Beckett's Babysitting Service: Ch. 1 (Commission)

The following is a commission. I do not own the characters.

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Detective Kate Beckett drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she sat in the soccer mom van she was relegated to using. It felt like she had been waiting in the pristine vehicle—that somehow smelled of things she wasn’t sure she wanted to put a name to—for ages, even though a cursory glance at the clock told her it had only been a few minutes. Still, time was taking its sweet time, and Beckett wondered if it was doing so to spite her.

She sucked in a deep breath, sighing to herself. She couldn’t believe she had wound up in this predicament. Normally it was her husband Castle who was the one stuck in these kinds of ‘positions,’ but for whatever reason, here she was, waiting until…

A light tapping on the driver’s side window startled her. She flinched and turned to find herself looking at a woman she didn’t recognize, who was eyeing her with a look that screamed one word: concern.

Beckett blinked a few times before rolling the window down. “Can I… help you?”

“Sorry for the bother,” the woman said. “But I couldn’t help noticing you’re in the Darrens family van. I take it you’re the new nanny.”

Beckett swallowed her revulsion at the term and forced a smile on her face as she nodded.
The woman shook her head. “You poor thing. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, do you?”

“Wh-what?” Beckett sputtered. “What do you mean?”

“Those three are monsters,” the woman replied. “Caleb, the youngest, is probably the least dangerous. But Alice and Eva?” She whistled. “I’ve seen the nannies before you, my friend. Some looked tough, like professional MMA fighter tough, and in the end, they were no match for those three little demons. You had best brace yourself.”

Beckett blinked rapidly, struggling to gather her thoughts. She didn’t get the chance to ask the woman anything, though, because the other woman walked off, and moments later, the bell rang, signifying that classes were finished for the day. Beckett, dread bubbling in the pit of her stomach, rolled the window up and turned her attention back toward the school, which happened to go from third grade all the way to twelfth.

Seconds felt like eons as Beckett watched the school. Children of various ages were all over the place, some in groups, some with adults. She waited, and waited, and waited, until at last, she spotted the three children walking together, zeroing in on the van she was parked in. She watched the three of them—Caleb, a short, pudgy boy with brown hair, a blonde, curly haired girl that was a bit taller than him dolled out in a fancy dress-that had to be Alice—and the tallest one, another brunette with long straight hair, currently on her cell phone, Eva.

Beckett faced forward. ‘This is ridiculous. They’re children. I’ve survived worse.’

The van door was opened, and Beckett turned slightly as the three children climbed inside. Beckett forced a smile onto her face as she turned around to face the three kids.

“Hi there, I’m—”

“Are you the new nanny?” Caleb asked.

“She’s driving mom’s stinky van, of course she is,” Eva, the oldest, said.

“My name’s Kate,” Beckett said, trying to sound as amicable as she could.

“I’m Alice,” the middle girl said. “This is Caleb, and this is Eva.” She gave Beckett a dimpled smile. “Mommy told us about you. She said to be on our best behavior today since you’re our new nanny. That’s why we made you something.”

She turned to Caleb, who beamed excitedly as he reached into his backpack and retrieved a poorly-wrapped box. Alice took the box and handed it daintily to Beckett, who took it hesitantly.
“Oh, thank you. That’s very sweet of you—”

“Open it,” Caleb said.

“Yeah, open it!” Alice said.

Beckett had to hide her grimace. With a sign of resignation, she began to peel away the layer of wrapping paper covering the box, only to notice as she did that something seemed off about it. The box wasn’t too heavy, and yet, when she gave it a subtle shake, she couldn’t feel or hear anything inside of it. Frowning, she poked at the edge with one finger, wondering what lay in wait for her within. The woman’s warning echoed in the back of her mind as Kate carefully began to open it—

SPLAT.

Something cold and gooey splattered on Beckett’s face. Laughter erupted from the back seat from the three children as Beckett remained deathly silent for a long moment, unable to comprehend what had just happened—at first. Once recognition dawned on her, she wiped whatever the hell it was now covering her face with one hand, and with a sniff, she realized what it was: yogurt.
Beckett’s face was on fire. Fury and humiliation burned within her as she used her sleeve to wipe the yogurt off.

