Seven

"Did you get rid of your stray?"

Castle slammed the refrigerator door shut and spun around to find his daughter wearing a half-smirk as she stood with her arms folded over her chest at the edge of the kitchen. The writer sucked in a deep breath and counted to five before responding. Alexis had always been a very well-behaved, mild mannered child. He could have counted on one hand the times he had to punish her during her youth. In fact, one time after she broke something she knew she was not permitted to touch, she had even punished herself! Even as she entered her tumultuous teen years they had barely any incidents: she was kind, thoughtful, and did well in school. He just could not understand where all this animosity was suddenly coming from, but he was going to put a stop to it then and there.

"That's enough; you need to sit down because you are not leaving this apartment until we talk about this attitude of yours." He flung his hand out towards the kitchen table, gesturing for her to sit. She did so, though with a notable sound of displeasure under her breath. Sitting at the chair across from her, Castle tried to keep his tone as even as possible. "I don't understand, Alexis—where is all of this suddenly coming from? You've never spoken like this about Normals before."

She held her head up a little higher. "Well it's not new, we just don't talk about them much."

She was correct; he could not recall a discussion in the prior few years when they talked about Normals or the difference between Normals and Elites. Still, he had always tried to impress upon her the importance of tolerance and acceptance of others no matter their race, gender, or origin. "I taught you better than this—I know I did."

"Well you didn't teach me everything."

His eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

She gave a noncommittal little shrug and grazed her well-manicured fingernails over the top of the table. "I joined a club at school and they've got all this literature about how the world would be so much better if everyone was Elite."

Castle's heart sunk down towards the pit of his stomach. "Oh Alexis…" He was not naïve and he knew there was a portion of the Elite population that believed the option to procreate naturally should be removed. Of course even if such a law was enacted—which it would never be since the population of Normals still far outpaced that of Elites—it would be impractically difficult to enforce not to mention going against the basic human rights given to citizens of their country since its inception. Still, he always thought of those that believed in that as extremists and to know that his daughter could be lumped in with them was unsettling.

"You should see it—you'd understand."

He shook his head as nothing could ever make him see that viewpoint. "You think everyone should be Elite? Well what about your grandmother. She's not like us, so are you going to call her a Defect too?"

Alexis rolled her eyes as though this was the most absurd suggestion in the world. "Of course not—she didn't have an option; this is all about the future. The world needs to be free of Normals and we can make that happen by enacting laws-"

"No! Stop!" He commanded before she could go any further. "You're sixteen years old—you don't have any idea how the world works and it certainly couldn't work like that."

"But we're so much better than them!"

"We might not have congenital heart defects or diabetes, but from what I can see we're not all better," he said thinking of whomever formed the club she joined at school and produced such disturbing literature.

"So you want babies with heart defects?"

"Of course not, but that's not what you're talking about, is it? This isn't about eradicating diseases and genetic abnormalities that would affect the function of organs. It's about smooth skin, shimmering eyes, symmetrical proportions…" If they were just talking about genetic screenings that would eliminate the possibilities for cancers or diseases science had not yet cured, that would have been something he could get behind, but he knew better.

"No." His daughter said with an evasive gaze, which only confirmed his thoughts. Elites didn't just like being Elites because they didn't have to worry about future medical problems. They enjoyed having the nicest hair and the most beautiful eyes. That's why so many salons and spas existed that serviced Elites only, tattooing on eyeliner or proving subdermal implants just in case the Elite did not like a particular feature their parent chose for them. The narcissism of some of them was sickening and he hated to think his daughter was becoming one of those Elites, though given how her mother acted he supposed he couldn't say he was shocked.

"Alexis, you have to open your eyes and see outside of your Elite high school world because it's not reality."

"But it could be!"

He shook his head and stood from the table, needing to shut down her inappropriate opinions once and for all. "No. No this is…disturbing—not to mention bordering on illegal. You know I've been supporting congressmen who want to prevent this, right?" Supporting those trying to make everything equal and fair for both Normals and Elites was something Castle had begun doing in the prior year, ever since one of his dinner-and-drinks with Kate had turned into her expressing concern with regards to a protest they had seen earlier that day on a similar subject.

"Are you sure that's the right thing?"

