116. Chapter 116

Chapter 116

When Castle and Jamie arrived at home after the tree farm visit, Kate met them at the door and took Jamie from Castle's arms, holding him close and telling him how much she loves him. "Did you and Daddy have fun today?"

Her exhausted little boy nodded from where he was clinging to her neck and melting into his mother.

"Are you ready for a book and bedtime, Baby Boy?" There was another nod and a little wiggle as he snuggled against her shoulder. Leaning to give her husband a quick kiss, she whispered, "I'll take him upstairs."

"Be there in a minute," he answered.

By the time Castle had hung up his coat, put Jamie's things away, and made it upstairs, Kate had their child out of his clothes, in his pajamas, and was rocking him. "You must have worn him out," she said softly. "He couldn't even keep his eyes open for a book. He just snuggled as close as he could get and let me rock him. I know he's sound asleep already, but he feels so sweet I don't want to put him down yet."

Castle sat down on an ottoman near the chair and watched them. "That's what gave you that extra few minutes to get into your Catwoman costume on Halloween. I was enjoying the feel of holding his warm, snuggly little self…knowing he has to trust us completely to relax like that."

Kate smiled and nodded in agreement. "Want to tuck him in?"

Both of them stood, and she transferred their sleeping little boy to his father, who eased him into bed and covered him with his blanket. Bear kept watch from the corner of the crib, ready to be hugged in the morning.

"I missed his first trip to the Santa village," she said sadly as they walked downstairs together.

"Don't stress too much about it. This trip , and probably next year's are really for the adults to watch him enjoy it. When he's older, he won't remember the trip, only that there are pictures of it. But when he's four, he's more likely to remember some of it long term. You'll want to plan ahead for that one so he remembers that Mommy was there."

"I feel guilty."

"You don't need to. He melted right into your arms when we got home. Did that feel like a little boy who doesn't feel loved? We all missed you, but we know this temporary captain position is giving you a proving ground. And on top of that, you were left to clean up the mess Bronson left behind." He swung an arm around her shoulders to be comforting. "None of us want you to feel guilty about doing your job well enough to make the brass happy. You'll have your own command before too much longer, and it should give you a little more leeway."

"Thank you," she said not far from the bottom of the stairs, and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist. After a long moment, she asked, "Did you get another big tree?"

"Yep. It should be delivered tomorrow morning before noon."

"I'll make some hot cocoa and you can tell me about your day."

Kate took out a pot and the ingredients, and Castle sat at the breakfast bar and went into story-telling mode, finishing with JD. "That boy turned my own words back on me. I'm torn between feel proud or annoyed."

Kate laughed as she started the chocolate mixture. "What did he do?"

"Remember when we took him along to help him escape from Aunt Eugenia…and Alexis was after me for kissing you in the path between the trees? Well, he was kissing Alexis right there in almost the same spot, and I did the same thing she did. He told me, 'My wife just told me how much she loves me, and I couldn't help myself. And it wasn't that bad. No tongue or anything. What would you have done, Dad?'"

Kate gave a quick little burst of laughter. "Almost your exact words to him. What did you say?"

"I gave him back the answer he gave me. 'I'd kiss her where we stood, Son.' What else could I say? He beat me at my own game."

"You're proud of him."

"Except for watching him slobbering all over my daughter, I have to admit it was kind of fun."

"You do realize my father may feel the same way about you, right?"

"I don't slobber," he said mischievously as he got up and closed the short distance between them. Wrapping his arms around her from behind as she stirred the hot chocolate, he added, "If I did, I'd have lost my last chance with you after the first kiss."

"From what I can tell, neither does JD. Your daughter married him. He wouldn't have made it past the first kiss, either. Stop picking on our son-in-law." As he kissed the curve of her neck, she asked, "Where are the new ornaments? I know you bought more."

"I'll get them. We can look while we have hot cocoa. Barring emergencies, you have the weekend at home, don't you?"

"I do. I'll call both days and check in, but hopefully they won't need me before Monday. By Jamie's birthday I should be back at the twelfth in detective mode and able to take time off with less concern about looming reports…and scheduling, and keeping up with what's going on all over the precinct."

"Are you looking forward to it?"

"Yes. What I'm doing is still a challenge. I'm still learning the ropes and still have to refer to lists to be sure I haven't forgotten something important. I do eventually want my own command, but a little break from the one I fell into head first with no warning will be nice…kind of like having a chance to finally take a deep breath. Working cases and being in the field is instinct. I know how to work a case even with my eyes at half-mast at three in the morning. And I do miss being in the field with the rest of the team.

"Our wedding anniversary is coming up in December. How does that look?"

