AU| Beckett & Castle had a one night stand a few years ago,They meet again at his book launch party for the new Derrick Storm in "Flowers For Your Grave",A few weeks after their one night stand she found out she was pregnant w/ his child, She didn't tell him(she didn't really know who he was, at least at the time)Beckett raised the baby with the help from her best friend Lanie Parish(can be twins, son, daughter, twins can be more interesting lol)Now she had to tell him the truth, hope u'll do it(-:


Grabbing her forth cup of coffee that morning Kate Beckett made her out of the break room and towards her desk. After the morning she had endured, running around with Richard Castle of all people she knew she deserved every cup. At first she couldn't believe it was him, after all these years their paths had finally crossed again, however only this time she was certain that there would be no fancy hotels, no champagne and not blissful sleepless night. No this time she was mad, she was doe eyed and young, she had done a lot of growing up since that night almost four years ago, her career was on track and she was on her way to becoming a great detective, even if her home life wasn't as put together as she would have liked.

She had just settled herself into her chair when Captain Montgomery emerged from his office calling her name.

"Yes, sir?" she replied, standing up to join him at his office door.

"Mr Castle has offered to assist with the investigation" the captain told her.

Castle stepped from behind the doorway, revealing himself with a smirk on his face. That smirk that had previously made her stomach muscles flutter now only made her more annoyed than she already was.

"Really" she replied sarcastically, praying that this was some kind of joke.

"It's the least I can do for the city I love" Castle replied

Even his voice annoyed her, the way he was so smug about everything, as if he already knew she didn't have a choice and was under orders to obey her captain.

"Considering the nature of the crime scene, I think it's a good idea" the Captain replied, before turning to return to his office.

"Sir" she said quickly, her eyes widening at the thought of having to work with the man that had broken her heart.

"Can I talk to you a moment, in private?" she asked.

"Nope" Montgomery replied simply and closed his office door, leaving Beckett and Castle stood facing each other.

Once the initial shock of her captains complete ignorance of her request wore off, she looked at Castle, standing there smug as ever, she rolled her eyes, a signal which he apparently thought meant 'follow me', so he did.

Great. She was spending the day with not only the person who had once broken her heart but also the father of her child.

They had been shifting through his fan mail for hours, she could tell he was getting bored but she didn't care. She found herself examining the letters painstakingly slow in the hope that he would get bored and leave, and as her own personal form of punishment.

She was just about to open the next letter when she heard a young voice calling her name,

"Mommy" the litter girl cried, running into the room with Lanie following behind looking extremely frazzled.

"Hannah?" Beckett asked, standing up to pick up her little girl in her arms.

"What are you doing here sweetie? I told you, you're staying with aunty Lanie today" Kate asked, but the question was clearly meant for Lanie.

"I'm so sorry Kate, I've been called out to an emergency and I need to get to the scene ASAP" Lanie explained, the guilt pouring from her.

"Lanie what am I supposed to do I thought you weren't on call today?" Kate asked, trying to keep hold of Hannah who was squirming and trying her best to be put down.

"I wasn't but there has been a multiple homicide and they are calling everyone in. Could you ask your dad?"

Kate shook her head, and moved Hannah so she was now back over her shoulder, keeping a firm grip on the wriggling child.

"No Lanie. He's only just starting to" she paused, remembering their conversation wasn't private.

"He doesn't need to stress right now. It's fine, I'll sort something" she sighed.

"I am really sorry Kate, I really need to get going. I'll call you later ok?" Lanie said, already half way out of the door.

"Yeah" Kate sighed to herself.

Things had been difficult lately but her dad was finally recovering, but she didn't want to add any more pressure to him. She cuddled Hannah for a moment, the only thing from that night with Richard Castle that she didn't regret.

"Who's that mommy?" Hannah asked, pointing a small finger in Castle's direction.

Kate turned back to face him, which inevitably meant Hannah faced away from him, so she twisted her head so she could still see what was happening. Side by side the striking resemblance was clear.

"This is Rick, and he is helping mommy look through these letters. Now I need you to sit here whilst mommy finishes off and then we will go out for soda and ice cream, how does that sound?" Kate asked to the small child.

"Sounds yummy" Hannah replied, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Good girl. Ok you sit here and I will be done soon ok?"

