124. Chapter 124

AN: Sorry for the long delay in posting. I'll try to have the next chapter up in a couple of days as a thank you for your patience.

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Chapter 124

The Change of Command was scheduled for Friday morning. On Thursday afternoon the homicide unit had a cake delivered to the break room for Beckett, and they used most of the last half hour of their shift to drift in and out of the break room to celebrate with her. Even Gates came in for cake, coffee, and a few minutes of conversation and then returned to her office.

The break room was crowded, barely leaving elbow room for the person cutting the cake, and Beckett was on the side away from the coffee machine.

"Somebody could make me some coffee to go with the cake," she called out. "You know me. Most days I'd take good coffee over a party anyway."

"One coffee, coming up," a good natured voice said from somewhere near the coffee machine. Beckett called out her appreciation across the crowd and sat at the high top table to enjoy her cake and coffee while she talked and joked with her longtime colleagues.

"Sorry it can't be a big party like Castle threw, but we couldn't afford that," Lupinski told her. "We're still happy for you, though."

People from other parts of the precinct had occasionally strolled through during the day to offer congratulations and good luck. Before she went home, there were hugs, a lot of good luck wishes, and some teasing about not forgetting them after she was running her own precinct.

Just before she left, a familiar face appeared beside her. "Hey, Beckett. Are you finally vacating my desk?"

"Farmer! It's good to see you. I didn't think you'd be here before I left."

"I wasn't supposed to be, but I wanted to stop in and congratulate you before you got away. Captain O'Conner sent his congratulations, too. We still have a good precinct. You were right about him."

"Ellis Farmer, this motley crew is your new team. This is Dave Jennings. He'll be taking over as lead. You already know Sully. And this is Sandy Archer, who's recently made detective."

"Then congratulations to you, too," Farmer said, shaking her hand, and Archer thanked him.

"I take it you've checked in with Captain Gates."

"Yeah. She's a little scary," Farmer confided quietly, bringing grins from the others.

"But you can depend on her a hundred per cent, Beckett defended. "She'll definitely let you know if you've done something wrong, but you can't ask for better backup if you need it."

"So I get the Beckett desk?" he asked/stated.

"Looks like it's the only one left, Sherlock. You must be a detective," she teased. Lifting a smallish box, she said, "I think I got everything. If you find anything I missed, Ryan can bring it next time I see him. I need to get home." Looking at her team, she said, "It's hard to believe I won't be back here tomorrow."

"Yeah, but tomorrow you'll be running the fifteenth," Farmer answered. "Do what you did at the fifty-first and you'll be fine."

"Go have a beer at the Haunt" she told them. "It's on the house. Go get to know Farmer. I'll call ahead and tell Brian to expect you. Castle won't mind." Looking resigned, she said, "I'm going home now. You're gonna be a good team. Make me proud."

She looked toward Ryan's desk, moving in that direction, but Bisaga pointed toward the captain's office where Ryan was having a conversation with her.

"Tell him I'll call soon."

"I will. Thanks for everything, Beckett…Mr. Castle, too."

As she walked to the elevator, Archer followed her quickly and said, "I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. I won't forget. Neither will Bisaga. You and your husband… Well… Just…thank you. You made a real difference for us."

"We couldn't have trained what wasn't there, Archer. Both of you earned it," she answered as the elevator door opened. "Don't forget that, either. And like I said back there…make me proud."

"I'll do my best."

Beckett stepped into the elevator, took another look around before the doors closed, and then she pushed the down button. As she passed the sergeant's desk on her way through the lobby, he called out, "Keep 'em in line over at the fifteenth, Beckett."

"I'll do what I can, McDonald. Thanks. You do the same out here."

He waved as she backed into the door to open it with without letting go of the box she carried, and walked out to where Castle took the box and opened the car door for her. She looked over her shoulder as they pulled away, and by the time they passed the end of the block, tears were falling.

Castle kept glancing over as he drove, fully expecting the tears; and he took her hand and lifted it to his lips for a kiss, saying, "It's hard to leave it behind, isn't it?"

"That place has been a huge part of my life since Mom died. It's held me together for a lot of that time…kind of a second home."

"And it's where we started our always, so it's a special place for me, too."

"Lots of good memories there…a few bad ones, but the good ones win. Where's Jamie?" she sniffled.

