Chapter One

Fifteen year old Eddie Beckett is sitting at the computer, contemplating how he wants the scene in his story to play out, when his sister and guardian, Kate, arrives home.

"Hey sis, how was work?" he asks curiously.

Kate stares at him suspiciously. That was his standard greeting, but she caught the eagerness he was trying to mask. She sighs. "How'd you know?"

"You pulled Richard Castle out of his own book launch party. Did you really think no one was gonna take a picture?" he asks, grinning at her.

"Of course someone did. He'll probably be thrilled," Kate replies, voice full of exasperation.

Eddie's grin widens. "Feeling the love there. You should never meet your heroes, huh?"

Kate glares at him, but Eddie just laughs. What makes Ryan and Espo scurry away, her brother just takes as a sign of victory. "You're a fan too," she shoots back petulantly.

"I enjoy his books, but I pull them off your shelves. So what did he do, anyway?" he asks, his curiosity strong enough to momentarily stop teasing his sister.

"He didn't do anything. Someone's copying murders from his books. And that's all you're getting. You know I don't like talking about this stuff with you," Kate says, taking on a serious tone for a moment.

Eddie shrugs, not really caring. "No worries. I'm more interested in the man. What got you so frustrated with him?" he asks, observing Kate intently. She looks away. He realizes she doesn't want to tell him. And then he knows. "He hit on you. He hit on you while you were questioning him about multiple murders." And then he cracks up. "Oh my god," he says while trying to contain his laughter, "That's hilarious."

Kate is baffled. Eddie's ability to read her is almost super-human sometimes. And him cackling like a madman is not what she expects from him when finding out she was hit on, even if its obviously because of the timing of it rather than that it happened. She decides to ask about it. "How'd you know, Ed? And that doesn't bother you?"

Eddie takes a moment to sober, and then responds. "A combination of you looking away, which you always do when you don't want to answer me, and knowing Richard Castle's reputation is what clued me in. As for the second part, Kate, despite my best efforts, I am aware that you're attractive. It's hard not to be, what with the ridiculous number of heads you turn when we walk down the street. It's pretty funny when they notice that I'm paying attention, by the way. I'm like a walking, talking cold shower. Anyway, what I'm saying is I've come to terms with the fact that guys are gonna flirt with you, and you may flirt back."

Kate is glad Eddie has such a mature take on it. It looks like she won't have to worry the next time she decides to date someone. She kept him in the dark about the last guy. "A fifteen year old shouldn't know about cold showers."

"That's your fault. Some of the things you let me read are entirely inappropriate. I don't know what you're thinking," is Eddie's cheeky response.

"I'm probably remembering your passionate speech about how you want to be a writer, and if you want to do it properly, you have to read everything," she says with a smile. She doesn't mention that his intelligence and maturity sometimes makes her forget she's talking to a teenager and leaves her more inclined to grant requests like that. Let him think its just her being cool.

"Oh yeah, that. Well, thanks!" he says, with a cheesy grin and a double thumbs up.

"How's the novel going, anyway?" Kate asks with genuine curiosity.

"Really well, actually. I think its turned into a series."

"Can I look?" she requests, already knowing the answer.

"You can read it when its done, like every other time," Eddie replies, rolling his eyes.

"Aw, but I'm not used to waiting this long."

Eddie had only ever written short stories before, and he always let her read them when he was done. Just her. Nobody else had read his stories, not even their dad, and while it definitely made Kate feel special (and a little bad for her dad), it was a problem if he wanted to be a writer. And she knew he could be. She anticipated every piece of fiction he handed her, and was certain she'd still love them if she'd never met him. But praise from a close family member isn't very convincing.

It was easy to forget he had anxiety problems when it was just the two of them. He was clever and funny and a wiseass. She knew he'd be popular if that's how he always acted. But it wasn't. If he wasn't comfortable with the people around him he was quiet and withdrawn, although she'd noticed he was better one-on-one. It was like watching a stranger. It made her a little sad that he wasn't flirting with girls (he had the Beckett genes, he could do okay) and hanging out with friends.

Of course, it didn't help that he'd always been a bit advanced for his age, and, if she was being honest, a bit arrogant because of it. He had an impressive vocabulary and used it. He was usually good about explaining words people didn't know, but, occasionally, he just wouldn't understand how they didn't already know it, and would be a dick about it. Everyone had their bad points, but when they're all you see, friendship was difficult.

"Well, novels have more words than short stories, Kate, it's gonna take longer," he says in a tone suggesting he was explaining something to a child while wearing a shit eating grin. She lightly hits him in the back of the head,

"Okay, smartass. Save your work, you should be in bed already. School tomorrow."

