Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one...


Through the phone she could hear Charlie clinking and clanking stuff in the kitchen while she and Alexis entered the elevator.

"What do I do after the three minutes?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. Alexis giggled.

"You get them out of the water – with a spoon so you don't burn yourself – you put them in eggcups, cut the top off, take your toasts out of the toaster, butter them, cut them into slices – thin, the slices, so you can dip them in the eggs – salt the eggs at your convenience… and then you can eat!"

Silence on the other end, Charlie was processing.

"Do you need instructions for that, too?" she asked mischievously.

Charlie huffed into the phone "Ha-ha. You're hilarious. Now hang up, I have eggs to fry."

Olivia laughed "Okay, okay… But FYI, you're boiling them, not frying them, or it wouldn't be soft-boiled eggs."

Alexis was laughing so hard and trying so much to be silent about it that she was having a hard time breathing.

Charlie snorted "Yeah, yeah. Goodbye!"

She softened "Bye Charlie. Try not to burn down the house. Oh, and try to survive the night without your better half, will you? I'd rather not she blame me for your death by boiled eggs!"

He chuckled "See you on Sunday, kid."

They hung up and Alexis looked at Olivia with a grin: "Boiled eggs, uh?"

Olivia rolled her eyes "I love the man, but he's a lost cause…"

Alexis unlocked her door and ushered Olivia inside.


Wow

She didn't say it out loud but it must have showed on her face because she heard a throaty voice chuckle: "Pretty much my reaction the first time I came here…"

"Hey Kate!" said Alexis to the woman who'd spoken.

So this is Kate Beckett, Olivia thought, eying her with a cautious smile. The detective was a beautiful woman: tall and slender, with big dark eyes, a delicate nose and a full mouth. Her sharp eyes sparkled with amused curiosity above her defined cheekbones and Olivia immediately decided that she liked her (not much of a surprise since Alexis had voiced how important the woman was to her and the role she'd played in their relationship).

"Dad..." Alexis' exasperated chuckle interrupted her train of thought as her father – the famous Richard Castle – entered the room with a black and pink 'Mr. Mom' apron.

Olivia gave him a bright smile and extended her hand to him, then to Beckett:

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Castle, detective Beckett… Alexis talks about you all the time!"

Rick Castle's eyes crinkled with his smile.

"I hope it's only good things?"

Olivia's smile got mischievous:

"Well… yeah, sure, all good things about detective Beckett…"

The woman in question barked a laugh while Alexis' eyes widened and Rick Castle's gaze shot to his daughter.

"My own daughter!" he said with a hand dramatically pressed against his heart.

Olivia chuckled, "I was just kidding sir, I promise."

Kate was still laughing: "Oh, Alexis, I like her already!"


Rick sighed contentedly as he watched the girls around him. They were finishing his famous lasagnas and were chatting animatedly between each other. He liked Olivia. She had a wicked sense of humor and could tell a terrific story. He'd seen Kate and Alexis laugh to tears once or twice during the evening. Of course, she wasn't as good as him; she didn't have as much experience... Besides, he was kind of a master at making his daughter and his partner laugh.

Right then, blue eyes gleaming, Alexis turned to him with a little grin seemingly asking 'Did I choose right, daddy, do you like her?'

He answered by a soft smile of his own 'You did good, pumpkin, she's great.'

The subject of their silent exchange was looking serenely through the window.

"You have a beautiful view from up here," she said in a dreamy voice, "I know I've already said it, Mr. Castle, but I really love your apartment. It's stylish and elegant but looks lived in at the same time. I like the homey feel of it."

"Thank you, we love it too… Except Alexis who tried to paint it pink to make it 'shiny', once…"

Olivia turned to his daughter, "Really?"

Alexis rolled her eyes, "I was seven, and yes, I started to paint it pink on a really small surface with my watercolors… Then, dad went overboard – as usual – and bought a huge tin of pink paint and started to paint half the room with me until I asked him to please paint it back in beige because it looked better with the furniture."

Kate was choking on her wine by the time Alexis stopped speaking.

Rick patted her on the back and said: "That's not how I remember it…"

Olivia was laughing heartily, "Oh man, I should do that! I'd love to see Charlie's face when he'd walk into his pink living room!"

Alexis giggled.

"Who's Charlie?" he inquired.

"Charlie is my foster dad."

Rick's heart sank. Kate sobered beside him.

"Foster?" she asked softly.

Olivia's bright expression morphed into one of surprise. She glanced at Alexis, "You didn't tell them?"

His daughter just shrugged, "Not my story to tell."

Olivia seemed pensive for a moment before nodding resolutely and addressing Kate and him.

"My parents were killed when I was a kid. I was eleven when I entered the system."

He could see Kate from the corner of his eye. She looked at once compassionate and focused, registering facts as if she was interviewing a victim's family member.

"For a couple of years I jumped from one foster home to the next, and they ranged from bad to worse."

Rick wanted to know the unedited version of that story; he craved something else than just the summary. He wanted to know how her parents had died, and what she meant by 'bad' and what she meant by 'worse'. Kate's eyes flickered to his in warning and he knew he was being watched too. He pushed down the overwhelming curiosity, the need to know the whole story, and focused on feeling honored by all the things Olivia was already willing to reveal only a couple of hours after meeting them.

"Luckily for me," Olivia pursued, "I had a good therapist. And even if I refused to talk during our sessions, he always guessed when my foster family was mistreating me; he'd start an inquiry and ask for my transfer to another home. Sometimes it took a few weeks but he always got me out of bad families."

She drained her whole glass of water before she continued.

"I was thirteen when I landed in Charlie and Bridget Meyer's house. They were a nice couple in their fifties and there were no other kids in the house. They treated me like an equal and with respect; they created a safe place for me in their home that allowed me to heal and grow into the person I am now. I started to talk in therapy and Dr. Williams helped me rebuild my broken identity. The three of them saved my life. Thanks to them I found my path. I want to help other kids like me, kids who had a rough start in life. I want to give them that safe place so they can finally rest, so they can stop looking over their shoulder waiting for the other shoe to drop, and so they can start hoping, healing and building."

Silence followed her confession and Rick suddenly understood why his daughter was falling in love with this girl. He understood the pull someone that passionate, someone that confident in herself and certain about her purpose in life could exert (after all, he himself had fallen in love with someone passionate, self-assured and driven...) He looked at Kate and saw that drive, that fire in her eyes that reflected the brazier of her heart. She was watching Olivia with open approbation and in her stare he could see she matched Olivia's passion with her own need to right the wrongs of the world, to bring justice to the oppressed and to rehabilitate the victims. He turned to Alexis then, his beautiful, wise little girl who was as passionate as the other two but who lacked the knowledge of the world and of who she really was to be as purposeful as them. He just hoped that knowledge came without tragedy for her.

She smiled at him – looking so proud of her girlfriend that he had to smile back – and, before the fierce silence could become too solemn, she subtly defused it, lying against Olivia's shoulder and saying:

"Well, before you start saving all of the state's wards, maybe you should start by calling Charlie; make sure he survived his cooking experience…"

Olivia snorted and muttered something like "Boiled-eggs are hardly 'cooking'," but then she seemed to recall something and turned her light grey eyes on him.

"That makes me think, Charlie and Bridge invited Alexis and me to lunch on Sunday, is that okay?"


A/N: I am truly sorry for the long absence but a heartbreaking event got me in a funk. I'd like to thank the reviewers who keep me going from chapter to chapter. I like this story and I will finish it, it's just that sometimes it takes me more time than I like.