A/N1: Hello peoples and WELCOME to the 24th Chapter of Absolution titled 'Business End' there is a lot of emotion and angst in this chapter so I hope you're prepared for the ride! **Grins** Big thanks to my beta Bella who is the Kate Beckett of beta readers...totally badass!
In with the show!
"So what's u-mmmph!"
Rick pulled Kate close and seize her lips with his own, cutting her off mid word. The female detective melted into his embrace and returned his affections enthusiastically, hooking her thumbs in his belt loops and letting a small moan of desire escape her lips.
"W-we shouldn't!" Kate breathed as the writer totally devoured her, peppering her face with kisses then trailing down her jawline to her neck where he suckled upon the fading hickey there. "Gates will catch us!"
"Nuh uh no, she won't," Rick murmured, leaning against the table and gently grasping her smiling face in his hands. "God, you're beautiful. You know that? So goddamn b-beautiful."
"Rick...is everything alright?" Kate asked worriedly as her partner choked out the last word.
"No, not really," Rick confessed, swallowing in an attempt to fight off a torrent of tears. "I need to tell you something and I think you're going to hate me once I finish telling you what it is."
"I doubt that very much Rick, you're my one and done. I love you far more than I could ever hate you," Kate assured him. "I don't think you could ever do anything that would make me hate you."
"Well I beg to differ." Rick replied with a sigh.
"Rick...what is it?" Kate requested. Her hazel green eyes boring into his baby blue ones.
He reached into his pocket and retrieved his FBI identification. "I'm going to tell you everything but you have to promise to hear me out til you have the full story," he expressed. His voice wavering dangerously as he fingered the buttery soft leather. "If you're going to be mad at me I want it to be because you know everything, okay?"
"Okay, I promise." Kate replied, pressing a kiss to his wrinkled forehead.
Rick held out his identification. "Have a look at this and tell me what it is." He requested, placing his free hand on her hip and squeezing it.
Kate took the leather folder and gave her partner a curious look before opening it and reading the information on the laminated photo identification within.
"Richard Alexander Rodgers Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation. You rejoined the feds?" Kate exclaimed in a mixture of confusion and surprise. "Why? When?"
"Two months ago," Rick replied, taking back the leather pouch. "But the reason why started weeks and months ago. Before you got shot, actually not long after I first met you."
"Go on."
"Since I found out about your Mom, Kate. I've wanted to help you find her killer," Rick continued. "The desire to help you find closure only increased since you were forced to shoot Dick Coonan in the bullpen. Pretty much since that day I have been investigating your Mom's case. You found out that I had been investigating it, of course. But I never told you that I never stopped investigating it."
"You did what?" Kate shrilled jerking away from her partner.
"Please Kate, you promised." Rick pleaded.
The female detective made a face but allowed the Writer to continue.
"I ran into the same sort of difficulty you did after you got into the service and did your own investigating," Rick shared. "I ran into dead ends and discovered more files than should be, were missing. Then you were shot and my world totally collapsed. You being shot motivated me to dive back into the investigation but once again I ran into brick wall after brick wall. I tried investigating your shooting but that's when Gates came to the department and chucked me out because I wasn't a sworn in officer. Once she allowed me to come back to the precinct I used all the spare time I had when not writing to investigate your Mom's case and your shooting. Then the phone calls continued."
"The ones you've been getting over the last few days?" Kate asked in clipped tones, her arms crossed across her chest.
"No," Rick replied. "This person I think knows who ordered the hit on your Mom and shot you..."
"And you didn't tell me this?" Kate screeched. "Are you kidding me Castle? You had this sort of information and didn't think I'd like to know?" she inquired, thick emotion filling her voice. "Who is it?"
"I d-don't know," Rick confessed. "They-"
"Bullshit you don't know!" Kate shrilled, her voice filling the small room with ease. "What else do you know? Is there-"
"I don't know, Kate!" Rick exclaimed equally as loudly. "Whoever this person is never said their real name. All I know is they call themselves Mr Smith. He started ringing me just after Roy was killed-"
"That was fifteen months ago!" Kate bellowed. "You've withheld this sort of information from me for that long?"
"Kate, if I had told you what I knew then and now, you would have gone out there with a full head of steam and gotten yourself killed!" Rick bellowed back. "This Mr Smith said if I got you to back off investigating your Mom's murder the Mr Big or Dragon would leave you alone."
