Kate Beckett watched them out of the corner of her eye. Alexis and Rick stood face-to-face in the break room at the precinct, having one of their animated conversations. Alexis was smiling, a red-haired, gorgeous firecracker, and Rick was watching her like she was the most important thing in the world.

No matter how many times she saw them, Kate was still surprised. Surprised by the way Rick's stance changed from goofy boy to responsible man whenever his daughter was around, the way his eyes took on a look of sweet concern instead of their usual irresponsible twinkle, the way his voice gained a soft authority.

Which one of them was in charge? At the beginning, Kate's money had been on Alexis, the smart, responsible girl with the smile as charming as her father's. No way someone as irresponsible as Rick Castle could stand up to that, right? But it wasn't so simple.

Since then, Kate had seen the subtle push and pull, the way Alexis desperately wanted her father's approval, the way she immediately acquiesced when his voice took on a certain tone. She saw the way he guided his daughter, protected her, led her so subtly she didn't always realize he was doing it. At the end of the day, Rick was dad and Alexis was daughter, even if that relationship didn't look exactly like anyone else's.

Kate smiled and looked at the document on her computer. She hadn't typed a single line. The Castle family had amazing powers of distraction.