A/N: Just to clear this up, this is meant to take place sometime around mid-Season 5. Just in case any of you were wondering. So...onto Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Don't Turn Your Back On Them

"Can we go play in the backyard for a while?" Brad asked in response to Beckett's question.

"Sure," Beckett replied, honestly a bit relieved at the request because it meant she'd have more time to adjust to her role in this particular assignment. "Just make sure to stay where I can see you, okay?"

Brad and Sean nodded their agreement and immediately rushed down through the main hallway, where they came out into the living room which had a set of window doors that led out onto the house's back patio. They closed the doors behind them.

Beckett was so willing to let them go off on their own partly because she'd already scanned the backyard upon her arrival and deemed it safe from any unwanted threats. If that hadn't been the case, then she would have insisted on accompanying them. Besides, the backyard was fenced in, and the entry gate had been securely locked by Beckett herself. Beckett was mainly just glad that the boys seemed to be accepting of having a new "sitter" around. But if they discovered the locked gate, then Beckett would require a good explanation. Although, Beckett could see no reason they'd want to leave.

"So far, so good," she said to herself as she slipped off her coat and hung it on a nearby coat rack. At the same time, she took her cell phone out of one of the pockets and carried it with her as she walked into the living room to double-check on Brad and Sean.

In addition to the patio doors also serving as windows, there was a regular, large one on the far wall that overlooked most of the expanse of the backyard. And through that view, Beckett could see Brad and Sean going to and fro in the middle of what was quite the cluttered mess of various toys. But rather than playing, it looked like the boys were cleaning everything up, which impressed Beckett. It showed that these two kids were apparently responsible, and if it was any indication of their everyday personalities, then Beckett could surmise that this NYPD-sanctioned babysitting job would go just fine.

She smiled in satisfaction and turned her attention to her phone, pulling up her Contacts. Beckett figured that Castle would appreciate a quick update on what she was doing, and she hoped he wasn't too busy as she called up his number and put the phone to her ear. During the few short rings, Beckett went back to the painting which concealed the secret safe.

"Heeeeello? Detective Beckett's Boy Toy speaking, how may I be of assistance?"

Beckett grinned at her boyfriend's latest in a never-ending arsenal of sarcastic quips. "Okay, from that greeting, I take it you're both alone and have time for a quick talk?"

She could practically hear the smile in his voice. "No, actually, I'm in the middle of signing books and figured my fans wouldn't mind hearing that." Castle paused for a moment and got serious. "Yes, I'm taking a break. What's up? Did I miss a murder?"

"No, New York's killers are being surprisingly respectful. They must've heard you were out of town and figured they'd wait for you to get back before committing their crimes."

"Ah, respectful indeed."

Beckett cradled her phone between her shoulder and ear while she used both hands to lift and remove the painting from the wall. She wanted to make sure the safe was fully functional, just in case. "Okay, so remember the witness in that Mob hit a couple of weeks ago?"

"Emily Downey. Yeah, of course," Castle replied. "On her way back from grocery shopping, she drops her keys in the street, but accidentally sees an informant get his brains splattered all over the inside of a car window. Why? Did something happen to her?"

"No, nothing like that," Beckett reassured as she quickly glanced over at the patio doors, which she had a clear view of from the hallway, to check and see if Brad and Sean were still occupied. They were. "It's just that her court date was moved up at the very last minute. To today. Which changed our schedule somewhat."

"So, I take it you're calling me from a police SUV at the moment while you, Ryan and Espo are escorting her to court? Are you wearing your tight bulletproof vest?"

It had become more fun for Beckett to engage in this type of banter with Castle ever since they had finally hooked up a few months ago. "Just my usual tight regular clothes that you love so much. Ryan, Espo and Gates are handling Mrs. Downey's protection detail while I'm back at her house, in charge of her kids' protection."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. When Castle's voice came back, it was dripping with amusement, as Beckett guessed it would be. "So, let me get this straight. Detective extraordinaire and badass Kate Beckett is on the job ... babysitting." There was another pause. "Oh, how I wish I was back already!"

"What, Castle, you don't think I can handle it?"

"No," Castle said quickly. "It's just you alone with small kids is interesting to think about, because I've never seen you in that situation."

"What are you talking about? I'm alone with you on a daily basis."

"Touché," replied Castle, which made Beckett smile wide.

As she did, she took the time to punch in the pass code on the safe's keypad: 0-8-1-4, which was Brad Downey's birthday, August 14th.

From Castle's end of the line, Beckett could hear another faint voice in the background. "Okay, I've gotta get back to autograph duty," he said. "But either you call me back later, or I'll call you back. Cause I'd love to hear how the day goes for you!"

"Don't get too excited, Castle. Brad and Sean Downey seem like very nice boys. I'm sure things won't get as out of control as you think they will."

"It never hurts to be sure. Bye. Talk to you later."

"Yeah, okay. Have fun." Castle and Beckett hung up at the same time.

Her boyfriend's jokey resolve was enough to further put Beckett's nerves at babysitting alone at ease, and she couldn't help but be thankful for it. She placed her phone in her back pocket and pulled down on the handle on the safe that allowed her to open it. The safe appeared to be working without any problems, much to Beckett's satisfaction.

On the top tray inside, above a large collection of money and jewelry pieces the Downey's used the safe for, sat Beckett's gun and badge. If all went well today, she wouldn't have to bring them out, but Beckett still felt the desire to quickly check to see that the magazine in her weapon was fully loaded. She confirmed that it was within ten seconds.

But because her view to the right was being obstructed by the safe door, Beckett couldn't tell that her actions were currently being watched.

From the moment they first laid eyes on her, there was something about Kate Beckett that just didn't sit right with Brad and Sean Downey. At first, they couldn't really tell what it was about her that rubbed them the wrong way. Who was this strange new person, and why did their Mom get her to babysit them today instead of their usual sitter, Rachel? Was there something else going on here?

They had been given an answer not long after going outside, when they happened to glance inside through the patio doors and catch Kate doing something shocking: she had opened their parents' secret safe! And she was rifling through it as if looking for something. Money, jewels?

"She's trying to rob us!" Brad whispered to Sean in surprise. Each of them were on opposite sides of the patio doors, peering in discreetly.

"I knew she didn't seem right!" Sean hissed back.

"She must've somehow tricked Mom into getting her to babysit us," said Brad. "Maybe Mom told her about the safe by accident and she got greedy."

"But how did she open it?"

"Most professional robbers can guess stuff like combinations," Brad replied matter-of-factly. "She must do this kind of stuff all the time!"

They saw Beckett closing the safe back up, and the boys ran back into the yard so as not to be seen themselves.

"So ... what do we do?" asked Sean worriedly. "Call the cops?"

Brad considered the option for a moment, but then shook his head. "No. They might not believe us. And even if they did, Kate most likely could convince them that she's just a regular babysitter. We need to come up with something else."

The two boys spent a minute in thoughtful silence. But when that minute was up, both of them looked at each other as one with expressions that indicated they were sharing a thought.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Brad asked with a grin.

"Yeah, I am," Sean said with a devious smile of his own.

"Okay, well, we should get to work!"

"Brad, Sean!" Beckett announced as she opened the patio doors an hour and a half later. "Lunchtime!"

"Coming!" they called back.

Beckett left the doors open for them and made her way into the kitchen, which was connected to the living room via an open entryway. Earlier, she had found a set of instructions left by Mrs. Downey concerning lunch. Beckett's task was to heat up some leftovers in the fridge for Brad and Sean, and help herself to some was well if she so desired. Hardly in a days' work for a Detective, but today, it was part of her job. Beckett was just finishing putting out the plates on the table when Brad and Sean walked in.

"Your Mom left all this for you," she informed them. "I wasn't sure what you guys would prefer, so I just heated up everything. That okay?"

"Yeah," replied Brad and Sean simultaneously. They found seats at the table so fast, Beckett assumed those had to be "their seats" whenever eating. Brad took a plate of spaghetti, while Sean claimed the barbeque chicken. That left Beckett with either leftover Chinese food or lasagna; she opted for the Chinese.

During the silence in which they all ate, the feelings of uneasiness that Beckett had upon being first left alone with Brad and Sean returned in full-force. Again, Beckett had to wonder just what it was about this situation that made her so nervous. After all, she did want to become a mother one day, so she had to get used to being on her own with kids.

"We're done," Brad told her a few minutes later. Beckett looked up from her own food and saw that his and Sean's plates had been wiped clean. "Can we go up and play in our rooms?"

"Yes, you may," Beckett replied, impressed at Brad's show of manners. "But could you keep your doors open, please?"

"Yeah."

And with that, Brad and Sean hopped out of their seats and scampered away upstairs.

"At least they're polite," Beckett said to herself after they'd left. It took her a few more minutes to finish her own lunch, and when she did, Beckett gathered up all the plates and took them over to the sink. She quickly rinsed them off before placing them in the dishwasher, and she was back in the living room within five more minutes, a mug of soda in her possession, which she set down on a small table also holding a lamp.

