Top 250 Quotes From Alexis Castle

[last lines]
Richard: Um... You know what? We're gonna start a tradition... for when we solve a case together.
[Castle opens a container and pulls out a cigar]
Alexis: I don't smoke. And neither do you.
Richard: Who said anything about smoking?
[Castle puts the 'cigar' in his mouth and starts to blow bubbles]

[first lines]
Martha: 297 wedding guests. It's a minor miracle, our final total is below 300.
Richard: There. I am done. Five hundred autographed copies of "Wild Storm". My pre-wedding signing obligations are finished.
Alexis: Good. Now sign this.
Richard: What's this one?
Alexis: Final payment for the rooftop venue.
Richard: You mean the perfect venue. A 360-degree view of Manhattan. The stars above us, the world at our feet. It's too bad Beckett didn't want to bungee jump off the side of the building for our big exit. Now, that would have been cool.
Alexis: The tuxes will be in tomorrow evening. Did you tell Esposito and Ryan?
Richard: I did. They will be here to try them on and to collect them. You are the most adorable best man a groom could hope for.
[front door buzzes]
Martha: Ah, probably the concierge with more gifts.
[opens door]
Martha: Ah, hi, Gerard. Put them over there with the others. Thank you.
Richard: All right. I'm out.
[walks out of the apartment]
Martha: Bye.
Alexis: Dad! Don't forget the forms for the marriage license.
[Alexis holds out the paperwork; Castle's hand appears from the corridor and snatches it]

Hayley: Damn it, Alexis, what are you doing here?
Alexis: Well, I needed some case files for work. But if this is how you get when people come over unannounced, I am happy to give you back your spare key.

[first lines]
Richard: H-O-I-V-L... Hoilv... Vlohi... Hovil! No. That's not a word, either.
Kate: [entering from bedroom] Did you seriously stay up staring at this "Scrabble" board all night instead of going to bed?
Richard: With these five remaining tiles, I have to craft a word scoring nine points. Then I turn defeat into victory.
Alexis: [coming downstairs] Oh, my gosh. Did you really beat dad at "Scrabble"?
Richard: I concede nothing. Except that I need more coffee.
Martha: That is quite an accomplishment, young lady. Nobody beats him, *ever*.
Kate: Oh, yeah. He's mentioned that. Repeatedly.
Martha: Ahh, how the mighty have fallen.
Richard: "Richard Castle. One word short." I cannot allow this to be my epitaph.
[Alexis and Beckett fist bump]
Richard: I saw that.

Richard: You were all in on it?
Martha: Mm-hmm. Michael, Brent, and Emily, my brilliant acting students. I, of course, was the director.
Richard: And the boys?
Javier: Yep.
Kate: Oh, yeah, they were great. Except you didn't have to kick down the door.
Javier: I was in the moment.
Kevin: We wanted to be convincing.
Javier: Yeah.
Richard: Alexis, you too?
Alexis: It's why I bought you the binoculars.
Richard: Even Captain Gates?
Kevin: Yeah, she jumped at the chance to dress you down for any reason.
Richard: Where is Captain Gates?
Javier: She couldn't make it.
Richard: Good.

Richard: So, tell me, what happened in Williamsburg.
Alexis: Two days ago, a bunch of us went to Keena's of Brooklyn. It's a boutique. And my friends thought it would be cool if we all took a couple things.
Richard: You shop...
[Castle lowers his voice as a patrol cop walks by]
Richard: [quietly] You were shoplifting?
Alexis: No. I couldn't, but my friends did, and they said I was chicken.
Richard: So you went back to finish the job to impress your friends.
Alexis: No, I went back to pay for what they stole. I couldn't just let someone get cheated like that. I took money out of my savings and went back to the store. When I got there, I put cash on the counter with a note and ran out as fast as I could.
Richard: [pause] I don't know whether to be angry or proud. What friends were you with?
Alexis: It doesn't matter.
Richard: Well, of course it matters.
Alexis: Who I was with is off the table. I'm not gonna narc on them.
Richard: Again, angry and proud.

Alexis: I know you wanna keep me safe, but... the only way to do that is wrap me in bubble wrap and hide me in a cave.
Richard: Believe me, I've thought about it. Thing is, Alexis, there are bad people out there, who will do bad things. And, the more you expose...
Alexis: Dad, you know me. I'm careful, and smart... But... I need to live my life, my way.
Richard: All right. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop worrying, doesn't mean I'm gonna stop caring, or reminding you, from time to time, that you are, indeed... wrong.
Alexis: And I wouldn't want you to.

Richard: Well, do what I do... Look at the odds as a challenge.
Alexis: Says the man who always loses in Vegas.

Richard: "Kill Me Now".
Alexis: [worried] You got the cell phone bill?
Richard: No, uh... books from my publisher for back cover quotes.
[pause]
Richard: Wait... What about the cell phone bill?
Alexis: [innocently] Nothing.

Frank: It's over, Alexis.
Alexis: Don't say that.
Frank: All these years, Maggie has been leading this charge. She's been my rock. And now I've got to be hers. I've got less than two days to help her make peace with what's about to come. The last thing that she needs is more false hope.
Alexis: This isn't false hope.
Frank: It is false hope.
Alexis: This could be what turns everything around!
Frank: It's done! It's done, Alexis... Guard.
[Alexis starts to cry]
Frank: Listen, I appreciate everything you've done, everything you've tried to do. It's time to let it go.

Alexis: Dad? What did Hayley tell you?
Richard: The truth.
Alexis: Why did Hayley lie to us?
Richard: Because I asked her to.
[sees Alexis is confused]
Richard: It's... complicated.
Alexis: Do you trust her?
Richard: Yes. Absolutely. And you can, too.
Alexis: But you can't trust me with the truth?
Richard: Oh, hang on, Alexis, that's not about trust. I am your father. And from the day you came into this world, it's been my job to protect you.
Alexis: So, what's our next move?
Richard: There is no next move. We let sleeping dogs lie. It's safer that way, for everyone.

Martha: I have to say, Katherine, it is so good to have you home.
Kate: Thank you.
Alexis: I second that motion.
Kate: Oh, thank you.
[the screeching violin of the "Psycho" theme suddenly blares]
Martha: Oh!
Kate: Lucy, what the hell? Turn it off.
Lucy: [music stops] Whoa, language, Kate. Is there a problem?
Kate: Oh, really?
[chuckles]
Kate: Well, then, let me make it up to you.
[Kate picks Lucy up and sticks her into the refrigerator]
Martha: [laughs] Isn't that a little extreme?
Kate: No. No, actually, I- I don't think so. Look, uh, this- this might sound odd, but ever since I got back, it's like Lucy's been jealous.
Alexis: She's an "it." A CPU wrapped in a plastic pyramid, she doesn't have emotions. And she certainly can't be jealous.
[the electricity goes off]
Kate: You were saying?

Kevin: Castle stole our car after we arrested Slaughter.
[Alexis and Hayley start laughing]
Alexis: I... I'm sorry. That's, uh, that's really not funny.
Hayley: It really is, though.

Richard: Annabelle said she was betrayed by someone she trusted. Maybe that was Captain Max.
[Alexis and her friends in skimpy costumes walked by, Castle sees Alexis]
Richard: Oh, my God! Alexis?
Alexis: [Alexis and her friends turn around] Dad? What are you doing here?
Richard: What are you doing here dressed like that?
Alexis: We're Havacura. It's a tribe of female assassins who...
Richard: Don't wear clothes?
Alexis: You're overacting. And you're embarrassing me.
Richard: Oh, I'm embarrassing you? I'm the one who's dressed.
[Castle tries to put his coat on Alexis]
Alexis: Dad!
Kate: [Beckett grabs Castle and pulls him away] Castle, come on. Let's go.
Richard: Are you kidding me? Do you see what she's wearing?
[Alexis leaves with her friends]
Kate: Yeah, it's not that bad.
Richard: Not that bad? How am I gonna unsee that?

Richard: So what do we know?
Alexis: Last night, Beckett's old team from the Attorney General's office was killed.
Richard: Right. And then this morning, she gets a call from their new hire, Vikram, and all hell breaks loose.
Alexis: Which means everything must be connected to Beckett's time in the A.G.
Richard: But how? That was two years ago.
Alexis: Maybe she stayed in contact.
Richard: And kept me in the dark? Well, before today, I wouldn't have believed it. Now I can't help but wonder what else she's keeping from me.
Alexis: Don't go there, dad.
Richard: Easier said than done.

[Castle has discovered lead regarding his disappearance]
Alexis: So, according to the JPEG's geotag, the photo was taken here, and this is the building you were coming out of.
Kate: Montreal Global Bank.
Richard: What was I doing at a bank?
Alexis: Dad, the key! The one sewn into your pants, when they found you. What if the bank is where it came from?
Richard: A safe deposit box.
Alexis: It's the right size.
Richard: We need to get up there. This is the break we've been waiting for.
Kate: Okay, fine. We'll go this weekend.
Richard: We can't wait for the weekend, we gotta go now.
Kate: I'm in the middle of a case.
Richard: Fine! I'll go. Montreal's a short flight. I'll be there and back in a couple of hours.
Kate: No! Not after everything we've been through. You're not going alone.
Alexis: She's right, dad. You can't go by yourself. I'll go with you!
Richard: Yes. Yes! She'll go with me.
Kate: We have no idea what's out there. No idea who's out there. That's too risky.
Richard: It's Canada. How risky could it be? And need I remind you, I'm a grown man. I don't need to ask your permission. That being said, please, please, please can I- can I... can I go?
Kate: Okay, fine. But only because I know you're not gonna do anything stupid if she's with you.
[to Alexis]
Kate: Don't let him do anything stupid.
Alexis: Promise.

Richard: You're right. I do need to grow up. And that's why I'm doing what I'm doing. Everything that's happened, happened because of me. And I need to be there for her. I owe her that.
Alexis: Does she make you happy?
Richard: Yeah, she does.
Alexis: Is it enough?
Richard: It's enough for now.

Richard: It's just so senseless.
Alexis: Murder usually is.
Richard: Nope. Murder usually makes a great deal of sense. Passion, greed, politics. What's senseless here is the books the killer chose. "Hell Hath No Fury?" "Flowers For Your Grave?" My truly lesser works. Why would a psychotic fan pick those?
Alexis: Maybe because he's psychotic. Come on. It's bedtime. You can figure it out in the morning.

[first lines]
Richard: I have delicately placed *one* graham cracker, exactly six... marshmallows atop a perfectly melted... chocolate bar.
Martha: In an omelet, darling? Really?
Richard: Not an omelet. A s'more-let.
Martha: Uh-huh
Richard: Care for one?
Martha: No, thank you.
Richard: [to Alexis] What about you, sweetheart? Are you ready for your taste buds to be launched to breakfast nirvana?
Alexis: [distractedly] Sure, thanks. Oh, is it okay if my friend Ashley comes over tonight?
Richard: Yes, of course. Now eat.
[takes a bite then gags and spits it out]
Alexis: Uh! Are there marshmallows in this?
Richard: Yes.
Alexis: And chocolate.
Richard: Yes. That's the point. It's a s'more-let.
Alexis: Uh... I gotta go. Love you. Love you.
Martha: Bye, honey.
[Alexis hurries away from the counter]
Richard: [chewing his own bite] Mmm! This is almost as good as my chocolate mousse chimichanga.
[Alexis returns to pick up her school bag]
Richard: Ah-ha! I knew you'd reconsider! It's like David Hasselhoff. At first you're repulsed, but then strangely, you're drawn in.
Alexis: [heading to the door] No, still repulsed. Bye!

Alexis: Are you sure you're not still looking into Beckett's case?... Even after you promised not to?
[someone knocks on the front door]
Martha: [off-screen] I'll get it.
Richard: Look, it's fine. No one's ever gonna know.
Martha: [entering] Richard, these men are here for you. They say they're federal agents.

Richard: How's your speech coming?
Alexis: I have watched or read every graduation address ever written and compiled all the best advice into one speech. And then I read it out loud, and guess what I sounded like? A pompous ass. I'm eighteen years old. What the hell do I know?
Richard: [hugs Alexis] Hey, look, everything you know, everything you will know, is... it's what's true for you.
Alexis: I know that everything's changing. Everything's going to be different. And I'm so scared.
Richard: Of what?
Alexis: Moving on.
Richard: Write about that. That feels true.

Richard: That is... Fifty-year-old Scotch.
Alexis: Yeah, I bought a case of it.
Richard: Alexis, that's expensive.
Alexis: Relax, Dad, the company paid for it.
Richard: Oh. Okay. Wait, that means I paid for it.

[Alexis joins Martha at the counter where Castle is mixing drinks]
Alexis: [sadly] I need a drink.
[Castle looks at her in disbelief]
Alexis: H-two-O. Dirty.
Richard: Tap water it is.

[after Castle helps Alexis rescue her drunk friend from a senior party]
Alexis: Do we have to call her parents?
Richard: We do. Get me their number.
Alexis: She'll get in so much trouble.
Richard: Less than if you had left her there.

Richard: Are you all right?
Hayley: Sure. I'm fine.
Richard: You don't have to mourn your friends alone, you know.
Alexis: You don't have to do anything alone, ever again.

[first lines]
[while reading, Alexis is startled by and electronic blast behind her only to find Castle in his laser tag outfit]
Alexis: Dad! What are you doing?
Richard: You have 30 seconds to suit up.
Alexis: I...
Richard: The game is afoot.
Alexis: Dad...
Richard: Wait... Let me savor this... Haven't got the drop on you since you were 10. Ah, this feels like... victory.

Alexis: We lost our venue? How is that even possible?
Richard: They had a circus party there tonight, with some first-time fire breathers. Now our rooftop venue does not have a floor.
Alexis: This is a disaster.
Richard: I have no place to get married and no one to get married to. I think "disaster" is an understatement.
Martha: So-called disaster is merely opportunity in disguise. We'll just find another place to hold the wedding.
Richard: Are you kidding? Where are we gonna find a venue in Manhattan that holds 300 people in less than two days?
Alexis: Ooh! We already have one. Not in Manhattan. We can move the whole party to our house in the Hamptons.
Richard: [liking the idea] Yes. Yes! We've held larger parties than this out there.
Alexis: We rent luxury buses to shuttle our guests and pay the vendors' transportation costs.
Martha: Brilliant! I will call the housekeeper first thing in the morning and have them start getting the place ready.
Richard: Do you really think we can pull this off?
Martha: Oh, please. I once staged "A Chorus Line" on a subway platform when our company lost its space. I think I can move a wedding. Alexis will help with everything. You just make sure Katherine finds that deadbeat husband of hers.

Alexis: You should call them again.
Richard: I just called them twenty minutes ago.
Alexis: I don't understand. Why is it taking so long? Ryan found the bank where Kim had her account hours ago.
Richard: The account was closed in '98. The bank has moved three times since then. They may not have even kept the files.
Alexis: And what if they didn't? We're running out of time. We need to go to the judge.
Richard: With what? Frank'll never admit to covering for John. That would put John at the crime scene.
Alexis: So what do we do? Dad, tell me what to do.
Richard: Hey, I don't know. But whatever happens, we're gonna deal with it. All right? Together.
[scared, she hugs him for comfort]
Alexis: I'm sorry I was mad at you.
Richard: Oh, no. I deserved it. I'm sorry.

[talking about Castle]
Alexis: Is he as good as you?
Hayley: Good heavens, no! Why would you ask such a thing?

