Well here is another chapter. I know that some of you out there think I will never finish any of my stories, but I will. Sometimes it's all I can do to get out a chapter a week. My life is constant airports and hotels. You would think that I would take the time to write during those down times, but my work keeps me busier than I ever thought it would.

As you know by now I own nothing.

Chapter 14

The rest of the ride was quiet as they were driven through the city. When they approached the hotel where Kate was staying the driver spoke, "Mr. Castle, Mrs. Castle, we're here."

Kate's eyes flashed upward to meet Rick's in shock. "Thank you Robert," Castle responded quietly hoping not to wake a sleeping Alex. He did, however, see the look on his oldest daughter's face and gave her a faint smile.

Alexis coughed slightly and turned to Kate with a devilish smile. "I don't think we've ever stayed here, have we Mom?" which earned her a slight elbow poke from Kate. "Watch it 'Lex, two can play that game." Kate looked at Rick. "Honey, why don't we take 'Lex and Ashley to dinner when he comes home for Thanksgiving. I think we should ask him about his intentions."

Alexis looked at her in mock annoyance. "You wouldn't!"

Kate reached around Alexis's shoulder pulling her into a hug and whispered, "Never, and I'll make sure he doesn't do or say anything that you'll regret."

Letting out a huge sigh Alexis replied, "Thank you Kate. You don't know how much I appreciate that. And don't tell Dad because I won't let him call me it, but I like it when you call me 'Lex."

As they pulled up to the passenger drop off Rick asked if Kate would get a sleeping Alex out of her car seat. "Are you staying here, too?" Kate questioned.

"Oh yes, we are," he said grinning like the cat who ate the cannery. As they approached the desk clerk Kate remarked, "I wish I had a bigger room then you guys could stay with me."

Rick just smiled and turned to the clerk. "Richard Castle. We have the Jefferson Suite reserved."

The young girl smiled up at him. "Oh, yes sir, we've been expecting you."

He flashed the smile he used for public events, not the one that he reserved for his family, while looking down at the name tag the young lady wore. "Thank you Emily. Would you do me a favor and check Detective Beckett out of her room. She'll be joining us for the rest of her stay." He slipped a tip into her hand, turned back to Kate and grinned again.

"Yes sir, I'd be happy to."

Kate, who was still holding Alex, looked over to Alexis silently seeking approval from the young woman. The response she got nearly floored her.

"Since you're holding Alex, I'll go and get your things. That is, if you don't mind?"

An emotional tidal wave crashed over the brunette. She couldn't believe that this amazing young woman was making such an effort to welcome her into their family even if her relationship with Rick was in its infancy. "Yes, Alexis that would be wonderful."

"I figure that if we tried to swap Alex she'd wake up, and I'm pretty sure you don't want Dad going through your lingerie drawer."

Xx

Kate sat on the luxurious couch wrapped in one of the most decadently comfortable robes she had ever had the pleasure to wear. Her hair was still damp from her earlier shower. Alex was curled up into Kate's side as she read from the little girl's favorite book. "You are a bird, AND. YOU. ARE. MY. MOTHER!" Kate emphasized each word while placing a kiss upon the top of a very happy Alex's head. Kate looked over the top of the book to see a smiling Alexis seemingly lost in thought. "Everything okay over there 'Lex?"

"Oh yeah, I was just thinking," the young redhead replied.

"You were thinking very loudly. Anything you want to share?"

Xx

Castle exited the bathroom wrapped in the same type of hotel robe that Kate was wearing. As he approached the door he heard Kate ask Alexis if there was anything she wanted to share and he froze. They had gotten along so well today but suddenly it seemed to him that it was all crashing down. He desperately wanted to go in and intervene but he couldn't make his legs move.

"I've been impressed, no...that's not the right word. Mesmerized, yes, mesmerized by you since I met you Kate," the young redhead said. "I've always seen you as this strong woman who didn't take any crap off my dad, who challenged him intellectually as well as emotionally."

Kate leaned back against the couch and listened as Alex picked up one of her dolls and began to play with her.

"You're a career driven woman whom I thought didn't have time for a family," she said, smiling hesitantly.

Kate searched the young woman's eyes. She knew that Alexis had more to say than that and wanted to help her along. Then she saw it: the trepidation, the fear, the longing. "You didn't think I had time for children, did you?"

Alexis nodded in agreement. "I've always wondered why you held Dad off so long when both of you were obviously attracted to each other. The only thing I could come up with was me. I mean, who wants to date a guy with a teenage daughter? But now I see you with Alex and the way you are with me and I…well, I guess I'm confused."

Kate motioned for Alexis to join her on the couch. When the young woman acquiesced, Kate pulled her into a hug similar to the one they shared in the SUV. "Do you know what I thought when I first met your dad?" She felt the young woman shake her head. "That he was one of the greatest fathers that I had ever seen."

Alexis raised her head and looked at Kate. "How did you get that from 'Where do you want it?'" she asked.

