Sorry this took so long. I told you guys I would only make you wait every two weeks at most, but I made you wait 3 weeks this time. I'm a horrible person, I know.

Just a reminder, this is set in early season 8 in a world where Beckett isn't Captain yet. Castle is still following her, but he also has the PI office.

Chapter Seven

"How could you not tell me he was the mayor's stepson?"

Between managing to keep the young relationship a secret from Castle and managing Castle, she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to talk to Alexis when they arrived home last night. The whole car ride home her husband was trying to figure out why she was taking on a new shadow. He denied it when she asked if he was jealous, but still, when Alexis asked how their night was, her father explained that Beckett would be followed by a young wanna be detective. The jealousy was still there as a quiet hint in his voice. Now she had the red haired girl corned in the kitchen while her husband was on the phone with Gina on a work call.

"I didn't think it was important," she said. She carefully looked at her stepmom form the corner of her eye as she buttered a slice of toast bread.

"Oh yeah. Sure. Not important," Kate said with a small laugh in her words. She stole the bread as soon as Alexis had finished preparing it.

"Hey!" Alexis exclaimed. She reached over to get the bread back, but Kate was too fast to her. She was on the other side of the counter in a heartbeat. So, the younger of the two settled for toasting a new slice instead.

"Did you know Joel wanted to be a Homicide Detective?" she asked switching the subject to the conversation to a more serious one.

"We did meet in a criminal justice class," Alexis said. There was almost a smart ass tone in her voice just like her father always had.

"Yeah, but you were taking that class as well," Kate said. She moved the bread from her mouth. Her mind was running around on it's own. "You don't want to be a cop, do you? That's not happening. Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Alexis couldn't help but smile at the older of the women. Of course she knew how dangerous being a cop was. Her father had told her stories. She had witnessed Kate being shot right in front of her eyes. "Relax, Kate. I don't want to be a cop," she said.

"Thank God. I don't think your dad would be able to handle it," Beckett said trying to mask her own overprotectiveness as worry for her husband's reaction. "How do you feel knowing someone you love is going to risk their lives every day?"

"I've had lots of practice with you so I think I'll be okay the day Joel joins the force," she said.

Neither of them were comfortable enough to say I love you on a regular basis. So, they didn't say it, but they knew what it meant when they both leaned into the other's embrace.

KB

All of Castle's jealousy over Kate having a new shadow seemed to fade away five minutes after Joel walked into the precinct. Alexis's boyfriend and Alexis's father were having a full out bromance everywhere they went from the crime scene to talking with the victims family members and friends to questioning suspects back at the precinct. The first chance she got, she snapped a candid photo of them on her phone and instantly sent it to the red head. The second chance she got when Castle went to the restroom, she questioned Joel. "Are you kissing up to your girlfriend's dad or do you actually like Castle?" she asked.

"I leave the kissing up to my stepfather," Joel said. Kate arched her eyebrow at him. "What? He's a cool guy. I think you better than anyone could understand that. I mean, you married him."

She didn't plan on bringing up the mayor, but since he did, she figured it was not a forbidden topic anymore. "Why doesn't he think you're capable of becoming a detective?" she asked. From what she had seen, Joel would make a great detective. He had gone into the interrogation room with her. He paid close attention. He didn't speak out of turn. He waited until they stepped out to share his observations, all which were inspired by valid reasons.

"It's not that he doesn't believe I can do it. It's easier for him to let the world think he's this harsh, direct man than let people see the truth," he said. He didn't wait for her to ask what the truth was. "His father was a cop. Served fifteen years before getting killed. Jonathan was only 9."

"He doesn't want you to be a cop because he doesn't want to lose you," Kate said understanding.

Joel nodded. "We don't say I love you often, but ever since my birth father left, he's the only father I've known. He can be a real jackass sometimes, but he is my family."

"So, let's make sure for his sake, and Alexis's, that we make you into the best detective the NYPD has ever seen."

"I'll settle for second best," he said smiling at her.

"Such a kiss ass," she teased him with laughter.

"Just the truth."

RC

That night, the three members of the Castle family who still lived in the loft, sat around the dinner table sharing their meal. Kate's husband did most of the talking. If it hadn't been obvious before how much Castle enjoyed Joel's company, he had said it the second they sat down. Even as Alexis and Kate tried to change the subject, he found a way to bring it back to the young adult.

However, she had no idea of the things going on in Alexis's head. Eventually the red head took advantage of the fact that her father couldn't stop talking about her boyfriend.

"Do you think he'll make a good detective?" she asked.

"Not as good as Beckett, but he had potential," Castle said.

For the first time that night, Kate started really paying attention to her stepdaughter's questions.

"Do you think he's strong enough for the physical aspects of being a cop?" Alexis asked.

"Haven't seen him in action yet, but he looks fit enough," Castle said. He didn't seem to realize the questions that his daughter was asking him, but his wife did. She recognized the questions of a worried girlfriend.

They ate in silence for a few moments before Alexis spoke again. "What do you like about him? Does he have crazy theories like you?" the younger girl asked. She knew the answer. Her boyfriend was not like her father that way, but they did share that charm. She strongly believed it was her boyfriend's charm that caused her father to like him.

This made her father think. What was it about Joel that he liked? "I don't know," he said. He was baffled at his own inability to pinpoint what it was about the young man that made him like him.

Alexis smiled to herself. She understand the curiosity that surrounded Joel. Even when she had been with Pi, she had been drawn to him.

Kate saw that spark in the young girl's eyes that she saw at the coffee shop when she had been introduced to Joel. Alexis was considering telling her dad about her relationship.

"Dad, I -."

Her father cut into her sentence without even realizing it. "It's a good thing he doesn't have a girlfriend," he said.

"How do you know he doesn't have a girlfriend?" Kate asked.

"We talked," Castle said.

The detective made sure her husband was not looking when she shook her head disapprovingly. This must have been a conversation they had while she was not around.

"Why does it matter if he has a girlfriend or not?" Alexis asked sounding almost defensive.

"If he had a girlfriend, she would just hold him back," Richard said.

Right away, Beckett knew where his conversation was going and where her stepdaughter's mind was going to go as well. "That's not true. You didn't hold me back," she said. She looked at Alexis and could tell she was already letting her father's words get into her head.

"You would be Captain Beckett already if it wasn't for me, remember?" he asked. He was talking about the alternate universe he thought he had been a part of just before they decided to rush their wedding.

"That was a dream," she said. She gave another glance to her stepdaughter hoping her husband would not notice, but also hoping her words could somehow calm the younger girl.

"But a very realistic one," Castle said.

It did not seem to be working.

And just like that, Alexis had found another reason to be insecure about her relationship. She wouldn't be telling her father about Joel being her boyfriend. At least, not today.

TBC