Hi, everyone! I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all you incredible reviews and just the general reception the first chapter got. It was extremely overwhelming but so so appreciated.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to clear some things up:

They are 17 years old.

I will be doing both Rick and Kate's POV in some chapters but it will be clearly indicated.

Most characters from the show will be present in the story in one way or another.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or it's characters. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting on the internet.

RICK'S POV

It had been 2 days since the death of Johanna Beckett and the entire neighborhood had been abuzz with sad whispers. Nobody knew exactly how she had died but everyone seemed to move slower, talk quieter and there was a very present, united feeling of grief and sympathy felt towards the Beckett family. Today was her funeral and Rick and his mother were rushing around their large, Victorian style house in an attempt to get ready early enough to help Jim, Kate's father and Johanna's husband, welcome guests. He was struggling, Rick could tell. When he had seen him in passing his eyes had grown sadder and his face looked sunken, this worried him due to the fact he knew how much Jim and Kate depended on Johanna...what was going to happen to them now?

With a heavy sigh, Rick, taking one last glance in the mirror and making sure his suit was up to standard trailed out of his room and forced himself downstairs to leave with his mother. He grew anxious at thought of seeing Kate, he didn't know how she would react to being around him all day, i mean if she couldn't stand him on a regular day of school then this would be hell but he'd take it with a grain of salt because she was hurting...she'd never stop hurting.

"Mother? Are you ready?" he said quietly as if his voice could shatter her into pieces. She had taken Johanna's death hard, they had been each other's rocks for over 20 years but for some reason his mother felt guilty for being as sad as she was and no matter how many times he had tried to tell her that the hurt she was feeling was complete justifiable, she had lost her best friend. However, she would reply in one of the most broken tones he'd ever heard "Richard, they have lost a mother and a wife. What i'm feeling will never come close to that."

"Are you ready, Kiddo?" she asked with a broken smile, shrugging on her favourite coat. It was lined with faux fur and when he was younger, rick would always cover himself with it and pretend her was a wolf...he did that with Kate.

"RAWRRRR!" screamed Rick who was wrapped in a black faux fur coat trying to catch his 'pray', Kate. This was one of their favourite games 'The lion and the gazel'. Don't ask how they'd come up with it , Rick had gotten the idea one day while being dragged round on one of Martha's long shopping trips, suggested it to Kate and the rest was a history of bruised knees and disagreements on who would be the lion or the pray. He was currently hiding round a corner, waiting for Kate to come down the hallway so he could scare her and finally win the game. Her footsteps were fast but very very loud giving away her distance and in 3...2...1 "GOT YOU" shouted Rick as he hurled himself onto the small girl,tickling her and laughing as she tried to tickle him back. After a short while, the laughter died down and there was just silence, a comfortable one, but silence non the less as Rick stared at Kate, staring back at him.

"I'm really happy you're my best friend" Kate said softly. This made Rick smile, NOT in the crush way but in the 'hey, this is my best friend and i will always protect them' way and even at 8 years old, Rick knew that was special. "Always, you loser now let's go get a snack before we switch roles." he replied with a grin pulling Kate to her feet. They had a good system, she was the serious, level headed one and he was the one that came up with crazy stories and fun games. They were polar-opposites and that's why they worked so well. At least that's what his mother had told him one day, he didn't really understand but he liked the idea of what that meant.

A wave of sadness hit him with the memory of what he claims as pure, unadulterated happiness "Richard? Are you okay?" he barely heard his mother ask through his haze of thought. "uh yes, sorry. I was just remembering something" he gave back with a small smile. Rick walked ahead and opened there door, watching his mother walk out and with one last look at the interior of his home, he sighed and locked the door. He could get through the day...couldn't he? He could be there for Kate without having to be there, he could.

Today was going to be hard for everyone.

