Chapter 8
A/N: So this jumps to when she graduates from college. In case you were wondering she majored in criminal justice, I looked up career opportunities for criminal justice majors and there's a variety of careers she could choose from if becoming police officer doesn't work out, which it will but her original plan was to continue with college and complete her major so she'd have something to fall back on if becoming a police officer didn't work out. The twins are about 2 years old.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's in here. Not Dr. Seuss, not the songs, and certainly not Castle. (Read to find out what I mean about Dr. Seuss and the songs)
Kate Beckett sits in her cap and gown among hundreds of twenty-somethings, half listening to speeches and waiting to walk across the stage. She just wants to get through the ceremony and join Lanie and her Dad and kids at Remy's for burgers. It's not that she doesn't appreciate the recognition that the ceremony gives her and the other graduates; it's just that she doesn't much like convention.
Finally the now-famous alum finishes their commencement speech and the president comes up to call the names of the graduates and present the diplomas. People two rows in front of her get up and form a line on the stairs. Although her last name began with a "b" it will take a while before her row gets up to join the line.
She starts to think about her career choice, and about how it will affect her kids. She'll have to go to the police academy for six months but even after that she'll have odd hours and late nights. It's not the greatest job for a mother with two small children but it's what she wants to do.
The row in directly in front of her starts to move and she's brought back to present day. Right, she has to think about getting through the ceremony before she can think about her career. She has to wait another five minutes but eventually she rises from her seat with the rest of the row and walks to the stage. With each passing minute she rises to another step to the stage. She breathes a sigh of relief when the president finally calls her name.
"Katherine Houghton Beckett," the older man calls.
She walks to him and takes the diploma. She shakes his hand, gives him a smile and says "Thank you," then walks the rest of the way across the stage and follows the line of students walking back to their seats.
She can't contain her smile, she's done it; she has graduated. Of course the downside to being one of the first to get your diploma is that you have to sit through the rest of the names being called. She has to sit there for an hour and a half before they gave the closing remarks and says "Congratulations Graduates!"
She throws her hat up in the air along with the rest of the graduates and then attempts to make her way to the street. With everyone roaming around and trying to find their families she finds herself bumping into people a lot. She makes it to the street and hails a cab; she gives the driver her apartment building's address and waits.
The apartment is a two-bedroom one bath about a mile away from campus. It's not in the best of neighborhoods but it's affordable, especially because her dad is still helping her out. He pays for half of her rent and had paid her tuition.
The cab comes to a stop and Kate lifts up her gown to get to her wallet. She hands the cabbie some cash and gets out, heading up to the door. She opens the front door of the building and smiles as she sees her Dad, Lanie, and her twins.
The toddlers immediately run toward her with huge grins on their faces. She gets down on her knees and opens her arms to hug them. They crash into her and hug her tight. "Hey guys," she says laughing at their excitement.
"Hi Mommy," Jo says pulling back. She's dressed in a blue dress, it has puffy sleeves and the bottom of it flares out. She looks rather adorable in it, especially since Aunt Lanie had so kindly French-braided her hair that morning.
"You look pretty today," Kate says looking her over.
"Thank you," Jo says smiling shyly.
"Hey James, you look handsome," Kate says turning to her son.
He's dressed in khaki shorts and a green polo and even has his short blond hair combed to the side. James smiles widely "I know, Grandpa said so," he says, or sort of says. Given that his vocabulary isn't complete and he hasn't had enough practice saying the words they come out a little jumbled. Luckily Kate has become adept at understanding two year old talk.
"Oh did he now? Well he was right," Kate says laughing. She gives them one last squeeze and stands up. "Alright let's go upstairs so I can drop off my cap and gown and we'll go for lunch," she says taking their hands and started toward the elevator. James runs over to the closed doors and Jo follows close behind. Kate stays behind and hugs both her Dad and Lanie. They congratulate her and follow her to the elevator.
It only takes a few minutes to drop the cap and gown and soon the gang is in a cab on the way to Remy's. Jo has to sit on her mom's lap so that they can all fit.
