Chapter 17

After having come home to a slightly tipsy Beckett, and a completely wasted Lanie, was she just acting or not? Oh well, anyway at least they had a good time. He had convinced Beckett to go to bed without him, knowing that a tipsy Beckett in bed, could be a recipe for disaster. Luckily he had brought his laptop and was able to convince her that he needed to get some more writing done.

He woke up that morning with his laptop still on his lap and an open document with hggvddgbnougfdsdv nmkkdfcjkjytsfvj. Jhtdfgbjjnjhgf across the screen. Well, he smiled to himself, I guess I did get some writing done. He turned off the laptop and headed to make some coffee.

Just as he and Beckett were sitting down to breakfast, he heard a knock at the door. Glancing down at his phone, he saw a new text saying, "Alexis' turn!" How the hell were they gonna pull this off? Oh well. He ran to the door and opened it to find a freaked out looking Alexis.

He just stood there staring at her. Luckily, she took the lead. "Dad! You need to come home quick! It's Gram!"

"Oh my god, Alexis, come in. What's wrong?"

Beckett came over from the kitchen at the sound of Alexis' frantic voice. "Gram came in early this morning and said something about a nasty smell in her studio."

"Probably the rotting tomatoes from that last show. Yikes!"

"Dad! This isn't funny!"

"Neither was that show."

"Dad!"

"Sorry, go on."

"So any way, she decided that since you've been staying here with Beckett, that she would move her class to the loft. When I left, she had set up a bubble blower, a fog machine, and was asking if I thought the garden hose would attach to the shower head! If you want anything left of the place, you need to go now!"

"Oh, God! I gotta go. Can you stay here with Beckett?"

"Yeah, sure dad. Just go!"

"You'll be ok, Kate?"

"I'll be fine, go, go!"

"Thanks!" He kissed them both on their heads. "I'll be back as soon as I take care of hurricane Martha." He ran out the door without ever looking back.

Beckett and Alexis stood looking awkwardly at each other. The relationship between these two hadn't been explored much on the show, so it was going to be a long day of improv for the young girl.

"So, are you feeling better Detective Beckett?"

"Please, Alexis, call me Kate. Yeah, I'm feeling much better. Did you and your dad have a good lunch?"

Alexis stared at her confused for a second. Oh, crap! That's right, they told her they were meeting for a lunch date yesterday.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've spent time together, it was nice."

Beckett looked at her feet. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of his time. I hope you know that I would never try to come between you two. I'm not trying to take your place."

Alexis stood there shocked. Geesh! She didn't want to make her feel bad. Why couldn't they just do tv and snacks like the guys?

She reached out and took Kate's hand and lead her to the couch.

"Det...Kate, I know that you aren't trying to replace me. I'm glad that you are there for my dad. Sure it took some adjustment for all of us in the beginning, what with so much changing all at once, but I see what you do for him. He's never been as happy as I've seen him the past few months. You're good for him Kate."

Kate looked up and smiled. The young girl's eyes were full of tears. She reached out and took Alexis' hand in hers.

"He's good for me too. I know I'm not always good at showing it, and I caused him and your family, and even myself a lot of pain in the past because of it, but please believe me when I tell you Alexis, that I truly care for your father. He's unlike anyone I've ever met, and I can't imagine my life without him."

The young girl smiled at her and reached up and brushed a tear from the older woman's face. "He loves you too, Kate. We all do."

With a smile, the two woman pulled each other into a hug that said so much more than words ever could.