Laser Tagged

Chapter Four

By Dana Keylits

"Look, it's definitely pot, but why are you guys so worried? She's a college freshman, this stuff is normal when you're that age." Lanie placed the plastic evidence bag containing the knife and baggie on the table in front of Castle, who was sitting at the conference table in the break room looking like his best friend had just died. She sat across from him and reached for his hand. "Lemme see that."

He watched as she removed the bandage that had been hastily wrapped around his hand by, what could only be described as a twelve year-old ER intern, the night before. She unwound it, then peeled off the sticky bandage to examine the stitches, her hand gently cradling his. "These are nice. Very neat, tight. You'll barely have a scar, Castle." She replaced both bandages and then patted the back of his hand reassuringly.

"Thanks," he murmured, examining the bandage, appreciating the care she took in wrapping it so uniformly.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that, Lanie," Kate responded as she took a seat next to Castle and handed him a mug full of coffee. "Given how anti-drug you are."

"Well, you don't work in a morgue and not see what drug and alcohol abuse does to people, including marijuana," she took note of the rising alarm on Castle's face and patted her hand on the table in front of him. "...but a little experimenting in college is perfectly normal. And, as far as drugs go, pot is pretty tame."

"Have you used it?" Castle asked.

"Oh, hell no. But, not because I'm some kind of goodie two shoes. I wouldn't put that crap in my body any more than I'd put a Big Mac in my body. Ugh!" She shivered for effect. "We've got enough chemicals poisoning us just by breathing in the air." She waved her hand in front of her. "I'm not about to make it worse with that stuff," she chin-nodded toward the bag in front of Castle. Besides, I get high on life, baby, I don't need the artificial kind."

"Well, I need to talk to her about it, don't you think?"

"Of course you do, just don't panic yet," Lanie advised, gathering her purse and coat. She pointed at his hand, "...and take that bandage off tonight, let the wound breathe, okay?"

He nodded.

"Alright. I gotta go, I have an autopsy waiting."

"Thanks, Lanie. We're still on for drinks later?" Kate asked.

"Of course. Call me when you're done here."

Kate nodded and Lanie made her way out of the room and to the elevator.

"Look at that," Kate said, amused. Esposito had jumped up as soon as Lanie exited the room and was now following her to the elevator like a brand new puppy in love.

Castle halfheartedly smiled and then fingered the edges of the plastic bag in front of him. "I'm scared, Kate. I know I shouldn't be. When I was her age, I did a lot worse things than she's done. It's just so out of character for her."

Kate nodded. "I agree. But, I also agree with Lanie. Let's just keep our eyes open, give Alexis some room, and let her know she can always come to us."

He nodded.

"But, we do need to talk to her about bringing drugs to your loft. I'm a cop, Castle. I cannot be around that stuff. She needs to understand that, okay?"

He nodded again.

He was on the verge of tears and it tugged at her heart. He'd been such a good dad, and she'd never before given him cause to worry, which was why he was so worried now. He'd never had to go through this before. She wanted to strangle Alexis for putting him through this. On the other hand, she certainly understood the girls need to spread her wings. She just hoped she wasn't spreading them too wide.

She patted his knee, "It'll be okay."

Alexis arrived at the precinct and Kate was worried about having this conversation with her here. She'd advised Castle to speak with her privately, but he'd insisted he wanted Kate in on the conversation, and since she was going out with Lanie tonight, it would have to be now.

"Then, we should take her out for coffee or something, because if we do this here, Castle, she's gonna think we're treating her like a criminal."

"Good! Maybe that's what she needs," he'd angrily replied.

She'd just stared at him, chewing her bottom lip, worried that he was just going to drive a wedge between them. "Castle, maybe you should let me do the talking?"

"What?"

"You're really angry, that's not the best time to talk with her."

"Thanks for the advice, Kate. But, until you have a teenage daughter of your own..."

She winced, "Ouch."

He looked startled and reached over the desk to pat her hand, "I'm sorry. Kate, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

She felt wounded, and suddenly didn't want to participate in this at all. "I think you should talk to her on your own," she replied, curtly, opening a file on her desk and pretending to study it.

"Kate."

She looked at him with eyes that nakedly betrayed her hurt feelings.

"I'm sorry."

