CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Chez Castle

Nervous, leg jumping with anxiety, Kate watches the clock count down towards five. Tonight is dinner at Castle's. Tonight they are telling Alexis. While part of her believes everything will be fine, another part of her worries that Alexis will be upset.

Even though Alexis has always been friendly with her in the past, she knows it's going to be different now that she and Castle are…..what? Boyfriend and Girlfriend? That sounds so juvenile. Lovers? Definitely. But she can't say that to Alexis. Partners? True, but it doesn't really capture it. Oh why is she worried, Rick said he'd handle telling her.

Shifting gears, she wonders how Alexis will react. She's had her dad to herself for quite awhile. And even though he's been married before and had various flings, she's noticed he's been careful not to bring women home to Alexis, other than Gina. Recognizing on some level that things between them are different from his past relationships, she can't help but worry that this will all blow up in her face tonight.

Will Alexis be upset? Resent her? Accept it? Have questions for her? Ugh. Why is this so hard?

Sighing, she lets it go. It is what it is. Knowing she has no control over Alexis' response, she can only be herself and hope for the best. Resigned, dreading the upcoming dinner, Kate wraps up her paperwork and heads out, determined to go home and change to something a little less formal before heading over to the loft.

X X X

Stomach clenching, Kate takes a deep breath and lets it out. The moment has come. Tightening her grip on the bag in her hand, she wraps her knuckles on the door.

"Kate!" Alexis exclaims, opening the door with a wide smile on your face.

"Hi Alexis."

"Dad said you were joining us tonight. Come on in." Giving her a smile, Kate relaxes a fraction, the girl's natural charm and greeting helping ease some of her anxiety.

"I brought some wine and sparkling cider to go with dinner." Holding up the bag, Kate follows Alexis inside.

"Great. I love sparkling cider." Alexis chirps, her enthusiasm seemingly genuine.

Looking across the way, she sees Castle at the stove, a dark green apron covering his sweater and jeans, hot pads covering both hands. Eyes meeting his across the room, she smiles, even as she starts to walk towards the kitchen, intent on delivering her offering.

"Hey Castle." Eyes raking his body appreciatively, she enjoys seeing this domestic side of him.

"Hey. Just a second." Putting a pan into the oven, Rick pulls the oven mitts off his hands, before coming around the counter. "Lasagna should be ready in about 15 minutes."

Coming up to her, he takes the bag she's offering, his eyes conveying a much more intimate greeting even as he restrains himself.

Mindful of Alexis' gaze, Kate simply smiles at him. "I brought a red wine to go with dinner, along with some apple cider. Hope that's okay."

"Yeah, sure. Thank you."

'What can I do to help?"

"Umm, we're mostly ready. Maybe you and Alexis can finish setting the table?"

"Sure." Kate responds, looking at Alexis. "Point me in the right direction."

Putting actions to words, Alexis grabs some wine glasses and points to the silverware drawer, encouraging Kate to finish the place settings, even as Castle starts opening the bottles, preparing them for dinner. Kate begins to relax, the everyday activity soothing her nerves.

"Ah, Kate. How lovely to see you again!" Martha trills, making her grand entrance down the stairs.

Kate looks over and smiles at the wild paisley lounging outfit Martha has donned for the evening. "Hi Martha. Good to see you too."

Accepting her brief hug, Kate appreciates the extra squeeze Martha gives her, knowing she has her moral support for the evening.

Before she knows it, dinner is on the table and they're all sitting down to eat. At first, they talk of the mundane. Alexis fills everyone in on the AP exam schedule and her plans to study for it. Martha revisits the tragedy at Temptation Lane and Rick and Kate throw in a few tidbits here and there. It all seems to be flowing nicely.

Then Alexis looks at her dad.

"So. Is there something you want to tell me?" she asks, a little smirk on her face.

Hastily setting down his wine, Rick's eyebrows shoot up and he looks at Kate guiltily before turning back to Alexis.

"Um, yeah. Now that you mention it. We uh, I mean that is, Kate and I, uh." Blushing, uncomfortable, Rick fumbles for the words, unprepared for Alexis' direct question. His eyes frantically seek out Kate's, making a silent plea for help.

"What your dad's trying to say Alexis is that we're together now." Kate tells her, looking her calmly in the eye. Thinking it seems to fit, she mentally congratulates herself. They are together. Nothing more, nothing less. Accurate as far as it goes, ambiguous as to what it means for their future. It seems like a fitting description.

Martha looks on, calmly sipping at her wine, a silent toast in the offing with the tip of her glass towards Kate, as she watches the drama unfold.

Silence greets Kate's remark. Alexis looks back and forth between the two of them, an unreadable expression on her face. After a few more beats, Kate's stomach drops, a feeling of dread overwhelming her.

"Okay." Alexis finally responds, before smiling. "Took you long enough Dad." She teases, taking another bite of her lasagna.

Letting out a deep breath, Kate feels the tension melt away. Rick's eyebrows shoot up, surprised. Reaching over, he grabs Kate's hand under the table and gives it a squeeze before turning his attention back to dinner. Table talk resumes, as if nothing momentous had occurred.

