Alexis Rodgers
Chapter 19
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For the record in case anyone is curious. Guest reviews show up in a separate drop down. They get deleted instantly without being read. Just tap that little box and poof. Fast, quick and easy. So say what you want because no one but you will hear you.
I did warn you about this story before you started reading it and yet here you are reading it anyway 19 chapters later. So why are you still reading? Answer yourself that one because as a guest you will be the only one listening.
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"KATE!" Alexis was home and she knew Kate was home since she saw her car outside. She knew it was hers because there was an air-freshener hanging from the rear view mirror that she had placed there.
"In here," Kate called so now Alexis was chasing the sound of her voice. She found her in the tub filled with bubbles and she was sipping a glass of wine.
"Comfy?" Alexis could only see her head.
"I love a good tub," Kate sighed. "I just wish this was a really good tub, but it'll do."
"I'm a shower person myself. OH!" Alexis remembered she had something to show her. Alexis unfolded it and held it out in both hands so Kate could see.
"Alexis!" Kate looked it over. "That's damn fine shooting!" Kate was impressed.
"I couldn't have done it without you." Alexis put it all on Kate and having her teach her before now. "Now I have to get ready for my hand-to-hand." She wasn't looking forward to that.
"I'm off the day after tomorrow. We either go find a gym, which will cost us money, or we can use the one at the precinct," Kate suggested.
"The precinct is fine. Unless you're not ready for people to see us together yet." Alexis gave her an out.
"I'm more than ready, Lex. I don't care what people say. They don't know me or you. All the important people already know about us." Okay, maybe not all of her friends knew but she wasn't that worried about what they would say.
"Great! It just so happens I have that day off as well." They couldn't have planned it better if they tried.
"How's Castle?" Only Alexis kept track of him. Kate didn't care what he did or didn't do. She just didn't want him hurting Alexis even if he didn't mean to.
"Dad says he's writing, but I'm not there to check on him so I don't know. He did send me an email of the letter Gina had sent him. Boy was she not nice! I don't know what her problem is. That was followed by the one Paula sent after Dad fired her." Alexis shook her hand to show that both of them were hot emails.
"Castle means money to both of them. It's not that surprising," Kate said.
"I suppose. I just hope Dad has truly moved on or he's going to be broke. He doesn't have the greatest of attention spans. He may think that something he wants to do doesn't apply to what he can't do." Alexis was a little worried for him.
"Text him, remind him," Kate suggested.
"Good idea. I'm going to start on dinner since you haven't. Enjoy your bath." Alexis leaned down and Kate lifted up so they could kiss. Alexis dropped her target paper on the bed, right side up, so Kate could see it again. She took out her phone as she walked into the kitchen.
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"How is Eva working out?" Alexis inquired while they ate.
"Very well, actually. I think Javi opens up his big mouth once in a while but she seems capable of putting him in his place. We got a new case today. They found Little Red Riding Hood killed in the park with claw marks on her face."
"The Big Bad Wolf! Really? I so need to get out of the Academy. I'm missing out on all the fun," Alexis moaned.
"She was wearing a red cloak and the claw marks were superficial. There are no wolves in the park, good or bad." Alexis was sounding suspiciously like Eva had after coming back from the body.
"We need to work on your party pooper attitude," Alexis informed her. "But I still love you."
"What is it with the Castles and their belief in fairy tales?" Kate asked her.
"Kate! Please tell me you believe in Santa Claus." That was the only important one for her.
Kate shook her head. "I stopped believe in him when I was three, I think. We didn't have a chimney. I got all my presents from my parents."
"NO! That is so not going to work! What does not having a chimney got to do with anything?" Alexis couldn't believe it.
"Santa goes up and down chimneys. Everyone knows that and we didn't have one. Besides it's for kids," Kate insisted defensively.
Alexis groaned and let her head hit the table. "You are so learning about Santa." Alexis sat back up. "At least I have a couple of months or more before Christmas to teach you. You just better be a good pupil." Alexis pointed her finger at Kate.
"Lucky me." Kate rolled her eyes and endured a patented Alexis glare.
"So what do you want for Christmas?" Alexis needed ideas.
