Authors: Lori2279 and GoodForm2011
Disclaimer: We own nothing. Well not nothing. I have a nice car and my co-writer has a nice home. But when it comes to Castle, we own nothing.
AN: We're back. We just can't leave these two alone. While ABC never saw their potential, I know there of those of us who do. Tell us something good.
-d-d-d-d-d-
"Hey, Castle, want a glass of wine?" Kate asked after cleaning up dinner. It had been a rough few weeks at the office after Kevin had returned from bereavement leave.
"Lost my taste for alcohol for the moment," Rick frowned.
"Right," Kate nodded and pulled a pitcher from the fridge and poured him a glass. "Have some of the iced tea Alexis made."
"Thanks," Rick took a drink, "I'm worried about Ryan."
"Join the club," Kate took a seat next to him.
"I know Irishmen are known to be able to hold their alcohol, but Kevin's taking it to an extreme. Poor Sarah Grace. She loses her mother, and her father is practically passed out the moment he gets home from work," Rick frowned, "I can't really throw stones as I've behaved in a similar manner during my heydays, but this is different."
"You had Martha," Kate pointed out. "Kevin's mom isn't in great shape right now, and all his sister have their own families."
"Then who's watching out for Sarah Grace?" Rick asked, "Maybe I can offer to have her stay with us for awhile, at least until Kevin processes his grief."
"He won't let you," Kate shook her head. "Too much Irish pride."
"Maybe we don't give him the option to turn us down," Rick replied.
"We give him one more week, and then we barge in."
"Let's just hope nothing happens in the interim," Rick frowned.
"Yeah," Kate leaned her head on his shoulder.
-d-d-d-d-
Alexis backed away from the top of the stairs with a frown. She didn't like the sound of the conversation she'd just overheard.
She waited until her dad and Kate went into their bedroom before she tiptoed her way into her father's office and searched around for his address book. She always teased him about not joining the twenty first century and keeping a digital copy, but today was a day she was thankful he was suck in the previous century.
"Reynolds, Ritter, Rogerson, Ryan, there we go," Alexis copied down the address book.
She glanced at the clock. It was a bit late to be stepping out, but she didn't want to wait another day to take action.
She walked towards the door and stopped. Keys. She peeked over at her dad's door and then found Kate's bag. Lucky for her, her step-mother had labeled her partners' keys.
"Hey, Dad, I have a late night study session," Alexis called out, "Don't wait up."
"Okay," he called and then a very feminine giggle followed.
Alexis shuddered a little and walked out the door. She took comfort in the fact the giggle was Beckett's, but she still didn't want to hear them going at it.
-d-d-d-d-d-
Alexis quietly let herself into the Ryan apartment and shut the door behind her. She wrinkled her nose in distaste at the mess.
"Lovely," she murmured.
She'd deal with the mess later. She spotted a lump passed out on the sofa snoring softly. She moved towards the bathroom when she spotted Sarah Grace.
"Hi, Sweetheart," Alexis knelt in front of her, "I'm Alexis. Do you remember me?"
"You brought me cookies with bananas and chocolate chips in them. They were yummy."
"That's right," Alexis smiled.
"Daddy sleeping," Sarah Grace pointed towards her father and then zipped her lips. "Shhh."
"I know," Alexis nodded. "Why are you sleeping out here?"
"Have bad dream," the little girl frowned, "Wanted to be close to Daddy."
"Ah ha," Alexis nodded. "Do you know where Daddy's cell phone is?"
The little girl shook her head from side to side several times.
"How about you go back to bed?" Alexis suggested, "I'll read you a story in a little bit if you want."
"Okay, but what about Daddy?" Sarah Grace asked.
"I'll take care of him. Don't you worry."
"Okay," Sarah Grace grabbed up her doll and ambled back to her bedroom.
Alexis turned and looked at Kevin. She debated on waking him before she decided just to help him to bed.
"Come on, Detective," Alexis nearly crumbled under his weight. He was somewhat conscious but muttering incoherently. Alexis recoiled as the alcohol smell which hit her with each breath he took. She could almost get high on the fumes alone.
She dumped him into bed and took off his shoes before he covered him up after searching for his cell phone. She took his found phone back in the living room. She scrolled through the contacts and found Javier's number. It was a little late, but she'd take waking him up.
"Ryan, what is it?" Javi answered the phone with a sleepy voice, "I'm not picking you up at O'Neill's tonight. You got to cab your way home."
"It's not Ryan, Espo," Alexis said. "Sorry, I woke you."
"Alexis," Javi recognized the voice, "Is everything okay? How did you get Kevin's phone?"
"I pickpocketed him when I put him to bed," Alexis said.
