Kate kept looking through the peephole of her door every time she heard foot steps in the hall. Her impatience was growing and she didn't know what to do to pass time until Lanie got there. Her son was conked out on the couch, so she couldn't do anything too loud. Pacing in front of the door didn't help much, it just made time go by slower.

After another ten minutes of waiting, there was knocking on the door. She almost fell out of the kitchen chair to answer it.

"Where have you been?" she whispered once the door was open.

"Can you relax? You know it takes awhile to get here from the morgue," Lanie shot back.

"Well, it took you too long. I'm at wits end here and there's no way I can do this. It's impossible," Kate said so fast that Lanie only caught the last sentence. "What?"

"How about we sit down and talk about this," Lanie spoke, purposely acting like a psychologist to annoy her friend.

"Okay," Kate ignored her and led them into the living room. "Oh, crap." Her eyes fell on her son. "I forgot he fell asleep in here."

Lanie lightly put her head on Kate's arm. "Aw, look at him. I want one so bad."

"Why do you tell me this all the time?"

"Do you not see how cute your son is all curled up in a ball? He makes me want to have a baby."

"I know he's cute." Kate smiled down at Noah. "But you need a relationship first," she teased with a grin.

"Okay. Whatever," Lanie said more quiet than before. "Now let's go talk this nonsense, you keep telling yourself, out of your head."

"What nonsense? This isn't nonsense. I'm meeting Richard Castle in…" Kate checked her watch. "Two hours," she replied with a high pitched tone.

"You've met him before. How is this any different?" Lanie questioned, letting her friend walk into her bedroom first.

"I've never had a full conversation with the man. I don't think I'm capable of doing so."

"Just sit on a bench and let the kids play. Who said you have to talk to him?" Lanie asked, picking up the Cosmo magazine from the dresser.

"It'd be rude not to introduce myself since our kids are playing together."

"Be rude for a day. You seem to enjoy doing it at-" Lanie stopped herself when she saw the glare she was receiving.

"That's called sarcasm at work. This… this isn't work."

"Treat him like one of your suspects. Mr. Party Boy would probably like that."

"Ugh." Kate plopped down on her bed. "What if he hates me?"

"Girl, why would he hate you?" Lanie asked, sitting on the bed.

"I don't know." Kate shook her head. "What if I say something wrong and Noah can't play with Alexis at the park again?"

"I doubt that will happen. You always know what to say to people without hurting their feelings. This isn't any different."

Kate chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about what was just said. She did always know how to react with people. But this was Richard Castle for crying out loud. How could she just casually talk to him?

"Is this because you haven't been with a man in awhile and you think he's going to try to hook up with you?"

"Lanie!"

"I'm just sayin' that if he wants to, you should because I know you want to."

"Oh my god." Kate laid back on her bed, covering her red face.

"It's so true! You want to-" Lanie was cut short when she saw Noah peeking into the room. "Hey, Buddy," she greeted with a smile.

Kate propped herself on her elbows, silently thanking her son for the perfect timing. "You took a long nap there, kiddo." She smiled as he hesitantly walked into the room playing with the hook on his pacifier.

When he was close enough to the bed, Lanie lifted him up and sat him down. He immediately crawled next to his mom and leaned against her.

"Can I have this?" Kate asked him before taking his pacifier out of his mouth, causing him to whine. "Hey, we want you to talk to us."

"That's right." Lanie nodded. "And I want you to tell your mommy that she's being crazy, okay?"

Noah smiled and hid his face in Kate's side.

"He still doesn't talk much." Lanie frowned.

"He just woke up and turned two almost three weeks ago. My dad told me that I didn't talk a lot until I was three, so don't badger my son."

"Okay. I'm going to head back to work," Lanie announced while getting off the bed.

"No, don't. Please stay or come to the park with me," Kate begged as she lifted Noah up and followed her friend out into the hall. "Lanie!"

Lanie turned around on her heel and grabbed Kate by the shoulders. "Listen to me, Katherine, you can do this," she said, looking into her eyes. They both ended up laughing. "Seriously, you can meet him. I promise you nothing will go wrong."