The lunch goes along swimmingly until Jim brings up Kate's job opportunities. "Now what are you going to do with your criminal justice degree? You could do some more schooling and become a lawyer, or become a criminologist or something."
"Actually I was going to become a police officer," Kate says while cutting up James' burger into bite size pieces.
"Why do you want to become a police officer? There are so many other more stable job opportunities. Why didn't you just stay with your pre-law degree that you had started at Stanford?"
"Because I don't want to become a lawyer anymore, I originally was going to try and become the first female chief justice but that's just not where my heart is anymore. I want to help people find justice. I want to work homicide with the NYPD. "
"Well you can still do that. If you wanted to find justice you could become a prosecutor and eventually get appointed as a judge. There are other ways," Jim says trying to remain calm.
"No, it's not the same. I want to investigate the crimes and find the evidence and put them away myself. I don't think I could be a good lawyer, I live on the corner of black and white, right and wrong. But as a lawyer I'd have to live in the grey area. It just isn't me," Kate says turning to Jo and cutting her burger into bite size pieces.
"What about a criminalist? You could find the evidence that puts the bad guys away," Jim reasons.
"I'm not really in to science. Trust me I've thought about this and becoming a police officer is the only way to do everything that I want to."
"Do you realize what it's going to take to become an officer? Six months, at least, of the academy. You remember how hard it was to leave the twins for the summer semester in Kiev? You called every day and asked about them. I had to talk you out of coming home at least 4 times. That was 3 months, this is six months."
"I've done some research and I get weekends after the first 3 weeks. I can come home and spend time with them then. Lanie has already agreed to take care of them. She's doing her residency to become a medical examiner and said that she'd be able to take care of them."
Lanie, who had been silent up until this point, says "Yes I'm getting paid a small amount and I know a great day care place to take care of them during the day."
"What about after you get out of the academy? It's not a 9 to 5 job."
"I know. I wish that I could do something else but I just don't see myself being happy doing anything besides bringing justice."
"I'm just concerned for your relationship with your kids. If you have to go arrest someone in the middle of the night instead of tucking them in think of what it will do to them. Or what if something happens to you on the job? What's going to happen to them?"
"Dad I've thought about the costs and I can't just refrain from doing something because of what could happen. I might not even make it out of the academy, I might get halfway through and drop out because it's not for me but I have to try."
"If I know you at all you'll make it through the academy, you're too stubborn to give up halfway through. I'm not going to change your mind am I?" Jim asks, defeated.
"No, I'm going to do this whether you want me to or not," Kate says looking him in the eye. She then looks down at the twins to make sure they're doing alright. James is stuffing his face with French fries and Jo is eating her burger bites. She reaches for her drink and comes up short. Kate drags the drink into her reach and watches to make sure Jo doesn't drop it or spill it.
James finishes his fries and reaches over to his mom's plate for her fries. "James no! You had your own fries," Kate scolds. James starts to get upset and so Kate says, "You still have your burger, bud, why don't you eat that."
James reaches for the burger bites and starts to eat, still looking rather sullen. Kate has to resist the urge to let him have her fries. She has to teach him some discipline, and that means he has to learn the word 'no.' That's why they're called the 'terrible twos,' because at that age kids can't do whatever they want anymore, they start getting scolded and told no, and that doesn't sit well with them.
"Dad I'm sorry. I don't want to make you upset, but this is what I want," Kate says looking back to her dad. He nods and looks up at her.
"I already worry about you alone with the twins but my anxiety will increase tenfold if you do this."
"I wish there was something I could do to ease your anxiety," Kate says softly, then goes back to eating.
"I have to go, graduation starts in ninety minutes and I'm due there in thirty. Thanks for the meal Mr. Beckett," Lanie says. She's also graduating today, except she's graduating from medical school.
"Of course, sorry I can't make it. I have a lot of work to do," Jim says hugging Lanie. After they embrace Lanie gets up to leave. Kate makes James scoot out of his seat to allow her to get up as well.
