Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: I was very, very happy getting the feedback I did for the last chapter so I want to get to my thank yous for them! TORONTOSUN (Great that you liked how Beckett and Darnley were close; it was another reason why I wrote the flashback to convey that. And so happy that you liked the love scenes at the end! But I'm so glad that you like how Beckett loves deeply, I believe she could if she let herself. Oh and nice you said it makes sense, I definitely want it to of course!),
MB (Really nice to read that you think it's a beautifully written story so far. And I'm glad that you can tell the love between Castle and Beckett is powerful. It's also really nice to know that you're still trying to catch up; I do have a number of them so it's great you want to get all caught up all the way through. And don't worry, knowing you're likely busy and also catching up I know you aren't able to review every chapter; it's understandable! Pleased to see you think it's a wonderful series and you're welcome for posting!) and
vetgirlmx (I was happy to see that you thought it was a very good chapter first off! Not surprised you expected the girls to react to the baby as I had written. And yeah, I figured that the adults would be aware of the reason the baby was with them and as you said they didn't have much of a chance to talk with Mari and Peter there too as you mentioned. I was glad that you thought it was a really nice surprise that Eliza was able to sense her mother's mood as well since I wasn't sure if readers would take her being able to do that as well as Julia; so glad I was wrong! It was interesting to see your reaction to Julia understanding the motives, but for me I figure she's perceptive and would be able to figure it out so that's why I have her knowing. I didn't think it'd be believable if she didn't, especially with her more interested in this case. Not surprised that you thought the story would end up being what it was or that you knew she would tell it to Castle. But I'm really glad that you loved the fact that she asked Darnley's permission to tell him though you made a good point, they kept it quiet and there's no expiration date! And great you liked seeing Julia writing in her diary, you will see more of it, at different times, but it'll be there! So great you can't wait to see what happens next and now you don't need to wait anymore for that!).
Thanks so much to everyone for the reviews, I loved reading them as usual and am grateful for the time taken to write and send everything my way!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Devil's Radio by George Harrison, from his album Cloud Nine.
Words That Thoughtless Speak
Watching his wife mount Alex, Castle asked her, "Good?"
"Stop checking on me Rick," Beckett told him in a mock annoyed tone as she knew he was still concerned about her after the day before.
"I just want to make sure," Castle said as he then mounted Julius. "Is your phone off?" he asked as together they let their horses walk to the beginning of the trail.
"I set it to vibrate," Beckett answered. When her husband gave her a look; as they usually turned off their phones when they rode; she said in slight exasperation, "I can't turn it off today Rick, if Brad calls we need to know."
With a nod Castle watched her as they went past the last corrals saying, "Full trail?"
"Full," Beckett answered with a nod of her head. She then smiled and said, "Ready?" She wasn't surprised when her husband just stared at her and she turned back to the trail, nudging Alex's sides with her heels before they took off, Castle alongside her as they galloped furiously.
Wondering if his wife was going so fast to work out some frustrations from the day before Castle didn't try to stop her until they were nearing the stream. "So," he began.
"Now what?" Beckett asked in amusement as he sounded very hesitant.
"No I just enjoyed that," Castle replied.
"Me too," Beckett said, smiling at him. "And yes I'm working out my frustrations here."
"Damn," Castle swore under his breath. "I thought I'd be able to fool you."
"I don't think so," Beckett said wryly. Reaching the stream by then she dismounted and as soon as Alex and Julius were drinking from the water she checked her phone.
"It probably took a long time," Castle said. "But…"
Sighing Beckett said, "I realize that they might not even find anything with those names but there's always a hope they will."
"Oh he knew we were talking about him," Castle said as her phone shook then.
"It's not Brad, it's my dad," Beckett replied absently as she then read the message. "They're here."
"Do you want to keep going?" Castle asked her, not surprised she was biting her lower lip.
"I don't think we can, we need to get them to school," Beckett said as she was texting her father back.
"I hope Sydney's enjoying seeing Marie," Castle commented as he waited.
"If she can see her," Beckett replied simply. She then smiled and told her husband, "I'm sure the girls will want to show her Alex and Julius."
"Speaking of that," Castle began.
"We can go," Beckett told him in amusement. She pulled on Alex's reins to get him back to the trail and mounted before she waited for Castle to do the same. She began to ride first before they galloped back to the stables side by side and she wasn't surprised to see their family at the building where their horses' stalls were. "You couldn't wait could you?" she said jokingly to her mother in law and dad when they were close enough.
"I think you mean the girls couldn't," Martha answered first. "But if we interrupted your ride we're sorry."
"Don't worry," Castle said. "We didn't really have enough time today." He then looked over at his wife before he said, "What about later?"
