Kate was back at work. She had been for a couple of days now and it felt good to be back to normal. After a very embarrassing phone call to her mother on Friday night, the weekend had gone by smoothly and quickly. When she went back to work on Monday, she really felt like her life was now complete. She had absolutely all she needed. Unfortunately, she also had an enormous stack of paperwork piled on her desk. After a short visit to Captain Gates's office, she sat at her desk. The first thing she did was change the photo in the frame that sat next to her computer. She took the one of Rick and Emily out and replaced it with one of her mother carrying her granddaughter.

It was now Wednesday and Kate and her team had just closed another case. They were all doing paperwork – they definitely did not advertise this part on the recruiting brochures! - when her desk phone rang. It was the officer from the lobby, telling her that someone was looking for her. She told him to send them up and waited, continuing with her paperwork. When she heard the elevator open, she looked up from her desk. She was really surprised when she saw her mother get out and look around, looking for her. She got up and went to meet her.

"Mom. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Hello Katie. I'm not bothering you, am I? I just wanted to know where you worked and since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I'd just stop by. I can come back later if you're busy." Johanna said.

"No, I'm not busy. I'm just surprised to see you here that's all. We just closed a case so we're doing paperwork. Boring. Come, I'll introduce you to my team. You can go to the break room over there, I'll go and get them." Kate said, pointing to the break room.

She went back into the bullpen and headed to Ryan's and Esposito's desks.

"Boys, leave the paperwork for a minute. I have someone I want you to meet." she said, smiling.

They had not asked her why she was not at work the week before and she hadn't had time to explain the situation to them. Never missing an occasion to get away paperwork though, the two detectives followed her quickly. They all went into the break room where Johanna was sitting on the couch.

"Guys, I want you to meet my mother, Johanna Beckett. Mom, these are Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito." Kate introduced them.

While Johanna was shaking hands with the two, the latter didn't know how to react.

"Uh … Beckett... Wasn't your mother supposed to be ..." Esposito tried.

"Yes, she was. But she came back. The weekend before last. That's why I was not in last week. I kinda freaked out." Kate explained.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am." Ryan said, smiling at Johanna.

"Why do they call you Beckett." she asked her daughter.

"Well, I started here long before marrying Rick so I guess it's mostly out of habits. Also, I kept my maiden nae at work, it's easier and less confusing. When Rick is here with us and we have to interrogate a suspect, 'Hello I'm Detective Castle and this is Richard Castle' would be just weird." Kate said.

"Is he here often?"

"Before Emily was born, he was here everyday. You would have thought he worked here!" Esposito laughed.

During their conversation, they hadn't noticed Gates approaching.

"What is going here? Don't you have work to do Detectives?" she asked, making all of them jump.

"Sir, let me explain. This is my mother, Joha ..." Kate started.

"Johanna Parker! Is that you?" Gates asked, clearly shocked.

"It's Beckett now but yes, it's me." Johanna laughed, going to hug the Captain.

The three detectives looked at the scene, really confused.

"Mom, care to explained?"

"Well, Victoria and I were roommates at university. We lived together for four years. These were good years." Johanna smiled. "Are you still in touch with Samuel?"

"Yes I am. We've been married for thirty-three years." Gates laughed. "Come in my office, we have a lot to talk about."

The two women moved to Gates's office, leaving the three detectives in the break room.

"What just happened?" Kate asked, still not moving and shock clear on her face.

"Well, apparently your mother and Iron Gates are good friends. Imagine … she'll go to your house, talk with your parents. Soon she'll be part of your family and you'll call her Auntie Vicky!" Esposito laughed, going back to his desk.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Kate went home after a day of paperwork and revelations, she was pleased to find Rick feeding Emily on the couch. She put her things in the closet by the front door and went to sit by them. She snuggled into Rick's side and caressed her daughter's head.

"How was your day?" Rick asked quietly not to disturb Emily who was getting sleepy.

"Boring. Just paperwork. But it was also interesting."

"How so?"

"Well, my mother dropped by at the precinct this morning. She wanted to see where I work. Anyway, I was introducing her to Ryan and Espo when Gates walked in the break room."

"Ouch!"

