It's Snowing

The snow started mid-afternoon on Friday, and there were warnings that conditions would be getting bad fast. Alexis was at the dorm, and Castle and Beckett were still at the precinct. Castle had already talked Beckett into picking up extra clothes from her place that morning and staying with him so he knew she was okay during the storm. His next job was to convince Alexis to do the same. While Beckett finished paperwork, he called his daughter.

"Hey, Pumpkin. It's snowing."

"No kidding. I'm halfway between my English class and my dorm, and I hadn't noticed," she answered, amused.

"It looks like it could be bad. Do you have everything you need there?"

"I'm not sure. My roommate left this morning to stay with her parents. I need to check the grocery supply."

"Sounds like your roommate had the right idea. Why don't you pack a bag, catch a cab, and come home until it clears up. Kate and I picked up groceries yesterday. We have easy meals, snacks for movie watching, hot cocoa supplies…"

"I might do that. I think we're low on food in the room, and I really don't want to go shopping in this. Are you still at the precinct?"

"Yeah. Kate is scheduled for the weekend off. With any luck, she may get through most of it without being called back in. I talked her into staying at the loft so I don't have to worry about her."

"Grams is probably glad she had that audition in LA."

"Probably. At least we know one of us will be warm. So we should look for you later this afternoon?"

"I'll probably get there about the same time you do."

"Good. I won't have to worry about you, either."

"I knew that was what this call was about."

Castle could hear the smile as she spoke, which made him smile, too. "It's a dad thing. No help for it."

"Love you, too, Dad. See you later."

He smiled, looking at his phone briefly after she hung up.

"Does that smile mean she's coming home?" Kate asked as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Yep."

"Good. Then I won't have to worry about either one of you this weekend, either," she answered.

He leaned back in his chair and looked satisfied. She shared his concern for his daughter. "Are you almost finished? And can we leave when you are? Looks like Gates has sent several people home when she got their reports."

"Another twenty minutes and I think we can go. Want to get us some coffee to make it go a little faster – for you?" she asked with her signature smirk.

"On it, annoying woman," he said as he got up and headed for the break room.

He came back with coffee and enjoyed the smile he got from Kate when he put it in her hand. She took a sip, closed her eyes and said, "Mmmm. Thanks." There was a little pause as she savored another sip and said, "I'm hurrying." The typing continued for a little while before she took a few more sips, rolled her shoulders a couple of times, and said, "Two minutes tops, and we can start closing up."

She sent her reports to the Captain, checked in to see that Gates received them, was dismissed for the day, and came back to Castle with a relieved smile. "Time to go," she told him, shutting down her computer.

Castle was already in his overcoat and was holding her coat for her.

"Not ready to leave or anything, are you, Writer-man?" she teased. Then she followed it up with a whispered, "Did I ever tell you how sexy you look in that overcoat and hat? Right out of GQ."

"You can't say things like that when I can't touch you," he complained while they walked to the elevator, and she answered with the low-pitched chuckle that often brought his response of "Evil woman." When they were alone in the elevator, he gave her a look that matched that response he just got from her. "Sexy, huh?"

"Yeah," she answered, this time giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

Before he could follow with another kiss, the elevator stopped at the third floor where several other members of the twelfth were also anxiously getting themselves out of the building. After some brief small talk among them about the storm they expected, they all reached the ground floor and went their separate ways.

Arriving in front of Castle's building, Kate pulled into a parking space next to the curb.

"You can park in the garage. That would save you having to clear windows and…"

"This will insure that I can get to the street if I'm called out. It's easier than having to clear the entrance to the parking garage, she answered."

"I guess you're right. Let's get inside where it's warm. Alexis said she should be here about now, too."

They both greeted the doorman on the way in and huddled close in the elevator to restore some warmth after the gusts of cold air between the building and where the car was parked about half a block away, and they found the loft still empty. Castle immediately went into dad mode.

"I hope she didn't have any trouble getting home."

"Don't start worrying yet, Dad." Kate answered as she took off her coat, hanging it on the back of one of the bar stools in the kitchen to dry. "She's probably been held up by traffic of one kind or another. It won't be easy to get a cab, traffic is awful, and people who usually walk are likely to be taking the subway. There could be a long wait. Call her and…" She stopped and smiled when she realized his phone was already at his ear, so she kissed his cheek and went to the bedroom to get out of her heels and into a warm sweatshirt.

