Castle – A Chance Meeting
Chapter Two:
Kate smiled as she heard the door to her room open and smelt freshly cooked bacon. She put her copy of 'Storm Fall' down as Leanne walked in, holding a tray with two plates of bacon and pancakes on in her hands. She frowned as soon as she saw Kate was already sat up. "You knew." she said, frowning. Kate let out a small smile before saying "I smelt the bacon, sweetheart. I did stay in bed though, after peaking and seeing the tray."
"Mommm." moaned Leanne, sitting down with a pout. "Can't you at least pretend to be surprised?"
"Or I could just ask what you want." said Kate, with a smirk as Leanne rested the tray on her lap. "You only do this when you want something. Did another expansion for Sims come out?"
"Not since last week." said Leanne, looking at her as she grabbed her own plate. "Can't I just do something nice for my mom?"
"Sure, but you haven't done anything just to be nice since the first month after you got here." said Kate, with a smile. Leanne pouted as she bit into a piece of bacon. Kate looked at her as she bit into a piece of pancake. "OK, sweetie, this is just you being nice." she said, with a smile. "Are you looking forward to today?"
"Of course." said Leanne, with a grin. "I can't wait, I love the museum." Kate nodded, as her phone went off. Leanne looked at it with a frown, as Kate grabbed it. "It's a text, Annie, from Castle." she said, with a smile. Leanne let out a breath of relief before saying "What'd he say?"
"Just asking if eleven is fine with us, and how we're getting to the museum." she said, with a smile. Leanne nodded, as she shifted so she was sat cross-legged on the bed. "So, what time did you go to bed last night?" Leanne looked down at the bed, causing Kate to sigh. "You didn't sleep at all, did you?"
"I got sucked into writing…" she said, sighing. "I know it's no excuse but I didn't see the time and before I knew it the sun was coming up…"
"Lea…" said Kate, sighing. "This is why you made me breakfast in bed, isn't it." Leanne blushed, as she finished her breakfast. Kate shook her head and returned to her own breakfast.
At eleven o'clock, the two were stood outside the American Museum of National History, waiting for Castle and Alexis. Leanne was finishing off a hotdog when they got out of a taxi. Alexis took off running as soon as she saw the two. "Lea!" said Alexis, running up to them. "You came!" Leanne smiled and said "Of course I did, Lex. I couldn't wait to see you again." Alexis grinned, as Castle joined Kate. "Detective, it's good to see you again."
"You too, Castle." said Kate, with a smile. "Thanks for inviting me, I'm not sure Leanne would have come if you hadn't."
"I'm glad you had the day off, Beckett." said Castle, with a smile of his own. "Though I'm surprised Leanne was so eager. Don't teenagers usually prefer to spend time with people their own age?" Kate let out a small smile before saying "Leanne's not a normal teenager, Castle. Besides, she's always wanted a little sister." Castle nodded, as they both saw Alexis dragging Leanne towards them. "Come on, Daddy, Rexy wants to meet Lea!"
"Well, we can't keep Rexy waiting, can we." said Castle, with a smile. He looked at Kate. "Shall we?"
Kate smiled as she watched Leanne chase Alexis around the Saurishian Dinosaur exhibit, while Castle stood next to her. "So, I looked you up last night." said Castle, looking at Kate. Who looked at him with a small smile before saying "What'd you find?"
"Nothing much, just that you made detective last year. You live a very private life, how do you not have facebook?" said Castle, looking at her. Before shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm sure you understand why…"
"Of course, Mr. I stole a police horse in the buff." said Kate, smirking. Castle stammered, before saying "I was in college, it was a dare…"
"I don't care why you did it, Castle." said Kate, with a smile. "We care about our daughters, enough to look up each other." Castle nodded, as Alexis ran up to them. "Save me, Daddy." she said, sounding out of breath but happy. Castle smiled as Alexis hid behind his legs. Laughing.
"At least let me pay for lunch, Castle." said Beckett, as they made their way out of the museum four hours later, after both Alexis and Leanne had mentioned they were hungry. "There's a very nice diner just up the road." Castle looked at her, before asking "Remy's?"
"We're going on Remy's?!" asked Leanne, with a grin. "Sweet, their burgers are the best."
