He was sitting at his desk with a glass of whiskey in his hand. The loft was quiet. Too quiet. His little girl was gone. She wasn't in her room upstairs, he couldn't go up and check on her like he always did.
He glanced down at the framed photo that decorated his desk. Alexis was sitting on a bench in the park, smiling up at him. Suddenly all those memories came flooding back to him. Those winter days spent ice-skating, their Saturday movie nights and all their laser-tag games.
He knew he shouldn't dwell on them. Alexis was all grown up, but he couldn't help thinking about all those things he didn't get a chance to do with her. He was feeling extremly lonely. He took his phone from his pocket and dialed the number of the only person he knew could cheer him up.
"Castle," came her voice from the other side of the line.
"Hey, Kate. How are you doing?" His voice was soft and weak. "Castle, is everything alright? Are you crying?"
"She's gone, Kate. My little girl moved out." A tear escaped his eye, but he quickly wiped it away. He wasn't going to break down now.
"Rick, I'm so sorry." He could hear her heavy breathing through the phone, like she was walking up some stairs. "Everything's going to be fine."
Castle was just about to reply when he heard a knock on the door. "Looks like someone's at the door. I'll be right back", he said. He walked out of his study and quickly headed towards the dooor. He opened it and was happily surprised.
On the other side was Beckett. She stuffed her phone in her pocket and took a step towards him.
"You're here", he whispered.
"I'm here." She walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck. Castle buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her familiar scent.
Realising the door was still open, Castle took a step back and closed it behind them. He embraced Kate again and as soon as she wrapped her arms around him, tears started flowing down his face.
"Shhh... Just relax." Kate started rubbing her hands up and down his back to try and calm him down. They stood there for several minutes until his crying started to calm down.
He pulled back and looked at his fiancee with red, teary eyes. "I'm so sorry. It's just that I..." She cut him off with a finger to his lips.
"Rick, it's okay. I completely understand." She smiled at him and pulled her hand away. "God, I love you so much." He pulled her in for a searing kiss. After seperating Kate looked deep into his eyes and said "I love you too. Now, can we move from here and move inside?"
Rick let out a low throaty chuckle. "Sure, c'mon I'll make you a cup of coffee." He took her hand and led her to his kitchen. She sat down on one of the barstools, while he moved around the kitchen making coffee.
"Everything's gonna be fine, you know that, right?"
"Yeah. It's just... I'll miss her and I'm still not sure she made the right decision." He placed her coffee in front of her and sat down. Beckett took one of his hands in hers. "It might not have been the right decision, but it was her decision. She's an adult and you have to let her learn from her mistakes."
"Yeah, I guess." He looked down at their joined hands and then back up at her.
"Good boy. Now let me tell you what happened at work after you left."
A/N Reviews are greatly appreciated :)