"Who wants to play games after dinner?" Rick asks as the meal winds down.

"Oh, Dad. Not again!" Alexis groans.

"Not me." Martha said. "Not my style."

Rolling her eyes, Alexis looks over at Kate, "He always wants us to play video games with him. At least now he has you to suffer through it so I can take a break."

Laughing, Kate responds. "I'll give it a try. But only if you show me first."

"Okay. Sure." Alexis agrees. "Just don't be surprised. Games bring out the teenage boy lurking inside of him."

"Hey! I'm right here." Rick complains.

Eyebrow raised, Kate just looks at him, knowing Alexis description is probably accurate.

X X X

After clearing the table, Martha and Castle shoo Kate and Alexis towards the TV, telling them they'll handle clean-up so Alexis can give Kate a quick tutorial. Turning on the XBox, Alexis pops in the latest copy of Halo and tells Kate that her dad's been obsessed with it lately.

Setting it on co-op mode, she runs her through the controls and briefs her on what's expected. Always a quick learner, Kate picks it up quickly and soon finds herself blasting away at the enemies with Alexis. Working together, they make quick work of the level, advancing quickly. Before she knows it, Castle is back in the room and fidgeting, waiting for a turn to play.

Alexis smiles at Kate and hands the controller over to her dad. "Better you than me." She comments, grabbing a book and curling up on the couch next to Kate.

Before she knows it, Castle is smack-talking his way through the game. Even though they are supposed to be working together to take out the bad guys, he can't help himself, always rushing ahead and showing off, his hours of game play showing in the efficient way he kills the enemy. The air is filled with his random comments, at time boasting even as he continues to "teach" her to play the game.

"Boo-yah! Take that Sucker!"

"Oh yeah, come to papa."

"Kate, you've got to duck and run, shoot from cover and roll out. Like this!"

Half the time, Kate is so entertained watching him she forgets to play until he chastises her.

"Hey. You're supposed to be helping out."

"Oh. Sorry." Blasting away, Kate tries to focus. Looking over at Alexis she raises an eyebrow, questioning if he's always like that.

Shaking her head yes, Alexis confirms "He's always like this."

Rolling her eyes, Kate returns to the game, having fun in spite of his childish antics.

The first time it happens it's an accident. She went to throw a sticky bomb at the enemy just as Castle's character stepped in front of her. Instead of hitting the alien, it latched onto his armor and blew him up.

"What?! NO WAY! How did he kill me?" Castle protests, pouting over his demise, unaware he was the victim of friendly fire. Stifling a laugh, Kate takes a quick look at Alexis, who's trying hard not to laugh.

Because he can't respawn until Kate dies, she finally gets a chance to play, showing off her own skills. Her competitive nature won't let her die just so he can join in. And she's better than he thought. After sitting awhile, he gleefully jumps back in as soon as they both respawn. Knowing she's challenging his skills, he works a little harder each time, trying to rack up more kills than Kate.

After that, Kate picks her spots. As soon as he gets too cocky or starts to pull ahead, she throws a sticky bomb at his character and then steps in front of him, charging the aliens. Each time he dies, he becomes more outraged.

"I swear there's something wrong with this game! There's no way they could hit me from there!"

Martha, picking up on what's going on, sits down to enjoy the show. Castle's so focused on showing how good he is he doesn't even realize that Kate is deliberately sabotaging him. Caught up in what she's doing, Kate makes a tactical error and accidentally throws a sticky bomb on him in between waves of aliens.

"What? How? There's no way they could kill me! There aren't even any aliens!" he complains, outrage in his tone. "This game cheats!"

Looking over at Kate, hoping for some moral support, he sees Alexis, beat red from trying not to laugh . The slightly guilty look on Kate's face, Alexis' expression and his mother's twinkling eyes lets him know he's been had.

"What? How could you…? I can't believe you killed me!" he squeaks, outraged.

Laughing uncontrollably now, Kate puts down her controller and begins imitating him, dropping her voice, throwing out some of his more choice smack talk phrases.

"Oh, Castle. The look on your face." Taking in heaving breaths, Kate can't control how hard she's laughing, her sides hurting as she struggles to get herself under control.

Alexis, delighted to see her dad taken down a peg, joins in, her own giggle competing with Kate's.

Looking around, Rick realizes he's outnumbered. Giving in gracefully, he gets up, trying not to pout as he sets down the controller. "All right. Fine. It's time for ice cream anyway."

Heading for the kitchen, he watches as Kate logs out. Alexis whispers something to her as they shut down the game. Martha, delighted at how well everything has gone, gets up to refill her glass and help Rick.

"She's a handful, that one."

Still smarting, yet oddly proud of her, he smiles. "Yeah. She is." He agrees, content, even though she got the better of him.

Looking over, he sees Kate and Alexis sitting together, auburn and red hair tilted towards each other, laughing over something. Tonight went so much better than he thought it would. Thinking he's the luckiest man on earth, he dishes up the ice cream.

"I'll get her back though. Just you wait." He promises, affection in his tone.