"Sure. Night, Kate."

"Night, Eddie."

A couple days later, Saturday, Eddie decides to head over to the station with his notebook and homework a little while after Kate. They don't mind him hanging out there as long as he stays out of the way when they need him to. Kate had told him about working with Castle the day before and was hoping to get more out of Esposito and Ryan. They told him he could call them Javier and Kevin but it felt weird to be the only one using their first name. Kate was different.

He exits the elevator and heads to where he can see Espo and Ryan. They see him coming and grin at him.

"Hey, kid, your sister's out but I think you'll wanna see who she comes back with, take a seat" Espo says in greeting.

"Hey guys, thanks, Richard Castle is still around then?"

"In a manner of speaking," Ryan offered, and Eddie figured he could wait.

Eddie talks with Espo and Ryan for a few minutes until Kate came back with Castle in cuffs. He takes one look and starts snickering. "Oh man, she looks pissed. What did he do?"

"I think you're the only man on the planet who would find that humorous. He took some case files." Ryan declares.

"As long as its not directed at me."

They were chatting again when Eddie sees Castle's family enter. He stiffens. He hadn't told Kate, but he knows Alexis. He goes to a private school due to a scholarship, the same one Alexis Castle attends. He knows who her dad is, so he shouldn't be surprised to see her, but he hadn't thought about it.

He has a crush on her which is why he's never mentioned her to Kate despite her being a fan. He thought about it when Castle came into her investigation, but she's too good at reading him.

"Bro, you're staring. You know her, or you just want to?" Esposito asks with a knowing grin.

"Uh, yeah, she goes to my school," Eddie distractedly answers.

Both Ryan and Esposito are smiling now. Crush, Ryan mouths at Espo, and he nods in agreement. The girl suddenly look in their direction, and notices Eddie. She heads in their direction. "You got this, bro," Espo says to Eddie, then he and Ryan lean back in their chairs to watch.

"Eddie? What- wait, Beckett! You're related to Detective Beckett!" Alexis exclaimed.

"Hi, Alexis. Um, yeah, she's my sister. So you here to pick up your dad?" he asks. Obviously she was, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yeah, me and my grams. Oh no, you saw him brought in in handcuffs, didn't you? That's so embarrassing," she said, exasperation rolling off her.

Eddie, always better one on one, was feeling more comfortable than he expected, so he decided to tease her. "Don't worry. I won't spread it around that your father's a criminal." He smiles at her.

Alexis is surprised. He's always so quiet at school, and always looks so serious. She didn't expect he had a joking side. But she likes it, and so she smiles back. And decides to get her own jab in. "And I won't spread it around that you can joke. It might hurt the dark and brooding thing you got going on."

Eddie grins and is about to reply when he sees Castle and his sister come out behind Alexis, and Captain Montgomery is leaving his office. "Looks like they're letting your dad go. Try to keep him on the straight and narrow." Alexis giggles and he smiles at the sound, but the smile drops when he notices both his sister and Alexis' dad watching them.

"Well I better go. See you Monday?"

"Yeah. See you later."

"Bye."

As he watches Alexis walk away, he sees Kate eyeing him. Yeah, there's gonna be questions. Damn. Suddenly, he's surprised by Ryan clapping him on the shoulder.

"Good job, Ed," Ryan congratulates.

"Yeah, I half expected you to crash and burn, but you did well," Espo continues.

Eddie turns around to talk to them. "What are you two talking about?"

"Come on, kid , you like that girl," Espo asserts.

"No I don't-"

"Ed, you were staring at her," Ryan states.

"Was he now?" Eddie hadn't heard Kate come up from behind. He slowly turned around to find her smirking at him. "Is that why you didn't tell me you know Castle's daughter? Because you didn't want me to find out you had a thing for her?"

"Shut up. I'm leaving now. Go do your job." With that, he stalks off.

"You're not getting out of this," Kate yells at his back.

"Who was that and why was he in a police station?" Castle asks his daughter as soon as the elevator door closes.

Alexis sighs and says, "That was Eddie. He goes to my school. He's Detective Beckett's brother."

"She has a brother? And why haven't I heard about him?"

"Leave the girl alone, Richard."

"Its fine, grams. You haven't heard about him because that's the first conversation I've had with him. He's very quiet at school. He doesn't hang out with anyone there. I was actually surprised how friendly he was. He always looks so serious."

"You gonna talk to him again, kiddo?" Martha asks as the elevator door opens and they step into the lobby.

