43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Martha was away for the weekend. Kate was getting dressed, and Castle and Alexis were playing a video game as they waited for her, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Alexis answered it, and from where he sat, Castle heard a voice he did not want to hear saying, "Surprise!"

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Alexis asked angrily.

"I came to surprise you for your birthday, Silly. Why else would I be here?" she asked airily as she breezed in, rolling her luggage in behind her

"My birthday was three days ago. Dad sent you a text the night before to remind you. I saw it…along with the one that said you'd be here. Why weren't you here then?"

"Something came up. But I'm here now, so where are we going?"

"We," Alexis answered, motioning back and forth between mother and herself, "are not going anywhere. Dad and Kate and I are about to go to Mars 2112, which you would hate; so there's no reason to take you with us."

When she appeared in the doorway of the study to see what was going on, Kate was dressed casually in jeans, a deep purple sweater, and ballet flats, her hair falling in loose curls around her shoulders. It was a radical difference in appearance to Meredith's high fashion, perfectly coordinated look. Rather than make herself obvious, she just stood and observed from the study where she wasn't immediately obvious to Meredith.

"Tell me what you did on your eighteenth birthday, Mom? Do you remember?"

"Of course I do. I'll never forget that. My friends, who were already eighteen, and I went out and enjoyed that none of our parents could tell us what we could or couldn't do anymore. We got in my friend's car and went to Atlantic City, stayed out all night and partied on the beach. It was great."

"You want to hear how I spent my eighteenth birthday?"

"Yes. Did you have fun?"

"When I got up, Dad and Kate had cooked a huge breakfast buffet, and all four of us laughed about stuffing ourselves. Then I went to school, and Dad and Kate went to the precinct. Then I came home from school and wasted most of the rest of my birthday waiting for a mother who doesn't care enough about me to show up, or call to let me know she isn't going to, or even bother to answer her phone so I know whether I have the option of doing something else. When it was obvious that you weren't coming, Kate told Dad to call the restaurant where he made a reservation for the two of us…you and me…and see if they could make it for five. Then she called Granddad to meet us, told me to put on the dress we had bought for my birthday with my mom, and Grams went with us to dinner; but we were all angry. Doesn't that sound like fun? I doubt I'll ever forget my eighteenth birthday, either," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You saw to that, didn't you?"

"Alexis…"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Right now, Dad and Kate and I are going to do what we'd intended to do before you walked in as if we couldn't possibly have plans that wouldn't include you. So you go to your hotel, and call me in the morning. We'll do something then."

"I don't have a hotel reservation, so I'll just take my bags up to…"

Castle stood from the sofa and walked around behind it to put a stop to that, but Alexis was ahead of him.

"I've got this, Dad," she said, turning to him briefly before turning back to her mother.

Kate slipped in beside her husband and put an arm around his waist while Alexis dealt with her mother. He moved his arm around her shoulders, looked at her, and shrugged. Then they allowed Alexis to vent. She had every right to.

"No. You won't be staying here," Alexis declared firmly. "You're here to visit your only child, and your married ex-husband shouldn't have to provide you a place to stay anymore. Call me in the morning."

"Then, where am I supposed to stay?" Meredith asked testily.

"If you wanted to go to Paris again, would you know how to find a hotel?"

"Of course I would."

"Well, it works the same way here in New York. You take out your own credit card and call a hotel. If you need assistance, I'm sure Eduardo would help you out. And Dad would probably even spring for a town car. Just don't ask for his credit card. He'll be using it at Mars."

"Richard, are you going to let her order me around like this?"

"She's eighteen now. Old enough to vote, join the military, sign papers for herself, make her own decisions… Oh, but you missed that birthday, didn't you? So, yeah, I am. I'm not protecting you from her decisions. She's an adult now. You're on your own."

"Alexis I'm…"

"Tomorrow, Mom. We need to go."