"I WAS STILL SHOT OR HAD YOU FORGOTTEN?" Kate screeched. "Do you mean because of you I nearly DIED? I don't fucking believe this Rick. You're the man I'm in love with and you're the reason I got shot?"
"NO!" Rick bellowed. "No no no no! It would be my fault if you got shot again. That's why I am telling you all this, the WHOLE story so you can take all factors into account and stay out of the cross hairs!"
"There better be a freaking good reason you've kept something like all of this from me," Kate snarled. "I'm using all my self control not to throw something at you right now."
"I know and if I were in your situation I'd feel exactly the same," Rick answered. "Anyway as I said I've never stopped investigating your or your Mom's case, then a few weeks ago I got another call from this Mr Smith again and he said he had a folder of information for me that would help me find who ordered the hit on your Mom and who shot you."
"Where is this folder?" Kate demanded, her voice wavering dangerously. "Where's the damn folder, Rick?"
"I promise I'll tell you that," Rick said. "I promise I will but you have to let me tell you the whole story."
"I'm really struggling to find-"
"I know," Rick said tiredly. "You're struggling not to hate my guts right now."
"Just tell me the rest of the damn story, Rick." Kate spat.
"After receiving this file and investigating its contents, I came to the conclusion I needed help," Rick shared with a sigh. "That's when I went to Kevin and Javier."
"YOU WENT TO MY BEST FRIENDS BEFORE ME?" Kate screeched. "You went to my best friends? SHIT!"
The door of the break room opened and Ryan and Esposito walked in.
"Oh no, no WAY!" Kate exclaimed. "No freaking way you two are not the people I want to see right now."
"Chica, you need to hear the whole story-" Esposito began.
"Don't Chica me, Javier Esposito!" Kate screeched, her face turning a magnificent shade of scarlet. "How could you of all people keep something this monumental from me? You're my best friend for chrissakes!"
"Kate-" Ryan began.
"Don't even bother opening your mouth, Kevin Ryan!"
"Kate, will you PLEASE let me finish?" Rick pleaded.
"WHY SHOULD I?" Kate screamed, her voice breaking from the effort of yelling so loudly and angry tears spilling down her cheeks. "Tell me one damn good reason I should stay here one more minute!"
"Because if you go out there with only half the story, you'll get yourself killed!" Kevin exclaimed.
"SHUT UP KEVIN!" Kate screeched.
Kate's screaming attracted one more person. The Captain appeared outside the door and made her way into the room.
"Oh have you come to join the party too?" Kate snapped. "Well roll up roll up, last tickets are on sale!"
"Kate please," Rick pleaded in a soft voice. "She needs to be here. After bringing in Kevin and Javi, we realised we needed more official help and I asked Victoria to help."
"WHY?"
"Because I have connections in internal affairs and could access computer databases Rick couldn't as a then unpaid civilian consultant," Gates stated.
"I don't remember asking your opinion," Kate snapped snidely.
"Kate please," Rick pleaded again tears soaking his eyelashes.
"Please what, Rick?"
"Please let me finish," Rick repeated. "You deserve to know everything and I am trying to say, everything you need to know."
There was a long silence in which the female detective gave her partner, turned Special Agent the deepest of death glares.
"We as a group have been meeting every Friday at the Old Haunt to go over the case files we have accumulated during the course of our investigation when we go to a point that I felt if it were best we had help from the feds," Rick continued. "We've come up with some suspects that could raise merry hell, hell even more merry hell if they knew we as NYPD officers and consultants were poking around. That's when I rang Frank who as you know is my old boss from the V-CAP program in DC and asked him to come into our investigation. He could bring the total resources of the Bureau into proceedings and help us sew up a solid case to take to the D.A."
"And you never thought at ANY point I might like to be part of this investigation?" Kate trilled. "This is MY case we're talking about Castle, not one of your damn books!"
"I know it's not one of my damn books!" Rick yelled. "Why the hell do you think I went all the way to Washington to rejoin the fucking feds? I did it because I knew as a civilian consultant I would be able to do fuck all to help move this case alone and get you and your father some closure!"
"I don't see why you all had to keep me out of the loop!"
"Because if we kept you in the loop, you would have run out there not knowing the full story and gotten yourself killed!" Rick exclaimed. "You know those calls I've been getting? Each time it's someone on the line warning me to back off the investigation into the fire because if I didn't the sniper would come after you again and not miss this time!"
