Sometimes the beauty of a new day is the promise of what the day to come will bring you.
Sometimes the beauty of a new day is the ability to put the events of the previous day behind you.

Alexis looked up from her desk, recognizing by the all-too-familiar sensation of neck pain that she had fallen asleep on her laptop. Her sleep-fogged brain scanned the screen to refresh her memory of which of her classes she had been studying for when she passed out. Seeing the screen covered with websites on witchcraft forced the memories of the events of the previous day to the front of her mind.

She took her time shutting down her computer, using the routine of closing each window in turn to let the full impact of her memories sink in.

My dad's a wizard.
My *dad's* a *wizard*.

Alexis stretched and yawned, collecting up the notes she had taken the previous night and reviewing them, shaking her head in amazement as she caught glimpses of words like telepathy and retrocognition.

Her world had changed in the literal blink of an eye. Yet, it was starting to feel oddly comforting to know that when her father was out working on cases that he was now a superhero in a company full of superheroes.

It was hard not to worry about her dad's safety sometimes. She understood why her dad kept shadowing Kate...and it wasn't just because he was so head-over-heels in love with her. They made a difference. Every day Kate and her friends were able to go to work and make a difference in someone's life. That was why she applied for the internship with Lanie; seeing her dad so dedicated to being a part of life at the 12th had inspired her to want to help, too.

Still, before yesterday the only protection her father had was his 'Writer' bulletproof vest. Now, though, there was *far* more power at her dad's disposal, and she was determined to make sure he would be able to take full advantage of it.

Alexis closed the door to her bedroom quietly, then came downstairs to the smell of coffee. Okay, somebody's up. She worked to set her own thoughts aside as she poured herself a cup.

One of the things that Alexis found the most amazing out of the events of the previous day was how willing they were to let her stay and help them out. So if they needed her to be personal trainer, confidante, sounding board and Justice League den mother, then that was what she was going to do. She opened the door to the back porch to find Ryan watching the sunrise, coffee in hand, deep in thought.

"Good morning Alexis," Ryan greeted her without turning around.

"Good morning, Detective Ryan," replied Alexis. "You're up early."

"To be honest, I was hoping I was going to wake up in my own bed next to my wife and find out that this was all some really weird dream. When I woke up *here*, I still held on to the weird dream theory. But when you came out here, and I heard your thoughts..."

Alexis sat down in the chair next to Ryan's. "Disappointed?"

"Not sure yet," replied Ryan, sipping his coffee.

"Change is hard," reassured Alexis, "whether it's graduating high school, starting college...or developing a supernatural ability out of the blue. It feels awkward at first, even scary, but you get used to it slowly, and eventually it just becomes another part of your life. You'll get there."

Ryan smiled at the well-timed advice. "Your dad raves about how brilliant you are, you know."

"My dad is *biased*, detective. All I really do is pay attention."

"As a detective, I can tell you that that's more than a lot of people in this world."

"True," added Alexis, finally accepting the compliment. "Do you feel like you can handle being back in the city?"

"No," Ryan replied, nervously. "I mean, I think I can keep the dial turned down, but when I have to deal with so many thoughts..."

"I've been thinking about that," said Alexis. "I don't think the dial is going to work for you in the long run."

"Really? Why do you say that?"

"Throwing all the thoughts you're hearing into one dial works if you want to tune out all the thoughts you're hearing, but what if you want to hear just one person's thoughts, say, in the bullpen? You need to be able to focus on one person's thoughts no matter how many other people are in the room."

"I take it you have a different idea?"

"Instead of the dial, picture a TV remote. When you need to shut out all the thoughts you're hearing, use the power button. But then you can also mute individual voices, change the volume-even channel surf if you need to sort through a bunch of people's thoughts."

Ryan finished his coffee as the waking thoughts of his friends touched the edges of his mind. "That's a good idea, Alexis, I'll try that today. Thanks."

"Just trying to help, detective."

Ryan knew exactly where they would have been without Alexis' help. "After everything you did yesterday for me, for all of us, the *least* you can do is call me Kevin."

"Kevin," Alexis repeated, smiling as she realized they had become good enough friends that she felt comfortable with using his first name. Then, getting up from the chair, she followed Kevin into the kitchen.

They arrived to find Beckett and Castle already in the kitchen, getting out the supplies to make more coffee. "Morning dad, Kate," Alexis greeted them, "ready to practice today?"

