A/N : Set during 5x10 Significant Others. Following Mother's Day here in Oz here is the chapter featuring one of the worst mothers in the Castle universe.
Disclaimer : I do not own Castle. AWM, ABC and Milmar do.
Alexis Castle sits in her bed, blankets up to her chest and feeling miserable. There are so many reasons why she is feeling this way. Having mono is the obvious one but also right up there is that her mother is here, in the loft, staying with them.
Don't get her wrong she loves her mom and had really been looking forward to spending time with her in Paris. In Paris, not here, in her home when the father's girlfriend, Kate Beckett, is staying with them. The same girlfriend that he has spent the last four years pining over and now that they are finally together here her mother is sticking her nose in.
She knows her mom and seen the looks that she keeps shooting at Detective Beckett. For all her protestations that she is here for her while she is ill Alexis knows she is really here to check out how serious Dad's relationship with his muse is and mark her territory. She's not here to console and look after her daughter in her time of need like she says or should. No, she's just involving herself in her father's love life for no other reason because she can.
It pisses her off actually. She'd come to terms long ago with her mother's selfishness and absence from her life. She's become resigned to make the most of those few times she's been able to see her over the years. Yet here she is using one of those rare times as an excuse to inject herself between her father and his new girlfriend. That same girlfriend that she is really hoping will be his last one.
She and Grams have put so much time, effort and emotional investment in supporting and encouraging dad's relationship with Detective Beckett. Even when the danger to both his person and his heart while he followed Detective Beckett had them both so worried for him. Regardless, for so long they had despaired that, despite how he obviously feels for the beautiful detective, they would ever get together. Now that they finally are here is her mom gleefully throwing a spanner into the relationship works.
It also depresses her that her mom can still affect her and her dad like this. That regardless of her history and what they expect from her as a result that she still can just waltz in and twist up her family like this. It was a mistake that she ever told her how serious Dad's relationship with Detective Beckett is. As soon as she told her she knew she'd made an error just from the look that came across her mother's face. A suspicious and conniving look. Her mother obviously feels threatened at the significance of Dad's relationship with Detective Beckett and is here to test the nature of it while trying to mark her spot in their lives. Not that she has that significant of a place, especially since Dad started shadowing Detective Beckett.
Alexis is not naive. She knows what her mother is. An over the top, flamboyant, self-centred woman that, for an actress, shows a surprising lack of empathy with people even if they are her own daughter. She knows why her parents got divorced. Not from her Dad. No, he has always been very careful not to disparage her mother to her or in front of her, much. Her grandmother however has no such qualms and after she had specifically asked her one day why her parents broke up Grams told her of her mother's cheating. That her father came home one day to find her mother in bed with her director. That she then left, moved to LA and served her Dad with divorce papers from across the country without even trying to reconcile.
As a result she blames her mother for some of her Dad's attitude to relationships with women and how hard he finds it to truly let them in and trust them with his heart. She's heard, again from Grams, of her Dad's first true love, Kyra Blaine, and how her leaving broke his heart. Then her mom cheats on him and as a result he seems to develop deep seated insecurities about how he sees women and his life. That he is always fearful they will leave him and so he doesn't allow them in enough to make a lasting relationship.
For a long time, with his brief marriage to Gina an exception, he would only have fleeting, superficial trysts with women and she lays a lot of that at her mother's infidelity. Again he has been very careful to keep his love life from her but she reads and sees what goes on around her and she has no allusions about what her father used to get up to on some of his nights out. It was also why she thinks he didn't protest too much when Paula and Gina suggested his playboy image to promote his books.
Now here he is finally risking his heart for something real with a woman that Alexis herself looks up to and her aggravting mother just has to get involved. She has come to terms with how her mother is, most of the time, but it is times like this that she wishes her mother could be just that. A true mother to her.
Alexis knows that she still has her own abandonment issues when it comes to her mom. She remembers well the feelings of rejection and disappointment she's felt over the years at the number of times her mother has stood her up. The times her mom has made arrangements to visit her here in New York, be there for milestones like birthdays and graduations or for her own trips to LA to see her only for her to cancel so that she could pursue acting roles or to do some 'networking'. Networking that often involved accompanying a producer or director on some exotic getaway. While she acknowledges that she has somewhat come to terms with the fact that she will always be second place behind her mom's acting career she can't help it if it doesn't hurt.
Fortunately she has her Dad and he has always tried to make up for her mom whenever her last minute rescheduling disrupts their plans. In some ways she doesn't mind that her mom stood her up from time to tie because of the creative and fun ways her dad would come up with to try and distract her from her mother's lack of familial responsibility. She treasures those blanket forts, trips to the zoo, museum, library and Coney Island, cooking lessons, epic laser tag battles and all night movie marathons that he would divert her with. He would always put on hold whatever plans he might have had at the time to be there for her and for that she is forever grateful. It was one of the many reasons why she and her dad are so close. She knows, in her bones, that he will always be there for her and her mom won't.
Then there is her mom's inconsiderate and flighty nature. That she thinks she can just swoop in whenever she likes and whisk her off for some shopping or lunch in Paris and totally disregarding whatever her own commitments are. At one time she might have thought that she was trying to make up for standing her up so many times but in reality she knows that her mother doesn't think about others that much. That she only thinks about herself and even if she does thinks about others or even her own daughter that it is always on her own terms, for her own enjoyment or what is in it for her.