"Meagan is at the loft with him. Your dad might be there when we get back, too."

"Are they staying for dinner?"

"Yeah. I thought we'd order in tonight; and tomorrow night we're taking the whole family out to celebrate our shiny, new captain."

"I don't feel too shiny right now."

"I know, but we'll be home soon; and our son always makes you feel better. He's been as lovable and snuggly today as he was busy and rowdy a couple of days ago when we took a self-defense nap while he was asleep. It'll be an instant cure."

There was a watery little laugh as she settled into the comfortable seat of the Mercedes and told him, "I gave away some of your money before I left.

"Oh, you did?"

"Farmer came by to congratulate me, and I told the team to go to the Haunt and have a beer or two…get to know him. I said I'd call Brian and tell him their beers are on the house. I didn't think you'd mind."

"Of course not. And I keep telling you, it's our money. I'm glad you're finally feeling like you can make the offer on your own."

"It still feels a little bit wrong."

She called Brian as Castle drove, and before long they were getting out of the car in the parking garage. They stood in the elevator with their arms around each other, and walked to their front door holding hands. When the door opened, Jamie was sitting on his grandfather's lap on the sofa as Granddaddy read him a story, but as soon as he saw Kate, he called out, "Mommy!" and scrambled to get down.

Castle scooped him up before he got to Kate and told him softly "Mommy needs some really good hugs. Can you give her some?" Jamie nodded, looking serious, and Castle put him back on the floor where Kate smiled at him and scooped him into her own hug.

Jamie wrapped his little arms around her neck and squeezed tight, and she kissed his head. "You need hugs, Mommy?"

"I do. Lots of Jamie hugs and snuggles." He grabbed her and squeezed again. Then he kissed her cheek, and she laughed. "You always make Mommy happy, Peanut." She nuzzled her nose at his shoulder and planted quick little kisses all over his neck and under his chin, and he belly laughed and wiggled. "What book was Granddaddy reading you?"

"The train that could."

"Oh. 'I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.' That one?" He nodded enthusiastically. "Do you want Granddaddy to finish it?" He nodded again, and Kate took him to Jim and sat him back in his grandfather's lap."

"I thought you had deserted me," Jim told him. "Ready to finish the story?" Kate sat down beside them, joining in as Jamie added his voice when "I think I can" came up in the story. After Jim finished the book, Jamie crawled over to his mother and curled against her when she sat him in her lap. She held him close and kissed his head, resting her own on his.

Castle and Meagan were going through the menus in the take-out drawer in the kitchen, deciding what to order, and Jim took the moment to lean toward his daughter and say quietly, "Johanna would be so proud of what a good mother you are."

"It's so unfair that she never had the chance to see him. She would have loved him so much…and would have spoiled him rotten."

"Not a doubt in my mind."

"I'm glad you're here tonight, Dad."

"Tough leaving the twelfth, knowing you won't be back?"

Another few tears rolled down her cheek, and she nodded and sniffed. Her father put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her head the way she had kissed her son's.

Castle watched from the kitchen and said softly, "I think she needed Jim to be here tonight. He's known how much the twelfth has meant to her longer than I have. I'm glad it worked out this way."

"You're a good man, Richard Castle," Megan said with a smile.

"I don't know what brought that on, but thanks. So we think comfort food might be the way to go?"

"Yeah. Looks like it to me."

"That place is close by and pretty quick, too." He called the order in and he and Meaghan joined the others in the living room.

"Comfort food is on the way," he announced, and the rest of his evening was devoted to Kate.

xxxxx

The following morning, Kate donned her dress uniform and smiled as her husband and son walked her to the door. When she left after goodbye kisses, Jamie said, "Mommy looked like a police. She had a police costume."

"Mommy is a police, and it isn't a costume. It's called a uniform."

"Uni…" He seemed to be testing the new word.

"U…ni…form," Castle repeated, sitting down on the sofa.

Jamie climbed up beside him, "Uniform," he repeated slowly.

"Right. Mommy wore her police uniform to work today."

Beckett took a taxi to the fifteenth, where Captain Dohrman was waiting in his empty office to ask, "Any other questions while I'm still here?"

"When I was here before, I think we covered everything I had thought of, and a couple of things I hadn't. I think I'll just have to take it from here and learn my way through it."

