Unscathed
Chapter 21:
"No, I understand."
Kate startles as she comes out into the living room. She pauses, watching the slump of Alexis' shoulders at the kitchen island, her phone pressed to her ear.
"I do. Mom—no, it's okay, I promise. I know. I know."
Kate approaches slowly, not wanting to interrupt, but unwilling to watch the girl sink any lower on her stool, sitting there in jeans and a tee shirt at six in the morning.
"Have a good shoot, mom. I'll—yeah, we'll take, we'll take lots of pictures. I love you too."
She steps up just as Alexis clicks off of the call, letting her phone clatter to the counter. She stiffens as Kate lays a hand against her back, turning to look at her with bright eyes.
"Hey," Kate says softly.
Alexis tries to smile, but sniffles. "Hey."
"Happy graduation day," Kate whispers.
This time, she manages a real smile, wiping at her eyes. "Thanks," Alexis whispers back.
"Why are you up? You don't need to be there for hours."
"Mom," Alexis says, shaking her head and running a hand through the tattered edges of her hair, fallen from her braid. "They start shooting in an hour. She's in makeup, and she wouldn't be able to call again until…after. So."
Kate nods and rubs the girl's back. Alexis sighs and wipes roughly at her cheek. "Why are you up?"
She wasn't expecting to need to have a reason. Castle's still asleep, Martha will be as well. She was hoping to get out and get back, no questions asked. She just…needed a moment.
"I'm, ah," she trails off, unsure of how to explain.
"Do you need to go to work?" Alexis asks, not accusing, just curious.
Kate sighs. "Probably. But actually I—" She considers the teenager sitting there before her, missing her mother. "I was going to go see my mom for a bit, just…"
"Oh," Alexis says softly. "Oh," she repeats. "Okay. Um, do you—do you want some food first? I was going to…make cereal. But we could have something else."
Kate shakes her head. "I'm not hungry. And neither are you, liar."
Alexis smiles sheepishly. "Yeah."
"You don't want to spoil the huge meal your dad is going to make, do you?"
"Ugh," Alexis groans. "He's going to go really crazy, isn't he?"
Kate laughs. "His only daughter is graduating today. What do you think?"
"Will you be back in time to rein him in?" Alexis asks hopefully. "Not," she adds hastily, "not that you should rush. I didn't—"
Kate smiles. "I will."
Alexis nods and relaxes. Kate watches as she glances at her phone, that easy happiness seeping out of her, her cheeks curving in a frown.
"Why don't you come with me?"
Alexis looks up at her, surprised. Kate's a bit taken aback as well.
"To—"
"More to just get out of the house," Kate says quickly.
Yeah, take the kid to visit her dead mother. Cheery way to kick-off graduation day.
"I—okay. Sure. Um, let me grab shoes."
Kate nods and Alexis slides from her stool. "I'll tell your dad," Kate says, turning back for the bedroom.
She can't very well take Alexis and not let him know. After last night—man, she was planning to just sneak out. That could have backfired, badly.
"Castle," she whispers, crouching down by his sleeping form.
He grunts and goes to turn over but she catches him with a hand against his rough cheek. "Castle."
"Mm-wha?" he mumbles, squinting his eyes open.
"I'm taking Alexis for early breakfast. We'll be back."
He blinks at her. "Brk-fast?"
"Yeah," she says, smiling at the sight of him so dopey with sleep. "Go back to sleep. I'll leave a note."
He grins exhaustedly at her and promptly falls back to sleep.
She watches him for a moment before standing and scribbling on the pad he keeps on his bedside. She doubts he'll remember that she woke him, really.
She slips back out of the room and finds Alexis waiting by the door, wearing a large hoodie and a pair of keds. Kate smiles and grabs a set of keys, ushering the girl out the door. They match. She's wearing one of Castle's sweatshirts.
It's a quiet ride out to the cemetery. They sit together in the back of the cab watching the city pass. Alexis' eyes are far away as she gazes out the window and Kate stares out her own, the past few months flashing before her eyes.
Two months ago, solving her mother's murder would have been the first thing on her priorities list. Second only, maybe, to making things right with Castle. Now—she glances at Alexis, who gives a listless sigh.
Now she wants this life more than she wants her answers.
She doesn't question it, doesn't worry that she's making the wrong choice, or letting her mother down, her father—hell, he's been asking her to step away from this for years. He asked Castle to make her stop, for God's sake.
