Castle 1. Chapter 1

_**Remy's**_

"_So Kate, what are you doing for your Mom's birthday?" Lanie asked as they all took a bite of their hamburgers._

"_Don't know yet." She replied sipping her milkshake._

"_If you need any help just let us know." Ryan said as he sipped his milkshake._

"_Yeah will do. So what are you all up to this weekend?" Kate asked as she sipped her strawberry milkshake._

"_I thought we could all go to the park together and hang out like the old times?" Esposito said as they finished their meals._

"_Sounds like a great idea. Look I gotta go. See ya tomorrow guys." Lanie said waving before hurrying off._

"_Yeah same. See you guys tomorrow." Ryan said going the other direction._

"_Want me to walk you home?" Esposito said as they fell into step._

"_Sure." She replied as they walked to Kate's house only to find a bunch of cops around._

"_What the hell is going on?" Kate said, she found her father sitting in the gutter outside their home._

"_Sweetie, it's your Mom. I went out and when I got back I found these cops around. She was murdered in the kitchen. They don't know who did it." Jim said crying again._

_All Kate could remember was her father telling her before she fainted into Esposito's arm._

_Two weeks after her mom's murder, Kate had a one night stand and her dad turned to drinking._

_9 months later_

"_Katie she is so beautiful just like her mom. You've done good sweetie. I promise you I will clean up and be here for you and Savannah." Jim said as he held his newborn granddaughter._

"_Thankyou Daddy. I really wish Mom was here." Kate said closing her eyes._

"_Get some sleep sweetie." Jim told his daughter._

**4 years later**

"Mommy! Up." 4 year old Savannah yelled as she clambered up on her mom's bed.

"Mija, you want to go see Uncle Kev and Uncle Javi?" Kate asked as she got up and started making breakfast for both of them.

"YES! I go get ready." She said before toddling off to her bedroom.

"Sweetie. We have to have breakfast first then we can get dressed." Kate said as she put Sav in her high chair and gave her bowl of Cheerios.

" 'Fank you momma." Savannah said as she ate her cereal before asking if she can hop out of her chair,

"It's okay baby." Kate said as she picked clothes out for herself and Savannah before dressing Savannah in her red dress and white shoes and putting her in piggy tails.

"Let's go Momma." Sav said before running towards the door.

"Wait. Do not open that door young lady or you will have time out." Kate said sternly as she collected her wallet, keys and phone before picking Savannah up before walking out the door and to her car.

**20 minutes later**

"Uncle Kev! Uncle Javi!" Savannah yelled as her surrogate uncles swept her way from Kate.

"Hey chica. You been good for you Mom?" Kevin Ryan asked as he kissed Savannah's cheek.

"Yes!" Savannah giggled as Esposito took her off Ryan.

"Dude, hand over my godbaby." Espo said giving her a kiss and big hug before setting her down on the floor.

"How you been Becks?" Ryan asked as we all went into the break room.

"Yeah good. It's hard juggling a four year old and work on your own. You guys should try it some time." Kate said teasing her colleagues/brothers.

"Nah. You seem to be doing really well on your own. If you need any help you can always come to us." Espo said as he made three lots of coffee and found some juice for Sav.

"Thanks. Dad is taking her today till about 3 and then we are going to the park." Kate said finishing her coffee before collecting her stuff. "Come on Sav; let's get you to Pa's house. See you boys in half an hour tops, cover for me."

"Bye bye boys." Sav said as they left.

**Half an hour later**

"I'm back, anything pop on hour latest case?" Beckett asked as she walked to her desk and put her stuff away.

"Nah not yet. Phone record should be in tomorrow at the latest." Ryan said as he joined her at the murder board. "Cap said we can take rest of the day off."

"See you boys tomorrow then. I'm going to take my baby girl for ice-cream and the park." Beckett said as she left.

'_I wonder if this year is going to be better than last'_ Kate thought has she drove to her dad's apartment.

**At the park**

"Go on Sav. I will be right her sweetheart." Kate told her before Savannah ran off to the monkey bars.

"Which young one is yours?" someone asked from beside her.

