Half an hour later, the couple emerged refreshed and arguing from the study.
"Libel requires written form, slander is oral defamation." Castle huffed and crossed the living room in a few quick strides.
Beckett was hot on his heels. "Not when it's recorded, no. Or taped as in your case," she corrected him. "Google it, if you want, but I assure you that a national broadcast on TV or radio practically substitutes the written medium."
They looked up into the bewildered faces of Jim and Martha who'd followed the end of the argument bemused. Their parents were standing at the kitchen counter unwrapping deli sandwiches and tossing together a salad.
"Ahhh, Jim!" Castle exclaimed, "Just the man we need! You're just in time to settle a dispute between your daughter and me."
"And hello to you, too, Rick." The older man chuckled and wiped his hands off on a kitchen towel. Then he shook hands with his future son-in-law. "It's always great to see you."
"There is no argument. You're wrong and I'm right. End of story." Kate rolled her eyes and leaned over to give her father a quick peck on the cheek. "Hi, dad."
"In your expertise as a lawyer," Castle ignored the Beckett greeting ritual and stressed the last word, which brought an amused smile to Jim's face, "is the defamation coming out of Jeffrey Lawson's mouth slander or libel?"
"Libel, she's right." Jim pulled his daughter into a tight hug. "Hi Katie, how are you?"
Rick gaped at her father slack-jawed. How dare he question his expertise as a master wordsmith and all time scrabble champion at Casa Castle?
"We're fine under the circumstances." Kate admitted. Jim watched pleased as his daughter pulled back to rest her arm around her fiancé's back automatically.
"Of course, you're on her side, she's your daughter." Castle groused and shrugged off Kate's arm.
Jim Beckett cocked his head, "Seriously?"
"But it's verbal!" Rick interjected. He was not going to give up that easily.
Kate just rolled her eyes, all too familiar with her fiancé's obsession with words and terms. She walked over to the fridge to retrieve cold beverages for their lunch.
"As Katie already explained, when a voice is recorded or taped it means it can be documented and submitted like written evidence in court, so it is no longer slander but becomes libel."
"Told ya," Kate turned around with a triumphant grin and stuck her tongue out at her fiancé.
Unfortunately, her father caught it and scolded her sharply, "Katie!"
Beckett's eyebrows shot up startled when her father reprimanded her like he did when she was ten. Martha, who had observed the entire exchange quietly from the sidelines, couldn't help laughing out loud now. Castle snorted, too, and thought it was adorable. He'd just been granted a glimpse into Kate Beckett's rebellious childhood.
"She's always doing that to me! Even on my birthday!" Rick complained.
"And would you like some cheese with that whine?" Jim turned around and fixed the writer with an amused look. "Martha, don't forget to put out some string cheese for little Ricky here."
Castle's mother chuckled and Rick gaped while he saw out of the corner of his eye how Katie almost stuck her tongue out again but caught herself just in time. He narrowed his eyes at his fiancée who gave an innocent shoulder shrug instead.
"Very funny," Castle grumbled and got the plates.
When Kate was about to pass her father with the salad bowl, he pulled his daughter quickly aside into a hug. "You ok?"
"Yeah, just don't engage him, eventually he'll run out of steam." Kate advised her father.
Jim laughed out loud and shook his head. Castle was grumbling to himself as he set the table, muttering words like "slander" and "oral." The Becketts smirked and watched on benignly. "That's good to know but not what I meant."
"Oh, you're talking about the interview?" Kate rolled her eyes. "It's more of a nuisance than a bother." She carried the salad bowl over to the table. When she pulled back, her hand brushed semi-accidentally against Castle's. He looked up with a grin. Jim watched their exchange with a smile.
"How are they really doing?" He glanced at Martha who'd stopped beside him holding the plate with their sandwiches.
"They're fine, Jim." Castle's mother reassured him quickly. "Richard's obviously tremendously upset over what happened but look at them." She nodded at the table where Kate was slipping her arm around Rick's waist just as Castle pulled her in a little closer. His nose brushed her cheek as he leaned in to whisper something in her ear that made her giggle.
"Oh good, you've made up, kids, now go wash your hands." Martha quipped as she breezed from the kitchen into the dining area.
