A/N: Thank you for the speedy beta Trish ;) This chapter is in Castle's POV and recaps a little of the previous chapter.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Castle had to admit he was having a pretty good time. Flying Alexis down to help them with the case had been the best idea he's had all summer. He had missed his little girl. It had been almost two whole weeks since he'd last seen her and even though they were used to being apart, mainly when she visited Meredith on the West Coast, they had always started out the summer together. Daddy and daughter together in the Hamptons for Memorial Weekend. The Stanford summer program was just one of many recent reminders that his daughter was growing up and preparing to leave the nest.
Getting Beckett on board with the idea of Alexis helping out was tricky, but had managed to convince her despite her protests. He had a good reason to involve his daughter and it wasn't as though he would knowingly bring Alexis into a dangerous situation. This was a simple mission in a controlled environment. Besides, he had given Alexis a few tips on how to get out of sticky situations. His daughter had reassured him that she was more than capable of handling herself but he was still alert to bail her out the moment things started going sour. But until that happened, he'd let her enjoy pretending being an undercover agent.
His partner brought him back to the present by recapping what they'd found out from the teens' parents so far. He nodded along to Beckett, pretending to listen when he was actually distracted by her legs. The dress he had chosen gripped her curves as though it was made specifically for her. The sheer chiffon was also a nice touch. It showed off her long, lean legs beautifully, something that had been on his mind as he picked out the dress. Which reminded him, he should probably arrange to send Lanie some flowers as a thank you for the heads up. The morgue could certainly use some brightening up.
Beside him, Beckett continued talking about the case in hushed tones. She was on a roll now, barely noticing that she was talking to herself. He really should stop being distracted by his partner and focus on what she was actually saying.
"Castle, your underage daughter has an empty champagne flute in her hand."
He whipped his head around to where Beckett was subtly gesturing. Castle wasn't worried though. He had gone to Alexis' room after telling Beckett to check out her dress, and his daughter had quickly blurted that she had tried one cup of beer and didn't like the taste. Jane (who might or might not have been underage) had no problems drinking at the parties they attended, but Alexis was more than happy to stick to non-alcoholic beverages. He even had to reassure her that Beckett wasn't going to arrest her.
"Oh that," he replied and gestured for Alexis to join them. Castle couldn't help but be impressed that his daughter had stuck to the teens for so long. It had to have been at least two hours since she'd introduced herself to the group.
Beckett gritted her teeth beside him. "Castle! I hope you're not taking this lightly. You know I'm bound by the law-"
His partner had too little faith in his daughter so he cut her off, telling her, "Don't worry about it." Castle playfully asked Alexis if she had been drinking when she joined them and she denied like he knew she would. Beckett hadn't seemed impressed until Alexis explained she had actually dumped her drink overboard.
Castle lightly exchanged fist bumps with his daughter as he praised, "That's my girl!" To make things even better, Alexis continued explaining how she had gotten herself invited along to a club with the rest of the teens.
If they didn't have to worry about their cover being blown, Castle would've printed Alexis' achievements in the evening press, with the bold headline "That's my daughter!"
Alexis was beginning to blush with excitement - it always began with her ears - and he eagerly asked the appropriate questions so his daughter could have her 30 seconds in the spotlight. Had she been nervous? Were the other teens nice? How did she get herself invited? What else had the teens been up to?
It might have seemed unmanly but Castle couldn't help but squeal along with his daughter (softly, of course,) as she answered all of his questions. Maybe he could order a fake police badge for her, to commemorate her first time undercover and helping out with a case. Alexis Castle, NYPD's little helper. She could even keep it next to her "Santa's little helper" trophy. Speaking of the NYPD, his partner had been awfully quiet ever since Alexis shared her news.
Looking at Beckett, he asked her, "Well?"
To his surprise, she snapped at him instead. "Are you out of your mind?"
Alexis' smile froze and began to wilt as she detected the older woman might not be as happy as the rest of them. Castle frowned as Alexis' feelings got hurt. He was quick to praise Alexis before glaring at Beckett, asking her for a word in private.
Who was she to rain on his little girl's parade? As soon as they were out of earshot, he started telling her off. "What is your problem? Couldn't you see Alexis bending over backwards trying to impress you? Did you not see how hard she was trying to help with the case?"
In this moment, he was a protective father whose daughter had gotten her feelings hurt and he had no problem standing up on her behalf. He continued, not letting Beckett get a word in edgewise. "In case you haven't noticed, Alexis is nothing like those teens. I don't care what you said; working undercover is more than just using a fake name. Was it so hard for you to tell her she did a good job?"
Beckett looked back at him in surprise. Good, she hadn't been expecting this. Beckett slowly turned her head to look at his daughter, the perfect picture of forlorn misery as she stared at the ground.
Beckett turned back to him guiltily, apologizing.
Castle was quick to tell her, "It's not me you should be apologizing to."
"I was thinking about her safety and you know how it is on the job, we don't exactly praise each other every time for a job well done."
He was pained to admit that Beckett might have a point, but he didn't let her off the hook until she agreed that Alexis did do a great job. Beckett was right about one thing though; they've done enough for the day. Heading home seemed like a good idea.
They headed back toward Alexis, the apology and praise tumbling quickly from Beckett's mouth. As Alexis blushed in embarrassment, Castle told her, "Come on pumpkin, let's head home, evaluate the case and then we'll talk about tomorrow."
Beckett and Alexis joined him at the same time and once they were settled in, the lead detective wasted no time in getting down to business. Alexis gave them a full recount of what happened whilst Castle and Beckett prodded her with appropriate questions when necessary.
