A/N: thank you all so much for your reviewing so far, really does make me happy!
Castle awoke the next morning with butterflies in his stomach, a mixture of nerves and anticipation for Beckett and Charlie come over. He knew that his relationship with Beckett was moving forward and that she was finally almost ready to start something with him and he praised himself for how patient he had been. Admitting he loved her when she was shot was a spur of the moment thing, he wouldn't have said anything if they hadn't been in that situation but he knew he'd never be able to live with himself if she didn't make it and he hadn't told her how he really felt. So in a way, her shooting was a blessing in disguise, admitting he loved her when she was still with Josh was something he'd sworn he'd never do but desperate times called for desperate measures.
When he'd heard that her and Josh had split up, he had tried to contain his glee at the news, but once he'd got home he hadn't been able to contain himself. That fact that she had ended it because she liked Josh but it wasn't enough was like music to Castle's ears, she was finally starting to admit that there was something between them but he'd given her time and it seemed she had finally admitted to herself how she felt, now for her to tell him..
He was still a little angry with Beckett for not telling him about Charlie, but he sort of understood her reasons. He didn't necessarily agree with what she had done, but Kate Beckett had never done what was expected. How she managed to keep that fact that she had a twin sister a secret though, he never would understand.
He had told Alexis about Charlie and she had been shocked at first but that had soon turned into excitement. As much as she tried to hide it because it 'wasn't cool', Alexis idolised Beckett and was anxiously waiting to meet her twin. Castle knew how much of an influence Beckett had on his daughter and he was grateful, with Meredith not being around much it was good for Alexis to have someone she could look up to and talk to and he was hoping for Charlie to get on with Alexis too, with her love of literature they were sure to have something in common.
Dragging the sheets away from his body, he climbed out of bed and stumbled towards the shower, still thinking of their day ahead.
Rolling over in bed, Kate picked up her cell from the bedside table and pressed the button on the bottom to check the time. 7.30am. Castle had text last night, telling them to come over at 10 and he'd make them a late breakfast and then he had plans for the four of them for rest of the day. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered Kate, but this was Castle - his plans tended to be slightly eccentric and crazy. God knows what he had thought of for today.
She was slightly nervous about today, she still wasn't convinced Castle forgave her for not telling him about Charlie before, not that she could blame him. He'd shown over the past few years that she could trust him with anything and yet she had failed to mention her twin sister. She hated herself for it but if she'd learnt anything, it was that the past can't be changed and you should look to the future. What was done was done, it couldn't be changed now so she just had to accept that and take whatever came next. Starting with today, where Castle and Alexis would get to know Charlie better..
"Morning sis," Charlie cheered brightly as Kate emerged from her room, showered and dressed.
"Wow, someone's happy this morning," Kate remarked, taking note of her sisters clothes.
Charlie seemed to notice at the same time and the two of them locked eyes and burst into laughter. "Oh god," Charlie said, "seems we still do it even after all this time apart!"
"Yeah, we do I guess. Want me to change?" Kate asked. She had dressed after her shower, picking out her favourite dark blue skinny jeans, which she was wearing with a white fitted tank top with a loose white short-sleeved blouse over the top, and she was planning on adding her black leather jacket when they left. Charlie had had a similar idea, also wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a white tank, except her blouse was a pale pink colour. Judging by the fact that her leather jacket was slung over the back of the couch, she was planning on wearing hers too.
"Oh no, this is much more fun!" Charlie said, she couldn't believe they'd dressed in nearly the same outfits, it had happened all the time when they were teenagers and they'd had a lot of fun confusing people but as they'd grown up and apart, it had happened less and less. Kate had chosen more strict clothing around the time Charlie had left, but along with growing out her hair, it seemed she'd gone back to her old ways of dressing.
"Yeah, I guess it is. Oh god, this is going to be a dream come true for Castle!" Kate said, "we've got time for coffee before we leave, want to go now and stop off on the way for one?"
"Sure, let me just make this fantasy of Castle's a little better.."
Kate was confused, until a few minutes later Charlie emerged from the bathroom. She had taken her hair down from the bun she had it in so it now hung loose and curly around her shoulders - exactly the same as Kate's.
"Oh god, he isn't going to be able to tell us apart," Kate laughed, grabbing her jacket and keys. She picked up her phone and briefly wavered over taking her gun. She always had it on her when she was on duty but only really took it out when she was alone if she was off duty. He badge was always with her, just in case she needed it, but the gun was a little harder to hide. She decided against it, after all, they were just going for coffee and to Castle's.
