Chapter 1
Kate screwed up yet another page of her notepad and threw it across the room, narrowly missing the wastepaper basket and hitting her daughter, who was just coming through the door, squarely on the nose.
"Sorry, Lex," she said, not sounding sorry at all. Alexis laughed and threw it back at her.
"You're such a bad shot, mom," the ten year old laughed.
"Hey. You distracted me."
"How's the writing going?"
"Crap."
"You shouldn't have killed off Derrick."
"I shouldn't have let you read it."
"You have to let me read it. I'm your number one editor."
"You're too little for murder stories."
"I like them. Anyway, they're not real."
"Very true. Where's Grams and Grandpa?"
"Work."
"I thought they were having dinner with us tonight?"
"Grams called earlier, Grandpa's busy too, they're at the office together. They said to tell you sorry."
"They're always sorry. But we still never see 'em."
"Do you wish they were around more?"
Kate smiled. "Of course I do, but not too much - I have you. By the way, are you still coming to the launch party with me tomorrow night?"
"Sure." Alexis came over and sat on her lap. "I love your parties."
"Everyone loves my parties. I'll let you try some champagne if you want."
"Mom, I'm ten!"
"I'd tried champagne by the time I was ten."
"Yeah, but…"
Kate chuckled. "Yeah, I wasn't exactly a model child. So. What do you want for dinner? Ice cream?"
"Ice cream isn't dinner, it's dessert."
"Dessert can be dinner. We can have vanilla for our main course and then chocolate afterwards."
"What about pasta?"
"Fine. Boring."
Kate lifted Alexis up and held her on her hip. She was a bit old to be carried, but she was so little and light. Kate set her on the kitchen counter of her beautiful open plan loft and they cooked together, making pasta and tomato sauce. Kate was a fantastic cook; for all her ice cream jokes she very rarely ordered in, and she enjoyed providing a varied and balanced diet for her family. Her mother had always been at work and Kate had been taught to cook by her father - when he had been around.
They ate their dinner sitting on the counter. After they'd finished the dishes, Kate looked around the apartment for inspiration. She knew what Alexis was thinking before she even caught her eye.
"Laser tag?" she said. Alexis grinned and ran to get the stuff. Kate put the vase from the piano in the hall closet and turned on the radio to their favourite station.
She tried to write again after Alexis had gone to bed, but starting something new was a lot harder than writing Derrick, even if it was more exciting. After a glass of red wine, she gave up and went to bed. She texted her parents to remind them about the launch the next night, but she didn't have high hopes about their attendance. Still. There was always a chance - they were good people, and they truly cared. They had every article, every first edition, every picture, displayed around their living room. They might be busy, but they were definitely proud of their daughter.
Kate's alarm woke her at seven; she jumped out of bed and hurried upstairs. Unsurprisingly, Alexis was already up and showered.
"Will you do a braid?" she asked when her mom came in. Kate sat behind her and began to work on Alexis' beautiful red hair. That had come from her father, as had the bright sparkle of blue-green in her eyes.
"What do you want for lunch?" she asked when she was done.
"Can I have peanut butter please? And carrot sticks?"
Kate patted her head. "Sure. I'll just go make that. D'you need anything else?"
"No thank you."
Kate hurried downstairs to make herself presentable enough to drive Alexis to school, then made the packed lunch. Alexis skipped into the hall just as Kate popped a packet of oreos into the bag. She rolled the top down and handed it to her daughter.
"Ready?"
"Yep. We're not even late."
"Really? Maybe we should think of something else to do!"
Alexis laughed. "Come on. And you're picking me up?"
"Of course."
"And it's the party! Is my dress ready?"
"You mean the blue one that matches mine? No, I don't even know where it is…" but there was a twinkle in her eyes. Alexis giggled.
"You're so silly."
"I know. Right. Allons-y."
"What?"
"Means let's go in French."
"All-ons-ee," Alexis said slowly.
"You got it."
When Kate returned she found a message from her mother saying she would be at the launch party even if she had to walk right out of court. She grinned. And then… she changed into her batman t-shirt and sweat pants and played call of duty while she waited for inspiration to strike. At one o'clock she made herself a pastrami sandwich and forced herself to sit in front of her laptop instead of the widescreen, but it wasn't any more productive.
At three she put her clothes back on and left to collect Alexis; she timed it perfectly so she approached the school just as Alexis ran out.
"Good day?" she asked as Alexis buckled up.
"Yeah. I gave Owen one of my oreos."
"Oh, did you now?" Kate waggled her eyebrows.
"Shut up. I mean, be quiet."
Kate laughed. "No, shut up's okay if I ask about your love life."
"It's not my love life!"
