September 26, 2016

"Are they here yet?"

Kevin Ryan looked over his shoulder, watching his partner scoop up another pile of paperwork and attempt to restore order to Kate Beckett's once-clean desk. Gates had left things spotless on her final day, but in the weeks since then, casework and actually running the joint had caught up with Esposito. Until he'd started his warp-speed clean up, the place had looked a little like a tornado had blown through.

"Not yet. Desk sergeant said he'd text me when they walk in, give us a heads-up."

"Good. You got the banner too?"

"LT put it up half an hour ago. While you were drowning in requisitions."

Esposito snorted. "Yeah, thanks for that. You know, you wanted the promotion, too. How come you didn't help me out with some of this stuff?"

Kevin smirked, turning back to watch the hall anyway, in case Beckett and Castle had snuck in the back or something.

"You never asked."

"For that, when you need an escape for man time, you can call your brother-in-law Nelson."

"Cold." He grinned anyway. "You know, Nelson's actually not that bad anymore. He might actually be fun to hang out with."

"You would say that."

"Just being honest."

His phone buzzed in his pocket. "Oh, oh, that's them. They're here. It's as clean as it's ever gonna get, come on."

"Ah, just one more thing," Javi stalled, spinning in place. "Here."

He resituated two of Beckett's desk ornaments. "Okay, we're good. Let's do this."

They stumbled out of Beckett's office, calling an announcement to the rest of the bullpen.

"Everybody, they're on their way up. Get ready."

All eyes turned to the elevator, waiting for the doors to slide open. He and Espo had seen Castle and Beckett once over the summer, at their place on the Fourth of July, but Kevin knew that nobody else had, and they were all anxious to welcome the captain and her partner back.

Life had gone on without the pair. They'd had good cases and bad ones; everyone had made it through with their usual humor, but it would be good to get back to something more normal.

The room erupted into applause the moment Beckett stepped from the elevator car with Castle on her heels. Even from across the room, Kevin was able to see the blush stain his boss's cheeks at the attention.

"Welcome back," he and Javi chorused once Beckett and Castle had made the rounds, receiving hugs and handshakes the entire way. "Long time, no see."

"Thanks," they spoke as one - at least that hadn't changed - stepping out of the fray.

"You look good," Kevin offered.

"Yeah, better than you did on the Fourth."

That made them chuckle, and he watched Beckett squeeze the inside of Castle's elbow. "Thanks, guys. We feel better."

"Good, that's good."

Beckett smiled easily. "You can tell Sarah Grace it was the cards she and Nicholas sent us. We had them on the counter in the Hamptons, and we put them on the fridge when we got home."

Castle's head bobbed in confirmation. "Especially the flower ones."

Ryan grinned. His daughter was adorable. She had been sending her aunt and uncle hand-drawn cards all summer long, signing them from both herself and her baby brother. "I'll let her know."

"And thanks for the welcome back, too. Really makes a guy feel special."

"Eh, it's the least we can do. For Beckett anyway," Ryan teased. "Especially once you see Esposito's filing system."

His partner gaped, feigning betrayal. "Bro."

Their friends laughed, relaxing into the banter once more. "Don't worry, Espo, Ryan already narced on you the other night."

"Karpowski made cake, too, if you want some," he added, sidestepping Esposito's swinging arm to bump fists with Castle. "In the break room."

"Perfect. I'll grab that and get us more coffee while you get up to speed," Castle announced, swiping his lips across Beckett's cheek.

The blush returned to Beckett's cheeks, but she didn't admonish her husband for the gesture. If anything, she leaned into it.

They were going to be sickeningly cute for a while, weren't they? Worse than after they got married, he would bet.

"Okay," Beckett began once Castle had disappeared, "get me up to speed. What do you have open right now?"

They followed her into her office, watching as she lowered herself into her desk chair and splayed her fingers across her blotter.

"We're working two right now, waiting on lab results for one, waiting to run something by you on the other. Second shift is juggling three. Everybody's backed up right now."

Beckett nodded, thumbing through one of the stacks Esposito had left for her. "How were your numbers while I was gone?"

"Ah…" They shared a look. "Well, they were-"

"I'm not trying to bust your chops, guys. I just want to know so I have the information, and your side of things, if I'm asked."