Hayley: Okay. Sorry, sorry. I don't mean to get so bitchy. It's just that your father blew off that meeting I set up with potential clients.
Alexis: He had an impromptu get-together this morning with Stephen King. Maybe he's still there.
Hayley: Do you have King's number?
Alexis: No, but his assistant called my dad's cell, which is linked the office computer. Okay. Here's his call log. Got it.
[calls number]
Alexis: It's disconnected. I must have misdialed.
[tries again]
Alexis: Something's wrong.
Hayley: [checking her phone] No. There's a new tweet from Stephen King.
[reading]
Hayley: "Watch me live on Australia's '7PM Project' in twenty minutes."
Alexis: If Stephen King is in Australia... where's my dad?

Richard: Your throat feel any better?
Alexis: Why'd I have to get mono?
Richard: Well, it's called the kissing disease for a reason. I assume you and Max were... I'm going to stop right there.
Alexis: I think that's best.

Richard: What are you ladies doing?
Martha: Mmm... Alexis is assisting me in creating a MyFace account.
Richard: I think you mean...
Alexis: Save your breath. I've been correcting her all morning.
Martha: Well, it's my face, isn't it? It's not your face or someone else's face. I don't... Well, anyway. My fellow cast members have been raving about what fun it is, what a great networking tool it is, so... here I am.
Alexis: And now you just need to select a photo for your profile page.
Martha: Okay. Should we go...
[holds up a young photo]
Martha: ... dramatic? Or...
[holds up another young photo]
Martha: ... commercial? Or...
[holds up another young photo]
Martha: ... *sassy*?
Richard: [chuckles] Don't you have anything from this century?
Martha: Why, you think the hair's a bit dated?
Richard: Not exactly what I was getting at.

Alexis: Look, I'm sorry about that whole "hot mess" thing I said before.
Mandy: Sorry that you said it or sorry that I heard it?
Alexis: I should probably go.
[turns to leave]
Mandy: It happens when you're not looking.
Alexis: [turning back] Excuse me?
Mandy: Before, you asked how it happens. How someone becomes like me... It happens when you're not looking, and by the time you realize it, it's already who you are. Like the car crash on the side of the road, everybody stops and... and watches.
Alexis: That doesn't mean it's who you have to be. You can always change.
Mandy: Turns out I don't do change so well. But... you steal a police car and you set it on fire, I'm your girl. Or if you find... the *greatest* guy in the world, fall madly in love, and then mess it up by hooking up with my dirtbag ex... that I can do.
Alexis: Yeah, I saw that picture online.
Mandy: You and the rest of the world.
Alexis: Maybe if you didn't drink.
Mandy: If I don't drink, then I start to feel... And I don't like what I feel.

Kate: [whispering] You guys, I completely forgot. He said that it wasn't a big deal, but I think it actually kind of is.
Alexis: It's a very big deal. We even get a little competitive.
Martha: I started working on mine in July.
Kate: Wh...
Alexis: Welcome to the family.
Martha: Yeah.
[chuckles]
Kate: So what do I have to do again?
Alexis: Write six funny, poignant, and eloquent lines describing highlights of the past year for you.
Kate: [relieved] Oh, yeah.
Alexis: And they must rhyme.
Martha: Yeah.
Kate: [worried again] What word rhymes with "I'm screwed"?

Richard: All right, we know that Robyn was meeting with her new crew twice a week in Spanish Harlem. And I think these smybols on her phone have something to do with her next meeting.
Alexis: So what's the problem?
Richard: I don't speak emoji.

Alexis: Hey.
Richard: Hey. What are you doing up? Stressed about finals?
Alexis: American Lit's today. I was having nightmares about Hester Prynne.
Richard: Ah. The irony for you is *not* getting an "A" would cause you shame.
Alexis: So why are you up?
Richard: Looking for a white rabbit.
Alexis: Lewis Carroll or The Matrix?
Richard: I'm not sure yet.
Alexis: What did Beckett tell you about taking phone photos of the crime scene?
Richard: I don't know. I wasn't listening.

Alexis: A mission from God?
Richard: Well, that's what Ryan said. On the other hand, Dave was a compulsive liar.
Alexis: Mmm. Still, most lies have a kernel of truth in them.
Richard: Oh, like when you went to Fashion Week, but you neglected to mention that you were taking my platinum credit card?
Alexis: I was more thinking about our victim and how he lied about being a fugitive mobster in order to investigate union kickbacks.

[entering an apartment the victim was staying at]
Javier: I thought Peter was majoring in marketing, not medieval torture.
Alexis: This stuff isn't for torture, it's a BDSM dungeon.
[Castle gives her a look]
Alexis: What? I read "Fifty Shades", and, clearly, so had Peter.

Richard: [answering phone] Hello?
Alexis: Hey, Dad, where are you?
Richard: Where am I supposed to be?
Alexis: Fire ants? Eyeballs?
Richard: [remembering his book signing] Right. Uh... stall for me. I'm on my way.

Alexis: [approaching Castle and Martha in Castle's office] What are you guys watching?
Richard: I'm watching. She's butting in.

Richard: Either this is the most boring dream I've ever had or you can't sleep either.
Alexis: It's not a dream. More like a nightmare.
Richard: Is this about your valedictorian speech?
Alexis: It's my chance to say something important, something worthy. I don't want to blow it, but I feel like I have nothing to say.
Richard: You mean nothing compared to the great sacred texts of mankind,
[glances at her notes]
Richard: or Winston Churchill's speech to Harrow's, or Steve Jobs' address to Stanford. You know, maybe you pick some speeches just a little less daunting to compare yours to, like um... "Say Anything" or "Twilight".
Alexis: It's not supposed to be this hard.
Richard: You know, the most worthwhile things in life are often the most difficult. For example...
[his phone rings; it's Beckett]
Richard: Wow, that really is a smart phone.

[first lines]
Martha: Well, that was easy. All right! What do we do next?
Alexis: Set up your profile. Name? Martha Rodgers. Sex? Female. Race?
Martha: Color-blind. Why should I categorize myself? Shades of gray, darling.
Alexis: Age?
Martha: Ageless. No, better yet, timeless.

[first lines]
Richard: Reading the paper? You are gonna lose all of your wired-teen-hyper-texting-nano-gizmo street cred.
Alexis: I'm a rebel. I kick it old school.
Richard: [referring to cup of coffee on counter] Is this...
Alexis: Cream, two sugars.
Richard: Thanks. Style section. Anything I need to know?
Alexis: The '70s are back.
Richard: Hmm. They're like the Highlander, they just won't die.
[pause]
Richard: Morning, Mother. You're dressed early.
Martha: Ah! I have class.
Richard: I believe that's a matter of some debate.
Martha: At the New School, funny man. Look, it's-it's not that I don't appreciate everything you've done, but a girl has to stand on her own two feet.
Richard: What's the class?
Alexis: "Introduction To Life Coaching". It's-It's always been my desire to make a difference, whether on stage or off. And, *I'*... have had cards made.
Richard: [stammering] That's my I... you've... It says here, I'm your client.
Martha: Well, of course you are. Haven't I been telling you what to do your whole life?
Alexis: Oh, uh, Dad, Julie Schmidt's father's back in rehab, so a spot opened to chaperone the D.C. trip.
Richard: Where is the... How did you know Julie's dad was back in rehab?
Alexis: Must be a wired-teen-hyper-nano thing. So what do you say?
Richard: Sorry, kiddo, but, uh, with you away, my chaperoning needs reside here. Or are you forgetting what happened the last time we left her alone?
Alexis: So she... had a little party.
Richard: There were lime shards embedded in the walls.
Martha: It was Cinco de Mayo.
Alexis: Exactly.
Richard: [phone rings, plays "Dracula" theme] I hear dead people.
[answers phone]
Richard: Who was murdered, and was it gruesome?

Richard: You have a friend named "Buttons"? A human friend?
Alexis: Her mom called her that when she was little and it stuck.
Richard: [chuckles] Now so is she.
Alexis: Buttons and I bonded over being rejected from Stanford. In fact, we applied to a *lot* of the same schools, so we were planning to visit a few campuses together this weekend...
Martha: Ah.
Alexis: ...Make a road trip out of it.
Richard: Whoa! Okay, whoa. Where are you staying, who's driving and who is chaperoning?
Alexis: We were going to take your Ferrari and hook up with some boys we met on Craigslist.
[Alexis throws her father a look to show she's being sarcastic]
Richard: Not cool.
Martha: Honey, don't be such a killjoy. I'm sure Buttons' mother is going along.
Alexis: She is, and she's very responsible.
Richard: Yeah, except when it comes to picking nicknames.
Alexis: Look, if you want, I could have Mrs. Dutton stop by to meet you when she picks me up.
Richard: Yeah, I think that'd be o... Her last name is Dutton? Your friend's name is "Buttons Dutton"?
Martha: That is unfortunate.
Alexis: What's so wrong with that?
Richard: Oh, come on, it'd be like calling me "Rassle" or "Tassel"...
[answers phone while still talking]
Richard: ... or "No Hassle Castle".
[to phone]
Richard: Hey. No, I was just making a point... Please don't call me that.

Alexis: You know, it's okay to be surprised sometimes. That's the fun.
Richard: You surprise me. All the time.

[last lines]
[as Martha is painfully playing the violin]
Richard: Speaking of running away, how about we have dinner out?
Alexis: Yes. Please.
Richard: Thank you.
Alexis: Okay, come on.

[Castle finds out Alexis is interning with Lanie]
Richard: I don't know if you should be exposed to crime scenes and dead bodies.
Alexis: Oh, I'm already used to it. It's equal parts gross and cool.
Lanie: I heard that, and I couldn't agree with you more.

Richard: But, Alexis, why were you stealing food?
Alexis: Because I ran out of money.
Richard: How could you have possibly spent all your money? Unless... Wait, no. Are you... Are you- Are you in some kind of trouble?
Alexis: I didn't spend it, I gave it away. Invested it, really.
Richard: Invested in what?
Alexis: My friend Jonah at school has a crowd funding campaign to plant bamboo forests on the roof of skyscrapers to help clean the air.
Richard: Well, why didn't you just come to me?
Alexis: 'Cause I didn't want the speech.
Richard: Well, I don't- What speech?
Alexis: That people like us need to be careful with the kind of money we have. People might try to take advantage.
Richard: Oh, that speech. Yeah.
Alexis: Dad, you believe in all these unbelievable things. Like Bigfoot. And I don't judge. But... I believe in people, and what they can accomplish. I believe in Jonah and his vision, and I wanted to support him. I think he could make a real difference in the world. And, okay, so maybe it was stupid to give him *all* of my allowance, but I am not the first person to do something stupid for something they believe in.
Richard: No... no, you're not. Matter of fact, it's a... bit of a family trait.

[trying to bribe her father with breakfast in bed]
Alexis: Okay, I want a Vespa... It's a scooter. All my friends have them. And it would make getting around the city *so* much easier, and they're totally safe.
Richard: Uh, honey...
Alexis: I'll always wear a helmet and I'll never drive at night. You know how responsible I am.
Richard: It's not you I'm worried about. Driving in New York, it's like a-a "Mad Max" movie.

Javier: We got a positive ID on the guy running with Beckett.
Richard: Great. Who is he?
Kevin: His name is Vikram Singh. He's a low-level analyst for the Attorney General's investigative office.
Alexis: In D.C.? That's where Beckett worked.
Richard: Yeah, but that was two years ago, and she never mentioned anyone named Vikram.
Javier: Yeah, as far as we can tell, their paths never crossed. He's only been on the job a few months.
Richard: Then how would Beckett know him? We need to call Rachel McCord. She was Beckett's partner.
Kevin: McCord's dead, Castle. Killed yesterday in an automobile accident, along with three other members of her team.
Richard: That can't be a coincidence.
Javier: It's not. The last member of her team was stabbed to death at a club that same night. Witnesses saw him flirting with a hot brunette.
Richard: This doesn't make any sense. What does any of this have to do with Bracken?

Javier: George Keller.
Alexis: According to Lindsey's log book, he is the last person billed for Scott's services.
Kevin: Is he connected to Keller Toys?
Richard: He's the president of the entire Keller empire. Toys, video games, books, educational videos, you name it. It's a multi-billion dollar company.
Alexis: And a brand synonymous with family values. Which is ironic, since he's a renowned playboy, already on wife number three.
Richard: You say that like it's a bad thing.

Alexis: Dad, we need to talk.
Richard: Which of these do you like better?
[holds up two different Nikki Heat covers]
Alexis: Dad, I'm serious.
Richard: I like the green one, but it kinda of looks like a giant green lizard is attacking the city. Which is cool, but it's not what the book's about. So I either rewrite the book to make it about a giant lizard, or...
Alexis: Dad?
Richard: Magenta. You're right. It's classic, it's cool, it tells the story.

Alexis: I see what's going on. You've got your go-bag, your guns. Is this why you wanted to go by that crime scene? Hayley, if you're in trouble, talk to me.
Hayley: I can't, it's not safe.
[she moves to leave, but Alexis stops her]
Hayley: Okay. Look, I did a favor for a friend last night, at least I thought he was a friend. It was meant to be a quick P.I. job, but, technically, I broke a few laws.
[Hayley moves to leave again and is stopped]
Alexis: Okay. We'll tell Beckett, tell my dad. They can help.
Hayley: No, they can't. The friend I was working with, we were in MI6 together. He just phoned. Turns out the job wasn't legit. Something bigger is going on. Something bad enough that he told me to go Code 44.
Alexis: Uh, what does Code 44 mean?
Hayley: It means abandon everything and everyone. It means run for your life and don't look back.
Alexis: You can't do that.
Hayley: I have no choice.
Alexis: Yes, you do. After years of floating from one place to the next, you've finally found a real home here.
Hayley: And I might be putting you and it in danger by staying. I have to go. Now.
Alexis: No. You have to stay and fight. Figure out what's really going on and fix it... Please, at least try.

Alexis: Too bad you can't go to the shower.
Richard: Oh, well, Beckett got, uh, baby showers in the break-up, so...
Martha: You know, that's funny, 'cause you- you recently, you just, uh, don't seem to be so tortured by all that.
Richard: Oh, well, you know, Beckett asked for some time. So, I'm just giving... it to her... Every day.
Martha: Well...
Richard: Sometimes twice.

Alexis: Dad, you ever think that maybe you're overreacting a teensy bit? You ever think that maybe he admires you so much that spending time with Beckett is to understand you better?
Richard: Don't confuse me with your reasonableness.

[first lines]
[Castle enters with a lot of shopping bags]
Alexis: What is all that?
Martha: Oh, my lord.
[chuckles]
Richard: Somewhere in one of these bags is the perfect baby shower gift for Jen and Ryan. I just need your help picking which one. Ready? Ta-da!
[he shows them a baby-sized Kevlar vest with "Baby" on the front]
Alexis: No.
Martha: Is that a bulletproof baby vest?
Alexis: It's completely inappropriate.
Richard: Really?
Martha: Oh, my... so wrong.
Richard: Okay. Well, then you're gonna hate the onesies that say, "I'm with Officer Stupid."

Richard: [reading a note] "Mr. Castle. Your services are required. A body has been found at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The LAPD needs your help." And it's signed "The GDS."
Alexis: Who's "GDS"?
Richard: The Greatest Detective Society.
Alexis: What's that?
Richard: It's the greatest detective society. It- It's a legendary organization. Rumor has it, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a secret member.
Hayley: And... it's a myth. It's- It's a fairy tale old P.I.s tell rookies to get them to do the scut work.
Richard: Said the detective that didn't get an invitation.

Richard: Pair of ladies. What have you got?
Alexis: Boom! Two Cowboys! I win.
[gloating]
Alexis: Who's the daddy now?
Richard: You win like your grandmother.