When she got back to the living room, Castle was looking relieved. "She texted from the lobby," he said. "She's on her way up."

"So you can take off your coat now and look less like a worried father for her?"

"I don't know. I hate to take it off. You said I look sexy," he answered with a little eyebrow wiggle and a smirk.

"Daughter on the way up. A little less sexy might be good. You wouldn't want me to embarrass us, would you?"

"When you put it that way…" he answered with a little pout and removed his coat to hang it over the back of the barstool next to the one that held hers. He gave her a quick kiss and went to the door to be there to greet his daughter, who was just leaving the elevator.

Alexis dropped her bag and backpack just inside the door and was immediately enveloped in a big fatherly hug. "I've missed you, Pumpkin," he told her and kissed her forehead under the edge of the hood on her coat. "Get out of that wet coat, and we'll all get dinner started."

"Did you have any trouble getting here?" Kate asked from the kitchen.

"It took a while to get a cab, but the only problem after that was the traffic. There were times it was almost at a standstill. "Hi, Kate," she said, taking off her winter jacket and hanging it on a bar stool on the other side of Kate's coat. She gave Kate a hug and asked, "What are we having? What do you want me to do?"

Castle joined them, they divided jobs among them, and dinner was soon cooking. "How did you learn to do all this, Alexis?" Kate asked as they sat down in the living room to wait for buzzers to tell them dinner was ready. "Most eighteen year olds are still waiting for their parents if they want a meal better than sandwiches, hot dogs, or frozen pizza."

"Dad and I took some cooking classes when I was little, and we practiced at home."

"One of cooking schools offered a class called Pint-Sized Gourmets when Alexis was about eight," Rick explained. "It was the basics of cooking, basic kitchen skills, it advertised easy, nutritious recipes, and the kids took it with a parent. It looked like it would be easy enough that maybe the kids wouldn't show up my rudimentary kitchen skills, so I signed us up."

"You never let me in on all of that, Dad."

"Honey, when we started life together, I was so out of my element. I did my best…called your grandmother a lot, talked to other parents in the park while you played… I thought we'd leave that class able to make something I'd feel good about feeding you…"

"And it would give the two of you something else you could do together?" Kate asked gently.

"Yeah…that, too." Castle shot her a loving look, seeming to appreciate that she picked up on that.

"Home less than an hour, and I've already learned something I didn't know," Alexis commented, looking at her dad. "At that age, I always thought you just naturally knew what you were doing."

"I think he did, Alexis. I think he just needed positive reinforcement to believe it. From what Martha has told me, he had pretty good natural dad instincts."

"That's how it always felt to me. The cooking class…we really enjoyed it, and we took a couple more as I got older. We had some good dad/daughter time in the kitchen, then we'd put it all on the table and sit down and talk while we ate."

Kate was simultaneously enjoying hearing about Castle's early days as a dad and feeling a little bit on the outside of the family dynamic, wondering if she would ever really fit in when it came to the two of them. There was so much between them that she didn't know and could never be a part of.

"Was she always this easy going, Castle? Did she ever throw tantrums or anything?" she asked, looking teasingly at Alexis.

Castle smiled, looked at Alexis and opened his mouth to say something, but Alexis interrupted him.

"I remember pitching a few fits after I was old enough to know he wouldn't put up with it in public. He would just pick me up under one arm like a football and carry me away from wherever we were, telling me firmly, 'Resistance is futile'. Sometimes he'd follow it with one of his super villain laughs."

Kate let out a sudden burst of laughter at that. "Somehow I can almost see it. The Borg approach to child rearing. Coming from Richard Castle, why doesn't that surprise me?"

"I remember some snickering and laughter as we passed people then, but I didn't know why. I thought they were laughing at me. I watched some Star Trek with him then, but he was careful about which ones, apparently. When I was old enough he didn't think the Borg would scare me senseless, I figured out where it came from...that and the reason for the snickers."

"I never knew you thought people were laughing at you."

"You should be glad I did," Alexis answered with a grin. "I didn't like being laughed at, so I eventually decided to stop pitching fits in public."

"So the Borg method worked," Castle said to Kate triumphantly.

As both women laughed, buzzers on several pieces of kitchen equipment started sounding, and they went back to take care of dinner.

"Why don't you set the table, Castle, and Alexis and I will get the food."

