Perchance to Dream

by tlr555

Tired of these characters refusing to talk to each other about their feelings, This story is a nice change without all the talk. Beckett and Castle see the lives they could have. - three chapters

"Perchance To Dream"

By: TLR555

4/8/12

Rated: PG-13 to R

The one thing that has bothered me about this whole lie thing is that we have two adults madly in love with each other but because of circumstances they cannot just admit their attraction to each other. Hopefully this story will help with that. It picks up just after Colen left Kate at the bar.

Kate couldn't get the feeling out of her mind that she was cheating on Castle by even going out for a drink with the Limey. When Colen leaned in to kiss her, the detective jerked backward and felt foolish by her action. The Scotland Yard inspector understood immediately and tipped his head good night. Within moments, Kate was left standing on the sidewalk alone and feeling very sad. She waited to see the Limey get into a cab and head off for the international gate at LaGuardia. Once out of sight, the detective walked to her unit and was crossing the short distant to her loft within a matter of minutes. She went directly inside, poured herself a couple more shots of bourbon and tipped them back until staying vertical was not an easy option. The young brunette poured her-self into bed wearing the clothes she last saw Castle in.

Richard Castle felt guilty once he left the precinct for his stewardess dinner date. Truth be told, the allure of this beautiful 24 year old woman used to be exactly what the writer was looking for in an evening's distraction. Now, her silly giggles and wiggling hips only got on his nerves. If he wasn't trying so hard to move on from Beckett, Rick thought he would not want to spend any time with the bleach bottle blonde. Claiming a headache, the author used it as an excuse to take miss friendly skies back to the airport hotel and went directly home. He didn't even try to kiss the young woman who stood on the sidewalk outside the hotel, hoping to change his mind. Richard was too geared to sleep, so he sat up and wrote into the wee hours of the morning before finally turning in.

Hours Later:

Kate found herself in a strange bathroom dressed in a very elegant strapless V front black with gold trimmed bustier, black waist level garter belt with thigh high stockings, and hip high black satin bikini panties. Her hair was classically swept up into a French twist with soft curly ends that framed her face. She wore a very expensive diamond circle leaf pattern necklace that the detective estimated cost at least a quarter million easy. She stared at herself in the very tall mirror, taking in the detail of her makeup. Kate was so taken aback by the strange circumstances of this situation she didn't hear the man coming up behind her. A very muscular arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into him. In a low husky voice, Kate heard the man say. "Wow…. If I knew you were going to look this good, I would say we should just stay home instead of going to this book signing." The young woman turned to see the warm face of the writer smiling his very naughty grin. She didn't pull away instead Kate leaned into his kisses and took great joy in his closeness.

"You feel amazing." Richard's lips brushed the soft tissue just behind her ear. The young brunette reveled in the touch. "You smell great too, I love that perfume on you." The writer's other hand came up and enclosed her scantily clad body in warmth. The moment was lost as a small hand came up and touched Kate's stocking covered knee. The detective looked down surprised by what looked back at her. There stood a little cherub face with dark brown hair, blue eyes and deep set dimples. The little child's hair was parted down the middle and formed two soft pigtails on either side of her head. The little girl looked to be about 2 years of age.

Kate watched as Rick's arms left her body and scooped up the grinning child in one smooth swoop. "Hey their pumpkin, how's daddy's little girl?" This got a surprised look from the young woman standing by their side. The little girl grinned widely her eyes holding the attention of the smitten man. The young one sat on Richard's arm showing off the emerald green with white trim crushed velvet princess lined dress and patent leather Mary-Janes she wore.

"You look as pretty of as your mama." That statement garnered another soft giggle and large toothy grin on the part of the child. "What do ya think Hon….. isn't she the cutest little girl around?" Richard and the child both looked to Beckett to acknowledge his words.

Kate, lost a moment by these events, quickly picked up on the cue and responded. "She sure is." Though her words meant encouragement, her facial features belied her puzzlement, at least to the very observant writer. The little girl squealed in delight, clapping her hands and bouncing on her daddy's arm. Beckett noticed Richard's scrutiny and looked away.

"You okay babe?" Castle leaned in and tried to look into her face in the mirror. "You're not pregnant again, are ya?" His voice didn't hold any concern at that question, just even and warm tones.

