*Yes, in this chapter, Beckett is staying at Castle's place like in Significant Others. But it's not set during that episode. So she's staying at Castle's place because of renovations being done to her building and because I said so. Also narrative convenience.*

The Doctor didn't take too well to the idea of stopping for the night. "But there's still stuff to do," he whined when Beckett brought it up.

The detective raised an eyebrow at his childish behavior. "And making ourselves too tired to properly work on the case won't help anything. Besides, the morgue'll be closed, we won't be able to access the body anyway." The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but Beckett cut him off with, "And no, we're not breaking into the NYPD's morgue in the dead of night. We'll get some sleep and keep working tomorrow."

Castle looked from River to the Doctor. "Do you guys have a place to stay?"

The Doctor looked surprised for a moment, then grinned cheerfully. "Of course. We've got the TARDIS."

Castle gave the police box a critical glance. "Oh yes, staying in a box in the middle of a creepy empty parking lot. Sounds fun." Then he brightened. "You should come back to my place. I've got a couple extra rooms, and we'll have dinner."

The Doctor's smile faded. "Oh no, I really couldn't. I don't do… dinners and things."

Beckett narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "I'm still not convinced you two aren't mixed up in this somehow. So you can either spend the night in a cell, or come to Castle's place with us so I can at least keep an eye on you." She fixed him with that Beckett glare that sent criminals running.

The Doctor continued to hesitate, but River just rolled her eyes. "Oh, ignore this idiot. Dinner would be lovely, and we'll be glad to stay the night." She swept right past the pouting Doctor and started off towards the car. "Come along, Doctor." Castle could practically hear the smirk in her tone.

The alien shook his head. "Oh, fine. Fine fine fine. But I'm not leaving the TARDIS here, I'll just pop over and park her at your house."

Castle looked eagerly at the box. "So you're going to fly it there?"

"No, not fly her. She can disappear here reappear there," the Doctor explained as he strode towards the TARDIS.

The writer followed him like an eager puppy. "Can I come?"

The Doctor gave him a surprised glance, then grinned. "Well of course you're coming, how else am I going to explain popping up in the middle of your living room? Oh, and where is that incidentally? I need an address."

Castle gave it to him as they stepped back into the TARDIS. The grand interior still brought an idiotic grin to his face. The Doctor hurried here and there around the console, throwing up switches and pushing buttons. He looked over at Castle. "I don't think I got your name by the way. Didn't your partner call you Castle? Nice name Castle, almost as good as Pond."

The writer tore his gaze away from the amazing interior to look at the Doctor. "I'm Richard Castle, and my partner's Detective Kate Beckett."

The Doctor paused from his work with the console. He looked up at the writer with wide eyes, surprise evident on his face. Castle couldn't help feeling smug. He guessed that it took a lot to surprise the Doctor and felt accomplished he had managed it, though he didn't know how. "No. You're Richard Castle? The writer?" When Castle nodded, a huge grin broke out over the alien's face. "Oh, this is fantastic, I always wanted to meet you. In fact I remember I meant to take Amy and Rory to meet you, but then we ended up in the ice age and things got a little complicated. I got arrested by Richard Castle!"

His gleeful babbling mostly bemused Castle, but he felt unusually touched by the revelation of this particular fan. "You said you're from the future, right?" he asked slowly.

The Doctor nodded, still grinning. Then understand flooded his face. "Oh, of course, you're wondering if…" He shook his head with a chuckle. "Don't worry. Your books last for a long, long time. I mean, you're no JK Rowling or Charles Dickens, no offense, but your Heat series is considered far and wide one of the most realistic, heartfully portrayed detective series of the era. They say the romance between Heat and Rook is the most realistic aspect." His eyes widened in surprise. "Wait a minute, Kate Beckett. Of course! The inspiration for Nikki Heat! Oh, that is brilliant! I was arrested by the inspirations for Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook!" With a delighted laugh he returned to his work with the console, dashing around to throw up more switches.