Castle left his arm protectively around Kate's shoulders as he walked her to the closet to get their coats, and he helped her into hers. He then held Alexis's coat for her, and opened the door to escort all the women out. Meredith was shocked into silence, an unusual occurrence. When they were in the lobby, Castle stopped long enough to say, "Eduardo, Meredith will need a town car to take her to the hotel of her choice. If she needs help with hotel arrangements in her name, would you help her out? We're running a little late for our appointment." He slipped a generous tip into the doorman's hand before he left.

"Certainly, Mr. Castle. How can I help you, Ms. Harper?" he asked, while a flabbergasted Meredith tried to formulate an answer and the others walked out to their own waiting town car.

xxxxx

Mars 2112 started with the issuance of a Martian Federation visa and a space ship journey into the restaurant, which was underground. The ride shimmied and lurched, and after about five minutes it opened to let them out in the multilevel restaurant. The walls simulated red rock, and the darkish lighting gave it a shadowy look. And it was loud. It was late on a Saturday afternoon, and there were families with children everywhere, most of the children wildly excited. There was a large birthday party set up at a long table, with all the accompanying noise and hoopla. Odd, brightly colored "aliens" were wandering around for photo ops, and wait staff in Martian Federation uniforms were bustling back and forth.

"This is quite a place," Kate commented, looking as if she might not be sure whether to get into the spirit of things or head for the hills as fast as possible. Then she looked at Castle and Alexis, who were watching expectantly, obviously wanting her to enjoy it with them, and she grinned. "What next?" she asked, and the other two both relaxed and smiled.

"We can eat first, or go to the arcade…" Castle started.

Then Alexis took over. "Or find an alien and take pictures. Or we could find a place to sit and look at the menu and decide."

"And we need pictures with all the aliens." Castle insisted. "I think last time there might have been three." Then his phone buzzed in his pocket. He plugged one ear with a finger and pushed the phone tight against the other one so he could hear. "Hey, Javi. You're not calling us in are you? Kate has the day off."

"Where are you?" Esposito asked.

"Mars," Castle answered. The big smile could be heard through the phone.

"I know, but where on Mars?"

"Why?"

"We're crashing the party."

"You're here?"

"Yeah. Just crossed that walkway over the bubbling lava."

"Great, wasn't it? We're on the lower level close to the wall about four tables away from where we left the walkway. I'm gonna turn on the flashlight app and hold my phone up as high as I can for a minute and then check with you again." He held his phone up and waved it back and forth a few times, then put it back to his ear. "Did you find us?"

"Yeah, man. Don't move. We'll be there in a minute."

"We have company. Party crashers," he reported to the others. The original three waited where they were until they saw Ryan, Jenny, Lanie, and Esposito coming to meet them.

"We have a teenager to entertain. What's your excuse?" Kate asked loudly enough to be heard above the din.

"Castle was having way too much fun geeking out about this place, and none of us had ever been here…and Little Castle only turns eighteen once." Esposito explained.

"So we're crashing your party," Lanie told them. Looking around, she added, "Good lord, it's loud in here."

"Cool, though, isn't it?" Castle asked.

"Give me time to adjust, Writer-boy. This is seriously strange."

"Whoa. What is that?" Ryan asked with a little laugh.

"Oh, that's one of the space aliens," Alexis told them. "Wait here. We have to get a picture."

She hurried across the distance of several tables and pointed at her family and friends, and the alien followed her back. They took several pictures with different groupings of people, then Kate suggested they find a place to sit and decide what to do next.

"We could decide around appetizers," Castle suggested.

Everybody else nodded, and they found a table in a corner where the noise was only coming from two sides instead of providing full surround sound, though there was still plenty of it to be had.

"Oh, this is a little better," Jenny commented.

"Yeah. I heard what you said, and you weren't shouting," Lanie agreed. "Not entirely anyway."

One of the waiters came by with menus, and Castle asked him for some time to decide. "There are rookies among us," he explained, "unschooled in the ways of Mars." The young man nodded and smiled and promised to come back in a few minutes.

"Look at these names on the menu. Even the food got into the space theme," Jenny said.

