Chapter 14

In the three weeks that her dad was on tour, Alexis' entire outlook improved. She was still nervous about her dad's safety should he choose to go back to work with Kate, but after realizing how important it was to him and talking with Kate, she had a new perspective on the situation.

She did feel a little guilty for not telling him right away, but she wanted to tell him in person. When they talked, he never brought up Kate or anything concerning the Twelfth, so she didn't either. Mostly they just stuck to how their days were going and whatever other mediocre chit chat came up.

On the afternoon that her dad was flying back in from Houston, she texted him, hoping that he wasn't on his flight yet.

Dad, U on the plane yet?

A few minutes later her phone buzzed with his response.

No, the flight has been delayed by bad weather. Running about an hour late.

So you'll be landing around 7?

Should be.

Great. I'll pick u up.

U don't have to. JFK is out of your way.

I know. I want to. Missed U.

Miss U 2 Punkin. Meet U in baggage claim?

I'll B there. Cya soon.

Love U

Love U 2

After the conversation was over, she checked her watch. It was time to get going or she would definitely be late. Since going to Kate's apartment to talk with her, the two had been meeting once a week for coffee. Today they were meeting at a gourmet cupcake shop near Kate's place that specialized in cappuccino cakes. Alexis was looking forward to both the sweet treat and the company.

Kate and Alexis' new friendship was certainly nontraditional. Not only were they becoming good friends, but they were starting to fill a particular void in each others lives as well, in an odd sisterly, mother-daughter sort of way. Despite the uniqueness of the relationship it was a healthy one, and that was good for both of them. Alexis only hoped that no matter what happened with Kate and her father's relationship in the future, that they would still be able to remain close.

The afternoon passed quickly, and what was originally planned to be only an hour or half hour together, turned into three as they talked about Kate returning to work, school, guys and fashion. By the time, they realized how much time had passed, the sun was beginning it's slow decent.

"Oh gosh Kate, look at the time. It's already past five. I need to go. I'm picking my dad up at the airport in less than two hours, and traffic is gonna kill."

"Yeah I need to go too. My dad's coming for dinner, and I haven't even started it yet."

"What are you making?"

Kate blushed and rolled her eyes. "Chinese take out."

Alexis laughed with her new friend at the joke. "Well you better get home then or you'll never have it done on time."

The two headed out the door and shared a brief hug on the sidewalk before parting ways.

XXXXXXXXXXX

When Alexis made it to the airport she found that the flight had just landed about ten minutes earlier. The cab she had hired was waiting in the loading zone while she went in to find her dad.

She didn't have to wait long before she spotted him coming through the crowd. He already had his bags over his shoulder but slipped them to the ground and opened his arms as she walked to him. When their embrace lasted a bit longer than usual, Alexis pulled back, tipped her head and smiled. "I missed you too, Dad."

"Oh." He grinned. "Does it show?"

"Just a bit."

"I can't help it. You're a sight for these sore old eyes."

Alexis grabbed one of the bags and hoisted it to her shoulder. "Well come on Grandpa. Let's get this stuff home. I'm sure you're hungry and I'm treating us to dinner."

The trip back to the loft was spent mostly catching up on the little details of the last three weeks. After dropping his bags off at home, they continued their conversation as they headed out to eat.

Back in the cab again, Alexis gave the driver the address for the restaurant.

"Isn't that the address for Remy's?" Her dad asked.

"Yup," she nodded but didn't offer anything more.

He cocked his head at her and smiled with confusion.

"I didn't know you liked Remy's."

"It's growing on me. I know you're always talking about it, so when Kate was in the hospital, I brought her a shake from there, and it looked so good I went back and got one for myself a couple days later. Then after school one day some of us went there to eat. It's pretty good."

"Cool. Have your tried their aged cheddar and pot roast sandwich on the pretzel roll?"

"No, but it sounds good."

"You have no idea! And it's topped with the best caramelized onions you've ever had."

"That does sound amazing. I think I know what I'm ordering tonight."

XXXXXXXXXXX

When they were settled in the oversized red booth and had placed their identical orders of pot roast sandwich platters with sides of sweet potato fries, cinnamon apples and Pepsi, Alexis finally got down to business.

"There's another reason I brought you here tonight Dad."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, but never lost the grin he'd been wearing ever since they left the airport. "How much is it going to cost me?"

"Nothing. I'm not asking for anything."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow at her and nodded for her to continue.

"Before you left, I noticed how sad you were and I couldn't stop thinking about it while you were gone."

