Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 2

The following Saturday Richard Castle was woken up by his overly-excited daughter jumping on his bed.

"Wake up, daddy, wake up!" she called, arms stretched out to the sides to help balance herself on the bouncy bed.

"Time 's it?" Castle answered sleepily and lifted his face from the pillow, squinting at his daughter in the early morning light that filtered through his window.

"It's already past 8!" Alexis dropped onto her knees next to him, jostling him.

"What do you mean 'already'? It's only past 8 and way too early to get up," he grumbled and dropped his head back onto the pillow.

Alexis started shaking his shoulder. "Don't fall asleep again! You need to make breakfast. Quick! So we can leave!" When that didn't work, she sat down on her father's back and started tickling his sides.

"Not fair!" Castle whined and tried to wiggle free of his daughter's hold without either of them falling out of the bed.

"If I stop, will you get up and make breakfast?" Alexis tried to negotiate, wriggling her fingers to demonstrate she'd start tickling him again if he wouldn't.

"Fine," Castle surrendered.

Alexis quickly jumped off the bed and pulled the blanket out of her father's reach, making him protest loudly.

"Just making sure", she grinned cheekily before sauntering off to the kitchen, leaving a freezing and moody Castle behind in his bed.

He followed her shortly after, rubbing the sleep from his eyes while trying to tame his hair, which was sticking up in every direction.

"How do waffles and orange juice sound?" he suggested as he found Alexis perched at the kitchen counter with an expectant look on her face.

"They take too long to make. Can't we just have some cereal?"

"You are no fun at all," Castle grumbled and shook his head at his daughter who had already grabbed the milk from the fridge.

20 minutes later, Alexis stood by the front door, dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey print sweater, impatiently tapping her little foot.

"Daddy, what's taking you so long?" she called.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he called back, a little annoyed now.

Together they rode the lift to the lobby, greeted the doorman and hailed a cab.

"I can't wait to tell you about all the planets in our universe," Alexis told him, as they entered the planetarium.

Together they made their way through the various show rooms, stopping dead in their tracks every couple of minutes in wonder of what is displayed in front of them.

Every now and then Alexis pointed to something she recognized from school and Castle told her as much as he knew about the various constellations, planets and stars. He was amazed at how much his eight-year-old daughter had picked up in class, and in the end, she had probably taught him more than he had her.

After a couple of hours, they slowly made their way to the exit.

"Are you hungry, Alexis?" Castle asked, always hoping for a chance to eat out in one of New York's many restaurants and diners.

"A little," the girl admitted.

"Good, because I know a place where we could go. They make great sandwiches," he told her, just when something caught his eye and he stopped walking.

"What is it?" Alexis asked, when he suddenly disappeared from her side.

"Do you see that woman right there? Isn't that Kate, Louis' mom?" Castle pointed discreetly to the other side of the room where a woman in a dark blue sweater and a thick head of shoulder-length curls stood with her back to them. Castle would recognize those caramel-colored curls with a hint of gold and brown anywhere, he was a writer, he was supposed to notice and remember the details.

"It is! Let's go say hi!" Before Castle could reply, Alexis grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where the tall brunette was standing, holding her son's hand.

XXX

Kate was currently reading one of the info texts, when her son suddenly released her hand and turned around. When she turned her head to figure out what had caught his attention, she practically had to force air down her lungs at the sight of Richard Castle being pulled towards them by his energetic daughter.

She glanced down at her jeans and simple v-neck sweater and self-consciously ran a hand through her curls in a feeble attempt to tame them.

"Hi Louis!" Alexis said with a large grin when she finally reached them.

"Hi Alexis", Louis smiled shyly.

"What a surprise to see you here", Castle said with a smile, directing his gaze at Kate.

"Louis wanted to know more about stars and planets, after Alexis told him what she had learned in class," Kate responded with a small smile of her own.

"That's kind of, why we are here, too," Castle laughed. "She hasn't stopped talking about it ever since she learned about it in school. She's been bugging me to take her here for days now."

"And this place is so cool!" Alexis exclaimed.

"We like it too, don't we, Louis?" Kate tried to engage her son into their conversation. But the shy boy simply nodded.

