Chapter 6.) You Take it Slowly
Lena stood the second she saw Beckett enter the room. The two took their seats and Beckett began filling Lena in on the case and how she and her brother and sisters could finally sleep comfortably knowing that the man who had done it was finally caught. Lena had asked who the man was and Beckett explained that it was a student from her dad's class. This baffled Lena. She understood the pressure of college but for someone to go to such extremes was beyond her.
Once their conversation was over Lena stood up to leave and Beckett stood up as well.
"How do you handle it?" asked Lena, "There are some days I don't want to get out of bed at all and others when I feel so excited because I think they're coming home but they're not are they."
Beckett gave Lena a soft smile, "It isn't easy. You'll always have days like that. You just have to take it a day at a time. That's all any of us can do. They were your parents so that pain won't ever go away but there will come a time when it doesn't feel so overwhelming to deal with even during the sadness."
Lena smiled and then asked, "Do you have kids Detective Beckett," said Lena.
Beckett smiled, "I do, two girls and a boy."
Lena shook her head. "Sorry I forget who I'm talking to. You're Rick Castle's wife." She looked down for a second and then back at Beckett. "So you know what it's like then, to raise kids without another parent."
"You don't have to do this you know," said Beckett. "I think it's admirable but there are other options. I'm sure that your parents would understand."
"They probably would but I wouldn't. I can't just break up my family. We need each other. And Ty and I need to make this a perfect Christmas for our sisters even if our mom and dad aren't around. That's what they would want. Could you do that Detective, could you take away Christmas for your kids, even if they didn't have their parents around?"
Lena's words left Beckett in utter silence. It was so strange to be getting this kind of talk from a nineteen year old but despite the huge gap in age difference at the same time Beckett could see, as she had since she first met Lena that this was a woman who was like any other nineteen year old but who had a maturity that went beyond her years and would continue to flourish despite the tragedy that she and her siblings had faced.
"I guess not," Beckett conceded.
Lena nodded, "I should go. The girls are going to be getting out of school soon."
Beckett reached in her back pocket and handed her card to Lena. "If you need anything, day or night, feel free to call and I'll be there."
"Thanks Detective Beckett," said Lena, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you too," said Beckett.
She watched as the woman made her way to the elevator and out of her precinct and for the first time in what had felt like a long while, Beckett smiled as a new thought entered her mind.