A/N: Written for rattyjol's prompt at LJ's Bite Size Fic. I only wish I owned Nathan Fillion. Yummm.


It all started so innocently, with a simple question. Yet, as Castle made his quick escape from the detective still laughing back at her desk, he couldn't help but wonder, "What the hell happened?"

- 10 minutes earlier -

"Hey Castle? Tell me something. How'd you come up with the name Nikki Heat?"

Absorbed in the case file before him, Castle barely registered the words coming from his friend. "Huh?"

Beckett rolled her eyes and as if speaking to a child, slowly repeated her question. "How did you come up with the name Nikki Heat?"

Finally looking up, Castle gave his full attention to the woman sitting on the other side of the desk. Beckett was studying the cover art for his latest book, Catching Heat. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, uh, in the literary world, an author wants to choose a name that will gather attention. Heat's a ubiquitous word, found in many common sayings that work well for titles- like 'taking the heat', 'heat of the moment', 'heat wave' - which can create a common thread for a series, which helps establish reader loyalty, not to mention - "

A warning tone cut him off. "Castle."

Crap. She was on to him. Sighing, he knew he was caught. Grudgingly, he admitted, "Okay, okay. Fine. I gave her the name Heat because when I first saw you I thought you were hot." Beckett just smirked. Suspicious, Castle accused her. "You already knew that, didn't you?"

Her laugh only confirmed it. "You're not that hard to figure out, Castle."

Castle put on his best pout. "Well, just for that I'm telling Ryan you said his tie clashes with his shirt." Annoyingly, in his opinion, Beckett didn't even have the grace to look guilty. Trying his best to recover from the embarrassing admission she had just conned out of him, he oh-so-casually turned back to reading the case file in his hands.

That is, until he was interrupted by her next question.

"What about Nikki?"

Still trying to act casual, he didn't look up as he kept his tone carefully neutral. "What about her?"

Beckett grabbed the file from him, ignoring his protests. "Her name, Castle. You told me how you came up with Heat, now how did you come up with Nikki?"

"Oh." Castle smiled. This admission wasn't nearly as humiliating. "Alexis," he said simply.

Confused, Beckett questioned him. "Alexis?"

A proud look overcame Castle's features as he thought of his daughter. "Yeah. Nicole is her middle name. Alexis Nicole Castle."

Now it was Castle's turn to look confused. He'd expected a look of understanding to cross his friend's features, not the expression of slight shock it currently held. "What?"

Very slowly, Beckett used what he immediately recognized as her interrogator's voice. "So," she paused, clearly measuring her words. "You write sex scenes for a character you named after your daughter?"

Mind blown, Castle sputtered. "What?" Suddenly all his limbs refused to co-ordinate. "No!" Papers went flying everywhere as he shot out of his chair. "No! Nikki Heat's a character! She's a woman, like you..." His mind still refusing to acknowledge the thought of "Alexis" plus "sex" in the same sentence. "Alexis is a sweet, innocent baby..." Shock refused to allow his brain to process any more as he nearly tripped over his chair in his attempt to escape.


Beckett just laughed, as an amused Ryan and Esposito came up behind her - Ryan fiddling with his tie. As all three watched the hastily retreating form of their friend, Esposito quipped,

"It's just too easy, isn't it?"