"It is pretty amazing," Castle agreed. "But actually, we were just on our way to get lunch. You wouldn't like to join us, would you?", he asked kindly, a faint glimmer of hope crossing his features.

"Uh ... I- I don't -," Kate was left a little dumbfounded by his offer and didn't know what to say.

"Please, please, please!" Alexis had literally folded her hands together in front of her and was jumping up and down, looking at both, Kate and Louis with large, blue eyes and Kate found it hard to resist those sparkling blue eyes.

"We could go to that burger place with the huge playground," Alexis continued, and looking at Louis, she added, "They have this really long slide, you will love it!" Turning to her dad, she pleaded once more, "Can we please go, daddy?"

"That's really up to Kate and Louis, Pumpkin." Kate saw the somewhat stern look Castle gave his daughter and Alexis immediately tempered her excitement down a little and stopped bouncing up and down.

Kate looked at the little girl with the hopeful expression on her face and at her father, who softly smiled at her. Looking down at her son, she saw his wishful expression and who was she to deny him a play date with such a cheerful little girl? Thinking back, she couldn't remember his last play date anyway. He had never had many of them, or friends in general, due to his introverted personality.

"Feel like having burgers for lunch?", she asked him and nudged his shoulder playfully.

"Can I have a cheeseburger?" Louis asked back.

"They have the best cheeseburgers! Daddy always has one," Alexis told them, her hands still folded together.

"Let's go then." Kate grabbed Louis' hand and started walking towards the entrance while Alexis did a small victory dance.

"If you keep jumping up and down like that, there's no desert for you, young lady," Castle made another attempt to get his daughter to calm down a little. Shooting Kate an apologizing look, he added, "She usually isn't this energetic, I have no idea what has gotten into her today."

"I don't mind. It's kind of fun to watch," she reassured him with a quick smile.

As they made their way to the 'cool burger place with the playground', Kate couldn't help thinking how surreal this day was. She was having lunch with Richard Castle and his daughter! She just hoped she wouldn't make a total fool of herself. Unconsciously, she gripped Louis' hand a little tighter. When he turned his head towards her and gave her a beaming smile, she knew this was the right thing to do. She was glad her son had met the joyful, little girl, and in secret, she hoped the redhead could coax him out of his shell.

They chose a booth in the back of the diner and the adults sat opposite each other. After placing their orders, Alexis was already on her way out of the booth but Castle grabbed her by the back of her sweater and pulled her back.

"Alexis, the food will be here any moment. Can't you wait another couple of minutes?"

"Fine," the little girl huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But after lunch I'm going to the playground, there's no holding me back." Determination was written all over her face and Kate let out a little laugh. Alexis was simply adorable, even more so when she had her mind set on something. Castle shot her a questioning glance but she just mouthed 'later' at him.

The burgers arrived and everyone dug in. After his first bite, Louis grinned at Castle, who mumbled a "good, huh?" around a mouthful of his burger.

"We don't speak with our mouths full, daddy!" Alexis scolded him and Kate took a quick sip of her ice tea to hide her grin. The two of them really were quite comical and she knew exactly who wore the breeches in the Castle household.

When everyone had finally finished eating, Alexis jumped out of the booth with a "see you later daddy", followed by a "hurry, Louis!" and off they were. Alexis practically sprinted to the playground, which could easily be seen from the booth where Kate and Castle remained seated, and Louis followed in a slow jog.

Castle watched the two of them and shook his head, laughing softly. "How did you get him to be so calm and well-mannered? Alexis is such a whirlwind, especially when she is excited about something. She's just untamable."

"I like it. It's delightful to watch. Refreshing even, to see that much unbridled joy and happiness." And with a slightly wistful glance at Louis, who was currently on the slide, she added, "I sometimes wish, he was a little more open."

"He really is quite shy, isn't he?"

When Kate nodded, Castle continued, "I'm sure he'll get there. When Alexis was little, she was the shyest girl ever. It took her incredibly long to warm up to someone. In the beginning she would even refuse to stay with her grandmother for a couple of hours, even though she has been a part of her life from the very beginning."

