2 – Σκύλος – Skýlos – Dog

Chapter 5

Grace had her dad's iPad propped up against an empty mug on the kitchen island as she sat and chatted to her sister. "So does that new idea meet your approval?"

"Yes, thank you so much, Lexi! Michael will love it! He should've stayed while I called you but Sarah Grace said they had to go straight home after they dropped me off."

Alexis' laugh came through the tiny speakers, "Yeah, but I'm glad you think he'll like it! What is it with boys and zombies?"

"I don't get it! At least he won't be bugging me all day tomorrow about it now; I think he's more worried about it than I am."

"Aww, that sucks that you're both worried. But it just means you care, Grace, that's important." Alexis smiled at her through the screen. "I need your help for a bit longer, do you have time or do you have homework?"

"I can help!" Grace heard the front door open and glanced across the space of the great room. "Hang on, Lexi! Mom and Dad and Indy are home." She jumped off the stool, Alexis' response lost to the noise of her feet slapping against the hardwood and the dog's excited barks.

After hugs and fuss for the dog, and the briefest of acknowledgements for her parents, Alexis watched Grace run back to her perch at the bar. "Sorry about that, Lexi!" she panted.

"No problem, little sis," Alexis grinned through her iPhone at Grace. "So I have a date tonight and I need your help picking an outfit."

Kate's face came into view, "Is it with who I think it's with?" Predictably, her dad's face crowded in as well.

"Wait, who? You're going on a date?" He sounded almost panicked.

"Yeah, Dad! I'm allowed to go on dates, y'know." She rolled her eyes for dramatic effect, and Grace laughed. "And yes, Kate, Bobby asked me out. We're just going for dinner, Dad, it's a week night after all."

"Bobby?! Bobby Reichler?!" Alexis could see a vein beginning to rise to the surface on her dad's neck. "That little–"

"Castle!" Alexis covered her laugh with her hand as her step-mom delivered a death glare and covered Grace's ears. "Take the dog for a walk," she hissed, low enough that Grace wouldn't hear and quiet enough that Alexis didn't catch it.

"But-…"

Kate growled, "Now."

After a couple of glances between Kate and Alexis on the screen, her dad disappeared from view and Kate removed her hands from Grace's head just as the door slammed.

"Mommy, why is Daddy mad that Lexi is going on a date?"

"Your daddy is one of the most complicated men I've ever met, Gracie, but I think he's upset because Alexis isn't your age anymore and he keeps being reminded that she's an adult and can date whomever she wants." Kate's smile through the screen had Alexis letting out a relieved breath. "I'm going to start dinner while you help Lex, okay?"

"Sure!"

"Don't take too long, I think your dad'll be ten minutes, and you never gave him a proper hug when we got home!"

Grace gasped, and Alexis laughed, seeing those Rodgers genes in the gesture as Kate ruffled Grace's hair, "Oh no! I forgot!"

The next day, Castle went to the precinct with Indiana again, both as moral support for his wife and to keep himself from wearing a groove in the hardwood floor of the loft.

"Babe, why don't you take Indy to the park for a bit, it doesn't look like we have any leads right now… Maybe you could bring back some lunch?"

Castle nodded as he stood from his chair, grabbing the dog's leash and kissing his wife's cheek before he headed to the elevator with Indiana in tow.

Before Beckett could settle in for a staring match with the murder board, Reichler called across the bullpen to the lead detective, his attention focussed on his computer screen. "Beckett, come look at this."

Kate pushed off her desk where she had perched. "What've you got?"

"It's another alias for Nieman, 'Scarlet Herring'…" Beckett rolled her eyes. "I just searched this name, and a property popped on the search." Reichler pointed to the map.

"Son of a bitch." Esposito peered over their shoulders. "That's the motel where Tyson took Ryan's gun in the first place."

Beckett straightened and moved away to grab her service piece from her desk. "Okay, you tell Gates and I'll call SWAT. We'll head out when they're ready."

"What about Castle?" Reichler asked. Beckett shook her head.

"I don't want him anywhere near Tyson. Let's go."

