A/N: As always, sorry for the delay. I've been working all of the work and learning all of the learnin'. This is the final chapter of this weird thing. Hope it hasn't been too hard to follow, and hope you like it!

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Castle frowned. "You know, I'm beginning to think you guys don't like me as much as you say you do."

Beckett laughed nervously and patted his arm. "It's not you, babe. It's just the shock."

Martha held her empty wine glass out to Kate, "Refill, Darling, if you don't mind," and looked back at Rick and Castle. She waggled her outstretched forefinger between them, finally stopping pointed at Castle, like a needle drawn to north. "You are my son," she declared. Then she glared at Rick. "Who are you?"

"I'm Rick Castle."

Martha and Alexis both inhaled deeply, preparing for long-winded denials, but Beckett cut them short.

"No!" Beckett handed Martha another glass full and held up a hand. "Let's not do this again, shall we? He," she turned back to the redheads and sighed dramatically, "is from another universe." She spoke with surprising certainty in the face of such ridiculousness.

Alexis finally picked her jaw up off of the ground and moved up next to her grandmother. "You said that already," she muttered absently. Her eyes were still darting back and forth between the two men. "It's like," she spoke louder and flapped a hand at them, "it's like one of them is from now, and one is from ten years ago."

Rick grinned and nodded, flattered. "I have aged well."

"Not what I meant," Alexis responded, and moved toward the living room. Rick's grin faded, but they all followed her. When Alexis sat, they all sat. Castle and Beckett and Martha on one couch, Alexis and Rick each in a chair. In the brief silence, they could all hear the resounding tick, tock of the clock on the mantle.

Discomforted by the sudden silence, Rick rubbed his hands together and leaned forward. "But I have aged well." Beckett and Castle gave him twin looks of exhaustion, and he let it go. It was redundant anyway. His presence was evidence enough. He sat back and glanced around. "So, obviously I'm here for a little while. Where should I sleep?"

"Actually, let's focus on getting you home," Castle grouched, still cranky at the general reaction of his family to the multiple hims.

"Fine," Rick said, leaning back and taking a sip of the whiskey he'd forgotten about. "You were over there. How'd you get back?"

Castle rubbed a hand over his jaw and glanced sidelong at Beckett. "Well, I was shot."

"What?" Beckett turned toward him with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that? Are you okay? Did it hurt? You seemed okay..."

"I'm fine. I didn't want to worry you." He held her gaze for a moment and squeezed her fingers between his. "And remember, we sort of thought I'd just had a crazy dream."

"Anyway, lovebirds," Rick laughed, "no one here is going to shoot me, so I think-"

"Give it time." "Don't be so sure." "She does have a gun."

The answers tripped over each other, jumbling, but he got the gist. Rick rubbed his neck and chuckled nervously.

"Don't laugh, Alt-Castle," Beckett said, pointedly. "Remember next time you leer at me that I am carrying a weapon."

Castle leaned over, eyes still on Rick, and muttered, "Props for the sci-fi nickname."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"How can I not leer at you, Detective? You're just so damn sexy, so full of Nikki Heat..."

Alexis recoiled in visible disgust, but Martha laughed at that and tipped her glass toward Rick. "That she is, sir."

"Gram! Don't encourage him."

"I'll try not to." Her wide smile suggested otherwise.

Castle lifted a lip in a little condescending sneer. "I don't know how you could say that he was me from ten years ago. I was never like that."

Alexis snorted, and Beckett gave him a look. She gave him the look. "You must be kidding."

"No," he declared, over-playing his hurt feelings with a hand at his heart.

"Castle."

"I was never like that!" Somehow, they were both standing now. The bickering that was paused when Alexis and Martha came in reappeared at full force.

"You were like that for the whole first year I knew you! Longer, really, if you count-"

"You're delirious, Kate, if you think I ever was so disrespectful to you as he has been-"

"You hit on me every day! You made my life miserable!"

"Don't even tell me you weren't flattered, you were into me, too!"

Beckett laughed derisively, and threw her hands in the air. "You took every opportunity to 'accidentally' touch my ass-"

"Ewwwww." Alexis moaned and put her head in her hands, and Martha rubbed a comforting palm over her shoulders.

"That was always an accident!"

"Seriously, Rick?"

The harsh syllables of his first name spitting through her teeth reverberated sharply, and then silence fell.

"Huh," Rick muttered, interrupting the awkward silence, and the family turned to stare at him. He shrugged and gestured at the fighting couple. "You do call him Rick when you're mad."

Castle moved to sit down again, but Beckett wasn't done. "But I guess," she growled, "you stopped being so overcome by your desire for me that you needed to touch me all the time when I started dressing like an old spinster!"

"Are you...? Seriousl...? I can't...! You! What? So! I!" Castle turned back to her with comically wide eyes, sputtering. "I NEVER SAID THAT!" He stabbed a finger at Rick. "He said that!"

"It's fine, Rick," Beckett snapped off his name again. She spun on her heel and marched into the bedroom. "I can fix it," she called over her shoulder.

