A/N - Hi everyone! Yay! I did it. I finished an update for this before I go off the grid at the end of the week.

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. I think we've made it to the last third of of this story. Stay tuned, we're not quite done yet.

~GeekMom

The Commitment

Chapter 12

Solid as a Rock

"Geoffrey Robbins." Ryan strode into the box and addressed the broken piece of humanity currently sniveling on the opposite side of the table. He was a mess. Esposito walked in on Ryan's heels, shaking his head. There was no way that this guy was the same guy at the funeral. Uniforms had finished processing all of the witnesses and there was no doubt, that the hollowed out husk that used to be a dude was the same mad man who pulled the gun at the funeral for his former fiancé. What Esposito couldn't figure out is what happened to cause the transformation. It certainly was not the fight with Castle. His bro had done a great job delaying his escape, but Castle had ended up unconscious and Geoffrey was sitting here, cognizant if not exactly coherent.

Robbins slowly raised his head and focused his red-rimmed eyes at the sound of his name. Ryan sat down opposite the giant who was no longer in any way belligerent, threatening, or combative and opened a folder. Esposito sat down next to him, observing Robbins.

In observation, just moments before, they watched as the man continued to fall apart. The partners along with Montgomery had decided, given Robbins' distressed state, to gently coax the information from the man. Make him feel as if he were in a safe environment; ease him into a confession. They already had him for any and all offenses at the funeral: dead to rights. There were way too many witnesses corroborating each other's stories to leave any doubt. They needed to get him to roll on Susannah's murder and click that piece into place. They both liked Susannah and she was a friend of one of their own. As far as they were concerned, Castle had earned his place on the team.

Montgomery stood by the two-way mirror witnessing the intricate dance his detectives had choreographed to break the bastard quickly and efficiently. He was sure that Robbins had taken the life of that beautiful young woman and definitely affected their team. He had already heard the gossip in the break room and around the bullpen about Castle and his exploits. Rookies, uniformed cops as well as seasoned hardened veterans alike were praising the writer's daring and courage. It was not an easy task to break into the brotherhood, especially for an outsider. Roy liked Rick. He was fun and smart and a pain in the ass at the poker table. He always won. The man was an insufferable winner. Castle was learning every day and was maturing into a damn fine investigator. He was also very good for Beckett; he challenged her and provided the fragments of her shattered life that she was missing. She would never acknowledge that and Roy chuckled as he pictured Beckett's face if he ever suggested the affinity even in the slightest.

How did she get here? Kate sat on the hard plastic institutional chair in a corridor at Mercy Hospital. Perched in her lap were several items belonging to Richard Castle. His mother and daughter had made themselves scarce as he was being transferred to his room, a private room, Kate noted. The first stop was the hospital's CAT scanner in the radiology department, so the orderly gave her his belongings and his room number. She now held his suit, shirt, and tie draped over her lap, her fingers absently massaging the smooth material of the black jacket as she glowered at the blankness of the floor, replaying the events of the past few days in her head. Her attention was drawn to the bulging front inside breast pocket, not wanting to lose anything; she removed the contents: the funeral home's condolence card and his wallet. She stared at the wallet. It sat on the chair next to her, mocking her. The curiosity burned in her. She couldn't think of anything else to do while she sat and stared at the unending white of the hospital hallway. What did Richard Castle carry in his wallet? Kate looked up and down the corridor before she nonchalantly opened the billfold. "God, that's just not fair." A perfectly coiffed, devastatingly handsome driver's license photo stared up at her. Her license photo looked like it was taken after a particularly bad windstorm hit simultaneously as blinding sunlight seared the planet. It appeared that she had blotchy third degree sunburn and that she had lost control of the direction that her eyes pointed. Her hair practically stood up on end. "Figures."

She continued her perusal, expecting to find a condom or at least a ring worn into the leather from the pocket a condom had occupied for a very long time. No such luck. He probably expected the latest Barbie wanna be to provide the protection. 'You have condoms at your apartment, Kate' her brain supplied in his voice. She gasped and said, "Oh my god! Where did that thought come from?" She silently castigated herself and shelved how disturbing it was to hear him in her head. She continued her examination. A worn picture of Alexis as a toddler with her arms thrown around Castle's neck. The close-up showed both father and daughter squealing in delight. Kate could read the love and joy in both of their faces and it made her smile tenderly. She let her fingers trace over his features as she caught her breath and swallowed the lump in her throat.

