After I wrote "When her two favorite people fight..." I liked the little family so much I started a series. This comes after "When her two favorite people fight..." and if you haven't read that one (you really should :)) all you need to know is Castle and Beckett are engaged, Beckett has a 12yr old daughter (Genevieve) from a previous relationship and Castle has started teaching a writing class as his soon to be step daughter's school.

I own nothing!

Enjoy!

Genevieve slowly made her way down the stairs, rubbing her eyes as she went. It was early on a Sunday. She saw Castle sitting in the corner of the couch. He was in a black t-shirt and soft grey pajama pants.

"Rick, where's Mom?" she asked, groggily. Castle turned his head to look at her

"She's out with Lanie, planning our wedding, you're stuck with me today," he smiled. Gen flopped down next to him on the couch.

"Shouldn't you be helping?" she asked.

"Nah, I learned from my first two weddings that I am not very good at the planning part," he joked. Genevieve shoved him in the shoulder. "I tried to help, but your mom said I was in the way," he admitted.

"Figures," she chuckled.

"You want some breakfast? I got your favorite cereal at the store yesterday," he offered. Genevieve nodded. He kissed her temple as he stood up and made her a bowl.

While Genevieve ate, Castle continued going through the papers from his class's latest assignment.

"Rick?" she started, sending cereal crumbs in every direction.

"Swallow first," he requested. She did as she was told before she continued speaking.

"Can we go do something today, or do you have to grade papers all day?" she wondered. Castle set his papers aside. The truth was he only had a couple more to look at but even if he had to grade papers, he would willingly drop everything to spend time with Genevieve.

"We can do something, what do you want to do?" he wondered.

"I don't know, something outside. Can we go to the park?" she asked.

"Sure, the park sounds like a great idea. I only have two papers left so why don't you finish eating and go get ready, then we'll go," he decided.

Castle emerged from his bedroom in time to see Gen bounding down the stairs once more. She was wearing a Richard Castle t-shirt she had dug up from the back of the storage closet full of promotional items when she first started spending time at the loft. The shirt made an appearance at least once a week, if not twice if Beckett let her get away with it. Castle had no idea why she was so enamored by the shirt, but he considered it flattery every time she put it on. To compliment the shirt, she wore a ratty pair of jeans with a gaping hole in the knee, exposing the neon colored band aids covering the scrape that caused the aforementioned hole, and a pair of classic Chuck Taylor's. She had long legs like her mother and the dark hair and eyes to match.

"You ready to roll?" he asked.

"Only if my date's ready," she smiled, moving to loop her arm through his and walking towards the door.

Genevieve took Castle's hand as they walked through Central Park. Castle smiled down at the child. He relished the fact that he was once again a father. No, he hadn't stopped being a father to Alexis, she just didn't needed him as much anymore, being away at college. And he still saw her frequently since she chose to attend Columbia, but it was nice to have a child who didn't have it all figured out yet. Someone who still needed guidance.

"So Gen, how is your writing class going? Do you still like it?" he inquired.

"We're working on developing characters, but I am having some trouble with it," she admitted.

"What kind of trouble, something I can help with?" he offered.

"Well, they want us to lay out the details of a character, hair, eyes, height, weight, and I can do that. But then they want us to describe their personality. How am I supposed to know what the character is like? They haven't done anything. I can't just look at a picture and tell you what the person is like," she sighed.

"Oh course you can. You can see if their eyes are sad or happy, or if they are smiling or frowning or they look like they just stole a cookie, or want to ask a question. But if you don't actually have a physical photo in front of you, it is hard to figure out someone's personality. But I'll tell you what I do," he started. The child looked up at him curiously. "I write a little sneak peek. I create a simple situation and put the character in it, to get a feel for how they tick," he provided. Genevieve didn't get it. Castle led her to a bench. "Ok, let me give you an example," he thought for a minute. "I got it, Jane hurried her way through the park, the blooming flower and innocent laughter of children completely lost on her. She only cut through the park because it was faster, she wanted to get to the office in time to have a complete hour of prep before her meeting. The meeting that just may land her that big promotion and make her the youngest partner in the firm's history. As she stepped back onto the city streets, she noticed a woman trying to balance a baby on one hip, a diaper bag on her shoulder, four books in the crook of her arm and what appeared to be a hot cup of coffee. Jane noticed the books slipping from the woman's arm and reached out to catch them before they hit the ground. Yeah, she would have to shave a few minutes off her prep time, but she was glad to lend a hand." Castle told, Gen listening intently. "Ok, so now what can you tell me about Jane?" he asked. Genevieve replayed the story in her head.

