Begotten

"Since our time together in that interrogation room, I've felt like you reminded me of someone. It's my daughter; you remind me of her." Caskett FFYG AU.

A/N - This will be 3 parts. More details at the bottom.

Detective Kate Beckett shut her eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath. She was okay; she was fine. She could most definitely get through this latest case. It was no different than all the others that had come before it.

Except that it was actually different—different because of the fact that Richard Castle, writer extraordinaire, sat barely three feet from her at that very moment.

…And he was driving her absolutely insane. Worse: she was letting him.

The first time they met (which she was one hundred percent certain he did not remember and of course she would never remind him about) he had been charming and gracious. Despite the fact that she was three hundred and twelfth in line during that book signing (which she knew thanks to numbered tickets—not that she'd kept hers to use as a bookmark, or anything…), Castle seemed as friendly and kind to her as he'd been to all the others before her. She walked away from that even having a very positive opinion of one of her favorite authors. The prior forty-eight hours, however, had been eye opening.

The prior evening when she sought the writer out at his book launch party he had definitely been charming, but overly so, and with a flirtatious edge she was in no mood for. And, okay, since it was during his party, he certainly must have had several alcoholic beverages, which presumably amplified his coquettish behavior, but it had annoyed her when she was trying to do her job, and thus they had started out on the wrong foot.

Now, he was in her precinct going through her evidence and sticking his nose into her case; the whole thing was entirely ridiculous! Yes, she supposed on some level it was nice of him to offer to assist the NYPD in going through his fan mail for potential suspects, but the fact that her captain let him was positively absurd. Castle did not have formal police training. He did not know what he was looking for, and he was prolonging the process by interrupting her with his inappropriate stares and glances.

Feeling once again the hairs on the back of her neck price, Kate looked up to see the writer gazing at her as though one might observe an exhibit of lions behind safety-glass at the zoo. "What?" she snipped at him.

"I'm just observing, detective; it's what I do."

His cool, even tone made her stomach clench in stanch protest. Was she being too critical? Probably. But she liked to solve her cases her way—and she got results, so what was wrong with that? "You're supposed to be observing these letters," she said, gesturing towards the piles of mail that lay in between them on the conference room table.

"I am," he said while casually picking up another document.

Kate huffed and then tuned back to the letter in her hand. Richard Castle—honestly! And to think she had even been a little bit excited when she realized that their crime scene was ripped directly from the pages of one of her favorite books, Flowers for Your Grave. That was back when she thought she'd be able to solve the case on her own terms—and what a silly thought that had been.

Skimming through the letter she held, Kate believed for a moment she held a real clue to the killer, as with each line the macabre factor grew and grew. She wrinkled her brow, lowered her nose a bit closer to the page, and continued to read until she flipped the page over to read the second part of the message…and discovered the first part—the creepy part—had actually been a story sent to the writer along with a request for a critique and advice. Huffing with disappointment, Kate tossed the letter into her "completed" pile and picked up another.

"Ohh—Oh, wow…that's funny."

Kate glanced up at the writer's comment. "Find an interesting letter?"

He hummed and folded his hands together, resting them at the edge of the table. "No, actually, I figured something else out. See, ever since our time together in that interrogation room, I've felt like you reminded me of someone, but I could not put my finger on it until just now."

"Oh," Kate said in a flat tone that did not indicate she was curious to hear the comparison the writer had come up with, yet he continued anyway.

"It's my daughter; you remind me of her."

Kate thought back to the red-headed teen she'd spoken to briefly the night of Castle's launch party and shrugged. "Oh. Okay." She turned back to the new letter in her hand but had barely red the salutation when Castle continued.

"It's been driving me crazy! Every time I look at you, there's just this…familiarity, but I could not put my finger on it until I watched you wrinkle your brow just then. Charlotte does that exact same thing when she's trying to figure something out. And…" He tilted his head to the side, studied her a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess you might have some similar features. Definitely the same hair color."

"Wha…" Kate stammered, caught off guard by his last observation. "I thought she had red hair?"

"What? Oh—no, no." He smiled as he shook his head gently. "That's my older daughter, Alexis. I'm talking about Charlotte. She wasn't at the party because she's only two—well, nearly three."

Kate blinked at him, realizing that despite considering herself a "fan" of Richard Castle she had not known that tidbit about his personal life. "I see; I didn't realize you had two kids."

Castle hummed in affirmation then asked, "You have any kids, Beckett?"

"No."

"You want them?"

Kate clicked her tongue, now annoyed. "This isn't story time, Mr. Castle. If you're not going to focus on these letters, then maybe you should-"

"No! No I'm focusing; I'm focusing." Castle reacted like a student who was goofing off only to be chastised by the teacher. He picked up another letter, tucked his chin towards his chest, and began to study it intently.

