I posted this on my one-shot story Amoretto, but I extended it, so I thought I'd make it a new fic.

Slinking around the unfamiliar bedroom, Kate hunted down her missing clothing. She wasn't sure where her right black heel had gone, but she vaguely recalls a heated make out session in the kitchen. She peered around corners, hoping to not run into anyone in the loft. Her late night bedfellow had mentioned a daughter while they threw back shots of tequila at a nearby bar, but she wasn't sure if said daughter was in the apartment or not. Kate crept toward the kitchen and spotted the four inch heels of her Manolos stuck in the toaster. What the hell did they do last night? Grabbing her shoes and heading for the door, she rushed out of the loft and into the elevator that took her to the building entrance where she hoped the cab would be waiting. Rebel Becks might have had one night stands, but Miss Beckett, third grade teacher should know better than to do such a thing, especially on a school night.

Rick Castle woke to a pounding headache. Tequila always left him feeling like he'd been bashed over the head with the bottle instead of drinking the contents. He moaned in agony as he rolled from his back to his stomach, burying his head in the other pillow. The sweet scent of perfume lingered in the fibers of the pillowcase and he was hit with the memories of what he had done the night before. Kate. They talked for hours before drunkenly falling into his bed around one in the morning. The memory of her face seemed foggy, but the scent emanating from the pillow was bringing her profile into focus. She was beautiful. Her hazel eyes sparkled with lust and he knew he would never tire of looking into them. The side of the bed Kate slept on was cool, proving she had left long ago. In the after-haze of ecstasy and exhaustion, he slipped into unconsciousness before getting her phone number and he was more than disappointed about that.

Rick heard the clattering of dishes coming from his kitchen and the loud, hard clinks drilled into his head like nails. Hangovers were hell. Groaning, he trudged out to the living room to request the noisy offender keep it down.

"Hello Darling!" his mother greeted.

Rick winced as her sharp pitched voice clanged around in his head. "Mother, can you keep it down?"

"Richard, you are a grown man with an eight year old child. You should not be waltzing in here early in the morning like you have no responsibilities. What if Alexis had needed you in the middle of the night or what if the poor girl you had in your bed had run into her?"

"Mother, please. Not now." Rick took a seat on a stool and draped himself over the kitchen counter, hiding his face from any light.

"Okay fine. You should eat something though. It will help you feel better. I can make you some toast if you'd like."

Rick's face flushed as the memory of him and Kate devouring each other against the counter popped into his head. He remembered he put her heels in the toaster and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why that seemed logical at the time.

"I think I'll pass for now," he mumbled. "Did Alexis leave for school already?"

"Yes and she told me to remind you that school conferences are tonight and she will be very disappointed if you skip out."

Rick groaned again as he started planning ways to alleviate the hangover before the early evening meeting with his daughter's teacher.

Kate Beckett wished she had called in sick. Kids are loud, that is a given, but when nursing a hangover after a night of drinking potent tequila, every little noise sounded like a crashing cymbal beside her head. She popped painkillers throughout the day and drank as much water as she could stand and by the time four o'clock rolled around, she felt a little more like herself. It would have been humiliating meeting parents of her students with evidence of her night out written across her face. As she sat at her desk waiting for her first parent to show up, her mind drifted to her late night escapade. As Rick laid on top of her, moving inside her, he worked his mouth against her lips, trailing down her jaw and her neck. He pulled away and his shining blue eyes gazed into hers. Heat pooled in her belly as he called her name.

"Kate?"

She startled when she realized there was someone now in her classroom and felt like she had been thrown overboard in the Arctic Ocean when she realized the man standing before her was Rick, her one night stand.

"Shit," she muttered, her eyes wide and fearful. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Alexis's father," he explained hesitantly.

Kate covered her face with her hands as she mumbled, "I can't believe this is happening. This is a disaster." She fought back a wave of tears. She had royally screwed up. She slept with the parent of one of her students. There had to be rules about that, right?

"Kate, it's fine," Rick attempted to calm her down, by taking a seat across from her and leaning over her desk.

"No it is not!" Kate hissed, revealing her face again and leaning forward more. "This is a horribly unethical situation!"

"We didn't do anything wrong, Kate. We are both mature, single adults who spent a night together. It doesn't have to be the end of the world," Rick explained.

"Can you imagine how awkward this is going to be from now on?"

"It doesn't have to be," Rick proposed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Go on a date with me. We can see where this goes. If it doesn't work out, I am willing to put aside our brief history for the sake of my daughter's education. Plus, I really wanted to see you again. Maybe this is the universe intervening."

"The universe is conspiring to get us together?" Kate asked skeptically.

"It could be. How about I leave you my business card and if you would like to talk more, you can call me, if not, no hard feelings." Rick pulled out his card and stood from his chair to leave.

"What about the conference?"

Rick turned, meeting her eyes and smirked, "Umm, briefly sum up what you were going to say."

"Your daughter is wonderful," Kate spoke honestly, getting transfixed by Rick's gaze.

Rick smiled genuinely and started moving toward the door. "Then that's all I need to know. I hope to hear from you soon, Kate."

He winked as Kate gaped back at him. When he disappeared out the door, a small grin spread across her face and she pocketed the business card for its use after conferences.

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