"I think so. I can't let him be a loner anymore. He was too friendly for it to be by choice," Alexis observed.

Castle was proud that he'd raised such a thoughtful kid. But he had to check something. "That's sweet of you. But, Alexis, do you actually want to be friends with him?"

She thought back to her conversation with Eddie. It was short, but it was enough to make her want to know more about him. So she smiled and said "Yeah, dad, I do."

"Okay then," Castle says as they leave the building, "I'm satisfied. Now you two can help me brainstorm on this case."

Kate was driving back to the station with Castle after questioning Harrison Tisdale. She'd had fun teasing him about about being fooled, but now she had something else on her mind. Specifically, his daughter. She wanted to ask about Alexis, but Castle had proven himself to be observant, and she was worried about giving Eddie away. Still, this was Eddie's first crush, and she was curious about what his type was. She figured (and hoped) it wasn't just redheaded and beautiful. Luckily for her, at that moment, Castle started the conversation himself.

"So, you have a brother. A much younger brother, considering he's my daughter's age."

"Yeah, I was already a teenager when he was born."

"He must be smart."

Castle was digging, but Kate wanted information too, so she decided to go with it. "Why do you say that?"

"I know how much that school costs. I know you come from a well off family, but I don't think they're that well off. That means scholarship."

"Yeah, he's smart. And he insisted on going for the scholarship. He went to a public elementary school, and I told him he'd be fine at a public high school, but he said it would look good on his transcript, so I let him do what he wanted." That was more open than Kate would normally be, but she figured she could help Eddie out by making him look good to his crush's father.

Castle didn't miss the "I let him", but he was already planning to go into sensitive areas, and that seemed too far, so he let it pass. "So, is he uncomfortable being around the rich kids?"

Beckett sighed. "Your daughter told you he doesn't have friends?"

"Yeah. I got the impression he makes himself seem unapproachable. Alexis was surprised he was so friendly when she talked with him."

Beckett was getting uncomfortable talking about this with a near stranger. "Why is this your business?"

"Sorry. I just like to know a bit about my daughter's friends."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "They're not friends. They've only had one short conversation."

"Correction. They're not friends yet. Alexis has decided they will be, and I know her. She'll get her way."

Kate almost smiled but she didn't want Castle to see the hope that was suddenly flowing through her. She wanted Eddie to have friends that weren't also her friends. She knew Laney, Espo, and Ryan genuinely liked him, but there was obligation there, even if they didn't see it that way. He needed friends who were in it just because they liked him, and for no other reason. Which lead her to a question. "Can I ask what brought her to this decision?"

"I think when she approached him she was expecting cold and abrupt, and got warm and charming. Based on that, she figured he wasn't a loner by choice, and decided to change it." Beckett got a concerned look on her face that Castle caught. "I know what you're thinking, but I straight up asked her if she really wanted to be his friend. She said yes and had a smile on her face when she did."

Satisfied that her brother's social life might be turning around, and with the bit of information she got on Alexis, she decided to go back to making fun of him. "We're almost there. Be ready to tell the guys how gullible you are."

Castle realizes she never answered his earlier question, but figured maybe it was something Alexis should learn herself. "Oh, come on."

Kate arrives home that night feeling satisfied about solving a murder, and merciful towards her little brother. She wasn't going to bug him about Alexis. Having a crush is basically a rite of passage, after all, and he at least seems to have good taste. So she'll leave it alone.

She walks into her apartment to find Eddie rapidly typing away at the computer. "Hey, Eddie."

"Uh, hey," he replies, not looking at her.

Kate laughs. "Relax, Ed, I'm not going to interrogate you."

At that, some of the tension leaves Eddie's body, and he stops typing. "What happened to "You're not getting out of this"?"

"It's the first time you've liked a girl. I got over-excited. But it's not my business, so I'll leave it alone."

"Okay. Thanks."

Kate smiles at him. "No problem. You were typing up a storm when I came in. Feeling inspired?"

"Yeah, it's really coming together. I pretty much know exactly where I'm going."

"That's great. So I'll be able to read it soon?"

"Yeah, it won't be long now."

"Good, because I'm getting impatient," Kate says with a grin.

"Are you? I wouldn't have guessed. You only ask about it every time you see me writing."

"Ha ha. Well, I'm hungry. Did you eat?"

"Not yet. I got a little absorbed."

"Of course you did. Alright I'll make us both something."

"Cool. Thanks." And with that he returned to his writing, before he had a chance to think about anything else. Like what Alexis meant by "See you Monday".