"Very funny," Castle let go of Kate's hips and pulled out the chair for her. They settled around the table for a casual lunch, sharing sandwiches, salad and chips.
"So which one of you would like to tell me what exactly is going on?" Jim raised his eyebrows and looked from his daughter to his future son-in-law and gave him a pointed glare, "I hear you have a mistress now?"
Castle choked and Kate laughed. "Well, technically had. She's dead." She reached over to rub Rick's back. "You ok?"
He nodded and took a long sip of water before he launched into a quick run-down of yesterday's events. Kate listened intently since it was the first time she got to hear the whole story from his point of view. Halfway through she slipped her hand under the table and linked her fingers through his as a supportive gesture. Rick paused in his story for a moment to send her a grateful smile before he recounted the legal steps Black Pawn, NYPD and he considered taking.
"Sounds to me like you were set up," Martha concluded once her son finished.
"So you're planning to sue Lawson?" Jim weighed in.
"That sounds like you're advising me against it," Castle observed.
"No, I just want to make sure you and Katie know what a defamation lawsuit entails. Have you actually talked about it with your lawyers?"
"Not yet, we're having a meeting on Monday."
"What about your book tour?" Martha interjected. He was supposed to leave late Monday morning.
"Delayed until Tuesday. Paula's making arrangements for us to leave in the afternoon."
"The problem with defamation lawsuits is that they're costly and usually hardly worth the trouble."
"What do you mean?" Martha asked him curiously.
"Black Pawn and the NYPD might decide it's not worth it." Jim explained, "There's a good chance that Jeffrey Lawson might get away with a slap on the wrist and ordered to pay a small fine. It's not my field but what I gather from my colleagues, it's usually best to reach a settlement quickly."
"I don't want his money," Castle shook his head, "I want him to publicly apologize for questioning Kate's professionalism and character and accusing Ryan and Espo of sloppy police work."
"Are you willing to risk a protracted trial and have his lawyers put you and Kate on the stand to air your dirty laundry?" Jim countered.
"We didn't do anything wrong, dad."
"Honey, you dated a suspect."
"Dad!"
"I'm just calling a spade a spade."
"I handed over the investigation to Ryan and Esposito." Kate defended herself.
"But you didn't recuse yourself completely. This is the kind of questioning you open yourselves up to if you take it to court. I'm just showing you what a defense lawyer would do."
"I can't let him get away, Jim." Castle sighed. "He went after Kate."
"I know how you feel, Rick. She's my daughter and nothing would make me happier than to see that little rat skewered on a stick."
"When you men are done defending my honor, you can find us women cleaning the kitchen." Kate interjected and winked at her future mother-in-law.
"Sorry, Katie."
"It's not just about me anyway. What he did to you, Castle, was way worse." Kate rubbed the back of Rick's hand softly with her thumb.
"I don't worry about me. That's what I have Paula for. Her PR team can put a positive spin on just about anything. What I'm concerned about is your professional reputation and how this mess might affect Ryan and Espo's careers. Who's gonna look out for them? They'll be the first ones NYPD will throw under the bus to save face."
She didn't retort. After what happened this morning at the office, she knew he spoke the truth. If McCord hadn't intervened, the FBI would've dismissed her in the blink of an eye, too.
"This has set up written all over it," Martha chimed in. "Isn't it strange that this is all coming up now when you're getting engaged and launching a new Nikki Heat?"
"What are you saying, mother," Castle scoffed, "Patterson's behind this because he can't take a little friendly competition anymore? What for? To discourage people from buying my books? I'm a murder mystery writer. If people thought I'd murdered someone, they'd only buy more of my books out of curiosity to see if I dropped hints." He shook his head.
"I'm just saying the timing is suspicious." Martha defended her theory.
"I promise I won't be eating any unsolicited boxes of chocolates, mother." Rick patted his mother's hand reassuringly.
The two Becketts looked at them bewildered.
"Oh," Martha noticed and explained quickly, "a couple of years ago another actress was gunning for my role and sent me chocolate laced with laxatives."
"Oh my god!" The two Beckett's exclaimed shocked. "Did you report her?" Kate inquired.
"All water under the bridge," Martha waved their concern aside.