"You mean I'm STILL in danger?" Kate bellowed, angry tears spilling down her cheeks. "Why start the investigation in the first place if they're still coming after me? Do you want me to get killed?"
"Of course I don't!" Rick yelled. "I want to marry you Kate and I need you alive for that! We're all in danger here. Victoria got her car keyed. Kevin had his tyres slashed and remember last week when Javi was run off the road and his car totalled? My home, our home was blown up with a fucking petrol bomb! That was all warnings from the Dragon to stop. But we're not stopping, Kate. We don't give a rats about our own personal safety. We only care about you, we're doing this because we LOVE you, dammit!"
"IF YOU LOVED ME YOU WOULD HAVE BROUGHT ME INTO THE INVESTIGATION FROM THE BEGINNING!" Kate screamed, shoving him hard against the refrigerator and causing a pair of drinking glasses to fall off and shatter on the polished wooden floor. "This is my MOM ,Castle. You KNOW how much it means to me to find her killer!" she proclaimed, tears falling freely.
"And you will Kate. We're so close to finding him I know we are and when that time comes, the arresting duties will be totally yours."
"THAT IS NOT THE FUCKING POINT!" Kate screeched. "You've excluded me Rick, excluded me from the one thing that I most want to finish!"
"Kate, they want you dead!" Rick yelled back. "These people want you dead!"
"Not as much as I want them dead!" Kate snarled, her hazel greens darkening with pure loathing and hatred. "I don't give a rat's ass what you have discovered! You're not me. You're not driven like I am! It is up to me to find justice for my Mom, not you or Javi. Not Kevin and definitely not Gates!"
"Oh, so you want to go out there and get shot again?" Rick shot back sarcastically. "You can't win this alone against these people, Kate. You need to come to your senses-"
A fresh wave of rage washed over Kate and she lifted a hand slapping Rick on the cheek with all her strength, Rick recoiled in shock his hand instantly going to his cheek. Kate went to slap him again but Esposito and Ryan leapt forward grabbing her arms. The female detective reacted instantaneously stomping on her friend's toes kneeing them in the groin. The two detectives went to restrain her further despite the pain they were in but Kate was too strong, she whipped around her fist clenched and punched both her friends in the nose. Instantly there was a loud cracking noise and both the detective's noses began pouring blood.
"I never believed you could do this to me Rick!" Kate hissed her face full of loathing. "We-are-over! I will never EVER forgive you for this!"
And with that the female detective turned, shoved Gates out of the way and exited the room tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Well that went as well as it could have!" Rick exclaimed sarcastically.
"A hand here?" Gates said to the Writer turned special agent as she grabbed a tea towel and pressed the wadded up material to Ryan's nose.
Rick grabbed another tea towel, wadded it up and pressed it to Esposito's nose. The Latino detective winced and swore as a wave of agony washed over him. "Jesus, she pags a punch, fug! Careful Castle!"
"Right, you two are going to hospital. This bleeding is getting ridiculous," Gates ordered a moment later. "You're both going to need surgery."
"OW!" Ryan bellowed nasally as his boss began packing tissues up his nostrils.
"I'm not going to damn hosbital. I've had a brogen nose before," Esposito snapped. "We need to find Beckett, dhere's a sniper out dhere just waiting for her-"
"Hey-shit what happened?" Frank said as he entered the break room.
"Beckett degged uz." Esposito said nasally.
"We've got to find her!" Rick implored his friend. "Please go find her. Try her father's on west seventy-second. I think she would have gone there. She's not going to want to talk to me."
"On it!" Frank said at once.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!" Esposito bellowed.
"You two are going to hospital, no argument," Gates told her detectives once the bleeding had stemmed somewhat. "And Castle, you're taking them."
"What about Kate?" the Writer yelped.
"Frank and his team will find her. You're too close and too wound up to be sensible." Gates said sagely. "Take a Crown Vic and stay with Ryan and Esposito til you calm down. Then if Frank thinks you're capable of assisting in the investigation you can return to official duties, understand?"
Rick made to protest but shrunk under Gates' hard stare. "Yes Sir." He capitulated.
Gates left the break room a few minutes later, leaving Rick and a still bleeding Ryan and Esposito behind.
