Twenty-Six

For the few weeks following their engagement, Castle and Kate were, quite simply, nauseating to be around. Rarely were they in each other's presence without being physically connected to each other. They held hands, had their arms around each other's waists, and kissed frequently. It grew to the point where Alexis demanded that they stop or else she would never be able to eat food again; she was simply too queasy.

While they were at work, they were forced to act as professional as they could, though it was difficult for both of them. The captain who replaced Montgomery after his retirement was not aware of their romantic relationship. Castle, Kate and McCreary came to an agreement that he would not report their relationship and, in exchange, they would work five shifts for him at any time—no questions asked. As he faced pressure from their coworkers to comply, McCreary was forced to agree, though it was obvious he was unhappy about it.

Despite being able to keep their relationship under wraps up to that point, they knew that with their engagement that time was drawing to a close. Kate did not wear her ring at work, but she suspected their new captain, a former internal affairs investigator named Gates, was suspicious of their close relationship. Until the time came for them to reveal the status of their personal relationship they tried their best to work efficiently and close as many cases as possible, thus making them appear as best as they could in Gates's eyes.

At home, they were equally in sync, finding their rhythms in the evenings just as easily as ever. Kate had taken over making dinner most nights so her fiancé could continue to work on and edit his novel in the hopes of having it ready to send to publishers before the holidays. Both he and Kate were very much looking forward to the possibility of it being published.

After their engagement, Kate, Castle and Alexis sat down to discuss their family situation. They all agreed that Kate would ultimately move in with them and this would probably occur before their marriage as they had not yet set a date for that, but there was still no rush. Mostly, their casualty came from the fact that the Castle apartment was already very full, and adding Kate's belongings to the mix would make it borderline cramped.

Kate suggested looking for a larger apartment for them to share, and Castle was not opposed to this idea. He, however, wished to wait to see if he could get his book published first. In his mind, however much money he received in advance for the book would dictate the size and location of the apartment they could buy. As they had also discussed the possibility of adding another child to their family (several years into the future, of course) he wanted to make sure their new place was large enough to have space to expand and more money would certainly help that.

On a Friday in late September, McCreary called upon the third of his cover-my-shift-with-no-questions-asked freebies. Unfortunately, it was a graveyard shift he was requesting be covered. As they regularly worked overnight shifts in their rotation, Kate and Castle wouldn't have necessarily minded, except they had just come off a week of those shifts and were looking forward to a real night of sleep. Kate volunteered to take it, but her fiancée refused; he would let her sleep and take the shift himself.

Only after he agreed, Castle realized that he'd also agreed to let Alexis attend a birthday party that same evening. Kate offered to switch with him, but he said he didn't mind so long as she spent the night at his place and made sure Alexis returned home for her eleven o'clock curfew.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Castle explained to her. "The party is actually in our building—an apartment on the seventh floor—and Alexis has never once missed her curfew…though, in fairness, she hasn't had one for more than a year."

Kate laughed. "Well, it is Alexis; I'm not really that concerned."

That evening when Alexis came home from school, Castle explained to her that he would be going back to work, but Kate would be staying in the apartment and Alexis could contact her if anything went wrong. Kate even offered to fix the girl's hair for the party, but Alexis refused; she had everything under control. After kissing both girls' foreheads, Castle left for his shift knowing Alexis was in good hands.

After Alexis left for her party, Kate heated herself a can of soup for dinner and sat alone at the kitchen table to eat it while browsing Castle's iPad for any interesting news articles. Once she finished eating and cleaned up her dishes, she stood in the middle of the kitchen deciding what to do for the evening. She really should have been cleaning something or perhaps doing laundry, but she was really just too tired from a week full of bizarre sleep. Instead, she decided she just wanted something mindless to entertain her, so she plopped herself in front of the television and reached for the remote.