She found three small slips of paper that she recognized as fortune cookie fortunes. She wondered what pearls of wisdom would be so profound that the best-selling author would have saved them for what appeared to be a good long while. Kate turned the first small pink slip of paper over from the lucky numbers and correct pronunciation of pig in Mandarin to read 'When your plans for today fail, smile and make someone else's day successful.' Kate was momentarily taken aback. It was endearing to think that he kept such a selfless message with him. The second read 'You have a flair for adding a fanciful dimension to any story'. She chuckled, imagining his delight in finding validation for his life's work in a folded cookie. The third read: 'Your life will be filled with amazing magic and wonder.' It was a nice sentiment, but kind of insipid and commonplace, especially after the first two. It puzzled her until she turned it sideways and found that what she originally thought were Chinese characters, read 'in bed' in an affected Chinese-like scrawl. She rolled her eyes; the college game was perfect for the sophomoric Rick Castle. Kate wondered if he also hosted pong and quarters nights at chez Castle.

Shaking her head, she continued the inventory. Credit cards and cash. "Holy crap!" She cried. There were several hundred dollars in cash in his wallet. Beckett placed everything back in his wallet and scoped the corridor. She held the wallet tightly under guard now that she understood the worth of what she was holding. More than her weekly salary was sitting on her lap in the form of Castle's pocket change. It was just another example of how disparate their existences were. She wondered, not for the first time, how they got where they were: working side by side, partners, the beginning of a friendship, maybe more. They were so different.

The opening of the automatic doors at the end of the hallway ended her reflection as an orderly wheeled a bed, head first through and then up the corridor. He slowed just before he reached Kate. Propped open Castle's room door and wheeled a quiet Castle into the room. Beckett followed and stood off to the side. A nurse bustled in and began hooking him up to monitors and an IV. After his petulant display in the E. R. and his reluctance to remain in the hospital, Kate was surprised that he didn't protest even once.

Kate stepped forward ready for some acerbic remark from the prone man and realized he was not conscious. She touched the nurse's arm and whispered. "Is he okay?"

The older woman smiled kindly. "Yes, he's just sleeping and considering his injuries, he should be." She pointed to Kate's bundle of clothing. "You can hang those up in the closet, if you'd like."

"Oh, thank you. Is it alright if I stay for a while?"

"Visiting hours are until ten tonight. You'll be fine for a while, yet."

"Will he be okay?" She repeated, not having taken her eyes off of his unnervingly still form.

The nurse nodded and reassured her, patting her arm. "The doctor should come back after he has read the results from his testing." She regarded Kate. "He's lucky to have you." She smiled again, turned, and then left the room.

"Come on Geoffrey; just tell us why you brought the gun today. Was someone there you wanted to harm?"

The distraught man blankly stared at the two detectives. "Susannah's dead."

Esposito stared inanely as Ryan confirmed, "We know. Why did you kill her?"

"No! God, no! I didn't…I couldn't…" The man sobbed and buried his face in his hands.

Ryan shook his head. "Geoffrey, why did you bring the gun to the funeral?"

His answer was muffled behind his hands. "I…I want…wanted to be with her. I can't stay here without her."

Esposito narrowed his eyes. "You were going to kill yourself?"

Clearly and without any reluctance, Robbins answered, "yes," shaking his head. "What's the point of living?"

"I was under the impression that you were no longer together." Ryan said.

"We weren't, but we should have been. We have worked too hard and too long to just give it up."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a long heartbreaking story."

"We appear to have time." Esposito remarked, impatiently. He wanted to stop pussy footing around. He wanted to put this one to bed and get clear of the confusing emotions surrounding this case.

He considered both of the detectives. "We met in college. She was my subject."

"Your subject? You mean like a course you were taking?"

"No, I was assigned to write a paper on a fellow student who wanted to share potential groundbreaking ideas. I posted a notice and she responded. I was wrote a paper on her and her theories, methods, you know. She was brilliant, beautiful and gutsy. She was my muse."

Ryan and Esposito shared a glance.

"I followed her everywhere and learned everything about her and her style. It started with love. She loved those forgotten kids. She was their voice. Somewhere along the way, I got captivated by all of that love and fell for her. She fought it, at first. Susannah lost her parents at a young age and has had to go it alone. She wouldn't let anybody in: except, I found a way to break down her walls. I was kind of a pain in the ass until she let me in. The day she finally accepted her feelings for me was the happiest day of my life. I'll never forget it. It was raining. The problem with breaching someone's emotional fortress that has so much hidden behind it is that you could drown in the intensity."

Esposito interrupted. "Back up a minute. After all of that, why weren't you still together?"

"I…got drunk…god, I don't know how, I was just drinking beer…"

"Geoffrey?" Ryan prompted.

