Author's Note: The second chapter dealing with 2x5 "When the Bough Breaks."
Then Came Love
Chapter 16
What was she doing?
Kate kept her hands clasped in her lap as the taxi made its way through Manhattan, mostly to keep her hands from fidgeting.
Not that she was nervous—there was nothing to be nervous about—she was just… impatient. Yes, that was it, impatient because she shouldn't be spending a night out at a glitzy party in the middle of a case. And it wasn't as if she was much of a fancy party-goer to begin with. She wasn't one of those celebutantes who were on the celebrity party circuit, like that silly woman she'd met at the MADT fundraiser back in the spring. (What was it that woman had called Castle—oh right, the White Whale. Ridiculous moniker.)
At least she could be sure she looked okay for this kind of party. She had needed to go out and buy a new dress that would allow her to hide the small curve of her stomach and had found a dress in a shimmering navy blue with a slightly flaring A-line skirt that (she thought) showcased the figure she still had (and her legs) while disguising the barely-there curve of her stomach.
The taxi turned onto the street of the hotel where the Heat Wave launch party was being held and even from a block away, Kate could see the madhouse that the event was. Oh god, it looked almost like the Oscars or some Hollywood award show with a literal red carpet and honest-to-goodness spotlights and—oh lord—a throng of reporters crowded around the entrance to the hotel.
Crap, what the hell was she doing here? This wasn't her life; this wasn't the sort of place she belonged at all. (And if this was the sort of thing Castle was used to, how was she ever going to fit even remotely into his life, let alone have him fit into hers?)
The taxi came to a stop and Kate swallowed hard, flattening one hand over her stomach, this time above the bump, in a futile attempt to calm the butterflies that had suddenly appeared inside. She was a homicide detective, damn it, she refused to feel intimidated by a bunch of reporters or the red carpet or any of this.
So telling herself, she lifted her chin and stepped out of the cab, pasting on a smile as she tried to appear as if being greeted by a blinding storm of flashbulbs and a few yelled-out questions was normal for her.
She could have sworn the red carpet stretched on for what seemed like the length of a few football fields but she did eventually make it inside the hotel and into the party, still just as glitzy but at least without the camera flashes or at least, not as many of them.
And then managed her first real smile of the evening as the first person she saw was Captain Montgomery.
"You clean up nice, Detective," he greeted her with a half-quizzical, half-approving smile.
"Thank you, sir. Is Mrs. Montgomery here?" Evelyn Montgomery would be another friendly face, someone she could relax around. And she knew the boys and Lanie had to be somewhere.
"She saw an old friend and went to say hello."
"Well, then, I'm sure I'll see her later."
"Yes, I'm sure Evelyn will come find you at some point. And I can think of one more person who's going to be even happier to see you."
"Sir?"
"Castle."
Her gaze automatically swept over the party at the mention of his name and found him. Oh. She told herself she didn't notice how good he looked in his undoubtedly-expensive, well-cut suit, his hair perfectly styled. She could only see his back but even that was enough as it made the breadth of his shoulders that much more apparent. He was talking to a young woman, a woman wearing a dress that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, and even as she watched, the woman gave a small flirtatious titter (not that Kate could really tell from this distance but it looked like a titter) and placed a hand on his arm for a moment.
Kate jerked her eyes away. Not that she cared who flirted with Castle or who he flirted with, for that matter. It was nothing to do with her. She managed a small somewhat awkward laugh. "I don't see why. He was just at the precinct a few hours ago."
"Maybe but the precinct isn't a place where Castle could praise you so highly."
He—what? "Sir?" Praise? Was Castle just going around talking about her behind her back now, even if it apparently was complimentary?
Montgomery raised his eyebrows at her. "You mean you don't know about the dedication?"
"No, I—dedication?" There had been a dedication? To her?
Montgomery gestured to a table displaying a stack of copies of Heat Wave, the same as the copies that would be available tomorrow in bookstores everywhere. "Go see for yourself, Beckett."
She hesitated, self-conscious. She didn't want to look eager or too curious, not in front of her boss, but then Montgomery had told her to go… "Yes, sir. Excuse me for a moment."
Montgomery waved a hand. "No need. I should find my wife anyway."
Thus dismissed, she approached the table of books, trying to look nonchalant as she picked up one of the books and found the dedication page. Read the dedication.
Her traitorous, stupid heart flipped and then fluttered as she tried to breathe normally. Oh. Oh damn. It was just not fair, she thought wildly, not fair of Castle or the universe or something that he should be able to do this to her with just a couple words on a page.
