I am completely psyched about the reaction I've gotten from this story and I'm so glad that y'all wanna read more and that you would want me to go beyond a three-shot but I feel I should remind you about all my other stories and how 1. I really need to finish them and 2. How I seem to lose steam after a certain amount of time. I don't that to happen here so by keeping it short, I'm keeping this story good. Maybe there will be one- or two-shots in this same universe but, for right now, a three-shot is all I can give you of this. Thank you, though, for reading and encouraging me.
Chapter Two
They stare at each other, bewildered by this new information, hazel-green locked on sky blue.
This cannot be happening, Kate thinks to herself. He can't be the man she…in a freaking airport bathroom, no less! The father of her child…
Who is now looking over his shoulder at the little girl, whose giggles reverberate throughout the entire homicide division, bringing smiles to nearly every cop's face. Especially Karpowski, who has a noted soft spot for "Beckett Junior" as she calls her. Castle's heart swells with love for this little girl, and it has almost nothing to do with the knowledge that she may be his.
Practically since the day Castle learned that she had a daughter—it was after the nanny case last year, when Kate opened up about hiring somebody to watch over her infant daughter while she was attending NYU, before her father got sober—he'd bee enraptured by this little thing with big blue eyes and her mother's smile (and, apparently, his dimples). She'd shown him a picture of her daughter and he practically melted and the goofy face she was making at the camera; eyes crossed and cheeks filled with air like a pufferfish.
The first day he actually met her was when Beckett was going to accompany him to that gala for their case and needed a sitter. Both Martha and Alexis had immediately volunteered to watch over the girl, who was smaller than he'd imagine a Beckett child to be, given how tall her mother was.
"I didn't have my growth spurt until I was nearly fifteen," she'd once told Castle. "Becketts are late bloomers."
That little tidbit had only served to increase his affection for both mother and daughter and he knew they already held a place in his heart. He knew, from the day he met Kate Beckett, that there was something between them. Something…extraordinary. He'd told her that on more than one occasion and, as it turns out, he was right. There is something between them.
She's about four and a half feet tall, with long brown hair, eyes the color of the sky, a button nose, and a smile that could light the world, with dimples like craters in her face. She's one of the most beautiful little girls in the world…and she's his.
"We'll need a blood test," Kate murmurs, bringing him back from his thoughts, "to be completely certain. Then we can…figure out everything else from there."
"Everything else?" Castle asks. "Like…custody?"
Kate nods. "If you're really her father," she says with a sigh. "You'll want custody, right? At least partial?"
Castle nods. "Definitely," he says, smiling over at Joey, who's acting like a monkey with her two "uncles". "God, she's so much like Alexis was at her age; how did I not realize?"
"It wasn't just you, Castle," Kate sighs. "I knew the eyes looked familiar and those dimples…I should have seen it sooner. Hell, I knew who you were the night we…made her."
"You did?" Castle asks, turning back to her.
"Sort of," Kate replies. "My mom was a pretty big fan of your books, always trying to get me to start reading them. I knew of you, but I was too drunk that night to really comprehend…." She shakes her head. "This is so messed up."
"Hey," Castle says, putting his hand on her knee. Kate's eyes widen at the motion and she can swear that his cheeks turn pink, but he soldiers on. "Neither of us are at fault for this, alright? Or both of us, I dunno. Point is, it happened and now we have a chance to fix it. I can be a part of my daughter's life and you've finally found the ruggedly handsome father of your child." He wiggles his eyebrows at her and Kate rolls her eyes, pushing his hand off of her knee. In retaliation, he reaches for her hand and grips it firmly, looking her straight in the eyes. "Seriously, though, Kate," he says, "everything's going to be fine. I promise."
She wants to believe him. Wants to believe that he's not going to go back to his playboy ways, forget about the 11-year-old daughter that he barely knows, and break both of their hearts. But it's too soon for any of that. Before they talk custody or daddyhood or promises, they need to be sure.
She lets go of his hand without saying anything and picks up her phone, keeping a careful eye on Jo to make sure she's not paying attention to her mother. "Lanie," she greets, when the other woman picks up the phone, "do you still have Johanna's DNA on file? I think I may have found her father."
Years ago, during the kidnapping case she worked with the FBI, Kate had the lab take Joey's DNA samples, just in case of an emergency. DNA had played a big part in getting the victim's killer in that case, but they'd matched it too late and she wasn't about to have that happen to her baby girl. So Lanie had kept a vial stored for her, just in case, and Kate had hoped she's never have to use it.
But things didn't really work out that way.
"You found your girl's father?" Lanie asks the second Kate enters the morgue.
Kate shrugs. "Maybe," she answers, "but we can't really be completely sure without a test."
"So who is it?" Lanie asks. "Not one of our suspects, I hope?"
"No," Kate laughs, "but I have arrested him before."
