Charlie III

Chapter 7

All three of them made it home after Alexis took Charlie out for a walk before going inside. It seemed the press at last had something better to do so they were all gone by the time they got home so Alexis got to walk Charlie in peace.

Kate found Charlie sliding into her legs as she was in the kitchen looking for something to make for dinner. "I'm finally glad I listened to my mother as she taught me how to cook," Kate told Alexis as she came into the kitchen to join her.

"Dad taught me everything I know," Alexis murmured and yes, she felt tears well up.

"Just so long as he didn't teach you how to make that chocolate omelet thing." Kate made a face which had Alexis laughing which was just what she needed.

"That or his chocolate Chimichanga. I definitely didn't inherit my dad's taste buds. Or his desire to experiment with food," Alexis admitted with a grin.

"Good, at least none of us will die from food poisoning," Kate mentioned which caused both of them to laugh a little.

"HEY, those two creations were the greatest things ever!" Bark, Bark, Bark.

"Oh do shut up. You eat dog food so what do you know?" Kate grouched as she pulled out some slices of pork steaks and tried to think of what to go with them.

"Any mushrooms?" Kate asked and watched Alexis take some from the refrigerator. "You cut those up into slices and we can have Pork Steak Marsala. We've got bread and some cauliflower. I'll handle the pork while you can fix everything else," Kate said.

"Salad?" Alexis queried.

"Up to you. I wonder where Martha is?" She needed to know if she was cooking for two or three.

"Charlie, go find Grams." Alexis looked down at Charlie and smiled as she watched him run over to the stairs only to stop for a moment then go up one step at a time. "I don't think he likes the stairs."

"Probably a little intimidating from his point of view," Kate offered and gathered what she was going to need.

Alexis was busy slicing then getting the steamer ready for the cauliflower. "Kate?" She had a question or two.

"Hmm?" Kate replied absently.

"Do you think Dad died in pain?" Alexis stopped and just stared at nothing.

"The truth? He probably saw it coming. Did it actually hurt? Maybe for one whole second. According to Perlmutter he died instantly. The container the movers were lifting was more than heavy enough," Kate said to her. Some of which Alexis already knew.

"Why did you choose not to sue?" Alexis questioned since yes, it was an accident but it wasn't totally.

"Sue who? The movers weren't totally at fault. Their method was used all over the city and their ropes were fine. Okay, their method of choice to block that section of the sidewalk was weak. Do we sue the drunk driver that hit their equipment? He was decapitated in that accident. Do I ruin his family because he killed Castle?" Kate couldn't see herself ruining someone else's family. Castle was dead and ruining them wasn't going to change that.

"I'm still really sorry." Whimper, whine. He'd walked into the area and hadn't paid that much attention.

They both looked down and saw Charlie laying on the floor, looking up at them.

"Charlie's really good at that," Alexis commented and listened to Kate hum her agreement. "So no Grams?"

"Just us." Bark.

"Here's your mushrooms. I'm going to feed Charlie and refill his water." Alexis moved to the refrigerator so she could slice off some of his food and put it in his bowl. Followed by dumping his water and giving him fresh. However, after that she just stood there and fought back the tears.

"What's wrong?" Kate slipped her arms around her from behind. That was when Kate heard her sniffling. She was crying yet again and if she didn't stop she was going to get her starting. Then both of them looked down.

"I'm really sorry!" Howl. Rick howled as long as his little lungs would allow.

Alexis wiped away her tears, picked him up, and got her face cleaned for it.

Just then they both watched as Kate ran toward her bedroom with her hand over her mouth. "Morning sickness." Alexis put Charlie down and hurried upstairs to get to her laptop in her room. She needed to look something up.

Alexis was soon back downstairs and didn't see Kate or Charlie but now she had a plan. She got out saltines for Kate to eat in the morning, put away the cauliflower and switched that to cheese. Then she put away the mushrooms and replaced them with tomatoes.

Now she had her own recipe and got started.

Kate was soon back. "Sorry, my stomach doesn't know what's it's doing lately." She was just glad her day at work hadn't included rushing to the women's restroom even once.