"I'm so sorry guys. I didn't mean for you to get hurt," Rick said apologetically going to the refrigerator and retrieving two gel ice packs. "Really I didn't"
"Bro, you don' hab to apologise," Esposito said nasally. "I don't blame 'er for going ob and I don't blame you for tellin' her d'truth. She needed to know, you know she did...ah!"
"She'll come around, Castle," Ryan added wincing as the Writer pressed he cold compress to his nose. "This is Kade we're talking about, she doesn't hold grudges."
"Yeah well she hasn't in the past," Rick mumbled as he went to the sink and began washing his hands. "I have never seen her like that, in hindsight it was frightening."
"She'll come around once she calms down, bro," Esposito assured his friend. "At least now you don't hab to hide about being a fed and can participate more openly into da invesdigation."
"I'd resign if it meant keeping Kate safe," Rick admitted as he dried his hands. "C'mon, let's get you two to hospital. I think you're going to need surgery. D'you want me to ring Jenny and Lanie and explain what happened?"
"No," Esposito said firmly. "Lanie will only ask questions and I don't want her to know Kate degged me. Let the hosbital ring, dhey can say we were injured during the course of our duties. If we need surgery, we'll tell dhem afterwards."
Kevin grunted in agreement.
"Well if you're sure," Rick said reluctantly. "C'mon, let's go."
Kate left the precinct upon finishing her screaming match with Rick and headed straight back to the Waldorf Astoria, she gathered up all her belongings then took a taxi to her father's apartment, knocking on the door mid afternoon.
"Katie?" Jim asked in surprise after opening the door. "K-Katie, what's wrong?"
Kate dropped her bag and dove into her father's arms, bursting into body wracking sobs.
"Hey hey hey, what's wrong?" the elder Beckett crooned, patting her back soothingly.
"Everyth-thing's s-so messed up, D-Daad!" Kate wailed. "He l-l-lied t-to meeeeeeee!"
And with that Kate totally broke down, her body twitching as she cried. Jim held his daughter for a while then picked up her bag and gently guided her over to the sofa.
"Coffee?" he suggested.
Kate nodded. "T-thanks."
Jim left Kate in the living room and went to the kitchen. He fixed them both a steaming mug of coffee then made his way back to the living room where Kate had kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet underneath her. Her face was red and blotchy and her cheeks were streaked with tears.
"Here you go," he offered, holding out the mug. "So you going to let me know what Rick did?"
"H-how did you know I m-meant Rick?" Kate choked, hiccuping slightly as she sipped her drink.
"Sweetie, I doubt Kevin or Javier would make you turn up on my doorstep crying," Jim observed with a chuckle. "Over the last few years the only man that's ever made you run the full spectrum of emotions is Rick, even before you two were together. He would either make you go into a towering rage or turn up on my doorstep crying your eyes out. Besides, only people who are as in love as you and Rick are, argue like you two do. Your Mom and I were exactly the same."
A singular tear escaped Kate's eye and ran down her cheek. "You're right, it was Rick," she said thickly, wiping away the tear with her shirt sleeve. "He did something that I'm not sure I'll be able to forgive him for, Dad. It hurt so much when he told me what he was up to."
Jim put an arm around Kate's shoulders and allowed her to cuddle up to him like she used to as a small child. "You don't have to tell me what he did or said, but I'm a good listener and sometimes all one needs to feel better is someone to listen," her father proclaimed. "Or someone to go find whoever made you sad and belt them up with a shovel."
Kate couldn't help it and laughed heartily. "I don't want you to belt Rick up with a shovel," she answered thickly. "Though I do think he deserves it."
"What happened bub?" Jim asked softly after a moment of silence. "C'mon, you can tell me. I'm your old Dad. You know you can tell me anything."
Kate sniffed. "Rick told me today that for the last few weeks with Kevin, Javier and Gates he's been investigating Mom's case." She began. "He even went to Washington to re-enlist with the FBI to do so."
"Oh, I see," Jim said cautiously. "And you're mad at him for re-enlisting or investigating your Mothers case?"
"Investigating Mom's case!" Kate exclaimed. "He totally excluded me from tasking any part in it Dad and he knows out of all the unsolved cases in the NYPD archives, that is the one I most want to solve! It hurts so much! AND he went to my best friends, Kevin and Javi to do it! And now he wants me to believe the sniper who shot me at Roy's funeral is out there just waiting to pick me off again! I mean if they were serious they would have tried long before now, wouldn't they?"