"And the shakes!" said Alexis, looking up at Leanne. "The shakes are great!" Leanne smiled and nodded, as Kate said "They are pretty good, yes."
"I guess it's settled then, we're going to Remy's." said Castle, with a smile of his own. "I've been dying for one of their burgers."
Castle smiled as he walked into Remy's Diner alongside Kate. Alexis had already entered, pulling Leanne with her. "Rick Castle, I did not expect to see you here with another of my regulars." came a female voice, from behind the two. Rick and Kate turned to see a waitress standing there. Rick smiled and said "Hey Beth, my usual booth's available, right?"
"Lexi has already dragged Leanne to it." said Beth, with a smile. Rick nodded and walked off. Leaving Kate to talk to Beth. "You know, I always thought the two of you would make a great couple." Kate's eyes went wide, before she said "What?"
"He's a mystery writer, you're a cop, you're like perfect for each other." said Beth, with a shrug. "I'll bring your usual drinks to your table, Kate." She walked off, leaving Kate bewildered, before she blinked a few times and scanned the room for the three. She found them sat at a booth near the back.
Kate slipped in next to Castle, while Leanne and Alexis were sat on the other side of the booth, Alexis telling Leanne about something Kate couldn't hear. "Beth'll be bringing our drinks over in a moment." said Kate, looking at Castle. "And she appears to be under the impression that we're together."
"Huh." said Castle, looking at her. "Now that I think about it, she kept mentioning a cop that would frequent this place, kept saying that I would like them. I never paid it much mind, she's always trying to set me up with somebody." He smiled. "Hey, maybe now she'll stop."
"This isn't funny, Castle." said Kate, looking at him, sternly. Leanne smirked, causing Kate to look over at her and say "Got something to say, Leanne?"
"Not at all, Mom." said Leanne, with a smirk. As Beth walked over with their drinks. "Here you go, guys." she said, with a smile. She placed two strawberry shakes down, one in front of Alexis and the other in front of Castle, while she placed a coffee in front of Kate and a glass of cola in front of Leanne. Along with a set of crayons for Alexis. "Thanks, Beth." said Leanne, with a smile. Beth smiled and said "No problem, kiddo. You ready to order?"
"Yeah." said Kate, with a smile. "Leanne and I will have our usual, of course."
"We'll take our usual as well, Beth." said Castle, with a smile. Beth nodded before jotting it down and saying "I'll be back with them soon." She walked off with a smile, as Alexis grabbed the red crayon and began coloring in the place mat. Leanne smiled as she grabbed the yellow crayon.
Beth returned with a plate of Mozzarella Sticks, ten minutes later, which she placed in the middle of the table. "Your food will be here in a few minutes."
"Thanks Beth." said Kate, as Leanne slid the plate towards herself. Kate gave her a stern look, and Leanne sighed, before sliding it back into the middle of the table with a frown. "I've told you about sharing, Leanne. Your pizza was fine last night, but these are for everybody."
"Yes, Mom." said Leanne, sighing. Before taking a stick.
Half an hour later, Kate's phone went off. In the middle of a story Castle was telling them. Both she and Leanne frowned, as Kate pulled it out of her bag. "I'll be right back." said Kate, standing up. "It's work." Leanne's frown deepened, as she finished off her BBQ bacon cheeseburger and began dipping the fries into the sauce that had dripped onto the plate. Castle looked at her with a small smile, as Kate returned. "I am so sorry." she said, sighing. "That was Esposito, we've caught a case… I am so sorry, sweetie, I know I promised I'd be here all day but…"
"The city doesn't care about promises." said Leanne, with a sigh. "It's alright, L.T. can drive me to the apartment to grab my laptop." Kate let out a small smile, as Castle said "Or you could come to my apartment for the afternoon." looking at Leanne. "I don't mind, and Alexis would love it."
"Yeah!" said Alexis, looking at her. "Pwease, Lee, pwease!" Leanne let out a small smile, before looking at Kate. Who smiled and said "It's up to you, Annie. You're old enough to make that decision." Leanne nodded, before looking at Castle and saying "Are you sure?"
"Of course, you're more than welcome." said Castle, with a smile. "My building's not far from the precinct." Kate nodded, before placing a kiss on top of Leanne's head and saying "Be good for Castle, OK?"