The laughter gradually subsided from behind her, at least until she turned around to glare at the three children. Caleb was the only one who seemed to look somewhat remorseful, but Alice and Eva, not so much. Alice had her mouth covered with one hand, while Eva was smirking at her with a level of smugness only a teenager could somehow obtain.

“Sorry, lady,” Caleb said. “It was Alice’s idea.”

“Liar,” Alice said.

“You gonna take us home or what?” Eva asked.

Beckett clicked her teeth together, but said nothing. How had she wound up in this predicament?
Without a word, Beckett turned her attention forward and started the van. Her face was still hot from the blush of embarrassment, which had yet to die down. That, and there were still specks of yogurt, which had also gotten in her hair. She could feel it there, too, but she refused to indulge the three brats behind her by trying to clean it out. So instead, she began to drive, her only words to the children being a very curt, very snappish, “Buckle up.”

She received three giggles in response. Inwardly, she cursed her luck, and for once, she wished that Castle had been the one stuck in this position.

‘Fuck my life,’ Beckett thought.


If someone had told Kate Beckett that she, one of New York’s finest detectives, would be going undercover as a live-in nanny before this mess started, she would’ve laughed at them. That was the kind of crazy thing she would expect from her husband, mystery novelist Richard Castle, or maybe even one of her two close friends and fellow detectives—Ryan and Esposito—if they were in a joking mood. But to hear those words from Captain Gates, the head of their precinct and a woman who never joked?

Beckett shuddered as she drove the van, her mind going back to a few days prior, when Captain Gates had first informed her that she would be the one going into this household, undercover.

This was because the mother of the three children, Molly Darrens, was also their primary suspect in the murder of her own husband, Aaron Darrens. The man had been found stabbed to death in a hotel room four blocks away from their large, posh house, and when she had been questioned the first time by Esposito and Ryan, she hadn’t exactly convinced them that she was innocent. Shad had the motive—money, the rumors he had been cheating on her, her apparent unhappiness with the marriage, and “the possibility of her being a black widow” according to Castle—the means, and plenty of opportunity.

That was why Beckett expected it to be an open-and-shut case, but things weren’t that easy. Molly Darrens was wealthy, with high-end lawyers at her every beck and call, and when Beckett and Caste had attempted to tail her, she managed to evade them with ease—she was, in fact, a very slippery woman with a great deal of skill at hiding her tracks and evading people. Beckett hadn’t thought much of it since, well, she had dealt with worse, but Captain Gates had disagreed.

“You want me to do what, Sir?” Beckett had asked when the words left Captain Gates’ mouth.

Captain Victoria Gates—addressed as sir by her subordinates—remained as steely as she often did as she folded her hands. “You heard me, Detective. I realize it’s not the kind of thing you’re used to doing, but this isn’t one of your normal cases, either. FBI has their fingers in the pudding, too. They think Molly Darrens may be connected to a lot more than she’s letting on, and they don’t want us approaching her through the normal means.”

“Captain, since when have we ever given a damn about boundaries?” Beckett asked.

Gates sighed. “I know, Detective. Trust me, I know. But think of it this way… We need eyes on her, and she’s put an ad out for a nanny to look after her three children. You’re good with kids, aren’t you?”

Beckett sputtered. “W-well, Sir, I’m… I’m not terrible with children…”

“Good. Then it’s settled.” She gave Beckett a small smile. “It’ll be fine, Detective. You’ve been through a lot worse than watching after a few bratty kids. Besides, you could always ask Mr. Castle, since he’s,” her smile dropped, “dealt with this sort of thing before, as it were.”

Beckett just gaped at the other woman, unable to do much besides a silent nod. When she exited the Captain’s office and walked over to join Castle at her desk, he looked at her expectantly.

“So what did Gates say?” Castle asked.

“I’m going undercover,” Beckett said, not meeting his eyes. Her expression was one of utter horror.
Castle cracked an amused smile. “Oh, as what? Are you going to be the Darrens family’s new chauffer? A maid, perhaps?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “A tutor?”