[last lines]
Richard: My Sacagawea has returned! Oh, my God, my best girl! I missed you so much! Oh, my God, I'm so glad you're home.
Alexis: I missed you, too, Dad.
Richard: You're not just saying that, are you?
Alexis: What...
Richard: I don't care... Tell me you're hungry.
Alexis: I'm starving!
Richard: Come with me. Tell me *everything*.

Richard: I know our victim took a trip to Radnor University, I just have no idea why. I hacked into her social media accounts...
Alexis: Wait, you know how to hack into social media accounts?
Richard: Hacking might be overstating it. Her password for everything is "Sparkles," her dog's name. Point is, without police resources, the best I can do is go through her friends' online *posts* and look for some connections to Radnor University.
Alexis: Are there any?
Richard: Just one thing, but it happened fifteen years ago. I have no idea if it's even relevant. I just wish I knew what Beckett had.
[phone rings]
Alexis: Mmm!
Richard: [answers phone] Richard Castle Investigations.
Kate: [on speakerphone next to Ryan and Esposito] Hey, babe. Just checking in. Whatcha doing?
Richard: Oh, just hanging out at the office. How about you?
Kevin: He has an office?
Kate: Uh, just wondering how your day's going?
Richard: Good. Really good, actually. How about yours?
Kate: Yeah, mine's good too. Uh, really, really good.
Richard: That's good. Great. I should have said, "Great." Mine's great.
Kate: Great. That's...
Richard: Okay, so... I'll see you tonight.
Kate: Uh, see you tonight.
[hangs up]
Kate: He knows something.
Alexis: She has something.
Javier: And you have to find out what.
Richard: And I'm gonna find out what.

[last lines]
Richard: I could promise you this. If two people believe in something, really believe, anything, even the impossible, is possible.
Alexis: [reaching for the remote] Even flesh-eating zombies?
Richard: Oh, especially flesh-eating zombies. Now, where were we?
Alexis: Yeah, right there.

Richard: You know, Alexis, um... Th-This is a long shot. You know that, right? I mean, it may not work out the way you hope. I-I just don't wannna... I just don't wanna see you hurt.
Alexis: Dad, I know these people. I care about them... It already hurts.

[last lines]
Alexis: What do you say, Son? How about a game of catch with your old man?
Richard: Yeah, I'd like that.
Alexis: Good.
[Alexis goes across the room and prepares to catch the baseball Castle is about to throw]
Richard: You ready?
Alexis: Ready.
[Castle throws the ball over her head, breaking something off-screen]
Richard: Oh.

Meredith: Are you sure it's okay that I'm going to Paris without you?
Alexis: Just because I'm sick, you shouldn't miss it. I want you to go.
Martha: We all do.
Richard: What's going on?
Alexis: I-I just feel so guilty that Mom is missing her vacation because I'm sick. So, I told her to enjoy Paris for the both of us.
Richard: Are you sure, Alexis? I mean, your mother...
[Alexis shakes her head no, while Martha, behind Meredith, gestures for him to play along]
Richard: ...should... enjoy her vacation. Have a safe trip, Meredith.

[listening to a song song Hayley wrote about an obsessed fan/stalker]
Javier: "Fifty feet or less."
Kate: She got a restraining order against him. All right, run it and get me a name.
Richard: [leading Alexis away] And... you... will go off to school.
Alexis: But I was just helpful.
Richard: Yes, but if I let you out of class every time you were helpful, you'd never go.
Alexis: But I won't be able to focus on school today. I just... can't concentrate.
Richard: Which will make you just like all the other kids in your class.

Richard: If you killed someone, you would tell me, right?
Alexis: Of course.
[pause]
Alexis: I'd need help hiding the body.

Alexis: [entering hotel room] Hmm, not too shabby.
Richard: Glad you like it. 'Cause this is going to be home base, and you are going to be running it while Hayley and I hit the streets.
Alexis: Wait. That's not fair.
Richard: Too bad. We don't know what we're gonna find here. I was shot while I was missing, remember? That could have happened in L.A.
Hayley: Your father's right. Until we get more information, we *have* to proceed with caution.
Richard: Look on the bright side. There are worse places to be trapped than a five-star hotel with room service.

Martha: I did an NYPD Blue once, remember?
Alexis: You were the crazy homeless woman.
Richard: And some might say still are.

Richard: All the evidence we need is in that shredder. It'll tell us who the victim is. We can prove she's missing.
Alexis: And what if he catches you?
Richard: He won't. Not if I have your help. Next time he leaves, I'll slip over there. You keep watch...
[holds up a walkie talkie]
Richard: ... and make sure he's not coming back. I go inside, I get whatever's in the shredder, and I get out. Two minutes, tops.
Alexis: On crutches?
Richard: The doctor did say I need more exercise.
Alexis: What if I go? I'm smaller, faster and younger.
Richard: Oh. No, no, no. If you get caught, you get a B&E on your record, and you'll never become President.

Alexis: My science teacher says that chocolate contains chemicals that are proven to relieve depression.
Martha: Well, it's good, but... I prefer grape, aged, bottled and corked.

[first lines]
Alexis: Okay, one last box and I'm ready for college.
Richard: Sweetheart, this is a lot of stuff. You do realize you don't have to take all of this stuff with you to your dorm room. Like this, what is this?
Alexis: Remember? I wanted to ride my bike without training wheels. Like the big kids, and I did. So you got me my very own gold medal.
Richard: Oh. Well, honey, that is, that's a very sweet memory, but... your dorm room is only so big. You're gonna have to leave some of this stuff behind.
Martha: [entering] Don't listen to him, darling. Everybody needs their stuff.
Alexis: See?

Alexis: So, I pulled the police file and court records for Shaw's prosecution twenty years ago. And according to this, Shaw's attack on the Crowne family was anything but random. He was working as a consultant for a P.I. named Noah Kramer.
Hayley: What kind of consultant?
Alexis: Spiritual. Kramer had been hired to investigate the Crowne family.
Hayley: Wait, wait. Why would a P.I. hire a spiritual consultant to help investigate a billionaire philanthropist?
[looking at the report, Alexis laughs to herself]
Hayley: What? What is it?
Alexis: I know why Shaw came to this office. Twenty years ago, this was Noah Kramer's office.

Richard: Phillip Harris was right. There is a phantom serial killer murdering people on both coasts.
Hayley: That's clever. Splitting up his hunting ground kept everyone from knowing his existence. Did the boys get any leads?
Richard: Just one. His sister said that Phillip Harris was working undercover at *Zenith* Studios.
Alexis: [to Hayley] Oh, they're the ones that ruined the Nikki Heat movie franchise.
Richard: Not ruined. Destroyed, terminated, extirpated, vaporized, eviscerated...
Hayley: Do you plan on running through the full thesaurus?
Richard: No, I think that'll about do it.

[Alexis opens the door to leave and is surprised to find Martha in the hallway, starting to pull her keys out]
Alexis: Gram! I thought you were sleeping in.
Martha: I was, just... not in my room.
Martha: You know what? We all share way too much.

Martha: Hello, darling.
Richard: Lucy should have told me we had company.
Lucy: That costs extra.
Martha: Well, according to your... little mechanical friend here, you have been drowning your sorrows in frozen pizza, online shopping...
Alexis: And Dolph Lundgren marathons.
Richard: Et tu, Luc-é? Is nothing private?
Lucy: Not without the proper setting.
Martha: Darling, I- I mean, I know it's difficult for you without Katherine, but really, is- isn't it a little early in the day for this?
[points to wine bottles]
Richard: These are for Ryan and Esposito. They get the results of their Sergeant's exams today. So I thought I'd drop down to the precinct, surprise them a little later on.
Alexis: And if Beckett happens to be there...
Richard: All the more reason to celebrate.

[Alexis is trying to deduce the identity of her secret admirer]
Richard: Wait a minute, what are you doing?
Alexis: Narrowing down suspects.
Richard: No, you can't do that. Not, you... No, that'll ruin the secret. No, it's like a mystery novel. You don't just go... to the last *page*, do you?
Alexis: Yes.
Richard: You do?
[Alexis shrugs innocently]
Richard: Well, you shouldn't. It's not, you can't... the-the joy doesn't come in *knowing8 who did it... The joy comes... in the journey. In allowing the ending to... blossom, like some magnificent Himalayan blue poppy.
Alexis: Okay, okay. I'll let him stay secret.
Richard: Mark my words, you'll thank me.

Richard: The last time I saw you in you PJs after 8:00 A.M., I think you were four.
Alexis: We're off today. Teacher's retreat... I didn't feel like getting dressed.
Richard: This wouldn't have anything to do with Ashley, would it?

Richard: Let me guess. Gran cooked.
Alexis: Chicken masala.
Richard: And where is Hurricane Martha?
Alexis: In her room, taking a dramatic pause.
Richard: Leaving the mess for everyone else to clean up, as usual.

Alexis: I know we had plans, but they really...
Richard: Not just plans. Memorial Day. The Hamptons, our annual "kick off the summer" week. I mean... I got the illegal fireworks, the kind you like. The ones with the silver starburst.
Alexis: Dad, it's Princeton.
Richard: Can't believe you would blow off illegal fireworks for a lousy head start at a top-notch education.

Martha: And your books are not exactly Shakespeare.
Richard: Thank you. I was just hoping to elevate their stature... by not casting the chainsaw-wielding hooker from "Hallowscream".
Alexis: Hey, I liked that movie.
[Castle gives her a look]
Alexis: If I had seen it, which I haven't.

[waking up in bed with Beckett]
Richard: Do I smell coffee?
Kate: [sleepily] If you do, it was made by *elves*.
[cut to a mug of coffee on the kitchen counter. Castle and Beckett slowly leave the bedroom and approach the kitchen counter, when Alexis suddenly pops up from behind it startling everyone]
Richard: Ohh! Aah!
Alexis: Aah!
Richard: Geez!
Alexis: You scared me.
Kate: Yeah, I think we all just kick-started our day.

Alexis: How do you get away with one murder by committing two more?
Richard: At one death, you look for motive. At two, you look for a connection. At three, you look for someone like Kyle. At three, you don't need motive, because mentally unstable serial killers don't usually have one.

Richard: You know, I hate to interfere...
Alexis: Since when?
Richard: Point taken.

[last lines]
Alexis: Do you know how I found out you had proposed to Beckett? Over the phone with Gram, while I was in Costa Rica.
Richard: This is about Beckett?
Alexis: No. But I was hurt you didn't tell me.
Richard: Look, I was going to tell you. It just... It just happened.
Alexis: I know it did. And... I don't know if it's a good idea or if she's really the one. But you know what? I accept it. You know why? Because she makes you happy. The same way Pi makes me happy. All I want is the same thing I'm giving to you. Acceptance.
Richard: Okay, then, I accept him.
Alexis: No, you don't. Because it's not about what you say, it's what's inside. I know what's there now, and I don't want Pi to feel that from you. And... I don't want to feel that either.
Richard: Okay... I'll work on it. I will. Meantime, how about... we go out for some make-up ice cream, okay? My treat.
Alexis: No... I need time to stop being mad. And you need time to figure out a way to be okay with this... I'll see you later, Dad.
[Alexis sadly, but firmly, shuts the door in her father's face]

Martha: Darling! Hello! Oh, you must see this video. It's absolutely charming.
Alexis: A penguin smacks another penguin into an ice hole. I'll show you.
Richard: Uh... maybe later.
Martha: Ooh! You look as if someone smacked you into an ice hole.
Richard: I stopped by the precinct.
Alexis: thought you weren't going back 'till after the book tour.
Richard: Yeah, well, fate intervened. Someone I know was murdered today.
Martha: Oh, Lord.
Alexis: Dad, that's awful. Who?
Richard: Maya, the woman who made that sculpture for me.
Alexis: Any leads?
Richard: No, not yet.
Martha: [after a pause] So, how is everyone? Beckett have a nice summer?
Richard: [flatly] Yeah, everyone's fine.
Martha: Now, why don't I believe you?

Richard: It has been a long time since we have taken a *road* trip together. Remember the time we went to Amish country? Ended up getting chased by that cow.
[laughs]
Alexis: Dad, this isn't a road trip, and this isn't about fun. This is about having less than seventy hours to save a man from execution... Let's go.
Richard: Right. Fasten your seat belt. Gonna be a bumpy ride.

Richard: The only people with access to the entire budget are the comptroller, the mayor's chief of staff, and the deputy chief.
Kevin: Stephen Reed, the guy we met with.
Richard: I know for a fact that the chief of staff is in London with the mayor.
Javier: And I made a few discreet calls. The city comptroller was at a fundraiser when Dave was shot.
Kate: Which means Reed is our main suspect.
Kevin: Okay, so how do we get this guy?
Richard: May I suggest the "Midnight Run" stratagem?
Alexis: The what?
Richard: "Midnight Run". It's one of the top five buddy movies of all time.
Kevin: And you're suggesting we base our legal strategy upon this buddy cop movie?
Kate: No, he's right. It could work. At the end of the movie, Robert De Niro tricks a mobster into taking computer discs he thinks contain evidence against him. And just by showing up to take them, the mobster is committing conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Richard: If we can trick Reed the same way, then we've got all the leverage we need to expose the slush fund and go after him for Dave's murder. But Kate... you can't be involved.
Kate: Why not?
Kevin: Because if Reed isn't involved, then all this blows up in our face, and you take the hit.

Alexis: So, there'll be time to hit the beach while we're in L.A., right?
Richard: No, we're here to learn about my missing time, not work on your tan.
Alexis: Oh, give me a little credit, Dad. I'm not that shallow. We were hoping to scope out some quality man candy.
Hayley: Hmm, surfers are hot.
Alexis: Mmm.
[she and Hayley fist bump]
Richard: You are a bad influence.
Hayley: Thank you.

[last lines]
Alexis: Oh, and while we're eating, we can talk about colleges. I picked up a couple of brochures at the guidance office, and you know what looks really cool?
Richard: What?
Alexis: Oxford.
Richard: Oxford? You know... You know that's in England, right?
Alexis: Yeah.

Kate: You know, I think I'm actually gonna miss little Benny.
Richard: Well, who knows? Maybe in a few Thanksgivings from now, we'll have a couple of Bennys of our own running around.
Alexis: Hey, if you guys have kids in a few years and I have kids in a few years, they can grow up together.
Richard: And it's ruined.

[in the alternate universe, Castle tries to find out what happened to this world's Alexis]
Richard: What happened between us? Why did you move to LA?
Alexis: You know why.
Richard: Uh... Tell me again.
Alexis: Because you gave up. You read all those terrible reviews on your magnum opus and you couldn't move past it, and I couldn't stick around and watch... But you know what? Now I think I understand it.
Richard: What do you mean?
Alexis: I had all these plans, you know? To change the world. But this non-profit I'm working for, everything we do seems so small and pointless. It's like nothing I do matters, so why try?
Richard: Sweetie, no, uh... Everything you do matters. Every moment, every decision you make, it effects the people around you, it changes the world in a... a million imperceptible ways. No matter what your reality, you can make it better... We both can.
Alexis: [long pause] I've missed you dad.

[last lines]
Alexis: Dad?
Richard: Mm-hmm
Alexis: Thanks for being my nanny.
Richard: No sweat, kiddo.

[last lines]
[Alexis has just finished cleaning up the last traces of her party as Castle returns from Ryan's bachelor party]
Alexis: Hey.
[see's Castles appearance]
Alexis: What happened to you?
Richard: Nothing. Nothing. Wha-What's happened here?
Alexis: Nothing.
Richard: Where's the, um... Where's the little silver dog statue that's usually on the back of the couch?
Alexis: Uh, I think Gram said she needed it for set dressing for her play.
Richard: Oh.

