AN: I don't own Castle, if I did they'd still be together!
So it's Halloween and I decided to write something for the 'Castle Halloween Bash' because the prizes look awesome. I hope you guys enjoy this because it is a little AU with a happy pregnant Beckett, which is something I'm doubting that I'll actually get to see on the show!
Enjoy!
OCTOBER 30TH 2015 "THE DAY BEFORE HALLOWEEN"
"Yo Beckett, so have you and Castle got anything planned for the spooky night known as Halloween?" Detective Javier Esposito queried as he approached Beckett's desk situated in the Precinct's bullpen.
Detective Kate Beckett placed a hand over her bulging baby bump and shook her head. When she was little she loved to go trampling around the neighbour trick or treating with her mother and when she reached those hormonal teenage years she used to dress up all gothic and hit some Halloween parties but this year, with the pregnancy and all, she decided that she didn't want any of the festivities. Lanie had offered to plus one her into a party with the medical examination board but what fun was a party with no booze?
"Nah nothing Espo," she responded eventually, "Castle and I are planning on a nice quiet Halloween at home this year." She smiled at the thought of the writer that she had married. A few months ago she had learned that Castle and herself were having a baby. At first she felt a bit uneasy about approaching the subject with Castle but after she told him about it one night over dinner she saw that he was beside himself with joy to become a daddy for the second time. They had also spoken to Alexis about it and one of his redheaded pillars of support had offered herself up as babysitter in chief.
"So where is our favourite Conspiracy Theorist anyway?" Kevin Ryan asked as he approached his partner and fellow detective.
"He's at home, Gina's threatening all sorts of bodily harm if he doesn't get a chapter in by tonight."
"Ooh having a publisher as an ex wife is never a good idea. Let's just say it seems to get sort of messy."
Esposito rolled his eyes at the almost blonde man, "so bro you busy on Halloween or what?"
Ryan shrugged, "nah not really. Jenny's offered to take Sarah Grace and a couple of her pre school friends trick or treating so I'll just be at home and adding the obnoxious neighbour kid's dental bills."
"Hey why don't I come round and we can watch some spooky horror flicks? Carrie, Annabelle, Chucky, you know the standard."
"Yeah that actually sounds rather good. I'll just check with Jenny but I don't think she'll mind if we fire up the plasma in the Man Cave. She keeps telling me that I need to use that room more often."
"I don't see why you don't," exclaimed Javier, "if I had twenty four hour access to a pool table, a state of the art sound system and a bar fridge I'd be one happy man."
Ryan scratched at the back of his head rather awkwardly, "yeah but I have a child, I have to work two jobs to pay the bills and the precinct never goes easy on the paper work."
Beckett nodded, "he's right Espo, we don't all live for TV and beer like you."
Esposito shrugged, "you two really need to enjoy the finer things in life."
X-X-X-X
At Castle's loft later that night…
"So it was practically an open and shut case today. Women stabs the husband because he gets caught sleeping with the attorney that she had hired to sue the hit and run driver responsible for the son's murder." Beckett announced as she lowered herself down onto the couch beside her husband. She sipped the orange juice that she was holding and tilted her head at the man next to her.
"Does that mean you're getting along okay being stuck behind the desk all day?" Castle questioned. Over the past couple of months Beckett had been moved to full time desk duty due to the field posing a high risk to the wellbeing of her unborn child. She knew that it was all for the greater good but something about being stuck at the table giving orders and looking through case files made her feel like throwing up.
"No," Beckett reassured him crestfallen, "I kinda like being able to take down the criminals guns blazing and it's boring as hell to be stuck doing nothing."
Castle placed his hand to Beckett's stomach and gently rubbed it, "you know it's only a few more months and you'll be back in the field."
"Yeah," the detective contemplated the thought before shifting the subject. "So how was your day?" She questioned. "Did Gina get the chapter?"
Rick nodded, "yep I finished it this morning. It was a pretty damn good chapter at that."
"Really?" Beckett raised an eyebrow. "What made it so great?"
"Spoiler alert," Castle began in a sing song voice, "well anyway Nicki gets kidnapped by the mob and she must chew through a rope to get herself free. Once she gets out a hit man for the mob catches up with her and she shoots him point blank in the forehead with a gun she had tucked into her underwear."
Katherine sighed, "Well that sure sounds…"
"Great, brilliant, a stroke of pure Richard Castle genius?" The writer cut her off and offered a myriad of suggestions.
"I was gonna say far fetched." She smiled at him, "it sounds like something you'd write."
"And is that meant to be a good thing?"
"Yes, a very good thing for that matter." Beckett leaned forward and pressed her lips to Castle's. "So anything else Castle? Did you see your mom or Alexis today?"
Suddenly a despondent look spread across his usually carefree face. "I did see Alexis today and she changed our plans. She's growing up, you see?"
"What happened Castle?"
"She's going to a Halloween party with a boy that I haven't ever met. Usually we watch spooky films all night and stuff ourselves silly with candy but this year she changed plans at last minute."
"She is twenty-one Castle, she's not a child anymore."
"I know that but we had films organised and everything…"
Kate hated seeing the pouty expression on her husband's face and she decided that she needed to say something that would make him feel better. "Hey Castle, if it makes you feel any better, tomorrow night you can tell me and the bub some stories about Alexis and your past Halloweens."