Kate waited for a full minute, thinking he would break his resolve and interrupt her, but he did not. After saying a soft, "Thank you," to him, she returned to her pile of letters and continued to read through them, hoping for a clue that would solve the case.

Kate Beckett stepped off the elevator on the penthouse floor of a Broome Street residential building with great hesitation. She took a few steps forward and glanced around as though stepping on the wrong floor tile might send her plummeting into a pit of snakes. Really, it wasn't the building that unnerved her, but the fact that she was there to pick up Richard Castle and take him with her to their latest crime scene.

During the prior month they had certainly come a long way in their partnership. Naturally, at the beginning, she was determined to have a bad attitude, particularly with it being forced upon her by her captain. Slowly but surely (and much to her chagrin), Castle actually began to win her over with his impressive skills—and no small amount of perseverance on his part. As much as he could frustrate her—and drive her to the edge of her patience with his overzealous attitude—she had slowly come to appreciate him for the insight he provided on her cases. At least, until he tried to turn on the siren in her car again then she was back to being annoyed with him.

On that particular day, Kate was sitting at her desk at the Twelfth precinct when a call came in announcing that the body of a young woman had been discovered when workers arrived at a construction site that morning. This would not have been that unusual or notable, except for the second part of the call: the body was frozen solid, when that night's temperature had not dipped below fifty degrees. Kate's very next thought was that Castle would love to get a look at that crime scene—and that thought immediately had her groaning. Was she really going to invite Castle to come with her when he had not already nosed his way in by showing up at the precinct with (admittedly delicious) coffee? No, that was absurd, she was not going to do that—or so she told herself until she returned to her desk and thought of him once more. Then, she picked up her phone and called him.

The sheer glee and excitement she heard in his tone brought Kate's self-loathing to a new level. Somehow she knew he would become out of control with jokes or outlandish suggestions during the duration of the case…but she also knew that at least one of those suggestions would put a smile on her face and she supposed that was not the worst possible outcome.

After finding a door labeled "Penthouse A," Kate took a deep breath, lifted up her right hand, and tapped her knuckles firmly against the door. She then clasped her hands in front of her and waited patiently for almost a full minute before the door swung open to reveal a most unexpected sight. Castle wearing jeans and a red plaid button-down shirt that was oddly accessorized with a pink feather boa, a yellow woman's hat, and pearl clip-on earrings.

"Beckett!" He greeted her with a cheerful smile. "Great timing!"

"H-Hi, I, um, ah…what…what's happening?" she stammered as she observed and failed to rationalize his appearance.

"Oh." He chuckled and ushered her inside as though his outward appearance was completely ordinary. "I was just doing some in-character story readings for Charlotte; c'mon in!"

"Okay…" She said hesitantly as she stepped inside the spacious apartment. She had barely taken a few steps when the red-headed teen girl she'd previously met stepped up to collect the pieces of her father's costume.

"You remember my daughter, Alexis," Castle said as he handed over the hat and boa.

"Hello, Detective."

Kate's brow wrinkled as she looked at the girl and said, "Hi. Is…isn't it a school day?"

"In service day," Alexis explained simply. Then turning to her father she said, "Dad—the earrings."

"Right! Thank you!" Castle quickly removed them, handed them to her, and then ushered Beckett to following him into the living area.

Kate only needed to take a few steps before she noticed the little girl for whom he was dressed so crazily. She stood just beside the sofa, her hands clasped in front of her as she observed Kate with intense, dark eyes. Kate could feel the skin at the back of her neck prickle as she looked down at the little girl and then quickly back to Castle so he could do the introductions.

"This is Charlotte." Castle crouched down beside the little girl, put his hand on her back, and spoke to her softly. "Char this is my friend Miss Kate. Do you want to say hello to her?"

The girl continued to stare and said nothing, so Kate offered a little wave and said, "H-hi. Hi Charlotte."

Again, the girl stared for around thirty seconds before a nearly invisible, "Hi," escaped her lips.

Feeling like she needed to say something else, Kate gestured towards the girl's outfit and said, "I like your dress; it's very…colorful." In truth, the short-sleeved dress reminded her a bit like a Jackson Pollock painting, for it contained splotches of every color in the rainbow. It was paired with hot pink leggings and small rainbow socks, giving the girl quite an eclectic appearance.

Castle chuckled as he stood back up and smoothed his hand over the girl's head. "Yes, Grandma loves to find the most ridiculous dresses for sale in Manhattan, doesn't she, bug?" He smiled at the girl and then back over to Kate. "Of course, she usually finds something pretty unique for herself to wear, too. That way everybody's matching."

"Thankfully I'm finally old enough to say no," Alexis added as she breezed through the living area with a small pile of books in her arms.