Several hours later Kate awoke with her neck cramped against the sofa arm rest. She grumbled, stretched, and then shuffled her way to the bathroom. On her way back to the sitting area, she realized that the door to Alexis's room was open and the light was off, meaning the girl had yet to return from the party. Kate found that odd, but then realized she had absolutely no idea what time it was.

When she walked back to the kitchen, she found the clock on the stove displayed five minutes to eleven. Perfect; Alexis would be home at any moment. She busied herself straightening up the pillows on the couch and the books placed haphazardly on the coffee table before checking the clock again. 11:01.

Well, okay, she decided; she would give the girl the benefit of the doubt. She recalled many a time that she had pushed the limits of her curfew to the very millisecond. Particularly in her early teen years, her father considered her being thirty seconds late a near criminal offense. Her mother, the more relaxed of the two, would laugh and tell him to give her a break. She never saw herself being a strict or unreasonable parent, especially when it came to punctuality, so she decided to give the girl a few extra minutes.

When 11:15 rolled around, Kate grew concerned. Yes, Alexis was in the same building, so she was probably fine; she just wasn't paying attention to the time. Kate called her cell phone, but was not surprised when the girl didn't answer. Instead, she sent a text message asking her to come home or call her to let her know what was going on.

At 11:26 Kate was genuinely concerned. She knew if it was her child who was not home almost half an hour after their curfew, she would have been very upset. Knowing that it was Castle's daughter, she felt conflicted. Of course she felt responsible for the girl, but she did not want to seem too overbearing or overstep the boundaries of their not-exactly-step-mother relationship. She briefly wondered how Castle would handle the situation and then realized she wasn't sure; Castle never encountered this before.

With a deep breath, Kate called Alexis's cell phone once more. It rang until it went to voicemail; the girl never answered. Kate sent her another text message, which likewise went unanswered. She paced the hallway for the next four minutes mentally debating her next move before finally walking to the door, shoving on her shoes, and grabbing her keys on the way out. She could not believe it, but she was absolutely going to become that parent—er, guardian.

Kate walked to the elevator and punched the button labeled with a seven. She tapped her foot impatiently during her five floor ride up and exited the car on the correct floor. She made her way around the corner to 7D, never more thankful she had asked for the exact apartment before the girl left. She took a deep breath before knocking firmly on the apartment door. She waited and waited and waited some more, but the door never opened.

Now genuinely concerned, Kate pounded on the door with her closed fist and announced the statement that almost never failed to elicit a response. "NYPD—open up!"

After several seconds, she could hear the door being unlatched. A preppy looking teen with mussed hair and a sleepy expression opened the door, though the chain was still on it. "Hey, you're not a cop…"

"Yes I am," she informed him.

"You're wearing sweatpants."

"My badge is downstairs—look, I'm just trying to find Alexis Castle. Is she here?"

The boy looked her up and down again. "You her mom?"

"No, but I need to know where she is."

The boy nodded before shutting the door. He then unlatched the chain and opened it again. "Alexis is in there somewhere," he said, gesturing casually towards an adjoining room.

Kate stepped inside and followed the boys direction to a dark room lit only from the ambient light in the hallway. For several seconds, Kate stood in the doorway wondering what was going on. Had Alexis failed to tell her father that the party was actually a sleepover? No, that didn't make sense; she didn't take anything with her when she left other than the birthday gift. Besides, if the party had turned in to a sleepover, she should have called.

Clearing her throat, Kate knocked on the wood frame of the door. "Alexis? Alexis Castle are you in here?"

Kate heard some grumbling coming from inside the rom and realized it was occupied by more than a few people. She turned back to the front door to find the boy who had answered the door, but discovered he was gone. What the hell was going on here, she wondered. Where was the parent hosting this party? She may not have had children of her own, but she was fairly sure thirteen year olds should not be left completely unsupervised.

