Coming Out or Going In
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: From a fan prompt (Castle was lent out to Robbery temporarily to work cold cases while Demming is on suspension. Lead Detective Joy Park, a woman with a big secret causes friction between our couple. COMPLETELY AU, Some Scenes and events used to enhance the story,
I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only, except the ones I create.
Also, we take MANY liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events from other Canon episodes to make this a more believable fiction, thanks.
Chapter 2
NYPD Robbery Division
Monday, 3:00 PM
/_/
Rick and Joy could hear Roy all the way in the lobby, he was letting loose, and as they climbed the stairs, waiting for the right moment to walk on to the floor, Roy caught sight of them.
"Now, I've just told you gentleman the way it's going to be, if there's any doubt let me introduce your new CO, my second in command for Robbery, Lead Detective Joy Park, accompanied by Special Consultant, reporting directly to me, Rick Castle. These two people carry the same weight in their words as mine do, so I would strongly suggest you listen, and listen well. I have asked for performance reviews on the entire staff monthly, the job you save may be your own.
"Detective Park would you come and assume command of your force, please" Roy stated,
"It would be an honor Captain", she marched forward, snapped a salute to the Captain, spun, and called out ATTEN HUN."
It took a while to register but finally, the 8 detectives rose to their feet and stood at different degrees of attention.
Roy looked over and said, "Good Luck Detective, but remember, the next bunch of recruits graduates in 4 weeks from the Academy, fire any one of these you need to, it's now your department," he saluted and turned and walked past Rick to the elevator and took it up to homicide.
Javi had been listening in the stairwell, he thought he would hear his footsteps and have time to get back to his desk, but he was wrong. By the time he had reached homicide, Roy was waiting for him, and barked "Beckett, my office now, with this idiot"
Kate rolled her eyes, Javi had said he was going for coffee, and she hadn't checked on him, and now the Captain had busted him snooping on what was going on in the Robbery Division, he was not a happy camper.
They marched into Roy's office, he still pissed off from this morning, and once again, the door slammed.
"Do you want to tell me just what the hell you were doing between floors on the staircase Esposito?" Roy spit out,
"Sir, I wasn't thinking, I hear loud voices and I went to investigate" Espo came back with the first thing he could think of, "Espo tried to soft-sell his nosey behavior
"Try another lie Esposito and your one-week suspension will go to a month," Roy said almost with a fire in his eye,
"Sir, I was being nosy and trying to find out how the new detective is connected to Castle Sir, apparently they have a past relationship, Sir" Esposito confessed
"Well, isn't that just dandy, you are getting paid to investigate murders and you are wasting taxpayer dollars trying to find out if the new detective hired has a connection to your associate Castle? Well, I'll take that as a dereliction of duty, you're suspended without pay for two weeks, and will forfeit one review cycle for reviews, raises and promotions, dismissed" Roy turned and took out his flask,
Esposito staggered out of the Captain's office shocked that he had even been yelled at much less suspended, two weeks, and he lost his review cycle meaning his next chance at a raise was almost two years away.
Roy Looking up noticed that Beckett was still in the room,
"Why are you still here Detective, did I not make myself clear?" Roy was still hot
"Sir, I would ask that you reconsider the two-week suspension, Sir, we all know how Javi is, and without Castle, I really can't be down two people," Kate responded
"I'm glad you brought that up, I got my ass handed to me at One PP with all of the letters you had written claiming unfair process, and you were being subjected to a hostile work environment, really, you're a cop, not an Ice Cream clerk. So, One PP has agreed to your requests, Castle would have been gone whether he was with Robbery or not, I had two weeks to find a new home for him, so thank you for that." Roy looked at her for the first time with true anger,
"Sir, I mean yes, I wrote the letters but Sir, those go back two years, I mean things changed, Castle changed and Sir, he was a vital part of my team so I did count on him to help keep our closure rate high, an official position or not, he added a lot of value." Kate pleaded, shocked that they were going to remove Castle because of some letters she wrote when she was angry.
"Well, it's too bad you didn't write retractions to those letters, as far as One PP is concerned, they expect a higher closure rate from you now that they have removed the pest, and freed you from the hostile work environment, so good luck with that Detective. Manage your team better and you aren't getting any more resources so you and Ryan better move some beds in, you have a lot of work to do."
"Sir, I understand we screwed up, but can I ask one question" Kate started,
"Not about Castle, Joy, or their history, what else is on your mind Detective?"
"Nothing Sir, thank you,"
"Dismissed, Roy barked and Kate had gone from where she didn't think things could get worse to how much worse can they get, she was in trouble and she knew it.
She saw the look of shock on Ryan's face as Javi's chair was turned over,
"What happened Kate, why is Javi suspended?" Ryan asked,
"Well, he won't be the only one if we don't get this case solved, for the next two weeks we are on 12-hour shifts, tell Jenny I'm sorry but no days off, 14 days we have to bring some of these cases to closure." Kate walked away to control her emotions.
