A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little bit short, but I wanted to try writing something from Alexis' perspective before I get back to what's going on at PPTH. I have a bit more research I need to do before I can get round to the next part with House, but I have a few things worked out that I think are going to make sense and I just need to get a few loose ends tied up. So, hope you enjoy this chapter! I intend to get the next one up fairly quickly, work permitting.

Chapter Three – Bad News

It was a phonecall like that Alexis had been dreading. Ever since her father had started tagging along with the NYPD four years ago she'd been terrified of receiving a call like that; of answering her phone to hear, "Alexis, we're sorry, but we have some bad news. Something's happened…" But she hadn't expected it to be like this.

She thought that this was the least likely time it could happen. On a book tour with Gina ought to have been the safest he'd been in months, when he was well away from the psycho killers and armed criminals he so frequently gotten himself caught up with. But somehow he'd still managed to get himself in trouble, even when she least expected it. Maybe that was why it affected her so badly, the sudden shock of answering the phone to hear Gina's voice say, "Alexis, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your dad won't be coming back today after all. He's in hospital."

It was that point she felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under her. She been scared for him before – like when he'd told her and Gram to leave the city without explaining why, and she was terrified she'd never him seen again. Or when he and Gram had been taken hostage in that bank hold up. But the sheer unexpectedness of this was what made it hit her like a tidal wave.

Gina had carried on, saying, "But it's alright, try not to worry. The doctors say he's going to be fine," but it was too late by then. Alexis was already panicking. What had happened? What if the people who'd gone after Beckett had gone after him too?

"Why? What's happened?" she managed to choke out in a strangled voice.

In the other room, her grandmother had heard her panicked tone and come to see what was wrong, listening to Alexis' end of the conversation with an expression that grew increasingly worried. When Alexis had finished they'd lost no time in packing immediately and getting the first train out to Princeton.

They were now just approaching New Brunswick and had about thirty minutes left of their journey to go. It had been early morning when Alexis had received the call from Gina – several more were backing up her missed call log from overnight – and she'd been just about ready to go to school, but that obviously wasn't happening now. She'd brought some homework with her to do on the train, hoping it would serve as a distraction, but it wasn't doing any good. She was agitated; unable to settle. There were too many worried thoughts cycling round her head for her to even vaguely concentrate.

With a sigh of frustration, Alexis flung down her pen and the sheet of differential equations she'd been working on and leant back in her chair, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor and drumming her fingers on the table of the first class coach in front of her. In the seat next to her, her grandmother noticed how wrought up she was and reached out to put an arm comfortingly around Alexis' shoulders. "He's going to be find, kiddo," she said soothingly. "Gina said they're only keeping him in a bit longer as a precaution. He should be alright to come home by tomorrow."

Alexis leant closer to her grandmother and welcomed the hug she was being given, even though she still looked worried. "I know, Gram," she said. "But why does dad always have to get into trouble? Even when it's not his fault he always gets into these situations where we don't know if he's going to be okay or not."

Martha gave Alexis' shoulders a squeeze, trying to reassure her. "That's just your father for you; he attracts trouble like a magnet," she said, still sounding concerned about her son but far less distraught than Alexis was. "But he's always got through it just fine before now. He's probably just viewing this whole thing as one more experience to add to the list and wondering how he can incorporate it into his next book."

Alexis said nothing, but inwardly she was thinking I'm not sure that I want him to anymore. She wished her father would stop viewing everything as research for another novel and would start taking life more seriously. Maybe it would make an interesting plot twist if Jameson Rook was admitted to hospital in the next Nikki Heat book, but the reactions and emotions of fictional characters on the page weren't real. She, Alexis, was real. She had real thoughts and feelings, and having her father admitted to hospital in real life was upsetting for her. In the same way that it was upsetting for her when he wilfully put himself in harm's way following Beckett around. Sometimes she felt that he didn't understand that in the way that he should.

The train sped on south deeper into New Jersey and Alexis and Martha sat silently side by side, anxiously waiting for it to arrive at its destination. Even with all the words of reassurance they'd been given so far, it didn't stop them worrying. Martha in particular was more concerned than she was letting on. She was trying not to let it show for Alexis' sake, but knowing what she did about what Rick had been up to – with the mysterious phonecalls from strangers and delving into Beckett's mother's case – she wondered if perhaps this incident wasn't quite as much down to chance as it first appeared.

A/N: I'm not a native of New Jersey or New York, but Google tells me that a train from Penn Station to Princeton Junction takes about an hour. If anyone has actually made the trip from NYC to Princeton and would care to give me a tip to make it more authentic, please let me know.