Rick parked the car and turned back to see Kate and Navi in the back seat.
The girl was still shaken after dinner with Jim and Kate hadn't felt comfortable leaving her alone in the back seat for the journey. She couldn't drive anyway, with her leg in plaster, so it made sense for her to sit with the girl.
Rick smiled tenderly as he watched his girlfriend gently stroke Nevaeh's hair from her face while she stared blankly out of the window, her head pillowed on the detective's shoulder. Kate would make such a great mother one day.
"We're here." Castle informed the pair softly. Kate smiled and wiggled her shoulder to get Nevaeh's attention.
"We're here, Angel." Kate murmured, the monikers seeming to be sticking around for now. "You ready?" Nevaeh nodded and sat up, shuffling out of her seat and getting out the car, grabbing Kate's crutches before rounding the back of the car and opening the door for her sister, while Rick made his way round to support Kate if she needed it. She didn't.
The three of them made their way across the street to a little coffee shop, Rick helping Kate and Navi get settled at a table before going to order them a coffee and hot chocolate respectively.
"Kate?" Nevaeh asked a few minutes later, her voice soft and a little awed, drawing Kate's attention.
"What's up?" She asked, turning a curious smile to the seven year old, whose attention was fixed firmly at the counter.
"Who's that talking to Rick?" She asked softly. "She's really pretty." Kate followed her gaze and smiled brightly. The shock of red hair was a dead give away.
"That's who we're here to meet." Nevaeh turned to Kate, her eyes bright and sparkly for the first time really since Kate had known her.
Rick made his way back to the table, Alexis in tow.
"Nevaeh, this is Alexis." Kate introduced, her heart glad at the delighted smile on her sister's face as she stared at the young woman.
"Hi Alexis." Nevaeh whispered. "I like your hair. It's pretty." Alexis beamed at the girl.
"Thanks Nevaeh. I like yours too. It looks like a princess." Kate caught Rick's eye, them both smiling like fools at the instant connection between the girls.
"Alexis is my daughter, Navi. She's in college around here." Nevaeh looked up at Rick.
"Really?" He nodded. "Wow, you must be really clever." Alexis smiled bashfully at the girl.
"I certainly try Little One. So, you're Kate's sister huh?" Navi nodded, flashing a smile in Kate's direction. "That's so cool. Your sister's awesome." Both girls smiled at the detective whose cheeks pinked slightly. "How are you Kate? I would have come seen you sooner, but what with school and studying and stuff..." Kate shook her head, absolving the girl immediately.
"Don't be silly. I'm kind of glad you weren't there Alexis. It was tough." The younger woman nodded.
"I can imagine. How are you finding being on crutches? I had to have them when I was younger." She explained. Kate shrugged.
"They're not fun. They actually hurt quite a lot." Rick looked up from watching Nevaeh sip her drink at that.
"You didn't tell me they hurt." He murmured, missing the mouthed 'sorry' between his daughter and his girlfriend.
"We had more pressing things to deal with." She reminded him gently. "Besides, they're okay, so long as I don't use them for any length of time." Rick nodded, filing away that nugget for discussion later while Kate turned back to the girls. "How's school going?" She asked Alexis, gently palming the back of Nevaeh's head while she sipped from her coffee in the other hand. The redhead shrugged.
"Hard. I mean, it's great and I'm getting so many new experiences and my lessons are really interesting and everything, but it's a lot of work. Especially with worrying about you lot in the last week or so." Kate's whole body softened at his daughter's words, Rick noticed.
"Sweetheart, you didn't need to worry yourself." Alexis shot her a look.
"Really? You're long lost, so far unheard of, half sister turns up and then goes missing. You both end up in hospital and you end up on crutches, not to mention the whole not talking to anyone thing. You expected me not to worry?" Kate looked between her partner and Alexis, something in her eyes neither could interpret. "Dad texted me, he kept me up to date. He was worried when you just stopped talking Kate, he asked for my advice." Kate nodded slowly, dropping eye contact, alerting Castle to what it was in her eyes.
Shame. She was ashamed of her reaction. Oh, Kate.
"What did you tell him?" Kate inquired quietly.
"To take care of you. To not smother you but also not just leave you to it. I did tell him not to push though." Kate nodded slowly. "We're family Kate, I'd do the same if it were you texting me about my dad." That elicited a soft smile before Kate nodded.
Castle knew they'd have a discussion about it later, but for now it seemed, she was happy enough to drop it.