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 3
The Haunt
20 Minutes Later
/_/
Kevin had sat in the seat that Kate was so accustomed to seeing Rick sitting in, she had to take a breath and realize, it was over, at least for now.
"I'm sorry Kate, I know this is the last we need, but if the 54th pick him up, he's done for. Montgomery is already gunning for him, and this would just give him the probable cause he needs to fire him." Kevin said as he looked out the window,
"I get it Kev, he's pissed, at what I don't know but he can't keep coming to work and acting like a dick, he's not Mr. Macho, and he sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. Joy Park, whatever her relationship with Castle has been selected to run robbery, that's the captain's choice. Javi has to learn to let things go or I'm afraid if he crosses paths with Joy, she will have his badge. We can only protect him so long, don't lose your future in it, Kev, I mean it." Kate was dishing out some tough love, but Kevin knew she was right.
They pulled up to the Haunt, and parked in a No Parking zone, Kate tossed her Police ID on the dashboard to avoid any tickets. They walked into the bar, and Bryan spotted them immediately. As he made his way over to them, they noticed Javi, still out cold, propped against the wall with a chair for his feet, and his arms duct-taped behind him. Kate and Kevin met Bryan at the table with looks of concern
"Why the hell is he bound like this Bryan?" Kate asked,
"Because he came to, and started challenging everyone in the bar, swinging his hands wildly until he walked into the wall and knocked himself out again, Rick said to restrain him, and if you didn't show up to call the Paddy Wagon for the drunk tank at the 54th. Look I'm sorry, he's acted on his high horse in here before but nothing like this, Rick made the call to duct tape him before he hurt himself or someone else" Bryan said,
Where is Rick, the booth reserved for the 12th is empty, has he already gone?"
"No, he Torri and Joy have the private dining room in the back, they're having a business meeting, and don't want to be disturbed," Bryan said,
"Business meeting? Yeah I bet" Kate mumbled under her breath
Kevin had been quiet up to this point, but he could tell Kate was getting pissed off, so he stepped in,
"Bryan, thanks for not calling them, and giving us a chance at taking care of him, do you have his keys?" Kevin asked,
"Sure thing, one second" as he walked away, Kevin turned to Kate,
"What's got you so pissed off, Javi, or the fact that Rick is having a private dinner with two attractive females? Your anger is all over your face Kate, you better check it before you screw it up for Javi"
"Bryan, would you tell Rick I would like to see him for a moment please?" Kate tried to put on her nice face, without a lot of success,
"Sorry Detective, he already told me that and I quote "If Beckett asks to speak to me, tell her I'll be at the precinct tomorrow, just get Javi out of my bar before I have to take it to the next level. There's nothing to talk about, we're not pressing charges, yet" Bryan quoted
"Not pressing charges? What do you mean Bryan, what charges?" Kate asked,
"Detective Joy answered that one, she said conduct unbecoming of an NYPD cop, assault in the third degree, and public intoxication," Bryan replied,
"Rick wouldn't press charges, he's one of us, Javi is his friend," Kate said a lot more hostile than she meant,
"He really has no choice Detective, he's giving him a break as it is, he's supposed to under New York laws for establishments dispensing alcohol report any behavior like this to the local precinct, especially if it is a public official, to avoid the hint of collusion with the cops," Bryan said,
"So, you won't let him know I'm here?" Kate asked one more time,
"Not when he gives me orders to do not disturb, I'm very sorry Detective" he saw Kevin struggling to get Javi on his feet, he walked over picked him up, put him over his shoulder, and asked, "where's the car?" as he walked out the door Javi draped over his shoulder.
Kevin and Kate followed Bryan, as he tossed Javi into the backseat and they entered the car silently and drove away. Kate still fuming that he had left orders not to be disturbed when he knew damn well, she would come and need to talk to him.
"Kate, let it go. Rick isn't wrong to do this you know, and if he's in a meeting with his new partner then we should respect their wishes for privacy."
"She's not his new partner Kevin" Kate spit out,
"Whatever you say, I think you may want to call Lanie unless you want to babysit his ass all night, I'm going home to get a few hours sleep. He's already hurt the team enough" Kevin said a little sharper than Kate was accustomed to hearing. They struggled but finally got Espo on his feet and into his apartment, it took almost twenty minutes, and when he was secured on his own couch, Kevin looked at Kate,
"Stay here all night if you wish, but I'm going home, see you tomorrow" and he was out the door flagging down a cab,
Kate thought for a minute then finally called Lanie, to let her know if she even cared. These two were more complicated than a game of Chinese Checkers, one-minute hot as hell the next Lanie claiming to hate him.
Reaching for her cell phone just as it rang,
"Beckett" was the sharp reply given,
"Kate, it's me, do you have him, Bryan called from the bar, we had a fight and he went out of the morgue steaming muttering half in English, half in Spanish, but I finally heard that he had been suspended about an hour ago. He said that you and Kevin were picking him up before Rick had him hauled away by the 54th Drunk Tank, what the hell is going on Kate?"
