Chapter 47 - Family Dinner

Not Mine.

Thanks to my proofer and the reviewers. Enjoy.

Kate stood staring at the loft door, second guessing her decision not to go home and change. Who was she kidding? She didn't care about changing. Kate had wanted to bring an overnight bag and she would have if the vision of Martha, or worse yet Alexis greeting her at the door while clutching it, didn't make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up she would have arrived bag in hand. Instead she was destined to join the trio of Castles for dinner and head home.

She and the boys were still working the cold case that had turned hot and Kate needed to be back at the station before the morning commute to meet up with Espo to head out to Queens to follow up on a lead.

Opening the door before she could knock, Castle paused to inspect her, running his eyes over her body and pursing his lips while extending a hand to her. Easily slipping her hand into his Kate attempted to decipher the look on his face. "We okay?" She asked.

He pulled her closer to reveal, "Wish you had an overnight bag."

A smile spread across her face. "Debated it all day – Do I? Don't I? I didn't. Should have."

Growling into her mouth before starting to kiss her soundly, "Should have."

The sound of approaching footsteps caused Kate to pull back from Castle's inquiring kiss, "Um Martha, Hi."

Martha waved at them, "Don't stop on my account. Nice to see this place getting a little action."

Castle groused, "Mother!"

"Well, it's true. Ever since you forbid me bringing home the hits on my 'greydar' the loft has had about as much action as a convent."

Laughing Kate slipped her purse from her shoulder and shed her coat.

Castle leaned in to nuzzle her ear. "Welcome to the family."

Dinner was rather predicable, good food, good wine and enjoyable conversation. Kate avoided the awkward side eyed glances Alexis was sending her way. It was more than apparent that Alexis was not as pleased as the rest of the Castle family to have her join them for dinner.

Kate had attempted several times to directly engage Little Castle in conversation and each time Alexis responded with polite, yet curt, answers. Finally Kate abandoned her efforts to interact. The kid wasn't going to break.

The moment Castle suggested they move to the living room, Alexis excused herself to study.

Alexis hugged her Gram, kissed her father's cheek and gave Kate a brief nod as she headed up to her bedroom.

Settling into the couch beside Castle, Kate placed a reassuring hand on his thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. Kate whispered, "Let it go."

His head swiveled to face her, "I don't know what's gotten into her." Rising to her feet, "I'll be right back."

Kate hissed as she grabbed onto his forearm "Rick - let it go." She tugge him back to sit beside her.

"Talk to her later, if you chase after her now it will only escalate."

"Escalate?"

"You have a great kid. Actually she isn't a kid at all. Alexis is a lovely young woman."

Out of the corner of her eye Kate saw the shadow bouncing off the hallway alcove above the stairs. Alexis was listening. Maybe it was a good thing.

With a dramatic shudder, Rick whined, "Don't use the word Alexis and woman in the same sentence. It upsets me."

"I know, but she is. And she loves you. Loves you very much, and this thing – you/me and family dinners is going to be an adjustment."

"Adjustment? Alexis and I discussed it. She said she was good with it, if it made me happy."

"Exactly. Come on Castle, do you think Alexis would ever actively prevent you from being happy? It doesn't mean she has to be a hundred percent okay with it."

Lowering his voice, "She said she was."

"Castle, Rick – I am not sure how to say this without upsetting you…" Kate saw the shadow slip down the hallway wall, forming into a ball. Alexis was camping out in her observatory. "….first, if my Dad brought home a woman and interjected her into our lives it would bother me."

Castle furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. "This is different."

"How? She loves you, has you all to herself. Now Alexis needs to share you with someone who puts her dad's life in danger. Alexis has a right to be off balance. Give her time."

Grappling with Kate's words Castle attempted to reassure himself, "She likes you."

"It isn't about liking me." Kate made a furtive glance upward, Alexis was still listening. Good. Time to put it all out there.

"Remember that day on the swings? When I tried to let you know I knew you loved me, but wasn't ready?"

"Not my favorite memory."

"I know…" reaching a hand out to brush his hair from his forehead and affectionately tug on his lobe, "…but did it ever cross your mind that some of the bricks in my wall were about Alexis?"

Hushing him before he could speak, "She witnessed my getting shot, how close you were to me. Chances are she thought it could have, or still could happen to you just for being near me. How could she possible be okay with that? Do you think I ever want to have to look Alexis in the eye and tell her something happened to you?"

Scrubbing his hand across his face and through his hair, Rick muttered, "It won't."

"You don't know that, I don't know that and Alexis surely does not know that. This isn't one of your books, we don't know the ending."

"She understands."

"Understanding and be okay with something are two distinctly different things – you know that."

"You aren't giving Alexis enough credit."

"Other way around. You aren't. She is a thoughtful intelligent person – she has seen how I've hurt you, how I could get you hurt. She's polite but guarded. I don't blame her."

"Where are you going with this?"

"What I am struggling to say is that I have reached a point where if something happened to you on the job Alexis would rebound. I think she knows you well enough to understand that the kid in you loves playing super cop and that it is your choice. But, but if it happened because of my mother's murder, than maybe it was you picking me over her. Which is why you need to leave my mother's murder alone and I need to stop chasing after it."

Castle stared at Kate in wonderment had she seen the light? "Ever?"

"Not right now." The buried ache in her heart started to beat.

"Never, not the way we have thing set up."

Kate stated firmly. "It will come back"

"You sound convinced."

"We now know that the night in the hanger Montgomery was ready to die, he had prepared for it. That's why he set things up the way he did. But what happens if something happens to your 'friend'? Heart attack, a random event or someone decides he is expendable? Who will look out for me then?"

"Me."

"Exactly. Don't you think Alexis has figured that out?"

Castle heard the floor boards creak from above, he knew that creak. How many times had he caught Mother or Alexis eavesdropping from the squeak of that board?

Pressing his lips to her ear, "There the whole time?"

Kate whispered in return, "Yeah."

"You knewAlexis was there, didn't you?"

With a slight nod of the head she murmured, "Shadow on the wall."