AN: I don't own Castle. All I own is a DVD box set, some Castle trading cards and an iPhone case.

So Big Sister is back. Would you believe that it is chapter 10 already? I have really been enjoying hearing everyones feedback on this story and I hope to see it continue. It's inspiring to see a review or two and sometimes they can warrant early updates.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

" Each day, each day I play the role

Of someone always in control

But at night I come home and turn the key

There's nobody there, no one cares for me

What's the sense of trying hard to find your dreams

Without someone to share it with

Tell me what does it mean? "

CHAPTER 10

Kate finished folding a few shirts and a pair of jeans, which she then loaded into her bag. She applied pressure to the top of the suitcase and zipped it up quickly. In less then an hour she was expected to meet the Castle family at the loft. Beckett had convinced her boss a few weeks ago that she needed some time off so she had seven days free. It was the biggest break that she had had since joining the force two years back. She was supposed to bring enough clothing to keep her dressed for the seven days but Castle had told her that she could use the washing machine if she needed to. Kate hurried into her bathroom and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. He peered at her outfit, which consisted of a blue cotton shirt and a pair of cream coloured cut off jeans. She applied a swipe of lipstick to her lips and hurried back into her room. She picked up her suitcase and checked the lights. She'd be gone for a week so the last thing she wanted was for her electricity bills to go through the roof.

X-X-X-X

"You took forever and ever. I've been waiting three weeks and two days for this and you're five minutes late. Not fair." Alexis let her bottom lip protrude she lead Kate into the warmth of the loft. The cold Manhattan winter was coming on quickly and Kate had been tempted on the cab ride there to grab her jacket from her suitcase.

"Well hello to you too Alexis." Kate was trying to sound stern but it didn't really work.

The pair was soon met by Castle, he hurried toward Kate dressed neatly in a designer suit with a long dark red tie neatly done up around his neck. "So thanks again Kate. It'll only be seven days, I'll be reachable by phone always, mother should be back here in four days and help yourself to anything around the house. You can even sleep in my bed if you'd like. I've done the sheets just this morning and it is much more comfortable than the couch."

"Are you sure about that, it seems a bit awkward…"

"Nah it's fine, you've done so much for the pair of us over the past few months you deserve to be comfortable."

Kate nodded, "Thanks for your generosity Castle."

"Always."

X-X-X-X

"So Kate I have to help you get set up. You're going to be practically living here for a whole week so you need to feel at home. Can we see what you packed in your bag?" Alexis was eager as she sat herself down on the top of Kate's suitcase. After knocking the girl off the bag Kate nodded.

"Okay but I'm not unpacking all my clothes and everything. I'm not moving in Alexis I'm just baby sitting you for a while."

"I know that but I want to see what pretty clothes you brought with you." Alexis was smiling as she slid the zip and slowly pulled out a few of Beckett's shirts and jeans. Her smile grew as she removed a pair of black pumps and slid her small pale feet into them. Rising from the ground she turned to look at Kate, "Oh look I'm Kate Beckett and I'm a pretty police lady," she paused, "and I have a HUGE crush on Alexis' daddy Rick."

A sudden flash of red spread across Katherine's cheeks and nose. She didn't have any idea why the little girl would exclaim anything like that. She didn't have a crush on Castle and even if she did why would his daughter know about it. "Alexis why would you say something like that?"

Alexis awkwardly twisted her fingers back and forth as she looked awkwardly toward Beckett. "Well you sometimes look at my daddy and you act dreamy, a bit like Sabrina towards Harvey in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. You twist your hair around your finger and you blush at him, like you did just then." She suddenly stopped talking and Kate caught a mysterious glint in her blue eyes, "Don't worry though Kate because daddy has a crush on you too."

"Why would you say that?" Kate was sitting on the sofa now and eagerly staring toward the child.

"Because he calls you pretty and he smiles when I say your name. I've never seen him so happy about a name before so I know that he must have a crush." Kate knew that this sounded slightly like something that Rick would say but she tried to change the subject. She didn't really think that Castle had any sort of a crush on her. She was a slightly depressed and even more so broken cop, she wasn't a glitzy celebrity that Castle was used to sleeping with.

"So what do you have planned for tonight?" Kate's subject change was swift as she adjusted a strand of hair and failed to avert eye contact from the child.

"We're busy, busy, busy. I want to watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch with you and we have to do a jigsaw, I love jigsaws so much."

"What type of jigsaw?"

"Let me show you." The pair linked hands as the small child hurried toward her bedroom.

X-X-X-X

"So this cat is a ragdoll kitten and she's in a basket with some eggs and some chicks. It had TWO-HUNDRED pieces, can you believe that someone could cut a puzzle into two-hundred tiny little pieces." The look of raw surprise was adorable as it graced the child's face. Kate nodded slowly as she tilted her head.

"When I was little my mommy and I did a puzzle and it had two thousand pieces. It was a picture of New York." Kate let her mind drift.