"I got drunk and found myself in bed with her best friend, Tammy. She never meant anything to me but Susannah wasn't having it. She kicked me out. I still don't know how. I don't remember how that happened. I would never…" Robbins collapsed in tears, his head bowed to rest on his folded arms again.

Ryan tilted his head and glanced at Esposito who shrugged. "Geoffrey, where were you on Thursday between three and five in the afternoon?"

Robbins raised his eyes to them. "Thursday?" Comprehension dawned. "Oh…oh god, when she…"

Ryan's compassion surfaced between the man's resonances of grief. He stood, crossed behind Robbins and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Man, I get it. Just, we need you to give us this information."

He seemed to draw strength from Ryan's touch. His huge body shook as he inhaled. "I…I was with my grandmother." Esposito shook his head: a soft alibi.

"Where?" Esposito asked keen on nailing him in a lie. A grandmother's vouching for a grandchild would not hold up.

"Uh, Village Care on Houston."

"Wait, you were at a nursing home?"

"Yeah, my grandma's been in there for six years. I help out in their kitchen and get to visit her at the same time. She told me to be strong and Susie would come back." Robbins dissolved in tears again. Ryan and Esposito exchanged significant glances. They just lost their prime suspect.

Kate zoned out. She had been sitting next to Castle's bed for the better part of the day. He hadn't woken except briefly when the nurse checked his vitals. He opened his eyes but Kate could tell he didn't register where he was or why. She read for a while, but wasn't able to concentrate, even with the enchantment she found in his words or Derrick's daring or charm. She gave up and listened to the steady pattern of Castle's breathing which brought her to her current state: totally zoned, staring at the wall. The doctor had come in at some point and reported that everything was normal. The concussion was moderate and he would only need to take it easy for a while after he was released. She knew that he would not take it easy until Susannah's killer was brought to justice. Hmm, about that.

Her mind engaged in debate. Everything she knew to be true about Richard Castle against everything she had learned in the last three days. Both sides were equally stubborn. Both sides presented the best argument only to be contradicted by the other. Castle was self-centered except that he gave his time and resources to a public school program. Castle chased everything in a skirt except he enjoyed a platonic relationship with Susannah. Castle was consistently in the paper, out on the town, sopping up the publicity except when he volunteered to read to children, and then he kept it to himself, not even sharing with his mother or daughter. Kate was under the impression he told them everything. Beckett would have put money on Castle's self-preservation instinct, but then he went to the funeral of a friend and disregarded his own safety to try to defuse the situation. Indeed, had enabled the arrest of the offender by delaying his escape. She ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. It was maddening: Castle the paradox.

He was floating. Drifting somewhere between being conscious and asleep. He could hear soft murmurings and a steady beep. Inhaling, he opened his eyes. It was dark except for the ambient street lights casting their orange glow through the blinds and the multi-colored numbers and graphs on the machines monitoring his vital signs. He became aware of his surroundings slowly. The vent above the bed blew chilly air over him giving him goose bumps. He tried to pull the abrasive institutional blanket up higher but it was stuck. He surveyed the bed; there was an unidentified lump half way up his mattress. Wondering if a piece of machinery or some other sort of monitoring equipment rested on the bed with him, Castle reached down and was surprised to find hair. Alexis? He lifted his head for a cleared view. No, the hair was not straight, long or fine enough.

He moved his fingers through her hair. It was soft and inviting.

Kate moaned softly in her sleep. She loved it when someone played with her hair.

"Beckett?"

She jerked her head up at the sound of his voice, remembered where she was and looked into his face. It was difficult to see him in the dimness, but she could tell he was smiling.

"Kate?" He blearily asked. "Why are you still here?"

"Um…" Why was she? It was a great question. One for which she didn't have an answer. Not an answer she wanted to give him, anyway.

"Beckett, were you worried about me?" The arrogance dripped off of his question.

"Don't flatter yourself, Castle," she bit back.

"Then, why?" His tone was low: crouched like a hidden cat ready to pounce.

"It sounds like you're feeling better, huh?" She reached behind the bed and flipped on the light switch.

Squinting in the sudden brightness, he countered. "Yeah, I really did not need to stay overnight… and don't change the subject."

"I didn't change anything. I'm here to make sure that Robbins faces the most accurate charges. You know, just your assault, not your murder. Although you wouldn't rate a first degree murder; it would definitely be manslaughter."

"So, you stayed to further wound a wounded man?" He asked melodramatically as he clutched the light blue hospital gown above his heart.

