"Sorry, but I prefer mystery to horror," Beckett quips at her boss after yet another one of his inappropriate inquiries, before her phone buzzes in her pocket.

It's a text message from Esposito. It reads: Where are you guys? Kid's pissed.

Beckett's eyes widen slightly envisioning the train wreck that's about to happen. She sends the address of the coffee shop and sends: That's gonna be fun… Meet us here?

"What?" Castle asks.

"Nothing," she replies, before receiving another text that says: Be there in 15.

Roughly fifteen minutes and several infructuous attempts at starting a conversation later, Castle jumps to his feet when he catches sight of Alexis storming into the coffee shop, and when he sees Esposito behind her, he knows he's in trouble. Somewhere else in his mind, he also registers the fact that it's early. He wasn't planning on going to pick her up for at least another hour.

The fiery-looking young redhead scans the shop for a second before she finds her father's table close to the farthest glass wall from the door. "Dad! We need to talk," she says as she marches toward him.

Just by the look in her eyes, he knows this is not going to be pretty.

Bodyguards are quick to leave them their privacy, so they end up standing close to the door, where they still have a clear line of sight to their boss' table.

Beckett and Esposito lean on the glass wall close to the door, watching their Principals at the back of the shop out of the corner of their eyes, giving them as much privacy as possible while still doing their jobs.

"Good thing you were in the military..." Beckett remarks cheekily, making her partner's jaw drop and eyes widen in indignation.

"Wh-"

"Undercover ex-military security detail is discovered at the movies by a teenage girl..."

Esposito can't do much more than scowl. He'll never live this one down. "The movie theater isn't exactly the best place to find a hideout, y'know?"

"Mm-hmm," she concedes, teasing. "Why are you here so early anyway?"

Esposito sighs, turning serious. "Kid didn't show."

Beckett's eyes widen and her heart goes out to the girl. Being stood up on your first date is not exactly how you want it to go. "Damn…" Castle's about to be on the receiving end of a heartbroken teen's heat.

"Sweetie…" The novelist half-smiles, trying to get a hold of the situation.

It doesn't work.

"Sit."

He does as told, facing the bodyguards, one of which is clearly making fun of the other. But that isn't important right now.

"You sent Esposito to spy on me."

He cringes at her choice of words.

"I can't believe you. After you saw how much this meant to me, you went ahead and sent one of the bodyguards, who I'm still not sure why you're still keeping around, to follow me, without even thinking of telling me."

"Sweetie-" he tries again, but Alexis cuts him off.

"No, no, quiet. Am I a trouble-maker, Dad? Do I get drunk, disobey authority, steal police horses naked?" She's mad and hurt and she lets him know. She just needs someone to… Why are men so damn stupid anyway?

"That-"

"No. That'd be you. I seem to be the only person in our family blessed with good judgment, and yet, you don't trust me."

In her eyes, anger starts giving way to hurt, and Castle kind of hates himself at the moment for making her feel like this.

"I trust you. It's just, it's a dangerous world out there…"

"You don't think I know that? I watch the news, I'm a teenager, school's like the wild, wild West with hormones, and I think I'm doing a pretty good job navigating it all."

"You are. And I'm proud," he tells her with the most honesty he can muster.

"Well, then, why don't you trust me?" She tilts her head to the side, trying to understand the logic behind her father's actions. "You know, I wouldn't have said no to taking one of the guys with me, I mean, I wouldn't have been exactly thrilled, but… You just had to tell me, Dad."

The last thing the novelist wants her to believe is that he doesn't trust her, but there's something else bothering her. What he did wasn't exactly his brightest idea ever, but that can't be the only reason she's upset.

Her gaze finally softens, seeing now that she's come down on her father a little harder than necessary. After all, it's not his fault that this date went to hell. She sits in front of him as a peace offering. "I love you, Daddy, but I'm growing up." Even if it sucks sometimes.

He knows that all too well… He tilts his head to the side, and when she extends her hands towards him over the table, he quickly covers them with his.

"Look, I-I'm sorry for how I acted. You're right. I should've told you. There's no one in the world I trust more than I trust you. And I'm gonna to be more respectful. Just promise me one thing?"

Her gaze, which was on their hands, lifts to meet his.

"Be patient with me. I've never had a teenage daughter before."

The hint of a smile tugs at her lips, briefly forgetting all about her other problem, and relief floods his system.

"Deal. I just need you to trust me. Step back a little. I swear that if ever someone gives me a hard time, I'll let you kick their asses." And she knows exactly who he should start with.

Castle looks at his daughter proudly, and when they both get up, he pulls her into a hug, which she gladly returns.

And that's when the dam breaks.

"Whose ass needs some kicking?" he asks her softly, still holding her close as he feels her frame shake.

"He stood me up." Her voice is thick, clearly fighting the tears, and his heart breaks in his chest. This is exactly why he didn't want her to get to this part. Putting yourself out there… Like, really out there is a certain way to get your heart broken.

