Oh my goodness I honestly did not mean to leave this story for so long. Life just sort of snuck up on me but I'm back now with a new chapter of Glass Slippers and the last chapter in the Kate Beckett trilogy. Next chapter, we're going to peek into Rick's new life with Merideth and Alexis and then we'll see how it goes from there. I know I had a beta in the past and you may not have noticed but it made a huge difference to me; unfortunately our schedules no longer work and so my fanfics will be unbeta'd from this point forward. Therefore I apologize for any grammar and/or spelling errors. But, hey, here's a new chapter of Glass Slippers just for you - and I promise with every fiber of my being that I will not wait this long to update another chapter. Also as a side note, how excited is everyone for the February line-up of Castle? We've got Film Noir, a two-parter and a Fairytale-based episode. Pinch me I must be dreaming!
Please review and if you want to follow me on twitter you can find me at vatrask
Enjoy 3
She was distraught. That was the only way to describe her absolute despair at the direction her life had taken. Her mother was dead, her father had kicked her out and she was assigned a new Training Officer because her last one didn't believe she would make it. Late today, whenever she got up the courage, she would have to walk up those stairs into the precinct and meet another seasoned veteran who didn't believe a woman with personal agenda could become a cop. Well, she would show them – she hoped – and she would become the best cop they'd ever seen. And she'd start by finding her mother's killer. That's what had brought her down to the records room in the first place but staring at her mother's photo had grasped all of the negative feelings she'd been collecting in the past few years and spilled them to the surface and over the edge. So there she sat, in the relative darkness of the basement with the shapeless walls absorbing her tears, sobbing into her mother's file. She didn't notice the figure approaching her until he called her name from somewhere much too close for her comfort. "Kate Beckett?" Her hands flew to her face, swiftly and subtly – as was possible – wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Uh, yes?" She sniffled.
"I'm Mike Royce, your new Training Officer." Her hands stilled.
"Oh." It was quiet but he must have heard her because her chair suddenly swiveled beneath her and she was face to face with Mike Royce. He was older but distinguished with salt and pepper hair and soft brown eyes. His face was wrinkled with laugh lines and overall, she thought he was rather good-looking – if you went for the mature but fun type.
She was startled from her thoughts as he gripped her chin so she would face him directly. "Have you been crying kid?" Her eyes hit the roof, hoping to hide the remnants of her fit of weakness.
"No." She protested but he tugged her chin from side to side, not meeting her eyes.
"Yeah you have." He sighed before releasing his hold on her, reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket and tossing a small packet of tissues at her. "Here, clean up." She stared at the tissues in her lap before opening it slowly and pulling a thin tissue, bringing it to her nose. She sniffled into it a few times before closing her fist over it and grabbing another one for her eyes. "So your mom died right?" She paused before closing her eyes and continuing with a much stronger hand.
"She was murdered actually."
"So what difference does it make?" He shrugged, causing her to straighten her shoulders with the Kleenex now in her lap.
"It makes a world of difference."
"She's still gone."
"But someone else took her." Her voice was rising in agitation but Royce remained standing, staring down at her with a hint of a smirk on his face.
"And you're here to find her killer." He stated.
She closed her mouth, not daring to retort the backhanded comment on her lips. Instead, she lowered her voice and continued to stare up at him defiantly. "You going to tell me to quit?"
"Would you listen if I did?" There was still that laugh line mocking her – as though he didn't believe that she was serious in her vendetta.
"No." She stated, crossing her arms.
"Then why bother?" He shrugged again and she still felt the need to defend herself but let him finish. "I'd rather train you to be the best cop you can be so you can do what you came here to do."
"You're going to help me find my mother's killer?" She leaned forward hopefully, her hands at the edge of her seat.
"No, that's your thing kid." He squatted down on his heels to be relatively eye-level with her. "I'm just here to train you. Whatever it is that's driving you to be here, you gotta use that to find justice for everyone. Not just your mom. We're cops because we care no matter what other agenda we may have; we always make time for the victims." He patted her knee before rising up and heading for the door. "Come on kid, we'd better get upstairs."
He was only paces ahead of her but she called to him. "Royce; why are you a cop?"