Lanie gives her a look of confusion and Castle takes his cue to walk in from the hallway, grinning sheepishly. Lanie's brown eyes widen comically and her mouth gapes open as she looks between them. "No way!" she squeaks. "You and Castle?! Girl, why didn't you ever tell me?!"
"Honestly," Kate replies, "I had no idea."
"You had no idea that Castle was Mr. McCarran International?" Lanie asks, disbelievingly.
"Is that what you call me?" Castle asks them, smirking.
"Actually," Lanie says, "you were more like Blue Eyes, Big—"
"Lanie!" Kate hisses. Castle is practically beaming.
"What? Is Jojo here or something?" She looks all around as if the preteen is about to jump out from some hiding place.
"No," Kate sighs, "she's upstairs with the boys, but could you please just shush!" Her face is bright pink now and Castle looks like the cat that ate the canary. Lanie cackles and Kate glares. "Just take his blood so we can find out if he's really the father."
"Did you sleep with anybody else that night?" Lanie asks, motioning for Castle to pull up his sleeve as she starts gathering up materials. "I mean, I know you said you only had two hours, but—"
"Only one guy," Kate sighs, "but Castle…it could just be a coincidence that his story matches mine."
"Beckett," Castle says, "we were at the same airport, at the same time, at the same bar. You said Jo's father had sky blue eyes and I have sky blue eyes."
"And he had floppy brown hair," Lanie adds, tugging on Castle's arm. He allows her to tie the tourniquet around his arm and flexes his fist as she looks for a vein.
"I could have used a haircut back then, actually," he admits, running his free hand through his hair. "But what are the chances that it's not me?" he asks Kate.
"Nothing is ever a hundred percent," Kate replies. "And I'm not about to get my daughter's hopes up for nothing."
"It won't be for nothing," Castle says, "because I'm definitely her—ouch!"
He pouts at Lanie as she sticks the butterfly needle in and she rolls her eyes. "Hold still," she says and Kate swears she can practically see tears glistening in the man's eyes. She rolls her and grabs his opposite hand, surprising both him and the ME.
Kate rolls her eyes again. "Maybe you are Jo's father," she says, "because this is exactly what I have to do every time she gets her blood drawn." He frowns at her, but doesn't let go of her hand. Instead he squeezes it and she feels an inexplicable warmth spread throughout her body. They lock eyes and hold that gaze for a long moment.
"Done," Lanie says, interrupting. Kate lets go of Castle's hand as the ME encourages him to press a cotton ball to the little needle prick. "I should have your results in a few hours. In the meantime, maybe you two should, uh, catch up." She winks at Kate, who glares fiercely back at her and Castle snorts next to them, winking back at Lanie.
Kate rolls her eyes and stomps out of the morgue, with Castle right behind her.
"Where'd you guys go?" Joey asks as soon as they return. She's spinning around in Kate's chair and the older woman stops her, chuckling down at the dizzy look in her eyes.
"We had to talk to Lanie about something," she says, not exactly lying. "But we're back and, sadly, I have to do paperwork right now. Joey groans and Kate shoots a glance at Castle, who smirks back. Her doubts are running low by the second. "But why don't you and Castle…I dunno, go do something 'fun'?"
"Really?" Johanna asks excitedly. "Like what?" she says to Castle.
Castle shrugs. "Whatever you want," he says. "Within reason. I'm rich, but your mother would kill me if I took you skydiving."
"I'm afraid of heights anyway," Jo informs him.
"What a coincidence," he says, sharing a look with Kate over the girl's head, "so am I."
She glares at him—they'd agreed not to say anything about his possible paternity until they had all their facts—and then smiles down at her daughter, stroking her hair. "Why don't you start with a movie, huh? I hear Airplane is playing down at the Angelika…"
Both Castle and Johanna gasp in excitement and then share a look. "We're going to see that, right?" she asks him.
"Just try and stop us," he replies and helps her into her coat and scarf, pulling her hat down over her eyes and making her giggle. Kate watches them with a soft smile on her face and shakes her head.
"Have fun, babe," she says. "Give me a kiss."
Castle leans in and Kate presses his face away from her as she tugs her daughter into her body. The girl giggles as she showers her face with kisses, then lets go, also shoving Castle away.
"Be good," she says.
"I will be," Joey replies.
"I was talking to him," Kate says, giving Castle a warning glance. He puts his hands up in surrender and then takes Joey by the shoulders, steering her towards the elevator. Kate watches them go and sighs deeply as she looks down at her cell phone.
The results can't come fast enough.
Thank you all for reading and enjoying this! It means so much to me, considering my recent slump. A lot of my other stories will be updated as soon as I finish my work today (I have to write 14,000 words, god help me) and can get the motivation and inspiration (because that's also p important.) Please REVIEW!
Also, seeing as how this is kind of moving a little slower than I thought it would, it might actually have a fourth and fifth chapter. So…a five-shot? I think that can just be called a short fic, though…