Castle watched silently, thinking about what the Doctor had told him. He had never been overly concerned with how his books would last. They were meant very much for the here and now. He had never written them to be classics like Lord of the Rings or Sherlock Holmes. But knowing that he was remembered, that his books were remembered, even after he was gone… And that the books remembered were his Heat books only made it better. He had put so much of his and Beckett's relationship into that book. It was almost like it was them who would be remembered for all that time to come. Castle smiled to himself, letting himself be warmed by the thought. He had preserved the thought of Kate Beckett for years and years to come.

"Although, I have always wanted to ask, why did you kill Derrick Storm?"

The serious moment was broken as Castle held back a chuckle. "To tell the truth, he was getting boring to write." He approached the console, looking at the Doctor's work. "So we're just going to appear in the middle of my living room? Won't the big blue box raise a few questions?"

"No no no, I'm setting it on invisible." The Doctor frowned for a moment. "Not a fun setting, but it gets the job done. Oh, and we're on silent too." With a grin in Castle's direction, he pushed forward a final lever.

The TARDIS gave a massive shudder, almost sending Castle to the ground. He clutched at the console desperately as the TARDIS continued to shake. The writer turned to the Doctor, who was grinning maniacally. "Can't this thing fly any smoother?"

The Doctor just shook his head. "Where's the fun in that?" he laughed.

Castle could come up with several ways to disagree, but never got the chance. With a final violent shudder the TARDIS finally stilled.

As Castle struggled to get used to the sudden change in balance, the Doctor dashed over to the door, throwing it open and grinning out at what he saw. "Very lovely place. Not better than my TARDIS though."

The writer finally made his way to the door, pushing past the Doctor, and found himself in the middle of his living room. He looked back at the now-invisible TARDIS, which moments ago had been in an abandoned parking lot, and laughed incredulously. "It actually appeared here! It's a real spaceship!"

The Doctor followed him out of the TARDIS, closing the door behind him. "Of course it's a real spaceship!" He tried to sound offended, but he too was grinning. "We'll just leave it here for now. I just have to remember where I parked it." His look faded to one of confused remembrance. "It's never good to lose an invisible TARDIS."

Castle was about to ask what had happened last time that happened when footsteps sounded from upstairs. The Doctor hastily locked the TARDIS as a red-haired woman descended from the stairs. She gave a slight jump when she saw Castle and the Doctor. "Oh! Oh, hello darling, I didn't hear you come in." She looked curiously at the alien beside him. "And who is this?"

The writer turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, this is my mother Martha Rogers. Mother, this is the Doctor. He's from out of town and has agreed to help consult on the case, and he didn't have anywhere to stay so I offered a room."

Martha raised an eyebrow." Well, how generous of you." She turned to the Doctor with a gracious smile. "It's good to meet you, Doctor…?"

The Doctor shook her offered hand with a grin. "Just 'the Doctor.'" He explained cheerfully. "I had a friend named Martha once, brilliant she was, absolutely brilliant."

Martha ignored the strange comment at the end, focusing instead on the first part of the Doctor's introduction. "Oh. Are you an actor then, Doctor?"

It was the second time the Doctor had managed to look surprised. "No. Why?"

"I'm an actress, and I thought maybe the Doctor was your stage name," she explained. "I've met many an actor who built a new name for himself when taking to the stage. Of course, I was always happy with Martha Rogers, but my son here decided the name Rogers didn't hold enough grandeur for him." She sent her son a brief, mock glare, but he just grinned back. "Are you a writer then?"

The Doctor shook his head, gaze darting around the living room with child-like curiousity. "No, I'm traveling mostly. I have some information that could help the NYPD with their case."

"Oh?" She looked at Castle questioningly, but when no more information was forthcoming, she turned back to the Doctor. "Well, you are most certainly welcome to stay here tonight."

A brisk knock sounded from the front door. "Ah, that'll be Beckett I suppose," Martha commented as Castle hurried to the door, opening it with a welcoming grin.

The detective in question stepped in, followed by River, who looked around the flat with interest. Beckett slipped her coat off and hung it up. "Hey Martha."

"Hello again, Detective Beckett," the actress greeted warmly.

River stepped up to the actress, holding out a hand. "Doctor River Song, archaeologist. I'm the Doctor's partner."" She shot the alien in question a smirk.

Martha shook her hand graciously. "Its very nice to meet you Doctor Song, and you and your partner are welcome to stay the night." She headed over to the closet to grab her coat. "Well, I would love to stay and mingle, but I have other obligations this evening. My acting school is hosting an event this evening and I've volunteered to help. Have fun, you four." With that she swept out the front door, leaving the two doctors alone with the writer and the detective.

There were a few moments of awkward silence. The Doctor was still gazing around the flat curiously, while Beckett seemed lost for words now that she was faced with a time traveling alien. The silence stretched on for a few more moments, until Castle couldn't take it anymore. "So, who wants dinner?"

SCENEBREAK

Dinner helped to ease the tension. River luckily had better social skills than her companion, so she soon had the four engaged in comfortable conversation. The archeologist was telling them a story that had Castle in hysterics and even had Beckett laughing, though she remained skeptical of any mention of aliens. "... so there we were running from the locals, with only one shoe between us, when Rory twisted his ankle. The Doctor literally had to carry him bridal style. Oh, we were ready to kill him."

Castle was crying he was laughing so hard. "And all because he ate a banana?" he asked when he got his breath back.

The Doctor was half scowling, half laughing. "I like bananas!" he protested half-heatedly. "And it was just sitting there! How was I supposed to know it was the ancestral fruit?!"

River rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know, maybe crack open a history book sometime beforevisiting a new place?"

The Doctor scoffed. "Who needs history books? Conjecture and guesswork. I don't travel through time and space so I can read it all happening in some stuffy old textbook."

River just shook her head and turned to Castle and Beckett. "You see what I have to put up with?"

Castle noticed the warmth in her eyes even as she said this, and the way the Doctor looked at her when she wasn't looking. River's obvious flirting from earlier had made him suspect something might be between them, but now, with their simple familiarity and shared glances, there was no doubt in his mind. He didn't know all the variables of their story, but he could see enough to tell it was a love story.

And that there was something tragic burrowed underneath.

SCENEBREAK

After dinner, River asked to be shown her room, explaining that she'd been kept up two days trying to find the Doctor again and could really use the rest. Castle lent her Alexis's room and excused herself for the night. Castle and Beckett started clearing up the dishes from dinner. The Doctor offered to stay out on the couch since he didn't plan on sleeping anyway, which earned a raised eyebrow from Beckett. "I don't need you exhausted for the case tomorrow. Get some sleep, okay?"

The alien pouted, an expression Castle was becoming increasingly familiar with. "Time Lords don't need sleep," he grumbled.

Beckett paused, expression questioning. "Time Lord?" she echoed dubiously.

The Doctor didn't seemed fazed by her tone. "Yeah. Time Lord. That's what I am."

"Your species is called Time Lord?"

The Doctor nodded, clueless to her incredulous expression. "Yeah."

Beckett threw Castle a look that clearly asked Is this guy for real? Castle shrugged, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. If Beckett was being snarky about a name, she was clearly getting over the earlier shock of the TARDIS. The detective turned back to the Doctor as she set the last of the dishes in the sink. "So are there other Time Lords around here pretending to be human or something?"

The Doctor stiffened, a look of pain flashing in his eyes. Castle frowned. The expression was a familiar one, but not on the Doctor's face. It was how Beckett looked whenever someone brought up her mother. Several possible stories popped up in the author's head, but he waited for the Doctor to answer rather than say anything.

The Doctor gave a weak attempt at a smile. "No, we had our own planet, and our own time machines. We didn't need Earth. In fact, most of them thought I was daft for liking you strange humans."

He soon busied himself with playing with his sonic screwdriver, but Beckett had clearly caught onto his tone. "You had your own planet?" she questioned gently. Castle recognized her tone as the one she used when she was trying to get emotional suspects to talk.