"What?..."Kate reflected her shock at that and replied…."No….No. Of course not."

"Well you always did get a little distracted during your first trimesters." A sweet smile graced his lips and his eyes shown a warmth that penetrated deep into her soul. Richard's glance turned back to his daughter who was quietly watching her parents' loving interaction.

"Come on kiddo….. let's go get you ready and let mommy finish getting dressed." Richard whipped the girl around causing her to giggle again. He noticed Beckett's dress hanging on the back of the door and commented. "That is a beautiful dress, Valentino isn't it? I do love his designs. He really does know how to bring out a woman's natural beauty." Richard opened the door and started to step through it. "Better hurry Hon… The limo will be here for us soon." With that the writer left the room with the little girl leaving Kate alone again.

Kate turned and looked at her-self in the mirror. 'What the hell is going on here?' she questioned her own mind thinking she must have truly gone off the deep end. While she couldn't say what was happening, the detective wasn't all that upset by the circumstances. Catherine looked at the dress, an off the shoulder flowing navy blue velvet gown, with a deep V neck that was trimmed in Australian crystal chips. The dress had a high slit on its right side about three quarter's up her leg. Slipping it on, the woman suddenly felt transformed into an elegant actress or model going to an awards show instead of a homicide detective going to a book signing party. Kate found a pair of tasteful tear drop diamond earrings on the makeup table. She slipped them on and noted that they completed her outfit perfectly.

While checking out the details, Kate's eyes fell to her left hand were a rather sizable rock was located on the fourth ring finger. She brought her extremity up for a closer examination. There on her hand was a beautiful but tasteful 4 ct diamond ring that the detective realized shortly to be her mother's engagement ring that she always wore around her neck. This time the center diamond was upsized a bit and a trio of diamond chips were placed on either side. Beside this ring was a platinum band lined with equal sized diamond chips. The young woman thought the combination of the two was elegant and exactly what she would have picked for herself if she had actually done so. "So, we're married" Kate murmured to the ring. "Given the kid, that's good to know."

Catherine spent one more moment checking her outfit then turned toward the door that Castle had just left out of. She took a deep breath and pushed herself off from the makeup table in the direction of the portal.

Just through the door, Kate saw the little girl standing on a French style love seat that was positioned at the bottom of a large comfortable looking California King sized bed. The author was searching the room for something Kate couldn't quite make out. Rick saw her enter the room and stopped to admire her.

"Yep…. That does it…. We are staying home and I'll let Gina makes some excuses….." He came up and put another arm about her to steal a kiss. The writer was surprised that Kate didn't stop him claiming he would mess up her makeup like usual. Since the opportunity presented itself, Castle took it, pressing his lips to hers in a very warm and passionate kiss. The young woman leaned into the kiss then realized the child was privy to their behavior. She eased backward with a sheepish grin, looking in the direction of the little girl who was smiling ear to ear.

"Darn little girl, you are seriously impacting on my mommy time…." Richard went back over to her, picked her up, and set the child back down on the carpeted floor.

"Jo Jo…." Castle started and was stopped by a hand upon his arm. He looked at Kate who gave him a very perplexed glare. Richard seemed to know this look all too well and started. "Alright… Joanna Kathleen Castle, please go get the ribbons for your hair so mommy can finish getting your ready." The little girl ran out of the room, as Richard turned to face the young woman. "Better?" He asked not knowing Beckett's true question of him earlier. She stepped into his arms and rested her head upon his masculine shoulder. The smooth lines of his Italian silk tux felt good against her skin. With her heels, Catherine's head only came to the top of his shoulder, making this fit to be a warm and comfortable one.

Inside, the detective's mind was reeling… Joanna had been her mother's name…. Kathleen was Martha's middle name. The melding of the two made a beautifully lyrical name that truly described the child it was given too. Richard was impressed by the affection this woman was showing him this evening. After an appropriate amount of enjoyment time, he leaned back and looked deep into her beautiful face. "You sure you're not pregnant again….. You were also very horny in your first trimesters as I recall." That comment garnered a soft punch into his arm. Beckett received a smile from the over grown 12 year old with hormones. Richard moved across the room to the dresser.

