Disclaimer: I have no ownership of any of these remarkable characters. I just thought it would be fun to mix them together.

Author's Note: Castle hooked me during the first episode when I watched Richard Castle push Alexis down the hallway in her stocking feet. Rick's strong, loving relationship with his daughter reminded me a lot of Lorelai's relationship with Rory on Gilmore Girls. In fact, Rick's personality in many ways reminded me of Lorelai Gilmore, and I started to amuse myself by imagining what would happen should the two of them ever meet. Then I realized I had the power to make that happen...

(A note on the time-frame: This is set sometime during the second season of Gilmore Girls, years before Castle began and Rick met Kate Beckett.)

"Would you get a load of this," Luke Danes muttered, scowling out of the diner's window. His attention had been grabbed by the windshield glare from a shiny silver sports car being finessed into a parking spot across from the diner. It was one of those cars that looked fast standing still. It was one of those cars that showed up in ads filmed out in the desert where the stunt driver did doughnuts that threw sand everywhere, but yet the car itself always stayed amazingly shiny. It was one of those cars that Luke would never be interested in, except to mock the person driving it.

As though he was tuned into Luke's thoughts, the driver chose that moment to get out of the car. He was a few inches shorter than Luke and more solidly built. He had on a dark blue, striped shirt, and jeans that Luke instinctively knew had cost more than all the clothes in his closet combined. He stretched, working out some kinks from the road, and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. Thanks to a really good haircut his hair instantly fell back into a deceptively carefree look, with a few strands casually hanging down over his forehead. He reached inside the car for a brown corduroy sports jacket and put it on while he studied the street.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me." Luke watched as the guy actually checked himself out in his side view mirror, turning from side to side and flicking his fingers through his hair. Apparently he passed inspection because he smiled, looking pleased.

"Unbelievable." The guy pulled out a pair of sunglasses from an inside pocket and put them on as he walked towards the rear of his car.

"What?" Jess had been sitting at the end of the counter, trying to read, but his uncle's comments had finally broken his concentration. He looked up now, irritably.

"Tourist," Luke said, not bothering to cover the note of disgust in his voice. He jerked his chin towards the scene outside the window.

Jess turned enough to absorb the newcomer in the street. He turned back to his book with a small snort of derision. "Whatever he orders, charge him double," he recommended. "Looks like he can afford it."

Luke's next snide comment was cut off as the driver reached for the hand of a young girl who was coming around the car to meet him. Luke judged that she was probably about the same age as Rory had been when he first met her. She had the most spectacular red-blonde hair he'd ever seen, her one long braid shimmering down her back as the sun hit it. It was obvious she adored the driver. Her face lit up as she put her arm around his waist and smiled up at him. He said something to her and she laughed, and Luke realized he'd have to be nice to this guy just because of the little girl. The guy couldn't be a total putz if the little girl liked him this much.

They entered the diner and the guy whipped off his sunglasses and looked around, almost as if he thought someone was going to recognize him. The few people eating a late breakfast on this Saturday morning barely glanced his way.

The guy got his bearings and sauntered up to the counter, the slight smile on his face telling Luke that this was someone used to getting his own way. The girl hopped onto a stool and gave him a shyer smile of her own, her almost turquoise blue eyes gleaming out from under her shaggy bangs.

"Hi, I'm ―" the guy paused here, giving extra emphasis to his name, "― Rick Castle." He held out his hand.

Luke automatically reached out with his own hand while perceiving Jess's slight intake of breath on his right side. "Luke Danes," he replied, giving a firmer than usual handshake.

"Ah, so you're the Luke that's on the sign out front, I gather?" The guy ― Rick ― flexed his hand that had been squeezed by the handshake and settled down onto a stool, his eyes crinkling up as he smiled charmingly. "You might just be the person I need to talk to."

"Doubt that," Luke muttered. "You ordering?"

"So that's how it works," Rick surmised, nodding. "Coffee, perhaps, for now. Alexis, you want something?"

The girl glanced up at the specials written up on the board and then quickly looked back and forth behind the counter. She smiled at Luke beguilingly. "Could I have a root beer float?"

"Sure," Luke sighed, biting down on the urge to point out that it was only 10:30 in the morning and thus too early for root beer floats. Once again a pair of blue eyes had him doing things against his better judgment.

"So, Luke," Rick began, settling comfortably into a conversational tone, as if the two of them were old friends needing to catch up, "can you tell me why, if this is indeed Luke's Diner, that the sign up above the door says Williams Hardware?"

