Title: Katie and Ricky
Author: NancyErin
Rated: non
Summary: totally AU – Kate and Rick meet as young children.
A/N: I have a weird imagination. Got struck with that idea and it wouldn't leave me unless I write it down onto paper (typing on computer). Anyway, this is short, but if anybody gets inspired and wants to do a longer version, please feel free to use it, but please (out of courtesy) let me know and share the long version fic with me 'cuz I wanna read =) LOL
Also, I picked a large age difference just well, because…
Off we go...
"Richard!" Martha Rodgers bellowed from the umpteenth time up the staircase at her fifteen year old son.
His mother was the only person referring to him as Richard. Sometimes when she got upset she would even use his whole name Richard Alexander Rodgers. If that happened, he knew he was in trouble. To his classmates and friends though, he was only Rick.
Martha wondered to herself what was taking him so long to get ready. They were running late as it was, and Martha didn't want the Beckett's to wait out for them for too long.
"Would you care to hurry up, Richard? It's raining cats and dogs outside and with it pouring it's going to be a pain hailing a cab."
"I'm coming already!" Rick barked back.
Martha nonchalantly threw her hands up into the air at the same time rolling her eyes. Ever since he attended that new boarding school, he had changed a lot. It was either that or his teenager hormones kicking right in.
"Not too soon." Martha couldn't help letting out when her son eventually descended the stairs. He let out a groan aware that if he added any further comment, he would be reprimanded like a two year old would. The attentive mother Martha was, she straightened some of her son's disheveled hair and also buttoned up his dress shirt.
"Mother!" he countered pushing her fidgeting fingers off his body. "Can we go now and get over with this?"
It was quite obvious to Martha Rodgers that her son wasn't all too thrilled to join her at the Beckett's dinner, but his recent bad behavior at boarding school, got him punished as tag along to the Beckett's. There was no way Martha Rodgers was letting her son out of sight right now. Despite their tardiness, the two managed to fetch a cab after all, and twenty minutes later they stepped inside the apartment building. Martha and Rick got into the elevator which brought them up to the nineth floor. They made a left twice and buzzed at the door adorning the number 907.
Johanna Beckett, a tall brunette woman with shoulder length hair greeted the pair with wide open arms, guiding them inside the flat before shutting the door behind them. The two women couldn't contain their excitement any longer. It had been a long time since they had last seen each other.
"Wow, what a tall handsome young man, you got there Martha!" Johanna awed at the teenager with a pout on his lips, making it rather clear to the woman that he disapproved his being here, stuck having dinner among families and not out and about with his friends instead.
"He's growing fast and I'm getting old", Martha threw in with a smile while Johanna took care of their guests' wardrobe.
"Martha, that's so not true! You look amazing, as always."
"So, where is that little girl of yours?" Martha questioned anxiously to get to meet with the little girl she heard so much about. Right on the dot a five year old trotted up right behind her mother, hiding herself away from the two strangers. "Oh my, isn't she adorable!"
"Katie, wouldn't you like to say hello to our guests?" Johanna tried to encourage her daughter. Her only response was a negative shake of her head.
The women laughed softly at the little one's shyness. Soon Jim, Johanna's husband, joined them too. They hugged and greeted for a while before sitting down at the dining table. The adults quickly fell into a comfortable conversation reminiscing their time together before the married couple had to leave for Chicago years ago, until moving back to the big apple again a couple of weeks back. It was nice to be back in the hometown.
Needless to point out that Rick was literally bored out of his mind. The little girl was staring him down and it was little by little starting to get on his nerves. Every time he would look at her, she would instantly hide her face away against her mother's lap or arm. Every once in a while Johanna tried to distract her daughter in order to get her to sit still but nothing would do. At one moment, as the girl gazed back at the boy, he made a funny face which made her snicker. This went on a couple of times in a row until Katie found the courage to walk up to the boy.
"What's your name?"
"Rick" the boy replied with a shrug. He thought the little girl to be cute. With pigtails on either side of her head, which were bobbing up and down every time she would move her head.
"My name's Katherine Beckett, but mommy and daddy call me Katie. Do you wanna see my room?"
At this stage, Richard Castle couldn't care less, so he agreed to visit the little girl's room. Anything that would get him away from this mind-numbing dinner. Unbeknownst to the younger pair, a smile was plastered on the adults faces as they watched the children walk hand in hand out of the dining room.
"You may sit there", Katie welcomed Rick, pointing onto the pink round rug at the food of her bed. "Do you like tea?" Rick shook his head and made a face.
As the young man let his gaze swift across the room, he was rather disappointed. No TV, no video games, nothing. Although nothing wasn't the correct word. The room was exactly like he would imagine a little girl's room to be: pink and purple with teddy bears and dolls scattered all around the place. This was going to be one long evening, he thought to himself. Just in case, he asked the little girl if there happened to be a second TV set somewhere; unfortunately no luck there either.