The Doctor was silent for several moments, morosely fiddling with the screwdriver. Castle and Beckett settled easily into the usual instincts of interrogation and let him keep the silence as long as he needed. When he spoke again, his voice was dull, as though trying to keep the words from hurting. "My planet, Gallifrey, it burned." Another pause. "There was a war. The last great Time War, between my people and a race called the Daleks. We... lost. Everybody lost." There was no bitterness, no raw grief. Just a voice that sounded dead and eyes that were far, far too old.

Castle waited for a few moments before gently prodding, "But you're still here." He was careful not to seem accusing or too pushy. It was an old routine, one perfected through sheer use. He and Beckett had interrogated so many suspects at this point that they knew just the right phrase to make someone talk. Even their posture had changed; their hands were still busy, so as not to seem too pushy or needing of the information, but turned slightly towards the Doctor so as to give him their attention. Aliens and time travel were beyond their general expertise. But getting someone to talk? That was their job.

The Doctor laughed bitterly. "Oh yes, I survived. The only one." He looked up with something of a wild despair in his eyes. "The very last of the Time Lords. How do you like that? And now I can't even keep my companions safe. One by one I've failed them, lost them."

He didn't know what the Doctor meant by "companions," but he could see the Time Lord was breaking down in front of them. Time to switch tactics.

Beckett took a confident step towards the Time Lord, her voice low and soothing. "I'm sorry," was all she said. It wasn't the meaningless apology of someone who didn't know what else to say. It was the reassurance of someone who's shared a deep pain.

Sanity crept back into the Doctor's eyes. He have Beckett a thoughtful look. "You lost your mother." It wasn't a question. He must have read it from my books, Castle reasoned.

Beckett nodded. "She was murdered when I was nineteen," she explained in that same calm voice. Only Castle could see the turmoil she was hiding. "I'm not saying that's anything to losing your entire planet. I can't imagine what that must have been like. But I can understand missing somebody do bad it hurts, of trying to do something, anything to fill the hole they left."

The Doctor didn't say anything, just looked thoughtfully at Beckett for a few moments. Then he smiled slightly. "Castle was right. Kate Beckett, you are extraordinary." The detective fumbled a little under the praise, but the Doctor didn't seem to notice. He turned, suddenly the energetic child once more. "Well, off you two pop, you've got sleeping and whatever it is you humans do to do." He headed off to the couch, flopping down onto it without another word.

Castle and Beckett shared a worried look. This was a side of the Doctor they hadn't seen before. He was smiling again, but now they knew that was just a mask. They had seen the real pain that lay underneath, just a glimpse of it, and they had seen that the Doctor hung to sanity by threads.

And yet oddly enough, Castle could see that this had made Beckett trust him more, not less. She'd stopped trying to deny he was an alien, and the look on her face as she watched him leave was one of grim understanding. This man wasn't a liar. He was broken, and that, finally, was something Beckett could understand.

Without a word they headed off to bed. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

This is the chapter where I discovered that Martha, the Doctor, and Beckett are hard to write, the former any time, the latter two when they're having a deep moment. This is also not the chapter where we find out what's going on with the Karrows, sorry to anyone I told that, that will be next chapter. For now, enjoy some character bonding.

For the record, I know the Doctor doesn't do family dinners. He never does family dinners except when it's Rose or the Ponds. I know that, and I'm not trying to undermine that by saying Castle and Beckett are immediately that important to him. But those dinners offered to him are a means of thanks after he's saved that world, and he feels he can never accept that. That's not what this dinner is. He hasn't saved the world yet, they're not thanking him for anything. They're trying to keep the team together in the middle of saving the world, and he can see the sense in that. Also, River wanted to, and since she just went through Lake Silencio again the Doctor has no will to say no to her.

I've been staying in Castle's POV this whole time, which was not my original intention. I don't even want to think about tackling the Doctor's POV, but I think I'll try to add some Beckett and River later.

And yes, I resurrected the Derrick Storm joke. Because I could.