It was a cold winter in Manhattan. Young Katie Beckett was tired of staring out the large windows of her family's apartment. She was upset because the bad weather meant she had to miss out on her soccer game.

"Katie?" Johanna Beckett's voice searched for her daughter as the lawyer made her way into the living room.

Kate looked up from the window and smiled toward her mother. Her smile turned to a look of curiosity, though, when she noticed a box tucked under her mother's arm. "What's that?"

"A puzzle. It is two-thousand pieces and I think that it's a nice way to spend the afternoon."

"TWO-THOUSAND PIECES?!" Beckett chuckled and embraced the small girl. The sadness suddenly disappeared as she felt the warmth of the child against her.

X-X-X-X

"So do you want to have a frozen casserole or a frozen steak?" Kate peered into the freezer. Alexis was seated at the kitchen table waiting for her dinner. After a long afternoon of puzzle making the pair were both tired and famished.

"Yuck, I hate frozen meals." Beckett chuckled at the stubborn look on the child's face.

"Well what do you want then, there's some potato pie in the fridge but it appears to have something green growing off it." Kate Beckett was now bent over and she was examining the contents of the main fridge.

"Eww Kate," the child was smiling slightly as she observed the disgusted face that her babysitter was pulling. Kate scratched at the back of her head as she smiled into the cold fridge.

"So if everything is so 'eww' to you then what do you want?" Kate closed the fridge with a small slam and positioned herself by the child at the table. "We can call a pizza place," she began to root around in her handbag, "if I can find any money."

"No, no why don't we make Spaghetti Bolognese. I always make it with daddy and it's really easy. I know the recipe off by heart." Alexis was speaking at a rapid pace as she tried her best to convince the older woman. Her demeanour reminded Kate of a politician and her eagerness forced a grin upon her lips.

"Okay, okay as long as you have all the ingredients and you know what to do." Kate followed Alexis into the kitchen.

X-X-X-X

"Okay so we have to chop up some carrots, onion, celery and garlic." Alexis pointed toward a large knife and nodded, "it's an adult job though."

Kate smiled and rinsed the celery before chopping it up quickly into slices. "You peel the carrots for me okay?"

"Yup."

After the vegetables were sliced Kate put the fry pan on medium heat and poured in a dash of oil. Following Alexis' instructions she mixed in the vegetables and added the meat.

"Okay so you put in the tomatoes and the paste after the meat is a brown colour." Alexis was seated atop the bench and she was beaming.

"Okay so tomatoes." Kate poured the tomatoes in quickly and managed to get more on her blouse then in the pan. She groaned and reached for a towel. "Damn, this isn't going to come out." She was muttering under her breath as she rubbed violently at her chest.

"Daddy did that once, he said dam too and I don't understand what beavers have to do with tomatoes." Alexis was gently banging the heels of her feet against the cupboards and swaying back and forth.

Beckett threw the towel back against the bench top and observed the childlike innocence. "I don't know either Lex," was all she said as she continued to stir the mince.

X-X-X-X

An hour later the girls had cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom and Kate had changed clothes from her dirty blouse to a loose NYPD sweatshirt while Alexis set the table.

"This smells so yummy Kate," laughed the small child as Beckett carried a pair of plates to the table. Alexis had arranged the cutlery on two red napkins and she had poured both her and Kate a 'big kid's' glass of lemonade.

"I know, I think we should sign up for Masterchef or something. We really are good cooks." She laid the bowls down and took a seat. She looked toward the little girl but saw that she was already entirely invested in her food. Katherine watched as she twisted spaghetti around her fork and as she managed to cover her face in a thick layer of tomatoes.

"You look like my blouse Lex."

Alexis began to laugh and Kate felt herself doing the same. She felt a weight suddenly lift as she giggled with the young girl.

X-X-X-X

Kate had tucked Alexis in. She had helped the small girl dress into a pair of pink flowery pyjamas and pulled the duvet up around her shoulders. She had sat atop the bed and read a picture book. She retreated soon after to Castle's room. She knew he had insisted upon her taking the bed instead of the guest room but she still felt that it was awkward.

She pulled the writer's sheets up around her shoulders and nestled her head into his pillow. Suddenly she was overcome with a sensation, she wasn't sure what it was at first but then it soon became known as lust.

She was attracted to him; she was attracted to Richard Castle.

What Alexis had said to her before came back to her but she knew that it was more then a crush. A crush happened in maths class or with your biology partner, this now was the real world. She was babysitting his daughter, exchanging fiery banter with him over glasses of wine and now she was sleeping in his bed.

After a moment more of thought she came to another conclusion. She wasn't just attracted to Richard Castle she was completely and utterly in love with him. She wanted to hold him, to be with him, to fall into bed with him. She wanted all of him.

AN: So Kate has had a sudden realisation!

Chapter 10 is up so that means that chapter 11 will be soon. Please review and feel free to share any feedback with me.

UP NEXT: Kate takes Alexis to a party and makes a new friend!