"They were down," Esposito admitted, dipping his head. "But we were also down more than three people, so we held our own."

Their friend smiled, giving them a small nod. "You guys did great. You did. I'm not faulting you for anything. Especially given the way you were thrown into it."

Sharing a look, they shuffled closer to Beckett's desk. "Well, we appreciate you not having our heads for anything."

Beckett chuckled. "There's still time. I have plenty of piles to go through. Tell me about the stuff you have open. You said for one of them you were waiting to run something by me?"

"Yeah. We caught that one yesterday. Guy's walking his dog, minding his own business, and of course, the dog's sniffing everything. But instead of other dogs, Fluffy sniffs out our vic, Andrew Sutton."

"Wrapped in a sleeping bag, hidden by some bushes," Kevin added. "Somebody really did a number on him; he had signs of head trauma, plus Lanie determined his neck was broken."

"Homeless?" she asked, looking up as Castle came sliding in carrying Beckett's blue mug in one hand and a plate bearing a slice of cake in the other.

They waited for Castle to settle everything in front of Beckett before answering.

"Nope. Lives in Brooklyn."

"So what was he doing in Manhattan with a sleeping bag? In the bushes, no less."

Castle perched on the edge of Beckett's desk. "Maybe he was a hedge fund manager?"

Three groans bounced around the captain's office.

"I should make you go home for that," Beckett muttered, sipping her coffee. Ryan watched her purse her lips, but she just took another sip and continued. "I take it you've already found out what he actually does for a living and notified next of kin?"

"That's the thing. Other than his ID with his address, nobody seems to know this guy at all. Neighbors barely remember seeing him, there's no work information, even the building manager has no idea where his rent was coming from. Didn't care, of course, 'cause he got his money, but he couldn't give us a contact."

"And we're not even sure that the park was the actual crime scene, or if he was dropped there from somewhere else."

"Another place?" Castle asked, popping a bite of cake into his mouth. "Or another time?"

"Time travelers again, Castle?" Esposito asked. "Haven't you had two already?"

The writer lifted a shoulder. "What's a third time-traveling theory between friends? Besides, I'm a little CIA conspiracied out."

"Hear hear," Beckett added, poking at his knee until he shifted to allow her to tug her desk drawer open for a pen and a new pad of sticky notes. "You talked to the building manager, what else did he say?"

"He saw Sutton arguing with a guy a few weeks prior to his death."

"What were they arguing about?" Castle asked, clasping his fingers in his lap.

"He had no idea. Just gave us a description of the guy and told us we were keeping him from his work."

Off Beckett's expectant look, Espo rattled it off. "Reasonably tall. Dark hair, kinda buzzed in the back, floppy in the front - the style now, in his words. No glasses. Nothing standout about his voice."

"And the argument?"

"According to Mr. Pitten, it went something like, 'You're going to regret this, don't be an idiot,' which we all know would've probably been harmless…"

"Had Mr. Sutton not ended up dead," Beckett finished, tilting her head. "What about the sleeping bag? What do you know about that?"

"Lab still has it, but we know it's older just by the look of it."

Beckett nodded, leaning back in her chair, arms crossing over her chest. "So assuming it belonged to Mr. Sutton, he either bought it a while ago, or maybe got it second-hand? Check around his apartment for thrift stores, consignment shops, sporting goods stores. See if anyone remembers him buying it, or can tell you more about where he could've bought it. That might tell us why or how he ended up in the bushes."

They nodded, already turning to leave. "On it, boss."

"Oh, and guys?" Beckett waited for them to face her again. "Thanks. For everything."

"Anytime."

"Though maybe not again for a little while, if possible," Ryan added, tapping the door frame.

"Agreed," they said without hesitation.

Javi snorted. "Castle, you coming?"

Rick shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm gonna start off slow. Stick around here for the day."

"All right. In that case, we'll be back."

Beckett nodded, reaching for another file. No doubt preparing to dive into her work for the day. "Good. Let us know if we can do anything on this end."

"We will."

They stepped out of the office just as three more people appeared in the doorway, ready to talk to the captain.


"So they look good. Beckett and Castle," Ryan started, closing his door behind him and joining his partner on the other side of the car.

"Yeah, they did. Gotta admit, though, I wasn't expecting that."