"Are you at his place?" Javier glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
"Yes," she nodded. "Look, I'm going to try to get him out of bed and functioning tomorrow by noon. Can you pick him up then?"
"Sure thing," Javier responded, "Do you need any help?"
"Yeah, can you keep a breathalyzer in your desk at work? I'm getting him sober."
"I'll see if I can get Beckett to approve one," Javi responded, "Call me if you need anything…day or night."
"Thanks, Espo. I'll remember that."
"Good luck, Little Castle."
"I think I'm going to need it," Alexis said grimly as she looked around.
Alexis tossed the phone aside, rolled up her sleeves and got to work. First thing to go was all the alcohol in the house. She dumped it all down the sink.
Then came the living room. She folded up the blankets and put them back in the closet before she shook out the pillows and cushions, opening the window for some air.
The kitchen came after. She washed all the dishes and returned them to the appropriate cupboards. She took inventory of the fridge and pantry and made a list of groceries to pick up first thing in the morning.
She tiptoed into Kevin's bathroom when she couldn't find any cleaning products in the hall bathroom. She recoiled in disgust at the mess she saw.
"I'm never having boys."
Luckily she found the supplies she needed to clean the hall bathroom. She'd let Kevin clean up his own mess when he was sober enough to do it.
She cleaned the hall bathroom and then checked on Sarah Grace. The little girl was sound asleep holding onto a framed photo.
Alexis stepped close and saw the picture was of her mother. Her heart ached for the little girl.
She didn't try to take the picture away, instead she covered Sarah Grace and left her to sleep.
Once the apartment looked tidy, she parked herself on Kevin's sofa and tried to get a few hours sleep. She'd need to get up early enough in the morning to get the much needed groceries.
-d-d-d-d-
Kevin Ryan heard the sound of his name being called quietly accompanied by repeated pokes to his shoulder.
"Sarah Grace, go play with your dolls," Kevin muttered, "Daddy's not feeling well."
"Wake up, Detective," said a female voice who definitely not his daughter replied. "You've got the morning off, but Espo will be here at noon to pick you up for work."
"Alexis," Kevin opened one eye upon placing the voice, "What are you doing here?"
"You need help," Alexis said simply. "I'm here to give it to you. Now get up or I pour a bowl of ice water on you. That oughta do wonders for your hangover."
"Who the hell asked you to help me?" Kevin stumbled to his feet, "I am doing just fine, thank you very much."
"Good grief," Alexis waved her hand in front of her nose, "If you lit a match, your breath would catch on fire. Get yourself into the shower before I push you in there, clothes and all. Sarah Grace needs her father, and you're mucking it up."
"My daughter is none of your business. Go home, Castle Junior."
"If you don't sober up and get with it, I'll take Sarah Grace with me and raise her myself," Alexis hissed, "She doesn't need a drunk for a father."
"I'd like to see you try," Kevin said. "Leave."
"Okay, then we do this the hard way," Alexis nodded. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the bathroom. While pushing him into the stall, she turned the water on; full blast and ice cold.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kevin sputtered while trying to avoid the spray, "Let me out of here."
"Not until you sober up and see reality," Alexis held firm.
"I really don't like you right now," Kevin glared.
"I can live with that. Get cleaned up. I'm going to start breakfast."
Kevin grumbled when Alexis left him in the shower. It didn't even occur to him in his alcohol soaked brain that he could turn the water to hot with her out of the room.
-d-d-d-d-
"Beckett," Kate answered the phone.
"I need your help," Kevin said into the phone.
"What can I do for you, Ryan?" Kate asked calmly.
"Get your stepdaughter out of my apartment," he returned.
"Alexis is where?" Kate nearly burst out in laughter.
"This is not funny. She showed up this morning, woke me up, and tossed me into a freezing cold shower."
"Good for her," Kate replied, "You sober enough to work a shift?"
"I think she said Javi's coming to get me at noon."
"That doesn't answer my question," Kate responded, "Are you sober?"
"With the way my head's pounding, I'd say yes," Kevin said. "You are missing my point. She won't leave."
"What exactly do you want me to do about it?" Kate asked.
"Arrest her for trespassing," Kevin replied.
"Arrest her yourself," Kate shot back, "You're a cop."
"Castle won't kill you," Kevin said. "If I arrest her, he'll murder me."
"Then I guess you're stuck, because I'm not arresting her," Kate said. "I think I like this."
"Some boss you are," he huffed and then abruptly ended the call. He pulled on some clean clothes and charged into the kitchen with the intention of forcing Alexis out of his apartment by any means necessary. He came to a screeching halt when he heard his daughter singing along with a nursery rhyme Alexis was singing while she began throwing spoiled food from the fridge into the garbage.
