taxonomites | 12% [location: Spencer's and Kate's apartment] [closed to Kate and Alexis]

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12% [location: Spencer's and Kate's apartment] [closed to Kate and Alexis]

Spencer drained the spaghetti as Kate was putting the finishing touches on the sauce. He glanced back at their small table, now hastily set for three. They would need a bigger table if Alexis was going to stay permanently. The apartment was cozy with two, but a bit small with three, even though Alexis had been staying in the spare bedroom.

He placed the bowl of spaghetti on the table and gave Alexis a smile. From the few days that he'd known her, she seemed like a very bright, considerate and driven girl, and he was eager to get to know her a bit better. Spencer sat down next to her and placed his napkin in his lap as Kate brought the sauce over.

"That looks good."

Unconsciously, he placed his hand on Kate's thigh as she sat down, rubbing her gently. Having Alexis around would take some getting used to. He hoped that this dinner would be the first of many "family" dinners they would have. Spencer served Kate some spaghetti before offering it to Alexis.

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Kate examined Alexis carefully across the table. She debated what to ask her, but didn't want to come off sounding like an interrogation, or worse, her parent. She finally settled on something simple.

"Did you get settled in the room okay?"

The book she'd managed to get from the Taxon library was giving Alexis a great place to look whenever she caught sight of Detective Beckett or Dr. Reid looking at her. Unfortunately, she was nearly done with it. She'd have to go find more, especially if she was going to start studying in earnest. She set it aside as Dr. Reid came to the table with the spaghetti, and tried not to look between him and Detective Beckett.

"It smells good too," Alexis agreed. She'd nearly said 'like how Dad makes it', but caught herself, and began fumbling with the napkin. Despite the fact that she was settling in physically, Alexis still wasn't quite sure how she felt about the fact that... well there was obviously something between Detective Beckett and Dr. Reid. But her dad wasn't here and... any more thought on it just made Alexis miss home.

She followed Dr. Reid's lead and picked up her napkin, but Detective Beckett's question made her fumble and drop it on the floor. "Uh-huh, yes, I did," she answered, ducking to pick up said napkin. "Thank you for letting me stay for a while..."

"Of course..."

Spencer was hesitant to let her go out on her own in this place. He knew he had no hold on her, no power over making her stay. He wasn't her father. She didn't know him from Adam. But he knew that Kate cared about her and he wanted to protect her as well. Sending a 17 year old out into a world where there was vampires and God knows what else made him exceptionally uneasy.

He poured some sauce on his spaghetti and then started to twirl it around his fork.

"So.. ah.. what AP classes were you taking back home?"

Kate observed the conversation between Spencer and Alexis, trying to think of a way to bring up the subject of Alexis staying. She figured the young woman would not want to stay with them long-term (and she wasn't sure she wanted that - it would definitely get awkward fast), but she thought Alexis could take the apartment across the hall. That way, she would be close enough if she needed them, but she would have her own space. She really wanted to keep Alexis as close to her as possible, even though the sight of her made her ache for home, and her extended family. She sighed, realizing she'd missed out on a lot of what Alexis had said.

Having fished the stray napkin off the floor, Alexis managed to busy herself by taking some spaghetti and sauce before she answered. "Physics," she answered. "And English, Calculus, Art History... next semester I'm adding Economics."

The fact that she might not even be at school next semester whispered through her brain, but Alexis firmly ignored it. She was not going to listen to that little voice. So firm was this resolution to not think or listen to the niggling doubt in her mind that Alexis stopped thinking entirely about the words coming out of her mouth. She babbled. "I really should get to the library again and get a schedule worked out, maybe find someplace a little more like ho--"

And caught herself, fork clattering back on the plate as her hand flew to her mouth, her cheeks starting to flush pink. "I mean, find someplace to study. I mean I shouldn't take up all your space with books and stuff..."

Spencer chewed thoughtfully as he gazed down at his plate. This place wasn't like home to her. Of course it wasn't. He was a strange man and while she knew Kate relatively well, Kate wasn't mom. Had he foolishly been thinking that they could somehow all play house?

"Kate and I were talking..... when you're ready... the apartment across the hall is empty..."

Kate cleared her throat, measuring her words carefully.

"I honestly don't think you're ready to be on your own yet, Alexis. If you'd like, we can set you up a study space at the apartment across the hallway as a way of giving your a space of your own, but I feel like you should still sleep here, at least for a little while."

She looked down.

"I promised your father I would take care of you...if something were to happen. Of course, this is not what either of us had in mind, but I intend to keep that promise."

Looking from Detective Beckett to Dr. Reid, Alexis wished the floor would just open up and swallow her whole. She'd been so focused on what she needed to do, on how to keep from thinking about the possibility that she'd never get... Right not thinking about it. The point was, she shouldn't have said what she'd said. They had both been nothing but welcoming and kind to let her stay and Alexis had all but said she wanted to leave.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that I didn't want to stay," she said, the words tripping over each other as she rushed through them. Her cheeks were bright red as she looked up and ~~flailed~~ gestured with a hand at the little apartment. "I just didn't want to be a bother, and I know you're not really ready to have three people here. I mean, I think you'd want priva--"

Alexis didn't know if underground alien cities experienced earthquakes but she wished there would be one right that second.

Spencer swallowed his spaghetti and stared at the salt shaker sitting in the middle of the table. He wasn't going to lie to Alexis and pretend that he and Kate weren't together, but he still had no idea how to come out and tell her.

"I-It's a small apartment... yes... but Kate and I both care about your safety..."

"Alexis, this place...it's not safe. In a lot of ways, I'd rather set you loose in New York than here. At least until you get to know the area a bit."

