Hi again... another night; another chapter. Hopefully (fingers, toes, elbows and eyes crossed) I can get you another chapter every day up to the premier. But that means I have a lot of work ahead of me, so I'll stop babbling so I can go back to writing future chapters.
I know I say this a lot but as I read your reviews each day I'm truly touched. You guys have really given me some amazing feedback and I'm truly humbled. Thank you very much! Writing Alexis hasn't been the easiest at times, but she's fun to work with because there's so much potential!
Have a wonderful night and as always ... happy reading!
Chapter 9
Five days after her dad talked to her about their house guest, he brought her home. Alexis was torn between being happy to help Kate and resenting the situation her dad was putting them all in. Along with Beckett, came an in-house body guard "at least for a while" according to her dad.
As soon as they were in the loft and Kate was settled on the couch, her dad disappeared with Kate's bags and the guard who Alexis mentally called "The Rock", silently took up his sentry at the door.
"Can I get you anything?" Alexis offered. "A pillow, or something to eat or drink?"
Kate had her head back against the couch cushion with her eyes shut. "Thanks but I'm fine. I just need to rest a bit. The trip from the car to here was the longest I've been on my feet for a while."
"And you just do that, Dear. Don't push yourself too fast. We're happy to help." Martha chimed in. "In fact, if you want to lay down in a bed, I have your room all ready for you."
"Thanks, Martha but I'm sure I'll be... You know what? No, that sounds wonderful. If I can get an hour nap, I'll be ready to help with dinner when I get up."
Martha didn't object but looked at Alexis and rolled her eyes. "How about you wait and see how you feel first?"
Kate leaned forward so that she could stand but bit her bottom lip from the pain.
Alexis noticed and went to her, wrapped an arm gently around her tender ribs and helped the detective stand.
"Thanks. I may not say it much, I get so frustrated when I can't do simple everyday things, but I do appreciate it."
Alexis shrugged but didn't remove her arm as she guided the woman toward the hall next to the office.
"I thought I was going to my room."
"We are."
"But I thought the guest rooms were upstairs."
"They are."
"Then why...?"
Before she could finish her question, Castle emerged from the same room they were heading toward.
"Because you're staying in my room."
Even through the thick bandages under Kate's cotton t-shirt, Alexis could feel her muscles tense at her father's announcement.
"No I'm not. I agreed to stay here because you promised I wouldn't be an imposition and would let me carry my own weight around the house."
"First of all, you weigh almost nothing, especially since you've been dining on hospital food, so aside from recovering, you have no responsibilities here. Secondly, you are not an imposition. You didn't ask for my room, I'm giving it to you. All my stuff is already upstairs."
"I'm not taking your room Castle!"
"Yes, you are, Beckett. You can barely walk across the room, how are going to climb the stairs?"
Kate dropped her arm from around Alexis and stood rigid. "I can climb the stairs just fine."
Castle put his hands up in an act of surrender. "I'm sure you can, but lets wait a few more days to try that. Look, it's not just the stairs, but in my room you'll have more privacy, it's quieter and there's a bathroom with a hot tub and a shower stall with a built in seat. The convenience that affords you seriously outweigh the ten minutes it took me to toss some toiletries and clothes upstairs."
Already in pain from standing so stiffly, Kate reached out for the wall, and allowed Alexis to help steady her again.
"You're not going to back down are you?" Kate asked.
"No. You're not going to win this one."
Alexis couldn't help but laugh when Kate's only response was to stick out her tongue.
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The next morning was the first calm, quiet, "normal" morning the Castle loft had seen in weeks. Alexis set up all the toppings for a waffle bar while her dad cooked the waffles. Gram strolled in, dressed to the nines, for a brief cup of coffee before heading out to meet with the designer who was decorating her new acting school, and Beckett slept peacefully in the bedroom.
"You look tired, Dad." Alexis said after sitting down with a pair of waffles covered with mixed berries and whip cream.
He shoveled a bite of his quadruple stacked banana and Nuttella covered waffles in his mouth and then answered her with stuffed cheeks. "Do I?"
"Yes. I had hoped that now that Beckett was here, you'd get more rest. Did she have a rough night?"
"No, she's fine."
Alexis kept staring at him waiting for him to continue.
"To my knowledge she only woke up the two times I woke her up for her medication. But I was concerned, so I sat in the office writing for a while in case she needed me."
"So you stalked her all night?"
"No! No! That's crazy. I didn't stalk her. But it was her first night here after two weeks in the hospital. First night without round the clock nurses, first night in a new environment. If she needed me, I wouldn't here her up there."
"You gave her a frickin' walkie talkie, Dad! She promised to call you if she needed anything."
Her dad became engrossed in his breakfast for a while, ignoring the truth his daughter presented him with. When he finished the last bite, he looked back at her.
