A/N: Quick context reminder, since I've been somewhat unreliable about updating this and you might've forgotten. This is set at the very end of Season 3, so Alexis would still be with Ashley. (Also, Montgomery is still alive and captain, although that's not mentioned in this particular chapter.) I'm not just massively confused. Although that happens sometimes too.

"You sure you don't want me to come in?"

"Castle, I'll be fine. Go home, see Alexis. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. But call me if you need anything. Or just come over, you know you're welcome any time."

"I appreciate that, but I can take care of myself for a few hours."

He did the math in his head. Eighteen hours until the hearing. Eighteen was more than "a few." But he didn't argue the point, because he had a feeling that she was right. She'd be okay for a little while. And if she wasn't, she knew where to find him. "I guess you can. I'll see you tomorrow."

It was a little strange watching her walk into her building, suitcase in hand. It felt a little like a goodbye. Which was silly, because it wasn't as if he'd never see her again. He surely would, in just eighteen hours. It wasn't even a long time. But their time in the Hamptons had been unlike anything he'd experienced with her before. Maybe it hadn't directly changed their relationship, but when they were there, just the two of them, it had felt different. There had been times when it had felt like the rest of the world didn't even exist. And even if it did exist, it didn't matter. They'd been contained in a bubble with everything they needed: their own food, their own air, their own solar system. But now the bubble had to burst, and they had to reenter the world, and it felt a little too harsh. A little too fast.

He wasn't sure what he wanted, exactly. To spend one more night with his detective before the hearing? Part of him wanted that, yes. That same part wanted to park his car and follow her into her building, despite her protests. To try to keep the bubble intact, at least until tomorrow morning. But another part of him knew that, for the hearing to go as smoothly as possible, he needed to let her be by herself for a little while, to re-acclimate to the concept of being Detective Kate Beckett, the fully independent, strong, badass cop that he knew she still was, and he knew she'd always be, no matter what changed. And then there was a third part of him that just wanted to go home and see his daughter. That was the part he decided to indulge.

But the first face he saw upon returning home was not Alexis's, but his mother's. Still, if pressed, he would've had to admit that it was a welcome sight after two weeks away. "Darling," she greeted him, "wonderful to have you home. How's Kate?"

"She's better, I think. She's at home now, getting ready for tomorrow. Where's Alexis?"

"Upstairs. But-"

That was all the information he needed. He abandoned his bags by the door and started for his daughter's bedroom without another word.

He guessed that when he got there he expected to find Alexis at her desk doing homework, her usual position on late Sunday afternoons. He certainly hadn't expected to find her sitting on her bed, her face completely obscured by the back of Ashley's head, so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't even notice he was there.

The door was open, but he knocked on the frame to get her attention. It did. She pulled away from her boyfriend, and her eyes widened. "Dad! Hey, you're home!"

"Yes. I am." She hadn't exactly been doing anything wrong, but he heard the stern parental tone in his voice. He couldn't help it. In his mind, she was still seven. He didn't think he'd ever be comfortable watching his little girl make out with a boy, no matter how much he liked the boy. But he could at least try to be nice. "Good to see you, Ash."

"You too, Mr. Castle," he said, carefully avoiding eye contact. "I've, uh, gotta go... see you tomorrow, Alexis."

"Bye." She smiled apologetically at her boyfriend, and he quickly picked up his things and slipped out the door, past Castle.

He cleared his throat. "I, um, didn't mean to interrupt."

"Uh, that's okay. I just... didn't know you were home."

"I am."

"I know that now. How's Detective Beckett?"

"She's okay. She's at home. Her hearing's tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know, you told me that. You think it's gonna go okay?"

"I don't know. That's up to the judge, I guess. I hope so." If he'd been hoping for a distraction, he'd certainly found one now. With everything going on, he'd never once considered the fact that he'd left Alexis alone for two weeks, with only her grandmother's supervision. But he was considering it now. "So... what's been going on here? Anything exciting?"

"Not... really. Just... studying. You know."

"Uh... what exactly were you studying just now?"

"Dad." Her eyes pleaded with him to leave it alone. "I'm seventeen."