He looked over his shoulder at her with that ridiculous grin on his face. "Because I can." Kate watched her new training officer leave with a sense of fascination and almost smile on her face. She reached behind her to close her mother's case file before switching off the lights and following Royce.
"No way, kid." Royce shook his head in an almost panic. "I am not doing that."
"Come on Royce." Kate pleaded in a whisper as they stood in the back alley, surrounded by bikers. "It's the only way to get a drop on Minnelli."
He looked at her skeptically but he could never deny her anything – especially when she was right; still. "There has to be a better way." Kate shook her head and sighed in resign before turning to the posse with a sweet if not over-exaggerated smile on his face. "Hey sweet cheeks," he winked at the brunette in the think leather jacket in shredded jeans "why don't we take this somewhere a little more private." There was no mistaking the innuendo in his voice and it take all Kate had not to giggle.
The woman looked between the two boys – more like hulks – on either side of her with a raised eyebrow before her eyes fell to Royce in appraisal. After a moment, her entire demeanor fell and she smiled revealing two missing yellow teeth and a blush against her pale cheeks. "Okay." If they didn't know any better, they would have thought she had giggled but regardless, they were going with it. The woman dismounted her bike on tree-trunk legs and stalked towards Royce with a slight skip in her step, not bothering to slow down as she grabbed his arm and dragged him around the corner. Kate pursed her lips to keep from smiling as Royce glared at her, mouthing 'you owe me' as he was pulled out of sight. As soon as their leader was gone, Kate turned to the two remaining bikers with her own over exaggerated smile.
"Now boys, who wants to tell me where I can find Antonio Minnelli?"
Kate and Royce entered the scene with matching faces of disgust on their faces. "This is why I'm never getting a dog." She stated, observing what was once a male in his late-twenties.
"I don't think it was the dog that killed him." She looked up to see the medical examiner kneel across from her at the body. She didn't recognize the brunette but instantly took a liking to her – mostly because she looked to be her age and in a profession full of older men, she was a breath of fresh air. As if sensing Kate's curiosity, the woman stuck out her hand. "Dr. Lanie Parish, Apprentice Medical Examiner." Kate shook her hand over the body with a smile.
"Kate Beckett." She paused in considering her title. "Police Officer." Then she laughed. "Just call me Kate."
Lanie smiled. "Alright Kate, like I said, I don't think your boy here was killed by a dog. I think these bite marks may be post mortem."
Once the new doctor had finished her preliminary examination and the body was being wrapped up to be taken to the morgue, Kate and Lanie exchanged cards with a promise to meet later to discuss the case. Kate tucked the card into her front pocket, walking towards her partner who had taken to standing on the sidelines to let her work. She watched his expression shift into a smirk as she approached him and she narrowed her eyes. "What?"
He shrugged, his arms still crossed over his chest as they began to walk in sync with each other. "Nothing," he smiled "it's just nice to see you getting along with people your own age."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She grabbed his arm to stop him.
"It means I'm way too old for you, kid." He winked before shrugging out of her grasp and continuing towards their car.
She shook her head. "That's what you think."
"Kid what are you doing?" Royce grabbed the file from her hand and tossed on the desk opposite her.
"Don't call me 'kid', Royce I know what I'm doing."
"No you don't." He lowered his voice before anyone else could take notice of their little discussion in the middle of the precinct. "You're letting yourself drown in your mother's case. I know what you're doing when you're not working; you're here." He pointed to the file accusingly. "Neck deep in the past."
"You told me 'whatever drives me'-"
"Not when it's driving you over the edge." Her face fell into silence as did the rest of the precinct though most of them only pretended not to listen. "You're driving way too fast and you're headed straight for that cliff and…" he shook his head "I'd hate to see you throw yourself off the end."
"I'm not driving too fast, Royce, I know when to pull the emergency break."
"No you don't; because you should have pulled it long ago."
Kate could feel her chest tightening but refused to relent as her voice grew thicker. "So, what? You want me to quit?"
"I want you to take a step back." His voice was soft now. "Kate…" His voice trailed off as he tried to find just the right words to comfort her.