Luke drew in a breath, wondering just how sarcastic a response he could get away with, when a disturbance in the force alerted him to the fact that Lorelai was about to blow in through the door. He was powerless to stop his eyes from his eternal need to watch her as she stepped inside, and Rick saw it. He swiveled on the stool, also watching Lorelai.

"Exquisite," Rick murmured, taking in every inch of her. "Absolutely exquisite." He leaned his head towards Alexis. "Murderess, do you think?"

Alexis's eyes swept over Lorelai and she scoffed as she answered her father. "With that smile? Not a chance."

"No, no, you're right," Rick agreed, continuing to peruse Lorelai as she sat down at a table. "Mistress?" he suggested.

Alexis tilted her head at him and then once again looked over at Lorelai. "Not on purpose," she said, thoughtfully. "She wouldn't do it if she knew that the guy was married."

"So she doesn't mean to be bad, but the bad things just happen to her."

Alexis giggled. "You're making her sound like Jessica Rabbit."

"Now hold on here," Luke said firmly. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but he didn't like the sound of it. "Lorelai would never ―"

Rick swiftly turned back to him. "Lorelai," he said, breathing her name out in a way that set off alarm bells inside Luke's head. "Lorelai. Yes, that's perfect. Almost too perfect." His eyes took on a faraway look, as though he was seeing and hearing something else. He put his elbows on the counter and steepled his hands together.

"She never meant to be bad," he started, his voice soft and melodious, almost as if he was reading a story. "It wasn't her fault that the gift of beauty had been wrapped around her at birth. A beauty so intense, so mesmerizing, that men couldn't help but be captivated by her. It wasn't her fault that they were pulled to her by their overwhelming need to win her favor. It wasn't her fault that men did things ― bad things ― to each other, just to ensure that she would be theirs. It wasn't her fault that the night would come when a dead body would land on the rocks underneath her feet. It was inevitable that someday, murder would be committed in her name."

Rick took a breath and looked up, his eyes glinting as the spell brought on by his storytelling was broken. He smacked his hands down flat on the counter as he stood up. "Introduce me," he ordered, briskly.

"I'm not gonna ―" Luke began to protest.

"You know her, right?" Rick questioned

"Of course I know her! Stars Hollow is like 10 blocks long! I know everybody!" Luke fumed.

"Good," Rick nodded, as if they'd settled it. "Then introduce me."

Luke crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw tightening. "I'm not ―"

"Luke, did you not see me give you the international coffee distress signal? You're slipping, my friend."

Lorelai had come up to the counter while he'd been arguing with the slick guy with the delusions of entitlement. He groaned inwardly, realizing that she must be on her way to work because she had on the gray suit that fitted her almost too well. Her red blouse matched her lipstick and her blazing personality was practically oozing out of her as she smiled at him. She playfully leaned over the counter towards him and he fought the urge to bash Rick's head in as the newcomer openly admired those mile-long legs under the short skirt. He swore silently at the universe, wondering why she couldn't have worn her usual Saturday jeans. Then he quickly reconsidered. He didn't want Rick seeing her in her Saturday jeans, either.

Not trusting Luke, Rick took matters into his own hands. "Richard Castle," he said, slipping his outstretched hand into Lorelai's line of sight. His voice had once again taken on that nearly hypnotic melodious quality.

Lorelai's focus shifted from Luke to the stranger offering his hand. He watched as she turned her smile down a few notches. Her gaze left Rick and landed on the girl angling to see from under her father's elbow. Lorelai smiled sincerely at Alexis and her face had warmed by the time she returned to Rick.

"Lorelai Gilmore," she replied, taking his hand.

"A pleasure, Lorelai, an absolute pleasure." Rick didn't release her hand and brought his other one up on top of it. "I'm here doing some research on small, charming, Connecticut towns, and I was wondering if I could maybe talk to you for a bit. You know, to get some background information on what it's like to live here."

"Oh, well …" Lorelai bit her lip and looked unsurely back at Luke. Who was again fuming silently, because damn it all, she looked so pretty when she did that. "I'm actually waiting on my daughter to join me."

"That's no problem at all!" Rick held out his arm and Alexis instantly slid off her stool and came to stand underneath it. "This is my daughter, Alexis."

The girl smiled sweetly at Lorelai and Lorelai immediately smiled back. "Well, sure, I guess that's fine, for a few minutes," she conceded. She started back to the table she'd claimed with her purse. "Luke? Coffee?" she reminded him.

Rick made a beeline for Lorelai's table, but Alexis came back to the counter. "Can I still get my root beer float?"

"Sure," Luke sighed, giving up.