What started off to be just another day trying to get Castle to open up and be back to himself had gone off the rails big time. She had planned on asking him out to lunch just the two of them, but of course, the boys just assumed and joined them. She needed to talk to Rick, she knew his feelings were hurt, and she didn't blame him, but more than that, she wanted to see if he might still have an interest in her. Well, that got answered really quickly today when supermodel Joy and her perfect completion showed up.
What the hell was he doing kissing her, he wasn't supposed to do that in the precinct, OK, OK, officially once in Roy's office, the other time was on the steps walking up to the precinct, but still, he knew how bad that hurt.
Then she heard her conscience, of course, he knows how much it hurt even though he didn't know you could see, unlike your experiences. He felt it every time you did it, with Sorensen, with Demming, what do you expect him to do, he's a writer, not a priest, you can't expect him to be celibate while you decide what flavor of the month you want.
She thought to herself, she had to get it together and let Castle know once and for all how she felt if she wasn't too late already. The way he greeted Joy, and she returned the hug and kiss, there was a history between them, she wasn't sure when but she could tell, all women can tell.
XxX
Robbery Division
Same Time Frame
"Hi Guys, my name is Detective Joy Park, and I'm not a rookie at this, I've been at it a while. When I call your name, I would like for you to stand up and tell me a little about how you think we can increase closure rates, and how can I help you. I have to admit also I have the results from your physical exams and some of you guys will be hitting the gym starting today. OK first up is Detective Hernandez, you have 5 minutes to speak and 12 pounds you must lose in the next month. Go"
Hernandez stood to his feet, openly angry for being singled out for being overweight, and started to say they needed faster response times for fingerprints and crime scene processing. The ability to enter more detailed information, the report forms made the report conform to a number of characters, not fit the scene of the crime,"
"Show me please," Joy asked as Hernandez demonstrated the computer limitations,
"OK, how do you do them when the system is down or you can't connect to wi-fi" Joy asked,
"We used to use these hand sheets, back then we had clerical help to have them entered once the system came up, we lost our admin and it just fell on us," He lamented
"Why did you lose your Admin, did she leave or was she let go?" Joy asked,
"Well, she ran off with the wife of one of the guys who transferred out, who knew such a beautiful lady was a fucking dyke, begging your pardon," He laughed and then saw the red face on her. Joy counted to ten, then replied,
"OK, since I can't hire an admin, Hernandez, you have that duty now until the next person screws up, you will input the reports of the rest of the Detectives, and one more word to the wise, never use a homophobic word on my floor again, or you're going to wind up in HR, are we clear?"
"What? I don't think it's fair, and I will appeal it to my Union Rep, also you can't make me lose weight, I have rights," He spit out,
"Yes, by all means, please contact your Union Rep, I'm not forcing you to lose weight, I'm forcing you to meet the minimum standards for Body Fat Index as prescribed in your physical condition section clause of employment, which you probably never read. You're the admin Hernandez, if you don't lose the weight, you will be placed on involuntary medical leave which gives you zero dollars pay, your choice. Like I said guys, I'm not a rookie at this"
"Wilson, you're next, and I suggest you all learn to speak as if you were in church, you never know who you are offending with your slurs." Joy admonished,
If the guys thought they were going to railroad the new chick that was placed over them they had another thing coming, and Joy didn't take long to make her mark on the attitude as well as respect.
She continued through the remainder of the detectives, with each person becoming more aware, she was the boss and would take action if needed. By the time they were complete, they had three cold cases assigned to begin working for those that had been 'assisting others on active cases' code for screwing off.
She also asked to meet with Tori Ellis, the IT Director who had just come on board a few months previously. She wanted to automate the reporting, taking the paperwork away from her team as much as possible and had some ideas from her time in New Jersey.
"Just one more thing," she said after the detectives had thought the meeting was over, "Roll Call is at 8:00 AM, anyone not here will be considered late, docked pay, and the attendance forwarded to HR. As you know, tardiness earns you a way out of here as fast as any other offense, so be on time. That doesn't mean in the building, it means at your desk ready to work. Are we clear Gentlemen?" Joy waited, got a few mumbles,
"I said ARE WE CLEAR? We can have another meeting on the regulations if you guys want, but you better get those cases closed, so once again I ask, are we clear?"
This time there was a loud chorus of "We're clear, or Yes, Clear"
Rick had been sitting in the back taking it all in, he was the consultant, but Joy handled herself as well if not better than Beckett could have, no man was going to walk over her. Hernandez was being made fun of by the other Detectives, and had accumulated about a dozen treats from the snack machines, from candy bars, potato chips, and all kinds of cupcakes, with the note, "12 pounds ADMIN."