"I don't know. Ever since Mom died, Dad and I haven't celebrated Christmas. I work Christmas and Dad heads up to his cabin and that's it for us." Kate didn't see a reason to change.
"You're going to be difficult, aren't you?" Alexis stared at her. "Well get ready for Christmas, Kate. Christmas tree, Christmas wreath, garland, and Christmas lights. Oh and snowflakes, nutcrackers, and Santa. Christmas cards, Christmas photos… Don't look at me like that. You love me so you're learning all about Christmas," Alexis informed her.
"Well first comes Thanksgiving. You have something we have to do for that too?" Kate questioned her.
"Nope. It would be nice to have your dad, my dad, and Grams attend. They're family and they all know about us. Eat in or dine out, I don't care." Thanksgiving wasn't nearly as important to Alexis.
"This place isn't big enough for that many people," Kate said.
"The loft is and the house in the Hamptons is as well. I just need to talk to Dad. Maybe I can get Grams to help me talk him into one or the other. We can take the Ferrari and Dad can take the other car." Alexis watched Kate begin to smile. "You like Dad's car." Alexis had seen it last time.
"It's a Ferrari," Kate replied. What was there not to like about it? She just couldn't afford one on her pay.
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They had taken turns in the shower and Kate was getting dressed while Alexis watched and waited. "You're staring again," Kate remarked.
"I happen to like what I see, so shoot me," Alexis responded.
"I'd rather kiss you but we need to hurry if we're going to be on time." Kate answered but watched as Alexis got closer and they met halfway for a kiss. "Zip me?" Kate turned her back on Alexis. "Now I just need my shoes."
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Alexis still had her key but she didn't live here any longer so she knocked on what used to be her own front door. They both got a shock when Jim opened the door.
"Dad?!" Kate knew he had been invited but he was usually always late to everything.
"Traffic was light and I caught the first cab I saw. Come on in." He stepped aside and just past the door the two of them could smell food. Someone had been very busy.
Looking into the kitchen Alexis saw three people. Not two, meaning her dad and Grams, but three, and the third was a woman. Somewhere between Kate's age and her dad's age if she had to guess.
"Who's that?" Jim was still close by.
"That is a dinner guest. Her name is Samantha though Rick keeps calling her Sam. She's a widowed grade school teacher. Lost her husband about two years ago. She's very pretty and very timid, so be nice since I think Rick likes her," Jim said quietly.
Alexis almost immediately liked her if her dad was brave enough to ask her to Thanksgiving and she was brave enough to say yes.
Alexis left Kate to talk with her dad while she went to the kitchen. "Hi Dad, Grams."
"Darling!" Martha was happy to see her. Ever since she got her play and Alexis moved out she almost never saw her.
"Hi pumpkin, give me a minute." Rick was in the middle of preparing something to go into the oven. He slid it in and set everything. "There… This is Samantha Alexandre. Sam, this is my daughter Alexis and way back there next to Jim is Kate."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alexis. Your father never stops talking about you." Sam smiled hesitantly.
"I talk about other things!" Rick defended himself and heard his mother clear her throat. "You speak for yourself quite well, Mother." He didn't see the need to have to talk about his mother since she was capable of talking about herself quite easily.
"So you're grade school teacher?" Alexis queried since that was what Jim had said.
"Third grade, actually. There's just something about that age that appeals to me. And I get to shape young minds." Sam really liked her job. "Your father said something about the Police Academy?" She didn't think he approved given his tone of voice. However, he hadn't actually said anything bad about it.
"Three months into my six months of training. Last I knew I'm still the head of my class." Alexis was proud of that. She had a need to excel in everything she did.
"Police officer. That sounds dangerous." It wasn't what she would have chosen. Looking at Alexis, she couldn't picture her in a police uniform riding around in a police car. It didn't fit her.
"Not so far, though I start my hand-to-hand training next week so that will be a challenge. My first firing range test got me first in my class again. One of my rounds was just a little outside." Alexis was still proud of herself.
"I don't think I could ever handle a gun. Too big, too noisy, and the only real purpose I can see for a weapon is to kill. Something I could never do." Sam still didn't see Alexis as a police officer.
Sam watched as Kate walked toward all of them with Jim next to her. Then Kate put an arm around Alexis who leaned into her just a touch. They looked very comfortable.