Richard smiled slowly and nodded, "that sounds good actually. It might help to give us some inspiration about what to dress our little one up as next Halloween."
The detective flashed him an eye roll using her large green eyes and shook her head, "maybe we should discuss names before we discuss costumes."
"I suggested Nicki but you turned that down."
"We are not ever naming our child after that detective, not over my dead body."
Castle shrugged, "okay, okay, and we don't even know the gender yet so let's calm down."
X-X-X-X
OCTOBER 31ST 2015 "HALLOWEEN"
"Ooohh it's story time!" Announced Richard Castle as he hurried over to the sofa where Beckett was sitting. The detective was seated on the couch with her long legs tucked underneath her form and her hand against her stomach. She shovelled a palm full of candy corn into her mouth and smiled aptly.
"So which one do we have first tonight?"
Castle beamed lovingly and reached out so that he could intertwine his fingers with hers and began to speak. "So on October the 31st 1999 Alexis and I decided that we were going to go Trick-or-Treating…"
X-X-X-X
Halloween 1999
"Daddy, daddy, daddy can we please go trick or treating now?" Alexis Castle asked as she ran toward her father. The six year old had just finished putting on her witch's hat and now she was all ready to collect candy from the neighbors.
Rick Castle looked up from his laptop screen, on which he had been typing the latest installment to his bestselling Derek Storm series. "Okay pumpkin," he began as he smiled at the little redheaded girl. "Are you all prepared though?"
She nodded and pointed down at her costume. It consisted of a black witch robe with a witch's hat and a soft toy black cat tucked under her arm. "Yeah I've been ready for ages!"
Castle nodded and picked up the toy gun that was lying on his desk. "Just wait for me to put on my Space Cowboy costume and we'll be off."
Alexis rolled her big blue eyes, "but daddy you always go as the Space Cowboy."
"It's an old favourite of mine Lex."
The child nodded and scooped up her cauldron shaped candy basket and her witch's broom. Alexis and her father had spent the past weekend making that broom only to discover that they sold almost identical ones at the grocery store.
"I'll be five minutes," he announced as he bounded out of the office and up the stairs.
X-X-X-X
"You seriously still wore that pathetic costume back then?" Beckett queried as she raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Well duh! It totally rocks!"
"Castle honestly, sometimes I forget that you're a grown up."
"Anyway back to the story. Alexis and I soon left the loft and we got into the lift…"
X-X-X-X
"Daddy can we go to Violet's room first?" Alexis asked as she swung her empty basket around on her arm. "She says that she has lots of candy just for me!"
Violet was a little old lady who lived on the tenth floor. Alexis had taken a liking to her back when she had first moved in a year ago and lately she had been teaching the small redhead how to cross-stich.
"Of course, why don't we go right now?" The pair disembarked the lift and Alexis hurried down to door number eight.
"Violet it's me Alexis!" The child declared and after a moment the door began to open.
Violet was standing in the doorway dressed in a cardigan. She had her grey hair in a neat bun on the top of her head and she had a smile on her face. "Alexis I thought I'd be seeing you."
The redhead nodded, "yeah I made daddy come here first!"
"Well goody because I have quite the lot of candy for you. Don't eat it all at once though, it might not make you feel all that well."
"Okay," Alexis said obediently. "Can I come in and see Whiskers first though?"
Whiskers was Violet's four year old tabby cat that had taken an immediate shine to Alexis.
"Yes dear but just promise your father that you won't be too long."
"Okay, daddy I'll only be a minute." And with that she was off down the hall.
X-X-X-X
"So does Violet still live there?" Beckett queried.
"No she moved into a retirement home a couple of years back. Alexis was sad to see her go but they still sometimes meet up for a cup of tea."
Castle repositioned himself on the sofa, "so may I continue? Anyway the next stop for Alexis and I was her friends apartment…"
X-X-X-X
"Trick-or-Treat!" Alexis announced gleefully as she stood in the doorway to her friend Clarissa's house.
Celeste, Clarissa's mum had opened the door and was smiling at Alexis. The thirty-something year old had a witch's hat atop her blonde bob and she was clutching a bowl of candy. "Alexis it's a pleasure to see both you and your dad here. Clara's over at her grandma's apartment but would you like some candy anyway?"
Alexis nodded, "yes please," and Celeste dropped a handful of wrapped lollies into Alexis' quickly filling cauldron.
X-X-X-X
"She sounds like she was very well behaved," Beckett declared.
Rick nodded, "well she was." He paused for a moment and looked at Kate's ever growing baby belly, "I wonder if this little one is going to be as well behaved."
"Nah they won't be," Kate began with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "especially with a father like you."
Castle flashed a look of mock hurt, "well Detective Beckett I'll be, a rebel like you saying I'm the bad influence."
The detective rolled her eyes and elbowed Castle, "watch it."
The look of annoyance didn't fool Castle though. He knew that she was smiling underneath.
The author sat back down on the couch and continued to get lost in a variety of memories. He understood that Alexis was growing up but he planned on making sure that she was around for the little one's first ever Halloween.
AN: So I hope you enjoyed. It was pretty fun to write! Please Review!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN