Author's Note:
This my first fanfiction ever so please be gentle.
This is set sometime in Season 4 and slightly AU. Set before 47 Seconds.
I know that Alexis has been very resentful towards Beckett this season, but in this story, Alexis will be more accepting towards Beckett than she is on the show.
I originally started writing this between Seasons 2 and 3 and I just recently came back to it. I've updated this a lot from what I originally had to reflect events of Season 4. Any and all mistakes are mine. Summary: Kate's cousin Liz comes to visit during spring break and sets in motion a series of events to finally get Castle and Beckett together.
Disclaimer: All characters and other aspects of this story (except Liz) are not mine.
Monday morning at the Castle household started like it always did. Alexis preparing for a day following Lanie; Martha practicing lines for her next play; and Castle getting ready for another day shadowing Detective Kate Beckett. As her son left the loft Martha couldn't help but wonder when he was going to act on his feelings for the detective. For all of their sakes, she hoped things would progress sooner rather than later. Little did she know that today would be the day that set things in motion for something more between a certain writer and his muse.
When he arrived at the precinct, Castle immediately sensed that something was different. Everyone was smiling and laughing not the normal atmosphere at the 12th. As he walked over to Beckett's desk he noticed a strange young woman sitting in his usual seat and an unusually happy detective.
"Speak of the devil." said Kate.
The strange young woman turned around and almost leapt out of her seat at the site of The Richard Castle walking toward her. While he was used to that reaction, he was not expecting her to walk up to him with the air of confidence and familiarity that she had. Most women were flustered and nervous when they first met the famous author.
"So you're Richard Castle huh?" said the strange young woman.
"Yes….?" said Castle.
Before the moment could get any more awkward, Kate came to the rescue: "Castle, I'd like you to meet my cousin Elizabeth."
Ah! So that explains her strange reaction to me. She's Beckett's cousin.Castle thought to himself.
"But everyone calls me Liz." interjected Liz.
"It's a pleasure to meet you…. I've heard absolutely nothing about you."
"Well that's funny, I've heard a lot about you. " Said Liz turning to Kate "Why haven't you told your writer boy about your favorite cousin Katie?"
Seeing that Castle was about to make a comment about the whole "Katie" thing Beckett cut him off: "Don't even think about calling me Katie, Castle."
"Whoa, how did you know what I was going to say?"
"Because after having you shadow me around for the past few years I'm getting really good at predicting what you're about to say at any given moment."
Castle and Beckett continued to argue like this for a few minutes while Liz watched with an amused look on her face. After hearing everything Kate had said about her unconventional partner/favorite author who was basing a series of books off of her, she had quickly come to the conclusion that Kate was falling for him whether she realized it or not. Now seeing the two of them together, it was not hard to deduce that the feeling was mutual. She had been plotting for weeks how to give them both a push in the right direction. The only question was how to get these two very stubborn people to admit they were in love with each other.
"So Liz, what brings you to the 12th precinct on this fine day?" asked Castle
"I usually visit Kate in the city over the summer, but I couldn't this year because she was shot, so I'm here for spring break instead. I don't get to see my favorite cousin as much as I would like to and now I have a chance to see how she's getting along with you along for the ride." Liz replied.
Castle turned to Kate, "How come she gets to hear all about me but I didn't even know you had a cousin?" He pouted.
Kate rolled her eyes. "I wanted to keep some mystery to Nikki Heat. I didn't want to put everything out there all at once, you know? Keep the fans wanting more…Isn't that what all good writers do? Leave some questions unanswered so the reader will have to pick up the sequel or sequels to find out more about their favorite characters?" She smiled.
Sensing it was better to keep quiet to see where this went, Liz watched the two of them bicker/flirt back and forth until she saw Kate's best friend and favorite ME walk into the precinct.
"Hey Lanie!" shouted Liz.
Kate and Castle both jumped. They had been so wrapped up in their "argument" that they had become oblivious to the world.
"Hey Liz," said Lanie, "How you doing girl?"
