Disclaimers: I still don't own anything. That would be MilMar and ABC Studios Productions. No copyright infringement is intended.

Title: A Warm Welcoming Family

Rating: K+

Summary: Post 2x18 'Boom.' I hope to answer a few lingering questions and offer what I hope are a few explanations.

A/N #1: This is for my phone buddy Brooke (at Bindid24 on Twitter). We were talking Thursday night and the topic turned to 'Boom.' We talked about Kate wearing Castle's red t-shirt while she was cooking breakfast, but we wondered how she got a new wardrobe if her apartment blew up. I told Brooke that even if her bedroom was basically unscathed as Espo told her, her clothes would still reek of smoke. Dry cleaning will not take care of that.

A Warm Welcoming Family

"Goodbye, Nikki. Goodbye, Nikki." The mechanical voice said the words over and over again, the whole while Kate was clutching her phone in her hands, her eyes wide in terror at the words that Castle had just told her. The real killer was still out there.

She dropped the phone and ran back toward her bathroom, diving into her bathtub with seconds to spare as she heard and felt the huge explosion all around her. She cowered in the bottom of the tub with her arms over her head to protect herself from debris.

When she cautiously raised her head, she could hear the crackling of flames in the other room. She knew that she was going to die if she didn't get out of her apartment, but she wasn't sure that she could move.

After several very long minutes, she thought that she heard someone calling her name. The smoke was burning her throat, but she managed to call out. That was when Castle walked in and she'd never been happier to see anybody in her life as she was to see him at that exact moment. He was definitely her knight in shining armor this time. She owed him big time.

Several hours later, she found herself sitting in Capt. Montgomery's office after FBI Special Agent Jordan Shaw had kicked her and Castle off of the hunt for Scott Dunn. She was tired, she was sore, but mostly she was pissed off. Especially after Montgomery told her to go home. "Sir, I don't have a home!" She'd shouted back at her boss.

"Yes, you do," she turned to find Castle watching her. "It's a secure building with a spare bedroom and people who care about you. A federal detail at the door. It's the safest place in the city."

"I'm sorry, Castle, but I couldn't," she argued.

"Yes, you can, and you will," his voice rang with quiet finality.

"Take her home, Castle. Both of you stay there," Montgomery warned the two of them.

They left the precinct and went to reclaim Castle's car. She got in on the passenger side and leaned her head against the door. Her wrist throbbed from hitting it when she dove into the tub. But mainly it was her pride that was smarting. She couldn't believe that she'd missed the fact that their killer had used a decoy to fool the feds and everybody else that they'd killed him. "Can we stop by what's left of my apartment?" She looked at her partner. "I need to see if I can salvage some clothes. I also want to see if I can find my father's watch."

"Okay," Castle nodded, knowing that it would do no good to argue with her. He knew that she was sore and out of sorts. It was easier to just give in to her simple requests. "I've got some ice packs and Ibuprofen at the loft for your wrist."

"Thanks."

The blast had demolished most of her living room. She almost dropped to her knees in tears when she saw her books lying in a puddle of dirty water from the fire hoses. The books had been her mom's and now they were gone. "Are you okay?" She turned around to find Castle standing behind her.

"Just let me get some clothes. I won't be long," she gingerly made her way through the debris field to her bedroom, which was undamaged, for the most part, but still a mess from smoke and water. She walked over to her closet and pulled down a large duffel and threw it on her bed. She then began opening drawers and after taking a few whiffs, decided that the clothes would be okay until she could buy some new stuff.

In the living room, Castle began toeing through the debris while he waited for Kate to get done. He saw the wide black leather band first, and knew he'd found what he knew she was missing the most. She'd told him earlier that she found her mom's ring almost immediately, but they had thrown her out before she'd been able to look for her dad's watch. The face was cracked and water logged, but he was hoping that it could be repaired. He stuck it in his pocket, wanting to surprise her with it after it had been fixed. "Kate, are you almost done?" He called out.

"Yeah. I want to look for my dad's—"

"We'll come back in the morning when we have more light. Come on, you have to be exhausted."

When they walked into Castle's loft 10 minutes later, he smiled when he saw a note from Alexis. "Is it all right if I take a shower?" Kate asked him.

"Of course. I'll find you something to sleep in," he began walking toward his bedroom.

She was about to stop him, telling him that she didn't need to be molly-coddled, but she realized that he was trying to make her feel better. She was walking around the loft, looking at the pictures that he had on the walls when he came out, holding a red t-shirt in his hands. "So, what did Alexis' note say?"

"Nothing much, just that she left some fettuccine Alfredo in the fridge and that she loves me," he smiled sheepishly as he handed her the shirt. "You're welcome to use the shower in the master bedroom or the one in the guest room, if you'd prefer. Which reminds me; let me show you the guest room. I'm being a bad host," he grinned again as Kate followed him up the stairs.

"Thanks, Castle," she stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom and looked around.

"I hope that you'll be comfortable here."

"This is great, Castle," she finally managed a smile for the first time in hours. "I'll be downstairs as soon as I shower."

"I'll heat up the fettuccine," he offered. "You should find everything that you need in the bathroom. I always make it a point to keep it well supplied."

