Previously-Alexis caught her dad lying to her and Captain Gates. Beckett is also mad at Castle and pushed him away for the evening.
Peter to Tinkerbelle: "Don't you understand Tink, you mean more to me than anything in the whole world!"
Richard offered his mother some red wine - the good stuff.
Not one to turn down alcohol, still she queried, "To what do I owe the A-list treatment?"
Castle quipped, "I am trying to stay in your good graces so you don't cut me out of your will."
"You jest my dear son, but my acting school may become a financial success and you will rue the day I disinherited you." She dismissed his jest with a wave.
"I pray that it does and would encourage you to create a trust to see that the legacy continues."
"Oh dear. This is serious. What have you done to piss off Beckett?" She knew him too well.
He didn't dally with the information, "You know Agent Bigtree needed to meet with Beckett and me. I can't go into details but it is a follow-up to what happened last year. It is important that you know the stakes are high so you'll understand why I was desperate to come up with a story that would explain why a very good cop would be able to be corrupted."
"Richard, you did not! Even I know that there is only one way to make Beckett put on blinders. You did not open up her mother's case and put the crosshairs back on her!" The mother openly gasped at the thought her son could be so dense.
"See, that's the brilliance of the plan. Beckett isn't pursuing a lead into her mother's case. A red rooskie is going to see if a fire inspector will overlook arson in exchange for something he wants. Kate is safe and the case progresses. I think it is the most amazing thing I could ever do for her. Unlike last time, we have an understanding about pursuing the case." Despite the confident tone, he waited unsure.
Martha was a veteran of twisted plots from her son's writing and from her many roles. This one left a bitter taste. "My opinion is irrelevant. If Katherine can't have a deeper relationship until her walls come down, are you doing this for selfish reasons or did you barter with the most fragile part of her psyche for the sake of national security?"
"I did it for Kate, for national security and for Kate's future happiness even if it means it's not with me."
Sounding altruistic didn't make it so. "What does Kate think of this development?"
"I don't know," he admitted. The car was a little frosty on the way home and I was forbidden to speak. She usually needs some time alone with stuff like this."
"Hmmm. I think you better find a hell of a way to say you're sorry."
"Yes, I've been working on that very plan. I've taken care of the easy stuff, but I have a golden opportunity to exploit tomorrow's forecast as a windy day. I need to check with Alexis before I can go any further."
Martha assumed she was upstairs studying. "Where is Alexis so late on a school night?"
"She and another girl give a presentation tomorrow. Her cohort plays basketball and they couldn't get together until after the game. I told Alexis she could be out until midnight and for once she didn't argue."
Mother and son were watching the news when the call came in from the 8th precinct. The officer on the phone explained an altercation at a nightclub led to an impromptu sweep of patrons for drugs, guns, or underage drinking. Alexis Castle was taken into police custody for drinking using a false ID. But the redhead was remembered from her appearance at Captain Montgomery's funeral and that meant she got special treatment. A squad car was bringing her home.
Castle was wholly unprepared for the transgression. Drinking he could deal with. Drinking on a school night was huge. Drinking at a bar was hugely serious. Lying about where you were on a school night so you could drink at a bar left him stunned.
Two of the three important women in Richard Castle's life were mad at him. He asked his mother to step aside for the upcoming discussion on drinking and he waited for his daughter.
If Castle's first reaction was to be surprised, his second was to be appalled at her lack of remorse. He evaluated the short red dress that made his daughter look much older than her years. The heavy makeup also sent the wrong signal. He made a snap decision how to dissect her defenses.
She challenged him easily, "They didn't charge me so what's the big deal? Besides, you've got a police record with alcohol related infractions."
"Yes and no. They aren't going to take away my license or mess up a scholarship. That can happen to you." He started with the simplest offence. "You lied to me."
"Now we're even." She shrugged. Her dad was a softie and she was going to take full advantage.
"No but we are going to reach an understanding." He pulled out 2 tumblers. "What were you drinking?"
"What?" She was ready to battle with words. His actions fell outside her prepared defenses.
He waited instead of repeating the inquisition.
"Southern Comfort and coke." She had it before but he didn't know that.
Not a girly choice. This was bad. He poured them each a round, albeit very small ones. He drank his and motioned for her to join him.
"Is this your way of being the cool dad and saying I can drink at home?"
