57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Martha, despite her seemingly relentless exuberance, was just as tired as her son and his wife, and just as much in need of a break. Alexis, burning the candle at both ends recently with her final exams and a demanding internship, was worn out as well. Having talked to Martha often during the weeks before they left for the Hamptons, they knew she needed a breather before her school opened in mid-July. All the construction work was complete, the office was set up and stocked, and there were others available to accept deliveries and mail, to answer phones, see that furniture was set up in the classrooms…take care of the basics.

They had Martha in mind as much as Alexis when they were considering one of the gift possibilities for Alexis's graduation. They spoke to Martha about a trip before they offered it to Alexis, asking if she thought she might be able to find time to spend the first two weeks of June in Europe with Alexis. Martha initially said she would need to think about it but then seemed to realize how much she needed a break. She had already done her due diligence and would have a full month to catch up after she and Alexis were back at home. And their phones allowed international calls, so the staff members at the school would be able to call if they needed her.

Martha told them right before they left for the beach house that she would be happy to spend that time with her granddaughter, and that Europe was a wonderful place for it.

When they were all home from work that night, they sat down with Alexis and presented her with the idea, and she was excited about everything except not seeing JD for two weeks.

"You and your grandmother have been working so hard that we thought you could both use a little break. We wanted to give you some time to decompress before you both have to jump headfirst into the next challenges in your lives," her father told her.

"I love the idea, but it would be more fun if we could all go."

"I can't get away again for a while," Kate explained. "By the time the two of you get back, I'll be a lieutenant, replacing the one who's retiring; and I can't accept the new assignment and then immediately leave for two weeks. I'll need time to adjust to my new responsibilities...see how much my field work will have to change."

"I know, but we'll miss you."

"You and Mother have always enjoyed your trips together. You can take whatever time you have in the next couple of days to decide whether you want to go back to one of your favorite places and stay there or if you'd rather spend a few days here and there…see a lot of things and find some new favorite places. Our travel agent will be expecting you on Wednesday morning to arrange what you want. She can work miracles in no time. We've seen her do it before."

"That's perfect," Alexis answered. My exams are both on Monday, and Grams and I can talk about what we want to do between then and Wednesday morning. I can go and help her with last minute things at her school, and we can talk there. Thank you, Dad…Kate." She stopped suddenly. "But I was going to help Dr. Parish, through next week. I can't just walk out on her."

"We've already spoken to Lanie to let her know what we were considering. She said to tell you to get on the plane and not look back…and that she's jealous. She said you can always come back if you miss the dead bodies, but she won't look for it to happen any time in the foreseeable future." Kate chuckled and added, "I think, if we bought her a ticket, she might wheedle her way into some vacation time and leave the dead bodies to someone else."

On Wednesday morning, Castle's redheads sat with the travel agent and planned two weeks of very appealing vacation time; and they would be leaving the Monday after graduation. Alexis had passed her exams with grades that continued to justify her valedictorian status, so the stress of both school and internship was dissipating quickly.

On Wednesday evening, as the family was clearing the dinner dishes, Castle's phone rang.

"Meredith?" He listened briefly before saying, "No. I won't. You know how to call your daughter, and that was the agreement you made with her last time you were here. You'll have to tell her yourself."

Alexis looked sad as her phone rang, and she answered it with a resigned look on her face. "Hi Mom."

"Hi Sweetie," Meredith answered. "I'm afraid I won't be able to be there on Friday after all. I'm so sorry."

"Mom, it's my one and only high school graduation, and I'm valedictorian. Do you know what that means to me?"

"I'm sorry, Honey, but I just can't be there."

"Okay. At least you called ahead before you missed this milestone. Have fun with whatever it is that was more important. Bye."

When she ended the call, she looked toward Kate. "Can you still come on Friday?" she asked hopefully.

Kate put her arms around her stepdaughter and held her close, "Of course I'll be there. I arranged for that night off ages ago."

"Thank you," Alexis answered quietly. "I don't know why I'm not more important to my mother, but I'm really glad I got to have you long enough to know how a mother is supposed to act. I like being adopted into your life."

"Hey, you adopted me into yours. We're even. I don't know what I'd do without you anymore."

Alexis squeezed her a little tighter. "Let's not try to find out, okay?"

"Good plan." Kate kissed her on the head. "Let's not. Now tell me about what you and Martha decided to do on your trip."

"Tell us both," Castle said, "Mother, would you like to throw in your two cents worth?"

