My take on THAT scene from 'Like Father, Like Daughter'

The drive back from Pennsylvania is quiet. They talk about little, inconsequential things, awkwardly avoiding the topic of Pi or her living arrangements. She tells him about her classes, about the professor with the intriguingly bouffant hair that is far more captivating than the lectures. He tells her about his dreams of a wedding-in-space and how Beckett has put the kibosh on that earlier. She can't help but laugh at the image. It is why they're good together. She can't even imagine him floating the idea to any of the other women she's seen move through his- through their- lives. The anger has leached out of her over the events of the past few days. They aren't completely done rebuilding bridges yet, but they will get there, with time.

He asks her if she wants to go home first (and is sensitive enough to indicate that he means her flat), but she shakes her head. She wants to be at the precinct. Everyone there has pitched in and helped her so much, they deserve to know how thankful she is, how much she appreciated their support straight away. It is an unconventional sort of family her father has found at the precinct, but they've been there for her when she has needed it each in their own way. Lanie she called as they were driving, promising a plateful of cookies in thanks as soon she's baked them and has time to run down to the OCME after classes, for Lanie and her colleagues. In some ways, after her internship, she's closest to the ME of them all. And her admonishment over the phone over not coming to her sooner still stings somewhat.

They walk into the precinct together, but split up naturally when she moves towards the desks of detectives Ryan and Esposito to thank them first. She mentions the offer of cookies to them, but they prefer brownies. Well in her baking repertoire, she promises to deliver them by next week, and professes her thanks again for their help. Watching Frank Henson receive his freedom and embrace his brother had been one of the most uplifting things she'd ever done in her life, and it was all possible thanks to them.

It wasn't lost on her that for the first time she has had a first-person view at the kind of work her father has been doing over the last few years, and that sense of relief, elation and justice that had coursed through her in the courtroom went a long way towards explaining why he'd always come back to the precinct, even when he and Beckett were on the outs, even when she was seeing someone else- it was one thing knowing what he did made him happy and gave him satisfaction (alongside his writing), and another thing living it for the first time.

She came up to the conference room door. They were standing in each other's personal space, so close, hands almost-but-not-quite-holding, staring into each other's eyes, a goofy grin on her father's face, and similarly broad smile on Beckett's. The glow of their happiness almost radiates of them in actual waves. It is sickening and adorable all at the same time.

She knocks.

"Hey dad, can you give us a moment?" She smiles at him reassuringly as a second of anxiety washes over his face before he bows out gracefully. As much as they've patched things up in the last few days, she's still hurting from how she found out about the engagement. It is understandable that he is afraid of how she might react around Beckett.

The older woman leans back down against the desk, bringing herself to eye level as she approaches, a warm and welcoming smile on the detective's face.

"I heard you did great, Alexis."

"I'm just glad we were able to figure out the truth and save Frank. It doesn't make up for all the years he's lost in prison, but at least he gets to have a future."

"Yeah, that's always a nice feeling."

"I wanted to say thank you, for all your help from here…Kate." She's mulled over what to call her future step-mother during the car ride down, and settled on first-name basis. They'll never have a mother-daughter relationship, so this is the closeness she feels comfortable offering.

"Of course."

"No, I mean it. You were a really big part of what we pulled off down there, coming to Lanie, interviewing Mr. Henson…I should have come to you much earlier. And to Lanie too, but definitely you."

"You know, I'm always here for you Alexis. Whatever is happening between me and your dad, this is independent of that."

"I know. I'm sorry you've sort of been caught in the crossfire recently because me and dad are having…issues, but I wanted you to know that I'm glad you two are together and happy. Really it doesn't have anything to do with you."

A small, hesitant smile breaks out on Kate's face with that, a minute amount of tension leaching out of her shoulders. She's glad she can offer this small comfort to her.

"You know, Alexis, I don't talk about my mom much. But one of the things I really admired about her, I really loved about her, was that she was devoted to doing exactly the kind of thing you just did. Fighting for justice for innocent people, and bringing the truth to light. So when I say…when I say I'm proud of what you did, and admire you for it, it isn't because you are your father's daughter, in this case. It is because…" She trails off, green-hazel eyes clouding with emotion.

The words, soft and chosen carefully, mean a lot to her. More than she even realised, when a warmth settles in her stomach and spreads through her limbs. She doesn't have the words to come back to this.

So she does the only thing she can. She opens her arms and steps forward, tightly embracing Kate when she returns the hug. They separate after a moment, but it is enough.

It is a good first step on their new journey.