A/N: Another Castle POV.
He could feel it, today was going to be a good day. Richard Castle was exuberant as he parked his red convertible on the street in front of his daughter's building. Alexis had spent the first part of her spring break at the Hamptons house with her roommate, but now that she was back in the city, he planned to commandeer a day of her free time. He was going to take her out for breakfast before surprising her with tickets to a local movie theater that was playing a Lord of the Rings marathon. They had loved reading the books together when Alexis was a little girl.
Castle made his way up to the floor Alexis's apartment was on and started heading down the hallway when he collided with Taylor. The young brunette looked ready for a workout in her athletic leggings and loose tank top, chunky sneakers on her feet.
"Oh! Sorry-," Taylor stopped mid-sentence as she looked up and recognized the man she had bumped into. "Hey Mr. C! You're getting an early start on the day. Are you here to see Alexis?"
"Yup! I'm stealing her," Castle replied, smiling at the prospect. "Did you girls have a good time at the beach?"
She looked confused for a second before her eyes widened with a spark of remembrance, "Yes, the Hamptons. It was great. Thanks for letting us stay at your house." She paused for a moment before continuing awkwardly, "Well, I've got to run. Oh, ha literally," she gestured to her clothes. "Bye."
Taylor's reaction gave him pause and he watched her duck into the stairwell and out of view. Castle knew what it looked like when kids lied to their parents and that was a textbook example. Clearly something had happened during the first few days of their spring break that they did not want him to know about. Well that just meant breakfast would have to come with a side of interrogation. Alexis hated lying to him, so if he kept asking her it probably wouldn't take long to get her to break and tell him.
Castle knocked on the door of his daughter's apartment, eager to see the young redhead. He could hear footsteps thumping over to door and her calling out, "You're back quick."
The door swung open, revealing a pajama clad Alexis who looked very shocked to see him. "Dad!" she exclaimed, an undertone of panic in her voice.
"Were you expecting someone else?" he questioned.
"What? No," she denied. "I just assumed Taylor forgot her keys."
Alexis was acting shady and after Taylor's weirdness just before, it confirmed his suspicions that something was up. Castle narrowed his eyes, making a show out of scrutinizing her. He raised one eyebrow, "Is that so? Because I just ran into her out here in the hallway and she too was behaving oddly this morning."
She rolled her eyes at him, and he could recognize frustration on her face. "What are you doing here, Dad?" she asked.
"I'm going to take you out breakfast. I thought we could spend the day together. Hanging out, having fun like we used to do all the time," he answered.
Alexis's expression softened at his reply, "That sounds nice, Dad, but I wish you'd called first. I already made plans with some friends to check out a new exhibit at the MoMA today."
Castle never thought he'd be let down gently by his own daughter. To him she would always be his little girl, but things were shifting and had been for years now. She had been making her own decisions and own plans for a while now, after all she was almost graduated from college. Alexis was all grown up and didn't need him as much anymore. He'd done his best to deny it, but reality was catching up with him.
"I was hoping we could do a family dinner this week though. You, me, Grams, and Kate. I haven't seen enough of you recently and I miss you guys," Alexis requested.
"That would be lovely," Castle said, pulling his daughter into his arms for a bear hug. "You know you can come over any time."
They stood hugging just inside the still open doorway of her apartment when someone walked down the hallway, approaching them from the stairwell. Castle pulled back from the embrace when the footsteps that had been getting closer stopped just behind him. The last person he expected to see when he turned around was Detective Ryan.
The younger man was staring back at him, wide eyed and nervous, a coffee carrier in one hand and in the other a paper bag with the logo for a café just next door printed on it. He was wearing one of his standard three-piece suits and his hair was gelled as usual. He looked the same as he always did, but it all seemed so wrong when Castle saw him stood at the entrance to his daughter's apartment. "Hey, Castle," Ryan greeted uncomfortably, breaking the silence.
Castle was flooded with emotions he couldn't begin to identify or process. The events of the morning were falling into place, and he didn't like the conclusions he was reaching. Alexis hadn't been expecting Taylor when she'd found him at the door. She was expecting Ryan. Worse, she had said 'You're back quick,' suggesting Ryan had already been there this morning and likely all night as well. His friend spent the night with his daughter and now he was buying her breakfast. This had to be a nightmare.
"Ryan, what are you doing here?" Castle asked, afraid of the answer that he already knew.
The detective didn't reply right away. He just swallowed thickly and looked down at his feet. After taking a moment to steel himself, Ryan met Castle's eyes and answered, "I'm here to have breakfast with Alexis." He turned to address the girl in question extending his arms towards her, passing off a cup of coffee and the pastry bag, "They had blueberry today."
Castle watched the corners of his daughter's mouth turn up in a slight smile. He knew that Alexis had always loved blueberry muffins, a fact that Ryan was apparently aware of too. His remark had made it clear that fetching breakfast from that café was routine for him, something he'd had been doing for who knows how long. That meant two of the people he trusted unconditionally had been lying to him.