Alexis: Are you going to kill me?
Hayley: What?... Why would you say that?
Alexis: Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you're connected to my dad's missing time, and now you're hiding in the back of my rental car.

[last lines]
Richard: And you know what? Even if you're not in classes with Ashley, you still will see each other plenty.
Alexis: I know. Especially if we move in together.

[last lines]
[having been stood up on a date]
Alexis: Why do boys do that? Why do they always have to justify everything? Why can't they just say they're sorry?
[a thought strikes Castle; standing up to leave, he stops in front of Alexis]
Richard: Thank you.
[kisses her forehead]
Alexis: For what?
Richard: For just... being you.
[he hugs her; fade to Beckett at the precinct; feeling someone's presence, she looks up to see Castle]
Richard: 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're not gonna see each other again, then you deserve to know... I'm very, very sorry.
[Castle turns and starts walking away]
Kate: Castle?
[he turns back]
Kate: I'll see you tomorrow.

[last lines]
Alexis: You okay, Dad? You seem distracted.
Richard: What are you talking about? You have my undivided attention.
Alexis: Good. Because I want to go on a date tonight. How's that sound?
Richard: Of course. Great. Have a good time.
Alexis: I meant with you, Dad. You'll always be my go-to guy.
Richard: Did Gram put you up to this?
Alexis: I have no idea what you're talking about.
Richard: Pity date... I'll take it.
[hugs Alexis]
Richard: You're a terrible liar.

Richard: Hey, Alexis. I have another clue.
Alexis: So do we.
Richard: We?
Alexis: Me and Hayley. Her feelers paid off. Vikram showed up at a hotel in Midtown an hour after they left the prison.
Richard: Was Beckett with him?
Alexis: I don't know. We just got here. I'll call you as soon as we figure anything out.
Richard: No, no, Alexis. I don't want you involved in this.
Alexis: Dad, I can take care of myself.
Richard: Alexis, no. It is too dangerous.
Alexis: I'm not a kid anymore, dad. Beckett's family. I'll call you after.

Alexis: Dad, who's Powell?
Richard: You remember that character of mine, um, Bentley Silver?
Alexis: The jewel thief in "Storm Rising"?
Richard: Yeah, I kind of based him on Powell.
Martha: [chuckles] "Kind of"? You stole the man's entire life.
[to Alexis]
Martha: And then your father, genius that he is, *thanked* him in the acknowledgements, completely blowing his cover.
Richard: Yeah, he can't still be mad. I'm gonna go see him.

Alexis: Dad, what took you so long? School ended hours ago.
Richard: Alexis, sweetheart.
Alexis: I've been really worried!
Richard: Yes, I know. And I think I know why. Because I disappeared. But I'm back now, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay.
Alexis: I just keep thinking I'll lose you again, or something terrible will happen. I know it sounds crazy.
Richard: No. No, it does not sound crazy. I would feel the same way. Matter of fact, I did.
Alexis: After Paris.
Richard: After Paris, I-I couldn't let you out of my sight. But I know that you consider yourself the adult of the family.
Alexis: For good reason.
Richard: For very good reason. But... but part of being an adult is realizing you can't always protect the people you love.

Richard: [answers phone] Hey.
Alexis: Dad, Hayley and I did some digging and twenty years ago, Gabriel Shaw worked as a consultant for a P.I. named Noah Kramer who worked out of your office.
Richard: Then it's possible that Shaw came there with the ax, looking for Kramer.
Hayley: Well, it's a nice theory, but Kramer's long dead. He was killed in an accident a year and a half after Shaw was committed to Peakmore.
Richard: What kind of an accident?
Alexis: He was impaled by a pipe that fell at a construction site.
Richard: Okay, that's horrible. But, still, it's possible that Shaw was delusional enough to believe that Kramer was still alive.
Hayley: Maybe. You know, Kramer's wife and kids still live in the city. Perhaps they can shed some light on Shaw's motives.
Richard: Give me an address for them.
[to Ryan]
Richard: Write this down.
[sees Ryan walk away; to Alexis]
Richard: Hang on. Let me get a pen.

Alexis: What really went on in Thailand, Dad? I know you must have a theory.
Richard: Uh... believe me, I have dozens.
Alexis: Which one scares you the most?
[Castle gives her a look]
Alexis: I don't need you to protect me. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not afraid to hear the truth.
Richard: That's right. You aren't, are you?
Alexis: Why not let me in?
Richard: I wanted to forget everything. So in my darkest moments, I wonder if I... did something terrible.
Alexis: I know you. You would never do anything bad.
Richard: I could never leave the love of my life, desert her and you for two months... And somehow I did.

Alexis: Dad, how old were you when you knew?
Richard: Knew what?
Alexis: That you wanted to be a writer.
Richard: Since I was a kid, I guess. Why?
Alexis: I'm finishing my junior year, and I have no idea what I want to do. By the time you were my age, you'd already published your first book and now you're winning this amazing award because you followed your passion. How can I be amazing... if I can't find mine?
Richard: Trust me... you will. Or... Or it'll find you. And one day you will look back and you will realize that... every experience you ever had, every... seeming mistake or blind alley, was actually a straight line to who you were meant to be. And whatever you become, there is no question in my mind, you are going to be amazing. And you know how I know?
Alexis: How?
Richard: 'Cause you already are.

[first lines]
[Martha loudly practicing a play in the living room with wind machine, booming thunder and fog maker]
Martha: Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!You cataracts and hurricanes, spout! Till you have drenched our steeples. Drown...
Alexis: [taking refuge in Castle's office] Dad...
Richard: [taking out ear plugs] I know what you're asking, and the answer is yes. Yes, you can take your grandmother and her entire production of "King Lear" to college with you.
Alexis: I'm going crazy.
Richard: Earplugs?
Alexis: Not that. I need something to do. I had planned to be at Stanford, but now I'm here, just waiting.

[first lines]
Richard: Oh, my God. Ice cream? Are you trying to kill me?
Alexis: At least you'll die happy.
[offers spoon]
Alexis: Kate?
Kate: Mmm. Oh, no, thanks. I couldn't. Not after this amazing meal that you guys just stuffed us with.
Martha: Oh, darling, I'm sorry, dessert is not optional. Not after I traipsed all over town to find Richard his favorite flavor of ice cream.
Richard: Potato chip fudge?

Alexis: DEFCON 1. Slaughter is here.
Richard: Here? Like right behind the door, here?
Alexis: Yeah.
Richard: What does he want?
Alexis: I don't know. He just said he was an old friend.
Richard: That can't be good.
Martha: Is that the old friend who almost got you killed a few years ago?
Richard: Yeah. Like six times.

Richard: Why doesn't Beckett trust me?
Alexis: She does.
Richard: Then why is she keeping me in the dark? I don't need protecting.
Alexis: Yes, you do. You're a writer, dad. And you and Beckett are magic together. But you don't have her training or her skill set. When you disappeared last year, I thought you were dead for two months. And then you went missing today, and I was so scared.
Richard: Honey...
Alexis: Beckett has a reason for keeping quiet. If you love her, you have to trust her.

Richard: Who's John McGinnis?
Alexis: Hayley's old manager. She fired him when she got clean. She didn't say his name, but in her interview with "Spin" last month, she pretty much implied that he's the one that got her hooked to begin with.
Richard: If the band got back together, he'd have the most to gain.
Martha: Now, does that man look like a killer to you?
Richard: [quoting Beckett] Everybody looks like a killer to me. It's a job requirement.
Alexis: You didn't say that about Sky.
Richard: Just... let me have this moment.

[last lines]
Martha: Darling, we have a visitor.
Kate: [seeing Castle's black-eye] Oh, pretty butch, Castle.
Richard: I know, right? Come, grab a chair.
Kate: Oh, no. I just came to return your mom's jewelry.
Richard: You saved my life. The least I can do is make you some eggs.
Kate: No, really, I have to get...
Martha: Nonsense! You sit down right here. Tell us all about last night. We've only heard his version.
Kate: [taking a seat] All right. Um... Shall I begin at the red carpet?
Alexis: Yes, please.
Kate: So...

Alexis: What's in the box?
Richard: This is Philip Westlake's murder file. I told Beckett I'm gonna solve the case.
Martha: Oh, Richard...
Richard: What? You're the one who told me to follow my heart.
Martha: Yes, but, you know...
Alexis: Dad, that case is older than me.
Richard: This doesn't sound like encouragement.

[first lines]
[Castle and Alexis are having a sword fight while Martha plays the piano]
Richard: You've come to Nottingham once too often.
Alexis: After today, there'll be no need for me to come again!
Richard: You've been holding out on me, Sir Robin. I hear you like a boy.
Alexis: I knew she'd tell.
Richard: So, who is he?
Alexis: His name is Owen. He's in my poetry class. Very shy and very sweet.
[Castle 'stabs' her in the heart]
Alexis: Hey!
Richard: Keep your guard up.
Alexis: Then don't distract me.

[as Alexis and her Prom date are about to leave]
Richard: What? Whoa, whoa! Wait, wait, wait, whoa. That's it? I don't even get a chance to ask him if he's killed a man?
Alexis: Dad, he hasn't... But I might.

Kate: Castle, do you have the intel we need or not?
Richard: [chuckles, to Alexis] Tell her.
Alexis: [sighs] When I was in middle school, Dad did four months of extensive research into the inner working of city finance for a novel he was writing.
Richard: Yes, but then I realized that that novel would be the most boring novel in the history of novels, so I wrote a Derrick Storm book instead.

[after Castle displayed gift ideas for Jenny's baby shower]
Martha: Richard, I honestly... Why can't you just buy a simple, tradition... Why is this so difficult for you?
Richard: It's not. This next one *is* perfect. Trust me.
Martha: Okay.
[Castle reaches into one of his bags]
Alexis: Is it a baby-sized lightsaber?
Richard: [chuckles] No.
[Castle reaches into another bag]
Alexis: Please tell me that's not the creepy robot nanny that sings Leonard Cohen lullabies.
Richard: What's wrong with Leonard Cohen lullabies?
Martha: It's more like "Silence of the Lambs" than "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Oh, don't worry, sweetheart. Fortunately, Alexis has purchased the *perfect* baby shower gift.
[hands over a full basket]
Alexis: All you have to do is sign the card.
Richard: Do you have any idea how hard it is to find machine-washable Kevlar? Why didn't you tell me this before I went shopping?
Martha: Because we would have so missed torturing you. You are our favorite reality show.
Richard: I'm so happy I could entertain you.

Richard: My wife is out there fighting for her life. Why are you wasting my time?
Alexis: Wait, what? Why didn't you tell me?
Hayley: Sorry. I figured it wasn't my place. Now, look, Rick, you asked for my help. Want it or not?
Richard: What's the catch? 'Cause I'm thinking with you, there's always a catch.
Hayley: There's only one. No cops.
Richard: Why not?
Hayley: Differing agendas. The cops serve and protect the city, I serve and protect me.

Javier: You guys okay?
Kate: Yeah, thanks for rescuing us.
Hayley: Yes, because clearly you were helpless without us.
Richard: How'd you guys even find us?
Kevin: Well, we had our best person on it.
Alexis: [entering] I can't leave you alone for five minutes.
Richard: Does this mean no hug?

[in a deep sleep, Castle is jerked awake by Alexis' shrieks of joy]
Richard: What happened?
Alexis: Dad, I got in, I-I got in!
Richard: Oh. Where?
Martha: Almost everywhere so far.
Alexis: Oxford, Princeton, Sarah Lawrence.
Richard: That's great, honey. I-I knew it would work out.
Alexis: Really?
Richard: Yeah.
Alexis: Then why were you hiding the letters from me?
Richard: What?
Alexis: Come on, Dad. I can read a postmark. Some of these came last week.
[she thumps him on the head with the letters]
Richard: Oh! I just, I'm sorry. Honey, I-I'm just trying to protect you.
Alexis: I'm eighteen now. You need to trust that I can take care of my...
[trailing off as she reads one of her acceptance letters]
Alexis: ...myself.
Richard: What?
Alexis: I got into Stanford.
Martha: Yes! Oh, great! That's always been your first choice, right?
Richard: And yet I sense trouble.
Alexis: I-I don't know. I should be happy. But after they shot me down for early admission...
Richard: They rejected you. And you feel betrayed.
Alexis: How am I supposed to get over that?

Lanie: You know how many strings I had to pull for this, Castle?
Alexis: If I'm wrong, I'll reimburse the city.
Lanie: To hell with the city. It's me you're gonna owe. I take spa certificates, jewelry, and cash.

Alexis: I know we're not supposed to talk about what really happened, but thank you, for everything.
Richard: [hugging her] Hey, it's what fathers do.

[Castle watching Natalie Rhodes' audition tape for Nikki Heat again as Alexis comes in]
Alexis: Torturing yourself?
Richard: [pauses video] Reconsidering... actually. I think there's more to her than I thought.
Alexis: I think she might surprise you. She did this great emotional scene in "Knife 3-D". It was actually pretty moving.
[Castle give her a look]
Alexis: If I'd seen it, which I haven't.

[first lines]
[Alexis dancing in the living room]
Alexis: Six, seven, eight. One and two, three and four...
Richard: Why are you so Beyonce this morning? You got a... school dance coming up?
Alexis: No. Ashley gave me some of her cheer routine. She's been on the JV for two years and she wants me to try out for the squad.
Richard: Cheerleading?
Alexis: Yeah, why?
Richard: Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?
Alexis: What's wrong with cheerleading?
Richard: No, no, nothing's... nothing's... I'm just, I didn't know you wanted to be one.
Alexis: Me either. But I watched Ashley practice and it looks like fun. And my college counselor, Ms. Schaefer, said I need to consider diversifying my activities. I figure I'm a natural because I root for you all the time.

Alexis: The mystery blonde is real.
Richard: Thank you.
Alexis: But she's not a genie. Her name is Genevieve Sutton. She has an office on Second Avenue. She's listed as a security consultant.
Kevin: A fixer, by the sound of it.
Javier: Now, how did you get this info, Alexis?
Alexis: Well, after dad left, I dusted his desk for prints. Got a little help from Hayley, who ran them through the DMV database, and voila.
Richard: So, she's not a genie?
Alexis: Sorry.
Richard: Genevieve is short for Genie. I- I mean, seriously, if she can grant wishes, then a driver's license, that would be a piece of cake.
Alexis: Mm-hmm. But why would a genie want to do that?
Kevin: Oh, seriously, who cares?
Javier: Make-believe time with Castle is over.
Kevin: We're gonna bring in Genevieve and find out the real story.
[Ryan and Espo leave]
Alexis: Someone needs some ice cream?
Richard: Me.

[Castle preparing to 'welcome' Alexis Prom date wearing a bloody lab coat and carrying a severed head]
Alexis: Dad! No! No severed heads.
Richard: That's... I... It's time honored.

Hayley: I wish I'd remembered something about her. A tattoo, a scar...
[sighs]
Hayley: You want a laugh? The only thing I recall about this woman is poor Ned fumbling around with her fancy corset.
Richard: Tell me more. Was it cotton or lace?
Alexis: Ew.
Hayley: Perv much?
Richard: I'm serious.
[sits at his computer to start typing]
Hayley: Okay. It was lace with black leather. Why?
Richard: Narrows it down. Padded?
Hayley: No.
Richard: Back or front clasps?
Hayley: Back. Clasps and buckles. And it had a metal ring on front with snaps.
Richard: Were there crystal studs across the décolletage?
Hayley: Actually, yes.
Richard: La Seductrice. Now give me a moment to pull up the 2016 Mon Chéri collection.
Hayley: That's it. That's the one.
Richard: And voilà, my work here is done.
Alexis: Hey, Dad, uh, should I even ask?
Richard: Nikki Heat research.