"You think we'll have time for that?" Beckett asked in surprise.
"True… maybe?" Castle asked her.
Smiling Beckett said, "If we can. Have you heard from the Radcliffs?" directing the question to her father.
"Nothing," Jim said as he shook his head once. "But she's been doing well," he said as he needed to hand the baby over to his daughter. He smiled as she gently bounced Sydney and he was about to speak when she whistled suddenly.
"Sorry," Beckett said to him. "I don't know where he's going. Alex!" she said, calling to the stallion that had gotten away from her while she'd been distracted.
"Are you sure you should take her close to him?" Martha asked, watching as the horse walked back to her.
"He'll behave," Beckett replied, looking at the baby as she took the reins. She wasn't surprised to see that Sydney was staring at it with wide eyes before her head turned to look over her shoulder. "Should we leave them there?" she asked her husband as she walked back to him and their parents with Alex in tow.
"Yeah they're fine," Castle said, waiting for her to hand the baby back to her father. He followed her over to the stalls and took care of Julius as quickly as he could until finally he was stepping outside at the same time his wife was coming out of Alex's stall. "We've got plenty of time for breakfast," he told her.
"I wasn't going to take us to the station right now," Beckett said simply. She took Sydney and said, "I hope we have time to change after we drop them off."
"Uh-oh," Eliza said to her sister as they were watching Marie and her mother through the railings.
"They're coming?" Julia asked, looking over at the stable where their parents' horses were. She sighed when she saw that her little sister was right and said, "I guess we gotta go."
"How's she doing?" Beckett asked her daughter when she was close to them with Eliza.
"Really good she's stronger; you can tell," Julia said, looking back at her filly. When she turned to her mother she held her arms out and said, "Could I carry her?" She wasn't surprised when her mother looked unsure so she quickly told her, "Just to the car."
"Alright," Beckett said with a nod before handing Sydney over. She was sure her daughter would be able to handle the baby; since she'd carried Eliza as a baby; but she remained close her as they made their way over to the cars in the parking lot.
"We'll head to the café," Castle said.
"You don't want to change now?" Jim asked him and his daughter.
"We don't have the time for it," Beckett said easily as she waited for Castle to open the door. "Eliza," she said as the little girl was trying to take Sydney from Julia.
"I wanna help," Eliza protested though she didn't put much effort in her words.
"Another time," Castle said, watching Julia climb into the back with the baby.
After they were in their car Beckett drove her and Castle to the café where she'd eaten with Julia the day before. She wasn't surprised, when they got out of the car, that Eliza rushed over to them. "While we order you can hold her," she said to her firmly. "But only with your sister sitting next to you okay?"
"Kay, I'll be good Mommy," Eliza said, beaming widely at her. She let her mother take her hand before they walked inside the building and she waited eagerly for them to get a table before she sat on the booth on the right. Watching nervously as Martha handed the baby to her she waited for her grandmother to set Sydney on her lap before she wrapped her arms around her. "Kay?" she asked hopefully.
"That's fine," Beckett said. "Hold onto her tight." When her youngest nodded, a serious expression on her face, she kissed her temple and let Castle take her hand so they could order.
"They'll be alright," he told his wife as he squeezed her hand.
"I know I just wanted to watch them," Beckett said with a smile as she saw the sisters talking together to the baby.
"What're they saying?" Castle asked her.
"I have no idea," Beckett said honestly. "But it looks like they're enjoying it," she added as both girls were obviously laughing at Sydney.
"Are we gonna see her after school?" Eliza was asking her big sister.
"I don't know," Julia said honestly. "But we did see Christopher after Mommy and Daddy worked on that case."
Nodding as she remembered the baby boy they'd seen sometimes Eliza said, "I hope we can see her lots," looking down at Sydney on her lap. When she tilted her head up at her sister she saw that she was looking over at their parents and she asked, "Is Mommy kay?"
"Yeah you can tell," Julia said, turning her head to her sister. "Especially 'cause she got to ride."
"She's lucky," Eliza said before Julia was leaning over and wiping Sydney's chin. "Do you want to take her?"
"That's alright," Julia assured her. "They're coming over here soon so they're gonna hold the baby."
Since the adults were coming back to them shortly after getting their food Eliza had to relinquish her hold on Sydney but she stayed next to her father who held her on his lap that time. She had to be pushed to eat by him and her mother but did her best to also make the baby laugh.
"Eliza," Beckett said a little sternly towards the end of the meal. "We're ready to go and you're still eating your croissant."
"I'm done," the little girl said rapidly. "See?" she said as she pointed to the wrapper the bread had been wrapped in.
