I was inspired to write this fic when I watched the last aired episode of Castle. I don't particularly hate the character of Pi, I love his scenes with Castle but I do think that relationship won't have much future.
LD: I do not own Castle.
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Alexis stood on the street in front of her father's loft. She had left it six months ago, so sure a new stage of her life. She remembered getting angry at her father when he had opposed her crazy idea of going to live with Pi. She had reminded him of how he always said she was the smartest in the family. And now, she regretted it all. It was not that she and her father had departed in bad terms with each other. In fact she had kept in touch and had lunch with him and Kate, who was now living with him, several times. But now it was different. Now she was coming to beg him for money to pay for the residence at the campus and she was afraid of his reaction.
She knew that even though he would try not to get angry, he would, he had every reason to be so. He had tried to tell her after all. He had begged her to wait just a year but she had refused to listen. In her defense she had to say that living with Pi at first was great. They had been on a kind of honey moon stage. However after just two months their little paradise began turning into hell. Pi and her were just too different, she had tried to adapt after all it had been his "peculiar lifestyle" the thing that attracted her to him and it worked fine for two months, but when he lost his job he just put a goofy smile and stayed home all day and when she returned he told her he found nothing and tell her any stupid joke about his day.
That's when the fights started. At first over silly things and then she would always accuse him of losing his job because being lazy or too easy going. That hellish situation lasted for about three months in which she spent most of her time at home shouting. And then the last month they barely saw or talked to each other, each conversation was cold and as short as humanely possible. Only indifference stood between them now. He spent his nights on the couch while she cried herself to sleep. This morning she couldn't take it anymore, neither of them deserved to suffer anymore. And so she told him.
They had just woken up and Pi was preparing one of his healthy breakfasts which he didn't prepare for her anymore, she was just drinking a cup of coffee. When she finished, she decided it was time to talk.
"Pi, we need to talk" she said with a sad expression. He looked at her with a serious expression of his own, he rarely smiled around her now. "I think we should break up" she added, his face showed no emotion to the news. "This is not working anymore, I'm not happy, you are not happy, we barely talk or do anything together. We don't deserve to live this way."
His response completely broke Alexis's heart perhaps because she had expected him to still feel something for her to fight back or even to ask her to reconsider but he just said two words. "I agree".
Alexis stared at him for a few seconds but his betrayed no emotion. She felt her tears threatening to fall but she didn't let it show. "There is still two weeks till the end of the month, I suppose I could lend you the money to pay the housekeeper for this month, but you have to find a house before then."
Pi nodded and got back to making breakfast. Alexis just went upstairs, it was a weekend so she didn't have class. She took a quick shower and dressed up with clothes she had left out of her bag for the day. She picked up his luggage and went downstairs. Pi was nowhere in sight but maybe it was for the better she went out of the house and took a taxi to the loft. When Alexis finished re-
miniscing about the events that had brought her there she found herself in front of her former home's door. She picked up a key and opened it entering the all too familiar living room, she smiled remembering all the good times she had spent there.
Kate's voice sounded coming from her father's bedroom. "Rick is that you?" she asked.
"It's me, Kate" Alexis informed her soon to be stepmom.
"Alexis?" Said a clearly impressed Kate Becket dressed in casual stay at home clothes. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong with Pi?"
The actual concern in Kate's voice made Alexis unable to hold back her tears. She would have fallen to the ground if the other woman didn't have the good reflexes she did and caught her. Kate let her sob in her chest for as long as the younger woman needed. Once Alexis calmed down a little, Kate repeated the question. "Is something wrong?" Kate asked again already knowing the answer.
"We broke up." Alexis replied between small sobs while Kate caressed her hair.
"I'm sorry Alexis." Kate said in a sad tone full of sincerity. She truly was.
"I should have listened to dad when he told me this would happen. Going to live with Pi was the worst mistake of my life." Alexis said looking at her stepmom with red puffy eyes.
"Well, I don't think that's true." Kate said smiling at the young woman. "I don't doubt you going with Pi was a mistake but it was a necessary mistake. A mistake you can learn from."
"So you are saying what happened is a good thing?" Alexis asked.