"Did Rick say why he kept you from helping with the case?" Jim asked gently. "I know Rick. He's a sensible man. He must have had good reasons for not bringing you into the investigations."
"He says it's because if I had the same information he, Javi, Kevin and Gates had. I would have just rush out into the street and do something to get myself killed." Kate continued. "But I'm a cop. I don't rush out there and do something stupid. I wouldn't be as good at my job if I was like that."
"D'you think maaaybe Rick thought you might be considering your personal connection to this case in particular?" Jim said cautiously. "I mean it is a very personal case for you, Kate. I've seen how you react whenever it comes up and he might have thought that because of the personal nature, things might be different to the usual run of the mill case you usually deal with."
"Are you saying he was right?" Kate shrilled, sitting up. "Are you-"
"Katie, I'm not saying he was right or your reaction was wrong. Just hear me out for a minute!" Jim said firmly. "But think past your hurt for a moment. Put yourself in his position for a minute. If you wanted to keep your other half safe and the best way to do that was keep them out of the loop with what you were doing, wouldn't you do that? It sounds like he's done what he's done because he's in love with you. Love is a very powerful thing, honey. It drives you to do the most maddening and stupid things. I'm sure Rick didn't want to keep you in a dark, but he did because he loves you and it was the only way to keep you safe. Your personal wellbeing is his upmost priority by the sounds of it. It sounds like he would rather you be mad at him than in a box in the ground, it sounds like he doesn't want you to follow your Mom's footsteps and get yourself killed while on some quest!"
"I know he doesn't want me killed Dad, but he excluded me!" Kate exclaimed, her eyes welling with tears once more. "That's the thing that hurts the most! The whole time I've known him I've included him in everything! EVERYTHING! And the one time I really need him to return the favour he turns his back on me! We're not just partners on the job, Dad. We're partners off the job too. We invest so much in each other all the time, whether it is at the precinct or home and now he does this! He totally devalued what we have Dad and I can't forgive him for that."
Jim sighed and set his mug down on the glass coffee table in front of him. "Since when do you not forgive anyone, Katie?" he inquired as his daughter got up and began striding around the room. "You've never not forgiven anyone before in your whole life. Right from when your first boyfriend cheated on you to when you found out Dick Coonan was the one who murdered your mother. You've always been a very forgiving person sweetheart, much like your Mom. I think that's what makes you such a good cop, you're forgiving and compassionate."
"Yeah, well maybe this is one time I'm not like Mom," Kate huffed. "Maybe this is the one time I don't want to be like her. I've never been hurt like this before, Dad...its killing me to feel like this."
Jim turned around and patted the seat next to him. "Come sit down, sweetheart," he requested. "Take some deep breaths and relax a little. You're grinding your teeth and you only do that when you're stressed."
Kate walked around the front of the sofa and dropped down beside her father allowing him to put a comforting arm around her. "I don't know what to do, Dad," she confessed as more tears leaked out of her eyes. "This hurts so bad, my heart hurts so bad."
"Aw honey, I know it hurts but try and think about it from Rick's point of view," Jim suggested softly, pulling his daughter close. "As an outsider here I would imagine it would have hurt him just as much to keep something this big from you as it was for you to hear what he was doing. Go into cop mode and look at both sets of the evidence, think about how he might feel then if you're still mad at him and hurt...then fair enough."
Kate sighed."I don't know what to do right now, Dad," she said thickly. "Really I don't. I love him with all my heart and soul, but I'm so hurt and mad at him it's-god it's all messed up!"
"Would you like to stay a few days and think about what to do?" Jim asked, giving her a comforting squeeze. "No pressure, we can just hang out. I've already done my parental bit, I don't expect you want another Daddy Daughter talk."
Kate gave a watery chuckle. "Aw I dunno Dad, those sorts of talks can be quite nice," she answered, kissing her father on the cheek. "We don't get to spend a lot of time together, especially of late and I like it when we have deep and meaningful discussions."
"Hmm well you go and put your bag in the spare room and have a rest, dinner isn't for a while yet," Jim informed his daughter. "How about we have something fatty and greasy? You look like you need some comfort food."
Kate smiled. "Sounds good," she said with a sniff. "Thanks for the talk Dad."
"Anytime sweetheart."
Kate made her way to the back of her father's apartment and let herself into the spare room. She unpacked her bag then changed into her favourite daisy print pyjamas. She then pulled back the covers and got into the bed and quickly fell asleep.