Kate glanced over to her, a light laugh escaping her lips. "I'm sure. I…oh!" She gasped when she felt a tiny hand curl around her pinky and ring fingers. Looking down, Kate saw Charlotte trying to pull her towards the opposite side of the apartment where large picture windows gave an unobstructed view of the street below. "Um…okay…" Kate said a bit dumbly as she followed the girl's lead, weaving through the sofa, a coffee table, and several piles of toys.

When she glanced back briefly to Castle, he chimed in with, "Char, honey, what are you doing with Miss Kate?"

Charlotte didn't answer. Instead, she continued to lead Kate over towards the windows, where a group of stuffed animals and dolls were lined up on a window seat. Charlotte stopped in the middle of the pack, dropped Kate's hand, and then began to point out her toys by name.

"This Abby…This Baily…This Batman."

Kate could not help but chuckle at the sight of the plush Batman toy nestled in against all the bears and dolls. It was very much a "which one of these is not like the other" situation. Crouching down so that she was on the girl's level, Kate said, "Yes, I see that. Does Batman like to hang out with these two ladies?" she asked, gesturing towards the dolls, one of which had blonde braided pigtails with the other being a baby wearing a pink onesie.

Charlotte shrugged and swung her hips back and forth as she studied Kate's face.

"Actually," Castle began as he stepped up behind them, "Batman is one of Daddy's toys."

Kate turned enough so she could tilt her head back and look up at him. Quirking her lips, she said, "Why am I not surprised?"

He smiled back. "Char kind of claimed him, but that's okay."

"I see…oh—okay." Kate said when Charlotte grabbed ahold of her hand once more—that time hooking her fist around her thumb—and began pulling her towards a wall of bookshelves nearby. "Where are we going now Charlotte?"

"Sweetie, Miss Kate and I actually have to go."

"No!" The girl said forcefully in the loudest tone Kate heard from her yet.

"Yes, we do."

"No. Read." Charlotte commanded as she grabbed a book off the bottom shelf and held it up to Kate.

Kate took it asking, "Oh is this one of your…" Her voice drifted off when she got a good look at the book cover. She then looked between the book and Charlotte and Charlotte and Castle before her brow wrinkled and she aside, "Is this an atlas?"

Castle gave a helpless shrug. "Yes, it is. Believe it or not, that is Char's favorite book at the moment."

"You're…kidding?" She half-laughed from the shock but gazing down at the little girl once more told her that she was quite serious about the map-filled book in Kate's hand.

"Not at all. She found it in my office and really likes looking at pictures of the states. She can name a bunch of them too, can't you, bug?"

Charlotte reached up and gave the book a little shove saying, "Read."

"Charlotte, if you would like Miss Kate to read you the book, what should you say?" Castle asked in a fatherly tone.

"Read pwees?"

Kate felt her heart clench at the girl's adorable request; how could she possibly say no? Even if their body was actively thawing as they spoke. "Oh, um…okay. Just for a few minutes."

Walking over to the couch, book of maps in hand, Kate took in a deep breath and tried to remind herself that everything was going to be fine. She could definitely figure out a way to "read" a book of maps to a toddler for a few minutes… right?

Truth be told, Kate never found herself all that comfortable interacting with small children. She wasn't uncomfortable with it—not entirely, anyway. She simply did not have enough experience to increase her comfort level. She was fine with school-aged children, as she had babysat several during her high school years, but the younger the child was, the less comfortable she felt. As a cop, she did have to force herself to become more comfortable with the uncomfortable, so she would not have said she was unhappy about the prospect of reading to Charlotte; however, she was very glad the girl's father wasn't going to be more than a few feet away from them.

Kate sat down on one end of the couch and Charlotte clambered up beside her, sitting so that her left leg was butted up against Kate's thigh. Once they were situated, Kate opened the atlas to a random page, thinking it wouldn't matter at all where they started since it was not like the book had any plot—or very many words. The page she opened to happened to contain a zoomed-in map of the United States focusing on the New England area. Kate had not yet even opened her mouth before the precocious two-year-old was jabbing her index finger at the page and listing states.

"Maine! New 'ampsur!"

As she had both correct, Kate glanced up at Castle briefly. "Told you," he replied, clearly proud.

Turning back to the little girl, Kate smiled. "That's very good Charlotte."

"We've started in the Northeast and are working our way west," Castle explained, taking a seat on the edge of the coffee table a few feet away.

Kate nodded then flipped through the book until she found a zoomed in section of the Midwest so she could review those states with the girl. "Okay, um… well there's Ohio. Do you know what color Ohio is?" She asked, placing her finger on the correct state and hoping that the girl was old enough to know her colors. A moment later, Kate had her answer.

"Blue. Dis one." Charlotte pointed to the state below Ohio.

"That's Kentucky. What color is it?"

"Green."

"She knows colors well."