Alexis: Professor Rankowsky still hasn't received the check for my Costa Rica trip.
Richard: [evasive] He didn't? That's so weird.
Alexis: You didn't send it, did you?
Richard: [stammers] Why do you want to go study the rainforest for six weeks anyway?
Alexis: Dad, we talked about this.
Richard: I know, but you're going to be staying in the middle of a jungle. Miles away from the nearest phone, *hours* from the nearest hospital. You could be bitten by a poisonous spider, or a poisonous snake. I looked it up. Toucans are extremely aggressive this time of year.

[last lines]
Alexis: Being an adult really sucks.
Richard: Yeah, and you've spent *way* too much time having to be one. So...
[Castle goes into the hall and gets another scooter]
Richard: I'm ordering you to be a kid.
Alexis: Don't you think I'm a little old for that?
Richard: I am not too old for it, so you are definitely not too old for it. Don't you think we should at least test them out?
Alexis: Okay.
Richard: Okay.
[both get ready on scooters]
Richard: Where do you wanna go?
Alexis: [laughs] I don't know. Ice cream?
Richard: How about pizza? After this case, I might be off ice cream for a while.
Alexis: [laughs] Okay.

[first lines]
Alexis: Breakfast time.
Richard: Oh! What did I do to deserve this? Other than, you know... being me?
Alexis: Isn't that enough?

[last lines]
[while helping Alexis by cutting tomatoes for a salad, Castle cuts his finger]
Richard: What's the difference between curse and clumsy?
Alexis: I'll get a Band-Aid.
Richard: Get two.

Richard: You want to know why I killed Derrick? There were no more surprises. I knew exactly what was gonna happen every moment of every scene. It's just like these parties. They've become so predictable. "I'm your biggest fan." "Where do you get your ideas?"
Alexis: And the ever popular, "Will you sign my chest?"
Richard: That one I don't mind so much.
Alexis: Yeah, well, FYI, I do.
Richard: Just once, I'd like someone to come up to me and say something new.
Kate: [off screen] Mr. Castle?
Richard: [Castle turns around and pulls out a pen] Where would you like it?
Kate: Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. We need to ask you a few questions about a murder that took place earlier tonight.
Alexis: That's new.
[takes Castle's pen]

[Castle looking in the refrigerator but not finding what he is looking for]
Richard: Where'd it go?
Martha: Where'd what go, darling?
Richard: My leftovers from Le Cirque. They were right here, right where this... hole in the fridge is. I was gonna use that Chateaubriand for my morning scramble.
Martha: Well, I certainly didn't eat them. I wouldn't look this good if I was pigging out on leftovers.
Richard: Yes, well, this isn't the first time this has happened. Food has been going missing for the past month. It's not just leftovers, either. It was the peanut butter, uh, artichokes, a whole quart of mulligatawny soup. Gone.
Martha: Well, maybe you've been sleep-eating... again.
Richard: Again? I've never sleep-ated. Sleep-ate. Eaten. Have I?
Alexis: [coming downstairs] Hey, I'm off to class.
Richard: Hey. How did you like that, uh, Chateaubriand? Wasn't that a wonderful white wine reduction?
Alexis: What Chateaubriand?
Richard: All right, it's the housekeeper. I knew it. She has been putting on weight.
Martha: Sorry, darling, she hasn't been here for three days.
Alexis: Maybe there are tiny Borrowers living under the floorboards who come out at night to steal your food.
Richard: It's not realistic. They'd be too small to get the fridge door open.

[first lines]
Alexis: What about Ashley? I mean, shouldn't I tell him?
Martha: Darling, in matters of the heart, it's best not to overthink things.
Richard: [entering] That's your advice, Mother? With your track record? What chasm of doom has she led you to by way of her tips on romance?
Martha: As it happens, we were discussing secret admirer... etiquette.
Richard: You have a secret admirer?
Alexis: I always thought it was silly, but... now I'm kind of intrigued.

Alexis: You invited someone?
Richard: She said no at first, but I got a feeling she'll come around.
Alexis: Oh... Is it anyone I know?
Richard: I don't kiss and tell.
Alexis: Well, looks like I'm not the only one who's getting lucky this summer.
[Castle drops the luggage with stunned look on his face]
Alexis: Kidding, kidding. I'm just, I'm just kidding.
Richard: That's not funny. That's so not funny.

Richard: Alexis, I don't want to say "You have some explaining to do", but I think you have some explaining to do.
Alexis: Wait, did I forget to tell you I've been working P.I. cases for you?
Richard: Must have slipped your mind.
Alexis: Hey, didn't the guys do a fantastic job remodeling the place?
Richard: [excited] I know, right?
[seriously]
Richard: But you're changing the subject.

[Castle finds a lead with help from Alexis and Martha]
Richard: Well done. Let's go.
Alexis: Wait, wait. Shouldn't we call the cops?
Martha: Yeah, it's a kind of dangerous neighborhood.
Richard: Ladies, with all the gentrification going on, there's no such thing as bad riverfront property.
[cut to a dark, shabby, empty building]
Richard: Okay. Maybe I was wrong... Watch your step... Maybe we should be texting Espo and Ryan.
Alexis: I already called them. They're on their way.
Richard: I don't know whether to be happy or hurt by your lack of faith in me.

Richard: Thank you for your help, sweetie. I am so behind on my deadline.
Alexis: That's 'cause you always find new ways to procrastinate.

Alexis: [Ashley's parents want to meet Castle and Martha] The two of them are serious people, dad. You may need to be more... buttoned up.
Richard: I can be buttoned up. And if I become unbuttoned, you can discretely let me know with a brutal kick to the shin.

[last lines]
[having just watched a web-commercial Castle made for his new book, that wasn't quite what he expected]
Richard: What the hell was that?
Alexis: Dad, you've gotten over a million hits!
Richard: A million people have seen that?
Alexis: Yeah.
Martha: Well, it's gone viral, darling. Isn't that what you wanted?
Richard: Not like this!
Kate: Don't worry, Castle. It'll blow over. This is but a blip on the Net continuum.
Alexis: Yeah.
Kate: But we so need to watch this one again.
Martha: Oh!
Richard: [on web-commercial] Hi.

[first lines]
Martha: Isn't this exciting?
Richard: It's just a weekend, mother.
Alexis: Dad, it's your first romantic weekend away with Beckett. It's a big deal.
Richard: Okay, well, no pressure, and let's just hope it happens. It's 4:30 now. If she doesn't catch a murder by 5:00, we are in the clear.
Martha: So, what do you have planned?
Richard: I, what do you mean?
Alexis: You don't have a plan?
Richard: The plan is to do nothing. To relax.
Martha: Richard!
Alexis: That's not a plan. Women don't like it when men don't have a plan. Hey, I'm in college now. I'm living in the world. Plus, I read a lot of magazines. Not planning is *really* bad.
Richard: Okay...
Martha: She's right. A man says, "So what are we gonna do for dinner?" Pfft. He's dead to me.
Richard: Okay. I will make reservations.
Alexis: Somewhere romantic.
Richard: Right.
Martha: And classy, because Kate Beckett is a classy kind of gal, you know?
Richard: Right.
Alexis: Under the stars would be nice.
Martha: Oh, and you know what else you can do under the stars?
[Castle sticks his fingers in his ears as he leaves]
Richard: Okay! La la la la la la la!

Richard: Let's go! Power up. I don't want to be late.
Alexis: You're coming?
Richard: You're looking at the official replacement chaperone.
Alexis: Yay!
Richard: I just realized I have some business to take care of in D.C., anyway.
Alexis: Really?
Richard: Yeah, I got to pick out a spot for my monument, just in case.
Alexis: I think Washington and Lincoln already have the good ones.
Richard: Maybe they can move Jefferson.
Alexis: [sarcastic] Oh, yeah. I'm sure.

[last lines]
Richard: And then, uh, call this Jonah guy, have him meet us. I'd like to hear about how he's going to change the world.
Alexis: [chuckles] Really?
Richard: I believe in people, too.
Alexis: And Borrowers
Richard: And Bigfoot.

Alexis: [ending a phone call with Ashley] Sorry, we were talking about the hiking trip next Saturday.
Richard: Oh, has Ashley got the all-clear from his parents to come with us?
Alexis: They say they want to meet you first.
Richard: Ah, they want to vet me. To make sure, if there's some kind of rock slide, that I won't leave their boy stranded on a mountainside, having to gnaw off his own arm to survive.
Alexis: So you'll do it?
Richard: We'll have them over for dinner. We'll schmooze and impress them.
Martha: Would you like me to cook something?
Richard: No, we want to impress them.
Martha: And what is that supposed to mean?

[last lines]
[having escaped to a roof, she sees people on the street]
Alexis: [screams] Help...

Alexis: Dad, what are you thinking?
Richard: Lars found the lamp, and, clearly, he rubbed it. But that makes him the genie's master, right? But if no one has rubbed the lamp since, and I were to discover it... then that would make me the genie's new master.
Alexis: Okay, let's just pretend that all this is real. You do realize that if Lars was the genie's master, it didn't work out so well for him in the end.
Richard: What are you saying?
Alexis: Be careful what you wish for. It just might come true. And in this case, it might just get you killed.

Vikram: Just us again. What now?
Kate: Now we figure out what the hell LokSat 2011BD means.
Richard: [cut to Castle's office] It's a product number. Serial number?
Hayley: Keypad code.
Alexis: Safe deposit box.
Kate: [cut back to Rita's safe house] Okay, so LokSat represents the CIA operation used to transport drugs for Bracken and Vulcan Simmons.
Vikram: So it's a... it's a...
Richard: [cut back to Castle's office] A code name?
Kate: [cut to the safe house] Uh, maybe. But you know what? Maybe it's something more. Maybe it's not just the name of the operation. Maybe it's the name of the transportation company.
Vikram: A modern-day Air America.
Kate: Exactly. And 2011DB is the tail number on an airplane.
Richard: [cut to Castle's office; "simultaneously" with Beckett] The tail number of an airplane.

[first lines]
[Castle enters, dressed in his outfit from 'Firefly', surprised to find Alexis up so late]
Alexis: Hey.
Richard: Hey.
[pause]
Richard: I was... I was just... trying on my... Halloween costume.
Alexis: What exactly are you supposed to be?
Richard: Space cowboy.
Alexis: Okay. A, there are no cows in space. B, didn't you wear that, like, five years ago?
Richard: So?
Alexis: So, don't you think you should move on?
Richard: I like it.

Alexis: I think you've been writing too *long* not to know that it's "I" before "E" except after "C."

[last lines]
Richard: What you did here was amazing.
Alexis: Thank you... For everything.
Richard: Anytime.
Alexis: You ready?
Richard: Don't you wanna stay and celebrate?
Alexis: No... This is enough... Besides, there's someone else I need to thank.

Martha: *What* on Earth are you two doing?
Richard: Research.
Alexis: Dad has Nikki Heat duct-taped to a chair in his next chapter and he doesn't know how to get her out of it.
Richard: I thought, what better way to figure it out than to get into the mind of my character?
Martha: I don't know, I suppose you could just... use your imagination.
Richard: I want it to be authentic. Hands.
Martha: Well, hurry taping up your father. We don't want to be late. Oh, God. I can't believe I just said that.
Richard: Where are you two off to?
Alexis: Gram's got a dress rehearsal. I thought I'd go watch.
Martha: Watch me? Or watch the adorable delivery boy in the second act?
[Alexis shrugs innocently]

Alexis: How can you be so smart and so clueless at the same time?
Richard: Practice?

Alexis: Where do you think you're going?
Richard: Um... second grade.
Alexis: Not without finishing your breakfast.
Richard: I ate most of it, and I'm just... I'm late.
Alexis: Come on, dad. Just one more bite.
Richard: Alexis, I'm not a...
[as he talks, she sticks a forkful of food into his mouth, and Beckett tries not to laugh]
Alexis: Now don't forget your lunch.
Richard: [quietly to Beckett] Okay, you're right. It's weird. I'll talk to her.

Richard: Maybe you should get a new boyfriend, start over.
Alexis: You're not very good at this, are you?
Richard: Apparently not.

Richard: Good morning, my lovelies. Isn't it great to be alive?
Martha: Richard, are you feeling okay?
Richard: Never better. Because I know how to win Beckett back.
Alexis: Is she wanting to be won back?
Richard: When we first met, it was my roguish charm that caused Beckett to drop her guard, but it was my Sherlockian skills that made her fall in love with me. I just have to solve a few cases with her to show her that together, we are still magic.

Martha: Okay, ladies, I have decided that I should change my autograph. So... what do you think?
Alexis: Gram, that looks exactly like your usual autograph.
Martha: No. No, no, no, no. My *usual* autograph when I am *merely* an actress is like this. Sort of carefree and- and whimsical...
[she shows them the two autographs; they look exactly the same]
Martha: ...Whereas the other conveys insight, wisdom. They're completely different. Can't you see that?
[Alexis and Hayley look at each other and play along]
Hayley: Insight.
Alexis: Wisdom.
Alexis: [at the same time as Hayley] Absolutely. Good job.
Hayley: [at the same time as Alexis] Sure. Look at that.
Hayley: Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a business to run. Especially since you-know-who is completely useless.
Richard: [entering] I heard that. And if I'm so useless, why would Beckett ask me to consult on a murder? Oh, Mother, new autograph.
Martha: Yeah.
Richard: Nice. Conveys wisdom, insight. I like it.

Alexis: I don't get it. If Creason didn't do it, then how does the rug fit in?
Richard: Killer probably heard about the feud between the two of them and tried to shift suspicion. Which is stupid, because without the rug, it would have just looked like a mugging gone wrong.
Alexis: So by trying to look smart, they were actually being stupid.
Richard: I think you just described the human condition.
Alexis: Speaking of the human condition, how's it going with Detective Beckett?
Richard: What do you mean?
Alexis: Oh, come on, Dad. You *are* basing a character off her. And you always say, you have to love your characters.
Richard: Well, she is a character. But, uh... just research. Nothing more.
Alexis: [skeptical] Yeah, I'm sure.

Alexis: Dad's missing! We have to find him!
Javier: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. What are you... what are you talking about?
Alexis: I've been tracking his cell phone on the sly. That way, if he ever disappeared again, I'd know. And an hour ago, his phone suddenly went dead.
Kevin: Okay, maybe the battery just died.
Alexis: No. Not with where he went.
Kevin: And where's that?
Alexis: Winterkill Correctional. I tracked Beckett there earlier.
Javier: Winterkill. That's where Bracken is.
Alexis: He's connected to this somehow. That's why dad went to see him.

[first lines]
Martha: Tell me, Seer... what do I hold in my hand now?
[blindfolded Alexis puts her hands to her head and concentrates]
Alexis: You're holding...
[long pause]
Alexis: A wallet.
Martha: Yes! Incredible! Ten out of ten!
Richard: What's going on?
Alexis: [taking off blindfold] Gram's teaching my how to read minds.

Alexis: Doesn't it bother you that you don't know who your dad is?
Richard: No. Why, does it bother you?
Alexis: It's like... I have this family tree, and there's a whole *chunk* of it missing. There's a whole part of my history that doesn't even exist. I mean, really, how could Gram not know?
Richard: My first year of college, I, uh, went to a party, met this girl Alison. In the space of six hours we met, we talked, we danced, we fell in love. Next morning she was gone. I spent a year trying to find her, but I never learned her last name. There's not a week that goes by I don't think about her. Your Gram told me that she loved a lifetime the night she met him.
Alexis: Don't you feel like you're missing out, not knowing?
Richard: No! Oh, no, that's the beauty of the mystery. Right now, my father could be an astronaut, a pirate, a humanitarian, winner of the Nobel Prize. I mean, what one man could live up to all that?

