Just so you know: I know absolutely NOTHING about the way they train cops in the US, I'm not even sure how it's done in France so ... Let's just say it's a story so it's not really important if it's not 100% accurate ;-)
A father. A dad. He never had one before. How was he supposed to live with one at forty years old? He was not sure he even wanted a father. He had been fine without one until now. Why did he have to find out now? Should he try to contact him? Should he ignore him and just move on? Maybe he should talk to his mother when she came back. When was she supposed to come back? It was just … too much at a time. Too many things in two short days. How was he supposed to deal with everything? How was he …
"Rick, stop thinking about it." Kate said, entering the kitchen, wearing yoga pants, one of his T shirts and an open robe.
"I can't." he sighed. "I just … can't shut my brain off."
"Did you manage to sleep?" she asked sweetly, kissing him on the cheek.
"No. I got up, I didn't want to wake you up with my turning and tossing."
"Where did you go?" she asked, hugging him, pressed against his chest.
"I tried to write. It didn't work. I tried to remember everything my mother ever told me about my father but it got me nowhere. I ended up looking at the photo album Alexis left on the coffee table. What are you doing up so early anyway?" he asked, kissing her on the top of her head. The microwave clock flashed 5:00.
"I have to go downtown for some kind of psychological test to be authorized to take the Captain exam before I go to the precinct. Are you coming in today?"
"Yeah, I think I will. It will clear my mind. I just have to wait for Mother to come back anyway. I can't do anything without talking to her first." Rick sighed.
"When is she coming back?"
"I don't know. I have to check the itinerary she left me."
"Don't worry, you'll figure it out." Kate said, kissing him rather passionately to make him forget his problems.
It seemed to work. When they broke apart due to lack of oxygen, he was smiling.
"Are you sure you have to go this early in the morning?" he asked quietly, passing his hands beneath the T shirt she was wearing and caressing her back.
"Unfortunately yes, I have to go." she said, trying desperately not to shiver under his touch and let herself go in his arms. "But … tonight, we are alone. Dad, Claire and Andy will beat Dad's with Lisa and her boyfriend, Alexis is sleeping at Paige's, your mother is somewhere in Europe with her acting class so there is absolutely no way she can barge in as she does sometimes. If my test goes well, we could celebrate … just the two of us, alone, in a big loft …" she whispered suggestively in his ear, smiling when she heard him stop breathing when her hand brushed over a growing part of his anatomy. "Well, I'm going to shower now!" she declared, pecking him on the cheek.
"You're evil, you know that?" Rick asked as she retreated to their bedroom.
He turned to the kitchen, getting the coffee maker started while trying to erase some very inappropriate images of a police officer in uniform from his mind. They were definitely not helping his problem.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
When Kate entered the precinct after her psychological exam, a cup of coffee was waiting for her on her desk. She looked around to find him but he was nowhere to be seen.
"He's out Detective. Can I see you in my office for a minute?" Montgomery asked from the doorstep of his office.
"Of course." Kate answered, getting rid of her coat and following him in.
"Well Kate, I just had a phone call from Mrs. Tallis."
"Already? Was it really that bad?" Kate asked, really not understanding why the shrink she had left not an hour before had already notified her captain.
"It was not bad, on the contrary. She was really surprised someone your age could be so mature. Her words, not mine, but I agree. Congratulations Kate, you've been accepted in the Captain Program as they call it." Montgomery said, clearly proud of her.
"Thank you Sir. I … I don't know what else to say. Thank you so much for giving me a chance. I will not disappoint you, I swear."
"You never disappointed me Kate, I don't see why it should start now." he laughed. "Now, let me tell you how everything is going to happen. First of all, you should receive a formal acceptance letter sometime today by messenger. Second, for the rest of the week, you finish the paperwork you have left on your latest cases. You'll not be assigned new cases. You'll have the weekend off. From next week on, you'll study for the written part of the exam. Your books should arrive here by the end of the week. You'll also have to attend some compulsory classes every other week until the exam. Which is in three months by the way. If you pass the written part, you have a two-month training session here with still some theoretical classes and then you take the last part of the exam. For this part you'll be assigned three teams of detectives from a different precinct. Someone will come at random times during the week that it will last and it will end with an oral presentation of the cases you will have supervised and your analysis of your job during this week. Do you have any questions?" Montgomery finally asked.
"Uh …I don't know." Kate answered, still trying to process all the information she just received. "Uh … where do I do the studying part?"
"Wherever you want. You can come here if you want, I can find you a quiet room. You can do it from home. You just have to go downtown to attend the classes. Oh, and of course you keep your detective salary the time of your training."
"Ok. I can't think of any other questions right now."
"Well, in that case, I'll let you go to your paperwork. And congratulations again Kate, you really deserve this." he said, opening the door of his office for her.
"Thank you Sir." she answered, blushing, with a huge smile on her face.
Once she was sitting at her desk, she drank her now cold cup of coffee, smiling all around the precinct. Since the boys were still outside, she decided to text Rick to share the good news. With a short but effective message: "Tonight. You. Me. No clothes" She was going to send it when Montgomery walked down to her.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, the person who is going to replace you arrives tomorrow but you'll be at meetings all day. You'll keep your desk but maybe you should tell Rick to move your chair next to Esposito and Ryan."
"No problem Sir." she smiled.
Looking down at her phone once he was gone, she panicked. the screen read "MESSAGE SENT TO: ESPOSITO."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
At the crime scene, Rick was talking with Lanie above the body while Ryan and Esposito were drinking their coffee, waiting for a list of the costumers of the hotel in which the body had been found, stuffed behind a display of exotic trees. Esposito heard his phone go off and looked at the text he just received. "From: Kate Beckett" He opened it and chocked on his drink when he read the message.
"Castle!" he called.
"Yeah?" the writer asked once he had walked to him.
"I think it's for you …"