Yes, I am aware of the unapologetic fluffiness of this chapter. I am also aware of the disturbingly long amount of time it took me to write it. Sorry about that. This chapter just did not want to be written. But I decided I really shouldn't let my own stories boss me around and wrote it anyway. If nothing else... y'know. Filler is necessary. But hopefully there are some elements here that you actually like. :) The good news is that when I finally convinced this chapter that it had to happen, it decided it wanted to be a lot longer than I thought it should be... so for one, it's a longish chapter, and for another, I finally had to cut it off before I got to the end of what I'd written so it didn't go on forever and ever, which means that I have a pretty decent-sized chunk of the next chapter written already... which should mean that you won't have to wait nearly as long for chapter 14. Let's hope, anyway. For now... enjoy!

"Now see, this is much better," Castle announced as he reentered the room and handed a fresh mug of tea to Alexis. His daughter was sitting at the top of her bed, legs covered by her comforter, and Kate was perched on the edge of the mattress, leafing through Alexis's history book. "The sick girl is resting, and the detective and part-time nurse is… studying history?" He raised his eyebrows as the other two rolled their eyes. "Well, the first part of the equation makes sense."

"Detective Beckett's going to help me study," Alexis whispered before sipping her tea. When she did, she made a face and looked as if she might spit it back out. But she swallowed, and then glared at her father. "Dad, what flavor is this?"

"Black cherry," he responded, shrugging. "We were out of raspberry, and this seemed close. Don't you like it?"

"No." She set the cup down. "Not close."

"Well, can I get you something else?" Castle asked, looking a little frustrated.

She shrugged, and then sighed. "I'm sorry. You're both being so sweet and I'm being impossible."

It was Beckett who waved her off. "Ah, it's okay. You don't feel well, you're entitled to be a little impossible."

Alexis gave her an embarrassed smile, but then seemed to zero in on the textbook on her lap. "There should be some flashcards on my desk."

"Sweetie, I think Detective Beckett wants to go home now," Castle told his daughter. "Don't you think we've held her captive here for long enough?"

"Oh." Alexis was unable to fully mask her disappointment, although she was obviously trying. She turned to Kate. "Do you want to go? You should've told me that."

She considered for a second. "I'll tell you what," she finally said, "I promised you that I'd help you study, and I'm gonna keep that promise, but I do want to go home and do a couple of things first." Like shower and change. "Can I come back in an hour or so?"

"You're welcome here anytime," Castle told her soberly. "Take as much time as you need."

Alexis nodded her agreement, smiling.

"Good. Then I'll see you in a little while." She went back across the hall to the guest room, followed closely by Castle.

"You know, don't take this the wrong way, I'm thrilled that you're coming back, but you don't need to," he told her. "I mean, I'm sure you're sick of us by now, and you probably want some alone time before you have to go back to work tomorrow. Don't you?"

She smiled. He knew her well, and yes, normally she would. But she answered him honestly. "Not really. This is… nothing like work. Besides everyone being sick, this weekend has actually been fun. And like I said, I promised Alexis I'd help her study, and I keep my promises."

He nodded. "I thank you for that."

"Unless you're sick of me."

He raised his eyebrows. "Come on. I've been following you around for two years. If I'm not sick of you yet, I don't think it's ever going to happen."

This pleased her more than she knew it should've, and she smiled. "Good. Oh, and I also promised Alexis I'd talk to you about something."

"Shoot."

"I don't see any reason why you shouldn't let her study."

His face stiffened. Whatever he'd been expecting, this wasn't it. "She needs to relax."

"I agree, but I don't understand why she can't do both."

"Then you don't know her very well."

"No, you're right, I don't. But I'm getting to know her better, and balancing work with other stuff is actually something I know a little bit about."

He actually laughed. "You're going to teach Alexis about balance? You are the biggest workaholic I know."

"Well, that just speaks to the kinds of people you know."

"Need I remind you about Friday? You were miserable, and not even doing anything important, and I still couldn't get you to go home early."

"So?"

"So, if that's your idea of balance, you can keep it to yourself."

"This is different. It's not me, it's Alexis. Trust me, by tomorrow she'll be relaxed, feeling better, and ready for her test."

"Because I've seen how relaxed you are when you're working on a case."

"Castle. Solving murders and studying for a history test aren't exactly the same. Can't you just trust me?"

"I do trust you. It's just…" Whatever he'd been about to say, he seemed to change his mind. "No. I trust you. That's all."

"Good." She gathered her things and made her way downstairs, still followed by Castle. She turned toward him, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Walking you to the door. It's polite."

"You're following me. It's creepy."

"Sorry for trying to be a gentleman."

She smirked. "Yeah, you shouldn't try to be someone you're not. But since you're here, I was going to pick up some more of that raspberry tea for Alexis. Is there anything else you want me to get?"

"No, and you don't have to do that."

"She likes it, and I'm gonna get it." Her growing fondness for the family was actually starting to overshadow her guilt for getting them sick, although the guilt probably still played a part in her over-willingness to do almost literally anything for them.

"At least let me pay for it."

