Disclaimer: Not mine.

Notes: This one is the fluffiest, and the first to not feature under age drinking. Future!Fic, yay! Anyway, I think this one is my favorite.

Kate snorted into her wine glass before throwing her head back onto the couch to laugh.

"No, I swear!" Alexis laughed along with her. They were both wedged between the coffee table and the couch.

"That is... the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard Alexis Castle, and I married your father. I know ridiculous."

"I guess you probably have heard a lot of ridiculous things in these last ten years, huh?" Alexis swirled her wine glass sadly.

"Alexis, we are sitting here getting drunk and shoveling down chocolate ice cream, because Derek is a moron. This is no time to bring up stupid boys who dump their perfect girlfriends for blonde bimbos."

Alexis sighed, and downed the rest of her glass. "You're right of. You're right. I just... I can't figure it out. I want to egg his house or something, you know?"

"Window chalk his car. I did that once in high school, it's a bitch to get off of anything but your windows... Thank God you weren't me. I think I wrote every bad word ever invented on the windows and body of that pretty white car in red. The piece de resistance was the back window. Bright blue letters."

"Oh no, you can't stop that story there," Alexis coaxed as she refilled her glass and passed the bottle to her step-mother.

"I, uh, I wrote that... I wrote," she giggled the wine getting to her," I wrote 'Your dick is the size of a crayon.' Needless to say he didn't get a date again until college."

Alexis had spit her wine across the table as soon as the word dick passed Kate's lips. The rest of the story had her doubled over on the hardwood in laughter. Alexis, gasping for air, tried to sit up. She collapsed back against Kate's side and shook in silent laughter. "I... love... you..." she choked out between laughing fits.

"What's going on in here?" Castle asked from the doorway, his heavy winter coat slung over his arm. He looked down at his girls, their cheeks red, he presumed, from the wine and the laughter. Their ice cream mostly melted. Their bottle nearly empty.

"We are sharing wildly inappropriate stories," Kate answered bumping Alexis' shoulder with her own. Alexis dropped her head onto Kate's shoulder and started giggling again.

"Daddy, will you bring me that box of Goldfish in the pantry?' she asked after her giggling fit stopped. She twirled her spoon in the mostly chocolate soup in front of her.

"Sure thing, Pumpkin. You girls want another bottle?"

"Yes," they answered at the same time. An act that launched them both back into giggles.

He shook his head and went to get them what they wanted.

"Thank you for doing this, Kate. I'm sure you had better things to do tonight than get drunk with me."

"Can't think of a single thing that would be more important, right now," she replied honestly.

"I think that's because you're drunk," Alexis joked.

"If I am, then so are you. Still, nothing more important than helping my best girl in her time of need."

Pretending he hadn't heard a single thing, Castle slipped in and sat the box and the bottle of wine on the table in front of them. "I'm gonna go work on my book. If you two don't pass out here," he turned to Kate, "get me on your way to bed." He kissed both of their heads and turned to leave.

Kate's hand shot out and stopped him. "Uh-uh, mister. I haven't seen you all day. I want a real kiss."

He chuckled and leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "Better?"

"Much. Now go." She shoved him away and leaned forward to grab her glass off the table.

"Going, going!" He held his hands up and left the room.

Alexis poured the last of their old bottle into her glass and reached for the box of snacks. Hogging it to herself she sat back against the couch again. "Any other good break up retaliations?"

"Hmm.. give me some," Kate held her hand out, "Let's see... Oh, I did trick a guy into thinking were having an ABC party once. He'd cheated on one of my best friends. He looked like a total ass when he showed up."

"What's an ABC party? Alexis asked as she poured Goldfish into Kate's waiting hand.

"Anything but clothes. He showed up in this like 'Tarzan-style' loin cloth, made out of an old Pokemon pillowcase. Two things, Alexis. One, he wasn't exactly the Tarzan type, if you catch my drift. Two, his loin cloth looked more like a diaper."

"Why do none of my friends think of these things? I mean, the worst Paige has done in retaliation is bad mouth a boy on Facebook. And Cassie? She dosed a gallon of iced tea with Ex-Lax, he finished the whole gallon over a night, she told him she knew he'd cheated, and then she locked him out."

"That is beautiful, beautiful revenge," Kate responded around a mouthful of the cheddary snacks.

Alexis smirked, and sighed wistfully, "Yeah, we didn't see him around campus for like a week."

Kate threw a fish at Alexis. "You're moping again, stop it."

"I am not moping!" Alexis threw a fish back at her.

"As bad as you lie sober, you're a million times worse drunk." She bounced a goldfish off of Alexis' forehead.

"Hey!" Alexis threw the rest of her handful at Kate and they wrestled to get more from the box. They pelted each other with the fish and giggled until Alexis' cell phone vibrated on the table in front of them. She picked it up and read the message. "He apologized, said he was stupid, and wants to get back together... I want to punch him."

Kate laughed and popped the cork on their new bottle. "Tell him to take a hike. No... tell him your mom is a cop, and she's going to spend the better part of her day tomorrow scouring records looking for any little thing she can find to make his life a living hell. So he'd better take care of any parking tickets he has right now." She topped off their glasses and picked up the TV remote.

Alexis typed away and tossed her phone off to the chair across the room after she sent her message. "Temptation Lane?"

"Duh!" Kate grinned and settled back against the couch. They made it through three episodes before sleep claimed Alexis. She threw an arm over her shoulder and hugged her closer.

"Thank you for being here for her," Rick whispered as he sat down next to Kate.

"I know you heard me tell her I didn't have anywhere more important to be. I meant it," she answered quietly turning to face him.

"I don't just mean tonight, Kate." He gave her a lingering kiss, and wove his fingers in her hair.

"Unnnnn... gross. Get a room," Alexis mumbled pulling away from Kate. She continued to mutter as she got up to stumble her way to the stairs, "Making out over my head... teenagers."

"Go help her up the stairs. She's a lightweight." Kate pulled away and started gathering up the bowls and picking up the Goldfish scattered around the area.

"I'll be back to help you in a minute." He stood and went to lead Alexis up to her room. When he made it back down Kate was leaning against the counter finishing her glass.

"Remind me to vacuum in the morning. I don't think I got all of the Goldfish picked up."

"I'll do that. From what I hear you're going to be too busy seeking retribution for Lex." He pinned her between the counter and his body.

"Where were you working on your book at exactly?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was in my office, I swear. You're just a little bit louder than you think you are when you turn on the mama bear." She quirked an eyebrow at him but said nothing, a sure sign that she'd moved past tipsy a long time ago.

"Come on, Beautiful. You can't do anything tomorrow with the hangover you have coming to you." He kissed her and pulled her by the arm from the counter.

"Hangover, my ass," she yawned, but followed. "Love you," she mumbled as her head hit the pillow.

"Love you too," he answered curling up behind her and wrapping her against him tightly. He inhaled the scent of cherries deeply, as he nuzzled into her hair, and fell asleep warmed by her body and the pride he had in his heart.