"Not at all honey" Kate said. "But it wasn't as bad as you think it is. It's just a part of life, every girl, no, every person in the world has gone through that every once in a while, even me."
"You?" Alexis asked incredulously. She had heard stories about Kate from her dad but she hadn't expected the detective to make the same mistakes as she did. Kate chuckled.
"Of course" she answered. "More than once. I've dated the most outrageously weird guys there where back when I was your age. Used to drive my father crazy. Not really proud of it now."
At the mention of Kate's father Alexis, who had begun laughing, stopped and her expression fell again.
"Do you think dad will be angry?" Alexis asked.
"Not as angry as worried." Kate replied. "Speaking of which. Why don't you go to your room and rest a little? I'll talk to your father first and calm him down, you can talk with him when you wake up."
"Kate that's not necessary." Alexis protested.
"Alexis, trust me, whenever I ended breaking up with a guy have my mom talk with my dad before me helped me a lot. Although that only happened once before she died. What kind of Stepmother would I be if I didn't do the same for you?" Kate replied. Alexis smiled at the older woman and hugged her. "Thank you mom".
Kate smiled and kissed the young woman's head. "Anytime." She answered before sending her stepdaughter upstairs.
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Rick Castle entered his loft an hour later with a tired expression. Gina and Paula were both pressuring him to begin a new series but this time giving a try to give to serious non policial novels, but the Nikki Heat book series had at least two more novels to end, so they were telling him to hurry up in finishing the series, refusing his suggestion of ending it with only one book. Today's was perhaps the most confusing reunion he had with his editor and publicist. When he entered the loft he saw his fianceƩ Kate, reading one of his books on the sofa, he closed the door and she looked at him smiling.
"Hey" she said giving him a peck on the lips when he seated next to her. "How was the reunion?"
"A little confusing. I don't know what they want me to do but I think they want me to write three books at a time" he replied. Kate chuckled. "So how was your day? Did you miss me?" he asked smiling.
"Always" she said kissing him on the lips. When they departed she added. "But I have something to tell you."
Seeing her expression caused Castle to worry. "Is everything ok?"
"Alexis has broken up with Pi." Kate said. "She is upstairs resting."
"What?" Castle asked clearly surprised. "She is here?"
"Well, she didn't have anywhere else to go." Kate replied calmly. When the surprise was over, only worry and anger remained.
"Is she alright? I knew I shouldn't have let her go to live with that..." Castle began.
"Castle" Kate interrupted him sternly. "She doesn't need you reminding her she made a mistake, she needs the usual you. The father that will support her through good and bad until the end."
"But I told her and..." Castle tried to reply.
"And she knows it." Kate interrupted calmly. "Rick please, it's already hard on her to come back knowing that you told her, she doesn't need you angry, she needs you supportive. Besides she much smarter than me or you, I'm sure she won't repeat the same mistake twice."
Castle thought about Kate's words, she was right. The one suffering the most now was Alexis, he should be supportive. He smiled at his future wife. "What I would do without you?" He asked smiling lovingly and kissing her."
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When Alexis went downstairs she saw Kate and her dad talking and havin a glass of wine. She looked out the window, it was already dark, she had slept throw the whole morning and afternoon. Both Kate and Rick looked at her and smiled when she reached the kitchen. Kate kissed her on the head.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked.
"I slept" She replied smiling. "Better than most nights anyway."
She then looked at her father. She had expected him to be angry at her but he was smiling at her. "Hey Pumpkin, I heard about Pi, sorry it didn't work out."
Alexis practically threw herself to her fathers open arms. She didn't cry of sadness this time, she cried of happiness. She also looked at Kate gratefully knowing she had a lot to do with her father's behaviour.
Once their hug ended his father said. "So I was thinking we could have a pizza and watch a movie. Do you ladies agree?" Both Alexis and Kate nodded.
By the end of the night, Castle had an asleep Kate resting on his shoulders and an asleep Alexis resting on hers. Castle stood up carefully and feeling grateful to have Kate in his life and Alexis back home, he picked up his Iphone and took a photo and was sure that night would be of his most precious memories.
