Alexis arrived for the weekend, dropped her usual bag with dirty laundry just inside the doorway and joined them in the sitting room. She hugged her Dad, leant back as he put his arms around her waist and looked closely at his face. Seemingly satisfied she kissed him and turned to Kate who was standing nearby looking on at them with a gentle smile. She wrapped her arms around the Detective, gave her a big hug and pulled away.
Alexis was somewhat intrigued; the phone call from Kate on Thursday asking her if she intended to spend the weekend at the loft had left her wanting to know what was going on. She could tell from Kate's voice that it wasn't anything cataclysmic, but she was still anxious to find out. Watching the two of them, she felt it wasn't anything life changing; Kate was a little nervous but not enough to have her on guard ….
"Ok, will you guys tell me what's up before I chew my nails to bits!"
Her father looked at her, a sheepish look on his face "How about you go up and get changed into something old and comfy, Pumpkin, sort of thing that you don't mind getting dusty …"
"Is this about clearing the storeroom out?"
"Sort of … I mean yes, but we also want to … look at a discovery we … Kate, made"
"For a writer, you are sure fumbling your words Dad!"
Rick laughed, took her by the shoulders, turned her round and shoved her towards the stairs "Go! Dratted offspring of mine .."
She looked back as she climbed the stairs, enjoying the sight of Kate laughing as she sat on the couch and her father shaking his head as he headed for the kitchen.
When she returned downstairs wearing a pair of old jeans and her old school sweatshirt, she found her Dad and Kate sitting next to each other on the couch, a big tub of Rocky Road ice-cream on the table and three spoons poking out of it. "Now that's a good way to start clearing out the storeroom!" she said, sitting down next to her father. They grabbed a spoon each and took a scoop from the tub, Rick and Kate having a spoon fight as he tried to pinch the scoop she'd dug out.
They were about halfway down the tub when even Castle had decided enough was enough. Sitting back with a sigh he pulled his two girls into a hug, each one resting their head on his shoulder, Alexis' blue eyes smiling across his chest at Kate's hazel-green ones.
She placed her hand on her Dad's chest and gave it a couple of taps. "Ok, give over, what are you two hiding?"
Kate pushed herself up into a sitting position, her face a bit more serious as she looked down at Alexis.
"First of all Alexis, I want you to know that I was not prying into things .." Kate watched as Rick's daughter's face lost some of its cheerfulness and became serious … shit, she was hopeless at this …then feeling Rick's hand squeeze hers she looked up at him, saw his look of encouragement and rushed into her confession "… I was just making a list of what was in the storeroom so we could decide what to do with it when I found an open box." With that she carefully pulled the binder from behind the cushion and handed it to Alexis "… I found this in i…."
She didn't get a chance to finish. With a squeal Alexis grabbed the binder and held it up in front of her. "The Monkey-Bunkey stories! Wow, I'd forgotten all about them! Where are the others?"
Castle burst out laughing at the look of part relief, part disbelief on Kate's face "See! I told you, you didn't need to worry!"
At that Alexis looked up, first at her father then at Kate and then back to her father, a look of perplexion on her face "Worry?"
"Yes Pumpkin, Kate found it, and read the first few pages. Then she got worried you might get annoyed at her for invading your private property and wouldn't even let me open it until we got your blessing!"
"Whoa!" said Alexis, looking across her father at Kate, "You really thought I'd be mad at you for reading this?" she asked, holding up the binder. By now Kate was tomato red, thoroughly embarrassed and wishing she was somewhere else.
Alexis stood up, moved around to the Detective's side and sat down next to her. She put her arm round Kate's shoulder, placed the binder on her lap and staring into the now, definitely emerald eyes gave her a kiss on the cheek and said "Kate, I would love you to read this, and any other of the stories you come across. And there is no way I am going to get mad at you for looking into anything you might find in the storeroom … my personal diary, maybe " she laughed, "… but that's under lock and key!"
"Where do you keep the key?" piped up Castle.
A thoroughly flustered and relieved Detective thwacked his leg a second before his daughter did the same, his pout and their relieved laughter breaking the emotionally charged moment.
Kate picked up Alexis' hand in both of hers "I was actually thinking … if you'd like to .… of finding the others and then reading them together?"
Alexis hugged her. "That would be great, we could maybe go through a couple each weekend …. and critique the author?" she grinned at them
"Now that is soooo unfair! Two against one, my own flesh and blood what's more ..." he stated tragically as he flopped back against the couch, a hand stabbing at his heart.
Alexis jumped up, poked her tongue out at her grinning father and carried the tub of ice-cream to the freezer. She pulled out a couple of water bottles from the fridge door and placed them on the kitchen island. "So who's for searching the lost tomb of the Castles!"
Both Kate and Rick jumped up, Kate laying the binder on the coffee table and all three headed for the front door, the simple words imbibing them with a ridiculous sense of adventure. As she watched Rick close the door to the loft behind them, Kate couldn't keep the grin of her face; this family were the most ridiculous, fanciful, adorable and crazy bunch of people she had ever met … and boy was she happy to form part of it.