A/N: so bringing Josh in apparently wasn't a very popular decision but I hope you're all still with me! To ease any fears, Kate and Josh WILL NOT be getting together. Neither will Charlie and Josh for that matter. Anyway, thank you for all the love, here's chapter 7!

"Okay, so you know the plan?" Beckett asked for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.

Charlie rolled her eyes in typical Beckett fashion, sometimes she cursed her sister for her need to plan everything down to a tee. God help Castle when they got married - when, not if, - there would be no way of him getting her down that aisle unless she was one hundred percent sure that everything was sorted. Charlie, on the other hand, tended to just go with the flow and take what came.

"Yes, Kate. I know the plan. I pretend to be you, meet with dad for lunch and see how long it takes him to figure it out." Charlie was about five minutes away from losing her patience, they'd been over this so many times this morning that she could recite in it her sleep. Kate's take on it was that this was the only person in the world who knew the two of them really well, he'd be the hardest to trick into believing they were each other. Charlie didn't agree, she felt it would be harder to convince Castle that they were each other, despite the identical looks. "We've been over what he's likely to ask and I know you, I can figure out what to say to make him think I'm you. Just one thing - when he asks about Castle, do I tell him you lied about what you heard or.."

"If you like," she replied lightly and Charlie's eyes widened in shock.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, you tell him that and I'll tell him how it was you who took the whisky from the cabinet when we were 18, so you could drink it in the park with your friends."

Charlie laughed, she'd forgotten about that. "Mm, well maybe if you weren't so insistent on rebelling against everything they wouldn't have just assumed it was you?"

She had a point, Kate conceded. "Well you could have told them it was you! Though thinking back, I don't think they would have believed you.." Kate had taken the punishment for Charlie back then, figuring there would probably be a time she could use it to her advantage - seemed like that time was now. She was pretty sure her father could already tell how she felt about Castle, but she didn't think he'd approve of the way she had handled the situation, they'd been brought up to be honest and respectful and she wasn't either of those things right now.

"No, they wouldn't have but thank you for not dropping me in it. Okay, you win, I won't tell dad about that. Now, don't you think you better shower, we have to leave soon, can't get there after dad now can we!" Kate was going to sit at a table where she could see Charlie and her dad, but not so their dad could see her. She'd either turn up when he realised he was being played or just drop in halfway through and surprise him, they weren't sure how long they'd be able to pull it off for yet.

"Jeez, we've got an hour and a half!"

"Yeah but you stink so you'll need extra long in the shower," Charlie teased, poking her tongue out at Kate.

"Oh charming, nice to see you too after five years Charlie!" Kate laughed as she headed for her bathroom.

Once Kate had disappeared to shower, Charlie pulled out her make up bag and sat cross legged on the sofa to get started. She kept it light, just adding a touch of eyeliner that made her look even more like Kate before adding a raspberry lip balm to her lips. She was just about to put it all away again when there was a knock at the front door, she could still hear the water running in the shower so Kate wouldn't be out to answer it. Jumping up, she strode over to the door to see who was there.

"Castle! Hey," she said, "uh, you wanna come in?"

"No that's okay, I know you and Charlie are going to meet your dad for lunch, I just came by to drop this bracelet off, I think Charlie left it at mine yesterday?"

Wait, what? He thought she was Kate? Dear god she hadn't expected that. She was about to open her mouth and tell him she was actually Charlie when she changed her mind - she was supposed to pretend to be Kate for this lunch with their dad, why not start a little early? She knew she had to be careful though, looks aside, Castle would be able to tell her apart from Kate in an instant if she acted like herself.

"Oh, yeah I think that's hers," she said with a smile. It was, which she knew, she'd taken it off when they'd played laser tag and forgotten to pick it back up again. "Thanks for dropping it by, I'll give it to her when she gets out of the shower," she smiled at him, taking the bracelet he was handing out to her.

Castle was halfway smiling back when he stopped and frowned. "This is yours, isn't it Charlie?" He asked, a smirk forming on his face.

"How did you guess?!" Charlie asked, they'd literally just started talking, how had he figured it out already?