And he did. He put his own life on the line, twice now, to keep her safe.
She won't throw that away, not again.
Alexis reaches over and touches her shoulder, and Kate realizes they've arrived at the gates to the cemetery.
"Thanks," she mumbles to Alexis, sliding her card to pay their tab before Alexis can. She scoots out and reaches back to take Alexis' hand, helping her out of the cab before it speeds away, leaving them standing there.
Together, they look up at the wrought iron gates, the sun just rising behind them.
"Come on," Kate says softly, keeping hold of Alexis' hand as they step across the threshold and walk down the wide path separating the two sides of the cemetery—where the hearses drive.
"When was the last time you were here?" Alexis asks as they wind their way through the graves.
It helps, that the sun hasn't fully risen. She hasn't been here since before her shooting. It's a different cemetery, but still, she thought—well, she assumed it wouldn't go well.
But together, with Alexis at her side, it's not so scary.
"A while," Kate offers, giving the girl a little shrug. "Back when I shot her killer, I think."
"Oh," Alexis says quietly.
Kate squeezes her hand and makes the familiar turn by the large oak that marks her mother's row. It's six stones east of the tree, and two north.
She could probably walk it with her eyes closed.
They come to a slow halt as they reach the familiar headstone.
"The truth conquers all things," Alexis recites from the engraving. Kate nods, staring at the stone.
The truth conquers all.
"She used to say it, when I was little," Kate says softly. "One of her favorite phrases. Made me seem like a really precocious three year old, saying it in preschool."
Alexis huffs a small laugh. "I'm sure it was just that."
Kate glances at her and finds the teen looking back at her. "You're one to talk, Valedictorian."
Alexis smiles and bumps her shoulder. She looks back at the headstone. "Do you think it does?"
"What?"
"That the truth wins out, eventually?"
Kate sighs and pulls the teen into her side, wrapping her arm around her shoulder. "I like to."
"You shouldn't give up," Alexis says as her hand fists in the back of Kate's sweatshirt. "I—it must mean so much to you."
"It does," Kate agrees. "But the truth doesn't conquer death." Kate stares at the cold, hard rock before them—all she has left of her mother. "She knew it. She had the truth. Whatever is at the top of this mess, she knew it, and they killed her for it."
Alexis leans her head against Kate's shoulder and sighs.
"I—someday, we'll find out. Someday, we'll know. But today," she pauses and considers the plaque. "I want to be there when you make your speech, and when you graduate from college, and when you get married."
"I'd like that," Alexis says quietly.
Kate wishes her mother could meet Alexis. She knows she would love Castle—loved Castle long before Kate did—his words, at least. But she wishes Johanna could meet Alexis, who is so much the embodiment of her spirit, despite their lack of blood relation.
"You remind me of my mom," Kate says, smiling as Alexis stiffens. "The jokes that you make, the way you keep Castle in his place, how smart you are. You would have gotten along."
"I'm sure," Alexis agrees. Kate glances down and finds the teen blushing.
"She would have been very proud of you."
Alexis blushes more and bobs her head. "I'm sure she's very proud of you, too."
Kate smiles. "I think—my father thinks she would have wanted me to step away from this a long time ago, despite," she gestures to the epitaph. "I think she'd kick my ass for letting it go on this long."
"It's not like you asked to get shot."
Kate snorts. "True."
"I still say she'd be proud of you."
"Thanks," Kate says, turning to wrap the teen up in a hug.
She'd wanted to come and…explain. To pour her heart out to a slab of granite and ask forgiveness for walking away from the search for justice. Instead, she finds herself hoping her mother is watching. She hopes she can know Alexis, somehow, can know Castle.
She wants to show off the life she's building, rather than ask forgiveness for the ghosts she's no longer chasing.
Alexis pulls back after a long moment, searching in her jacket. "Here," she says, holding out a silver chain.
Kate smiles softly, recognizing her mother's ring dangling in the middle. "Oh," she says.
"I meant to give it back ages ago. I just kept forgetting. I don't know if, um, if it'll be comfortable yet," she adds, glancing at Kate's concealed bullet wound. "But I didn't want you to look for it and not find it."
"Thank you for keeping it safe," Kate says, taking the necklace from Alexis and staring at the ring. "I—I would have been devastated if he took it."
Alexis nods, touching the diamond. "It's beautiful."