KATE'S POV

For the second morning in a row, Kate had been woken up by a sharp throbbing in her head. Wincing as she opened her eyes, bringing both hands to her temples and rubbing tiny little circles either side...not that it would help. The night before was hazy but from what she could remember, it consisted of a bottle of her father's bourbon and a handful of aspirin. She just wanted to forget, and she would...until she was forced to wake up and come face to face with the reality that another day was going to pass and her mother was still gone and she was angry. She was angry that her mother was gone, she was angry that her father had barely spoken 3 words to her and she'd had to cry herself to sleep alone ever since that day. She was completely and utterly alone. With a heavy heart she glanced at the clock, sighing at the time. It was 9am, she had an hour to get ready for her mom's funeral but she just wanted to lie there so she could be forgotten, she wanted to disappear, why did anything matter? Her mom was gone and she was never coming back. Kate hadn't noticed the warm tears that had started to travel down her face and the alteration of her breaths. They were becoming shorter and quicker, she hated this, the feeling before the sobbing began but it was too late and before she knew it, in the most pathetic voice she had ever heard herself make, she whispered "I miss you, mommy"

Kate had gotten dressed and was looking at her reflection in the large mirror that lived in the corner of her room. Her dress was pretty with lace sleeves and fitted her small frame well. She gave a small, sad laugh at the fact the word 'pretty' even came into her mind. The bags under her eyes were dark, fighting through the concealer and she had already started to loose weight on her face. Her thoughts were interrupted by a small knock on her door and turned around to see her dad standing in the doorway. They stared at each silently for a few moments, as if they were trying to test each other but they didn't know what for. After a few moments of this, Kate decided that she would make the first move, running into her father, holding him close to her as if she was terrified that he would slip away. She felt him hold her tighter as her tears started to soak into his nice, black suit. A suit her mother had once picked out for him, she would've loved to see him in it. Kate gave a small smile at the thought, pulling back to look her father in the eyes.

"Katie, I know today is going to be hard and i'm sorry I haven't been here for you in the past few days but that's going to change. We are going to get through this, me and you." her father whispered, almost as if he was trying to convince himself that what he said was true. Kate didn't, there was a hollow feeling in her heart that she knew she would never be able to get rid of but she couldn't tell him that. She was meant to be strong and so she nodded silently in agreement. "I love you, Daddy-" she told him looking back up at his eyes so he knew that what she was saying was true, catching a glimpse of the clock as she did "but we have to leave. It's time to say goodbye."

They moved slowly out of her room and out of the house in an almost trance-like state. She felt numb, not even flinching when the cold air hit her face. She didn't bother with a jacket, she didn't care about getting a cold. Today wasn't about her, it was about her mom and she refused to feel guilty about caring for herself. The car journey was quiet, neither one saying a word, just sitting in silence taking in what was about to happen. It was surreal and unpleasant as if something was sitting on her chest making it difficult to breathe. They eventually arrived at the cemetery and when they did, Kate saw two familiar faces. Martha and Rick Castle. She sighed internally, Martha was a lovely woman who had always cared for Kate even after her friendship with Rick had ended and she was grateful for that but there was still Rick...writer boy. They had grown apart and to be honest she wasn't really sure why but it had happened and now he was here, at her mother's funeral and a part of her wished that she hadn't fucked everything up because having an actual friend right now sounded amazing right now but he infuriated her and she didn't need that today, she wouldn't be weak.

As she got out the car, she saw the two figures walking towards them at a rather fast pace compared to hers, anyway and was suddenly engulfed in a hug from Martha that she accepted without really thinking. Everything about her movements were robotic just like the small smile she gave Martha as they pulled away but suddenly she turned to face Rick who was looking at her with so much sympathy, it made her want to punch him. Instead she went with a nod and walked off, she saw the hurt in his eyes but decided to herself that she didn't care. Today wasn't about other people's feelings. It was about one thing only.

They had spent a good 30 minutes welcoming people with their fake smiles and acceptance of their sympathy. Kate didn't want their sympathy, she didn't need anything from anyone, anymore but today wasn't one for showing it. 50 people attended her mothers funeral, 50 people are what showed her worth and that made Kate angrier. All that was going round in her mind was "my mom is more than 50 people", she was trying her hardest to keep the tears back but her eyes had started to sting and she kept catching Rick staring at her, every stare returned with a angry glare. This was all getting too much but the service had started, she couldn't bail. She'd regret not being here, right?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the movements of her father who was walking forward and placed a single red rose on the casket, a simple yet beautiful symbol of the love the family had shared. She was up next, her legs shaking as she picked up her rose and walked forward, completely focused on not letting her legs give way and breaking down in front of everyone. She had to be strong and she was, she placed the rose on the casket and stopped for a moment, taking in the reality of what she was doing and with that, she let go as the tears silently fell down her face onto the rose, whispering in a barely audible voice "Goodbye, mommy. I love you."

