American Crime Stories

Arc three, Chapter twenty five

CASTLE'S LOFT

Castle refilled Jordan and his glasses of wine. "So, you want to have that discussion now?" Rick said gingerly.

"What discussion?" Jordan said a bit absentmindedly.

"Well, there are a few things we probably should talk about."

"Such as?"

"Obviously, Bailey's job offer and what it would mean for us. And the fact about Sam and SSI."

Hearing those words, Jordan turned back to Rick. She had thought about all those things and hadn't paid too much attention about Rick for the last few minutes.
"Why didn't you tell me about that? I thought that you had far more skills than you normally let on. More than your expertise at the shooting range and on the bridge showed, but I…"

"But you didn't know to what extent." Castle finished the sentence. He took her hand. "The reasons I haven't told you about all that has nothing to do with you, Jordan." Castle could see that she didn't' quite believe him.

"Look, there a not a lot of people outside of SSI that know that I work or train with them. As you have seen earlier, even Bailey didn't know, and we have known each other for far longer than we do." Castle considered to tell her a little more, and decided to do so. "Even less people know about what I'm going to tell you now." Jordan looked at him interested, and a bit warily. Yes, she had thought that he had some hidden skills and was a bit wary about the exact skill set he seemed to have. She wasn't wary because of his training, but about the fact that she hadn't noticed it. That he had been able to hide that throughout the Dunn case and since the day he had called her for help in catching Tyson. She had thought that he may have used his connections to be allowed to shadow and train with S.W.A.T. a few times or something like that. But to have actually trained with SSI for years? That was a whole different thing. And it left her a bit uncomfortable, like she had been the day at the shooting range. The fact that he had outshot her made so much more sense now.

Anyway, she could see that he was considering confiding in her one of his secrets to appease her. That didn't sit well with her. Although they were dating, he had no obligation to tell her any of his secrets. "You don't have to tell me anything, Rick." Castle could see that Jordan meant it.

He sighed. "I know, but this is something you should know going forward. Not only because of the job offer, but for our relationship. Unlike in the past, I actually want to tell you. I'd have done so anyway, but not for a long while." He sighed again.

Jordan could see that he meant it. "Ok, Castle, spill it."

Castle thought about how to tell her the next bit of information and decided to be blunt, "There is more to tell about my connection to SSI. I's not that I just work and train with SSI, I am a part owner of the company."

Jordan looked at him shocked. That fat hadn't come up in any background check on him. She told him so.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me, for several reasons. It's a privately owned company and we also don't do government contracts. Both facts limit the knowledge about SSI. We also did our best to legally bury the fact that I'm a part owner as much as possible," Castle said unrepentantly. "I told you how I met the Steels. When Marcus' father Ted became sick with cancer, they spent most of their money for his treatment. Sadly, to no avail. When Ted died, the company had got in financial troubles. Hearing that, I had sat down with Marcus and offered him to lend him money. After a long discussion we decided that I would invest into the company. The rest is history."

"Wow, I have to congratulate you and Marcus for hiding that knowledge for all those years."

"Thanks," Castle replied. "Next, about Sam? There is no other reason than I didn't think about telling you that I know her. Although, we don't try to hide that we know each other, we don't advertise it either. Fortunately, most people have forgotten about Sam and her role in the whole 'Jack of all Trades' investigation. But there are still some people, especially in law-enforcement, who remember her. So, we try to keep it low-key, for her sake. She doesn't want to appear in the media again. It took her a while and Harm's persistency, to get back to a normal life. And as I said before, she helped me refine my way of profiling, so I owe her."

"You know, that makes me jealous. I know that I'm a very good profiler. But I'm more book smart and life smart. Dr. Waters though? Rumor was that she had a special way of profiling. That she was 'gifted'. I always wanted to meet her and pick her brain," Jordan confessed.

"You want to meet her?"

Jordan hesitated. "I do, but not if it is inconvenient for her."

"Don't worry, I don't think she'd mind. You would have met her anyway down the line." For a moment Jordan didn't understand what he meant. Then she realized that he meant their relationship. He saw it going on for a while. That thought warmed her heart. "Okay," she smiled, took his hand and squeezed it.

"So, about the job offer, or better, offers."

"I studied the work the VCTF had done the first time and it was impressive. They solved some very difficult cases and arrested some pretty dangerous people. Despite their difficulties with the brass and even Senate, the people involved had successful careers afterwards. Look at Bailey, he's the FBI Deputy Director. Last time I checked, the then Detective Grant went back to Atlanta P.D. and rose through the ranks to Major."

"Actually, he has been promoted to Deputy Chief not long ago," Castle told her and Jordan nodded. "It would be good for your career, not only with the direct promotion to SAC, but also in long-term," Castle stated.

"Definitely. Well, as long as I'd not screw up."

"No chance of that," Castle said without hesitation which earned him a kiss from Jordan. "But it would lead you away from the path you're on now. You are the SSA of the Major Crimes in New York, that's no small achievement so far. And you could rise up in the coming years even more, you said so yourself."

