A/N: This story has reached its end, guys. Any requests for sequels, let me know and I'll consider it. Same goes for one-shot requests in the Jamie/Alexis universe. (By the way, anyone have a ship name for these two? Just realized I don't have one!) So here you go, Chapter 12. I know I don't update nearly as often as I should. I'm sorry. Blame real life. Love you, mean it. Cassie


Jamie Reagan was pacing back and forth along the worn hardwood of his father's house. He could hear Jack and Sean laughing in the living room, and Erin and Linda chatting in the kitchen. But mostly he was simply too preoccupied to think about it. He smoothed his deep blue dress shirt yet again, and jumped at the sound of Danny's mocking laughter from the doorway.

"What?" Jamie demanded. Danny grinned.

"You need to calm down," he said. "Your girl isn't going to appreciate the sweat stains on that fancy shirt of yours, Harvard." Danny laughed loudly when Jamie fell for it and actually looked.

"Danny, come on, that's not funny," Jamie complained.

"What's not funny?" Sean asked. Danny ruffled his son's hair.

"Your Uncle Jamie didn't think it was funny for me to mess around with him about his girlfriend coming to family dinner," Danny said.

"I think it's funny," Jack offered. Danny smiled at him before turning his Cheshire Cat smile on his little brother.

"See?" Jamie shook his head and resumed pacing.


"Gram! Kate!" Alexis wailed.

Castle's head shot up from where he had been resting it on Kate's shoulder.

"No, you stay," Kate said sternly. "She did not say 'Dad'."

"What's wrong, though?" he asked. Beckett smiled indulgently, kissing the crown of his head as she and Martha both rose to go upstairs.

"Oh, darling, she's fine," Martha said dismissively. "She's just nervous about dinner at the Reagans'." Castle shook his head.

"I'd be nervous about dinner at the Reagans'," he mumbled.

Kate and Martha went into Alexis' bedroom to find the young woman sitting on her bed, surrounded by dresses. she looked up helplessly.

"I don't know what to wear!" she said. Beckett smiled at Martha and then at Alexis.

"Here, let's stack them all up and start from the beginning," Kate suggested.

There were, in actuality, eleven dresses. Four were discarded immediately due to their formal nature. Out of the seven remaining, three were seasonally incorrect.

"Four choices seems a lot less intimidating," Alexis sighed. Kate smiled as Martha frowned.

"I'm not sure four is enough to choose from," the actress muttered.

"Here, Alexis, try this one on," Kate suggested, holding out an eggplant dress that was knee-length. Alexis tried it on and looked in her mirror.

"No," Martha said.

Alexis shook her head.

"No," she confirmed. Beckett handed her a dress that was light blue and lacy, with a keyhole back and relatively high neckline, the hem reaching just below Alexis' knees. The young woman put it on and turned.

"Oh, wow," Kate said. "I like that one a lot, Alexis," she commented. Alexis smiled.

"Gram?" she asked.

"You look lovely, dear," the older woman agreed. Alexis smiled shyly at her own reflection.

"Wear it," Kate said after a moment of silence. Alexis nodded.

"Okay."


"Everyone just...don't be the way you usually are, okay?" Jamie said.

"What do you mean, Jamie?" Erin asked.

"I mean don't scare her. Don't go all cop and lawyer on her, don't interrogate her, don't get into some kind of heated argument about the ethics of a case, don't act stupid," the youngest Reagan sibling listed.

"Jamie, come on, if she can't handle us the way we are, she shouldn't be here," Danny said.

"Danny, she's new," Linda said.

"But," Nicky began, "if she can't deal with it now, what makes you think she ever will?"

"Exactly! Thank you, Nicky," Danny said.

"You all can be polite, you know. I've seen you do it. With Danny it's been about ten years, but it's possible," Jamie said.

"Chill out, kid, it'll be fine," Danny laughed. Jamie shook his head.

"Don't forget to be normal for once," Jamie said.

"Don't worry, Uncle Jamie," Sean said with a straight face. "We all know your girlfriend's name is Jezebel." Jamie paled and everyone else laughed. Jamie groaned.


Alexis carried the vase of carnations and tulips up the paradoxally imposing and welcoming front path of the Reagan house. Her heartbeat was fast and she hoped she didn't appear to be half as nervous as she felt. She took a deep breath when she reached the door before reaching out to ring the bell. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal Jamie, in a deep blue button-down shirt and khakis, smiling at her with those pretty brown eyes and adorable dimples. Alexis couldn't help it; her smile was suddenly bright and sincere. If she'd been worried about appearing happy and normal, she needn't worry now.

"Alexis, hey," Jamie said.

"Hi, Jamie," she said with a smile.

"Come on in," he invited. Alexis politely wiped the soles of her white lace ballet flats on the doormat before stepping inside the Reagan house. Jamie shut the door behind her, before taking the flowers out of her arms, leaning forward to lightly kiss her cheek. Alexis got a whiff of the sweet-smelling cologne Jamie used and smiled slightly.

"Hey, Erin, this is Alexis," Jamie said as he and Alexis entered the dining room, where Erin was setting the table. She looked up and smiled at the pretty redhead.

"Hi, Alexis, I'm Erin," she said, extending a hand. Alexis shook hands with Erin.

"Alexis Castle. It's so nice to meet you," she said.

"Likewise," Erin said, shooting her little brother a look as Nicky entered the dining room, flashing her bright smile at Alexis.