"Alright, fine, yes. Just... tell me there's nothing I need to worry about."

"There's nothing you need to worry about."

"Would you tell me if there was?"

"What do you think?"

He grumbled. "Just... talk to me before you do anything. I mean, anything more than what you were just doing. Okay?"

She raised an eyebrow. "And based on this conversation, I'm sure that one would go really well."

"Hey. Promise me."

"Fine, I promise."

"Good. What's on tab for the rest of today? Homework?"

"Some. I already finished most of it. Why?"

"Laser tag?"

She grinned. "Absolutely."

Exhausted as he was by the three games of laser tag he'd played with Alexis after dinner, he couldn't seem to fall asleep. The hearing was less than ten hours away now, and his mind wouldn't stop running, thinking of different ways that it might go. Things that IA might bring up, things that wouldn't necessarily work in Beckett's favor. Things that, if given the chance, he wanted to make sure he did say, to make sure the judge saw all that he knew Kate Beckett was. To make sure the judge understood what a disservice it would be to the city of New York if she was no longer protecting it.

He found himself wondering if Kate was experiencing the same thing. He half-expected to be able to roll over and see her there in the next bed. But he was at home now, and there was no next bed. Just his. And now that he was home, even though he didn't live alone, he found that there was something lonely about it. The truth was that he missed her. He hadn't been away from her much more than eight hours, but he did. Once you got used to seeing someone every day at a certain time - or, in this case, almost all the time - it just didn't feel right when that was interrupted.

He figured that if he was having trouble sleeping, she probably was too, and thought about giving her a call, but on the off chance that she was asleep, he didn't want to wake her. He'd told her earlier to call if she needed anything, and he wanted to take it as a good sign that she hadn't, but thought it was probably more likely that she hadn't called because she hadn't wanted to interrupt his time with his family. And to be honest, he was grateful for that. He'd missed Alexis, and even his mother, in the two weeks that he'd been away, and it had been good to catch up. But now, without the distraction of his family, he realized just how strange it felt to be away from her. And even if it was just for a minute, he wanted to talk to her. Instead of calling, he sent a text message, figuring that it would be less likely to wake her up, and even if it did, she could just go back to sleep without answering. "Call me if you're up," it read.

He set his phone down and tried, once again, to fall asleep, but it was less than a minute before it rang. He knew it would be her (who else would be calling this late?), but still smiled when he saw her picture on the display. "Hey," he answered.

"Castle." Her voice sounded tired, but not unhappy. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really, I just couldn't sleep. Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, it's okay, I couldn't sleep either."

Now that he had her on the phone, he didn't have any idea what he wanted to say. Really, he'd just wanted to hear her voice, but he couldn't tell her that. Could he? No, he told himself. Now was not the time. But what was it the time for? "So... what's new?" he tried. As soon as it was out of his mouth, he realized it hadn't been right.

She chuckled. "Not a whole lot since you dropped me off this afternoon."

"Yeah... I guess not." I missed you, he coached himself. Just three words. Three short words. How hard could it possibly be to say? Very, apparently. Simple as the sentence was, he couldn't seem to get it from his brain to his vocal cords. It just wouldn't go.

"How's Alexis?"

Alexis, yes. That was a much safer subject. "She's good. Really good, apparently. I think she enjoyed my time away."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He felt the rant coming, but didn't bother to stop it. "I mean, of course she didn't want to come to the Hamptons for the weekend. She had two whole weeks with only my mother for supervision. And she has a boyfriend, I mean, what more could any teenager ask for?"

"Alexis isn't any teenager. Did something happen?"

"Yeah, something happened. I left her alone for two weeks. I came home and she and Ashley were in her bedroom alone making out."

"'Making out' like... kissing?"

He scowled. "Why are you making me sound paranoid?"

"Because you are paranoid. Alexis is a great kid, Castle, you just have to learn to trust her."

He sighed. "I trust her."

"Then you need to stop freaking out every time she does something that makes you a little uncomfortable."

"It's just that... she's seventeen. She's been with Ash for awhile now. Don't you think they're thinking about...?"