Alexis sat between Kate and Rick on the sofa with Martha in an arm chair that she pulled up across from them, and the two women told them about their plans.

Alexis grew more animated as they laid out their trip. "Grams is a good travel companion," Alexis said in closing. "We may not have a conventional family," she observed, "but I couldn't ask for a better one." She stood and said, "Next time Mom calls and says she's missing a big milestone in my life, I'll just say, 'Okay' and let it go. I won't stop inviting her. I'll just stop expecting her to show up. I think I have everybody I need right here anyway." She took a deep breath, seeming to shake off her disappointment. "I'm going to go to bed and read for a little while. Oh, and I checked my grades today…both exams A plus scores."

A collective sound of pride surrounded Alexis, reinforcing her recent declaration, and she hugged them all before going up to her room.

"Katherine, I know my granddaughter loves me, and I've done what I could to be a female presence in her life; but I can't thank you enough for giving her what I couldn't, and for not trying to replace me in the process. Most women wouldn't want the mother-in-law around, but you never seemed to resent it."

"And, in spite of the rude noises he makes about it sometimes, your son doesn't, either."

"Maybe you can help him work on that," Martha told Kate as Castle was about to sit back down after hugging his child. Then she smacked her son playfully on the chest.

"Hey, that was child abuse. I didn't even say anything," Castle protested, but he couldn't stop a smile from escaping.

"Goodnight, Children," Martha said as she walked toward the stairs.

"'Night, Mother/Martha," she heard from her children simultaneously, and she smiled as she climbed the stairs.

Richard Castle took his wife in his arms and gave her the most loving kiss he could muster up.

"Wow. What brought that on? If I know what I did, maybe I can do it again now and then," Kate said with a smile.

"For being the reason I finally have the family I've always wanted."

"I'm not the reason, Rick. You already had a terrific family. You just allowed me to move in and be part of it. I should be thanking you. Maybe we were just supposed to find each other. Your fate ideas may finally be getting to me after all this time."

"Fate and being the owners of a magical place in the Hamptons? There may be hope for you yet, Kate Castle." He smiled as he tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear, just to be touching her, and then he was serious again. "You filled in the part of my family that was missing…the one that gave me someone who loves all of us unconditionally. Now and then, like tonight, the universe points it out again, just to be sure I appreciate its efforts…and I do."

"Fate and the universe. I'm considering the possibility."

"Come on. Bedtime. The next couple of days will be busy. We have a kid graduating."

xxxxx

Beckett and Castle closed down their day at work as quickly as they could and hurried home to get ready for a celebratory dinner, one where they would simply be the Castles. Jim met them at the restaurant. Since they had reservations for six, and Meredith wasn't going to be there, Alexis invited JD; and all of them thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

At the rehearsal on Thursday, Alexis also spoke to the woman in charge of the ceremony, explaining that her mother's ticket wouldn't be used and asking if she could add JD's name to her list of attendees instead; so there were still six people there to support her.

At Friday's graduation ceremony, Jim and Kate couldn't have been more proud if Alexis had been their own from birth. Martha was misty eyed, and they all thought Rick might explode with pride. After Alexis finished her valedictory address, ending with "Always." for her family, the diplomas were awarded. The entire family had mixed feelings, those of pride in her accomplishments and those acknowledging the impending loss of their child to the world. They had to accept that she was about to start shaping her own future, one that would take her out of the safe cocoon of their home and into an unpredictable life of her own. It was both the culmination of preparing her for what they knew would inevitably come one day and the awareness that, in the fall, she would be less a part of their everyday lives…a bittersweet evening, especially for Castle.

The school had planned an all night party for the seniors, an evening for them to spend with those they had known through high school, for them to enjoy one last evening of camaraderie before they went their separate ways. They hadn't been offered the option of bringing guests, so the family allowed Alexis some private moments with JD before they left her with her longtime friends and classmates. Then they all said their good-byes and expressed their pride in the young woman they all loved.

Castle had ordered a limo for the evening, saying it befitted the valedictorian status. They saw JD home first, then Jim; and then the rest of the family went back to the loft, bringing the things Alexis had sent with them. Castle tried out several possible places to display the tassel from Alexis's cap for her, and finally settled on one of the lamps. He and Kate both smiled at the symbol of her independence and held each other as they felt the weight of it.

Martha came back from the kitchen with a bottle of wine and three glasses. "A toast to the graduate and a sip of courage for when we have to send her out into the world."

