In an office somewhere in the maze of JFK airport's Terminal One, two groups of security guards were milling around. A sense of anticipation was in the air, the eagerness to catch real criminals palpable.

"Okay, Espo, you go with the first group, Ryan the second, take a couple of uni's each, and let's see if we can find them," Beckett ordered. "Observe strict radio protocol, please; use names, not call signs. It's not a police channel - anyone could be listening in - so let's keep it professional."

The boys headed into the airport with local security, while Beckett was left to shake hands with the chief and wait for word from the others. She folded her arms and tapped her foot, and Castle started to fidget too.

"Will they be able to radio to us if they get further away?" he asked the security chief.

The man told him not to worry, as the radios had enough coverage for the entire area of the airport. Castle only grunted and shoved his hands in his pockets in response.

The walkie-talkie that was sitting on the desk crackled and all three of them turned to the sound, waiting for a voice to update them. "Ryan. Ryan to Beckett, over."

Beckett grabbed the radio and responded, "Beckett. Beckett receiving, go ahead."

"Ryan to Beckett, be advised the suspects are not landside, repeat not landside. We are heading through to airside now. Any idea on which flight they might be on? Over."

"Beckett to Ryan, stand by." Kate took her finger off the transmission button and looked over at Castle with an eyebrow raised. "Well?"

Rick frowned and looked away to a corner of the room. He started to pace a few steps one way before doubling back on himself. His hands were pulled from his pockets and shoved to his hips. He suddenly looked up at Beckett and snapped his fingers.

"Jamaica!" Beckett tilted her head and awaited the explanation. "Desmond met Nana at a Jamaican place they both worked at in Harlem. And if Jack really is Nana's son, even if he was raised as her nephew, he'd know he has Jamaican blood in him!"

The security chief looked at them both dumbfounded.

"Huh." He began typing on the keyboard of the computer terminal on the desk and brought up the flight schedule, Beckett moving around the desk to peer over his shoulder.

"Beckett. Beckett to Ryan, over."

"Ryan receiving, go ahead."

"Beckett to Ryan, be advised, the next plane to leave gate eleven, repeat gate one-one, to Kingston, Jamaica, over."

"Ryan to Beckett, copy, out."

The security chief was hustling out of the room, "Come on," he threw over his shoulder, "We can get there quicker than them, let's go."

He jumped onto a nearby golf cart and turned the key to prime the battery, waiting for Beckett to jump onto the passenger seat and pulling away just as Castle jumped onto the back seat.

"Doesn't this thing have a better siren?" Castle winced at the white noise emitter that was producing a mild, pathetic excuse for sound. No one was taking any notice of them trying to get through the clumps of people milling around.

"Nope," the chief responded.

"What about a gumball light?"

"We're only allowed orange, we're not the cops!"

"No, but I am… Castle, get up on that seat and start making noise."

Rick glanced at Kate. "Seriously?"

"Yes! Shout NYPD or something!"

Castle clambered up, holding onto the pole to which the orange gumball was attached, and cleared his throat. "NYPD! Move! Please get out of the way! NYPD coming through!"

As he took a breath he heard Beckett laughing, and he nudged her with his toe. "Don't laugh at me, come on! Help me out! Wave your badge or something!"

Now the security chief was shaking his head, trying not to laugh as he beeped the tiny horn, with Castle shouting and Beckett waving her badge. On the opposite side of the concourse, they could see Ryan and Esposito with their security and police officers trying to hustle through the security checkpoint.

Kate unhooked the walkie-talkie from her belt, "Beckett. Beckett to Ryan and Esposito. Follow us guys, we'll clear through the crowds. We're only capable of doing eleven miles per hour flat out, you'll catch us up. Out."

By Gate Seven, the crowds had thinned considerably and the two groups were almost caught up with the golf cart. Castle had stopped shouting and had dropped back into the seat, out of breath. Esposito jumped on and knelt on the back seat facing forwards, his eyes skimming across the terminal.

"I got eyes on Lopez, at our one o'clock," he murmured. Beckett nodded, tracking the area and finding the suspect as well.

"Where's the girlfriend?" she asked.

Castle, still facing backward on the golf cart, nudged Esposito with his hand, "Henrietta, ten o'clock." Esposito looked to his ten but couldn't see her, so he glanced at Castle and looked in the direction the writer was staring.

"Idiot, that's my four. Ryan!" His urgent hiss carried to his partner, who peeled off with his group of security officers and made straight for Henrietta, swiftly detaining her.

Esposito jumped off the golf cart and made a grab for Jack, reading him his rights as he cuffed him.

"Hey," Jack protested, "We're going to miss our flight."

Esposito screwed up his face in disgust. "That's all you've got to say?" He shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh. "In that case, like I said, you've got the right to remain silent."

Having marched their collars through the whole length of the terminal, Ryan and Esposito handed the suspects off to the uniformed officers. Heads ducked into separate units, the officers whisked the pair off to the Precinct for booking. "Nicely done, guys," Beckett smiled.

"Thanks, Cap'," Ryan grinned.

Esposito glanced at his watch, "Oh, hey, it's late, almost 7:00 pm. You should get home, Cap'." He gave her a sickly sweet smile and Beckett narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yep, you're on a strict routine, Beckett, you're already going to be late home…" Ryan used his best 'Dad Voice', and he and Esposito both looked expectantly at Castle.

"Don't argue," Castle declared. "Let's go, honey!" Kate glared at her team but didn't stop her husband from shepherding her into her car, giving the boys a thumbs up as he rounded the vehicle and clambering into the passenger side as the engine roared into life.