"Yeah," Kate agrees.
"I'm sorry she can't be there for your wedding."
Kate offers Alexis a sad smile. "I'm sorry your mom isn't going to be there today."
Alexis bobs her head. "Me too."
Kate hesitates for a moment then looks down at the necklace. "Here," she says, undoing the clasp and motioning for Alexis to turn around. "Borrow mine for the day."
Alexis turns slowly, allowing Kate to reach around her and latch the chain. She sweeps the teen's hair away and settles the necklace, smiling as Alexis revolves to face her. She touches the ring, staring at Kate, lip between her teeth.
"If you want to," Kate adds, shrugging a little and feeling like maybe she's made the wrong move. "It's not—the same, I know."
"Thank you," Alexis says softly, clutching at the ring, before yawning wide.
"Come on. Let's get home so you can sleep a little more," Kate says, guiding the teen away from her mother's grave.
"I'm not tired," Alexis says, even as she leans heavily on Kate. "I'm just…"
"Exhausted?"
"Yeah," the girl agrees.
"Yesterday was rough. Today's a big day. Even if you don't sleep, let's get home and let your dad make a big breakfast."
"Are you sure you don't need to go in? We could stop at the precinct on the way back," Alexis offers as they reach the main path again.
Kate shakes her head.
If they go in, she—she feels so strongly about this decision, but seeing the evidence, hearing it from Javi and Kevin—she needs today. She wants today to just focus on Alexis. Tomorrow, she can figure it out.
"No, let's go home. I'll go tomorrow."
"Okay," Alexis agrees, almost too quickly.
Kate squeezes her to her side and plunges into a conversation about hairstyles and graduation caps. She doesn't want the girl to worry about her mother's conspiracy today.
Today is her day.
(…)
She stares at herself in the mirror as she puts in earrings Martha loaned her. They're these beautiful silver and purple diamond pendants. She tried to resist, but the matriarch was persistent, and they do match her dress.
She can see her cell ringing on the bed. She's silenced it. She texted both Javi and Kevin and told them she was taking a personal day and she would be out of touch.
It hasn't stopped ringing.
"Kate?"
She turns and finds Castle emerging from the closet, doing up his cufflinks. "Handsome," she offers.
He smiles, then glances to the phone. "You're not—"
"No," she says.
"I—we can swing by the precinct on the way."
"No we can't," Kate replies, rolling her eyes before grabbing her cell and shoving it into the clutch Alexis loaned her.
At some point she's either going to have to go back to her apartment or move all of her belongings here. She's lacking in the girly things.
"Alexis needs to be there early, and I said I'd go with. So did you, for that matter."
"I know. But if you need to—"
"Aren't you the one who said I needed to stop digging in the first place?"
He sighs. "Kate."
"No, Castle. Not today. Tomorrow, we'll deal. Today, let's go watch your kid graduate, okay?"
He stares at her, a piercing look in his eyes, and finally, finally nods. God, you'd think he didn't want them all to be safe and sound.
"Okay, then come on. You took forever getting pretty and there'll be traffic."
He laughs and grabs his own cell from the bedside, before stepping up to her at the mirror.
"I'd say so did you, but pretty is an understatement," he husks in her ear.
She smiles, ignoring the flush that runs up her neck at his words. She does look nice—feels prettier than she has in a long while, despite the thin line on her cheek.
The dress fits well, and he managed to find a tie to match. They look good together.
His arms wrap around her waist and she leans back into him, content. "I wanted to look nice," she admits.
He smiles. "I love you."
"I love you too," she says, meeting his eyes in the mirror.
He winces as she leans further back into him, raising a hand unconsciously to his chest.
It makes her gut clench. "Hey," she says softly, turning in his embrace to raise her fingers to the spot. She chucked a book at him. "I'm sorry."
He blinks then glances down at their hands on his sternum. "Oh," he mumbles, shaking his head. "It's—I'm fine."
She sighs. She hurt him. It was in the heat of it, and she'd never raise a hand against him, but she hurt him. "Still," she says, arching up to press her lips to his cheek. "I'm sorry, Castle."
He turns and catches her lips, lingering against her for a long beat, his hand coming to rest at the base of her neck. "Forgiven," he whispers as they pull apart.
She nods slowly, a last weight rising off of her shoulders. No more. No more anger, no more irrationality, no more fighting. Just no more.
