Hello ladies and gents, I'm doing better with my updates :) Kind of. Anyways, we are a little over a day away from the Castle Season 4 Finale and I'm kind of freaking out. This is the first time since watching Castle 3.5 Years ago that I am going spoiler free and I now have so much more respect for the people who do that on a regular basis. As I'm going spoiler free, anything in this chapter is just speculation and tom foolery. On a side note: please check out my spring writing contest. You can find it by look at my profile or go to my twitter and find more information there. Anyways my lovelies, I'll leave you to it.

Please review and if you want to follow me on twitter you can find me at vatrask

Enjoy 3

Given his current celebrity bachelor status, Rick always made sure to pick up his daughter in tinted car a few blocks around the corner because as much as he would have loved the female attention of all those lonely housewives and single moms, he knew Alexis wouldn't and since Gina always seemed to be at work, it was just the two of them at the loft after school – he figured that would be their scheduled 'father-daughter' time. Alexis had taken his marriage to Gina a year ago fairly well for a ten year old with an absent step-mother and a careless mother and there were a few times when he had to force her to be a kid and play at being immature. Today would be one of those days.

"I've got a surprise for you when we get home."

"Okay." He glanced in the rearview mirror at her indifferent, distracted tone.

"Don't you want to know what it is?" He kept the smile in his voice as he watched her read from what may as well have been a dictionary for its size.

"I'll find out soon enough." He furrowed his eyebrows as he watched her continue to read without glancing up and slammed on the brakes when he realized he was a little too close to that semi-truck in his distraction. "Dad." Her voice calming and yet bubbling with an on-coming scolding for bad driving that he had heard all too often.

"Sorry sweetie." And they forged on ahead.

Gina was scheduled to work late this evening so he knew for certain that the loft would be empty, making his surprise all that much sweeter. He paused at the doorway, his keys in the lock and daughter bumping into his side, when he heard the distinct sounds of an argument occurring in their loft.

"I love you, but you already know that, don't you."

"Yes, alright; I remember everything that happened that day. I remember being shot; I remember feeling my life leave my body; I remember hearing you tell me you love me and being so terrified."

"Is what we have really so terrifying?"

"No, I was scared I wouldn't get to say it back to you."

There was a pause in the dramatics and Rick looked down to see Alexis listening intently with the cutest look of confusion and concentration on her face. "Too bad we don't have the laser guns or we could blast our way in there hey?"

She shook her head, raising a hand to shush him. "Laser guns don't kill people, dad; people kill people."

He blinked at her serious tone but shook his head as the dialogue continued.

"So tell me now what you were scared to say then."

Even he had to roll his eyes at the cheesy encounter of the two intruders. Seriously, what was going on in his loft? Returning to what little sense he had, he turned the lock, pushed Alexis behind him with his free hand and burst into the room to find it…completely empty. The television was on – he could have sworn he turned it off – and was playing some ridiculous soap opera that he would never admit to providing some good inspiration once upon a time. Other than that, the loft was completely

"Richard, is that you?" He froze at the sound of the voice that was all too familiar. Oh no.

"Mother?" It was then that he spotted the bright blue top peeking out from the open refrigerator door and he inwardly groaned, willing the following conversation away. "Mother, what are you doing here?" Martha Rogers emerged from the fridge with a bright smile on her face a giant glass of what must have been his best red wine. She always did like the good stuff.

"Darling," she turned to the duo and opened her arms as she approached them slowly in a flair of dramatic affection "how are you both?"

He allowed his mother one welcoming hug before he released Alexis to her. "Wondering what you're doing in my home; I thought you had one of your own."

She waved him off, turning back to the living room "oh I was evicted this morning, that place was a dump anyways." Rick chocked on her words, trying his best not to strangle his mother.

"I'm sorry you said you got evicted? As in, they kicked you out. Pray tell why?"

"Oh Alan, you remember Alan?" She took a sip "well it turns out he's actually a crook; took all my money and skipped town. What d'you know?" Another sip and she was completely engrossed in her soap opera where the two leads were currently kissing feverishly on the couch. "And now you've made me miss the buildup, that's the best part."

He rolled his eyes "She told him she loved him and they started making out now back to-"

"Well I knew she loved him, I just wanted to see how she would tell him."

"Mother," he sighed, leaning against the back of the couch near her head "can we get back to the issue at hand. You're currently broke and homeless."

"Yes I'm well aware of that dear."

"Do you want me to put you up somewhere while you sort this situation out?"

"Why put me up somewhere when I can just stay here?"

He froze, his head falling to his clasped hands on the couch. "You've already unpacked in the guest room haven't you?"

"Two hours ago; honestly, it shouldn't take this long for you to pick Alexis up from school."

His head suddenly shot up, remembering the daughter who had remained silent as of yet. "Mother, where's Alexis?"

"She went upstairs after I said 'hello'."

Massaging his temples, he prepared himself for the inevitable conversation "don't drink my wine." She waved him off, her eyes still glued to the television. At the foot of the stairs, he looked back at his mother and shook his head. Only a few weeks he told himself, and then she's out of here.

He opened the door when she answered his knock with an 'am busy, dad' and timidly looked in on Alexis curled up on her bed, still reading that dictionary. But now, her expression was rather low. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that his daughter was moping.

"Lex?" She still didn't look up so he sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her with concern "what's up?" When she still didn't respond, he resorted to physically removing the dictionary – not as heavy as he thought – from her grasp.

Finally she sighed, still staring down at her lap. "I don't want Grams to live with us."

"Don't worry; it'll only be for a few weeks." She looked up at him with a scrutinizing glare "a few months." He rubbed her shoulder. "It won't be forever."

"But it won't be the same."

"What do you mean?"

"It's always been just the two of us."

"What about Gina, she's kind of part of us now."

"I like Gina, I just… she's not really around a lot." He nodded in understanding. Gina was more of his wife than Alexis' step-mother – not that she was around enough to really be either. "I don't want to stop having father-daughter time."

"Oh," he sighed, scooting up the bed to sit beside his daughter "Lex I promise you nothing will get in the way of father-daughter time. Even if Grams ends up staying with us for several years, we will always be best buds okay?"

"You promise?" She looked up at him with the most heartbreaking doe eyes and he pulled her into a fierce hug.

"I promise."

After a long, comforting hug she pulled back to arms length, a new excitement and innocence in her eyes. "So what was my actual surprise?"

"Oh so now you're curious." He smiled and she rolled her eyes.

"Duh." She tugged at his button down "so what is it."

He nodded towards her closet door. "Go a see for yourself."

In an instant she was leaping across the room and throwing the door open. He couldn't help the ridiculously proud smile when he heard her squeal; "are these light sabers?" It gave him that extra bit of comfort to know that no matter how big Alexis' books got or how heavy her school load got, she would always have time to be a kid and play at being immature.