Lost and Found (A Castle Fanfiction)

Heated in the Cold

Some time around nine the next morning, Rick had finally rolled out of bed and managed to shower and get dressed before his wife floated in the room with her two year old trailing in behind her. Alexis flew to her father on sight, shouting, "Daddy! Daddy!" Through her childish lisp as the "s" sound was difficult to make, her proclamation of, "Snow," wound up sounding more like "Th-no!"

"It's snowing," Rick asked in amused, theatrical disbelief.

She replied with a grin, "Yes-th."

"Well, maybe mommy wants to take us to the park," he said with a grin in Meredith's direction.

The woman's eyes widened, "The park? In this snow?! That would be so bad for my skin, Richard, and I can't have massive pores while filming."

"So then... I guess it's just us," Rick said, faking enjoyment for his daughter while he was more than mildly bothered by Meredith's response.

Alexis then asked the one question that made his smile genuine. "Daddy, Kate come?"

"Um," Rick hesitated, looking to his wife for a split second before looking back to his daughter. "Sweetheart, I think Kate probably has better things to do than come to the park to play in the snow. She probably has to spend time with her dad or maybe she has plans with her friends. She's probably busy."

Lex then begged, "Please, daddy. Please."

"Wow, you really liked Kate, huh," Meredith said, stroking her daughter's back lightly. Alexis strongly nodded her head with a wide grin. "Huh. What did you two do that made such a good impression."

Rick replied, "They just talked a bit. Kate played with Alexis' hair. She let Lex show her all the fun things she knows. Nothing special."

"Daddy, please. Can Kate come, please," Alexis begged.

"Sweetheart," he replied softly, "She's busy."

"Please," she pleaded, her eyes widening as her frown began to dig into her father's soul. While he watched her, Meredith stared at him, watching as his will broke far faster than usual.

He finally told his daughter, "How about you go change with mommy into something warm, and you let me call Kate, alright? I'll see if she's busy."

"Yay," Alexis cheered loudly.

Meredith soon intervened, "Richard, you wouldn't want to bother the poor girl."

Alexis looked at her mom, and so did Rick before telling his daughter, "Pumpkin, why don't you go grab your boots from the closet and mommy will meet you in your room, okay?"

"Okay," the girl said, rushing away when her father put her down. Both adults watched Alexis leave, and the moment she was out of sight, Rick turned to his wife and said, "I'm not going to call Kate, but if I can say I did and she was busy, then at least I tried. It keeps anyone from being a bad guy. Kate says sorry, I take Lex to the park and we don't have to hear that question ten more times."

"Why is Alexis so keen on this girl anyway," Meredith questioned.

Rick shrugged. "I have no idea, but, you know, there are worse people Lex could take a shining to."

"You barely know that girl. What makes you so certain of that?"

Rick's brow bent inward. "It's not like I met her on the street. She and her father have been through a lot, especially her, and she's still managing to stay on a good path. Hell, she was pre-law at Stanford on an early admissions scholarship!"

"Was? Why isn't she still?"

He shifted. "She's studying criminal justice now. She's on her way to becoming a cop."

Meredith closed her eyes, shook her head slightly, and as she opened them again, she questioned, "Why?"

His insult leaking into his voice as though his wife was attacking him personally, "I don't know for sure, but my guess would be because her mother was murdered!"

"Why are you raising your voice?!"

"Because you're acting like I have no idea who I'm dealing with! You're acting like I'm putting Alexis in danger and I'm not!"

Meredith took an even more defensive stance as she told him, "You don't know that! You can't know that! You barely know this girl or her father! And might I mention that that man is a drunk!"

"Yeah, he is, but my mother isn't the most sober person in the world and we haven't had a problem leaving Alexis alone with her for a few hours every now and then!"

"Your mother isn't blackout drunk when Alexis is around. Hell, she's generally one hundred percent sober, and if she's not, she's maybe had one glass of wine! That's completely different and you know it!"

"Yeah, no, you're right. My mom is a bit different than a drunkard. But you know what, I grew up around her drinking habits. I have more than my fair share of stories of having to nurse my mother's hangovers and even put up with her drunk friends whenever she would throw parties and I would wander out of my room. And left me tell you something. I was in more danger sitting in my room alone at night with nothing but a pile of book and a wandering imagination than I ever was with them. I know the difference between dangerous, violent drunks and people who are just hurting and need something to dull the pain. I would never leave Alexis alone with Jim, but she's safe around him when I'm there, and you have no right to question me on that."

"I have no right," Meredith asked in a low, half calm outrage.

He breathed. "No, you don't. Especially after the people you've allowed Alexis to come into contact with when your friends were over here drinking."

"You..." Meredith started, biting back on the insults coming to mind.

Just then, the writer looked down and saw his daughter standing at the door behind his wife. Her lip shook. Her eyes watered. "Oh, Alexis, pumpkin, I thought you were going to wait for mommy up in your room." She just stared into her father's eyes. Rick sighed and walked over to her, lifting her to his chest where she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "It's alright, sweetheart. It's all done."

With his baby girl in his arms, he turned to glance at his wife. She simply stood with a look of both guilt and disgust, somehow embodying that emotional mix in a way only she could. He sighed, turned around, and walked his daughter up to her room. A few minutes later, Alexis and Rick were on the street. As they walked, Rick flipped his phone open and dialed the one number he knew he shouldn't. When Kate answered, an effortless smile was painted on his lips. Her voice was soft and easy as she sweetly cooed, "Hello?"

"Hey, Kate. It's Rick."

"Oh, hey! What's up," the girl asked eagerly, slightly kicking herself for not sounding level-headed.

The writer grinned as he realized she was happy. "Nothing really. I'm just taking Alexis to the park. She asked me to call you to see if you wanted to come, and I told her you were probably busy, but-... I thought maybe you wouldn't mind meeting up for coffee or something. Lex could always use a hot chocolate afterward and I wouldn't mind seeing you."

"You wouldn't," she playfully questioned, "Mr. Castle, what would your wife think?"

He joked, "She's probably thanking God I'm not just sitting at home watching Star Wars again."

Kate then thought, "Well, we could really change things up and go to the bookstore coffee shop. Alexis could enjoy story time and we could chat a bit."

"So can I take that as a yes?"

"Sure," she said, more relaxed this time, "I could never say no to Alexis."

"Me either," Richard agreed. He didn't see how anyone could. They then worked out the details, and soon enough, Kate was closing her phone and smiling feverishly at the thought of seeing them. Rick, on the other hand, even while playing with his little girl, felt a twinge of guilt. But- he ignored it. If Meredith didn't want to spend time with her daughter, that was her choice. And besides... he liked talking to Kate. She was... different. She was real, and- he couldn't get her smile off his mind.