She took a deep breath, then looked at Alexis.

"We weren't exactly ready to have another person living here with us, but we're fine for now. We'll deal with the rest as it comes. I just...I want to take care of you."

Kate Beckett's words stopped Alexis' growing embarrassment cold, and she stared. For a moment, Kate had sounded exactly like her dad. With the same calm, unwavering care.

She looked from one adult to the other, then busied herself poking at her spaghetti, swirling up a forkful, as she tried to find the words past the rising lump in her throat. The pain of her absent dad flared. "I'd... I'd like that." She couldn't say outright that she wanted to be taken care of, because as much as she did she wasn't quite ready to take that particular responsibility away from her dad and transfer it to someone else. "But would it be okay to study across the hall? So you can have some space too?"

That was a much ~~less embarrassing~~ better way of putting things, Alexis.

Spencer nodded.

"I think that you'd be safe across the hall. And it's normal for teenagers to want their own space. It's a part of starting to become an independent adult."

He took a sip of his water. He could tell that this was still very traumatic for her, and to simply expect her to go along with what they wished was a silly idea. If she were 10, it would be a different story. A 17-year-old - and a very smart one at that - was going to make her own decisions.

Kate held on stubbornly. Alexis was a living, breathing reminder of her home. Of Castle. And she had promised him she'd take care of Alexis.

But Kate knew Alexis was smart and self-sufficient. She just couldn't bear the thought of Alexis not being close to them, so she and Spencer could protect her.

"I would feel better if you slept here, at least for now. We can set the apartment up however you want, and you can move over there eventually, but please, sleep here for now."

Edited 2011-03-11 15:14 (UTC)

Spencer met Kate's eyes over the table. He had started to form an initial protest, that Alexis was old enough to be on her own, that in some cultures she'd be married with a baby by now, but the look on Kate's face made him pause. Clearly it was important to her that Alexis stay close to them. He decided to stay quiet.

Alexis nodded slowly and picked up her glass of water for a slow sip, trying to swallow back the lump that was growing in her throat. She could practically hear her dad's voice in the back of her head telling her Kate knew what she was doing and there was no way his little girl was going to stay alone in an alien city.

It helped a little, to think that her dad would approve (at least about the staying with Kate part). "I'll stay," she promised. "I'll only study next door so I don't take over the kitchen table." Alexis swallowed again, and a sad little smile played over her lips. "Dad would want me to trust your judgment."

Kate nodded, then reached out a tentative hand and touched Alexis's arm.

"Your dad is my partner, and I'd do anything for him. And you're the most important thing in the world to him. I can't let anything happen to you."

Spencer nodded quietly, gazing at his plate. He knew Kate fairly well, and he knew that she would have her way as far as this was concerned.

Kate's answer made it even harder to swallow past the lump in her throat, but it was a good thing in its own way. Alexis nodded and reached up to grip Kate's hand for a moment, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from falling. She didn't say anything for a long moment, until she was sure she wasn't going to cry.

"Thank you, Detec-- Kate," she stumbled a little over the name. She offered Dr. Reid a watery smile. She wasn't on first name basis there yet, but she'd get there, someday. "You too, Dr. Reid."

The corner of his mouth quirked in a smile.

"Y-You don't have to call me Dr. Reid. Just 'Reid' is fine..."

Her calling him "Dr" made this whole living arrangement seem incredibly formal.

Kate nodded and sat back, glad to be done with that part of the conversation. She cleared her throat again, then picked up her fork.

"So Alexis, if you need any help studying for your APs, Spencer here is a wiz. Three PhDs, did he tell you that? It's like you have your own private tutor in just about any subject you can come up with."

Spencer's cheeks flushed at Kate's mention of his doctorates. He didn't like to throw around the fact that he had three. It usually only served to make him seem like more of a freak.

"Most subjects, n-not everything..."

Alexis smiled back at Dr. Reid and nodded tentatively; she wasn't quite ready to drop the title, not when she'd still been calling Kate 'Detective' until all of a minute ago, but she'd get there eventually.

"No, he didn't, he just said he was a doctor. And worked for the FBI," she answered sounding a little bit more like herself, eager and if not yet cheerful, at least very interested. Alexis made a mental note to ask about what subjects Reid had doctorates in. For the moment she didn't want him to think she was just interested in tutoring. That would have been rude, and Alexis was pretty sure she'd exhausted her quota of ~~awkwardness~~ rudeness for a week.

She took a bite of spaghetti and chewed thoughtfully as she looked from Kate to Reid and back. "Is there police here? Or some alien FBI that you both work for?"

Kate shook her head, almost regretfully. She really missed her work. And her team. She shook her head, chasing away the thoughts.

"There's not much in the way of crime here, at least not in the traditional sense," just zombies and vampires, Kate thought to herself. "Spencer works in the library and I own a shoe store with a friend of mine here."

Spencer took another bite of his spaghetti, nodding his head.

"We've been trying to put some sort of team together. There are actually quite a few law enforcement agents in this place."

At Kate's answer, Alexis couldn't help but blink in surprise. But when she thought about it for a few seconds, Alexis admitted that most everything she knew about Kate Beckett was wrapped up in her dad's work and his novels. She'd known Detective Beckett, but not Kate Beckett. So maybe it shouldn't have been surprising.

"I met a couple of them, I think, over the tablet," she ventured. "A few deputies and things. I thought it just meant there was a police station here or something."

"No station yet."

He laughed softly.

"We've been kind of using the library as a meeting place."

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12% [location: Spencer's and Kate's apartment] [closed to Kate and Alexis]

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