Beta: digitaldesigner
Characters: Alexis Castle, Kate Beckett, and Rick Castle
Rating: PG
Summary: Alexis is having a hard time dealing with the events of the episode.
Disclaimer: If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.
Spoilers: The Double Down [02x02]
A/N: Written for 10_titles
Alexis Castle was having a horrible week, and she didn't know who she was more mad at, Owen or Talia. However, she was pretty she sure she had an idea for her dad's next book.
She couldn't concentrate on anything, which was not good when she had two papers to work on and a quiz on Monday. Slamming her book shut she walked downstairs. A trip to the refrigerator to clear her head and grab a can of soda was in order.
Alexis was tempted to just forget about the homework for tonight and have a mini Monk marathon courtesy of OnDemand. "Dad," she called to him, knowing she wouldn't hear the end of it if she didn't at least ask him to watch with her. He loved trying to solve the crimes before Monk and he thought Natalie was hot.
"You need something, sweetie?" he answered from the general vicinity of his study.
She opened her mouth to reply, but the doorbell interrupted her. "I got it!" For one sick moment she hoped it was Owen so that she could slam the door in his face. It wasn't Owen. "Detective Beckett?"
"Hi, Alexis. How are you?"
"I'm okay. Are you looking for Dad?"
"Yeah, is he here?"
"Dad! Detective Beckett is here."
Both Alexis and Beckett ignored how quickly he got to the door. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Reaching into her jacket pocket she pulled out a wallet. "You left this at the precinct. I thought you might need it before tomorrow."
"How did I - "
"It's possible Ryan and Esposito were betting each other which of them could pick your pocket."
"I thought it was odd that they were staring at my ass."
"No you didn't."
He raised an eyebrow and smiled crookedly at her. "Well, okay, fair enough." Alexis was just beginning to wonder if she should back away slowly when her dad slung his arm around her. "We were just about to watch some TV. Did you want to join us?" She shouldn't be surprised how well her dad knew her, but sometimes he was just scary.
"Oh, no, I should go."
"You made the trip over here; no sense in letting it be a waste. Besides, you just saved my credit line. Who knows what those guys would have ordered."
"Dad, I've signed for some of your online purchases. I'm not sure anything would surprise Amex anymore." Smiling at the detective, she said, "But you should definitely stay."
Beckett glanced back and forth between them. Alexis knew they had her.
While her dad made popcorn, Alexis gathered up the three remotes that controlled their entertainment system. As she was flipping through the menu, her phone began to ring. Pulling it out, she looked down at the caller ID and sighed in disgust.
"Someone you don't want to talk to?" Beckett asked, sitting down on the couch.
"Owen. He won't leave me alone."
"You want me to answer it?"
Alexis' head snapped up. "Seriously?"
"Sure. Hand it over." Taking the cell from Alexis' outstretched hand, Beckett brought it to her ear. "Alexis' phone. No, I'm sorry she can't come to the phone right now. Can I take a message? Uh huh... Hey, is this Owen? Yeah, she's mentioned you once or twice. I was sorry to hear you two broke up. Uh huh. No, I just think you're one brave kid... Well, I know I wouldn't want to piss off Richard Castle's daughter... You really don't know? Yeah, he's got all these crazy connections. A friend of mine saw him having drinks with a mob boss last week. No, I'm not trying to scare you; I'm just saying you're a lot braver than I am. I mean, calling Alexis when she doesn't even want to hear your name anymore... Oh, you sure? Okay, if you really don't want me to give her your message... Hello?" Handing the phone back to a stunned Alexis, Beckett said nonchalantly, "I think he just hung up on me."
Alexis managed to pick her jaw up off the floor. "That was amazing!"
"What was amazing?" her dad asked, coming into the room.
Alexis and Beckett exchanged a glance, before Beckett answered him. "It's amazing how long it takes you to make popcorn. Did you have to pick the corn yourself?"
"Hey! I put real butter on it; that takes a little extra time."
Halfway through the second episode they had to pause it because Gina called to yell at her dad for something. Alexis doubted that even she knew what for exactly.
Swirling the popcorn bowl so that the seeds went around and around, Alexis asked hesitantly, "Beckett, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"How do you get over a break-up?"
Beckett studied Alexis' profile before answering. "Depends... you want to know what I did at your age or now?
She shrugged. "Both?"
"Well, when I was in High School, I would bad mouth him to all of my friends, throw out everything he gave me, and cry on my mom's shoulder."
Alexis didn't know which she was sadder about: the fact that Beckett couldn't cry with her mom anymore or that Alexis and her mom didn't have the kind of relationship where she could do that.
"How bout now?"
"Now... I pretend the relationship didn't mean that much to me, work long hours, and exercise more than normal. All in all, I think my approach in High School was probably healthier."
That startled a laugh out of her. "Thanks, Beckett."
"No problem."
A couple hours later Beckett decided it was time to go home. Castle got up, careful not to disturb Alexis who had fallen asleep during the last episode, and followed her to the door.
"You know, you can stay here tonight." She tilt her head, eyes sparkling with amusement. "I meant in the guest bedroom, it doesn't even have to be set up. Although..."
She shook her head but smiled. "No, I really should go home. Thanks though."
"Okay, but call me when you get home, so I know you got there alright."
"Castle, I'm a cop."
"Yeah, call me anyway."
Laughing softly, she rolled her eyes. "Fine."
As she was heading out the door, he stopped her again. "Thanks for coming over. It was fun."
"Yeah, I had a good time." They both looked at each other for a moment. "Night."
"Until tomorrow."
He watched her as she got into the elevator and the doors slid closed before shutting the apartment door. Walking back over to Alexis, he gently brushed back her hair. "Sweetie, you should move upstairs to your bed."
"Okay, Dad," she said sleepily. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"You set me up, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
He watched as she considered that. "Thanks."
A/N 2: Originally, this story was going to be about Beckett teaching Alexis how to kickbox, but it just didn't want to go in that direction lol