“Worse,” Beckett said, finally looking at him. “A nanny.”

Castle’s smile dropped, his expression morphing into one of confusion. “Wait. Wait, wait, hold on. A nanny. You, a nanny. You? Tell me you’re joking.”

“Believe me, Castle, I wish I was,” Beckett said. She had to work to suppress a shudder.

The confusion on Castle’s face transformed as soon as it had appeared, turning into one of utter delight and amusement. He looked about ready to laugh until Beckett gave him one of her trademark death glares, forcing him to stifle his enjoyment.

“It’s not funny,” Beckett growled.

Castle let a giggle slip. “I’m… I’m sorry, it’s just… Yes, it is.”

“Castle.”

“What? I mean, think about it, Kate. You’re, like, a super cop. You’re Black Widow and Captain America mashed together in one body. Look at you! You’ve been shot, blown up, tortured, drugged, chained down by a psychotic genderbend of the guy from the Saw movies…” He shook his head, mirth in his eyes. “But the one thing I never thought I would see is you as a nanny. I mean, what, was Supernanny not available?”

Beckett groaned in exasperation. “I’m glad you’re finding the humor in this, Castle.”

“Oh, come on, Beckett.” He waved it off. “We’ve taken care of a baby before and you came out of it alright, remember?”

“That was different,” Beckett said. “That was a baby. These are three kids, and God knows how old they are or how spoiled or how insane they might be.” She had to resist the urge to smack her head against her desk. “You’ve been around kids more than me, Castle. You should be the nanny.”

“Yeah…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, I think maybe it’s a good thing I’m not. Raising Alexis was one thing, sure, but… I’m not sure I’d be caught out for the whole ‘nanny’ routine.”
Beckett narrowed her eyes. “And why’s that?”

Castle looked at her seriously. “Because between you and me, Kate? A lot of kids are demons disguised as tiny people. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived through it.”

“You always talk about how Alexis was an angel,” Beckett said.

“It’s not Alexis I’m talking about,” Castle said. He leaned forward, now devoid of any humor.

“Trust me, Kate. I’ve babysat before. It was not a pretty picture.”

Beckett just stared at him. Her stomach knotted, and she felt like she might throw up at any second. “Great. Just… great.”


The drive back to the Darrens residence was enough to drive Beckett insane, in part because she reeked of yoghurt the whole time, and in part because the three children in back were bickering with one another the whole ride. She was used to bickering when it came to her and Castle, and even from Ryan and Esposito, yes, but this was different. This was loud, bratty bickering, and amidst it was what Beckett swore to be passive-aggressive statements being flung directly at her, despite the fact she didn’t engage any of the children.

Beckett had never been happier when she spotted the mansion where the three children lived. It was located in a more cul-de-sac-like area, with a front yard and a backyard and a great view in the distance behind it. But Beckett didn’t get a chance to really admire the place, because the second she parked, the three kids practically stampeded out of the van.

Beckett let out a tense sigh, wondering if she would have the chance to clean up before their mother returned from wherever the hell she was—work? The spa? Something illegal? Beckett had no clue, but Esposito and Ryan were doing the best they could to try and track her movements.

For the time being, Beckett pushed that thought out of her mind and exited the minivan, flicking a bit of dried yoghurt off her shoulder. She knew she would have to clean the mess left over in the minivan, but for the time being, all she wanted was to clean it off herself first. She began walking toward the front door, only to stop when she saw Alice and Caleb sitting on the porch. They both grinned at her, and for a moment, she stood there, watching them warily.

“Sorry about before,” Caleb said. “We just wanted to lighten the mood, that’s all.”
“Yeah, honest,” Alice said. She gave Beckett a big dimpled grin.

Beckett narrowed her eyes slightly. “That’s… fine. It’s not a big deal.”

“Come inside, I’ll go grab you a towel,” Alice said. “What was your name again, Miss?”

“Katie,” Beckett replied. It wasn’t the most original cover name, but Katie Castle was the identity she had gone with. She figured that it would make her sound more appealing to the children, prior to her discovering the children were monsters.

