Once again, thank you to everyone for your support of this story! I know I say it every time, but it's always the truth, even if I don't have the chance to thank you personally.
If you've missed any of the story so far, you can catch up here.
Out of the Blue - Chapter 6
"Hey," he calls, taking care to keep his voice low to avoid startling his daughter. With her knees drawn to her chest and her head bent over her book, she's in her own world. She's always been hard to draw out of a good story, not that he's any better most of the time.
Alexis looks up a few seconds after he speaks, eyes a little wild with confusion.
"Hey, pumpkin," he tries again, settling on the edge of the table across from her with a soft smile. "I'm about to make a sandwich, are you hungry?"
"O-oh, no. I'm okay. Thanks, Dad. Pi and I are going to eat when he gets back."
"You sure? Isn't he going to be a while?" His head tilts but he doesn't say anything else.
His daughter hesitates. "He could be. He's still fighting to get a new passport issued. They're making him jump through all kinds of hoops."
"Okay, so why don't I make you a small sandwich to tide you over until he gets back? Turkey and avocado?"
She nods quickly. He knows she's started adopting Pi's fruitarian eating habits as well, but he knows she can't resist a turkey sandwich either.
"Kay." Rick smiles, standing again. "Two sandwiches coming up."
Alexis returns the affectionate look, marking her page in her book and standing, too. "I'll help."
"Perfect."
They work together with quiet, practiced ease, which gives him hope that whatever distance is between them right now isn't permanent. While she cuts their sandwiches in half, he pours them both glasses of water, adding a wedge of lemon and a sprinkle of mint to mix things up.
"So I never asked," he starts, taking advantage of the camaraderie to clear up something he's been wondering about for almost two weeks. "How exactly did Pi lose his passport? And how'd he get here from Costa Rica without one?"
Alexis looks up. "He lost it at the airport in Dallas after we cleared Customs. He thinks it fell out of his bag and he didn't notice until we were already on the plane back to New York. We called the airport after we landed, but obviously they haven't found it."
Nodding thoughtfully, he notices her pale cheeks are suddenly an interesting shade of red. "He's… kind of absentminded sometimes, Dad, and I know he's kind of a slob, but he's really not irresponsible like I know you're thinking he is."
Oh, she's embarrassed about it.
"Well… he is kind of a slob, you're right. But accidents do happen." Kate's been reminding him since she left to give his daughter's boyfriend – definitely her boyfriend, he shudders inwardly – a chance. So hah, take that, Beckett. "I once lost my wallet on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Of course I was a little bit dru – "
"Dad. Overshare."
"Right. Sorry." He pulls a stool out for her, tugging his own plate over as he sits. "My point was that I get it."
His daughter smiles softly, nodding. "Kay. Anyway, he's trying to get them to issue him a new one and do whatever you're supposed to do when you lose yours. To make sure nobody can steal your identity, I guess?"
He nods carefully. So once he gets that done, he'll be out of their hair and on his way back to Amsterdam. Good to know.
Alexis takes a bite of her sandwich, groaning blissfully. "Thisissogood."
He can't help but agree. "It's avocado that makes it, I think. Maybe the sprinkle of seasonings."
"It's so the seasonings with it," she decides, sipping her water. He watches her take a deep breath. It's what she does when she's choosing her words carefully, he knows. "Pi's also applying for a student visa so he can stay here in New York. Our program's the best for his bee population research and they're willing to admit him and sponsor him while he finishes his paperwork. They've been trying to get the process expedited with the State Department, considering he's already here."
"He's staying in New York," he translates, more for his benefit than hers.
"Uh huh." Alexis sips her water. "But not here. I mean… once school starts again in two weeks, I'll be gone, and I won't expect him to stay here if I'm not."
"So where is he going to stay?" he asks slowly. His gut says he's not going to like the next thing that comes out of her mouth.
"Well I was thinking…"
"Alexis – "
She sighs. "Hear me out, please? I know I'm committed to living in the dorms this year, but if I cancel my housing reservation, Pi and I can get a place together. And we can split the rent – I'll even get a work study job so you don't have to be the one to pay for it if you're opposed."
"Alexis," he tries again, sliding his hand across the countertop to touch her hand. "I'll pay for it. Of course I will. I just, I don't think that's such a good idea."
His daughter straightens, her pale blue eyes flashing. "You lived with a girlfriend when you were my age. Why is it so different for me?"
