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Castle – A Chance Meeting

Chapter Three:

Kate smiled as she walked into Castle's apartment the next morning at around seven, with Castle at her side, to see Alexis sat on the sofa watching TV with Brittany and Santana, while Leanne, Quinn and Rachel made breakfast. An older woman with red hair sat at the kitchen island, eating pancakes. "Daddy!" said Alexis, as soon as she saw Castle. She ran over to him and he scooped her into his arms. As she continued "You weren't here when I woke. Where'd you go?"

"I was helping Detective Beckett with a case, princess." said Castle, looking at her. As Kate walked over to the kitchen area, pulling Leanne into a hug. "Did you have fun last night?" she asked, looking at Leanne. Leanne nodded, as she smiled before plating up two plates of pancakes, both of them shaped like unicorns. "Lex, Britt, your pancakes are ready." she said, looking at Brittany and Alexis. Brittany instantly jumped up, as Alexis started climbing down from her father's arms. Kate smiled as she turned to look at the woman. "Hi, I'm Kate." she said, with a smile. "I loved you in Bishop, Ms. Rogers."

"Thank you, my dear. And please, call me Martha." said the woman, Martha, looking at her with a smile. "It's always nice to find people who have nice things to say about Bishop. After that ending…" She sighed. "Anyway, I was just talking to your daughter. You're a detective, huh?"

"Yes, your son's actually helping us on a case right now." said Kate, with a smile. Martha nodded, as Leanne placed a plate of pancakes in front of Kate before saying "Here you go, Mom."

Soon enough, everybody had eaten and now Castle, Alexis, Brittany, Lucy and Rachel were playing a board game on the coffee table, while Santana and Leanne were sat on the sofa looking at Leanne's laptop. Kate was sat at the kitchen island, with Martha, drinking coffee. "She's a good kid, Katherine." said Martha, with a smile as she looked at Kate. Kate smiled before saying "Yeah, she really is."

"I know it's rude, but I have to ask…" said Martha, looking at her. Kate smiled before saying "I'm twenty nine. I adopted Leanne two years ago, she imprinted on me after we met on a case." Martha nodded, before taking a sip of her glass of wine. She smiled and said "Fair enough." as Kate's phone went off. She looked at it for a moment before looking at Martha. "I'm sorry, Martha, I've gotta take this." she said, with a small smile. Martha nodded and said "Go ahead, it's important." Kate nodded and walked off, putting the phone to her ear with a "This is Detective Beckett."

"We got a lead, Castle." said Kate, walking back into the main room of the apartment. "You coming?" Castle looked at her before standing up, kissing Alexis on the top of the head. "Sorry sweetie, I gotta go, duty calls." he said, with a smile. Before looking at Lucy. "Do you mind..."

"Richard, dear, I can look after Alexis for the day." said Martha, looking at him. "I've been dying to take her on another shopping trip."

"Just as long as you stay in New York this time." said Castle, looking at her with a smile. Alexis grinned before jumping up and running over to Martha. As Leanne walked over to Kate, after telling Santana to keep her hands off her laptop to which Santana had stuck her tongue out at Leanne. "Are you sure you're going to be alright, Annie?" asked Kate, looking at her. Leanne smiled as she looked at Kate before saying "I'll be fine, Mom. I'm excited for today, actually. Santana and I are going over the final touches to my character."

"Well then, I will see you tonight." said Kate, with a smile. "I'm really happy you're spending time with your friends again. You've smiled more today than you have in the two years I've known you." Leanne blushed, as Castle walked up to them saying "Right, Detective, shall we go?"

"Sure." said Kate, with a smile. Before looking at Leanne. "Don't do anything I wouldn't."

"We're gonna be at Lucy's all day, I don't think I can." said Leanne, with a smile. Before hugging her. "Go kick bad guy a…" She eyed Alexis. "Butt. Go kick bad guy butt." Kate nodded as they hugged and she placed a kiss on Leanne's head. Before she and Castle walked out.

Kate let out a small smile as she walked out of the elevator in the precinct with Castle, to see Esposito standing at the murderboard. "Where's Ryan?" asked Kate, looking at Esposito. "Shouldn't he be here?"

"He's running down the reading habits of our suspects." said Esposito, looking at her. "Seeing if any of them have Writer Boy's older books." Kate nodded, as she turned her attention to the murderboard.

Twenty minutes later, Ryan joined them with a frown. "The books were a dead end." he said, looking at the three. "Nobody, not even Mr. Fisk has the none-Derrick Storm books."

"Thanks Ryan." said Kate, sighing. "So we're back to square one."