Sure, she's had fun from time to time with her mom and her dad probably had fun with her when they were married but in the end there has to be something more than good times to make a meaningful relationship. Another confidence from her Grams is her dad's nickname for her mom, the deep fried Twinkie. While she was slightly mortified that he would call her mom that as time has passed she has seen the reality in that moniker. In the end her mother is all about enjoyment and she can probably count on one hand the number of serious conversations she's had with her. Yet in the four years she's known Detective Beckett she's almost had as many meaningful and helpful discussions with the insightful detective. That is another reason why she is so invested in her dad and Detective Beckett's relationship and her hopes that it will last.
This current situation of her mother invading the loft to interfere with her dad's current relationship is just a further example of her venal personality. She's probably just worried that now that her dad is looking at a hopefully long term future with Detective Beckett that her influence over him and access to his wallet will diminish.
Oh, she hopes so. Alexis is ready to have a female role model in her life that she can respect. As she said she loves her mother and she definitely loves her Grams but in Detective Beckett she sees a woman that is strong, independent and yet still wholly feminine. She looks up to her like no other woman before and is eagerly anticipating calling her step-mother someday. All that despite the sometimes torturous route her dad's and Detective Beckett's romance has taken. That her mother would use her illness to interfere with that further reduces her own estimation of her mother's sincerity.
Again tonight, instead of being home with her sick daughter, her mother is out having dinner with her father's girlfriend and she's sure she's not doing it just to be friendly. No, her mother has an agenda and it's to interfere in her dad's love life. Ughh, why does her mother have the make things so hard? She can see the strain that her mother's presence is putting on her dad's and Detective Beckett's burgeoning relationship. As usual her dad is letting her mother twist him around her little finger so she's going to have to do something otherwise he and her mother are going to ruin things.
Almost like the universe is reading her mind there is a knock on her bedroom door and a second later her mother's perfectly quaffed red haired head pokes its way into her room.
"Oh, good sweetie. You're awake. I just wanted to say goodnight," says her mother, Meredith Harper, as she steps fully into her bedroom.
"Hi Mom. How was your dinner with Detective Beckett?" asks a very self-interested Alexis.
Meredith closes the door behind her and walks over and sits on the edge of Alexis' bed and conspiratorially says, "Well, she's definitely a step up from some of the women your father has dated in the past. She's a serious person but has a surprising fun side and she's nearly as beautiful as me. I can almost see what your father see's in her. You are right this is serious."
Alexis watches as a look of discomfort and contemplation crosses her mother's face. Ok, time to nip this in the bud and do what her father is seems to be incapable of doing.
"So Mom, I was thinking. My mono isn't going away anytime soon and with how lethargic it makes me it's no fun for you hanging around here. The tickets and bookings are still all in place for our trip. Why don't you go ahead and enjoy it. Dad's already paid for it all but I'm not going to shake this so you should go and enjoy yourself. At least one of us should have fun in the city of lights," proposes Alexis with what she hopes is an innocent look on her face.
Meredith cocks her head to one side as she contemplates Alexis' words. Alexis can see the cogs turning in her head and the small smile that appears on her face. She knows that look. Her mother is obviously contemplating the appeal of a free trip to Paris. For an actress she is remarkably easy to read.
"You know, you're right sweetie. It would be a shame to waste such a trip but I don't want to seem like I'm abandoning you," responds Meredith eagerly while throwing out the final sentiment so that she doesn't seem too eager.
"Oh, I'll be fine mom. The doctor said I just have to let this run its course and it's been really great that you could come and look after me as much as you have. I just don't want to be the reason for you to miss out on enjoying yourself in Paris," asserts Alexis hoping she's not laying it on too thick. She almost sighs in relief when she sees the fake pout appear on her mother's face.
"But Alexis, I was so looking forward to us walking along the Champs-Elysees, going shopping in all those designer stores and eating the best French cuisine and doing that as mother and daughter," complains Meredith insincerely.
Alexis knows she's got her. Gee and she thought her dad could act like a child sometimes but her mother gives him a run for his money. Why is she is the only adult in this family. Yet another reason she hopes Detective Beckett stays with her dad. At least that way she'll have someone close to her own mental age to talk to.
It makes her a little sad that her mother is so transparently eager to take a free trip regardless of whether she is with her or not. She is just too easy to read. All her protests now are just to cover that eagerness.
"I know mom, I was looking forward to it too but if you go at least one of us still gets to enjoy a holiday. You go, I'll be fine. We'll go together another time," Alexis reassures her, patting her hand.
"If you're sure sweetheart. Ok, I'll go pack and catch a flight tomorrow. I think I've seen all I can see here anyway," ends Meredith and Alexis knows she's referring to the real reason for her visit to the loft which was unfortunately not to tend to her.
"Goodnight Alexis," calls Meredith as she rises from the bed and makes her way out of the bedroom.
"Nite, Mom," responds Alexis.
Once her bedroom door is closed behind her mother Alexis sighs with relief. That was easy. She wishes her mother wasn't the way she is but there's nothing she can do about it. Well at least now she'll get out of everyone's hair and next time hopefully her dad won't let her stay here. Alexis wants to spend more time with her mother but not as an excuse for her to spy on and interfere with dad's and Detective Beckett's relationship.
As she reaches over to turn off her bedside lamp she hopes that her mother didn't get into Detective Beckett's head tonight because she's really looking forward to what her family will be like with the detective as a part of it.
A/N : So Meredith is probably the the most disliked of all the exes and not just of Castle's. She's not written with many redeeming features. Upon re-watching Significant Others before writing this I was reminded of how she started the whole ball rolling of Beckett's insecurities regarding the relationship with Castle and the choices the writers had her make in the later part of season 6. At least it led to thier engagement.
Thanks again to everyone reviewing, following and faving this. I really appreciate you all.
Hooray, for Castle's renewal. I just know the hiatus will drag.