He sat there at the side of her desk in his seat. Watching her talking to the wife of John Allen, she had a way with making the most impossible seem effortless. Now as she was done she walked over to her desk. Dreading this moment right now he knew he screwed up and was hoping that when she decided to work this case with him she had actually had changed her mind. Trying to play the love angle he told her that some people do the right thing for the all the wrong reasons. He thought that he would make her feel that he was in debt to her for saving he life so he thanked her and then started to pour on the charm. It started to look this way because they were having that back and forth banter. With him comparing themselves to Starsky and Hutch, and Tango and Cash and then Turner and Hooch.

She said, "You know now that you mention it, you do look a little like Hooch."

Laughing internally, he asked her "It's because you're afraid isn't it?"

"You're afraid that if you look into your mother's death that you will go back down that rabbit hole and lose yourself again..."

He pauses and tells her that "But It's different this time we have good leads... we have strong leads and you won't have to do it alone, we can do it together."

She is trying to hide her sadness and tells him "what if I don't want to know?" "Did you ever think of that?" "What if I'm not ready, what if the idea of catching my mom's murderer and then having to sit there and watch as he cuts some deal that puts him back out on the street in ten years, makes me nauseous.?"

"You dredged up my past for you Castle, not for me and your too selfish to even see it."

He looks at her and she has totally misunderstood what he was trying to do, he wanted to ease her pain and by hiring the experts he had he thought that he was moving in the right direction until she said "The case is closed, Castle we made a deal and I expect you to honor it."

Looking defeated he looks into her eyes and swears he sees tears starting to form in her eyes. He rises and turns to leave. Hoping that she would tell him not to go as he walks towards the elevator hoping she would ask him to stay. But the request never comes and he leaves.

Castle decides that it is for the best, but he can't get over the fact that he had found out new information about her mom's case, and she really needs to know what he had found. He starts to write and Alexis strolls into his office "Your writing" he replied with "It's time" She asks about Beckett and he shakes his head no.

"I'm sorry dad." He asks her about the movie that she and Owen went to see, and she says that they never made it. Owen was blaming his lateness on playing a video game "Why do boys do that?" "Why do they always have to justify everything?" "Why can't they just say their sorry"

Then it hits Castle all he needs to do is tell her he is sorry for invading her past. Thanking her he hugs Alexis and says thank-you and she asked "What was that for?"

He replies "Just for being you."

Moving almost at the speed of sound he is walking off the elevator back at the 12th. He sees her exactly where he had left her an hour before still doing paperwork. He walks over to her desk and waits until she looks up to him.

"I'm Sorry, what I did was wrong I violated your trust, I opened old wounds and I did not respect your wishes. And if we are not going to see each other again then you deserve to know that I'm very, very sorry."

He turns to head out thinking that he has won her over and just as he gets to the elevator she calls out "Castle" he stops in his tracks and waits looking forward still trying to hide the smile that starts to form on his face but it turns to a frown in a split second.

"I meant what I said before, we had a deal and you broke it. So please just leave me alone and I never want to see you again. And for your sake don't call your friend the mayor."

He is heavyhearted after he hears her last statement and then he starts towards the elevator again. The doors close and he rides it down to the 1st-floor lobby hoping yes just hoping that she had changed her mind and raced down the stairs and was waiting for him when the doors opened. The elevator doors opened and she was not there. Now he realizes that maybe he did go just a little too far. Going home to the loft he needed to get her back he is in love with her and he really wanted to end this obsession with her mom's case so she could be free and live a full and great life. Even if she did not love him the way he loved her.

Alexis was still home when he returned and asked him how it had gone. "Alexis I am totally in the dark here while I want her to be free of this torment and hurt, I also have information that can possibly get the person who murdered her mom. Finally ending this."

Alexis thinks about what he just said and tells him "Dad you know that I am always rooting for team Castle right? But maybe you did go just a little too far this time."

He looks at her and sees that what she said came from the heart.

"Alexis I care for her so much"

He has never said anything like this to her before, especially about detective Beckett.

So still talking from the heart "Dad are you sure it is not more than just caring for her?"

He thinks to himself about the last year and all the time that they have spent together and he goes over everything he has found out about her mom's case since the arrival of Dr. Death. He comes to the conclusion that what Alexis said was right.

"Alexis your right It's more than just caring about her I am in love with her."

Alexis is now overjoyed with her Dad. He finally admits something that she had known all along, but it took a teenager to realize what two adults could not.

A/N: This is a reposting of a story I wrote two years ago under a different pen name. I am going to post two more older stories until all my stories are under this pen name. I'm not too sure if you are going to like the second story, not many did the first time around. (It will follow after this one finishes) I will give them both an updated to be in sync with 2016. But other than that most of it is left the same.

Thanks

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