Castle materialized in front of Lanie and Alexis instead of running up to them. When the two women regarded him curiously, Castle simply shrugged, "I got caught in a riptide! Instead of having to swim in from five miles out, I figured this would be easier."

Lanie rolled her eyes and grabbed Castle's wrist, slipping in and out of the healing trance almost effortlessly. "You were right, Lex. Castle, apparently salt water is no problem for you. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Castle replied simply.

"You're not cold at *all*?" asked Alexis.

Castle thought briefly about Alexis' question, a smile of surprise crawling across his face as the realization hit him. "No, not a bit. I feel, well, like I did when I was in the water. Or when I was inside."

"You're going to need to pay a lot more attention to the weather reports from this point on, dad," Alexis agreed with a smile. "I think your powers are regulating the temperature around you so it's always comfortable."

"Really? Wow..." Castle thought about how much he and Kate had suffered when they got stuck in that freezer, and couldn't help but smile when he realized that was never going to happen again. "So what's next?"

"Lunch," Lanie declared simply. "I don't know about you, but I'm *starving*."

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry myself. How about we go back to the house and eat?" asked Alexis.

Castle agreed, "sure."

The trio met up with Ryan, Esposito and Beckett on their way back to the house. Everyone responded happily to the suggestion of food...practically groaning as the smell of freshly baked pizza filled their senses when they entered the house. Beckett even opened her sense of smell up as much as she dared to enjoy the aromas in her own unique way.

Alexis gasped in surprise as she recognized the unique smell immediately. Turning to her father, she exclaimed, "Dad, Grimaldi's?"

Castle beamed with fatherly pride as he nodded. "A thank you for everything you've done for us."

The group dug into the pizzas with enthusiasm, entertaining each other with stories of swimming pool tsunamis and how many local deer were now sporting giant splotches of neon green paint. As the group finished, Castle and Beckett got up to start clearing the table when Alexis stopped them. Castle turned toward his daughter in confusion. "Honey, what is it?"

"Dad, I don't think you should clear the table. At least, not like *that*."

The look on Alexis' face was one Castle was rapidly growing to hate. "Well, what would you suggest?" he asked, tapping his thumb and fingers together to indicate a 'blinking' motion. "That?"

Alexis shook her head. "Dad, you've got a lot of powers, and they're all *really* new. Everybody else's abilities, while amazing in and of themselves, are all pretty specific. I just think that in private moments it would be really good for you to try to come up with as many new ways to practice as possible."

"You've got something in mind, I take it?"

Alexis took a sip of her soda before replying. "You're familiar with the physics of why planes fly, right dad?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well...?"

It took a minute for Castle to connect the dots, but when he did, he motioned for Beckett to sit down. Clearing his mind in order to focus his mental energy on the task at hand, Castle pictured everything that he wanted to move surrounded by giant soap bubbles that he could control with a thought. The table's contents began to float gently back to the kitchen-dishes to the sink, food to the garbage.

As the last plate settled gently in the kitchen sink, Castle let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, only to look up and discover that his friends were applauding him.

"Bro, *that* was fun to watch," Esposito commented.

"Thanks," responded Castle, slightly confused, "I think."

Beckett turned to their young 'personal trainer'. "So, what do you have in mind for this afternoon, Alexis?"

The sight of the three cops at the table inspired Alexis. Consciously trying to avoid her father's gaze, Alexis tapped a finger to her temple to show that she wanted to have a private 'conversation' with Ryan. She then asked him, Kevin, do you have your gun with you?

Ryan replied, It's upstairs. Why?

Alexis' wicked grin was starting to worry Castle. A lot. But she ignored her father and asked Ryan, Can you go get it and meet me in the basement? Finally she turned to her father and said, "Everybody, meet me in the basement."

Once in the basement, Castle realized the fear he felt before the water breathing test was absolutely *nothing* compared to the fear he was currently feeling. His voice starting to shake from the panic, he asked his daughter, "Alexis? What's your plan here?"

Alexis rolled her eyes in a melodramatic show of teenage bemusement. "Da-ad," she teased, "would you please just trust me?"

Ryan arrived, and Alexis started to set up her latest experiment. "Okay, Dad, stand by the back wall. Lanie, if you, Detective Esposito and Kate could stand over there," motioning to the left of the basement stairs, "that would be great. Lanie, be prepared to move in a hurry." Finally, turning to Ryan, she drew in a deep breath to steady her nerves. Time to do the thing that you fear the most..."Kevin, I'd like you to shoot my father."

Every person in the room erupted in shock and confusion almost immediately. It took almost a full minute of the 'grown-ups' talking over each other trying to talk Alexis out of having her father murdered before she was even able to attempt to get control of the room again. Shushing the group, Alexis asked, "Can I *please* get a chance to explain my plan here?"

The group quieted for the moment, waiting for an explanation. Alexis turned to her father. "Dad, one of the things you told me that you're most worried about is saying or thinking the wrong thing and having it come true, remember?"

When Castle nodded, Alexis continued, "I did some research on spell casting last night. The two most important components of a spell are intent and will: you have to know exactly what you want to have happen and you have to *really* want it to happen."

"So this is like the water breathing?" asked Castle. "Since self-preservation is instinctual..."

Alexis completed the thought to bring her point home. "Your nerves should actually *feed* the intent to create a shield."

"A *shield*?" asked Castle.

Alexis nodded. "Dad, think Star Trek. Remember, the legend called you the master of the elements: earth, air, water, and fire. And another way to think about fire is..."

Castle completed the thought and the concept immediately. "Energy!"