"I will, Mom." said Leanne, with a smile. Kate nodded with a smile of her own, before looking at Castle. "Text me your address, I'll come pick Leanne up at eight. I'll call if something comes up." Castle nodded, as Kate walked out. He looked at the girls and said "Shall we order dessert?"
Kate took a deep breath as she stepped out of the taxi in front of an alleyway. Where Esposito was waiting. "No Leanne?" he asked, looking at her. "L.T. was looking forward to spending some time with her."
"She's going to Castle's." said Kate, looking at him. "What can you tell me about the body?"
"Male, late thirties, was found in the dumpster when the woman from the Chinese restaurant next door went to throw away last night's leftovers." said Esposito, looking at her. "Preliminary ToD is ten o'clock last night. Lanie found his broken watch in his jacket pocket…" Kate nodded, as they walked into the alleyway.
"You live here?" asked Leanne, across town almost twenty minutes later, as she looked up at the building Castle had brought her to. Alexis had already run inside, grinning. Castle smiled at Leanne and said "Yeah, why?"
"Before everything changed two years ago, I used to come to this building practically every night after school…" she said, with a small smile. "My friends lived here…" Castle nodded, as he and Leanne made their way inside.
Alexis was grinning as she bounced up and down in front of the door leading to her and Castle's apartment. Leanne was looking around with a small smile, her eyes resting on the door across the way from them. "Welcome to Chez Castle." said Castle, as he opened the door to his apartment and bringing Leanne's attention back to him. She smiled before allowing Alexis to drag her into the apartment.
The minute Leanne stepped inside, she felt slightly overwhelmed. She took a deep breath, as Alexis asked "Do you wanna play with my ponies?" Leanne let out a smile before nodding, as she noticed the kitchen. And her smile widened. Castle noticed, and smiled, before saying "Do you like cooking, Leanne?"
"I prefer baking…" said Leanne, with a small smile. "It helped me through some rough times in the past few years…" She looked at Castle. "The people at the precinct love my cookies."
"Cookies?" asked Alexis, looking at Leanne with her puppy-dog eyes. "Can we make cookies?"
"That's up to your dad, Lex." said Leanne, with a smile. Alexis instantly turned them on Castle, who smiled and looked at Leanne. "What do you need?"
Before they knew it, it was seven thirty and Leanne was sat in the main part of the room while watching TV with Castle. Alexis had been put to bed half an hour earlier, she had been fighting against the sleep. Castle smiled as Leanne channel surfed, before she settled on one showing a rerun of 'Bishop'. "You like this show?" asked Castle, looking at her. Leanne nodded and said "Yeah. I even got Mom into it, she'd only seen a scattering of episodes here and there. Mostly the ones you wrote and appeared in."
"Ah, my first foray into script writing." said Castle, with a smile. "I'm actually proud of those scripts."
"They were pretty good, yeah." said Leanne, nodding. "Your mother was brilliant in it, by the way."
"Don't let her hear you say that." said Castle, with a smile. "She does not need the ego boost." As he said that, Leanne's phone went off. She grabbed it from her bag and frowned. She put it to her ear and said "Hey Mom."
"Hey sweetie, are you having fun at Castle's?" came Kate's voice, through the phone. Leanne smiled and said "We made cookies and Alexis showed me her My Little Pony collection."
"Sounds like fun." said Kate, as Leanne stood up and walked over to the windows. "Listen, I'm not going to be able to make it at eight… This case has become slightly complicated, it's probably gonna be an all-nighter. Can you put Castle on the line?"
"Sure Mom." said Leanne, with a small smile, before handing the phone to Castle. "Mom wants to speak to you."
"Detective, everything alright?" asked Castle, putting the phone to his own ear. "Sure, I can do that. Although, I have a spare room that she can stay in if she wants. I don't mind." Leanne looked at him, with a slight frown. As Castle continued "Sure, I'll put her back on." He handed the phone back to Leanne, who put it to her ear and said "Mom?"
"You heard Castle's offer, about staying there tonight, right?" said Kate, making Leanne frown slightly. "It's up to you, sweetie, I don't mind what you do." Leanne nodded, before taking a deep breath and saying "I need to try at some point. Rick's nice so… Yeah, I'll stay here tonight." She let out a small smile. "I'll be alright, Mom."