"She has some kind of business job, so she is probably pretty serious and a hard worker. She wants to be early to her meeting so she is an over achiever and what's the word, ambitious? Since she would be the youngest partner at her firm." She was interrupted.

"Yes, ambitious is the word you're looking for. You have quite the vocabulary, remind me never to play Scrabble with you," Castle interjected with a chuckle.

"Um, she ignored the flowers and the kids, so she is focused, unlike somebody I know," Castle narrowed his eyes at her teasing. "And she helped the lady with her books, so she is helpful and caring," Genevieve finished her analysis.

"Very good! Now let's take it one step further. Why does she work so hard? Is she trying to impress somebody, make somebody proud, or does she do it for herself? Also, is she on the go all the time or does she ever take time to enjoy the flowers? And why does she stop to help the woman, if her job is so important?" he challenged her. He smiled as her little tongue stuck out and her eyes shot to the sky as she thought.

"She does it for herself. Yes, it makes her parents very proud, but they told her she could be whatever she wanted as long as she was happy. And this job makes her happy. Also, she is on the go most of the time, except those two weeks of vacation she gets where she goes somewhere different every year with no distractions. That's when she enjoys the flowers. It's a reward for all her hard work. Oh! And she has Sundays too, just like mom, where she hangs out with her friends. And she stopped to help the woman because it was the right thing to do. Her parents taught her to always do the right thing, even if you have to go out of your way a little bit," she rattled off. Castle was impressed. The girl had the mindset of a writer.

"See, you are good at this! I wish you could be in my class, you have a gift, Gen," he smiled.

"Well, my stepdad is a bestselling author," she grinned.

"Yeah, but you didn't get that from me. It's all that beautiful mind of yours," he replied, hugging her close. He loved the fact that she already referred to him as her stepdad even though the wedding was not for a couple weeks. There was part of him that hoped after the wedding he would be able to adopt the child, but that all depended on her father. Castle was willing to take what he would get and if that was being this brilliant girl's stepdad, he would take it.

"What if the teacher doesn't let us write a sneak peek?" her voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Then you do it in your head, just like we did," he answered easily.

"Thanks Rick," she beamed.

"No problem kid, you want to get some ice cream before we move on?" he offered.

"Wouldn't Mom say we are spoiling our lunch?" she checked.

"I won't tell her if you don't," he bargained. She grinned wildly and stood from the bench, tugging him towards the ice cream cart.

Castle watched Genevieve as she licked and slurped at her ice cream cone. The chocolate rivers rolled down her fingers and dripped onto the table. He cocked his head slightly. There were times the girl reminded him of Alexis and this wasn't one of those times. Alexis was neat as a pin. If it came down to him and her, he was usually the one covered in ice cream. Alexis had no problem in dirty situations, but she was the gloves and apron type, whereas Genevieve just dove right in, head first, she would deal with the stained clothing later. What it really came down to was the fact that Alexis was more of a girly girl and Gen was a tomboy. It was to be expected though, her mother was a cop and Gen grew up around the rough and tumble men of the precinct. He wasn't sure Gen brushed her hair regularly until Alexis told her it would keep it from being tangled and ratty all the time. He chuckled at that thought, apparently out loud.

"What?" the girl asked, running her tongue along her chocolate mustache.

"Nothing, it just looks like you could use some napkins, kid," he pointed out.

"I guess," she shrugged, popping the last bite of her cone in her mouth. It was then she noticed Castle had finished his some time ago. "Do you need one?" she checked. Castle looked at both of his hands, a little sticky spot here or there.

"Sure, it wouldn't hurt," he decided, sitting back in his chair and watching her skip back over to the cart. He straightened up as a man approached Genevieve on her way back from the cart. He was dressed in dirty work pants and a white tee with a black jacket. His hair was hidden by a bandana and Castle had yet to see his face. Castle was out of his chair when the man pulled Gen in for a hug. She turned to look at him, obviously telling the man who she was there with. When the man met his eyes, Castle instantly recognized him. It was Cole, Genevieve's dad. Castle had never met the man personally, but he had seen him in pictures.

"Where's your mom, Geni?" Cole asked as Castle walked up.

"She's out with her friends, working on the wedding. I told you I'm here with Rick," Gen repeated, sending Castle a look and trying to squirm out of her dad's grasp.