Ryan huffed a laugh as they jogged across the street to the first store on their list. They had their work cut out for them; there weren't many sporting goods stores near Andrew Sutton's apartment, but there were a few specialty shops and thrift stores.

"What were you expecting?"

"I dunno, more like they were this summer?"

Kevin lifted a shoulder. "They had more time to recover. Spending all day at the beach probably helped."

Espo nodded in concession. "Yeah. I'm glad, though. Getting back to normal will be good. And not just 'cause I want to have a life again."

He snorted. "You make it sound like you had a life to begin with."

"Shuddup."

Kevin grinned, holding the door for his partner.


Getting ready for work that morning had felt like deja vu. From the way they woke up, curled on their sides, her face smashed against the wall of Rick's back, to her husband slipping out of their room to surprise her with breakfast - actual food this time, no whipped cream-covered jewelry - to the nervous roll of her stomach, it had felt like her first day all over again. But instead of her phone ringing with bad news, pulling her away from the warmth of their home, she had been able to smile at Castle and tease him about the time he needed to primp making them late.

And then there had been the reception at work. The outpouring of well-wishes, the handshakes and hugs for both of them. By the time they had reached Ryan and Espo, she had been overwhelmed.

Now, two hours after they arrived, she finally felt like she was back on an even keel. She had sent the guys out to canvas, she had fielded questions from two of her other teams, she had even spoken to 1PP. She was in charge again. Home.

Even more so with Castle occupying one of the chairs across from hers.

"How does it feel?"

"Hmm?" Her eyes lifted from the preliminary report she was slogging through.

"Being back."

"It's good," she answered. "Different, but good. I'm ready for a break from some of this paperwork, though."

Castle checked his watch. "Well, Captain, might I take you to lunch to give you the chance to stretch your legs?"

Her stomach growled. That sounded amazing; she was starving for some reason.

"Yeah, let's do that." She stood, checking her phone to make sure she wouldn't be missing anything for the next hour or so. "I seem to remember you promising me Remy's anyway."

Her husband grinned, offering her his arm. "Remy's it is."

Beckett nodded to LT on their way through the bullpen. "Lunch break. We'll be back in about an hour. I have my phone if Ryan and Esposito get back before then."

"I'll let them know."

"Thanks."

"And we'll bring you back a shake," Castle added, twisting to slap hands with the other man.

"You're gonna have to bring enough to share with the rest of the class, Castle," she teased when they stepped onto the elevator, nudging his shoulder gently. "Otherwise I might have a revolt on my hands."

Rick chuckled. "I think I can manage that."

He would, too. She already knew he would ask their waitress if it would be possible to get a couple dozen milkshakes made and find some way for the two of them to cart them back to the precinct.

"It would be a nice thank-you," he continued, swiping his thumb over her knuckles, "for everything everyone has done."

Kate hummed her agreement, nudging her cheek against his shoulder just as the elevator doors slid open once more.

"Probably better to just get a variety of flavors, instead of trying to remember what everybody likes. I don't even know what everybody likes, do you?"

"No, Castle, 'what's your favorite flavor shake from Remy's?' isn't on everyone's hiring paperwork."

Her husband laughed. "Maybe it should be, though? Think of how many oddballs you could weed out if you asked. Especially those who dip their fries in the strawberry ones."

The light slap she landed against his chest only made him laugh harder.

"Just for that, I'm dipping my fries in your milkshake."

Castle's eyebrows wiggled in response.

Unlike the other day, she was ravenous as soon as they stepped into the restaurant. Her burger was gone within minutes, and the fries on her plate disappeared soon after that. More than once, she caught Castle watching her, unable to disguise his smile.

"Stop mocking me," she ordered, taking a long pull of milkshake - vanilla; she hadn't been feeling like strawberry this time - and stealing one of his fries from his hand.

"Mocking you? I was thinking about kissing you." His smile deepened as she ducked her head and blushed.

He was always romantic, but in the last couple of months, he had turned on the charm, the real charm, even more. Kate couldn't exactly say she was complaining.

"Well, maybe you need to think less and do more, hmm?"

He stretched across the table, cupping her cheek in his broad palm before she even finished her sentence. Kate turned into his touch, eager for the press of his lips.

Her husband didn't disappoint, sliding his mouth over hers, his kiss easy, tender. Sweet from the chocolate shake, too.