"Okay, finish your juice," Castle said as he, his wife and Jim were clearing the table. "Are you going to call Rudy?" he asked his wife.
"They said they'd call," Beckett replied. She turned to her father but before she could speak he was doing so before her.
"We'll watch her," Jim assured her. "You don't have to worry."
"I would suggest too that you stay home," Castle added.
"We will," Jim said, reassuringly again.
"Let's get to school," Beckett told the two and they went together to the table to get the girls and leave. She and Castle were alone in the car again as they drove and she said, "Still no call."
"With that long of a list I'm not sure we really should have expected one," Castle told her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah I just… want to close the case," Beckett replied, hesitating slightly before she finished. She wasn't surprised when her husband squeezed her hand and she looked at him, smiling briefly before they turned their attention to the window.
"Bye Gram, Grandpapa," Eliza was saying to the two as her parents walked up to them.
"I'll come to pick you up alright kiddo?" Martha asked her.
"Kay," Eliza said before she shared a kiss with them both.
"I'll see you at dance class I hope," Julia told them as she hugged Martha and Jim in turn.
"We'll try the best we can," Beckett's father said.
Waving to them and squeezing Sydney's hand with Eliza, Julia went to her mother and took her hand as Martha asked if they should go.
"You should," Castle answered. "If we're going home we'll be there soon but if not we'll try and get back in time to go to the class."
Saying goodbye; after telling the two to call if they needed to; Beckett said to her husband, "We're going to be late, we need to go."
"Oh right," Castle said as he realized that she made a point since it was nearly time for the bell to ring. He followed her inside and then straight into Eliza's classroom where the sisters hugged each other goodbye. He then embraced the little girl tightly saying, "Have fun and we'll see you today we promise."
"I know Daddy, will I see Sydney?" Eliza asked him.
"We'll need to see," Beckett told her gently. "But he's right; we're hoping you have fun."
"I will," Eliza said, nodding before she hugged her mother next. After sharing a kiss with her and then going to her father to do the same with him she waved to them and headed to one of the tables where her friends were playing with clay.
Letting her mother rush them upstairs Julia said, "Are you feeling better?"
"I'm not sick," Beckett said though she knew why her daughter had asked that.
"Mommy," Julia said softly, looking up at her.
"I'm much better now," Beckett told her reassuringly, looking at her husband and seeing he seemed to be a bit concerned. "Do you have your camera?"
"In my backpack it's all ready to go," Julia said, smiling at them. She hugged her mother and said, "I hope you have time to go riding today."
"Me too," Castle said, not surprised when his wife rolled her eyes. He hugged their oldest and said, "But have a great day."
"I was going to say the same," Beckett added.
"I know and thanks," Julia said. "And I'll pay attention the whole class. Be careful."
"We will," Castle and Beckett said to their youngest before she went into her classroom.
"We… there he is," Castle said as he and Beckett were leaving the elementary school and her text alert rang.
"He wants our help and if we can to come in now," she told him. "Let's go."
"You mind not changing?" Castle asked her as they started to walk over to the car.
"I'm as dressed for work as I can get," Beckett said, having worn jeans and a polo shirt for the ride; that being the best option for both that and going into the station. She let Castle drive them that time, texting Rudy on the way as the silence made her uneasy.
"Is that him?" Castle asked when he heard her text alert again.
"It is," Beckett said with a nod. "They're waiting to see what they'll do once they can get a hold of their father…"
"Text Brad," Castle told her quickly.
"I will," Beckett said simply. Just as they were pulling into the station she got a reply from the chief and said, "He already has someone tailing Mr. Radcliff."
"Where is he right now?" Castle asked, looking over at her.
"We can ask him when we see him," Beckett said as they got out of the car. She was first inside of the station and into Brad's office saying, "Please tell me that officer-"
"He's at home," the chief replied, knowing what she was about to ask. "And hasn't moved; I would imagine he's still mad at his kids if he hasn't answered their calls. How's the baby?"
"She's good," Castle answered. "Safe at our house with our parents."
"Good to hear," Brad said. "Okay so now you're here we need your help with some of the names we got."
"We're ready to look into them," Beckett said immediately. "You haven't found anything?"
"Afraid not," Brad said as he walked with them out to their desk. "We divvied up the list so I want you to take these two."
"Are we contacting them?" Castle asked as he sat at the desk next to it.
"We are and luckily they've been helpful," Brad said. "These two names are maids that go in on weekends only."
"So they'll talk to us," Beckett said, opening the computer.
"Let me know if you have anything," Brad said before he went back to his office.
Watching his wife typing Castle asked, "Do you want some coffee?"
"That would be nice," Beckett said. As she looked at the information for the first woman she frowned, something bothering her unexpectedly. But she tried the best she could to turn her attention to what she needed to do and she was dialing the number of the maid's home.