"Sex?"

He growled.

She laughed. "Yeah, probably."

"You're not helping."

"Helping what? She's seventeen, Castle. What are you gonna do, lock her in a tower?"

"Why, do you know of one?"

"Castle."

"I'm kidding. Kind of. I just worry sometimes that she can't talk to me about certain things. You know, because I'm a man, and because I'm her dad and I would rather just lock her in a tower and not have to deal with any of it. And her mother's about the last person I'd want her to get advice from."

"But she has her grandmother, doesn't she?"

"Not much better. Plus, it's been awhile since my mother was a teenager."

"Can't argue with that. Well, you know... if there's something she doesn't feel comfortable talking to you about, you can always have her call me."

He frowned. "Really?"

"Sure. I was seventeen once. And it wasn't that long ago. I mean, I can't guarantee that she'd feel any better about talking to me than you, but I don't have any desire to lock her in a tower, for whatever that's worth."

"To her, probably a lot. You sure you wouldn't mind?"

"No, not at all. It's the least I can do."

"You know you don't owe me anything."

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm happy to help."

"Okay. I'll tell her."

"Was that why you couldn't sleep?"

He smiled to himself. It had been bothering him more than he'd realized, but no. That wasn't the reason. And she knew that. "What do you think?"

"I think it could've been. I know how much it bothers you when you're having problems with her. Even if they're perceived problems."

"But you also know that I have a few... more immediate concerns."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Me too."

"But we should be well-rested so that we can think clearly tomorrow."

He could almost hear her eyes roll. "Not we, Castle. Me. I need to think clearly tomorrow. You might not even have to say anything."

He sighed, hoping she was wrong. "Maybe, but if there's an opportunity for me to say something, I intend to take it. I want to help if I can."

"You've already helped."

"Well, then I want to help more."

"I appreciate that, but I need you to be careful. Sometimes with things like this, the less that gets said, the better."

He realized what she meant. That, maybe, the judge would be ready to clear her, and he'd say something to change that outcome. And she was right, he couldn't let that happen. "I will. I'll be careful."

"Good." She sighed. "Maybe it'll go smoothly. Maybe we won't even have to worry about it."

"And even if it doesn't... there's no point in worrying about it now. It won't help." That was her point originally, and now that there were only hours until the hearing, he felt like it was a good time to remind her of it.

"Yeah, you're right." He heard her shift around a little, and wondered if she was lying down. It didn't sound like a bad idea, so he did the same, even trying to wedge his phone against pillows so that he didn't have to hold it.

"I am right." He was starting to hear the tiredness leaking into his own voice. "I guess we should hang up and try to get some sleep."

"Do you think it'll work? I mean, it didn't before, not for either of us."

"So... we don't hang up?"

"I can't really see the benefit."

"But I'm out of things to talk about."

"That's okay."

"But we're on the phone. If we don't have anything to talk about, we won't-"

"Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"Shh."

He sighed, but stopped arguing. He let his eyes close, as they'd been wanting to for awhile now, even though his brain was still nowhere near ready to fall asleep. But there was something soothing about the sound of her breathing on the other end of the phone. It was one less thing to worry about. Whatever was going to happen tomorrow, he at least knew that, for the moment, everything was okay. Everyone was safe. And that knowledge was enough to slow his racing thoughts, if only a little.

A/N: So, um... this chapter kind of went off in a direction that I didn't expect, what with all the Alexis stuff that kind of came out of left field, but I kind of like the way it turned out. So hopefully you do too. And it's looking like the next chapter will actually have to be getting into the hearing, so... that should be interesting. For you and me both. Stay tuned. I'll try not to take too long to write it.

Free cookies to all who review! I suppose they'll have to be virtual cookies, but let the record show that I WOULD give you real cookies if I could. Like, you could push a button and they'd come out of your CD drive or something. That would be awesome. Someone should really get working on that. But... um... what was I talking about? Right. Review for free virtual cookies. And the knowledge that you've made Christine happy. That's a perk, right? Okay, maybe it's just a perk for me. Regardless, thanks for reading. :)