A/N: Thank you so much for your awesome feedback, guys! Really.

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine.

At the End of the Tunnel

Chapter 3

It wasn't until a week later that Kate saw Rick again. They had texted back and forth every day since that night, but she suddenly found herself slammed with a double homicide that had her running haggard after a few days. She would barely make it home in time to see Alex and Olivia still awake and Jake was not making things easier for her. On the second night in a row that she got home after the kids had gone to bed, he would argue that she had no condition to take care of two children working these crazy hours. The irony was that he would taunt her with that, but in the end he didn't want to fight for custody of the kids. It was a done deal that they would stay with her. He just did it to get a rise out of her.

Even though she knew she wasn't at risk of losing her kids, it still kept her awake at night, a recurring nightmare in which Jake would come and disappear with both of them plaguing her sleep. By the end of the following week, she had dark circles under her eyes that she could barely hide with concealer anymore. So when they finally broke the case and got their murderer on Thursday, she made a decision. The Captain had given them the rest of the weekend off so her first move was to schedule a meeting with the lawyer Rick had referred her to. She needed to get a move on with this divorce and it wouldn't happen until she made it official.

It was Friday morning when she walked into Garrett Bishop's office and she was surprised when he told her that Rick had already talked to him about her case and that she would seek his help. His assistance was expensive, but she had done some research on him and it looked like he was one of the very best in New York City. She rarely used the money she had in a trust fund, but she thought this was a special occasion that needed to be dealt with through the best kind of service possible. Kate spent an hour in his office, telling him about what was going on and deciding what the best course of action was.

It was close to noon when she left the office, feeling lighter and more confident now that she had taken the first step in the right direction. Mr. Bishop would draw up the divorce papers and said they would call both parties for a meeting to settle this amicably. She hoped against hope that Jake would go for it – the last thing she needed was to have to settle this in court.

Stepping into the elevator, she pushed the button for the first floor and leaned against the back wall, closing her eyes for a moment. God, she really needed to get some sleep.

"Kate?"

She heard her name and immediately opened her eyes, finding clear blue ones staring back at her with a hint of a smile. Her lips widened in a pleased grin once she took in his suit jacket and jeans with his casually disheveled hair. He reached out and touched her arm in a friendly manner, his smile never fading.

"Hi." She finally said as he settled next to her, their arms brushing. "What are you doing here?" She turned to look at him and realized that, with her high heels, they were pretty much at eye-level.

"Meeting with my publisher. Had to turn in the first three chapters of my new book today or you'd be investigating my murder." He joked and she chuckled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You? I thought you were still working on that big case."

"Finally caught the guy yesterday. Captain gave us the weekend off after such hard work." She gave him a wry smile. "Thought I'd come by and talk to your lawyer friend."

"Oh, how'd that go? Did you like him?" The doors opened and he touched the small of her back instinctively, guiding her out to the lobby. She pursed her lips to keep from smiling, admonishing herself for feeling like this at just one touch.

"Yeah, he's going to get the divorce papers ready and we'll go from there." She explained and he nodded.

"You're in really good hands, Kate. You have my word on this." He smiled at the doorman and guided her onto the sidewalk. It was an overcast day and it looked like it was going to rain at any moment.

"I'm just glad I'm finally doing something about it, you know?" He turned to her and nodded, brushing his thumb on the small of her back before letting his hand fall to his side.

"I'm assuming you haven't had lunch yet?" He inquired as they walked towards Times Square and Kate shook her head. "Want some company?" He gave her that boyish smile she had come to really like in the past few days and she offered him a small grin.

"Sure. Italian okay?"

"Yeah, whatever you like is fine with me." He touched the small of her back again when they started crossing the street and shoved his hands into his pockets once they were safely on the other side. Kate turned to look at him and smiled at the unsure look in his eyes. "You have any plans after this?" He asked after a moment and caught her staring at him.

"I'm taking the kids shopping after school. They have a birthday party to go to later today and Liv claims she has nothing to wear." She rolled her eyes, fighting a blush at being caught, and he chuckled. "So I still have a couple of hours to kill. Thought I'd go to this book store I love, read a little until then."

"Alright, let's feed you first then." He grinned at her and she looked away, biting her lip. "I know this great little Italian restaurant. You're going to love it."

He led her for a few more blocks and they soon fell into an easy conversation. It was strange, Kate thought. She usually felt shy around strangers, but this thing with Rick was so effortless, this back and forth flowing seamlessly between them that she still thought sometimes it was all too good, too surreal to be true. When she was with him, she completely forgot he was a famous writer – her favorite writer – and found it incredibly easy to just be herself.

They had lunch at an Italian restaurant just off 48th Street and he managed to make her laugh more in those couple of hours they spent in that corner booth than she had in weeks, regaling tales of his childhood with a Broadway actress for a mother. He told her about what a hit her birthday party had been that past weekend how he wished she could have made it. He had invited her last Friday, but she had declined, saying she was in the middle of a case and wouldn't be able to make it. It was partially true, but she didn't go because she didn't think it would be appropriate.

