A/N: Please read: Since the time of my last update, I decided to delete the prologue, which I felt didn't fit into the overall story and added nothing to it. The amount of chapters posted, therefore, is one less than there previously would have been. Thus, if you reviewed last chapter, which FFnet now counts as 15 and not 16 anymore, you might not be able to post a review for this new chapter 16. If you really want to review this chapter then, you can either PM me, or post to an older chapter that you didn't review, or simply wait until the next chapter is posted to voice an opinion. Thanks, and sorry for any inconvenience.

Chapter 16

Kate Beckett was fast asleep in her bed. She had a long day, and when she got home, it all basically hit her at once. After taking a relaxing soak in the tub, she changed into her sleeping attire and snuggled up under her sheets.

She was suddenly awakened by a loud buzzing. She groaned as she turned to stare at her alarm clock, which read 3:37 am. The buzzing continued until she sat up, put on her slippers, and walked to her intercom.

"Hello?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Kate?" came a familiar voice.

"Alexis?" Kate asked, suddenly wide awake with a creeping dread. "Is everything alright?"

"No," Alexis said with a hint of urgency. "I know it's early and I'm sorry for waking you, but I need to talk to someone and I didn't know who else to turn to."

"Hold on," said Kate. "I'll buzz you in."

Kate had already put the kettle on when Alexis knocked at her door. Kate ushered the teenager in and sat her down at her sofa. "So what happened?" she asked.

"My dad and I had a fight," said Alexis, tears beginning to well up.

"Is that all?" said Kate, heaving a sigh of relief. "If I had a dollar for every time my father and I got into an argument-"

"This was different," Alexis said, cutting off the detective's sentence.

"Well, what happened then?" asked Kate.

"I can't go into all the details right now, but..." Alexis began. "Is there anyone you always had absolute faith in, that you knew you could trust no matter what?"

"Yes," said Kate. "I've been lucky. Go on."

"Have you then ever found out that they had betrayed that trust? That they had been lying to you for so long that you now doubt everything you've ever known?"

"Alexis... does Castle know where you are?"

"No," she admitted. "I just sort of ran out on him."

"You know I'm going to have to call him," said Kate, rising from her seat.

"I know," said Alexis, softly.

"He's probably worried sick," said Kate. She grabbed the nearest phone and dialed Castle's number.

Instantly, Mal picked up and quickly said, "Hello? Alexis?"

"No," said Kate. "It's me, but Alexis is here at my place."

"Your place?" said Mal, the sound of relief apparent in his voice. "I'll be over as soon as possible." Before Kate could say anymore, the line went dead, so she made some tea from the boiling kettle..

"So you never actually told me yet what the fight was about," she called to Alexis from the kitchen. There was no answer, so Kate turned around to find the runaway fast asleep on the couch, exhausted from her anxieties. Kate grabbed a throw rug and covered Alexis. She then sat down on a nearby recliner and drank her tea until Castle arrived.

About twenty minutes later, Mal arrived to pick up his daughter. When Kate opened her door, however, Inara was also standing beside him, for she had felt partially responsible for the whole mess.

"Where is she?" Mal asked Kate.

"She's fast asleep on my couch," she said, beckoning them into her apartment. Mal went over to Alexis straight away, and knelt down to softly soothe her awake.

"He really does love her," Inara said to Kate as both women looked on.

"Yeah," said Kate. "Castle can annoy me to hell sometimes, but when I see him with Alexis..." She left the sentence unfinished.

"Dad...?" Alexis said drowsily as her eyes fluttered open.

"Alexis," Mal said to her, softly stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry. I never would have lied to you if I didn't think it was best."

"But why come clean now?" she asked him, now sitting up so that she was level with his kneeling figure.

"Because I'm just so tired of lying," he said. "Not just to you, but to myself. I've forgotten who I am. You're the only one I feel real around, Alexis."

Mal watched as the tears welled up in his daughter's eyes. She suddenly grabbed him into a deep hug. He held her tight, afraid to let her go. "I forgive you," Alexis whispered. "No matter who you are, you'll always be my dad." She let go of him and leaned back to study his face. The expression on her face shifted suddenly, a smile forming on her lips. "Does this mean I have to change my last name?"

"Only if you want to," said Mal, mirroring his daughter's grin.

Alexis rose to her feet, and Mal did likewise. He turned to face Kate and Inara.

"Well, Inara," he said. "It seems I owe you a debt of gratitude. If it weren't for your butting your business in where it didn't belong-"

"I thought I'd return the favor," said Inara, cutting him off. He never was very good at apologizing, anyway. "Though we're nowhere near equal yet. You'd think with all the times that I've gotten you out of trouble, you'd have learned how much of an asset I am to your company."

"You got me out of trouble?" said Mal, his voice beginning to rise. "Well of all the..."

"If I hadn't taught you how to handle a sword, Atherton would have shred you to pieces."

"And I only got into that mess because of you," he said.

"I never asked you to," said Inara. "Or what about when you and Zoe were stuck on that backwards moon with the law breathing down your neck? And need I remind of Saffron?"

"Oh, but you loved it when I included you," Mal retorted, suddenly grinning at her with a self-satisfied haughtiness.

"Run-tse duh fwotzoo..." she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Whatever you tell yourself at night."

"Excuse me," Kate finally spoke. "But I have the feeling that I'm missing something. Actually, I've had this feeling for a while now."

Mal looked at Kate, the best friend he had in this quickly unraveling life of his.

"I think she deserves to know, too," Alexis said, still standing near her father.

"You're right," he said, thinking of all the other times he had been able to confide in the detective. "Beckett," he continued, "You might want to sit down for this."

"Sit down for what, Castle?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The truth," Mal said.

A/N: Please, I hope there are no flames for this chapter. I know some of you really wanted to witness Mal's confession to Alexis. My reply to you is this: a) Each of God's beings, from the lowliest on up, is entitled to at least a few moments of genuine privacy. b) What actually was spoken, while moving enough to those involved at the actual time, flattens like toothpaste when transferred to paper for later reading. c) Nothing of importance in an expository way was related. (And if any of you know what I'm quoting right now, then you have my undying affection.)

A/N 2: It seems people are wondering if Mal will be telling Kate then. The answer is yes. Next chapter will deal with Mal's explanation and Kate's reaction.