She continued to stare at them warily as they stood up and motioned her forward. But after a moment, she started to walk again. Or at least, she would have had she not noticed a skateboard directly in front of her. In a flash, Beckett sidestepped the rogue object—had it been there the whole time?!—only to lose her balance when something came zooming towards her feet. She didn’t get a chance to register what it was, because she was too busy trying to dodge it. But Beckett lost her balance and went to the right, tripping over something else and…

SPLASH. Beckett landed upper body first in a large, muddy puddle, gunk and ick getting everywhere, from her hair all the way down to her midsection. Beckett could hear laughter erupting from a few feet away as she forced herself up, her face now dripping.

She spat what had gotten around her mouth area out and turned to glare at the two children sitting on the porch. They saw this and, to their credit, the laughter died down as the two scrambled inside.

‘I’m gonna murder those kids,’ Beckett thought as she forced herself up. Now, alongside the remnants of yoghurt, she was covered in mud, dirty water, and something more, but she didn’t want to think about it.

For a moment, she glanced at where she had been walking and saw the skateboard, as well as a rubber ball and a hose, which was pointing toward the direction of the puddle she had just faceplanted in. It dawned on her: they had planned this.

Anger bubbled up inside of her, but she forced herself to swallow it down. Beckett knew they were just children, not the criminals she was used to dealing with. She would have to be calm and careful if she wanted to get through this ordeal, and even more so to avoid doing anything… harmful to the children. She could do that, couldn’t she? She had been through worse, so much worse. They were just kids.

Beckett swallowed the rage and embarrassment, pushing it down, deep into the pits of her stomach. She could do this.

Beckett chanted this in the back of her mind—she felt a little ridiculous, but it wasn’t like she was singing it at the top of her lungs—as she strode inside, aware of the fact she was still dripping. Right now, she didn’t care. She wanted to shower and then figure out what to do with the three children in order to give her the chance to browse the place for any sort of clues or information she could use against Molly.

But first, she had to deal with the three little monsters. And no sooner did she enter the house did she come face to face with all three of them, standing in the center of the foyer, giggling to themselves until they spotted her.

“Okay, listen up,” Beckett said. They didn’t stop giggling, though, so she raised her voice. “I said LISTEN UP.”

All three went silent.

Beckett glared at them, the same glare she used on Castle when he went too far, on Ryan and Esposito when they were out of line, on anyone that managed to irritate her when she wasn’t in the mood for shenanigans. “I am not like your past nannies. I don’t know what they were like, but they weren’t me.” She crossed her arms, ignoring the sogginess of her sleeves. “I am not going to tolerate any more of this nonsense. While I’m in charge, you do as I say and follow my rules. Do I make myself clear?”

There were three mumbles. Beckett narrowed her eyes.

“I didn’t hear you. You’re going to have to speak up.”

“Yes,” they all said, louder.

Beckett didn’t budge. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, Mrs. Castle.”

“Now here’s the deal,” Beckett said. “No more pranks. I’m not here to be tormented and messed around with just because I’m ‘the new nanny.’ I’m here to do my job, and that’s it. Besides, I’m not as bad as you might think I am.” She paused at this, scowling at herself. “Do you have any objections?”

Three heads shook in near unison.

“Now can I get an apology?”

“We’re sorry, Mrs. Castle,” all three said.

Beckett didn’t drop her glare, instead searching all three faces for any form of deceit. She found none, but she wasn’t about to trust the faces of children, not at all.

“Alright then,” Beckett said. “Now, I’m going to go and clean myself off. You three do what you want, just… don’t cause any more trouble.”

She stood there for a few moments longer, waiting for the three to scuttle off in different directions, before sighing and walking down the hall. Beckett was a little familiar with the house, since Molly Darrens had given her a brief tour the previous day before she had been hired—the fact she was hired so quickly had worried Beckett, and Molly did seem a little too eager to get a nanny. She was beginning to understand why—and she already had a few changes of clothes in the room she was staying in.

As soon as she was alone, Beckett started getting rid of what she was wearing. First came the belt, then the pants, followed by her jacket and the top she had been wearing beneath, until she was left in her undergarments. She toyed with the thought of calling Castle to ask him for advice, but stopped herself.