"Hey Babe…. Have you seen my cuff links?" Richard searched through the jewelry items on the burrow.

"Which cuff links?" Kate felt it a safe question. Obviously Richard doesn't seem too confused by this circumstance.

"The 14 ct emerald cut diamond ones." The writer uttered those words as if every man had a pair emerald cut diamond cuff links in their collection. He continued to search through his man box. Kate also looked through the items on the dresser than saw the return of the little girl with her ribbons. She stood there with a big grin and held them out to the still very surprised woman. Kate stopped her search, picked the girl back up onto the loveseat and began tying the green strips of velvet into her hair.

"Honey….. We are going to be late…."Richard stated a bit worried about the latest of the hour. He put a hand on her arm as she finished tying the final ribbon into place. "Where can they be?" Kate wasn't sure if Castle was more worried about being late for his book signing, or in losing a set of what had to be at least 100 thousand dollar cufflinks.

"Gimmie" The little girl announced into her mother's face. "Give you want darling?" Kate tried to understand the garbled 2 year old talk. "Gimmie." Richard came up to address the little girl.

"You mean Jimmy has my cufflinks honey?" the little girl smiled and nodded vigorously. 'Who was Jimmy?' Kate wonder as now another freaky twist was added to this situation. She saw Castle roll his eyes at that then he kissed the little girl. Rick turned to Kate…. "My mother warned me that eventually I would have a child that is exactly like me…Little did I know, how right she was about that." The writer turned, his stance less childlike, and more the parent now.

Richard walked toward the door to the living area. "Jimmy, front and center boy." Kate could finally see through it to the familiar Castle loft. 'So at least I am not in a strange place, I know how to get home from this little mental Walt Disney trip' she thought and picked up Joanna. She carried the girl into the living room and saw standing there a more mature Alexis in a stunning black crepe dress. Kate's attention then shifted to her midsection and thought she caught the definite outline of a small baby bump.

Kate's eyes opened wide though she kept her surprise to her-self. 'That has to be some excess weight, cause Castle would have had a heart attack if Alexis was truly pregnant.' The detective contemplated, 'obviously Castle hadn't died and hasn't been booked on murder charges so it must be a little excess weight'

Catherine's eyes then went to the tall young brown haired, blue eyed man behind her. Kate estimated him to be a few years older than Alexis and the way his hand came up and snaked across her hands (over the bump) the detective was reconsidering her assessment about a pregnancy. Her eyes went to the rock on Alexis' left ring finger accompanied by an equally impressive white gold band.

'Oh my god, she's married' This stunned thought caught the detective by surprise. She held tightly to the little girl and watched the remainder of the show.

"Dad….. What's wrong?" Alexis came up and gave her father a knowing look. The red head's husband allowed her freedom to go be her father's parent once again. He just grinned at their interaction, having most likely seen it several times before.

"Your little brother has taken my diamond cufflinks probably to play marbles again." His exaggerated actions garnered a sarcastic look back from his first born.

"Dad… You can't play marbles with square cufflinks…. I am sure he has them around here somewhere." Alexis calmly started for the steps to call her half brother.

"James Alexander Castle, get your butt down here now or I will hang you up by your ears and sell you to the Indians." Kate was shocked by her statement. Richard even looked at her with a smirk.

"Well, we're gonna be late right. You want the cufflinks or not?" Alexis truly didn't see the issue with her tone toward the child. 'No sibling rivalry there' the detective thought and tried to imagine Alexis as a big sister. Kate finally realized Castle's constantly talking about her pregnancies in multiples and wondered just how many kids they did have. There was a scuffle, a crash, the heavy patter of tiny feet and suddenly a small brown haired blued eyed boy came bounding down the steps. He was dressed like the others in a child's version of a Fredrick's Brother's suit. Rumpled and slightly disheveled, the mop top little lad was exactly what Catherine often imagined Castle looked like as a child. The blueness of his eyes, were only outdone by the deep set dimples that seemed to be a Castle family trademark. 'Nice' Kate thought as she saw the small boy come running right up to his parent, then sister.