"I think I'll order the Nebula Chili Nachos," Castle decided. Leaning toward his wife, and saying it only for her benefit, he added, "Or should we call them Nebula Nine Chili Nachos?"

"You're never going to leave that alone, are you?" she asked, swatting him on the arm. "That's what I get for letting you help me unpack boxes when I moved in. Like your DVD collection doesn't have a few questionable titles. And there's nothing wrong with 'Nebula 9'".

He kissed her temple and laughed while the others were mulling over their choices. By the time the waiter returned, they had decided to keep their corner table where it was easier to talk and have an early dinner.

Dinner was ordered, Starfield Salmon, Terraforma Tuna Tostada, and Copernicus Chicken Parmesan, among other space themed treats. They enjoyed their appetizers while they waited, had their dinner, and then moved on to the arcade, where they all exercised their competitive natures. Esposito was floored when Alexis soundly beat his score at one of the games and did a little victory dance around him. He wouldn't be hearing the end of that any time soon.

There had been a lull in the number of children in the arcade about the time they finished dinner, and when the next big wave of children started moving in and looking for space to play, they moved out to make room for them. They all got into the "transporter" which took them to the gift shop and spent a while looking at the cheesy, tourist attraction souvenirs, Alexis deciding what to buy to commemorate the day.

"You want a T-shirt?" Castle asked his wife, holding up one in her size.

"Buy two in your size. I can sleep in it," she answered.

"Dad, can I get this, too?" Alexis asked.

"Anything you want," he promised, and she took him at his word. They left with a bag of assorted Martian treasures and a lot of laughter.

Once on the sidewalk, Ryan commented, "I never thought I'd see the day when the streets of New York seemed quiet."

"That was fun," Lanie admitted, "but I don't think I ever need to do it again."

"Maybe when we have a kid old enough to enjoy it?" Ryan asked Jenny.

"Maybe. Until then I'm done, though," she answered, but she was smiling.

The others said goodnight from there, wished Alexis a happy birthday, and went their separate ways.

"That was fun," Alexis said, clutching her bag of souvenirs. "I can't believe the rest of the team came, too."

"You have a bigger family than you thought," Kate told her.

"Too bad Granddad couldn't make it," Alexis giggled.

"Yeah, well I called and reminded him," Kate answered in a similar tone of mischief. "He was going to be a good sport and brave Mars, but since he was in on dinner, he opted out of this trip. He said he'll take you somewhere else later…just the two of you."

"Somehow, I don't see Granddad on Mars. Maybe I'll suggest the museum or something," Alexis said as they went to meet the town car.

"Much more his speed," Kate agreed. "He'd enjoy that."

"I suspect that was why Grams left this weekend, so she couldn't be wheedled into coming with us. Not her thing, either."

Castle just quietly enjoyed that his child now had more people who loved her, and he accompanied his family to the car.

xxxxx

Alexis looked across the breakfast bar at Kate and her father when she heard the knock on the door. This time she looked more sad and resigned than angry. Taking a deep breath, she stood and braced herself for another pivotal talk with her mother.

"Do you want us to stay with you, or would you rather we say 'good morning' and bow out," Castle asked.

"We'll do whatever you want," Kate agreed. "Or I could hang out in the study and leave it to you and your dad."

"I think I need to talk to her myself. It's time I give her some new rules. I'm tired of coming in a poor second to whatever else turns up."

"Your decision, Pumpkin," Castle agreed. "We'll be right here if you need us."

Alexis nodded and went and opened the door.

Meredith had obviously worked herself into a fine snit. "Am I allowed to come in and stay for a while this time?" she asked dramatically, making no move to enter the loft.

"Not if you're going to make this all about you. Making it about you is the reason we have a problem. I'm making it about me for a change, and about Dad and Kate."

As she entered the room, Meredith glared at Kate where she and Castle were refilling their coffee mugs. "That's what all this is really about, isn't it?"

