AN: AU - Beckett and Castle met while Kate was in the Academy and have been married for six years, Alexis is four, no Meredith, strictly baby Caskett. Kate has been working as a Homicide Detective at the 12th for a little more than two years, but Lanie and the 'boys' know almost nothing about her personal life. Castle's writing career is going very well with a long string of best-sellers, but being a happily married family man he isn't exactly 'Page 6' material.

Disclaimer: Standard, I own none of it.

Easter Egg

Ryan slowly looked up from his position crouching behind the cruiser, the sound of gunfire had finally ceased. He spotted several Uni's cautiously approaching the concealed area where the shooter must have been hiding. What had started out as a routine crime scene was now chaos, CSU techs, EMT's and ME techs all shaken by being in the line of fire of a gunman hiding in the shadows. He heard a groan from his left, he turned to see a pair of familiar looking heels sticking out from near the front of the car. "SHIT! BECKETT" he ran along the side of the cruiser and found her lying in a heap, blood staining her shirt and blazer, starting to pool by her prone torso.

"OFFICER DOWN! EMT OVER HERE NOW" he yelled as he knelt down beside his fallen partner. Beckett's face was ashen, her eyes unfocused and her breathing was shallow and labored. "Stay with us Beckett, come on Kate fight it" he said as he felt one of the EMTs push past him. He tried to focus as the level of activity and noise grew around her. He heard Lanie exclaim "OH God" and turned to see her bury her face in Esposito's shoulder. Then he heard Beckett's raspy voice, he turned back to her and knelt closer to listen.

"Ca l Ri Rick an Alexsss, p pplease" she stammered out barely audible above the commotion of the technicians trying to keep her alive. Ryan looked down and saw her fingers barely clinging to her phone. He reached to take it from her.

"Don't worry Beckett, I'll get them for you, you just hang on" he assured her as she took a shuttering breath and slowly closed her tear filled eyes.

Ryan, Esposito and Lanie watched helplessly as the EMT's loaded Kate in to the back of the ambulance. Javi gave Lanie's hand a squeeze "Go with her chica, we'll meet you at the hospital". As Lanie got in the back of the ambulance and it drove off sirens blaring, Ryan looked at the phone in his hand.

"Come on chica, you must know something about her life, you're her friend, you guys talk all the time" Javi whined.

Lanie raised a brow "and what makes you think I'd tell you two clowns even if I did know anything?"

"We're all friends aren't we, we should know a little bit about each other" Kevin pleaded.

"Alright, tell me what you think you know and I'll decide if I can fill in anything."

Javi looked at Kevin and then said "Well we know that every time we end up having to stay late, she takes off for a couple of minutes to make a call to someone and from time to time she goes into a conference room to talk on the phone and she smiles a lot during the call." Kevin shifted from one foot to the other "I sorta listened in the other night and heard her tell someone not to fall asleep on the couch waiting up for her, and then she said 'love you too babe'so that sounds like she's got someone special in her life."

Lanie looked between the two detectives "That's it?" They both both nodded and she laughed. "You've been working with her for a year and a half, and that's all you've figured out about her." she shook her head "Okay look, I guess I shouldn't be too hard on you, I know a bit more about her but not a whole lot. She's married, her husband's name is Rick, she says he acts like a 10 year old on a sugar rush sometimes, that's about all I know about him. They have a little girl Kate calls Lex, I think she's about three. The only other thing I know is that her mother-in-law makes no secret of the fact that she doesn't approve of Kate being a cop 'not a suitable profession for a woman'." she smirks at the last part.

"Beckett is a mom? Wow!" says Ryan, "Ya, can't imagine how that works" agrees Javi.

Lanie scowls "Just because you two oh so manly he-men are practically scared to death of her, doesn't mean she hasn't got a softer motherly side."

Ryan slowly looks through the contact list on Beckett's phone until he comes across an entry that says 'Rick', he presses the call button as he raises the phone to his ear. After a couple of rings a deep male voice says "Hey babe what's up?"

Ryan shudders "uh Hello, my name is Detective Kevin Ryan, I work with Beck I mean Kate. Look man I'm sorry but she's been shot. She's being taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. She was asking for Rick and it sounded like Alex. Again I'm so sorry"

"Oh God Kate... Thank you for calling Detective" the line went dead.