Technically it was her second shower of the day, but the first one was with Castle and was... well, recreational. Since she had to put on the previous day's clothing to come home she felt grimy again and her muscles and joints were starting to remind her of how much of a beating she had taken on that rooftop. Letting the stream of hot water soothe her body she slowed her breathing, willed her muscles to relax and tried to clear her mind. It was one of the exercises Dr. Burke had suggested. Even after all that had happened in the last 48 hours she wasn't feeling panicked but she knew she had a difficult task ahead and she wanted to be calm and clearheaded for it. She couldn't allow herself any room for doubt.
She glanced around the room, idly toweling at her damp hair, looking for any small distraction. Finding no figuratively shiny objects at hand she glanced toward her office space and sighed.
"Okay. Let's get this over with."
Dropping the towel over her desk chair she spotted the box she kept forgetting to take down to the recycling bin. She placed the empty box on her desk, closed her eyes and took several deep, calming breaths. When she opened her eyes again she didn't hesitate before opening the shutters over the window and began to take down the pieces of her mother's murder board.
He sighed deeply as he plopped down at his desk, rubbing his hands over his face. Wow. Kate had been so very right. Alexis had not exactly been overjoyed to hear that Beckett and her father were now romantically involved. And the stony silence over lunch? How did Kate put it? "Awkwardness all around." Yeah.
After lunch they talked. Really talked. He was able to assuage some of her concerns and had to admit that he shared a few. In the end they were both exhausted and while Alexis still wasn't overjoyed she seemed... okay. Maybe even tentatively happy. The tight hug and "I love you, Dad" before she headed upstairs went a long way toward reassuring him that things would work out.
One of the fears that he couldn't address to Alexis' satisfaction was the danger surrounding Beckett's mother's case. He told her that Kate had made the choice to drop the investigation and stressed what a huge step that was for Kate. He has a smart kid though. He could see that she knew that wouldn't make the danger go away. Just because Kate stopped chasing the dragon didn't mean the dragon would stop chasing her.
He stood and paced toward the window, idly noting the lengthening afternoon shadows.
Alexis hadn't come right out and said it, but the implication was clear. And he couldn't reassure her because honestly, she was right. He would do whatever it took to keep Beckett safe. Always.
Turning back toward his desk, he stopped at the smartboard. As the device came out of sleep mode the screen brightened the room with it's cool glow. Without hesitation he opened the trash folder and dragged the file labeled "BECKETT" out to it's former place.