"Morning sickness. Here drink this. It's apple juice. It's supposed to be good for pregnant women with morning sickness. And these, take these to bed with you. Snacking on saltines is also supposed to be good for you.

"I got rid of your mushrooms and changed them out to tomatoes and changed the cauliflower to cheese. All those are supposed to help, too," Alexis smiled.

"And just when did you get so smart?" Kate hugged her quickly and took the crackers and the cheese and let Alexis cook since her stomach was still in full blown revolt. She sat down at the breakfast counter and watched her.

"Your father really did teach you." Kate saw that Alexis knew what she was doing.

"Taught her everything I know." Bark, bark.

ooOoo

Alexis actually expected to see Charlie come through her door and struggle a little to get on her bed. However, this time she was ready for him and helped him up. She finally went to sleep with her puppy close.

During the night, though, Rick found himself back downstairs peeing on his puppy pee pads. He hated the idea of it but apparently his bladder control just wasn't that good. It did give him an excuse to go into his bedroom and see if Kate was awake so she could lift him up onto their bed.

She wasn't. Then he saw his Christmas present was now on the dresser instead of being hidden in the closet. Since it was clearly out of reach it meant she wouldn't be opening it early like he had hoped.

He whined quietly then walked around the bed a couple of times trying to figure out how to get up on it. He came up empty and chose the floor to lay down on and wait for Kate to wake up.

ooOoo

After being walked outside by his daughter, he now had his front paws on the dash of Kate's cruiser as she drove them into work. He was watching where they were going while wagging his tail.

Rick found himself being put in his chair. "You know the rules, Charlie. You let me know when you need to go outside and no barking. Got it?" Kate pointed her finger at him and hurried into the breakroom to get her one and only cup of coffee for the day.

Rick immediately jumped down, went over to Esposito, and sat there looking up at him. "Back for more, are you? Go bug Ryan, he's a sucker for puppies," Espo told him.

"What?" Espo looked down and saw that Charlie hadn't moved an inch.

Rick's only problem was that Gates was in her office and if he barked she would yell. Granted he was betting that his eyes would keep him from getting thrown out. But she might forbid Kate to bring him into the precinct. So he just sat there and looked up at him with his irresistible eyes.

Except Espo got a phone call so Rick decided on plan B. He walked into Gates's office, sat down, and looked up at her, even if he couldn't see her.

"Time for another lesson involving my eyes." Bark, bark, bark.

"You again." Gates stopped what she was doing but just sat there until she heard him moving around her desk and found him sitting next to her, looking up at her with those eyes of his.

What she wanted to say was that his eyes didn't work on her. But they were. Gates caved in. "I suppose if I can put up with Castle, I can put up with you."

Rick was thinking he should bark his victory, however, he was on to her. She wanted him to bark so she would have a reason to kick him out. So he just kept looking at her.

"Beckett!?" Gates yelled. Kate arrived and Gates leaned down to pick Charlie up and hand him over.

"Sorry, sir." Kate took him and held him, waiting for Gates to erupt and kick them both out.

"He can stay, just make sure he doesn't make a mess of my floors and try and keep the barking down," Gates said.

"I told you she couldn't resist my eyes." Bark, bark.

"Yes, sir." Kate retreated to her desk and put him back in his chair. "I don't know how you did that, but that was impressive work." Kate was almost certain Gates was going to kick both of them to the curb this morning.

"I'm good!" Bark. "Sorry." Whimper. He had barked but hadn't meant to. This not barking when he had something to say was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought.

"Just follow the rules as best you can, Charlie." Kate sat down, turned on her computer, and sipped her coffee while she waited.

Their case was actually starting to get somewhere. Kate had taken Charlie outside so he could do his business. She'd fed him and gave him water and they were both just sitting there when suddenly Alexis showed up.

"Alexis. What time is it?" Kate looked at the clock. She'd lost track of time.

"I came to take Charlie to the vet." Alexis reminded her.

"VET!" Whimper, whine.

"Let's go, Charlie." She didn't have much time if she wanted to get there on time.

"Here's his leash. Just take him home after you're done. You can start dinner if you like." Kate watched her leave.