"On second thought," she hummed, thumbing his jawline as they parted. "You do have good ideas once in a while. Keep them coming."

Rick lit up, coming back for another kiss. "If you insist."

Her phone chirped from the table, lighting up with a text from Espo. Apparently, they were on their way back to the precinct with a guest. "Ah, except the boys have something. So, later?"

Already he was reaching into his wallet for his credit card. "Absolutely. But um, we're still getting the milkshakes, right?"


Half an hour later, they met the boys on the street outside the precinct. Although their visitor wasn't in handcuffs, he didn't exactly look thrilled to be with them. The man's scowl didn't seem to faze the detectives, though. Instead, Esposito looked Castle's way, his eyebrows lifting toward his hairline.

"Light snack, Castle?"

"Ha ha. We already ate; these are for the rest of the team. But for that, maybe I'll give Beckett yours."

His wife rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I'm full. You guys have at it. Who's our guest today?"

Rick watched Ryan gesture for the guy to walk ahead. "This is Andrew Sutton's brother. He graciously agreed to come talk with us about the last time he saw him. And why his DNA was on the sleeping bag his brother was found wrapped in."

Castle glanced in Beckett's direction, watching her stand taller, all business once more in spite of the box of milkshakes she carried.

"Ahh, well, Mr. Sutton-"

"Lewis. Corey. Andrew kept our dad's name in the divorce, I took my mom's."

Beckett nodded "Well, Mr. Lewis, I'm Captain Beckett. My detectives are going to take you upstairs so we can chat. Your cooperation is appreciated."

"Look, this is a big deal over nothing. All I did was buy a sleeping bag a few years ago."

"In that case, I'm sure we'll be able to get things worked out and have you on your way quickly."

Beckett nodded to Esposito. "Take him in. I'll be up in a moment."

"I can get these if you want to go with them," Castle murmured, watching the guys disappear through the precinct doors.

Kate shook her head. "No, let him sweat a bit, since I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but he also fits the description of the man seen arguing with Sutton in his apartment hallway."

Yeah, he had caught that. Interesting.

"But let's get inside anyway; these are getting heavy."

"And they're probably melting." Castle freed a hand, opening the door for her.

"Well," his wife drawled as they stepped inside. "We can't have that. After all, LT is so particular about his milkshakes."

Rick grinned, offering one of the treats to the desk sergeant as they passed.

Once they were back on the fourth floor, he made the rounds passing out milkshakes to everyone while Beckett checked in at her desk and prepared to observe Ryan and Espo's conversation with Mr. Lewis. He planned to join her once he finished his task.

A few minutes later, he stepped into Observation to find her perched on the table, listening.

"Look," Lewis started, "I bought the sleeping bag, took it on one camping trip to impress someone, and tossed it in my closet for the next six years."

"Then how do you explain it being in your brother's possession?"

The man's hands flattened on the table. "Because I gave it to him."

Castle glanced in Beckett's direction, watching her make a note on her legal pad.

"You gave it to him? What was the occasion?" Ryan asked, taking over for Esposito.

"He had a thing he wanted to do. Said the less I knew, the better."

"Sounds legit," Esposito mused. "A mystery activity, a convenient gift, and all of it in spite of the argument you were seen having with him just a little while ago. Totally tracks, doesn't it, Ryan?"

"Perfectly."

"I didn't kill him. I was away on business until late last night. You can talk to my boss, the hotel in Zurich, and the couple thousand people I presented to if you don't believe me."

Castle saw Beckett scrawl the words Zurich conference on her paper before they both looked back toward interrogation.

"We'll have to check into that. In the meantime, why don't you tell us what your argument was about."

Corey Lewis sighed. "Andy and I have - had - our differences. He had it rough as a kid, and I always felt bad because by comparison I was treated like the golden child. So I took care of him, paid his bills, helped him find stuff he could do to make money when I couldn't pay, yadda yadda."

That explained the lack of work information and the cash flow.

"And the argument? Let me guess? You got tired of being his babysitter and financier, and told him to shape up or -"

Lewis shook his head. "I mean, yeah, I was tired of it. I didn't sign up to be his keeper for the rest of our lives just because his dad was a dick to him when we were ten and our mom did nothing about it. But we weren't arguing because I was cutting him off."

"So what were you arguing about?"

