Alternate
A.N.: "fate" by ShadowsTakeAll and "coexisting" by xoxomolls inspired this story. Twenty-two different universes featuring Castle and Beckett; most AUs, some reflect canon, and one is a nod to my other one-shot, "Close Enough".
one.
In a few stories, they don't meet. This is the third one.
Alexander Rodgers never became Richard Edgar Castle. There was no murder which could copy his book, because he never wrote books; there was no need for a muse; there was no need for research.
There was no need to meet Katherine Houghton Beckett.
two.
Alexander Rodgers becomes a surgeon.
One day, they wheel in a police officer from a funeral with a gunshot wound close to the heart.
He tries his best to save her life.
He fails.
three.
Alexander Rodgers becomes a surgeon.
One day, they wheel in a police officer from a funeral with a gunshot wound to her abdomen which was meant for her heart, but one of her partners pushed her away either just on time or a moment too late.
Alexander is a 'glass half full' kind of guy, so he says just on time.
He tries his best to save her life.
He succeeds.
four.
In a few stories they don't meet. This is the first one.
Her mother is never late for lunch.
Katherine Houghton Beckett becomes a lawyer.
five.
He writes books, she brings him coffee. Then he loses inspiration and finds it all in the same day because he asks her to tell him the story of Katherine Beckett and she tells him "make me solve crimes".
He writes about a detective with a stripper name and a ruggedly handsome journalist.
This universe is a happy one.
six.
A maid finds his body in a fancy New York hotel room on a Tuesday. His picture stays on the white board in the station for a week; Kate's nightmares are laced with the images of his screaming daughter for just as long.
Soon, though, she figures it out, puts a guilty man behind bars and a box with everything related to the case labeled "solved" on one of the shelves in the archives.
She never thinks of Richard Castle again.
seven.
He signs a book for her once, but he never really looks up to see her face. All he asks for is a name and three seconds later the book is back in her hands.
She cherishes that book.
He never even remembers her name.
eight.
Alexis makes him try speed-dating. After a lot of convincing, he gives in and does it and it's not until the fifth ring that a woman actually catches his attention.
"I'm Kate.", she smiles.
He smiles back. "Rick."
He manages to get her number before the bell rings again.
nine.
In one story, he holds the elevator doors for her.
Him, being Richard Castle, manages to get her number by the time they reach her floor. Truth is, he was supposed to get out two floors before her, but getting her number is worth a few more minutes in the elevator.
ten.
He's the cop; she's the writer. The first words he tells her are "Ms. Beckett"; the first words she tells him are "Where do you want it?".
One closed case later, she starts working with him because she's good with the mayor and apparently needs to research for her next book.
Before he knows it, he's in love.
eleven.
He takes Alexis out to the park at least once a week and she's always there, sitting on a bench underneath a tree which provides perfect shade.
From the distance, he recognises the book she's reading this time - it's one of his crime novels - so he sits down next to her and counts how long it'll take her to notice.
Twenty seconds later, she speaks up. "When I finish the chapter, I'll ask you to sign this for me."
Castle smiles, tearing his eyes away from Alexis swinging on a swing set to look at the woman next to him. "After I sign that for you, I'll ask for your number."
She laughs.
twelve.
It's raining and they head for the same yellow New York cab at the same time. They both start to open their mouths to protest but thunder strikes and the rain starts pouring even harder.
They share a look and nod. "We'll share.", they say at the same time and get into the cab.
They never even introduce themselves.
thirteen.
He's bringing Alexis to school and as he hugs her goodbye she kisses him on the cheek and runs to meet her friend.
"Johanna!", she screams, ecstatic, as she throws her arms over the girl. Castle doesn't recognise Alexis' friend and then remembers that it must be the new girl Alexis told him about.
A young woman soon approaches him and he can tell by the lines of her face that she must be Johanna's mother.
"Hello, you must be Alexis' father.", she smiles and shakes his hand. "I'm Kate; Johanna's mom."
He notices she doesn't have a wedding ring on.