The two of them headed out of Kate's apartment and down to her car, slipping out onto the busy New York road. Pulling up at one of her favourite coffee places, they parked and headed inside.
"So," Charlie said as they waited in line for their turn to order. "Tell me more about Alexis. She's probably going to be my niece or something soon so I guess I should know more about her."
"Shut up, Charlotte. Castle and I aren't even together, never mind getting married," Kate scolded, rolling her eyes at her annoying little sister.
"You're doing the whole big sister routine right now, aren't you?" Charlie knew her twin like the back of her hand, they couldn't get much past each other.
"Well I am older," Kate replied with a smirk and stepped forward in the line.
"By 2 minutes and 47 seconds, Kate, not by much!" Charlie argued back.
"But it's long enough to be older than you."
Charlie didn't get a chance to reply as they were next in line. Kate gave their order and paid, stepping off to the side to wait for it.
"You brought Castle and Alexis coffee too?" Charlie asked.
"No, they're for the monkeys at the New York zoo," Kate replied sarcastically and Charlie huffed in annoyance. "Yes, I brought them coffee too, why?"
"Proper little domesticated wife now aren't you," Charlie teased and Kate growled in frustration. She didn't understand the big deal, Castle had brought her coffee every morning for years, it would be weird to turn up and not bring them coffee if they had stopped for some on the way. Charlie just didn't understand because she hadn't been around, that was all.
Grabbing their drinks, they climbed back into the car and Kate drove the rest of the way to Castle's loft. When they arrived, Charlie watched her sister in slight shock. She parked and walked towards the building like she came here everyday and waved a hello to the doorman like she lived here. Stepping into the elevator, Charlie couldn't suppress a smile.
"What?" Kate asked, pressing the relevant button and watching the doors close.
"Oh nothing, just seeing how at ease you are going to your not-boyfriends house."
"Shut up," Kate mumbled and she stepped out of the elevator and strode towards the door to Castle's apartment. "Now, I need you to be on your best behaviour today, no embarrassing me," she warned before knocking.
"Oh don't worry about me, I'm just itching to see how much Castle knows about you," Charlie said and was saved from the wrath of her sister by the door swinging open.
Alexis's first thought when she opened the door was that she was dreaming. Sure, her father had told her that detective Beckett had an identical twin but she wasn't prepared for just how similar they were. Even down to their hair and outfits, they were the same.
"Detective Beckett!" She said, opening the door to let them in, "and uh, Miss Beckett, come in." She couldn't tell them apart, she only had to hope that it would become clear any second when one of them spoke to say hi.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at Kate as the entered the loft. "Thanks, but uh, Charlie will do," she told the girl with a smile, finally letting Alexis know who was who. God, this was weird. Right, so Charlie is in pink and Detective Beckett in white, shouldn't be too hard to remember..
"Sure," Alexis smiled back. "I'm Alexis, Rick's daughter. It's nice to meet you, even if we didn't know about you.."
"Thanks, Alexis, it's lovely to meet you too. And I think we all know my sister is to blame for that," she said with a pointed look at Kate.
Just then, Castle came bounding down to them, full of life and excitement, like a damn puppy. "Kate! And uh..uh.." Oh god, which one was which? Had they done this on purpose? Looking from one to the other, the only noticeable difference was that one was in a pink shirt and the other was in a white one. Think, Castle, which of these have you seen before?
Alexis grinned at her dad's obvious confusion, but looking to the twins now, if she hadn't known before it was blindingly obvious who was who. "Oh come on, dad, it's not that difficult," she said with a laugh.
"Well it's alright for you, you answered the door, I'm sure Charlie introduced herself..I missed that and it doesn't look like anyone is going to put me out of my misery!" He looked to Kate and Charlie again, desperately trying to differentiate between them.
"Really?" Alexis said, "because from where I'm standing it's pretty obvious." Castle looked to his daughter in confusion. "Look again, dad. Given that you only met Charlie for the first time yesterday, I'd say it's not her looking at you like that."
At her words, Castle looked up at the matching faces in front of him. Alexis was right, on closer inspection, Charlie's eyes showed amusement while Kate, well her face was breaking into that smile she only gave him when she really appreciated him. Like when she had found him and his mother after they'd been taken hostage at the bank. Yeah, that was his Kate all right, no one else had ever looked at him like the way she was looking at him now.
A/N: please don't hate me! I know I said this was going to be Kate and Charlie at Castle's place but I've got a lot on my mind today and this took like three hours to write as it is! So I'm sorry about that, but I promise it'll be up in a day or two, bare with me! Reviews more than welcome, your feedback keeps me going!
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