"Can't you find out who brought a copy of 'Hell Hath No Fury'?" asked Castle, looking at them. The three shot him looks making him put his hands up and say "Silly question, I apologize."

"It'd take weeks to get a list like that." said Kate, looking at him. "Plus we wouldn't be able to get a list of everywhere your books are sold. There are way too many places."

"You're probably right." said Castle, sighing. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Esposito, Ryan and I will canvas the area again, and you can go home to get ready for your book party tonight." said Kate, looking at him. "Your help has been greatly appreciated, Mr. Castle, but it is time to let us real police officers do our work." She stood up. "I'll escort you out."

"Is that it?" asked Castle, looking at her. "You're just kicking me out? But I helped break the case."

"I would have worked it out with some time." said Kate, looking at him as she led him towards the elevator. "How about this, I will call you if anything comes up involving this case." Castle sighed but nodded, before saying "Fine. Please keep me in the loop, I want to be able to tell my poker buddies I helped solve a real murder based on my stories. It's like a badge of honor for a mystery writer to get a copycat." Kate rolled her eyes, as the elevator opened and Castle stepped into it. "Are you still coming to mine for dinner tonight?"

"Depends on how the case goes." said Kate, with a smile. "I might see you tonight." Castle nodded, as the doors closed and Kate let out a sigh, before making her way back over to the murderboard. "So, you and Writer Boy, huh?" said Esposito, with a smirk. Kate shot him a look before saying "Why don't you and Ryan go revisit the firm Mr. Fisk was working for, see if they can shed any light on people who would want to kill him."

Later that day, around five, Kate was sat looking at the murderboard when her phone went off. She looked at it and smiled before putting it to her ear. "Hey Leanne." she said, smiling. "Did you have fun with your friends?"

"Yeah, we stopped a serial killer." came Leanne's voice, sounding really happy. "I'm back at Rick's now, he wants to know if you're gonna make it to dinner. He's made lasagna and it smells delicious."

"We keep hitting dead ends with this case so yeah, I'll be right there." said Kate, standing up. "Lasagna, huh? How'd he know my favorite?"

"I have no idea." said Leanne, making Kate laugh. As she made her way towards the elevator. "I'll be there in ten." she said, pressing the button on the wall.

Once she stepped into Castle's apartment, after being let in by Martha, she was hit by the smell of freshly baked lasagna, and the sight of Castle in a pink apron. Placing a small square onto a plate for Alexis. Leanne was already eating. "You couldn't wait, huh?" asked Kate, looking at her. Leanne shrugged and said "I was hungry."

"You're always hungry." said Kate, with a smile. As she looked at Castle. "This smells amazing, you didn't need to do this."

"Leanne mentioned you liked lasgana." asked Castle, looking at her. "I've been told I make a mean one."

"It is really good." said Leanne, looking at Kate. "You should probably get some before I eat the rest." Kate nodded, before walking over to the kitchen. Castle handed her a plate and smiled.

After they had eaten, Kate smiled as she stood in the kitchen watching Leanne and Alexis watch TV. Castle and Martha had disappeared to get changed, they were both attending Castle's book party and Kate had offered to babysit, if she didn't get a call from the precinct. She smiled before grabbing her glass of wine off the counter and walking over to the sofa. "So, what are we watching?" she asked, sitting down. Leanne smiled at her before saying "My Little Pony."

"Ah." said Kate, nodding. She smiled as she lent back on the sofa, taking a sip of her wine, just as her phone went off. She sighed, before putting the glass on the nearest table and standing up while putting the phone to her ear and saying "Detective Beckett." while walking towards the kitchen. Leanne let out a small smile, as Castle walked out of the hallway. "Everything alright?" he asked, looking at Leanne. Who smiled at him, before saying "Mom's probably got to go back into work."

"Ah." said Castle, nodding. "Are you still alright to stay? I can get Lucy to come across if you're not."

"Er..." said Leanne, looking between Kate and Alexis, before sighing. "I… I'd love to, but I don't think I'm ready to do something like this alone… Sorry."

"It's alright." said Castle, with a smile. "I'll go see if Lucy's free. You're welcome to stay the night again though." Leanne nodded, with a small smile. As Kate rejoined them. "I'm sorry, Castle, I can't babysit Alexis, a new case just dropped on us."

"It's alright, I'm gonna go see if Lucy can babysit." said Castle, with a smile. "I'll be right back." He walked off towards the door, heading out of the apartment. As Kate looked at Leanne. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked, concerned. Leanne smiled and said "I'll be fine, Mom. Especially if Lucy is here, she can distract me tonight." Kate nodded, before saying "I promise when this case is over I'll take a day off and we can go do something you want to do." Leanne nodded with a smile before kissing Kate on the cheek and saying "Go lock bad guys up."