"Come on, buddy, let's go." Rick stepped onto the crosswalk with Indiana trotting at his side. He glanced down at the dog, chuckling at the way his tongue was lolling out of his mouth. Rick let Indy's relaxed movements inform his own, rolling his shoulders to loosen his muscles as they reached the other side of East 7th Street. From there it was a quick stroll through Tompkins Square Park to the dog run, where Rick let Indy off the leash and watched him run around for a long while.

The dog run was pretty quiet in the middle of the day, and though Rick wished he'd brought a ball to throw for Indy, the dog had found a stick and they were having a productive game of fetch when Rick heard a voice that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Captain Gates' concentration was pulled from the latest department memo by her desk phone. She picked up the receiver. "Gates. Yes, Detective Beckett, report."

Leaning back in her chair, Victoria listened to her detective give her a brief rundown of the raid on Nieman's property uptown. "You arrested her? Good. I'll have CSU there as soon as possible. What about Tyson?" Gates frowned. "Hmm." Beckett's following question made her lean forward again. "No, Mr Castle hasn't come back." She nodded as Beckett outlined her plan. "Keep me apprised, Detective."

Gates replaced the receiver and leaned back in her chair once more, lacing her fingers together as she stared unseeing out of the window.

"Why can't you just stay disappeared?"

The snarling voice that for so long haunted his nightmares breathed into Castle's ear just as he released the stick for Indiana. Rick felt Tyson's spittle on his neck and the barrel of a gun in his side. He tensed and remained still, watching the dog retrieve the beloved stick and play with it as he turned back to his master.

"I could ask the same of you," Rick replied. He watched as Indiana dropped the stick and assessed the situation from a few yards away. The dog's ears pricked and he took a couple of steps forward, which Rick recognised as his 'ready' position.

"We're going for a walk. Now."

Rick gulped. He wracked his brain, but the hand signals and verbal commands Donny had taught him when they'd picked Indy up had completely disappeared the moment he felt the gun pressing up against his kidney. Tyson gripped his arm and began to turn him away from the waiting dog, towards the park exit. As Rick lost eye contact with Indiana, he heard a high-pitched whine and the sound of wind rushing through the grass.

Suddenly Rick was toppling over, Tyson's hold on him gone, and he rolled onto his side to see Indiana grappling with Tyson, his jaw locked tight around the man's arm as Tyson shouted and swore at him. Rick scrabbled up to his feet and, noticing the gun close by, picked the piece up, turning the safety on before he threw it well out of reach.

"Get this mutt off me! Agh!" Tyson screamed as he tried to move again but Indiana had his arm in a crushing hold.

"Yeah, not gonna happen," Castle scoffed as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called his wife. "Hey, not to worry you, but if you could get to Tompkins Square Park right now, that would be really great. Oh, you tracked my phone? Okay, well, that works too."

Castle removed his phone from his ear and slid it back into his pocket just as twelve SWAT officers descended on the scene. One of them gave a sharp command, and Indy immediately detached from Tyson, allowing the officers to cuff him and take him into custody. The dog scampered to Rick, dancing around him and jumping on his front paws in his excitement, and Castle dropped down to Indy's level to give him lots of fuss. They were joined by one of the SWAT officers as the rest took their collar and the evidence back to the station.

"Thanks for calling him off, I completely forgot the commands…" Rick offered his hand, and the officer shook it firmly.

"No problem. I had a stretch with the K-9 unit so took a chance that it was the same." He shrugged and patted Indy between his ears. "Not sure why this guy isn't in service though, that was a great takedown."

"Well I'm glad he's with me, that's for sure." They both laughed, and the officer turned at the sound of one of his team mates shouting for him to get in the truck.

"Gotta go. See ya around, man," he called over his shoulder as he jogged over to the SWAT truck, and as Rick watched it pull away he saw Beckett's cruiser swerve into the parking space it left behind.

"Castle!" She shouted across to him as she vaulted over the fence of the dog run, and he waved back, holding Indiana's collar to prevent the dog from mowing her down. "I'm so glad you're okay," Kate gasped as she knelt down with them both and hugged her husband, the dog bouncing around them and trying to get in on the loving. They both laughed, and Rick pulled back from their hug, tucking some of Kate's hair behind her ear.

