(Kate)
She's not entirely sure how this happened.
She'd woken up in the middle of the night and come out to the kitchen for a glass of water, only to find Alexis up as well, staring down at the street.
"I can't sleep," she'd explained. "I keep thinking they're going to come back for me."
Kate had pulled her away from the window, settled her on the couch, and picked one of their numerous Disney movies to put on. Then she'd sat down on the couch and let Alexis curl into her side.
And now here she is, forty minutes later, quietly crying over an old man and a flying house. Alexis is fast asleep, dead weight against her, and she should move. She should let the girl stretch out on the couch and go back to bed. But she's invested now. She needs to know how the story ends.
The floorboards creak behind her, and she looks up to see Castle standing there, a little bemused and a lot sleepy.
"What're you doing up?" he murmurs, rubbing at his eyes.
"Alexis couldn't sleep," she explains, tries to hide a sniffle. "So we decided to watch a movie."
He comes around to sit next to her, and she leans into his warmth immediately. "Oh, this is a good one," he says softly. "I love the dog."
She nods. "Me too," she says. "He kind of reminds me of you."
He's quiet for a moment. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."
They finish the movie in companionable silence, broken only when he stretches as the credits roll.
"Are you up for another movie?" he asks, smirking. "Maybe one that doesn't make you cry?"
She attempts a glare, it's effectiveness dampened by the undeniable evidence of her tears.
He ignores her, holds up Beauty and the Beast. "Feel like going old school?"
She drops the glare, grinning. Beauty and the Beast was her favorite movie as a kid. Not that Castle needs to know that...yet. "Yeah okay," she agrees, feigning nonchalance.
"Alexis loved this movie when she was little," he explains as he sets it up. "Still does, actually. I know every song by heart," he adds proudly.
"Does this mean I'm about to witness a sing-along?" she teases.
Castle grins. "Only if you sing with me, Beckett."
She hums. "We'll see."
(She totally throws him under the bus when they accidentally wake Alexis during Be Our Guest. He doesn't seem to care.)