"Oh hi. The one with the brown piggy tails swinging on the monkey bars next to the little girl with the beautiful red hair." Kate said, turning to look at the man beside her. "What about you?"

"Little girl with the beautiful red hair. Rick Castle nice to meet you." Rick said offering his hand to her to shake.

"Kate Beckett. My girl's name is Savannah, she just turned four a month ago on May 25th." Kate said.

"Mine is Alexis she turned four also a month ago on May 26th." Rick said smiling at Kate.

"She's beautiful." Kate responded turning back to find Alexis and Sav playing tag.

"Have you heard of my book? _Storm Fall_?" he asked.

"Yes. I just guessed you didn't want me to say anything because of your fame and all the women. I'm not like that, I don't embarrass people like others do." Beckett said.

"Thank you." Rick said gratefully.

"It's okay. To me you're just another regular parent in the park with their kid. Unlike others who like to stare." Beckett said staring down some women who were giving her the dirty look because she was talking to the famous Richard Castle and not them.

"Thank you Kate." Rick said just as their daughters came running up to their respective parents.

"Momma, can Lexis please come and get ice-cream with us?" Savannah asked nicely.

"I suppose she can if it is alright with her Daddy first." Kate said.

"Yes, if Lexi introduces me to her friend." Rick said smiling at Savannah.

"Yes Daddy. Savvy this is my Daddy, Rick. Daddy this is my friend Savannah." Alexis said making introductions.

"Lovely to meet you Savannah." Rick said.

"Nice to meet you to Mr. Castle." Savannah said.

"Lovely manner Sav." Kate praised.

"Lexi this is my Momma, Kate. Momma this is my new friend Alexis." Savannah said also making introductions.

"Very nice to meet you Alexis." Beckett smiled.

"Likewise Miss Beckett." Alexis said with lovely manners.

"Beautiful manners Lex." Rick also praised as they all stood up and started making their way to Serendipity.


	2. Unsuspected

**Half an hour later**

"Come on Lex, time to go home." Rick said standing up from the booth he was sharing with Beckett and the two girls.

"Awwww but Daddy. I want to spend more time with Sav." Alexis pouted.

"Okay, how about this? I swap numbers with Sav's mommy and we set up a day where you two can play to your heart's content." Rick suggested to his pouting daughter who was on the verge of having a tantrum.

"Okay. Bye bye Savvy." Alexis said hugging her new friend.

"Bye bye Lexi." Savannah replied.

Kate and Rick swapped numbers and went their separate ways.

**Beckett's house**

"Mommy, can we have Uncle Javi, Uncle Kev and Aunt Lanie over for dinner?" Savannah asked as they walked through the door after having ice-cream with Rick and his daughter.

"Yeah sweetie, I guess they can come over." Kate said sending off a text to them all inviting them over for dinner at 5.00pm that night.

"Thankyou Mommy. Time for bath yet?" she asked.

"Yes sweetie, let's go get you ready for dinner." Kate said. When Savannah was born and had her first bath, she has loved bath time ever since.

**20 mins later: 5.00pm**

"Momma, they're here!" Savannah yelled down the hallway from her room where she was playing with her toys.

"Thankyou baby." Kate called back as she opened the door to her friends.

"Aw, were you calling me baby?" Epso joked with her.

"Haha, you wish jellyfish." Kate said closing the door behind them.

"Where is my goddaughter." Lanie said as she walked down the hallway to Sav's room.

"Right here Aunty Lanie!" Savannah yelled jumping into her auntie's outstretched arms for a hug.

"Hey cutiepie. You ready for dinner?" Lanie asked as she walked towards the dining hall.

"Uh huh. I met a new friend today. Her name is Alexis and she is my best friend." Savannah said as Lanie sat her in her booster seat.

"That's very good Savvy. Are you going to go play with her again?" Lanie asked as she helped Kate serve dinner.

"I hope so. Momma swapped numbers with Lexi's daddy." Sav said around a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Sav, don't talk with your mouth full." Kate scolded as she sat across from Lanie.

