A lot of establishing the relationship between Rick and Mya... also some realizations are made. I really wanted to give them a bit of history so that it wouldnt be too much of a shock in later chapters. I promise Caskett fluff in following chapters... if thats what you want :) really who doesnt want rick and Kate goodness. Enjoy. Tell me if its too long. Will break it up next time.

"Oh" Castle said and slung his arm over the girls shoulder, playfully pushing her so she would lose balance. "Kate Beckett... meet Mya Stevens... my daughter".

Detectives Ryan and Esposito were not men to mess with. Sure that's the image they exuded with their handling of guns and flashing of badges. But to all who knew them... and all who had the privilege to anyways, had known.. that really... they were big softies. And when a certain sister.. meaning Kate Beckett was involved their worries and protectiveness knew no bounds. Their thoughts could only conjure the worst pains, the fatal injuries that she could've had as they raced toward the room after escaping the blasphemous glare of the nursing staff. Oh yeaa.. work the badge. And then they stopped, both gasping and waiting; taking that the lack of wails from a certain author that couldn't be heard from here all the way to the precinct.. must be a good sign. But what they found was not Kate Beckett fit and healthy. Sure there was no blood, no casts... no big gaping wounds that suggested surgery. No it was much worse... It was Kate Beckett dumbfounded... Lost for words. And the phrase "My daughter" and echoing off the pristine walls shocked them to the other two individuals standing in the room. One fleeting thought drifted from one to the other before settling their eyes on their injured colleague... Uh oh.

Both Rick and Mya looked up startled as the other two gentlemen burst into the room, sparing them each a glance before moving toward the injured brunette. "Hey guys what took you so long?" Rick enquired running his fingers through the younger girls long curly hair like he used to do when she was younger. She looked at him, her expression softening at the familiar touch as she leaned against his shoulder, reveling in the stereotypical comfort. The moment spurred a memory to flit before her eyes and within seconds she was laughing against his jacket; pushing herself off him to hold his face in place.

"They've finally grown back right" She laughed, touching his eyebrows as they curved. "I remember how embarrassed you were to go to the hospital that Lex and I promised to walk slowly so the jacket covering your face wouldn't slip of". And Rick began to grin getting caught up in her memories.

"Yea but offcourse being the rebel that you were, pulled the jacket off in the lobby- exclaiming that you were suddenly cold!"

"What?" she shrugged indignantly "I was!"

"No you were not! I burnt my eyebrows off and you just wanted everyone to see!" he replied scoffing.

"Serves you right for trying to deep fry a turkey"

"IT WAS ONE TIME!" He whined looking up at the three detectives that were watching them; Espisito and Ryan confused, Beckett almost smirking. "Kids...they never let you live anything down".

"The point is", the teenager replied flicking at his ear, "I remember the doctor telling you that it was really dangerous.. and that Lex and I could've been burnt... and you were so worried that the entire cab ride back home you held us close to you... and you brushed your fingers through our hair and touched our cheeks. Just to reassure yourself that we were there.. and we were fine." She moved toward the side of him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her cheek to his temple as she hugged him tight. "I miss it. I miss you. I miss her". And Rick beamed as he held her close. She was back. He had her. Alexis had her. And this time it was for forever.

Daughter... DAUGHTER? This doesn't change anything. I mean he has another daughter. Yea... but her mother is out of the picture. 'Is that what you're worried about?' Kate admonished herself as she watched father and daughter hug each other, clung to each other in fact. It was breathtaking... beautiful and bittersweet the way they loved. And it built up an unfamiliar ache in her chest when they talked about old times or how much they'd missed. She felt unbearable sadness and unshakeable happiness at the same time watching the reunion. A family fitting the pieces back together. And all she could think about was the unmasked other half on the girl's parentage. Was she still here? Was she still in the picture? ...Wait.. why does she care again? No she doesn't.