Extraordinary. Unbidden, she heard his voice in her head calling her extraordinary, what he'd said to her months ago, before the debacle of her mom's case had come between them, before That Night. Remembered the look in his eyes as he'd said it too.
Even before That Night, he'd thought she was extraordinary. She didn't know why that struck her as so significant, but it did.
"Beckett."
She started a little. Crap. She'd been so mesmerized by the dedication that she'd entirely missed Castle approaching her and now, he was there, right in front of her, and looking—oh god—entirely too good.
"You look… amazing." His eyes swept over her body and she caught his almost infinitesimal pause as his eyes reached her chest, her stomach—not that he could see the bump—and the somewhat longer one on her legs.
She tried but knew she was blushing hotly. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself," she managed. Understatement that it was. She knew what Castle looked like; she didn't know why the sight of him tonight, in his expensive, perfectly-tailored suit, should affect her so much. And why oh why was her mouth suddenly dry?
His lips quirked slightly and her eyes got momentarily snared by his mouth, an entirely unwelcome shaft of desire streaking through her. She blinked and jerked her eyes up to his eyes—although that didn't help much either because his eyes were so blue, so deep and so warm, and she decided fuzzily, irrationally, that his blue eyes should be illegal or something. "I just read the dedication," she blurted out. "Um, thank you. On behalf of everyone at the 12th too," she added, belatedly, trying not to sound as if she were swooning—even if she was, a little.
"I meant it. You are extraordinary," he said simply. So simply and so sincerely.
Their eyes met and held and she felt a now familiar tug of attraction, this urge to get closer to him, only this one was stronger, more dangerous, than any attraction she'd felt before because this wasn't about the physical, or at least not only about the physical attraction, but an attraction based on… liking, the pull of emotion.
Shit.
She blinked and desperately grasped for a change of topic. "So, uh, any word on a certain British secret agent?" There, that should do it, a reminder that he might be leaving, that he didn't really belong in her world. Didn't really belong with her.
Something flickered across his face and then he gave a small smirk. "I got the official offer."
Well, that did the trick. Any butterflies in her chest seemed to fall down dead. He'd got the offer. Which meant—he was leaving. Would be leaving. Leaving the precinct, she reminded herself again. She manufactured a bright smile and put it on. "Wow, that's great. Congratulations."
"Thanks. I, well, it still hasn't quite sunk in yet."
"Understandable. It's a really big deal. It's really great," she repeated herself inanely and then could have kicked herself. Damn it, she just needed to go, get away, from here, from him. Before she found herself blurting out something catastrophically stupid like telling him she'd miss him or worse, asking him not to leave. No, she had to get away. Might as well start getting used to being away from him, after all. (And damn it, why was that thought so dispiriting?) "Well, I should let you go, get back to your fans and all. We can talk later, tomorrow at the precinct." She tried for a smile. "We still have a case to solve." One last case—and sternly told herself that was not a pang of something like grief at the thought.
"Right," he agreed but made no move to turn away. "I, uh, I'm glad you're here."
She forced a small laugh. "Oh, well, it's good publicity for the NYPD." She waved a hand. "Enjoy your party."
"Right, thanks."
She made herself turn away, heading blindly, automatically, for the bar before she belatedly remembered she couldn't even have a drink. Shit.
She spotted Lanie by the bar, hard to miss her friend since she was wearing a bright red dress and looked stunning. She did have to talk to Lanie but she couldn't tell Lanie her news here in such a public place and her decision was made for her as Lanie appeared to be quite happily engaged in flirting with a good-looking man. (Not quite Castle's level of handsome but certainly attractive—and oh god, she brought herself up short, when had she started comparing the attractiveness of men to Castle? He was not the standard.)
Her eyes fell on a familiar head of red hair perched on one of the stools at the end of the bar, looking at her cell phone. Oh, of course, Alexis would be here and she was sure Martha was somewhere around too.
Kate hesitated but then headed towards the teenager. (Was it pathetic to be more nervous at the thought of talking to Castle's teenage daughter than his mother?) She and Alexis probably should talk considering everything. It would be easier, better, for Castle if she and Alexis got along, since she would necessarily be seeing more of Alexis in the future and Alexis was going to be the baby's older sister. (Oh god.)
"Alexis, hi," she greeted, pasting on a smile and hoping she didn't look or sound as ill at ease as she felt. "Mind if I join you?"