"There's nothing to fix!" Castle stared after her, mouth open, but when it was clear she wasn't coming back right away he held his clenched hands in front of him and mimed strangling her.

"Richard," Martha reprimanded in a low voice, hiding her laugh behind her drink. Castle growled at her, a cutting phrase without words, and followed his fiancée.

Martha, Alexis, and Rick watched them go.

"So," Rick glanced at Alexis. "Has your hair always been red or did you change it back recently?"

Alexis stared at him. "Change it back?"

"My Alexis, her hair is black."

"Black!" Alexis looked horrified.

Martha took another sip from her wine glass, a little tipsy where she sat, and cackled. "Oh, no, black hair would look terrible on you!" She hiccupped.

"Yeah," Rick agreed, and then shriveled when they glared at him. "I mean, she's a pretty girl. But the red is nicer. Natural."

Martha and Alexis softened together at his tone, and let him off the hook.

"Why'd she change it in the first place?" Alexis wondered, carefully removing the precariously held glass from her grandmother's grasp.

"Rebellion?" It wasn't an answer so much as a question, but it was the best Rick could come up with.

"Oh," Alexis nodded and sat back. She crossed one leg over the other, crossed her arms over her chest, and judged him. "Because you never grew up. I get it."

Rick swallowed and averted his gaze. "I might prefer surly and Goth to all knowing and blunt." Dealing with this Alexis, the one who looked like she could read right through him, was decidedly uncomfortable. Choosing to change the subject, Rick glanced toward the master bedroom. "Are they always like this?"

Martha cackled again, bringing a hand down to her knee with a loud slap. Alexis and Rick both jumped, and Rick gave her an amused grin. This, he recognized. "Honey," Martha grinned at him and swayed, "you seem to have brought out the best in this couple."

Just then, a door slammed, and Castle wandered back to the great room. He looked equal parts annoyed and chastised.

"So," Rick said cheerily. "Not getting any tonight, am I right?"

Alexis groaned and deflated into Martha's side, knocking her almost all the way over. Castle looked like he wanted to be angry, but instead he just shrugged. "Nope."

"Oh, Dad."

Castle shrugged again. At that moment, Beckett reemerged from the bedroom in skinny jeans and a blood red sweater with a deep, deep v-neck. Castle's eyebrows raised and Rick sat forward, craning his head around to get the best view.

"This should be good," Martha laughed.

"Like it?" Beckett directed her question to Martha, who saluted jauntily, but both Rick and Castle nodded silently. "See, this way, I can be comfortable," she continued in a purposefully low voice and ran her hands over what Rick assumed to be the really soft fabric, "but both of you can still get an eyeful."

Her hands stopped a the same time the silk in her voice evaporated, and Rick jerked his eyes away from her chest in time to see her huff at him. Well, huff at them. Castle was staring, too.

"Uh, that's our cue to leave," Alexis announced, standing abruptly and dragging Martha up with her. "No strip tease for us."

Beckett had the good grace to blush, but Martha shook her head. "No shame, Sweety," she announced and clapped Beckett on the back with vigor.

"Come on, Gram," Alexis tugged her toward the doorway. "Maybe if we leave and come back, it will be like this never happened."

She helped her tipping grandmother away from the awkward threesome. "You won't let her drive?" Castle called as they were leaving.

Alexis rolled her eyes, but there was a look of endearment on her face as well. "We'll walk, Dad."

So, Rick thought, even in justifiable discomfort, this father-daughter team worked together. Interesting. Maybe when he got home he could try and talk to his own daughter. Maybe. He watched them leave, and a strange sense of heaviness settled over him. The redheads had provided a much needed distraction from the problem at hand, but with them gone there was nothing else to occupy his mind.

In the sudden quiet, Beckett adjusted her top. She looked uncomfortable now that the irrational annoyance had left her, and Rick watched as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively. And then his eyes wandered, just a little, and he was about to make some comment to lighten the mood, something lewd, when he noticed the little divot right in the center of her sternum. Like a three-dimensional thumbprint, it caught his eye, and when Beckett noticed she brought one hand up to her chest and turned away, shoulder's hunched.

What had Castle said? "When you were shot..."

Oh.

So it was serious, then. Rick suddenly sat straight up and smacked his forehead with a more force than was quite necessary and then dragged the hand, still stinging, through his hair. All those button-up shirts. Well, crap. He hated when he was a jerk and didn't even realize it. He glanced at Castle, and found him watching the silent interaction with a hooded, knowing look. One corner of the man's lip raised in a tiny smile of solidarity and understanding, then he hooked an arm around Beckett's waist and kissed her cheek.

"You look great." It was sweet, softly spoken, and intimate. Rick looked away, giving them the illusion of privacy. He heard Beckett make a noise that could only be described as snuffling, and then Castle was murmuring to her, so soft Rick couldn't make out the words.

"Yeah," Beckett responded. "I'm tired. Bedtime. Sleep." When Rick looked up she was regarding him with a mix of curiosity and concern. "We'll have to figure out some way to send you home that doesn't include shooting you. It's no fun."