The younger man sighed. "He called me up, said he'd met this great group of people. They live off the grid, camp, et cetera. He needed stuff, and I said fine, 'cause I had the bag and I wasn't doing anything with it. So I brought it over, asked if he was sure, all that."

"Somehow that doesn't sound like it's enough to warrant 'don't be an idiot, you're going to regret this,' which is what you said, is it not?"

Lewis nodded. "That's what I said, yeah."

"So we have some gaps here," Ryan prompted, tapping the tabletop.

"Okay look. Basically, I thought the group was bad news. They like making trouble, small stuff, petty stuff, but from what he told me, they were escalating. I told him if he got involved with them, he'd be lumped into their mess. Which is an idiotic thing to do if you're not really feeling like going to jail."

"What are they into?"

"Nothing terrible, they're not a cult or something, but Andy looked at things through rose colored glasses. He had friends to hang out with, and that's what he cared about."

"Where can we find this group?"

Corey shrugged. "Beats me. Andy said they moved around a lot. It was part of the appeal - a new place to live every day. That sort of thing. Never mind that it's trespassing and dangerous in this city. And if you found Andy in his sleeping bag, he was probably with them when he died. So that means I was right about them."

The detectives nodded, sharing a look. "They got a name? The group."

"Like the Mickey Mouse Club? No. He just called them 'the group,' or his friends."

"And you have no idea where they could be?"

"A park, a playground, somewhere they think is edgy to be seen sleeping?"

Ryan and Esposito nodded once more, standing as a unit and moving to the door. Beckett stood as well, readying her notes.

The boys slipped into Observation a moment later, asking, "What do you think, boss?"

"Have you heard anything about this group he was talking about?"

"Nothing's come across our desks, but we haven't exactly kept our ears to the ground for something like this."

Beckett nodded, glancing down at her notes. "In that case, call a few of the precincts near Andrew's apartment and see what they can tell you. And get Corey's boss's information to check his alibi. Make sure he didn't skip the last day of that conference, and then cut him loose."

"On it."

"Thanks. I'm going to head back to my desk, but keep me in the loop."

The boys nodded easily, slipping into the bullpen. "Will do."

"Don't forget your milkshakes," Castle added, following them out. "I put them in the fridge."

Ryan grinned, slapping his shoulder. "Thanks, Castle."

"Yeah," Esposito agreed. "Thanks for that. Did you happen to bring some onion rings?"

"Dude," Rick feigned offense. "But yeah, actually. They're in there. I stole a couple when Beckett wasn't looking."

His wife snorted. "I have a functioning nose, Castle. Believe me, I noticed," she said, glancing over her shoulder and wrinkling said nose at him.

The boys laughed, veering toward the break room for the food.

"You could tell?" Castle asked, blowing into his hand to check his breath. Not the freshest, but it could've been worse.

"Mhmm."

"Sorry."

Beckett's smile widened. "That's okay. Come on, back to work for me."

He followed on sure feet, ready to reclaim his spot by her desk for the rest of the day.


Hours later, after three marathon conference calls, two leads that went nowhere for Ryan and Esposito's other open case, and turning Corey Lewis loose when his alibi checked out, they were able to head home. Although he'd intended to stop by the PI office before they returned to the loft, when they emerged from the precinct to the light of early evening and Kate's energy had seemed to fade, he had opted to put it off until tomorrow. Their first day back had been long enough.

"Subway or cab?" he asked, offering her his arm. Kate hummed, curling her fingers in the crook of his elbow.

"Neither. Let's walk."

"You sure?"

She nodded, squeezing his arm gently. "Yeah. If we get tired, we'll grab a cab the rest of the way. It's just too nice not to walk."

"Okay," he agreed, dusting a kiss to her cheek. "Just let me know if you want to stop."

They made it home a little while later, warm but revitalized from the walk. Kate's hand left his arm as they neared their front door, reaching into her pocket for her house keys.

"You know, I'm still pretty full from lunch," she started, giving the loft a cursory look before stepping inside and turning to him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "So if you're not dead set on dinner right now, we could get cleaned up and worry about food later?"

"Shower or bath?" he asked, the response automatic, watching delight wash over her face.

Kate stepped back, catching two of his fingers with hers. "Why not both?"

Rick grinned, allowing her to pull him toward their bedroom. "I can't argue with that."