"I'm doing well. It's nice to be back here again. Things sure have changed around here. It's so strange not to see Captain Montgomery at his desk."
At this, everyone looked over at the captain's office reflecting on all that had been lost all those months ago.
"Yes they have." Lanie replied giving Kate and Rick a look. "What do you think of the new captain?"
"She's ok. She didn't seem to thrilled to have me here though since I'm a civilian." Liz replied.
"Don't worry about that kid." Castle said, "She still hasn't warmed up to me even with my charm and ruggedly handsome looks." At this, the three women laughed.
Gates stuck her head out of her office, "What's going on out there? Don't you have a case to solve?"
"Yes Sir!" Beckett replied, "We'll get right on that."
Castle turned to Lanie. "What are you doing at the precinct? Shouldn't you be cutting up some dead guy?" Castle asked.
"You know Castle I do have a life outside of cutting up dead people. Sometimes it's nice to talk to someone who actually responds when you talk to them." She turned to Kate, "I'm actually here to tell you about what I found during the autopsy of your latest vic."
Lanie and Beckett walked off to talk about the latest autopsy leaving Castle and Liz alone.
"So Liz can I ask just how you and Beckett are related?"
"I guess. Johanna and my father were siblings. Aunt Jo was 5 years older than my dad. My dad adored her. When we found out she had been killed he was devastated. I was only 10 at the time. Kate was 20. She had the whole world at her disposal and then her world was shattered. She had just come back from a semester in Russia a few months before. It took her a long time to get herself… and my uncle back together and on solid ground."
"What was she like?"
"She was the best aunt a girl could ask for and an amazing mother to Katie. She was always fighting for the little guy. She and Kate were really close. Since I was only ten when she was killed, my dad tells me stories about her to this day to make sure never forget her. I know it's hard for Uncle Jim and Katie to talk about Aunt Johanna so my parents and I only talk about her if Kate or Uncle Jim mention her. I really miss her."
"She sounds like a wonderful woman. I wish I could have met her." Castle replied.
"Oh she would have loved you, after she gave you the third degree of course. Aunt Johanna was always the one who got to intimidate Kate's dates. Uncle Jim was the nice one."
At that comment, Castle choked and started coughing. Liz hadn't been at the funeral on that fateful day, so there was absolutely no way she could know about his confession. That raised the question in his mind if Kate ever said anything to Liz about her own feelings towards him. Was it possible that she felt the same?
He quickly squashed that thought as wishful thinking. But the memories of her looks and attitude toward him especially over the last few weeks stirred some hope within him that maybe, just maybe, Beckett's wall was coming down faster than he had hoped for.
He was a little freaked out that this young woman who he had just met seemed to have such an insight into his partnership with Beckett.
To cover his confusion he asked,"What do you and Beckett usually do when you visit? Girls' nights? Shopping sprees? Gossip about boys?"
Liz couldn't help laughing. "We usually spend some time catching up on what's been happening. Since I'm usually here in the summer, we'll go jogging in Central Park or go to a museum. We also like to take a drive out of the city and visit this amazing store that sells all sorts of things, used books, antiques, cool paintings, and other really neat stuff. That's where she got a lot of the awesome stuff in her apartment after the other one blew up. Thanks for pulling her out by the way."
"Uh, no problem." Castle stuttered. She really did know a lot about what happened to Kate since he had started following her.
"I really want to make this visit with Kate special this year since we came so close to loosing her. After the shooting, the reality of her being a cop hit home for me. She would never talk about life threatening situations that she had been in with me, so I never really thought about just how dangerous her job really is until now."
Castle could certainly relate to that. He had seen the life draining out of her while they waited for the ambulance to arrive at the cemetery and didn't want to repeat that scenario any time soon. An image of his murder board back at the loft flashed in his mind. That was why he hadn't yet told Kate about his side investigation into her mother's murder, he couldn't bear the thought of her being taken away from him permanently.
"So, any ideas on how you're going to make this year special?" Castle needed to get his mind on more positive things. "I'd be willing to pitch in if you need any financial help to pull whatever it is you're planning off." He didn't need to add that he was willing to do anything to make Kate happy. He loved seeing her smile. Liz gave him a knowing look. Yeah, he was head over heels in love with her cousin all right.