They shared the toast and then sat down, had another glass, and talked about how proud they were of Alexis's accomplishments and her presentation that night.

"Well, I hope she has a good time tonight," Martha remarked, "But these aging joints and I are going to bed. I've had quite a workout in the last few days trying to prepare for being away for two weeks. And that was in no way a complaint, by the way. The grandchild and I will probably both sleep the entire first day at the hotel, and then we can go into full vacation mode. Goodnight, Darlings."

"I'm glad I know Alexis is at an indoor party. The rain has turned into a storm. It's getting ugly out there," Castle commented after his mother was upstairs.

"I thought you liked the thunder and lightning."

"I do. But I like watching it, not being out in it."

"We could turn off the lights, lie down with our heads at the foot of the bed, and watch the storm."

"That sounds like a fine idea, Mrs. Castle."

Just as he took her hand there was a loud roll of thunder, and something between them shifted. He had taken her hand, but she led him to their room; and when the next loud clap of thunder sounded, he was closing the door of their room by slamming into Kate against it. Their kisses and touches wavered between tentative and desperate, growing out of both their love for one another and the comfort they drew from that as they could foresee their lives without their daughter in their home. And the desire that, for them, always lived just below the surface was being pushed, fueled by another peal of thunder…as if they felt it rumble through the two of them, igniting something primal. Their actions were loving, but their lovemaking was intense and left them exhausted and clinging to one another.

"Was that comforting enough?" Kate managed between shallow, ragged breaths.

"Comforting? My god, Kate. That was almost like another first time for us."

"I know," she answered, trying to catch her breath. "I love you, Rick. I love you so much."

Still above her, resting his weight on his forearms, he responded on a ragged breath, "I love you, too. There aren't enough words to say how much."

"Do you still want to watch the storm?" she asked from beneath the warmth of his chest.

Reaching down and pulling the covers up around them, he told her, "I'm pretty sure we just created our own. I'm happy right where I am."

"Me, too. That was…probably indescribable."

"Probably, but now it's imaginable, and I'll never forget it."

"Me, either."

They held each other lovingly, sharing little kisses and touches, and drifted into sleep as gradually as the thunder moved off into the distance.

xxxxx

The next morning they were both up early. To have Friday off, Kate had traded one day of weekend duty with someone else and had to work that day; so Martha came downstairs to the smell of good coffee, a good, stick to the ribs breakfast…and a couple who looked particularly loving.

"Looks like the two of you might have done a little more celebrating after I went to bed," she observed, sitting down at the table.

"You do want us to share this delicious breakfast, don't you, Mother?"

"Officially minding my own business. I'd tease a little more, but it smells too good to take chances," she answered, taking her place at the table.

"Wise decision," Castle answered.

Kate started plating their food and delivered one to Martha.

"Thank you, Darling. My son wants to exact requirements before sharing his meal with me. It's nice to have a more understanding daughter," she said dramatically, and Kate laughed at both of them. "Sit down, Rick. I'll bring ours," she told him. "Just put our orange juice on the table."

Just after they started their meal, Alexis called Castle, asking him to come and pick her up early. "She said she wasn't sick, but she didn't sound quite like her normal self. I'm going to get her."

"Rick, if something terrible happened, one of the teachers would have called. Finish your breakfast. You're already dressed, and it won't take but a couple of minutes. Then go. I'll go in on my own today. You stay here with her."

He wolfed down his breakfast and hurried out to pick up his child. Martha said she would wait until he came back with Alexis and call Kate when they knew why she wanted to come home. With that assurance, Kate went to work.

Castle called later sounding amused when he told his wife, "One of her teachers explained that they put out more punch early this morning, and someone spiked it. Apparently several students who weren't used to alcohol weren't feeling well. It seems they didn't realize what they were drinking. Our child says she doesn't think she was a fun drunk, that she just wanted to sleep. I took her upstairs to sleep it off; so by the time you get home, Alexis may be nursing her first hangover."

Kate laughed. "Poor kid. She should have at least had the opportunity to get there because she intended to take the chance. I'll speak quietly when I get home."

"I'm sure that will be appreciated," he mischievously answered sotto voce.

When Kate got home, Rick was dispensing his hangover remedy, and Alexis was sitting at the breakfast bar with her elbows on the counter and her forehead resting on her hands. Kate walked over and kissed her head lightly. "By tomorrow it's going to be better," she said softly.

