Red hair is great. It's rare, and therefore superior.
Augusten Burroughs
Rare, and Therefore Superior
"Beckett?" a voice says from over by her feet and Kate twists half upright, alarmed that she didn't even hear Alexis approach. She's got her head in her husband's lap, a pillow between them so that he doesn't yelp every time the bones of her skull grate against his femur. Her body stretches out along the length of the couch, and she's so absorbed in her thoughts that she hardly notices the sift of Castle's fingers through her hair.
He's making it gross, making it oily at her temples where the tips of his fingers flirt with her skin, but Kate can't bring herself to swat him away. All summer, he's been patient with her as she's swung back and forth between two possible futures.
Clinging tight to his hand, because whichever road she chooses she wants him walking at her side.
"What's up? And, Kate, Alexis. Again."
"Right," Castle's daughter says, ducking her head. Her eyes flick to her father and Castle eases his way out from underneath Kate to stand up from the couch.
It leaves Kate sitting upright, propped against the arm of the sofa and she draws her legs up, folding them so that she's no longer taking up the entire length of the cushions. Her husband moves behind the couch and braces his hands against the back of it, leaning down to kiss Alexis' forehead and then Kate's mouth.
"I'm gonna get started on dinner. You two talk."
"Thanks, babe," Kate hums, waiting until he's out of earshot before she turns back to look at his daughter. "Alexis. If there's. . .a reason you'd rather stick with Beckett. That's fine. I just don't want you to feel like you have to. I'm not your dad's work partner anymore. I'm family."
The girl sweeps the spill of her hair over one shoulder, inspecting the ends so that she doesn't have to meet Kate's eyes, and her shoulders lift in a shrug.
"It's not- there's not a reason, exactly. I just first knew you as Detective Beckett, and you were this cool, amazingly stylish and smart woman, and I was. . .I wanted to impress you. And show you that I respected you. So I never dreamed of calling you Kate."
"Am I not still cool?" Kate arches an eyebrow, her lips thinning as she presses them together, and cold horror washes over Alexis' face. The girl opens her mouth and a little choking noise comes out, the hands of Kate's teasing tight around her throat. "I'm just kidding, Alexis. I know what you mean. It is weird to learn one name for somebody and then switch to another. Why do you think I still call your dad Castle?"
"You call me?" her husband says, peering at them from around the door of the refrigerator and Kate waves a hand in dismissal, bubbles of tenderness slow to bursting inside her chest.
"I do think of you as family," Alexis says slowly. She has one leg crossed over the other and she bounces her bare foot in the air, her toes painted a soft lilac that's so lovely against her pale skin. "It's just gonna take a while for me to break the habit, I guess."
Kate shares a smile with the girl and rests her hands in her lap, picking at the raggedy edge of a cuticle. "I do get it, you know. It was weird having to switch from introducing myself as Officer Beckett to Detective Beckett. And now I'm going to have to do it all over again. Captain Beckett."
"So you're settled on that?" Alexis asks, not quite able to meet Kate's eyes again. The girl has been suspiciously silent on the whole matter, flicking her gaze back and forth between Kate and Castle while they hashed it out over dinner every night.
"Yes," Kate says firmly, smiling again because she's just so relieved to have settled on a decision. "I learned in DC that politics isn't really for me. I'm not sure I could bear being a senator, no matter how much positive change I was able to effect."
"Oh," Alexis breathes, pressing a hand to her forehead and sagging back against the couch. "Thank God."
It takes her by surprise, and for a moment all Kate can do is stare at the girl. Young woman, really, and Beckett ought to have asked for her opinion before now. This is Alexis' life too, not just hers and Castle's. "You didn't want me to take the senator job?"
"No," Alexis says fiercely, shaking her head, and the hard set to her jaw for a moment makes her look so like her father. "I mean, if that's what you'd really wanted then I would have been happy for you. But Dad said that the press would pry into all of our lives, and I'm not sure I can handle the scrutiny. And what if. . .what if they found something out about me that ruined your campaign? You'd hate me."
"Alexis," Kate laughs, shifting until her legs are under herself and knee-walking across the couch to Castle's daughter. Reaching for the girl's hand, she traps it between both of hers and ducks her head, meeting Alexis' eyes. "You have never in your life done anything that would smear my campaign. But even if you did, honey, I love you. I'd never hate you, no matter what."
"I jumped the turnstile once," Alexis mutters, and a burst of vibrant laughter escapes Kate. Alexis joins in, their heads dipped together as they giggle, and the touch of warm fingers to the back of Kate's neck makes her startle.
Tipping back, she sees her husband looming over her and he leans in to kiss her upside down, his fists against the back of the couch. "What's going on over here? Are you two conspiring against me again? My birthday's not for ages."
"Alexis was just telling me that she's glad I decided not to run for senator, because she once jumped the turnstile in the subway station and that would have spelled the end for my campaign."
Castle snorts and comes around the couch, squishing his way into the space between Kate and Alexis. He gets an arm around each of their shoulders, the tips of his fingers smoothing up and down the column of Kate's neck and making her press her thighs together.
"Pumpkin, Kate is married to me. Me. I stole a police horse, I've been arrested multiple times, I have a blatant disregard for authority. So trust me sweetie, it would not be you that would ruin things for Beckett."