‘I don’t need Castle,’ she told herself. She loved her husband, of course, but if he could survive being a father and being a substitute teacher for monsters, she could surely survive handling three of them, even if they were different ages. ‘Yeah, I can do this. It’ll be easy.’

Once she had set her things down—her cover phone stashed with her real phone and her gun, in a place even the children wouldn’t be able to get to if they tried—and grabbed a towel and a change of clothes, Beckett headed into the large, fancy bathroom, locked the door behind her, and began to shower.

It was a nice, long, hot shower. Beckett took extra care to scrub every inch of her body, from shoulders to navel ring to below, and washed her hair three times over, shaking off the yoghurt bomb and puddle surprise from before.

‘A clean body and a clean start,’ Beckett thought. They were only children.

Steam filled the bathroom when Beckett finally finished her shower and stepped out. Yet the moment she was on the carpet, something felt off. She furrowed her brow and glanced around, the thick cloud of steam obscuring a good portion of her view. To her eyes, nothing looked off at first. Her towel was where she had left it, the door was still closed…

Beckett took the towel and began to dry her body, stepping up to the sink in hopes of grabbing the hairdryer she had brought with her. It was gone.

Becket blinked rapidly and started searching around, only to find that it wasn’t where she had put it. In fact, as the steam died down, she noticed something else: the clothes she had brought with her were also gone. In their place was a top that looked far too small for her and pants that seemed even smaller. Beckett’s eyes bugged out of their sockets as she whirled around toward the door. It wasn’t locked anymore.

Gritting her teeth, Beckett wrapped the towel around her body—thank God it was a big towel—and yanked the door open. She poked her head out and glanced around, noticing Alice standing further off, holding the clothes she had brought with her.

“Alice!” Beckett shouted.

The girl jolted as if she’d been startled and met Beckett’s gaze. “Hi, Katie!”

“Alice, give me those back. Those are mine!”

“But they’re so uuugly!” Alice sang, grinning devilishly. “I gave you Eva’s clothes instead! They’re much cuter.”

“Hey!” Eva’s voice rang from the opposite hall. “I didn’t say you could take my stuff! You weren’t supposed to leave her with anything!”

Alice gave a shrug and Beckett stepped out of the bathroom, pausing to ensure the towel was wrapped around her body as tightly as could be. The last thing she wanted was to be butt-naked, running around a massive house and chasing after a bratty little snot that refused to leave her in peace.

“Alice, this is the last time I’m asking,” Beckett said, taking a few steps forward. “Give me back my clothes. Now.”

Alice giggled. “It sounds more like you’re telling me than asking.”

‘You little…’ Beckett let out a puff of angry air. “May I please have those back?”

She took a few more steps forward, until she was close to the young girl. Alice grinned up at her as she began to extend the clothes out, but just as Beckett began to reach forward, Alice spun around and booked it.

“Alice!” Beckett shouted.

She started after the girl, clinging onto the top of her towel with one hand. The little brat was fast, but Beckett was much faster, and she very easily caught up to her down the hall. Alice, however, was much more slippery than Beckett had anticipated, because she ducked into one of the rooms. Beckett stopped, waited a moment, then opened the door.

“Alice, give me my clothes back,” Beckett said. She spotted the girl standing near another door across the room. “Please,” Beckett lowered and softened her voice, “please.”

The girl seemed to hesitate for a long moment before nodding. “Okay, Katie. You win. No tricks, you can have ‘em.”

Beckett let out a quiet sigh. “Thank you, Alice.”

She started forward, but Alice held up one hand. “Wait, watch out for—”

“Zigzag!”

The shout came from Caleb, who Beckett noticed was standing to her right. In fact, she realized that this was the boy’s room, but her attention was quickly caught when she looked down at the floor and saw what the boy had shouted out: there was a ferret on the floor, right where Beckett’s foot was about to step down on.

Beckett yelped, caught off guard by the furry creature, and once more, she found herself toppling over, falling forward and landing on the floor again. At least this time, there weren’t any puddles…

‘Wait,’ Beckett thought. ‘Why do I feel a sudden draft in back… oh shit.’

