A/N: This chapter will include snippets from Kate's perspective, for a change, and we'll see her inner thoughts in the same way as we've previously seen Castle's.
Recap: Beckett shot Coonan in the precinct to stop him from killing Castle. In a twist that took even your writer by surprise Beckett became the cautious recipient of a scroll of her own.
Beckett couldn't even wait to get her coat and shoes off when she got back to her apartment. She flipped the lock on the door and went straight to the kitchen counter where she dumped her purse and reached inside. She took out the scroll, which continued to glow faintly, and placed it gently down on the counter top. Her head tilted to the side as she stared at it. The very existence of the object offended her belief that things like magic and fate were total fantasy, and yet here it was, in her kitchen, having materialised in front of her very own eyes on her desk at the precinct.
She moved around the kitchen, circling the scroll as if it were a suspect in the box, that she would be able to interrogate and draw a confession from. But it sat there impassively, almost taunting her with its secret. Of course, she was curious. Who wouldn't be? The old Beckett wouldn't be, she thought to herself.
With a huff, she turned her back on it and went about pouring herself a glass of wine. This is all Castle's fault, the way he goes on about magic and all that crap. She looked over her shoulder and eyed the scroll again. Still there. She rolled her eyes. Ugh! Ridiculous!
Kate walked across the kitchen and set down her glass purposefully. She placed her hands flat on the counter top and narrowed her eyes at the scroll. Alright then, let's see what this is shall we? She lifted her right hand and reached for the end of the thin blue ribbon, feeling its silkiness between her thumb and finger. Then she slowly pulled on it, allowing the scroll to unfurl until it laid itself flat on the surface in a way that could only be described as unnatural for something which had been curled for at least an hour.
She didn't have time to dwell on the magical properties of the material, however, as she read the message that was written in immaculate cursive.
"Give the man an inch and he'll take a mile; kick him when he's down and he'll get back up to stand his ground; show him a sliver of light through a crack in the wall and he'll chip away at it until he's bathed in sunlight."
Kate blinked, then tilted her head to the side in confusion. What the...
Brains...
Below the sharp sound of butter being scraped onto toast, Alexis heard a groaning and shuffling noise. She looked up from her breakfast and saw her dad ambling zombie-like towards her in his pyjamas and dressing gown. She flicked an eyebrow up at him, "Do you want a cup of coffee, oh undead father of mine?"
Castle didn't reply, but continued his shuffling until his outstretched arms were around Alexis' shoulders, then he hugged her tight, planting a kiss in her hair, "Yes please, coffee good." He was about to take a slice of her toast when she swatted his hand away.
"What kind of reward is stealing a piece of my toast for making you a coffee?" She rolled her eyes at him and his grin faded away.
"Wow, you looked just like Beckett then. Has she been teaching you how to do that?"
Alexis laughed and passed him a mug, "No, Dad, it's definitely not from Detective Beckett." Castle started to make his own toast as Alexis sat and ate hers in thoughtful silence.
"What do you have planned for today, Pumpkin?"
"I need to study for a bit later, but I was wondering if we could do something together this morning? Do you have to go to the precinct today?"
"No, I don't. And doing something together would be great," he smiled widely. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well..." she began uncertainly, "It's about your scroll. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me looking at it again."
Castle shrugged, "Sure." He moved around the kitchen, tidying plates and mugs into the dishwasher. "Any particular reason?"
"I'm just curious. I've been trying not to ask about it, but I have so many questions and I feel like I'm going to burst if I don't ask you." He smiled at her.
"You know you can always ask me anything, right?" She responded with a nod. "Good. Let me get showered and stuff, and then the questioning can begin."
"Questioning?" Martha appeared on the stairs. "What are you going to be questioning Alexis about, Richard?"
"Can I tell her?" Alexis asked Castle, and he nodded his assent as he walked back to his room.
"She already knows. I'm going to shower."
"Tell me what, darling?" Martha turned her attention to Alexis as she poured her own coffee.
"It's about Dad's scroll. I saw it the other day, he wasn't quick enough to hide it."
Martha nodded, "Ah." She smiled, "Well, if we're going to have show and tell, I want to bring something too." She left her coffee cup and glided back upstairs, leaving Alexis still sat at the kitchen counter with a puzzled look on her face.
A few minutes later, father and grandmother reappeared. Castle carried the wooden box that Alexis recognised from his desk drawer, while Martha was carrying a slightly crumpled velvet bag that didn't look like it had seen the light of day in many years. Castle gave his mother a small smile as they sat down next to each other on the couch and beckoned to Alexis to join them.
"Would you like to start, Mother?"
"Very well..." Alexis settled into her armchair across the coffee table, tucking her feet up off the floor. "It was a dark and stormy night..." Castle laughed.
"No it wasn't!"
"Are you telling the story, or am I?" He mimed zipping his mouth shut, while trying not to grin. Alexis giggled quietly. "Hmm... now, as I was saying, it was a dark and stormy night..." Martha slipped her fingers in between her son's clasped hands, well aware that she was telling this story as much for him as for her granddaughter, and returned his smile, "...when my April Fool baby arrived."
She paused thoughtfully. "Now, I had just put him down in the little crib they have for by the bed, you know, and he was finally asleep so I thought I'd try to get some rest too. I lay back and I was just about to shut my eyes when I noticed these gold sparkles in my lap. I thought I was hallucinating from the exhaustion or something, because I certainly hadn't had anything to drink, but no. There, in my hands, appearing out of thin air, was a scroll." She reclaimed her hand from Castle's and opened the velvet bag on the coffee table.
Oh, her ribbon is lime green, that's just perfect. How could I not remember that? "So you're Dad's guardian angel? Is that more important than being his mom?" Martha passed the scroll to Alexis with a small smile.
"Let's just say it gives the role a little bit of an edge." Castle chuckled indulgently.
"Can I open it, Grams?"
"Of course, kiddo." Castle leaned forward in eager anticipation to watch Alexis untie the scroll, but had a sudden thought and turned to Martha.
"Mother, what did this say when you last-..." Martha gasped and her hand flew to cover her open mouth. Alexis' eyes rose quickly to look at her grandmother.
"Grams, what's wrong?" Martha reached over to bring the scroll nearer to her, still stunned, but she recovered herself after she saw what was written.
"This was blank last time I looked."
They all exchanged glances and looked back down at the scroll, which bore the same exquisite writing as Castle's.
"Stormy seas lie ahead."
Alexis was the first to break the silence with a whisper, "Dad. Has yours changed?" His eyes widened and flew to hers before he scrambled to open the box. He hastily untied the ribbon and set the scroll out on the coffee table.
"You're going to need a hammer, a chisel, and a lifeboat."
He frowned with incomprehension. What the...
"Looks like you're going shopping, Richard." Castle turned to give his mother an skeptical eyebrow flick while Alexis looked between the pair of them, eyes wide with alarm.
A/N: This went in a completely unexpected direction to what I had planned. But I think I like it. I hope you do too.