"That nose twitch you did? Kate does that too, well, either you were impersonating her or it is something you do as well, but what gave it away is that Kate would have rolled her eyes at me and told me I was silly for coming all the way over here just to drop off a bracelet," he grinned, proud of himself for figuring it out so quickly.

Dammit, he was good. "Okay, you win, I am Charlie. And uh, it's a good job you already told me you were in love with her, I would have guessed from what you just told me if I didn't think it the first time I saw the two of you together," she said, echoing the words she had told Kate the other night. Were these two idiots ever going to get their act together, she couldn't believe they'd been working together for four years and nothing had happened!

"Great, well now that I've given you your bracelet back, I'll let you get back to getting ready," he gave her a smile as he turned away and she was about to close the door when he spun back around. "Oh and Charlie? Might wanna work a little harder if you want to convince your dad that you're actually Kate? See ya!"

Charlie closed the door, a grin on her face as she made her way back through the apartment.

"Hey, was someone at the door?" Kate asked, emerging from her shower in a towel.

"Uh yeah, Castle," Charlie said, "he came by to drop off my bracelet that I left their yesterday."

Kate rolled her eyes and said "goodness knows why he came all this way to drop off a bracelet, I'll see him at work tomorrow!" And Charlie couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "What?" Kate asked.

"Ah, well you see, I thought I'd try our plan out a little early..I pretended I was you when Castle knocked on the door."

"And?" Kate said, narrowing her eyes.

"He uh, didn't buy it for a second. In fact, he said you'd do exactly what you just did and that's what gave me away."

Kate smiled, it would be practically impossible to trick Castle into thinking they were the other, he knew her inside out and she spent practically every day with him. "Mm, well then I guess you better work harder if you wanna convince dad that you're me!" She said, disappearing back into her bedroom, leaving Charlie wondering once again why they weren't together yet - Kate had practically just repeated what Castle had said as he left!

A little over an hour later, and Charlie was sat at a table, anxiously waiting for her dad to arrive. Kate was hidden behind a menu at the moment, so that he didn't spot her when he walked in, but when he sat down he'd have his back to her. Looking back over at the door, Charlie spotted him walking into the restaurant. He looked around for a moment before finally spotting Charlie.

"Katie, hi," he said as he reached the table, "how are you?"

"Hey dad, I'm good thanks, how're you?"

"I'm good, all the better for seeing my little Katie-bug!" He smiled, taking the seat opposite her. That was good, he seemed convinced so far, but then again he didn't even know Charlie was back in the country, he had no reason to believe it wasn't her. "So, how's work?" He asked.

"Work's good, plenty to keep us busy!" She said. Her and Kate had discussed this, work was something their father always brought up but Kate said she never really went into much detail so Charlie could just make it up as she went along. "Castle keeping us all entertained with his crazy theories as usual," she added with a laugh.

"That's not a surprise!" Jim replied, "and how is Mr Castle these days? I haven't seen him in a while.."

"Castle's good, dad, just busy. When he's not at work with me he's either with Alexis or writing, but I'm sure he'd love to see you again." Actually, Charlie didn't have a clue if Castle wanted to see Jim again, but a quick glance over his shoulder to Kate suggested she'd said the right thing if the smile on her face was anything to go by.

"And I'd love to see him, you tell him I said hi and that we'll have to get together one night." Jim said, pausing as the waitress came over to take their drink order. "He's a good man, Katie, one of the best."

Charlie looked at him and could tell he was remembering Kate's shooting. Kate had told her it was at the funeral for her captain and that their dad had been there, which meant he'd seen her get shot - and seen Castle try and push her out of the way.

"I know he is dad," she replied, looking to Kate for help. This wasn't a conversation she could have very easily with her dad, she needed to change the subject. "So, what've you been up to, anything nice?"

"Oh not much, work has been pretty hectic the last few weeks..I did go out to the cabin last weekend though, went up with Peter and his son, did a spot of fishing.."

"Oh that sounds nice, catch anything good?" She asked, she knew Peter was his sponsor and she was proud of him for staying sober for so long, he'd done really well and she knew it couldn't have been easy.