As they started putting things on the table, Alexis chuckled and pointed out their coats hanging on the bar stools to dry. Hers was hip length and much shorter than the others. "It looks like the three bears were here. Papa Bear, Momma Bear and Baby Bear." Then she went back to transfer something else to the table, leaving Kate covering her surprise.

As they ate the meal they had prepared together, they talked about a little of everything.

"Tell me more about what you did together," Kate requested. "Where did you go for vacations?"

Castle and Alexis told her about times spent vacationing in several places, and Kate asked questions and laughed at some of the things Castle had thought up for the two of them to do…or gone along with when Alexis thought of them. Being a kid at heart had probably made him a better dad. It allowed him to see both sides.

"You know, if this storm goes on as long as it's predicted to, the power could go out before it's over, Castle mentioned. "We should probably plan any entertainment that requires electricity tonight. Tomorrow we can count ourselves lucky if it's still on all day. So, movies, anybody?"

"Can I pick the first one?" Alexis asked.

"Go for it," her dad answered.

After one movie, Kate said she was going to bed, claiming a long day, which Castle knew to be the truth. Alexis agreed, citing the rush to pack, the slippery sidewalks, the cold, and the frustration of all the traffic; so everyone was asleep relatively early.

xxxxx

The next morning, the wind was still howling, and it was still snowing, but the loft was warm. Hearing no signs of Alexis being up yet, Kate and Castle stayed in bed for a while after they woke.

She snuggled against his chest and kissed it, and they relaxed with their arms around one another. "Last night was fun. I like hearing about you and Alexis. Sometimes I wonder if she can ever feel like I'm a part of the two of you, though. You have such a close history of each other, without anybody else."

"But you want to feel like a part of us? And you wonder if she's willing to allow it?"

"Yeah. Another insecurity, I guess. At least I've started to believe she likes me...believes me enough to trust me with her dad."

"What did she tell you about cooking at home?"

"Good sharing time in the kitchen, then talking while you ate."

"And what did the three of us do last night?"

"Good sharing time in the kitchen, then talking while we ate?" she answered, smiling after a moment of thought.

"Did she seem to resent your being there?"

"No. She was even laughing and hip checking me out of the way now and then."

"Did she seem to mind when you asked questions about things we've done together?"

"Not that I could tell."

"And, being a detective, you'd probably notice…and being Kate, you'd probably see more than was there if you suspected otherwise." He softened his last statement with a kiss on the end of her nose.

She allowed herself a soft little puff of laughter at that and rested her forehead on his chest.

"You should realize that you probably now know some things her own mother doesn't…because her own mother isn't interested enough to ask the kinds of questions you did. I know she appreciates that you're interested in her, and I think she hopes we make this work. So do I."

"Me, too." There was a little pause. "It's working so far, isn't it?"

"I think so. What about you?"

"Yeah." There was another little pause. "I've always been really bad at relationships, Rick; but I'm trying hard…because I really want us to work."

"I know." He kissed her forehead when she looked up at him. "And I can't tell you how much it means to me."

Suddenly Kate noticed the smell of coffee brewing. "Coffee. Alexis must be up. We should probably get up, too."

"You'd feel better with that, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, I would."

"Then it must be time to get up."

"Thanks for understanding."

His answer was, "Always," followed by a smile and a thorough good morning kiss before they both got out of bed. Kate changed out of her nightshirt and dressed before leaving the room, so Castle did, too. Eventually all of Kate's concern about Alexis' feelings would dissipate.

They found Alexis in the kitchen pouring herself coffee.

"You made coffee," Castle said enthusiastically. "What did I do to deserve such a wonderful child?"

"It smells great," Kate added.

Alexis gave them a teasing smile and answered, "I don't want to deal with either one of you before you've had coffee."

Kate poured coffee for both herself and Castle, and they each added their own flavorings, then they simultaneously took a sip and hummed with pleasure at the first taste.

Alexis watched and shook her head. "Nobody knows how you two do that. It fascinates people."

They answered at the same time, their answers overlapping one another, "We don't know, either./It just happens."

The teenager shook her head again and laughed, not even attempting an answer.

"What sounds good for breakfast, ladies?" Castle asked, leaning against the counter as he drank his coffee.

"Is snow a good enough reason for chocolate chip pancakes?" Alexis asked.

"Sure. So is having my little girl home for a few days. The two of you can sit down, and I'll do the honors."