"I have tissues in my purse, for when you cry," she says, noting his eyes clouding just a hair, remember why he's forgiving.
He scoffs and pulls away from her, winking before snagging her hand to bring her out into the foyer. "Like you won't," he taunts, reaching into the coat closet for her white coat.
She turns and lets him put it on her as Martha trots down the stairs, Alexis following behind her, gown in one hand, cap in the other.
"And there she is, the graduate," Castle says, reaching out to pull his daughter into an awkward hug.
Alexis laughs, dodging his attempts to smack kisses to her head.
"Okay, okay. Let's go," she says, ducking out of his arms and scurrying around to hide behind Kate before he can do damage to her hair.
Martha laughs and ushers them all out of the loft.
Kate's the last one out, and she ends up locking up, turning to watch as the three of them congregate by the elevator, Martha's arm around Alexis, and Castle looking back at her, hand outstretched.
She's made the right decision.
(…)
"Hello?"
She smiles, patting Castle's arm and leading him toward Martha in the bank of seats ahead of them. He offers her a wink and then his face goes slack, iPhone held to his ear. He pulls to a stop, lurching her backward.
"No, no, Captain, I—yes, of course I under—you know what, here, um, here's Beckett."
He pushes the phone at her. She gapes at him and he looks back, equally flabbergasted.
"Castle," she hisses.
"I—what do you want me to do?"
She narrows her eyes at him but raises his phone to her ear. "Hello," she says warily.
"Detective Beckett."
It really is Gates. Calling her on Castle's phone.
"Hello, sir," she says, glancing around as the crowd swells behind them, more and more parents coming to take their seats. She squeezes Castle's arm and the detaches, waving him toward Martha.
He goes, wary.
"That's all you have to say?" Gates prompts as Kate ducks into the adjoining hall that surrounds the auditorium.
"I—"
"You disappear from work yesterday, don't answer your phone, and I'm told you haven't been responding even to text messages."
She gapes and leans up against the wall. They filched on her?
"Sir, I'm—I apologize for my abrupt—"
"I do not want your apology, Detective. I want you to report for duty. Now."
Kate closes her eyes. "I can't, Sir."
"You can't," Gates repeats. "Are you aware, Detective, that I've just suspended Detective Esposito?"
"You what?" Kate lets out, eyes popping open.
"He ran off, no back up, and nearly got himself killed by your shooter. Detective Ryan and I found him hanging off the edge of the building."
"He—what?" Kate repeats. Her shooter?
"He said it's what you would have wanted."
Kate swallows, hard. Fuck, Espo. What the hell? "Sir, I didn't order him to—"
"You certainly weren't there to stop him, were you?"
"Excuse me?"
"I understand that you are dealing with a difficult situation right now, but I reinstated you with the understanding that you would be doing your job."
Kate bristles. "I have been, sir."
"No," Gates says, her voice harsh. "You haven't. I expect you at the precinct in thirty minutes."
Kate stares hard at the doors to the auditorium. The ceremony starts in ten minutes.
"Or what?" she hears herself say.
The line is quiet. She breathes, trying to make sense of it. Javi ran off and nearly got killed by her shooter? And he's…still out there? Oh, God, and she took Alexis to the cemetery this morning…
"Or you're suspended," Gates says after a long pause. Kate blinks.
Castle's face appears near the doors. He waves at her and points to his watch. She can hear the graduates lining up down the next hall.
She's not going to miss this. She's not going to let the case take another moment.
"Fine," Kate says.
"Excuse me?"
"Suspend me. I will call you tomorrow morning to discuss the terms."
She takes a deep breath, and clicks off of the call. She stares down at the phone for a moment, shocked and angry.
"Kate?"
She looks up and finds Castle standing in front of her.
"Here," she says, handing the phone over. "Turn it off."
"Why?" he asks as she takes his arm and leads him back into the auditorium.
"Because I'm choosing you."
"You're what?" he mumbles as she guides him to Martha's row and pushes him in ahead of her. "Kate, what's going on?" he whispers as the lights dim.
She sighs and turns to meet his eyes. "That's my always, Castle," she says, glancing at the phone. "Turn it off. Let's watch your daughter graduate." He considers her for a moment before slowly turning off his phone. "Goes back on tomorrow morning."
"Okay, Kate," he agrees.
"And here," she adds, digging in her own purse to pull out a tissue.
He laughs and takes her hand, holding tight to the tissue in his other. "Thank you."