"Oh, that wasn't the first time I met him. I met him at a signing for Storm Chasers. But let's not tell him that, I wouldn't want it to go to his head. Anyway, there he was signing away and at a table roughly three feet behind him was an adorable little redhead, about six years old, coloring very determinedly. When I got to the front of the line your dad looked up and caught me staring at you. He glanced back to check on you then turned to me and said, 'She's the light of my life, the one person in this world that centers me.' He went on to sign my book; he signed it from Richard Castle and daughter and he wrote that I had been 'the only one who had looked at my daughter not as a way to me but just as a little girl who enjoyed life.'"

"I wish I remembered that Kate, I really wish I remembered the first time I saw you."

"It's okay," she smiled gently. "I was just another person in a long line of people that your dad took time to meet. But I want you to know that your dad's books have helped me through the dark times and that note he wrote to me from the both of you has helped me see the joy in the world when all else failed. When I miss my mom, I read those words and remember that day, the day when a little redhead sitting at a table, oblivious to the events around her, put a smile on two adults' faces." When she finished speaking she pulled Alexis into a powerful hug while placing a kiss upon her head.

"When I saw you and Rick at the signing party I could hardly believe the young woman you had grown into. Let me tell you, you were beautiful that night, and still are."

"Kate, that doesn't explain why you kept Dad waiting." Alexis was genuinely curious now.

"I was scared Alexis. I was scared of how well your dad could see through Detective Beckett to find Kate." She smiled tightly. "Do you know what he said to me when I had him in interrogation that first night?" Again all Alexis could do was shake her head no, but she wanted to know. She was reveling in hearing Kate's side of the story, their story. "He said I had gorgeous eyes. Who says that when you're being questioned about a murder?" she laughed then continued, "I don't want to sound full of myself; I know I'm attractive and I swear I've heard every pick up line under the sun. I've had guys talk about my legs, my ass, even my breasts, but I can't recall anyone's first words to be about my eyes...not until that night. I wasn't expecting that, and to this day I know he was sincere. He really does love my eyes."

"Sorry. I got a little off track. I was scared. Hell, I am scared. He's the only person who has the power to destroy me. I knew it that first night and I know it now. I might have tried to hate him, to keep him at arm's length, but if I'm honest with myself I have to admit that I've loved him for so long…"

The thread of Kate's story was broken by a knock at the door.

Xx

Castle was stunned by the story Beckett had woven in the next room. He'd always felt that Kate never hated him as much as she had claimed in the early months of their unorthodox partnership. As he mused over what Kate had said there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," he called as he entered the sitting area of the suite.

He was expecting a delivery from room service when he opened the door; he never expected to see Sorenson. "Sorenson, how may I help you?" His voice was strong and determined.

"Is Kate here?" asked the FBI agent, trying to see inside the room.

Castle opened the door to reveal Beckett sitting on the couch beside both of his daughters. "Kate, you have a visitor." He motioned for Will to enter the suite and headed for the bar to refill his glass of wine as well as pouring one for Kate.

He hadn't seen Kate make her way to his side. She reached for the glass and softly kissed his cheek then whispered, "I know you heard Alexis and I talk. I do love you." With that she took her glass of wine and turned to see a shocked Sorenson. "What do you need, Will? Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to let you know we're interviewing Bracken tomorrow at eleven am, so I'll pick you up. You'll need to be ready to leave about eight. I thought we might get a bite of breakfast and go over our game plan."

Kate took a sip of her wine. "I can't make it. We'll be at the zoo tomorrow. We're having a family outing." She looked across the room searching for Castle's eyes, hoping that he wouldn't be upset at her use of family. When she found his eyes she could see that he was anything but upset.

"That's right. We missed our trip today so we decided to go tomorrow. Alex can't wait to see the penguins." He wanted her to know that he would always back her when she wanted to spend time with his daughter.

Sorenson didn't know what to say. Kate had always put her mother's case above everything else in her life. She stayed behind when he moved to Boston. And although she had said it was for her career he knew it was her mother's case that kept her in New York. But here Kate Beckett was saying she would rather go to the zoo than interrogate the man who had ordered her mother's death. "Kate, may I speak with you in private?"

Kate again looked to Rick silently seeking his input. He nodded almost imperceptibly. If Kate didn't know him so well she would have missed it, but he silently let her know he had her back. "Okay. Let's step into the hall."

As soon as the door closed Sorenson turned to her, his stance and voice aggressive. "What the hell, Kate? Where's the Kate Beckett I know?"

Beckett was angry now. "What do you mean?" she seethed.

"The Kate Beckett I knew was an independent career woman, not this," he waved his hands at the door to the suite, "whatever this is!"

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean? You think that a career woman can't be a family woman too? My mom was the most independent woman who was as career driven as anyone you've ever met. But she still had time for my dad and me." Frustrated and more than a little angry, she ran her hands through her hair and continued, "It sounds to me that you think less of my mom because she had me." He began to speak but she cut him off. "If I decide to speak with Bracken I can do it in New York, but now I'm spending time with Rick and his family."

She turned and opened the door not allowing him to get a word in edgewise.

What do you guys think? I wanted this chapter to be emotional, and I wanted Alexis to get a glimpse of what makes Kate tick. I don't know if I pulled it off but I am pleased with this chapter. It was definitely difficult for me to write.

In the upcoming chapters we just might see the trip to the zoo.