With Charlie gone the chair was empty again and it was starting to get to her. The pain in her heart was raising its head and it was hard to ignore; she didn't even feel the tears. Not having him sitting there was really hurting.

"Detective?" Gates wasn't at her desk and she hadn't seen her.

Kate wiped her tears away with her hand. "Sir?"

"Go home, Detective. You and that puppy of yours can start fresh in the morning." Gates knew she was showing a weakness. But Beckett was clearly still hurting and with the puppy gone she was falling apart.

"Sir…" Kate was ready to argue she was fine and would stay.

"Just go, Beckett. That's an order." Gates sighed and went back to her office.

"Yes, sir." Kate sat there for a time before shutting down her computer, gathering her stuff, and going home. "See you guys tomorrow."

ooOoo

Kate unlocked the door and entered her home. Then she made sure to close and lock the door. She was just starting to drop her stuff at the front door, save for her weapon, when she heard nails on the hardwood floors.

Looking down she saw Charlie racing her way and was kneeling down just in time for him to slide into her arms. Just picking him up and standing up brightened her day. She wasn't stupid, she knew Charlie was already in her heart.

"What did the vet say?" Kate carried Charlie over to Alexis who was in the kitchen slicing something before quickly retreating before her stomach put up a fight.

Alexis filled her in. "He's perfectly healthy, he doesn't have a chip, and she wants him back in two weeks since she didn't want to give him a shot too soon. So we wait."

"NO SHOTS!" Bark, bark. Rick was really happy about that. He still got poked and prodded, had his legs bent and twisted, and she must have felt him up pretty good.

"You don't want to help cook?" Alexis asked her and watched her retreat to the living room where she sat down.

"Food upsets my stomach," Kate grimaced. Morning sickness was quite annoying but at least it wasn't all day sickness.

Alexis moved to the refrigerator to retrieve something. "Try these." She put something on the counter which had Kate up to find out what.

"Cheese sticks?" Lucky for her she did like cheese.

"Cheese is supposedly good for your stomach and helps with morning sickness," Alexis said.

"And I made you a Found Puppy sign to put down in the garage." Alexis pointed at what was on the counter.

"Just the one, Alexis?" Yes, she loved Charlie and was willing to admit it but she still wasn't stealing someone else's puppy. Kate took a bite of her cheese stick.

"One's enough, Kate." Alexis moved her sliced whatever it was over to the range top.

Kate noticed that she was petting Charlie and bent her head down to kiss him. She wanted to argue with her, she really did. However, she also knew that giving up Charlie now was going to hurt and her heart hurt enough already. He wasn't even after her cheese stick.

"Fine." Kate gave in easily. She put Charlie down, picked up the sign and went looking for the tape, then went down to the garage. By the time she was back Martha was home and Alexis was done making dinner for the three of them.

"How's your Christmas shopping going?" Alexis asked both of them. Not that she was done or had really started. She did at least have some ideas what to get.

"I haven't even really thought about it." Kate knew she was in so much trouble. She had no idea what to get either of them or her dad.

"I've got one. I'm still working on the other one," Martha offered.

"What about my present?" Bark, bark. He could still rip the paper off like he always did. He was just going to have to use his teeth instead of his hands.

"I'll buy you one, too, Charlie," Alexis promised. She didn't know what, but she would get him something.

ooOoo

Kate was helping to clean up since that didn't affect her sensitive stomach any, or at least so far it wasn't. "So what are your plans for the condo? You know Hawaii has a college, too."

"I haven't given much thought about it. Stanford rejected me and I chose something local mostly for Dad. I just don't really know what I want to do. I kept trying to learn all I could about everything. Maybe that's why Stanford rejected me. I know a little about a lot but I'm not a master of anything. I didn't know then and don't know now what I want my master to be." Alexis knew she had a problem but didn't know what to do about it.

"Well, find out what the University of Hawaii offers and excels in, decide if that's for you, and how far away the condo is. Maybe a few topless surfers will pique your interest." Kate was all smiles.

"KATE!" Was she really suggesting sex? "Maybe, I still don't know why Dad bought it."

"Maybe Castle knew something that we don't. He did love you a lot," Kate said quietly.