"Are you sure? Is getting drunk really worth this?"

"It has been now and then. Not too often, though."

"This isn't nearly as funny as it is in the movies."

"No, it isn't." Kate chuckled. "I'm sure all three of us can attest to that."

"Thank you for speaking softly. Dad seems to think it's funny to make a loud noise now and then."

"Rick! She didn't do this intentionally. Don't punish her."

"Not punishing her. Just having a little fun. It doesn't constitute torture."

"Easy for him to say," his daughter grumbled.

"We've all been through the same thing, Honey," Kate told her. "And we're all still here. It's kind of like a rite of passage."

"Well, wherever we're passing to, I don't think I want to go there." Alexis folded her arms on the countertop, dropped her head to her arms as dramatically as her grandmother might, then groaned, obviously regretting that move.

xxxxx

A little after Alexis and Martha went to bed for the night, Castle's burner phone rang. "It's Jordan Shaw, he said quietly, taking Kate's hand and walking her into the study with him. He closed the door and put the phone on speaker and answered.

"Who am I speaking to?" Jordan asked.

"It's Castle. Kate and I are alone."

"Just being cautious. I'll tell you what I can," Jordan began, getting straight to the point. "I'm in a secure location, but I don't want to take too much time. We took your files to the judge, and he agreed there was enough for a warrant for the senator's financial records. We've already found a number of bank accounts, and we're working our way through a few other things we suspect might lead back to him and his finances. We've also followed up on the autopsy from Rochester and a couple of other things he might be able to cover up or destroy if he thinks anyone is looking for them. If he tries to destroy anything we need now, he's too late. You can call him, but be sure to record everything that's said. We need documentation of everything we can get. If he slips up, we don't want to miss any of it. If anything new crosses your paths…"

"We'll call you," Kate promised.

"I don't want to get your hopes too high, but we already have a couple of new leads. It's going well so far, but working behind the scenes makes it more time consuming. We have a CIA contact, maybe two. The one you mentioned, Agent Danberg, looked like exactly the kind of man we want to work with. Another CIA asset, a man who's known as a ghost and apparently knows about everything that's going on anywhere, seems to have taken an interest in the Bracken case. He's contacted Agent Danberg and promised to provide him with anything he can find. Danberg was noncommittal because he wasn't sure who he was talking to, and the man is such a hidden figure I don't even have a name. It makes us nervous that he's aware of our investigation, but we're waiting to see what, if anything, comes from that direction. From what I understand, though, if Mr. Ghost has decided Bracken is the enemy and there's anything out there to prove it, the senator might as well surrender now."

"Then we'll all hope Mr. Ghost has made that decision," Castle said.

"I have to go. Just wanted to clear you to make your phone call. I don't want you to have to do it, but we need to keep both of you alive. Are all your insurance policies in place?"

"We sent someone to deliver them to a courier service yesterday."

"Someone you're sure …"

"Someone I've been sure I can trust for a long time."

"Good. I'll be in touch when I can."

"Thank you, Jordan," Kate answered, and the call ended.

"Well, that's encouraging, at least on the surface," Castle offered.

"Yeah. At least on the surface," Kate agreed. "I want to be excited, but we've already hit so many dead ends that had looked promising at the outset. I'm afraid to get my hopes up."

"It's hard to leave all of our work in someone else's hands, but we need to keep you safe long enough to put Bracken out of business. Do you want to do this now?"

"Let's wait until Monday, after Martha and Alexis are gone. No possibility of their overhearing a name.

xxxxx

Monday morning rolled around, and the two resident redheads at the loft were enthusically moving their luggage next to the front door. Castle had ordered a town car to take them to the airport for their early flight, and Darrell was going to come up and help with the bags. When he arrived, he and Castle took the luggage to the car and loaded it into the trunk before the hugs and kisses ensued. Then Martha and Alexis were off to London for a day of rest and a couple of nights of shows, with the rest of their trip through parts of Europe ahead of them. Castle and Beckett were again off to work.

Later in the morning, Beckett slipped the captain a note that said, "Jordan called." Then she asked Gates if they could leave a couple of hours early to take care of a personal matter. While she was there, she asked if they could do the same the next day, promising to make up the time for both before the end of the week. She pointed out that they were down to paperwork on the last case anyway, and that she could have it done before they left.

After letting the boys know they were leaving, the couple went home to call the senator while he was still likely to be in his office.