Disclaimer: Nothing's changed. In case you're new to me though, I don't own!
A/N: This is based off of Chris Young's song Who I Am With You. Also, if you've heard the song before, I took it a different way than you might expect. I feel like it's not a stretch either. Also, the timeline might be a little off, but go with it? I hope you enjoy!
Castle had never really found a place to settle down. He'd never really wanted to. When he was younger he and his mother moved around a lot. They always had to go wherever her play was running. If that happened to be in another town, in another city, in another country even, they made it work.
That was the kind of life Castle enjoyed. Because this was the kind of life he lived, he had seen a lot of the world. He had his favorite places and he had places to which he would never return. He never saw himself having any other kind of life.
When Meredith came along, Castle still didn't see himself as a family man. He didn't see himself getting serious with Meredith. He figured they'd play around for a little bit and then she would move on and so would he. He wasn't even panicked when she told him she was pregnant. It wasn't that big of a deal.
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As soon as Castle held his daughter for the first time, he knew this little person was going to change his life. He didn't know how yet, but he knew she would. The first change he would make would be with Meredith. He was finally going to settle down. They would get married and raise this child. He was going to give Alexis the best life he could.
Castle didn't know it was possible to fall in love so fast. He had seen Alexis only five minutes ago, had held her for one total and already he loved her more than he thought he would ever love anyone.
He quickly kissed this tiny baby's soft cheek. "I'll be a good daddy for you, Baby. I promise."
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"Can we go to the park?" Alexis asked her father.
Castle looked away from his computer and saw his five-year-old daughter clutching her precious "Monkey Bunkey" and looking up at him with innocent, pleading eyes. He smiled. "Of course we can."
Alexis' eyes widened. She knew her dad loved her and would do anything for her, but she thought her dad had to meet a deadline. "Right now?"
"You bet," Castle agreed.
Alexis shrieked with excitement, twirled in a circle and skipped around the room. Castle laughed at the obvious elation he saw in his daughter.
Suddenly Alexis stopped twirling and skipping right in front of him. She looked up at him with an unreadable look on her face.
"What is it, pumpkin?" Castle asked.
Alexis bit her lip. "Do you think…well, do you think Mommy would want to go?"
Castle almost knew Meredith wouldn't. Going to the park, playing with Alexis, basically just having anything to do with their daughter, wasn't her thing. Alexis looked so hopeful though, he wasn't going to send her to ask Meredith and have Meredith crush her hopes.
He picked her up, twirled her around and then sat down on the couch in his study. "I don't know. Do you think it would be okay if you and I went? After all, going to the park has always been our thing."
Alexis still wasn't convinced, so he bent down and whispered conspiratorially, "We can get ice cream after if you promise not to tell Mommy."
Alexis giggled at her dad's tone. She became very serious very quickly. "I won't tell."
Castle smiled and hugged his daughter tightly. How could Meredith ignore this beautiful girl who so obviously loved them both? Neither one of them deserved her, but Castle wasn't complaining. He was going to hold on to these little moments as tight as he could. He knew they would be few and far between as his little girl grew up.
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Alexis watched her dad with wide eyes. She couldn't believe he was actually yelling at someone. He never yelled! She quickly slid down the slide and hid behind it. She peeked out and watched the exchange between her dad and this stranger. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell her dad was angry.
Castle had never been more annoyed in his life. He couldn't believe this reporter had followed him and his daughter to this park, wanting to get an interview. He couldn't believe this reporter didn't want an interview with him, but with his daughter. She was only five. He was not going to let this reporter touch his daughter with a ten foot pole. He would never let any reporter get near his daughter if he could help it.
"No!" Castle repeated for at least the hundredth time. "You are not going to speak to my daughter."
"All I want—"
"No!" Castle cut the woman off. "You are not going to touch her, you are not going to speak to her, and you are not even going to look at her!"
The woman looked perturbed and definitely offended. "Fine."
As soon as the woman walked away, Castle saw Alexis come out from behind the slide. He had hoped she would stay there until the woman was gone. He kind of figured she would. He had always taught her never to speak to strangers (especially since there were so many reporters around) and he knew he might've scared her slightly since she had never seen him so angry before.
Yelling was never something Castle condoned, especially to women, but he was protecting someone that was more important to him than his own life and he decided that made it more acceptable. Alexis brought attributes out of him that he never realized he had. She was definitely good for him.
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Castle stepped into his daughter's bedroom quietly and watched her sleep. He couldn't believe he had gotten lucky enough to be blessed with this sweet, innocent, loving child. Every time he thought about Meredith just walking out on her, it made him so angry. How could Meredith not see that this little girl they had created together was always going to be the best thing in her life?
He knew he wasn't a perfect person and lately he had seen that Meredith definitely wasn't. Still though, when he looked at Alexis, he knew he must have done something right. After all, she was a part of him. She was the best part of him., hands down.
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Looking at his daughter, Castle tried to stifle a laugh. Alexis was laying of her stomach on the floor. Her chin was resting on her fisted hands and her legs were bent at the knee, swinging in the air behind her. The reason Castle had to press his lips together to keep his laugh in was because Alexis…was reading the paper. He didn't know why he thought this was funny though. At ten years old, she was already smarter than he could ever hope to be.
Alexis sighed, looking up at her father. "The paper is telling lies about you again."
Castle's eyes widened slightly. "I thought I told you to always ignore what the paper says about me!"
Alexis rolled her eyes. "I can't ignore it! If I have to hear about it in school, the least I can do is be prepared and have a good argument."
Castle winced. "Do you really hear about it at school?"
Alexis laughed. "Of course. Everyone knows you're my dad."
"Sorry," Castle apologized.
"It's no big deal," Alexis assured him. "I could ask for a better dad. Besides, it doesn't matter what my friends say, it doesn't matter what my teachers say, it doesn't even matter what the paper says."
Castle raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? And why's that?"
"Because it's all lies," Alexis said. "I know you and I know you're a better person than the paper makes you out to be."
Castle didn't have anything to say to that. He wasn't sure he was any better than the papers always said. He could only repeat to Alexis what he had said multiple times before. "Ignore what the papers say. As I've told you before, there are two sides to me. The side the papers see and the side you see."
Alexis shook her head, not buying it. "The side the papers think they see. The side I see is the real you."
At that, Alexis nodded decisively and went upstairs to start working on her homework. Castle smiled at Alexis' retreating figure. He whispered, "If only the papers could see who I am with you."
Okay, that was definitely not the best ending in the world, but I had to end it with the title of the song since that's just what I do. Regardless and ignoring the crappy ending, what did you think? Please review and tell me what you liked, please review and tell me what to change. Thanks for reading!