"You know, Martha might be on to something. Lawson must have planned and prepared this in advance and yet you were invited on the show as a last minute replacement. That doesn't make sense." The younger Beckett pointed out.
"Oh, I don't doubt for a minute that I was being set up. Paula's already looking into it, since I had the same thought last night. The question is just why?"
"Clearly, Lawson has a bone to pick with you, Rick." Jim noticed. "What's your prior history with the man?"
"I'd never even met the guy until yesterday."
"What about people he knows?" Kate interjected. "Did you poach one of his old girlfriends when you were still soaring your wild oats?"
"No!" Castle looked at her funny and glanced nervously at her father. He admitted with a quiet voice, "I already googled his wife, sister and last known ex-girlfriend to make sure."
"What I don't understand is where Lawson gets all of his information? I talked to Javi last night and he says the records haven't been checked out since they've been sealed." Kate scratched her head.
"Wouldn't be the first time someone tampered with the archive's records." Jim threw in.
"Nah, we double checked. I went there with Ryan and Esposito the second time to assure myself." Rick shook his head.
"I don't like where this is going," Kate sighed.
"I don't like the idea that there's a leak at the precinct, either," Castle agreed, "but Gates seems to think so. We'll see what the boys can come up with."
Kate and Rick exchanged a knowing look and sighed heavily. Neither of them wanted to say it out loud but there was one other option.
"What?" Martha raised her eyebrows curiously, picking up immediately on the rising tension in the room.
"Katie, what are you not telling us?" Jim wrapped his hand around his daughter's arm.
"You think it's him?" Kate asked her fiancé, biting her lip.
"I thought you didn't believe me?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Lawson knows too much. If he didn't have access to the police files, I don't see how someone at the precinct could remember or know so many details."
"But it doesn't make sense. Why would he come back? The whole point of it was to disappear into the night and have people stop looking for him." Rick reasoned.
The sound of breaking glass startled them in their seats. Three heads whipped around to stare at Martha who glared at her son. "You said he was dead."
"Are you okay, Martha?" Jim grasped her shoulder and reached for her wrist to check for cuts.
"Yes," Martha cleared her throat and pulled her hand back, "I'm fine. The glass must have slipped from my hand."
"He is, mother." Rick was already up and comforting his mother. "I emptied half a clip into him. He fell off a bridge into the East River and drowned. Nobody survives that."
"Stop patronizing me, Richard!" Martha bristled with anger. "If you didn't think there was a possibility he's still alive, you wouldn't even entertain the idea that he could be behind all this. The man set you up for murder! He tried to kill you and Katherine. You're still my son!"
"Martha," Kate inserted herself back into the situation and tried to assuage her mother-in-law's fears. "It's not him. Castle's right. It makes no sense at all for him to come back, even if he were alive, which I don't think he is. We were just throwing around ideas. It's what we do. Okay? We play through all possible angles and toss the bad ones. Rick's really good at spouting out crazy, bad theories. This was a very crazy and bad theory obviously but it still had to be checked. Okay?"
Martha nodded slowly but protested, "He was in our home."
"What?" Jim interjected, hearing for the first time about Tyson's invasion of his daughter's home and privacy. As usual Kate had glossed over the details to keep her father from worrying too much. Martha unfortunately knew all about it, since she lived at the loft.
"I know." Kate rubbed her hand gently. "And I'm so very sorry for that. But he's never coming back. He's dead. Besides, we're safe here. Rick's upped the security system. You should know best, considering how many times you've set off the alarm unawares since." Beckett smiled and Martha chuckled.
"I swear Richard uses it to keep tabs on my curfew when I sneak in late from a party."
Castle watched proudly how Kate calmed his mother down and felt slightly guilty for lying to both of them. He'd never shared with his fiancée how Tyson's violation of their privacy had gone far beyond simply standing in their living room. He wanted to spare her the humiliation, so he kept it out of his official statement since they were hiding their relationship anyway.
"Right, mother," Rick smiled as he bent down to pick up the shards, "I'd hate to miss your walks of shame."
"Don't," Kate stopped him with her hand on his shoulder, "you'll cut yourself. I'll get you a brush and dustpan."