Alexis gave her a small, somewhat uncertain, smile. "Oh, hi, Detective Beckett. Of course you can join me." She paused and then added, "I like your dress."
"Thanks." Kate slid onto the stool beside Alexis. "You look great," she offered.
Alexis's smile deepened slightly and then faded as she appeared to catch Kate's noticing the glass full of what Kate guessed was Coke in front of her. "It's just plain Coke," she hurriedly said.
"I never thought otherwise," Kate assured truthfully. Not only because it wouldn't be in line with what she knew of Alexis for the girl to be drinking alcohol but mainly because there was no way the girl would pass for 21 right now and it would be more than the bartender's job was worth to provide the teen alcohol.
As if on cue, the bartender appeared in front of her. "Can I get you something?"
"Oh, uh, just plain orange juice," she answered after a moment.
The bartender blinked slightly but complied, pouring a glass of orange juice.
Alexis looked from the juice to Kate, and after a moment, she asked with a touch of diffidence, "How are you feeling, Detective?"
"You can call me Kate," she offered, partly as a gesture but also because it would be a little strange for her baby's older sister to always call her Detective. (Oh lord.) "And I'm feeling fine, just a little tired, thanks."
"Oh, good. I'm glad."
A brief, not comfortable, silence fell and Kate was the one who broke it. "I thought we should talk about, well, everything, if there's anything you wanted to ask me or something." she inwardly winced. As overtures went, that had been a decidedly awkward one.
Alexis hesitated and Kate watched as expressions flitted across the girl's face, self-doubt, uncertainty, followed by something like resolve. The girl really had a very expressive face. Alexis straightened up in her stool, her chin firming, and for a moment, Kate caught a fleeting glimpse of Castle in the set of the girl's chin like a ghostly echo that was less a physical resemblance than something of a mental one, if that made any sense. Aside from the blue eyes, Alexis didn't outwardly resemble Castle much but just for an instant, there was some indefinable similarity like a reflection of character. Alexis met Kate's eyes directly. "What do you expect from my dad?" she asked directly, although Kate detected enough tension in Alexis's frame to know that her directness was mostly bravado.
"What do I expect?" she echoed bemusedly. She wasn't sure what Alexis was asking.
Alexis's lips twisted into a rueful sort of grimace. "I mean, you do know that Dad will be there for you and the baby, right?" Her expression and her voice softened. "Dad's good at that, taking care of people, and he always keeps his promises."
The simple—and boundless—trust inherent in Alexis's little declaration caught at Kate's heart. And Alexis of all people was in a position to know how dependable Castle could be. "I know that," she agreed cautiously. She was starting to believe it, to trust that Castle really could be relied upon to be there for whatever she and the baby might need. For the baby's sake, she hurriedly added, reminded herself.
"Aside from that, what do you expect from my dad?"
"I'm not sure what you're asking," Kate said carefully. She had a niggling feeling she was missing something that would make this question make sense but whatever it was, she didn't see it yet.
Alexis's lips twisted a little. "Can I tell you something, Detective?" she asked abruptly.
It was a mostly rhetorical question but Kate nodded anyway. "Of course."
"You know my mom lives in California and isn't around much."
Kate nodded again. The sudden mention of Meredith seemed a bit of a non sequitur but while Castle might be given to such random asides, she didn't think Alexis was and there was something in Alexis's tone and her expression that made it clear the girl was definitely leading up to something.
Alexis hesitated again, some conflict clearly visible on her face, before she ducked her head a little and addressed her quiet, rather rushed, words almost more to her lap than to Kate herself. "I know my mom loves me, in her own way, and I love her too. She can be… a lot of fun… but… when I see my mom, whenever Mom and I go out, she doesn't pay for things. It goes on my credit card so Dad pays for it—and he obviously knows about it and doesn't mind and it is why I have a credit card," Alexis hurriedly added, a belated sense of loyalty to her mother coming to the fore, and then stopped, clearly feeling as if she'd said too much.