"Get over it Castle," she replied as she assessed him. She tipped her head to the side and looked at him sideways. "Really, how are you feeling?" She asked. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Castle knew that to mean she was apprehensive or teasing. He didn't think she'd be teasing him now.

He tried to scoot further up in the bed. There was a distinct disadvantage to being questioned by Beckett under normal circumstances, but questioned while horizontal was just giving her more of an objective. When verbal sparring with Beckett, you needed to remain nimble enough to crouch, squat, and jump and deflect, kind of like Mario. You could not do any of that from a prone position. He lifted his hand to his head as the dizziness and nausea swept him away from the match.

"Castle? Are you okay?" She sounded concerned and very far away. "Oh god, I'm going to get someone. You're so white."

Just before he passed out, he chuckled, "that's racist, Beckett."

"The question is who else had motive?" Espo and Ryan perched on the edge of Beckett's desk, each clutching a cup of coffee.

"We missed something." Ryan bleakly stared at the murder board. Susannah's smile brightly illuminating the center.

Esposito shook his head. "Or we haven't found it yet."

"What about Byrd?" Ryan offered.

"You mean the man of the year award winner? Nah, rock solid alibi, he's just an asshole." Espo dismissed the notion.

Ryan listed the people they had interviewed thus far. "How about McDaniels?"

"Did you even see her? Afraid of her own farts. No way."

"Eloquent." Ryan pursed his lips in disgust.

"Speaking of…did you hear from Beckett?"

"Speaking of…what?" The younger detective paused, confused. "Oh...eloquence…Beckett. No, you?"

"No, but check it. Castle came through, though. He hung on and got the dude. He was great." He hunched forward and said conspiratorially, "I'll deny it if you ever repeat that."

Ryan looked at his partner with the most serious expression he could pull together. "What? That you're a fan girl of Castle's?"

"What? No...not funny, man," Esposito warned.

"No. It's not funny. I think you are dead serious about your fanaticism. I mean, according to the witnesses, Castle's practically drenched with bad assery. I'm sure you want to absorb as much of that as you can."

"Shut it."

"What? Oh come on, Javi, it's just a little crush, right?"

"Ryan," Espo growled. Ryan's sparkling blue Irish eyes were indeed laughing. It took him a minute of fuming, but Esposito recognized what Ryan did. They were both getting bogged down and stalled in the muck of their single-mindedness. Ryan helped them to take a step back, relieve some tension and refresh, ready to approach again. Ryan had seen Castle do this expertly over the past year and immediately acknowledged its value. He said it was like a computer reboot.

After a minute he held out his birds for Ryan to feed. "Ass, junior," he breathed.

Ryan's grin broke all over his face as he fed the birds. His face fell and he exclaimed, "Oh god, I'm an idiot."

"Yeah," Espo nodded solemnly, "yeah, you are. Why this time?"

"McDaniels."

"Whoa, what?"

"She was the reason for Susannah and Geoffrey's break up."

"Geoffrey not keeping it in his pants caused that."

"Yeah but he said he was drunk. Javi, did you see how big that dude is? How many beers do you figure he'd need to get black out drunk?"

"Are you saying he was drugged?"

Ryan shrugged. "I'm saying it's possible."

They looked at each other for a half a second then raced to observation to review McDaniel's interview.

The next time Castle opened his eyes it was daylight. He blinked as he searched the room. 'For what?' He asked himself. His eyes came to rest on the back of the head of the person who could make his heart flutter, his breath catch and without fail, could make him smile.

Alexis turned to the slight sound of rustling sheets. "Dad, how are you feeling?" Concern and worry graced his little girl's face. He didn't ever want to see that again. As far as he was concerned, which was forever, she was a kid: she shouldn't be worried about anything, ever.

"I'm okay, Pumpkin." He turned his head. "Are you here by yourself?"

"No, Gram and I got here this morning." Castle looked at his watch on the bedside table. "Gram had to make some phone calls. Detective Beckett was still here when we got here. She said she went home, but she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday."

Castle's lips turned up. "You'd make a pretty good detective, you know?" The smile dropped suddenly and Alexis bowed her head to study the blanket. "Alexis? What's wrong?" He tilted his head to the side in order to see her face and noticed his brain was no longer acting like a science project wave machine.

"Oh Daddy, I was so scared." She stepped to the edge of the bed. "You were fighting and the guy was so much bigger and he threw you around."

"Alexis," he said capturing her hand.

"Oh and the gun and…"

"Alexis," he repeated, "sweetheart, I'm fine." He pulled her down into his arms and held her.