She looked at the younger girl.. the middle Castle... (even the thought was too foreign to be natural), studied her face. She was beautiful... God. Breathtaking even... which meant that so was her mother. She had to get the curly hair from somewhere... the mocha coloured skin.. the deeply imbedded dimple on her left cheek. Her dark eyes rimmed with darker lashes. Yep.. her mother must be gorgeous. Not that Kate cared. Not in the least.

And suddenly the mocha coloured, curly haired, half of Castle was moving toward her smiling slightly at something that her father... HER FATHER... had said. Her eyes crinkled adorably; her dimple deepened and Kate wished suddenly that she could crawl into a hole. Crap.

"Mind if I take a look?" she asked, gesturing to the hidden bandage on her left arm, just above the elbow. Kate regarded her with wide eyes... not really sure what to say.

"err.. sure." And then she was peeling, gently but with purpose, rolling away the protective layering against a wound Kate had not yet seen. And it was gone, revealing a neatly stitched up cut that looked deep but sewn neat enough to leave no scar after healing. Mya ran her finger's lightly over it.. checking.. double checking. The room regarded her silently.. wondering what she was doing.

"Oh good... it should heal nicely", she rolled the gauze and moved away from the group, throwing the bloodstained material away. "There was glass embedded in there that was causing a lot of damage, and too be honest I didn't have enough bandage to make the donut compression to immobilise the glass plus stop the flow of blood.. so I just removed it and stitched up the wound". She turned to Kate and smiled slightly, "I would've asked... but you were kind of unconscious... so I just went for it"

"Isn't that against the rules?" Castle asked, still looking at the stitching done on his partner.

"Yea... so shhhhhh" she winked

"My daughter ladies and gentlemen!" Smirking she leaned over and patted him on the cheek

"You wish Rick" her phone started buzzing as she frowned slightly at the screen. She turned, excusing herself as she headed out the room. And before she could leave she stuck her head back in through the door and smiled her large carefree grin. "And for the record... so do I"

Kevin Ryan was the first one to break. "Castle... WHAT THE HELL MAN?" he gestured from the closed door to the author still smiling softly at the girl's words. He faltered though at the outburst and looked at his friends faces. Realised that he had yet to explain himself. And then he looked at Kate, watched her regard him from her impossibly green eyes.

"Mya is one of my best friends", he gestured toward the closed door and shrugged, "But no we're not related by blood... actually we're not related at all. I met her about ten years ago... when she was just a little 9 year old kid". He looked up at his partner, and began to spin the story for them... the story of how he met the girl who brought his family together.

Coldness crept through the thick material of his coat as he strolled across the dark canvas of Central Park. It was too late to be here... really it was too late to be out of bed. But now.. today his ex wife had finally crossed the line..had spun beautiful lies to his daughter, promising her of weekend trips and quality time; only to crush what little hope she had left. An emptiness erupted in his chest as he realized that his job as a father only entailed so much... he could not adopt both- didn't know how. And it killed him every time to see the disappointment in Alexis's eyes when her mother decides that a movie audition is more important that hugging your six year old child. On top of it all he had stopped writing... the words.. the plotlines just wouldn't come. Castle ran his fingers through his thick hair and sighed... this was not the plan. But yet here he was... in Central Park at 12.13 at night... trying to 'clear' his head. Really it was irresponsible.. to be here so late... when things were so dangerous. If something happened to him where would Alexis go? As it is her mother was a flake. Shaking his head at his own stupidity he turned to retrace his steps.. to go home to his daughter and hold her twice as hard- make sure she never longed for her mother's touch.

But then the silence was disturbed... his thoughts interrupted as a singing enveloped the cold and merged to form comfort. It was beautiful... eerily so. Filled with pain and longing that the ache in Rick's chest only got stronger as the melody continued and engulfed him. He searched for the source... and he found her not too long after as her song reduced to a hum as she rocked of the edge of the park bench; hands placed beside each knee, shoulders hunched as she stared at her rocking feet- the humming used to create her own comfort. And then she starts again, the words now loud enough for Rick to hear clearly.