Kate glanced up at Castle with a soft smile. "I can see that."

For the next several minutes, Kate and the young girl made their way through all the states below Ohio and Kentucky, but when they reached the Gulf Coast, Castle sadly announced, "Okay, Charlotte; it's time for us to go."

The girl whined immediately. "Noooo!"

Castle took the book from Kate, placed it on the coffee table, and then scooped Charlotte up under the armpits so he could hold her at his hip. "Yes. Miss Kate and I are going to go, but I'll be back later."

Sticking out her bottom lip in a dramatic pout, Charlotte said, "No go."

"Yes go. You be a good girl for Lexie and Gram." He kissed her cheek and then put her on the ground saying, "Please thank Miss Kate for reading to you."

By that point, Kate had stood from the couch, so Charlotte walked over to her, gave her thigh a quick hug and then said, "Bye," before running off towards the kitchen, where Alexis was sitting at the table.

"Um…Bye Charlotte," Kate said, not sure if the girl even cared much at that point.

Castle then grabbed his coat and lead the way out into the hall. As he pressed the button to call the elevator he turned to her and said, "I'm very impressed."

Bristling slightly at his comment, she responded with, "Why? You thought I'd be terrible at interacting with children?"

"No, no—not at all," he said quickly. "I'm impressed with Charlotte. She almost never talks anyone, let alone new people."

Kate's brow rose when they stepped into the elevator, for she had felt the girl acted quite age-appropriate (even though she was far from an expert). "Really?"

Castle hummed and leaned back against the elevator wall. "Mmhm, she actually sees a speech therapist once a week to help get her to vocalize. It's… gosh, you know it's so funny how life is sometimes." He dusted his fingers over his forehead, curious smile across his face. "When I found out that Char was going to be a girl I thought: great, perfect—I know how to do this, but it's incredible how different they are. Right from the start Alexis was bubbly and friendly. She talked to anyone who would listen to her and had some periods or moments of shyness, but not a whole lot. Char is… well, she's introverted for sure and—well, you've met my mother; introversion is a bit unfamiliar to us."

Kate let out a breathy chuckle at the memory of the interact Kate had with the elder woman when she picked up her son after she had him arrested for meddling in her case. "Right."

Just then, the elevator car reached the ground floor, so the two of them stepped out and Kate led the way out on to the sidewalk and towards her waiting cruiser. As they walked, Castle continued to speak about his daughter. "It's not that I don't love her, because, god I do. She's cuddly and kind. Loves animals. And has a smile that will light up any room—when she smiles, but she's…she's a tough nut to crack, that's for sure. She's smart, determined, and more than a little bit stubborn, but it's been hard to get her to open up, to talk, to be carefree. I think that's where I struggle most, because that's hard for me to relate to sometimes, but I… sorry." He shook his head and gave her a bit of an embarrassed look as they buckled up their seatbelts. "I'm sorry—this is probably going way deeper than you're interested in."

As she had not once thought that, she shook her head and said, "No. Please; I don't mind." Actually, she was rather enjoying seeing this different, more serious and down-to-earth side of him. "I don't have kids, so I can't offer any real advice other than to say that you're clearly a good father and you're doing everything you can for her."

"I am; I really am."

She hummed as she checked her mirrors so she could pull their car out into traffic. "Although, if you want advice, maybe I should get you in touch with my father, because that sounds a little bit like me as a kid."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. My parents used to say I was born skeptical."

He laughed. "I can see it."

They drove in silence for half a block before she added, "I did the state thing, too."

"What?"

Kate glanced over at him briefly before sharing the tidbit from her youth as she navigated their way towards the crime scene. "I was older than Charlotte…maybe about four? Or five? Right around kindergarten. I, ah, memorized all the states and their capitals."

"Really?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I don't remember it—I just know my parents liked to tell the story because they thought it was funny."

"Well. Then I guess I won't worry about Charlotte since you turned out pretty good."

Kate didn't even have to look at him to know that he wore a shit-eating grin at his last comment. Grumbling slightly at his teasing she said, "Thanks."

"No, thank you for taking time with her," Castle said, his tone one of the most genuine she'd ever heard from him. "Like I said, she doesn't talk to new people a lot, so I'm glad she took a shine to you. Maybe…maybe you can come back another time—only if you want to, that is," he added hastily.

"I…oh, okay." Caught off-guard by the invitation, Kate stammered slightly at first, but then thought there would be no harm in greeting his partner's child, and maybe reading another page or two from the book of maps. "Next time I pick you up I'd be happy to say hello."

He smiled over at her and bobbed his head. "Thanks Beckett; I appreciate it."

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! And a special thanks to Lou for her help with the fic title.

This fic was inspired by something specific, but I won't say until the end so as not to spoil it. Those who follow me on twitter might figure it out though ;)