This is a one shot. It's an AU piece and definitely different. If you don't like AU pieces, then don't read.

What if, they met, fell in love and made a life together. What if, Beckett's wall wasn't there and she allowed herself to fall in love? What if Rick and Kate met and fell in love? Like the most wonderful fairy tale. What if this Beckett allowed herself to believe in fairy tales, love at first sight and happily ever afters? Imagine how grand their love story would be?

This is definitely an Alternate Universe story. It's my take on the "what ifs"

No infringement intended. Purely for entertainment purposes.

Rick Castle looked at his friend Javier Esposito and groaned. He knew that he was in for trouble. Especially when he saw the grin on his face, "What do you want?

Espo had a look of innocence on his face, "I don't want anything."

"Sure. Whenever you smile like that, I know that I'm in trouble."

"Dude, why do you always think the worst?"

"Because it's usually true. You might as well tell me."

Before he could say anything else, his long time girlfriend, Lanie Parish walked over to where they sat. It was then that he knew he was doomed. He smiled at her, "Hi Lanie."

She looked at Rick and then she looked at Espo and asked, "Did you ask him?"

Espo shook his head, "I didn't exactly have a chance to Lanie. You sort of interrupted us."

Rick laughed and reminded them, "You two do realize that I am still here and can hear everything that you're saying?"

Lanie smiled at her boyfriends friend and smiled, "Of course you can. Since he's too chicken to ask, I will."

"I'm not too chicken, I didn't have..."

"It's okay Javi." She turned to Rick, "Look, I know that you're still upset about losing Meredith, but you have to get over her man. I have the perfect woman for you. Her name..."

Rick held up his hand and shook his head, "I'm not letting you fix me up with anyone again. Ever... The

last time you did it was a disaster."

Espo laughed, "You can say that again."

Lanie just shot him a look of warning, whispering, "You're not helping."

"I'm sorry dear, but it's the truth."

"Anyway. That girl was all wrong for you. I see that now. But Beckett is perfect. I promise you. You'll love her."

Rick eyed her suspiciously, "You said that about the last three dates you fixed me up with."

"And they were all wrong for you. I can see that now. You have to go through a few bad apples to find the best one."

"And what kind of name is Beckett? She's probably eighty with a house full of cats."

Espo laughed again. He stopped immediately when Lanie shot him a warning look. Then, she turned to Rick, "That's just what we call her at work. Her real name is Katherine. Katherine Beckett. She's my best friend. We can double date. It will be fun."

"Why do I think this is a mistake?"

"Because you're cynical. Look, if this doesn't work, I promise that I'll never fix you up again."

"At least I have a witness this time."

Espo looked at Rick and held his hands up, "I'm staying out of this one man. It's between the two of you. That way, when it goes bad, you can't come after me."

Lanie laughed, "And when it turns into the most wonderful thing ever, I'll take all the credit."

Espo kissed her, "You sound very sure of yourself my dear."

"I am. I have a very, very good feeling about this."

The threesome finished their meal. Rick paid the check and they headed their separate ways.

Three Nights Later

Rick fidgeted nervously in the chair. He looked at his watch for the tenth time in the last five minutes. Espo and Lanie sat across from him. They were making conversation about something that he couldn't follow. He wasn't sure if it was nerves or something else, but he was anxious for this date to start and to be over and done with. He'd never been quite so nervous, which, he knew was crazy, because he never got nervous during a date. He kept looking at his watch. He knew that he was being impatient, but he hated watching Espo and Lanie. It was so obvious that they were deeply in love.

What if she didn't show? What if she got cold feet? He'd nearly called Espo and told him that he got a sudden inspiration that night and needed to write. The only thing that stopped him was Lanie. He knew that she'd march down to his loft and drag him to the restaurant. And really, that was the last thing that he needed. He didn't need his mother and daughter to witness him being dragged away by his best friends girlfriend.

He looked at his watch again. She was late. Lanie noticed him checking his watch once again and laughed, "She's only a minute late. She probably got stuck in traffic. Relax Rick, she's coming."

She no sooner got that words out, when she saw her friend. She smiled and told him, "There she is. She's the one in the black dress."

Rick turned around and saw her. He swallowed hard and looked at her. It was as if she was the only person in the room. He watched as she turned her head to the side and smiled. He stood up and walked over to where she was standing.

"I'm Richard, Richard Castle, but most of my friends call me Rick."

Then, she smiled at him softly and Rick felt as if the world had changed in that moment. When she smiled, it was as if the Heavens opened up and everything seemed brighter. When she spoke, it was like an angels voice, "I'm Katherine, Katherine Beckett, but my friends call me Kate." Then she laughed and nodded towards Lanie and Espo, "But they usually call me Beckett. Occupational norm I guess you could say."

