717. Chapter 717

After Under Fire

Episode 6.11

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I sure as hell don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Author's note: You might wish to read chapter 413, also After Under Fire.

"Mommy! Sarah Grace won't give me Javier Bear."

"Little snitch." His older sister said.

"Sarah Grace? Javi? " Jenny Ryan called. "What are you two doing?"

"Javier Bear is my bear. Uncle Rick and Auntie Kate gave him to me!" Sarah Grace Ryan insisted.

"Javier Bear is a big, brave police bear who protects you both, just like Uncle Javi protects Daddy. Now if you two can't play nicely, I have some chores that need to be done."

Sarah Grace stuck her tongue out at her brother and threw Javier Bear at him. "You're still a little snitch. You'll grow up to be a crook, like the people Dad arrests."

Javi Ryan grabbed Javier Bear and examined the teddy bear's little replica NYPD uniform. "You're okay, Javier Bear. She didn't hurt you." He glared at his sister's retreating form and stuck his tongue out at her. He spoke to Javi Bear. "I'm going to be a policeman just like Dad one day. And you'll be my partner, just like Uncle Javi."

He took Javier Bear back to his room and closed the door. "Do you want to play policeman with me?"

Javier Bear, with some assistance from the youngest Ryan, nodded his furry little head.

"You are in so much trouble." Sarah Grace gloated as she and her brother walked home from school. "Dad is going to have a fit when he gets home and Mom is going to freak. You are in so much trouble."

"Can you just shut up?" Javi Ryan shot back. "He had it coming."

"That's not what Dad would say. When someone calls him bad names, he doesn't hit the guy. He stays calm and gathers evidence and stuff and sends the guy to prison. You go around beating up other little boys and you'll go to prison, too. And Uncle Javi and Aunt Lanie, and Uncle Rick and Aunts Kate and Alexis will all feel bad for Dad and Mom because you're just a little thug. Just because you just had to hit some kid who called you names."

"He didn't call me names. He said that the cops were all crooked and were part of the establishment and just arrested people to show how powerful they were. Mikey's an asshole. He deserved to get hit."

"Oh! You said a bad word. I'm going to tell."

"Go ahead and tell. I don't care."

"See? That's what's wrong with you. You don't care. If you did care, you'd have explained to Mikey that he's wrong."

Two days later, Kevin Ryan was two hours late for work, having arranged to take the time off.

"Did you and Jenny see the principal?" Captain Castle asked.

"Yeah. Javier punched some kid who was mouthing off about the police being corrupt and brutal. Javi has to apologize to the kid and he's grounded for a month, no TV or video games either."

Javier Esposito leaned over. "Did Javi kick his ass?"

"Damn straight."

Kate pretended not to have heard that and kept working.

Although he was officially too old for teddy bears, Javi spent the next month in his room, reading and talking to Javier Bear, who agreed with every word he said. Well, he didn't disagree.

Sarah Grace Ryan stopped outside the door and smoothed down her clothing and quickly examined her hair and makeup in a hand mirror. Then she pushed open the door marked Katherine Castle, Esq. Attorney-at-Law.

"Hello, Mrs. Castle. How are you?"

Kate looked up from her desk and smiled. "Now who are you? You can't be little Sarah Grace Ryan, can you? All grown up?"

Sarah Grace blushed. "I'm a senior in high school now, Mrs. Castle. And I want to thank you so much for letting me work here. I'm really interested in the law. I'd like to go to law school. Maybe."

Kate laughed. "Well, to begin with, you can call me Kate when we're alone, and welcome to my law office. In fact you're my very first employee."

"I thought Mr. Castle worked with you?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "This used to be his office when he was a PI. His work here has consisted mostly of coming up with outlandish theories as to why my clients are in trouble and need me. Most of the theories involve vampires, space aliens and super villains trying to the world. But he's in LA working on the next Nikki Heat movie."

"Isn't Daniel Craig in that?"

Kate nodded. "He's a CIA agent who's being set up by a super villain, oddly enough, and helps out Nikki. This is the fourth actress to play Nikki, you know."

Sarah Grace smiled. "Maybe I could be an actress?"

"Right now, you're going to be working for a lawyer, so let me go over the layout of the office and bring you up to speed on your duties here."

"How far did you run today, Javi?"

"Four miles, Dad. I ran down to the park and then around the pond and then back."

"You'll be all set for the Police Academy, won't you?" Kevin Ryan said proudly.

Javier sat down next to his dad. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure." Seeing how serious his son was, he frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure I want to go to the Academy, not right away anyway."

"What do you want to do?"

Javier took a deep breath. "I want to enlist in the Army. Do what Uncle Javi did. Be a soldier."

Kevin took this with mixed emotions. "Javi, the world is in worse shape now than when Javi was in the Army. Are you sure about this?"

He nodded. "It's because the world is in such bad shape that I want to do this, Dad. And I'll get good training, and I can go to college. You really need a degree these days." Javi looked at his father. "I really want to do this."

"We'd better go tell your mom."

Assistant District Attorney Sarah Grace Ryan was surprised when the handsome young man sat down next to her.

"Why Officer Javier Ryan. What a surprise to see you here."

Javi smiled and nodded. "A real coincidence. We just happen to be in court today and we just happen to eat in the court cafeteria. Amazing."

Sarah Grace laughed. "And I have good news for you. After your testimony today, Bascombe's lawyer wants to make a deal. He'll confess to all of his armed robberies and he'll serve concurrent sentences for them. Instead of clearing four robberies, the NYPD will clear sixteen."

"Outstanding." Javi couldn't stop smiling.

"You know, you're not a bad guy, for a snitch and a thug." She teased.

"You're okay for a teddy bear-napper."

Javier Ryan looked down at the little person sleeping in his crib.

"I have something for you, Kevin Javier Richard Ryan." He whispered. "He's called Javier Bear and he's going to look after you, just like he looked after me. I had him cleaned and re-stuffed and I even had his little uniform cleaned and repaired. Officer Javier Bear is now yours, little one."

Javi put the bear down next to his son, knowing that the brave police bear would always watch over him.