"Hey," Kate pipes up, struggling to her knees under the oak-limb of Castle's arm so that she can peer around her husband, see Alexis as well. "Neither of you would have ruined anything. I just didn't want to do it. That's all."
That earns her a nod from Alexis and that same look of scrutiny from her husband. She's careful not to pack herself away inside, let them both see how very certain she is. After a moment, they both smile at her and Kate relaxes against the couch again, stretching her legs across Castle's thighs.
Her feet wind up in Alexis' lap and she wiggles her toes, waiting to see what the girl will do. Alexis' hand comes to the top of her foot and rests there, her touch cool and gentle. "I actually had a question. That's why I interrupted you and Dad."
"We weren't even doing anything worth interrupting," Castle whines, working his fingers underneath Kate's legs and wiggling them against the back of her knee. It tickles and she glares at him, climbs right over his lap to squeeze herself in between him and Alexis.
It tips him sideways and he grunts, goes sprawling half-horizontal across the couch. Kate pokes her index finger into the soft underbelly of him and he shrieks, immediately clasping a hand over his mouth and staring wide-eyed at them.
"Like I haven't heard you scream before," Kate rolls her eyes.
It makes Castle's face smooth out into a leer, one corner of his lips peeling back, and Alexis makes an exaggerated retching noise from behind Kate. "Ew, you two. You've been married for like ten months now. Please stop."
"I didn't mean it that way," Kate turns over her shoulder to see Castle's daughter, wrinkling her face up in apology. "Sorry."
"You so did," Castle mutters under his breath, and she turns back to pin him under a glare.
They're not so effective anymore, not when he knows that all he needs to do is rake his fingernails over the back of her thigh and she'll melt against him. He only shrugs. "Castle. Go away. This is girl talk. Go make food."
"So mean," he pouts at her, but he gets up from the couch and heads for the kitchen, pleasure making the lines of his body sharper, more crisp. He's so thrilled whenever he's got Kate and Alexis both here, and they both watch as he sings to whatever he's got on the stovetop.
"Dad's so happy," Alexis says, an elbow against the back of the couch and her cheek braced against her palm. "Thank you, Kate."
Wrapping her arms around herself, Kate tries valiantly to keep the whole aching stretch of her joy inside, but her smile blooms wide all the same. "I'm happy too. Now, what's your question?"
"I want to cut my hair," Alexis says, her voice low and urgent and her eyes flicking over towards her father. "But I've never had it short before. I don't know how Dad will react."
"How short are we talking?" Kate says, tilting her head to look at Alexis. She can't imagine the girl with a cropped cut, because her hair has fallen like fire against her spine for as long as they've known each other. "You'd look cute with a pixie, I think."
Alexis grimaces at that and shakes her head, sifting her fingers through the ends of her hair as if she worries that Kate is about to snatch it right off her head. "Not that short. Not this time. I was thinking just to my shoulders."
"It'll look beautiful," Kate smiles, pride coming to life in her chest. She's not Alexis' mother, of course, but she has sort of watched the girl grow up. Alexis is a young woman now, smart and confident and beautiful, and Beckett is honoured to be her friend. "You gonna do it soon?"
"I was wondering if I could go to your salon."
"Oh," Kate says, reaching for her cell phone from the end table. "Sure. Here, let me get you the number."
"I was also wondering," Alexis starts, bringing her knees up under herself. "If you'd come with me? Maybe get a trim or something. And then after we could go shopping? I'm looking for internships, so I need to pad out my professional wardrobe."
Kate gives Alexis a closed-mouth smile, her eyes scrunching up in pleasure, and she laces her fingers together. "I don't think you really need style advice from me. You always look great. But I need new clothes too, if I'm going to be captain, so that sounds wonderful."
"Yay!" the girl says, clasping her hands together and pressing them against her chest. "Can we go soon? I'm so ready to cut all this off."
She wraps a hand around her hair and lifts it, inspecting the ends, and Kate laughs. Folding her arms, she rests them against the back of the couch and waits for Castle to finish his chorus before she snags his attention. "Castle, we have anything planned for tomorrow?"
"Don't think so, why?" he calls back, wiping his hands on a dish cloth. Whatever he's cooking smells amazing and Kate's stomach grumbles its discontent, makes her press a palm there.
"Alexis and I are having a girls' day," she says, mischief like a silver thread running through her words, and her husband's head snaps up.
Eyes darting between the two of them, Castle's mouth turns down at the corners and he makes a grumpy little noise. "Not fair."
"So fair, Dad," Alexis says back, offering her fist for Kate to bump her own against. "You're totally monopolising Kate. I want to spend time with her too."
"Alright, alright," Castle says, turning back to the stove and muttering away to himself, but Kate sees the pleasure in the wiggle of his shoulders. "This is almost ready, if one of you would set the table."
Alexis stands up from the couch, pausing when Kate's fingers curl around her wrist to stop her from moving away. Getting to her feet, Beckett lets go of Alexis' arm and smiles at her. "Hey. You know you can spend time with me whenever, right?"
"I know," Alexis shrugs, her smile mostly in her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitch. "Now are you gonna help me set the table or what?"
"Right," Kate laughs, carding a hand through her hair. She's not sure if it was really a hint, but Alexis is right. She does need a trim. "I'll do drinks."
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