"Then I'm gonna go get dressed," Alexis answered. "Be right back."

By the time Alexis was back, Castle was ready to cook pancakes, and as Kate and Alexis talked, he poured batter on the griddle and carefully added chocolate chip happy faces to all the pancakes.

When he served them, Kate had to laugh. "Does he do this often?" she asked Alexis.

"These are usually meant to cheer somebody up when they need it, but sometimes it's just because he's happy."

"And nothing could make me happier than having both of you here for the whole weekend," he answered, sitting down with his own plate.

"I don't know, Castle," Kate joked. "It's kind of hard to eat something when it's still smiling at you."

"It's a pancake, Kate. Eat your breakfast," he answered dryly and added one of his little smirks.

xxxxx

Around lunch time the power went out. The windows let in enough light to allow them to read, and the gas fireplace still worked, as well as the kitchen stove, so meals wouldn't be a problem. However, there was no heat other than the fireplace, and its blowers didn't work without power. The three of them kept themselves busy and were still comfortable until late in the afternoon when it was closer to dark. Not long after that, they began to look for warmer clothes. Considering the cold and lack of power, they all decided to go to bed early.

"Be sure you have enough blankets before you get in bed," Castle told Alexis. "It's better to throw one off if you're too warm than to have to get up to get an extra one when you're cold."

"Yes, Dad," she answered, humoring him, and gave him a goodnight kiss before going up to her room.

"Come on," he said to Kate. "Let's pile some blankets on our bed and see if we can get warm."

They took care of their bedtime routines as fast as possible, then they got extra blankets from the linen closet and put them on the bed as quickly as they could, put on an extra pair of socks, got into bed wearing most of what they had on earlier, and snuggled as close as they could get, covers up over their ears. It took a while before they started to feel warmer and their cold, tense muscles finally began to relax. As they were dozing off, they heard a timid voice on the other side of the almost closed door.

"Dad?"

"What is it, honey? Come on in. Is everything okay?"

Alexis hesitantly entered the room wearing her heaviest pajamas, her bathrobe, and had a blanket wrapped on top of that. "I'm still really cold. I'd usually go get in with Grams, but she's in California where it's warm. Do we have any kind of heater that doesn't need electricity?"

"No. I'm sorry, we…"

Kate could hear the fatherly concern in his voice, and she felt bad for Little Castle. "Come on, Baby Bear," Kate teased. Grab a pillow from the closet and get in the middle. It's finally comfortable in here. Let's warm you up."

"Really?"

"Unless you'd rather be cold."

Alexis immediately went for the pillow and returned, stopping at the end of the bed. "You guys are dressed under there, right?"

"Alexis!" Castle reprimanded. "One: Seriously? You'd even think to ask that after you were invited in? "

"Sorry. I guess the cold has affected my brain."

And two: Absolutely. It's cold! Socks, sweats, sweatshirts…"

"The only reason we don't have hats and mittens is that we didn't think of them, and it was too cold to get out and get them. I'm not getting out, so climb over me quick," Kate told her, holding up the covers.

Alexis threw her pillow in the middle when her dad moved over to make more room, then climbed in between them, pulling the covers close under her chin. She looked back and forth between them. "This is really weird…but it's so much warmer. We're not telling anybody about this, right…not ever?"

"Let's see. NYPD detective admits to sleeping with her partner and his eighteen year old daughter? Nope. Nobody's hearing it from me."

"Richard Castle, his teen-aged daughter, and Nikki Heat? Nope. Not happening here, either. Not even Paula could save us from that. How about you?"

"College student says she was in bed with her dad and his girlfriend? Not a chance!"

"You're right," Kate agreed with a chuckle, nudging Alexis' arm, "it's weird. But it beats having you freeze, right? So, get comfortable and let's see if we can get some sleep."

Alexis turned face down and folded her arms under her head. Kate and Castle both rubbed her back for a couple of minutes to warm her up a little, and she soon stretched out, seeming to have finally begun to relax.

"Feeling better now? Castle asked.

"Yeah," she answered drowsily. "Love you, Dad. Love you, Kate."

The two adults looked at each other in surprise, and Kate smiled and answered, "Love you, too."

"Then why don't you marry us?" Alexis mumbled as she drifted closer to much needed sleep.

Castle reached for Kate's hand and squeezed it gently, then they each stretched an arm across Alexis' back and gradually fell asleep.