She knocked twice and then entered Castle's bedroom with a glass of water and a bottle of Advil, aware that he couldn't call to tell her to come in. He was sitting up but he was in bed, which was a very weird way for her to see him. She didn't dislike it exactly, but it didn't feel natural. And she did dislike the way he looked right now: small, pale, and disheveled, surrounded by blankets and pillows. "I brought you some Advil," she said, waving the bottle and handing him the water glass. "It worked for me yesterday."

"I thought you were sending Alexis?" he whispered.

"I was going to, but she said she had a lot of studying to do, so I told her I'd get it. Is that a problem?"

He shook his head. "Just surprised."

She nodded and handed him the Advil. "Take two." While he did so, she kept talking. "Your mom says she's checking herself into the Plaza for a couple nights. She remembered she has an audition tomorrow and she doesn't want to get sick." She felt like Castle should know what was going on in his own house, but she left out the part about Martha thinking Alexis was getting sick, not wanting to worry him since she seemed just fine.

He took the pills and then rolled his eyes. "I thought that was going to happen sooner than it did."

"Well, since she was going to cook, I figured we'd just order in. What do you feel like?"

"Sleeping," he responded.

She smiled. "Oh, that's right, you had soup. I'll just ask Alexis."

"Perfect," he moaned, settling down in bed further.

"'Kay. Night, Castle. Hope you feel better." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

She wasn't sure what to do now. It was still a little early to order food, and Alexis was studying, Castle sleeping, and Martha leaving, so she found herself alone in their apartment. She'd just gone back downstairs, figuring she'd watch TV or something, when she ran into Martha again. "Oh, hey Martha, you're still here," she greeted the older woman.

"Yes, just trying to get everything I need together," Martha answered, pausing in her bustling. "How are they doing?"

"I gave Castle some Advil and he's trying to sleep," she reported. She'd decided that Castle was the least awkward thing to call him even when talking to Martha. "Alexis seemed fine, she just said she had to study."

Martha eyed her, which was a little disconcerting. "She seemed fine, or she said she was fine?"

Kate frowned. She felt like this was a trick question. "She seemed fine," she repeated.

"Okay, kiddo," Martha said, sitting down on the couch and motioning for Kate to do the same. She did. "I'll give you a free pass on this one since you're not a mother, but let me give you some advice. When you're dealing with a sick kid, you can't just trust what they tell you. You've got to look for the signs. Alexis has a test on Monday that she's afraid to miss, so of course she's going to say that she feels fine. But did you see her eyes? They're a little bloodshot, a little glazed-over—a sure sign that she's getting sick."

"I didn't notice that," she admitted quietly.

Martha smiled a little. "I'm sure Richard told you that I can be dramatic, and you assumed I was overreacting. I understand. But when it comes to my son and my granddaughter… I know a little more than he gives me credit for."

Kate felt a familiar little pang. She hadn't thought she'd be able to say this, ever, but Martha had reminded her of something her mother had used to say. Inevitably, Johanna would notice if Kate or her father was getting sick before they would. Every time she was proved right, as she always was, she'd say the same thing. "I can tell when my family is sick. It's a special talent all mothers have." Apparently even Martha, unconventional mother though she might have been, wasn't an exception. Kate could picture her mother, wherever she was now, nodding her head in approval that her daughter was understanding one of the basic principles she'd lived by, and she couldn't help but feel a little proud.

She noticed the way Martha was looking at her, blinked away the tear in her eye, and felt like she needed to explain, just a little bit. "My mom used to say something like that." Her voice had gone out a little bit when her throat constricted, and it was lower than it should've been, the tone a little strained. "That mothers can tell about their families."

Martha nodded knowingly, a small sympathetic smile on her lips. "She was right. Your mom was smart."

"Yeah, she was." She took a deep breath and changed the subject. She didn't know Martha near well enough to discuss this any further. "Do you need to be going?"

"Oh yes, yes I do," Martha remembered, getting up and starting to go back to her packing. "Just don't let Alexis fool you. You'll be surprised, when she's sick she can be more difficult to take care of than Richard ever was."

Kate nodded. "I can handle it."

"I wouldn't be leaving right now if I had any doubt of it." She took a pair of gloves off of the coffee table and put them in her jacket pocket before picking up the small bag she'd left by the stairs. "I'd best be off," she announced, on her way to the door. "I wish you luck, but I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Thanks, Martha. Good luck with your audition."

Martha nodded in gratitude and slipped out, leaving Kate with the same dilemma she'd had before she'd run into her. What should she do?

After her conversation with Martha she had no doubt that Alexis was getting sick and she felt terribly all over again, but as far as she could see there wasn't anything she could do about it. Studying wasn't going to hurt the girl, and she saw no reason to try and stop her if she was feeling well enough to do it, especially because if Alexis followed the same pattern she had, she'd be fine to go to school by Monday. And although she was getting sick, she clearly wasn't really there yet. She was still glad she hadn't told Castle. He did need his rest, and that would be less likely to happen if he was worrying about his daughter.

