.'

'Wall hangings?' His face wrinkled in confusion as his chair clattered back to all-four legs on the floor. This time he studied her properly. 'The loft is decorated perfectly; I got the best interior designers to help me. Everything compliments each other, it's the perfect flow.' His voice rose on every word, his body arching taller, his thick hands splayed out before him. She couldn't help feeling defensive herself at his less-than-stellar reaction, but she continued to keep her irritation hidden, opting to be diplomatic. After all, they had made this decision on a whim.

'I know, it's your home. And we never really discussed us moving in together. It's just. My stuff is important to me, Castle. Just as yours is to you. It's my life, my history. I want Erin to see my life too. And unless we want to move somewhere new then-' She knew it was a manipulative move but really, this was not the response she had hoped for.

'Move, what? No!' Oh, he was really panicked now, she snorted inwardly to herself. Sometimes he simply couldn't help behaving like a stroppy child.

'Rick, you like to be in control of your life, your space. I get that, I do too. But we're different, aren't we? This, for me, it's it. I'm not looking for anything else. Anyone else. Your place doesn't show any trace of your ex-wives. It's been your bachelor pad for so long – even when you were dating Gina a couple of years ago, nothing changed. Don't you think that with us things need to change?'

He huffed. He actually huffed. She was feeling less and less amorous and more and more impatient that she was dealing with a sulky teenager and suddenly the realisation hit her that moving in with him wasn't going to be quite as straightforward as she had perhaps naively assumed. It was reasonable that she didn't want to feel like a guest in his home, that the loft needed to become theirs if they were to be a couple and raise a child there together. He could see that, surely?

Her voice sharpened, her body language shifting to be more assertive. She watched him do the same. 'Talk to me. Are you okay with this?'

She watched as he gathered his thoughts; he rubbed a cheek as if trying to remove a stubborn smudge. He was taking longer to reply than she expected, so she sipped her coffee to hide her anxiety. Was this more than not wanting to take down a few pictures? Had she misread him? Had they acted too rashly? Eventually, he spoke, slowly.

'Yes, of course, I want you and Erin to live with me, for us to become a family. I just hadn't thought about my things, about things…changing.'

Her cheeks burned as her chest tightened. She'd got it all wrong, he wasn't ready for this; she'd pushed him too hard, too fast.

'Erin and I can move back to my place,' she said tersely, harder than she intended. His face fell.

'Beckett, that's not necessary. Please, I just need to get used to the idea of taking things down, of…sharing.'

'The only-child curse,' she said quietly, her impatience hovering on a cliff edge. She could relate, their lack of siblings another thing they had in common despite their very different upbringings.

'I've been used to having my own way for a long time, that doesn't just go away. But Kate, more than anything, I want you to live with me. It's the right time. Sure, it's faster than we might have expected but with Erin coming into our lives, it's right.' Dammit, he was being reasonable, the childish pout replaced by sincerity. 'And it's what I want,' he repeated, his body language screaming his reassurance. What more could she ask for?

But his words triggered another worry: her sneaking apprehension that his money put an imbalance in their relationship. Since he could afford everything and anything, did that mean he assumed he would always get to make decisions about how it was spent with regards to them? He had always been generous with his money but as he said he was used to being the one in control. Did his resistance to allow someone else a say in how the loft was decorated indicate a deeper intolerance to compromise? They had been thrust so harshly out of the honeymoon period that she hadn't been able to explore these things with him slowly. He had said she had to accept the fact of his wealth and it was okay to accept money from him, but they hadn't talked further about the reality of its potentially corrosive impact if they didn't come to a very open understanding. Not something she had ever had to confront in a relationship before.

'You're thinking, Kate Beckett. Tell me.' He covered her hand with his own paw.

'I…just don't want money…to be… awkward. Everything is still new with us. I don't want to make assumptions, but I also don't want to feel like… a guest.'

'I love to lavish you, you won't want for anything, you or Erin.'

'I get that, and you're sweet, but I need to know that I have a say. You know, having a very rich boyfriend isn't as easy as it looks, I need clarity.' Her other hand covered his.

'I know, you are a str-'

'If you say: 'strong, independent woman', I swear I-'

'No,' he squeaked with appalled exaggeration. 'I was going to say you're a, er a…a strangely different girlfriend to all my other girlfriends and wives who didn't seem to have any issues spending my money,' he said, pointing a finger at her triumphantly then completing their tower with his other hand. She had to credit him, he recovered from that one well.