"Sorry Momma." Savannah said giggling at Ryan and Espo as they flung meatballs at each other.

"You two keep flinging my specially prepared food around and you will be on desk duty for a month and won't see Sav ever again." Kate threatened, they stopped suddenly and started eating again as they gave her a cheek grin.

"So, who's is Lexi's daddy?" Lanie asked, waiting for the gossip from her best friend.

"Rick." Kate said, eating another meat ball.

"Rick who?" Ryan asked looking up from his food.

"Agree, I wanna know this guy's last name so I can background check him and make sure he is right for Sav to hang round his daughter." Espo said becoming overprotective of both the girls.

"Espo calm down. His name is Richard Castle." Kate said eating more of her dinner, before Lanie slapped her arm.

"As in the Richard Castle? As in your favourite author Richard Castle?" Lanie asked squealing.

"Yes." Beckett replied, laughing at her best friend.

"As in the author who rode butt naked through Central Park on a stolen police horse Richard Castle?" Javi asked blocking little Savannah's ears as she struggled against him.

"I believe so." Kate laughed.

"Uncle Javi! Let me go!" Savannah mumbled swatting his hands away.

"Savannah! No yelling! Next time you will get time out!" Kate scolded, as Savannah apologised to Espo.

"It's okay Sav." Espo said kissing her head.

"Love you Momma." Savannah said looking over at her Mom.

"Love you too sweetie." Kate said as she collected the dishes and started washing them off and putting them into the dishwasher.

**Half an hour later**

"You evil little spawn is sleeping." Javi said as he came back out with Ryan and two headless Barbie dolls.

"What happened to the dolls?" Lanie asked suspiciously

"You really wanna know Lanie?" Javi said as he sat on the floor to try and fix the doll.

"Probably not, but go ahead and tell anyway." Lanie said getting comfortable.

"Well, we were just sitting there playing with the barbies when all of a sudden Ryan started saying that his barbie doll looked better, I disagreed and lets just say the barbie's got into a catfight and Savannah thought she could join in to and then she fell asleep giggling." Esposito said as he looked at Kate for help.

"Give me the dolls boys. Go do something useful and make some coffee, that's if you can do it sensibly." Kate said popping the doll's heads back on to the bodies.

"Okay. Dude my doll looked way better than yours in the pink dress." Espo said.

"No way dude. Mine was way better." Ryan argued back.

"Stop the catfighting and don't break any of my mugs." Kate yelled to the boys and she and Lanie chatted on the couch.

"Okay!" they yelled back.

**20 minutes later**

"Okay, we're going home, it's late and we all have work in the morning." Lanie said as Kate saw them off at the door.

"Bye guys." Kate said hugging them all.

**Next day**

"Momma! Your phone is ringing!" Savannah yelled as she passed Kate the phone.

"Thanks bubba, go to the bathroom and I will be there shortly.

"Hello?" Kate answered the phone.

"Hi Kate, it's Rick from the park yesterday." Rick replied sounding nervous.

"Oh hey. What can I do for you?" Kate said getting up.

"I was wondering if you would like to set up that play date for the girls today?" he said.

"Uhm, I have work today. But if you want I can drop Sav off at your place in twenty if you don't mind that is." Kate said walking into the bathroom where he daughter waited patiently.

"I don't mind at all. What time do you get off work?" he asked.

"I usually get off about 4.30pm." Kate said.

"Okay, the girls will be fine here at my place. I can take them to the park if they really want to. Any allergies I should know about?" he replied.

"Nope. She is allergy free. I will see you in twenty. I have to go get ready. See you soon." Kate said.

"Bye." He replied clicking off the line.

"What do want done with your hair today Sav?" Kate putting her phone in her pocket.

"Two braids please Momma." Savannah replied.

**20 mins later**

Kate and Savannah were in the elevator riding up to Rick's level.

The door swung open before Kate could ring the doorbell.

"Hi. Glad Savannah could stay here today!" Rick said ushering them both into his loft.

"It's a pleasure to be here Mr. Castle." Savannah said, standing next to her mom.

"Good girl Sav. I will see you later baby bear." Kate said to her daughter kissing her on the top of her head.