"And don't worry," the girl smiled, bending her knees a little bit so she could look up into his downcast face. "It's my job to keep him out of trouble."

Luke's head shot up. "What?" he asked, feeling a jolt of panic, but Alexis had already turned and was walking to the table, her thick braid bouncing on her back.

He stared after her for a moment, chewing the inside of his cheek, watching her dad hovering over Lorelai as she took her seat. He walked behind Jess to get to the coffeepot.

"So he's somebody?" he asked quietly, remembering Jess's reaction on hearing the name.

"Richard Castle? Yeah, he's somebody," Jess said snidely.

"Who?" Luke asked, genuinely not able to place the name.

Jess let his book drop flat on the countertop. "Richard Castle," he said, keeping his voice low. "Derrick Storm?" His uncle still looked mystified, which made him sigh. "Luke, come on! Even you have to have heard of Derrick Storm!" He shook his head. "OK, Richard Castle is one of those hack authors who can churn out a murder mystery a year. His main character is called Derrick Storm. His books are really popular with mindless drones who don't know any better and they're always on the best seller lists." Jess paused for a beat. "Some of them didn't suck," he had to admit, albeit grudgingly. "But the guy's a real publicity whore. He's always showing up in the scandal rags with some starlet on his arm. A real playboy."

Luke's head snapped to Lorelai's table.

"She'll see right through him," Jess said, sounding gruffly reassuring, which surprised Luke.

Luke grabbed two mugs and the coffeepot and headed over just as Rory came rushing in through the door. She skidded to a stop, her already big blue eyes widening as far as they could.

"Rory!" Lorelai said happily, the way she always sounded when her daughter appeared. "This is ―"

"Richard Castle," Rory breathed out, awestruck.

"Um, yeah," Lorelai murmured, looking worriedly between Rory and the guy sitting at her table.

"Rick," he said, standing up and reaching his hand over to Rory, his voice thick with charm. "Just call me Rick. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rory. This is my daughter, Alexis."

"H-Hi," Rory stammered, her eyes briefly going to the girl sitting at the table. "I just ― I can't believe this." She plopped down on the empty chair. She turned to her mother, apparently perceiving her cluelessness. "Mom," she said, almost whispering, "this is Richard Castle! Derrick Storm! You know, the author!"

Luke heard Lorelai's gasp as he plunked down the coffee mugs. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" He watched as she blushed becomingly, shaking her head. "No wonder I thought you looked familiar! Your face has been watching me from my bedside table for years!"

Luke gritted his teeth. She was actually flirting with the guy?

Rick shot Lorelai a very intense sort of look, but then seemed to realize his daughter was sitting right next to him. He then tried to look modest and Luke wanted to pour coffee into his lap more than anything. "Well, sometimes it's nice to travel incognito. But it's always nice to meet fans of your work, too."

Luke seemed to be the only one who noticed that Alexis had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide a grin.

Rory was nodding enthusiastically. "I don't have much time to read popular fiction, but I make an exception for Derrick Storm. Andrew knows to always save me a copy of the latest one when it comes out. And wow, 'In a Hail of Bullets?' That was amazing! I can't believe that was your debut novel!"

"People seemed to like it," Rick agreed, his shoulders shrugging modestly.

"And 'A Rose for Everafter' ―" Lorelai began, her tone reverent.

"Oh, yeah!" Rory broke in. "Mom and I fought over our copy while we were reading that one!"

"Well, maybe I can see to it that you each get your own copy," Rick suggested. "Maybe with a special inscription for two such lovely ladies."

"Ohhh!" both Rory and Lorelai sighed out, looking at Rick like he'd just shown them a picture of a cute puppy.

Luke poured the coffee, his arm 'accidentally' bumping into Rick's elbow, knocking it off the table. "Sorry," he said blithely. "Rory? You want coffee?"

"What?" Rory frowned at him. "Oh, yeah, sure. Whatever."

Lorelai was fumbling through her purse and pulled out her phone. "I hope you don't mind, but I have to call my neighbor. She is like your biggest fan ever."

"Lorelai!" Luke pointed angrily at the sign she inevitably ignored anyway.

"Luke!" she hissed. "This is too important!"

Rick looked over his shoulder to see where Luke was pointing. "Good for you, making a stab at enforcing civility in our increasingly unkind society. It seems like today everyone is more concerned about their own agendas than politeness. Losing battle, however." He gave Luke a smile and a wink, and Luke calculated how long it would take him to dash upstairs and grab his baseball bat.