She softened, sighing. "I believe you, Rick. But, I still think you should talk to her by yourself. I don't want her to think of me as a cop, I want her to think of me as an ally. Okay?" She leaned back and folded her hands to rest them beneath her chin. "That isn't going to happen if you and I go in there playing good cop/bad cop. Go, take her to the coffee shop downstairs, and talk to her. I'll be here. If you need me, you can text."

Just then the elevator doors opened and Alexis looked warily around, spotting her dad and Kate, and made her way to them. Castle stood up and hugged his daughter, melting as he always does anytime she looks at him. She saw his bandaged hand and a look of pure agony skittered across her face.

"Oh, your hand. Dad."

He blinked, pursing his lips, "It's fine, honey. Just a couple of stitches." He glanced at Kate, "Why don't you and I go downstairs to grab a hot chocolate? I have something I need to talk to you about."

Alexis looked at Kate and then back to her dad. "What is it?"

"Let's just go downstairs, okay?"

She looked concerned, but shrugged. "Okay."

Kate watched them leave together and crossed her fingers that Castle wouldn't lose his cool. He seemed to have calmed down. Taking his frustration out on me seems to have helped, she thought, irritated. She would be talking to him about that later.

Alexis was fuming. How dare he think he can lecture her about responsibility. She was the only member of their family who had ever shown even a modicum of responsibility. And now, now that she was doing what he had always told her to do, he's going to sit here and lecture her? Well, he could talk all he wanted, she was not going to listen.

"Dad. You're overreacting. If you can tell me that you never did anything wrong when you were my age, then we can talk. Otherwise, I think we're done." She stood up, grabbing her cup of hot chocolate from the table.

"Alexis, sit down. We are not done."

She tried to stare him down, but he was an expert, so she sat, petulantly crossing her arms and legs.

"Look, honey. I'm not trying to make you feel badly. I get it, you're going to experiment. God knows, I did worse. But, this is so unlike you, how can you sit there and not expect me to worry?" His voice cracked. "I love you."

She softened, his hangdog expression and misty eyes taking the wind out of her anger sails. She loved him, too. And, she didn't want to make him worry, didn't want to hurt him.

"Dad. I need you to trust me, okay? I won't let anything get out of hand. My grades are still up, I'm making it to all of my classes, I haven't missed a day of my internship in the morgue. I promise, the thing with the pot was a one time deal."

"About that. Honey, I cannot have drugs in my house." He held up a staying palm when she opened her mouth to respond. "Kate is a cop. She could get into real trouble being anywhere near that. Okay?"

"It won't happen again," she answered, truthfully. She didn't really like the way pot made her feel, anyway. And, she didn't want to get Kate in trouble. In spite of the misgivings she had about her father being in a relationship with the detective – like how long was that going to last? She respected and was genuinely fond of Kate.

"Okay. Good." He said, "Now drink your hot chocolate."

She made a face, but did as she was told, a surreptitious grin spreading across her face. This was nice, she reluctantly admitted. It had been awhile since she'd had him to herself, and in spite of her initial indignation, she was happy to be here with him. A familiar warmth spreading over her, she settled into her chair, sipped her hot chocolate, and filled her dad in on everything that was going on in her life.

Well, almost everything.

It was the first time Kate had been out without Castle in weeks. And, while she loved spending time with him, she missed Lanie. It seemed, as both of their lives had filled up with other things, not the least of which were the men in their lives, they were seeing less and less of each other. Kate was determined to not let her relationship with Castle interfere with her friendship with Lanie.

So, they'd planned a girls night out and were painting the town. At least as much as their tired bodies would allow after a long day of work.

They'd decided to hit a favorite hole-in-the-wall bar closer to Lanie's place for drinks and amusement. It was more of a college hangout, but Kate liked it because it was low-key, had cheap beer, and large comfy booths.

Halfway through their meal, Kate looked up and was surprised to see Alexis stumbling through the front door. She was with the same boy from the other night and from the look of it, had already been drinking.

"Lanie!" She spat, putting down her fork and wiping her mouth with the paper napkin that had been resting in her lap. She chin nodded in Alexis' direction.

Lanie's eyes followed the direction of Kate's pointing chin and then turned back to Kate, smiling. "Looks like our girl is having some fun tonight."

"You think so? You think that's all it is?" Kate asked, raising her beer glass and taking a sip before setting it back down, "Because, I'm kind of worried about her."

"Why? Didn't you go a little wild in college?" Lanie asked, stabbing at the salad with her fork and taking a bite.

