A/N: This took a little longer than I wanted it to, but hey, it was still less than a month, so I'd still say I'm doing better with the updating. :) Um... it's kind of a different kind of chapter for me, so I hope it works okay. I think it does. I hope you agree. Regardless, enjoy. :)
My worst nightmare, huh? He couldn't help but wonder... why? Roy had practically pushed him into the courtroom before he'd been able to ask. She didn't really look scary. Just... boring. And unfriendly. She had the air of someone who was having a bad day and wasn't in the mood to deal with crap from anyone. If he was married to her, it would've been terrifying. As it was... not so much.
The courtroom itself had a similar feel: unfriendly, but not exactly threatening. Beckett sat in the front row surrounded by her team - or... most of her team. Esposito and Ryan were on one side, the captain on the other. He'd wanted to be there with her as well, in fact felt like he should be there, sitting in Esposito's seat, but Roy had been quite firm in directing him to sit where he was, about three rows back. He felt completely useless here. He couldn't grant her even as much as a reassuring smile because all he could see was the back of her head. But she knew that he was here (he hoped... unless she thought Montgomery had succeeded in convincing him to go home... but she had to know him better than that by now, didn't she?) and that he was supporting her, and that would have to be enough. It didn't feel like enough, but it would have to be.
Victoria Gates was standing in front of the courtroom and off to one side, apparently trying to blend in as she surveyed the room. She was looking for something, although he couldn't begin to say what. Until she found it. Found him. She looked at him carefully, glanced down at a folder she was carrying, and then nodded, as if confirming some suspicion she'd had. He was beginning to see what Montgomery might've meant. Her eyes were cold, her stare hard, and there was something unsettling about it... like she was sizing him up.
It ended as abruptly as it had begun. The next thing he knew, she was heading back to her seat, her expression back to professional indifference, as if she hadn't noticed him, or anyone else, at all.
He took a deep breath, hoping to calm the butterflies in his stomach. It will be fine, he told himself. Beckett's the best this city has. They can't take her badge away. Montgomery's here, he won't let anything bad happen. Everything will be fine. Even in his head, he wasn't buying it. Montgomery clearly didn't have the power in this situation. He could vouch for the character of his detective, but the ultimate decision was not his. And the more he thought about it, the less confident he felt. The way everyone had been acting when they'd come in... even Beckett, and especially Montgomery... it was like they already knew something, and it couldn't have been anything good. And this woman from Internal Affairs made him nervous for no reason he could place.
The judge got the attention of the room by clearing his throat. There was no gavel. In another situation he might've been disappointed, but in this one it seemed a little less threatening. "This is a disciplinary hearing for Detective Katherine Beckett, regarding her actions on the night of May 13, 2011. Will the Department please present their case?"
In the front of the room a few seats down from Beckett's team was another group of people. An older, gray-haired man in a suit, Victoria Gates, and two uniformed police officers. He couldn't see them perfectly from back here, but he was pretty sure that at least the man closest to him was one of the officers who had been sent to back them up that night... arguably either saving their lives or ruining Beckett's.
He still wasn't sure exactly what had happened that night. He knew most of what had happened in the alley outside of the building... but after that, from the time that the officers had showed up to the time that Montgomery had asked, very apologetically, for Beckett's badge and gun... he really wasn't sure what had gone down. He knew that Beckett didn't blame Montgomery, that she'd said it was somehow out of his hands... but he didn't know what that meant, either. Whose hands was it in? The judge's, now. But how had it come to this? How had Internal Affairs even become involved? They were famous for sticking their noses places that the other divisions tended to agree they didn't belong, but it had to start from somewhere. There was usually an investigation... but why would they have been investigating Beckett?
The gray-haired man approached the bench. Officially, this was simply a hearing, not a trial, and there was no jury. "I give the floor to Sergeant Victoria Gates of Internal affairs," he announced, with a tone of almost arrogant confidence. The judge hadn't introduced this man, and he hadn't introduced himself either. He guessed that the hearing was meant primarily for the judge, not for the audience... but the more happened, the more out of the loop he felt. How was he supposed to help if he didn't even know what was going on?
The man sat down, and now it was Gates's turn to approach the bench. She as well made no attempt at an introduction, and delved directly into her speech. If this had been a movie, it would've needed some serious editing. "I was asked to open an investigation on Detective Beckett in January of 2010," she began, "following an incident where a suspect was shot in the Twelfth Precinct."
Castle frowned. January 2010... Dick Coonan? He seethed. Why would that have led to an investigation? It had been purely self-defense. Well... his defense, actually. He wanted to protest, but had been warned by Montgomery not to say anything during the proceedings, so with difficulty he held his tongue. He wished that he could see Beckett's face, or even Montgomery's. Her bun and the back of his bald head gave him very little information. Had either one of them known about this? Was she going to defend herself, or was Montgomery going to defend her? Someone had to say something, because there was nothing even remotely fair about this.
But no one did. Gates continued on, uninterrupted. "During the course of that time, I have come across some troubling information concerning the detective's performance in the company of consultant Richard Castle."
