Disclamer: I don't own Castle…

AN: This is my first Fan-fic story, so please comment on anything really… R&R! It's not really AU, but it takes place later in the Castle seasons.. Idk when. I don't know how often I'll be posting the chapters or how long this'll be, so please be patient with me.

I'll try to keep everyone in character

Thanks!

Chapter one:

"Excuse me, Detective Ryan?"
Kevin Ryan pivoted in his current stance, turning to face the origin of the words. His sea-blue eyes were glued to the paperwork in the manilla folder he was holding. His hair was neatly combed and he had a straight, attentive posture.
"That's my name!" he chirped gleefully, despite the load of paperwork he held. His team must have closed a case because the paper looked crisp with nothing written on it except for the ink from the computer. He shut the folder and turned his face upward when he spoke his next sentence, "How can I b- Alexis!" The detective grinned as he held out his arms in a welcoming embrace. The red-headed girl -scratch that- the young red-headed woman accepted the gesture and returned the embrace. The hug didn't last long; five seconds at the most. When they released from each other's arms, Detective Ryan was ready with questions. "I thought you were with Meredith in Californa! What happened there?" Alexis gave a light shrug and shifted her weight to her other side. She had in fact been with her mother in another state. Her 19th birthday wasn't too long ago, and she wanted to go visit her mother (surprisingly) and say hello because she hadn't seen her in such a long time. "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later. You know what, I'll just give you my number and you can call me later." She pulled a post-it note out of her purse and wrote a list of numbers on it. She pulled the note of the pad of them and handed it to Ryan. "Hey, have you seen my dad? I wanted to surprise him here, but I don't see him anywhere," Alexis finally responded after a few slightly awkward moments passed by. Ryan nodded quite subtly, gesturing to a room with a noticeably espresso machine, "Check in the break room, he's probably there with Beckett; just closed a case." "Thank you Detective Ryan," Alexis gave him a smile that warmed his heart. He couldn't stop himself from saying, "Please, call me Kevin." Alexis's curved lips seemed to turn farther upward. "Thank you, Kevin," she repeated before turning to the break room to surprise her father.
Kevin Ryan released a sigh that he unconsciously held as he watched "The One and Only Richard Castle"'s daughter walk away. Ryan returned to his desk and placed the post-it note down on his desk behind his name card. He lifted a pen out of his unused coffee mug that read: World's Greatest Detective. He decided to keep the mug as a pen/pencil holder; he didn't want to stain the inside, or have it tragically break falling from a careless pair of hands. It was given as a birthday gift to him from his partner and close friend, Javier Esposito. Javier would give his partner a wave with his hand, cheer him up with a joke, and be there in hard times. "I'm your partner, that means I'm with you 'till the wheels fall off", Ryan had once told him. Ryan uncapped his pen and put it to the paperwork.
Sigh... This is going to be a long day..

Alexis peeked in the door to the break room, curiously wondering if her father was in there. She saw him and Detective Beckett. The detective had her back turned to him, holding a coffee mug in her right hand. Alexis was about to walk in when her father took Kate's elbow in his grasp.
Whoops.. Bad timing..
Alexis pulled back so she couldn't see the partners, but she could hear them quite clearly.
"Kate.. Look at me."
No answer.
"Kate, please." Castle's voice was soft and reassuring. There was no harsh tint to it or anything.
"What," Kate said, trying to match Castle's tone, but it came out sharper than she intended.
"I'm sorry, and I need to explain."
"Castle, right now isn't the best moment, we're in the break room and there's no telling what could happen; we've got no privacy, and I need to get to my paperwork. Ryan's not going to like doing that alone."
"Actually, it is a good time."
A pause..
"I didn't want to tell you, I couldn't. I was trying to protect you."
"How can you protect me by digging farther into my mother's case!"
Alexis was startled. Her father was working on Detective Beckett's case and he never told her? The redhead could understand why he would keep it a secret from her, but Beckett?
"If I let you know I was working on your mother's case, you wouldn't be safe; wouldn't be protected. The man I talked to.. Said he could keep you safe, but if I told you any new details or that I was still looking into it, you would be in danger.. I wanted to keep you protected."
"Thanks for your concern, Castle, but I'm a cop, I have a gun, and I know how to use it; I can protect myself."
Alexis had heard enough. She began to sneak away to let the pair have some privacy, but she didn't go unnoticed. "Alexis?"