Perhaps she had but whatever the case, Kate understood now, had from the moment Alexis admitted that Meredith didn't pay for things. A mother who always had her teenage daughter pay, even if it meant in practice that the father was paying—regardless, it was an inversion of the expected order. To this day, when Kate and her dad met up for dinner, her dad always insisted on paying, never mind that Kate was independent in just about every other way and certainly made enough money to pay for dinner. Even now, the only times her dad, rather reluctantly, allowed Kate to pay for their meals were on Father's Day and his birthday and sometimes, on other holidays like Christmas and New Year's, but not always even then. It was one reason why Kate invited her dad over to her apartment sometimes, even if it was just for takeout, because when her dad came to her place, he was usually better about allowing Kate to pay. For Meredith to have her outings with Alexis paid for by Alexis's credit card—it wasn't only the fact that Meredith was quite obviously abdicating her role as parent but that she was doing so at Castle's expense, literally.
And Alexis might be young but she was old enough and mature enough to understand that.
Kate was sure that Castle must still be paying alimony to Meredith and knowing Castle, she was sure he was paying generously at that, but even so, Meredith was clearly still taking advantage of Castle and his money. And Alexis knew it too.
That was what Alexis was concerned about, what she was trying to ask, albeit awkwardly and obliquely. She wanted to know what Kate's intentions were towards Castle, in a sense; she wanted to know if Kate was planning to take advantage of Castle.
Kate knew how protective Castle was of Alexis, understandably so, and she could guess that it had basically been just the two of them for much of Alexis's life. It had made Castle and Alexis a team and Alexis was old enough—and certainly loved Castle enough—to feel protective of Castle too.
It occurred to Kate, belatedly, just how much Castle trusted her. Because he clearly did, implicitly, trusting her word, her integrity. It was something she hadn't quite realized until now, when faced with the evidence that Alexis apparently did not trust her to the same extent. For a moment, Kate was offended at the implication but then some clarity of thought kicked in, her automatic flare of defensiveness fading. No, she could not be offended because Alexis's doubt was understandable. Kate might not like it but she was fair-minded enough to understand it. After all, Alexis didn't know Kate all that well and on top of that, Alexis was a first-hand witness to how another woman, her own mother, used her child with Castle in order to take advantage of Castle's generosity.
Kate should have realized sooner, suddenly felt dense for not having thought of it. It was partly why she'd been nervous about telling Castle about the baby in the first place, after all, why in that awkward first conversation at the loft, she had rushed to assure him that the baby really was his and she didn't expect or want anything from him. Because Castle was rich, rich and famous and almost certainly known to be a nice guy. Like that silly woman at the MADT fundraiser had called him, the White Whale. Making him a target, prey, as it were. And Kate had seen enough of the world to know it wouldn't be unusual for a woman to try to use a pregnancy to take advantage of a wealthy man, either to get him to marry her or more simply, to get money from him.
Castle could not be so naive as not to recognize the possibility, certainly not with Meredith around, but from the first, he had never for a moment doubted Kate or her motives or anything. He really did trust her. And Alexis did not, yet, but it would be up to her to earn Alexis's trust too.
Of course, understanding Alexis's attitude towards her didn't mean Kate had any idea of how to approach this situation. It was all just so… complicated. And she didn't know how to deal with this. It wasn't as if Kate spent a lot of time with kids or teenagers in general and she didn't know Alexis all that well, had only really met Alexis a few times, and that was the crux of the issue anyway. She and Alexis did not know each other well but because of the baby inside her, she would inevitably be a bigger part of Alexis's life simply because of Castle. And Alexis did have a right to be concerned about her dad's happiness and well-being.
The silence was starting to become too long, not that it had given Kate any more of an idea of what to say. A facile assurance that she had no intention of taking advantage of Castle wouldn't work because it wasn't as if anyone would announce such an intention. And it wouldn't be fair to Alexis to treat her like a child or an idiot.
Finally she settled for saying, carefully, "I think I understand. I'm not sure what to say except that your dad and I are friends. We didn't plan for this, the baby, to happen but I think your dad and I are on the same page now as far as making an effort and making adjustments as we need to." She stopped, aware that Alexis was studying her and Kate could only hope her expression was sincere, as reassuring as it could be. It felt—ridiculously—as if she were somehow on the other end of an interrogation, which was silly because Alexis had not actually interrogated her at all and Kate had nothing to hide from Alexis anyway.
After a moment, Alexis nodded. "Okay. Thanks for telling me." She hesitated, glancing around to see where Castle was and Kate automatically followed her gaze to find Castle giving one of his cocky smirks to a young woman as he signed her copy of Heat Wave. Alexis turned back to Kate. "Dad puts on a good show of being frivolous and carefree, as if nothing bothers him that much, but he's not really like that, you know that, right?"
Alexis really was concerned about her dad. Which was as it should be, really.
"I do know that," Kate assured the girl.