"Alexis is doing a really good job of getting him to open up a little, though, just look at that." With a soft smile Kate pointed over to the playground where Alexis was currently on the monkey bars, with Louis cheering her on and clapping loudly.

They continued making small talk until Alexis returned to their booth to take a quick sip of her orange juice, looking utterly spent.

"Are you having fun, Alexis?" Kate asked the little girl.

"Yeah, Louis is awesome to play with. Did you see how he mastered the monkey bars and how high he is going on the swings?" Alexis replied, still a little breathless from playing outside. "I can't even do that and I'm two years older!"

"I'm glad you two are getting along so well," Kate told her and got a smile from Alexis in return.

"Are you two getting along, too?" Alexis wanted to know, giving Castle a suspicious look. "He isn't asking you any weird questions, is he?" she worried and looked at Kate.

"Alexis! I promised I wouldn't," Castle huffed.

"Just making sure, because you don't always listen to what I say," the little girl replied, crinkling her nose and setting her glass on the table. And with a quick "love you" over her shoulder, she was gone again.

"What was that all about?" Kate laughed.

"You know, I'm a writer, right?"

The way she suddenly couldn't look him in the eye anymore, probably told him everything he needed to know. If she had just confirmed his suspicions that she was a fan, he thankfully didn't dwell on it. Instead, he went on with his explanation.

"Apparently, some people are put off by the totally reasonable questions I ask them for research." He told her the story of Lizzie's mom, the one with the major in chemistry, who had practically fled the room with her daughter after he had wanted to know in detail what kinds of poisons could not be detected in an autopsy.

"And since she knows that I find police work interesting, she was afraid I might scare you off as well," he ended his little story with a sheepish expression.

Kate was laughing, hard. And boy, did it feel good. She couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun. By now, all the anxiety she had felt before entering the diner was gone. Richard Castle was a very down-to-earth man and was easy to be with. She found it easy to share some stories of her own everyday life with him and he was quick to return the favor, telling her about the redheaded whirlwind.

"Well, if you ever do have a question, you should give me a call." She slid one of her cards across the table. "And you won't scare me off, don't worry," she winked.

"Promise?" Castle asked and actually looked a little unconvinced before pocketing her card.

"Promise," Kate laughed, while mentally, she was slapping herself. Did she really just flirt with him? And told him to call her?! What was wrong with her? First she is being all weird and barely opens her mouth and now she flirts - bluntly flirts - with him?

But before it could get awkward, Alexis and Louis were sauntering back to their table. Alexis slid into the booth and leaned heavily against Castle's side while Louis downed his apple juice, a few strands of his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.

Kate lazily slid her hand through her son's hair. "Are you two finally tired?"

They both nodded. "I'm even too tired for ice cream," Alexis admitted.

"What about you, Louis, do you want some ice cream?", Castle asked the tired boy, who simply shook his head.

"Kate?"

"No, thank you, I'm good," she replied.

"Unbelievable," Castle huffed. "I'll go take care of the bill then, so we can get the two of you home." He lovingly nudged Alexis' shoulder.

When Kate moved to slide out of the booth, he motioned for her to keep sitting. "My treat," and before Kate could protest, he was gone.

They left the restaurant together and said goodbye a little awkwardly. Louis clung to his mother's hand, Castle had picked up Alexis, who could barely keep her eyes open anymore, and after Kate had expressed her gratitude, neither really knew what to say, so after a quick handshake around the two children, they parted in opposite directions.

Back home, Kate led Louis over to the couch and turned on the TV. Usually, she was very strict about her son watching a lot of TV, but she just needed some time to herself and sort out her thoughts.

Thinking back to their lunch date, she still couldn't quite believe what had happened. She had had lunch with Richard Castle, the man whose books helped her cope with her mother's death. Running a hand over her face she prayed she hadn't said anything too stupid or made a total fool of herself. She also hoped he had had as good a time as she had had because her son had really opened up while playing with Alexis. She would hate to see the friendship of the two children suffer because Richard Castle thought she was a total weirdo.

"Mommy?" she heard Louis call for her from the living room.