"OK Lanie, let's take this one question at a time, yes Kevin just left, but we got Javi home he's passed out on his couch now. He was suspended by being nosey and trying to figure out how Castle is connected to the new Lead Detective in Robbery, I mean we all saw him pick her up, hug and kiss her when she first arrived.
"Roy got pissed earlier when One PP hammered him on closure rates for the precinct, it doesn't matter that homicide has the highest in the city, robbery is far behind so he got hammered pretty bad. Then Javi pulled the stunt trying to figure out how Detective Joy Park fit in, it's obvious she and Castle are close.
"Roy even transferred Rick to robbery to help out, since he lost the two detectives, and Demming made it official he's back at the 54th when his suspension is up. They were at the Haunt, along with Torri for a quote "Business Meeting" unquote, and Rick left word with Bryan not to interrupt him, even if I asked to see him, he just said he'll be at the precinct tomorrow.
"He's never had a business meeting before, and I think he just doesn't want to see me, or talk to me about, well a lot of things. I mean, he hasn't been the same since he's come back, he's serious all of the time, and when I asked him his opinion, he threw the I'm not a cop barb that Demming, Javi, and I blistered him with before he left last summer. He was polite, he's always been that, but he just doesn't want to talk to me, I mean things have changed.
"And now One PP is acting on some stupid letters I wrote two years ago, claiming I was working in a hostile environment, and being forced to work with a civilian pest against my will, well now they told Roy to remove him from my team, and my closures are supposed to go up, how the hell they figured that I have no idea."
"Kate, aren't you dating that stockbroker guy, Trey, or something like that? Why are you so interested in talking to Rick now? Hell, you practically fucked Demming in front of him last year, is there any wonder he doesn't want any more of that? "Lanie asked, not showing any mercy
"Lanie I did not, how dare you say that, I mean we made out on the stairway a couple of times, and the guy I'm dating is Troy Steinberg, and yes he's a stockbroker. What about it?"
"Un-huh, that's your story so stick with it, look I'm five minutes from Javi's you better get out of there before he wakes up, he's a mean SOB, anything I need to tell him?" Lanie asked, making Kate wonder was it Javi or Lanie that didn't want her there when she arrived,
"OK, whatever he's your mess now, but when he's sober tell him his free drinks are gone, he's banned from the Haunt, and Bryan will throw his ass out, or call the 54th so he would be wise to heed this. Lanie tell him to get his act together, Kevin is already pissed and I can't blame him, we're pulling 12-14-hour shifts since he got suspended. Talk to you later" she hung up, and headed for her car, she waved as she was pulling out as Lanie rushed from the cab up the walk, throwing a feeble wave her way.
XxX
At the Haunt, Brian advised Rick that Espo had been picked up by Kate and Kevin, and just as he predicted she had wanted to see him.
"Boss, you called it, Detective Beckett got snippy when I told her what you said, I mean I've seen her in moods before but tonight she came out more aggressive than I've ever seen her," Brian said to Rick in private,
"Don't worry about it Bryan, she's fond of the boys as she calls her team, so she probably was pissed we bound his arms to keep him from hurting himself or others, I'll take care of it. Are the food orders done yet, and we could do with another pitcher of beer" he said?
"Coming right up boss"
"Well Rick, this is really nice, I mean it beats the hell out of sitting in some office at the precinct going over these ideas, as she bit into her mushroom burger,
"Joy, some of your ideas are really easy fixes, maybe two to three days max of effort on my part, but due to the budget, we need to get Roy's approval. I like the freeform report form, if that is approved, the Detectives can just speak into the device and it corrects the punctuation, and spelling of the words, which will be a great help in searches and compiling data for statistics the mayor always wants." Torri said, then tore into her Nacho's and plain burger.