His smile widens.
fourteen.
In this story, everything's the same but not quite.
Because at Roy Montgomery's funeral, he stands just a little bit too far and notices the sniper just a little bit too late.
He throws himself on her, both of them hitting the ground. Her chest is bleeding so much and there's blood everywhere and he can only faintly hear himself say "stay with me, Kate, I love you, I love you, Kate, stay with me".
But then Kate closes her eyes and takes one last breath.
Katherine Houghton Beckett dies before the ambulance even arrives.
fifteen.
He's young - barely out of highschool, fresh into college - when he meets her at the local bar.
He buys her a few drinks, they talk, and then the next morning he wakes up in a hotel room with a major hangover and a beautiful woman in his arms.
Life is good.
sixteen.
Once, he loses his wallet in a yellow New York cab.
He doesn't even realise it's gone until he has to pay for the lunch he and Alexis just had in their favorite diner. Luckily, they didn't eat much - not that the diner's expensive anyway - and Alexis had her wallet with her, so she pays.
"This isn't a nasty trick to get me to pay, is it, dad?", she asks him but by the smirk on her face he can tell she's just messing with him.
"Ha, ha. Very funny.", he says. "It must've fallen out of my pocket in the ca-"
His cellphone cuts him off. He looks at the caller ID and a sigh escapes his lips as he sees that it's his mother who's calling him.
"Yes, mother dearest?"
"Richard, sweetheart, a lovely woman just stopped by the apartment with your wallet.", this time, he lets out a sigh of relief. "You better come here right away to properly thank the girl. She's missing work for this."
Castle laughs. "I'm on my way, mother.", he replies and ends the call. He waits for Alexis to pick up her things and then they leave.
The woman's name was Katherine Beckett. He asks her out for a thank you lunch.
This time, he doesn't lose his wallet.
seventeen.
He meets up with his soon-to-be ex-wife's lawyer on a Friday afternoon. She's rocking a tailored suit and killer heels and the first thing that passes his mine is "fuck, I'm screwed".
"That you are, Mr. Castle.", she replies and he realises that he must've said that out loud.
"I hope we can get all this settled as soon as possible.", she says.
"I hope so, too.", he adds, sighing.
"Don't worry, Mr. Castle. I'll make sure she leaves you something.", she says with a smile and a wink.
"You are too kind..", he pauses for her name.
"Kate.", she says, handing him the divorce papers.
eighteen.
In a few stories, they don't meet. This is the second one.
He's watching the news at three in the morning when he can't sleep because the deadline for his next book just won't be met and Gina will throw a fit.
That's when a picture of a beautiful woman fills the screen and he's almost expecting a "missing" or "wanted" headline. He lifts his brows in surprise when it's said that a police detective - Katherine Beckett, they say her name was - fell off a ten story building by chasing a fugitive.
Her partners were just too late.
He sends a silent prayer for Katherine Beckett although he isn't much of a believer in God, and goes to sleep.
nineteen.
They meet through mutual friends at an engagement party and for him it's love at first sight. For her, not really.
He tries the for the whole night but fails to get her number - although he did make her laugh a lot and he counts that as some sort of win - and the only reason he manages to get her number is because Ryan gives it to him.
He doesn't give up, though, and three years later it's their engagement party.
twenty.
They put her in water.
She drowns.
Castle never really recovers.
twenty-one.
Their actual story, though, is brilliant and poetic and tragic in some ways but beautiful in others.
Alexander Rodgers becomes Richard Edgar Castle. He writes crime novels.
Katherine Houghton Beckett's mother is late for lunch. She decides to become a detective instead of a lawyer. She reads his books.
They meet at a book signing where she tells him "Mr. Castle" and he tells her "where do you want it" and he ends up shadowing her for inspiration and falls in love with her and she falls in love with him and he proposes and she solves her mother's murder.
They are supposed to get married at his estate in the Hamptons.
He never makes it to the wedding because his car rides off the road and blows up.
(He's not in it.)
twenty-two.
(He's in it.)