I'm sorry this has taken me so long. Between Christmas preparations and some personal issues I've been dealing with, I haven't had as much time to write as I would've liked. But I was DETERMINED to get this chapter up tonight, and coming off of the high of finally getting all my Christmas shopping done (yes, I'm a last-minute kind of person...) it looks like it's actually happening. Also, even though this particular chapter was a bit of a long time coming, it's on the long side and for the most part I actually really like it. So here's hoping you feel the same way!

Alexis was still sound asleep on the couch when they returned to the living room. "Should we move her?" Castle whispered. "I don't want to wake her up."

"If we don't, she might sleep here all night," Kate reminded him. "I did on my couch, remember?"

He nodded. "I can lift her if you open doors."

She nodded and watched carefully as he scooped his daughter into his arms. The apparently exhausted girl barely stirred. Kate ran ahead to beat them to the stairs, but then went up slowly, halfway turned-around, making sure that Rick could make it up okay while carrying his sleeping teenage daughter. When everyone was up the stairs without incident, Kate held open the door to Alexis's room and pulled back the blankets so that Rick could lay her down. Together they covered the girl, who was, miraculously, still asleep.

The two adults slipped back out of the bedroom, Castle last, taking care to shut the door silently behind him. When they were both in the hallway she looked up at him—actually up, which was unusual because in heels they were about the same height, but since she'd taken off her shoes and left them downstairs, he was significantly taller than her. This shouldn't have surprised her, but it did, just a little. But when she saw his eyes, all thoughts about his height seemed to melt away. He looked so defeated. Exhausted and defeated.

"She'll be fine, you know," she told him gently.

"I'm a father," he said, his expression unchanging. "It's my job to worry."

"Some people would tell you that's more a mother's job." She pushed back the wave of pain that threatened to roll over her as she remembered how her mother used to say that. Now was not the time.

He shrugged. Thankfully his thoughts were too wrapped up in his daughter for him to notice her struggling. "I'm really all she's got, so sometimes I have to be both parents."

"Oh, you are not." She shouldn't have snapped, and she regretted it as soon as it was out of her mouth, not for what she'd said exactly, but the way she'd said it. His comment had just come at a bad time. He'd said something that got her thinking about her mom, which he had no way of knowing, and then he'd implied that his daughter was motherless, which was untrue. She'd met Alexis's mom. And while, no, she wasn't exactly maternal, she was alive. But now that she'd started, she couldn't seem to be able to stop herself. "That girl has so many people who care about her that it's ridiculous." She ticked them off on her fingers as she listed. "You, Martha, Gina, her mother, m—" she cut herself short, realizing what she was about to say. She wasn't sure if it was okay to admit or not, so she simply stopped mid-thought, floundering in a fruitless attempt to recover herself.

It didn't matter anyway, because Castle could tell what she'd been about to say. His expression, which as she'd ranted had gone from defeat, to hurt, to anger, now seemed to settle on something that, under normal circumstances, would have been amusement. "You?" he asked. But he wasn't merely mocking her. It would've been easier for her to know how to respond if he was. He was amused by her slip, but it was more than that. He seemed pleased.

She shrugged, feeling her face heat up. "Yeah."

"You care about my daughter." It wasn't a question, since she'd already admitted it. He was simply restating what she'd just said.

"Of course I care about her, Castle. Why do you think I'm still here? I care about both of you." She was digging herself a deeper and deeper hole and she knew it, but what could she do about that now? Everything she was saying was true. Uncomfortably so.

"Both of us," he repeated. God, he was slow tonight. Her patience was waning.

"Yes! Both of you! God Castle, how many times are you gonna make me say it?"

This time, he didn't respond. At least, not verbally. Instead, he moved toward her, slowly at first, but picking up speed when she didn't back away. The next thing she knew, his lips were on hers, and, God help her, she didn't hate it. She didn't hate it at all.

It wasn't anything like she would've expected, if she had expected anything at all. It didn't last long. It wasn't dramatic or even particularly passionate. Kate Beckett had kissed many a man in her lifetime, but this… this was different. It was soft. Sweet. Warm. Warmer, maybe, than it should've been, but now didn't seem like the time to tell him that he probably still had a fever. Not to mention that she was still blushing a little, so her barometer for temperature probably wasn't entirely accurate anyway.