"Ok mommy."

As much as Kate wanted to believe that Hannah would simply sit quietly until she was finished she knew that would never happen. It was only five minutes later that Hannah was walking around the room trying to pick up the letters, pretending that she was a detective like her mom. Kate found herself darting around the room to stop her daughter from putting her fingerprints all over the evidence. It was all the commotion that drew Captain Montgomery into the room at an extremely unfortunate time when Hannah had taken it upon herself to open all the evidence boxes and proceed in 'filing them' also known as taking the contents out of the boxes and leaving them on the floor.

"Detective Beckett. A word outside" he demanded and she followed meekly behind.

"Sir, if I can just explain" she began but the captain cut her off.

"Beckett I know you are having trouble finding a sitter but she can't be here, is there no one else that can look after her?"

The captain knew of her situation, he knew that most of her wages went on paying her dad rehabilitation fees as well as making sure her and Hannah had everything they needed.

"No sir." Beckett replied softly.

"Maybe its best you both go home them, I'll hand the case over to Detective Scully"

"No sir, please I can't miss another day, it's fine I'll sort something. Can I just have half an hour to ring someone please?"

The Captain was about to reply when Castle appeared in the doorway holding Hannah in his arms.

"Excuse me, I know this isn't really my place, but I could always take Hannah down to the canteen for some lunch. I know I myself am starving and maybe on the way back we could bring mommy up a sandwich?" Castle asked.

"Please mommy" Hannah begged seeming extremely pleased by the idea.

Kate didn't feel like she had much of a choice. She knew she couldn't go another day unpaid and even though she hated this man for the way he had treated her, she could tell there was a bond between the two of them. With a sigh of reluctance she nodded her head.

"Yay!" Hannah exclaimed and clapped her hands together.

"You promise to be a good girl and you stay with Rick ok?" Kate made her promise, to which Hannah nodded her head.

"Are you sure this is ok with you?" she asked Rick.

"Absolutely, we'll have a great time" Rick replied.

"Ok, but you don't leave the building. Here" she said pulling out her purse and handing him twenty dollars.

"Make sure she eats all of her dinner before she has any chocolate, she is going through a chocolate and marshmallow phase at the moment but please don't let her eat too many. If you are back by one I will be able to take over then" she informed him, still holding out he dollar bill for him to take.

"Not a problem, and this one is on me" he replied.

"No Rick. Mr Castle, take the money" she hated calling him Rick, he wasn't Rick to her anymore.

"Detective this is the least I can do. We'll see you at one. Come on Hannah, let's go and see what we can find" Rick said in his most excited voice.

Beckett watched as Hannah and Rick made their way to the elevator, she knew Hannah was safe with him, he was her father after all, even if he didn't know it.


Downstairs in the canteen Rick and Hannah were tucking into chocolate covered pancakes, Rick had managed to convince Hannah that they were in fact just as nutritious as a sandwich and Hannah had been more than happy to believe him.

"Are you a detective like mommy too?" Hannah asked after swallowing a particularly big bite of her pancake.

"No, I'm a writer, but I'm just helping your mom out on a case" he explained.

"My mommy is the best detective in the world" Hannah exclaimed proudly.

"I'm sure she is"

"She puts the bad men in jail" Hannah continued, but then her face seemed to drop.

"But there are lots of bad people so it takes her a long time" Hannah explained.

Rick paused for a moment. He felt sorry for her, he loved children himself and knew how hard it must be for Kate to leave her child whilst she was working.

"I tell you what. Why don't me and you grab some food to take back to your mom and then the three of us can have a little picnic upstairs, what do you say?" he asked, getting excited about the idea of not only spending time with Kate but also with Hannah.

"Will mommy not be busy?" Hannah asked.

"Well if she is we can wait until she is done, come on we have lots to get" Rick exclaimed, gathering up their plates before they made their way back to the elevator.


Back upstairs Kate was still trawling through the evidence however her mind wasn't on the case at all. She couldn't believe he was here, four years of wondering what happened to the man she had spent the most wonderful night of her life with was currently having lunch with her daughter, their daughter, a beautiful little girl they had created together.