Finishing both cups of coffee Castle went back to his wife, seeing that she was hanging up. "All finished?" he asked her.
"I am," Beckett said. "Did you make some kind of art?" she asked him in return before he handed her one of the cups in his hands.
Shaking his head Castle said, "Really strong coffee."
"Thanks," Beckett said. She took a small sip and after recovering from the strength of it told him, "They weren't there as they work at other houses on Sundays way on the other end of the island closer to the city."
"I had a feeling," Castle replied. "So should we head in and tell Brad?"
"Hold on," Beckett said. "I'm wondering one thing though."
"You mean Mrs. Radcliff's lovers?" Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when his wife nodded and he said, "I thought about that too but I'm not sure how we could really prove anything with that theory."
"I have an idea," Beckett told him before she led him over to Brad's office. Without a word she grabbed the pictures of the known lovers of Mrs. Radcliff and hung them on the back of the second murder board before she put up the pictures of the kids. "What do you see?" she asked them.
"No," Castle said in surprise as he and Brad were looking at the photos. "Wait, how the hell did we miss that?"
"Where was his name on the list?" Beckett asked Brad in response.
"Towards the end," the chief said after he'd looked at it on his desk. "Yeah… really?"
"You can see it for yourself," Beckett told him. "We have the wrong man."
"And their partner too," Castle said. Something seemed to suddenly come to him and he said to his wife, "I'll call Mother, check on Sydney."
"I need to call Rudy," Beckett said, that statement reminding her about the kids. She turned towards the window and then dialed Rudy's number she had, putting the phone to her ear.
"Hello?" a voice asked on the other end.
"Duncan? This is Kate Beckett," she said to the teenager. "Is your brother there, Rudy?"
"No, look, something happened," he replied.
"What do you mean, I just texted him," Beckett said.
"Yeah I was… playing a game on his phone and he went out to get breakfast for us," Duncan replied.
"Alone?" Beckett asked as Brad leaned over to hear the conversation.
"No, Mr. Rocco went with him but he hasn't come back either," Duncan said.
"Okay you guys need to stay in your room we'll be right there," Beckett said.
"Sydney's doing fine… what is it?" Castle asked as he walked back into the office then.
"I'll explain on the way," Beckett told him as she and Brad hurried to him before she grabbed her husband's wrist to pull him after them out the door.
"I'll check on the kids," Brad started to say before Beckett was holding onto his sleeve.
"Send Enos and Bernier," she told him.
At first the chief was going to protest that before he then nodded and motioned to his officers to head into the hotel before he turned to Beckett. "What're you thinking?" he asked her as she grabbed the gun on her hip.
"I don't know," Beckett said honestly before she looked to her right. "Rick? Stay here," she told her husband after they all heard the groan in the distance.
Castle nodded and watched as his wife followed Brad down to where there was a wall made of rocks covering dumpster bins. He tried to stay in place but the second they disappeared around the corner he nearly ran after them. When he went around himself he skidded to a stop, seeing that his wife was kneeling next to Rocco who had a gash on his forehead. "Is he okay?" he asked as he reached them.
"I don't remember what happened…" Rocco repeated for a second time to Beckett. "Where's Rudy?"
"We don't know," Beckett said. "Listen," she said as he tried to sit up but she placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Rudy has a membership with the Botanical Gardens doesn't he?"
"Yeah… he knew that guy… the hell his name is," Rocco said, sounding much stronger than he had before. "The one you arrested."
"Did he know about his greenhouse?" Beckett asked.
"Whole family did," Rocco said as a siren pierced the distance. "It… he didn't kill his sister," he said, looking up at them in concern.
"We know he didn't we just needed confirmation that the people we know did it had the opportunity," Brad said. "Thank you for that."
Though she didn't want to Beckett waited with the chief and Castle for the ambulance to arrive before Rocco was placed in the back. While they were waiting she then turned and saw Dally suddenly running around the corner towards them. "He's alright," she said, grabbing the woman to stop her from launching herself into the back of the ambulance. "He may have a concussion but he's being taken care of."
"What about Rudy?" the woman asked, tears in her eyes.
"We're going to find him now," Castle said as Brad gestured the woman into the ambulance. "She can go with him?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth.
"She's his girlfriend," Beckett said simply. "Come on," she said as Brad left the vehicle. "Who do you have to come with us?"
"Gordon, Hill, Hutchinson and Wade," Brad said before he got his radio from his hip and began speaking into it. When they reached his squad car he told Beckett, "We stay together." She opened her mouth to protest and he held up his hand. "We stay together because there's two of them. If they split up we split up too but you're not going without backup."
