CHAPTER 3 – Peeling the Present

They rolled up to the checkpoint at Quantico at 11 AM. Rick flashed his ID and they were waved through. He knew his way around having spent quite a bit of time there, so he pulled into the parking area at 11:20. He got out and walked around to open the passenger door for Kate. She smiled and took his hand, unfurling her long legs and standing up next to him. She gave him a once over and smiled. He stood next to her in his black suit and tie; his aviator sunglasses completed the 'Fed' look. She wore a simple charcoal pantsuit and her usual heels...they looked quite the couple.

"So fill me in again, Castle," she said, easily slipping into their precinct personae. "What are we doing?"

"Well, Beckett, you get to see a treat! I am to be a chameleon today and transform from Castle to Rodgers." He looked up at the building before him. "I'll admit it, love...I'm nervous. I am glad you are here. Come on; let me check in before they come to find me."

They walked into the building and gave the guard his name. Minutes later an older gentleman was approaching. "SSA Rodgers?" He watched as the younger man nodded. "Good. Would you and Detective Beckett follow me please?" He turned around without waiting for an answer so they rose and followed him into a waiting elevator. Rick's eyebrows rose a little when the palm reader was used and the floor selected. Kate looked at him questioningly and he gave her a quick shrug. The older man chuckled.

"I'd heard but I couldn't believe it..."

Rick looked over. "You'd heard what?"

"That you two could have whole conversations without saying a thing." With that, the door opened and he stepped off. "Follow me, please."

They walked out into a large foyer with one wall full of glass. The opposite wall had a door with an agent standing near it. The nameplate by the door read 'Executive offices'. Their companion nodded at the agent and pushed open the door, revealing a long hallway with several doors on the side. Kate curiously read the nameplates by the doors as they made their way down the hallway. A few she knew; she saw Jacobs on a door about two thirds of the way down. Just on the other side of his was one marked SAC Rodgers...she nudged Rick and pointed towards it. He rolled his eyes and followed the man to the door on the end marked 'Director Thorne' and they followed him inside.

TCOP

Roy Montgomery looked at his office and sighed. He knew that one day his mistakes would come back to haunt him. His eyes came to rest on the picture of his wife smiling up at him. He could remember the day he met Evelyn Ross like it was yesterday. He had just graduated from the Academy and got assigned to the 19th on the Upper East Side. He was on his way to work one morning when he saw a young woman looking at her bicycle with a flat tire. He had worked hard to be helpful, so he pulled over and headed toward her. Just as he got to her she looked up and he was lost in her beautiful chocolate eyes. He helped her get home and the rest is history. They dated for several months and were married about a year after they met.

He worked at the 19th precinct for a couple years when he fell in with Raglan and McAllister. They had been around and had made detective so he was a bit in awe of them. They sensed his eagerness and pulled him into their little scheme. Later when the mess went down with Pulgatti and then Johanna Beckett he was so disgusted that he pulled away from them. But when Bracken found out he pulled him back in and used him as an informant. As he rose up the ranks (incidentally passing Raglan and McAllister when he became a Lieutenant) he was able to get out from under Bracken's thumb except for a few times where he was 'requested' to look up some things in records that the others did not have access to.

And then along came Kate Beckett. Roy walked a fine line but he knew Kate was destined for something great. He nurtured her but saw how deeply affected she was by her mother's murder. His guilt kept him silent but he knew she needed someone to help her be what she could be. He had met Rick Castle at a charitable event that he had attended and knew that the one person who could remind Kate Beckett to live was standing right in front of him. So when the copycat murders happened and Castle was standing in front of him again, he decided to put the bug in his ear about civilian consultants. He smiled to himself remembering Kate's furor about her new shadow...and Evelyn's laughter when he told her about what he had done.

Coming back to himself he looked up at the clock and decided it was time to head home to see his family before everything came home to roost.

TCOP

The director looked at the couple in front of his desk. They were well-matched and looked like a couple. Powerful...attractive...and they could be slightly intimidating. He motioned for them to sit in the seats across from him while he pulled out the files from his desk drawer.

"Thanks for coming in."

Rick looked over at Kate and responded. "I wasn't aware I had a choice." He looked up, surprised to hear the older man chuckle.

"Rick...May I call you Rick?" At the nod he continues. "Well, Rick, you always have choices. I am glad you chose to be here today. I have heard many things about you and your tenure...in fact Jason mentioned you last month when he and I had lunch together."