Grumbling to herself, Kate reached he hand inside the dark room and groped along the wall until she found a light switch. She flicked it on and then blinked rapidly so her eyes would adjust. Scattered around the room on chairs, the floor, and couches she spotted several pairs of teens. Boy-girl pairs. Boy-girl pairs who appeared quite occupied with each other's lips. Sweet Jesus, she had interrupted a make-out party. It was official: she was that parent.

Upon facing many jeers from the occupants of the room, Kate stepped inside. She just needed to get Alexis and get out. She scanned the room before she spotted the orange-haired girl sprawled out on a bean bag chair with a blonde male companion. Kate approached her, arms folded over her chest. "Do you know what time it is?" she demanded, then cringed almost immediately; how had her father's voice come out of her mouth? At least she hadn't tacked a "young lady" on to the end of her question.

"Kate!" the girl spluttered with embarrassment, sitting up and adjusting her t-shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"It's after eleven-thirty, Alexis; you should have been home half an hour ago."

From across the room, Kate heard a snigger. "Alexis, is that your mom?"

"She's my father's girlfriend," Alexis responded.

"Fiancée," Kate corrected sharply. A chorus of "Oooh" filled the room.

Alexis stood quickly, the color of her face beginning to match her hair. "Kate," she hissed to the older woman. "You're embarrassing me."

"Then you should have been home on time," Kate informed her quietly. Then, she stepped back and pointed towards the door. "Get your purse; we're leaving."

She shot Kate a pleading look, but the elder woman's expression didn't flinch. With great reluctance, Alexis stomped out of the room. Kate followed her at a much more subdued pace, scanning the faces of the gaping teenagers as she went. Damn. How old had she been at her first make out party? Fifteen at least. At thirteen she most assuredly would have been uncomfortable kissing a boy in a room full of other couples kissing.

"Yet another pivotal conversation Castle is going to miss," Kate muttered to herself as she walked out into the hall. As the young girl's pace far outmatched hers, by the time Kate arrived at the elevator, the car had already descended with Alexis so she had to wait. She arrived back at Castle's apartment just in time to hear the door to the girl's room slam shut.

"Alexis," she said, walking down the hall. "We need to talk about this."

"Go away!" came the girl's response.

"I'm not going to go away," Kate said when she stopped outside the bedroom door. "I'm not going to yell at you; we just need to talk."

Alexis whipped open the door, fire burning in her eyes. "Why? You're not my mother."

Kate held a steady gaze. "I'm not trying to be your mother, but your father did leave me in charge of you. We both expected you to be home by eleven. You're only thirteen, Alexis; you shouldn't be staying out until almost midnight."

"I wasn't out," Alexis retorted in a mocking voice. "I was at Kacey's apartment."

"With a bunch of boys. I don't recall you saying this party was co-ed not to mention unsupervised," Kate said pointedly. You're lucky your father wasn't the one who found you, she added silently.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Alexis shrieked. "That's what you're angry about? A boy finally wants to kiss me and you can't even be happy for me."

"I am happy for you, Alexis, but this was not just a boy kissing you, was it?" Kate countered.

Alexis folded her arms tightly over her chest. "We didn't do anything."

"Well, that's nice to hear, but you have to understand why I'm concerned finding you at a party like that when you're just thirteen."

"Oh my god, Kate—relax," she said, rolling her eyes and stomping across the hall to the bathroom.

Kate's gut clenched and she felt the spirit of her father enter her body. "Excuse me, Alexis, but you should not be taking that tone with me—nor should you be rolling your eyes."

Alexis poked her head out of the bathroom and retorted, "My dad wouldn't care."

"I think he would," Kate countered. "But we'll find out when he gets home."

Alexis's jaw dropped. "You're going to tell him?"

"Of course."

"Oh my god you just—how could you—I can't even believe—ugh! You barged into the party and embarrassed me and now you're tattling on me to my dad!"

Her voice calm, Kate said, "I'm not tattling."

"Yes you are! I hate you!" Alexis proclaimed before storming back to the bedroom and slamming the door shut behind her.