"Yes I did, and it was a mistake. Because when it ended, I didn't know how to be by myself anymore. Don't you want to live with your friends for a little while longer? Before you're locked in to living with a boyfriend?"
"I know you don't like Pi very much, Dad, but come on. I'm mature enough to make this decision."
Holding up a hand, he continues, "It's not about whether I like him or not, and it's not about your maturity, honey. It's about taking care of you. You haven't known Pi that long and maybe he's a great guy, or maybe he's a psychopath brainwashing us through natural eating –" Yes, he's being a little melodramatic, but it at least gets his daughter's jaw to unclench as she shakes her head and tries not to tell him he's ridiculous.
Serious once more, he touches her cheek quickly. "My point is maybe you should take the time to get to know him a little better before you move in with him, Alexis. He's not Ashley, he's not Max, and you dated them far longer than you've been dating Pi. Would you have moved in with either of them this soon?"
Alexis' chin lowers slightly in acknowledgement of his point. "No, probably not. But so what? I was seventeen when I was dating Ashley. Max dumped me a month after Paris." Oh, he hadn't known that. His hand creeps over to cover hers. "But Pi's better than both of them. And you're leaving to go to DC with Beckett and the baby for everything but holidays, and Gram's busy with her school, so why can't I have someone with me?"
Sliding closer, he does the only thing he knows to do. He hugs her, cradling the back of her head and keeping her close to the steady beat of his heart.
"You can, sweetheart. I just want you to have someone with you for the right reasons. Maybe Pi is better than either of them, but if you're not with him for the right reasons, if you're moving in with him for the wrong reasons, you're both going to end up hurt. I don't want you to end up hurt."
He feels her sniff against his shirt.
"Can I make you a deal? You live in the dorm like you planned and we'll help find Pi a place. Somewhere either close to campus or on campus. Since they're letting him research they should be willing to let him have housing, right? Provided there's space?" She nods subtly. "Kay. So you do that until December and if, come January, you still want to move in with Pi, you break your housing contract and find a place. And I won't say a word."
"You won't?"
"I won't," he confirms, knowing it's a tall promise to make. He'll need Beckett's help keeping it, but if Alexis calls his bluff, he'll do it. "I'll even help you move."
Save for the gentle rasp of his fingers against her back, they're silent. He knows she's considering his bargain, though, just by the look on her face when he glances down.
"Okay. We'll wait."
"You will?"
"Yeah," she sniffs, swiping at her eyes quickly. "Just until January, but we'll wait."
Nodding, his lips brush her forehead. "I think that's a good decision, honey."
"Maybe it is," she says, lifting her head. "Because I've never heard you be so practical, and if you're that practical then you must really be worried."
"Hey! I gave you quality fatherly advice just now."
Alexis giggles, pressing her face against his shirt again. He can't help but hold her closer.
"And Alexis?"
"Yeah, Dad?"
Running his fingers over her braid, he smiles. "It doesn't matter if I'm in DC, across the country on a book tour, or in this chair. I'll be here if you need me. I'll be here if you even think you need me. And I'll know you're thinking about it; I have DSP – Dad Sensory Perception."
"I know, Dad." She smiles, resting her chin on his chest. "Thanks."
He squeezes her again. "Now, let's finish these sandwiches and you can tell me more about what you like about Pi."
That makes her smile widen. Score another one for him. "Kay."
Later on, after Alexis and Pi have retired – separately – for the night, he tells his fiancée about the conversation with his daughter. Kate curls on her side, holding her phone on what's usually his pillow to give the illusion that he's there with her, her eyes eager for the rest of the story.
"You did great, Castle," she assures, reaching toward the phone the way she would if she were about to caress his face. His eyes slip shut, imagining the brush of her fingertips over his chin, his lips.
"Thanks. She still might move in with him, but a least it's not immediate, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," she hums. "But you know what? If her mind had been made up, you wouldn't have been able to talk her out of it, no matter how hard you tried. My dad couldn't when I moved in with a guy for the first time."
"I feel your father's pain. Daughters," he mutters. His lips twist upwards when she laughs. "This one needs to be a boy."
The picture bounces as she laughs again. "I think you're the only one who has control over that, babe. But oh, look at this."
It's all the warning he gets before she's tugging her nightshirt over her head.
"Well, I mean, if you insist. But, for the record, I have seen those before, Beckett. And might I say they're looking magnificent this evening?" It's not a lie. Her breasts never look bad, but he's a pretty big fan of the way pregnancy is changing them, too.
Kate snorts. "Not my boobs, Castle. Eyes a little lower this time. For a few minutes at least."