At the mention of his former mentor's first name Rick sat up a little straighter. "You've spoken to Gideon?"

"I have. He misses his team, but not the work. It ate at him, you know?"

Rick nodded. "He told me that he loved the psychology of what made people tick, but he hated the psychology of those he had to pursue. It made him question the humanity of it all."

The older man then turned his attention to Kate. "Detective Beckett, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dakota Thorne. I have had the privilege of serving my country as a member of the US Army during Vietnam and Desert Storm. I retired as a Lieutenant General in 2003 and was tasked to run the Bureau roughly eleven months ago. I understand that Rick here has been working with you for the past few years. Has he been bothering you?"

Kate snorted. "I don't know that he can keep from bothering people." She glanced over and saw no reaction, which was disconcerting. "He ummm...he has been a great help in our precinct though. He's my partner."

The older man nodded. He pulled out a badge and handed it to Rick. "I would expect no less. Now, Agent Rodgers, you have to recertify. Please go to Testing and return here by 1400. Your partner may accompany you. Dismissed."

Rick stood and nodded. After making sure that Kate was ready he exited the office and used his new ID to enter a secured door marked TESTING AREA - AGENTS ONLY. He looked back at Kate and grinned. "And now the fun begins."

TCOP

Kate was still worried about Rick's non response to her teasing earlier. It was not like him to be stoic. As she watched her boyfriend she realized. She wasn't watching Rick Castle, author and father...in front of her was Richard Rodgers, FBI Agent. She had known him for years and they had recently started dating, but they had not had time yet to be able to be with each other outside of work except for a few evenings having dinner or cuddling on the couch in one of their apartments. They knew how each other felt even if it had yet to be vocalized. They didn't really need to date; dating was all about finding out if two people were compatible. They had been a part of each other's lives for more than three years! If they weren't compatible they would not have lasted as long as they have. She had even been staying at his apartment most of the past couple weeks. She just went home to check mail and get more clothes.

She looked up from her musing and froze. Holy hell! Her Rick was an Adonis! He was working through the physical fitness test and was doing chin ups with his back to her. She watched as he flexed and the muscles rippled on his back. She had no idea how hot he was...he always wore button down shirts that fit a little loosely. She knew he was strong; he had pulled her to safety a number of times. But the man before her was much more than she had expected. If the fan girls knew what he looked like without a shirt...

"Stop drooling, Beckett." Kate's head snapped up and she looked right into the grinning face of Jordan Shaw.

"Shaw! What are you doing here?"

"I got a call...I am being seconded to a new task force and have to meet my SAC in a few hours. I heard they grabbed Agent Rogers from his retirement to lead and as I have never met him, I thought I would come early and introduce myself. He's a legend around here. Are you here to join up?"

Kate was floored. Rick was an FBI legend? And why wouldn't Jordan Shaw know that about him? Oh, wait...Agent Rodgers. She grinned a bit and winked at Shaw. "No, I am part of the task force, though...as is my boyfriend." She looked over at Rick's back as he dropped to do some pushups.

Shaw's eyes narrowed. "You're on the task force? I haven't been briefed yet; do you know what's going on?"

"I do, but I can't share under orders of the SAC."

Shaw looked over again at the man as he stood after finishing his pushups and shaking out his arms. "So your boyfriend is an FBI agent, eh? I always figured you would hook up with Castle. I know you two were into each other even if neither of you would admit it."

Kate grinned as she watched Rick down a bottle of water and grab a towel. "Well, who's to say we haven't?" At Shaw's confused look, Kate grinned and looked over to see a sweaty Rick making his way over. "Agent Rodgers, I believe you remember Agent Shaw."

Rick grinned as Shaw turned towards him and her jaw dropped. "Jordan! Good to see you! What brings you to testing? Recert?"

Shaw shook her head. "Apparently Rodgers I am your second for the task force. Oh and Rodgers, your girl was drooling." She winked at Kate and turned to leave. "See you at the briefing."

TCOP

Rick came back out after showering and changing back into his suit. Kate followed him into the armory to get his service weapon issued. He strapped the holster and placed his new Glock 22 in its place. He took his cuffs and grinned at Kate as he put them in his jacket pocket. As he processed through getting his picture for his credentials, he took the traditional straight faced photo and handed over his temporary ID as he received his updated official one. Kate watched as the man she loved went from writer to agent, morphing each step of the way. She still saw hints of Castle, but she was definitely looking at an FBI profiler standing in front of her.