"What do you wanna play?"
"You're a girl. I don't play with little girls!" Rick retorted.
The girl's lower lip started to quiver at the tone of angry voice, her green eyes boring their way down into the boy's soul. He regretted instantly upsetting her.
"I'm no little girl! I'm five! Daddy said I'm a big girl 'cause I'm going to first grade now! What grade are you in?"
Rick noted how much the three feet was trying to make small conversation. He pondered which was better, a boring conversation about politics with the adults or random talk with a little girl. Sadly he decided to settle with the later. Either way his evening was screwed.
"I'm in tenth"
Kate's jaw almost dropped to the floor. A smile grew on the boy's face at her mimic as he playfully hit her chin.
"Watch out for the bugs."
"Eew! That's gross." she exclaimed slapping the boy's hand out of her face.
"Have you got anything else we can play? And don't tell me tea parties, that's a no go, all right?"
An idea struck her and seconds later the duo was busy completing a one hundred piece puzzle. Though this one was way too easy for the boy, he still preferred keeping himself entertained with a puzzle than nothing at all. Three puzzles later, Rick proclaimed to be tired (annoyed).
"Do you like music?" Kate then wanted to know.
"Yeah, but I fairly doubt we have much in common when it comes to music. I'm not going to dance the hokey pokey with you. I still got a reputation to maintain." The young girl flashed him a quizzical expression, so he added "Never mind! Let's just say that I like my music and you like yours."
"Hmm…" Katie pondered some more, biting her lower lip nervously and in deep thought. "Do you like to paint? I like it… I loooove it, but I don't think mommy would let me use her brushes tonight."
Richard smiled at her adorable pout.
"If you like stories, I could read you one, if you want!" Rick eventually threw in. He could have thought about this earlier. Every little girl loved bedtime stories so he wasn't all too surprised when she giddily exclaimed, bouncing up and down.
"Oh yes! I know which one!" she rushed over to her bookshelf and handed a book out to him mere seconds later.
"Sleepover Sleuths - Nancy Drew & the Clue Crew", Rick read out loud the title, sighing inwardly. It was Saturday night and he was at a boring dinner, playing almost babysitter to a five year old little girl. If his friends ever found out, he would be in such a big trouble. But who was going to know anyway? No one! So he decided to give that thought a rest and proceeded to the reading instead. Hopefully the evening was going to go by faster that way.
Kate leaned closer up against Rick, so she could read a few words too. She knew letters ever since the age of two and a half, and for her age she was reasonably ahead of average children her age, but that didn't mean she was up to the same level as Rick was. She knew few lines by heart that she would casually threw in, which made the older boy laugh out loud because every time she would act adequately along with her quote. It was cute in his point of view. Maybe some day she could be an actress, he had told her.
"Nu-huh. I wanna be a detective! Just like Nancy Drew! She's smart and I wanna be just as smart as she is." The little girl had countered his words. "You're almost grown up…." she stated after a long pause. "What you wanna be?"
Or maybe Kate could be a journalist, she was quite the interrogator Richard thought to himself.
"I want to be a writer I think. I like reading…"
"Me too!" Kate cried out loud with a shriek.
"But I also like to write." Richard spoke with a shrug, lost in his own thoughts.
When he eventually returned to reality, he found Kate staring at him, probably waiting for him to move on with the book.
"If you write a book, I'm gonna buy it." At his confused expression, she continued, "I like when you read to me. And you're my friend now and friends stick together. So if you write a book, I have to buy it. Oh, and of course, I will read it too. Promise, cross heart."
"Why… thank you, that's very nice of you." Rick smiled down at the little girl with sparkling green eyes. "And I promise if you ever were to write a book, I'm going to buy yours too." Rick couldn't believe how she managed to wrap him around her little finger. She was quite adorable and the truth was, it was hard to resist her all around cuteness and very charming manner.
"So, shall we?" he eventually pointed back to the book. At the girl's nod he continued.
Half an hour went by until Rick realized that he had been so caught up with the story himself that he barely noticed time flying by. Johanna had her head peeked between the split open door, only to find her daughter fast asleep atop of her bedcovers.
"Oh…" Rick bolted to his feet as if he had been busted with his hand down the cookie jar. "I guess she was tired…" he added, unsure what else to say as he closed the book and put it back into its original spot in the book shelf.
"Don't worry Rick, that's all right. She always falls asleep when we read to her. I hope she didn't bother you too much."
"No… not at all" Rick stuttered nervously, "She's really sweet." He also wanted to add that she had a tendency to occasionally turn into a real tattle tale but deep down inside, he felt Kate Beckett to be a very lovely little girl, well behaved. On the outside he was acting out like any other male teenager, playing it tough, but Martha
Ten minutes later Martha Rodgers and Rick left the Beckett's place with the promise to soon return the favor.
tbc