"Of course." said Kate, with a smile. "And don't stay up too late, it's a school night."

"I won't, Mom." said Leanne, with a smile. Kate nodded before walking out, after saying goodbye to Alexis.

Ten minutes later, Lucy and Leanne were sat on the sofa talking to Castle, while Alexis was sat on the floor engrossed by the TV. As Martha walked down the stairs. "Oh, has Katherine had to leave?" she asked, looking around. Castle looked at her and said "She got a new case. Lucy and Leanne are looking after Alexis for the night." Martha nodded, as Castle stood up and walked over, continuing "Now that you're ready, mother, we should probably get going. Don't want to be late, or Paula will have my head."

"Don't worry, darling, we've still got plenty of time." said Martha, with a smile. "The venue is just around the corner."

"Yes, but Paula gets scary." said Castle, looking at Martha. "Though, since Gina will no doubt be there too, I might get off slightly easier… Although, they could choose to double team me and…" He gulped. "We need to go now, mother."

"Always one for the theatrics, Richard, I don't know what we'll do with you." said Martha, shaking her head. Before walking over to Alexis. "Sweetie, your dad and I are leaving now." Alexis turned her attention from the TV to Martha, and hugging her. "See you tomorrow, Grams." she said, before standing up and running over to Castle.

Before they left, Leanne had asked Castle if they could do some baking, and now the three of them were stood in the kitchen making Lego brick pinata cookies, with chocolate M&Ms inside. "I keep forgetting about this channel." said Lucy, as she rolled out blue dough. Leanne smiled and said "I cannot get enough of it. Though I always end up hungry after watching it…" as she rolled out yellow dough. Alexis was rolling out red dough, with a smile. "I have her cookbook, actually, and a lot of her baking line…" continued Leanne, blushing slightly. "I may or may not have a little crush on her." Lucy grinned, before nudging Leanne gently. As Leanne said "Right, it's time to cut out the cookies." Alexis let out a "Yay!" as Leanne handed her the bigger rectangle cookie cutter.

An hour later, they were sat in front of the TV watching Toy Story, with a plate of the cookies in front of them. "This is your last one, Lex." said Lucy, looking at Alexis. "It's getting late. After this has finished we should probably get you ready for bed, like us you've got school tomorrow." Alexis nodded, as she grabbed a red one. Leanne let out a small smile before saying "These turned out way better than I thought they would." as she grabbed one of the yellow ones. Lucy chuckled and said "Gotta admit I was expecting to burn a few." Leanne nodded before saying "Yeah, last time I did these Mom and I burnt the whole batch. Though we got to eat the M&Ms while we were watching the movie so it wasn't a complete waste." She laughed, as Lucy's phone went off. Lucy grabbed it from the side and frowned as she looked at it before saying "It's Mr. Castle." She put the phone to her ear. "Is everything alright, Mr. Castle?" She nodded with a smile. "Ah, OK then. She's still awake, I'll put her on." As she said that, Leanne's phone went off. Leanne looked at it and smiled before putting it to her ear and saying "Hey Mom, everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, sweetheart." said Kate, making Leanne smile again. "I just wanted to call to tell you that we got another body, and Castle's helping us. We won't be back till early morning."

"OK, Mom." said Leanne, with a smile. "We'll probably be in bed then, see you in the morning." Kate seemed confused as she said "Right, yes. See you in the morning." They said their goodbyes before Leanne put the phone down and looked at Lucy and Alexis. Alexis was talking on the phone, and Lucy was stood next to her. "Can we talk over there?" asked Leanne, looking at Lucy with a smile. Lucy nodded and stood up, following Leanne into the kitchen. Making sure Alexis was still in their eye-line. "What's up?"

Alexis was bouncing from foot to foot as she stood in the elevator, almost half an hour later, heading up to the twelfth precinct with Leanne and Lucy. Leanne was holding a box with some of the cookies in and smiling. "Right, after we're done here, you have to promise that you'll go to bed when we get back to the apartment." said Lucy, looking at Alexis. "Otherwise we won't be able to do this again on a school night."

"I've already promised like five times, Lucy." said Alexis, looking at her. "I don't break my promises." Lucy nodded as the elevator dinged and the three of them stepped out.