The pulsating jets of the shower felt wonderful on Kate's sore, aching body. She washed her body and her hair, letting the water pound down on her for several minutes before stepping out. She dried herself off in one of the fluffiest towels she'd ever felt in her life before donning the red shirt. It smelled of Castle, which comforted her somehow, and while it swallowed her up, she decided to add a pair of leggings just to appear more decent in her hosts' home. After all, he had a teenage daughter and she didn't want to put on a show. After dressing, she ran a comb through her tangled hair before going back downstairs where Castle was just putting the finishing touches on their dinner.

They chatted during dinner, keeping their conversation light. Kate knew that Castle felt responsible for what had happened, but she didn't want to discuss that at the moment. There would be time for that once Scott Dunn was behind bars or dead, whichever came first. "I'm really tired, Castle. I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she smiled before slowly walking upstairs to the guest room and closing the door behind her. The queen-sized bed looked so inviting that she couldn't wait to climb under the covers and go to sleep. The sheets were soft and the softness of the mattress was almost sinful. Before she could let her thoughts keep her awake, she succumbed to sheer exhaustion.

***CCC***

It was early when she opened her eyes. A quick glance at her cell showed it to be a little after six. Since she and Castle had never gotten to finish their breakfast at her apartment two days before, she decided to return the favor by cooking him and Alexis' breakfast. She knew that he wouldn't have expired eggs and fuzzy bacon in his refrigerator. She got up, washed her face and brushed her teeth with an unopened toothbrush that she found in a vanity drawer before quietly walking downstairs to the kitchen. After looking around for what she was seeking, she put on a pot of coffee and went over to the refrigerator, opening it and peering inside at the contents.

She removed a carton of eggs and a package of bacon before putting them on the counter and looking for cooking utensils. She was busily cooking when she heard the front door open. She turned to find Martha walking in. "Hi, Martha. I'm just staying here because my apartment is—"

"Ashes, dear. I know. Are you okay?"

"I'm a little banged up, but none the worse for wear."

Moments later, Castle literally stumbled out of his bedroom, rubbing his eyes in a way that Kate thought was absolutely adorable, reminding her of that nine-year-old side of him that she often thought of. "I woke up and literally smelled the coffee . . . and the bacon!" He walked over to the counter excitedly as Kate smiled. "Good morning, mother. Here to drop off your key?" He kissed Martha on the cheek.

"No, kiddo. I came to get my aqua gloves. These clash," she held out the gloves she had in her hand. "She cooks," she nodded toward Kate as Castle nodded eagerly.

"Yes, she does," he said in agreement, trying to snag a slice of bacon as Kate slapped his hand with a spatula. "Ow!"

"Actually, my mom was an amazing cook," Kate told her audience. "On Sunday's, she'd make brunch and she'd give me my choice of pancakes, omelets, waffles, French toast."

"That's funny. My mother would always ask me for an ice pack and a Bloody Mary," he said as Martha slapped at him.

"That only happened twice; tops," Martha corrected her son as Castle and Kate laughed.

Just then, they heard thundering footsteps coming down the stairs. "Gram!" Alexis hugged her grandmother tightly.

"You'd think she'd been gone for months," Castle whispered toward Kate. "It's been one day."

Kate's cell rang at that moment, so Castle took the opportunity to pick up some scrambled eggs and quickly pop them in his mouth, waving his hand in front of his mouth to cool it from the hot food. He looked up when Kate got off of the phone. He could tell from the look on her face that something was very wrong. "What's wrong?"

"Castle that was Agent Avery. Jordan never made it home last night."

***CCC***

Jordan was impressed with the way Kate and Castle handled her rescue. Dunn was in custody and things could return to normal. She looked toward where Castle was talking to Agent Avery and the other members of her team before turning her attention to Kate. "He cares about you, Kate. You may not see it, you may not be ready to, but he does."

"Well, the situation with Castle is . . . complicated," Kate told the other woman.

"So, find a way to make it uncomplicated," Jordan smiled.

Castle had errands to run after they'd seen their FBI counterparts off, so Kate began working on her mountains of paperwork. She smiled when she got a text from Alexis. 'Breakfast was great. I told dad that he already owes you strawberry happy face pancakes. TY.'

Castle returned from his errand an hour later, smiling when he approached Kate's desk. He sat down and placed a small gift bag in front of her. "What's this?"

"Open it," he smiled at her.

She opened the bag and gasped when she took out her father's watch. "My father's watch. Thank you."

"I found it in the wreckage and had it fixed."

"I got a text from Alexis, thanking me for breakfast. I have to ask a question. What are strawberry happy face pancakes, because she said that you owe me some?"

"It's not complicated. Strawberry happy face pancakes are exactly what the name implies. Pancakes with happy faces made from strawberry jam drawn on them. We always make them when somebody's having a rough time. Alexis told me that there's not too much rougher than losing your home. Except for that," he said, seeing from the faraway look in her eyes where her mind was going. "Nothing's worse than that. Come on, and I'll make you the famous strawberry happy face pancakes for dinner."

"Castle, I should really look—"

"You have time for that. Kate, we don't bite, and we do care about you. Now, come on, let's go have breakfast for dinner."

Kate found it hard to argue with that logic. She smiled as she strapped her father's watch back around her wrist and followed Castle toward the elevator. His family was so warm and welcoming that it was like coming home every time she visited them. It was a nice feeling.

A/N #2: The original plan was to use this in a chapter of 'All the Songs Make Sense' but I didn't have a song that fit, so I decided to just write a fresh one-shot instead.

A/N #3: I hope you like it, Brooke.

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