Kate wrinkles her nose at Rick and stands up and tries on the red leather jacket. There's no mirror, but she can tell by the way it feels that it fits perfectly, and she can tell by the way Rick is looking at her that it looks good.

"Can't wear this with my uniform," she teases them.

"Good Detective jacket though, right?" Castle's grinning, and she bites her lip. Damn. If he keeps being this charming she'll probably end up inviting him on a ride along when she actually makes Detective in spite of herself. He leans in to her and whispers in her ear. "You look hot, Detective."

She rolls her eyes at him, and kisses him, grateful again to be part of this. 'Thank you," she tells him seriously. She turns to Alexis. "Thank you too, Alexis."


They don't manage to get Alexis into bed until after midnight. She alternates between sleepy and excited, and then hungry sets in after all. Rick makes her toast, refusing her request for waffles with ice cream- he's taught her well, but at eleven at night there's only so much even he's okay with- and gives her flat soda, refusing her (out of character) request for coke. Kate makes tea for them both, and they drink it while they watch Alexis eat. Kate's eyes keep straying to her new jacket, folded on the end of the sofa. It was a good call, getting that, even if Meredith had given him a look when he and Alexis had emerged from the store, bag in hand.

Kate's legs are tucked up under her, and his daughter has once again found her way to Kate, cuddling in to his girlfriend. Huh. The entire weekend with Meredith, and Alexis hadn't once cuddled up to her own mother. She'd hugged her in greeting, yes, and again when they'd left, and accepted Meredith's kisses, but she'd never sought out any contact herself. Alexis is an affectionate kid, always has been, with him, with Martha, and until this last visit, with her Mom, and he wonders if he should be worried. But Alexis seems so comfortable, and Kate looks totally at ease, running a hand through his daughter's hair, so he figures he'll take their lead.

When Rick and Kate finally make it to his bedroom, he's exhausted. "Sorry," he tells Kate, shaking his head as he collapses backwards onto the bed. Some reunion, he thinks, because truly, it feels like it's been more than three days, and in his head he wants to undress Kate slowly, and really take her to bed, but in reality, it's just not going to happen.

Kate laughs softly. "Oh, Castle. My day was long too." She neglects to elaborate, just sprawls out on the bed, unable or unwilling to take even her jeans off. He pulls them off her roughly, then takes his own off, pushing her aside to pull the covers over them.

"What's with you lying on the bed instead of in the bed?"

Kate groans, and nips at his ear before rolling over and promptly falling asleep. He lays there a little longer, watching her, before succumbing to sleep himself.

Oddly, waking up next to Kate the next morning is a relief more than anything else, at least at first. He's home, in his own bed, his daughter safely upstairs, sleeping, he assumes. But then Kate wakes too, and snuggles into him, and her hands are suddenly moving beneath the sheets, gentle, purposeful, and the relief he seeks is suddenly something very different.


It turns out that when Alexis misses school, she's grumpy. Kate watches in amusement, trying to school her features to something resembling disbelief rather than out and out laughter. It's practically midday, and she and Rick are making brunch as Alexis whines at them. Whiny Alexis is oddly similar to Castle when he doesn't get his way. Apart from the blue eyes, she usually doesn't think the girl looks much like her father, but at the moment she can see the resemblance.

"You got to bed at midnight-" Rick tells her.

"And we have alarm clocks in the house-" Alexis interrupts.

"And it's just one day."

"But I missed school on Friday as well," Alexis moans, and at that, Kate can't hold her chuckle anymore, earning a glare from Alexis.

Castle shakes his head. "I don't know how you're even mine," he tells his daughter.

"She asked for waffles at midnight last night," Kate reminds him, and he grins.

"Right you are. She must be mine." He ruffles Alexis' hair affectionately. "Now- sit. You can go to school tomorrow."

She does so resentfully, and Kate carries the waffles to the table- a concession to Alexis' demands last night.

"Did you have fun in L.A.?" Kate asks Alexis, because last night had been all about the flight, and the jacket- God, that jacket is amazing- and exhaustion.

"Uh-huh." Alexis nods, helping herself to a generous serving of berries and piling them on top of her waffle, then squirting maple syrup over them. Castle does the same and Kate grins to herself, exercising considerably more restraint as she reaches for the berries as well. "We stayed in a really cool hotel, and Dad hired a car, and it was warmer than New York. And we went to Venice Beach. And shopping." She takes a mouthful, and Kate realises that Alexis hasn't mentioned Meredith at all.

"And seeing your Mom?" she ventures. "How was that?" She glances at Rick- maybe she shouldn't even be bringing this up? But he's drinking his coffee and doesn't seem concerned.

"She was okay," Alexis says. "She told me she's coming to New York soon."

"Did she?" Rick's frowning. "She didn't tell me that."

Alexis shrugs. "She told me when you were paying for lunch yesterday."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure she'll let us know when she's on her way." Rick makes a face at Kate when Alexis looks away, and she thinks he probably doubts the sincerity of Meredith's New York plans. It took her long enough to agree to a visit in L.A.

They clean up after brunch, and Alexis goes upstairs to read in her room. Kate wishes she could just stay. "Are you going to write this afternoon?" she asks.

Rick looks like he's considering it. "Yeah, maybe. Or you could call in, too, and we could spend the afternoon together…"

She gives him a look. "With Alexis upstairs? And awake, I mean?"

"Why Beckett! I don't know what you had in mind, but I was just thinking of a nice movie and some popcorn, and maybe taking a walk later-"

"Liar," she laughs.

She calls out a goodbye upstairs to Alexis, but the red head tears down the stairs instead of just yelling back. "I missed you this weekend," she tells Kate earnestly as she throws her arms around the surprised cop.

