Castle and its characters belong to Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC channel. Noah and Hanna, though, are my lovely creation.


Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. She had been in that stupid line for hours now and she was extremely tired. Her father said pregnancy suited her, but she just felt like a huge whale and missed her feet. If any co-worker saw her at that moment, she'd be damn screwed. Firstly, because she shouldn't have been standing for such a long time and, secondly - and more importantly -, because they'd find out she was a fangirl.

The woman standing next to her favorite author called 'next' and the line moved forward. Only three more women in front of her and then she would finally go home and get the rest she deserved, which included a nice bubble bath. She could see him - Richard Castle - from where she was standing. He was so much more handsome than his pictures on the back cover or on Cosmo. His blue eyes piercing and glowing as he smiled and scribbled something on the woman's book and his publisher called 'next' once more.

Only two more to go. She felt a kick and wondered which of the babies was responsible for that. She could remember clearly the day she found out they weren't only twins, but a boy and a girl. She wished Will could be there, sharing that moment with her... It upset her that her kids would never meet their father because some SOB had decided to target and kill him.

Kate stopped staring at the blanc spot in front of her when it was her turn to come forward to the table and get 'In a Hail of Bullets' signed. It wasn't the latest book, but it was her favourite, completely worn out by the numerous times she'd read it after her mother's murder. Her father's way to deal with her death had been to drown himself in the bottle, hers had been his book.

She smiled sweetly and handed him the book. "Who should I make it out to?" he asked her, not bothering to look up.

"Kate. Kate Beckett." she replied softly and he finally looked at her and she got lost in those bright blue eyes, but quickly snapped out of it, reminding herself that she had just lost Will.

He took some more time checking her out and noticed the swollen belly. His smile grew wider. "How far along are you?"

"38 weeks. A boy and a girl."she said proudly.

"Wow, twins! Congratulations. I have a little girl myself. She's 4 and extremely smart. That's not just the father in me speaking." he joked.

"She sounds sweet." he scribbled on her book and handed it to her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Kate"

The night before, she had planned to meet up with her best friend - Lanie (who was the only one aware of her fan situation, besides her father) - before heading home from the book signing. So, as soon as she got her book signed, she went to Lanie's apartment.

It wasn't a long cab ride, but it seemed like an eternity. The kicking was more frequent as her children moved around and she was starting to think it might be Braxton-Hicks contractions. She still had a couple of weeks until due date. When she knocked on Lanie's door, she started to feel warm liquid coming down her legs and froze. "Kate? What's wrong?"

"My water just broke." she replied astonished. Lanie grabbed her and rushed to the garage, anything but shoving her in the passenger's seat of her car and driving to the hospital as fast as she could. After 12 tiring and painful hours, Kate gave birth to Noah and Hanna Beckett. She wanted to honor her mother somehow, but calling her daughter Johanna would hurt too much, so she went for the short version.

"I'm so proud of you, Katie." her dad said when he entered the room full of balloons and teddy-bears her friends from the precinct had brought to her babies. "They are beautiful. Little Hanna looks just like you."

Kate smiled sweetly and looked down at her children. Hanna did look like her, green eyes and all, but Noah looked exactly like Will, same blue eyes, same nose structure. She just couldn't wait to take them home.


Her beautiful babies were two and a half months old, brown curls on top of their heads and joy in their eyes. They enjoyed laying with her hair and necklace when she sang for them to sleep and had the cutest toothless smile ever. She enjoyed taking them to a ride in the park - even though they weren't old enough to play yet -, just to see the trees and be in the sun early in the morning as she tried to show them how beautiful the world actually was. That day, though, she'd decided to take them to the mall.

She wanted to buy them some toys. She was setting a nursery, so they'd sleep somewhere other than her now cramped bedroom and have their own space. Her father helped her paint one wall blue and the other pink, leaving two of them white. Javier and Kevin had set the cribs and some shelves for the toys plus a changing table. She hoped to create a nice place for them to grow up in, at least until they were forced to move to a bigger apartment.

Kate strolled around the large hallways in the mall, checking toy and furniture stores. She came across a clothing store just for kids from 0-8 years old and couldn't help but stop by. She found onesies for her babies in many different colours and chose a few to buy.

As soon as she paid for them, Kate noticed a little redhead girl, not older than six, playing with her babies, but saw a couple of fat tears running down the girl's cheeks. "Hi, sweetie. I'm Kate and these are Noah and Hanna."

"I'm Alexis."

"Nice to meet you, Alexis. May I ask why are you crying?"

"I can't find my-my daddy." the girl sobbed, more tears sliding down her chubby face. She hugged Kate's legs and the older woman was taken aback by that action. "Can you help me, please? Daddy said not to talk to strangers, but you seem nice."

"Your daddy is right, sweety. You shouldn't talk to strangers, but you see this here?" she moved her trench coat aside so the girl could see the badge. Even though Kate was on maternity leave, she always walked with her badge holstered in her belt, in case she'd need it. When the girl nodded, she continued. "I work with the police, so I can help you. Do you know your daddy's cell phone number?" She asked, handing her own cell phone to the girl.

"Yeah, he thought me that." she took the phone from Kate's hand and dialed the number. "Daddy! Daddy, I'm so sorry! This is Ms. Kate's phone. She's a police officer and lent it to me." she listened carefully to whatever her father was saying, then covered the speaker and asked. "Ms Kate, what store is this?"

"Tic-tac-toe, honey. Like the game."

"Tic-tac-toe, daddy. Okay, I'll wait here." she hung up and gave the phone back to Kate. "Can you please wait here with me?"

