A/N - Hello everyone,

Finally, an update. Thanks for waiting. Thanks to Jester's Pet Oriole, southerngirl1 and TORONTOSUN for their ever present font of kind words and ideas. Thanks for the follows and favs, too. I'm glad you're enjoying this little innocuous story. Please read on and enjoy!

The Commitment

Chapter 5

You Got Nuttin' On Me

Detective Kate Beckett was not a lightweight. She was the youngest woman to be promoted to Detective in NYPD history; she spoke three languages; qualified for and was excelling at Stanford's pre-law curriculum, until the murder of her mother redirected her life. She then took all of her over-achiever tendencies and applied them to her studies in criminology and to her academy training. Beckett threw herself into police work. Nothing had been handed to her; she climbed every inch. She had earned and held the respect of her team, co-workers, and supervisors. Kate Beckett was custom made for homicide. She believed in evidence, history, motive, means and opportunity. She didn't believe that people could change. She had seen too many repeat offenders to believe in any kind of sappy sugar coated rehabilitation stories. This was the problem.

Specifically, the problem was Richard Castle. His history, motives, means and opportunities all added up to some serious character concerns. The conflict that presented itself was his involvement with this teacher. Beckett couldn't understand why he was going to the lengths to make himself appear altruistic and unselfish when clearly the evidence spoke otherwise. Susannah was young and pretty and obviously into Castle. Why was he bothering to deny the evidence? She sat at her desk, her unfocused gaze aimed somewhere in the direction of the elevators, pondering his possible motives.

Kate's musings were interrupted by the elevator door as it opened. Castle strode to her desk with a cup of coffee and a smile. "Good morning Detective." His eyes and whole face reflected a vivacity and joy of life. Everything was always right, bright, and shiny in Castle land, she thought sardonically.

"Thanks," she said sipping the hot liquid, pleased that he got her favored order perfect, again. She felt it travel down to her stomach, spreading warm tendrils throughout her body as it went. She closed and opened her eyes contentedly. This ritual was another example of the enigma of Richard Castle.

He watched her make love to her coffee, amusement playing across his face. He looked around the quiet bullpen and cocked an eyebrow, "So, still, ahem, dead around here?" He ended his question with a self-satisfied grin.

"Yup, only the puns are dying," she deadpanned. He grinned, happy about their back and forth banter. It was one thing he loved about coming to the twelfth among others.

"Okaaaay. Are you busy, I mean right now?"

"I'm still cleaning and consolidating files. Why?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Castle," Captain Montgomery poked his head out of his office door, "you have some fans waiting in the lobby for you. Should I have Sergeant Guillermo send them up? Are we set up here?"

Castle smiled, "Sure thing, Captain. I was just making sure the coast was clear up here."

Beckett rolled her eyes and turned to her captain, "Sir? If this is another publicity stunt, I would rather not participate."

"Cool your jets, Beckett, and just watch." She huffed as she straightened her chair. It was then that she noticed that Castle had walked over to the elevator, waiting to greet whatever fans were riding up.

Esposito and Ryan walked up behind her. "What's going on with Castle?" Ryan asked.

Beckett turned around to face them, "Apparently fans are on their way up," disdain and acidity laced the word fans. "Probably the flavor of the week with some sort of connection to a higher up."

"The captain seems to be on board." Esposito observed Montgomery anticipating the elevator as well.

"Yeah, well he's on board with his poker buddy." She snorted mockingly.

Esposito and Ryan exchanged a silent 'what's with her' look and they shrugged simultaneously. Their attention was drawn to the elevator when it pinged. The doors opened and Susannah Hamilton stepped out cautiously, and was met by Rick. The two crossed into an embrace to which Beckett raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Just more evidence against the volunteer explanation.

"Well, come on out." She heard Castle say. "This is where I do my other job." Beckett frowned, her curiosity got the better of her, and she could not help but look back up and lean to see inside the elevator. She wasn't the only one; the whole floor had stopped working to watch Castle's spectacle.

Castle reached his hand inside the blocked door of the elevator and when he pulled it back, it was attached to a beautiful little girl. She had large brown expressive eyes and curly untamable hair. She held onto his hand as if it were her only lifeline. Clearly, she was familiar and comfortable with him.