"Are you tired?"
"No. Are you?"
"No! I'm too excited to be tired."
"Exactly. Did you write anything today?"
"Yes…"
"You played video games didn't you?"
"Are you judging?"
"No. But you'd feel better if you wrote."
Kate sighed. "I know. But I can't think of anything."
"You could bring Derrick back to life."
"Hardly - did you not read the book?"
"There were some loopholes."
Kate pretended to gasp. "Loopholes?"
Alexis laughed. "Yes. Loads. The plot was totally unrealistic."
They stopped at the waxing place first. Alexis made a face and stayed in the waiting room.
"You'll understand when you're older and they ask you to be on the cover of Vogue," Kate told her.
"I still can't believe you're being mean about my plot," Kate said when she came out again. "You've got me worried now. "What if people don't like it?"
"Your editor loved it. And you know I'm kidding," Alexis assured Kate as they drove to the salon. Kate hadn't booked anything, she probably should have but-
"Oh my God, is that…"
"Wait, no, it can't be!"
"It is, I'd know that face anywhere."
"I'd know that ass anywhere!"
"Forget the ass, I'd know that HAIR anywhere."
Kate held in her giggles as the staff in the upmarket salon jostled to get to her first.
"We'd like our hair and nails done, please," she said, winking at Alexis.
"Ms Beckett, yes, of course, certainly," gushed the first rather flustered stylist.
Two hours later they left, with stunning nails and hair.
"We should put that one on the good list," Alexis said.
"I don't know. They talked about my ass."
"In a complementary way," Alexis pointed out.
"True. Okay. I'm a sucker for flattery."
They picked up a pizza on the way back to the loft and ate it quickly before putting on their make up and dresses. Then they stood in front of the huge mirror in Kate's bedroom and admired themselves.
"Ready for the red carpet?" Kate asked, sipping her glass of wine.
"I am - are you?"
"Dutch courage," Kate said, lifting her wine glass. Alexis clinked it with her coke.
"It'll be fine. If you trip I'll trip too, worse, so everyone looks at me instead."
"How did you get to be so nice?"
"It's a mystery," Alexis teased.
The buzzer went.
"That'll be the limousine," Kate said, picking up her clutch purse with one hand and taking Alexis' hand with the other. They took the elevator together, grinning with excitement, though Kate's smile was a bit of a nervous grimace by the time they were in the car.
They leaned back in the exquisitely comfortable leather seats. Kate switched to orange juice so she wasn't tipsy for the red carpet; Alexis was on water now.
The limo pulled up and the driver opened the door. Kate got out in a way that was just the right balance of neat and sexy. It was one of the first things she had mastered. Although when she didn't bring Alexis she was known for turning up to parties on her Harley.
She took Alexis' hand and they walked through the sea of flashing cameras and screaming paparazzi.
"Just smile and walk," Kate whispered. Alexis gripped her hand more tightly, but her smile betrayed none of her fear. And then they were safe inside, in a whirlwind of beautiful dresses and classy music. They were late, but only fashionably, and Kate reached the podium just as she was supposed to make a speech. She managed a few words of flirtatious praise for her readers, then stepped into the crowd, signing books and the occasional muscular torso for the adoring fans that were rich and influential enough to have scored invitations.
Gene gripped her arm and lead her aside for a moment; she'd left Alexis in the hands of the bartender, an old friend of hers.
"You very nearly missed it," Gene said through gritted teeth.
"Relax. I didn't. It's fine."
"I can't believe you killed off Derrick."
"Hey. Derrick isn't the golden goose here, I am."
"I'm still waiting on the first three chapters of something new."
He said something new with an air of strong disbelief.
"I'm working on it, okay!"
"That's not what my sources tell me," he said sternly, but he winked at her before going back to mingle in the crowd. Kate gave him the finger, not very discreetly, as he left.
"Never sleep with your publisher," she told Alexis as she helped herself to a glass of champagne at the bar. Alexis wrinkled up her nose.
"You always give me the best advice," she said sarcastically.
Kate sighed. "Gene was mad."
"I like Gene."
"I know, but… I wish we didn't have to go to all these things. My speech felt so fake."
"I thought it was good."
"Thanks, sweetie, really. But it's still so boring. I'd much rather hang out with you at home."
"You don't mean that. I know you like them really," Alexis told her as yet another gorgeous man tapped Kate on the shoulder.
"Where would you like it?" she asked, winking as she produced a sharpie.
"Detective Rick Castle. Actually, I'd like to talk to you about a murder that took place recently."
A/N: I really hoped you liked this, because it is one of my very very favourite ideas that I've ever had and I'm going to have to keep writing it whether you like it or not! Please review, love you x
