Close Encounters 31: Brokenclaw

for you who asked
Castle Ficathon 2017

"Well." Kate glanced back and forth between them at the breakfast table and then threw up her hands. "We'll take him with us."

"Kate," her husband hissed.

She shrugged. "Castle, we have to be there. I have an analysts' staff meeting to go over the plans for when I'm out next week, you have a budget meeting, two active missions in critical stages at 1100 and 1700, and Ryan keeps bugging me about something related to you know who. I know the Director is making a surprise inspection of the NYC Office, I do. But we have to be there."

"We're not bringing him with us," Castle growled.

"Then we'll get your mother to baby-sit."

His nostrils flared, his jaw worked. He looked across the table to where James sat in his high chair, smearing bananas across the tray. "Damn it. We'll take him in with us."

"Your mother has offered numerous times to-"

"Don't be a bitch," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at her. It was hard not to smirk in his face, but she managed it, turned instead to the pantry to pull down the granola for her own breakfast. Smirked at the pantry instead.

"Hey, clean him up, will ya?" she said, shuffling containers until she found the enhanced stuff Logan and Boyd had concocted for her. She was supposed to be eating three cups of it a day until the experimental procedure. "I think he managed to eat at least half that banana."

"You clean him up. I'm already dressed. I'm not staining my tie again."

She wrinkled her nose at him as she turned around with her breakfast, and she came back to the kitchen table. Castle was already dressed, quite nicely, and he was even wearing one of her favorite ties, so she should probably be sporting. She had only just gotten out of the shower.

"Fine," she sighed, plopping down beside James. "But you'll have to sit in it for a while, little man. I have to eat this."

Castle rose from the table, tie tucked into the placket of his dress shirt to keep it out of his own cereal. He leaned in over her and kissed her temple. "Yes, you do. Thank you for acknowledging at least that much in regards to your health."

"Hey," she sputtered, indignant at the put-upon tone in his voice. "I have informed you of every step of this process."

He grimaced.

She shrugged, pouring granola out into the bowl and reaching for the almond milk - also fortified. "Can't help it if you're scared of a little procedure. Yours is first, you know-"

"I have three days," he muttered. His left hand shifted behind his back as if hiding the damage from her. The Colombian ER doc had done a worthy job, but Castle had already been hopped up on regimen and the fast-acting serum had outstripped him. His hand had... healed interestingly.

"Logan promised you wouldn't feel a thing," she told him softly.

"They're gonna break every damn bone in my two littlest fingers," he growled. "How is that not going to hurt?"

She shook her head. "Lidocaine and-"

"You know that doesn't work on me."

"It works," she corrected, laying a hand on James's foot as he drummed the kickboard of the high chair. "Baby, quiet. I'm trying to keep Daddy from being so scared." Castle squawked just as James did, trying to get his foot back. She winked at the baby, turned to Castle. "It works, Rick, it just wears off faster on you than on us normal people. He's going to give you multiple injections."

"Whatever," he said, slinking to the sink to deposit his bowl. He was already disappearing into the dining room before she could calmly argue away his irrational fear of Logan's necessary procedure.

"Uck," James said happily, calling after him. "Uck, Dada."

Kate laughed and shook James's foot, resumed eating her breakfast. "You're right. Daddy's being grumpy. But guess what, wolf? People are calling Daddy The Claw. To his face. That's an old spy movie reference. Or Elvis, not sure. Anyway, he needs to have it fixed so he can be our super-"

"I heard that!"

"You were supposed to!"

James giggled and smeared bananas in his hair.

Castle wasn't worried about his hand like he was worried about Beckett undergoing this damn experimental procedure. And in the middle of this the Director wanted a tour of Eastern European operations in the New York City field office on a day that had two active missions in critical stages?

He was being checked up on and he didn't fucking appreciate it.

He didn't appreciate much that had come out of the DC office these days. Marjorie had stiff-armed him on his one visit right after he and Beckett had gotten home from Colombia, and all of his inquiries - careful as they had to be - had led nowhere.

