The Immaculate Conception

- Chapter One -

Dear readers, I thought that because I'm currently on holidays, and with Castle being on break right now I thought I'd take advantage of this situation and present a rather unlikely - but albeit fun Castle story for you all. I'm not exactly sure where in the actual Castle-verse this story actually takes place, but I hope you enjoy regardless.

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, if they were I'd be a lot richer.

How they idea dawned upon her she did not know. She didn't even know what she was thinking about at the time. How did her stream of consciousness even get to that point? It was an idea that came from thin air.

…Or perhaps it had been the rather picturesque image she saw whilst riding her black Harley back to her apartment that fine Monday evening?

New York traffic was never kind to her, or anyone for that matter. Beckett sometimes wondered if it was easier to walk to the precinct every morning instead of enduring the hustle and bustle of rush hour. Stopping at a set of traffic lights, her right leg down on the ground supporting her motorbikes weight. Beckett turned, seeing a pair walking. There was nothing particularly special about them. This was a similar image Beckett had seen many times, probably without noticing or even caring. Beckett wondered why she was so entranced by this one.

A small girl and her mother were walking down the busy New York sidewalk. The girl looked to be about eight, brown locks, brown eyes, with a noticeable gap in her front teeth as she smiled. The mother looked to be a few years older than Kate, with similar hair and pale features. Kate couldn't tell her eye colour as she donned a pair of dark sunglasses, odd for the time of day. Nevertheless they were just an ordinary pair walking down the street, going about their business.

The mother looks at few years older than me. Perhaps 35. Or maybe older? Yes maybe…Not as close to my age. But older. Yes definitely older…

Kate's jumbled thoughts quickly faded as she watched them round past the corner and disappear out of sight. Kate felt her palms clench tighter around the handles of her motorbike. Her breath caught a little and there was a pang in her chest.

Odd. Kate thought.

Why was this affecting her so? She didn't have time to ponder as the light changed to green and she sped off. Leaving nothing but a trail of grey smoke from the exhaust. The mother and daughter left her mind as quickly as they had entered it as Kate made her way back home.

Kate walked down the street. Passing the mailbox to mail a letter, Kate saw a woman on a motorbike staring straight at her.

Perhaps she wasn't staring at her? The helmet made it hard to tell, but her neck was turned in the direction of her. Unmoving.

Creepy. Kate thought as she filed the letter inside the mailbox, sliding her hand in after the letter, ensuring it did indeed go inside the slot. A hint of paranoia.

A young voice loudly penetrated her ears; "Mum wait for me!"

Kate turned instinctually at the cry, watching as a small brown hair girl quickly finished tying her laces, quickly hoping up and racing straight to Kate.

"Mum you're walking too fast!" the girl protested, looking directly at her.

Beckett paused. Wondering why this young child was calling her 'mum'. Was she lost? Kate looked down at the girl before looking up and around. Searching for a distressed parent to suddenly burst out of the crowd and move the young girl along.

"Mum? You okay?" The girl cautiously asked. Again, staring at Kate.

"I'm sorry but I'm not-" Kate stopped, staring wide-eyed. This was the girl from the sidewalk earlier today. The one that had been walking with her mother. The one that had Kate oddly entranced. What was happening? Kate took in the girl's features, brown hair similar to hers, brown eyes similar to hers. But on closer inspected had a greenish tinge to them. Again, similar to hers. The girl looked at her puzzled yet bemused at Kate's startled expression.

"You know if we'd caught the subway like I'd asked we could have gotten to there quicker!" the girl pointedly projected. Seemingly now unbothered by the shocked expression of the older woman in front of her. "Are we going to keep walking?"

Kate considered what to say, what to do. She wanted to speak, tell the girl she had made a mistake. She was not her mother. This was a mistake. Kate looked up again, in vain hope that someone would come and usher the girl away.

Nope. Kate looked back down, the girl staring back up at her.

But then something changed. Something was different. The girl's hair did not look the same. Instead it had turned a bright auburn colour. Was this the same girl that had just mistakenly thought she was her mother? The expectant expression on the girls face and the close proximity between Kate and the girl told her that she was.

What is happening? What is going on….?

Kate's head quickly looked up again startled as a great bang omitted from the motorbike that had stopped earlier. The woman on it turned her head back on the road and drove off into the distance. The same woman that had been staring at her earlier…

Kate looked back of the young girl. Staring straight back into her big blue eyes… Wait….blue? What-?

Beep beep beep beep beep!

The annoying beeping sound from the alarm startled Beckett from her dreams.

Ugh…so real…

There was something about lifelike dreams that always bothered Kate. They tended to stay with her for the rest of the day. This one in particular though seemed to rouse a thought she had previously pushed to the back of her mind: Motherhood.

Kate would be turning thirty two in exactly in two months. Thirty two. It sounded so old to her! Part of her still felt like an eighteen year old, figuring out how to be an adult. That was before her mothers tragic death a year later engulfed her and forced her to grow up quicker than she ever had to before.

But now, for the past week or so she had started thinking about motherhood constantly. Previously she would think or talk about it with friends as if it were something that was going to happen…someday…in the distant, very distant future. But now…thirty-two! This was the first time she had thought about it seriously. Perhaps there was some truth in the old biological clock saying, because she could hear the ticking loud and clear now.

Kate had always seen herself as the one and done type. Married by 27, first kid by thirty. Perhaps two more by thirty-five. That was the sort of plan she had decided for herself, long ago, when she was younger and didn't know what the future held.

But now it was the future.

The past few days she had seriously reflected on children. Or the lack of them in her life. It was like a burning feeling in her chest and her heart sunk every time she saw one walking down the street. Especially if the mother of the child looked younger than her. It also reminded her of her lack of potential partner and father of her potential child!

Oh what a world what a world!

Then suddenly it hit her.

The idea formulated out of desperation? Terror that it would never happen? Or was it pure genius that had her conjure up an idea so ridiculous that it was almost Castle-esque!

Oh….Castle…

What would he think? Oh God, what would everyone think? Would she have to do it all alone? How would she tell people?

A million questions rushed into her head. It panicked her slightly. That she was actually thinking about it seriously.

She wasn't sure she could even say the two words out loud. They haunted her. Wait. Not even haunt, they were more dredged in reality and scarier than any ghost.

...Artificial insemination.

Comments, queries, opinions. All would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if I should continue or not.