"Are you feeling any better?" Kate asked as Alexis walked into the living room.
"A little." She flopped onto the couch. She sat quietly, looking out the window.
Kate watched her for a moment, thinking that she looked uneasy. "Wanna tell me what's up?"
Alexis looked at her, a little startled. "What do you mean?"
Kate shrugged. "I'm good at seeing through… things." She smiled slightly. "But feel free to tell me it's none of my business." When Alexis didn't respond for some time, Kate walked to the cabinet next to the television and started looking at movies. "What chick flick shall we torture your father with?" She pulled Return to Me from the shelf.
"I'm scared."
Kate walked to the couch and sat next to Alexis. She set the movie on the coffee table and turned to look at her. Alexis didn't meet her eyes, continuing to stare out the window. "Is this about Ashley?" She asked softly.
Alexis looked up. "Not really."
Kate didn't press her to continue. Instead she sat and waited, allowing her to go on in her own time.
She took a deep breath and let it out quickly. "Paige started going on about Stanford and how she didn't know what she would do with me so far away. She said things would never be the same and that I would have a whole new life out there and she would have a new life here at NYU."
"Maybe." Kate agreed. "It doesn't mean you have to leave your old life behind you."
"Do you have the same friends you had before you went to college?" Alexis asked, knowing the answer.
"Of course not." Kate put her hand on hers. "But I have to tell you, in a lot of cases, it was no great loss." They both smiled. "Seriously, Honey," she touched her chin. "I'm not the person I was when I went to college. A lot of those old friends wouldn't fit my life now."
Alexis looked away.
Kate squeezed her hand. "That's not a bad thing." Their eyes met again. "It's not a good thing either. It just… is."
"That's what worries me."
"Sure it does, but you don't know what the future holds. The best friend you will ever have may be waiting for you in California… or she may be the best friend you have now. All you can do is be yourself and do what is best for you. The rest will just happen."
"Same for Paige… and Ashley." It was a statement, not a question.
"Sure." Kate sat back so their shoulders were touching. "But all you can control is you." Just then they heard a crash from the kitchen followed by an "I'm alright!" They laughed as Kate said, "As hard as you may want to try to control others." She playfully bumped her shoulder against Alexis'.
They sat in silence until finally Alexis said, "Thanks."
"You OK?"
Alexis nodded. "I will be. Thanks."
"A word of advice?"
"Sure."
"Get out of your head once in a while." Kate touched her cheek tenderly. "It's your senior year. Have some fun."
"Thanks, Kate."
"Anytime."
"Who's ready for dinner?" Castle called from the kitchen.
"Hungry?" Kate asked.
Alexis nodded and hugged Kate tightly. Castle stared at the reflection of the two women he loved most in the hallway mirror and felt very lucky. He watched until his eyes met Kate's in the mirror. She shrugged and smiled just a little, feeling grateful to be so trusted and accepted by Castle's daughter.
"What were you ladies up to in there?" He asked, not willing to release his gaze from Kate's.
"Just picking a girlie movie to torture you with." Alexis said as she spooned some bisque into a bowl, grabbed a piece of bread and headed back to the living room.
"Is that a fact?" Castle said to the back of his daughter's head as he wrapped an arm around Kate's waist. He pulled her into a tender kiss, short, but passionate.
"You heard?" Kate whispered.
"Not much." He answered, kissing her forehead and pulling her close. "Just enough to know that I'm a very lucky man."
Kate kissed him sweetly and separated herself to get a bowl. "Damn straight."