Chapter Nine:

Rick was boarding the plane for his red-eye flight back to Miami. He hoped to get at least an hour of two of sleep, but doubted he would. Being with Alexis and Meredith for Thanksgiving, getting a glimpse at what life could have been like as a family, made him miss Kate even more than he did normally. He chastised himself for his weakness. It had been over a year now and it was time to move on. He couldn't shake the thought that he needed to face her and allow both of them to get the closure that they needed to move on with their lives.

Rick knew that Kate had taken over his PI business and that it was thriving from his emails to Hayley. He was happy that she was able to do something after her career in law enforcement had been ended against her will. Castle assumed that the reason she was miserable had more to do with the loss of her chosen profession than his departure. After all, she had chosen her job over him time and time again.

The jet lands just as the sun starts to rise on the horizon. He did manage to get about an hour of sleep which was more than he expected. Once through baggage claim, he boarded the shuttle that took him to long term parking. Once back on the highway, Rick spent the majority of the drive back to the Keyes planning his next moves. The option on his home was coming up and he had to decided if he wanted to buy it, or move again. He hated to admit that he missed New York more than he thought that he would.

He missed Kate...

X-X-X-X

Martha had called Alexis a few days after the Thanksgiving dinner slash let's get Rick back with Kate strategy session. The elder redhead's goal was to test the waters and see how Alexis would react to contact from Kate. The last thing she wanted to do was set Beckett up for further rejection at the moment. Martha knew that Alexis' anger was justified, but needed to put it aside for her father.

Being with her father just a few days earlier and seeing just how miserable he was, actually worked to Martha's advantage in convincing Alexis that her father needed Kate. The younger Castle didn't actually embrace the idea at first, but could understand the logic. Kate's therapy sessions with Dr Burke helped her understand her obsessive behavior and what she had to do to prevent it in the future. Martha wanted to convince Alexis that her father needed Kate as much as she needed him. She wanted Alexis' help and support.

The younger Castle was apprehensive that Kate could really change. She knew that her father loved Beckett and probably always would. She agreed to at least listen to what Kate had to say, but promised nothing.

Martha called Kate soon after she spoke to Alexis with the news. Kate was pleased, but knew that getting her former step-daughter's support will not be easy. She was actually touched that Alexis cared enough for her father to want to protect him, even from her. As she considered how she would approach Alexis, Kate thinks that a face to face meeting may be the best way to prove that she truly has changed.

Beckett ran the idea by Martha to get her opinion. Rick's mother suggests that maybe a phone call from Kate first may be a good way to 'test the waters', before making the effort of flying across the country.

X-X-X-X

Kate calls Alexis the next evening. She made sure that she called after school and when the young redhead would be home. The phone rang several times and with each passing ring, Kate's hopes seemed to diminish, assuming Alexis has changed her mind.

On the sixth ring, an obviously out of breath Alexis answers. "Hello?"

Kate realizes that she has a new number now and that she hasn't spoken to Alexis in over a year. She speaks quickly before the younger Castle can hang up. "Hello Alexis, It's Kate..."

There was an extended pause before she replies and Kate starts to wonder if this had been a good idea after all. "Kate. Grams told me that you might call..."

"Is this a bad time? I can call back later if it is." Kate nervously inquires.

"No, that's fine. I was just changing when you called."

"I want to apologize for how I behaved last year. There's no excuse for the way I treated your father. I was so caught up with my compulsive actions, that I hurt everyone I cared for... I let you think that my leaving your father was somehow his fault... I lost your father and you through my actions... Saying that I'm sorry seems so small in comparison to the damage done, but if you'll give me the chance, I'll prove to you that I've changed..."

There was another extended silence as Alexis considered everything that Kate said. Alexis had grown close to Kate over the years and was thrilled when she finally married her father. In spite of their trials and tribulations, the two always seemed to come out stronger in the end. Alexis liked the idea of being her step daughter and the two had grown closer until that fateful day. "I really don't know what to say... I want to believe that you've changed... You've hurt dad so many times. You knew that he was in love with you for a long time and pretended not to notice... I, I don't know what you want from me..."