"That's true. But I really like the idea of heading a new VCTF."

"That's sounds to me like you have already decided to take the job."

Jordan was silent for a moment and said. "It seems so. Bailey was right, the only reason why I haven't taken any promotions or job offers outside of New York was Lacey. But she is old enough that she could spend a few days without me, as long as I can make suitably arrangements for her to stay."

"Normally, this were the part when I offer for her to stay with me. But if I decided to accept Baileys offer..."

"…you'd be away, too."

"Yeah. What do you think about that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think it is a good idea for me to work with you?"

"Do you mean me specifically or potentially work with the FBI in an official manner?"

Castle thought about her question, before answering, "Both actually."

Jordan was silent for a moment. They both knew that the answer wasn't as easy as they both would have liked. "Well, as I told you before, I know that you're very capable. And that was before I knew about SSI and Dr Waters. I think that you could be an asset. Good press coverage or not, Chief Reagan would not have allowed you to work at the 12th precinct if you hadn't been an asset. You told me so yourself, that you'd have stopped if he had asked you to."

"Yeah, I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"

"Rick…"

"Sorry."

"On a personal level it would be kind of strange working with someone you have feelings for. Then again, you worked with Beckett for years."

"Yeah, but I didn't have sex with her."

"So, you say," Jordan said with a smile, letting Castle know that she was kidding. "Let's be real for a moment, Rick. For someone who didn't go through the Police Academy, FLETC or Quantico, you have done well in the past. It seems quite clear that you are more than qualified for the job. You have the multiple years of hands-on experience with SSI and the 12th precinct. But more than that, I saw the look on your face when we were building theory during Dunn case and Tyson. You're natural at it. I've seen you people watching, and I hazard a guess and say that from the second you walk into a room you 'know' most people and their story. You like finding the clues, more than that, you see clues where nobody else sees them. And you enjoy questioning suspects. I bet it was hell for you to sit in the interrogation room and let Beckett do the work for years. Although you'd probably never say so out loud, I think that deep down you think you would have done equally good, if not even better than her in many cases. But you kept your silence and tried to hide your skills for obvious reasons," Shaw said.

Castle sighed. "Yeah, you're right about most of the things you just said. I'm not sure whether I've told you this before but I had plans to go to the Police Academy. As I said before, I will never regret becoming a writer. It has given me and my family the things I wanted in life. Things I didn't have growing up. It's provided a home for my daughter and me, and later even my mother. We have never needed for anything, and probably won't ever. However, I think there will always be a part of me that regrets not becoming a cop." Castle put his hand through his hair. "Despite what most people think, I didn't stay at the 12th only for Beckett. I also didn't need the research. Sure, I had a bit of writer block before I met her, but it was more of the fact that I was tired of doing the same thing over and over again. That's why I killed of 'Storm'. Meeting her sparked something in me and it allowed me to combine my writing and my wish to be a cop." Castle sighed. "You know, in my wildest dreams, I'd never thought I'd work for the police or even the FEDs in an official capacity." Well, outside the occasional work for certain spies, of course. "To be honest, the opportunity thrills and terrifies me at the same time."

"I understand the thrill, but why does it terrify you?"

"You know, as a tag along with Beckett, I had no official responsibilities, other than not hindering an investigation. The only pressure I had was the one I made myself in finding the killer. But I didn't have the brass or the media weighing down on me. I could play the role of goofy writer and help alleviate the stress for the others. To a certain degree, I could cherry pick the tasks I wanted to do."

"So, no paperwork for you?"

"Yeah, no paperwork for me." They both chuckled. "Seriously, if I were to join the VCTF, I couldn't be that person. I had official responsibilities. I don't know whether I can be that person."

Although Jordan understood what Rick was saying, she was surprised at how uncertain he sounded. "Rick, you told me you worked with SSI, doing profiles and other work. Not to mention all the cases you worked with Beckett. Sure, you didn't have to do paperwork but you helped the detectives in their work. That are real responsibilities, too. Why do you think you couldn't do that in another capacity?"

Castle thought about his work with the CIA. He could do the job. The question was whether he should? Rick was sure that Alexis would be against it. "That's not exactly right. I know I can be that person, but I don't know whether I want to be that person full-time. I'm sure Alexis won't like it. She didn't like me following Beckett, because it put me in danger. But joining the FBI as an official consultant to find violent killers? I can't see that going over so well with her."

Jordan was silent for a moment and thought about what Rick had said. She knew that it was different for her and Lacey. Her daughter had grown up knowing that her mother was catching bad people and that she could get hurt. They had talked about those facts multiple times. Jordan knew that Lacey was very proud of her and her work. However, Alexis grew up very differently. Despite her father's work as a mystery writer and her work at the Medical Examiner's office, Alexis had grown up much more sheltered. Her father had been all she had, as her mother was pretty much non-existent in her life, and her grandmother had only come to be a fix point when she had been in her teens. But now she was an adult, off to college. "Rick, Alexis is an adult know. God forbid, but if anything were to happen to you, she would be old enough to live her life on her own. I'm sure that if you sit down with her and tell her about your dreams and skills, that she'll understand. I'm sure you've never done that before, have you?"

