Disclaimer: Hmm, let's see... I graduate high school in eighteen days... Do you really think I own anything?

A/N: I'm so sorry for the insanely slow updates guys. This will probably be the last chapter until after grad since I probably should actually do work so I can pass French and AVID...

Enjoy,

~Rose

Chapter Four

"In their own special way"

"Hey dad," the red-headed teenager called out as she entered the loft.

"Hi Pumpkin, how was the party?"

"It was good," Alexis told her father quietly. She was just glad there was no trace of tears on her face anymore. "Is it okay if I hang out with Paige tomorrow?"

"Of course sweetie," he told her. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with his daughter before she left for Columbia but he understood that it was important for her to hang out with her friends before they all had to go their separate ways.

"Thanks Dad. How was your night?" Before the graduation ceremony he had seemed upset. It could have just been the fact that his daughter was graduating but in her heart Alexis knew it was more than that—Kate Beckett had something to do with it.

"It was fine," he tried to say calmly. He wasn't as smooth at it as he hoped he would be though—he was having trouble concealing his smile.

Alexis smiled as she saw light in her father's eyes for the first time since the bombing case. "What happened?"

Castle was suddenly concerned at how his daughter was going to react to this. "Sit down Alexis; I have something I have to tell you."

The red-head gave him a confused look but went to sit next to him on the couch where he promptly set his hand on her knee.

"I know you aren't a little girl anymore. You're eighteen and you deserve to know what's going on." She gave him a small nod, urging him to continue. "You know how things have been a little rough with Beckett and I lately? Well things were just starting to get better until a vic on a case we were working was shot by the same sniper that shot Kate at Montgomery's funeral last year." Alexis took in a sharp intake of air. She didn't like where this was going. "She started spiralling downwards. I tried to stop her; I couldn't lose her again. She wouldn't listen to me though and I was forced to make one of the toughest decisions of my life: I walked away. I walked away from Kate Beckett; I couldn't do it anymore."

Alexis was stunned; her father had walked away from the woman he loved. "Are you okay Dad? You look too happy for that to be the end of the story."

"I may have made a huge decision but so did Kate. Kate found her sniper. She found him and she fought with him. She almost lost and he got away."

"What happened? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She realized she had too much to lose so she walked away. She walked away from her mother's case and she resigned from the force." That made Alexis' eyes widen even more.

"And then?"

"And then she came here. I love her so much Alexis and she loves me; I can't let her go again."

Alexis sat in a stunned silence before she finally quietly asked, "So you two are together now?"

The writer gave a nod. "Are you okay with that?"

Alexis wasn't sure if she was or not. She knew how much her father loved the former detective and she wanted him to be happy but she was also afraid that he would end up getting hurt again. If Kate was willing to give up her career and her mother's case for the teenager's father then maybe the two of them being together wasn't such a bad thing after all. Still... "I'm not sure. You know I just want you to be happy. She's hurt you so many times Dad."

"I know," he sighed, "I've hurt her too. I'm not going to say that we're never going to hurt each other again but we both want to give this a shot. We love each other and will do anything in our power to not hurt each other like this again."

"Then you have my approval." The teen smiled and leaned forward to give her father a hug. Maybe everything would work out in the end.

~O.o.O.o.O~

"What happened?" Lanie asked the second she entered Javier's apartment and saw his face.

"Gates suspended me," Esposito tried to say with no emotion in his voice.

Lanie's breath hitched in her throat. What did Javi mean he was suspended? What the hell had gone on that would cause Javi to get suspended, Ryan to look heart-broken, Castle to abandon them, and Kate to disappear off the face of the Earth? Of course Lanie knew that Kate's mother's case had come up again and she knew it was worse this time than before. She knew that Kate would never give it up. What she didn't know, was what the hell had happened.

"Ryan and Castle tried to stop us," Javier continued, "Kate wouldn't listen to Castle and next thing we know she's telling us he is off the team. I got a lead on her sniper and we went to investigate. Ryan tried to get us to take back up but we didn't listen to him either."

"What happened Javier?" Lanie asked, more worried than ever. She really didn't like where this was going.

"I got knocked out and Kate got tossed off a building. Ryan told Gates what we were up to and they saved us. I was so mad at Kevin for betraying us but the truth is if he hadn't Kate and I wouldn't be alive right now."

"Javi," Lanie breathed. She placed her hand on his shoulder and had to resist wrapping her arms tightly around him and burying her face in his chest. "How is Kate doing? I'm assuming she is suspended too."

"Well I haven't exactly seen her since it happened; I haven't heard from her either. The last time I saw her she was slapping her badge down on Gate's desk and telling her she is resigning." The M.E.'s head started to spin. Kate Beckett resigned? "I know you're worried about her Lanie. Hell, I'm worried about her too. She spun out of control again and this time I was dumb enough to help her. I don't know what happened but it sounds like her and Castle are through. We can all see how they feel about each other and it has just been thrown away. I can't do that Lanie. I don't want to throw away what we had. I still love you Lanie."

The stunned medical examiner didn't even get a chance to speak before Javier lips came crashing down on hers.

~O.o.O.o.O~

"Hey Dad," Kate said sliding into their usual booth in their favourite diner.

"Katie," Jim replied warily. She didn't blame him; the last time they had talked she had revealed that Johanna's case had come back up and that they had a lead on the sniper. Kate tried to give her father a reassuring smile which confused him even more. "What happened?"

"I quit," she said in a strong voice. She had decided against telling him about the roof for fear of worrying him even farther.

"You quit?"

"I quit. Mom's case and my job. I don't need it anymore Dad. I can't keep throwing my life away; it isn't what she would have wanted."

Jim couldn't help but be proud of his daughter. He knew that the writer must have had something to do with this. "Follow your heart Katie. I'm glad that you finally are going to live but you don't have to give up being a detective if it's what you really want." He would feel much better if she wasn't a detective—if he knew she was safe—but it was her call.

"I've found what a really want Dad."

She had that same look in her eyes that he had whenever he had looked at Johanna. In their own special way Katie and Rick reminded him so much of himself and Johanna. He took the leap and asked, "Rick?"

She nodded slowly and her smile could not be contained.

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