As Beckett drove away, the boys started to bicker over how they should go about interrogating the suspects. "We know it wasn't the guy, Ryan, so it's kinda pointless speaking with him first."

"But because we know that, it'll be a short interview, and then we'll be alibi checking anyway."

"But we can let him stew…" They arrived at their vehicle and stood on opposite sides, talking beside the hood.

"No man, that's pointless. Unless he was aiding and abetting, he probably barely knows anything. We should be able to pin him with, at least, accessory to a felony."

Esposito frowned, "Why don't we take one each? Whoever gets the guy can come into the woman's interview when he's done."

Ryan nodded a bit, "Yeah, sounds good. Roshambo? Loser gets the woman." A business man walking past caught the end of the conversation and did a double take, shooting Ryan a look of disgust as he hurried on by.

"So, Mr. Lopez, let me get this straight. Your girlfriend turned up at your apartment this morning with a bag full of cash, and you didn't find that at all strange?" Detective Ryan cocked his head to one side as he regarded his suspect. "You just packed a bag and headed to the airport with her?"

"No, man, we didn't go straight away… had to celebrate our good fortune, if you get what I'm saying…"

Taking a deep breath was the only thing that kept Ryan from executing an eye roll of which Beckett would be proud. "And how long did you… 'celebrate' for?"

"Uh, couple hours? Then we had to figure out how to pack the money." Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, hey, did you get our bags off the plane? 'Cause I packed some stuff I wanna keep."

"Yes, they were removed from the airplane by airport staff," Ryan confirmed. "However, your bags and their contents are evidence in this case, so I highly doubt you'll see them or their contents for up to three years."

Jack slumped back in his chair, cuffs rattling on the table in front of him.

"Let's go over this again, Ms. Trevino. You went for a walk last night, have no idea what route you took, and ended up at your momma's house. Then you called your boyfriend before you went to sleep." Esposito looked up from his notes, glaring at the woman in front of him.

She slouched as far down in the chair as her cuffs would allow, completely at ease. "Yeah, that's about it."

Esposito got up and began to walk slowly around the room, "I'm going to tell you a story, Henrietta. It starts like this: Once upon a time, there was a guy who got fired from his job. Instead of fightin' his own corner, he figured it wasn't worth the hassle. But his girl takes it real personal on his behalf, and decides to do something about it."

He stopped just behind her and waited for her to turn to him until he carried on. "She decides that revenge is the best medicine for this particular sickness, so she heads to her boyfriend's place of work, and confronts his manager. Words are exchanged, accusations, threats. Fists. Even a decorative wall clock." Henrietta turned back to face forwards and began to stare at her hands.

Esposito sits back down and pulls an evidence bag from the folder he'd brought in with him. "We found these gloves at your mother's home. Fibers from these gloves match those found at the scene, and there's blood on them. Whose blood will that match, Henrietta?"

She continued to sit and concentrate on her hands, picking at her right thumbnail with her left.

"Yours?" Esposito prompted. "Your momma's?" He leaned in, "Jack's momma?"

Henrietta looked up at the detective. "Jack don't got a momma. His grandma raised him."

"Yes, she did. But he does have a momma… well, that is to say, he did have a momma. Until you killed her and stole her money." Henrietta's eyes widened as she stared at Esposito in disbelief.

"Now, look, I di'n't know! And I'm damn sure he don't know either, man!" She began to wave her hands, her voice rising in pitch and volume with every word. "Don't tell him, damn, don't tell him! Please! Don't tell him! Damn, this would cut him up for sure! Don't-…"

Esposito slammed his hand on the table. "That's enough!" he interrupted her ranting. "Enough already. Tell me exactly what happened in that office. Blow by blow. And when you're done, we'll see how much of your life the District Attorney thinks you'll be in jail for."

"…a full confession? That's fantastic! Thanks, Espo. Great work today, thank Ryan from me. Yeah, you too. G'night." Kate ended the call and dropped her cell phone onto the coffee table before she leaned back into Rick's embrace on the couch.

"Another case closed by New York's finest." Rick sighed with satisfaction and Kate smiled onto his shoulder. "Oh, hey, in all the excitement you didn't get to tell me how lunch went."

"Yeah, it was great," Kate lifted her head off Rick's shoulder and grinned. "Lanie is really pleased for us, and when I told her she was the first to know, she cried."

Rick made a quiet, sentimental squeaks, and squeezed Kate's shoulder. "Was she okay about being on speed-dial just in case?"

Kate nodded, "Of course, she said it would be an honor. It puts my mind at rest knowing there's another doctor I can call in case I don't think it's serious enough to call Dr. Kowalewski. Not that she'd mind, but when I'm feeling anxious about something with the baby I know I'll feel guilty about calling her." Kate laughed and shook her head. "I think I've got baby brain already, Castle."

Rick turned her to face him, "I love your baby brain," he quipped before leaving a peck on her lips.

Kate grinned, "I guess I should reward you for managing to not give away the secret in the precinct today… you had a few slips, though, Rick."

"Do I need to be punished?" He looked into her eyes with the utmost seriousness. "Nakedly?"

"'Nakedly' is not a word." She slipped out of his embrace and got up from the couch, heading for the bedroom.

Castle sat with a disgruntled pout on his face as he watched her go. "It is, too! Adverb of 'naked'! Meaning: 'having no covering', or 'without concealing anything'." As she sauntered away, hips swinging as she disappeared from his view, the pout disappeared as he realized, "Hey! You didn't answer my question!" He scrambled up from the couch, hurrying after her into the bedroom.

Episode beta work by honeyandvodka

Castle Season 9 is produced by Team Planet and the writing team of Castle Season 9. Executive Producer is encantadaa.

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