Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: This is going to be a Castle/Shaw, or Cashaw? You know coming up with the name of a ship is a lot harder then it looks. Anyway if you're a hard core Caskett shipper you are not going to like this story, but I ask that you give it a chance. If your like me then you think you're a Caskett shipper until you think about Castle with someone else. That's what happened to me. I was doing research for Fitting in, and I watched tic, tic, tic, and boom like three times. And I was captivated by the Jordan Shaw character, she was smart and sassy and she reminded me of Beckett from Flowers for her grave. It made me think back to first season, you remember first season? Back when the plot lines were less complicated, and the dirty innuendos were flowing free. Before bachelorette 3, and detective Deming. So enough with my rambling, and on to my rambling… that sounded better in my head. What ever, on with the show…

In the middle of Manhattan sat one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country. York Prep. The school had the most technologically advanced program that pushed students to be on the cutting edge of the digital world. They also had the most advanced placement classes available, meaning that if you were driven you could get half of your college credits before you even left high school. In the lavish office on the top floor of the school a stunning red headed mother and daughter sat quietly as the Dean of admissions looked over a thick file. The young girl looked nervous and kept fidgeting with the hem of her black skirt. Sitting next to her, the girls mother looked a lot more calm on the outside, but inside she was a ball of nerves too. The young girl looked at her mother and wondered how she could be so calm, but what she didn't know was that it had taken her mother years as the FBI's top profiler to create the cool under pressure persona. The man behind the big dark wood desk looked up from the file and took off his small, snotty, little gold rimmed glasses.

"I must say you have raised an exceptionally bright young lady Agent Shaw. Kelly's test scores and GPA are off the charts." he said leaning back into his big leather office chair.

"Please call me Jordan, and yes I'm very proud of my daughter. That's why I would like to see her continue her level of advanced paced study at your school." Jordan replied smoothly, flashing a pretty smile.

"Yes she would be a great fit for our school, and because she placed so high on her aptitude tests she is going to be put high on the wait list." he said with a smile.

"Wait list?" Jordan and Kelly asked at the same time.

"Yes, with her scores and GPA I could put her very high on the list. She could get in as soon as next year." Dean Parker said cheerfully.

"But what about the up coming school year?" asked Kelly

"Well you could take a year off and go study abroad, we have a good working relationship with the Moss academy for girls in London, and La pearl school for young ladies in Paris. You could spend some time there and when we have an opening here you could come back. You could also go to another school for a year and transfer in when we have a spot for you." he explained helpfully.

"But if I do that it will kill my plans for my future!" yelled Kelly as she jumped out of her seat. "I had plans to graduate from York in three years. I planned on having my PhD in criminology four years after that. I can't go anywhere else!" Kelly ranted. Jordan stood up from her chair and hugged her daughter.

"We will figure something out sweetie. Just relax, your not helping your self by yelling at the man." Jordan said softly. They sat back down and Jordan apologized for the outburst.

"It's okay, this was not the first time it's happened, and it wont be the last. The problem is there are just too many applicants. Our reputation proceeds us. Every year we get five hundred applicants, and we only have two hundred spots available. As it is I can get you a spot high up on the list. There are only twenty applicants above you. If any of them drop off the list, or decide to go somewhere else we will move you up the list. You are an exceptional girl. Trust me when I say this, we want you to come to our school. We just don't have the room. Your on the list, if you move up the list we will email you. That is all I can do. I'm sorry." he said sincerely.

"Thank you for your honesty. We will look into the other options, and hope for the best. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us." said Jordan as she stood up and held the door for Kelly.

"Thank you for coming in. Like I said we want to have her at our school. I'll e-mail you if anything happens. Do you need someone the walk you out?" he asked kindly.

"No we'll find our way thank you." said Jordan as she closed the door. She turned around and found Kelly leaning up against the wall in tears. Jordan hugged her tight. "Oh honey we will find a way to get you in. I know you really want to go here but maybe you can take some time off…" Jordan trailed off as Kelly cried harder. Jordan looked up and for the first time since she was kidnapped four months ago, she prayed. She pulled her daughter closer and rubbed her back.

That's when she saw it. Hanging on the wall next to the Dean's door was a framed picture of Dean Parker being presented a huge check for one million dollars by none other then Richard Castle. She looked up one more time and thanked the big guy for sending her, once again, the immature, but oddly charming writer in her time of need. She pulled back from her daughter and smiled as she pointed to the picture. "Baby I think I have a solution to our problem."