"I need to find this dog a stick to go fetch, burn off some more energy," Rick muttered, looking around for a big enough twig. Kate pointed one out as she dialled the captain and put the call on speaker.

"Gates."

"Sir, it's Beckett."

"What's going on?"

"SWAT apprehended Ty-… actually, sir, that's not quite true. Indiana apprehended Tyson and he and Castle held him until SWAT arrived. They're taking him to the Twelfth for booking now."

"Congratulations, Detective, and your team of course." Rick smiled at Indiana, who was busy gnawing on another big stick he'd found. "I will handle the interrogations and the rest of the case from here, though I'm sure the DA will want to speak with you both in due course."

"Yes, sir," Kate rose her eyebrows at Rick.

"Take a few days off, Detective." At Gates' order, Rick couldn't help himself from pumping his fist in the air.

"Yes, sir! Thank you, Captain."

Kate finished the call, and put her phone away before she stood and offered Rick a hand up. "Let's go get Grace from school, and then get ice cream," he suggested.

"Sounds perfect, babe."

The day before her mom's return to work, Grace's parents gathered their friends and family at the loft once again, their first time since Indiana had joined the family only a couple of weeks before. Grace was in high spirits, flitting from uncle to aunt to dog and back again, barely able to settle for a moment. Only Captain Gates was able to corral her into staying in the same spot for more than a brief moment.

"Grace, I need you to help me with something, if you please," Gates whispered to the exuberant 9 year old, who gasped in anticipation of a secret.

"Oooh! What is it?" Grace asked, bouncing on her toes next to her godmother.

Victoria smiled, managing to pause the bounce long enough to brush a kiss to the girl's hair. "I need all the people to sit down on the couches, and Indiana to sit right in the middle of everyone. Think you can make it happen?"

"Yes!" Grace hollered, throwing her arms in the air and began running around the room getting everyone's attention and directing them to sit. Indy tagged along with her and soon the pair of them came to a halt in the very middle of the circle.

"What's going on, Poppet?" Her dad asked, an inquisitive grin on his face, but Grace could only shrug.

"I was just doing what Aunt Victoria told me," She replied, her hand petting between the dog's ears as everyone turned to the Captain.

Clearing her throat, Victoria sat up and pulled a small box from her purse. "In light of recent events, I thought it important to make sure that the valour of all those involved be rewarded," She smiled as she looked to her detectives. "I have already put in commendations for all of you, and I expect to hear back from One PP soon as to the result of these. However, there is someone who cannot have an official commendation, because he is not an officer of the NYPD."

"Who, Aunt Victoria?" Michael Ryan piped up from between his parents.

Grace raised an eager hand, "Is it Daddy?"

Victoria chuckled, "No, Grace, it's not your father," She gave Rick an indulgent smile and a flick of an eyebrow. "It's your dog."

"Indiana?!" She squealed, barely able to believe her ears. Indy let out a tiny bark, his excitement feeding off hers as he struggled to keep himself seated.

Victoria stood and moved to Grace and Indiana, stroking between the dog's eyes with her thumb to soothe him as she spoke. "Indiana Castle, you showed great bravery in protecting your master. Following the reports made by the SWAT unit, your name will be added to the wall of citations at the headquarters of the NYPD's K-9 unit, and their commander told me personally that he is delighted that you will always be an honorary member of the unit." Victoria opened the box she had been holding and removed from it a small gold tag. "This is your badge, embossed with the K-9 emblem, and on the reverse is your call sign: One Tompkins Forty." Gates attached the badge to Indy's collar and everyone cheered. Including Indiana.

I've had this on my laptop for a year and I forgot to post it. It's not beta'd, and I feel like you've waited long enough.

This actually marks the end of Part 2 of this story, and for now the end of the story as a whole. There was always meant to be more. You were going to follow Grace as she grew up, went to college, and met the remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating, person she'd spend the rest of her life with. You'd have seen Alexis find her lost love too, and Rick and Kate grow old and be so happy with their family. I'm sorry I just can't write the rest of it right now. It's all in my head, but the energy to get it onto the page is too great to consider.

Thank you for trusting me on this journey, this has been the AU I've struggled with and loved the most.