Though she didn't want to agree to that Beckett knew she didn't really have much choice and she got into the front seat as the chief started the car. She clenched her teeth as they neared the gardens saying to her husband, "Julia." She wasn't surprised when he swore at the reminder and she looked back out the windshield, hoping their daughter's class was already leaving by the time they got there though it wasn't even close to lunch yet.
"Alright class," Julia's teacher was saying to the students. "We'll pass by the new garden they're creating though it isn't finished just yet. They're going to let us get a sneak peek at it."
As they were walking by the workers in the incomplete garden Julia looked over at a greenhouse where some people were going inside.
"What is it?" Peter; her buddy for the trip; asked her.
"Nothing," Julia replied as she turned back ahead of them. But she couldn't get the feeling that something was wrong and she glanced back before they came to another garden that had desert plants. Since she and Peter were last in the line of students she said to her partner, "I need to go."
"Huh?" the boy asked as he looked away from some tiny cacti. "Wait, where are you going? The bathroom? I can ask-"
"No I just… gotta go," Julia said, looking back towards the greenhouse once more. She let go of his hand and said, "If they ask just… say I went to the bathroom."
"We're gonna get in trouble," Peter said uneasily.
"Not you, just me," Julia said and with that she took off back to the greenhouse. But before she could get too close to the door she went into the trees, hearing a noise like a twig snapping underfoot there. She was nearing the side of the structure shaded by trees when all off a sudden she was grabbed from behind. Before she could cry out though her mouth was covered and she started to struggle as her heart pounded heavily in fear.
"Shh, I'm not going to hurt you," a voice whispered to her quickly. "I'm going to let you go, don't run away okay?" When the girl nodded he let her go and looked down into her face. "You… you look a lot like your mother," the man said, smiling at her slightly as he realized who she was.
"Who… are you Rudy?" Julia asked, having been terrified when she'd been grabbed but as the man had spoken she relaxed.
"You know who I am?" he asked as he nodded his head to her.
"Yeah my parents talked about you," Julia said. "I'm sorry about your sister," she then said hurriedly, following him as he went through the trees further from the greenhouse. "Are you okay?" she asked as his face was becoming bruised and there was a cut to his forehead.
"Not really," Rudolph replied with a sigh. "Wait why are you here?" he said, stopping and turning to the girl. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
"We're on a field trip," Julia replied.
"Do you have a cell phone?" Rudolph asked her. When she shook her head he groaned and said, "I thought you would."
"I had to leave it at school," Julia replied as he held his hand out to her. She saw that it was bloodied and she whispered, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I punched them a couple times," Rudolph said, grimacing at the state of his hand. "Come on," he told her as he held his other hand out to her.
Holding on to it Julia then recalled something and said, "Sydney is doing really good."
"I'm glad to hear that," Rudolph replied.
"I…" Julia started to say. When she saw the man was looking at her she said, "You're gay?"
"Did your parents tell you that?" Rudolph asked.
"Sort of," Julia said. "But you like girls too…"
Smiling at the unasked question there Rudolph said, "I like both." He saw that she was staring at him and slightly discomfited by the question in her eyes he said, "I have a boyfriend and girlfriend right now. But, but don't think I'm saying you need to do that. You can just have a boyfriend if you just want one."
"It's okay, my parents were talking about having you and your brothers and sisters over for dinner today," Julia told him. "Before they left to go on their ride so they don't care you're dating two people. I don't either."
"You're very lucky," Rudolph said, squeezing her hand. They came to the path then and he said, "I have to get you back with your class and get your parents and the police out here."
"Who hurt you?" Julia asked. "Is it the killer?"
"Killers," Rudolph corrected her absently as he saw her teacher waving to him; who he guessed was her teacher.
"Julia Castle," the woman said angrily. "You know you're not supposed to leave the class, what were you doing?"
"I saw something and it was Mr.…" Julia started to say before she looked at Rudolph.
"Radcliff," the young man replied.
"Mr. Radcliff brought me back," Julia said quickly before her teacher could.
"Thank you," the teacher said to the young man. "You should call an ambulance," she then said, looking at his wounds.
Before anyone could say anything else there was the distant sound of a shot and before the two adults could stop her, Julia was running away from them in the direction of the sound.
"Chief Davis," the new head of the gardens said in relief when she saw him. "We saw them going into the greenhouse but they haven't come back out."
"Alright, stay here," Brad said.
"What about the school that's here for a field trip?" Beckett asked as soon as the chief had finished.
"They're gathering at the south greenhouses," the woman replied. "They're nowhere near the one the three went into."