"Yes. I am." He promised with great conviction. "You know Kate, Alexis. You have for three years now. Are you telling me you want to take away her rights? Her choices?"

Stubbornly, the girl turned her eyes towards the table and said, "She's not like us."

"Look at me, Alexis—I'm not like you."

She laughed. "Of course you are."

"No, I'm not," he said, pointing to his face for emphasis. "My skin has freckles and moles, my eyes are turning more grey-blue than ever."

"You're getting old."

"Wh—no!" He spluttered at her indirect insult. "I'm a First Gen. You don't understand what it's like. You've existed in a world where all your peers are just like you, but me? No one was like me. I grew up around Normals and they're just like us. All this superficial stuff it's only skin deep and it's what's inside that really matters." As hard as it had been to grow up in a world where he was the only "freak" as they called him, he was grateful for the experience; it grounded him. Existing around Normals showed him that they truly were all the same and that many of the so-called flaws the geneticists behind the Elites were trying to fix were superficial ones. Underneath it all they were all blood, bone, and tissue. He always thought Alexis understood that, but if she didn't, she needed a wakeup call before it was too late.

"Maybe…I don't know. Maybe you should go to public school next year."

Alexis shrieked and pushed herself back from the table so violently that her chair tipped over. Acting as though her father had just suggested she needed to clean the public bathrooms of Central Park for six months, she blurted out, "Dad—no! No way! That's disgusting!"

He remained steadfast as he stared down at her. "And that's the exact reason you should go."

"You wouldn't! My senior year!"

"You can still see your friends after school and on weekends."

"They won't want to hang out with me if I go to public school. They'll never speak to me again!"

"Then that says something very sad about your so-called friendship." With that, he walked casually back towards the kitchen to continue making the breakfast he intended to cook before she'd interrupted him. As far as he was concerned their discussion was over. He knew she would hate him for the moment for his decision, but he knew in the long run it would be for her own good to open her eyes and make her see how Normals lived.

"You're doing all this because of Kate!" She spat out her accusation as she followed him to the refrigerator.

"Oh, no, not at all. Thank goodness Kate and I happened—for many reasons but also because it made me see a part of you that I don't like. You're young, Alexis, and I'm not saying that had I been in your position at this age I wouldn't have thought similarly, but that doesn't make it right."

Once again she folded her arms tightly across her chest. "You know Black Pawn won't publish you anymore."

The writer retrieved a carton of eggs and jug of milk from the refrigerator and then shut the door with his hip. "I accept that as a possibility, yes."

"So why? Why would you throw everything away for-"

"I'm not throwing anything away." He cut her off sharply. "I'm gaining far more than I could ever lose. I hope you'll understand one day when you fall in love with someone; it changes everything. She could be from outer space and I'd still feel the same about her."

"People would hate her less if she was an alien," Alexis muttered.

"And isn't that sad?" He replied.

They stood in silence for the better part of a minute before Alexis spun on her heel and made to leave the kitchen. Before she could take more than a few steps, Castle stopped her with, "Wait. I expect you to write an apology email to Kate by the end of the day—a genuine apology for how you treated her yesterday. And I think you should spend some time with her, get to know her better."

"Anything else, Father?" she responded, her tone as haughty as ever.

Castle took in a deep breath, never more disappointed in that moment. "I know you hate me right now, but hopefully one day you'll understand."

For the first time since she descended the stairs that morning, Alexis spoke softly. "I don't hate you, Dad. I guess I just didn't realize how different we were."

Castle watched her go before turning back to the carton of eggs with a diminished appetite. He hated being at odds with his daughter, since for the prior seventeen years it seemed they'd been on one united team. In other situations she would be able to smile, call him "Daddy" and win him over, but not that time; he absolutely would not yield. Like Elites, Normals were humans too, and they deserved the same rights, the same chances, and the same opportunities. He would not treat a Normal differently than he would treat another Elite; they were all the same in his mind. Had it not been such a persistent topic of discussion in the prior thirty-six hours, Castle probably would never have thought about Kate's Normal status again, but if it was going to be something he had to fight for, he would, because he loved her and he knew that would never change.

A/N: The final chapter will be up Saturday. There will also be a companion fic to this that's a similar AU universe but slightly darker :)

Thanks for reading!