"Fine. I shouldn't make you late again and I should probably pick up the house before we leave."

"Call me later?" Lanie asked once she got to the apartment door.

"Yeah, I will."

"Alright. Bye, Noah." Lanie waved, getting a shy smile in return. "I will have one someday," she sang before walking out the door.

"She's silly." Kate smiled and put Noah on the floor. "Wanna grab me a book to bring to the park?"

The instant he took off toward the main bookshelf, she went to pour herself another cup of coffee. She put it in the microwave, leaned up against the counter, and watched him look for a book. He was on his tiptoes with his hands behind his back, contemplating which one to grab. When the microwave went off she turned back around to grab her cup. After taking a few sips, she felt her shirt being tugged, so she looked down and saw him holding a book up to her.

"Which one did you choose?" she asked, gently taking it from him. She took a quick sip of her coffee before reading the title and soon regretted it. "Not this-" She quickly covered her mouth before coughing. "Not this one, buddy. How about another?"

"Mine," Noah squealed as he reached for the book. "Mine. Mine. Mine."

"No, this is Mommy's book, but you can go put it back." She smiled while handing him the book.

He immediately ran off with the book and stopped near the couch. The sight of his favorite red car, on his blanket, distracted him, so he threw the book and grabbed the car.

"Hey!" Kate yelled. "What did I say about throwing things?" She walked into the living room and had trouble staying mad when he tried to hide under the pillow. "Don't you ever throw things again, Noah."

She bent down and picked up the book. The cover was a little bent, but that was okay. The thing that really mattered was the signing, by Richard Castle, in the front. It was a very strange coincidence that her son chose, out of all the books, this one to bring to the park. As much as her nerves argued, she hoped it was a good sign.

…..

"And he's a lot smaller than me. And he has curly hair. And he likes to play fun stuff," Alexis babbled to her dad while he made her lunch.

"You already told me all of this," he laughed.

"But he's not like Paige and Emma, Daddy."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"No! He's not my boyfriend!" Alexis' hands curled up into little fists. She did not like when her dad teased her about having crushes.

"How old is he?"

"Umm… I forgot," she sighed with a frown.

"Was his mom pretty?"

"Daddy!"

"I'm only kidding, Pumpkin." He smiled, even though he wasn't really joking.

"Done?" she asked, getting onto her tippy toes to try to see the counter.

"And voila." He swiftly handed her the plate. "You're lunch, madame."

"Can you carry it? I dropped it last time." She pouted.

"Okay." He smiled and happily carried her plate to the table. He set her in the booster seat and sat in the chair next to her.

"What time are we leavin' again?" she asked as she got comfortable.

"We are leaving in-" He checked his watch. "Twenty minutes. Which reminds me that I should find your hat and scarf since it's getting chilly."

"The scarf makes me itchy." She frowned. "And it's not cold!"

"It is very cold. You can't fight your way out of this one."

"Fine," she huffed and then stared at her plate. "I'm not hungry."

"I know you're hungry and you have to eat before we go." He kissed the top of her head. "Now let me go find your stuff."

Alexis ate her sandwich and Cheetos so fast that it made her stomach hurt. She slowly got off the chair to lay on the floor. When she heard her dad's footsteps, she turned her head toward him.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He tilted his head to the side, confused.

"I'm full," she groaned with her hands over her stomach.

He laughed and squatted down next to her. "Ready?"

"Yeah!" she squealed and quickly sat up, completely forgetting about how full she was.

"You have to wear this." He put her rainbow hat on her head. "This." He smiled as he helped her into her coat. "And these." He let her put on her gloves.

"Ready." She smiled up at him.

He stood up and took her small hand in his. "Let's go meet your boyfriend."

"Daddy."

…..

The walk to the park felt like it took hours. The only thing Kate stopped to do was grab another coffee because she didn't know it was this cold out and wanted a small detour. She was so happy that she had a hat and gloves in Noah's bag or he would be too cold, resulting in them leaving early, which he never liked.

"Oh boy. I can't do this," she spoke aloud. "How about we come play another day?" she asked Noah who shook his head. "No? Yeah, I didn't think you'd agree." She smiled.