Their drinks arrived and they asked the waitress for a while longer before they ordered, neither had looked at the menu yet. They continued making conversation and Charlie realised how much she'd missed New York. She'd had a brilliant time abroad but her heart was in New York City and she didn't want to leave for too long again. The two days since she'd got home had reminded her how much she missed her sister and now she was realising how much she had missed her dad, too.

"Suppose we better decide what we want to eat, I'm starving!" She said, picking up a menu.

"Me too," Jim replied before letting out a laugh.

"What?" Charlie questioned, wondering what had got him so amused.

"Oh I was just thinking, they've got spaghetti and meatballs on the menu - remember how Charlie would order that every single time we ever went out for a meal?"

Charlie's eyes widened. Was it just a coincidence that had brought her up or did he know more than he was letting on? Another quick glance to Kate led her to believe she didn't know either, their facial expressions were probably matching right now.

"Katie, is something wrong?" Jim asked, concern etched on his face.

Okay, so he might not have guessed. Just coincidence? Probably. "No, just..it's been a while since I spoke to Charlie, perhaps I'll email her tonight.."

"Good idea," Jim smiled, "perhaps I will too. I do worry about her you know, I mean I know she's sensible but she's so far away.." Not as far as you think, she thought silently, "I miss her, it's been a long time since she was home.."

Kate and Charlie both decided at the same moment to put him out of his misery. Standing up, Kate walked over to their table and sat down in the seat next to Charlie.

"Can we help- oh my god!" He exclaimed as he realised who it was, well, almost. "Charlie! Is it really you?" He asked, looking at Kate.

"Uh yeah, it's me dad," Charlie said and Jim's gaze flew to her as he realised what they'd done.

"Oh no, you didn't?!" They both nodded, matching grins on their faces. "I can't believe I fell for it!" He said and they laughed.

"Well, in your defence you didn't know Charlie was in the country.." Kate said.

"Yeah, that's what I'm using as my excuse for not fooling Castle this morning," Charlie laughed, "he knew I was here so it was easier for him!"

"Wait, how long have you been back?" Jim asked.

"Since Friday afternoon. I would have called but then we came up with the idea of me pretending to be Kate so.."

"Well, you tricked me again girls! But Charlie, it's so good to have you home..how long are you here for?"

"I'm home for good, daddy," she said with a smile and he beamed at her.

"Oh I've got both my girls back where they belong!"

The waitress came back over and after doing a double take at Kate and Charlie, she took their order - Charlie choosing not to break the habit of a lifetime and going for the spaghetti and meatballs. They entered into animated conversation about Charlie's adventures abroad and what Jim had been up to in the five years since Charlie had left for England.

Their food arrived and the three of them were silent for a few minutes as they tucked into their meals.

"So," Jim began, "what's this about you not fooling Castle?"

"Ah, well we spent the day with him and Alexis yesterday and Charlie left her bracelet there. He graciously dropped it off this morning..and Charlie thought she'd pretend to be me, see if she could get away with it...which, it turns out, she can - just not with Castle." Kate explained.

"Hey, I just didn't realise quite how close the two of you were, I can work on it," Charlie teased.

"Maybe you're just losing your touch," Kate counteracted, trying to prove that it was Charlie who couldn't be her anymore and not that her and Castle knew each other just that well.

"Sorry, Katie, but I'm going to have to agree with Charlie on this one. Not only did she fool me into believing it was you, I've seen you and Castle together, you are pretty close.."

Charlie laughed in triumph and Kate rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever..the two of you always did gang up on me.."

"Oh we're just teasing Katie, you know how much I want you to be happy and I think you could be with Castle."

"Exactly what I've been telling her," Charlie muttered and Kate poked her in the ribs.

Kate was saved the embarrassment of them continuing to tease her by the arrival of the waitress to clear their plates. "Would you like any dessert?" She asked.

"Chocolate fudge cake, please," Jim and Kate requested in unison, while Charlie crinkled her nose and asked for apple pie instead.

"The two of you always did go for the chocolate fudge cake," Charlie grumbled.