"Alexis has already saved one woman's life who had a gun pointed at her neck. It was quick thinking and very brave of her." One more reason for Kate to get her into the gym soon. What Alexis had done was perhaps calculated and brave but if it hadn't worked they might both be dead.
"He was going to kill her and I was behind them so I got his attention then swept her legs out from under her and exposed him. At the time I really thought the police would swoop in and take him into custody. Instead they shot him. A lot. I've since learned they were right to shoot him. He had a weapon and they had to protect everyone else including themselves.
"I guess if I ever have to, we'll find out if I can actually shoot someone. Paper targets don't shoot back," Alexis admitted.
"Like I told you, I was away on a book signing tour when Alexis did this. It's taken some adjusting and getting used to," Rick acknowledged.
"Well I think it's brave of her. Besides, she has Kate to help her. Where's the wine?" Martha was ready to move on to the next topic.
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They ended up spread out in the living room and Kate and Alexis were beginning to learn what Jim meant about timid. She sat next to Rick but not all that close. Not nearly as close as Alexis and Kate were sitting.
Rick was willing to talk as usual, but Sam, not so much after the initial greeting.
They had learned that Rick had met her in a book store. She was spending some of her own money to buy books for her class. Rick, though, couldn't let her do that. So he bought the books she had selected and had gotten her to go back and get still more.
Then he'd helped her carry the bags out to the taxi and eventually to her front door where he'd asked her if she liked coffee and could they meet at a coffee shop.
Sam didn't even know who Richard Castle was and per the new publisher's request – just a request, mind you, not an order – Rick had changed his name back to Richard Alexander Rodgers and he was writing under the name Richard Rodgers. His first book would not have a picture of him on the back and they were going to keep his new name, well his old name, a secret from everyone.
So Sam was effectively dating Richard Rodgers and not Richard Castle.
"I still can't believe he did that. It was just a few books." Sam was buying six whole books for her class. Suddenly she had closer to thirty books, thanks to Rick.
"That sounds like my dad," Alexis said. That part of him was still acting like she knew he could or would. She had yet to see if he was past his playboy ways. "So how long…how many dates have you been on?"
Rick answered for both of them. "This is our fourth."
"The first two were just coffee if those count," Sam explained.
"Oh, they count," Rick assured her. "The next was a real dinner date. Pizza and beer." He had tried very hard not to scare her off with his money. She was timid, sweet, pretty, and damn sexy under what she was wearing. He just knew it.
Alexis thought she saw a blush starting on Sam. "He even talked me into a game of pool. I lost, naturally. I'm terrible at pool," Sam admitted.
"Wrong pool," Rick smiled and Alexis watched her blush get a little higher.
Rick heard a buzzer and was up and into the kitchen to check on it.
"So, first time in the loft?" Alexis inquired.
"Here, yes. It's beautiful." It also made her uncomfortable. This place screamed money. She knew New York City wasn't cheap. It was just that one could find just about anything in the city so that's why she had come into the city to buy the books.
"Fifteen minutes if anyone wants to help me set the table," Rick called out.
Kate felt Alexis bump her and turned to glare at her. "Coming." Kate would do it.
"So is Kate your…" Sam knew the word but it sounded intrusive and that just wasn't her.
"Yes. At first Kate and I tried to hide it from everyone. Now we tell anyone who needs to know. We know some people are going to object and that's their right, but we're happy together and we think that's what counts the most. There's enough hate in the world as it is," Alexis shrugged.
That had Sam agreeing easily. Wars, homicides, suicide bombers, burglaries to get what they wanted but didn't have and couldn't afford. Not to mention muggings, rape, beatings, and other things.
"It can be a dark planet." Sam agreed.
"Only if you dwell on it. The news needs the ratings so they sensationalize everything to get your attention. Get you to watch or buy that paper or magazine. Just tune it out until it hits close to home then you can pay attention," Alexis suggested.
"Yet you plan on hitting all that head-on as a police officer," Sam said.
"Actually what I want to do is make it to detective. Maybe one day Police Commissioner. To make a real difference. The less bad there is the better everything will be." Alexis shared her long term plans.
"Dinner!" Rick called out which had everyone up and breaking for one of the two bathrooms to wash up.