"Nope. Drink up." Hopefully he imitated Beckett's stare and goaded his daughter out of her comfort zone.
Alexis drank it. She reveled in the hardness of the drink and the discomfort it was causing him.
He splashed another hint of whiskey in their glasses and topped it with coke. He downed his in short order. "Drink the poison."
She knew about hangovers. "Dad, no. I wasn't going to get drunk."
"Peer pressure is a bitch. Drink up." His voice got hard.
Reluctantly she took a sip.
He stared until she drank more.
"So my punishment is getting drunk with my dad? Great role model." She rolled her eyes at him.
"Nope, not a punishment. You wanted to drink, so you must be prepared for the consequences. Of course being safe at home is a far cry from the usual issues that can affect a young woman."
"Dad, don't go there."
"You don't want to hear about casual sex statistics and how alcohol affects decisions? Do you want to know how condom use drops the more drinks each person had? Want to hear about HIV infection rates for heterosexual girls?"
"Eww dad. Move on."
"OK. You want to talk about role models? Your gram and I drink. If I thought making our house alcohol free would help you make better choices, I'd institute the ban immediately. The alcohol isn't the problem. Your coping mechanisms are the problem."
He motioned for her to drink up and she did out of spite. He immediately refilled their glasses. "Talk or drink."
She poured her drink down the drain.
"Are you acting out against me for lying, against having Kate in my life, against yourself for not getting in to Stanford, or against Ashley for not being a good boyfriend?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Can we just keep this about you and me?"
"Fine. I'm listening. Start talking." Having goaded her he now hoped her defenses were a little lower and a loose tongue might prevail.
She started ranting at her dad, "Your words are like fairy dust. They don't mean anything. You live in a fantasy world. You're trying to be a pale imitation of Derrick Storm. Quit acting."
"How, exactly, should I be acting?"
"Mature and responsible leap to mind."
"I am mature but fun. I take responsibility for my actions."
"Dad, I'm the parent here."
"No, Alexis, you're not. I choose to be easy going and balance your serious tendencies. I pretend to be a goofball to balance the murder and mayhem that might otherwise seep into our home from my profession. I'm the one who earned millions through my writing and found the balance of giving you everything you need without putting a silver spoon in your mouth. I'm your primary parent who decided not to hire a nanny so I would be completely and fully in your life. Just so we're clear, you may act like the parent but I am proud to be your dad and work at it harder than anything else in my life."
The teenager didn't stop to listen to his words; she was full of angst and willing to share it. "No you work much harder at getting Beckett in bed and she's smart enough to know the second she lands there will be the beginning of the end."
That one stung worse than the cliché 'you're the worst dad in the world.' Tinkerbelle's arrow could mortally wound.
"Yes I am working hard to build the strongest and deepest relationship I've ever had. But if you think it's about sex than I am to blame for being a poor role model." He weighed her words. His daughter was testing him to see if he would stay focused on the conversation about them or fall into the trap of distraction.
He continued, "If you want to come between this relationship lets talk about it. You don't have to sling arrows at Kate. You pick the topic but stay on point."
Alexis answered quickly, "How many lies did you tell today? You never used to lie to me until you started hanging around Beckett. You lied to me about where you were but not to Kate. What conclusion am I supposed to draw?"
"If you're going with I love her more than I do you I am forced to be a sappy dad and set the record straight." Despite the argument, he smiled at her. He loved his daughter so damn much...
"Dad, pretty words don't make Tinkerbelle come back to life. Believing does. How can I believe what you tell me anymore?"
He took her hand and lost himself in the memories. "I've been lying to you your whole life. Perhaps this is long overdue, but Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny don't exist."
That broke some tension and small smiles escaped. They squeezed each other's hand and each took a deep breath.
He debated briefly which way to write the rest of the scene. Seeing her as a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, he opted for honesty. "The world we live in has people who want very bad things to happen. The stakes are too high to play games, but I hope to God I am able to remain playful."
"Dad, you became my best playmate. Now you want to be Kate's playmate and you are dabbling in dangerous waters without any training." The tension had eased but the stakes were still high.
"I am getting some unofficial training sanctioned by a certain federal agency and Captain Gates doesn't have a clue. I will take responsibility for not being a better protector of those I love. I should have been more serious about keeping up the skills I learned when I was writing the Storm novels. I want to be a better man. I am learning to put the greater good before my own interests."