Now, Alexis gave Kate a small, half-apologetic smile. "Okay, good. I had to ask."
"I understand that and I did say you could ask me anything." And as discomfiting as the past few minutes had been, Kate was glad this conversation had happened. She and Alexis didn't need to be close friends but she did, at least, want to get along with Alexis.
Alexis smiled, a wider, easier smile this time, and Kate returned it, feeling as if she and Alexis had turned a corner in their relationship somehow.
There was another pause, this one at least more comfortable now. "How is school, Alexis?" Kate began. As conversational overtures went, it had to be the most boring one ever but again, she really was not used to spending a lot of time with teenagers, at least not teens who weren't somehow associated with a murder.
Alexis, unusually from what Kate remembered of her teenage years, actually brightened at the mention of school. "Oh, it's going well. I like all my teachers this year and that's always a plus."
"That is lucky," Kate agreed. "And how is everything with your boyfriend, Owen, right? Is he here tonight? I thought Castle mentioned something about you inviting a couple friends."
Alexis blinked a little. "You know about Owen?"
"I don't think it'll come as a surprise to you that your dad talks about you quite a bit," Kate explained wryly.
Alexis gave a little sigh, her expression half-amused, half-resigned, and wholly affectionate. "Of course he does. Silly me for asking." Her expression changed, her smile becoming forced. "Owen's fine but no, he's not here."
Crap, Kate hadn't meant to bring up a sensitive subject. She'd just assumed, hoped, that whatever little issue Alexis had been having with Owen last week would have blown over by now.
Alexis hesitated and then went on, the words almost tumbling from her lips, "I did ask but he said he didn't want to come."
Oh, was that the issue, that Owen hadn't wanted to come? Kate ventured carefully, "Well, from what I remember from high school, I'm pretty sure most teenage boys don't really like the idea of getting dressed up and going to formal events with a lot of grown-ups."
Alexis grimaced. "I suppose so." She paused and then blurted out in a rush, "It's just, tonight is kind of a big deal for Dad and for me, knowing how much he's been looking forward to this, so I wanted Owen here but he said he didn't see what the big deal was and he'd rather spend the evening playing video games or whatever."
Kate inwardly winced. Clearly Owen was not a master of tact, although she supposed as a teenage boy, that was to be expected.
The girl looked down at her hands and then up again at Kate. "Detective Beckett, can I talk to you about something?"
"It's Kate," she reminded the girl, "and of course you can talk to me." What else could she say? She wasn't sure where she stood with Alexis or how to deal with the girl but she had to try.
"I just… about Owen, am I being unreasonable or something?"
Kate blinked. "You want to talk about Owen, with me?" She automatically glanced towards Castle, talking to people who she guessed were a couple reporters. "I mean, you can, of course, but wouldn't your dad be better? I mean, he's actually met Owen and I haven't and, well, I know your dad's always willing to listen to you."
Alexis too glanced over at Castle. "I know but Dad's, well, a guy, and not really good at boy talk and I don't want to worry him, especially not tonight. This book coming out, it's a really big deal for him."
Kate frowned a little. The girl had referred to this book, as in Heat Wave, coming out being a big deal for Castle. "I think writing about Bond is a bigger deal."
The girl blinked and then said, "Oh, I forgot, you probably don't know."
"What don't I know?"
Alexis hesitated, glanced over at her dad again, and then met Kate's eyes. "Dad doesn't like to talk about it so he wouldn't have mentioned it but he was blocked for a long time after finishing Storm Fall."
"Blocked?"
"Yeah, writer's block, you know. I mean, Dad's been stuck before, trying to figure out how to write a chapter or a scene or something, but it was usually just for a few days or so but after he finished Storm Fall, he didn't write anything for months."
Writer's block for months? She didn't really know but she could imagine that would have been tough for Castle. He was such a storyteller; she couldn't imagine him without a flow of ready stories to tell. In that light, it was little wonder he'd been so eager to write about her—Nikki Heat, she corrected herself quickly. And now he was moving on to bigger and better things. She tried to ignore the stab of something like hurt at the thought.
Just like Will, who had left for the promotion in Boston.
Not that she and Castle were together so it wasn't like Will at all, she told herself firmly. Castle not working with her wasn't personal, had nothing to do with her personally. It would be like one of her colleagues being promoted to a different precinct or something, that was all.