Don't think I would leave you

Don't think it's my way

Don't forget that I love you

When the rest of the world won't stay

Don't believe that you're nothing

When it's all they ever say

Don't forget to be brave

For me today

Cause I'm here darling

say you believe

That without you I don't know

How to breathe

And you're mine forever

My baby girl, don't cry

I'm with you, I'm with you

Here in your smile.

She suddenly stopped and looked up toward the sky, smiling sadly as a lone tear fell from her face. And for the first time Rick saw her.. saw the dark curls and dark eyes. But more importantly saw the sadness that enveloped her... only for a second though before she shook her head and wiped her face. She winced slightly as she touched her cheek as though in pain and then sighed looking at her feet again. Rick moved toward her and saw her flinch at his presence. "That was beautiful" he said as he sat down next to her, shaking trying to keep the cold away.

"THAT.. was private" she stated blankly, still staring at her feet.

"What was the song about?" he whispered as his words disappeared in the mist around him.

"Don't you have somewhere to be? Or do you make a habit of spying on people you don't know in the middle of the night?" she glared at him, looking up from her feet for the first time as she ignored his attempts at friendliness.

"In the middle of the night.. no. Spying on people..." he shrugged "Sure". She smirked at that, her lips curving in an almost smile. "Okay maybe something less personal... like your name. What's your name?"

Shaking her head slightly she looked away. "Next".

"How old are you?" she smiled at this

"Nine".

"Nine?"

"Yea" she said looking at him suspiciously.

"So what's a nine year old girl doing in Central Park at this time of night?" She sighed and looked away from him.

"Next".

Castle regarded the little girl as she shivered, for the first time realising her state of dress. She was in thin cotton pyjama's, a pair of sneakers thrown clumsily over her feet, her hair spilling over her back and shoulders. "Here" he said taking off his thick coat at draping it over her tiny frame. She hesitated for a moment, before snuggling into its comforting heaviness.

"Thanks Mr Castle" Rick faltered at her words.

"You know me?" he asked incredulously as she laughed at his surprise.

"Doesn't everybody?"

"Everybody almost never includes nine year old girls" he mused still surprised.

"What?... I read!" she shrugged. And now Rick was stunned as though he was seeing the child in a whole new light.

"You've read my books?"

"Sure... I don't usually talk to randoms I know nothing about...unlike you" she smirked.

"Which one did you read?"

"All of them"

He blinked a couple of times before allowing his face to break out into a smile. "Wow". She smiled at him, laughing at his response. "Did you like them?"

"Yea I suppose" she shrugged, tugging on the edges of the dark material that shielded her. "You write spectacularly... the details incredibly vivid", she thought for a second as Rick regarded her... she was intelligent.. more so than most of her age.. heck more than he was at that age. "However I think that your characters involved lack purpose because you have less time, less writing space to mould their stories... and this lack of characterisation leaves me wanting as a reader.. and not the good kind of wanting. If I were to write in your preferred genre, I would do a series. One in which I was able to construct my character so that readers get to fall for him, and get to understand his affiliation with death that surrounds him". She stops as she realises he is gaping at her... "What?"

"How old are you again?"

She giggled and Rick almost rejoiced... finally something reflective of her age! "So I'm good with literature... I've just had a lot of spare time in these nine years I've been alive"

"Clearly...I mean only someone who would subject themselves to 'Flowers For your Grave' really had nothing better to do... Even I can admit that one was a bust" She laughed out loud, fully and without apology and it was so infectious that Rick soon joined her. She climbed up off the bench sinking her feet into the grass as she purposefully moved, leaving imprints of her footsteps in the ground. And she started humming, this time a happier childlike song and Rick was struck by how young she actually was.. only a couple of years older than his own child... Alexis! "I should get back" he said standing and putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. She smiled and nodded moving to return his coat before her stopped her with a shake of his head. "Are your parents waiting for you at home... will they be worried?" That stopped her, her smile disappearing

"No they're not waiting"

"Oh" she grimaced and turned to leave, sliding the coat of her shoulders and handing it to him. "You know... My loft is just a couple minutes drive from here... you can come with me if you like" she looked at him curiously but he also saw an hidden longing in her eyes and this encouraged him. "You know... you can spend the night, escape the cold... give me character advice" she grinned appreciatively at that. "And best of all... you can meet my daughter!"