Beckett still had ideas about Ravi from the DC Office but Castle wasn't willing to hang a man on the basis of his son's discomfort. The kid had... something going on, emotionally, mentally extra-sensory, whatever. But that wasn't a good enough reason to charge an analyst with treason.

Though, Kate was right; he trusted his kid more than he trusted a single agent at Langley right now.

"Hey, bringing in the little guy again today," the security guard inside the garage said to them. He leaned in and patted the door frame. "You know I gotta scan."

"Already unlocked," Castle assured him. "And he won't bite you this time, promise."

The guard, Razniski, laughed and reached for the handle of the back passenger door, his weapon holstered though the second guard - who would always remain in the booth - kept his weapon at the ready.

James babbled nonsense at Razniski as the man patted him down and checked the car seat, and then the back seat and the rest of the cargo area. James kicked his feet out and beamed at Raz, and the guard evidently was beaming back, having a love fest going on.

Castle, from the passenger seat, rolled his eyes. Beckett tapped two fingers on the steering wheel and didn't comment, smiling that damn smug smile of hers.

"Alright, we're good here," Raz said. "Here's the sticker." He walked back to the guard gate and pulled a visitor's sticker from the printer as it came out, and then he hustled back and handed it to Castle. Echo, it said. And only Echo.

At least the New York Office knew how to keep things quiet.

"Has the Director come through early and surprised us?" he asked.

"Naw, not yet," Raz laughed, shaking his head. Because they both knew it would be just like the man. "Have a nice day, sir."

"You too, Raz." Castle thumbed up the window as James called out bye bye bye, the car rolling forward.

"Good job, baby," Kate was saying. And Rick wasn't sure if that was directed at their son or at him.

Kate had her briefing first thing, and it was going to take a while, so she forced James on Castle. "Just, keep him occupied. I don't need him distracting everyone in my meeting."

Castle groaned. "I told you this was a bad idea."

"Talk to Logan about your surgery, how they'll reset your bones and do some PT and you'll be good as new." She patted his chest dismissively.

"I already know about my surgery," he whined at her. She was trying to collect her handout materials before Omkar came in her office to rush her. Castle hefted James in his arms and followed her to her credenza. "I want to know about your surgery."

"More like a procedure," she said automatically.

"You'll have to be in the hospital," he retorted.

"Only overnight for observation," she answered, gathering packets from the long counter. "And it's our lab hospital, and it's not like you won't be there every second."

Castle was still huffing. "Your dad was supposed to be-"

"Castle," she snapped, turning on him.

"Sorry. But he was."

"Castle, my father has a life. I am grateful for that. Don't tell me you can't take care of your son for a measly few hours. Shit, where is the field report from Manx?"

"Oh my God, stop calling her Manx. I hate that name."

"Well," she said archly, gathering another stack of handouts that covered the Spain thing. "If you had listened to me about it-"

"So now you're getting back at me?"

"No, Mommy!"

She laughed, her ire diverted by the serious remonstrance on her son's face, a little miniature of his father's. She leaned in for half a second to give James a kiss, yes wolf, and that was when Omkar rapped knuckles on her door and stuck his head in.

"You're late."

"I know. Collecting materials. Give me five."

"We have Spain in two hours and you said-"

"Five minutes, Omkar. I'll be there."

"Yes, ma'am." He shut her door and Kate turned back to her husband.

He was pouting, his jaw working. She reached up and slapped him lightly on the cheek. "Manx isn't her code name, it's what we use around the analysts' table. It can't hurt to have one more layer of protection. And last. Rick Castle. Go find Logan, he's on site today because of the Director, and you have him go over every last detail of the procedure until you're satisfied."

"Gonna 'fix' your red blood cells," he huffed, averting his eyes.

"Needs to be done," she said quietly. His eyes came back to her face and she gave a very slight nod. "Better now than later. When it might be too late."

Castle paused. His gaze searched hers.