"Hi, you must be Alexis," the teenager said. Alexis smiled.

"And you would be Nicky," the redhead replied, shaking hands with Jamie's niece. Nicky nodded.

"It's really nice to meet you," Nicky said. "Uncle Jamie never shuts up about you." Jamie and Alexis both blushed, while Nicky just laughed. Jamie led Alexis into the kitchen, where the rest of the Reagan clan all looked up at the sound of their entrance.

"Everyone, this is Alexis," Jamie said. "Alexis, this is-" Danny approached, holding his hand out to shake Alexis'

"Danny, right?" the redhead said with a smile. Danny nodded.

"Pleasure," he said.

"All mine," Alexis replied.

"I'm Danny's wife, Linda," Linda introduced herself to Alexis with a warm smile characteristic of the blonde nurse. Henry approached next, his smile equally warm.

" , it's wonderful to meet you," Alexis said.

"Call me Henry," the former Commissioner said. Alexis smiled graciously.

"Henry, then."

Frank also approached Alexis, who, despite feeling intimidated, stood tall and smiled at him.

"Commissioner Reagan," she said respectfully. Frank smiled as he shook hands with Alexis.

"Alexis, call me Frank," he implored. She nodded.

"Of course. I brought flowers," she offered, gesturing to the blooms Jamie was holding.

"How respectful," Linda whispered to Erin, who smiled in agreement.

"Thank you, they're lovely," Frank said.

Alexis was also introduced to Jack and Sean, both of whom struck her as intelligent and pleasant.

Alexis smiled as Jamie pulled out her chair for her, once again relishing the fact that he was always a gentleman.

"Who wants to say grace?" Frank asked.

"Grace!" Sean said, eliciting a laugh from everyone but his brother, who groaned.

"I will," Jamie volunteered. They all bowed their heads.

"Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy boutiful hands, Amen," Jamie recited. Alexis followed suit, crossing herself along with everyone else.

"So, Alexis," Henry began once the food had been passed around and the clattering had settled down, "What do your parents do?"

"My dad is a mystery novelist, and my soon to be step-mom is actually an NYPD homicide detective."

"Katherine Beckett," Frank said with a nod. "A wonderful detective."

"Thank you, sir," Alexis replied.

"No way," Danny said. "Kate Beckett?" Alexis nodded affirmatively.

"I remember when she was shot, what was that? About three, four years ago?"

"It was," Frank agreed.

"That was at Roy Montgomery's funeral, wasn't it?" Erin asked.

"Yes," Henry answered. "Good man, Roy Montgomery. Did you know him?" he asked Alexis, who nodded.

"I did. Not very well, but he was a very kind man," she replied.

"You said your dad is a mystery novelist?" Linda asked.

"Yes," Alexis answered.

"What's his name?"

"Richard Castle," the redhead said. Danny rolled his eyes as Linda laughed.

"I love his books," she said.

"And his picture," Danny muttered.

"Danny!"Linda admonished as Alexis laughed.

"Mom, why would you like his picture?" Sean inquired.

"Because she thinks he's cute," Jack replied.

"Boys, eat your green beans," Linda said over the laughter of the others.


By three-thirty that afternoon, the day was winding down, much to Alexis' dismay. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much simple, family-oriented fun. After lunch, Alexis had volunteered to help with dishes, and had joined Erin and Linda in the kitchen. Their chatter was easy and Alexis found that she enjoyed their company almost as much as she did Jamie's. When the dishes were done, the three ladies went outside to find the others. Jamie and Danny were playing with Jack and Sean, while Nicky sat with Frank and Henry on the steps. The adults went inside to sit and talk while Jack, Sean, and Nicky stayed outside to play. Jamie smiled brightly at Alexis as he ascended the front steps to join them indoors.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," Alexis answered.

"How are you doing?" he asked. She smiled.

"Amazing. Your family is wonderful, you know." Jamie grinned, his dimples showing.

"Yeah, most of the time," he said with a laugh. He reached out and took Alexis' hand as they went inside.

Now, Alexis was leaning against Jamie as they listened to the familiar banter of Danny and Erin. Henry leaned over to murmur to Alexis.

"Francis tried to make those two share a room once," he relayed. "But it wasn't long after that they got a bigger house." Alexis giggled. She could definitely see Danny and Erin's sharing a room being the equivalent of a lot of headache.

With a sigh, Alexis turned to Jamie.

"I need to be getting home," she said. He nodded.

"Yeah, me too, I start my tour at six," he agreed. They both stood up, and proceeded to say their goodbyes.

"I hope to see you again, Alexis," Frank said with a smile, which the young woman returned.

"And I hope to be back again," she replied. She hugged Erin, Linda, and Nicky, waved to the boys, and shook hands with both Danny and Henry, before she and Jamie both went outside, saying goodbye to all of them. At the sidewalk, Jamie pulled Alexis into a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?" she asked.

"Being amazing and being here today." Alexis laughed.

"I enjoyed it, Jamie," she said softly.

"So you'll come back?" he asked hopefully. Alexis nodded.

"Of course." Jamie smiled gently, leaning in to press his lips to hers, not too passionately, but not too quick. When he pulled back, he met her eyes.

"I love you, Alexis." The young woman's heart skipped a beat, and her bright smile grew.

"I love you, too, Jamie."


A/N: That's it, folks. The end of Starting Fresh. Please leave a review, and, like I said, any requests you have. You guys are awesome! 3