A few moments later she returned with the promised items and a handful of paper towels to soak up the spill. They worked quickly together to clean up the mess, while Jim tried to distract Martha.
"Do you think she's all right?" Kate whispered as she tossed the wet kitchen towels into the trash and shut the lid.
"Yeah," Castle sighed. "I keep forgetting that I'll always be her little boy."
"I know; it's why I didn't tell my dad everything. Gonna bite me in the ass now that he knows Tyson broke into the loft."
"You worry he's gonna put his foot down and forbid you to have any more sleep overs here?" He cracked a joke to lighten the mood. She chuckled and they observed their parents' interaction at the table for a minute in silence.
"Maybe it's a good thing we're moving to D.C." Kate glanced at her fiancé.
"Because we'll be away from our parents and Alexis so they can't get caught up in our cases anymore?"
Kate nodded.
"Come here," he pulled her into an embrace and tucked her head underneath his chin. "It's not your fault."
"I brought this into their lives. They wouldn't have to worry about deranged psycho killers coming after them to get to me."
"They'd also be a lot less safer if you weren't in their lives. Your dad might have succumbed to his demons. My mother and I might have died in that bank last year if you hadn't worked to get us out safely. You helped me get Alexis back in one piece and when there was a dirty bomb I was able to send them out of town somewhere safe, too."
Kate sighed and sagged into his arms. "Do you really think it's not him?"
Rick nodded, "I do. Because I am convinced he's still alive, I'm pretty certain it's not him. He must know that we'll pick up his trail and won't rest until he's in the ground if he dares to come after us again. He's not stupid."
"We need to find out Lawson's source," Beckett pulled back and looked at him determined. "Of course, he's going to refer to his reporter's privilege and refuse to disclose his source."
"Maybe we won't need to," Castle had an idea. "Lawson's not going to cooperate with us because he's obviously holding a grudge against me. What we need to do is find the weakest link in his team and lean on them to gather more information first."
"Right, he must have had help from editors, writers, research assistants, interns…" Kate started counting off at the top of her head.
"And I just know where to start," Castle grinned as he pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text to Paula. "There was this young girl Cindy who is an intern on the show. She's a huge fan and a real sweetheart. Paula's got her contact information because I promised her a free, signed copy of Deadly Heat."
"We can pay her a visit and find out how much she knows." Kate agreed.
"Not much, she didn't even know I was coming. But she'll be able to give us the names of the people who work more closely with Lawson, like that Jeremy kid. We can work our way up from there until we get to the bottom of this little scandal."
Castle's phone buzzed with a response from Paula: You're getting MARRIED!
Beckett frowned and Castle laughed nervously. He quickly texted his agent back, why he wanted the girl's address.
"Oh my god," Kate grimaced. "You really used to do that? You slept with your groupies?"
"Not like this." Rick had the decency to blush. "And only a few times. I haven't hooked up with a fan in years. And Paula has never supplied me with their phone numbers. Women usually just slip their business cards into my pocket."
"I shouldn't be surprised. You were signing boobs when we met." Beckett groused. "Tomorrow the only surface your pen will come into contact with better be the paper on the first page of Deadly Heat." She smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt on his chest.
"You're cute when you're jealous," Castle smiled while his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. He nuzzled her neck and made Kate giggle a little. She tried to escape the ticklish feeling but only succeeded in spinning around her own axis. Castle's hold on her was firm so she let her back fall into his broad chest safely. Her hand glided along his bare arm, pressing it tighter against her abdomen. Rick kissed her cheek and pushed his crotch into her ass, "Don't worry, sweetie, yours is the only inkwell I want to dip my quill in anymore."
Kate felt his hard on and turned around in his arms to breathe into his ear, "Looks like somebody's ready to give me a free refill." She nibbled on his earlobe gently. Rick moaned and kissed her neck. "And I could really use one," she suppressed a groan, "I'm running really low on ink. My last refill was over 24 hours ago. What do you say we get our parents out of our hair and spend the rest of the afternoon writing with your quill."
Now it was Rick's turn to swallow a deep groan as he pressed his erection into her crotch. He looked up from her neck and met the bewildered eyes of his future father-in-law who was standing there, balancing a stack of dishes awkwardly.