Kelly looked at her Mom, and over to the wall with the big picture. "What?" she asked with a hiccup, but her mother who was already walking down the stairs. She ran to catch up to her.

"The man in the picture giving out that big check is Richard Castle, the guy I worked with on the Nikki Heat case. I think I can have him put in a good word for you." she said as she pulled out her iPhone.

As the two women exited the building Jordan was on her phone with her partner "Avery it Shaw I need you to look up a phone number for me… No it's not for a case… No I just need the cell number for Richard Castle… no it's not a joke, stop laughing. Do I have to remind you of who your boss is? Okay how about you look this number up and I won't tell the director that you and your friends down in the tech department tasked an NSA satellite to look at a nude beach… that's what I thought." she said as she scribbled down the number on a piece of paper, and her daughter laughed at the phone conversation her mom was having. Jordan hung up and led Kelly to her dark green 2007 Mustang. She sat down behind the wheel and took a big breath. She then dialed Castle's number…

Richard Castle sat next to Esposito's desk because Tom Demming was sitting in his seat next to Kate's desk. He was telling her something funny and she was giggling and playing with her hair. Esposito sat down at his desk and took one look at Castle, and laughed.

"You do know that looks can't kill, right Castle?" Esposito asked, and Rick jumped.

"I know but I can't say anything to them, not after I gave him the all clear to date her. Besides they've been going out for like three months now." said Rick with a sigh.

"Yeah, I thought you would have stopped coming around when they started going out." replied Esposito as he watched as Tom kissed Kate. He saw Rick flinch out of the corner of his eye.

"you know what? I wouldn't have a problem if she was seeing some random cop from another precinct, because I know it won't last, but this? I have to sit here and look at this everyday. It's just not fair." said Rick with a sad pout. The three months since he gave the all clear had been hard on him. Tom was proving to be a touchy feely person and it was driving him nuts.

"What do you mean it's not going to last?" asked Esposito.

"What?" Rick's brain caught up and he shook his head, "Well because she keeps picking the wrong guy. She thinks she wants the safe, boring guy, but she doesn't. so she keeps falling into these panda relationships." Rick said with a sigh that was drowned out by Kate's laughing.

"Panda?"

"Yeah, Okay lets look at this from the stand point of the train wreck we are looking at now. Kate's a driven cop, her life is the job. She's sheltered emotionally, and she's boring, in life and most likely in bed as well. Although that last one's mostly not her fault. Anyway. She's Ying, now Mr. Wonderful over there is the same way. He's a Ying. Me on the other hand, I'm not driven but I understand that she is, and I can except that I might come second to a murder board. I'm the opposite of sheltered, I'm an extravert. I love talking about my feelings. And I'm fun. I'm a Yang. Me and Kate, Ying Yang, Harmony. Her and him, Ying Ying, and that's the name for a panda. It's also the reason why they've been going out for three months and they've only had sex a handful of times. They're both too into their jobs." Said Rick as if he explained the meaning of life.

"That actually makes sense, but why are you still here?" Esposito asked.

"Actually I'm sticking around for the cases. I like working with you guys to solve murders." Said Rick.

"I thought you stuck around for the books, and Beckett?" Esposito asked.

"No, I've got enough stuff for ten books, and don't tell anyone but I've got two more done already. I'm just taking my time releasing them. No I stuck around for Her, and the cases. After working with you guys for so long I've caught the detective bug. I love working crime scenes and questioning suspects. It's the thrill of the hunt. Finding justice for the victim. No I live for it now." Said Rick with passion.

"Well you might not have a gun and a badge, but you make one hell of a cop. I know you would always have my back bro."

"Thanks man, I appreciate that." said Rick looking a little misty eyed. Both men cleared their throats, and pretended to be busy. Rick's iPhone rang and the number came up as restricted. Rick answered "Castle?"

"Richard, it's Jordan Shaw."

"Jordan, what's up?" He asked confused.

"Well I just came from a meeting with the Dean of York Prep. My daughter Kelly is trying to get in, but he said the best he could do was put her on the wait list. I saw the picture of you on the wall, and I was wondering if you could…" she trailed off not knowing how to phrase her request.

"You want me to see if I can get Walter to move Kelly up the wait list?" he asked trying to be helpful.

"Um, yeah. If you think you could I would be extremely grateful, you know forever in your debt…" she was cut off mid babble by Rick's laugh.

"Absolutely, consider it done. In fact why don't you bring Kelly by the apartment and she can meet Alexis. You know they can talk about the classes and the teaching staff, and whatever teenaged girls talk about these days." Rick said with a laugh.