After the kiss, his eyes lingered on her face, boring into hers like they did when he was trying to read her, to figure out what she was thinking or feeling. It was easy for her to give nothing away, because she couldn't even seem to figure out for herself what she felt. She really didn't try, because if she didn't know, then he couldn't know, and she didn't know what she wanted him to know. She needed time to think, and that clearly wouldn't be afforded her while she was in his home, particularly with him staring at her.

After a long moment, he released a short but audible sigh. "Let me see if I can find you something to wear," he murmured, gesturing back toward his daughter's room. He indicated another door. "Your room's in there. Meet you there in a sec."

She ducked into the room and sat down on the bed, trying, but failing, to process what had happened. She couldn't get her mind around it. It was Castle, after all. The man who'd been following her around, irritating her for over two years. But if she was honest with herself, which she often wasn't, how much did he really irritate her? Sure, he complicated her life. That much wasn't up for debate. He absolutely did. But, truly, did she mind? He made her life, and her job, which were often synonymous, more complex, but he also made them more interesting. More fun. Granted, she hadn't decided to become a cop because she'd thought it would be fun. But if she'd learned anything from Castle over the last couple of years, it was that it was okay to have fun doing things that wouldn't have classically been categorized that way. It was possible to enjoy her job and still take it seriously. The fact that she could unwind a little while she was working might even have made her a better cop. At the very least, it didn't make her any worse.

She still hadn't decided anything when she saw the bedroom door open, but made the determination that it was okay. Nothing had to be decided tonight. She was simply here to help take care of a sick friend and his daughter, same as he'd done for her the night before. Maybe, in truth, there was nothing simple about the situation, but she was comfortable pretending it was.

"She still sleeping?" she asked as he set some clothes on the bed.

He nodded, and then pointed at the small pile of clothing. "She's shorter than you, but those pants have always been long on her, so they should work."

"Thanks, Castle."

He shook his head. "I should be thanking you. You know, you don't have to stay."

"I want to. For Alexis." It wasn't entirely true. Her decision to stay was more for the father than the daughter, but she couldn't fully admit that to herself, much less to him.

He shrugged. "Okay. Then I'm done arguing. Goodnight, Detective Beckett."

She smiled. "Night, Rick."

She got up to use the bathroom and, on a whim, decided to check on Alexis before going back to bed. Slowly, silently, so she wouldn't wake the girl, she turned the knob and poked open the door.

"Dad?" a small voice asked. Apparently she shouldn't have worried about waking Alexis up.

"It's not your dad, hon, it's Kate." She was unable to stop herself from making a face, and was thankful for the darkness and that Alexis couldn't have seen it. Had she really just said "hon"? Since when was she that kind of person?

"Oh."

She closed the door behind her and let her eyes adjust to the darkness before carefully making her way over toward Alexis's bed and gingerly perching on the edge. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"You sure? You're feeling alright?"

"I said I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes, again grateful for the darkness. Apparently Rick and Martha hadn't been exaggerating about sick Alexis being difficult to handle. "Why are you awake, then?" she asked, kindly, but with some force. "It's really late."

"Why are you?"

"I got up to use the bathroom and just figured I'd check on you."

"I don't need checked on."

Beckett sighed. "Alexis, don't forget I had the same thing you do yesterday—well, two days ago now, I guess. It's my fault you're sick in the first place, and I'm sorry, and I know it sucks. But there's no point in suffering. If there's something I can get for you, let me do it. Please."

Alexis sighed heavily before speaking, her voice smaller than before, almost timid. "I can't sleep."

Kate nodded, feeling a pang of sympathy. "I figured. Does your head hurt?"

"And my throat."

She paused for a second, thinking. "Do you like tea?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Give me five minutes. Oh, what about the teddy bear? Do you want it?" Kate had become a really big fan of the teddy bear. It was the closest thing to a cure-all she'd ever come across.

Alexis actually smiled. It was a weak smile, but it still counted. "Sure." She handed the bear to Kate. "Thanks."

"Five minutes," she repeated, and slipped out of the room again.