She smiles and presses her cheek to his shoulder as the graduates start to file in across the front of the room. They watch as Alexis walks out, near to last, closest to the stairs to the stage. She looks out at the room and finds them, smiling brightly.
They smile back and Kate hears Martha make a small sound. She laughs and reaches into her purse, passing over another tissue.
Martha grins at her and dabs at her eyes as the graduates take their seats and the principal walks across to the center podium.
"And thank you," Castle whispers. She meets his eyes. "For getting her here."
He brushes his thumb across her side, his arm wrapped around her body, tracing over her incision site. Kate covers his hand with hers and nods, unable to find the words to express how much it wasn't a choice but a deep, gnawing need to make sure that the teenager at the front of the room gets to have her life.
She feels Castle's phone digging into her thigh through his pocket. This is her stand.
(…)
"That is some kid you've got there, Rick."
They turn, waiting in their little group for Alexis to reappear. All three of them are a little misty, Martha still dabbing at her eyes.
"Thank you, George," Castle says, clasping hands with the man Kate thinks is the Vice Principal.
"And may I add, congratulations to you as well," George continues.
Kate sucks in a breath. Oh, shit, they never told him. It—of course it got around. Teachers talk, after all. The whole, "this is my stepmother, Kate," fiasco seemed silly at the time.
Oh, God.
She feels like her cheeks are on fire as Castle says, "Well thank you. I'm so proud of her."
Three, two… "Of course, of course. But I meant on your recent wedding."
And there it is. "My—"
"Thank you," Kate puts in, wrapping her arms around Castle's, hiding her left hand in the fold of his elbow.
The man smiles and then catches someone else's eye. "If you'll excuse me."
"Um," Castle says, turning to Kate. "Something you want to tell me?"
"Dad! Gram! Kate!"
Kate breathes out a sigh of relief as Alexis scurries up to them. She lets go of Castle so he can wrap his daughter up, murmuring to her as she buries her face in his shoulder. Martha goes next, the two of them exchanging quiet whispers while Kate avoids Castle's eyes.
Alexis breaks from Martha just before Castle can start in again and Kate takes her hug eagerly.
"Your speech was beautiful," she tells the girl, smiling as Alexis arches onto her toes, their embrace a full-on bear hug.
"Thanks," she mumbles into Kate's neck.
"And by the way, your Vice Principal just let slip that your dad and I are married."
Alexis pulls back, stares for a moment, then bursts into laughter, hanging onto Kate to stay standing.
"Oh, oh, I'm so sad I missed it! I'm so sorry, but I'm just…not. Oh my God."
Kate laughs and sees Martha smiling into her hand. "Do you want to explain?"
Alexis shakes her head, looking impish. "Nope."
"Wow, such solidarity."
"Pick your battles," Alexis tosses back, laughing as Kate sighs.
She keeps smiling at the young woman, happy to have picked this as her battle. Her phone vibrates dully in her purse.
"Would either of you like to explain why George thinks I've been recently married?"
Kate keeps a tight hold on Alexis as the girl tries to squirm away. Martha's just there laughing at them.
"We may have fibbed to get me in the day she had her exam," Kate offers, going for cool.
"Fibbed."
"That, ah, we were related, by marriage."
"What?" Castle manages.
"Paige? Oops, gotta go," Alexis lets out, slipping out of Kate's clutches.
Kate scowls after her, but Alexis just winks and zips off.
"You what?" Castle asks, his face slowly forming into a grin.
Kate rolls her eyes. "Oh check your ego, Castle."
"Well this is certainly cause for celebration," Martha says, walking over to put her arms around them both. "We'll have to toast to your happy union."
"Traitor," Kate hisses at her.
Martha grins. "Ah, dear, welcome to the family."
Kate finds herself laughing and Martha gives her a squeeze before stepping away to greet another friendly face. Castle takes her place, wrapping his arms around her and looking down with a crooked grin.
"So everyone here thinks we're married?"
"Not…everyone," Kate hedges, narrowing her eyes as his grin widens.
"I feel cheated here, Beckett. You didn't even buy me dinner."
She shakes her head and straightens his tie. "Fine. I owe you one. First date is on me."
"We're married and we haven't even been on a date. I've missed everything," he whines, laughing as she tries to pull away.
"Shut up," she gets out, giggling as he leans in to press a smacking kiss to her lips.
