Rick flipped over his grilled cheese, loving the sizzle it made in his fancy All-Clad frying pan. He hummed to himself while he fixed his mid-morning snack. His mother, coming down the stairs, called an airy good morning.

"It must be, if this is the time you're crawling out of bed," Rick jibbed at his mother as she kissed his cheek.

"Well I needed my beauty sleep today, I have a very special date planned with Chet tonight, and I don't want to wilt halfway through. I've had a week of late night rehearsals and they are definitely taking their toll," Martha explained good-naturedly.

"Mother dear – you never even thought about wilting from anything."

Martha smiled and grabbed grilled cheese sandwich from her son's unsuspecting spatula. "Thank you my darling boy. You always were a mother's pride and joy."

Before Castle could protest, his phone rang. "Beckett," he murmured. "I knew you missed me." He heard his mother scoff as he picked up the call. "Detective! Couldn't stand a day off from me?"

Martha listened from her perch at the island for the usual banter between her son and his muse to start. Instead, she saw Richard's brow furrow. He acknowledged a few things the detective said then hung up.

"New case?" Martha asked.

"Nope," Rick said, staring at his phone. "KB wants to come over and talk to me about something."

"Why the long face Richard? Did she sound all right?"

"She said she would be bringing a visitor and asked if you were here."

"Gracious, I hope everything's okay. Is she coming now?"

"Yep, she was already on her way over from the precinct."

"Well, then, no more fretting until she gets over here. She might bring good news," Martha pointed out to a serious looking Castle. "The captain might have made you an honorary detective. You just never know."

Castle paced, watching the minutes tick off his clock until Beckett arrived. Finally the door bell rang and he sprang to answer it. Beckett stood on the other side, looking...different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she had a new air about her. It made him want to lean over and steal a kiss from her confident, saucy lips...he squashed that desire before he put the thought into action.

"Come in Beckett, let's go into the living room where my mom is." When he stepped aside and let Beckett in, Castle noticed the other woman standing out of the sight of the doorway. Kate motioned for the woman to follow her. When they walked into the living room, Martha gasped out loud.

"You all right Martha?" Kate asked.

"Yes my dear," the actress said, but everyone noticed that she didn't look Kate in the eye when she spoke, and she seemed intensely interested in the pattern on her skirt. Castle noticed that Kate's guest looked rather pained, but when he opened his mouth to say something he caught Beckett's eyes. Her look silenced him and he opted to wait until she started the conversation. Only when they were all seated did Beckett say anything.

"Castle – er, Rick, this is Aris Miron-Whitworth."

"Miron?" Castle interrupted. "As in, Miron Productions that worked on Heat Wave?"

Kate and her guest smiled wryly at each other. "Yes, that's the one," Aris said.

Though confused, Rick knew his manners. "It's nice to meet you Aris. I'm Richard Castle and this is my mother Martha Castle."

"It's wonderful to meet you both," Aris said sincerely. Suddenly, her smile disappeared and she looked at Beckett with panic, who quickly took over for her.

"Castle, Aris is here because...um, well, you see...Aris approached me this morning with..." Kate finally stopped and took a deep breath. It wasn't like her to stumble over words like this. She turned to Aris. "This is hard," she whispered. "It's that first 'just-say-it' part that is a lot more difficult than I imagined." Aris nodded sympathetically but timidly.

"Say what Kate?" Castle asked, a hint of his own panic in his voice. Kate jumped as if startled and turned back to Rick and Martha.

"Well, Castle, what we came here to talk about is, well, not easy, and I just don't quite – "

"I believe," Martha interrupted quietly, but with strain apparent in her voice, "that Detective Beckett is here to inform you that Aris is your sister."