"I love both of you a lot!" Bark, bark.

"I think that's my cue." Alexis got Charlie's leash, grabbed a sandwich bag, her ID, and keys, and took him outside.

"You think she was listening, Martha?" Kate questioned her since she had remained silent for almost the entire meal.

"I think she's afraid. If she leaves New York City now she'll be abandoning her father and his dream for her. Just as much as she loves the house in the Hamptons, she loves school even more. Hawaii might be good for her. But be ready to hear that she's homesick if she does this," Martha warned her.

"Homesick." Yeah, Kate could see that. "I'm going to have to push, aren't I? She'll just keep doing what she's doing because she lost her father."

"Not everyone has your lack of fear, Katherine. Your mother was murdered and you did something about it. Richard wasn't murdered so she's just lost," Martha advised her.

"I need a laptop and that address for the condo. I'll let you finish cleaning up, Martha, since this was your idea." Kate left her and went into the study and booted up Castle's laptop.

"I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut," Martha murmured to herself but did finish cleaning up.

ooOoo

Kate easily found that the condo was about four miles from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Now she just needed to figure out what was available at the University.

First she printed out the map to show Alexis. Then she checked out the University. "Oh hell, they have sixty-one different things that she could get her PhD in with some of them being eight years instead of six. I'm not sure I'm helping here. Let's see if I can break this down a little."

Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology

Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology

Cell and Molecular Biology

Botany

Marine Biology

Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering

Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences

Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences

"Mostly they seem to be into Education. I'm not sure I've ever heard of her expressing an interest in being a teacher. Some of this might be good if she was interested in being an ME for a large city or state. She seemed to like following Lanie around and she cares." Kate remembered that day that Alexis had worked really hard at finding out who that book of pictures belonged to.

Kate came out with her list and realized Martha was missing and so were Alexis and Charlie. So up the stairs she went and found Alexis sitting up in bed with Charlie in her lap. Kate knocked. "Can I come in?" If Alexis was busy she could come back later.

"I'm actually done, besides I need to put this away before Charlie decides to try his typing skills again." Alexis closed her laptop and put it on her night stand.

Kate grinned. "Charlie did that to my computer at work. It was gibberish."

"You try typing with big paws!" Bark, bark. He still needed a new plan. Maybe if he could get a pen or pencil between his teeth.

"I got to thinking about the condo and the University of Hawaii." Kate handed her the printout of the map. "I found the University is about four miles from the condo."

Alexis looked puzzled. "Doesn't sound like Dad. He didn't even like the idea of Stanford or Oxford. I know he wanted me close even if I didn't mind being that far away."

Well that helped Kate since she was thinking maybe homesick wasn't a problem. "I found this in the University that was really close." Kate handed over her last sheet. "Mostly they were into Education but they had sixty-one different Doctorate courses that you could get your PhD in. You liked what Lanie was doing so I thought maybe some of these would interest you."

Alexis went down the list and while some she wasn't interested in, a few actually did get her attention.

"The next school year starts in August so you have plenty of time to think about it. You'll have your own space to live in and knowing Castle, the condo has to be nice. You could get a scooter instead of a car," Kate suggested.

Alexis started to chuckle. "I actually tried to get Dad to buy me a scooter once. I even sold my lightsabers so I could buy one but didn't do it. It just wasn't right," Alexis admitted. Then she smiled at Kate. "I'll think about it. I promise."

"I just want what's best for you, pumpkin." Bark, bark, bark.

"I was wondering if we had time to go see it over New Year's. Get out of cold New York City. There's just one problem with that idea. Dogs have to be quarantined for a month first. We can do it here if we choose a vet that's on their approved list or we have to do it there.

"Charlie can go, but it won't be easy on him." Alexis petted him; she was going to miss him if they went.

"Is the condo pet friendly?" Kate questioned her, not remembering that they had a dog park.

"They have a dog park so, yes. I suppose I could take Charlie with me if I went," Alexis said thoughtfully as she considered it.

"It's up to you, Alexis. I'm just trying to help." Kate got up and began to leave.

"Thanks, Kate. I appreciate it a lot." She needed someone to help her. She felt so lost at the moment.