"Pushing a business card across the desk to her, he said, "Here's my cell number. If questions come up and I can help, don't hesitate to use it. Just remember there's a time difference in Europe," he qualified with a grin. Leaning back and observing her, he said, "I wish I'd had the opportunity to work with you, Beckett. I have the feeling you were an impressive detective."

"She was," said a voice from the doorway, and they turned to see Chief Dawson there. "And as acting captain, she turned around the mess at the fifty-first in only a couple of months. You have no need to worry about this precinct in your absence, Jared."

"After she spent a day here earlier this week, I began to see that," Jared Dohrman answered.

"I came in to go through the change of command with you before everybody is assembled and waiting for us. Do you both have family coming?"

"An embarrassingly large number of them," Beckett answered. "They all promised to behave, but they're a pretty eclectic and spontaneous assortment. I'll apologize in advance in case someone forgets; but when your whole family wants to support you, you don't turn it down."

The two men chuckled and agreed that they were now intrigued.

"My wife and two daughters will be here," Dohrman answered. "The suitcases are already in the car, and my wife and I are leaving this afternoon for a six week tour of Europe."

"Chief Dawson clapped him on the shoulder and smiled. "Not letting any grass grow under your feet, I see. Now let's talk through the ceremonial part of the morning and let you get to your work…or play, as the case may be."

When it was time for the precinct to assemble, Captain Dohrman asked when they reached the door, "Where should we watch for all this family of yours?"

"It looks like they're on the back row…almost the entire back row. And there's some extended, adopted family…the two sergeants standing behind them. My recently promoted partners from the twelfth. I didn't know they'd be here today."

Chief Dawson smiled. "You weren't kidding about the crowd."

"Is that Martha Rodgers?" Dohrman asked.

"Yes. Please let her know you recognized her. She'd love it."

"So would I," Dohrman answered with a grin.

"Let's get this show on the road," Chief Dawson said. He went to the podium, started with a joke, and recounted a number of Captain Dohrman's achievements over his years with the NYPD, commended his handling of the fifteenth precinct, and then turned to him and said, "Captain Dohrman, we all wish you a safe journey." He faced the captain and executed a sharp salute, which Dohrman returned. Then he gave the captain a brotherly clap on the arm that indicated friendship and respect and said, "The floor is yours, Captain." He went back to stand with Beckett, and Captain Dohrman went to the microphone.

"I don't feel nearly as important as the chief made me sound, but I appreciate his efforts." Indicating his family, he said teasingly, "And the folks over here keep my ego in line." He motioned for his family to stand. "Most of you have seen my wife coming and going now and then, and some of you have been here long enough to remember my daughters when they were children. When I first took command here, my second child wasn't much older than Captain Beckett's. Both of my daughters have now graduated from college, are gainfully employed and are independent young adults. That means that command of this precinct has been a substantial part of my adult life. He nodded to his wife and she and his daughters sat down. We've all had our ups and downs here over the years, and I hope you will continue to support each other during my leave of absence. I hope you will support Captain Beckett as well. She comes to us with some experience, having served as interim captain elsewhere, contending with some difficult circumstances, and joining us with commendations any of us would be proud to earn. After long, productive conversations with her a couple of days ago, I think I can safely say that I'm leaving you in capable hands. I will miss all of you. That is an undeniable fact. However, another fact is that, since our children are both gainfully employed and independent, their parents are free to enjoy a European tour for which we leave this afternoon. So I'll stop talking now to speed this process along. Thank you for the good work, the good company, and the consistent efforts you've made for your precinct and your community."

Everyone in the room stood and applauded long and loud. Then Chief Dawson listed a number of Beckett's achievements, starting with the Academy and ending with her team's high closure rate…not only the cases themselves, but the conviction rates based on their work. "So if she offers you a suggestion, detectives, I'd say you should consider it.

"Lieutenant Beckett, I'm honored to congratulate you on your promotion to captain." He replaced the single bar of a lieutenant on each side of her collar with the two bars of a captain. I'm also honored to present you with the shield indicating your new status and to present you to the members of the fifteenth precinct as their captain." There was applause, but not nearly as enthusiastic as that for Captain Dohrman. "Captain Beckett, I'm sure the members of the fifteenth precinct would like to hear a few words from you." Then the chief stepped back, turned and offered another salute, which Beckett returned.