"I haven't heard her say one word against you, Mom. This is all your own doing, so stop trying to take it out on anybody else. I'll get you some coffee and we can sit down and talk."

At that point, Castle felt no need at all to speak to Meredith. He simply put his hand at the small of Kate's back, they picked up their coffee, and he ushered her into the study.

Meredith put her purse on the sofa and sat down at the breakfast bar, still looking annoyed.

"Look, I'm sorry I wasn't here on your birthday. But was that really bad enough for you to kick me out of the loft for the night?"

"It's the pattern of disrespect you've shown over my entire life that got you kicked out of the loft, not just that one day," Alexis explained.

"Pattern of dis…" her mother started, sounding insulted.

"Yes. Disrespect. Let me ask you something, Mom. How many of your birthdays have I missed?"

"You never miss my birthday."

"How about Mother's Day? Christmas? Valentine's Day? Thanksgiving?"

"You always call…and send cards or gifts. I brag about it to all my friends. But that's what you're supposed to do. I'm your mother."

"And how many times have you missed my birthday…or said you'd be here for some special event and not shown up? You're not supposed to forget either. It's not like you have three or four children. I'm the only one you have to remember. You never had to take me to school every day, or take care of me when I was sick, or watch a bunch of kids get mad at each other at play dates, or sit in the hot sun for a little kid's soccer game. Dad did all that. All I ever expected from you was to show up for things that were special to me when you said you would. But you didn't even do that."

"I didn't miss that many."

"Actually, you've missed more than you've shown up for. I started keeping track when I was about ten. But you even confirmed this one the night before and still didn't come. I know Dad paid the plane fare. He always did, didn't he? And he told you there would be a room waiting for you at The Four Seasons when you arrived. When you didn't call to cancel before your check-in time, he had to pay for the room that wasn't used."

"Well, he can afford it."

"You really don't get it, do you? It doesn't matter if he can afford it or not. It matters that you need to find some manners to use on our family. We're tired of our schedules being turned upside down because you can't be bothered to be here when you're supposed to…or because you appear out of the blue when we aren't expecting you. And if the tables were turned, Kate was the ex-wife and you were the new one, would you let her just waltz in here unannounced, complete with luggage, and assume she was going to move into the guest room?" Meredith looked surprised at that thought and took a breath as if she intended to say something, but Alexis plowed right on with what she was saying. "Suppose I told you I was coming to visit and then didn't bother to call and cancel, or even bother to answer my phone so you knew whether to cancel our dinner reservations? Suppose I left you to wait all afternoon just wondering? You'd be up in arms over any of those things, but if it doesn't involve your time or your feelings, you don't seem to think it's important enough to worry about."

"I really didn't mean to ruin your birthday, Honey. And you're right. I didn't think about any of that. I guess I haven't been a very good mother." Meredith was twisting her hair as she spoke, one of the tells that she was doing a bit of acting, playing for sympathy; but Alexis was too perceptive to miss it.

"No, you haven't. That's why I never said anything. When I was younger, I thought you already didn't love me enough to show up most of the time. I decided if I complained, you might not ever come to see me again."

Both the acting and the play for sympathy were gone. "Alexis? You really thought that?"

"Most of my life. What else was I supposed to think? I was always one of those 'actions speak louder than words' kind of kids. Dad and Grams acted like I was important enough to love. You didn't."

Meredith put her arms around Alexis, pulled her daughter's head to her shoulder, and held her for a long moment. "Baby, I'm so sorry I let you think I didn't care. I do love you, you know." She paused for a moment, pulled back to look at Alexis, and asked a question she looked like she didn't really want to ask.

"Does Kate make you feel like you're important enough to love?"

"All the time."

"You're not going to let me off easy this time, are you?"

"No. I deserve better, and so does Dad. You've taken advantage of both of us for a long time."

"I've…" Meredith started to protest."