"Kate?"

"Yes, Rick?"

"Want something to eat? The food's not great but I'm hungry."

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, I could eat."

He motioned for her to walk with him as they left the testing area and headed towards the cafeteria. They made their selections, paid and found a table. As they started to eat Kate looked around, watching some people a couple of tables away; one of the female members was not dressed how she envisioned someone from the FBI. Her clothes were flamboyant and yet she was sitting with several stereotypically dressed agents. They were laughing and seemed intent on the stories being told by one of their members. Kate noticed that one person at the table kept looking over at them. The lithe blonde nudged the black man next to her and said something to him; he turned to look their way and Kate looked at Rick who was looking at his phone. She watched the blonde stand and start towards them. A bit of jealousy flared to life within her as she watched the beautiful agent make her way up behind Rick.

Rick looked up at Kate and his eyes widened about the time the blonde chose to speak. "Rick? Is that you?" Kate watched as Rick grinned.

"No, JJ, I am a mere figment of your imagination. I knew you were dreaming about me, though. But after all these years..." Kate's eyes narrowed but she relaxed when she saw him wink at her before he stood up and turned to face the female agent.

Kate expected to watch this JJ plant a kiss on her boyfriend; what she didn't expect were the waterworks. JJ burst into tears and grabbed Rick in a hug. Rick nervously looked back at Kate as he ran his hands up and down JJ's back, murmuring calming words and he kissed the top of her head. "Aw, c'mon, JJ! I'm not that ugly to scare you am I?"

JJ giggled a bit. "Rick, where did you go? I tried to contact you but you disappeared. No one would tell me how to find you…" She looked over at Kate and stepped back from Rick as she tried to compose herself. She turned to Kate. "I'm sorry; I just haven't seen Rodgers here for a long time. I'm Jennifer." She stuck out her hand.

Kate looked to Rick but took the offered hand. "Kate Beckett."

Jennifer's eyes widened. "THE Kate Beckett?"

Kate snorted. "I don't know if I'm THE Kate Beckett, but I am A Kate Beckett."

"You're the inspiration for Nikki Heat, right? Detective Kate Beckett?"

Kate rolled her eyes but grinned to take the sting off. "Yeah, that's me. I would rather be remembered as a good cop who helped a lot of people but some smart ass writer made that impossible." At Rick's grin she shook her head. "So how do you know this reprobate?"

JJ looked over at Rick. "So that makes you Richard Castle then. I met Rick when I joined the BAU as a liaison. I was new to the FBI and so very nervous. The team had just gotten back from a trip when I was introduced to them. They were all worn out from tracking down the killer and here I was, all bubbly and so nervous. Rick here looked at everyone and grinned. He looked up at Director Strauss and thanked her. She looked warily at him and said 'for what'; he said that if he had to see the darkness when he was in the field, the brightness of a lady like me was great to come back to. Well, of course I got angry because I thought he was flirting, so I walked right up to him and poked him in the chest and read him the riot act. And do you know what he did?"

Kate looked at Rick and shook her head. "No telling…"

"He reached over and took the hand I was poking him with and said "Agent Jureau, my intention was nothing but honorable. But to work the cases we work, you have to have a thick skin, which is something you need to work on. I will help you because you have the spirit to work on this team; give me six months and you will shine like the best of them."

Kate looked up at JJ and saw the tears in her eyes. "Yeah, that does sound like him."

Rick sat back down and asked JJ to join them. She shook her head. "We're wheels up in 90 but you better not disappear on me. We'll probably be back in a couple of days."

"JJ, I'll be back in New York by then but here's my number." He handed her a note. "Tell Hotch and the guys that when you can come up the drinks are on me." She hugged him, said goodbye to Kate and walked out of the cafeteria.

Rick looked at Kate. "Sorry. She was a good friend and one of the few I would have loved to have kept in touch with."

"It's ok, Rick. I admit I did get jealous for a minute watching yet another blonde from your past come up to you…but she explained herself quickly. She really looked up to you, didn't she?"

He nodded. "We were like a family; Gideon was our dysfunctional uncle and the rest siblings. And JJ was like that kid sister that you just want to take care of, you know? She was only a couple years younger than I was but I knew she would make a great agent someday."

"She probably had a bit of a crush on you…"

He grinned. "Who could blame her? Okay Detective, let's go get me reinstated and get this show on the road."

Kate rolled her eyes and followed him back towards the Director's office.