As Beckett moved to the microphone to speak, Jamie turned to Castle, and Castle put a finger on his lips to stop him from saying anything, so Jamie leaned and half whispered, "The man saluted Mommy."

"Yes, he did. Be quiet now. Let Mommy talk.

"I'd like you to meet my family, Beckett began, and she indicated the back of the room. My husband, Richard Castle and our son, Jamie." Castle stood and gave a half wave, but Jamie waved at his mother, and Beckett smiled at him and gave a little wave back. "Beside them is my mother-in-law, Martha Rodgers…my father, Jim Beckett…my good friend, Meagan, who somewhere along the line became my stepmother…our daughter, Alexis…her husband, JD Farnsworth…and JD's grandfather, John Farnsworth, who has now become Grandpa John…and our adopted family, my former partners, Sergeants Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. And now I need to find my place in the family here at the fifteenth. I know I'll need to prove myself here, and I'll do my best to earn your trust. I know I'll need to prove myself here, and I'll do my best to deserve your trust. From your response to Captain Dohrman, I can see that I have big shoes to fill; and I'll respect that and do my best to live up to the challenge. I look forward working with you."

There was applause again. Chief Dawson concluded the brief change of command ceremony, and people were milling around before going back to work.

Captain Gates walked over to Beckett and offered her congratulations.

"Sir, I didn't expect you today."

"I'm here for both you and Captain Dohrman. He's a friend from early in my career. I wanted to wish him well, as well as to congratulate my protege. Since I knew he'd want to be here, I asked Sergeant Ryan to drive me this morning. I assume Sergeant Esposito asked for the time off."

Castle let Jamie walk beside him to meet Beckett, Martha followed, and Kate told Martha that Captain Dohrman mentioned wanting to meet her. Martha went to speak to him and was soon deep in a conversation with the Dohrmans about what they intended to see in Europe. Then Mrs. Dohrman suddenly made the connection. "You're Martha Rodgers. That means the man with the adorable little boy is Richard Castle, the writer…oh, and Captain Beckett must be Nikki Heat."

Martha shushed her. "I think the last thing she'd want when she's starting as captain in a new precinct is to be labelled Nikki Heat the first day she's here. She loves the books, but she isn't fond of people thinking she's Nikki."

Mrs. Dohrman covered her mouth and said, "I can understand that. Not another word."

"Would you like to meet my son?"

"Of course. I've loved his books for years."

The rest of Beckett's family had been interacting with others in the room, and as Martha spoke, they were moving in Beckett's direction. "Darling," she said, guiding the captain's wife toward Castle, "this lovely woman says she enjoys your books, and I thought you'd like to meet her."

"Well, of course I would. It's always good to meet someone who enjoys the results of my blood, sweat, and tears," he said, shaking Mrs. Dohrman's hand.

"He's a bit dramatic at times. Did you notice?" Martha said conspiratorially, "Possibly gets it from me. Genetic, I suppose."

"I've been scarred for life," Castle agreed, with a hand to his heart.

"I rest my case," Martha answered, swatting his arm.

Mrs. Dohrman looked delighted with the exchange and smiled at both of them. Then she saw Jamie standing next to his father and leaned over to greet him. "You must be Jamie," she said and held her hand out as his father had done, and Jamie held his out, too, smiling at her when she shook it. She returned his smile and said, "I'm Mrs. Dohrman."

"There's a doorman at our house," Jamie answered. "'Duardo."

"Eduardo," Castle corrected then looked at Mrs. Dohrman and mouthed, "Sorry." The amused smile from the captain's wife let him know no offense had been taken.

"Eeh…duardo," Jamie answered carefully. "He's my friend."

"I'll bet you have lots of friends." Standing and turning toward Castle, she said, "That's a pretty quick connection to make for someone his age. How old is he?"

"His second birthday was a couple of months ago."

"He speaks impressively well for his age."

Beckett had made her way over to her family by then. "That probably has something to do with the fact that his father talks all the time," she teased, touching his arm. Jamie moved and leaned against her leg and she ruffled his hair affectionately.

"His father started talking very early," Martha affirmed. "Complete sentences by the time he was two…and hasn't stopped yet."

The rest of the family joined them as the conversation was in progress, Alexis saying, "My little brother is pretty bright. I'm very proud of him." She held her hand out. "I'm Alexis."

"That's a pretty good age span between you," Mrs. Dohrman said with a smile.