Joy walked over to him, and saw him smiling, "I take it you approved, and I wasn't too rough on them" Joy asked,
"Not in the least, to find out 5 of them aren't even on a case and just playing solitaire on their computers, they're lucky they didn't get fired. I called Tori, invited her to dinner to talk about your thoughts, hope that was OK?" Rick said softly,
"It's fine, I didn't realize it was already that time. Where are we going for dinner, Remy's? She asked,
"No, remember, that's the cops place, I thought we would try a place that I love, The Old Haunt" Rick said, "Nothing special just good bar food,"
"Sounds perfect, Rick thanks" Joy replied as a very attractive fit female walked up to them,
"Detective Park? I'm Torri Ellis, the IT Director here, Rick, I mean Mr. Castle said you wanted to meet and he was arraigning dinner," as she stuck out her hand,
"Nice to meet you, Torri, please call me Joy, Rick and I go back away, so you can relax around him. I wanted to run some ideas about automating some of the paperwork the guys are doing to see if we could spend some more time actually working on cases." As she returned the firm handshake, she thought there was a time but she could tell Torri didn't swing that way.
Rick walked up, "I see you've met, sorry I stepped away but we're all set for dinner. Torri, how does the Haunt sound, we can use the backroom for quiet,"
Torri smiled, I never need an excuse to go to your bar Rick, you know I love it, so much history, atmosphere, and that picture of you when you were so cute writing the first Storm book" she laughed,
"Hey, I'm still cute" he laughed,
"You own a bar, Rick?" Joy asked,
"Long story I'll tell you on the way over, Torri are you riding with us in our cab, or do you need a few minutes?" Rick asked,
"Give me ten minutes, I have to shut down some programs and I'll see you there, go ahead and order Rick, you know what I love" she smiled, and headed back to her office,
Joy was looking at Rick watching Torri walk away, he turned to see her questioning look on her face,
"No, Joy, never. She's a beautiful woman but she's too young for me, no harm in admiring a beautiful woman, even if there wasn't the other issue." Rick said,
"What issue would that be Rick?" Joy said,
"DUH, we work together, is it all coming back to you now" he laughed as they headed down the stairs, it was 5:20 PM and had been a good day, well for some.
Kate saw them exit the elevator and hurried to try to catch up, then she saw them both laugh and get into a cab together and just stopped, turned around, and returned to her desk. She had already told Kevin it would be a late night, so she ordered a pizza to be delivered and returned to her desk. All of her thoughts were in a cab headed somewhere in New York,
"So, tell me about this bar you own Rick, how did that come about? I know you drink, but not to the extent of needing your own watering hole," she poked him and smiled,
"That's rich coming from the girl who lost her underwear, and had to borrow a pair of my boxers to get home after a party, I found them by the way. Your panties, I mean, you had put them in the dishwasher instead of the washing machine, you were really bombed" Rick laughed,
"Don't you dare tell that story, Rick, I swear, I have secrets on you as well," as they both laughed,
"I've missed this Rick, the old days when it didn't matter who was engaged to who just friends sitting and laughing with friends, thanks for taking me back there even if it was only for a little while", she noticed the cab had stopped.
Rick helped out of the cab, the gentleman as always, and entered the Haunt as they called it. He noticed Bryan, his manager and bartender talking to an obviously inebriated patron, he took a step closer and noticed it was Esposito, who was now getting mouthy with Bryan, a man twice his size and former Golden Gloves Boxing champion, Javi would have been squashed like a bug.
"I got this Bryan, Hey Espo, time to go home, Bryan is going to call you a cab, you can pick up your car tomorrow when you sober up," Rick said softly, trying to avoid conflict with the cop. Javi wanted to fight and began to cuss everyone, including Joy, he got out the word bitch, before he was knocked on his ass, and out cold."
"Call Detective Ryan, Bryan, see if he wants to collect him, or if we should just call the 54th to pick him up for causing a disturbance," Rick said,
"Will do Rick, a hell of a right hand there boss, I didn't even know you had it in you." He smiled,
"Well Bryan, it takes a bit, but, anyway, I wanted to introduce you to a good friend of mine Detective Joy Park. She's heading up robbery division at the 12th and she gets the same privileges every cop gets, OK?"
"Great to meet you, Detective, I'm Bryan, Rick's manager here, and sure thing boss" he shook Joy's hand then dialed Detective Ryan's phone.
"Ryan" he answered, as Kate looked on, then saw his face turn colors,
"No Bryan, don't call the 54th, we'll be down to pick him up, you keep his keys, OK? Could I ask, who knocked him out?"
Kate had walked towards Ryan and could hear both sides of the conversation, "I guess he called the new Detective, Joy a bitch, well that's as far as he got before Rick landed a right hand that put him out, he's OK, going to have a sore jaw, and an awful headache. You got a half an hour, to come to pick him up before we call the patrol at the 54th, so come get him, and when he sobers up, tell him he's banned from the Haunt. It takes a lot to piss Rick off enough to raise his voice, but I have never seen him hit anyone, especially like that. 30 Minutes, Kevin, sorry." he hung up
"I'm sorry Kate, but I got to get him, he's my partner, even when he's an asshole" Kevin apologized,
"Come on Kevin, you'll need help, I'll tell him he's banned when he sobers up, so let's go, this has been one day from hell."
TBC
A/N I'm not trying to pit Rick vs. Kate in this, just trying to write to honor the request. If you think Beckett is getting the short end, just refer to Canon, I'm just trying to show the jealous side that will hopefully wake her up, Esposito getting his butt kicked was for Barry, by request.