A few hours later as Jim was pottering around his home a knock came at his door. Peering through the peep hole and seeing Victoria Gates and an unidentified man in his late fifties prompted him to unlock the door.
"Victoria?" he inquired.
"Hello, may we come in?" the homicide captain asked in a grave tone.
Jim stomach fell through the floor, this situation mirroring the time thirteen years previously when he had been informed of his wife's death.
"O-of c-course," he stammered stepping aside. "Come in."
"This is Supervisory Special Agent Frank Grasman," Victoria began as Jim led them into the living room. "He heads up the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in DC. He's in town with his team to investigate the fire at Rick and Kate's loft in TriBeCa."
"Soooo why are you here?" Jim asked cautiously as the federal agent showed him his identification.
"Mr Beckett, I can't go into great detail because it's still an active investigation but I felt it my responsibility to let you know my team and I believe the fire at Rick and Kate's home is connected with Kate's shooting and the homicide of your wife thirteen years ago."
Jim's hands flew to his mouth in shock. "You're kidding me!" he murmured. "Jesus, Katie didn't tell me that."
"She's here?" Gates asked, relief flooding her features.
"Yes, she's in the spare room out like a light. She came here about three o'clock in a right state."
"Erm, what did she tell you?" Gates ventured cautiously.
"That Rick had been investigating Jo's murder with you, Kevin and Javier and had rejoined the FBI and didn't tell her about it til today," Jim shared. "She turned up on my door in a right mess, she broke down and told me she was hurt that he didn't let her help him and felt betrayed he excluded her from the case."
"Well he's got a good reason from excluding her Jim...may I call you that?" Frank said.
"Sure, of course."
"As I was saying, Ricky's got a very good reason for keeping Kate out of the loop," Frank continued. "The levels of violence have been escalating the past few weeks..."
"So someone's still out to kill my little girl?" Jim exclaimed in fear. "What has it got to do with her Mother? I want to know everything, do not bullshit me. I deserve to know."
"Well...I can't go into specific detail because it is an active investigation and it's against FBI regulations to reveal sensitive information to a civilian, but it's our theory ... Kevin, Javier, Victoria, Ricky and my opinion that whomever ordered the hit on your wife is an extraordinarily powerful New York native with strong connections in politics and law enforcement. We've found evidence of a million dollar drug and prostitution ring that was connected to the drug circuit your wife was investigating in Washington Heights back in ninety eight ninety nine. It is our belief she was murdered because she was on the brink of discovering who this person and his two I.C were and she was killed to keep the identity of this Mr Big, quiet."
"Jesus Christ," Jim muttered. "And they're after Katie because...?"
"They think she's the one heading the current investigation," Gates added. "It's our theory that this identity believes Kate and Rick have teamed up together to reopen the case and have brought Kevin and Javier into help. We've all suffered some sort of intimidation tactics in order to back off the case, my car was keyed, Kevin had his tyres slashed and Javier was run off the road and his car totalled all within the last two weeks. And now Rick has started receiving phone calls warning him to back off for the investigation or the sniper who shot Kate at Roy Montgomery's funeral would come after her again."
Jim's face fell and his heart skipped a few beats. Someone was trying to kill his baby girl, again. He couldn't lose her. She was his life. All he had left. "I didn't know about Rick getting those phone calls," he murmured. "Though that would explain his reserved and quiet nature during dinner the other night. Do you know where they're coming from?"
"Not officially, everything's only theory at the moment, whoever is calling isn't staying on the line long enough for us to get a trace," Frank revealed. "We've only managed to narrow it down to two dozen possible cell phone towers. I'm trying to get Rick to keep the caller on the line longer each time but it seems he knows we've got a trace on Rick's cell phone and hangs up before we can get anything solid."
"So what's happening now?" Jim asked with a sigh.
"I've had a protective detail put on Alexis and Martha and I'm personally staying with Rick in his room at the Waldorf Astoria. I'd like to put one on your apartment building and have someone stay here with you, I spoke with Ricky just now from the hospital-"
"Hang on...Rick's in hospital?" Jim exclaimed.
"N-no Kevin and Javier are." Frank replied.
"Did Kate not tell you?" Gates exclaimed in surprise.
"No, tell me what?"
"Erm-she punched them when Rick confessed about the investigation," Gates informed him, hesitatingly. "Broke both their noses and are at St Luke's Roosevelt awaiting reconstructive surgery."
