Just Keep Breathing

Chapter 4

This chapter takes place before and during 'Pandora.' There will be dialog from that episode.

Kate was sitting up late, catching up on her reading when her cellphone rang. Picking it up, she immediately became concerned when she saw Alexis' name on the screen. "Alexis, is everything okay?" She asked when she answered the phone.

"I'm sorry to call so late. Everything and everybody are okay. I'm sorry that it's so late," the young woman repeated nervously.

"Alexis, it's all right. What's going on?"

"Uh, I'm having lunch with Lanie tomorrow. Can you join us? I'd like to talk to you about something, but I don't want my dad to know."

"Sure, I can join you. Where and what time?"

"We're meeting at Remy's at one. Please don't tell my dad," Alexis begged.

"I won't. Alexis, whatever is going on, it's going to be all right. Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Kate. I'll see you tomorrow."

After ending the call, Kate found herself wondering what was going on. Whatever was going on, she didn't want Castle knowing. She hoped that Alexis wasn't in some sort of trouble. Castle was the epitome of the overprotective father. She knew that something regarding Alexis would send him into hyper-drive. Which she knew was why Alexis didn't want her dad knowing about their lunch. Taking a chance, she texted Lanie. 'Are you still awake?'

'What's wrong?'

'Alexis just called me. Is everything all right?'

'Everything's fine.'

'She invited me to lunch with you and her. Do you know what's going on?'

'I do. Relax, it's nothing major. I promise.'

'So, she's not pregnant or anything like that?'

'Hell, no. You've been hanging around Writer Boy too often. That's the kind of assumptions that he would make. Which is WHY she doesn't want him to know anything.'

The next morning, Kate announced to the boys and Castle that she was leaving the precinct that afternoon for about an hour. The boys were noncommittal about her announcement, but Castle was instantly intrigued. "So, where are you going?" He asked when the boys had stepped away from the area.

"None of your business, Castle."

"That just makes me more curious, not less."

"You do realize that some aspects of my life don't revolve around you or this precinct?"

"Seriously, Beckett. Where are you going?"

"If you must know, I'm meeting Lanie for lunch."

"Then why can't I tag along? You're always saying that I act like a girl."

"Because whatever Lanie wants to talk to me about, she doesn't want anyone else knowing about it. That's why it's called a personal life, Castle. You should really try to get one," she teased.

"I won't tell. I won't even broadcast anything on Facebook."

"You're not going, Castle. God, now I sound like my mother when she'd tell me that I couldn't go to the store with her when I was nine."

When Kate walked into Remy's at 10 minutes till one, she smiled when she instantly spotted Lanie and Alexis sitting in a back corner booth. "Hi," she slid in across from Alexis. "You have no idea how hard it was to ditch your dad."

"Was he begging to tag along?" Alexis guessed.

"Yes. After all, I'm always saying that he acts like a girl. What's going on? You had me worried last night."

"You know how I've been doing all these different internships this year?"

"Yeah. Please tell me that you're not going to be interning at the Twelfth."

"No," Alexis laughed and shook her head. "I'm going to be interning at the morgue. I'm going to be shadowing Lanie."

"Alexis, that's great! For how long?"

"Just a couple of weeks. I have to do a total of 60 hours. Please don't tell my dad."

"Why don't you want your dad to know?"

"Because he worries that I'm burning myself out doing these different internships. It's just that I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. I graduate in a few months. I want to get some idea of what I want to major in."

"Does your grandmother know?"

"I talked to her last night before I talked to you."

"Alexis, I must admit that I don't like keeping secrets from your dad. You need to tell him yourself."

"I want to, but there never seems to be a right time."

"This is one of those things that you're going to have to make time. He understands that you're trying to find your way. Hell, we've all been where you are right now."

"But you were going to be a lawyer and, Lanie was going to be a doctor at one time. You guys knew early on what you wanted to be."

"And you see how our plans got changed. Alexis, even if you declare a major in college on day one, that doesn't mean that's where you're going to end up when you graduate. Sometimes your career path chooses you, and not the other way around."

"Like it did with you, and Lanie?"

"And almost every other adult I've ever met in my life."

"That helps, Kate. Thank you."

"No problem."

***CCC***

A few days later

"That's kind of cool about Alexis' internship, huh?" Ryan glanced at Castle, who gave him a death glare in response. "Or maybe not."

A short time later, Ryan left to file some reports, leaving Castle and Beckett alone. "I can't believe that Alexis would tell you about her new internship and not me," he complained.

"Castle, I told her to tell you. She's just trying to find her way. She worries about entering college without having a major in mind. Have I ever told you that your daughter worries way too much? Where does she get that from? Because she definitely doesn't get it from you or Meredith."

"I don't know. I've always wondered that myself. Why did she think that I was going to be upset?"

"Because she's Alexis, and it's kind of what she does. Remember the time she was worried about enrolling in the foreign exchange program at school? I barely knew her, and she called me for advice."

"Yeah," he smiled at the memory, "she said that you were really smart."

"I am really smart, and I'm telling you to trust Alexis' instincts. She knows that you're there if she needs someone to lean on. Come on, we have a murder to solve."

***CCC***

Later that evening, Kate found herself wondering about the mysterious Sophia Turner, CIA Agent Extraordinaire. Castle had followed this woman for a year, and yet this was the first time Kate had ever heard the name from anyone. Although she was certain Alexis would've had no knowledge of her. But had Martha ever heard of her? There was only one way to find out. Kate took out her cellphone and brought Martha up in her contacts. The older woman answered immediately. "Katherine, is everything all right? Richard is in his office writing."

