It's been years.

Things were good.

The years flew by so fast. Sometimes I wished it could slow down so I could breathe. But I'm happy. I haven't been so content with my life in a long time. I thought I was happy when Alexis came into the world. I was happy but now, happy doesn't even begin to describe it. I'm happy with my daughter, who grew up to be an amazing woman. Granted, she's still a teenager but she's wiser than people twice her age. Then there's my son, Alex. He's a handful but he reminds me of myself. It was only when he was born, then I realized how Kate felt, having to put up with me for all these years. And Kate. I don't even know where to begin. I've always knew that she'll always be there for me but I never would've guessed that she'd be there as my wife. She's still so beautiful after all these years.

Knowing that I've lived my life to the fullest, with the people I love, is good enough for me. I'm not sure why I felt the need to write all of this down. Maybe it's to remind me how my life has changed. But I do know one thing... It's a hell of a story.

Always,

Rick

20 year old Alexander "AJ" Castle brought down the letter and ran his hands through his hair. He blinked back the tears as he took a deep breath. He looked up and smiled at his 25 year old sister, Alexis Castle. The redhead reached out and put a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder. AJ reached up and held his sister's hand before he turned his attention to his mother, Kate Beckett-Castle, lying on the white hospital bed. Kate was only 45 years old but her heart was weak, having to survive a bullet to the heart a few years back.

"I miss him," AJ spoke, breaking the silence.

His father, Richard Castle, had left the world too soon. AJ was only 10 years old. He sometimes struggled to remember his father. Every time he missed his old man, AJ would pick one of his books and read them. Those words on paper were the only physical thing he had of his father. The rest was all memories. Kate extended her hand towards her son and AJ gladly took it.

"We all do," Kate said weakly.

"Mom, you should rest," Alexis said.

"I'm fine, Alexis," Kate said with a weak smile.

"You had a heart attack," AJ pointed out, "You almost died."

"Takes a lot more than that to kill me, kiddo," Kate said lightly.

He pulled away from his mother's grasped and looked at his fidgeting hands. He was nervous to say the least. He already lost one parent and he wasn't willing to lose another. Kate recognized his discomfort and her heart ached for her son. Well, no more than usual. Kate exchanged a look with Alexis and the latter nodded. She pulled out a hard cover book from her backpack and gave it to her brother. AJ looked at his sister in confusion.

"What's this?"

"That's the last thing your father wrote before he died. He wrote it for you," Kate said.

AJ opened up the book and read the first page.

Alex

You're still young and you probably won't read this until you're older. Like... A lot older. Maybe when you're 20 or something. Anyways, you've always been asking me what I keep doing in my office. To be honest, I was writing this. And you may wonder what this is. This is my story of how you came to be and how your mother and I fell in love. It may probably the most awkward thing for you to read and you may not read this after the first page so I'm gonna say this.

I love you son. I'm proud of you and everything you've done.

Always,

Dad

P.S. If you are reading this, I left something in my office for you to read, since I know how much you love to read.

AJ smiled sadly at the little note. His father always called him "Alex". He thanked his sister and his mother before giving the two a big hug. Afterwards, he headed back to the loft and walked into his father's office. He hadn't step foot in there for a long time. Usually because he had no reason to anymore. His father was his reason and with him gone, it didn't feel right. He stepped into the office and sat on his father's chair. He looked around, trying to find what his old man meant and then he saw it. The Castle Vault. He pulled out the book and turned to the back and saw the passcode. He then proceeded to open the vault. He wasn't expecting much so he was surprised when he saw a book in it. AJ took it out and flipped it open.

I've actually been thinking about this for a while now. What if your mother and I weren't best friends? What if we met at a book signing or a book release party or something? What if...

"There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people: psychopaths and mystery writers. I'm the kind that pays better. Who am I? I'm Rick Castle.

Every writer needs inspiration and I found mine. Detective Kate Beckett.

And thanks to my friendship with the Mayor, I get to be on her case. And together we catch killers."

AJ smiled at himself as he read the book. A story about a writer and his muse. Fighting crime. His father was right. It was one hell of a story.

The end.

How long has it been? A year? I don't even know. But I do know that I'm sorry this took forever. I didn't know how to end it but I guess I do now. Anyways, I actually have been writing fanfics. Just not Castle or Auslly fics. I joined a new fandom (again lol) and I'm a full fledge harmonizer and I write Camren fanfics on WattPad, under the name LauserCabello. It's mostly girl x girl fanfics. If you guys want to read it, that is... All of my fics are AU fics and you can just sub out the names and pronouns if you're uncomfortable. Anyways, thank you for reading. Leave a review if you want and I guess, this is goodbye.

It's been fun. Take care guys.

- Shahirah (RausllyCaskett, LauserCabello on twitter)