"Mm, what was that, dear?"
"Jeez," she huffs.
He chuckles and pulls her in for a real kiss, releasing her with a light pop before meeting her eyes, suddenly serious. "Really, thank you. I'm sure it wasn't comfortable, the lying."
Kate smiles and brushes at his fringe. "It wasn't too bad. The stepmother part was easy. The…explaining the lack of publicity for the wedding, not so much."
He smiles and pulls away from her to take her left hand. He studies her fingers before glancing at her dress.
"Do you have your mom's ring?"
"Alexis has it."
"Oh," he says, cocking his head. "Okay?"
Kate smiles. "It's fine. Everyone will just think you're cheap."
He snorts and wraps his arm around her. "Hardly. Look at you."
"Excuse me?" she says, bumping him with her hip. "Are you saying people will think you hired me?"
"How else could I get someone as beautiful as you?" he whispers against her ear.
"Oh, God, Castle. That's—I don't know whether to hit you or hit you harder."
He laughs and squeezes her shoulder. "Mm. Sorry, dear, you married me. Comes with the territory."
"Oh, just wait until we get home, honey," she tosses back, hiding her smile as he grunts.
By the time they leave the school, she's been called Mrs. Castle ten times. Four of them were by the man himself, but still. Alexis waves to a few friends as they all climb into Castle's car, Kate and Castle in the front, Alexis and Martha at the back.
"So, dinner, ladies?" Castle asks as they pull away from the school.
"Mm, if you don't mind, darlings, could we swing by the loft? I'm going to head out before it gets too late."
"Are you sure you can't stay for dinner?" Alexis asks her grandmother.
Martha smiles at her. "I would dear, but you know how much I dislike driving."
"And how much other drivers dislike her driving," Castle mutters from the front seat.
"I heard that," Martha calls out to him. Castle just shakes his head. "I'll see you soon enough," she promises Alexis. "And we still have to discuss."
"Right," Alexis agrees, her voice a bit more subdued.
Kate glances at Castle but he shrugs, apparently not privy to it either. Alexis and Martha chatter in the back until they pull up to the loft, the three of them waving goodbye as Martha hurries into the building.
"You think there'll be any house left after this weekend?" Alexis wonders as Castle pulls off from the curb, heading to Alexis' favorite Italian restaurant.
"Doubtful," Castle says easily. "But Kenny will keep her in line."
"Kenny?" Kate wonders.
"Our groundskeeper. He makes sure Mother's crazy friends don't trash the place. Well, he tries."
"There was an incident a few years ago with a dune buggy and our pool," Alexis adds, meeting Kate's' eyes in the rear view.
"You have a dune buggy?"
"Not anymore," Castle grumps.
"How big is this place that you had a dune buggy?" Kate wonders.
"Big," Alexis admits.
"Hey," Castle interjects. "It's not like…ostentatious big."
"Yeah it is," Alexis says easily. "But it's really great. Maybe we can go up some weekend when you're off," she suggests, looking a little shy back there in the backseat.
"Sure," Kate says quickly just as Castle opens his mouth. "How about a week or two?"
"What?" they say together.
Kate sighs. She shouldn't have done that. She should have waited until she spoke with Gates, should have gotten the timeline from her.
"How can you take two weeks off?" Castle asks.
Well, in for a penny. "I, ah, kind of got suspended earlier?"
They nearly crash into the car in front of them as Castle whips his head to look at her.
"Castle, the road."
"You what?" Alexis lets out.
"I, ah, it's a whole thing, but I'm—Gates suspended me. I'm sure it'll just be a few weeks."
"But why?" Alexis insists, looking mildly panicked.
Ah shit. "Just—there have been some issues with my…overseeing my duties, and I wasn't reachable when an, ah, incident occurred with Esposito this afternoon."
Castle gives her a sharp look and she returns it. This is still Alexis' graduation day.
"Because you weren't there?" Alexis asks, that look of panic growing.
"No," Kate says quickly. "No. Because I wasn't keeping better track of the case, and that led to my missing something from Javi. It has nothing to do with today."
It has nothing to do with the graduation, everything to do with her flat out choosing to ignore anything and everything that wasn't a Castle. That was her choice. And she's being punished for it.
"You know what though?" she says, glancing at both of them. "Two weeks in the Hamptons sounds amazing."
"Beckett." "Kate."