With a sudden burst of irritation and frustration, she ripped her coat from her chair and flung it over her shoulder. "I think I preferred 'kid'." She muttered as she stormed out of the precinct, the other officers, creating a path for her.
The moment Kate reached her own car, she sat in the driver's seat, placed the keys in the ignition, dropped her head in her hands and cried for nearly an hour. She stopped at the liquor store on the way home and grabbed a bottle of scotch which rested in the passenger seat beside her, taunting her all the way to her measly little apartment. Once inside, she flicked on the main lights and numbly made her way to her couch, curling up on the end and tucking her feet under her. Placing the bottle on the mismatched coffee table, she stared at it for a long moment, letting her argument with Royce really sink in. Thinking of him brought her hand closer to the bottle, her fingers resting on the coffee table. But then her mind went to her father and their last encounter what had seemed life-times ago but was in reality only a few months – six months, thirteen days and four hours – and her fingers instantly coiled into a fist, avoiding the bottle. She would not become her father and drown herself in liquor. She needed something else to drown herself in. She vaguely glanced towards the warm inviting bath tub and considered drowning herself in that but before that thought could fully form her eyes roamed and fell on her bookshelf. Pushing herself from the couch with her sore knuckles, she slowly approached the shelf, instantly eyeing the 'C' section and pulling out a copy of 'Flowers For Your Grave' by Richard Castle. Flipping it open to the well worn first page, she wandered into the kitchen and blindly reached for a glass of water as she continued to read. Leaning against the counter, she continued to read for several more hours in various positions around the house, forgetting the whisky bottle until the next morning when she glanced at it, and sighed before placing it under her sink with the rest of the bottles.
"Royce this is crazy." She protested.
"Hey," he slapped her shoulder "I have done far worse things for you so suck it up."
Rolling her eyes, Kate sighed before adjusting her bleach blonde wig. "Fine," she snapped her fingers in his face, pointing menacingly "but if you ever breathe a word about this to anyone, I will tell everyone about the incident with the monkey." His wise widened before closing into slits.
"That's playing dirty Beckett." She smirked and pursed her lips which were exaggerated against the nearly white wig. "Now get out there and do that little strip tease I know you love doing." She gaped at him as he pushed her onto the peer-drenched stage as the bright lights masked the faces of the cat-callers and whistlers but the effect was the same. Here we go again.
Kate practically ran up to her partner and threw her arms around him, spinning with the momentum. He laughed with her but more in confusion. "Royce I can't believe it; I made Detective Class 1." Finally, his smile widened and he pulled her into a proper hug.
"That's great kid, I'm real happy for you." She instantly heard the regret in his voice and pulled back to face him.
"Mike what's wrong?" Her voice now uncertain and fearful; he didn't respond as she released him but continued his task of packing his belongings from his desk. "Mike what are you doing?" She was panicking now.
"I'm packing up, kid. I'm retiring." He was regretful but confident in his decision; it was time to move on.
Kate felt a weight press on her chest as reality hit her hard and fast. "But we're… we're partners you can't just… leave me." She never realized how hard it was to admit that she hated being left.
"You don't need me anymore kid." He shrugged and in that instant her heart screamed 'yes I do' but she didn't dare voice it. Not in the precinct; not to him.
"So you're just going to leave?"
"I did my time." He resigned. "Now we both gotta move on."
She tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it only half went down. "Will I ever see you?"
"Probably," he smiled and his wrinkles – now seemingly more defined "it might be nice to swap stories once in a while." She nodded encouragingly but said nothing as he slung some of his things onto his hip and offered her a one-armed hug which she held with all her might. Reluctantly she let him go and closed her eyes as he kissed her cheek. "See you around, kid." And then he was gone.
A week later, Kate was staring once again at an unopened bottle of whisky but this time she reached for the phone, dialing the number she had written on her hand. After the second ring, someone answered.
"Hello, Doctor Reynolds' office how may I help you today?" Kate closed her eyes.
"Hi, my name is Kate Beckett I'd like to make an appointment with Doctor Reynolds? He's supposed to be the best at what he does right?" She hadn't meant for her voice to be so raw but it couldn't be helped.
The receptionist paused before answering calming and carefully. "Doctor Reynolds is a very skilled psychiatrist and will do whatever he can to help you."