'How about this: Erin and I will go to my place; she and I can choose some things to keep and together we can think about how to redecorate the loft? And we both will agree what goes and what stays, so our home reflects us both. I won't bulldoze you. Do you think you can handle that?'

'Yes, I can do that,' he said as if she had patronised him. She sighed, calming like a feather floating slowly back to earth. 'Kate,' he said more seriously. 'We're going to make this work. Just keep talking to me. I get it, money can be a sensitive subject, and you can't assume I know what you're thinking.'

Another more worrying thought suddenly occurred to her.

'If Erin gets a say then we ought to include Alexis. I know she's at college, but she's not moved out, it's still her home. When are you going to tell Alexis about Erin?'

'I guess there's no time like the present.'

'Do you think she'll be okay? With me? With Erin.'

'Honestly, I don't know. I want it to be sunshine and roses, that Alexis will be thrilled but that would be naïve. She's very possessive of me. She's always been fine about my girlfriends, those relationships never got in the way of our father daughter relationship, but we once had a second cousin stay for a week and Alexis was a mess. She bit her.

'Bit her!' She pulled her hands out, destroying the tower.

'Drew blood. It was a nasty time,' he said, staring wistfully into space. 'Well, she was three at the time, but it was feral and territorial.' Kate's face dropped; the last thing she wanted was to make Alexis feel unwelcome in her own home. She thought again that neither she nor Castle had experience with siblings themselves and both their daughters were only children. Blending together was going to be a challenge for them all.

xxx

Castle had decided to drive to Columbia to speak to Alexis there and then – he was going to take her out to dinner. Kate buzzed with the need to distract herself from her nerves. But she was also excited. The murder wouldn't be hanging over their heads. She is moving in with Castle, properly. Normally, she would have headed to the gym for an intensive workout, but she was too keen to show Erin her apartment, her world. The day had been so full of talking, of fears being unfounded, that she needed action, to do something concrete to mark the enormous changes the last week had brought.

At the loft, she discovered Erin and Martha wrapped in toga-sheets, gesticulating wildly in the main room, Erin's thick long hair messy and her cheeks a healthy pink. Clearly, she had thrown herself into Martha's world with abandon, currently standing on the couch with her arms aloft. It was a side to her that Kate hadn't yet had the privilege to witness. As Kate closed the door behind her, Erin jumped down.

'Hey,' she said, shyness closing in, bringing her arms into herself.

'Katherine, darling, your daughter is a wonder.' Of course, she is, Kate thought, uncontrollable pride surging through her. 'Such articulation, expression, enunciation!' Erin's cheeks coloured as she removed the toga, folded it neatly and placed it on the couch then tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeggings.

'Looks like fun,' she said, the pleasure at seeing Erin so free and energised stretching a smile to the point of discomfort.

'Martha, if you don't mind, I need to talk to Erin.'

'Of course, of course. Erin, dear, we'll pick this up another time.' She pointed at the girl. 'You have a talent, let's not waste it.' Martha collected the props and costumes that had spread across the floor.

'Everything okay?' asked Erin, tucking her hair behind both ears.

'Yes,' she breathed happily, walking into the kitchen. She poured them each a glass of apple juice. 'It's over, the men who committed the murder you witnessed are in custody.' Erin seemed pleased by the news though she wasn't quite as excited as Kate had imagined she would be, her smile in stark contrast to her drooping shoulders.

'Wow, that's amazing. Will I have to do a line-up?' she said, sliding onto a stool.

'Not at all. With any luck, there won't even be a trial. My colleagues Esposito and Ryan are working on getting a confession right now.' She leaned her elbows on the counter. 'What do you think about going over to my apartment and choosing some things to bring back here?'

Erin's face lit up then dropped into neutral. 'If you want,' she shrugged. Too late, Kate had already seen her enthusiasm and wasn't fooled by her faux nonchalance, something she was starting to recognise more and more. She wouldn't embarrass the girl by mentioning it; instead, she squirreled it away into her ever expanding knowledge file of her daughter.


A/N The original plan for this chapter was to include Kate and Erin's scene at Kate's apartment. But somehow I managed to hit 4500 words before even getting there (I blame Flirty Kate insisting on making an appearance, a reflection perhaps of how much season 5 and 6 I've consumed over the summer holidays). I figured I need to post this now otherwise this chapter will be another 4k words long making it far too unwieldy to keep on top of editing and it'll be another month before I post.

Thanks as ever for your kind reviews and follows/favourites.