"Let Kate go so she can get to work," Rick tells Alexis. "We'll see her again tonight." He looks at Kate. "Right?"

"Sure. But it could be late- I won't finish until at least ten." She looks at Alexis. "You'll probably be in bed- because I'm guessing you want to go to school tomorrow?"


"You're on a stake-out? For real?"

"Castle, what do you think being on stake-out actually means?" The excitement in his voice makes her laugh in spite of herself, and Hunter shoots her a dirty look. If she was in the car with anyone but Hunter she wouldn't have even taken the call, but she couldn't help herself.

"Car chases?" he suggests, hopefully.

She rolls her eyes. "I'm sitting here watching a building with Hunter. That's it."

"Oh! Tell her hi!"

Kate presses her lips together. "Talk to you later, Castle," she tells him, and hangs up.

When ten o'clock comes, so does the relieving shift. L.T. and another junior officer pull up behind them and after exchanging notes- no action for four hours- Hunter and Kate drive back to the precinct. Ugh. It's gotten late. Kate fills out her reports hastily. It's going to be eleven by the time she gets to Rick's- no way is Alexis still going to be up.

When she gets there, Alexis is indeed nowhere to be seen, and Rick lets her in, apparently distracted. He's pacing around the kitchen even as Kate shrugs her jacket off and hangs her scarf up with it.

"What's wrong?" she asks him.

"Meredith- it's complicated." He reaches into the liquor cabinet and pours himself a drink, offering one to her as well, but only as an afterthought. Huh. Her heart sinks. Something has happened, and Kate doesn't know what, but the tension suddenly in her stomach is making her nervous. "Meredith and I- well, our marriage may be over, but we-"

Kate looks a him, ashen. Her heart is in her stomach. "Oh God. You slept together." It's not a question. All those texts on the weekend, the phone calls? The promises he'd made in front of Alexis weeks ago? This morning, here? Did it mean nothing? She wants to throw up, even as her logical mind tells her it's not possible, that Rick wouldn't betray her. Why she's been dragging her heels in letting him define this is suddenly beyond her.

"No. No! Kate, no. Of course not!" Okay, she thinks. So what's the problem. His head is in his hands. "No. That's the problem. Usually- well, usually we would have, you know? But this time, I couldn't. She started- I mean, I think she was expecting something, because of our history and I don't think I've ever told her no before. So- I don't know, she wasn't all that easy to be around. And Alexis kept talking about you-"

"Alexis talked about me?"

"Uh-huh." He sounds almost proud. "Alexis has never really- well, she's never met any of my- shit. Kate. I'm saying this all wrong."

It's Kate's turn to bury her head in her hands. "God, Rick. I know you have a past. And ex-sex aside, I'm okay with it, really."

"Fine. Fine. I have a past, you know that. But Alexis doesn't meet the women I'm with, because none of them mean anything. And none of them have ever meant enough for Meredith and I to- to not. And now. Well. Suddenly there's you. And suddenly I'm turning Meredith down, and Alexis spent three days raving about you." He smiles up at Kate, bashful, and there's that pride again. "Seriously, Kate. It was adorable."

"Alexis really never meets any of them? At all? Not even your CIA agent?"

"Who, Sophia?" Rick shakes his head. "Especially not her."

"Why especially not her?"

"It was different. I got access to the CIA, and then I met her. It wasn't like us. I didn't- I mean, Sophia was- it wasn't like this, okay?"

"Huh."

"What? You've never hidden in nothing relationships?"

Kate shrugs. Of course she has. "Well I never called them relationships when I did that."

"And now…" Rick trails off.

"And now Meredith is here?" Kate guesses.

"Now Meredith is here," Rick agrees.

Kate can hear the desperation in his voice, but she doesn't really understand it. "I'm sorry, Castle."

"For what?" Rick looks astonished.

"For- I don't know. Meredith should be there for Alexis, not me. Maybe- maybe I should step back."

Rick frowns at her. "Yeah, she should be there for Alexis. But she's not, and you have nothing to do with that." There's a sudden fierceness in his voice, a kind of fire in his eyes, that is new, to Kate. "Don't you ever, ever, apologise for loving my daughter."


Fuck. It was bad enough that Kate had to meet Gina, because that was awkward as hell, but when Meredith arrived at his door this afternoon, Rick had thought he would pass out. She'd swanned in, assuring him caustically that she would stay at a hotel- with Alexis- and assuring him that she was well equipped to get Alexis to school in the morning. He'd let Alexis go somewhat unwillingly.

"Listen, Rick," Meredith had told him. "Alexis and I stay in a hotel, you have more time for your new girlfriend. That's what you want, isn't it?"

He'd shaken his head. It wasn't what he wanted, not at all. But how much damage could Meredith do in twenty-four hours? Alexis would be fine, he reasoned with himself, and no doubt after a day with the actual responsibility a child brought, his ex-wife would be more than ready to hand his daughter back and leave town.

And now he's pacing around his kitchen and living room, explaining to his girlfriend that his ex-wife is in town. Fuck.

"She flew across today. Showed up around three. Do you know what she said? She told me to have fun with you, while she had Alexis." He sighs.

"Okay, Castle? Do you think you're- I don't know- overreacting a little? She is Alexis' mother, after all- is it such a bad thing that she's here?" Why Kate has to be so logical is beyond him, and he looks at her, softening a little.

"I guess?"

"It's late, and I'm on an early tomorrow- let's just go to bed. We'll call Alexis first thing in the morning, make sure Meredith is getting her off to school okay, okay?"

He lets Kate lead him to the bedroom, but sleep is hard to come by. He debates calling the hotel and asking to be put through to Meredith's room, but lets it go, staring at the ceiling for another hour or so before sleep claims him.


A/N: Thanks once again for the reviews, guys! Every new unread in my inbox makes me super happy!