Jim's jaw fell open. "Katie punched her two best friends?" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Erm, well it seems she feels as 'betrayed' by Kevin and Javier as she does by Rick," Gates explained, making quotation marks with her fingers. "She gave Rick a rather hearty face slap too...after a screaming argument."
"You witnessed this?"
"I did."
Jim slumped back in his seat and rubbed his face. "And you really think having a protective detail on Katie will help?"
"I do and so does Rick, he pleaded with me to keep her safe and in my opinion, having a protective detail on her makes it all that much harder for this guy to-"
"I will not have a damn protective detail on my ass!"
In perfect unison Jim, Frank and Gates turned around to see Kate standing behind the sofa her, hair mussed up and her eyes still heavy with sleep.
"Honey, just-"
"No," Kate repeated, making her way into the living room and steadfastly ignoring Frank and Gates. "I'm a freaking homicide detective. We don't have protective detail, especially from the feds. I am quite capable of looking after myself."
"Not this time you're not Kate, this is serious!" Gates exclaimed. "I know you're mad at Rick but this time you have to look past that and think about your own personal safety. I know you're quite capable in self defence and firearms training, you're the best and most competent detective I've ever dealt with, but this time you have to be the protected not the protector! Just this once."
"No dammit!"
"Katie can you give us a minute please?" Jim asked his agitated daughter.
"I don't see why-"
"Katherine..."
Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise at her father's warning tone and uncharacteristic use of her full name but left the room shooting Frank and Gates a death glare as she went.
"Be honest with me," Jim said to Frank as Kate voiced her displeasure by immaturely slamming the bedroom door. "Aside from the obvious, how much danger is Katie in?"
"Tons, Ricky is now getting those phone calls half a dozen times a day," Frank replied. "And the caller who we believe to be the person who shot Kate is escalating with his threats. He's expressly said he's not interested in hurting anyone else but Kate. But we want to keep everyone safe just in case he starts going after her friends and family."
"You do what you have to do to keep my baby safe," Jim said thickly. "Don't worry. I'll convince Katie to change her mind. I don't want her to go the same way as her mother."
"We're doing our damnedest not to let that happen, Jim." Gates replied.
"So when will the detail arrive?" Jim asked.
"As soon as you give the say so. He's downstairs in the lobby with your doorman waiting now," Frank replied. "His name is Paul Hannigan, he works in the V-CAP department with me in DC."
"He's good?"
"Yes, one of the best in the business."
Jim studied the agent for a short moment before answering. "Alright, go tell him I'll ring down to the desk when I've brought Katie around," Jim told the federal agent with a sigh. "I reckon I might be able to convince her that a protective detail is a good idea."
"Oh good."
"And when you're in touch with Rick, can you get him to give me a call?" Jim asked. "I want to know how he is but I don't want to push things."
"I'll do that," Frank promised as he got to his feet and extended his hand. "We've got this Jim. We're just being careful."
"Thanks for all your help."
"Anytime."
Frank and Gates left. After making sure the door was securely locked Jim called the local Chinese take away shop and ordered dinner before making his way down the hallway to Kate's room where he lifted a fist and knocked softly.
"Katie?" he said softly.
"Go away!" was the annoyed response.
"Katie..."
"Piss off Dad!"
"Katherine Louise Beckett, I am your father and I will not be spoken to like that!" Jim declared loudly. "Now open the god damn door and speak to me like a civilised grown woman and not a little child."
There was a long silence before Jim heard a loud hurrumph and the door opened, Kate appeared with a scowl upon her face.
"You haven't called me by my full name in years." She said shortly.
"I haven't had to use your full name in years," Jim countered mildly. "Now put on your dressing gown and come out into the apartment, it's almost dinner time. And speak civilly, you are not a child."
And with that Jim turned around and returned to the kitchen. Kate emerged from the spare room minutes later, her hair brushed and her dressing gown wrapped tightly around her slim waist.
"Hope you're in the mood for Chinese, I've ordered in." Jim said as he put the kettle on the stove.
"I don't really care." Kate replied snidely.
"Katherine, do not give me that attitude," Jim growled. "Your mother and I brought you up to behave better than that."
Kate just shot her father a scowl.
Jim made a pot of tea in silence then slid a steaming mug of the beverage across the kitchen island to his scowling daughter.