They were slowly walking down the path to the playground when she saw him. One of the most ruggedly handsome men she has ever seen was sitting on a bench with Alexis. She thought it was adorable the way he only paid attention to his daughter, even though there were women distantly surrounding him. And some were daring enough to say something, but nope, he simply dismissed them for his daughter.

"Okay. Here we go." She licked her dry lips and hoisted Noah on her hip a little more.

"He's not coming." Alexis let her head hang in disappointment.

"We're early, Pumpkin. It might take him longer to get here than us." Rick put his arm around her and looked up to see the most beautiful woman his eyes had ever fallen on.

The way her hair framed her face, accenting her facial features. The length, not to long and not too short. The smile she gave her son, as if they were the only people in the world. Then there was her height. He was a sucker for a woman with legs and the one in front of him definitely had them. She was perfect. And when she spoke her voice was a perfect mix between seductive, sweet, and soothing.

Oh crap, he thought. She said something.

"Oh. H-hi," he finally said, hoping what she said was hello.

"Hi, I'm Kate." She stuck out her free hand. She didn't even know how she was still standing from her knees shaking so bad. And the sound of her heartbeat in her ears was very loud. "I'm Noah's mom," she said above the noise.

Rick slowly took her hand, noticing how soft her skin was. He almost didn't want to let go, but coming off as creepy was not on his list right now.

"I'm Rick. Most people call me Castle."

"Yeah, I know who you are," Kate replied, feeling her cheeks get more red. Before she let him notice, she set Noah on the ground.

"This must be the famous Noah that I've been hearing about." Rick smiled while he leaned down. "Hi, Chief."

Noah gave the new man in front of him a big smile and shyly waved.

"He's not a big talker," Kate said, gently tugging Noah's hat over his ears a little more.

"That's okay. He will crack out of his shell eventually." Rick grinned at Noah again before turning to Alexis. "You two can go play now. We'll be right here."

"You don't mind?" Kate bit down on her lip.

"Not at all. I like having someone to talk to that isn't-" He pointed his thumb behind him. "Stalking me like some kind of prey."

"Okay," she murmured, cautiously sitting down next to him. If what she just saw was correct, she got a glare from a few of the other mothers.

"So, how old's Noah? Alexis kind of forgot," he laughed, closely watching the smile sneak across her lips.

"He just turned two a few weeks ago."

"He's cute and looks like you. You both have the most beautiful eyes," he complimented, gazing into hers.

"Thank you." She smiled while looking down at her lap to hide the blushing.

"You know I'm a writer." He got a slight nod. "What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm a NYPD detective."

"A beautiful woman like yourself a detective? You look more like a lawyer."

"No, just a detective."

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of detective?"

"Homicide."

"Really?" He sat up straighter, highly fascinated.

An hour and a half quickly went by until Alexis came running over. She was out of breath and they both leaned forward to hear better.

"I… can't… find Noah. We was playing hide and seek and I can't find him!" she basically yelled.

Kate was already on her feet, running over to the playground."Noah!" she continuously yelled until she found his jacket on the ground. Her mind instantly went to the worst case scenario, a kidnapping. She couldn't lose her son. Not now, not ever.

"Noah!" she heard Rick yelling over near the trees.

She couldn't even move her legs to look some more. All she could do was turn in circles hoping her eyes would land on his plaid hat.

"Do you see him?" Rick asked, running up to her side.

"No," she croaked, tears already falling down her cheeks.

"We'll find him, Kate. I promise." He gently put his hand on her arm and followed Alexis in another direction.

They spent ten minutes looking, but had no luck. Kate was ready to have a mental breakdown until she heard Alexis yelling. Without thinking she was already running toward the noise. They were standing in front of a bunch of rocks that older kids liked to climb on.

"I think I just saw him up there," Alexis screamed and pointed. "I'll go get him."

"I don't think so." Rick quickly picked her up. "You're too little to climb these. You might get hurt."

"You're Dad's right, Alexis. I'll go up and check," Kate said.

"How about I do it?" Rick asked, getting a small glare in return. "I mean… you have heels on… that'd be dangerous."