"My mother lives in California," Alexis explained, "but Kate never makes me feel like the stepchild. This is my husband, JD."

"He's my brother," Jamie added helpfully as he stood looking up at all the adults.

"We haven't tried to broach the subject of in-laws yet," Castle said with a smile. "No point right now."

The captain's wife nodded and chuckled.

Getting into the spirit of people saying who they were, Jamie pointed at family members as he spoke, and said, "That's my Granddaddy. That's Meagan. That's Grandpa John. That's Uncle Javi. That's Uncle Kevin." Then he looked around.

"I think that's everybody, Buddy," Castle said with his proud and indulgent dad smile.

"You have a delightful family, Mr. Castle. I've enjoyed meeting them. I should let you spend time with your wife now. Besides, Jared told me to keep it short." She gave an almost Beckett worthy eye roll, and everyone smiled.

"Thank you for including Jamie," Castle said. "Children are often ignored in conversation, especially small children. And I hope you and your husband have a wonderful trip abroad."

Gates had gone to speak to Captain Dohrman and returned to Beckett. Looking at Ryan, she said, "We need to get back to the twelfth. Congratulations, Captain Beckett," she said with an easy smile. "I have no doubt that you'll handle this job as conscientiously as everything else you've done."

"My husband is of the same opinion, Captain Beckett," Mrs. Dohrman agreed. "When he came home from meeting with you on Wednesday, he seemed more at ease. Thank you for allowing him the confidence to relax and enjoy our trip. That makes it easier for me to enjoy it, too."

"I would love to think it helps."

"It was a pleasure to meet all of you. I do enjoy your books, Mr. Castle. I hope there's a new one coming out soon."

"It won't be much longer."

"We're going to be leaving in a few minutes. Our daughters are taking us to the airport and taking the car back home, but we're all going to have a leisurely lunch before we tackle the airport."

As she went to join her husband, Detective Chen stopped to welcome Beckett to the fifteenth, and she introduced him to Castle.

"Oh, Detective Chen," Castle said, recognizing the name. "I have something for you. That symbol in the picture Beckett brought home…I found something. It's for a religious cult run by a man named Milos Rubess. He calls it Christianity, but everything connected to it comes back to him as his own god-like figure. Once you're in, it's hard to get out. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some sort of evidence against Rubess, or maybe the organization, hidden somewhere in your evidence." He took some folded papers from the inner pocket of his suit jacket and handed them to the detective.

Chen skimmed over the contents and said, "This could change the whole direction of our investigation. I appreciate this, Mr. Castle."

"Just Castle or Rick is fine. I do a lot of research for my books; so, other than the usual ones, I have subscriptions to several paid search engines. Anytime you think that could be of help, let me know. There are days that any distraction from what I should be doing for the book is more than welcome."

"He does procrastinate, but when the books come out, they generally fly off the shelves pretty quickly," Beckett said proudly.

"Wait. He writes those Nikki Heat books, doesn't he?" Chen asked. "Does that mean…"

Castle cut him off. "Rule number one for working with Beckett. Do not finish that sentence. Nikki is a figment of my imagination based on Beckett's strengths and abilities. Beckett is not Nikki."

"I'll never bring it up again, Ma'am."

Beckett smiled. "Thanks, Chen. I'd appreciate that."

"I'm going to find my team and show them this," he said, holding up the pages he had been given. "Thanks again, Castle."

"No problem," Castle answered.

Turning to Castle, Beckett said, "It looks like Captain Dohrman is about to leave. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Captain Gates and Ryan were also leaving, and the chief asked, "Shall we see him off?"

"An honor guard?" Beckett suggested, and they all accompanied the captain and his wife out. They reached the street after passing people offering goodbyes and good wishes, and Chief Dawson opened the car door for the captain and his wife. Their daughters were already in the front seat waiting for them.

Everything pertinent and appropriate had already been said, so the chief simply closed the door. As Captain Dohrman looked up at the precinct house very much as Kate had so recently done at the twelfth, a newly minted sergeant, two captains and the chief of Police, all in their dress uniforms, raised their hands in salute. He smiled at them, looking pleased, returned it briefly, and settled back into his seat as the car pulled away.

The chief's aide caught up with them and walked with him to the car. Gates and Ryan left for the twelfth, and Beckett returned to the building to assume her new command.