"Are you kidding me?!"

Richard Castle's voice echoed throughout the homicide floor of the 12th precinct, causing several detectives and officers to turn their heads, trying to see what elicited such a reaction in the writer. But he couldn't care less what they thought. His attention was focused on Detective Kate Beckett, who was sitting at her desk across the crowded bullpen, holding her phone up to her ear. She looked every bit as perplexed as he imagined he must.

Agitated, he turned around as his mother's voice rang in his ear, reclaiming his attention.

"Oh, Richard, don't be melodramatic, it's not a good look on you," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Are you seriously telling me this over the phone? Couldn't you wait until I got home before dropping the bomb that you're dating Beckett's dad?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the officers closest to him openly stared at him; some of them sporting sly smiles, while others gasped comically. Castle paid them no mind, but retreated further down the hall, nevertheless.

"Oh, that's because we were planning on hosting a dinner tonight, at the loft," Martha continued calmly.

"Tonight?" he questioned. "What's the hurry?"

"There's something we want to tell both of you," Martha said calmly.

Unbelievable. His mother was something out of this world. She was inviting him into his own home, just because she wanted to tell them… Wait a minute…

"Wait, both of us?"

"Yes, of course," Martha answered matter-of-factly. "Jim's on the phone with Katherine as we speak."

Castle risked a glance into the bullpen and found Beckett sitting slack-jawed in her chair, pale as a ghost, her eyebrows raised to her hairline.

"Mother, I don't think it's a good idea—"

"Dinner's at seven. Don't be late," she said, hanging up.

Castle took a moment to gather his thoughts, inhaling deeply and counting to three before letting the air exit through his nose. How could this have happened? He was awfully familiar with his mother's history with men, and even he had to admit that Jim was undoubtedly an improvement compared to Martha's past beaus.

However, something didn't add up. He was having a hard time believing that someone as serious and reserved as Jim Beckett could be a match for his eccentric mother. Granted, Castle had only met him on a couple of occasions, neither of which had been very happy. The first one had been at his loft, when Jim asked him for his help to make Kate see reason regarding her mother's case. And the second one, just a couple of days later, was even more somber, in the hospital waiting room as Kate was in surgery, fighting for her life. He hadn't seen Jim Beckett again after that fateful day in the hospital, but apparently, his mother had made quite an impression on him.

But how could she do something like this? Martha knew all about her son's feelings for Kate. He had shared with her every thought, every single development in his remarkably complicated relationship with the detective. During those talks, his mother was his confidant, his go-to person in matters of heart. He even told her about the conversation at the swings, and they spent the evening debating what Kate's words could have meant for them. Castle told her everything, and now she just crushed any chance of a relationship between Beckett and him. How could she? After all the progress that Kate… Oh, crap. Kate.

If this situation was hard for Castle to wrap his head around, he couldn't fathom what his partner was feeling. He was used to his mother's flings by now, but as far as he knew, Jim hadn't seen anyone since Johanna's death. Whatever he thought about Martha's love life now had to take a second place; Kate's well-being had to come first. Taking a deep breath, Castle squared his shoulders and headed to the desk he unofficially shared with Beckett.

Judging by the frown on her face, Castle knew that his mother was right about who Kate was speaking with. She didn't notice his approach, thoroughly engrossed in the phone call. As he arrived at the desk, Castle overheard the end of her conversation.

"No, I'm fine. I'm sure, Dad. Yes, I'll see you tonight."

As she hung the phone, she seemed to deflate into a girl who looked ten years younger than the tough detective Castle was used to encountering, her shoulders slouched, her brow furrowed, and a pout on her lips. After a few seconds, she noticed his presence for the first time, shaking her head as her eyes landed on him. He didn't want to interrupt her thoughts, so he stood quietly, allowing her to break the silence.

She was quiet for a moment, searching his eyes, before she finally spoke. "Well, that was… unexpected," she summed up.