[Castle and Alexis have been helping Martha practice lines for awhile]
Martha: Oh, guys. Come on. Don't you want me to land this role?
Richard: Of course we do. It's just...
Alexis: Yeah.
Martha: Look, we are talking about the lead in a Broadway play. This is a potential gold mine. If it's a hit, who knows how long it could run? Then I could take it on the road.
Alexis: You mean you'd leave us?
Martha: Well, only for nine months of the year. Oh, don't look so sad.
[tapping Castle with her script]
Martha: And you, don't look so happy.
Richard: [his phone rings] Castle.
[pause]
Richard: I'll be right there.
[pause]
Richard: All right.
[he hangs up]
Richard: Death. Murder. Mayhem. Whole enchilada. Sorry to bail on rehearsal.
Martha: Oh, don't worry. Alexis can read both parts. It's all right if she misses a morning of school, isn't it?
Alexis: [grabbing Castle's hand and whispers] Take me with you.
Richard: [whispers] To a crime scene?
Alexis: It'd be educational. Please?
[Castle glances at Martha, then turns back to Alexis]
Richard: Find your own hiding place.

Dr. Marion Baker: Oh, my... King Solomon's tomb. Remarkable. It's arguably the greatest discovery in the last fifty years.
Richard: Now, this, Dr. Baker, is what I need your expertise with.
[shows a photograph of the lamp]
Dr. Marion Baker: Certainly. Well, you see these grooves? They indicate it was a wheel-made lamp, versus the mold-based ones that became so popular in the 4th...
Richard: Uh, fascinating, Doctor. But can you skip ahead to the part where King Solomon seals a genie inside of it?
Dr. Marion Baker: Ah... Did Sidney put you up to this?
Alexis: Who's Sidney?
Dr. Marion Baker: The schmuck I beat out for tenure.
Richard: Dr. Baker, I do not know Sidney. This is not a joke. I am very serious.
Dr. Marion Baker: But you're acting as if you believe in genies.
Alexis: Doctor, it's not an act.

Richard: [ending a call with Beckett] They got the priest.
Alexis: How do you know?
Richard: Beckett was having too much fun. Wait. Beckett was having fun... With me... Score.

Richard: He's going to be in town and asked to get together with me. He want's to learn more about my writing process.
Martha: And by process, you mean your... procrastination until the very last second.
Alexis: And then writing out of a desperate panic in a caffeine-induced haze?
Martha: That one?

[Alexis discussing her 15 year old boyfriend]
Alexis: Dad, all we've done is hold hands.
Richard: Ew. Okay, please. Don't need details. Just...

Hayley: You worry a lot about your father.
Alexis: You would, too, if Richard Castle was your dad. I mean, the guy is abducted, like, what, twice a year? I think that's a tad above the national average.
Hayley: Yet he always comes home. Do you know why that is?
Alexis: Yeah, he's really lucky.
Hayley: No. He's really good at what he does.

[first lines]
[Castle puts a huge portrait of him on the counter]
Richard: Boom! Hello. I'm serious and brooding Richard Castle.
[he puts a different huge portrait of himself on the counter]
Richard: And I am friendly, accessible, ruggedly handsome Richard Castle.
Alexis: Wow, Dad. Could your head get any bigger?
Richard: Can you blame me? I'm accepting the Poe's Pen Career Achievement Award. It is the biggest honor a mystery writer can get. I am joining the pantheon of *greats* to whose heights I have always aspired. So... which big head?
Kate: Uh, I like the ruggedly handsome, smiling giant you.
Alexis: Hmm, I like the serious, brooding giant you.
Richard: Oh... All right, Mother, you are the tie-breaker. Which of these should be hanging behind me at the ceremony next week?
Martha: Oh. Darling, you know I refuse to play favorites. I love both of my son's big heads equally.

[last lines]
Martha: ow does this look like a wild group? For your information, I am hosting a seminar for my life coaching class, "Be the Change You Want To See".
Richard: How very Zen of you.
Alexis: Dad, come on, be supportive. She's trying to help people.
Richard: Yeah, to my liquor cabinet.
Martha: No. This is going to be a very civilized affair. Now, off, off, off, off. Have fun!
[behind a closed door]
Martha: Ha ha! Okay! Who wants a drink?
[cork pops, crowd cheers]

Javier: [answering phone] Yo.
Alexis: Dad's missing, and we can't reach Beckett's cell.
Javier: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on, hold on.
[puts on speakerphone]
Javier: Beckett's at a forensics conference, Alexis.
Alexis: No, she never showed.
Hayley: Rick was lured into an empty building this morning. I hacked a nearby street camera and got footage of a white van fleeing the scene.
Javier: [to Ryan] Neighbors saw a white van in front of Emma's building.
Alexis: Who's Emma?
Kevin: A murder victim. We think her killer might have been driving a rusty white van.

Javier: Alexis, we went through the case files like you asked. I gotta say, nothing in there that says this guy's innocent.
Alexis: What about the swabs from Kim Tolbert's body that we submitted to the New York Trace Lab for retesting? I mean, they've had them for weeks.
Kevin: Well, we've been calling every day to move things along, but it's not in our jurisdiction.
Alexis: You don't understand. A man's going to die in three days unless we do something.
Kevin: No, we do understand. There's just not much that we can do.
Javier: What about your dad? Have you talked to him about this case?
Kevin: Yeah, maybe he'll spot something that no one else did.

Richard: [sitting down for Christmas dinner] Mother, the glogg is excellent. And...
Martha: Thank you.
Richard: ...everything looks excellent. Just like always.
Martha: Oh, Richard. Richard, darling, you don't have to look so miserable.
Richard: Oh, no...
Alexis: She's right, Dad. We know how much this tradition means to you, so we both decided to cancel our plans... We're here all night, like always.
Richard: [after a pause] I love you both so much that you would do that for me. But I was wrong about tonight... There's someplace I need to be.
Alexis: Dad, I...
Martha: Go... Go, go, go
[Castle stands to up leave; opening the front door, he is surprised to see Beckett]
Richard: I... Uh, I was just coming to see you.
Kate: I-I was coming to see you.
Richard: What about your shift?
Kate: I got Karpowski to cover. What about your family tradition?
Richard: Um... I was just thinking it's time for a new tradition.
Kate: Me, too.
Martha: Oh, for god sakes, Richard. Invite the girl in.

[first lines]
[in Castle's office looking at the rain storm through the window]
Alexis: Mmm. No sign of it letting up.
Hayley: Just gonna have to be late. Frankly, I'm in no rush to leave *this* party, thanks to your father's excellent taste in Scotch and daughters.
Alexis: Oh, the man knows his stuff.

Kate: Castle.
Richard: Hmm.
Kate: Hey.
Richard: Hi. I had the strangest dream and you were there.
Martha: Oh, thank God!
Alexis: Hi, dad.
Richard: And you were there. And you were there.
Pi: Hey, Mr. C. I did some healing Reiki on you. Looks like it worked.
Richard: [unenthused] And you were there.

Alexis: Dad, Pi. Pi, Dad.
Pi: Hey, Mr. C.
[hugs Castle]
Pi: Awesome to meet you.
Richard: "Pie." Like the dessert?
Pi: Without the E. Like the Greek letter. But, personally, I feel the whole spelling thing just stifles creativity.
Richard: The "spelling thing"?
Alexis: Let's let my dad decompress. Matches are in the kitchen.
Pi: Okay.
[Alexis and Pi leave]
Richard: He's- He's not staying here?
Martha: Oh, he is.
Richard: Not in her *room*?
Martha: Hey, you get to have that talk. I have a class. Ta-ta.

Richard: [coming home to find Martha comforting Alexis] What happened?
Martha: Alexis decided to crash Lauren's party, against our better judgment.
Richard: And I take it that the, uh, party crashing didn't go so well?
Alexis: None of this would have happened if Lauren wasn't the most conniving bitch in the entire world.
Richard: Whoa!
Martha: [waving it off] It's warranted.
Alexis: When the band was performing, Lauren brought Ashley up on stage with her, and she kissed him. In front of everyone!
Richard: [shocked] Bitch!

Kate: [to Castle] You know what? Why don't we take a break and you and I do dishes?
Alexis: Oh, don't even think about it. Gram and I have it covered.
Kate: [softly to Castle] You are not letting them do dishes after they just cooked.
Richard: They want to.
Kate: You're seriously milking this whole "I've been missing for two months" thing, aren't you?
Richard: They are glad to have me back. And if fussing over me makes them happy, enjoy it.

[last lines]
[while Castle listens, Alexis explains to Ashley that she lost his pet rat]
Ashley: What's wrong?
Alexis: It's about Theodore... When I fed him, he must've got out of his cage and... And he's gone.
Ashley: He's gone?
Alexis: We looked everywhere. I swear. We turned this whole place upside down.
Ashley: How'd he get out?
Alexis: I must not have locked the cage right. Ashley, I'm so sorry. You've every right to hate me.
Ashley: Come on, Alexis. I, uh... I-I'm upset, but I don't hate you.
Alexis: You don't?
Ashley: I mean, well, look at this place. Look at what you did to try to get him back. Who else would do that?
Alexis: But, you cared about him a lot.
Ashley: Yeah, but... I care about you more.
[they lean in to kiss when Martha screams from upstairs]
Richard: Found him!

Richard: You know, sweetheart, if you don't want to tell me what you talked about with Beckett, you don't have to.
Alexis: Okay. Thanks, dad.
Martha: What is the matter with you? Why didn't you just ask her?
Richard: Because that would be *prying*. And cool dads don't do that. They go behind their daughter's back and they beg Beckett to tell them.

Alexis: Oh, hey, Dad, did you get a chance to sign that permission slip I gave you the other day?
Richard: Haven't you learned to forge my signature yet?
Alexis: Credit cards, yes. Permission slips, no.

Alexis: Dad, are you okay?
Richard: Yeah.
Alexis: You seem sad.
Richard: No. I'm fine.
Alexis: It's only Costa Rica. I'll be back before you know it.
Richard: Oh, that's, no that's that's sweet, but no, it's not about that. It's, uh... something your grandmother told me. Comes a point in our lives when we have to stop fooling ourselves into thinking life's gonna be the way we want it to be. Start seeing things for how they really are.

[Martha is teaching Alexis to read minds; Castle's phone rings]
Alexis: [putting hand to head and concentraing] That must be Beckett.
Richard: How did you know?
Alexis: [dropping her act] It's after ten... on a weekday. Who else is it gonna be?
Richard: Oh, she is good.

Alexis: How come we never had a nanny?
Richard: Well, your mother and I decided if someone was gonna screw you up, we wanted it to be me. Only you managed to turn out fine somehow anyway.

[Castle is working as a PI]
Alexis: So, how's your first case going?
Richard: Did I tell you I got pepper sprayed today?
Alexis: You say that like it's a good thing.

Alexis: Just so you know, I'm not letting this victim out of my sight.
Lanie: Crazy.
Alexis: What is?
Lanie: The fact that Richard Castle, a man unburdened by regret and guilt, has a child that carries the weight of the world.

Richard: Guys, tell me you're seeing this. A targeted orphan standing to inherit an empire in the center of a religious Armageddon plot? Hello, it's "The Omen"! Shaw believed that Victor Crowne was the Antichrist.
Alexis: The A... as in...?
[gestures devil's horns]
Richard: As in the personification of the Devil. Yes, dear, yes. It... That's why Shaw went after the Crownes. He... He was going after their son.
Hayley: Except that was a film.
[sees Alexis on her phone]
Hayley: Please don't tell me you're Googling "the Antichrist" right now.

Kate: Was he going through anything that I didn't know about?
Martha: Like what?
Kate: Pressure that he was under that he kept to himself.
Alexis: Of course not. Right, Gram?
Martha: No, no, no, no. I would have noticed.
Kate: And what about the wedding? Did he have any misgivings?
Martha: Misgivings? Katherine, that was the farthest thing from his mind. He couldn't wait to be married to you.
Alexis: You don't think he'd just walk away, do you?
Kate: No.
Martha: Then what's going on here?
Kate: I don't know. But there's gotta be another explanation.

Richard: And where are you off to?
Alexis: Oh, I signed up for an escort service. I have to meet a client.
Richard: What? On a what?
Alexis: [chuckles] I just wanted to see if you were listening. I am going to the library. To study.
Richard: Not cool.
[Alexis kisses her father on the cheek]
Alexis: Bye, Kate.
[Alexis kisses Beckett, too]
Kate: Oh, bye-bye.
[Alexis leaves]
Richard: A goodbye kiss? When did that start?
Kate: Just now. Yeah. No, I'm as surprised as you are.
Richard: Well, I don't know that I'm surprised. I mean, you are pretty lovable.
Kate: Well, you raised a great person, so...
Richard: Mmm. You say that now. You weren't here for the beginning.

Hayley: I don't know anything. The last time I saw Castle was outside the prison.
Javier: You'd think an ex-cop would understand obstruction of justice.
Kevin: Yeah, especially since arresting her for it will torpedo her investigator's license.
Hayley: You're not scaring me, guys.
Javier: You think we're playing? Castle's one of us, which means you'd better come clean right now, or every cop in this city is gonna make it their mission to jam you up,
Hayley: I understand the passion, but I have a reputation to uphold. My clients think that I roll over every time a cop says "Boo", I'm looking for a new line of work.
Alexis: [entering in a fit of anger] Damn it, my dad's in trouble. If you know anything about where he is, you have to tell us!
Hayley: Alexis... it's not that simple.
Alexis: Yes, it is.

[Castle is trying to earn Alexis' forgiveness]
Alexis: I just thought you were here for the case.
Richard: I am.
Alexis: Then how come you haven't asked a single question about it since we left?
Richard: Okay. Um... so what do I need to know?
Alexis: Frank Henson, the accused. We're meeting him at the prison. He is Pennsylvania blue-collar, struggled through high school, but he's smart. He earned his automotive mechanic degree in '95. He's a little rough around the edges, but he's got a good heart.
Richard: Okay.
Alexis: Oh, and... Then there's Maggie.
Richard: Who's Maggie?
Alexis: Maggie Ingram, the love of his life. She'll be at the prison, too.
Richard: "Love of his life"? Is it one of those prison pen pal romance things?
Alexis: Dad, no. She's his high school sweetheart. He proposed to her two weeks before his arrest.
Richard: And she stayed with him?
Alexis: She's been by his side the whole time. Every hearing, every appeal. She's the one who wrote to the Innocence Review every week for three years to get us involved.

Richard: [answers phone] Hey, Alexis.
Alexis: Dad, Hayley's gone.
Richard: Gone where?
Alexis: I don't know, but she ditched her cell phone. I can't track her.
Richard: Hang on. I'm putting you on speaker. What was the last thing Hayley did before she disappeared?
Alexis: She discovered the computer worm was one she helped design years ago.
Kevin: So Edgar used Hayley's own code to help frame her.
Kate: But why did she take off right when she was closing in?
Alexis: Because she knows who the killer is. And his name isn't Edgar... I did some research on her dead MI6 partner, Wesley Connors, and I found this article from six years ago.
Kate: Wait a minute. Wesley Connors is the man in the brown leather jacket.
Javier: I knew he looked familiar.
Richard: This article says he's been executed.
Alexis: Guys, when Hayley recognized the code, she looked like she'd just seen a ghost.
Richard: That's because she did. Wesley Connors is still alive.

Richard: And which of your friends are going on this D.C. jamboree with you?
Alexis: Taylor, Kelsey and Paige.
Richard: Okay. How do I know they're not bringing the blow, and partying Winehouse-style?