The bottom dropped out of his stomach. His brain seemed to forget how to formulate words. His entire consciousness was nothing but a blank space. Gates looked at him, meeting his eyes for a fraction of a second before looking away again. The longer he studied this woman, the creepier she seemed to become. He'd obviously never met her before, but it was as if she had some personal vendetta against him. As he regained the ability to put coherent thoughts together, his confusion turned to outrage. How did he have anything to do with Beckett's performance? He wasn't even a cop.
"The author's own record is littered with minor infractions," Gates continued, "and in the past year and a half it has become exceedingly clear that his own disrespect for authority has rubbed off on the detective with whom he has been working closely for the last two and a half years. Beckett has transformed from a determined but conscientious detective into a rule-breaker whose impulsive decisions often endanger those around her. Dick Coonan was killed as a measure to ensure Mr. Castle's safety. And more recently, when investigating a case against orders, Ms. Beckett along with Mr. Castle nearly froze to death inside of an industrial freezer."
At this point he was basically holding himself down. Are you forgetting to mention that if we hadn't done that, this city would have BLOWN UP?
Taking a chance, probably realizing how much even the very beginning of Gates's speech had to be enraging him, Esposito turned around in his seat and shook his head, wordlessly conveying a firm message: don't say anything. But why wasn't anyone else saying anything either? It must have been a court thing... each side had the chance to express their side of the story without interruption. But what happened to objections? Because Gates's speech left plenty to object to. His own record had nothing to do with Beckett. She shouldn't even have brought it up, and the judge certainly couldn't take it into consideration. Could he?
The judge actually did intervene, confirming his suspicion. "Let's limit our discussion to the evening in question, Sergeant."
She continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "On the evening of May thirteenth, Detective Beckett, with Mr. Castle's assistance," the word dripped sarcasm, which slightly contradicted her professional manner, "attempted to aprehend a very dangerous suspect without orders and without any backup."
I was her backup, he wanted to growl. I'm her partner.
"This lapse in judgment led to a standoff that put both the detective and Mr. Castle, as well as the officers who came to their assistance, in serious danger. If the detective had adhered to protocol, that could have been avoided."
Protocol?! If we had "adhered to protocol, we might not have caught him. Which we did, although you seem to be conveniently ignoring that part.
"However. I have been following Detective Beckett's career, and it has become clear to me that she is a very impressive young woman. In fact, she has the honor of having been the youngest woman in the NYPD to achieve the rank of detective. I have also been following the case in question, and it is quite evident that putting James Carson in police custody was a true service to the city." She turned to the judge, addressing him directly. "While I realize that it is not my decision to make, I believe that it would be a shame to deprive Ms. Beckett of her career, and to deprive this city of her services. However, it is clear to me that the interference of Mr. Castle has affected her judgment and decreased the quality of her police work, and the return of her badge should be contingent upon her agreement to cease working with Mr. Castle."
Something inside of him disconnected. "Cease working with Mr. Castle." She could have her badge back and everything would be fine... if he left.
Gates wasn't done speaking, and he continued to listen to her from somewhere far away. "Her captain should assign her a partner with the proper respect for rules and authority, and," something about her expression changed, became harder, "with whom she is not currently romantically involved."
That brought him back. What?!
Ryan turned around in his seat and raised his eyebrows at him, and he shook his head vehemently, mouthing "no." He didn't know where Gates had gotten this information, but it was wrong.
Even the judge looked surprised. "I'm afraid you've lost me there, Sergeant."
"It has come to my attention that Detective Beckett and Mr. Castle are currently involved in a relationship. And although the NYPD does not technically employ Mr. Castle, the philosophy behind our inter-office dating policy holds with the type of work they do together."
"I understand that, Sergeant, what I don't understand is what leads you to believe that such a relationship exists."
"My sources tell me that Ms. Beckett and Mr. Castle spent the past two weeks together at his house in the Hamptons."
Captain Montgomery stood up suddenly, finally apparently feeling the need to interject. "Judge Whitmore, last I checked the private lives of our detectives when they're off duty are none of Internal Affairs' business."
"They are when they interfere with police business," Gates refuted.
"And how exactly does spending two weeks' leave in the Hamptons 'interfere with police business'?" Roy Montgomery was one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people that Castle had ever met, but when he got angry it was downright scary. And right now, it looked as though smoke was about to start pouring out of his ears.
Gates was ready with a retort, but the judge cut her off. "Okay, I think we need a recess. Twenty minutes, folks."
Castle took that as his cue to disappear. He'd meant it when he'd said that he would do whatever it took to make sure Beckett kept her job. And if that meant leaving, then that was what he would do. He ducked out of the courtroom, actually grateful now that he'd been sitting away from Beckett. Really being able to see her and be near her would've made it that much harder to walk away. Even as it was, it was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. But he'd promised himself, and promised her, that he would help, and his being here... being in the picture at all... was clearly only going to be a hindrance. He would not hold her back. He would leave.
A/N: Hm, two cliffhangers in a row... maybe I like that feeling of power a little too much. Mwahaha... anyway. Thanks for reading. Reviews are always nice. And I'll try not to be too long with the next chapter. :)