It had started when she was three or four years old: playing with a plastic knife and wooden fruits and vegetable stuck together with Velcro. Finn would chop them up, pretending to add them to some fabulous dish she was making. "Remember to keep your fingers curled in so you don't cut yourself," she'd remind the stuffed animal audience of her imaginary cooking show. "Now we add butter 'cause everything is better with butter," Finn would say, mimicking a southern accent.

Finn was always the first of her siblings to volunteer to help in the kitchen. Sure, her other siblings would help, but most of the time they would get bored and leave before what they were making was even done. But not Finn. She stayed until the very end, doing any little job she could. At first it was just helping to add ingredients or stir things together. As she got older, the jobs got harder: grating cheese, peeling vegetables, helping to chop (that was always her favorite), and by the time she was seven, Finn was cooking on the stove; under the watchful eyes of an adult in charge, of course.

For Christmas the year she turned eight, Finn received her very own set of knives. And over the next few days, used up nearly every vegetable in the fridge practicing her chopping and cutting skills, pausing and replaying the same video over and over again, intently studying how the glasses-clad presenter explained each technique.

When she was nine, Finn attended her first actual cooking class. For two hours every week, Nemo was in heaven; learning as much as she could and meeting new people. Sure, it was hard for her at times, and her parents hated to see their daughter struggle with tasks other kids could do so easily, but Finn persevered. The instructors of the class were so helpful to her; treating her not as a girl with special needs, but as any other member of their class. They helped when they needed, gently guiding the girl to improve her techniques, and stepped back when it was time for Finn to be independent. And by spring break, Finn had a binder full of recipes she could make, lots of memories and stories to tell again and again, and a handful of new friends.

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Rick Castle was only slightly shocked when, after coming out of school on a Minimum Day, his eleven-year-old entered the car and requested a detour to the grocery store to get ingredients for a dinner she was planning to make. Finn had compiled a list and had offered to use her own money to pay for it.

"Save your money, Finn, I've got it," he smiled at her. "So are you going to tell me what you're making?"

"Stuffed peppers," Finn smiles. "I found this really good recipe online and I want to try it."

"Sounds good to me. And I'm sure your brothers won't protest."

"And as long as there's no visible tomatoes, Mia may actually eat it," Finn says, half-joking about her sister's extreme dislike for the fruit.

"Yeah, she might," Castle agrees.

"I'm going over to Saccone's house," Danielle says, appearing at the car, through the open window. Rick can see the friend is question lurking not far away, and nods at Danielle.

"Okay, text me if you need a ride home."

"Okay, I will. Thanks dad! Bye!" Dani says, turning and walking away with her best friend.

"Are you going to be home for dinner?" Castle quickly calls out.

"Maybe," Danielle shrugs.

"More for us then," Castle says, making Finn giggle. Soon, the other kids have gotten into the car and Castle pulls away from the curb, letting the others in on the plan for that afternoon. And though her brothers were skeptical at the quality of the meal, Finn was excited.

The grocery store was full of soccer moms and toddlers, and after grabbing a cart, Finn took control, leaving her dad and siblings in her dust. Holding onto the cart, she navigated the displays and aisles easily, only needing help grabbing items off high shelves, checking everything off her list. They arrived at the checkstand with everything Finn needed, including the pack of Gatorade Liam added as he was responsible for bringing snacks to his soccer game the next day and had nearly forgotten. The checker struck up a conversation with them, where Finn mentioned she was the one cooking dinner that night, and the guy behind the counter joked that she should bring him some.

"Alright, you guys have a nice night!" The checker said, handing over their receipt.

"Thank you!" the Castle's chorused, taking the cart and walking away.

Once at home, all the kids went their separate directions; the boys to the fridge for a snack, Miyana to the bathroom shouting her desperate need to pee, and Finn stayed and helped put away the groceries before attending to her homework.

A few hours later, Finn pulls back her hair, washes her hands, and starts to gather all her ingredients. The rice would take the longest to cook, so she started that first, setting a pot of water on the stove to boil. She then set to work preparing the mountain of bell peppers her family would eat in a matter of minutes; especially her brothers. Finn cuts off the tops and scoops out the seeds.

As the water starts to boil, Finn starts sensing she's in over her head.

Okay, just breathe, she thinks. One thing at a time. She gets the rice going, and then turns to the block of cheese needing to be grated.

"Hey, Austin! Will you help me?" Finn calls over to her brother currently zoning out in front of the TV.

"Sure," Austin grumbles, going to his sister who hands him the cheese.

"Grate this for me please."

"Okay," he complies; anything with cheese in it was good in his book.

Now that Austin was handling the cheese, Finn set to work browning the meat of the dish. She had substituted half the ground beef from the recipe for a spicy chorizo; her family loved it spicy, and she knew they would love the stuffed peppers more if she did. The meant browns quickly, and Austin helps her drain off the fat before dumping it into a mixing bowl.

Finn adds corn, tomatoes, spices and some of the cheese to the meat and mixes it up. The rice was supposed to go into the stuffing, but Nemo chose to use it as a side instead. The last step went quickly: scooping filling into the pepper halves and topping them with even more cheese, and before long they were in the oven.

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"Mmm, it smells good in here!" Kate announces as she enters the house.

"Finn cooked," Austin tells her from his seat at the breakfast bar working on homework.

"Did she? Well, I'm excited to try it."

Just then, the oven timer goes off and Finn scurries into the kitchen. "Alright guys! Come eat!" Finn calls, donning an oven mitt and carefully pulling the dishes out.

"Smells great, Nemo," her dad says, taking the salad he'd made out of the fridge.

"It really does, baby," her mom agrees. "I can't wait to eat it."

"Thanks," Finn says, excited for her family's reaction.

Danielle and Saccone had arrived home not long before, and with an open invitation to stay for dinner, Sass was just as excited as the other Castle's to eat. The two blondes had set the table and were bringing over the dishes of peppers while the others claimed seats.

"Thank you, Finn, for making dinner," Kate says, starting a chorus from everyone at the table.

"You're welcome," Finn says. "Try it, tell me what you think." She takes a bite and considers her first try at the dish a success, but would her family like it?

There was silence around the table as everyone chewed.

"This is really good!" Miyana announced, having full faith in her sister's abilities, but not in her own taste buds. "Wow, Nemo, you actually made me like tomatoes!"

"That's it! This one is a win!" Castle announces, reaching across the table to high five Finn.

"It really is," Saccone agrees. "Can I take some home for my parents and Callum?"

"Sure. We have plenty of leftovers," Finn says.

"Yeah we do," Kate remarks. "We're going to be eating stuffed peppers for days."

"Well I wasn't sure how much to make, 'cause Austin and Liam can sometimes eat a bunch and I wanted to have enough for them.

"You did good, baby," Kate says. "Speaking of Austin and Liam: since your sister cooked, you two can clean."

"Hey! I helped. Ask Finn, she can vouch for me," Austin protests.

"Okay: Liam, looks like you're on cleaning duty."

But being the nice sister she was, and good chef she was trying to be, Finn works with her brother to clean the kitchen, saving the leftovers in multiple containers and adding the recipe to her already full arsenal.