"It looks like we'll probably have to celebrate at home this year. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It may not be the exact date of our anniversary, but we can still have the weekend before Christmas. We were married the weekend before Christmas. It's close enough. I'll find a nice hotel where we can have a couple of days in the lap of luxury for just the two of us. Maybe the crazies won't cause enough trouble that you have to go in that weekend." He still had his arms around her from behind, and he leaned to kiss her neck again. "Is it ready?" he asked.

"All done."

"He took down two mugs and said, "You pour. I'll go get the new ornaments."

xxxxx

Beckett had started making random trips around the precinct during the week to talk to the detectives about their cases, offering occasional suggestions and encouragement where it was appropriate. She made an effort to appear more interested than intrusive, and it was beginning to pay off in casual encounters where information was volunteered about progress or a dead end, etc., and reports were reaching her desk without too many reminders. There was still a pocket or two of skepticism about her; but for the most part, the response was positive.

Lieutenant Paul Stiles returned from the twelfth in mid-December, and Sully went back to the twelfth to replace him there.

"Welcome home, Lieutenant Stiles," Beckett said, shaking his hand when he came to report in.

"Thanks, Captain…"

"Still Lieutenant Beckett. The job is temporary. Beckett is fine," she answered, motioning for him to sit down.

"At this point, I had to bite my tongue not to call you, 'Sir'," he said with a smile. "I have to admit, I wish I could have stayed at the twelfth. That's a productive precinct. We were given every chance to prove ourselves but practically no chance to do less than our best."

"I think you'll find that things here have changed since you left."

"That's what Sarge told me when I came in this morning."

"I wanted you to have a chance to work with that before your team returns. As I understand it from other units, as long as your reports were in on time, Bronson didn't worry much about your duties as a lieutenant."

"That's right. As long as we didn't cause him more work, he left us alone. As it turns out, that isn't as a good a thing as it might have seemed at the time."

"Have you assumed your full duties at the twelfth?"

"After Captain Gates sat me down and told me what was expected of me, I figured I'd better be smart enough to start asking questions. Lupinski's team worked with mine off and on, and Karpowski took pity on me and worked with my team, using the same methods she said you used when you were there. After spending time with the team, she'd take me aside to be sure I caught everything she was doing. She's made sergeant now…asked me to let you know."

Beckett smiled. "Good for her. She's earned it."

"She runs a good team."

"What about your team?"

"All of us have learned a lot. I think we'll do a better job here now."

"Well, let's get you to your temporary team and into the field. They caught a new case yesterday afternoon. I'll let them bring you up to speed."

After several cases with Egan's team, Esposito was back to working with Ryan. Egan had been replaced with a new detective the week before; and after Esposito's input, Beckett had assigned Bartoluzzi as lead detective for the team. With that much new activity, Beckett would have the opportunity to observe the way Stiles worked, and the boys would quietly give her their evaluations of his work in the field.

There was a burst of applause and words of welcome when Stiles entered the bullpen with Beckett.

"Looks like they're glad to see the prodigal return," she said with a smile and gave him a minute before introducing him to the boys. "Ryan, Esposito, this is Lieutenant Paul Stiles, returning to the fold. Get him up to date on the Carlton case. Did you get anything from the phone records yesterday?"

"Nothing. We just got the financials in, though," Ryan told her. "Maybe that will turn up something. I'll start on that, and Esposito can talk Stiles through what we have."

"I'll leave you to it then. Good to have you here, Stiles. You know where to find me if you need anything."

As she turned back toward her office, the boys were dragging Stiles into the case before he could answer Beckett, but he looked up at Bartoluzzi at the next group of desks and said, "It really is different here, isn't it?" Bartoluzzi just grinned at his surprise, and Stiles gave his full attention back to the case the boys were introducing.

Ryan helped at the start then went to work on the victim's financials as Esposito took over with the ME's report and the other sparse details they had so far.

"We did notifications last night and have a few names that may give us something to work with. You and I can get their contact information while Ryan finishes what he's doing.

"I'm good with that," Stiles answered. "Show me what you've got."

They dug into the work, left Ryan to make some phone calls, and went to interview several possible sources of information.

By lunchtime, they were back with a promising lead. Stiles looked around the bullpen when they were breaking for lunch. "I've had a yen for lunch at Frenchy's for a while now," he announced. "Anybody have time to join me?"

About ten people put their work aside and stood to join in a one-of-the-flock-is-back lunch. "Are you coming, too?" Stiles asked the boys with a welcoming look.

"Sure. Let me check and see if Beckett wants anything," Ryan answered. "She's a little bit of a workaholic. Forgets to eat sometimes."

Beckett gave Ryan her order, then all of them went to lunch and talked about how much better it was at the precinct without all the negativity.