"See you after the graduation, meet us at our favorite ice cream stand," Kate says bringing Lanie in for a hug.
"Okay," Lanie says then releases Kate. She waves bye to Jo and James and they wave back enthusiastically, with big smiles on their faces.
After Lanie leaves Kate gets back in her seat between Jo and James and starts eating again. They don't talk much the rest of the meal, only when Jo or James starts talking about something.
"Where Aunt Lanie go?" James asks.
"She went to graduation. Remember I told you she's graduating too?" Kate asks.
"What does grajation mean?" Jo asks mispronouncing 'graduation.'
"I thought I had already explained this. You know how you're going to have to go to school?" Kate begins.
"Yeah," Jo says.
"Well Lanie has finished school, so we're going to something called 'graduation' to celebrate."
"Oh, otay," Jo says, satisfied.
Jim looks on, quite pleased with Kate's ability to explain things to two year olds, but doesn't say anything. The waitress comes by with their check.
"Here's the check, but no rush," she says dropping a receipt. She smiles down at the twins and walks off.
Jim finishes his meal and gets up, "I'm going to pay and go. I have a lot of work to do, several cases to prepare for."
"Okay, we better get going too. We have some housework to do and a graduation to attend," Kate says pushing James to get him to get out of his seat. She follows, holding Jo's hand and tugging her along. They all get out of the booth and Kate hugs her Dad. When they pull back from the hug Kate looks down and pushes Jo and James toward their granddad. "Tell Grandpa goodbye."
"Bye Grandpa," they say in almost unison. They put their arms up to try and hug him and Jim gets down on his knees to be on their level. He hugs them tight and gives each of them a kiss.
"Bye guys," he says then releases them and goes to the front cash register. Kate gives the booth a onceover to make sure they aren't leaving anything then takes James and Jo's hands and leads them out the door, throwing another "bye" over her shoulder to her Dad before they're out on the sidewalk.
Kate sits with James on her left and Jo on her right. They are both rather fidgety and keep trying to stand up in their chairs. Kate spends half of her time listening to the speeches and music and half of her time making sure the twins are sitting down and that Jo doesn't have her dress over her head.
When they start calling names James gets rather interested and looks intently at the stage. When he doesn't see Lanie he gets confused and asks, "Mommy where's Aunt Lanie?"
He asks it rather loudly in comparison with the silent audience. Some of the surrounding audience members chuckle at the child's outburst and Kate blushes, embarrassed to be the center of attention. She turns to James and says, in a whisper, "Shhhh, we have to be quiet. Lanie's going to come, you just have to wait."
They sit through the names up until the letter "j" before Jo speaks. "Mommy I have to go bafroom," she says looking rather anxious. She, unlike James, speaks quieter, but can still be heard by the surrounding audience members without a problem.
"I thought I told you to go before the graduation started," Kate whispers.
"I didn't have to go then," Jo says shifting uncomfortably.
Kate sighs, "Can you hold it?" she asks, already knowing the answer. Jo shakes her head. "Alright, come on." They're seated near the middle of the row so they have to squeeze past several parents and grandparents before they can go toward the main office building, where the bathrooms are. As she makes it past she whispers "excuse me" and "sorry" but the older people don't mind. Seeing as they're at a college graduation, they've been through this stage and they completely understand.
Kate takes Jo and James to the bathroom and goes into the handicapped stall. She has James stand in the corner and helps Jo take care of business. They're somewhat potty trained but still need assistance. Once Jo is done they make to leave but then James decides he has to go.
After James finishes they go to the sinks and all three wash their hands. When they finally make it back to their seats the President was saying "Julia Prescott." They had missed Lanie. Jo and James are quiet for the rest of the ceremony.
When they're making their way to the ice cream stand on the corner Jo says "I didn't see Lanie."
"We missed her hon," Kate says sadly.
"Why?" Jo asks.