"I don't think it's going to be a problem Joy, I know a guy" Rick laughed, as he started on his cheeseburger combo,
"You and your guys, one of these days, I'm going to figure out how many guys you actually know, this has been going on since college or before. I want to ask you, was that rumor of you putting a cow on the roof in high school true?" Joy asked as Torri looked on in sheer terror,
"Well, it wasn't me, or my idea, but I took the fall since I was the scholarship kid, and it was my contact who got old Bessie up there without any accidents," Torri almost spit her food out, she is laughing so hard now, Joy was laughing so hard her tears were streaking her makeup,
After a few minutes, Joy composed herself, and said, "Torri, thank you so very much for joining us last minute, this has been great and a very productive meeting. I'll meet with Roy and get the signoff you need; you can prioritize whatever order you feel appropriate with your staff." She said,
"Great Joy, I finally get an opportunity to show what I can do, up to now it's been that's not how we do it, or we never did it that way before, so disheartening to see them go through needless work, but they didn't want to listen to the woman. I'm glad you're here Joy, I look forward to working with you to streamline the department." Torri was smiling, she was truly happy to be doing something to improve working conditions,
"Well, I don't want to be the killjoy but tomorrow isn't that far away, and I think we all need some sleep, so Torri, thanks for coming, do you need a ride home, I have the car service coming for us," Rick said,
"How sweet Rick, thank you. I don't like taking cabs this late, so I appreciate it." She said
"No problem, David will drop you off first then Joy and I will go to the loft, she's staying with us until she gets settled in from the move from Jersey," Rick added the explanation,
"Not my business Rick, but I'm glad Joy is with friends, moving can be lonely, I know when I moved to Arizona, I didn't know anyone, it was scary," Torri said,
"When did you do that Torri? I always pictured you a New York girl, never willing to move" Rick asked,
"Well, when I got engaged, it was a long time ago, and I don't talk about it too much, since it obviously fell through," Torri said quietly,
"Well, he was a fool Torri, but I'm glad you're home, we need you here," Rick said,
"Has he always been this sweet Joy? I thought it was a big come on at first, you know hitting on the new girl, but he hasn't changed, still treats me the same and always kidding me."
"Well, I can tell you this, he had a lot of friends in college, of both sex, some were straight, some were gay, some were bi, it didn't matter, all he saw was the person, so yes, what you're seeing is the real Rick, he can't be a phony, his heart is too big" she tiptoed up and kissed his cheek,
"I will add, there is and never has been anything between us except a fierce friendship that has lasted through some very tough times on both sides," she smiled,
"Not my business, but I could tell you too are more than associates, it's almost like, well, family?" Torri asked,
"That would be a good way to put it, she's going home to talk all night with Alexis, probably about the dumb things I used to do," Rick laughed, and helped Joy into her jacket, then assisted Torri the same way. His phone buzzed, "Our chariot awaits us ladies shall we go" he smiled
On the way out, he gave Bryan the thumbs-up sign to signify the room was clear and could be cleaned now, Bryan smiled and saluted him, then gave him the thumbs-up sign as they reached to door.
XxX
12th Precinct Next Morning
Homicide Floor, 6:00 AM
Kate hadn't slept well so she decided to give up around 4:30 and come into the station to get some paperwork done while it was still quiet. She was surprised when she walked in with her coffee at 6:00 AM to see Kevin already hard at work, running financials on a potential lead.
"Good Morning Kevin, what brings you into work so early?" she asked,
"I talked to Rick last night, he had an idea about the case, I thought about it, and couldn't sleep so I came in to see if I could prove or throw it out. I don't know how he does it, but he was right, that restaurant that the Mother and Daughter, Mrs. Casillas went to doesn't have a liquor license yet, they said they had a glass of wine that the mother went out to purchase.
"Here's the receipt, look at the time stamp and the items, an ice pick, and the time was six hours before the dinner, meaning Mrs. C had time to sneak in and stab the psychic and make it back to dinner without suspicion,"
"Call the uniforms, bring her in," Kate barked,
Two hours later they had the case solved, the wife had killed her husband, and went to the psychic to appease her daughter, when she thought the psychic was going to out her for poisoning her husband, she killed her as well, so not only did they solve one murder but two.
"How the hell does he do it?" Kevin asked as they were leading the wife away to processing, "even when he's not here he still comes up with these wild ass guesses as Javi called them, pure speculation per your evaluation, and yet we just solved two murders." Kevin said as he stood and walked away, not happy that his friend and mentor had left the team.
"How does he do it indeed?" Kate mumbled to herself, as she cleaned the murder board.
XxX
Robbery Division
7:30 AM
Joy had indeed spent most of the night in girl talk with Alexis, the two were like sisters and the giggles and sounds coming from her room went on far past Alexis's normal bedtime. Rick thought for sure she would be oversleeping but to his surprise, he exited his bedroom after a shower and shave, to see a complete breakfast laid out.
"Joy, what time did you get up? I'm glad you feel at home but you didn't have to go to all this bother, I mean Alexis usually has some cereal and maybe an egg, thank you this looks like a breakfast buffet"
"You know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, without it I would never be able to skip lunch as many times, well as I used to do" noticing the frown on Rick's face,
"Good Morning Joy, how did you sleep, I'm sorry I kept you up yacking most of the night," Alexis pipped in as a welcome diversion,
They had a hurried breakfast and arrived at the precinct around 7:25 AM, plenty of time for Joy to be present for Roll Call, as Rick began reading notes from one of the cold cases selected to work on, it was a jewelry heist, from twenty years ago, updated with a murder of a bail bondsman just two years ago, supposedly for the hidden jewels but they still remained missing.
He read through the report with interest, at blinding speed until he came across a name that sent shivers down his spine. He re-read the file, again, and slower but the name was still there as a suspect for the heist, an inside job, the name was, Mike Royce, NYPD 12th precinct.
TBC