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Sam asked next to no questions and Alexis tried not to ask too many since she was trying not to scare her away. But she did have a few.
"What talked you into joining us for Thanksgiving, though I am glad you're here." Sam was closer to what her dad would have found before he became famous and under Gina's control.
"Rick wouldn't take no for an answer and my parents live in Seattle, though they technically they live in Bellevue, Washington. The other side of this floating bridge. You pop out of this tunnel and go down to this bridge sitting on water. However, this year they went to Alaska. They're looking at this company to see if they want to invest in it. It was Dad's idea. Mom is still resisting."
Rick smiled at her. "I wasn't going to just let her sit at home eating a TV dinner. Not when she could be here eating a home-cooked meal."
"Certainly not! You let Richard treat you right and you'll be fat in no time," Martha teased her.
"Now she'll never come back, Mother." Rick wasn't happy with her and she just flipped her hand at him dismissively.
"So where do you teach? Maybe I've heard of it." Alexis wasn't certain about that but she might get lucky.
"Probably not. It's not in the city. I live on Staten Island and I teach at P.S. 74 Future Leaders Elementary School. We have 274 students overall. Our budget is a little tight. That's why Rick caught me buying books for school. I got teased for that," Sam admitted.
"I'm so sorry. That's not why I did that." Rick felt bad about that.
"It's just other teachers. They gave me a list of books they want since I found someone willing to buy books that our budget won't get us. The kids are amazing, they don't tease," Sam said.
"I'll do it. Hand over the list. …It's a tax deduction. I think." He would make it one if it wasn't.
"Oh, no. Don't do that." Sam blushed again. "They'll have you buying everything. I left the list at home anyway." Sam wasn't going to bug him with the list from other teachers. She wasn't even sure why she hadn't thrown them in the trash yet.
"In case you haven't noticed I can afford it. You can go get it when I drive you home tonight." Rick was going to buy every book on that list and have it delivered, no matter what it took.
"Just give in and let my dad do it. He won't stop until you do," Alexis warned her.
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Jim left first and Martha was next. That left the four of them in the living room drinking coffee though Alexis had a can of Coke.
"So why Staten Island, Sam?" Alexis was curious.
"Downtown New York City is a nice place to visit and do some shopping. Almost everything is here. Staten Island…is simpler, quieter, and doesn't cost nearly as much to live in."
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Sam retreated to the bathroom while Alexis and Kate chose to leave. "She's nice, Dad and really quiet. Just remember your deal. No playboy image. Based on the email Gina sent she is really pissed at you." Rick had forwarded what Gina had sent for Alexis to read.
"I know and I'm trying." Alexis was out of the loft and Rick put that on his shoulders. He had driven her out because he wouldn't listen to his own daughter. "I still haven't heard a word from those three women." If they were his kids he wanted to support them. Someone had actually come to take a DNA sample by putting a swab in his mouth and moving it around.
"Maybe they've found out you aren't the father," Alexis said as she kept up the lie. What her dad didn't know wouldn't hurt him or her or anyone else.
"I don't know if I can call you Rodgers, Castle. Gotten used to the Castle name for you," Kate told him.
"Well maybe if I can convince you I can convince myself. Don't forget Christmas, pumpkin." Rick hugged her for a moment or two, wishing she was still in the loft.
"That will never happen, Dad. I still have to write my letter to Santa and give you my list. I'm still trying to talk Kate into giving you her list, but she'll do it if she knows what's good for her." Alexis just laughed at the look Kate gave her for that.
"Thanks for coming, pumpkin, and I love you." Rick hugged her again.
"Love you too, Dad." Alexis hugged him back.
"Dinner was nice, Castle. Rodgers…Castle, whatever." Kate didn't hug him.
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"What has you grinning?" Kate saw Alexis grinning as she drove them home.
"Dad has already found someone. She's pretty, maybe a little too subdued for him but that could be good for both of them. Get her out of her shell and put my dad into his." Alexis laughed at that thought.
"Christmas list, huh?" Kate hadn't heard that before.
"Right after you write your letter to Santa apologizing for not believing in him." Alexis grinned even wider as Kate moaned. Kate was going to do it even if she had to stand right behind her and watch her write her letter.