"OK then, I will see you in the morning." said Kate, letting out a sigh of relief. "I love you. And be good for Castle."
"Love you too, Mom." said Leanne, with a smile. Before putting the phone down. She turned to Castle, who smiled and said "I just need to pop across the hall and see if Judy or one of her daughters will keep an eye on Alexis while I come you with to your apartment." Leanne nodded, as she walked over to the kitchen and grabbed the box of cookies. She opened them and placed a few of them into a second box. At the same time as Castle opened the apartment door and walked out.
A few moments later, he returned with a blonde teenager, with pink highlighted tips, about Leanne's age. Leanne smiled as soon as she saw her and said "I knew the floor was familiar. Hey Luce."
"Lea." said the teenager, Lucy, with a smile of her own. "You know Mr. Castle? I thought you had been adopted by a cop."
"I have." said Leanne, with a small smile. "Mom and I went to one of Rick's book signings yesterday, I kept an eye on Alexis while he signed. Mom had a case."
"So, you two know each other." said Castle, reminding both of them he was there. Leanne let out a small smile before saying "Remember I mentioned my friends I haven't seen in years lived in this building…"
"Lucy's one of those friends." said Castle, nodding. "Fair enough. But we need to get your stuff. It shouldn't take too long. You and Lucy can catch up then, yeah?" Leanne nodded, as she looked at Lucy and said "Help yourself to a cookie, unless you're still on that ridiculous diet the Coach put you on."
"Actually, Santana, Brittany and I quit the Cheerios." said Lucy, with a smile. "So I can have as many cookies as I want."
"Just be sure to leave Alexis one." said Leanne, with a smile. Lucy nodded as Leanne followed Castle out of the apartment.
Half an hour later, the two of them were walking into the precinct. To see Kate walking out of the interrogation room, holding a folder. She looked beat down, till she saw Leanne and smiled. "Hey Annie, I thought you were staying at Castle's tonight."
"I am, Mom." said Leanne, with a smile. "I just wanted to come say night in person. And bring you guys some cookies." She held up the box, opening it. Kate smiled before taking one and saying "Thank you." She looked at Castle, who had made his way over to the murder board. "This looks familiar." he said, looking at Kate. "Does this look familiar to you?"
"Yes, I'm trying to work out what it is though." said Kate, nodding. "It's bugging me." She sighed, as Leanne walked off into the break room to drop off the cookies.
When she returned, Castle was holding a picture of the murder victim, looking at it intently while Kate was sat at her desk. "I know I recognize this…" he said, scowling. "This is gonna bug me." He looked at Kate. "Can I take a copy of this?"
"No." said Kate, looking at him. "It's police property. I can have you arrested for taking it." Leanne smirked, before saying "Rick, we should probably get back to your place. Lucy will be getting worried." Rick took a deep breath, before nodding and standing up, placing the photo on the desk, upside down. "You're right. We should get back." he said, nodding. "I will see you in the morning, detective." He walked off with a smile, heading towards the elevator. Leanne smiled as she hugged Kate and said "You know that's not the picture of the body, right?"
"Of course." said Kate, nodding. "He might be able to work out what it reminds us of." She smiled at Leanne. "What's this I heard about Lucy? Is that the same Lucy that wouldn't leave your side two years ago?"
"Yeah." said Leanne, with a small smile. "She lives across the hall from Rick. She's keeping an eye on a sleeping Alexis." She smiled, as she continued "Rick's letting her stay for a bit after we get back to his so we can catch up…"
"I'm happy to see you so happy, Leanne." said Kate, with a smile. "Maybe now you will actually start accepting their invitations when they invite you out." Leanne let out a small smile, before saying "Yeah, maybe…" She hugged Kate. "See you in the morning, Mom. Love you."
"Love you too, sweetie." said Kate, kissing her forehead. "See you in the morning." Leanne smiled and walked off towards where Castle was stood at the elevator. Kate smiled as she watched them get into the elevator, just as Esposito said "Was that Leanne? I thought she was staying at Writer Boy's place tonight." from behind her. Kate chuckled before turning to see Esposito and Ryan standing there. "She came to say goodnight. And to bring some cookies. Apparently she and Alexis did some baking earlier and they had some left over." Esposito's eyes went wide before he practically ran towards the break room with Ryan not far behind. Kate laughed to herself before returning her attention to the murderboard.