Kate was jerked back to the present as Alexis went on, making a small face at the memory. "I know it really bothered him. Not that he talked about it much with me but I can tell when he's down and I was starting to worry." She brightened up, giving Kate a warmer, friendlier smile than she had all evening. "But then he met you and started writing Nikki Heat and he's been a lot happier since. Well, except for over the summer, when you—"
She abruptly broke off, her cheeks flaring with color, as she belatedly remembered what else had happened in the summer, the consequences of which she'd just found out about.
Kate felt her own cheeks burning. Crap. Oh, this was awkward. She'd forgotten, or deliberately not thought about it, the fact that Alexis knew of at least one incident in her sex life, knew that Kate had had sex with Alexis's dad. Ugh, oh god, not a helpful thought.
There was a brief, fraught pause and then Alexis hurriedly rushed on, now looking down at her hands rather than at Kate. "Anyway, that's why this first book after Derrick Storm is such a big deal for Dad and why I don't want to upset him or anything tonight. And this thing with Owen isn't that big a deal and I don't want Dad to overreact."
Kate wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not but it appeared one side effect of the awkwardness of Alexis alluding to That Night, even obliquely, was that it appeared to have made Alexis feel more at ease in talking about her relationship with Owen, possibly because talking about her own relationship issues was a distraction and not related to Kate having had sex with Castle. (Oh god, would her blush ever fade?)
Alexis paused and then went on, "And I suppose I could talk to Grams about Owen and Grams does mean well, but she's… well, she can be dramatic and I just… I don't want to make a big deal out of something that might be nothing, you know."
Something like guilt shadowed Alexis's face, as understandable as her sentiments were. And Kate couldn't help but note that Alexis was not mentioning her own mom as a possible confidante, which wasn't surprising, but it did mean that, somehow, Kate herself might be Alexis's best option. Kate thought of her mom with a sharp stab of longing, her mom who had been the one person her own younger self had turned to with boy troubles.
"Why do you think you might be being unreasonable?" she asked carefully.
Alexis made a small face that was the facial equivalent of a shrug, an expression that reminded Kate forcibly of Castle. "I just… don't like that he didn't want to come tonight and not just that, but he didn't even seem to want to try to understand that this is important to me and maybe I wouldn't mind so much but lately, he's been kind of distracted as if he's thinking about something else even when we're together."
Oh god, how had her life come to this, that she was now in a position to give relationship advice to a teenage girl? It wasn't as if she herself had a stellar history when it came to relationships either. But for all her uncertainty, a tiny corner of her rather… liked it, having someone turn to her for advice, trust her like this, maybe all the more in a strange way because it was Alexis, Castle's daughter, although she didn't know why that should be. "I don't think you're being unreasonable," she began slowly. "It's natural to want your boyfriend to care about things that are important to you."
"Oh, good. What do you think I should do, Kate?"
For a moment, Alexis looked and sounded very young and it occurred to Kate that Owen might be Alexis's first real boyfriend. She remembered her own experience, remembered the thrill and the uncertainty of it—and she remembered forgetting her teenage dignity and crying in her mom's lap when she'd found said boyfriend—Dan, his name had been—kissing another girl. Kate felt another surge of grief for her mom, who had been the one person whom she'd always turned to when she'd really needed comforting, the one person who'd managed to get past most of her teenage shell. And along with the familiar grief, she felt a swell of something like fellowship for Alexis. Alexis, who did not have a mom she could talk to about this kind of thing. For the first time, albeit belatedly, it occurred to her that she and Alexis had the lack of a mother in common. Kate's loss was different obviously than Alexis's but it did provide a basis for empathy.
And Alexis was calling her Kate now.
"I can't really tell you what to do, Alexis," she began slowly, carefully. "All I can say is maybe you should explain to Owen just why this party was important to you and why it bothered you that he didn't want to come." She paused and gave Alexis a small smile. "It might seem obvious to us but what's obvious to us often isn't to guys so don't assume he'll understand."
That made Alexis dimple into a sudden smile, her eyes brightening up with humor in a way that, again, reminded Kate of Castle. "Thanks, Kate."
Kate returned the girl's smile, aware that she felt… better, more hopeful. Maybe she and Alexis could be friends, of a sort, after all. Which would make things better, easier—for the baby's sake, of course. Because it would be easier if she got along with the baby's older sister. The baby was the important thing, what really mattered.
Whether Castle worked with her at the precinct was not that important. Really, it wasn't.
~To be continued…~
A/N 2: Thank you as always to all readers and reviewers!