"Come on in, Evie. No one here will bite, well…" He tilted his head and grinned at Beckett. "Kids, come on out and we'll have a story and snacks." Susannah came prepared with a bag of snacks and a book for the dozen or so kids who came spilling out of the elevator after Castle and Evie.

Castle led them around the bullpen, introducing them to the officers and other detectives. Beckett was actually impressed that he knew everyone's name and position. He explained the work that each person did without speaking down to them or giving them too many of the unpleasant realities or details. The kids were well behaved and listened as Castle led them on his guided tour. He walked up to Beckett's desk.

"And, kids, I've saved the best for last," he said indicating his immediate twelfth family members. "This is Captain Montgomery; he's like the coolest principal that you've ever had."

"Hey, kids, "Montgomery said waving.

"And these two gentlemen are Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. They're like my brothers. They are like the wheels of our group. They do an incredible amount of work running around and chasing down leads. They're truly inspiring."

"Hey, thanks, bro," Espo said, letting Castle feed his birds.

"Yeah, thanks, Castle, "Ryan said, smiling at the kids, "that really means a lot."

He walked up to Beckett's desk. "And this, is Detective Kate Beckett," he indicated Beckett with a flourish of his hands. "She is like the smartest, most patient teacher you've ever had. Ask her anything and she'll give you an honest answer." By the time he was finished Kate could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Uh, hi kids," she self-consciously said and to Castle asked, "So, what's all this about?"

"This is Susannah's class. The kids I read to every now and then. The, uh, captain thought it would be fun for the kids to see where I helped the police."

Susannah, who had been quietly watching, stepped forward. "Oh and I truly appreciate this." She shook the captain's hand, "And I'm sure the kids do too." She shook Ryan and Esposito's hands and ended the circuit with Kate. "Detectives, Captain Montgomery, I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have this opportunity for the kids. Mister Castle always brings an element of excitement, but this has been an amazing experience for me as well as the kids." She was beaming.

"Okay, come on kids, there's lots more to see," Castle led the kids as if he were the pied piper. Beckett watched him. He was animated and silly. She could see why the kids liked him. He enlisted Ryan and Espo to help with a demonstration of interrogation and observation. He led half of the kids into the box and the other half to observation. Esposito began a complex explanation of how the box was used. Castle left the kids in observation with Ryan and entered interrogation to a sea of confused faces. He smiled. "This is where we get the bad guys to confess, here let me show you, um," he narrowed his eyes at the kids and rubbed his non-existent beard, "Andy." A smallish red headed boy with blue eyes and freckles stopped his examination of the table microphones and snapped his head up to Castle. Despite his size, Esposito could see that he was a fireball.

"Yes, Mister Rick?"

"Okay, you sit over there," he indicated the chair facing the mirror, "And I'll sit here. Jonah, don't tug on those wires, okay?" A pudgy, brown haired boy immediately stopped his exploration of the microphone wires under the table. Beckett and Montgomery entered observation in the middle of Castle's admonition. He never raised his voice, but Jonah stopped fiddling with the wires, immediately. He brought his attention back to Andy. "So Mister Finnegan, I understand you have a love of cookies, chocolate chip cookies, to be specific." Castle dipped his head and cocked an eyebrow, hardly the death stare Beckett could conjure.

"Of course I do." Andy began.

"So you admit you love the cookies; then you must have been the one who took them from Cassie's lunchbox on Tuesday, March fourth, you had motive. This is why you wanted to steal the cookies."

Andy was cool. Beckett liked this kid. "No, I don't admit anything. Everybody likes chocolate chip cookies."

"Who stole my cookies?" Cassie demanded.

Castle smiled. "Just pretend guys."

Andy cocked his eyebrow. "You got nuttin' on me copper," he said with a sneer and an exaggerated tough-guy accent. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You both go to lunch at the same time. That's called opportunity or when you committed the crime and those hands that you just hid away from me. They are called means. It's how you committed the crime."

"We have witnesses," Castle said as he silently encouraged the participation from the group. The rest of the kids were catching on.

"I saw him do it," exclaimed a girl with blonde curls, "Cassie is my best friend, and she wouldn't lie."

Beckett, Montgomery, Ryan, and Susannah all watched intently as the little drama unfolded. Their charges stood, noses pressed up against the two-way.