She reentered Alexis's room with two cups of tea in her hands and a warm teddy bear tucked under her arm. Moments like this one, she almost wished she'd been a waitress as a teenager. But even without that practice, she managed to carry both cups into Alexis's room and set them on the nightstand without spilling. She handed Alexis the bear, and then asked, "Raspberry or peach?"

"Raspberry."

She nodded and handed Alexis one of the cups. "Good deal, I love the peach."

Alexis took a sip and then smiled. "I love the raspberry."

"Then I guess I chose well. I'm gonna get you some Advil. Can you take it with tea or do you need water?"

"Water. Just get it from the bathroom though, there are some little cups in there."

"Be right back." She got the Advil bottle from the box in the closet and filled a Dixie cup with water in the bathroom. It occurred to her how oddly comfortable she was becoming in the Castles' home, though she'd only been there a few hours. She realized she felt a little more comfortable than she should have when she tripped over a dresser on the way back into Alexis's room. "Ow."

Alexis made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a giggle and turned on the little lamp beside her bed. "Thanks," Kate muttered, sitting back down on the edge of the girl's bed. She set the water and the pill bottle on the nightstand. "Let me know when you're ready for these."

"Now." Alexis set her tea down and picked up the water cup.

"Okay." Kate poured two pills into her hand and gave them to Alexis. "These'll help, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Kate couldn't help but laugh. One, she was amused and a little refreshed by how grumpy the normally sweet teenager was being. She'd always known that Castle's daughter wasn't quite as perfect as he seemed to think she was, but she hadn't often seen evidence of the girl's imperfections. Two, she knew exactly how Alexis was feeling. "I think I told your dad the exact same thing last night."

Alexis nodded. "It does suck."

Kate picked up her tea and took a sip, nodding her agreement. "I'm sorry."

"Stop. Seriously. I'm not mad at you. Or Dad. It's no one's fault. But I might get mad at you if you keep apologizing."

"I can't help feeling a little bit responsible since I was the one who was sick in the first place."

"And was that your fault? No. A point I believe I already made. It's fine." Alexis paused a beat but spoke again before Kate could. "What's up with you and my dad?"

"Nothing," she said, too quickly.

Alexis smirked. "You indirectly got me sick, the least you can do is be honest with me now."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "Oh, you are your father's daughter."

"Certain family traits have been passed along. Are you going to tell me or not?"

"There's really nothing to tell." But she felt her face heat up, betraying her.

"You're really not a good liar, Detective."

It wasn't true. Under the correct circumstances, she was an excellent liar. However, these circumstances clearly weren't right, and Alexis was proving really difficult to lie to. "We kissed."

Alexis's face brightened considerably, and it was almost worth her embarrassment seeing the girl so happy. "I knew it! I knew something was going on between you two! What now? Is he going to break up with Gina? Wait, aren't you seeing someone?"

She frowned. "How did you know that?"

"My dad."

"Your dad talks to you about me? How much?"

"More than you'd think. So…?"

"We broke up."

"Oh, good," Alexis began, but then backed off, seeing Kate's face. "I mean, no. Not good. I'm sorry. But… good, too. Don't get me wrong, Gina's nice and everything, but I need to look out for my dad's best interests, and I think you're more what he needs."

"I just don't know if he's what I need," Kate sighed, a little too candidly. This was his daughter she was talking to, after all.

But Alexis didn't seem offended. "Fair enough," she said instead. "But promise me you'll think about it, okay? He really does care about you. It's different… from anything else I've ever seen. And… I like you," she added shyly. "I wouldn't mind having you around more often."

"You know, you can call me any time. It doesn't have to involve your dad."

"I know. But it would be nice if it did." She finished her tea and set the empty cup down. "Just promise me you'll think about it."

Beckett nodded slowly. "If you promise me you'll get some sleep."

In answer, Alexis slid down further beneath her blankets. "Done."

"Okay. Feel better."

"Thanks, Kate. Night."

"Night."

If you celebrate Christmas, have a great one! If not, the same goes for whatever holidays you do celebrate. I happen to celebrate Christmas, and I'll take my (slightly early, as the case may be) gifts in the form of reviews, thanks. :)

As always, thanks so much for reading!