He softly knocks on his daughter's room's door. He hears a faint "Come in" and steps in.
Alexis is lying on the bed. She's on her back and has a thoughtful expression on her face. Her gaze is fixed on the ceiling.
"Beckett told me what happened" he sits by her side on the edge of the bed. "Wanna talk about it?"
"It was nothing" she shrugs.
"Look, pumpkin… You know it was not nothing…" he pauses. "If you want, we could go talk about this to someone else. If you feel more comfortable like that"
"It's not a big deal" she can handle it on her own. There's no need to go through so much trouble…
"Alexis..." he says softly as he takes her hand into his. "What you're going through… You shouldn't go through it alone. And yes, right now you may feel fine, but if you don't deal with it… It'll only get worse" he looks at her almost pleadingly when she finally turns her head to face him.
"Fine" she sighs after a few seconds. "But I won't like it" deep inside, she knows he's right. It's for the better.
He nods his head and squeezes her hand before getting up and leaving the room.
A couple of days later, she starts going to a therapist twice a week.
After a couple of weeks, Castle notices she seems to be doing better. She doesn't seem to be having so much trouble sleeping, and she's talking to her friends again – which she didn't feel comfortable doing for a few of days after the incident.
One afternoon, he receives some mail from Gina. It's the schedule for his next book tour. He goes through it quickly. Same cities, same amount of time. The usual.
He debates internally for a while. He has never taken Alexis to one of his tours before, and she won't have any school during it…
He figures it could be a good experience, and it won't hurt to have some time with Beckett. He hasn't needed her since the day of the incident with Alexis, and he finds himself wondering how she's doing.
He walks thoughtful into Alexis' room.
"What's up dad?" she turns around in her chair to face him.
"I was just thinking…" he sits on the edge of the bed in front of her. "Would you like to go with me on my next book tour?"
She narrows her eyes at him, intrigued. He had always left her with her grandmother when he left for his tours.
"It starts in about two weeks, and since you'll be off school… I figured you'd want to come" he bites his lower lip waiting for her answer.
"Where are we going?" she smiles after a moment's consideration. Why not?
He grins at her answer and shows her the schedule. "Beckett is going too, so if you want to leave the amazing world of crazy fans and long hours of book-signings, you can always visit the city"
"Sounds good"
The next morning, while Alexis is in school, Castle calls Beckett over for the first time in over two weeks. He calls her to talk about something, she asks what, but he insists on telling her in person.
On the way to his loft, her mind wanders to the last time they saw each other, when she let boundaries slip. She's hoping that this talk or the fact that he hasn't called her has nothing to do with that. Boundaries are important. They're there for a reason. She can't start getting personal.
She takes a deep breath before knocking on the door. That can't happen again.
He had called her because of business, but in his mind there's also that fleeting moment. That moment when the real Kate Beckett was before his eyes. He's pretty sure he won't see her like that again anytime soon, but he'd be glad to.
He hears a knock at the door, so he gets up from his desk to answer.
"Mr. Castle" she greets.
"Come on in"
She closes the door behind her and follows him into the lounge. She sits in her usual place in front of him.
"Let's get to it" he decides not to goof around this time. As much as he'd like to get to know her better, he doesn't want to make her feel uncomfortable either.
She's thankful that he's not playing around today. She wouldn't have been bothered, but she appreciates his consideration.
She knows that he didn't miss it. That moment. He saw what he was doing to her. But he didn't say anything or make any inappropriate comment. She realizes she's starting to like him.
Careful there, Beckett.
"I'll be going on a book tour in two weeks, and I'm taking Alexis. I'm going to need you to come with us" he looks at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.
"I…" she's caught by surprise. She was expecting anything but that. "Where are you going?"
"Um…" he walks over to his desk to get some papers. "Some cities here in the US" he says as he walks back into the room and hands her the papers. "Ten cities in thirteen days"
She glances at the paper taking a quick look at the cities and dates.
"Of course all your expenses will be covered, you'll travel with us and have your own rooms and everything"" he explains.
"Okay" it's not like she has a choice anyway.
"All the details are in there"
She nods and looks at him expectantly. "Need anything else?"
"Um… No, that's it"
She gets up. "Call me if you need me, then"
"Bye" he says as she walks out of the loft.
In two weeks' time, they're all hopping into a cab in front of Castle's building.
They ride together to the airport in silence. They're flying to the first city: Seattle.
At the airport, they get a little delayed in Security because Beckett has her gun in her luggage, but that's quickly sorted out.
In the plane, they're of course in first-class. Alexis is sitting by the window and Castle is by her side. On the other side of the aisle is Beckett.
The young girl is engrossed on a copy of City of Bones and the writer is sipping a glass of wine.
"You sure you don't want some?" he asks her.
"I'm on duty" she states simply.
"Fine" he shrugs.
She rests her head against the seat and closes her eyes for a moment. Not to sleep, but just to relax.
Castle starts getting bored, so he decides to try to get to know his bodyguard better. "So you used to be a cop" he not so much asks as states.
"Mm-hmm" she mumbles without looking at him.
He narrows his eyes at her, and sees the usual closed up, serious expression on her face. "Tell me something, you ever have any fun?"
That makes her open her eyes and face him.
"Y'know, let your hair down. Drop your top. Little Cops Gone Wild"
"You do know I've got a gun" she warns him. She's a little bored herself, so she decides to engage in his conversation.
He grins. But then he drops his head to the side wondering. "Why?
"Why, what?"
"I mean, why were you a cop?"
"It just... happened" she knows better, but she's not about to share her dark and bitter past with her boss.
"No, it couldn't have just happened" there's always a story. "Under normal circumstances, you should not be here. Most smart, good looking women become lawyers, not cops. And yet here you are. Why?"
"I don't know, Castle. You're the novelist. You tell me" she dares him with a smile.
He pauses for a second considering his options, and decides to go for the truth. "Well, you're not bridge and tunnel, no trace of the boroughs when you talk. So that means Manhattan, that means money.
"You went to college, probably a pretty good one. You had options. Yeah, you had lots of options, better options, more socially acceptable options. And you still chose this. That tells me something happened. Not to you. No, you're wounded but you're not that wounded.
"It was somebody you cared about. It was someone you loved. And you probably could've lived with that, but the person responsible was never caught. And that, Beckett, is why you're here" he eyes her carefully, seriously.
Her daring smile slowly falters until she's completely serious. "Cute trick. But don't think you know me" she says bitterly as she lays her head against the seat and closes her eyes again. That's exactly why she can't start getting personal. Sooner or later one of them will get hurt. And she can't have that.
I don't. But her reaction tells him he's right on the money.
AN: Thanks for all the favorties/foloows/reviews!