Alas, it's a part of life. This might be the first time this happens to her but it's certainly not the last. He would've just preferred for her to have had a taste of the good stuff before getting to the bad part.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie."

"Why would he do that?" she breaks apart, looking for comfort in her father's eyes. Just like she's done since she was a little girl.

And he takes some comfort in the fact that at least that part hasn't changed.

"I don't know, pumpkin," Castle answers honestly, hating to see what that guy did to his daughter. He takes her hand, sits on the chair, and motions for her to sit on his leg, facing him. "But I can tell you that Jeff doesn't deserve you to shed a single tear for him."

He gently wipes the tears running down her blushed cheek with his thumb.

"I know it hurts. But he's not worth you being sad over him, okay?"

"How am I supposed to get over it?"

"Maybe you won't, for a while. But then you'll figure out that it was all for the best. Another, better guy will show up and you'll move on," he shrugs with a small smile. "Simple as that."

Alexis nods slowly, not very convinced that it's that simple, but that's enough for now. She wraps her arms around her father and warmth spreads in his chest.

At least he did something right today.

"I'm sorry I said all that stuff. I am growing up, but no matter what happens, I'm always going to be your little girl."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"And I'm also sorry I called you stupid."

He furrows his brow and breaks apart, facing her. "You didn't."

She shrugs apologetically. "I kinda called all men stupid. In my head. You don't deserve it, though."

"Well, sometimes we do," he smiles. "C´mon. Let's go get some dinner."

They walk out of the coffee shop in silence. On their way to where the town car will pick them up in a few minutes, Esposito and Alexis take the lead and Castle and Beckett fall a few steps behind.

"She's good. She took you apart like a pro," Beckett says silently, and as much as she'd like to say it, this is as close as she'll get to I told you so.

"Yeah, well. She's a force to be reckoned with."

She throws him a sideways glance, and despite of herself, she kind of feels bad for the guy. She understands Alexis' need to tell her father just how much he hurt her by not trusting her, and it didn't help that she was also heartbroken… But he didn't deserve any of that. "It was actually kind of difficult to watch for a second there."

"Even harder to experience," he sighs. "Wasn't my smartest move was it?"

By now they've come to a stop, and Alexis makes it a point to remain a few feet from the adults when she sees them deep in conversation.

Beckett turns her body towards the novelist and nods slowly. "But we all make mistakes Castle. I've seen the worst of what people can do to each other, and trust me, when your worst mistake is to care too much about your daughter… Well, let's just say that there are worse things that you could do. Don't take it too hard. You're a great father. She's young, and she's smart. She's already over it all. Besides, you have most definitely done more stupid stuff than this."

It's funny that he's been trying to make her talk the whole day, and yet the times they talked about Alexis are probably the longest uninterrupted conversations they've had. It's easy to stop him in his tracks with a quip when he's being an ass, but when he shows he can actually act as a human being, especially when he's being a good father… That's when it gets harder to draw a line. And Kate kind of hates the fact that he can turn his attitude on a dime, but especially how her own outlook follows suit.

"Yeah… Good times," he grins, earning a trademark Beckett eye roll. "But you can't say it was exactly rational," Castle says, looking back at his actions. He does trust his daughter. And he's supposed to be the cool Dad.

"Yeah, well," she shrugs. "Rationality has no place in love."

His eyes sparkle at that statement. "Why, Beckett, I had no idea you were a romantic."

"I also sleep with a gun. Bet you didn't know that either," she quirks an eyebrow at him. "I'm talking about parenting."

"It just was so much easier when the only man she needed in her life was me. When all she needed to be happy was a little pink tutu and a shiny tiara and she would always run to me to keep her safe. Now she wants to do that on her own and I'm supposed to let her go. I think I have the right to freak out a little, don't you think? Especially after what that guy did to my little girl's heart."

"Yes, Castle. I think you do," his bodyguard reassures him with a small smile.

When the car finally gets there, Esposito rides shotgun, Alexis goes in the back first, Castle in the middle and Beckett's the last to get in.

Before the last two step in, though, he tells Beckett. "Thank you. For not saying I told you so."

"Oh," she shrugs following him into the car. "That starts tomorrow."

That manages to light his whole face with a smile and he shakes his head.

And people wonder why he keeps her around.

A little while later, the party walks into the restaurant. Both bodyguards do their usual security sweep as Castle gives his reservation information to the hostess.

She smiles at them courtly and prompts them into the dining area. That's when an excited voice coming from their left makes them all turn their heads towards the pretty, well-dressed blonde woman who's making her way towards them. Her eyes are widened in disbelief and surprise.

"Oh, my God!"

AN: Yes, I'm back! And I'll hopefully be updating more often now that school is almost over. I also want to thank all of you who are still with me on this little ride. You are all seriously the best!