"That would be amazing! Thanks Mr. Castle! I have some ideas, but I'll let you know if I need any help."
"Please call me Rick, or even just Castle would be fine Liz. You're Beckett's cousin. Mr. Castle just seems to formal."
"Oh, ok. Great! Thanks." Liz smiled. Kate really knows how to pick them she thought to herself.
Suddenly Alexis came around the corner. "Hey Dad!"
"Hey pumpkin! How's Lanie treating you?"
"She's great! I'm really enjoying working with her. The dead bodies aren't too bad."
"Alexis, this is Detective Beckett's cousin Liz. She's spending the week with her."
"It's nice to meet you Liz."
"It's nice to meet you too Alexis. Kate mentioned you a few times. I don't think I would be able to work with Laine down in the morgue. Weak stomach." Liz faked gagging.
Alexis laughed" I like interning for Dr. Parish. It's fun to see a little of what my dad's been doing for the past few years. It really gives me an appreciation for why he enjoys this so much. And I get to see my dad in action solving crimes, which is kinda cool. It's also amusing seeing Detective Beckett keep him in line. She's really good at putting up with my dad every day."
Just then Beckett popped her head around the corner. "Castle, you have to see what Lanie found on the body."
Castle jogged away without a backwards glance.
Alexis rolled her eyes. "He's like a puppy." Liz observed.
While Castle was out of earshot, Liz turned to Alexis. "Do you think they'll ever admit that they are in love with each other?" she asked.
"I really hope so. I've never seen my dad this happy. Ever since he started following her around, he's been different. I mean, I do get annoyed with the way she treats him sometimes. It was hard on him this past summer when she didn't call him for three months. I could tell that he was back working with her in September without him having to tell me though. He was so happy to be back in her presence."
"It's the same with Katie. She's always so happy these days. She acts like he annoys the Hell out of her but she enjoys his company and insight into her investigations. She's told me that half of the cases he's helped her on she never would have solved without him. She might not even notice that I'm here this week." She pouted and then laughed. Liz quickly filled Alexis in on the reason for her trip to visit Kate during spring break instead of during the summer like usual.
"So I wanted to make this week extra special for her because we missed out on our week last summer." Liz concluded.
Suddenly Alexis got an idea: "I just got a great idea. What if you and Kate came over for dinner on Friday? You said yourself that my dad makes her happier."
"That's a great idea Alexis! Do you think you can persuade your dad?"
"Piece of cake. He'll do anything to spend more time with her."
"And while we're at it we can plot how to get them to admit their feelings to each other." Liz grinned
Suddenly Castle and Beckett appeared.
"Hey Alexis. I see you've met Liz," said Beckett.
"Yeah, she's really nice." Alexis replied.
"Liz isn't preventing you from working is she?"
"No! Liz is great. We have a lot in common." Liz smirked at Alexis.
"Listen we just got a lead about on this case, so we have to go check it out. Will you be Ok here?" Beckett looked at Liz
"Yeah Katie I'll be fine. I'm a big girl now remember. I'll stay go back to the ME's office with Alexis and Lanie and not actually go into the morgue."
"All right. We'll be back in a few hours. See you then."
As soon as they were out of earshot Alexis turned to Liz, "I'll talk to my grandmother tonight. She wants to see them happy as much as we do. I'm sure she'll come up with some creative ideas."
"You're grandmother is Martha Rogers right?"
"Yeah, that's her."
"I can only imagine what she might come up with."
"I'll try to keep her from doing anything too over the top."
Before they could make any more plans, Lanie walked up to take them to the morgue while they waited for Kate and Rick to return. Without hesitation, the girls filled Lanie in on their plan. If anyone could help them get ideas, it was Kate's best friend. The ME immediately volunteered to help with any prep work that might be needed.
AN:
So that's the end of Chapter 1. I already have most of the next two chapters written and they will be up within a week.
Please review and let me know what you think!