"Don't get us wrong, one of the men told Stiles. "Beckett's tough when she needs to be. She just doesn't need to be very often. Morale has done a one-eighty since Bronson left, and our numbers for last month were already up. This month should look a lot better, even being a little short staffed in a few places."

"One reason is that we don't have Bronson pushing things into the cold case files to cover for his friends," another man told him. "The other is that Beckett took time when she was only serving as lieutenant to work with us on ways to improve. It was easy-going enough that we didn't even realize that's what she was doing at first, but it helped. And even after the way Bronson had treated her, she stood up to him for Griffith when somebody in the neighborhood made some false claims. I think that's when we knew we could trust her.

xxxxx

On Friday afternoon of the weekend before Christmas, Beckett had all her weekly reports squared away, and had checked in with the weekend desk sergeant telling him she would call each afternoon and check in.

"In other words, call if I have to, but you'd rather I didn't?" he asked jokingly.

"I think that pretty well covers it," she answered in a like manner.

Castle was waiting, bags they had packed the night before already in the car. Alexis and JD, the first arm of the weekend's Jamie coverage, were already there. Kate spent some time with Jamie; then they left him happily playing with his sister, and Castle drove them to the luxurious hotel suite he had found.

"We have reservations for dinner at eight, he reminded her. That should give us time to settle in first."

"I came straight from work. I wish I had time to take a shower before I change clothes and do something to my face and hair, but that would be pushing too close."

"Let me show you something," he said, guiding her to the bathroom where there was a Jacuzzi easily big enough for two. "We can have a nice, long soak after dinner, and between now and then, you'll still be the most stunning woman in the room."

"I think you're biased, Mr. Castle, and I'm so glad it's in my direction."

"Definitely in your direction," he answered, taking her in his arms and kissing her long and slow.

Leaning into him, she nuzzled his neck and said, "One more of those, and we'll be much too distracted to manage that dinner reservation on time. Dinner will be room service…probably somewhere around midnight."

"Promise?"

She gave him a less seductive but still loving kiss and told him, "We're going to be here for the weekend without interruptions, something I can hardly imagine anymore. That's going to call for sustenance, so dinner first. Besides, I've never been here before; so it would be nice to see a little more of the hotel than the ceiling over the bed. But right now, I need to go and get ready to make you proud of me." She pushed away but looked reluctant as she did.

As she took her overnight bag into the bathroom, he called out mischievously, "I got some mixed signals there." He heard her giggle from the other room. "And I'm always proud of you." He hung the garment bags in the closet, emptied the one rolling bag they had shared for their other clothing into a couple of dresser drawers, and sat down on the sofa in their weekend living room to wait for his wife. He only needed to put on his suit jacket.

The ambience in the restaurant was lovely, and the food and service was excellent. They lingered over their dinner and took their time with an extra glass of wine, talking softly about Christmas and whatever else crossed their minds. They left the restaurant hand in hand, feeling no pressure to hurry before some deadline had to be met or before Jamie woke up.

"This is nice," Kate said. "I feel so relaxed."

"And at least a little bit horny?" he whispered hopefully, leaning in close to her.

"That, too," she added with a playful smile.

"So, the Jacuzzi is looking interesting?" he asked as they entered the elevator.

"And the bed…and the sofa, and the armchair, and…"

"Expecting a lot of me, are you?"

"You haven't failed me yet."

"And with any luck, I won't this weekend, either."

By morning, they had enjoyed the large bubbly tub, the shower, and the bed and slept quite well.

After a few minutes of sleepy making out when they woke the next morning, Rick said, "We need to refuel. There's a room service menu here somewhere."

"I think it was on the desk in the other room."

"Be right back." He retrieved the menu and slid his naked body back under the covers with his wife. "It's chilly out there, he told her. Snuggle up and we'll look at this together."

They piled the big fluffy pillows behind them, pulled the covers up high around themselves, and made their menu decisions. Rick called down and placed their order, then they just lay together quietly, touching, stroking, and feeling loved. Nothing sexual, just sensual. Breakfast arrived in the middle of a kiss, and Rick got up again to retrieve it.

"Might want to grab that thick, fluffy hotel robe this time, Stud…and some slippers. I'll keep the bed warm."

He went to the door suitably covered and warmer than his last trip out of bed, tipped the young man who delivered their breakfast, and rolled the cart into their bedroom. He threw Kate her own warm, fluffy robe and they figured out how to have breakfast in bed without making a mess.

"Do you have after breakfast plans, or are we playing this weekend by ear?" Kate asked.

"A little nap sounds great right about now," he answered. "I like being cuddled up with you without any reason to move. We can go out this afternoon, shopping, museum, gallery, whatever appeals to you. And I have tickets to a play tonight. One of Mother's friends is playing the lead, and…"

"Is it the one she was raving about after she saw it last week?"