"Keep your employees in this area," Brad told the woman before he turned to his officers. "I need you two to go to the left, you two to the right and we'll take the middle," he said, speaking to Enos last. "If you find anything, contact me." Once the officers were walking down the paths he turned to the two and said, "Castle-"
"Don't," he said to his friend. "I'm going with you even if I don't have a weapon."
Brad knelt then and took his back up from his ankle, handing it over to his friend saying, "Do not use it until you need to."
Beckett, trying to stem her impatience, held back from saying anything before the chief led the way down the path they were in front of. She stayed close behind him, glancing back at her husband to see that he was followed by Enos. When they reached the greenhouse she flinched when there was the sound of a shot and turned toward it with the others, seeing it was coming from the building.
Castle was going to grab his wife to run to the nearest tree for cover when he felt Enos taking him by the arm over to the one he'd seen. He looked out once he was sure there weren't any more shots and saw that Beckett was across the path on her own. He called her name, trying to get her attention, when she suddenly disappeared. "Kate!" he yelled before Enos was pulling him after him further into the trees. "Where the hell are you taking me?" he asked.
"I-" the officer began before he was suddenly ducking a bat aimed at his head. He started to bring his gun up to aim at their attacker when it was knocked out of his hands and he yelled as his left wrist was broken.
"Lawson freeze!" Castle yelled at the man, his finger on the trigger of Brad's back up.
Looking at him the man said, "Drop the gun," showing him the gun that was in his other hand.
Castle didn't bother to reply, watching as Enos stood up with his gun in his right hand. "Okay?" he asked the officer.
"I've been better, drop your weapon Lawson," the man said.
Lawson looked around himself as he was backing up from the two and he finally pulled the trigger, aiming it at Enos before he was suddenly falling back against the ground. "Get-" he started to say before Castle grabbed his gun and tossed it away towards Enos. While he was distracted with that he punched the writer in the face before he was meeting the ground with the back of his head as Castle punched him in the eye.
"Stop," Enos yelled as he aimed his gun at Lawson's forehead. "We know you killed everyone in this case."
"Almost everyone," Castle said, standing up with his nose bleeding. He got a hold of his gun and aimed with the officer saying, "Why?"
"I'm not talking," Lawson hissed through his clenched teeth.
"We don't need you to," Castle said, glancing at Enos.
"Get my radio," the officer told him. "I can't grab it but I've got my gun on him."
Castle took the radio off the officer's belt and called in the chief and the others, wondering if his wife was going to hear that at all since he had no idea where she was. As he and Enos were waiting for backup he asked, "Did you want me to handcuff him?"
"Wait for someone else to join us," the officer replied, shaking his head. "I'm not going to risk losing him."
"Daddy!" a voice suddenly cried to their left.
"Julia," Castle said in shock. "What are you doing here sweetheart you need to be with your class." When she didn't answer and just ran to him, holding onto him tightly he said, "Get behind me."
"Is that who hurt Rudy?" Julia asked.
"You saw him?" Castle asked her in surprise.
"Yeah he's with my teacher now," Julia said, looking at Lawson. "Who is he?" she whispered.
"Rudy's father," Castle said angrily. "The man who threw him out yesterday was just his adopted father… though he didn't know."
"Yeah, we knew what to do," Lawson spat out. He looked at Julia and said, "You should stay away from him."
"He's nicer than you," Julia said, noticing then that her father's nose was bleeding. "Where's Mommy?" she asked her father, looking away from the man bleeding from his mouth on the ground.
"I don't know," Castle admitted. "But she'll be back soon I'm sure, she's with Brad probably. Hutchinson, Wade," he then called to the two. He watched them handcuff Lawson and then turned to Julia when he realized that she was gone. "Julia? Julia!" he yelled as his scan of their surroundings revealed nothing of his daughter in her recognizable school uniform.
When they'd separated Beckett had headed away from the greenhouse, not sure why exactly she'd done so since it was obvious the shot had come from closer to the structure. But all of a sudden she saw someone in black run across the trees in front of her and she raced after them. She managed to catch up to the person and as Mrs. Radcliff began to raise the rifle in her hand to her shoulder she threw herself at the woman; unknowingly mimicking her husband with Lawson; and when they hit the ground they rolled, hitting a shed that they'd come to. "Radcliff you're under arrest for the murder of your daughter!" she yelled.
Before Beckett could try to get control of the woman she was thrown away from her and she tried to recover before hands were on her throat. She needed little to recover from that, grasping the woman's wrists before she tried to turn them away from her and bring Mrs. Radcliff to heel. But the woman knew self defense and the way she was punched with the heel of her hand was enough to let Beckett know she was going to have to take things a little differently. She let herself fall back on the ground before tucking and rolling the best she could.