Espo and Lanie watched as their friends introduced themselves to one another. Lanie knew that she'd won the bet with Espo, when everything she said to them went ignored.

Lanie and Kate excused themselves and went to the restroom. Leaving Rick and Espo together at the table. Espo laughed at the look on his friends face, "Dude, you look like a man in love. A doomed man."

Rick could only smile as he nodded, "I know. She's beautiful. I know it's too early, but I'm in love with her."

"You just met her. How can you know?"

"I just do. I'm going to marry her someday."

Espo shook his head, "You can't be serious."

"I am."

In the bathroom, Lanie and Kate were having a similar conversation.

"I'm going to marry him someday."

Lanie laughed, "I knew that you two would be perfect for each other, but it's only been thirty minutes. You should at least meet his family before you decide to marry him. Do you realize that he has a five year old daughter?"

Kate simply shrugged, "I don't care. He's perfect."

"I get it sweetie. I just think that you should take it easy. Get to know him better. Plus, I didn't think you believed in marriage."

Kate chewed on her bottom lip. It was true, in the past she hadn't believed that she could ever find someone that would make her think that forever was possible. However, when she walked into the restaurant that night and saw Rick sitting at the table, it was unlike anything she'd felt before. She felt an immediate connection to him. Although, she knew that there was no such thing as love at first sight, it was certainly happening to her. She knew that there was no way to explain how she was feeling. It was, in a word, completely insane and very unlike her. She found it wonderful though.

They walked back to their table and she sat down in front of him. He smiled and asked her, "So, tell me about yourself. Espo says that you work for the police department. What kind of work do you do?"

She hesitated for a moment. Most men didn't understand her profession of choice. She usually avoided talk of work, but Rick seemed different "I work in the homicide division. I'm a detective. It's not very glamorous work."

Lanie smiled, "She's being modest. She's only the youngest detective in NYPD history."

Rick smiled and told her, "Really? I don't know if Lanie told you or not, but I'm a crime writer. I write the Derrick Storm novels."

Kate nodded, "She told me, but even if she hadn't, I would have known who you were."

"Really? How?"

Kate smiled, "My mom loved your books."

"Loved? I hope I didn't do something to lessen her love of them."

He watched as Kate swallowed hard and he saw the tears in her eyes. She smiled sadly and told him, "She was killed. Her books always made you smile. She would come home after a long day at work and she would open your books and she would smile for awhile. She was always happier afterwards. Happier for me and my dad."

Rick suddenly felt terrible for making her feel so sad, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up painful memories for you."

Kate smiled and shook her head, "It's okay."

Lanie and Espo looked at each other and smiled. They knew that their friends were falling for each other. Because anytime they tried to talk to them, it was as if they didn't exist. They would say one or two words, but the conversation always went to the two of them.

Lanie leaned over and said, "I give them six months until they're married."

Espo smiled, "I give it three, four months tops."

It turned out that Espo was closer to the estimate. Rick and Kate were engaged within a month and married two months after that. Their love story continued and soon, they were working together. As partners in life and work.

With Alexis as part of their lives, it felt like their world, their lives together were perfect. At least, until she got the news that she was pregnant. Three years after they married, they became parents to twin boys. Samuel and James were born three years to the day that their parents met. Never before had two children been so loved.

They were doted on by their parents. By their parents co-workers. And by their big sister. Most of all, they knew that they were loved. They grew into strong, confident men. They married the loves of their lives, twenty eight years to the day that their parents married. In a dual ceremony the two men married the women they had fallen in love with.

There wasn't a dry eye in the church. Especially, the family of the brides. They were marrying Espo and Lanie's twin daughters. It seemed that twins weren't that rare. At least not in their circle of friends.

Lanie and Kate knew that their children's families were going to be just as blessed as they'd been. They'd both found the loves of their lives and knew that their children had done the same in the mates that they'd chosen.

Kate no longer thought that love wasn't something that couldn't last forever. Rick had shown her that true love was possible. Everyday, he made sure to tell her that he loved her. Made sure to kiss her before they went off to work together. Because, life was short and sometimes, you had to follow you heart and believe in the unbelievable. You had to take a chance. Because despite it being completely irrational, fairy tales did come true and true love wasn't something that was an impossible dream.

If you allowed yourself to follow your heart, anything is truly possible...

I almost didn't post this story. It's been on my computer for a few months now and I'm hesitant to post this or anything lately... Because of some of the most nasty reviews I've ever received in the 10 plus years that I've been writing fan fics. I must say, I'm shocked at how nasty some reviewers have been lately. If you can't leave a review under a name where I can respond then why do it? It's cowardly and just wrong..