[last lines]
Richard: I'm so proud of you.
Alexis: Proud enough to buy me a new scooter?
Richard: No. I made a deal and it would be wrong to break it... But there's nothing in that deal that prohibits me from buying *myself* a scooter, and maybe letting you borrow it from time to time.
Alexis: Are you sure?
Richard: Sure. I can send you to the store for batteries for lightsabers.
Alexis: Thanks, Dad. Oh, and when you have the scooter, maybe I can borrow the car?

Alexis: I can't believe how many lives were ruined over one woman's need to protect her family's reputation.
Richard: You will never have this problem. Between Grams and myself, our family reputation's already in ruins.

[while watching Night of the Living Dead on TV, Castle pulls Alexis in front of him]
Alexis: Dad, are you using me as a shield against flesh-eating zombies?
Richard: No, no, I just wanted you to have a better view.

Alexis: Did you ever stop to think that maybe there's an innocent explanation for everything?
Richard: All right, what is the innocent explanation for rolling up a rug and taking it out of your apartment at 3:00 am?
Alexis: Yeah... That is... pretty weird.

[last lines]
Martha: Don't wait up for me, kids. Mama's on the *prowl*.
[leaves for her date]
Richard: Oh, that poor bastard.
Alexis: [sighs] Is insanity inherited?

[Ryan has provided a lead]
Alexis: Bike tracks. There were bike tracks outside Kim's house. Dad, do you realize what this means?
Richard: That maybe the party Kim went to was at that farmhouse and she saw kids doing meth.
Alexis: No, not just doing meth. Cooking meth.
Richard: That's why she had to get out of there. That's why she told Lyle she had some decisions to make.
Alexis: She was thinking about turning them in. So maybe when she left the party...
Richard: One of our teenage meth cookers got worried she'd go to the cops.
Alexis: And he went after her.
Richard: On his bike.
Alexis: Mm-hmm.
Richard: The tire tracks at her house? He knew where she lived because he'd been there before.
Alexis: He was one of the other guys Kim was seeing.
Alexis: We need to talk to Kim's mother.
Richard: Now that was weird... Usually I do that with Beckett.

Alexis: You know, you didn't have to wait up.
Richard: It's my job. I wait up. I make sure you're all right... But tonight, I realized I'm not gonna be doing it for much longer.
Alexis: Dad...
Richard: In a couple of years, you're gonna go off to college. You're gonna get married. You're gonna have kids. And... I'm only gonna see you on holidays... Until some gold-digger steals all my money, but then I get to move in with you.

[Alexis struggling over a decision whether to study or spend a weekend in the Hamptons with her girlfriends while Castle is doing experiments with liquid nitrogen]
Alexis: When I'm studying, I'll want to be at the beach with the girls, and when I'm on the beach, I'll feel guilty for not studying.
Martha: Well, don't look at me. I'm from the "have your cake and eat it, too," school of decision making. I say, do both.
Richard: Or... maybe by this weekend, I'll figure out a way to take this tank of... liquid nitrogen and... build it into a... weather machine.
[severity in his voice builds]
Richard: I'll make it rain. Your friends will have to cancel their trip. You won't have to choose, and then we can take over the world!
[laughs maniacally]
Richard: Mwahahahahahahahahaha!

Richard: [ending a call with Ryan] That was weird.
Alexis: What?
Richard: Ryan just told me he loved me. I'm sure he was just covering.
Alexis: Don't you feel the least bit conflicted about turning him into a mole?
Richard: He's not stealing state secrets. I'm just paying him to keep me in the loop on their cases.
Alexis: So you can ingratiate yourself in said cases and find new ways to interact with Beckett.
Richard: Well, if by "ingratiate myself" you mean dazzle her with my Sherlockian genius, then, yes, that's exactly what I mean.

Alexis: Actually, I made plans for tonight.
Richard: Wh- What plans? With who?
Alexis: Oh, some friends who are doing their semester abroad in London. We're meeting at a pub in South Ken.
Richard: Yeah, but the, um... Sherlock Holmes Society is convening at 221B Baker Street. You don't want to miss the actual home of Sherlock Holmes.
Alexis: You do know he's fictional, right?
Richard: Yes, but his address is real. And I will be speaking. And if you're not there, who will be proud of me?
Alexis: I'm always proud of you, Dad. But I've heard you speak a million times. I know what you're gonna say.
Richard: That is improbable.
Alexis: You'll say you don't believe in writer's block, that you wrote your first novel to impress a girl, that reading great writers inspires you, and drinking with them inspires you to beat them on the bestseller list.
Richard: Okay. Clearly, I need to develop some new material.

[first lines]
Richard: All right, ladies of the Castle household, just a reminder that your portion for the holiday poem is due in less than... seventy-two hours.
[Beckett is freaked out a little]
Alexis: I just have to do a polish.
Richard: I can't wait to see it.
[to Beckett]
Richard: How's yours coming along? Are you ready for your big debut in the Castle family Christmas card?
Kate: [covering] Yeah, absolutely.

Richard: You're a pretty smart kid, you know that?
Alexis: Well, they say that genius... skips a generation.
Richard: Apparently, so does funny.

[last lines]
Alexis: Whoa, Dad, slow down. I'm leaving for college soon, remember? You can't have a dog in your dorm room.
Richard: Right... I know, I'll just take care of him here, you can come visit him whenever you can.
Alexis: So... this dog you want to get, you know, for me? This wouldn't be an enticement to come home from college more often, would it?
Richard: Don't pretend like you're smarter than me. I taught you subtext, young lady.
Alexis: Don't worry. I'll come back and visit so much you'll be sick of me.
Richard: Promise?
Alexis: Yeah. Someone has to leave food out fo you once in a while.
Richard: Speaking of, I'm kind of hungry right now.
Alexis: Kibbles 'n Bits?
Richard: Peanut butter on a spoon?
Alexis: [laughs] Chinese.
Richard: I'd like a sandwich.
[Alexis sighs]
Richard: Welcome home.
Alexis: Yeah.

[Alexis is dejected after being denied admission to Stanford]
Alexis: How do you do it, Dad?
Richard: Do what?
Alexis: Well, that letter that you have framed in your office.
Richard: My first manuscript rejection.
Alexis: Yeah. How can you stand having it there?
Richard: Because it drives me. And I got twenty more of those before Black Pawn ever agreed to publish "In a Hail of Bullets". That letter... that letter reminds me of what I've overcome. Rejection isn't failure.
Alexis: It sure feels like failure.
Richard: No, failure is giving up. Everybody gets rejected. It's how you handle it that determines where you'll end up.
Alexis: My whole life has been about making sure I could get into any college I wanted. What's it about now?
Richard: Give it time. You'll figure it out.

Richard: Uh, wh-what are you doing here?
Meredith: Alexis! Oh, my poor baby.
Alexis: Aren't you supposed to be in Paris?
Meredith: Not without my daughter. And since you can't go to Paris, I'm bringing Paris to you. French pastries and "Funny Face". We can enjoy them as I nurse you back to health.
Richard: Meredith, how- why-why so much luggage?
[Meredith gives him a coy smile and realization dawns on him]
Richard: Oh.

Alexis: You know, if you're going to keep secrets from me, I might start keeping secrets from you, too.
Richard: At your age, I'm thinking that might be a good idea.

Richard: Ah, my two favorite redheads. And what are you doing here?
Alexis: We wanted to know how your anniversary went.
Martha: And we came prepared either way.
[holds up tissues]
Martha: Tears, or...
[holds up champagne]
Martha: ... cheers... Which one is it, kiddo?
[Castle makes to take the box of tissues...]
Martha: Aw...
[... but instead takes the champagne]
Richard: [laughs] Guys, it was great. And when I say great, I mean, after the last few weeks it was... Great.
Alexis: So does this mean you and Beckett are back together?
Richard: Uh, well, no, this means, uh... we're making progress. And I'm gonna, you know, keep the mojo going by wriggling my way into her homicide cases.

Kevin: [getting fitted for their tuxedos, in a suit about three sizes too small] Um, Alexis? I haven't gained this much daddy weight.
Alexis: That can't be right. I double-checked the size ten times.
Javier: Hey, maybe you finally hit that growth spurt you've been waiting on, bro.

Richard: I have tried to be generous and understanding. I have tried to be tolerant. But, Alexis, it's been over a month, and Pi is still here.
Alexis: I know, Dad. And he feels bad about it. We both do.
Richard: I don't care if he feels bad. I want my couch back. I want my house back. You go back to college next week. What then? Sweetheart... he has to go.
Alexis: You're absolutely right. He's been here way too long. It's not right, and it's not fair to you.
Richard: [sighs] Thank you.
Alexis: You're welcome. And the best news is I think we found a place.
Richard: Honey, that is so great.
[realizes what he heard]
Richard: Did you say "we found a place"?
Alexis: Yeah. Pi and I talked it over. He can't afford a place on his own, so we found one together.
Richard: Together?
Alexis: Yeah. That way the rent's totally affordable. I can cover my half with a work-study job, and it's right next to school. Plus it'll save you having to pay for university housing this year.
Richard: You don't... honestly think I'm gonna let you do this, do you?
Alexis: Let me? Dad, I'm nineteen.
Richard: Exactly my point. Far too young to be moving in with someone.
Alexis: Really? Because I was old enough to sign the lease. And weren't you living with your girlfriend when you were nineteen?
Richard: Yes, but that was different.
Alexis: How?
[Castle at a loss for words]
Alexis: Trust me, Dad. We've thought this through. Makes total sense.
[cut to Castle and Beckett arriving at the crime scene]
Richard: In what universe does that make sense? I'll tell you what universe. The one where she's blinded by emotion and not thinking straight. It's like watching a car accident in slow motion.
Kate: You know, Castle, my dad wanted to kill the first guy that I moved in with. He did everything he could to try and talk me out of it. And all that did was make me wanna do it even more.
Richard: I just wish her future self would come back and talk to her present self. Let her know what a mistake she's making. Save her from a...
[sees the victim]
Richard: ... a world of hurt.

[last lines]
[relaxing with Beckett, he hears someone knock on the door]
Richard: Excuse me.
[opening the front door, he sees Alexis]
Richard: Alexis. What's going on?
Alexis: Dad... can I come home?
Richard: Come here.
[they hug tightly]
Alexis: [mouthing to Beckett] Thanks.

Richard: I didn't open this place to make money. I opened it for the exciting cases. You know, the double-crossing dame. The stolen relic. A locked-room mystery.
Alexis: Dad, you're just naming plots from 1940s gumshoe novels. Speaking of, aren't you supposed to be writing your next Nikki Heat book?
Richard: Would if I could. Come on, guys, let's just ditch this corporate nonsense and find a case worthy of investigating. You know, with mysteries, with bold characters, and twists and turns...
[turns and sees news report]
Richard: ... And murdered man ends up in a pit of deadly snakes? Now that... That is a case worth investigating.

Alexis: What are you gonna do?
Richard: Something very stupid.

[referring to the hidden safe in his office]
Richard: If I opened it, I was bound to be disappointed with whatever it was inside. If I *never* opened it, literally anything I imagined could be in there.
Hayley: So you chose fantasy over reality.
Richard: Well, duh.
Alexis: But we're going to open it now, right?
Richard: Well, duh.

Martha: [entering the apartment] Ah! Hello, darlings. Oh. What's all this?
Alexis: Dad's teaching me the basics of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em.
Martha: I'm shocked. *Shocked* there's gambling in here... Deal me in.

[having gotten Alexis settled into her dorm room, Castle prepares to leave]
Alexis: Hey, Dad... I-I know it's been a while, but, um... Could you do it? One last time?
[Castle smiles, walks over to Alexis' bed and peeks underneath]
Richard: No monsters.
Alexis: You sure?
Richard: Yeah. And if there are, I'll come running.

Richard: Uh. Excuse me, Father. We are investigating Dave Johnson's murder. We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your relationship with him.
Father: I was his priest, my son. I gave him spiritual guidance.
Richard: And which part of that guidance included breaking and entering at City Hall?
[Father Arguello nonchalantly turns around and hurries away]
Alexis: The blind priest just ran away.
[Father Arguello takes off running]
Richard: This cannot end well.

[Castle's mother taking a violin lession from Alexis' male-model-looking instructor, Dylan]
Alexis: Aren't you worried about Dylan's intentions towards Gram?
Richard: I'm hoping they involve running away together, but I'm not that lucky.

[last lines]
Richard: Ashley. What are you doing here?
Ashley: Hey, Mr. Castle.
Alexis: Hey, Dad, guess what?
Alexis: What?
Alexis: I'm going to Stanford!
Richard: [startled] What?
Alexis: I'm applying for early admission. And since I've been taking extra classes each semester since my freshman year, I have enough credits to graduate in the fall.
Richard: [in shock] What?
Alexis: Yeah. This way, Ash and I will be together in January. In college!
Richard: [in disbelief] What?
Ashley: That was actually her idea, sir.
Richard: [long pause, in despair] What?

[last lines]
Alexis: Okay, Dad, spill.
Richard: What?
Alexis: What did you do?
Richard: Nothing.
[Alexis and Martha look at him skeptically]
Richard: Oh, my business manager called with an excellent investment opportunity... a small, artsy independent feature.
Martha: Oh, that's my boy!
Richard: [chuckles] She's perfect for the role. I'm doing them a favor, I think.
[to Alexis]
Richard: I hope you don't mind
Alexis: Raising one parent's hard enough. I don't know what I'd do if I had to raise two.
Martha: There wasn't a little part for me in the artsy...
Richard: No. No.
Martha: No. All right.

Richard: Aha! Found it.
Alexis: Dad, you should toss that. It's getting kind of gross.
Richard: Toss Cookie Angel? No way! You made this for me in first grade with your chubby little hands.
Martha: [entering] Darling, could you pick me up an extra bottle of aquavit for our glogg?
Richard: An extra bottle of hundred proof? You're not tampering with our sacred holiday recipe?
Martha: No, no, no. I'm just gonna mix an extra large batch to take with me Christmas Eve caroling. Oh, it'll be after our Christmas dinner. You don't mind, do you?
Richard: But it's Christmas Eve. That's when we open the gifts.
Alexis: Mm-Maybe we can open them in the morning?
Richard: [laughs] Morning? Mornings are for stockings.
Martha: Well, I-I think, I think what Alexis is trying to say is that she has other plans, too.
Alexis: Just with a couple of friends. It's...
Richard: What friends? What plans? What is happening to our family tradition?
Alexis: Dad, I think you're kind of overreacting.

Hayley: Alexis, where is your father?
Alexis: He's not with you?
Hayley: If he were, would I be asking you where he is?
Alexis: Meow.

Richard: That sneaky little devil. It was Victor Crowne. He did this.
Alexis: How do you figure?
Richard: Well, clearly, he's trying to take possession of any weapon that could be used against him *and* erase any and all evidence of his true identity as the spawn of Satan.

Alexis: Dad, did you notice any candy wrappers or fruit juice, anything with sugar, at the dry cleaner's?
Richard: Uh, an empty soda can. Why?
Alexis: I think Beckett's mystery man might have been having a diabetic incident. But based on his symptoms, sugar is not enough. You need insulin to regulate...
Richard: Honey, I need to go. Let's talk about this later, though, okay?
[as Castle leaves, Hayley hangs back]
Hayley: Red, don't wait for the old man. If you've got something, follow up on it. Look, Beckett's on the run. She can't go to a doctor, she can't go to a hospital, so how does she get her hands on insulin?
Alexis: She would have to get creative.
Hayley: There you go.

Alexis: [the unnamed assassin is killed staging a jail break] Why did she do it? There's no way she thought she could escape.
Richard: It wasn't about escape. She knew her fate was sealed as soon as she got caught. That's why she went out on her own terms.