Kate took a deep breath as she sat at her desk, focused on the murderboard with Castle next to her, on his phone while Esposito and Ryan sat at their desks, looking through papers. "Any links between the two victims?" she asked, looking at Esposito and Ryan. Esposito shook his head before looking behind her to see Leanne and Alexis stepping out of the elevator with Lucy. "Nothing yet, but it looks like we're taking a break." he said, motioning behind the two. Both Castle and Kate turned to see Leanne, Lucy and Alexis walking towards them. "What brings you guys here?" asked Kate, looking at them. Leanne let out a small smile before saying "We made cookies, figured we'd bring some to you guys." Esposito and Ryan lent over as she said that, making Leanne smile as she opened the box and said "One each, boys. They're for everybody, not just you." Ryan smiled as he grabbed a blue one and Esposito grabbed a red one. "Are these the ones we tried to make that one time?" asked Kate, looking at Leanne as she grabbed a red one. Leanne nodded as she said "Yeah, I kept a closer eye on them this time. They turned out much better."

"Anything would have turned out better than our attempt…" said Kate, biting her lip slightly. Leanne nodded as she said "I'm still surprised none of our neighbors called the fire department, I'm pretty sure the smoke was wafting underneath the door." She smirked as she moved over to Castle, as Kate glared at her. Leanne smiled as she looked at Castle and offered him the box. He smiled and took a red one from it with a "Thanks." before turning to Alexis again. Leanne smiled, as Ryan said "These are really good, Annie. And a nice surprise inside… How'd you come up with that?"

"I saw a video online." said Leanne, with a smile. "Though I will admit these are great for children's parties but I think next time I might just melt some chocolate and make them filled cookies, rather than pinata ones."

"Well, whatever you decide to do, we'll be your testers." said Esposito, looking at her. Leanne laughed, before saying "Thanks for letting me know, Uncle Espo. Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go offer Uncle Roy one before I put them in the break room." She smiled as she walked off. Before noticing an officer. "Hey LT!" Kate smiled, as she turned to Lucy, who was looking around the precinct. "It hasn't changed much, has it." she said, looking at Lucy. Lucy let out a small smile before saying "No, it hasn't… You remember me?"

"It's only been two years, Lucy." said Kate, with a smile. "Are you and your family alright?"

"We're doing better." said Lucy, with a small smile. "You know, Leanne speaks highly of you."

"She's told you about me?" asked Kate, with a smile. "I… What did she say about me?"

"Nothing bad, Ms. Beckett, I promise." said Lucy, smiling. "She's only known you for two years and she calls you Mom. I think that tells you everything you need to know." She lent on the desk, taking a deep breath. "After what happened with our fathers… It's nice to see her getting close to an adult again." Kate nodded, with a small smile. As Leanne walked back over. "We should probably go, let these guys get back to keeping New York safe." she said, with a smile. "See you in the morning, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too." said Kate, as Leanne kissed her on the cheek. "Don't stay up too late, OK? You have school tomorrow."

"I won't let her, Ms. Beckett." said Lucy, with a smile. Kate nodded before saying "You can call me Kate, you know." Lucy nodded, as Alexis walked up to her and took her hand. After saying goodbye to Castle. The three smiled, as Leanne said her own goodbyes before they made their way to the elevator. Esposito smiled and said "Anybody want another cookie, I'm grabbing one."

"Can… can you stay in here with me tonight?" asked Leanne, looking at Lucy as they got ready for bed, an hour later. They were in one of the guest rooms, and Lucy was stood in the doorway while Leanne was sat on the bed. Lucy smiled and said "Sure, let me just go and get changed." Leanne nodded, as she got into the bed, grabbing her phone from the side. She dailed a number and put it to her ear. "Everything alright, Leanne?" came Kate's voice, from the other end of the line. Leanne let out a smile before saying "Everything's fine, Mom. I was just ringing to say goodnight. Lucy and I are going to bed."

"Ah, in that case, goodnight." said Kate, with what Leanne could hear as a smile. "I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom." said Leanne, as Lucy walked back in, now changed into her pajamas. Leanne smiled at her, as she put her phone down. "Your mom?" asked Lucy, looking at her. Leanne nodded as Lucy got into the other side of the bed, pulling the covers over herself. "This reminds me of the sleepovers we used to have." said Lucy, with a smile. "Do you remember?"

"Of course." said Leanne, smiling herself. "Rach would get out the karaoke machine and we'd sing all night till Shelby would tell us to go to bed. Or if we were at San's, we'd stay up all night watching TV. And the baking we'd do if we were at yours…" Her smile dropped. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to reconnect with you guys… I just…"

"It's alright, Lea, you needed time." said Lucy, looking at her. "I'm happy you're finally ready, it means you might stop declining our invitations." Leanne chuckled, as she lay down and said "Yeah, maybe." She let out a small smile. "Night, Luce."