"Exactly!" agreed Alexis. "Now we can start with the paint balls and work our way up if you want, but I really think we need to get you comfortable with live rounds flying at you, and the sooner the better."

Castle took several deep breaths to bring his heartbeat down to something approximating normal. Maybe he was still on a high from being able to breathe underwater, but if his daughter believed this could work..."Okay," he agreed, "let's do this."

The rest of the group looked at him in shock. Ryan was starting to shake. "Are you *sure* about this, Castle?"

"Do it before I change my mind."

Alexis turned to mentally instructing Ryan because she wasn't sure she could actually say the words. Okay, aim for his legs, that'll probably be easier for Lanie to repair. And for God's sake don't shoot him in the head.

Convinced that he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life, Ryan took his gun out of the back of his pants, released the safety, aimed for his friend and pulled the trigger.

No one but Castle anticipated the flash of energy that surrounded Castle's leg at the spot where the bullet would have made its impact. Ryan stared at Castle, shocked that the man was still standing. Thinking that he might have missed, Ryan fired again. And again. And again. Eventually, Ryan emptied his clip trying to put a bullet into Richard Castle and not a single one made it to its target. The shield worked every time.

Even with everything that had happened to them over the previous 48 hours, for the first time, every member of the group was truly rendered speechless.

Castle was ecstatic. His mind started to race with the possibilities of what he might be able to do.

Alexis watched her father, unable to stop the laughter bubbling up in her own heart as he paced the room with a growing level of childlike joy. Finally she realized that this was an opportunity to make an important point. Crossing the room, she blocked the path of his pacing, forcibly stopping Castle by grabbing his hands at the wrists. "Dad!" she broke into his thoughts. When she got Castle's attention, she asked him, "how many ideas have gone through your head in the past ten seconds?" Castle thought for a bit, then his smile widened further as he realized the point Alexis was about to make. "Dad, how many of them have come true?"

"None," Castle replied.

"That's why intent and will are the important things here, dad. If you don't *really* want it to happen, it won't happen. There are a few limits I found in the legend, but that's the big one."

"What are the other limits?" asked Kate.

"The first one," replied Alexis, "is that you can't affect the free will of others. Kevin might be able to eventually," she received a wide-eyed expression of surprise from Ryan as she continued, "but that's only a theory and will take a *lot* of practice. Plus, I have one request of my own. This popping in and out of places is cool, but it's also crazy dangerous. I mean, what if you don't know what's on the other side? You could end up inside a wall, or worse. And if there's anybody on the other side.."

Castle nodded, remembering the awkward conversation when they first arrived. "Then I risk exposure and God knows what else. Okay, no more of that unless it's a dire emergency. What else?"

Her expression turning serious, Alexis then warned the group, "The most important limit, though, is that you have no control over life and death. If someone dies, that's it. At the end of the legend, the wizard buries his wife, who is murdered before he gets a chance to save her. So please dad, *please* be careful."

Castle slipped his wrists out from his daughter's hands to gather her up in an embrace. Kissing the top of her head, Castle declared, "I promise, Lex, I'll be careful."

"Thank you," Alexis responded gratefully.

Alexis directed the group to move back outside. "So who is this a test for, Alexis?" asked Beckett, curious.

"We're still testing my dad, but I'm going to need everyone's help for this." Alexis replied as she checked to make sure the paintball marker was correctly loaded. She then turned back to her father. "Dad, I'm thrilled that the shield worked the first time. But I know you. You'd never forgive yourself if anybody else got hurt while you protected yourself. So the next thing I want you to practice is how to project the shield onto someone else." Turning back to the group, she asked, "Anyone want to go first?"

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Beckett decided to volunteer first. "I'll do it, but I think we should use live rounds."

Castle turned to his girlfriend, stunned. "Are you *sure* about this, Kate? You definitely don't have to do this with live..."

"I *want* to do this, Castle," insisted Beckett. "Part of me has lived in fear ever since my shooting, you know that. If I can stare down the barrel of that gun and come out unscathed, a huge part of that fear just might get put away for good."

"But Kate..."

"Castle!" Beckett stopped his protestations with a finger to his lips and a look of fierce determination. "You can do this. I have faith in you."

As Castle finally relented, Alexis was able to voice her own problem with the idea. "Kate, the reason we went to the basement the first time was that I was nervous that someone would hear the gunshot."

"Now *that* is a problem I can solve," Castle told them with a smile. He held up his right hand to show a newly created silencer. Esposito ran inside the house, got his own weapon, then took the silencer out of Castle's hand and attached it to his weapon. Castle turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "You're sure about this, Kate?"

Beckett nodded. As she watched her boyfriend back away, Beckett started to look around her and lightly run her nails up and down her arms. "Kate?" asked Alexis, "Is everything okay?"

"There's this low hum in the background of everything I'm hearing. And my skin, it's just started to...itch."

Castle seemed to be connecting dots in his mind. "How long?"

"Less than a minute, maybe? It just happened."

Castle smiled as the pieces fit together. "I think you're feeling the shield. I think of it as right on the skin to free up as much ability to move around as possible. And I just started projecting it."

"Then I guess we're ready, then."

Esposito shifted his weapon into position, took aim at Beckett's leg, and fired.

*PING*

The bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the shield, leaving a trail of dirt behind as it buried itself deep into the ground. Beckett glowed with joy and satisfaction, looking like a three-ton weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.

Castle was also smiling...mostly out of relief. He turned to Ryan and Esposito. "Okay, which one of you boys wants to get shot at, and which one wants to do the shooting?"

Would love to get some comments, especially if you are new to the "Four Winds" series. :-) One more chapter of Hamptons testing and then I unleash them on an unsuspecting New York public...hehehe...