"Yo Beckett, where's Castle?" Espo asked as he made his way to his desk and dumped his stuff beside it. She looked at her watch to find it was half nine.
"At home with Nevaeh." She told him distractedly, shocked at how she'd been able to stare into space for two and a half hours and not notice, before looking up from her computer to find both boys. "Where are we as of yesterday?" Ryan shot her a sympathetic smile.
"Text was sent from a burner. Hannah's still in the wind." Kate dropped her head into her hands.
"Right. Okay, umm..." Her train of thought died on its way to her tongue as her phone buzzed signalling she had a text from Lanie.
Castle stretched his arms above his head before tucking his right back around the tiny little girl who had migrated into his side half way through the movie.
"Films make me sleepy." Nevaeh yawned. Castle smiled.
"They make Kate sleepy too. She always snuggled into me when we watch a film. Do you know what she does to wake up?" Nevaeh shook her head, her eyes bright with curiosity. "She helps me make us both ice-cream sundaes." Nevaeh smiled brightly. "That sound like something you'd be up for?"
"Yes please Rick." She nodded enthusiastically. Rick laughed.
"Come on then." He held out his hand and encased her tiny one before leading them both to the kitchen. "You don't have a nickname." Nevaeh tilted her head to the side as Rick put his hands on either side of her waist and hoisted her to sit on the counter.
"Why do I need a nickname? What's wrong with Nevaeh?" Castle shook his head as he pulled out various components of the perfect sundae from the freezer and the cupboards.
"There's nothing wrong with it. I don't think there's anything wrong with Katherine, but I still call Kate, Kate. And I gave my daughter Alexis her name, but I still call her Pumpkin more than I call her it. Kate calls her all sorts of shortened versions of her name. Just like she calls me Rick instead of Richard." Nevaeh nodded slowly, clearly taking it all in.
"So, what would you call me?" Rick smiled as he scooped ice-cream into bowls.
"I don't know, why don't you pick your own nickname?" That put a smile on her face.
"Umm..." She tilted her head to the side as she drew her lower lip between her teeth, thinking, while Rick added toppings to their bowls. "No nuts." Nevaeh told him as he picked up the bag.
"That's what you wanna be called?" Nevaeh giggled.
"No, silly. I'm 'llergic to nuts." Rick nodded, putting the nuts back, making a mental note to inform Kate of that.
"Well it's a good job you told me that, thank you." He smiled. "You wanna eat here or on the couch?" Nevaeh hummed as she weighed up the pros and cons of each option.
"Couch." Rick nodded before picking her back off the side and placing her on the floor before passing her her bowl and leading them both over to the couch.
"Umm, hey, Lanie." Kate called out shyly as she entered the morgue. Lanie exited her office and gave her a reassuring smile before holding up the envelope for her to see.
"I didn't think it would be fair if I knew before you did. The only person who knows is the tech who performed the test." Kate nodded, running a shaky hand through her hair.
"Okay." Her voice shook almost as much as her hands. She gulped.
"You ready?" Lanie asked gently. Kate nodded before changing her mind and shaking her head quickly, sinking into the chair beside her before she collapsed.
"What happens if she is Lanie? I'm a grown woman. What can I offer my seven year old sister? And I know my dad, he isn't ready to have a child again. He can barely cope with our bi-weekly coffee mornings. How will he do with a baby?" Kate shook her head as Lanie made her way over and laid her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Kate. No matter what this says, you'll find a way. I know you Kate Beckett. You won't let this get the better of you." Kate sighed shakily.
"Okay." She murmured.
"You ready?" Kate nodded quickly.
"As I'll ever be." Lanie nodded and held out the envelope. "Can, can you do it?" The vulnerability in her tone made Lanie's heart drop. The ME nodded and slid her finger under the flap, pulling out the single sheet of paper inside. She stared at it for a moment before looking back at Kate, her expression carefully calm. "Well?"
"Navi." Nevaeh announced quietly out of the blue. Rick turned to her.
"As in Na'vi, the language of the people in Avatar?" The seven year old nodded. "What about it?" She smiled shyly.
"You could make Nevaeh into Navi." Rick smiled widely.
"You want that to be your nickname then?" Nevaeh hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Yes please Rick." Castle nodded.
"Okay Navi." They exchanged smiles before both going back to their ice-cream. Rick chuckled to himself, Kate would love her, their little geek girl.
"Lanie this isn't funny." Kate was almost in tears while her friend simply stared at her, gauging her reaction, trying to find the best way to tell her.
"She's your half sister Kate." Kate's head dropped to her hands while Lanie could do nothing but watch. Kate sat and breathed deeply for a couple of breaths before popping out of the position, and chair, like a jack in the box.
"Okay. Thank you Lanie." With that Kate left the room and practically sprinted to the elevator.
Rick had just set up the next movie, Tangled, when the front door opened suddenly, making both he and Nevaeh jump, and Kate flew in, slamming the door behind her as she leaned against it. She was white as a sheet and looked on the verge of crying or being violently ill. It didn't take someone who knew her as well as Castle to see just how completely overwhelmed she looked.
"Kate?" Rick asked, on his feet and by her side in seconds, leaving Nevaeh to look on curiously. "Honey what happened?" Kate shook her head, her eyes slipping closed. Rick turned back to the little girl on the couch. "Navi, Kate and I are going to talk in the other room, are you okay there?"
"Yes Rick." Nevaeh smiled.
"Good girl." Rick flashed her a smile before firmly taking Kate's elbow and leading her through to his office, depositing her in his desk chair before closing the door and coming back to kneel before her.
Kate sat silently, concentrating on keeping her breathing steady, head in hands. "Kate? Sweetheart, talk to me. What happened?" Rick's writer's imagination was flitting from one wild theory to the next.
"She's..." Kate shook her head again, tears filling her eyes.
"Hey." Castle started gently, laying both his hands on her knees, rubbing comforting circles. "No matter what it is, it's okay. We can handle it. We can handle anything." Kate slowly took her hands from her face and covered his on her knees.
"Nevaeh, she's uhh..." Kate drew her lower lip between her teeth and Castle took pity on her.
"You got the test results back huh?" Kate nodded. "She's Jim's daughter?" Kate nodded again before a sob tore from her throat. "Oh Kate." He leaned up and drew her into his chest, holding her close. "It'll all be okay Honey, I promise. We'll deal with this. Always remember?"
Author's Note-I have no idea how long a sibling DNA test takes, let alone if you can actually do one against half siblings, but for the purposes of the story I'm using artistic license and making it both possible and quick. NYLF xx