She rolled her eyes. "How much is tea? I've got this, don't worry about it."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. And just give me a call if you think of anything else you want."

"Sure."

"I'm serious."

"Okay, I will." He gave her an odd little fond smile, different from the way he usually looked at her. She half-returned it, a little confused, and shook her head once she was out of his apartment, on the way to her car. What had just happened?

"Oh good, you're back," he greeted her at the door when she returned, now wearing jeans and a cute but casual v-neck sweater. "Alexis is upstairs."

"I know where Alexis is, I was just here like an hour ago."

"Well, she could've moved."

"And if she had, then it would've made sense for you to tell me where she was."

"She didn't."

"Yeah, I got that."

"You're really going to help her study?"

"Yeah, I really am."

"What do you know about American history?"

"I'm sure I remember some of it, and she said she made flashcards, so I won't really have to know very much."

"Tell me again why you're doing this?"

She shrugged. "Because I said I would, mostly. Alexis is a sweet girl. She was worried about it, so I asked her if she wanted me to help her, and she said she'd like that, so I'm going to." This was all true. And then there was the added bonus that by spending time with Alexis, she might be able to get a little more insight into what Castle had been doing in his study earlier. But he didn't need to know that part.

"You've been so good to her lately."

She started toward the kitchen, blushing a little. She didn't know how she was supposed to respond to that, and couldn't really see much point in trying.

Apparently he guessed her purpose from the direction she was moving. "Oh, did you get that tea?"

She nodded, taking the box out of her purse and showing it to him. "It's the same kind from that variety pack you had, but it's just the raspberry. So she should like it."

"She will love it. Why don't you go ahead up. I'll make it and bring it up when it's done. Do you want anything?"

She handed him the box. "Oh no, I'm fine. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Well, you are my guest," he said, his trademark boyish grin covering his face. "It's only polite."

"Oh, it's the attempted gentleman again," she teased, smirking. "What did I tell you about that?"

"Attempted gentleman? Beckett, you have been in law enforcement for far too long."

She raised her eyebrows at him before going upstairs. The second floor of his loft, which only a day ago had been uncharted territory for her, was beginning to feel familiar. She walked the length of the hallway to Alexis's room without even having to pause to think about which door it was. She knocked and then opened the door, finding Alexis sitting on her bed, much the way she'd left her, a textbook in her lap. "Hey," she greeted the girl simply.

"Oh, hey Det—" she stopped, catching herself, "Kate. You came back."

"Yeah, of course I did. I said I would, didn't I? I'm a woman of my word."

Alexis smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did." She patted the place on her bed where Kate had taken to sitting. "Sit down."

She did. "You sound a little better."

Alexis gestured to the mug on the nightstand beside her. "It's the tea. It helps for a little while, but as soon as I stop drinking it…"

Beckett nodded. "Yeah. Got it. I still think you're getting better, though. Better than you were, anyway."

She nodded, taking another sip of her tea. "It's peach, by the way," she said, a small smile crossing her lips. "I remember you said it was good, so I figured I'd try it. And you're right, it is good. But the raspberry's still my favorite."

Kate grinned. "Well, I'm glad you found another flavor you like. And I brought you some more of the raspberry, actually. Your dad's making you a cup now. He'll bring it up when it's done."

"Aw, Kate, you didn't have to do that."

She rolled her eyes. "This seems to be a common theme lately. I know I didn't. I wanted to." She started digging through the fairly large purse she'd brought with her. "I brought you something else, too." The purse choice had been intentional, because she knew that if she came in with a bag that obviously had more than just tea in it Castle would've been weird about it, and probably would've tried to pay her back again. She'd rather this just be between her and Alexis. She found the flat rectangular box she'd been looking for and handed it to the girl.

Alexis beamed, reading the DVD case. "Say Anything. Thanks, that's so sweet."

She shrugged. "You fell asleep before you got to see the end, and I thought you might want to. If you didn't like it you don't have to watch it, but it was one of my favorites when I was about your age, so I thought maybe."

"I will definitely watch it. I'm sorry I fell asleep, but I promise it wasn't because I didn't like the movie. It was good."

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. And now you can watch the rest of it whenever you have time."

"I'm looking forward to it."

She smiled. She hadn't been sure about giving Alexis the DVD, not wanting to force her tastes on someone who hadn't even been born yet when the movie was made and really wasn't interested, but she'd ultimately decided that Alexis didn't seem like she was that kind of teenager, and was glad that her judgment seemed to be correct. "Good." She saw Alexis starting to refocus on her textbook, and remembered her ulterior motive. "Hey, before we really get into studying here, can I talk to you about something?"

Yeah, I know. I would end it there. And guess what? I did. It's really just a little bit of a cliffhanger. I mean, Beckett even told you what she wants to talk to Alexis about. So it's not that bad. It's a little cliff. Even if you jumped off, you'd probably be able to land on your feet. Like a cat. But don't jump off. Just give me a couple of days and I'll let you down. Honestly, I will. Er, crap. Bad metaphor. Hopefully I WON'T let you down. But I will at least get you off that lame excuse for a cliff.