Leanne smiled as she walked into the Loft apartment, to find Lucy sat on the sofa, reading 'Storm Fall'. Castle smiled as he said "I'll be in my office, girls. Lucy, you can have your friends join you if you want." Lucy nodded as she put the book down. "Thanks Mr. Castle." she said, as he walked off towards the office. Leanne smiled and said "Have fun with that crime scene photo, Rick." His eyes went wide, before he slipped into the office. Lucy looked at her and asked "Crime scene photo?"
"He borrowed a picture from the precinct when we stopped by on the way back." said Leanne, with a smile. "So, does everybody else still live in the building?"
"Brittany's parents moved out last year, but she's at Santana's ninety percent of the time so…" said Lucy, looking at her. "She's there now, so I'll text them." Leanne nodded, as Lucy grabbed her phone from the side.
Almost ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Lucy opened it to three teenagers (A blonde, a brunette and a Latina) who she let in. "Hey guys, come in." said Lucy, with a smile. "We need to be quiet though, Alexis is asleep." She looked at the Latina. "That means no shouting, Santana." The Latina, Santana, stuck her tongue out at Lucy as the three walked in. The brunette smiled as she hugged Lucy, as the blonde saw Leanne. "Lea!" she said, running over and pulling her into a hug. Lifting Leanne off the floor with ease. Leanne smiled and said "Hey Britt." as the blonde, Brittany, put her down. "I missed you too."
"Not enough to actually come out with us." said Santana, looking at her, with a smirk. "Hey Oakley."
"Satan." said Leanne, with a smirk of her own. She smiled at the brunette and said "Hey Rach."
"Lea." said the brunette, Rachel, with a smile. "We've all missed you as well." She hugged Leanne, as Santana said "So, why now? It's been two years, Annie."
"It's been two years." said Leanne, with a small smile. "I figure it's time to conquer my fear… Besides, I managed to spend a few hours in a bookstore with Alexis without panicking yesterday so…" She smiled. "You guys doing anything tomorrow? I think it would be good for me to join you."
"As it happens, Sunday is our D&D day." said Lucy, looking at her. "We spend all day at one of our apartments, tomorrow is my turn to host." Lucy smiled. "Santana DMs us through a campaign she created herself, after you got us hooked on the game."
"You can join us if you want." said Santana, smiling. "I can pop upstairs and grab the books."
"Or we can use Beyond." said Leanne, with a smile. "I own all the books on there, and I use it for my writing." She walked over to where she had put her bag and pulled out her laptop. Before stopping herself. "I should probably call Mom first, check it's alright with her. Don't wanna do the prep then find out she won't let me come." She grabbed her phone from the side, and smiled.
"Mom says it's alright for me to join you tomorrow." said Leanne, rejoining the group. Who were sat around the sofa. Brittany was curled up with Santana on the floor, while Lucy and Rachel were sat on the sofa. "Sweet." said Santana, with a smile. "Knowing you, you've already got a character planned right?"
"Have you known me to ever be unprepared?" asked Leanne, with a smirk, as she grabbed the laptop and sat on the floor in front of Lucy. "I was thinking about dusting off my old investigator character. Emrys Ambrose, the Half-Elf Rogue Inquisitive… She's one of my few well-thought out characters, since she's a main character in at least two of my stories." Santana nodded, as the door to Castle's office opened and Castle walked out. Holding the photo in his hand. "Girls, I need to go to the precinct." he said, looking at him. "Do you mind staying the night?"
"You worked out why the photo's so familiar, haven't you." said Leanne, looking at him. He nodded before saying "You don't mind me just leaving, right?"
"I have my friends here." said Leanne, with a smile. He nodded, as Lucy said "I don't mind at all, Mr. Castle. I know where the blankets are, go help solve a case." Castle nodded and grabbed his coat from the hook before walking out. Leanne took a deep breath, as she felt Lucy slid off the sofa and put her arms around her. "Now we don't have to worry about the four of us having to go back to our homes."
"I should probably text Mom to warn her." said Leanne, with a smile as she grabbed her phone. "It's only fair she know I'm fine."