"Richard Castle, I assume you're Cole," he greeted, offering a hand shake. That pulled Cole's hand off of Genevieve's shoulder, allowing her to move to Castle's side.

"So you're Kate Beckett's new man," Cole replied, giving Castle a good once over.

"So it seems," Castle replied stiffly. "It was nice meeting you Cole, but Gen and I have somewhere we have to be," he shut the conversation down before Cole could say anything else.

"Well, don't let me make you late," Cole said, his voice full of disdain. "Geni, I'll see you soon," he added with a smile that even made Castle uncomfortable. Genevieve hated to be called Geni and now Castle knew why. Cole disappeared, but Castle knew he wasn't far away. He could feel him. He leaned down to be face to face with the girl.

"You ok?" he checked. She nodded and he took the napkin from her hand and quickly helped her get the spots she missed on her face.

"Can you carry me?" she asked.

"Yeah, you want a piggy back ride?" he assumed, but to his surprise she shook her head no.

"I just want to be carried," she requested. That was how Castle knew she really wasn't ok. Genevieve rarely needed to be coddled. He knew just enough about her father to understand that she had reason to be uncomfortable. He wasn't sure how Cole had met Beckett, but he had a feeling Cole's bad boy image filled whatever need she had at the time, back before she even entertained the notion of settling down. He was a mechanic with a love of motorcycles and driving fast. Their break up was cased by Beckett's intolerance to his partying habits. But when she found out she was pregnant she couldn't deny her child a father. Cole came and went and each time he came back in worse shape. Beckett was awarded full custody and allowed Cole to have supervised visits once a month. That being said, this encounter in the park went against their agreement and would more than likely have to be reported. Castle thought about calling his fiancée, but he didn't want to ruin her day with Lanie. It would be of no consequence if he told her about it at home that evening.

She rested her head on his shoulder as they exited the park, gripping his shirt tighter than normal. His car service was waiting at the curb. He set her on the seat and she slid over to let him in.

"Where are we going now?" she wondered.

"Well, I know you finished "A Kiss in Time" last night," he pointed out, mentioning the last Alex Flinn Novel she finished.

"How did you know?" she gasped.

"Because I caught you under the blanket with a flashlight after lights out last night. I knew you wouldn't push the rules if you weren't really close to the end," he laughed.

"And you didn't rat me out to Mom?" she stated in disbelief.

"You know our rule about secrets," he said with a pointed look.

"Yeah, you only tell mom if you think she needs to know," Gen recited.

"Exactly, plus it wasn't a school night, so no harm done. But anyway, I have a surprise for you waiting at the bookstore. I wasn't going to pick it up until tomorrow, but since we are out, I figured why not," he shrugged. Genevieve smiled the first real smile since their encounter with Cole. "But since your mom will kill me for buying you something with out just cause, can you tell me what happened back there with your dad?" he asked. Gen sunk further into the plush leather seat.

"He just…I don't know…makes me uncomfortable," she admitted.

"Sweetheart, why didn't you tell us? You know you don't have to go see him," Castle mentioned.

"I know, but how bad is that? I don't even want to go see my own dad," she responded, grimly. Castle scooped her against her side.

"Well, no one should have to spend time in an uncomfortable situation, family or not. You know if you were uncomfortable around me, your mom and I would have stopped seeing each other immediately," he stated.

"But I'm not uncomfortable around you, Rick," she said, looking up at him and locking her arms around his bicep. "I would rather be with you than with my dad," she sighed. Castle rested his cheek against the top of her head. Her comment was bittersweet. "When I was little, I was excited to see him, because I really didn't know better and he was my dad. But then when I got older, I figured out he was missing meetings and when he did show up, he was just really creepy," she continued. Castle was surprised he got so much out of the girl, basically unprompted. He released a long slow breath. He and Beckett would be having a long talk.

"That's tough, kid. At least my dad was never around to begin with," he commented.

"Did you have any kind of dad, like maybe a stepdad or cool uncles like Javi and Kevin?" she asked curiously.

"Nope, it was just Martha and I, but we did ok," he smiled.

"Well, I'm glad I have you," she disclosed.

"Oh, I'm glad I have to too sweetie," he said, stroking her hair. It was only a few more minutes before they pulled up at the bookstore and picked up a personalized signed copy of Alex Flinn's book "Cloaked". He thought Genevieve was going to pass out as soon as she opened the cover and saw the signature. Beckett didn't like it when he spoiled Gen, but after the weird moment at the park, she deserved a little spoiling.