"No, no I did not. I guess, I let her think the same things as others. That I did a bit of research here and there and that I worked at the 12th only for Beckett."

"Okay, why don't we talk with Lacey and Alexis later?"

"Sure, why not. Better sooner than later." Yeah, he was so not looking forward to that conversation.

Later that evening, all the Castle's had dinner together with the Shaw's. It had become a regular event that even Martha would attend regularly. Rick had told Jordan that the times the three of them had dinner together had become less frequent in the past years, as each of them were very busy with their own lifes. Normally it was only Rick and Alexis, and even that wasn't a daily occurrence anymore. He had told her how happy he was to spend those family times together. It had taken her a few seconds to understand what he was saying, that he was including her and Lacey, but it had warmed her heart and she had shown her appreciation accordingly. Both had been very happy afterwards.

"So, listen ladies, Jordan and I have something we want to talk to you about." Rick could see that his mother's eyes went to Jordan's ring finger and inwardly rolled his eyes. "No, mother. Jordan and I are not getting married." Hearing those words the others turned to Martha just in time to see her disappointment. Jordan had to hold back a smile at the clear disappointed look on Martha's face. She looked to her daughter and was surprised to see the same disappointment. Oh, maybe it was time to talk to her more about her relationship with Rick.

"Then what is it you want to talk about, dad?"

"This morning, Bailey Malone came to visit us."

"Who's that?" Lacey asked.

"Oh right, unlike Alexis, you haven't met him. Bailey is the Deputy Director of the FBI. He offered both us a job."

"But mom, you already work for the FBI," Lacey said, not understanding.

"Yes, honey, but he did offer me another job which would include a promotion." Hearing those words Lacey was instantly out of her seat. She ran to her mother and hugged her. "A promotion? That's so cool, mom. Congratulations."

"Yes, darling, congratulations," Martha joined in.

"Yes, Jordan, congratulations," Alexis said, meaning it. She liked the other woman very much and was happy for her. She turned to her father, "And he offered you to follow Jordan, Dad?"

"No, Alexis. He actually offered me a job as official consultant for the task force Jordan will head."

Rick and Jordan waited for the other three to process the news. Rick watched his daughter closely and could immediately see her apprehension.

"Dad, what is it you want from us?"

Rick looked at his daughter. "I'd like your opinion. This would affect your life, too."

Alexis looked at her dad, internally struggling. She wanted to tell him that he was crazy, that he wasn't a cop. That he was a writer and that following Beckett around didn't mean he could actually do her job. After Beckett's shooting she had been angry, an anger born out of fear of loss of her father. But talking with her grams had helped her to understand that her father wasn't just standing up in the middle of the night, working all hours of the day and putting himself in danger just to be with Beckett or out of morbid fascination. It might have started for those reasons, but it had turned into something more. He was doing it out of some duty and, of course, to catch the killers. Despite the running joke in the family that she was the mature one who had raised her childlike father, they all knew better. Her father had many different skills. She knew that first hand because he had taught her many things and encouraged her in learning other skills.

He was a world-renowned writer and a surprisingly successful business man. She had known that her dad was investing his money, as he had kept her informed about that part of life regularly. However, as it turned out, it had mostly been superficial information. It had been quite the shock when they had sat down a few days after her 18th birthday and he had informed her in detail about their financial affairs. She had known that they were rich, obviously. But she had not known that they were RICH! That was the day when she had come to understand that her father was a brilliant man. It had caused her to sit down and think about many things. Her talks with her grams had helped her to understand a few things better about her father, things she had to promise not to tell him that she knew. For example, that he had wanted to become a cop. That had caused her to think about the time her father had been working at the 12th precinct. She had realized that her father was actually pretty good at what he was doing. The other detectives hadn't come out and told her that, but she could see it. There was a reason her dad was allowed to follow them around for a prolonged time. The fact that a FBI Deputy Director was offering him an official job was an obvious indication how good her father actually was. She looked at her father and could see the apprehension. They both knew that she had not been as supportive of his work with the police as she could have been, even though they had only a few discussions about that. One of the reasons was the danger he had been in and she was smart enough to realize that any investigation a FBI Agent of Jordan's caliber would be more dangerous. But then again, Bailey would know that and in turn would also know that her father could handle it. Something to talk to him about at a later time, she thought.

"Look, dad. We both know that I wasn't the greatest fan of your prolonged work with the 12th precinct, especially after Beckett was shot. But you obviously know what you're doing, otherwise Bailey would not have offered you the job. Or Jordan would never allow you to work with her." Jordan decided to remain silent, so she just nodded her agreement.

"In the past, you have always had my back and let me make my own decision, even when you thought they were wrong. So, I want you to do what you think is best for you and what you want to do."

Castle stood up, walked to his daughter and wrapped her in a big hug. "I love you, pumpkin," he told her silently.

"Love you, too, dad."

"So, Richard, why don't you tell us more about your new job?" Martha asked.