"James Alexander Castle….. Did you take my cufflinks without my permission again?" Castle asked. The little boy dropped his head and looked toward his scuffed up shoes. He dug in his pocket and pulled out the illusive items. The boy, roughly 5 years of age seemed relieved he remembered where he left them, but knew the fact that he took the items again without permission was going to get him some sort of punishment.

"Jimmy" Alexis pushed the child to answer. Kate finally realized that their son was named after her father James Alan Beckett and Richard middle name Alexander, another masterful naming solution.

"Yes sir" The detective was surprised that the child called his father sir, as she never thought Castle to be all that strict of a dad. She watched on wanting to know exactly how this would turn out.

"You know you need to ask permission before you borrow anyone's things, mine, mommy's, grams, Grandpop's, even your big sister Alexis right?" Castle saw the look the little boy gave to his red haired sibling and knew he would never borrow anything from her after using her light saber to get his tonka truck out of the john. Jimmy began nodding to his father's question.

"Well don't do it again…." Castle made his best official parenting face, then whispered "because if you do your mother will have to arrest you." The look that garnered him from the child's mother made him put his hands up in surrender.

"Besides, your mom won't arrest you." Alexis added with a bit of sarcasm. "Uncle Kevin would arrest you, your mom would prosecute you." Richard jabbed his first born in the arm. "What dad….. Kate's a lawyer now, not a police detective." Alexis smiled in Kate's direction. Kate was puzzled….'I'm a lawyer?'

Kate thought a moment. This situation was getting way too bizarre for her. She wondered if this was a very elaborate joke on Castle's part then remembered that the writer wasn't playing at all with her these days, so doing all this would definitely be out of the question. That thought saddened her again and Catherine decided to focus on something else.

'Grandpop' Kate realized her father would be a grandfather, something she knew he had been hinting at for the last two years.(just after she started talking fondly about her time with the writer boy).

"Speaking of Grandpop, is he meeting us there?" Kate wanted to see what this scenario had done for her beloved dad. Just then the front door opened and in stepped Jim Beckett and Martha Rogers. 'What are they doing arriving together' a puzzled look came over Catherine's face.

"Look who I found in the elevator on the way up." Martha commented of the man who lent a gentlemanly arm to the elegantly dressed woman. There was something different about Martha though. A classiness that Kate wasn't sure she exuded before. The obvious changes were that her hair was silver white and was cut in a short bob that framed her jaw line. It was a classical look for the actress and the detective was impressed. She stood there in a silver beaded jacket and long skirt that was far from the colorful sets that Kate was always used to seeing her in.

'Wow….time really does change things.' The detective thought as she noticed that Martha actually looked younger with this hair style and wardrobe. 'Nice look Martha' Kate was starting to take this trip down the rabbit hole for the fun ride it was and was enjoying every minute of it.

"Hi Katie, girl." Jim came up and took his granddaughter out of his child's arms. He snuggled close to the little girl and heard her squeal in his ear. "GAMPA".

Jim leaned in and kissed Kate on the cheek, then walked over to his grandson. Giving the scruffy boy a pat on the shoulder, Jim was rewarded with a smile in return. Martha came up and hugged the boy in her usual laid back manner.

"Hey there kiddo…. You giving your daddy a hard time again?" Kate didn't know if Martha heard the ruckus from the hallway, or if she just knew what Richard put her through. Martha ran her fingers through the child's mop top straightening the brown wavy strands. Catherine imagined a younger Martha doing the same to Richard's mane many years earlier.

The door com sounded, and announced the arrival of the stretch limo. Richard relayed this to the group and together, all members of this family collected their coats and headed for the elevator. A short time later, the group was making its way down the red carpet to flashing lights and paparazzi on either side. Kate held tight to Jimmie's hand while Castle carried little Jo Jo on his arm. The camera light bulbs were blinding to the young detective. Kate blinked as the lights began to hurt her eyes. The searing brightness of the volley was the last thing she remembered.

Disclaimer – I own nothing and do not in any way intend this to impinge on the rights or royalties of Castle, ABC, etc. It is only a story intended to bring enjoyment to other fans like me that love the show.

Please continue to part 2. See if you can guess what is really happening by the end of chapter 3. Write your answers in the feedback section and I will post chapter with the correct answer in 1 wk,