"You have a daughter?"

"Yea... her names Alexis.. she's 6" the young girl smiled deviously

"Oh she's at THAT age... when she's wanting to do things by herself... do her own hair.. do her own school work... I bet that kills you right?"

He grinned, "You have no idea". And when she still didn't answer him, when she chose to shift awkwardly.. he asked again. Letting her know that he wanted her company. "Is that a yes?"

"Well... that depends" she gazed up at him wickedly, a smirk playing across her features.

"Yea.. on what?"

"On whether you have... copious amounts of ice-cream" And he laughed out loud, some of it he had to admit to himself from surprise at the impressive vocab she decided to throw his way.

"Parenting 101.. always have the sweet stuff", he placed the coat over her shoulders again. "Come on".

"Thank you... my names Mya by the way" she said stepping in line with him.

"Mya?... I like it" they moved swiftly, wanting to escape the cold faster " So... I leave you wanting as a reader? I have to say... that doesn't bode well for my author ego".

Mya giggled and shrugged looking up at him with happiness running across the young lines of her face ."Don't worry Mr Castle... Patterson has nothing on you".

"And then the rest is just history" Castle shrugged folding his arms as he rested on the chair. "Alexis fell for her the minute the girl woke up and braided her hair... to be honest I fell for her the second she mentioned literature... so she became a part of the family- living in our home more days of the week that she actually was at hers".

"That's a lie" Mya's voice resonated of the walls alerting them to her presence in the room. "You know I had no other home but yours Ricky... How could I survive without your rapier wit to keep me sane?" The three detectives laughed at that, more comfortable with the girl now that they knew her back story. Although if Kate were honest with herself her comfort was for a whole different reason. "Sorry about that" the younger girl said gesturing to her phone "Occupational hazard".

"Ahhh" Rick winked knowingly, "Time for the torture young one"

"Bet I could outlast you.. old man"

"Please... how many times have they called?"

Mya casually found a great amount of interest with the pristine walls of the room. "That piece of information has no relevance in this conversation".

Castle giggled childishly.. "You are soo screwed..."

"Sorry"... Kate interrupted them from their banter, as amusing as it was to fill herself in the loop. "What do you do for a living?"

'Wrong question'... definitely. Especially judging from the gasp coming out of a one Richard Castle's mouth. He looked at Kate with mock horror... "She's Mya Stevens..." And then the boys joined in, with whispered 'No ways'. But still Kate shrugged, feeling like the smallest kid in the class. Which was stupid... Judging from the fact she was taller than both Ryan and Espisito... even without killer heels. "MYYAASTTEEVVEENNNSS" he said slower still not believing that she didn't know.

"I don't think enunciating my name any better is going to create some sort of epiphany" Mya replied amused at his antics. "Refrain from getting all papa bear on me Rick" turning to Kate she grinned and answered. "That was my agent on the phone kindly informing me that I am a month late on my deadline... I'm a writer" She ignored Castles snickering in the background about her missed deadline. She'd poke back at him later... she always got him back. "Don't worry you didn't hurt my ego... Castle here however.. I'm not sure about, I am his so called 'protégé" she said the label mockingly as he beamed at her.

"You bet you are" turning to Kate he glanced at her, dumbfounded. "I can't believe for a person who reads so much you don't know who she is".