"What's the matter, Shakespeare?" Kate pulled back, "Broke your quill already?"
Castle swallowed nervously and just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights. She turned around and froze instantly.
"Dad!" Kate gasped and tried to put some distance between herself and her fiancé. The younger Beckett hung her head in shame a little, silently vowing to kill Castle. Ten years of perfecting the fine art of sneaking boyfriends in and out of her room behind her father's back as a teenager and now she got caught in the kitchen getting frisky with her fiancé?
The doorbell rang and all three of them breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll get it!" They chorused and laughed nervously.
"I'll go," Kate was already getting ready to sprint to the door. Castle tried desperately to keep her in place to hide his boner but she slapped his hands away. Apparently it was everyone fends for himself right now. Traitor. Left behind, Castle stared embarrassed at the ceiling, waiting for his erection to disappear, while Jim placed his stack of dishes on the counter stoically.
"Are you expecting more guests?" He started to make small talk – much to Rick's dismay.
"Errr… no," Castle shook his head, never once glancing at her father. Maybe it wasn't too bad. Maybe he hadn't been there long enough to overhear their innuendo filled flirting. Maybe Jim had only just walked up when he looked up and their conversation hadn't made any sense to him at all?
"Look son, far bet it from me to criticize your behavior in your home, but do you think you could be a gentleman for my sake and wait until I've left before you start dipping your quill into my daughter. Please?"
Ok. No suck luck. Rick blushed and closed his eyes. Apparently he couldn't catch a break with Beckett's father today. The man was like quicksand so he didn't even bother trying to talk himself out of this embarrassing situation.
"While I have absolutely no illusions about my daughter, I don't necessarily want to witness the two of you making my first grandson." Jim continued to torment Castle.
"Oh, no, no, no," Rick spluttered, "we're not, I mean we are but we… I would never…"
Jim waited amused to see how his future son-in-law was going to salvage this conversation. "… ink my daughter?" He finally supplied dryly.
Castle groaned and balled his hands into fists. He straightened with a clenched jaw and looked Kate's father bravely in the eyes. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he noted.
"A wee little bit," Kate's father admitted with a lopsided grin, holding up his fingers about an inch apart, "but only because I know how much you love and respect my daughter." He glanced toward Kate who just reached the door.
Rick followed Jim's gaze and smiled wistfully, "She means everything to me."
Beckett's father turned his eye back on his daughter's fiancé. "You make her happy, that's all I care about."
"I promise you I'll take good care of her." Rick reassured him quickly, knowing that was what he'd like to hear from Alexis's boyfriend in this situation. "And I can assure you that Kate will not walk down the aisle pregnant. We haven't even talked about children yet."
"That's never stopped anyone from getting pregnant before a wedding," Beckett's dad mused. "Frankly, I don't care how you two go about starting your family but don't you think that's something you should discuss before the wedding?"
"Of course, and I'll make sure she knows your preferences regarding number and sex of our children when the topic comes up." Castle replied dryly. "Meanwhile I'll do my very best to deliver the requested grandson when the time arrives."
"Excellent," Jim laughed out loud. "Now, if you excuse me, I think I'll get back to my office now and let you entertain your other guests." The men started to make their way back to the entrance area of the loft.
"About tomorrow, shall we come pick you up in the limo?" Castle inquired.
"I think I'll pass."
"Are you sure?" Rick cracked another joke, "I promise I'll keep my hands where you can see them the whole time. My mother will chaperone us."
Beckett's dad laughed out loud again, "Thank you for the offer but I have court all day and will rush home to get changed. Don't be upset if I'm a little late."
"Nah," Rick quickly dismissed Jim's concerns, "if anything I'm a little jealous you'll miss all the boring speeches."
"Oh, and Richard?"
"Yes?"
"Pull up your zipper before you greet your guests." Jim patted his future son-in-law on the shoulder as he passed him on the way to the door and left a puzzled Rick behind.
Castle's jaw dropped as he stared down at his open fly. When had she…? He narrowed his eyes and looked over to his fiancée who was talking to somebody at the door. How'd she managed to pull down his zipper without him noticing it? Little vixen!