"No, that's what's weird. They knew each other. Apparently they were roommates when they were at university. They went to Gates's office and spent all the morning there. They went together for lunch and I didn't see any of them this afternoon." Kate explain, thoughtful.

"What do you think they were talking about?" Rick asked.

"I don't know, and that's what's scaring me. At first they were laughing and smiling a lot so I supposed they were talking about the good old times. But after a while, their faces got much more serious. I remember Mom having that look on her face when she was working on a particularly hard case."

"Maybe they were talking about the case that put her into witness protection." Rick suggested.

"I'll meet her for lunch tomorrow so maybe she'll tell me. I really wished she could tell me about this case. I feel like it's the only thing missing for me to really understand everything that is going on. I really don't understand why they let her come back if everything is not completely done yet. I just want her to be safe." Kate sighed.

"She is safe Kate. They're professional, they know what they are doing. If they let her come back, it's because she is not in any danger anymore." Rick told her, kissing her forehead.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Kate walked into Remy's the following day, her mother was already waiting in a booth. She greeted her mother and sat opposite her.

"What can I get you Detective Beckett? Oh, you didn't bring Little Cutie today ..." the waitress said, walking to them.

"No, sorry Diane. She's staying with daddy today. And I'll take the usual, thank you."

Johanna placed her order and turned back to Kate.

"I see that Emily is quite famous around here." she laughed.

"She is." Kate smiled. "Honestly, who can resist her? She is just so cute and perfect!"

They talked about everything and anything until Diane came back with their food.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were not particularly pleased that I know Victoria." Johanna started. "Is there a problem?"

"No, not really. It's just … well … she's my boss and it's weird. I don't really like the idea of mixing my professional life with my private life."Kate explained.

"I know but she was … is a very good friend of mine."

"I know. And I respect that, don't worry. It's just that it's weird. And she's not the nicest of Captains so … I don't know. What did you talk about?"

"We talked about our time together at university, brought up some old memories. "Johanna smiled. "And we talked about you."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Apparently your story is pretty famous around the NYPD. Now let me ask you a question. Do you like your job Kate?" Johanna asked seriously.

"What? Of course I like my job. I love it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, according to what Vicky told me, you decided to become a cop so you'd be able to find me. Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true." Kate answered, pushing her food around her plate. "But it was a good choice. I've never regretted it. I feel really useful doing what I do. Sure, it started mostly to find you but it's not the case anymore. Well, I still don't wish anyone to have a loved one disappear but I feel like if I can bring them back the person, or at least closure, then my job is done."

"When I had to leave, you were studying law at Stanford. Why didn't you continue?"

"I went back after you disappeared. But I didn't stay long. I just couldn't live on the other side of the country knowing that no one was looking for you. When I came back, I started looking for you but I didn't have access to anything. I figured the on;y way I could really make a difference was if I became a cop. So I joined the Academy about three month after you disappeared. I think I also wanted to prove the policemen who told me they couldn't do anything wrong. Well, my quest for finding you obviously failed because I never had the slightest lead on your case. I never really gave up but as time went by it became less important. I felt horrible but I figured that wherever you may be, you wouldn't want me to waste my life looking for you. But in a way, every time I closed a case, I felt like I was getting closer to you." Kate explained.

"You changed the course of your life for me Katie. You didn't have to do that!" Johanna said, taking her daughter's hands.

"I didn't have a choice mom, it was stronger than me. But it's a good thing. If I hadn't been a cop, I may never had met Rick. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without him and Emily. I don't even want to imagine a life like that."

"So you don't regret your choice?"

"Never have, never will. And now you're here so it's perfect. I don't want you to feel guilty for me not becoming the first female Chief Justice. I love my life as it is and I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Ok, I'm glad you're happy with your choices." Johanna said, smiling sweetly at her daughter.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"I saw you and Gates talking seriously this morning when you were in her office. What was it about? You had that I-have-a-big-problem-and-I-cannot-solve-it look on your face."

"It was about the case. The one I had to be protected from. The trial is the day after tomorrow and I wanted to have her opinion on a few things."

"Can you tell me about it?Please, I'd really like to know and understand what started all of this." Kate almost begged.

Johanna seemed to hesitate but nodded after a while. She asked for a bill and paid for their lunch.

"Let's go home. There are too many ears here."