Rick Castle, Kate Beckett and Alexis age is 28, 25 and 5 respectively.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Castle.
There was a knock on the door. Rick got up and opened the door to be greeted by his best friend and childhood friend, Kate Beckett.
"Kate!" Rick said happily.
"Surprise!" Kate threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"Hey..." he said as he hugged back. When they pulled away, he said, "Hey..."
"Hey yourself," Kate replied with a smile.
"You look great, by the way," he said.
"Thanks. You don't look bad yourself, Ricky," she teased.
"C'mon in," Rick invited.
The moment Kate Beckett entered the loft, she was attacked by one Alexis Castle.
"Kate!" Alexis shouted excited as she ran towards her.
Kate bent down and scooped Alexis up. "Hey lil' Red!" Kate said as she spun Alexis around before carrying her on her hip.
"Did you miss me?" Alexis asked.
"Of course I missed you!"
"Kate, I'll be in the office. Be back in a few. Okay?"
"Okay..." With that, Rick retreated to his office.
Beckett set Alexis down and began tickling her. "Did you miss me?"
"Kate! Ah! Haha! Stop! Please!" Alexis shouted as she laughed.
"Tell me you miss me and then I'll stop."
"Okay! Okay! I missed you!" Then Kate stopped tickling her and help her up. "Good. Now.." Beckett knelt down to her height. "Where's Grams?"
"She's out of town," Alexis replied.
"And your mom?" Kate asked.
Alexis began to mumble. Before Kate could say anything, the guest room door burst open and Meredith stormed out of it. She walked down the stair with her suitcase.
"Richard!"
"What?" Rick asked as he came out of the office.
"Who is this? And what is she doing with my daughter?" Meredith demanded.
"This is my friend, Kate. She's visiting."
"Actually... I'm staying," Kate spoke.
"No way! Here in New York?" Rick asked.
"Yup. Just enrolled myself in the police academy here in New York. I have a few months off before school starts."
"Plan on being a cop, I see?" Rick teased.
"Yeah," Kate replied. Before she could say more, Meredith cut in and spoke.
"Sorry to interrupt but.. How long have you two known each other?"
"Since high school," they said at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.
"Kate was ah... She was my neighbour back then," Rick explained further.
"Right... And why haven't I seen you before?" Meredith asked as she took a step closer to Kate.
"You don't need to explain to her, Kate. And Meredith? You have no right to interrogate her like she's some low-life criminal," he turned to Beckett and said, "See what I did there?"
"Hmm yeah.. I saw," Kate couldn't help but smile at his antics.
He then added, "Now, if you don't mind... I would like you to go. You don't want to miss your flight."
"Fine!" With that, Meredith stormed out.
"What happened between you two?"
"I'll tell you later," he said.
"But right now.." he paused and carried Alexis on his shoulder, "We gotta get this little red riding hood to school!"
Alexis began giggling. "Daddy! Put me down!" He did as he was told.
"Go get ready."
"Kay," Alexis said as she ran up to her room to get ready for school.
"What happened, Rick?" Kate asked.
"Meredith happened. I caught her cheating on me with her director. The nerve of that woman!" Rick complained. "So... I just finalized the divorce and I'm a free man. Got full custody to Alexis but Meredith gets to visit if she wants to."
"Wow... A lot has happened while I was gone, huh?"
"Yeah... Anyways, how's collage? I thought you wanted to be a lawyer," he asked.
"I did but I realized that I could make an even more difference being a cop. I still get to give the people the justice they deserve," Kate said.
"You know... Stanford was amazing but it wasn't my calling."
"Wow... You're really remarkable, Kate..."
She blushed. "Thanks, Rick."
"No, really... You're an extraordinary person."
"So I've heard.."
Kate's hazel green eyes met his ocean blue ones. They just stared at each other. He gave her a warm smile that made her blush. He chuckled.
"What?" she looked away, hoping to hide the blush.
"You look adorable when you blush," he commented.
That made her blush even more. She refused to look at him, so she had her eyes fixed on the ground. He chuckled again. Suddenly, Kate found herself in his arms. The feeling inside of her was wrong but it felt so right.
"I missed you, Kate," he whispered softly.
The faint whisper was barely audible but she heard what she needed to hear. His voice made her tingle inside and made her legs weak. She just held onto him tighter and bury her head in his chest.
"I missed you too, Rick," she replied.
It was amazing, the height difference. If Kate was wearing her stiletto heels, she would have been almost the same height as Rick. Without the heels, she was able to rest her head on his chest. She could hear his steady heartbeat as he breathed in and out.
After a moment of silence, they pulled away just as Alexis came down the stairs.
"Ready!"
"Alright, pumpkin. Let's go!"
Alexis went up to Kate and held her hand, "Kate? Can you send me off too? It's been a while since you did the last time."
"It has been a while, hasn't it? I'd love to, lil' Red but I have to meet my mom and dad and get settled first."
"Okay..." Alexis said disappointedly.
Kate knelt and said, "How about this? You let your daddy send you off today, and I'll pick you up later. We could go get ice cream and you can tell me everything I missed while I was gone. How about that?"
"Really? Okay!" Alexis said with a smile.
"Alexis? Why don't you go downstairs and wait for me in the car?"
"I don't want to.." Alexis whined.
"Alright fine. Cover your ears and keep your eyes closed. No peeking."
She did as she was told. Rick Castle chuckled and looked over at Kate Beckett.
"Can I drop you off?" he asked softly.
"Um.. No. I'm good. You might wanna hurry up. I don't think Alexis could keep her eyes shut for much longer."
"You're right. See you later?"
"Definitely," Kate said with a huge smile.
He smiled back and pecked her cheek. She blushed. He then told Alexis that she could remove her hands and opened her eyes. Then Alexis saw Kate waving at the two of them before walking out of the loft.
"Alright, pumpkin! Let's get you to school!"
"Yay!"
While they were in the car, Alexis asked suddenly.
"Hey daddy? Is Kate your girlfriend?"
"W-what? No! No.. She's not. Why would you think that she is?" Rick asked.
"Well... You two hug and kiss.. I just thought.."
"Well, she's not."
"Do you want her to be?" Alexis asked.
"What? Alexis, what's with all the questions?"
"I like Kate. She's very nice."
"Yes, she is. You're avoiding the question."
"And you've been avoiding mine," she retorted.
"Don't turn it on me. I taught you how to do that."
"Fine. It's just that.. Kate always try to spend time with me.. She's better than mommy ever was. I wish she was my mother.."
Rick pulled his daughter in for a side hug. "Oh Alexis.. Your mother loves you but.. She lives all the way in L.A. Your mother and I have had our differences but we still love you."
"Do you like her?"
"Who? Kate?"
She nodded. "Honestly? Yeah, I do. I've liked her since the day I met her but that is our little secret, okay pumpkin?"
"Okay," Alexis said with a smile.
That is all I have for now. Tell me what you guys think!