"Babette! Babette, you will not believe who I'm sitting with at Luke's right now!" Lorelai squealed into the phone. Something Babette said brought her up short. "No, it's not Kirk. Or Taylor. No, Babette, listen. It's Richard Castle! Rory and I are sitting here with him right now and ―" She pulled the phone from her ear, frowning. "Weird. She hung up."

"I'm having a root beer float," Alexis said ostensibly to Rory, but looking pointedly at Luke.

That seemed to break the spell Rick had on Rory and she looked genuinely at the other daughter at the table, smiling at her. "That sounds great. Hey, Luke, I'll take a root beer float, too."

"Why not?" Luke muttered.

"Dear God." Rick had taken his first sip of coffee. He took another. "This is incredible coffee. Seriously good coffee. Like the best I've ever tasted."

Lorelai looked at Rick proudly, as if she had something to do with it. "Isn't it great?" she agreed. She fluttered her eyelashes at Luke. "He's an angel," she cooed. "A coffee god."

"Seriously, man, if you ever want to franchise, let me know. I'm in," Rick said, sniffing the brew in front of him appreciatively.

"Nuh-uh. Luke's mine. He stays here," Lorelai insisted, smiling at him in a way that made him grip the handle on the coffeepot extra tightly.

"Why are you here in Stars Hollow, of all places?" Rory asked.

"I'll get your floats," Luke said, moving away. It didn't matter, though, he could still hear the author's voice clearly, even back behind the counter.

"My next plot has Derrick finding himself marooned in a small town for a few days, and of course, he becomes embroiled in a local mystery while he's there. As you know, I'm a big-city boy. I know nothing about small towns at all, so Alexis and I thought a road trip would be advisable. We were hoping to find someplace where we could just soak up the local color for a few days and really learn what it feels like to be a part of a place like this. So we've just been driving around, trying to find a town to fit the bill."

"I saw the name Stars Hollow on the map," Alexis said, her eager voice not carrying quite like her dad's. "It sounded like it belonged in a fairytale. Is there a story behind the name?"

"Of course there is!" Lorelai said.

"We even have a festival to celebrate it," Rory added.

"But then we have a festival to celebrate everything," Lorelai continued. "Apples, dancing, bad barbershop quartets … We'll set up booths and sell fried food for anything."

"But the Firelight Festival is to remember the two star-crossed lovers who found each other by following the stars. They met right out here," Rory said, pointing out towards the square. "Well, supposedly, anyway. And that's how Stars Hollow got its name."

"There's a huge bonfire and lots of lovestruck people," Lorelai put in. "Or maybe that's just the effect of the lethal party punch Miss Patty makes."

"Sounds enchanting," Richard said warmly. "Maybe we'll have to be in town for the next one, to experience it first-hand."

"I'm not sure I buy that story," Alexis said, doubtfully.

"Eh, it's just a story," Lorelai grinned at the girl. "But you have to admit, it's a good one."

"Romantic," Rory agreed.

"I think we've found our town." Richard said. "What do you think, Alexis? Should we explore Stars Hollow's mysterious dark side for a few days?"

"I think we should." Even Luke could hear the enthusiasm in the girl's voice.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Rory said, sounding thrilled.

"We'll need someplace to stay. Do you have any recommendations?" Rick asked.

"Well, as a matter of fact," Lorelai said with faux modesty, "you happen to be sitting with the person who runs the Independence Inn, the premier place to stay in the whole tri-county region. We've got the reviews framed on the wall to prove it, too. It's just on the other side of town. And I think there's a very good chance I could free up one of our nicest rooms for you."

"Isn't that just a stroke of luck?" Rick said with wonder in his voice. His tone dropped down a little deeper as he turned just to Lorelai. "Almost as if the stars led us here to you."

Luke snorted as he filled two mugs with root beer. Over his shoulder he heard Jess make a gagging sound.

A commotion at the door made everyone turn to see what it was. Babette's behind was holding open the door as she struggled to pull a wagon adorned with a little canopy up the steps. Morey stood on the sidewalk, trying to maneuver the small, red, book-filled wagon while his impatient wife did her best to pull it out of his hands.

"That's my neighbor, Babette," Lorelai told Rick, leaning towards him, even as her eyes were glued to the short blonde's antics. "That was their cat's wagon. Cinnamon. They pulled him around town in it when he was sick. He ate bad clams. But then he died. We had a wake," she added, thoughtfully.

Rick looked like he'd just been handed a gift. "God, I love this town!" he gloated, his face lighting up.

Behind the counter, Luke savagely stuck straws into the two frothy mugs. "God, I hate this town," he said, not quite under his breath, as a scowl threatened to permanently etch itself into his face.