Beckett began filling index cards with the all the new information they had gathered that day. Castle, sensing there was more on his partner's mind than she let on, suggested for Alexis to go and get a drink. She had to be thirsty after all that talking.
Alexis skipped out of the room, none the wiser. When it was just the two of them in the room, Castle said, "Out with it, Beckett. I know you've got something on your mind."
She capped her marker and faced him. She pursed her lips, deliberating for a few seconds before admitting, "Alexis isn't going to the club tomorrow. I want her off the case. Castle, she shouldn't even be on the case in the first place."
Castle protested, "She earned that invite-"
Beckett crossed her arms, looking as though she was prepared to stand her ground. "Castle, I'm not going to let you involve your daughter any further with this case! It's one thing for you to tag along with me, but another thing entirely to involve Alexis. She did a good job today, but tell me honestly; have you even considered the danger she could face in the club? Your tricks might have gotten her through today but I'm not risking it again."
Castle knew Beckett had been letting this brew quietly for quite some time now. She had been far too silent and tense ever since they'd left the luncheon. So this was what it looked like when she finally snapped. Well too bad for her because he wasn't just going to roll over at the snap of her fingers.
"It's all about you, isn't it? Your case, what you want, whom you want to involve. Contrary to what you think, the world doesn't revolve around you, Beckett. I'm not going to just let you toy with Alexis, letting her come and go as you please." What he really meant to say was I'm not going to let you treat her the way you've treated me.
Beckett bristled and took a step closer to him. "Just what is that supposed to mean? If you've got something to say, then say it, Castle." She glared at him, eyes challenging and refusing to back down despite his height advantage over her.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I meant. You've been running hot and cold this whole summer, and we're all supposed to just accept everything, are we? One moment you're turning down my invitation; the next you tell me you want to accept it after all. You told me you broke up with Demming; yet less than an hour later you're getting drinks with him."
Finally, a reaction from her. Beckett opened her mouth to say something, confusion painted over her features but he just continued ranting. It was time to make her confront all the confused emotions she had stirred up in him over the pass two weeks.
"One day you're teaching me how to ride a bike and the next you're biting off my head for trying to help with the case you brought to me. You say you have a dress, and then you don't. So which is it, Beckett?"
Castle noticed her setting her jaw as a vein on her forehead began pulsing. "Now you're just being petty," she bit out, referring to his last point.
He retorted, "No, frankly I'm sick and tired of trying to keep up with all your mixed signals."
"Fine! You really want to do this here, now? Okay, well I've got a few bones to pick with you too! Why did you invite me to the Hamptons when you knew I was in a relationship? And the moment I turn you down, you run straight to your ex-wife. God damn it, Castle, I'm here, okay? I'm here in the Hamptons and whenever I try to talk to you, you shut me down or deflect me with the case! You go and pick out this amazing dress for me and compliment me, making me feel special and on top of the world and then you come and pick a fight with me over Alexis' involvement in the case. And seriously, how can you not see that you're inviting danger to your daughter?"
Castle glanced toward the doorway, remembering that his daughter was due to return, but she still hadn't returned from the kitchen.
He took a few calming breaths, watching as Beckett mirrored his actions. Bickering wasn't going to get them anywhere. Maybe if they could cool down enough to talk it through like adults, they might be able to get somewhere. Castle offered, "Clearly we both need some answers," she scoffed at him for stating the obvious but he continued, "And yelling clearly won't get us anywhere, so let's settle this like civilized adults."
The frown remained on her face, but she seemed less defensive. "What are you suggesting, Castle?"
He gestured for her to take a seat as he moved to occupy the chair opposite hers. Changing their positions from standing to sitting forced them to unconsciously alter their body language, and Castle hoped that would help matters. "Well since I went first, I think you should answer my questions first. And we can go back and forth until the both of us are out of questions. Sounds good?"
She nodded reluctantly and he took that as his signal to ask the burning question on his mind.
"Why didn't you call?"
She leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. "I told you, I was busy with the terrorist case, and by the time I did call and text you, I was on my way here already. Not like that helped, since your battery was flat anyway. Why didn't you call?"
He rubbed at his forehead wearily. "I wanted to, the night I left the precinct. I was at a gas station and I almost called you, but I checked in with Esposito first to see how you were doing." Dropping his hand, he added bitterly, "Obviously you were doing perfectly fine because Espo told me you were getting drinks with Demming."
"What are you talking about? I broke up with him, stupid as I was, to come up here with you. Why would I get drinks with him right after dumping him? Just because you have no problems running straight back to your ex doesn't mean I'd do the same thing too."
Castle was quick to defend himself. "I didn't run straight back to Gina. You knew she was hounding me about my deadline. Besides, inviting her up here was a mistake. An accident, actually. An accident and a big mistake," he admitted softly, dropping his gaze to stare at his hands. Why did he ever think getting back with Gina was a good idea? He lifted his head to look Beckett in the face, telling her, "I didn't mean to invite Gina. It just tumbled out accidentally, and before I knew it she was packing her things and since I thought you were happy with Demming…" he trailed off, allowing Beckett to finish that sentence on her own.
Two seconds later, he asked, "Wait, you didn't get drinks with Demming that night? But Espo-"
Beckett sighed. "He misunderstood, Castle. Demming invited me for a coffee, just as friends, but I turned him down."
Castle groaned. All this time he had been angry with her because he had thought she had gone straight back to Demming. And it was all just a simple misunderstanding. He felt like an ass and a fool. How different their summer might have been if they had both just laid their cards on the table.
The both of them sat in silence, absorbing all that they'd just shared. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.
They were looking at a very long night ahead.
A/N: Yay for progress! They're finally talking! :)