Well, this is turning out to be very uneventful, Beckett thought as she put a magazine she'd just finished flipping through back on the coffee table. But she reminded herself of all the stakeouts she'd been on over the years, which had been just as uneventful until something of great interest had finally happened.

After taking a quick bathroom break, Beckett had just decided to call up Castle and playfully crush his hopes of her having to deal with a handful concerning Brad and Sean when something of interest possibly reared its head.

"Kate?" she heard Brad call out from upstairs. "Can you come here for a minute?"

It was the first time Beckett had heard either Brad or Sean use her name that day, and it gave her just a dash of hope that they really had accepted her.

"Sure, I'll be right there!" she answered and headed for the stairs. Beckett climbed them in under thirty seconds and arrived at the doorway of Brad's room not long after that. She could tell it was Brad's because his name was on the door.

"What is it?" Beckett asked.

"We need your help." Brad and Sean were standing by Brad's bed. He pointed under it. "Sean was playing with a toy and he dropped it under the bed. We tried to get it out, but couldn't. We were wondering if you could try?"

Beckett smiled graciously and had to be taken by how cute Brad's request sounded. "Of course, no problem!" She stepped inside the room and got down on her knees when she was close enough to the bed. Next, she got down on her hands, too, in order to properly get a glimpse under the bed.

"Okay, yeah, I see it," she said. From what she could tell, the toy looked like a superhero action figure. "I think I can reach it." Beckett snaked her right arm underneath the bed carefully and began flexing her fingers once they were in the vicinity of the toy. As she did that, the action caused Beckett to stick her butt further and further out into the air. Unbeknownst to her, though, that's exactly what Brad and Sean wanted her to do.

"Almost got it ..." Beckett announced unknowingly.

"That's okay, no hurry," replied Brad casually as he slipped a phone out of his pocket and switched on the camera function on it. He and Sean had to restrain their giggles while Brad stood directly behind Beckett, turning the phone sideways so as to perfectly capture her entire butt in the candid photo he was taking. The fact that the body part was quite round made the situation even funnier. Brad had made sure the sound was off on the phone, so when he finally snapped the picture, there was no click to alert Beckett.

Brad showed Sean the picture and the two of them grinned widely and triumphantly.

"Just ... another ... second ..." said Beckett, still none the wiser.

"Take your time," Brad told her after putting the phone back in his pocket. "We don't mind waiting." Next, he retrieved a pair of Airsoft toy guns from their hiding place underneath his dresser. He handed one to Sean while Beckett continued to struggle to reach the toy.

Each toy weapon had already been loaded, so all that was left for Brad and Sean to do was calmly take aim, wait a moment and pull the triggers. Two BB pellets shot out from the guns and impacted against their target, Beckett's butt, within seconds.

"OW!"

Beckett jerked herself up while grabbing her rear and rubbing it where the pellets had struck it. The laughter of Brad and Sean made her turn around to see the boys waving their toy pistols.

"Excuse me!" she growled sternly. "What was that about?"

"Just a bit of fun!" exclaimed Sean. "Well, for us more than you." He and Brad laughed some more.

Beckett angrily got to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "First of all, that wasn't funny! Secondly, guns are not for playing around with!"

"These are," Brad said innocently, holding his up.

Beckett extended both her hands. "Well, I'm confiscating them. Hand them over. Now."

Brad and Sean shared a look that made them appear defeated and then complied with Beckett's order. Beckett took the toys firmly in hand.

"Now, I'm going to put these somewhere secret, and I won't tell your Mom about this as long as you promise not to do anything like it again. Promise?" She glared pointedly at the boys.

"Promise," they mumbled together before hanging their heads low.

"Good."

With that, Beckett stormed out of the room and went to find somewhere to hide the BB guns. As she did, she couldn't help but begrudgingly think how Castle would be very amused by what had just happened to her if she told him.

After she left, though, Brad and Sean shared one more look: a plotting grin.

So, how'd you like it? This chapter ended up just being a little bit longer than I'd planned, because originally, I was going to end it at Beckett arriving at Brad's room. But I figured I couldn't leave you guys in any more suspense about all the mayhem awaiting Beckett. ;)

And the offer still stands if you read this and get any prank ideas of your own, PM them to me. Not that I don't already have ideas, but I like to have a good number of options. And any that I end up really liking, there's a good chance I'll use them. ;)