Her cheeks burned in embarrassment when she realized the towel had somehow lifted upon her falling, exposing a good portion of her behind. She shot one hand down to yank the towel back in place before sitting upright, fighting the fire spreading through her face. She hoped that neither of the kids had seen… But then she saw the wide-eyed look on Caleb’s face. He had seen.

‘Son of a…’ Beckett clicked her teeth together, shot up, and grabbed the clothes from Alice before she could change her mind. She spun around and glanced down, aware of the rodent from before, which had scurried away from her after her fall.

Trying to stifle any embarrassment, Beckett turned on her heel and began walking out of the room. But no sooner was she out of earshot did she hear the two brats from inside Caleb’s room.

“I saw her butt!” Caleb said. “I saw it, I saw it!”

“Ew, you saw her butt? Gross!” Alice said.

“I saw it, I saw it!” Caleb sang out, before bursting into giggles.

Beckett swore violently in her mind as she stomped back to the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind her. She changed into the clean pair of clothes in a huff, then exited the bathroom, dumping the towel back in her room.

Beckett sat and put her face in her hands. She couldn’t believe what had happened to her in such a short amount of time, but more than anything, she couldn’t believe how much of a rise the kids had gotten out of her. To think, she was one of New York’s finest, and yet, she was humiliated by children of all things! She swore she wouldn’t tell a soul about any of this, even her own husband, because God knew how much shit he would give her, how much shit the whole precinct with give her if they knew that Detective Kate Beckett, the woman who took down a Senator, survived a sniper attack, survived nearly getting blown up more times than she could count, and the woman who married a prize-winning mystery writer was… was…

Her phone began to ring, her real phone, not the fake she had brought with her to go along with her undercover work. Beckett sucked in a deep breath and slowly made her way the dresser where she stashed it. It was Castle.

Beckett steeled her voice and answered. “Hey, Castle.”

“Hey there,” Castle replied. “How’s day one of being a Supernanny?”

“Fantastic,” Beckett said, as deadpan as she could muster.


Castle gave a soft chuckle, and for a split second, Beckett worried he might have detected the fact she was faking it. “That’s good to hear, Kate. The boys and I were taking bets on how long you could survive over there. How are the kids? There’s a sentence I never thought I’d ask you.”

“They’re… peachy,” Beckett said. “Little angels.”

“Uh huh.” She could just picture Castle smirking on the other end.

‘Shit.’ He wasn’t buying it.

“Do you need backup in there, Beckett?” Castle asked. “I’m sure Ryan and Esposito wouldn’t mind coming to give you a hand. Or, you know, I could get in touch with a few old contacts of mine. I know an exorcist, a lion tamer—he’d be good for them, I think—oh, and a drill sergeant…”

“Castle.” Beckett glared at nothing in particular at the mirth in his voice, a glare that only deepened when she swore she heard Ryan and Esposito laughing in the background. She was going to kill those three. “I’m fine. I can handle this.”

“If you’re sure,” Castle said.

“Positive.” She molded her tone into one of sarcastic confidence. “Castle, you said yourself I’ve been through worse, and I went through a hell of a lot more before you came into the picture. They’re just kids. I’ll be fine.” She was really getting tired of saying that in any form, regardless if it was to herself or someone else. “Any news on your end?”

“Nothing so far,” Castle said. She could hear movement on his end, like rustling papers. “Honestly, I’m starting to think this woman might be a professional ninja or something. Not like, you know, the ninja we faced off with before, but, like, a CIA-level ninja. Someone who can blend in—”

He prattled on for a bit, but Beckett partly tuned him out. Not out of malice, of course, just out of habit. Besides, there were other things on her mind right now. Three other things, and they were in this house with her. They had made a fool of her so far, but Beckett wasn’t the type to give up or give in when the going got tough. She didn’t give up when she was chasing down leads on her mother’s killer, so she sure as shit wasn’t going to throw in the towel because three brats got under her skin.

Beckett wasn’t going to put up with that garbage. Oh no. She was going to lay down the law. She wasn’t New York’s finest for nothing.

‘Game on, kids,’ Beckett thought. ‘Game on.’