She settled on the edge of the mattress and leaned onto his chest. "But you could have been hurt. Daddy, you could have been…"

"Oh, no, sweetheart, you're stuck with me for a very long time. I'm not going anywhere." He rubbed her back soothingly.

She sat up abruptly. "You can't promise me that."

"Well…"

"No Dad," she cut him off. Her eyes flashed. She had inherited that trait from her mother. Castle remembered the flash well. Toward the end of the disaster movie they called a marriage, he would fantasize that she was actually some sort of fantastical beast disguised as his wife. He was still waiting for love's true kiss. Beckett came unbidden into his mind. He wondered where Beckett went. Alexis was ranting. Castle forced his attention back to his daughter. "…and I don't think you would have if you weren't shadowing Detective Beckett."

"What? No Alexis. What happened yesterday had nothing to do with Detective Beckett or my research."

"But dad, he had a gun."

He forced her to sit up and look at him. "Yeah, he did. Because he did, I couldn't allow him the opportunity to hurt people, sweetheart. I couldn't just sit there and watch if he hurt someone. It could have been you or one of the other teachers caught in his sights." He caressed the side of her face. "I'm so sorry for scaring you Pumpkin, but I couldn't do nothing."

"Dad, I think you were more willing to take the risk because you've been following Detective Beckett."

Castle let his gaze hit the sheets as he considered. "Maybe you're right, but probably not for the reason you're thinking."

"Oh come on Dad," she plaintively said as she shook her head. "I'm thinking that you've been playing cops and robbers and you forgot that you're pretending."

He drew in a breath. His daughter knew him. When he first started at the twelfth, he was pretending. It was so cool. He was every cool cop and P. I. he had ever seen or read. Living the dream or actually, the book. However, lately that feeling was gone. It was still so cool, but now it was cool because he could see the difference they were making in people's lives. He had never felt as humbled in his life as when he dropped his bravado and really witnessed and experienced what Ryan, Espo and Beckett did for people.

"Maybe before, but that's not how it is anymore, Pumpkin." He took in a deep breath. "I stood up yesterday and tried to help because that's the person I'm becoming. You know how I've always wanted the story, right?" She nodded. "It's not enough now. I need to help them get better stories."

"Okay, but if you didn't follow Detective Beckett, you wouldn't want them. You wouldn't just throw your own safety away. Daddy, you could have been hurt...or"

He cut her off. He knew what she was thinking. Hell, he was thinking that himself. Castle had devoted a lot of introspection to this new found need to find the truth. Beckett and everyone else at the precinct had changed him. He had always wanted the story, but he could make one up if he didn't get the satisfaction of knowing the truth. Now, since Beckett, he needed the truth.

"Alexis, look at me." She did as he asked. "You've always wanted me to be the grown up. You've got to trust that that is who I'm becoming. I'm helping and making a difference. If I had ducked or run yesterday, Robbins would have gotten away." He pleaded with her. "Baby girl, I couldn't let him get away, not when he may have been the one…" he huffed out a breath and wiped his eyes. "My point is that I had to do my best to stop him irrespective of if I am still shadowing the twelfth, Detective Beckett or not, I still would have done it."

She lay back down on his chest and cried quietly. He stroked her hair and whispered assurances, stopping to kiss her forehead occasionally. He did not like that he was causing her this pain, but he could not go back. The shallow, self-centered man he had been no longer existed.

Kate arrived back at the hospital after a quick shower, change of clothes and lunch of a granola bar and coffee. She strode up the hall to his room and stopped when she heard voices. His door was open. It was Alexis and she was upset. Kate turned on her heel to give them privacy but stopped short when she heard her name. "Okay, but if you didn't follow Detective Beckett, you wouldn't want them. You wouldn't just throw your own safety away. Daddy, you could have been hurt...or"

'Oh, oh no,' she thought, 'Alexis blames me.' She already blamed herself but didn't want to cause Alexis any pain. She studied the floor expecting him to voice his agreement. She wanted to walk away: to run and bury her emotions and fear. She hesitated just as Castle responded. She listened for the last nail that would put an end to their partnership. "Alexis, look at me. You've always wanted me to be the grown up. You've got to trust that that is who I'm becoming. I'm helping and making a difference. If I had ducked or run yesterday, Robbins would have gotten away.

Beckett thought he had finished but after a poignant pause, she heard him sensitively continue. "Baby girl, I couldn't let him get away, not when he may have been the one… My point is that I had to do my best to stop him and I still would have done it irrespective of if I am still shadowing the twelfth, Detective Beckett or not."

Beckett smiled and silently walked to the cafeteria, happy to give her partner and his daughter privacy.