"Yep, and you and mom always had apple pie," Kate replied with a smile, it had sort of been their tradition when they were kids.

Jim watched his daughters, extremely proud of them both and so happy to have Charlie home. He had worried about their family being torn apart when Johanna had died, but he finally felt as though they were all at a point where they could live with it, now all he had to do was get his girls married so they could start giving him grandchildren!

After dessert, they paid the bill and left the restaurant, Jim bringing up Castle's bar - which Kate hadn't told Charlie about yet.

"What do you mean you haven't told her?" Jim asked in shock, "I thought the two of you would have been there the second Charlie touched down!"

"Yeah, well Katie here forgot she was supposed to be picking me up," Charlie grumbled, "I had to get a taxi to the precinct...oh god, you should have seen Castle's face when he saw me!"

"It was a picture, dad, it really was," Kate told him, "I think he thought he was in a parallel universe or something."

"Well, won't he be at the bar today? We could pop in and say hi..if you don't already have plans?"

Kate readily agreed but Charlie was a little more reluctant. "I um, is that uh a um, good.."

Jim chuckled when he realised what was stopping her. "Hey kid, don't worry about me, I'm good okay? It's been years and I've not been tempted once."

"Okay, if you're sure.." Charlie said, feeling slightly more reassured at Kate's nod and smile.

"Hey Kate!" Ellie, the manager called out when they walked into The Old Haunt. "It's been a while, how are you?"

"Hi, Ellie," Kate smiled back, "I'm good, thank you, just been a bit busy! Ellie, this is my twin sister, Charlie," she said, making the introductions.

"Oh uh, hi.." Ellie said, as shocked as everyone else that she had a twin.

"Don't worry about it," Charlie said, "it seems no one knows I exist."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Is Castle in?"

"Yeah, he's in his office, you can go down," Ellie told her.

"Oh, um are you sure? I could call him.."

"It's fine, he said his mother, Alexis and you are to go down if you ever turn up," Ellie smiled.

Beckett blushed and ignored the pointed looks from her father and sister. Heading down into his office, she called out as she walked in. "Hey, Castle? You here?"

"Beckett?" He replied, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh um, dad told Charlie about this place and we thought we'd pop by..we can come back another time if you're busy.."

"Oh no, just paperwork," he said and Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Just because I don't do paperwork at the precinct doesn't mean I don't do it here."

"Right," she said, "come on then, they're upstairs waiting."

Castle followed Beckett out of the office and they found Charlie and Jim sat in a booth reserved for friends of Castles. After a quick round of hellos, they ordered drinks and settled in to catch up, Jim and Rick talking business as if Castle knew what he was actually talking about.

"Kate!" Called a voice, "didn't know you'd be here, why-" Kate spun around to find Esposito and Ryan, accompanied by Ryan's wife, Jenny, and Lanie. It had been Lanie who had spoken and she was looking from Kate to Charlie in shock. "Why didn't you tell me Charlie was back?" She hissed and everyone looked to her in shock.

"I um, yeah, okay guys, Lanie knew about Charlie," well, how could she not have told Lanie, she was her best friend! "Sorry, Lanie, it completely slipped my mind.."

"That's true," Charlie said and she launched once again into the tale of how Kate had forgotten to pick her up from the airport.

The other four joined them and Castle ordered more drinks, listening once again as Kate explained to her friends why they didn't know about Charlie. He wasn't too shocked that Lanie knew about Charlie, but he was a little upset that she knew and Kate hadn't told him..

Half an hour later and Jim said he had to leave, a friend had invited him to a little get together and he was going to be late.

"Right, so now that your dad has gone, do we get the inappropriate stories on Beckett?" Espo asked with a grin.

"Sure!" Charlie said, "shall we get more drinks?"

Kate buried her head in her hands, goodness knows what Charlie was going to tell them all, she'd managed to keep her slightly wild past a secret - except now the one person who knew it all was back in town. Oh boy, this could be embarrassing..

A/N: I won't be updating for a few days, it's my birthday tomorrow (Monday) - yay! And then I have a university interview on Tuesday, but I'll try and update again on Wednesday. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews would be a lovely birthday present ;)

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