"Well we were in the bathroom," Kate says.
Jo looks down at her feet and starts to walk a little slower, she's sad that she didn't get to see her 'aunt.' She starts to slow the whole group down and Kate lets go of James' hand briefly to pick Jo up and put her on her hip. She takes James' hand again and keeps walking.
"But hey, we're going to see her now," Kate says trying to cheer her up. Jo perks up some at that but still looks sad.
They finally make it to the ice cream stand and see Lanie. When Jo sees Lanie she smiles widely.
"See? There she is!" Kate says, putting Jo down and letting go of James' hand. They run to Lanie and hug her. Kate walks up and hugs her as well. "We missed you walking across the stage, they had to go to the bathroom, but we saw the speeches and watched the closing remarks."
"Oh, that's alright, you came, that's all that matters to me," Lanie says brushing it off with a wave of her hand.
"Well I'm buying you celebratory ice cream, and you can't say no," Kate says walking closer to the stand.
"I accept," Lanie says.
It's bath time. Kate puts the twins in the bath water and starts their ritual.
She starts singing to let them know what's coming next. When she's getting them all wet she sings:
"Splish Splash we were taking a bath,
Long about a Saturday night,
Just a rub a dub dub, relaxin' in the tub,
Thinking everything was alright."
When she starts rubbing soap on their skin she chants:
"Rub a dub dub,
Three men in a tub,
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick-maker,
They all jumped out of a rotten potato!"
They giggle at the last line. When they're all sudsed up and ready to rinse she starts singing: "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring," and pours water over them to wash away the soap.
Next she grabs the shampoo bottle and lathers some on their scalps. She uses a cup to rinse the soap out of their hair, making sure to cover their eyes so that the shampoo doesn't get into them. While she rinses their hair she sings her version of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" from "South Pacific," replacing 'man' with 'soap.'
After they are clean and rinsed Kate grabs a towel, wraps it around Jo while she's standing in the tub and picks her up, placing her on the ground and drying her off. When she gets Jo dry she wraps the towel around her tightly and says "Snug as a bug in a rug." Jo joins in on the key words like 'snug,' 'bug,' and 'rug.'
She repeats the process with James, saying "Snug as a bug in a rug," with him as well. She gets them dressed in their pajamas and leads them into their bedroom.
They have a specific bedtime routine that they stick to every night. After dinner and desert they brush teeth (with Mommy's help), take a bath, and then lay down in bed while Mommy reads them a story. They're currently making their way through Dr. Seuss, one book per night. Tonight's book is "The King's Stilts."
Kate sits on a chair between their beds, facing so that she can show them the illustrations. She reads the book, stopping when they ask her what a word means. She gives each of the characters different voices, which really amuses the twins. They giggle when she lowers her voice and uses a somber tone as Lord Droon is scolding the King for riding his bright red stilts.
When she finishes the book Jo is already fast asleep and James is getting there fast. She puts the book on their shared night stand, leaving it so that she can read any pages they missed later. She gives Jo a kiss on the head and tucks her in really well, making sure she has her favorite stuffed dog, Samson. He's a little beanie baby dog that she absolutely adores. She turns and gives James a kiss on the head as well; tucking him in and making sure he has his favorite stuffed tiger, Stripes. When they're both tucked in she returns the chair to a different part of their room, shuts off the lamp, and leaves the room.
She walks out to the living room where Lanie sits, watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Before joining her Kate grabs two sodas from the top shelf of the fridge (conveniently out of reach of two certain toddlers). She brings them to the couch and gives one to Lanie.
"I can't believe you're actually going to do it! One of the first things you said to me was that you wanted to be a police officer and now, in a couple of months you're going to the academy," Lanie said.
"Hey let's not forget the hotshot who's doing her residency to become a medical examiner! Where are you doing your residency?" Kate asks, taking a swig of her Sprite.
"St. Samuels Hospital."
"That's a nice hospital, really nice staff."
"You had the twins at New York Memorial, how do you know about St. Samuels?"
