Her brother? Kate doesn't have a brother? He would know if she had a brother, wouldn't he? He knows she's very secretive, likes to keep her cards close to her chest, but this? They would joke that she's like an onion, so many layers, but he thought they'd peeled back the immediate family layer years ago.

By the look on the boy's faces they didn't know about this 'brother' either.

No. If the boys didn't know and she hadn't told him, it isn't true, can't be.

"Kate doesn't have a brother." He tries to keep his voice as level and emotionless as possible. It's a trick he's learnt from Kate over the years; raising her voice and getting angry could be scary but when she was truly frightening she was quiet, didn't give away anything, got the suspects so nervous that they'd flinch when she leant slightly forward in her seat.

He's lying. She does not have a brother.

The fraud then sighs. He knew it, the guy knows we don't believe him and he's giving up. He knew Kate wouldn't keep something so big a secret, not from him. He knew he was lying…

Andrew Beckett. That's what the driver's license says; the one he pulled out of his pocket and practically shoved into Rick's face. He looks to Ryan and Esposito but they're already at their desks checking this guy out and sure enough: Andrew Beckett, brother of Katherine Beckett.

"Now do you believe me?" grumbles the now slightly exasperated looking man before letting out another, this time longer, sigh and practically collapsing against a desk. "I shouldn't have done this, coming here like this, it was wrong, I should've known."

Through all Rick's confusion and worry for Kate he has to take pity on the guy. He looks exhausted, and his disappointment at himself and the situation is extremely evident. So when he asks Rick "Do you know where she'd go? Do you know her address? Anywhere I could find her?" he can't stop himself wanting to help him out.

"If I know Kate…" which at the moment he isn't completely sure of. Why didn't she tell him? A tap to his arm and the hopeful look on Andrew's face brings him back to the present. He clears his throat once before continuing, just incase, "I mean if I know Kate she wouldn't have gone home, she would've known that you may ask us or already have her address so if she really didn't want to see you she probably wouldn't be going there."

He watches regretfully as the hope drains from Andrews face replaced once again with a look of frustration mixed with failure, wanting to add on a little 'I could be wrong' but also pretty sure he's not and getting the poor man's hopes up to have them crushed again would just be cruel. So he does the only thing he can think of.

"You want to come for a drink? We were just heading out to my bar and you never know Kate may turn up?"

The man looks like he needs a drink and right now he has to admit he could do with one himself.

Andrew still looks hesitant "I wouldn't want to intrude."

Rick is quick to reassure him that he wouldn't be "right boys?" he asks looking over at the men that have remained silent up until this point. They both nod their consent and offer matching tentative smiles obviously still uncertain of the stranger. Andrew's mood seems to brighten a little bit instantly.

They travel to the bar in Esposito's car; they sit practically in silence apart from brief small talk about the cold weather and a familiar song that comes on the radio. He can see that Andrew wants to ask them something but is holding back unsure to ask or waiting for the right moment.

But when they have sat down at their usual table, drinks in hand, he seems to pluck up the courage to ask. "So…" he begins, gaining the attention of the three men, "how is Katie?" For such a simple, day to day question he says it as if it were some kind of confession. "We haven't seen each other in a while so I guess I'm asking… what's she like? All grown up?"

Then Rick has an idea. A way to brighten the mood and remove the awkwardness whilst learning a bit more about his favourite detective (strictly for research purposes of course).

"How about we tell you something about her now and you tell us something that we probably won't know, funny childhood anecdote, most embarrassing story you can think of?"

At first Andrew looks unsure but the encouraging look from, not only Rick, but Ryan and Esposito also, must make up his mind.

"Okay."

Ryan, Esposito and Rick look at each other silently discussing who would say what. Esposito seems to take the lead.

"She's driven, relentless, won't give up until she's got the criminal behind bars and the family of the deceased the justice they deserve, yet still totally by the book, well most of the time."

Ryan jumps in "She's always got our backs and would probably take a bullet for any one of us, and we'd take one right back for her. She has a great deal of empathy and insists she's always the one to talk to the victim's families, be the one who breaks it to them. Man, over surveillance or traffic, that job's every cop's worst nightmare."

Rick finishes the only way he knows how to. "She's extraordinary."

Andrew's smiling for the first time since they met him and he looks more relaxed too, though there's still a slight sadness behind his eyes, like longing.