"You bitch! You're not supposed to agree with them!" Mrs. Radcliff yelled as she picked up a fallen branch; her rifle long gone.
"You killed your daughter," Beckett said before she punched the woman in the chest so the branch fell to the ground and they were circling one another once Mrs. Radcliff had pushed herself off the shed. "You tried to kill your son. They were your children."
"They were unclean!" Mrs. Radcliff screeched. "They were dirty and they were no children of mine."
Beckett felt a sudden rage in her at the woman's words and she then grabbed her as she ran to her and they were trying to subdue one another until Mrs. Radcliff's fist shot out before she could stop it. She groaned in slight pain as her nose bore the brunt of the punch but she tried not to let it take her down as she did her best to maintain her balance. Even feeling her blood falling past her lips she managed to shove Mrs. Radcliff against the side of the shed, the sound of her head on the metal wall was satisfying and she did it twice more before she held the woman still. "Chief! Castle!" she yelled.
Instead of the two men running in response to her cries there was the sound of smaller feet and Julia appeared in the small clearing the shed was in. She nearly skidded on the grass when she saw her mother being hit in the face and was going to scream when Beckett recovered and backhanded the woman; hard.
"You don't know," Mrs. Radcliff said, her face bloodied after she collapsed to the ground, her ankle giving out when Beckett had stomped on it to try and get it out of the way. "You have kids… if they were-"
"Shut up," Beckett said, her gun she'd found a little away from them on the grass aimed at the woman. "Shut up they were your children, your flesh and blood. Both yours and Lawson and you killed her, tried to kill Rudy who is a better man than his father; both of them."
Laughing hysterically Mrs. Radcliff said, "You didn't know them, they hated me."
"They had reason to," Beckett said, looking up.
"Your kids will hate you too," Mrs. Radcliff spat out, along with some blood.
"No we won't," Julia said, letting the two know she was there.
"Julia stay there," Beckett told her daughter once she'd recovered from the sight of her oldest.
"Beckett," Brad said as he made his way through the trees.
"Take her, she's injured," Beckett said, watching as Gordon followed the chief. As soon as she was sure the two had Mrs. Radcliff detained she holstered her gun and ran to Julia as she came to her. "Sweetie," she breathed.
"Mommy you're hurt, Daddy too," Julia told her, peering up at her.
"Kate!" Castle said, running to them before Beckett could reply to what their daughter had said. He threw his arms around his wife before he pressed Julia's back with his hand. "Are you oaky?" he asked as they let go of each other.
"I am, you?" Becket asked when she saw his injury.
"Fine, my nose stopped bleeding," Castle replied.
"Mommy, Daddy what about Rudy?" Julia asked. When her parents looked to her she quickly told them what had happened and said, "He was hurt really bad, there was a lot of blood on his face."
"Let's go back and we'll see how he's doing," Castle said, taking her hand and then his wife's so they could make their way back to the entrance of the gardens where they could check on the young man and get Lawson and Mrs. Radcliff into the back of squad cars after they'd been cleaned up.
"Guys," Brad said after he had made sure their killers were in the back of the cars. "I need to talk to Julia."
"It's okay," the girl said quickly before her parents could say anything.
"Are you sure?" Castle asked her first.
"Yep," Julia said, nodding. "And then can I see Rudy?"
"If they're finished patching him up," Brad said. "But he's alright from what I heard the EMT say."
Nodding Julia began to talk about what had happened and she told everything, including what had made her break away from her class in the first place. When she finished she said, "Why did they bring him here?"
"We're not sure," Brad said, not surprised when her parents looked at him to answer that.
"I can't know?" Julia then guessed.
"Sorry," Beckett said. "If there's a chance we can tell you then we'll say. Can we see Rudy now?"
"Go ahead and check, I'm heading to the station with those two," Brad said. He wasn't surprised for a second time when the two started to protest that and he held up his hand telling them, "I'm taking this on my own."
Beckett was quiet then as she realized he needed to do so; especially since Lawson had fought with her husband; so instead she asked, "And Enos?"
"I'm going to see him before I go, his wrist was broken so he'll be out for a while," Brad answered. "Come on, we'll see how everyone is after you two get cleaned up."
"We're fine," Castle said quickly as Julia looked up at him and Beckett. "My nose stopped bleeding."
"So did mine," Beckett said. "And we've seen worse."
"I remember," Julia said with a nod. "Are your noses going to be bruised?"
"No we didn't get hit that hard," Beckett said as she looked at her husband.
