First of all, your reviews from the last chapter were so sweet and kind. I appreciate all of them so much. Thank you!

Now onto chapter two. It's a little shorter than the last, but the next one is on it's way. Enjoy!

Chapter Two

The next week flew by for Kate. With back to back cases, her days were long and grueling. The three-day weekend she'd had was heavenly, and all she wanted now was a full night's sleep. The cases had been keeping her at the precinct until all hours of the night, and by the time she trudged into bed, Kate only managed to catch a few hours of sleep before she was up and back at the precinct.

One of the only things keeping her sane throughout her days were the texts she and Rick exchanged. Because of her crazy schedule, they hadn't managed to meet up again for another date, but they been keeping in touch every day.

He'd text her random things about what he was up to, while she pretended to be annoyed with his childishness, though they both new she found it amusing. When he wasn't doing that, he was sending her crazy and outlandish theories about her cases, which managed to amuse her to no end. I mean, aliens and mob hits? Who thought of stuff like that? Only a guy like Rick, she guessed. Every text seemed to bring a smile to her face, and made getting through the day just a little bit easier.

Sometimes she wouldn't be able to check his messages until she took a quick lunch, or in the evening when she got home late, but it was always a pleasant surprise to see a slew a texts from the man-child she'd become quickly infatuated with. Despite the grueling cases her team was dealing with, his simple messages always managed to make her feel a little better.

Towards the end of the week, she'd decided to call him one night instead of replying to his texts. Because her and the boys were waiting on financials and phone records, they managed to get out of the precinct at a semi-reasonable time, at least compared to how the past few days had gone. When Castle had saw her calling, he'd been happily surprised, eager to talk to her again.

They had chatted for hours about everything, the conversation once again so easy between them. Despite the tiring day, Castle had managed to make her laugh so hard her side hurt. Kate tried to remember a time where she'd smiled this much, or been this eager to talk to someone on the phone.

After a brief silence, Castle had exhaled quietly before speaking softly into the phone. "I really want to see you again."

Kate bit her lip and sank further into the cushions of her couch. "I know, me too. I'm sorry this week has been so crazy."

"It's okay, it's your job." He said with so much understanding.

"It is, but I still feel bad about turning you down three times for another date." She said apologetically.

It wasn't the first time that the job had come in between her and her personal life. Men were usually understanding at first, but as time went on, they grew tired of waiting. She hoped Castle was different.

"Kate, really, it's okay. We'll figure something out. You're gonna solve this case, and then when you get an evening or a day off, we'll go out. Until then, no pressure."

She smiled, the butterflies ever present in her stomach. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, Kate. Of course." Castle said, surely.

"Thank you, Rick…for being so understanding. I really do want to go out again. Maybe if I can get this case wrapped up, we can go out Saturday night?" She said, hopeful.

"That sounds great. Whatever works for you, just let me know. Until then, I'll just keep annoying you with my texts, and you can keep rolling your eyes at me on the other end."

Laughing, a grin took over her face. "That sounds pretty good to me, writer-boy."

"Writer-boy? I'll have you know it's writer-MAN Kate. All man." He said, sounding faux-affronted.

"Really Rick? You're gonna try that mister 'I stole a police horse naked and rode through Central Park'?"

"Kateeeeee." He whined. "I'll have you know, I borrowed it, and it—"

"—Was springtime, I know." She said, interrupting him, a smile on her face. "You're still a man-child though…or a nine-year-old on a sugar rush, I haven't quite decided."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He grumbled playfully. "You're still talking to me though, so you must find it attractive."

"Attractive is not really the word I'd use...more like a personality flaw one could try and overlook." Kate teased.

"You wound me, Detective."

"Someone has to keep you in line." She said with a smile.

"Well please, by all means, use discipline if you must. Ya know, I'd be happy to let you use your cuffs on me—"

"Mhm, well, I'll keep that in mind for next time." She said without pause. "Until then, I guess I'll just have to get used to your inner child."

Castle paused at the mention of "next time", his brain too lost in daydream to think of a reply. Knowing exactly what she did to him, Kate couldn't help from laughing.

"Cruel Detective. Very cruel. Has anyone ever told you it's not nice to tease?" He grumbled.

"Who said anything about teasing? It's not teasing if you have plans on delivering later, now is it?"

"Uh, delivering? Wh-what do you mean by delivering?" Castle replied, flustered.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." Kate replied, cheekily.

He groaned into the phone, making her laugh even harder.

"On that note, I should probably be heading to bed." She said.

"No, wait, don't leave now." He whined.

"Rick, it's almost midnight, and I have to be at the precinct very early tomorrow." She said gently. "I had a really great time talking with you tonight. It…it made my day a lot better."

"Yeah, I had a really great time too. If you don't get done too late tomorrow, maybe we can do this again?" He asked.

"I'd love that." Kate said, softly.

"Great." Castle said with a smile. "Well, I will let you get to bed then Detective. You'll need your energy tomorrow to take down the perps and be your usual badass self."

Laughing, she shook her head. "Night Rick, I'll talk to you later."

"Until tomorrow." He said happily.

"You can't just say 'night'?" She teased.

"I'm a writer, night is boring. Until tomorrow is…more hopeful." Castle explained.

"Well then…until tomorrow." Kate said softly, before hanging up.

She stared at her phone after she ended the call, a small smile on her face. Maybe whatever her and Castle were becoming gave her a reason to be more hopeful.

Thoughts? You know how much I love to hear them.

-S