Kate could only sigh in resignation. She knew that fixing things with Alexis would be nearly as hard as Rick because they were so much alike. Beckett decides to go all in with her former step-daughter. "I want to fix things between us... I don't expect you to just accept me at my word, because I've broken it before... I didn't understand how special the bond that we shared was until it was gone..."

Kate pauses for a moment to hear how the younger Castle reacted to her comments. Hearing nothing, she decides to plow on and hope for the best. "I was wondering if we could meet to talk about this. I can fly out to LA whenever, if you'll just talk with me. I miss you Alexis. I miss your father so much it hurts and I know that I can't get him back without your help..."

Alexis knew that Kate was correct about needing her help. She'd seen first hand how much his self-imposed exile had cost him and she wanted her father back the way he used to be. In spite of everything that Kate said to her, she still didn't completely trust her. She was afraid that Beckett would say or do whatever she had to get him back and then abandon him for something else that grabbed her attention. "I want to believe you... But I don't know if I can. I love my father more than anything... Leaving you and his marriage killed something inside of him and it's your fault... He's miserable. He tries to act like everything is fine, but you can see it in his eyes. There's no light there like there used to be..."

Hearing Alexis admit just how hard this had been on Rick only made the guilt that Kate felt even worse. "I know Alexis and I wish that I could go back to that day this whole mess started... But I'm not sure that I could have changed anything. It took months of therapy for me to realize why I behaved the way I did... I know it sounds like I'm making excuses, but I'm not. This compulsive behavior was triggered when my mother died. It was why I gave up on my dreams to become a cop in the first place..."

"I never understood it and for a while I thought that I had it under control, but then I met your father... He also has a compulsion to know the story, the reason why people do the things they do... He wanted to know the story behind my mother's murder and started his own investigation without my knowledge..."

"So you're trying to say that this is dads fault?" Alexis angrily inquires.

"No, not at all Alexis. Your father didn't understand how much of my life had been wasted following leads that went nowhere. How I would sneak into the records room at night and look at her case over and over again searching for something that the cops assigned to the case had missed... Your father saw that I was broken the first time we met and he told me so..."

"Your father thought that he was helping me... He thought he could 'fix' me if he solved my mother's case, but all he did was provide me with an excuse to give in to my obsession... At first I fought it, I sent him away to avoid the temptation... And for a while it worked, but then we caught the man that actually murdered my mother... I learned that someone had hired him to kill her... Someone with power and influence... But I had to shoot him to save your father before he could tell me who hired him..." Kate's voice starts to waver at the image of Rick with a gun stuck in his side and the look on his face.

Kate waits and listens as there is nothing but silence on the other end of the line. She was pretty sure that Castle never told his daughter just how close to death he was that day. For the briefest of moments, the image of Castle lying on the floor of the precinct bleeding out instead of Coonan flashed in her mind. She remembered the nightmares she had of that following the incident. "Your father wanted to quit working with me after that... Said that he was in my way... That I needed a real partner... I knew then that your dad was special to me, but I was too afraid to admit it to myself. So I asked him to stay, that I liked having him around... And he stayed for me..."

The first words out of Alexis' mouth surprised her after the silence. Kate never doubted two things; one, that the redhead was fiercely loyal to her father and two, that she was as intelligent as she was loyal. "If I were to agree to help you and I'm not saying that I am, do you have any idea how you're going to convince him that you truly have changed? That you're willing to become the wife he wants, the wife he deserves?"

"I, I honestly don't know Alexis... That's why I need your help..."

"Maybe coming out to LA isn't such a bad idea... Maybe we can figure out something..."

"I could meet you whenever you're available Alexis." Kate replies, now hopeful.

"I've got classes and a couple of important tests that I need to study for... Maybe you could come in for the weekend..."

"I'll text you with my flight information as soon as I can make reservations." Kate answers without hesitation, seizing the opportunity offered to her.

"I guess I'll see you when you get here then... Goodnight Kate."

"Goodnight Alexis. Take care..."

"You too..." Alexis replies as the call ends and Kate can't help but smile as if a huge weight has been lifted from her.