She made her way back to the break room, intent on getting yet another coffee to help her get through the next box of evidence when out of the corner of her eye she saw Rick and Hannah sitting in the soft interview room with a bag full of food. Kate slowly walked up to the door, hoping the neither of them would notice her presence.

"Mommy will love this" Hannah told Rick.

"She loves cherries, she sometimes lets me borrow her cherry smelling wash, but that's only if I've been really good"

Rick smiled, there was something about this little girl that made her special, he just couldn't work it out. When Kate had originally spoken to him he thought he recognised her, but then again he saw countless women every week at book signings and charity events, but there was something about her, a feature that he couldn't quite place. He couldn't decide if it was the pronounced cheekbones or the small beauty spot on the left side of her face, he would figure it out though, eventually.

"So is that him?" Detective Esposito asked quietly, sneaking up behind Kate.

"What?" Kate asked.

"Come on Beckett, Lanie called me. It's him isn't it, Hannah's dad"

Espo and Kate were great friends and he had always been there for Kate. She had told him about her one night stand with the famous mystery novelist and that she had tried to contact him but she could never get through and the more famous he became the harder it was to get a message to him without coming across as some weird fan.

"Espo just leave it"

"Kate, he is Hannah's father, he has a responsibility, both to you and his daughter and yet he walks in here like nothing's happened. You can't let him get away with that"

"He doesn't know" Kate sighed.

"What?"

"He doesn't know that Hannah is his daughter. I never managed to tell him" Kate explained, keeping her eyes on Hannah and Rick, noticing how they were now each pretending to be at a tea party. The smile that beamed from Hannah's face was incredible, she was clearly having fun and by the looks of things Castle was as well.

"Are you going to tell him?" Espo asked, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Why should I. He didn't care before, why would he care now"

"Because he is here now. Kate he has a right to know that the child he is currently babysitting is actually his daughter, you have to tell him"

Esposito would have continued but Kate had already rolled her eyes and was making her way inside the soft interview room.

"Hey, any room for me at this tea party?" Kate asked enthusiastically.

"Of course mommy, we made you some tea, and we got you cherries, 'cos you love cherry smelling things" Hannah told her excitedly.

"Well that is very kind of you" Kate replied, sitting down to join in.

"So how's the case going?" Castle asked, as Hannah poured them each a pretend cup of tea.

"Slow, but hopefully we should catch a break soon, there is only one more evidence box to go through, shouldn't be too long now. How was Hannah, was she a good girl for you?"

"She was fine, you've got a great kid there" Castle told her.

"I know, she's my world" Kate said smiling as she watched Hannah move to the sofa to grab one of her books.

"So, Mr Castle I take it you don't have any children?" Kate asked, hoping to bring up the topic in a non-obvious way.

"Unfortunately not. Work is very much at the forefront of everything at the moment, but hopefully one day" he replied.

He knew he recognised that beauty spot on her left cheek, he never forgot a face and it was beginning to annoy him that he couldn't place her.

"I'm sorry detective but have we met before, you just seem awfully familiar?" he asked, deciding that the direct approach may be better.

"I. Maybe" Kate said, shifting her focus from Rick to Hannah.

Kate sighed, she knew she couldn't keep this up, even if not for her sake, her daughter would want to know some day who her father was.

"Almost four years ago. We. Me and you. Well we met. One night. The Old Haunt; that bar on the corner, it was a long time ago and…"

"The girl with the elephant tattoo" Castle said quickly and Kate looked down, knowing he had recognised her.

"You had long hair, long brown hair and killer heels"

Kate couldn't say anything. That night had been one of the best nights of her life, he hadn't been a one night stand, and he had been someone who cared for her, who made love to her. They had spent the evening worshipping each other's bodies, she had laughed when he noticed the small but elegant elephant tattoo on the inside of her thigh, asking why it was there, she couldn't explain about her mother, but by simply saying it was special to her she had stopped the conversation and they had carried on with their evening. After two glorious rounds she had woken tangled in the bedsheets of the hotel room, his clothes were gone but there was a small note on the bedside table. 'I have your number, I'll call you soon and you can explain the elephant. Rick x.' She never heard from him. Countless times she had tried to contact him without success. When she realised she was pregnant she couldn't believe it, she had always been careful but on that night it hadn't crossed her mind.

"You never called" she stated, anger returning to her voice.