The look on his daughters face meant he was in dangerous territory, doing more harm to his cause than benefit.
He reluctantly continued, "Sometimes that means I am in dangerous situations. But you need to understand this, I'm not doing it because I love Kate more, I'm doing it for me. Making up stories and having everyone live happily ever after isn't enough for me anymore."
"So do the scholarship thing and sponsor a kid in Africa."
"Alexis, that is superficial and I have to call you on it."
"Dad, I'm calling you on it. You sent gram and I out of town for a catastrophic event but chose to stay behind. How is that not a choice about who is more important?"
"This is hard to admit, but sometimes 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or of the one.'"
"Really Dad? Star Trek is your source of wisdom for life and death situations?" Alexis shook her head. What would it take for him to live in the real world?
"Honey, I can't deny it can end very badly someday. I can write a hundred scenarios on horrific outcomes by changing the tiniest detail or delaying a minute. But here is the harsh reality: I - your father - disarmed a dirty bomb."
The wide eyes and gasp accompanied, "Dad! What? No way. That's just so wrong!"
"If I wasn't there, we aren't sitting in Manhattan right now." The man of the family let silence give weight to his admission.
She stared, mesmerized at the calm resolve, the veiled fierceness that this person before her exuded.
"Like it or not that is the ugly truth." He almost regretted the look of horror on her face but pushed ahead. Hope to God 'The truth shall set you free' had some magic in the present situation.
"I don't lie to you as much as not tell the complete truth, but I'm not going to play word games with you. The lies are to protect you. If you want to turn that into a judgment on how much I trust you or if I love Kate more, that is your prerogative. I hope you know nothing will ever change how much you mean to me. You are always going to be my little girl and I am going to try to spare you some worry."
It was a lot to process. She put it in perspective for him: "So, now is a good time to tell you if I was going to study criminal justice and join the FBI? Or if I want to spend a year working for the Peace Corps in the jungles of Africa, you'll understand? Then again I may want to become a nuclear engineer, or maybe I'll decide to be a fighter pilot for the Navy and fly off a carrier..."
He gulped. That made it real and ugly and wonderful at the same time. "Would I fuss and cajole you trying to change your mind? Yes. Would I love and support and be damn proud of you? Yes."
Alexis was on the cusp. She saw violence up close and personal when Kate got shot and she knew people still wanted her dead. Knowing her father was doing his part to keep her safe and saved their little corner of the world was horrifying and heroic in a completely new way. "You really disarmed a dirty bomb and you are involved in something major again?"
He nodded, but this wasn't about him. "You wanted me to grow up, just not too much. I guess I was hoping for the same of you. Keeping some cold harsh realities from my little girl will always be a failing of mine. I hope you can forgive me for lying, but I hope you understand I don't do it lightly." He squeezed her hand again, hoping the physical connection conveyed enough.
It was enough for now. Alexis slowly nodded, "I'm sorry I lied. I'm sorry I went out drinking. Can we talk about my punishment tomorrow, because my head is spinning and all I really want to do is go lay down?"
She pulled her dad close for a hug and he kissed her forehead, "I wish I could kiss it and make it better like when you where a little girl."
Alexis squeezed him tight trying to pour into a simple action how much she loved her father. "I'm still your little girl, so don't tell me fairies aren't real."
"Hey Tinkerbelle, is this the alcohol talking?" She had a cute smirk on her face as she pulled away from him.
She was climbing the steps and called over her shoulder to repeat her claim, "What can I say, I believe in fairies."
He snickered at her blatant manipulation, "You haven't had your wisdom teeth out yet and you want the tooth fairy to pay big bucks for them…"
Author's note: Please consider my explaination - I know having Castle respond by drinking with Alexis appears - and is- wrong on many levels. But I was portraying Castle as having more mettle - more backbone. Perhaps he got some signs that his perfect little darling has been experimenting with alcohol and having parties. He has always been an unusual primary parent. I thought his reaction to Alexis drinking would also be unusual. He was pushing her boundaries while still trying to help protect and teach her a lesson. These 2 characters know each other's moves so well that I really wanted to try to challenge them with this scene. Still hate it?
And to those of you who are enjoying the Peter Pan analogy, this chapter was a veritable feast with Tink's arrow, drinking the poison, and believing in fairies.