A/N: Thanks for reading, still not mine.
She awoke to the alarm from her phone and moved carefully to turn it off before realizing that she was alone in bed. She wondered where he was for a moment but then she saw that there was some light in his office beyond the half-open bedroom door and heard sounds from the kitchen. That sweet man was making her breakfast. She hurried through her morning routine and emerged ready to go to work.
She saw he was ready to go as well and had omelets, bacon and toast ready as well. Of course, she had to go for the coffee first that he held out for her with a smile. Her grateful smile made his smile even bigger and she couldn't resist giving him a kiss as well. "You're going to spoil me, Rick."
"Isn't that part of the job description for a boyfriend?"
"Hmmmm. I won't argue with that but I have to spoil you too."
"I think you did that last night."
She felt her cheeks heat up but she just rolled her eyes and kissed him again. Once they finished breakfast they hurried downstairs to her cruiser in his extra parking space and they headed to the precinct. She wanted to get an early start on finding out what she could about the guy who tried to bug Rick's loft. There was also the issue of who her next boss would be. There were a lot of rumors about who the next captain might be and she was as curious as anyone.
They took their usual seats and neither was particularly surprised that they were the first ones in. She did some research and got the rap sheet for the guy who spent the night in the hospital with a concussion. It turned out he split his time between B&E and drugs and most of his wrongdoings took place in Washington Heights. The question was how did that lead to him trying to bug Castle, and probably her as well?
When Ryan came in, she asked him to see if any of his contacts in narcotics could shed any light on anything not in is rap sheet. She also asked if he knew anything about the alias Lazarus. He didn't but he promised to check up on it. Kate started on her paperwork and when Esposito arrived, he did the same. Rick split his time between playing with his phone and trying to come up with ideas of how to find out about the dragon. He quickly put away his phone and stood up to shake hands with the Chief of Detectives that had suddenly entered the bullpen.
"Hello, Rick. When am I going to get a chance to win my money back?"
"I'm not sure. I think it's Bob's turn to host so I'll have to call him."
"Can't you host again? I like the spreads you put out."
Rick chuckled before replying, "All in good time. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"
"Actually, I'm here to make an announcement but first I'll have to borrow your partner for a few minutes."
The Chief looked at a surprised Beckett who took a moment before responding. "You want to see me, Sir?"
"Yes, let's go into the captain's office for a moment. Don't worry, anyone. This is good news."
He started walking towards the office and Kate hurried after him and shrugged at Rick in response to his curious look as she passed by him. The three remaining men looked at each other and then returned to their tasks.
Kate closed the door to the office when the Chief gestured for her to do so and she cautiously approached the desk as he took a seat behind it. "Please sit down, Detective. You look so nervous that you're going to make me nervous. Just have a seat; this is a good thing although it will be temporary."
She tried to relax but she was totally mystified about what was going on. She tried to be at ease in the chair as he resumed speaking. "I have heard a lot of good things about you from Roy, may he rest in peace. He told me that he has urged you to take the sergeant's or lieutenant's exams."
"Yes, Sir. I still like being a detective too much though. Maybe in a few years."
"I understand, Detective. I felt the same way but we need our best to start rising to the top. Roy may not be around anymore but I'm ready to mentor you too. Think about it. In the meantime, it's going to take a while to replace Roy and we need someone to keep things going for us in the meantime. I know you aren't the most senior detective but Roy always considered you his best. Will you keep things running for us for a few more days? I'll take it easy on you for reports, mainly I just need someone to keep things running and keep me informed. Will you do that for me Beckett?"
She hesitated but there was only one response possible in her mind. "Yes, Sir."
"You can stay at your desk if you want." He looked around for a moment. "It looks like Evelyn hasn't come in for his stuff yet anyway. I'm going to go out and make the announcement now."
She followed him out and stood beside him as he got everyone's attention. She glanced at Rick and from the proud expression on his face; she knew he had listened in. She just rolled her eyes at him and tried to keep her face expressionless since this was related to Roy's death.
Once the Chief was done and left, Ryan and Esposito were first in line to offer their congratulations, followed by most of the other detectives. Rick just bided his time and gave her a wink and a handshake with an extra squeeze. She was glad he remained subtle at the precinct but he still managed to make her anticipation of them being alone climb to new heights.
Her workload as acting Captain was light and unfortunately the investigation into the sniper was resulting in nothing new and the sniper himself refused to speak to anyone. The man caught in castle's loft also remained annoyingly silent so it wasn't a productive day. Fortunately, nothing to follow up on also meant that she could leave at her end of shift.
On the other hand, Ryan's inquiries had resulted in a little information. Lazarus was rumored to be a major new drug lord operating mainly in Washington Heights. The man who bugged Castle's place had some links to Vulcan Simmons who also operated in Washington Heights. With just a look, Rick and Kate agreed that was too interesting to be a coincidence. As soon as they were alone in the elevator, Rick whispered, "We're going to have a chat with Vulcan Simmons."