She shifts the phone camera a little more, giving him a few tantalizing glimpses of her breasts before he's able to focus on her lower torso. He sees the jut of her hipbone and a pair of adorable purple and lime green polka dotted bikini panties, and the – oh, the gentle curve of her belly. She's already bigger than she was two weeks ago.
"Wow," he breathes.
Beckett's hand slips down, curling under her bump. "I know, I know. I feel huge and it's only the beginning."
At thirteen weeks, she's not huge by any stretch, but there's no doubt that she's pregnant now.
"It's beautiful."
"Thanks, Castle. I thought you'd want to see it."
"Can you move the phone closer?"
She laughs softly. "It'll distort everything."
"I know, I just wanna talk."
"I'm not sure they can understand you yet, you know."
"Don't care, I'll talk anyway."
The phone moves closer to Kate's stomach, even as she mutters, "Do you ever stop?"
"You love it, Beckett. Your mommy loves it, baby. Don't listen to her when she says otherwise. She loves when I talk to her and when I talk to you. I'm going to see you soon; I'm coming to look at houses with you in three days. Try not to get much bigger before then, okay?"
The picture shakes as Kate laughs, and everything gets blurry for a moment before the camera focuses on her face (and her breasts, too, because she does love him) once more. She rolls her eyes when she sees where his eyes are, but doesn't cover up.
"Off," she commands once he finally looks back at her, gesturing to his shirt. "Turn about is fair play."
"Okay, okay," he grunts, tugging his t-shirt over his head before tilting the phone to give her the chance to look him over as well.
"Mhmm, much better," she purrs. "Can't wait to see you, you know."
"Me either, Kate."
"Yeah?" She smiles around her lip. "You think we'll make it to the bed when you get here?"
"Hmm, no, probably not." He has so many plans for her when he sees her on Thursday evening, so very many plans. He just wishes she didn't have to work Friday. "But there's plenty of time for the bed. We just have to make that appointment at three thirty on Saturday, and I think baby'll send us out for food earlier than that."
"And we have the two on Friday during my lunch break, too."
Pillowing his head on his arm, he nods. "Plus I'm going to look for other listings and open houses while you're saving the world."
She laughs, licking her lips quickly.
"Don't know how much world saving I'm doing from my desk, Castle." He sees her hand dip downward and he just knows she's rubbing her belly. Kate loves this child beyond reason, but not being a part of the action still bothers her. Not being the one asking the questions is something she's still not used to. She's getting there, though.
"Psh, you save the world in little ways every day. Even if you aren't running around in stilettos and your incredibly sexy coats. Every interview transcript you read, every piece you put together from an unhelpful case file, every intuitive leap you make to leave those other boring Feds in the dust saves the world a little bit, Kate."
"Yeah? You think so?"
"I think you made a big break you only vaguely discussed last week, did you not? Whose life did you save then?"
"Castle, I can't –"
He interrupts softly, "I know. You can't talk about it. My point is you're making a difference in lots of ways, Kate. Different ways than before, maybe, but you're still keeping guys who hurt people – or might hurt people – from hurting others. You're still doing right by the victims. And you don't even have to leave your desk."
A shy smile spreads over her lips. "Thanks, babe. It helps knowing you think that."
"I think it's sexy, too. Does that help more?"
She giggles. "Well it doesn't hurt. I still feel like a glorified paper pusher most days, but that doesn't hurt."
"Ah, but you're a sexy glorified paper pusher."
Grinning wickedly, she slides her fingertips down her neck and over her clavicle. "Do you think everything is sexy?" she hums, dragging her fingers back and forth, the motion hypnotic.
"Kinda, yeah," he mumbles, eyes following her hand.
His fingers feel large and clumsy as he mimics the action on himself; his imagination is hard pressed to picture the touch coming from her until she whispers for him to close his eyes and listen.
"Feel my words, Castle."
His head bobs, but his eyes stay shut. "If you feel mine, too, Kate."
She inhales sharply. It's easy to picture the flush creeping up her neck, the rise and fall of her chest. He feels the phantom motion of her hips rocking against him, the slide of her calf over his, the push of her mouth against his.
His fingers clench against his chest, but he forces himself to relax, to wait for her directions.
"I always do," she promises, and he can swear her breath moves his hair across his forehead. "I always feel your words, Rick."
—-
A/N: I took some liberties with Pi and his passport/visa/job, but I think it fits this story pretty well. Thanks for reading, everyone!