"Oh, you're right. Um, okay. If he's up there, please bring him down," she pleaded, her hands running through her hair. Alexis leaned against the side of her legs and watched her dad climb the rocks.

Once he was on the top, he saw Noah standing near the edge and he could hear his crying.

"Hey, Chief. Come here." He knelt down and Noah just stared at him, so he slowly walked on his knees and lifted him up. "How did you get up here?" he softly questioned while giving him a friendly hug. "You scared us, definitely your Mommy."

"Is he up there?" Kate nervously asked.

"Yeah, I got him. I think he's more scared than we were," he yelled back.

"Noah, it's okay, buddy. Mommy's down here," she said.

"Alright. Let's go see your mommy." Rick sat on the rocks and pulled Noah on his lap, making it easier to climb down without dropping him.

When he stepped off the last rock, Alexis was by his side within seconds and Kate quickly put his coat on Noah before taking him.

"You're not supposed to climb those," Alexis lectured. "Those are for big big kids."

"Thank you, sweetie. I think he's really scared right now and cold," Kate said with a smile.

"Here." Rick lifted Alexis, so she could see Noah better. "Maybe next time we should pay inside.

"Sounds like a good idea." Kate nodded while rubbing Noah's back.

"How about Tuesday?"

"After I get off my shift at four, I don't see why not," she answered with a smile.

Rick quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. "What's your number?"

"212-555-4857," Kate answered, grinning at Alexis who was tilting her head at Noah.

"Alright. I'll shoot you a text, so you get mine."

Kate pulled her buzzing phone out of her pocket and opened up the new message.

I'm glad he's okay.

She licked her lips and smiled up at Rick. "Thank you. I'll see you guys on Tuesday."

"Bye, Noah. Bye, Kate," Alexis waved with a bright smile.

"Until Tuesday, Detective." Rick nodded before walking away with his daughter.

Wait. Kate just agreed to go to his place on Tuesday. Everything happened so fast that it never registered until now. She had to get home and talk to Lanie about this or call her right now.

…..

They walked into the precinct since Lanie said she was here. The elevator ride up felt a lot longer than normal, but that was probably because she had news to tell her friend.

When the doors opened to reveal the bullpen, she saw Lanie sitting on Esposito's desk. They were most likely flirting and she was about to interrupt. Great.

"Hey, it's little Noah," Ryan happily cheered, getting up to go see him. "Aw. He's asleep."

"Is he really?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, he is," Ryan laughed. "They won't stop flirting," he whispered, pointing his thumb toward Lanie and Esposito. "Make them stop."

"I think the news I have to share with her will." She gave him a playful smirk and walked over to Lanie.

"Well someone is tired," Lanie stated with a huge smile on her face. "How'd everything go?"

"Good. Everything went great, except the whole losing Noah for almost twenty minutes."

"You lost the little dude?" Epsosito asked full of worry.

"But we found him," Kate replied.

"Obviously." Lanie rolled her eyes.

"And… we are going over to Cas- Rick's house on Tuesday," Kate nearly whispered.

"Are you serious? Girl, he wants to get to know you."

"Or he's being a good dad and letting his daughter play with her friend."

"Did he-" Lanie looked over at the boys who were intrigued before taking her friend's arm and leading her away. "Did he help you find Noah?"

"Yeah, he seemed extremely worried. Maybe not as much as me, but close."

"He likes you."

"Lanie, come on. I met him once. I doubt he likes me."

"I was right about it going good. I bet you money that I'm right about him liking you."

"Oh, Jesus." Kate sat at her desk, so they could continue talking. When she attempted to readjust Noah to a more comfortable position, he woke up.

"Little dude is up." Esposito nudged his Ryan's shoulder.

"You can go say hi." Kate smiled down at Noah before setting him on the floor. She watched him run over to Ryan and give him a tired high-five.

"So, are you gonna hook up with him?"

"Oh my god." Kate focused on Noah to stop herself from blushing.

She did not want to give Lanie anymore ammo than she already had. Besides, watching the boys with Noah was refreshing. It made her remember that not all men would walk away from their kid for a job.

AN: Thoughts? Corrections? Suggestions? :D