"So..." he began, stirring sugar and cream into his own mug.
"So what?" Kate responded. "Sorry..." she added hastily as Jim opened his mouth to scold her.
"When were you going to tell me you punched the boys and sent them to hospital?"
Kate's eyes widened. "They're in hospital?" she exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes," Jim replied pointedly. "Apparently you punched them so hard they need reconstructive nasal surgery. Rick's with them at St Luke's Roosevelt Hospital now, staying with them til they go to theatre."
"Oh-um..."
"One thing I want to know is why did you punch your two best friends?" Jim asked his tone softening slightly. "You, Kevin and Javi are as tight as three friends can be, sweetheart. They're practically your brothers."
"Yeah, well they betrayed me as much as Rick did. Didn't they?" Kate piped up, her brow furrowing further. "They deserved it. They excluded me as much as Rick did. Not for one minute did they consider I might be of use to them nor did they consider how I would feel about being excluded. I was so wound up after Rick's explanation and slapping him I automatically turned around and belted Kevin and Javi up when they grabbed me."
"I seriously can't believe you punched your best friends," Jim said, retrieving two dinner plates from a nearby cupboard. "I know the news you received wasn't expected or welcome but you're not a violent person, even in the front line of your job you only use physical force as a last resort. What's up with you?"
"What's up with me? What's up with me?" Kate shrilled. "I'll tell you what the hell's up with me Dad, my best friends and the man I fantasize about marrying and having kids with, betrayed me in the worst way possible. I think the only thing that would be worse if Rick had actually cheated on me. In fact I think I would have preferred that."
"Oh Katherine, don't be so damn melodramatic. It's not becoming of you," Jim told her, walking over to the dining table and placing the plates upon it. "When are you going to realise Rick did what he did because he loves you and cares about your safety? There's someone out to kill you, sweetheart! Or did you forget about being shot lat year? I sure as hell don't. I almost lost you."
"Of course I don't!" Kate shrilled. "Have you ever experience this level of betrayal? My friends and boyfriend investigated my case. I mean she was my MOTHER!"
"AND SHE WAS MY WIFE!" Jim thundered, hot tears pricking at his greenish grey eyes. "Or have you forgotten that?"
Kate's face fell. "D-Dad, I-" she stammered.
"Don't Dad me," Jim retorted. "Since you entered the NYPD Katie, you've had a once track mind in regards to your mothers case. You haven't given a second thought how it may affect your friends and family if you were to meet the same fate as your Mom. Do you have any idea how much your shooting affected your family? You-"
"Dad I-"
"I-have-not-finished!" Jim snapped. "Your Aunt, Rick and I were by your bedside twenty four hours a day for the week you were in that coma. You nearly died three times! There were so many times Jackie and I thought we would have to bury you with your Mom and it messed us all up. I've been sober for nearly nine years and when you got shot is the only time in the last nine years I've ever seriously considered taking up the bottle again. I went to a string of AA meetings in the months afterward in an effort to cope with what happened to you ... so don't 'Dad' me. If you're really determined to go out there and find the man who ordered the hit on your Mom, there's nothing I can do to stop you. But before you head out on your quest stop and think for a few minutes about how it would affect those who love you. How it would affect Graham, Jackie, Jamie, Chis, Andrew, all your nieces and nephews and cousins and most of all Lanie, Kevin, Javier, me and don't forget about Alexis and Rick. That girl is like your daughter and that man thinks the sun shines out of your backside Katie and has done so much to prove it to you, yet you still choose to believe he 'betrayed' you. He hasn't served with the FBI since before Alexis was born and he specially rejoined just to help you find some closure. Help me find some closure. He's put his own personal safety and that of his friends and family aside because he loves you. You. All of this is for you so I'm telling you right now. You will accept the FBI protective detail, you will for once be the protected not the protector and you will do it without complaint. I don't want to bury you Katie and I doubt very much Rick or Alexis do either. Please don't make Rick or Alexis go through what I had to. No man deserves to lose the woman he loves like that. No child deserves to lose her mother, either. You of all people know what that feels like, don't make Alexis feel it too."
Jim reached into his pocket and dropped a few greenbacks on the bench before turning and disappearing into his bedroom leaving Kate sitting at the kitchen island feeling extraordinarily stupid.
A/N2: DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! So she told him and shit hit the fan! What do you think? I really hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. Remember reviews feed the beast! xx