"No," Kate replied, shaking her head. "I went through a phase in high school, but my mom died when I was a freshman at Stanford, so, I kind of skipped that whole college party scene. Plus, my dad, with the drinking. I just didn't want to be like that."

Lanie nodded sympathetically. "Well, it's perfectly normal." She could tell Kate wasn't convinced. "Look, if she starts missing classes, or work, and I'll let you know if that happens, or if her grades slip, then you start to worry."

"She got herself into some trouble, though," Kate replied, knowing Lanie hadn't yet heard the story of Alexis' drunken frat party antics. She filled her friend in and was relieved when she saw a worry frown cloud Lanie's face.

"Well, that is concerning, but it might still just be a one time thing. The black-out, I mean." Lanie turned in Alexis' direction, the girl and her friend had found a corner booth and were joined by another couple. "You gave her the talk, right? The how to be safe talk?"

"Yeah, yeah. And, she did call me, so, I know she will at least reach out to me if she gets in over her head."

"Well, then. I say you just let her spread her wings a little, and worry when it's time to worry, okay?"

Kate glanced in Alexis' direction. The girl had a glass of water in front of her, but was drinking from Peter's glass of beer. She hadn't yet seen Kate, and Kate hadn't decided if that was a good or bad thing. "Okay," she reluctantly agreed, picking up a fry and nibbling on it. "I guess."

But an hour later, it was Lanie singing another tune. "She's out of control, Kate." The ME said, concern etched on her otherwise serene face.

"I told you!" Kate hissed. "What do we do?"

Alexis was clearly intoxicated and her date was taking full advantage. On the small corner dance floor, he was bumping and grinding against the ginger-haired girl, and Kate was not at all happy about where his hands were roaming.

"If Castle were here, his head would explode!" Kate observed. "We need to make sure she doesn't leave with that guy. I already warned him once about supplying a minor with alcohol. I should just go arrest him." Kate said, reaching behind her for her handcuffs.

"No!" Lanie said, placing her hand on Kate's wrist. "No, that will only make things worse."

But, as they watched Castle's normally level-headed daughter drunkenly sway to the music and then get dragged by her date towards the unisex bathroom, they both shot up and out of their seats. Alexis was shaking her head, clearly not wanting to go with him.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Kate was between them, her finger poking into Peter's chest, her other hand wrapped around Alexis' shoulders.

"Back off, Romeo." Kate warned.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Alexis announced, her voice low and gravely.

Kate glanced at Lanie who was already shepherding Alexis towards the bathrooms. She turned back to Peter.

"I.D." She ordered. This was not a question.

"I didn't do anything!" He implored defiantly, though his eyes betrayed some fear.

Kate didn't move a muscle. "I.D. Now!"

He regarded her, and when he could tell she was not going to back down, pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed over his I.D.

"Now, sit. Down. There." She pointed at a nearby empty booth, and pulled out her phone to call in his information.

She was on hold with the precinct when Lanie escorted Alexis out of the bathroom, looking pale and shaky. Lanie took her back to the booth where she and Kate had been sitting, and ordered a coffee for the girl. When she was satisfied that Alexis wasn't going anywhere, she marched over to Peter.

"Are you stupid or something?" She yelled, standing over the boy, her hands on her hips. "Do you know what kind of trouble you are in? Do you know what kind of trouble you could have gotten her into?"

He was staring at the floor as though finding the scuff marks there rather interesting.

"Look at me, boy, when I talk to you, or so help me god I will slap you into next week!" Lanie threatened, one hand raised as though she really were going to slap him.

"Okay," Kate interjected, positioning herself between Lanie and Peter, the phone still up to her ear as she waited for the information on the young man to come in. "Lanie, why don't you go sit with Alexis, I've got this."

Lanie gave him the death stare, then turned on her heel.

Kate looked at the boy, "And you thought I was bad," she chuckled, then gave him her death stare when he smiled at her. "You shouldn't be smiling right now, you're in a lot of trouble, son."

Just then the officer on the other end was rattling off information about Peter, and Kate was furiously scribbling notes on her notepad. She looked at him again, then at Alexis, who was being coaxed by Lanie into drinking some coffee, then back at him, her eyes narrowed. "Really? That many? Then, yes, please, send a uniform." She hit the end button and stuffed her phone in her back pocket.

"Stand up, Peter," She ordered, pulling out her handcuffs, "You are under arrest."