He tried to interrupt but she stopped him. "Hold on. I need you to hear me out."

"OK, sorry. Please continue."

"Anyway, it was really bothering me, because I've seen you sad or worried or apathetic, but never depressed like that. It was even different from how you were after the shooting."

She dropped her eyes from his and fiddled nervously with her paper napkin, and then the waitress brought the drinks so she waited until they were alone again.

"I also realized that I was to be blamed for a lot of that."

He frowned and shook his head adamantly while trying to talk over her but again she stopped him. "Please let me finish."

He didn't look happy about it but conceded.

"So I did some serious thinking and I even talked to Gram. She helped me to see that if I love you like I know I do, I love you enough to let you go. I can't hold on to you so tightly that you can't live your life. That won't keep you safe or make you happy."

She took a quick sip from her pop and then kept talking, "Then like two days after I talked with Gram, my friends and I ended up here for lunch, and it reminded me so much of you and Kate that I had this epiphany of sorts. So as soon as I was done eating, I went and found Kate and talked with her. I apologized for letting her think our fight was triggered by her and explained what was going on with me; with us. I told her that it wasn't her that made me upset, it was that you insisted on being a part of her job and the fact that it puts you into so much danger. I told her that I support you and her being together if that ever works out. And I told her about the deal we made and how I was starting to regret it. We talked about all of this stuff and then she assured me that no matter what the future holds, whether it be professionally or personally, she would always do her best to keep you safe and happy. So I've made a decision. It is time for me to let go. I'm OK with you going back to work with Kate, if that's what you want."

Her father was dumbfounded and still had his jaw open when their food was placed in front of them.

"Oh and so you know, whatever you guys decide about work or dating or whatever, I'm not going to graduate early. I want to enjoy this year that I'm still home with you and Gram and everyone here."

"Alexis. I don't know what to say. You've completely surprised me. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I want you to be happy."

"But I want you to be happy too."

"I will be, as long you promise to be careful. I don't know what's going to happen, and I can't keep you safe by stressing about it. You could just as easily be shot helping Kate as you could be in a plane crash or hit by a car. Worrying doesn't change things. When you work with Kate and the guys, you're happy, you're invested in what you're doing. If someone asked me to step away from something that made me feel like that, I would be devastated... like you were. I'm sorry I did that to you."

"But it was worth it to me, to see your fears at ease. That's part of being a dad I guess."

"Then thank you for being so selfless, but you don't have to be. I want things to go back to the way they were. I'm sure of it."

To punctuate the fact that she'd said her piece, she picked up her sandwich and took a big juicy bite. He followed her lead and for a while they ate in companionable silence.

"Even though you don't mind me shadowing Beckett anymore, I still don't know that I'll be going back. I haven't talked to her in forever and even if she's ready for me to be back, not everyone is. The new Captain is by the book, and trust me when I say that book does not focus on Nikki Heat."

"Yeah, I think I saw her when I went to the station to speak to Kate. Is she the woman in Montgomery's old office who's eyes shoot daggers from afar?"

"Oh yeah. Her name is Captain Gates, but behind her back, Ryan says they call her "Iron Gates."

"I can see that. She was kinda scary."

"Yeah! And she is not a fan!"

"Is she who helped you make the decision to stay home for the year?"

"Well I'd pretty much already made up my mind, but when she kicked me out of the station after she saw me looking at the murder board with the guys, it kinda solidified it."

"So if she doesn't want you there? What are you going to do?"

Alexis popped a fry in her mouth and watched the wheels turn in her father's head.

"She hasn't experienced the Castle charm yet," he answered.

"I don't see her as being the type that will be swayed by charm... or bribery. You may have met your match on this one."

"Maybe so, but if Beckett and the boys want me back too, maybe we can all sway her."

"Good luck with that, especially if you and Kate get together. I don't see that working in your favor with the new captain."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Before I can worry about any of that, I have to get Beckett to even talk to me."

"You know what I think is funny. You almost always call her Beckett, even to her face, and she always calls you Castle. Yet her and I are on a first name basis."

"When did you guys get so close?"

"She's always told me to call her Kate, but while she was recovering, I was seeing her so much that it didn't feel weird anymore. And now these last couple weeks we've hung out a couple times, and I really consider her a friend."

"Wow, I didn't even notice. We've used our first names on occasion, but for the most part we're just Castle and Beckett to each other. "

"I wonder how long that will last," she answered with a knowing smirk.

"Only time will tell I guess."