"Yeah that's a good idea, where do you live?" she asked

"I thought you would already know seeing as you called me on my restricted cell phone, and I know I didn't give you the number." Jordan could hear the smirk over the phone.

"Let's just say the Patriot Act is a fun law and call it even. Now what's your address?" she asked. Kelly smiled, from what she could make out from her side of the conversation, Rick was giving her mom a hard time.

Rick told her his address and told her to be there at seven. When she hung up she turned to her daughter with a big smile. "He's going to talk to the Dean and get you in. They're on a first name bases." Jordan said excitedly.

"That's great mom, where are we going tonight though?" Kelly asked

"We were invited to Dinner at Richard Castle's House to talk about the school and for you to meet his daughter Alexis. She goes to York." said Jordan.

"sounds good mom." said Kelly

Back at Esposito's desk Rick called Alexis.

"HI dad." she answered.

"Hey Pumpkin, I hope your not busy tonight I invited a friend over, and she's bringing her daughter with her. She's going to start at York next year and I thought it would be a good idea if she could talk to you about the school." he said

"No I'm free tonight, in fact I'm headed home right now. Who's coming?" she asked.

"Special agent Jordan Shaw, and her daughter Kelly." he said.

"Isn't she the agent that Kate was jealous of?" asked Alexis with a smirk.

"Yes, she was. But now she has Tom, so I could walk around here in my boxers, singing show tunes, on fire, and she wouldn't care." said Rick bitterly.

"She'll come around sooner, or later. I'm sure of it." she said reassuringly.

Rick looked up to see her and tom play fighting and Kate giggling like a teenager. Rick sighed "I'm finishing up here and I'll start heading home too. See you in a little bit." He replied. As he stood up, he turned to Esposito. "I'm heading home, Jordan Shaw and her Daughter are coming over later so I have to go." he said.

"See you later Bro. tell Jordan I said hi." replied Esposito.

"Will do." he walked to the elevator, and put his phone up to his ear again "Honey I just left the building." he said as he hailed a cab.

"Great, what are we cooking?" she asked.

"Um, good question. I'm not sure. I'll stop by the store on the way home. What should we make?"

"I don't know?" she said as she walked down the stairs to the subway.

"Lets go with Italian, everyone likes it. We'll figure it out. I'll see you in an hour. Bye pumpkin." he said as he got in to the cab.

Back on the forth floor of the 12th precinct Tom kissed Kate and walked away. She got out of her seat and looked around. Esposito was sitting at his desk making phone calls, and Ryan was looking through a stack of files. As her eyes swept the bullpen she saw they where down one man, she walked over to Esposito's desk.

"Where's Castle?" she asked.

"He punched out early today, said he had a date with Shaw." he said absently as he held the receiver of his phone.

"Shaw? As in Agent Shaw?" she asked in what she thought was a flippant way, but failed horribly.

"Yeah, said she was coming over for dinner." He half explained as he tried to hold two conversations at once.

"So let me get this straight, Castle left in the middle of an investigation to have dinner with Jordan Shaw at his house?" She asked in her interrogation voice.

Esposito told the person on the phone to hold on, and put the phone down on his desk. He looked up at Beckett with an expression of inpatients and replied, "Yeah, so?"

"it's just that he never leaves in the middle of an investagation is all." she said as she looked off in to space thinking about the situation.

"Maybe he thought that if you had time to play with your boy toy, he had time to go on a date. Plus it's not like he works here, I mean you're the one that constantly reminds him he's not a cop. Maybe he decided to try being a writer/playboy again?" he finished with a shrug. He picked up his phone but he kept an eye on her as she went back to her desk. She looked lost. Good maybe that will teach you not to pass all the work off on us while you play he thought.

AN: I wrote this while I was trying to finish the last chapter of Fitting In. thanks to the final ep. I lost the narrative thread to that story and I can't find it. After trying to force out chapter 13 for three days my advisor on all things female told: "If you want to write romance watch romantic comedies!" I tried that, and it made it worse. After watching Nick and Norah's Play list, and One Fine Day for the tenth time I started to write this.

It will be a Rick/Jordan story, but Kate will be extremely jealous of them. It should lead to some funny scenes and some big fights. If your a militant Caskett shipper then this is not the story for you. Especially in the first 8 chapter. For the open minded few that are still reading, welcome to what I hope will be a good read. I hope you like it, please R&R. Until next time, TBH