It was then that Castle remembered. Ryan had a girlfriend. A secret girlfriend he'd been seeing since at least February. He and Alexis had been together for months. That triggered another thought. Ryan had just taken three days off work for a trip with his girlfriend. The same three days that Alexis had spent in the Hamptons. Castle suddenly understood Taylor's behavior. She had been trying to cover for Alexis.
"This can't be happening," Castle mumbled under his breath, his eyes moving between his daughter and his colleague.
"Well, it is happening," Alexis was firm in her statement. "I was going to tell you at the dinner I mentioned having this week. Kevin is my boyfriend and it's serious."
"No! No, I won't allow it," Castle commanded, raising his voice without meaning to.
He knew that his anger wasn't going to help in this situation. It was a surefire way to evoke fury from Alexis, but he couldn't hold it in. His disapproval only encouraged her to dig her heels in, especially when it came to her love life.
"Allow it?" Alexis asked, fuming. "I'm a grown woman. Your opinion doesn't matter here."
Ryan was watching her as she spoke, his hand smoothing lightly over her back in a gesture of comfort. The ease in which he displayed his affection for her sent Castle over the edge. He rubbed a hand down his face, a futile outlet for his distress. He could tell he needed to leave, or he was going to start yelling.
"I can't do this. I've got to get out of here," Castle fled the building immediately.
He rushed to his car and pulled onto the street with haste. He had no destination in mind, unable to spare the brain power for something so trivial while his mind was processing this earth-shattering revelation. It wasn't long before Castle realized he'd driven to the precinct on autopilot. He decided to go inside, figuring that Beckett could help him sort through his mental minefield.
His wife noticed him as soon as he walked into the bullpen. She kissed his cheek in greeting before taking a seat at her desk. "I thought you were spending the day with Alexis?" she said, curious about his presence.
Castle grunted in response. It was rare that he found himself at a loss for words, but this was one of those moments. The somber look on his face clued Beckett in that something bad had happened. He couldn't be jovial all the time, but he was almost never despondent. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Before Castle could answer her, someone cleared their throat behind him. It was Ryan. Of course it was, Castle thought. The detective was the one who actually worked here. His anger flared looking into the younger man's face.
"Castle, can we talk?" Ryan was timid in his question.
"I'm not even close to ready for you yet," Castle growled at him.
Ryan nodded and went to his desk without saying another word. Beckett and Esposito watched the tense exchange with trepidation. Castle's shoulders were coiled and his hands balled into fists, the effort he was using to restrain himself visible.
"Ah, I see," Beckett said, the interaction between the two men having answered her question.
"You see?" Castle cried in disbelief. "Did you know about him and Alexis?" he asked angrily.
"Yes," she answered him honestly. "I've known for a while."
"She told you but not me?"
"No, I heard about it from Lanie," Beckett clarified.
"Lanie?" Castle looked at Esposito accusingly.
The burly detective just shrugged in response and held his hands up as if to say 'keep me out of this'. Castle wasn't the only one annoyed with him, his partner was too. Ryan punched him in the shoulder, shaking his head at him, "Seriously, Javi? You couldn't keep your mouth shut?"
All three of the detectives he regularly trusted with his life had been keeping this from him. His own wife. Suddenly his mother's fascination with the young detective at the last poker game made sense to him. She had known too.
"Am I the only one who didn't know about this?" he shouted.
"What is all the commotion out here? I expect my detectives to behave professionally. I don't have much hope for you though, Mr. Castle," Captain Gates said sternly coming out of her office.
"Sorry, sir," Beckett apologized. "We were discussing Detective Ryan's relationship. It won't happen again."
"Is Alexis alright?" Gates asked demonstrating an uncharacteristic amount of sensitivity.
"Even Gates knows!" Castle was incredulous. "This is bullshit. How could she know before me?"
"It was a logical deduction after I saw them sneak off to the bathroom together at your Christmas party," Gates answered simply.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Ryan muttered in exasperation.
Castle snapped. He could hear nothing but his blood pumping in his ears and see nothing but red. One forceful swing and Ryan was knocked down. Esposito pulled him, holding his arms until he calmed down. When he came back to himself, Castle took in the sight of Ryan on the floor pressing the heel of his hand against his freshly punched left eye. It didn't make him feel any better.
"Mr. Castle, you do realize you just assaulted a detective in the middle of a police precinct?" Captain Gates intoned. She shot a sharp look at Beckett and directed, "Handle this," before retreating to her office.
Beckett sighed deeply, "Sorry, Castle. Esposito, take him to holding."
"Seriously?" Castle widened his eyes at his wife.
"You'll live," she replied as Esposito led him away.
Alone in his holding cell, Castle had time to reflect on the craziness of the morning. Nothing had gone the way he had planned it. He looked at his watch. He and Alexis were supposed to be watching Fellowship of the Ring right now, but instead he was locked up and feeling completely isolated from the people he loved, physically and emotionally. It was not a good day. Not good at all.
A/N: So Castle finally knows. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the reveal.