"Oops!" Alexis yelled as something crashed to the floor. Castle cringed. That sounded expensive.

"Need any help, Alexis?" Castle called from his office.

Another loud crash, followed by "NOPE!" made him roll his eyes. "Get Kate!" She yelled.

"Pumpkin, I can't just call her, she's at work." He said, closing his laptop.

"But, daddy..." He could hear the tears in her voice, and caved instantly.

"Alright." He got up and walked over to the kitchen. Alexis saw him, and ran over to him quickly, pushing him away. "NO! You can't go in there daddy!"

"But the phone is in there." He said in an equally upset voice.

She rolled her eyes and held out a phone covered in flour and chocolate, much like her face.

He took it between two fingers, staring at it in shock, whilst Alexis grinned at him expectantly.

"Why don't you call?" He said, dialing the number and handing her the phone back. She nodded. "Thanks dad!"

"Sure." He dodged her hug, and grinned as her pressed the phone to her cheek , covering both in even more chocolate.

Kate sat at her desk, bored. There was no case, instead just paperwork. Always the stupid paperwork.

Suddenly her phone stated ringing, and she picked it up. Castle. She grinned.

"Hey there, handsome." She said, and frowned when she heard high-pitched giggling at the other end of the line.

"I'm not handsome!" Alexis managed to get out between giggles. "Girls are pretty, not handsome."

She heard Castle laughing through the phone too, making her blush. She cleared her throat.

"So, whats up Alexis?"

"Oh!" Alexis looked up at her dad with big eyes, and then shooed him away. He sighed and left obediently.

"Right. I wanna make daddy a birthday cake, but everything is to high up! I can't reach!" She complained. "And then I got a chair to stand on, but then the flour fell over, and I just couldn't help it, I had to eat the chocolate!" She said in a rush.

Kate raised an eyebrow. "You had to eat the chocolate?"

Ryan frowned over at her from his desk. "Who has chocolate?"

Kate shushed him. "Alexis, if you want to make a chocolate cake, you can't eat the chocolate yourself." She explained carefully.

Alexis peeled the sticky phone from her cheek and looked at it, horrified, as if it were Kate. "But I have to!"

"Well, then. Why do you have to eat all the chocolate?" She asked.

"Because it's tasty." She said, the melted chocolate making squishy noises as she pressed it back to her cheek.

"Right." She sighed. "Why don't you ask your dad?"

"Because it's a surprise!" She squealed. "For his birthday!"

Kate frowned. She looked at her watch and checked the date. "That's in two months, Alexis."

Now Alexis sighed. "These things take time." She said, as if she were the wisest person on earth.

Kate burst out laughing, much to the annoyance of her colleagues, whom she ignored. "Where did you hear that, Alexis?"

"Grams said it!" She said cheerfully.

"Alright then." She said, still grinning.

"Do you wanna help make the cake?" Alexis asked.

Kate's smile faded. "Oh, I would love to sweetie, but I'm at work right now."

"Oh..." She replied sadly.

"But i promise I will help make his birthday cake with you in two months, okay?"

Alexis cheered up instantly. "Okay!" She paused. "Kate?"

"Yes?"

"Do you wanna know a secret?"

"Sure."

"Promise not to tell? Even daddy?"

"I promise."

"I don't know how to make a cake."