As it ended he heard Alexis ask Sarah Grace if she could say 'Yuck'.
"Yuck!" Sarah Grace mimicked from her perch on the kitchen counter.
"Very good. I think your daddy's lucky none of this stuff walked out under its own steam."
The little girl giggled in reply.
"Let's see if there's anything edible left in the fridge or if I have to take you out to feed you."
"I want ice cream," the little girl stated.
"Not for breakfast," Alexis shook her head, "Maybe after we have lunch."
"Aw, nuts," the little girl pouted.
Alexis opened the fridge a second time to survey the remaining options before determining they wouldn't need to eat out, "How do pancakes sound?"
"Yummy!" Sarah Grace clapped happily.
"Good. Should we see if your daddy wants any?"
"Yes," Sarah Grace's head bobbed like a bobblehead doll.
"Okay," Alexis scooped her up and then set her on her feet. "Go find him."
"Hi, Daddy," Sarah Grace wrapped her arms around Kevin's leg the instant she saw him, "Lexis and I get pancakes."
"Really?" Kevin scooped her up. "Sounds good to me."
"Yay," Sarah Grace clapped her hands together and then grasped his hand and pulled, "Let's go, Daddy."
"Let's go," he agreed as he stepped into his now clean kitchen.
"Morning," Alexis said.
"It…ah…looks good in here," he stammered, "Is there any coffee?"
"Yep," Alexis pointed to the corner. "I need a credit card because I'm going food shopping for you."
"Uh, thanks, but that's not necessary. I can get them myself," Kevin shook off the offer.
"Don't worry. Sarah Grace and I will go food shopping after you go to work. I won't get fancy on you. Just the necessities," Alexis smiled. "Then she and I will have lunch before I give her ice cream."
"Ice cream," the young girl picked up with an eager smile.
"That's right," Alexis tapped her nose with a smile.
"Alexis," Kevin started.
"After you eat, you can take all the garbage out," Alexis smiled.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but Sarah Grace and I are fine," Kevin responded.
"Kevin, your kitchen was seconds away from being declared a natural disaster area. The only thing in your fridge while didn't have mold growing on it was the eggs, and by some mercy the milk hadn't gone bad."
"What's your point?" he scowled at her.
"You're not fine," she responded calmly.
"What do I have to do to get rid of you?"
"Care," she said simply. "Now, what do you like on your pancakes, Sarah Grace?"
"Peanut butter and maple syrup," Kevin answered for his little girl.
"That sounds delicious," Alexis smiled.
"Yummy, yummy, yummy, I got love in my tummy," Sarah Grace began to sing while rubbing circles into her small belly.
Alexis giggled as she picked up Sarah Grace and spun her around, singing with her.
-d-d-d-d
"Hey, Javi," Alexis answered the door. "He'll be out in a minute. He's looking at my grocery list."
"Don't know how you got through to him, but I owe you a great big thanks," Javi replied.
"No problem," Alexis closed the door once Javier was in the apartment. "I accept cash, chocolate, and coffee."
"Noted," Javi smiled.
"Uncle Javi," Sarah Grace ran towards him and threw her arms around his legs.
"Hey, Niña," Javi scooped her up. "How you doing today?"
"Lexis made pancakes," she smiled.
"She did," Javier responded, "I bet they were yummy."
"Of course," Alexis smiled. "I learned from the king of pancake makers."
"Ryan, you'd better hurry up," Javi called out, "Beckett will put us on parking duty if we're late."
"C'mere you little monster," Alexis took Sarah Grace from Javi as Kevin made an appearance.
"Bye, Daddy," Sarah Grace waved her father away.
"Bye, Sweetie," Kevin smiled.
As he and Javi walked down the hall, Kevin looked at his partner, "Was this your idea?"
"I wish I'd thought of it but no," Javi responded, "She thought that up all on her own."
"She threw me into a shower, fully clothed."
"Good," Javi responded, "You deserve it."
"Thanks, Partner," Kevin grumbled.
"You look halfway human," Javi told him. "She's doing something right."
"I haven't been that bad," Kevin protested.
"Ryan, what day is it?" Javier challenged him.
"Um, uh," Kevin fumbled. "Tuesday."
"Friday," Javier corrected him.
"Oh," Kevin looked at the floor. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize to me. Thank, Alexis."
"She threw me in the shower, fully clothed," Kevin grumbled, "Gratitude is not high on my list at the moment."
"How cold was the water?" Javi smirked.
"Arctic cold," he felt a shiver course down his spine.
Javi laughed, "I knew I liked Alexis for a reason."
Kevin mumbled to himself all the way to Javi's car.