Gregory: You are like your father, Mr. Castle. Getting involved where you don't belong. Did he really think I would not be prepared for an attack?
Alexis: Dad, what's he talking about?
Gregory: Tell her. Go on. Tell her why she's here.
Richard: You have me now. She's of no use to you. Let her go.
Gregory: When a man doubles his wealth, why should he give half of it away?

Alexis: Hey, can you believe that about Mandy Sutton? It's weird, right?
Richard: Yes, weird.
Alexis: Remember how much I loved her show? And those secret identity glasses. If you were mad at me, I'd wear a pair of glasses to dinner and you'd pretend like you didn't know who I was?
Richard: I remember. Actually...
Alexis: But then she grew up and, whoa! I mean, how does that happen to someone? Becoming such a hot mess?
[Mandy, who has been sitting there, takes off the hood of her jacket]
Alexis: [mortified] Oh, my God... I... thought you were...
Mandy: Yeah.
Richard: Alexis... this is Mandy. We're just, uh, keeping her under wraps for now. This is my daughter.
Mandy: Hmm.
Alexis: [awkwardly] It's nice to meet you.

Richard: P.J. Moffet was one of my literary heroes.
Alexis: Mine, too. Remember, I wrote that paper about him in eighth grade.
Richard: Every author dreams of writing the great American novel, but... P.J. Moffet actually did it. On his first try, too. "The Butcherbird's Song".
Alexis: And in twenty-five years, he never wrote another word. Just one book, then he disappeared from public life. According to Twitter, he was murdered at Saint Mark's on 3rd.
Richard: That's wonderful.
Alexis: Dad, a little respect for the dead.
Richard: Not wonderful that he was murdered, wonderful *where* he was murdered. Saint Mark's, that's in the jurisdiction of the 12th precinct. And *I* am an expert on all things P.J. Moffet.
Alexis: So you're still going with the "win Beckett back by working homicides with her" plan?
Richard: That's how I got her to fall for me the first time. That, and when... I kiss her, I use the bottom of...
Alexis: Dad, when it comes to your sex life, how about we stick with the after-school special version?
Richard: That's fair.

[Martha can't decide whether to accept her boyfriend's proposal or not]
Martha: Love is not about work. Trust me, it's about passion, it's about chemistry, romance.
Richard: It's about your heart pounding faster because you can't wait to see her.
Alexis: Can either of you look back on a relationship that ended because the thrill was gone and admit that maybe you gave up on love too soon? Dad, you're back with your ex-wife.
Richard: Ooh! No, she's right. Yeah, with Gina, the thrill was long, long gone, now, it is back with a vengeance. Of course, it brought along its friends high-maintenance and shopaholic.

[Castle has created a new Nikki Heat character based on Demming]
Alexis: I do have one note, though. This new character, the, uh, Robbery detective?
Richard: Schlemming. What about him?
Alexis: Well, he seems like he kinda... came up out of nowhere.
Richard: Yeah, well, I can't argue with that.
Alexis: He's coming off a bit like a doofus.
Richard: [happy] You think?
Alexis: I think you should lose him.
Richard: [striking the passages out] If only it was this easy.

Alexis: I've been working on this Innocence Review case with my Criminal Law professor. This guy is on death row for killing his neighbor, a high school girl, but he didn't do it, and they're about to execute him for it.
Richard: How do you know he didn't do it?
Alexis: Well, for one thing, he had rotator cuff surgery four months before. He couldn't have swung the fireplace poker used to kill the victim.
Richard: Well, under the rush of adrenaline, you'd be surprised at what people are capable of.
Alexis: You sound just like the prosecutor. But there's more. They found fresh tire tracks in the dirt outside the victim's back door. Bicycle treads.
Richard: And Frank didn't own a bike.
Alexis: No, he was twenty-four then. He worked on cars... Wait. How do you know his name?
Richard: You just said it.
Alexis: No, I didn't... You know about the case. How?
Richard: Yeah. How?... I must have seen the file on Esposito's desk.
Alexis: You've been checking up on me.
Richard: No! No... Well, a little, yes.
Alexis: You're unbelievable.
Richard: I couldn't help it. Yo-You're my daughter. I'm interested in your life, but you won't return my calls.
Alexis: Okay, so, did you find anything? In the file, anything that can help?
Richard: Alexis, he did have priors. What makes you think he's innocent?
Alexis: Because I know him, Dad. I've spent time with him. He's not a killer. I know what the evidence says, but he didn't do this. I need you to come to Pennsylvania with me... I need you to help me prove it.

[waking up in bed to find Castle watching her]
Alexis: Are you trying to figure out how to murder someone in their sleep again?
Richard: Not this time.

[Castle walks into his P.I. office]
Richard: Your fearless leader has arrived!
[Alexis hands him a stack of folders]
Alexis: Oh, yay. Now go file these.

Alexis: If you're hungry, there are lots of leftovers.
Richard: Oh, thank you. I grabbed a slice on the way home.
Alexis: You really are turning into a cop.
Richard: [excited] Yeah? Do you think?

[first lines]
Richard: Booyay!
Martha: God.
Richard: Guess who's about to have the best day ever?
Martha: Could it be the fellow who just interrupted us, rather rudely, with "booyah"?
Alexis: What's going on, dad?
Richard: I'm sorry. I can't tell you. I'm sworn to secrecy.
Alexis: Okay.
[to Martha]
Alexis: Anyway, so my psych professor said...
Martha: Yeah.
Alexis: ...fear is an emotion, which it is, but then I arg...
Richard: [talking over Alexis] So you're not even gonna try to pry the secret out of me?
Martha: Darling, we are right in the middle of something here. So if you just wait for a moment, we will give you our full attention, okay?
[to Alexis]
Martha: Okay. What is it, darling?
Alexis: Gram, you know he's just gonna keep pouting until he gets his way. Dad, just tell us your secret.
Richard: Okay. But only because you insisted.

Martha: Who is Rogan O'Leary?
Richard: A guy she met freshman year at Stanford.
Kate: Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick.
Alexis: And you married him?
Kate: Not really.
Richard: Except she did. The two of them drove to Vegas, had too much to drink, and thought it would be a riot to take a cab to a drive-thru wedding chapel.
Martha: You didn't.
Richard: She did.
Kate: Yeah, I did. But I never thought that it was for real. And I broke up with the guy a couple of weeks later, after I found out he was a compulsive liar, degenerate, and a thief.
Richard: Yes, but not before you tied the knot. And here I thought you were a one and done kind of girl.
Martha: Does your father know about this?
Kate: I really am gonna be sick.
Richard: [the doorbell buzzes] And that'll be my lawyer.

Alexis: What are you so happy about?
Richard: There is a $4 million diamond bracelet buried in my auction winnings. I'm rich. Or richer.
Alexis: 'Till Detective Beckett takes it from you and returns it to its rightful owner.
Richard: Yes, but not even that can ruin my day. Because tonight... is my very special last-night-before-college dinner with my daughter.
Alexis: About that, can we cancel?
Richard: What, whoa, what? Why?
[Alexis shrugs halfheartedly]
Richard: Alexis, we made these plans months ago. Do you know how hard it is, even for me, to get reservations at...
Alexis: If it's the reservations you care so much about, why don't you just take your girlfriend?
[she storms out]
Richard: Oh, Alexis... That's not... That's not...
[sound of a door slamming offscreen]
Richard: [to himself] That's not what I meant.

Alexis: [entering Castle's study where he is looking at crime scene photos] Beckett's mom?
Richard: Yeah.
Alexis: I can't imagine what it must be like for her. Solving murders and bringing closure to all those families, but never to herself.
Richard: It's easier in my books. The just are rewarded, the wicked are punished. Unfortunately, real life isn't that easy.

Alexis: You act like this is all about her, but you were standing right next to her. You could have been shot. Hell, *I* could have been shot.
Richard: That's why I have to do this. To make sure they stay away.
Alexis: Yeah? You need to grow up, Dad. You're a writer, not a cop. Stop pretending.

Richard: Look, I need you girls to do something for me, but I don't want you to ask any questions. I want you to go to the Hamptons. I want you to stay there for the weekend.
Martha: Richard, what is this about?
Richard: Did you not... that's a question. Look, there might be, um... an event that would make it very dangerous to stay in the city.
[Alexis starts dialing her phone]
Richard: What are you doing?
Alexis: Calling Ashley.
Richard: No, no, no, no. You can't tell anybody. Okay? You can't tell anybody. You tell Ashley, he'll tell his parents, they'll call someone they love, and a... a panic will make this thing a thousand times harder to stop.
Alexis: Dad, he's my boyfriend.
Richard: I know.
Alexis: This isn't fair. You can't...
Richard: Fair has nothing to do with it. I need to you go. Now.
Martha: But you'll come, too?
Richard: I will when I can. But I need you to go. Now.

[Castle stands in front of the freezer with the door open]
Alexis: You know, we have air conditioning.
Richard: Hmm. I'm just trying to figure out why someone would put a dead body in a freezer.
Alexis: Is this a... Nikki Heat or Detective Beckett question?
Richard: Beckett.
Alexis: That's right. The Nikki Heat thing was about incinerating a body in a self-cleaning oven.
Richard: Mm-hmm. I mean, you put things in a freezer to keep them for later, but once they're there, you rarely ever go back.
Alexis: If I was putting a body in a freezer, it'd be because I was trying to hide it.
Richard: Until you stop paying for the storage space.
Alexis: Did I stop, or did something stop me?
[realization dawns on Castle]
Richard: It's family moments like these I will never forget.
Alexis: With a good therapist, hopefully, I will.

Richard: Why are you working my cases?
Alexis: Truth is it's all your fault.
Richard: You set up shop in my office behind my back and it's my fault?
Alexis: Exactly. A month ago, when you sent me here to open the place for your foreman, a potential client came by. I was intrigued, so I sort of said I was your associate, and then I kind of solved the case. Since then, I've closed three others.
Richard: Alexis, you can't just... you closed four cases?
[crestfallen]
Richard: That's more than I have.
Alexis: I know. Step your game up.

Alexis: Hey, Dad.
Richard: Hey, Daughter. What are you doing up so late?
Alexis: Waiting for you.
Richard: Did I do something wrong?
Alexis: No. I was just thinking about what you said about your dad. How he could be anything you imagine him to be, an astronaut or a pirate.
Richard: Whipped cream inventor.
Alexis: Or whipped cream inventor. But there's one thing he can't be.
Richard: What's that?
Alexis: A dad. Just a regular dad. Teaching his son how to ride a bike, or helping him with homework, or having a catch. Makes me sad you didn't get to have those things.
Richard: Well... I can't miss what I didn't have.
Alexis: What if you could have it?
Richard: You have a time machine behind the kitchen counter?

Alexis: I thought you became a PI to work *with* Beckett. When did it become a competition?
Richard: When she took something beautiful that we'd built together and shared it with another man.
Alexis: What?
Richard: Investigatively speaking.

[last lines]
Richard: You know what I think would help with this decision?
Richard: Ice cream.
Richard: Race you.
[pushes Alexis back down onto the couch]
Alexis: That's cheating!

[trying to identify what artwork a paper doll was cut from]
Alexis: Let me see.
[examines the image]
Alexis: Chiaroscuro.
Richard: You recognize that?
Alexis: It's a style of painting that was invented during the Renaissance, exemplified by strong contrasts between light and dark. We learned about it in Art History. Try looking up Caravaggio or Peterzano.
Richard: Can I just say, this school of yours is worth every penny I paid.

[last lines]
Richard: I am proud of you for trying.
Richard: Thanks, Dad. And there's a silver lining. After the announcement, the drama teacher offered me stage manager. It's way more my style and I get to keep all my after-school clubs.
Richard: My little overachiever. Well, congratulations on not getting the part.
Alexis: Mm! Smells good.
Richard: Come and help me. Wash up. Let me take your coat. You can chop these up...

Richard: After everything I've done for him. He goes and tries to steal my muse.
Alexis: Muse thievery. What's the punishment for that? Five to 10 in mythology jail?

Richard: Hey, I know that this can be weird for you, how parents aren't supposed to date.
Alexis: I know you date, Dad. I know you probably do other things that I'm *not* going to think about, and will never, ever mention.
Richard: Fair enough. So, what's wrong?
Alexis: I don't know. I mean, I'm not gonna be here forever. And then who's gonna look after you then? Bachelorette Number Three?
Richard: [chuckles] Slow down there. Let's not go buying rings anytime soon. It's just a date.
Alexis: I know. And she seems nice and all. But... if that's who you date, I mean, are you really gonna find happiness with the kind of person who's a number on a list?
Richard: Well, I already have. You're number one on mine. Look, it's my job to worry about you, not the other way around. I'll be fine.
Alexis: Yeah, that's what you said when you tried to deep-fry a turkey... and we all know how that turned out. I just don't want you to get hurt. Or... burn your eyebrows off... again.
Richard: [hugs Alexis] I'm glad they grew back.
Alexis: They're finally matching.

Alexis: There is a universal truth we all have to face, whether we want to or not. Everything eventually ends. As much as I've looked forward to this day, I've always disliked endings. The last day of summer... the final chapter of a great book... parting ways with a close friend. But endings are inevitable. Leaves fall, you close the book... You say goodbye... Today is one of those days for us. Today, we say goodbye to everything that was familiar, everything that was comfortable. We're moving on... But just because we're leaving, and that hurts... there are some people who are so much a part of us, they'll be with us no matter what... They are our solid ground, our north star, and the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us, always.

Kate: She have a drug problem?
Alexis: Well, she used to. She went to rehab three months ago, after her friends found her choking on her own...
Richard: Okay! You know, I... You know what? I think it's time we reset the parental controls on your computer.
Alexis: Please. I had to set parental control on your computer, remember?

[Castle has been named one of New York's Most Eligible Bachelors]
Richard: What about this is embarrassing?
Alexis: Nothing. It's the secret dream of every 16-year-old to have their father crowned one of the most available hotties of the year.
Martha: Well, according to this, your father may not be *on* the market. You didn't read the blurb here?
Richard: Mm-mm.
Martha: [reading from newspaper] "Though claiming to be single, Richard Castle is rumored to be romantically involved with NYPD Detective Kate Beckett."
Richard: What?
Martha: "The inspiration for Nikki Heat, the heroine of his latest best-selling novel. Bachelor number nine may not be eligible for next year's list."
Richard: [taking the paper] Where did they get that?
Alexis: Let me see.
Richard: I didn't say anything like that in my interview.
Alexis: Detective Beckett is *not* going to love this.
Richard: [pause] Well, maybe she'll just laugh it off.
Martha: [laughs] How is it, for a man who is surrounded by women, that you know so little about us?
Richard: [his phone rings] Speak of the devil. Okay, either Beckett's calling because there's a dead body... or because she read the article.
Martha: Pray for murder.
Richard: [on phone] Good morning.
[listens for a moment, then covers the speaker, relieved]
Richard: Dead body. I'm good.

[last lines]
[entering the loft, he sees Pi's stuff is gone]
Richard: You're really doing this.
Alexis: I am. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I'm making a huge mistake.
Richard: What if you are?... This isn't something you can just go back and undo. Why don't you wait a year, okay? Move into the dorms. I'm sure Pi can take care of himself. And if after a year, you still wanna move in together, I- I won't say a word.
Alexis: Yes, you will... I don't know how this is gonna turn out, Dad. None of us do. But it's my life. My future... I have to find out for myself... Who are you always saying is the smart one in the family?
Richard: You.
Alexis: Dad, I know what I'm doing... It'll be okay.
Richard: [quietly, after Alexis leaves] Too soon.