As We Lay Here
Chapter One: Because You're My Sister
Kate and Rick were lying in the master suite, both half-asleep, when they heard the doorbell ring. Given that was after midnight and there was a snowstorm outside, they were rather surprised.
"Do you know who that is?" Kate asked, already reaching for her gun. It was instinctive, reaching for it whenever she was startled.
"No. Stay here, I'll go answer the door." Rick said, getting off of bed and grabbing a baseball bat from a shelf next to the bed.
"Like hell I will." Kate said, and went after Rick. They both walked towards the door, arms hand. "Who is this?" She asked.
"Uh, I'm looking for Katherine Beckett." A soft, juvenile voice answered. Kate walked over to the door, and looked through the peephole. A girl, who seemed not older than sixteen, with a huge pregnant stomach, was clutching a small piece of paper. Kate hid her gun on her pajama bottoms, and slowly opened the door, gesturing for Rick to stay alert.
"I'm Katherine Beckett, how may I help you?" Kate said, as she let the girl in. it was piercing cold outside, and she couldn't help but wonder why she was out so late, and dressed so lightly. She would have to have a chat with her parents later on.
"My name is Elyse" the girl said, not letting go of the small piece of paper in her hand "Elyse Cardwell." She said.
"What do you need?" Kate asked "Castle, grab a glass of water for her, please?"
Rick nodded and went to the kitchen, leaving the two women alone.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you like this, and I wish there was another way, but I had nowhere to go to, and it was snowing and…" Elyse said, between tears. There was something in her face that reminded her of someone, but she couldn't tell what did, or who the girl reminded her of. She just knew that she needed to protect her.
"What is it? What do you have to tell me?" Kate asked, just as Rick entered the room and handed Elyse the glass of water.
"I'm your sister." Elyse said, and took a large gulp of water.
"Right!" Rick chuckled, before Kate could say anything.
Kate didn't say anything. Maybe she didn't believe Elyse, or maybe it hadn't hit her yet, but her face gave nothing away.
"I didn't expect you to believe me." Elyse said "So I brought some proof." The girls fiddled in her bag for a few seconds before pulling out a few papers from it. "Here's my birth certificate and a DNA test taken a few years after I was born." Elyse said, handing Kate the small stack of papers.
Kate took the papers from her hand and read the parent's information on her birth certificate.
Mother: Elisabeth Janine Cardwell
Father: James Ulysses Beckett
Kate could barely breathe. Father: James Ulysses Beckett. Kate did the math as quickly as she could. Johanna died in 1999. The birth certificate stated that Elyse had been born in 1996. Jim was still married to her mother.
The thought made Kate sick to her stomach. Rick had a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but he really didn't know what to do.
"I really am sorry, Kate." Elyse said. "I didn't want it to be like this. And trust me, if I had another choice, I wouldn't be here right now, but…"
"It's not your fault." Kate said, without taking her eyes off the birth certificate "Castle, could you show Elyse the guest room?" Kate asked, and looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Sure." He said, and walked over to Elyse's side "It's this way." he continued, and offered her a hand to help her off the couch.
"Thank you." Elyse said, as she took Rick's hand and got up. "And I'm so sorry." She looked at Kate.
Kate nodded and picked up her phone from the coffee table. She didn't know what was doing, and she didn't really think as she dialed her father's number, but she needed an explanation, and she needed it stat.
…
Kate didn't move after she called Jim. She told Rick she didn't want any food, but aside from that, she just sat still. Rick was walking around the loft, wondering what he should do, when the doorbell rang.
"Should I get it, or you want to?" He asked, stopping to stand next to her.
"Actually, would you mind going to the bedroom and letting me talk to him?" Kate asked
"Sure, no problem." Rick said, and walked towards the master bedroom's door.
"Rick." Kate called "I'm sorry to bring all the craze to your place."
"Don't. I'm happy I get to be close to you right now." He said, giving her a compassionate look and walking over to the couch to plant a soft kiss on her hair.
"Thank you." She said, and got up from the couch. Kate had never felt so grossed out by her own family. She wasn't close to any of her relatives except for her parents, and they usually got along really well. She opened the door slowly, afraid to look at Jim. "Come in." she said, without looking into his eyes.
"Katie, what's going on? It's after one!" Jim complained, unbuttoning his coat.
"Do you know who's upstairs?" Kate asked, leaning on the kitchen counter. She felt so cheated. All of her life, her parents were the picture-perfect couple you see on sitcoms and novels. She could've never seen that coming. When Jim gave her a puzzled look, she proceeded "Elyse."
"Elyse… oh god." Jim said.
"Yes. Elyse, your daughter." Kate spat, angrily "The one you had with another woman while you were still married to my mother!" she yelled, feeling tears form in the corner of her eyes.
"Katie, I don't think this is the time to talk about that."
"Are you fucking kidding me?! Your sixteen year old daughter appeared in my boyfriend's door after midnight, and you say you don't want to talk about this? You don't get to choose!" Kate said, tears running down her cheeks.
"Katherine. Stop yelling. I am your father, and you can't talk to me like this." Jim said.
"How could you? How could you cheat on mom? I thought you loved her!" Kate held her breath to stop herself from crying even more "How could you lie to her, how could you not tell her you had a kid?"
"She knew!" Jim yelled "She knew all along. That was our marriage, Katherine. Mine, and your mother's. You don't get to judge our relationship."
"Is she the only one?" Kate asked "How many more children did you have outside your marriage?"
"I'm leaving." Jim said, fastening the buttons on his coat "You can call me later if you want to talk to me like a normal person."
"Get out!" Kate yelled, just as Jim slammed the door behind him and Rick entered the room.
"Kate…" he said, wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug. "It's going to be alright." He said, between Kate's muffled sobs. She couldn't believe the events that took place in that evening. Not only finding out that her father had been unfaithful, but that he'd had a child, and her mother knew about it. Never in her life had she felt worse. "Hey. What do you need? Can I make you something to eat?"
"No, thanks." Kate said, taking her head out of Rick' chest "I need to speak to Elyse. I'll come down in a bit." Kate walked up the stairs, unsure of what she would do. Elyse wasn't to blame for any of what happened. And she just seemed so scared and fragile… Kate knocked on the guest room's door, and opened it when she heard a soft 'come in'. "Hey."
"Hey." Elyse answered. She was sitting cross-legged on the end of the king-sized bed, and she looked so small. It wasn't usual for Kate to have maternal feelings, but it was different with Elyse. She'd known the girl for what, an hour? But still, there was some kind of connection between them. Kate thought about how she, as a little girl, wanted a sister so bad she made one out of cardboard, and walked around with it for almost a month. As an adult, she did miss it, but her close friends were enough family for her. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused. I'll understand if you want me out of here."
"Elyse, none of this is your fault." Kate said, sitting next to her on the bed "Though I would kind of like an explanation."
"An explanation?" Elyse asked.
"There's a snowstorm outside. It's very late. Why weren't you at home?"
"Home." Elyse said "That's something I never knew."
"Why?"
"Well, your father, our father, wasn't present in my life. And my mother has the habit of burying all of her problems in alcohol."
"I'm sorry to hear." Kate said, placing a hand over Elyse's.
"Yeah. At least I have my baby now." Elyse said, and rubbed her stomach. "Ouch." She said, suddenly grabbing her swollen belly.
"What's wrong?" Kate asked, concerned.
"Nothing. He's just kicking." Elyse explained "Wanna feel it?"
"Oh, I don't think…" Kate said, just as Elyse placed her hand on her stomach. "Wow."
"This is your nephew."
Author's Note: Would you do me a huge favor a drop a little review? It means the world to me.