She sighs and gestures to the road. "Let's just get to the restaurant. And talk about how amazing your speech was, Alexis."
She sees Alexis roll her eyes and slump in the back. Castle's hands are tight on the steering wheel, his mouth set.
Kate takes a deep breath and leans back in her own seat, feeling like shit. She didn't mean to ruin the evening, just—suggest a nice trip for them. Somewhere out of the city, where they can feel safe.
Damn.
(…)
"Castle, stop it," Kate hisses, glaring at him across the booth as Alexis heads to the bathroom.
"What?" he grumbles back.
"I'm sorry I even said anything. But you have to stop looking like someone kicked your puppy."
He gapes at her. "What am I doing?"
"You're—both of you are so focused on this."
"Because you got suspended!"
"Yes," she agrees. "And I'm just fine with that. I need you to at least pretend you are so Alexis stops…so Alexis gets to be eighteen tonight."
He closes his mouth and nods stiffly.
She watches as he picks at a breadstick, his posture straight and guarded. "We will talk about it," she says softly.
His eyes cut to hers. "Yeah."
"I promise I'll explain. I just—I don't—this was my choice. I could have gone in and taken a beating for it instead."
"You—what?" he lets out, looking like he wants to jump up and take it for her.
"It's not important," Kate beseeches. "I'm where I want to be, Castle. I don't want to let this consume my life, so I'm not. I need you to be okay with that."
"But she—Gates—"
"Acted accordingly to my insubordination. And in a few weeks, it'll be fine. Now smile, tell your daughter how eloquent she was, and buck up, Castle. Your baby graduated tonight."
"Kate," he says, looking lost. "I just—"
She sighs and reaches out, taking his hand. "Castle. Look at me. Am I upset?"
"No," he says slowly.
"Am I devastated?"
"No," he says, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Did I run out of the auditorium to go grovel?"
"No," he agrees.
"Then shut up, pass me the butter, and get over yourself."
He gives her a dramatic gasp, then cracks a smile. "As long as you're really okay."
She smiles, exasperated but touched all the same. "I love you. I love your daughter. And I'm hungry."
He squeezes her hand and passes over the bread, watching with some kind of bizarre delight as she butters her roll and takes a large bite. "What?" she mumbles.
"Nothing," he says with a smile, his shoulders relaxing. "Hey, pumpkin," he adds as Alexis scoots back in beside her.
"Bread?" Kate entices, ripping her piece in half and passing it to Alexis.
Alexis takes a bite and scrutinizes her father before relaxing next to Kate. "So," she says, glancing at her.
"So, I was just telling your dad that I am looking forward to a few weeks at the beach. When do you want to leave?"
Alexis stares at her. "Um."
"If you want to go," Kate corrects.
"No, no," Alexis says quickly. "We should, definitely. Um, maybe we go on Friday?"
She looks across at Castle, who nods, smiling at his daughter. "The water will be cold," he warns.
"There's a pool, isn't there?" Kate tosses back.
"Heated," Alexis agrees, smiling now. "And this huge library, and a hot tub."
"Sounds like heaven," Kate says lightly.
"Can be," Castle agrees. "I'll let Mother know we'll be joining her tomorrow."
"Good," Kate says, smiling. They'll make this work. "So, miss graduate, have you decided?"
"Decided what?" Castle wonders.
"The party tonight," Alexis says, turning to Kate. "I—I think I want to go?"
"That's great," Kate says immediately as Castle goes to protest. "Is everyone going?"
Alexis nods, looking nervous, but excited too. "It might go late."
"Are you sure you don't need anyone to go with y—hey!" Castle turns accusing eyes on her as she retracts her foot.
"Did you just kick him?" Alexis asks, laughing.
Kate winces and looks over at her affronted boyfriend. "Um," she offers.
"In heels," he adds to Alexis. "Violence is never the answer, Kate."
Alexis laughs more, now fully relaxed, and Kate smirks at Castle, who reaches down to rub his shin. Honestly, it was a tap. He winks at her as Alexis giggles and she narrows her eyes.
"Keep your phone on and don't let anyone pour you a drink," she tells the teen.
"And no boys," Castle gets in.
"Shut up, Castle."
"Dad."
He holds up his hands. "Fine, I'm out numbered." he glances at Kate.
"I'll have my cell on," Kate tells her. "But you'll be just fine. It'll be fun."
Alexis nods and meets her eyes, decisive. "Yeah, it will."