"Yes, Alexis."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She took th girl's hand and guided her to the store's entrance. Alexis continued to play with the babies as they waited for her father. Soon, Alexis ran off and a man picked her up.

"Daddy!"

"Oh, Alexis. Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"I'm sorry, daddy. I won't. Come on, I want you to meet Ms Kate! She's the lady with the twin babies!" she stated and dragged her father towards Kate, who was trying to calm down her crying son. She had her back to them as she rocked the small child in her arms and soon he stopped crying and went back to sleep. She layed him back on the stroller, when she felt a tiny hand tugging on the hem of her shirt. "Ms Kate, this is my daddy."

Kate turned around and came across familiar blue eyes. Once more, she got lost in them, consumed by the depth of his gaze. She felt like the world around her didn't matter. Well, it didn't until her daughter's crying blew up the bubble she was in. "Hey, baby, it's okay. Momma's here." she rocked the girl just as she had previously done with the boy.

"That's Hanna, and the little boy is Noah. They're really cute, daddy.

"I see they are. So, Kate, Kate Beckett, thank you for helping my daughter."

"Oh, it was nothing, Mr. Castle." She was grinning, but then suddenly she wasn't. "Wait a second... You remember my name?"

"Well, it's not everyday I sign a copy of my first and least popular book. You're probably the first and the only one. If I may ask, why did you bring that specific book? Why not one of the Storm novels like everybody else?"

"It helped me go through a hard time in my life." she stated and he got the message not to push her. "That's all, and it's my favorite."

He smiled widely and it made her heart melt. What the hell was wrong with her? She was still supposed to be grieving, wasn't she? Why did Richard Castle make her feel so at ease? "I'm glad."

Hanna calmed down and Kate set her back on the stroller. "I'd better get going. It's almost time to feed those two and the mall isn't the most appropriate place to do it. It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Castle. And it was a pleasure to meet you, Alexis."

"Thank you, Ms Kate."

And then she left, not daring to glance back at him. She could feel his eyes on her back, following every movement she made, but he didn't stop her, too scared that she might think less of him if he sounded anything like hitting on her.


3 years later

Kate finally finished the paperwork of their latest case. It had taken almost a week to do so and miraculously Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan, the detectives on her team, had helped her do so. They didn't enjoy paperwork - who did? - but they enjoyed Kate Beckett's death glare even less.

Captain Montgomery called her in his office later that day and forced her to take some vacation days as both Thanksgiving and her birthday were coming. She hated being away from her as any other workaholic, but looking at the bright side of it, she would be home with her kids and enjoy what was left of fall.

Hanna and Noah were growing up too fast, in her opinion. They already spent 3 days a week at a daycare near her apartment. When they weren't there, they'd stay with Jim, her father. He loved to take care of his grandchildren - and spoil them! He had started alcoholism rehab when he found out Kate was pregnant so he could help her through it.

Kate was proud of her no ordinary family, she loved all of them and, although sometimes she missed Will, her kids didn't seem to. She had named them Beckett, after all, she was a single mother, and the kids had never asked about him.

She drove to her father's cabin in her Crown Vic and picked them up. She had decided to take them to the park, as it had been a long time since she'd last done so.

After parking the car in her building's garage, she took each kid by the hand and they walked together to Central Park. It was their favorite playground, she'd always taken them there to play and later go out for ice-cream. She would just sit there and watch them interact with other children their age or, sometimes, even read a book.

She had thought them where they could play, not to run to close to the swing set because they could get hurt and that she'd have a regular spot where they could always find her.

Hanna was the complete opposite of Noah. She was shy, calm and way more mature than any other 3-year-old. She had taught them good English and was extending their vocabulary. Sometimes, they had trouble using the past tense, as any other toddler, but she'd correct them and they'd catch it quickly.

Kate head her head down as she rad the latest Derrick Storm novel, by no other than Richard Castle. She could hear faint crying, but didn't find the source until it got louder and she realized it was her son. A redhead girl was pointing at her while holding Noah's hand as he cried. Kate didn't hesitate and ran to them.

"He fell off the slide." the girl explained. "He's got a scraped knee."

"Oh, baby boy. It's okay, there's no need to cry. Momma will kiss it better." she leaned and kiss just above the injury. The crying subsided and, still holding her son to her chest, she turned to the redhead. "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" she replied proudly. "You look familiar..."

"Do I?"

"Yeah, you look like -" she was interrupted by her father yelled out her name.

"Alexis!"

The little redhead, Alexis, turned around and waved her tiny hand to her father, who ran to her. "Don't disappear like that again, I was worried sick about you."

Kate couldn't believe her eyes. Richard Castle. Again! Why was she always running into him? One thing she knew for sure now: Rick Castle loved his daughter more than she'd thought - once reading Cosmo magazines. He as well, looked up at her and recognized her. "Kate."

"Hi, Mr. Castle." she smiled and he started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"We keep meeting whenever my daughter disappears. I never thought I'd see you again after that day at the mall."

"I didn't think we would meet again either, and yet here we are." she felt something bump into her leg and looked down to find a smiling daughter. She ran her hand through the girl's brown curls that now reached just below her shoulder.

"Momma, I'm hungry."

"Me too, momma."

"Ice-cream or Remy's?" she asked her children and each chose one. Rick laughed at her dilemma, but she quickly solved it. "Mr. Noah can have his ice-cream while you eat your burger, sweety." then, she turned to Rick. "Do you want to join us?"

"Sure. Come on, Lex. Let's eat something."