Chapter 22

.

Even though Kate and Castle's relationship had been repaired, Kate and Alexis' hadn't. After their conversation in the kitchen, Castle had gone upstairs to retrieve Alexis who had refused to speak to Kate. Instead, she had decided to sit in the car while Castle had said his goodbyes.

On Sunday, Alexis took the early train back to New Haven.

On Monday, Kate drove out to see her.

An unfamiliar boy opened the door to Alexis' house. "Hello…?" he said.

Alexis' housemate, Phoebe, poked her head around the corner. "Oh, hey Kate." To the boy, she said, "Let her in, Mark. She's here to see Lexie."

Phoebe disappeared back into the kitchen where Kate heard her resume her chopping of what sounded like some very uncooperative vegetables.

Mark didn't bother to lock the door after Kate had entered. Instead, he trailed after Phoebe, pausing at the foot of the stairs to yell, "Lex! Your mom's here to see you!"

"My mom?" Kate heard Alexis yell before the sound of her footsteps clattered down the stairs. "Mom, you know I like your visits but maybe you should call me bef—" She paused when she finally caught sight of Kate, "—Oh."

"Hi Alexis," said Kate.

"Hi." Her tone was clipped.

Kate saw Phoebe nudge Mark and hiss, "That's not her mom, you idiot."

Mark shrugged. "How the hell was I supposed to know that? She's old…" Kate raised her eyebrows, "… enough."

Phoebe mouthed, 'Sorry' to Alexis behind his back.

"Maybe we can go somewhere to talk, Alexis. Like a coffee shop?" Kate asked. "If you have time." Kate knew she did. Alexis' winter semester schedule was posted on the fridge in the loft.

Alexis didn't respond directly. She just grabbed her jacket from the closet and slipped on some flats. "I'm going out for a bit, Pheebs," she called out, "I'll be back in time to walk with you to class so wait for me, okay?"

"Sure thing, Lex," Phoebe replied.

It was a crisp spring day and the two of them walked a couple of blocks in silence before Alexis started talking. "Sorry about Mark," she said, "He's Phoebe's boyfriend – we keep telling her to break up with him already 'cause he's so annoying."

"Don't worry about it," Kate replied with a chuckle. "At least he didn't say I was old, period. I've heard worse than 'old enough.'"

"Here," said Alexis, taking a left turn and gesturing to a little student-run café, "They have the best coffee on campus."

By wordless decision, Alexis went to find seats while Kate bought their drinks. She didn't need to ask Alexis what she wanted – it was always the same thing.

"Thanks," said Alexis, when Kate set down her vanilla latte.

The situation wasn't new: Kate had always made sure to set some time aside where she and Alexis could talk or hang out together without Castle present. The circumstances that they were currently in, though, made it extremely uncomfortable.

Kate set her cup down after taking a drink. After a long drawn-out pause, she finally said, "Sometimes I forget how similar you are to your dad." Alexis looked at her. "Because you've always been so agreeable and you've always seemed so much more mature than your age.

But, I realise, now, how unfair I've been to you. By treating you like an adult."

"I am an adult."

Kate nodded. "Yes, you are but what I mean is…" she paused, trying to think about how she wanted to phrase her answer, "…the other people – adults – in my life, my friends for example and your dad, they all know that I'm not always the easiest person to get to know. I'm not always as… affectionate as other people might be in a similar situation.

"Like, when Lanie tells me she's really glad that I'm her best friend. She knows that I feel the same way about her even though I may not say it in return or show it the way she does."

"I know that, Kate," said Alexis.

"And I know that you've never held it against me," Kate replied, "But I'm just afraid that you knowing that about me doesn't change the fact that emotionally, it doesn't seem to matter. I've still—" she fiddled with her coffee cup, "—I've still hurt you."

"Dad already called me, Kate," Alexis said with a sigh, "He already explained to me what happened. I know you and him are fine now."

"But you're still mad at me, aren't you?" Kate asked softly.

Alexis shrugged, eyes averted.

"Look," Kate continued, "You are your dad are both very open people – you give your love freely to the people you care about."

"Sure," Alexis replied, noncommittally.

Kate smiled a little. "Trust me, you do."

"All right, so I do. So, what?"

"Well, I'm not so open. And while your dad accepts this about me, he also knows that even though for every three times he tells me he loves me, I only tell him once – it doesn't mean that I love him any less.

"Me and you, on the other hand… you're always so quick with your hugs and your I-love-yous that I never have to do it first."

A hint of a smile graced Alexis' lips, "I like giving you guys hugs."

"And I love that about you," said Kate, "But what I said about me being unfair to you… it's not fair for me to treat you like all of the other adults in my life, just expecting you to accept the fact that I don't always outwardly return the sentiment."

"Kate, really, I get it. It's okay."

"No," Kate shook her head, "It isn't. I should be treating you like I treat Zoey."

Alexis circled the rim of her cup with her index finger. "Well, that's different. Zoey's little and she needs all of that affection and besides, she's your daughter."