She cleared her throat. "Boyd thinks the damage might increase exponentially with every - activation of my immune system. Every cold. Every sinus infection. Every vaccination. The procedure has to be done, Rick. Before the damage is irreversible."

"Fuck," he croaked. A shaky breath. "I'll talk to Logan."

Her staff prep meeting had run long and Castle was waiting outside with the baby in his arms, his left hand clawed at James's back. He'd spent the time doing work of his own with the kid penned in his office with him, and he had a critical stage coming up soon that he had to be in the command center for.

And now Kate was taking a phone call. Damn it.

He sighed and turned, jiggling James on his hip to keep the kid from squirming to get down. Omkar, on his way to his own office, passed him and tapped James on the nose. The baby peeled with laughter, such a marked difference from his encounter with Ravi in the DC Office, that Castle really had to revisit the idea that maybe Kate had something about the guy.

"She's almost through," Omkar assured him. "Ryan has a weird issue with spam email."

Spam email? Seriously? "Fine, I know. Besides, it'll be you baby-sitting him if this call goes long."

Omkar checked his watch. "You have an hour before critical stage."

Castle lifted an eyebrow and Omkar slowly backed out of the conference room.

"Bye, bye, bye," James called, lifting his rubber block in salute. Omkar didn't bother saying good-bye; he just made a fast exit.

"He's not ignoring you," Castle said consolingly. He plucked a cracker from Kate's desk and fed it to the boy. "Just scared of me. The Claw."

"Caw! Daddy, caw!"

Reynolds came in on a laugh, apparently hearing the end of that. "Oh good, glad I found you. We have an hour-"

"I know. I'll be ready."

Reynolds shook his head. "No, I mean, we have an hour before critical stage, but the Director is on the business floor talking shit about an audit."

"Fucking hell," he muttered.

James beamed and clapped both hands, the block falling from his grip.

Reynolds laughed and bent to pick it up, and Castle could see Kate's eye rove over them and then away again, avoiding meeting his burning gaze.

"Obviously, the Director wants your attention," Reynolds started.

Castle shook his head. Studied his wife a moment longer. "Stay here. Be right back."

He slipped away from Beckett while she was on the phone with Ryan, and even though he had the kid with him, he thought it might make the impression he was going for.

James had a fistful of his father's suit jacket, the other hand shoving a cracker in his mouth. Crumbs fell across Castle's lapel, but he didn't bother to brush it away as he stepped onto the elevator.

The Director was making his 'annual' tour of the New York Office for the first time in three years, and while Colombia had been weeks ago, Castle had not forgotten it.

The elevator doors opened on the business floor, and Castle shifted his son to his other arm, leaving his dominant hand free. Just in case.

He moved fast down the hall, ignoring coworkers' greetings and the MPs who stood at attention for him. James gave shy little grins to pretty much everyone, so Castle figured his kid was providing enough social cover for him to be rude.

He met the Director's team just outside the accountants' office, and Castle pushed through them without comment. One of the security agents gave him a once-over, but again, the kid was useful. No one wanted to think an active field agent holding a kid was going to do something in the bowels of the NY Office.

The Director was on his feet, standing before a desk as he went through a bunch of binders.

James stiffened in Castle's arms. "Uck!"

"That's right, wolf. Fuck."

The Director straightened up, turning to meet them. "Richard. Ah. And the boy." He scowled at James.

Castle narrowed his eyes at his boss and put James on his feet, pausing only long enough to be sure James was steady. And then he stood to his full height, pulled back his fist, and he punched the Director in the face.

To his credit, the man rocked backward, stumbled once against the desk, but stayed on his feet.

Castle turned and scooped up his son, ignoring the pulse in his fist. He gripped James even as the MP from outside came rushing through the door.

"Don't you fucking ever put my family at risk again."

The Director paused, a hand against his bloodied lip, and he waved off the MP.

Castle turned without another word and walked out.

He should have used his bad hand, broken the bones on the Director's face rather than have Logan do it.