"Be safe Momma bear." Savannah said back hugging her tightly.

"Always am." She replied, standing back up to give Rick Savannah's rucksack.

"Thank you for this Rick. Really, I will pay you back by taking your daughter and her friend out for a girls days." Kate said as they walked to the door.

"It's no problem Kate. See you later." Rick said as Kate left.

He turned around and said to the two girls, "So my ladies, who wants to play laser tag?"

"ME!" they both yelled in unison.

**The precinct.**

"Beckett, we've got a suspect. You comin?" Espo asked as he picked up the keys to the cruiser.

"You betcha I am." She replied grabbing her coat and following him out.

**Suspects' apartment**

"One, two three! NYPD!" Kate yelled as she kicked open the door and charged in. What she wasn't expecting was for the suspect to lunge forward and stab her in the stomach.

She turned around to face Espo with a look of pure shock on her face as she fell to her knees.

"KATE!" Javier yelled as he put his gun away and ran to help his best friend/boss.

"Javi! Promise me you will look after Sav for me?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"You're not going to die. Even if something happens, I will always look after her." Espo said EMT crews piled into the room and pushed him out of the way.

**Rick's apartment**

There was a sudden know on the door. When he opened it he was faced with a detective.

"Richard Castle, I am here to get Kate Beckett's daughter Savannah. I am Detective Javier Esposito. Her mom is in the hospital after a unsuspected accident while taking down a suspect today." Espo said, as Rick invited him in.

"Where is Kate? Is she okay? Who's blood is that?" Rick asked

"If you and your daughter would like to come with me to the hospital, we will tell you all detail there." Espo said picking up Savannah's rucksack.

"Uncle Javi, where's mommy?" Savannah asked on the verge of tears.

"Mommy is in the hospital sweetie. She will be okay. Come on. You too Mr Castle and Alexis." He said before leaving with Rick and Alexis following closely behind them.

**At the hospital**

'_I hope Javi keeps his promise. Wow, that pain is stopping but my stomach still hurts.' _Kate thought as she slipped into unconsciousness again.

'_She's crashing. Charge to 320.' _Was the last thing Kate heard.


	3. Recovering Part 1

**At the hospital**

"Uncle Javi, will Momma be okay? She promised me she will be safe?" Savannah said as she started crying.

"Shhh baby girl. Momma will be fine baby bear. I promise you." Javi said as he passed her to Lanie.

"What have the doctors said?" Rick asked Ryan. "By the way, I'm Rick Castle and this is my daughter Alexis."

"Nice to meet you all." Alexis said in a small voice as she hugged Savannah.

"You too Alexis and Rick. She is still in surgery but the wound has missed all the vital organs. She will be in pain for a little while." Ryan informed them all as they waited for the doctor to come back out and say that she is okay.

**Beckett's POV**

'_Everything hurts. Where am I?' _Beckett thought as she drifted back into consciousness.

"Detective Beckett, nice to have you back in the land of the living." Dr LeTourneau said as she checked Kate's wounds.

Kate moaned in pain as she heard her baby girl's voice. "Momma. Is Momma alright?"

"Momma will be fine darling girl." Said and older woman's voice.

'_Who is that?' _Kate thought as her small family walked through the door.

"Katie, are you in pain sweetie?" Lanie asked, noticing the grimace on Kate's face as she moved.

"Nah. I'm fine. Is Sav okay?" Kate asked more worried about her daughter then herself.

"Yeah she is alright. She is outside with Rick, Alexis and Rick's mom Martha." Lanie said gently sitting down next to Kate's bed.

"Good, I don't want her seeing me like this." Kate confessed as a few tears ran down her face.

"It's okay sweetie." Lanie said soothingly.

"It hurts so much." Kate said crying a little more.

"Here, the doctor is here to give you some pain medication." Lanie said as she let Kate drift off to sleep.

"She's okay. In a lot of pain but that is to be expected. Rick do you think you could look after Savannah tonight?" Lanie asked as she joined the others outside.