"Tonight I'll relax and sleep upstairs, but if you tell her what I told you, you'll never find the keys to the Vespa again."
"It's our secret, but only if you swear you'll start taking care of yourself. If you keep going like this we'll be taking care of you too."
"I swear!"
"Good!"
Together they cleaned up the kitchen, wrapping up left overs and loading the dishwasher.
"So what's your plan for today?" Castle asked Alexis.
"Not much this morning. I have some stuff to do on my computer and I need to practice my violin. Then this afternoon I'm going out with Paige, Britta, and Elle to catch an 80's movie marathon in the village."
"Ooooh, what's playing?"
"Breakfast Club, The Princess Bride, and Dirty Dancing."
"Ahhh, the classics. Sounds fun! Maybe I'll see if Kate wants to have our own 80's marathon here. It's been ages since I saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
"Well you have fun with that."
"We will. I should add popcorn and theater candy to my list!"
"Oh if you're going shopping, we're out of cotton balls too."
"Noted. Hey, if you're going to be home all morning, would you mind if I ran out now? I should be back in less than an hour, but then Kate won't have to be alone later."
"That's fine."
"Are you sure? She won't need any meds before I get back, and may not even wake up, so it shouldn't be a problem."
"Dad I said it was fine because it is. Even if she wakes up and needs something I don't mind. I don't dislike her."
"I know, but I've sensed the tension in you."
Alexis took a deep breath. She didn't want to get into this now. "The tension has nothing to do with her being here or my feelings toward her or anything like that. If you must know, it has more to do with..." Alexis didn't finish his sentence but tipped her head toward "The Rock" who was sitting silently next to the front door.
Her dad's eyebrows creased and he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Does he give you the creeps? Did he say or do something, you know... inappropriate?"
Alexis sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. He just didn't get it! "No, it's not him specifically. It's the entire security detail. If you noticed that I'm tense, it's because right now we're all living in enough danger that we have to even have security! I don't like living this way."
Her dad seemed to relax. "Oh. Well it's only temporary."
"Really? Is it?"
"Of course!"
Alexis let it drop. "Fine. Go run your errands. We'll be alright even if you leave for a couple hours!"
He smiled at her and kissed the crown of her head as he passed by. "Thanks Honey."
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Alexis stopped playing and held her bow in mid air as she listened. All seemed quiet so she began again. After only several bars of music, she heard something again. This time she was sure of it. So after putting her instrument down, she left the music room where she practiced and headed toward her dad's room down the hall.
She stood at the closed door waiting and listening to see if she was needed. Just as she was about to leave she heard Kate's muffled curse.
She wrapped lightly on the door with her knuckle.
"Go away Castle!" came the reply.
"It's not my dad. It's me. I don't think my dad would have knocked."
"That's true."
Awkwardly they continued to converse through the door.
The sound of something hitting the floor brought Alexis' hand to the door knob.
"Are you OK?"
No answer. She turned the knob but still didn't open the door.
"Kate?"
Finally Kate spoke. "Alexis. Can I ask you for a favor?"
"Anything. What do you need?"
"Can you help me?"
Immediately Alexis opened the door and headed to the open bathroom.
Whatever she expected to see, it wasn't the scene before her.
Kate was hunched against the counter with a bloody looking liquid pooled around her bare feet. The button down shirt she had been wearing was tossed over the edge of the tub, so she was covering her chest with one arm while supporting herself with the other. Rows of stitches and fluid filled drainage tubes crisscrossed her bruised and swollen body, one of which was open and dripping down her sweat pants. Used bandages and gauze pads that were littering the floor and closed toilet seat created a stark contrast to the fresh ones lined up on the counter, next to the sink.
"Oh my gosh Kate are you OK?"
"Yeah. I was just trying to empty my drains. Lanie was supposed to be by sometime today to help, but I thought if I could do it, it would be one less thing to be dependent on other people for."
Alexis grabbed a pair of rubber gloves from box on the counter, sidestepped the puddle on the floor and cleared the mess from the toilet seat into the trash. "Here sit down before you pass out. You look as white as a sheet. When's your next pain pill?"
"About an hour."
As Kate sat down Alexis saw that her hand was smeared with blood.
"You're bleeding!"
"I know. I pulled a stitch."
"Oh no! Should you go back to the hospital?"
"No. I'll show Lanie later. I'm sure it's fine. I think it was just holding this drain." Kate held out the tube and bulb that had been hanging near her pants. "It's still in me, just not as secured. I think a butterfly bandage will hold it in place though."
Alexis carefully found the bandage strip and secured it where Kate pointed. "Now what?"
Kate studied her for a while.
Alexis relaxed. "I don't mind. I want to help."
Kate didn't respond right away but then cringed apologetically. "I, er, we need to empty both of the other drains, note the levels, and dump them. Then using the surgical tape we stick them back on me, put some of this salve on the wounds and redress everything."