"We kept to our side of the deal now spill it." Rick announces getting a bit more comfortable in his seat.

"I don't know if I should start with something embarrassing, I'm not really in her good books at the moment, no need to fan the flames." The boys look slightly dejected by this but let him carry on. "Well you said Kate was by the book…most of the time?" His questioning look makes the three co-workers laugh as they all recall times Kate had to bend the rules a little.

"I guess she was kind of like that when she was little." The men seem to give Andrew a 'go on' expression. "Well when she was… seven I think, we were at a local sweet shop when Kate noticed a bag of skittles, her favourite snack, had burst open. There were skittles everywhere. She sat there for all of ten minutes before she took one of them. That night she comes running in my room in tears saying she'd done a bad thing, a really bad thing. I was so worried at first until she told me. I told her it was fine, it was only one skittle and the owner was probably about to throw the ruined packet away but of course Kate wouldn't accept that and begged me to take her to the store the next day. So I did as she had asked, but when we get there I see her pull out the money for two whole packets of skittles; put it on the counter before bursting out the shop dragging me along with her. I told her it was silly. She had taken one skittle that would probably have been thrown away and given money for two whole packets of them. She simply insisted it was the proper thing to do and whether it was a single skittle or a million packets of skittles it was still stealing. Next time I'm there the owner comes up to me and gives me the money she had left on the counter. He says he'd known all along that Katie had taken the skittle, he had watched her do it himself but thought he'd let it go since she was only young and it was so insignificant, but he had been so awed by her coming back and paying way over the cost of one skittle and I should be proud to have such an honest sister of real morals. And since then the guy kept a jar of skittles beside him and every time we came into the shop he'd give Katie a single skittle, passed it off as a special offer so she wouldn't reject them. If she had found out she was being treated differently to everyone else she would have never taken them. She was a strong believer in everyone deserves equal rights, treatment and apparently skittles." He chuckles at that part and the boys can't help but join in.

"Kate Beckett: 'goody two shoes'. Who would have thought?" Rick chuckles while taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh she was definitely not a good girl you should have seen her in her teens, bad cannot describe the kind of stuff she got involved in." Rick chokes on his drink, making a mess of his suit and the table. The other men burst into laughter whilst Rick tries to salvage his dignity and get images of what kind of 'bad stuff' he is imagining Kate Beckett had gotten involved in out of his mind. When the laughter dies down Andrew speaks up again.

"I can tell you're quite protective of her. The way you wouldn't let me through earlier. You're kind of like older brothers." He tries to smile at them again but Rick can see it, back again, the sadness in his eyes, the regret. But then Andrew shocks them all when he adds "I'm glad." Their expressions must show their surprise as he elaborates "knowing she has people like you looking out for her. We all grow up looking at the world like a fairytale; surrounded by love and nurturing, the evils of the world hidden away for our own 'protection', our parents tell us to not talk to strangers or wander off anywhere but we never really understand why. Because life's not a fairytale, we all know it's a big bad world out there especially for a cop. I always worried for her, Katie may put up a hard exterior and yeah she's strong and smart but she's not invincible and well… she'll always be my little sister, you know?"

The men nod in understanding.

"So thank you guys." He lifts his drink and gives them another smile, but this time without a hint of misery in his eyes, only pure gratitude. The men join him, lifting their drinks, smiling back at him, saying things like 'no big deal' and 'we wouldn't have it any other way' without really having to say anything at all as they settle into a comfortable silence.

The hustle and bustle of the bar and the melodious music coming from the piano surrounds them. Rick stares at his drink, his mind not really focused on one thing in particular just a collection of ideas and feelings that he doesn't think he has the energy to dive into tonight. Fortunately his thoughts are interrupted by a familiar sound.

A clicking of heels. High, foreign heels. Quick but purposeful steps. He'd know that sound anywhere. And sure enough, looking up he sees the one and only Kate Beckett striding towards him, not looking too happy, but not looking at him.

Poor, unfortunate man.

"What are you doing here Andrew?"

Thanks to the all of the wonderful reviewers especially YankeePeg, whom gave me some really good ideas, I was thinking about going down a route where Andrew is a good guy that maybe got stuck down the rabbit hole but I didn't even think about a child aspect and now you suggested it it's really interested me. So I'm still not 100% sure where I'm going but your ideas have really helped me along. Thank you very much and I hope you all liked this chapter, writing it I wasn't really sure about a great majority of it.