Okay I updated the first chapter, having a short one bothered me a bit. So what I did was I joined the first chapter and continued the dinner scene after it. I hope none of you mind, I put a line to show were I continued just in case some of you don't want to read it again.

Since they started seeing each other Kate spent more time at Rick's apartment than her own. Waking up next to him, driving to work together and at the end of the day she'd go back to his apartment not hers. She sometimes had the inclination to call it home but never did, Castle hadn't formally asked her to move in yet and the last thing she wanted was to impose on him, Alexis and Martha. Martha had easily accepted her and made her feel like she belonged to the family however Alexis was still struggling with that idea. Granted Kate understood where she was coming from however it frustrated her that whenever she was around Alexis had a habit of disappearing even at the precinct where she was supposedly helping Lanie in the morgue; she would simply disappear whenever she had to go down there. So yes, Kate was frustrated that she was being ignored or being given the silent treatment and even thought she thought of ways to fix it she never managed to get through to Alexis.

Castle wasn't at work today he was spending his day with his daughter for she had holidays from school and was spending a week at home. Kate offered to stay at her home but he of course had insisted that she stayed with him and the family at the loft. He sure felt the awkward tension in the air whenever Kate and Alexis were in the room and he didn't like it. Two of the most important loved people in his life were not on good grounds and he wanted none of that so determined as Rick Castle was he was going to make sure to fix it. He planned a very intimate family dinner for that night and all they were waiting for was Beckett to arrive home, which he knew was really soon as he called to check up on her. Not only did he plan the family dinner but he had a bunch of exciting activities planned out for them to try showing them how alike they truly were and how easy they could get along.

Kate Beckett left work a little earlier than usual, just so she could drive up to her apartment to get something different to wear. Luckily Esposito was in a good mood so he agreed to cover for her; she thought for a second that most probably he was getting some action from Lanie. She made a mental note to ask her about it when they were alone. She knew how important this night was for Rick and the last thing she wanted was to do anything to ruin his night. She even made it a point not to stay in the shower longer than she needed. She had a habit of just standing there with a towel wrapped around herself just thinking about her day; it had a way of relaxing her.

Alexis opened the door for her when she knocked. It was probably Castle's idea just so they couldn't avoid talking to each other. Kate just stood at the doorway, smiling at Alexis waiting for her to acknowledge her presence or at the very least ask her to come in.

"Hello Detective Beckett, please come in" she stated very politely.

"Oh thank you" is all Kate could answer her. She knew Alexis was a well mannered kid but she never thought talking to her would sound so business like even if they only exchanged a couple of words. She walked in to find Martha handing her a glass of red wine and greeting her ever so dramatically. And then she walked over to Castle to kiss him and whispered an, 'I missed you' to which he returned with a smile as if to say me too. He was finishing up with the food and preparations and after a short while he yelled that dinner was ready.

They all sat down at the table. Kate obviously sat next to Castle as she found refuge sitting next him but he made utterly sure that across from her sat Alexis. He noticed how both of them had eyes everywhere accept at each other. He couldn't understand how two people who used to get along just suddenly stopped talking. A part of him knew that this was simply a phase from Alexis, who probably was confused and conflicted by what she was supposed to do and as for Kate, he suspected, she was probably was giving Alexis the space she needed. He was the first to break the silence that was filing the room, "How was your day Beckett?" he asked.

Kate felt instantaneously relieved that he broke the silence. "Well I could sum it up in one word for you; boring. All I did was paperwork but I caught up on a lot of it. Oh and Gates came by to make sure I was still taking the week off."

"She probably just thought that you couldn't stay away from work" he smirked. "Kate dear...why don't you tell us one of your stories back in the day," he winked. "Maybe you and Alexis can compare details and your experiences."

"Erm well I don't think you really want to hear anything I did at her age" she said as she laughed. "But I can tell you this, my life in college were amongst the best years of my life, if you live them well the memories you have can get you through a lot. The suffering you're going through because of your studying is all worth it at the end once you've succeeded."

"And yet you became a cop." Alexis scoffed. As she said that she looked at Kate who immediately looked down in silence and she regretted those words immediately.

"Alexis!" Castle shouted, shocked by his daughter's words as he choked on the food he was eating.

"I...I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean it like that" she said not knowing what to do as she could feel a tear forming in her eye. "I'm sorry" she repeated and with that she got up from the chair and ran to her room.

Castle went on whispering to Kate. "Beckett, are you ok? I'm sorry for what she said. I don't know what's going with her recently."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. She's probably just uncomfortable with how things changed. I could understand that."

"But still she shouldn't have acted that way. Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No...No don't, not yet. Just let her cool off first. Maybe I should talk to her. I think the problem is with me."

"As you wish" and with that Castle smiled. He loved the idea that Kate would talk to his daughter for him. He knew Alexis would appreciate the gesture.

So yeah that's what I decided to do. Thank you for taking the time to read the first chapter of my story. I hope you like it please read and review :) Oh and thanks to all those who already are following this story and reviewed it, all your comments are much appreciated. If you want to share an idea you want in the story, inbox me I wouldn't mind. Have an awesome day ^^ xx