"I saw him, too," another excited witness cried.

Castle shook his head, "That's what we call corroboration," he shook his head, "it means you're sunk, kid." Andy and Castle sat in a staring contest; it was quiet in the room.

Finally, he looked around wild-eyed and quietly said, "You would have taken them too; they had nuts." The room exploded in applause. Castle smiled and tousled Andy's hair.

"Okay, okay. Questions?"

"Why are there microphones? Does the camera work? How many bad guys come in there?"

Castle answered all of the kids' questions in kid speak; not dumbed down, but not over their heads, either.

"Why is there a big mirror?"

"Oh, I'm really glad you asked. It's so people can watch what goes on in here."

So, there are people back there now?"

"Yeah, the rest of the class and Detective Ryan."

"Cool."

Castle smiled again. "Here, I'll show you." He pulled out his ever-present moleskin notebook and pen. "Give me a number, one to one hundred, but," and he held out his hand, "don't shout it out, 'cause they can hear you too. Whisper it." He had a half a dozen kids clambering towards his ears. He wrote down every number on a separate sheet and handed them to the kids. "Okay, I'll count to three and then you hold up your papers. "he addressed the mirror, "Ryan, have the kids write down the numbers." He smiled a please. Ryan took out his own notebook and pen. "Ready, guys, one, two, aaaannnnd three." Six hands shot into the air with Castle's hastily scribbled numbers scrawled on them. After a minute, Castle asked the mirror, "Okay?" He was answered with a knock on the glass and several 'cools' from his side. "We'll check it out in a minute. Any other questions?"

"Did Andy really steal Cassie's cookies?"

"No, I made it up because…" he dropped off expectantly.

The students on both sides of the class had apparently played that game before because they all shouted, "Because that's what you do!"

Castle beamed. "Let's go see if they can really see us." They scrambled toward the door and he led them to observation. They looked around and saw the room they were in and exchanged information with their classmates.

Susannah clapped three times and there was silence. "How about a snack?" There was a cheer. "Follow Mister Rick."

He led them to the break room. Susannah broke out the juice boxes and chocolate chip cookies. Castle crossed to the espresso machine and fixed himself a latte before settling on the black pleather sofa. Susannah thrust a book into his hands and the kids sat on the floor at his feet. He looked down at them and shook his head. They all moved back about two feet and he eased himself down to the floor. The entire exchange took place without verbal communication. He reached up for the book. It was John Grisham's Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer.

Beckett sat on a stool by one of the tables, enthralled with this side of Castle. She had no idea. He glanced up at her a couple of times as he turned the pages. The kids sat captivated and transported. Susannah sat opposite Kate, making notes in her day planner. Ryan, Espo, and Montgomery leaned against the counter quietly taking it all in. He reached the end of a chapter and glanced at the wall clock, eleven thirty, time to get back on the bus.

He closed the book and declared, "The rest is for another day." He was greeted by a chorus of 'aws' and 'just one more chapters'. Rick smiled and said, "Nope, my butt's asleep as it is. Help me up." The kids laughed and pulled on his arms, tugged on his belt, tried pushing from under his arms. He winked at Beckett. He was dead weight.

Susannah, having seen this before, broke in saying, "We're just going to have to leave Mister Rick on the floor. Somebody will clean him up." Her voice tinkled along with the kids' laughter. "Say goodbye and thank you to the captain and detectives, please." The kids dutifully made the rounds and ended with piling hugs on Rick who was still seated on the floor. Susannah mimicked a call me toward Rick and then led her brood out to the bullpen and into the elevator. They gave a final wave as the doors closed.

Castle got back up off the floor, rubbing his backside. "It really is asleep," he said, gritting his teeth to the boys.

"Castle, that was something else, those kids really love you." Espo said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"And all those kids have some sort of behavioral, um…"

"Diagnosis, Ryan. Yeah, thanks, I really love them too. They're good kids." Beckett observed him, still. His eyes betraying a depth of emotion that she did not think he was capable of outside of Alexis.

"Yeah Castle," she added, "You really connected with them. It was great the way you got down on their level, became one of them."

"Thanks, Beckett, except for my ass falling asleep, it's not hard to become one of them." He scrunched up his face and rubbed his derrière.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled his devilish lop-sided grin. "I am one of them."