"That's the one."

"I was hoping we might have a chance to see it. Martha doesn't often rave about things the way she did."

"So we do whatever is appealing until dinner, eat something and then see the play?" he suggested.

"Yeah. But a good snuggle on a cold, gray morning is appealing right now," Kate answered. "Can we get backto where we were before breakfast? That was nice."

"One more trip out," Rick said, pulling his robe more snugly into place; and he took the breakfast cart out of the bedroom. When he returned, he told her, "I left the cart outside the door and hung the 'Do not disturb" sign. They should leave us alone as long as we want."

"Good," she answered, holding up the covers for him to rejoin her.

Later in the morning they stood in front of the window, still in their robes, looking down at the view of Central Park.

He stood behind her with his arms loosely wrapped around her waist, her hands resting on his. "Four years, Kate," he said, "We have four years of marriage and an amazing little boy, and I think we still have a lifetime ahead of us." Pulling her closer, he asked, "Do you ever have any doubts?"

She snuggled against him and leaned her head back on his shoulder. "Not a one. We're always going to argue at times and annoy each other, but that's just us being us. I don't want to even think about being without you. You're mine, Richard Castle. Might as well just accept it."

He kissed the top of her head. "Always. No argument from me there. And you're mine. I like the way we can claim each other and still leave room for each of us to be ourselves."

She turned and wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his chest. "I feel so sorry for all those women who weren't lucky enough to find somebody like you."

His chuckle made her smile. He could feel it against the bare part of his chest where she had nuzzled past the fabric of the robe. "God, I love you, Woman. You're exactly who I need in my life."

She giggled and asked, "So are we going to stay here and be sappy until dinner, or do you want to go somewhere?"

"Well, you did say you might want to see something other than the hotel ceiling," he teased. "Why don't we check the newspaper they delivered with breakfast and see if anything looks interesting. If not, we'll go on a little walking adventure and see what we can find."

"They brought us a newspaper? Why haven't I seen it?"

"Because I wanted all your attention. Now you know. I was afraid I'd have to be jealous of a newspaper."

"You can be such a ridiculous man," she answered, lightly slapping his chest.

"See? You're already going for the newspaper."

"But I'm taking you with me. No need to be jealous."

They sat down on the sofa and looked through the entertainment section to see what was going on that weekend and took turns pointing out holiday displays, an art gallery close by, an ad for what looked like a quirky little boutique shop, and a few other possibilities. Kate got a notepad from the desk in the living room and listed them.

"So, shower and then a little exploring?" Kate asked.

"Exploring in the shower? We could do that," he answered with a grin.

"I think we could use a little break from that kind of exploring. It would be embarrassing to go home tomorrow and not be able to walk. And we have the rest of the weekend. We might need to pace ourselves," she said mischievously.

"Then I'll behave myself…mostly."

They showered playfully without playing too much. Kate checked in with the desk sergeant at the precinct, then they dressed and went out in the cold to see if they could find anything interesting. They came back with a few unusual stocking stuffer gifts for family and a couple of intriguing toys for themselves…the kind they would keep confined to their bedroom. Castle deemed those perfect anniversary souvenirs.

The play that night was as well done as Martha had said. Aside from being an excellent piece of writing and very well acted, Martha's comment about the creativity in the directing was spot on. There were subtle little differences from what you would expect to see that made the scenes more intense or funnier, and they left as impressed as Martha had been.

After talking about it on the way back to their hotel, they closed themselves in their suite and concentrated on each other, laughing and trying out their new toys.

Sunday morning was very much like the day before, staying in bed and being lazy together. They went for brunch at a little restaurant they had seen the day before, did some window shopping, and Kate checked in with the precinct again while Castle ordered their coffee at a place along their path. Then they wandered through a little curio shop, finding a few more small gifts for stockings. They were expected at home by seven; so they went back to the hotel later for a little more uninterrupted time alone. Finally, their bags were loaded back in the car, they had a leisurely and uninterrupted dinner, and they went home to family.

As they got out of the car in the parking garage, Kate said, "That was nice. We need to do that once in a while, but I'll be glad to hold our little boy again."

"I told you you'd be a good mom."

"Most of the time, I think I am,"

"Those doubt days are part of being a parent. Everybody has them."

When they opened the door of the loft and greeted Martha, a bundle of almost twenty-two month old energy scrambled down from the sofa where he had been sitting with his Grams and barreled in their direction. He was scooped up in Kate's arms, and Castle's arms went around both of them. They kissed his cheeks several times simultaneously and loudly, squishing his little face between them as Jamie belly laughed.

Their time alone was a wonderful break, but this was where they belonged.