I'm back. The excitement drove me crazy I guess. So, I still apologize for any mistakes. I have a lot to learn since I'm a new writer and a new Castle-fangirl. Therefore I really appreciate when you guys point things out and comment! Mistake is the best teacher.

Thans to S for editing!

(I rarely write dialogues, so let's see how this will turn out...)

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle even if I wanted to.

"Detective Beckett"

"It's Castle, Kate. I'm sorry to bother you this late, but I'm worried about Alexis. She hasn't called, and she's not home yet. Please Kate, track her down for me, will ya? This is not like her. She always calls me before she gets here," Castle explained nervously.

"Castle, I get that you're worried about her, but she is eighteen. Eventually everyone gets to the phase when they realize they don't have to share their entire life with someone else," she responded while giving Esposito and Ryan an angry look. "Besides, I've got work to do."

The two detectives were curiously listening to the call. When they realized that Beckett caught them staring they looked at each other and shrugged. It was not worth bothering Beckett, at least not this late when she was tired. Finally they left her alone with Castle on the phone.

"I know, Beckett, I know. I just can't get rid of this feeling that something's wrong," he replied with a slightly shaky voice.

Beckett thought he was overreacting again, which made her somewhat irritated. She knew that Castle wouldn't be able to sleep before he got some answers. Not that it was any of her concern for the moment, but she still felt a bit guilty if she didn't help him. Besides, a tired and nervous Castle was not someone she wanted to deal with in the morning.

Alexis was probably partying with her friends, and there was a possibility she was drunk too, which could explain why she wasn't home yet. Beckett knew Alexis wasn't the kind of girl who liked to drink, but she could've wanted to get away from all of the homework she got.

The same thought must have slipped through Castle's mind too. There was a chance Alexis would call tomorrow, having a hungover and probably be embarrassed about it too. She was after all a smart and good girl.

"Castle, I'll see what I can do. Don't wait up, though. She might have just forgotten to call you. And since there's a possibility that she's just drunk; I'm sure you've done worse things when you were her age," Beckett finally answered.

She could hear how a relieved sigh slipped through at the other side of the line.

"Thanks Kate. I really appreciate it," he mumbled with a slightly calmer voice. He didn't even comment on the insulting statement she just made.

"Yeah. Go to bed, Castle. I'll call if I find her"

Right after she hung up the phone, Esposito and Ryan walked up to her.

"So what did he want you to do this late then, huh?" Espo asked with a smirk on his face.

"Oh shut up you two already!" she replied quickly, making sure they could feel the burning gaze she gave them. Maybe her reply was too fast, because she could see their suspiciousness grow. Beckett decided to change the subject as fast as possible.

"Alexis was supposed to come home an hour ago, which she didn't, and now Castle is freaking out. I suppose she's enjoying her college-life with some friends and forgot to call her overly-anxious dad. So he called me, and I promised to make a few calls. That might make him feel better. That's it. Now that you know everything you can go home. It's late boys, let's make it a day," she told the two detectives.

"Why the sudden urge to make Castle feel pleased?" Ryan asked, crossing his arms in a desperate attempt to look serious. The effect was somewhat ruined by his barely concealed laughter.

Esposito frowned at her, suggesting that they weren't going to drop this. There was too much childish joy in their eyes when they were teasing Beckett. At times she found it slightly endearing, but right now it was too much.

"Okay guys, drop it. Go home," she ordered sternly, making both of them flinch.

"Call if you need any help with your writer-boy slash partner!" Esposito shouted as the two of them walked towards the elevator.

Kate Beckett rolled her eyes while picking up the phone. Castle had probably called Martha already, so there was no point in doing that. He had possibly even called some of her friends, since he wouldn't call her unless there was nothing else he could do on his own. One thing she was sure he wasn't able to do without her help was to enable the GPS on Alexis' phone and track the signal, so she decided to start there.

While she was waiting for signal to get some answers, she saw Captain Gates coming towards her in the corner of her eye. Kate froze and tried not to look like she noticed. When Gates called her by first name, she knew it was over. Beckett sunk back into her chair and sighed, her back still turned towards Gates.

"Sir."

"Detective Kate Beckett, what are you still doing here?" Gates asked while her sharp and angry eyes scanned Kate's computer screen.

She didn't have time to close her research. Kate almost felt how annoyed Gates became when she saw what she was really doing.

"I could ask you the same, sir," she responded way too fast without thinking.

She immediately regretted saying it, but it was already too late. When Kate met her glare, Gates was, without joking, pissed off. She could see how her Captain slowly straightened her back and crossed her arms. This was bad.

Here it comes…

"From what I understand, you are tracking down Alexis Castle's phone, so unless she's dead, you have no authority to do that! You are a homicide detective for God's sake!" she yelled angrily, nostrils flaring in pure fury.

"Alexis might be in trouble, so I needed to check on her," Kate mumbled as an explanation.

"Castle called you, didn't he?"

"Yes sir, he did, but…"

"He can file a missing person's report tomorrow if his daughter doesn't show up. If there is no evidence of a committed crime, then we don't have a case, understood? We are done here, detective. You are going home right now unless you want me to suspend you again!"

Captain Gates turned around, swinging her long and black hair around in a gesture of her victory.

Beckett knew there were no grounds for a suspension, but pissing Gates off was more than enough to get her back to reality. She had to go home.

Beckett packed her things as fast as she managed to. She tried to avoid thinking about it, but it was easier said than done. The guilt of thinking that she had let Castle down intruded. He asked for one important yet simple favour, and she wasn't able to fulfil that one task. She did understand why Gates acted like she did. It was her job to keep everything under control, and she couldn't let her employers use their resources at work for personal reasons. Beckett was fully capable of accepting that, but not the fact that Gates stopped her from finding out if Alexis really was okay. Not that. Ever.

There is just one thing I can do.

She had to drive over to his loft and hope for the best. Maybe Alexis was home already. Maybe everything was fine. Maybe Castle just forgot to call. Yeah. But she needed to be sure.

The rain poured down outside. It was like the sky was opening up and letting it all out with tremendous force. Becket ran as fast as she could to her car, but unfortunately the high heels she was wearing slowed her down.

Of course she had to fumble with the car keys right now. When she finally got into her car, she was already more than soaking wet. She felt how the heat intermixed with the moisture from her clothes. The irritating, itchy feeling made her mad.

"What a crappy day…" she thought to herself.

Her hair was already hanging in curly stripes, plastered to her face, and lots of large water drops ran down her pointy cheekbones, smudging her make-up. She looked miserable and she knew it. Beckett really didn't want Castle to see her like this; ugly, upset and out of control, but she really owed him an explanation.

Next chapter won't be up as fast as this one. I still have a few days left until I'm on vacation, but then...
Reviews are welcome! Hope you enjoyed and have a nice day! :)