After watching 'Love Me Dead' and 'One Man's Treasure' again, I was reminded of how much I enjoy the dynamic between Beckett and Alexis - I really hope it's something that we can see put on the screen more often in season 3.

This is just a short oneshot for the ep 'Love Me Dead', where Beckett and Alexis meet at Suttons to talk. Enjoy!

Life and Coffee

Beckett exited the precinct, throwing a few looks over her shoulder to make sure Castle's wasn't doing something strange, like trying to follow her to Suttons. It made her smile to think about how worried he seemed to be, and it made her have a little more sympathy for her own father.

Suttons was closer to the loft Castle shared with Alexis and Martha than it was to the precinct, but she didn't mind the added drive, even when the traffic became thicker, but not quite to a standstill. At the right light before the parking garage for the cafe, she flicked her Palm Pre open to see a text message from Castle. R U there yet?

After she parked and made it back up, she spotted Alexis through a window of the Suttons storefront. It was moderately busy, with more tables having people sitting at them then not. "Hi Alexis." Beckett said, touching her shoulder to get her attention.

"Detective Beckett! Hi!" She closed the brochure she had been looking at, waiting for the older woman to take off her coat and sit down before continuing. "I ordered you a latte. I hope that's okay. I figure it's the least I can do, I mean, I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem." She said. "I just have to ask, though, since your Dad has been worried all day,"

"I'm not in the kind of trouble my Dad would get into." She said with a smile as their server brought them their coffee. "He's probably been flipping out all day, hasn't he?"

"Pretty much." Beckett said, remembering the look on his face when she made the 'cool dad' remark. "As your dad, that's always going to be his first conclusion. I've been there." She paused, taking a drink of the latte. "So, what is going on, Alexis?"

"Marlowe is starting a three week foreign exchange program to France, and I'm nervous about telling Dad. I haven't decided if I want to go, either." She slid the brochure across the table. "I remembered that he said you had spent a semester abroad in Russia when you were in college."

Beckett smiled, remembering the semester. "It was 98 percent worth it, if that makes any sense. I had such a blast, and met so many people." She leaned across the table. "The next part is between you and I."

"Absolutely." Alexis said.

"Met a French student, feel in love and fell back out. But, I missed things too. Friends, birthdays, but I was already missing that stuff because of the sheer fact I wasn't at home anymore."

"I'll end up missing Dad's birthday. It's right in the middle of the program."

She paged her way through the brochure. "You have to weigh both sides when you're making a decision like this, though. You're a sophomore, a pretty smart sophomore, who's going to have plenty of options for where you want to go to college. Everything's going to change; you're going to change, your friends are going to change, and your dad is going to change in your eyes, too. Maybe it'll be a good thing to get a taste of that change now."

Her eyes lit up, remembering something else. "There was something else that I wanted to ask you too. In my civics class, we have an assignment for a three day internship with a New York City department of our choosing. I was wondering if there would be a spot for me at the precinct."

Beckett looked over the sheet of paper. "I'll talk it over with Captain Montgomery and get back to you. I'm sure we can find a spot for you."

"I'll understand if you don't want to tonight, but, I was wondering if you'd tell me about it. Your time abroad, that is. I'd really like to hear about it." Alexis said with a smile

She looked at her watch. "As long as I don't get a call from the station, I've got plenty of time." She said with a smile.

Thanks for reading!

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