"I don't want to talk to Castle right now, Martha. I want to talk to you. Did you ever meet a woman named Sophia Turner?"

"No, I can't say that I have. Or at least her name doesn't ring a bell. Why?"

"No reason. I was just curious. That's all that I needed, Martha. I'll talk to you soon. Goodnight."

Martha ended the call and went in search of her son. First Alexis was all shaken up after a body disappeared from the morgue and now Katherine was asking about a woman she'd never heard of. When she walked into the office, she found her son staring at his chessboard which contained only three pieces. "Wouldn't it be easier to play with the entire board set up?" She walked in and sat down.

"Mother, I'm trying to solve a mysterious code involving these three chess pieces."

"Two bishops and a pawn?"

"Exactly."

"Would this mysterious code have anything to do with Sophia Turner?"

"Who told you about Sophia?" Castle whipped around; his face ashen.

"I believe that you just did. Kate called and asked me if I'd ever met her. Who is Sophia Turner, and why did I never meet her?"

"Mother, I can't discuss Sophia Turner. Kate shouldn't have brought her up, either."

"Richard, what is the deal with this case? First, bodies are disappearing from the morgue while your daughter was there, mind you, and now you're meeting with people that you can't talk about."

"I have to go," he got up, glancing at his watch. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Kate was still fuming over the Sophia Turner situation when she heard a knock on her door. Looking through the peephole, she unlocked the door when she saw Castle on the other side. "Why are you asking my mother about Sophia Turner?"

"You followed her around for a year, and your mother never met her."

"Kate, this might surprise you, but my mother hasn't met all my lady friends. There was a time when she was off doing her own thing, and not living under my roof."

"Lady friends? Is that what the cool kids are calling it these days?"

"Oh my god! You're jealous!"

"No," Kate was quick to argue. "It's just I know everything about you, and you have never mentioned Sophia Turner."

"I couldn't mention her. She is an active CIA intelligence operative."

"Were you ever allowed in the bunker that we were in today?"

"No. Mostly she discussed how they carried out some of their operations. I had to use my imagination for most of it, because there were some things she couldn't share. One of those, 'I can tell you, but I'd have to kill you' kind of things."

"Like you told Esposito today?" She smirked.

"Yeah, just like that. That was fun."

"No, fun was watching Gates' face go purple when I told her that I couldn't tell her what our undercover assignment was. We should've sold tickets for that one."

"That was the best part of my whole day!"

"How's Alexis?" Kate changed the subject, deciding to give up on asking about Sophia Turner for the time being.

"I think she's still rattled. She stepped out for one minute to talk to a friend, and in that one minute, someone stole the body. I told her that I was glad that she wasn't there."

"Me, too. They could've hurt her, too. Lanie told me that she loves showing her around, Castle. She said she is so smart, but so serious. I'm telling you, that kid was left on your doorstep by somebody."

"Sorry, but I was at the hospital when she was born. Granted, I wasn't in the room, but I held her when she was about half an hour old. She is mine and Meredith's flesh and blood."

"Was it your choice not to be there when Alexis was born?"

"No," he shook his head. "Believe me, I wanted to be there. I wanted to have the whole experience. But Meredith opted for a C-Section, and she made it clear that she didn't want me there for it."

"I'm sorry, Castle. My dad was there with my mom when I was born."

"Really?" Castle smiled.

"Yeah. He said he never knew that my mother had such a colorful vocabulary."

"I'm glad that I came over tonight," he pulled her close to him and kissed her.

"Me, too. Why don't you order a pizza, and we'll watch some mind-numbing TV? I want to relax and forget this weird day."

"Sounds like a plan."

Later that night, Kate opened her eyes and instantly sensed that her partner was still laying wide awake beside her. "What's on your mind?"

"I can't stop thinking about that code. There is no chess move out there that includes just two bishops and a pawn."

"It probably means something else. We'll think it out in the morning."

"Maybe it stands for something else."

"Like what?" Now Kate was wide awake too.

"Maybe it means a location."

"Okay. Sophia said that Blakely was a world-class chess player," Kate sat up in bed and turned her bedside lamp on. "Where do people play chess?"

"In parks," Castle sat up, suddenly looking much more animated. "There are groups that play chess in every group in New York City. Blakely made the call from Brooklyn, so he probably lives in the area. What parks are there in Brooklyn?"

"Brooklyn Bridge Park," they both said at the same time. "I'll have the boys check it out in the morning. Now, get some sleep," she kissed him before turning off the lamp and laying back down.

A/N: I want to thank my Unmuse, Chuck, for helping me find the direction for this chapter. I feared that it wasn't going to get finished. I was seriously stuck. I promise the next chapter will be longer.

A/N #2: Pandora and Linchpin were two of my least favorite episodes. But after rewatching them (twice), I realized that they were perfect for this AU story, since Beckett was so jealous of Sophia Turner. I also didn't go into any detail about what happened in the basement bunker of the CIA or about Nelson Blakely. Going in that direction was what got me stuck and in need of assistance from my Unmuse. He reminded me of what a filler is. A filler is things that we didn't see and didn't hear. A filler doesn't recap the entire episode. So I hope that everyone who is reading this story is at least a little familiar with the two episodes.

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