"I got my tonsils out there," Kate explains.
"Ah. Well, are you excited about the Police Academy?"
"Yeah, I'm a little nervous."
"About what?"
"The only thing I know about the academy is from the 80's movie. Plus I don't want to leave the twins, I don't want to leave that kind of responsibility with you for that long. If it was just a week or something I'd be okay but for six months? I mean I'll be back on the weekends but it's still a lot."
"Okay, I have faith that you can take whatever the academy dishes you. And as for me, I'll be fine. I take care of them all the time. I know their bedtime and morning schedules, I know their favorite shows, their favorite meals, their favorite stories—"
"Yeah but what about when they throw tantrums, or when they won't go to bed, or they won't eat. Do you know what to do then?" Kate interrupts.
"Yes, I've had to deal with that stuff before and I can handle it. I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't think I could."
"I'm going to miss them so much. I hate doing this to them, but this is what I want to do, it's a sacrifice I have to make," Kate says looking down at her drink and running her finger along the ring of the can.
"We've talked about this before, you'll make it up to them on the weekends. Go to parks, get ice cream, go to the library and read to them, draw with them, stuff like that."
"Yeah but it won't be the same."
"No it won't. But that's okay. You'll be fine, they'll be fine."
"Thanks Lanie. And just to be sure, you'll be okay living in this apartment? What about your apartment, what about the rent?"
"My mom pays for it, it'll be fine. Is your dad still going to pay for half of the rent for this apartment?"
"I don't know. I think so, but I'll make sure. I should start getting paid while I'm at the academy. I won't need the money so I'll wire it to you. Not all of the monthly salary, I'm putting some of it away for a later date."
"Okay, I was a little worried, I'm not getting paid during my residency," Lanie says.
"And you're asking me about money now? Why didn't you ask when I asked you to take the twins?" Kate asks incredulously.
"I wasn't thinking about money then. I was just excited to take care of the twins!"
Kate rolls her eyes and finishes her soda. Lanie finishes hers as well and takes the empty can into the kitchen, tossing it in the trashcan. Kate follows and drops her can in the trashcan as well.
"Well I'm going to go home," Lanie says grabbing her purse from the kitchen table.
"Alright, I'll see you later," Kate says giving her a hug.
"See you later," Lanie says then leaves. Kate turns the TV and all of the lights off and goes to her room to read. She hasn't read in a while, she's just been too busy with school and the twins. It's difficult to find time to do the things you love when you have two little human beings depending on you. She wouldn't trade it for a second but she does enjoy reading.
She picks up a copy of "Kissed and Killed" and dives into the story.
Kate's departure to the Police Academy came with many hugs and tears. The tears were from the twins, who didn't really understand why Mommy was leaving. She had tried to explain but they hadn't really understood.
Her Dad gave her a crushing hug and didn't let her go for several minutes. When he finally did release her he told her to "just be careful." Her assurance that she would didn't seem to give him any more hope.
Lanie gave her a crushing hug as well and told her to "knock 'em dead." Kate had laughed and told her she would try.
The twins wouldn't let go, even with promises that they would see her in a few weeks and that she would be home before they knew it.
She had waved a final goodbye and left her apartment. She took a cab to the academy and took her first steps toward a whole new life and career. Her life had changed drastically with the twins, and it was about to change again when she put on that badge.
A/N: So I actually really like how this turned out. The bath time routine was mine and my siblings' when we were toddlers. I had to ask my dad about all of the different songs. "The King's Stilts" was my favorite Dr. Seuss book, my dad used to have different voices for the characters and I can still remember the way he would say some of the phrases. So I looked to my childhood for a lot of the stuff in here. And FYI the only thing I know about police academies is from the 80's movie, so there isn't going to be anything about her time in the academy. And if you're wondering about Lanie having two residencies, because when she met Kate she was doing a residency, the first one was for med school, I don't know if they do residencies for med school but for the purpose of this story they do. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
Instagram: stanaticfanatic1