Rick's POV

Rick's heart sank as he watched Kate place the rose on her mother's casket, her body silently shaking. His eyes started stinging with tears and his mind filled with thoughts of anger. How could this happen? Who would do this? It wasn't fair to Kate or her father but the world wasn't fair sometimes and from what he had heard, the police hadn't gotten far in respects to finding suspects or witnesses. World-1, inhabitants-0. He zoned out for the rest of the service, consumed with thoughts of the past and the future which made time go faster and before he knew it, the casket had been lowered into the ground and Johanna was gone. His stomach dropped as he looked over at Kate and saw a blank slate, no tears, nothing and he couldn't help but be worried by that...he shouldn't be worried, she made it obvious she didn't need nor want his sympathy but he wasn't like that. He was going to be on standby in case, by some miracle, she confided in him. Rick mentally kicked himself for being so kind and patient, he was just going to get hurt but for some reason she seemed worth it.

The worry followed him all the way back to Kate's house where her father was holding a reception. He had wanted to go straight home, knowing Kate wouldn't want him there but his mother had needed him so he stayed. It was a nice reception, everyone gathered round the house, sharing stories about Johanna, he even saw Jim break a smile at one point but one person he hadn't seen at all was Kate. He had noticed that Jim had started looking around for her, checking upstairs in her room which also seemed to be empty. Rick's feet started moving before his brain could stop him and he found himself face-to-face with Jim. "Would you like me to look for Kate? You should really just be relaxing right now." he offered gingerly, not wanting to offend the older man.

Jim thought for a few moments, toying with the idea of escaping or putting on a brave face and sticking around. Eventually his brain won over his heart, Rick could tell by the way his eyes darkened. "Yes, Rick. That would be very helpful of you. Whatever state you find her in...bring her home."he said defeated, placing a kind hand on Rick's shoulder and giving him a nod, walking off into the gaggle of people.

Due to the fact Jim had looked in the house for Kate with no luck, Rick decided to head out into their garden. It was quite big and you could hide yourself away if you didn't want to be seen. The perfect place for Kate. "Kate!" he shouted, he had been doing this for the past 5 minutes with no response so decided to wander into the shadowed area of the garden. While doing so, something caught his eye. It was the large tree they used to hide behind as kids and curled up underneath was what seemed to be a figure.

As he got closure, he made out Kate's long brown hair that was now splayed out around her in knots. She was curled up with a bottle of whisky, obviously passed out. Rick could barely make out the mascara that was now own her cheeks indicating hat she had been crying. His heart sank for her, all his memories of her being happy and carefree made this even harder. She looked so small and helpless and the fact she was alone left him with a feeling of hopelessness and the thought that maybe he could be there for her? That was a long shot. As soon as Rick started to feel the chill of the late night sky, he scooped Kate up in his arms, making his way back to the house abandoning the now empty, whisky bottle. He had almost reached the door when he felt Kate stir, he went to look down but was shocked when he saw her large eyes starting at him Still clouded with sleep, she whispered "Cast-le?" reaching up to touch his cheek as if she was checking he was real. He gave her a small smile and replied "I'm here." and he was, but he knew that when she woke up in the morning, nothing would have changed and that broke his heart a little bit more.

Sooo, there's chapter 2!

Please leave reviews/opinions as i truly appreciate every single one!

I'm building some stuff up at the minute and so next chapter will be introducing some familiar faces into the mixture so I hope you'll all enjoy that :)

Thanks for reading!

P.S: If anyone would like to make a cover for this story then i'd truly appreciate it as i'm just as bad as ABC when it comes to photoshop lmao