"Yea Beckett" Espisito replied, "Even I've read the 'Hidden' series". He smiled at the younger girl and the two detectives discussed the books, pointing out things they loved when realisation hit Kate.

"Wait... the 'Hidden' series?... Like 'Hidden Truth' and 'Hidden Desires'? The SciFi novels...?" She looked at the young girl and laughed in surprise. "You wrote those? But there are like 5 in the series!"

"Yea... I was 13 when I was first published.. thanks to bestselling author right here" she said patting Castles knee in affection.

"Wow... congratulations.. those are really famous" She said and smiled at her. "I bet your parents are really proud of you". She said the words carelessly, like a routine statement that one usually says with the best of intentions. But suddenly it was like the happy atmosphere was sucked out of the room; Mya tensing first before Rick joined her, sitting quietly trying to gauge her reaction. He stood, wanting to provide a support, but the 19 year old shook it off. Smiled as though that very statement didn't claw at her insides. And then she tilted her head at Kate and nodded... her facial expression filled with as much sadness as there was happiness.

"Yea" she said and shrugged "I bet they are". And then she left, left their confronting stares... but most of all left the truth that she knew was going to be exposed. and before she closed the door she glanced at Rick and nodded; gave him permission to reveal the secrets that she couldn't herself face.

"What did I say?" Kate asked, turning to Castle as his eyes remained dark and he stared at the closed door.

"She has no parents" he said tapping nervously at the end of the bed. "Her dad left her mother while she was pregnant". And then he paused and looked at Kate, knowing this was going to hit home. Almost unconsciously asked her to prepare herself as he skimmed his fingers on her blanket covered legs. "She was eight when her mother died... when her mother was murdered. She was on her way from work... and it was the night before Mya's 9th birthday.. so she had the present in a little box that was in her hand and the money that she had saved for the occasion tucked in her purse. It was a ring, one that Mya had saw in a shop the previous week and had fell in love with it. But she never asked... she knew that they were short of money. But her mother had returned and bought it the next day.. and it was small, the perfect size for a nine year olds ring finger." he swallowed as he remembered the first time Mya had told him this story.. she was eleven at the time... but she didn't cry, just one small tear that had betrayed her facade. "it was 15 minutes before midnight... she had just enough time to go into the house, light the candles on the cake before she could wake her daughter up. And she didn't see them... there were three of them.. three men. And they demanded all she had which she gladly gave up.. money, jewellery. But she had slipped the ring deep within her coat pockets while they stole everything else. They must've been making a commotion because a siren fired off in the distance and so they pocketed whatever she had given them...and then for good measure gave her something in return. A knife, 5 times in the stomach and chest... just in case... She didn't stand a chance... And then they bolted, tripping over trashcans in their haste to escape... waking up an eight year old child. And she stood and looked out her window.. saw her mother lying on the ground. And she ran to her... held her as she told her to hold on. But the older woman simply smiled and pressed the small velvet box into the palm of her daughter's hand. It was 11.58 p.m when she whispered a happy birthday to her and 11.59 when she took her last breathe. And it was exactly 12 a.m when tears caught up to the 9 year old girl as she held her mother's lifeless body; felt the blood surround her as her childhood slipped from her grasp."

There was no sounds... not even a breathe as the room now too caught up in the past to care about the present. Kate shook with familiarity, shook with sorrow.. the pain too potent to be true. It struck and struck again. And he grasped her hand and she squeezed it like a lifeline... Oh...Oh..he was here. He was always here. And she almost cried at the realisation. Not just for her. For someone so much like her... for a child.. who'd lost what she had. He was here. Always. always... And she knew.. knew that the young girl didn't choose his home over her own. She made a home... with him.. his daughter... she made it with him.. together. And not just because she had no one else...but because he was here. Always. And as he traced patterns on her skin she looked up, tears finally falling down her face as she thanked with every fibre of her being, with everything she had... that the blue eyes of Richard Castle were looking back at her.