Castle replied with a long, weary sigh. "I woke up this morning convinced that yesterday had just been some weird dream...that I'd get out of bed and look in the mirror and find that I had sun poisoning or something and had been hallucinating."

"You too, huh?" Ryan sympathized.

"So what happened?" asked Alexis.

"You know that amazing bagel place around the corner from the loft?" Alexis nodded, and Castle brought a tray full of bagels over from the nearby kitchen counter. "Have one."

Alexis took a bagel, tore off a piece and ate it, smiling as she recognized the unique texture. "You...?"

"Yep," replied Castle.

Alexis noticed the mixed emotions playing across her father's expressive face. "Dad? I always thought you would think something like this was the best thing ever."

"I always thought so, too...until it happened. Lex, I've never been so scared of words in my life. I mean, what would happen if I said the wrong thing? Hell, *thought* the wrong thing?"

"Would it help if I told you I'm not worried?" replied Alexis. Since she knew that had gotten her father's attention, Alexis continued, "Dad, if you were a guy my age I'd be terrified. But I know you better than that. First of all, I don't know anyone who has the respect for the power of words that you have. You're the one who taught it to me. Plus, for the first time I can remember, you seem happy. I mean, think about it: can you think of something that you really, truly want out of your life that you don't already have?"

Castle looked around at his incredible girlfriend and brilliant daughter. He had great friends, a job that was supremely satisfying and had made him very rich, and a 'hobby' that allowed him to actually make a difference in the world. Alexis is right, thought Castle, and I'm one of the luckiest men in the world.

Alexis studied her father's face as he carefully considered her words. She didn't need Ryan's telepathic ability to know that he had gotten her point. "I'm not saying there aren't things you'll need to learn to get these abilities under control and keep them that way. And we're going to work on it until it starts to sink in. But if there's anyone I've ever met who could handle having to deal with something like this, it's you."

Ryan turned to see his partner and Lanie head down the stairs, both relaxed and smiling in a way that neither of them had for months. He greeted them, "Morning, guys. How're you doing?"

Beckett watched her friends with a knowing smile. "I'm guessing they had a good time last night. A *really* good time."

Lanie blanched, then blushed. "How did you-?"

"Superhearing, remember?"

Esposito and Lanie looked at each other and burst out laughing. Lanie asked her friend, "Can I fill you in later?"

"You better," replied Beckett, her smile widening. "I want *details*."

"So what's the plan today, Alexis?" Esposito asked, desperate to change the subject, "It seemed like you had a specific idea in mind when you saw us on the roof yesterday."

"I did," replied Alexis. "I think you should play hide and seek."

That was the last thing the three cops were thinking. "Hide and seek? Really?"

Alexis nodded. "Yep. Kate, the woods around here are filled with deer and wild turkey. You'll need to do a lot of filtering to figure out the difference between a wild animal and these guys."

"Sometimes I wonder about that difference myself-" cracked Lanie.

Esposito interrupted her, feigning insult. "Hey, hey, hey woman! I resent that!"

"*Anyway*," Alexis spoke up to break up the couple's teasing, "Kevin, this will be a great opportunity to practice with that remote control technique we talked about, since you should only focus on the thoughts of whoever's 'it'. And Detective Esposito, you've been able to connect to the past pretty well, but this is a chance to work on connecting to the short-term future. Your goal is to focus on where you see that you're going to get caught and avoid it. And, to make the whole thing a little more interesting, whoever's it will get to use this."

Beckett fought the urge to laugh as she watched her two colleagues practically start drooling over the the weapon whose case Alexis had just opened. Turning to her boyfriend, she teased, "Castle, why does it not surprise me that you have a $1,500 paintball gun?"

"Oh my dear Detective Beckett," replied Esposito, "this is not just a paintball gun. This is a Planet Eclipse Geo2 Marker." Taking the gun from Alexis and delicately cradling it in his arms, Esposito declared, his voice cracking with emotion, "this...this is a thing of beauty."

"Hey, how did you know how much the gun cost, anyway?" asked Ryan.

Taking the marker out of Esposito's hands, Beckett loaded it and looked down its long barrel with an ease that spoke of experience with the weapon. Grinning wickedly, she turned to Ryan and Esposito and teased, "What, you thought I'd never played paintball before?"

"What about me, Alexis?" asked Lanie.

Smiling, Alexis put an arm around her father's shoulder as she explained, "Well, Lanie, I have one goal for today. Since I want to focus completely on my dad-it means we'll probably need the paramedics on standby."