Kate flinched at the loud noise. Well, that certainly hadn't gone as she planned. Knowing from her own youth it was best to let the girl sleep off her anger, Kate returned to the living area and picked her phone. She texted her partner saying that Alexis was fine, but she had missed their curfew and they would talk about it when he got home. Then, after turning off all the lights, she went into their bedroom and lay down for a very fitful night of sleep.

Kate startled awake to the feeling of the bed shaking. She sat up quickly, alarmed and confused, until her eyes fell on the face of her partner. "Oh god, Castle," she groaned and rubbed her face. "What time is it?"

"'bout six thirty," he explained. "So what the heck happened last night? Or do you need coffee before you explain?"

"No, it's okay," Kate said through a yawn.

He smiled. "You sure? I'll go make you some."

"No, no," she shook her head and gestured for him to sit. He sat on his side of the bed and then she explained to him the events of the night before. As much as she didn't want to, she left no detail out, including the state of the room in which she found Alexis. Though she saw Castle's jaw tense, he didn't say anything until the end of her story.

"I wasn't really sure what to do," she said to him. "I mean, if it was my place to yell at her."

"No, no," Castle said, reaching out to stoke her arm. "You absolutely did the right thing. Actually, you were kind; I probably would have stormed that apartment with my badge and gun drawn."

Kate laughed. "Well that would have embarrassed her for sure."

Castle's eyes dropped to his lap and then he looked up at her cautiously. "She definitely had all her clothes on, right?"

Kate bobbed her head. "Yes; I'm certain they were just kissing."

"But, my god, they could have been-"

"I know," she sighed.

He groaned and covered his face. "I don't think I'm ready for this yet."

She patted his arm while thinking, Tell me about it.

"I mean, kids these days move fast, but they don't lose their virginity at thirteen, right? Do they? Oh god, do they!?" he demanded, his voice more frantic with each question.

"I honestly have no idea," she responded. "And I think you're asking the wrong girl. At thirteen I wouldn't have even thought about having sex."

"Me neither. Well, okay, I did, but not seriously. Even if I had been presented with an opportunity I probably would have freaked out about it," he said with a laugh.

Kate smiled. "You realize that might be true for Alexis, too, right?"

"But it might not be," he countered. "Well, I guess I know what conversation I'll be having before the weekend is out…But first, I'll be talking to her about her behavior last night and how she talked to you; that's now how we treat family."

"Oh," Kate said, feeling her cheeks begin to flush, "you don't have to consider me family."

"But you are," he assured her. She gazed at him cautiously. He slid over and took her hands in his. "You are family, Kate. The moment I put that ring on your finger—well, before it, actually," he smiled at her. "You're family, no questions asked. To me and to Alexis."

"Oh well, I don't think she feels that way. After last night I'm pretty sure she hates me," Kate confessed.

"She doesn't—not really," Castle promised. "Though, actually, that's kind of your proof. She'd never be that angry with a non-family member. Ironic. Welcome to the joys of parenting a teen girl." He grinned and patted her shoulder. Then, quickly, he backtracked. "I mean, ah, not that you're a parent because-"

"No, Castle it's fine." She smiled at him. After all, that was how she thought of herself the night before. "I want…I want to be involved as much as you want me involved—as much as she wants me. I just don't want her to hate me."

"She doesn't hate you. Trust me. She'll apologize soon enough—probably very soon after she gets up. She can't stand the guilt of thinking people are upset with her," he explained.

Kate shook her head and brushed her fingertips over he brow. "I guess I have a lot to learn."

Castle gazed at her carefully. "But you want to, right?" She smiled and nodded at him, so he leaned down and kissed her. "Family?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Family."

A/N: This was the last official story chapter. There is an epilogue but it's short-ish so I'll probably post it Monday or Tuesday.

Thank you guys so much for all your reviews; I really appreciate you taking the time to do that!