"I wish I had"

A silent hung between them.

"Mommy can Rick come to my birthday party next week?" Hannah interrupted, oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place.

"I don't know about that sweetie, Mr Castle is a very busy man" Kate replied, trying to stop herself from getting too upset.

"How old will you be Hannah?" Rick asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing.

"Four. Mommy says I'm getting bigger now"

"Four, wow now that it old! Have you asked for anything special?" Castle asked.

"No, me and mommy always go for ice-cream though, you could come too" Hannah continued.

"Well I wouldn't want to intrude on a family tradition, I'm sure you and your mom and dad will have a great time though"

"Rick…" Kate tried to stop him but Hannah beat her and continued the conversation.

"It's only me and mom" Hannah said softly.

"Hannah sweetie why don't you go and find uncle Javi and give him some of this wonderful tea, I'll come and find you in a minute ok, I need to talk with Rick" Kate asked, hoping that her daughter understood the predicament she was now in.

"Ok, bye Rick, please think about coming to my party, we can have chocolate and marshmallows" she said persuasively.

However Rick couldn't focus, she was four, and they had slept together four years ago. It couldn't be could it? He felt like he knew this child, there were so many things that he loved about her and so many things that he felt were similar to him. Her eyes were piercing blue for starters and the straight point on her nose was nothing like her mothers.

"Kate?" he asked, trying to focus his mind.

"Rick, I need to tell you something. That night. Four years ago." Kate sighed, there was no easy way to explain this without her feeling guilty or getting chocked up about it.

"Hannah is your daughter. That night we slept together, we created her." she blurted out.

Castle was still, processing exactly what she had just told him, his mind racing back to that night.

"But Kate, we, we were safe weren't we?"

"Rick I think I know who the father of my daughter is and no we weren't safe as you so delicately put it"

She was getting angry, although a child had never been something she had planned on it had brought hope to her. After losing her mother she had been going from man to man however that all stopped once she discovered she was pregnant. Her father had taken her mother's death the hardest and had turned to alcohol, but once he had discovered she was pregnant she had made an effort to stop drinking and with Kate's help had managed to get booked in at a rehab center.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rick asked, his voice sounding more disappointed than angry and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"I tried. You told me you were going to call and never did. Once you became a published writer I tried to contact you but contacting someone who is becoming more famous by the day and claiming you are pregnant with their child tends to put you in the crazy fan section of the fan mail. Once Hannah was born I gave up trying. I thought you didn't care" Kate explained, the memories of those nine months flooding back to her as tears crept into the corner of her eyes.

"Kate. I'm so sorry. I never received any messages, and I lost your number. I wanted to try and find you, I went back to the hotel later that day but you were gone, all I knew was your name. I did try but I couldn't find you."

Neither of them spoke, not knowing what to say that would make this situation any better. Kate wiped away a stray tear that was sliding down her cheek, trying to compose herself the best she could.

"I would have stayed" Castle said, breaking the silence.

"What?" Kate asked, looking up to meet his gaze.

"If I'd have known. I would have stayed, with you and Hannah"

Beckett smirked, thinking he was just saying this because of what had happened, she looked up ready to make a sarcastic comment and put him in his place. Tell him that she and Hannah had been fine so far without him and that they didn't need his pity. But as she looked up at him, his eyes were glazed over. A truth in his look was pouring out to her. She knew he wasn't lying, he wasn't saying it to make her feel better. He really would have stayed.

"Kate I can't change what happened. But if you let me I would like to stay, Hannah is a great kid with a fantastic mom, and I would like to get to know you both more. If you'll let me"

He sounded as though he was begging but the smile that appeared on her face told him that she liked the idea.

"Well I do believe I still owe you an explanation for the elephant" she said, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. "Come on, let's go and find Hannah before she re-arranges all of Javi's paperwork and then you can buy me a coffee"

"Deal" Castle replied, a smile spreading across his face.

The two of them walked out of the room and towards Javi's desk which Hannah was currently re-arranging, as soon as she saw Rick and Kate, she ran over to them, grabbing one of each of their hands and pulling them over to see the work she had done.

Kate didn't know if this would work, if Castle was really going to stay around, but for now she and Hannah were happy and that was all that mattered.