"You can say that again," he answered, flopping down in his chair.

Both of them sat quietly for a few moments, staring into nothingness as the precinct's life continued without them.

"Did she tell you everything?" Kate's question shook him out of his reverie.

"God, I hope not," he said, a shiver running through his body.

"Ew, Castle, thank you for that image," she reprimanded, scrunching her nose in that adorable way he loved. "I meant their story."

"She says that they met in person at the hospital when… you know," he said casually, not wanting to directly reference Kate's shooting, "and that they've talked a couple of times since then to exchange parental advice," he finished, mimicking quotation marks in the air with a grimace. "Apparently, those calls eventually evolved into something more, and… I didn't want to know any more."

An awkward silence descended upon them once more, until a whisper from Kate broke it.

"Do you think they're serious?"

Castle didn't want to think about that. The fact that their parents were together was pretty much the end of any romantic development between him and Kate. Their own parents had robbed them the opportunity to be together.

"I don't know," he answered, his expression suddenly turning serious. "Look, my mother falls in love easily, and that's caused her trouble on numerous occasions. And I know that I complain about her a lot, but… I don't want her to go through another heartache again. She deserves to be happy, and your father's a good man."

"You barely know him. How can you tell?" Kate asked, the saddened expression on her face nearly breaking his heart.

"Because I know you," he shrugged, looking intently at her. "And if you take even a little bit after your father, I know he has to be an extraordinary man."

At that, she raised her head, and as her eyes met his, it was as if an electric current was surging between them, and he felt like all the air had left his lungs. Suddenly, their eyes widened as they took simultaneous deep breaths, both seeming to remember the original topic of the conversation. Castle slumped back in his chair as Kate buried her head in her hands, groaning.

"Hey, are you okay?" Castle inquired. "I know this can't be easy for you."

Kate turned to him again, an indecipherable look on her face.

"Don't take this the wrong way; you know how much I like Martha, but… yeah, it's difficult…" she trailed off, lost in thought.

"Kate, I'll understand if you don't want to come tonight. I'm sure they will, too."

"No, you're right. They deserve to be happy. My dad has been through a lot, too, and I want to be supportive. It's just that… why now? Everything's been so good between us lately!" she blurted out.

As soon as the words left her lips, her hands flew up to her mouth, and she squeezed her eyes shut. The blush that crept up her neck indicated to Castle that she definitely wasn't talking about herself and her dad anymore. She was obviously uncomfortable, embarrassed by her accidental admission, and Castle decided to not acknowledge what she'd said, changing the subject instead.

"Don't you think it's very sudden? They don't tell us they're together, and out of the blue, they insist on seeing us to discuss something important with us. I wonder what it is," he mused.

"Do you think they're okay? If it was a health issue, they would have told us sooner, right?" she questioned, appearing increasingly worried.

"Maybe she's pregnant!" Castle joked, in his patented move to lighten the mood.

His tactic worked, as usual. The corners of Kate's lips curved slightly upwards, his reward for a well-timed joke. "It could be, Castle. Imagine that, we're going to have a baby brother or sister!" she tossed offhandedly.

Castle's jaw dropped comically at her remark. Kate turned her attention to the computer screen with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, having managed to turn the tables on him.

"Maybe we should call for backup," he said after a pause, already pulling his phone out of his pocket again.

"What do you mean?" Kate questioned.

He didn't answer, focused on the text message he was typing furiously.

"I'm sending Alexis ahead of us. She can test the waters, see if it's a trap."

Kate's only response was one of her signature eye rolls.

Not thirty seconds after sending the text, Castle's cell chirped with an alert. Holding the phone so Kate could see the screen too, they read the words together, taking a second to process them, then sharing a puzzled look.

What, and crush Gram's plan? No way! Have fun at dinner. Oh, and good luck ;)

A/N: Once again, thanks to encantadaa for her beta work and awesomeness in general