"What is it, Tiger?" she asked, as she made her way back into the living room.

"Today was really nice," he told her with a shy smile. "Alexis and Rick are fun."

She sat down on the couch beside him and ruffled his hair. "I'm glad you had a good time. Maybe we could go and watch a movie with them sometime, what do you think?"

"I'd like that," he replied and leaned into her side.

"Finding Nemo was just released, and according to the reviews I read, it's a really funny movie. It's about a little fish who gets separated from his dad and on his journey back home he makes a lot of new friends. Does that sound good?"

"It does! Can we see it?" he asked with an excited sparkle in his eyes.

"Why don't you ask Alexis next time you see her?" Kate suggested gently.

"Do you think she'll say yes?" Worry washed over Louis' features.

Gently rubbing his back, Kate tried to encourage him. "Of course she will, she's your friend and the two of you had such a good time today."

Sighing, the boy hid his face in his mother's side. It was so hard for him to walk up to someone and start a conversation, or worse, ask for something.

"I know it's hard, Tiger, but you know Alexis, she'd never make fun of you. Just give it a try, alright?" she tried to convince him.

She felt him nod into her side and gave him a little squeeze.

"I know you can do it," she said and pressed a kiss to his head. When she glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost time for dinner, she nudged Louis shoulder to get his attention. "What do you want for dinner today?"

"Can we have pasta?" he asked with his most charming smile.

"With spinach?"

At that, the little boy crinkled his nose.

"Fine," Kate gave in. "I'll make a tomato sauce, but with carrot sticks in it."

XXX

At the same time, Castle and Alexis were having a similar discussion at the loft.

"Daddy, we already had burgers today, we can't have tacos! That's too much junk food in one day," the little girl told him sternly.

"But Alexis," her father whined, "Tacos are not junk food."

"Yes, they are," the stubborn redhead replied.

Suddenly, Castle had an idea. "Oh, so you want something healthy? Something really healthy?" Castle asked teasingly and opened the door to the fridge. "Alright, I'm totally in the mood for stuffed eggplants."

"Eww, no dad, not that healthy!" Alexis exclaimed and shuddered visibly. She hated eggplants.

Castle laughed and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. "I think we have some leftover lasagna. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

While Castle reheated the lasagna, Alexis set the table.

"Did you have fun today, Pumpkin?" Castle wanted to know halfway through dinner.

"I did. Especially on the playground with Louis. After a couple of minutes he wasn't that shy anymore and he told me some of the things he had learned at the planetarium. Some things I didn't even know."

Castle knew what she was talking about. He had witnessed the transformation through the glass doors of the diner. The first couple of minutes Louis had just watched what Alexis did and had only nodded or shaken his head for an answer, but after a couple of minutes he had tried some of the equipment himself and commented on Alexis' way of making it through the jungle gym. He had caught the two of them chatting and laughing animatedly quite a few times. But Louis' transformation was not the only one he had witnessed today. Throughout the day Kate had opened up to him. He had seen the way she insecurely tried to smooth out her hair and he had also seen the hesitancy in her eyes when he had asked her to join them for lunch. To say he was stunned when she had given him her card was an understatement, he really hadn't seen it coming. But he was glad he had gotten a glimpse of that less guarded and more playful side of her. Smiling, he replayed his memory of her laughing in his brain. He had fallen in love with her laugh the first time he had heard it, and he couldn't help it, but he was utterly fascinated by Kate. Not only because she was pretty, as Alexis had pointed out quite a few times, but also because the few hours he had spent in her company were real. She knew who he was, yet she didn't act on it. Didn't throw herself at him or flirt with him shamelessly, as the majority of women he meets on a regular basis do. Instead they had talked about their children, shared funny stories and had had a really great, effortless lunch. He liked it and he wanted more of it.

His daughter's sustained "Daaad?" brought him back to earth.

"Sorry, Pumpkin, what did you say?"

"I said," she gave him a pointed look for not listening, "We should have lunch with them again."

"We should," Castle agreed. "I'll talk to Kate next time I see her. Now, help me clear the table?"

Alexis got up from her chair and started carrying the plates into the kitchen.