She headed to the bedroom, and Rick watched as Castle followed. There was a quiet flutter of motion, sheets and pillows were produced, and Rick helped Castle make up the couch. It wasn't late, but all three were ready to sleep and try again the next day. Rick plopped down onto the couch and said his goodnights. Then he watched with amusement as Beckett stopped Castle at the threshold to the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" She asked, brow raised.

"Um." Castle tilted his head on his shoulders. "Going to bed?"

"Not in here you aren't."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously Castle. You aren't getting any tonight."

"But the couch?"

"For the, 'Those aren't in fashion here, either' comment. Yeah, the couch."

"C'mon..." Castle was clearly just winding up, wheedling, but Rick watched Beckett clamp her hand over his mouth.

"No. Couch. Go."

"But," Castle glanced over at Rick. "He's there."

"Make it work." With that, Beckett shut the bedroom door in his face, and Castle turned around to face the living room.

He scowled. "No pajamas or anything. This is your fault."

Rick laughed. "Hardly. She looks like a lot of work."

On the other side of the bedroom door, Beckett pressed her ear to the solid wood. She was exhausted, but curiosity of what exactly these two would talk about once alone was overwhelming, and she listened in with only the slightest tint of shame. Castle's response was muffled through the barrier, but clear.

"Sometimes. Worth it, though."

"Worth all this drama? The shooting, which I can just tell is a lot more than a random cop shooting, it's written all over your face. Worth all of that heartache?"

"Of course," Castle responded. "She's amazing."

Beckett grinned, the curve of her cheek smudging the door, and pushed away. She already loved the man. That was enough reminder of his heart for one night.

Rick shook his head at Castle. "There are plenty of amazing women who aren't so much work."

"Wrong." Castle looked around and sighed. "I guess I'll sleep on the loveseat. Anyway, the amazing ones should be more work." He glanced at Rick while he tried to get comfortable, smashing pillows and contorting to fit onto the smaller couch. "You should know, your captain isn't an easy woman."

"Captain Kate is awesome," Rick responded, kicking back onto his makeshift bed and lacing his fingers behind his head. "She does have that same heaviness, though. Said she didn't even know if she was in the right career."

Castle looked over with interest. "Really?"

"Something about not being able to solve the crime that led her to being a cop in the first place. Said she wanted to be a lawyer."

Castle sat up abruptly, untangling himself from his bed of muscle cramps. "She never solved it?" He didn't wait for an answer, just stood and left the room. Rick was left to wonder at the strange reaction, but not for long. When Castle reemerged from his office, he was holding a thick manila envelope and wearing a look of indecision.

"What's that?" Rick asked, more curious about Castle's attitude than the information in his hand.

"This... this is probably a major personal violation. When I met your Captain, she never said she hadn't solved this case."

"You know who did it? Whodunit?" Rick sat up again, eyeing the envelope. "I could solve her life-long mystery? Man, I could be her white knight in shining pinstripes. Is that how you two got together?"

"Actually," Castle sighed, and that heaviness he'd seen in each Kate Beckett was on his face now, "it's how we spent a summer apart and almost never became friends. She told me not to dig into it, but I couldn't resist. It..." he swallowed thickly and ran his hands over the edges of the paperwork, "it led to her shooting, to her captain's death, to a whole world of terrible things."

Rick eyed him warily. "Then shouldn't I just let sleeping dogs lie?"

"Well," Castle hedged, "this would be different. All of that misery was in the finding, and the searching. But here, I could tell you right now who killed her mom."

"Her mom?" The words rang like devastation in his head, but they made so many things clear as well. "I have to know. If I can tell her, I have to know." Rick took the file from Castle's willing hands and flipped through, quickly, scanning. "Oh... Senator Bracken? Woah. That guy is running for president."

Castle watched as Rick continued to peruse the information, nodding. There was a serious look on Rick's face that hadn't presented before. This guy, he was a jerk but he was still Richard Castle, and he was taking this seriously. Castle nodded to himself. This was the right move.

"Rick, read that stuff. Learn it. Memorize it. Write it on your hands in marker, whatever. Thank about what she," he gestured toward his bedroom, "and your Beckett have been through. Realize that when you open this can of worms, it will still be dangerous, and that the playboy thing isn't going to be enough to get you through it. You have to be better, for her, for her mom, for everyone who's been hurt in this nightmare. She's going to need help and support. Now," he folded himself back into the loveseat, "let me fall asleep first, because I know you snore." Castle closed his eyes.

Rick barely glanced up from the file. "Of course you do," he muttered. "I'll just read a little longer."

Silence fell, interrupted only by the scrape of pages being flipped and turned and earmarked, and Castle could feel sleep edging in. "And in the morning," he continued sleepily, "you can make us all smorelettes, okay? 'Cause it's going to take me most of the day to stand up again after sleepin' here. M'kay?" Silence. "Okay?" He asked again. No answer. He rolled over and peeled his sleepy eyes open so he could make his point more forcefully.

"Listen, you have to make breakf-" Castle sat up, wide eyed.

Rick was gone, and so was the file.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! It always bothered me that Castle never told Alt-Beckett about Bracken, so this is my own personal fix-it. Let me know what you think!