She turned on the TV and started flipping through the channels, noticing how many he got that she didn't. She didn't often have time to watch TV, so she didn't feel the need to pay for an expensive cable package, although she would've liked to have some of the movie channels he got. She smiled and stopped surfing when she found the eighties movie Say Anything, which had been one of her favorites as a teenager. She hadn't seen it in years, and she was a little surprised when she realized she could still quote whole scenes.

She was still watching it, relaxed on Castle's couch, when Alexis came down the stairs. "Oh, Detective Beckett, you're still here," she said when she saw her.

She smiled and looked up at her. She looked healthy enough, but then she remembered what Martha had said and looked at her eyes. Unsurprisingly, she was right. They looked a little irritated, a little glassy. "Yeah, your grandma asked me to stay with you guys for the evening. Didn't I tell you that?"

"I don't think so, but I was a little distracted before. Sorry."

"Oh, that's okay," Kate told her, standing up and turning to her so that they could actually talk. She didn't say anything about Alexis getting sick, not feeling like it was necessary, and not wanting to upset her. "You hungry? I thought maybe we'd order in since your grandma obviously isn't cooking anymore."

"Yeah, that's why I came down. I was just going to see if we had anything leftover in the fridge, but ordering in sounds better."

"Great. What do you like?"

"Uh, I don't care. I'm not that picky. Chinese is good."

Beckett smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. I know a great place. Just let me call them."

"Great." Alexis gestured to the TV. "What are you watching?"

She laughed. "It's a movie from the eighties. It's called Say Anything. Have you seen it?"

She looked at the TV. "I don't think."

"I guess it was before your time. You should watch it sometime, though. It was one of my favorites when I was your age."

Alexis smiled. "Why don't we watch it now? While we wait for the food?"

"It's almost halfway over. You missed a lot of it."

"Were you watching it from the beginning?"

"Pretty much."

"Then we can rewind it. We have a DVR."

Kate grinned. "Why don't you do that while I order the food?"

"Sounds good."

"Any requests?"

"Anything's fine."

"Okay." She went into the kitchen and used her cell phone to order, and then went back to the living room and found Alexis on the couch with the TV freeze-framed part way through the opening credits. She hit the play button when Kate sat down beside her. "Nice," she said, nodding at the remote. "I could get used to that."

"Then you should get one of these," Alexis suggested. "It's nice. I hardly ever watch anything at the time it's really on anymore."

She shrugged. "I don't get a lot of time to watch TV when I'm at home, and I can't justify spending the money on it. What I need next is a new apartment. I'm still in a little temporary one since the bombing."

Alexis shuddered. "That must've been so hard, for your home to be destroyed like that. I can't imagine."

"It was. But I got through it. Just an occupational hazard, I guess."

Alexis looked at her. "How many detectives get their apartments blown up?"

Kate chuckled humorlessly. "Maybe I'm just lucky."

Alexis raised her eyebrows and focused on the movie.

"I thought you had to study," Kate asked her after a few minutes.

"I needed a break. Studying was kind of wiping me out."

Kate tried to keep from looking worried, and apparently succeeded well enough, because Alexis didn't say anything about it. "Then it's good you're taking a break," she said. "Sometimes that helps. You can go back to your studying after the movie's over. It'll still be there." She recognized the irony of the situation. She was lecturing someone on the importance of taking a break? How many times could she honestly say she'd taken her own advice during a case, no matter how tired she was? Pretty much never.

But Alexis nodded, apparently buying it anyway. "Dad's usually good for distracting me, but he's asleep."

"Is he? Did you check on him?"

Alexis nodded. "He's asleep," she confirmed.

"That's good. Hopefully he feels better when he gets up."

"Yeah, hopefully. I hate when he's sick."

"I can relate," Kate murmured, unsure of whether or not she wanted his daughter to hear her comment. "What subject were you studying for?"

"American History."

She nodded. "I might still remember a little of that. Maybe I can help you study later. If you want."

"How long are you going to be here?"

Kate looked at her dad's watch. It was still early, not even seven yet, but she knew the time would go fast and she wasn't anxious to leave the two sick Castles, one of whom didn't even realize it yet. "I don't know," she replied. "As long as you need me to be."

"We don't need you to be here at all," Alexis insisted.

"Thanks."

Alexis blushed. "No, that's not what I meant. I love that you're here, and I know my dad loves it too."

Now it was Kate's turn to blush.

"I just mean that," Alexis continued, ignoring Kate's apparent embarrassment, "if you want to go home, you should. Don't stay here on my dad's account, I can take care of him."

"I know you can, but you said you had to study, and I don't mind. Besides, if I'd gone home, you'd be eating leftovers by yourself for dinner, and that's not fun. Trust me, I know."

"This is definitely better," she agreed. "I'd like that, by the way."

"What?"

"If you helped me study. I'd like that. I made flashcards, so you really wouldn't even have to remember anything."

"Oh yeah, good. After the movie."

Alexis smiled. "Yeah, after the movie."

I'm not the world's biggest fan of this chapter. I feel like it was mostly just a lot of filler, and I had a really hard time getting Martha's voice right. But I also realize that no matter how many more times I read it, it's not going to change much. So here it is. Hope you like it, even if I really don't. Thank you all for your reviews, I love them so much. I reply to some, but unfortunately I don't have time to reply to all of them right now. That doesn't mean I love you any less! :)