"Dad always paid for you to come here…probably because he wanted me to think you cared about me. You visited me a little bit and took most of your time to visit your friends and party. You took me to nice places for lunch and bought my gifts 'from you' with his credit card, and you went home with as many new clothes for yourself as you bought for me. If you wanted to go for an audition in New York, you'd call and say you wanted to see me, and Dad would take care of the plane fare. I might not see you for more than one afternoon after school, but you used me to get Dad to foot the bill. You told me you cheated on him, he didn't. Then you walked out on us and left him to take care of me alone. And you're the one who filed for divorce, but he pays you very generous alimony anyway. Most people would call that taking advantage. That's why I made you pay for your own hotel room. Doing that to my dad stops this weekend."

"Shouldn't that be up to Richard?"

"Not any more. I love you, Mom. You're my mother. Dad and Grams love with their whole hearts. Kate and her father do, too. It's a Rodgers thing and a Beckett thing, but after meeting your parents only a couple of times, even briefly, I know it isn't a Harper thing. I've accepted that. You'll always be part of my life because I'm your daughter. But Dad is your ex-husband. Emphasis on the 'ex'. He doesn't owe you any more than the alimony he promised you. He has no obligation to get you here to visit, or provide you accommodations or transportation around town. He and Kate have a great marriage, and he doesn't need any more drama because of an ex-wife. I'm going to be away at college after this school year, and between now and then there's no reason for you to be at the loft any longer than it takes for you to pick me up at the door. I refuse to help you take advantage of him anymore."

Meredith nodded. "He deserves that from you. I know you've been the center of his life. You were much better off with him than you would have been with me."

"So, here are the new rules, Mom: 1. If you plan to visit, call me, not Dad. 2. If you say you'll be here, either show up or call ahead of time to say you won't be. Otherwise, I'm not going to waste time or tears over it anymore. 3. When you visit, you'll take care of your own expenses. 4 When you buy me a gift, it will actually be from you. I don't need to be showered with gifts, anyway. I'd rather know that you just wanted to see me. I love you, and you'll still get the cards and gifts and visits and phone calls. But I deserve better than I've been getting."

Meredith held her hand out and Alexis took it.

"Deal. Alexis, I honestly didn't realize how I was affecting you. Your father tried to tell me often enough, but I thought he was just being over protective. I would never have hurt you like that intentionally." She propped on one elbow at the breakfast bar and took a long look at Alexis. "My daughter is an adult. It looks like time for me to grow up, too. Can I take you to lunch? Birthday apology? My treat…for real?"

"I'd like that."

"Go tell your father we'll be gone for the afternoon."

Alexis went to the door of the study and found Rick and Kate sitting on the sofa. "Mom said to tell you we'll be gone for the afternoon. She's taking me to lunch first. I guess we'll decide what else later."

"Okay. Call if you need anything."

Alexis went to her room to get her purse, and Meredith called, "Richard?"

He stood and took Kate's hand to take her with him. "What is it, Meredith?"

"Thank you. You've done a good job. She's grown into a much better person than I did. Alexis obviously loves you, Kate. I won't even try to convince you I'm not jealous, but don't stop making her feel loved."

"I won't. Loving her is easy."

Meredith turned as Alexis came down the stairs. "Ready?" she asked.

"Be right there," Alexis answered. Then she went to hug her dad and Kate and said, "See you later," before she left with her mother.

After the door closed, Kate leaned into Castle and said, "I think I'm jealous. Does it make me a bad person to see her happy with her own mother?"

"Not in my eyes," he answered, running his hand up and down her arm lovingly.

"Do you ever look back and wish you and Meredith could have worked things out?"

"You've met her. Judging from what we heard, I think she'll try to make some changes for Alexis; but after I caught her with her director, I had no desire to work things out. She did give me two things that I'll always be grateful for, though."

"Two? Alexis and what else?"

"A divorce. The freedom to have you…even if I had to be stupid enough to marry somebody else before I found you."

"Don't be looking for one of those divorce things from me."

"Don't even want to think about it," he promised, kissing her in a way that said he intended to take full advantage of their afternoon alone.