Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

"Alexis? Mother?"

Rick dropped his keys and jacket on the edge of the sofa and paced to the bottom of the stairs.

"Alexis! Mother!"

His impatience flooded his tone and therefore raised an immediate alarm with his daughter who came hurtling down the staircase towards him, his mother not more than two steps behind.

"Dad? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Rick stood still, hating the concern on his daughter's face, but far too tense to do anything other than grab her hand and lead her to the sofa.

"Honey, I need to talk to you – to both of you actually," He let his gaze skim to his mother as she too took a seat. He could see the worry there, for once, not so carefully masked, but his priority was Alexis.

"Dad, you're scaring me, what's wrong?"

Rick sat on the coffee table, returning the tight grip the teenager had on his hands. Now that the moment was here, he wasn't sure how to begin. All the carefully rehearsed words and persuasive smiles he'd fashioned on the way back from the precinct were lost to him as he sat before his little girl.

"Richard, darling, now you're beginning to worry me, so just spit out whatever it is that's stuck in your throat before I give in to the overwhelming compulsion to go and find the really good scotch…"

He took another deep breath, closed his eyes and composed himself before finally, finally, working the words past his lips.

"I did something today," he began, and then off Alexis' look, "…nothing illegal, I promise," he assured. "But it is something that I really need to talk to you about…"

"So if it's not illegal, and I'm not down at the station bailing you out, it can't be that bad."

Rick allowed himself a smile, knowing Alexis' natural defence mechanism was as strong as his own. He'd taught her well - when in doubt, crack a joke…

"Richard!"

The prompt from his mother brought him back to the issue at hand.

"Okay, so you know the case we've been working on - the store-owner who was shot a couple of days ago?" Seeing both women nod, he continued. "Well, we broke the case this morning. Turns out he was paying 'protection' money to a majorly badass drug dealer who had a side business in forcible extortion. When the shop owner eventually said no, the guy didn't ask questions and 'no' ended up being the last words he ever said." Rick paused, needing just a second before he got to the main point of his story.

"Anyway, we – and by we I mean Detectives Beckett, Ryan and Esposito – took him out this morning. Let's just say he resisted arrest, vehemently." Rick felt Alexis' fingers tighten even more around his. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I was safely tucked away from the shooting… I'm too afraid of Beckett kicking my ass remember?" He tried to smile to lend credence to the lie, but it was a weak attempt at best. "So after the action, I went in to help…"

"You mean 'snoop', don't you, darling?"

"No, mother, I said 'help' because I meant help. But that's besides the point…"

"Well, kiddo, can you get to the point? Some of us aren't getting any younger here…"

Rick shot her a look which did – as usual – nothing at all to temper her.

"As I was saying… when I went in to help, I sort of found something. Something that's kind of… a lot… important now. And I need both of your help with it."

He flicked a glance to his mother before he let his eyes settle onto his daughters, showing her how serious he was, how big of a deal this was. And she got it, he could tell. He was grateful when she came to sit closer beside Alexis.

"There was a baby. Only a few weeks old… just stuffed in a cupboard like some old rag doll…. drugged too, so that she wouldn't make noise. And she was so small and so alone…" Rick swallowed the lump in his throat at the matching horrified expressions before him. "They'd used her as collateral. She was payment security, like some twisted check guarantee card."

Alexis' hand shot to her mouth, her eyes articulating her revulsion.

His mother on the other hand was eyeing him speculatively. Rick realised she already understood what he was about to say and the gentle nod she sent in his direction was enough unspoken support to carry on.

"Alexis, honey, she has no one in the world. Her mother is dead – an overdose – and the state can't find any other relative. They want to take her into the care system…"

"Dad…"

"I don't want her to have to live that life, sweetheart. Not when I – we – can do something about it. But I need you to be okay with this. I want her to be ours, so badly, but I can only do it if you are completely, one hundred percent okay with it."

Rick watched as his mother wrapped her arm around Alexis.

"Dad, I can't… this can't be my decision…."

"I know, honey, and I'm sorry for laying this on you with so little warning. But you are the single most important thing in my life. I don't want to give the baby up, sweetie, but this isn't just my decision. You have to be good with this too."

"What happens if I say no, Dad?"

Rick barely managed to keep his voice even, his eyes never leaving his daughter. "Then, I'd do everything within my power to make sure she's given, as soon as possible, to the kind of family that would love her forever and always.'

Alexis nodded her understanding and Rick tightened his fingers around hers. That was his second place scenario, but he'd had to have an alternative, just in case. As much as he wanted that little girl in their family, it could never be just his decision and Alexis's reaction and choice was without doubt his deal-breaker.

The silence hung for several long moments until his mother, bless her, ended the stalemate.

"Richard, why don't you go and get us some drinks. Give us a minute to collect ourselves."

Rick swallowed again, knowing she was right. Totally aware of just how huge a burden he'd, perhaps unfairly, placed on the slender shoulders in front of him. But he knew of no other way. He was always honest with Alexis and this was something she had to be totally behind him on. He dropped a kiss to her forehead, still marred by the furrow she got when she was working something through, and stood to give them some thinking space.

It was a lot to get your head around. He recognised that. Just because he had felt that instant connection with the little life as soon as he'd picked her up, didn't mean that he had a right to expect that same implicit devotion from Alexis. Especially considering that he was essentially asking her to be a big sister, sight unseen, no preparation, no warning.

Yeah, he needed to give her some time.

He let his hand squeeze his mother's shoulder as he took a step away from them towards the kitchen. He hadn't gone more than three steps when Alexis stopped him.

He turned around and looked at his little girl, mature beyond her years, wise throughout her soul and he knew she had made her decision.

"Ah, Mr Castle, I'm Marcus, we were expecting you."

Rick strode down the last remaining yards of the sterile corridor and offered his hand to the man waiting for him.

"If you'll just give us a few moments…?"

"Sure. No, problem…"

Rick took a deep breath, the kind that filled your lungs and made you feel invincible. He needed that right now, probably more than ever.

A few minutes later, Marcus reappeared and Rick knew the moment of real truth was at hand.

Carefully, Rick took the little girl and as he felt the warm weight of the baby settle into the crook of his elbow, his eyes glistened. He turned so that the man wouldn't see his vulnerability and then, refocusing, he smiled.

"Alexis, this is Sophie…"

Rick gently and carefully placed the sleeping bundle into his daughter's waiting arms, subtly correcting her arm position so that she held the baby securely. With that done, he stepped quietly behind Alexis and rested his hands on the teenage shoulders, feeling her body register the sensation and watching her face light up with all the love that she was capable of.

"Sophie," he whispered, letting his finger trail down the button nose once more. "This is Alexis; she's your big sister."

Alexis looked up from the baby and smiled brightly, lighting up his entire soul. He dropped a kiss onto the bright red crown as he heard her giggle down at the baby.

Acceptance and adoration, protection and love.

His family.

TBC…

AN: Firstly, thank you for all the lovely reviews I've had! You guys are wonderful! And Secondly, although this is being posted as an 'in progress' story, I've written up to chapter 9 already, so I promise you that this will be finished, so no need to worry.