"I didn't either which is lucky after what that… what Lawson did to Enos," Castle said. "Really tried to stop him but…"
"I'm sure he appreciates the effort," Beckett said before an EMT came over to them once Brad had talked to the man. She took the cotton ball and used the side mirror of the ambulance they'd come to to clean off her face. She watched her husband do the same and then sighed as she took a good look at him. "You didn't say he'd punched you in the face," she told him.
"Ah… a shiner?" Castle asked. He let her tilt his face towards the sun and said, "Not that much?"
"No," Beckett replied simply. "But you'll have some bruising… light considering it took until now to show up."
"She's right," the EMT said, still with them. "Any pain?"
"Not really," Castle said. "What about Mr. Radcliff… Rudolph?" he asked, wondering if the young man wanted to be called by that name anymore.
"He's doing alright, you wanted to see him?" the man asked. When the three nodded he led them over to another ambulance and said, "Mr. Radcliff?"
"Hey," Rudolph said as he looked past the man and saw the three there. "You found your parents Julia."
"Yep," the girl said with a smile. She then grew serious and said, "You're okay for sure now though."
Since he knew that she wanted him to say it himself Rudolph smiled and told her, "I'm definitely okay."
"We are too," Castle said as the young man was looking at him.
"What are you going to do now?" Beckett asked him.
"Rembert is heading back to the house with Duncan to get our things," Rudolph replied, leaning back. "Our… 'father,'" he said as he put the word into air quotes. "Disowned us this morning so we're… homeless."
"Wait, did anyone tell you about-" Beckett began to say.
"Lamont's fine," Rudolph interrupted her. "Fiona's with him now."
"What about Stephanie?" Castle asked.
"She's with Fiona," Rudolph replied. "But yeah we need to figure out what we're going to do tomorrow."
Beckett wasn't surprised when her husband glanced at her then but she didn't say anything for a moment. Finally she spoke saying, "Is he going to need to stay at the hospital?"
"No he'll be released soon," Rudolph replied. "Why?"
"We're inviting you to our home for dinner tonight," Castle said.
Sighing the young man said, "Julia mentioned that earlier. We'd be glad to if you don't mind."
"You need to get Sydney," Beckett replied. "And we'd also like to help you with whatever you might need to… move on."
"Lamont and Fiona said they have an idea," Rudolph replied. "Can I go now?" he then said to the EMT that had cleaned him up.
"Yes just be careful, if you feel dizzy then please seek medical attention," the man replied.
Julia stepped back with her parents to let the young man step out of the ambulance and as soon as she had she was throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Sorry," she then said, slightly blushing when she'd pulled away. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"I appreciate that," Rudolph said with a smile. "You did hug your parents first right?" When she nodded he said, "Good to hear."
"Do you need a ride?" Brad asked.
"I'd appreciate that," Rudolph said. "I'll tell everyone else about you inviting us… are you sure? There are six of us."
"We're sure," Castle said, Beckett nodding next to him. "Come over around five thirty."
"And bring whatever you can of Sydney's," Beckett then added. "But your father disowned even her?"
"He did," Rudolph said with a sigh. "He didn't want to raise a child not his… never mind he'd been doing it for the five of us."
Beckett watched with Castle and Julia as the young man went with Brad to his squad car, the chief giving him the ride to the hospital. When they had left she turned to the girl and said, "You need to go back to school."
"But…" Julia began in protest. But she trailed off, knowing that her parents wouldn't really let her try to argue since it was about school. Sighing she said, "What time is it?"
"Almost eleven thirty," Beckett said after she'd looked at her watch.
"When were you supposed to have lunch?" Castle asked.
"About now," Julia replied. "But I don't see my class."
"They're in the gift shop," Wade told them. "They've been there since we got here."
"Alright, come on sweetie," Beckett said, taking Julia's hand before she started to walk over to the building where the shop was.
Following the two Castle said, "Too bad we couldn't take her to lunch."
Pausing Beckett looked at the girl who was beaming up at her and said, "We'd have to ask her teacher."
"I'll ask," Castle said simply.
Shaking her head, though she was smiling, Beckett let him go ahead of them and watched as he went straight to Julia's teacher. "After that you need to go to school," she told her daughter.
"Don't worry, I know that," Julia replied. "What'll we do?"
"Go home," Beckett replied.
"What about you?" Julia asked, not surprised her mother said that. "After lunch?"
"We need to go back," Beckett answered simply before she saw that Castle was walking back to them.
"She's okay to go but they're going to start class at one," Castle said. "But the case?"
"She asked and I said we'll head to the station again after lunch," Beckett answered.
"Okay let's go," Castle said, taking Julia's other hand after she'd waved to her friends.
"Eliza's gonna be really surprised," the girl commented after they were outside.
"She will be; your grandparents too," Beckett said, squeezing her daughter's hand until they reached their car.