"Well, so are you," said Kate.

Alexis looked up at her.

"You were right," Kate continued, "We are a family. And I'm sorry I let you down."

"You're more like my mom than my real mom is," Alexis said quietly, "If that makes any sense. So, when I thought you were going to leave me… I…"

"You acted the way I would have," said Kate, with a smile.

Alexis tilted her head. "Yeah, I guess I did." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, too, Kate. For getting so angry at you and for calling you selfish. You're not selfish. Not at all."

"Alexis, all that matters is that we're okay," said Kate.

Alexis gave Kate a real smile. "We're family. Of course we're okay."

"Do you… want a hug?"

Alexis straightened up, energy suddenly renewed. "How about I tell you about all of the stupid things that Mark does that drives me insane instead?"

.

"Wow." Castle whistled appreciatively. "Maybe you can buy it but not wear it to the party if you know what I—"

"Lalalala!" Alexis covered her ears. "I can't hear you!"

"Yeah, don't be gross, Castle." Kate walked back into the change room at Bergdorf's and took off the little silver number that she was sure Castle had slipped into the pile.

Alexis had just returned home last night after having officially completed her sophomore year. Not only had Castle gotten invited to a black tie event taking place the following weekend but all four of them were expected to attend.

There was nothing Kate hated more than being forced to go shopping for something to wear. It had already been two hours of searching and they still had to find a dress for Alexis.

Kate's exasperated voice floated out from behind the curtain. "We're running out of options here."

"I don't think Kate's having fun," Alexis stage-whispered to Castle.

"I need somebody to zip me up," Kate called.

"I'll do it," said Castle, "Can you make sure Zo doesn't tip that thing over?"

Alexis looked over to where he had pointed and saw Zoey crawling under a mannequin that had been outfitted with a giant, poufy dress.

"Lexi!" she called loudly, "A tent!"

"Oh, no, Zo," she dashed towards her, looking nervously around to see if they had gotten the attention of any sales associates. "That's not a tent!"

Castle walked up to Kate's change room. "Are you decent?" he asked and then, "Well, I guess that doesn't really matter, does it?" He made sure nobody else was around and quickly darted behind the curtain.

Kate's exposed back was to him, tendrils of hair from her messy bun falling loose down her back due to all of the outfit changes. There was a flush to her skin and a flustered expression on her face that he couldn't help but compare to the way she looked when he had just made her…

"Just zip me up, Castle." She had seen him staring at her in the mirror. "There are too many lights in here – it's making me hot and annoyed."

"Well," he started suggestively, "We can turn that into hot and bothered."

Kate narrowed her eyes. "Don't even think about it."

Castle grinned. "Can't help it." Nonetheless, he complied, making sure not to catch any pieces of her hair in the zipper. He pulled open the curtain when he was done so she could walk out.

"I think this is the one," he said.

Kate positioned herself in front of the three-way mirror. It was a beautiful, floor-length, red chiffon dress by Marchesa that accentuated her toned arms and statuesque height.

Alexis joined them with Zoey in her arms to stop her from causing any more mischief. "Definitely, Kate," she said.

"And what do you think Zo?" Kate asked, looking at her other daughter with a smile.

Zoey stared at her mom in the mirror. After a second of brief contemplation, she said, "I like red."

Kate laughed. "Well, I guess that settles it then."

.

It was their first appearance as a real couple. After their fight, Castle had chosen not to release any kind of statement – neither his version nor Kate's – deciding that they had needed the weekend to cool off.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean the press had hounded them any less when they finally did decide to confirm certain facts to them on the Monday. Kate had spent that day in New Haven, patching things up with Alexis and wisely screening her calls but Castle hadn't had that luxury. It seemed that Paula had called him every half hour asking yet another inane question that some news-hungry reporter had wanted to know.

Things had calmed down since then but Kate still hated the increased awareness into her personal life. Luckily, only certain members of the press were allowed into the actual event for reporting purposes so Castle had arranged for Kate, Zoey, and Alexis to slip into the venue through a private entrance. Only he would have to face the photogs and relentless questions.

"So, how did it go?" Kate asked when Castle finally managed to join them at their assigned table.

"Oh, you know, the usual litany: How long have we been dating? Why did we keep it a secret? When am I going to propose?" He grinned at her when he said the last question. "That sort of thing."

"Well, I hope you didn't promise them anything," Kate said, a glint in her eye and an unreadable expression on her face.

He let her take a sip of her champagne before responding. "I told them to give me eight months." He watched as she faltered in replacing her glass on the table. Eight months would take them to the end of the year. "Tops."

A/N: I was overwhelmed by all of the feedback I got from the last couple of chapters! I'm glad I wasn't flamed for putting our favourite pair in a fight! But... new song lyric next chapter… you know what that means, don't you? Thematic change! We're taking a step away from angsty romance and wordy conversations about relationships. Yay! (At least, I hope you're 'yaying' and not 'naying'.) Whatevs, I'm a little nuts so you probably won't even notice a difference. ;)