"OK. I think I can handle that if you tell me what to do. What about bathing or showering? Can you do that with all that on?"
"No, its only sponge baths until after my next check up. That's Thursday. Hopefully then I'll be relieved of some of this crap."
"All of the tubes and bandages are off right now, have you already washed up then?"
"That's what I was trying to do when I pulled my drain."
Alexis quickly appraised the situation again. The liquid on the floor was at least partly from the soaked washcloth leaking from beneath the cabinet. The scattered mess was obviously knocked off the counter in a moment of panic. Kate still sat on the toilet seat wrapped in her own arms looking pale, broken and frail, but still she held her head high, subconsciously trying to hang on to what remained of her pride.
She smiled at the woman, not out of pity but out of respect. Nothing about being here was easy on her either.
Alexis busied herself with cleaning the mess and organizing the medical supplies. While she worked, she talked. "Let's get you cleaned up first then. I won't look. I promise. But I'll fill the sink with warm soapy water, and get you a clean cloth. While you wash the top half, I'll hold the drains out so that they don't get pulled. Then we'll empty them, take the notes and get you fixed up. Then I'll run upstairs and grab my wrap around halter. You can get that on and off easy enough, and we can make it snug enough to hold everything in place without hurting you, then I'll step out while you take of everything else. How does that sound?"
Kate didn't answer right away, causing Alexis to look at her. She had tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to boss you around. I can do whatever you need me to do."
"No, Sweetie. That's not it. I really appreciate everything you're doing. Not just for helping out and putting up with me but for treating me... like me. I know I've kinda told you that before but literally everyone else, my dad, your dad, even Lanie and the boys look at me with either fear... or pain... or pity. I remind them of their fears. But you either hide it well or don't feel that way, I'm not sure which."
Alexis swallowed hard. She wanted to tell her how many of her fears were realized in her presence, but refused to do that to this woman just trying to regain her life.
"I can't say that the situation you're in, that we're all sorta in, doesn't scare the crap out of me, but when I look at you, I don't see someone who almost died. I see someone who fought death and won."
Kate nodded at her and smiled, because she didn't have sufficient words to thank the teen.
The next half hour the two woman worked closely and carefully until the task was complete. By the time Kate was completely finished, she was exhausted but in better spirits.
Alexis offered her a hand to help her into bed but she pushed it away and helped herself. When she was settled, Alexis retrieved her medication, some water, a plate of toast, a cup of yogurt and a banana.
"Um Kate, I just wanna tell you not to worry. I won't tell everyone about this morning. If anyone asks I'll say just I helped you empty your drains."
"I know you'll show discretion, but please don't lie. My pride isn't worth that. You helped me when I needed help. I won't be ashamed of that."
"Oh," she replied softly.
While Kate ate, she sat on the end of the bed and looked around her father's room and thought about how odd it was that of all places on earth, this was where her and Kate Beckett were spending their time together. It led her to think of something else.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"It's none of my business."
"Probably not, but you're your father's daughter, you'll end up asking eventually I'm sure."
Alexis chewed the inside of her cheek and blushed.
"I'm an honest person, Alexis. If I don't think I need to give you an answer I'll tell you, but you can still ask."
She took a deep breath and then just blurted it out. "Where's Dr. Josh?"
Kate choked and grabbed her glass of water.
"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked. It's just that I've seen you almost every day since, you know, and I've seen everyone visit you but him. I figured maybe he was seeing you early in the morning or later at night, but after what happened at the hospital I know he can't be happy about you being here."
At first she didn't answer, and Alexis regretted acting on her curiosity.
"Yeah I heard about that, from everyone except Josh and your dad ironically." Kate sighed and rolled her head from side to side, like she was trying to find a more comfortable position. "I can guarantee that if Josh had any say in my life anymore, he would be livid that I'm here. But he's not and I think I'll leave it at that."
Just then the sounds of her dad coming home made their way into the room. Moments later he appeared.
"Look who's up! You're looking better too." Castle said as he joined Alexis at the foot of the bed.
"Well you provide top of the line health care here at Che Castle Medical Center and Day Spa!" Kate said to her dad but with a smile directed at her.
"Only the best for you Detective! Only the best!"
Laughing with her dad and Kate left Alexis feeling the happiest she had in weeks.
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A/N As a side note, I just wanted to mention that although I've never been in Alexis' exact situation, most of this chapter was (loosely) based on my own experiences. Over the last 8 years my friend, my aunt and my mom have all had major surgeries (2 had mastectomies from breast cancer, & 1 had part of her lung removed due to cancer... all are doing great and are now cancer free BTW) and while at home recovering I helped them clean and change their drains and bandages.
I know Kate's injuries are different and perhaps some of the details might be a bit off, but since they were all invasive chest operations, I felt it was probably very close to what Kate would be dealing with at home and what Alexis would be called upon to help out with.