"Yeah sure. She will fit some of Alexis's clothes. So it shouldn't be a problem." Rick said.

"Thanks, it's just that the rest of us could be called in suddenly. Espo where is Captain Gates?" Lanie said.

"Right here, how is my lead detective?" Gates said as she walked into the small corridor.

"She's doing okay but in a lot of pain. She is asleep right now. The knife went straight through her bulletproof vest according to Esposito." Lanie said.

"Yes, I had a look down in the emergency department. Wasn't very nice. Who do we have here?" Gates said looking pointedly at Rick, Martha and Alexis.

"Ah Gates. This is Richard Castle, his daughter Alexis who is best friends with Savannah and his mother Martha Rogers." Ryan said making introductions.

"Nice to meet you all." Gates said politely as she took little Savannah in her arms.

"You too." Rick said shifting his little girl to the other arm.

"I think you should take Savannah and Alexis back to your place and we will call you if there is any changes in her condition. Go on." Gates urged.

"No! I want to see Mommy!" Savannah said stomping her little feet.

"Sweetie, Mommy is asleep. You can see her tomorrow sweetpea." Lanie said getting down to Savannah's level. "And if you keep stomping your feet, you will be in timeout once you get home."

"I sorry Auntie Lanie." Savannah said sniffling as she gave them all hugs and left with Rick, Martha and Alexis.

"Poor kid. So how is Kate and I mean really how is she?" Gates asked as they sat down outside her room.

"Pain, saying she doesn't want Savannah to see her in so much pain. Crying." Lanie said sighing.

"Come on. Let's go see if we can brighten her up a little." Gates said as they entered the room.

"Hey Kate. How you feeling?" Espo asked.

"Hey guys. Pain, but I'm good. Did Sav go home?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. Rick is looking after her tonight. She wants to see you tomorrow though." Ryan said as they all pulled chairs up next to her bedside.

"Yeah, that should be okay. Damn it, I had a meeting to go to with a potential school for Savannah." Kate said sighing as she looked around for her mobile.

"I will deal with it and find her a good school for next year." Gates said.

"Thankyou." Kate said as Gates left.

"Nice Gates is creeping me out." Javier said making them all laugh and Kate wincing.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Nice Gates is a little creepy." Kate said agreeing with them. As her lids started to droop they all left quietly except for Lanie to let her get some sleep.

**Next Day**

"Rick, when can we go see Momma?" Savannah asked at breakfast the next morning.

"At 9.00 honey. So in an hour, we will go get you dressed and ready and then we will head over to the hospital." Rick said as he cleaned up after breakfast.

"Okay. Rick, she promised me she would be safe? Why did she break her promise?" Savannah asked as they sat in morning traffic.

"She didn't mean to break it sweet pea. It was unsuspecting, she didn't know that was going to happen. But she will be alright." Rick said as he turned at the lights.

"Okay. I trust you." She said as they pulled into the hospital car park.

He got both Alexis and Savannah out before making their way up to Kate's room.

"You up for visitors?" Rick said as he walked through the door keeping a tight grip on Savannah's hand so she won't run and jump on Kate.

"Yeah. Hey my sweet pea." Kate said as she opened her arms to Savannah who ran straight to them.

"You're going to be alright Momma?" Savannah asked as she sat down next to Kate.

"Perfectly fine baby bear." She replied, hugging her daughter close.

"That's good Momma." Savannah said, snuggling up and falling asleep quite quickly.

"I hope she didn't give you can trouble last night." Kate said as Alexis also laid down next to her and went to sleep.

"Nah. She was fine. It was you who gave me trouble last night. Hearing that you go injured on duty, when I saw Detective Esposito on my doorstep I knew something bad had happened. The doctor said you can go home tomorrow only if you're on bed rest and you have someone to stay with. I have taken it upon myself to keep you at my house until you are better and ready to go home. Savannah will be starting school with Alexis next year at Marlowe Prep. All paid for by your Captain Gates." Rick said in a massive speech.

"Tell Gates I said thank you." Kate said gratefully as she fell asleep next to her daughter and Alexis.


End file.

Castle, Family, Romance