She felt incredibly comfortable in his presence and it was becoming harder and harder to discern what was right or wrong in their tentative friendship. She knew that he was giving her space, respecting that she was still married and going through a bad divorce, but she could see that he looked at her differently when he thought she wasn't looking. He was right; there was a strange connection between them and she was more and more aware of it the longer she spent time with him. But it was just something that she couldn't focus on right now. She was not ready to start any kind of relationship and needed to sort her life out first.

"You know, my plans for today were to go home, probably skip lunch and try to get some writing done before Gina kills me." He commented as he helped her into her coat on their way out. "This is so much better." He gave her a timid smile and she nodded, pulling her hair out of her coat. "Sorry I kept you from going to the book store." He once again touched the small of her back and led her out of the restaurant.

"Don't worry about it. Guess we lost track of time, huh?" She turned to look at him through her lashes and found him grinning.

"That's what happens when you're in good company." He winked at her and she laughed, nudging his side playfully. "You need a cab?"

"No, I drove today. My car is a couple of blocks away from here."

"I'll walk you there, then."

"How about I give you a ride? I've still got a few minutes to spare and it looks like it's going to start raining any second now." She offered and he nodded with a happy smile.

"I'd appreciate that, Kate."

She bit her lip and started walking back to the lawyer's building. They were quiet for a few minutes, but it wasn't awkward; it was a comfortable kind of silence with a simmering tension she could feel sizzling between them. Every now and then, she would steal a glance at him and knew he was doing the same when she wasn't looking. It was a little ridiculous in a junior high school kind of way, but she didn't mind. After everything she had been through these past few weeks, this was refreshing for her.

They were half a block away from her car when it started raining really hard. She felt him grab her hand and suddenly she was being dragged to shelter under the roof of a business building's entrance. Once they were safe from the intense downpour, standing in a corner, he turned around to face her, his hair sticking to his forehead as droplets of water made their way down his cheeks. She took one look at him and started laughing, reaching out involuntarily to brush his hair away.

"What the hell was that?" She gasped between laughs and he joined her, taking in her appearance. His hand mimicked her previous move and he brushed her hair away, squeezing it a little to get rid of all the excess water. "Damn, look at this mess." She said quietly when his eyes met hers and she had honestly meant the fact that they were both soaked through, but now she couldn't seem to make herself look away.

"Looks like we're stuck here for a while." He whispered and she realized he was suddenly a lot closer to her. "Unless you've got an umbrella on you."

"Nope. Didn't think to bring one."

Her eyes quickly travelled down to his lips and she watched as his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed. When their eyes met again for a moment, he seemed to make a decision and the next thing she knew, his lips were pressed against hers and his body was pressing hers against the wall in the most delicious way and she couldn't think straight. One of his hands came up to touch her cheek gently while the other gripped her hip and pulled her body closer to his.

And then all warning bells were going off in her head because this was wrong, so very wrong, and she couldn't be kissing this amazing guy because she was still married and no. Wrong. Gathering all the self-restraint she could muster, she pulled away from him, one hand in his chest and the other (although she had no idea how that had happened) wrapped around his neck as if undecided whether she should push him away or pull him closer.

"No, wait. I can't. We can't…" She let out a heavy breath and met his gaze. "We can't do this." She finished in a breathless whisper.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." He rested his forehead on hers for a moment before pulling away completely. "I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry." He swallowed hard and looked away, moving to lean against the wall next to her.

"I just… I can't start anything right now." She tried to say, but he shook his head.

"I know, Kate. I…" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I think it's pretty obvious that I like you." He gave her a small smile and she bit her bottom lip, trying not to smile back, but failing. "But this was not… God, I'm sorry?" He finished, looking at her sheepishly.

"Rick," she touched his arm and let out a sigh, trying to put her jumbled thoughts into words that made sense. "That connection you were talking about? I feel it, I really do. But with everything that's going on, I can't even think about this, you know? I have to get my life sorted out first."

"Let's just… forget it ever happened?" He suggested, trying to sound casual, but she could hear the disappointed tone behind it.

"I think so." She reached out and brushed away the remnants of her lipstick on his lips. "At least for now?" She continued and he gave her a tentative smile, his eyes sparkling.

"For now." He agreed and touched her hand. "Where's your car?"

"About half a block away."

"Want to make a dash for it? Looks like this isn't going to stop for a while." He gestured to the rain.

"Yeah, but you're going to have to catch me if I fall in these." She teased pointing to her heels and grabbed his hand. "Ready? One, two, three."

They started forward at the same time, running awkwardly on the sidewalk trying to sidestep the other pedestrians seeking shelter. By the time they made it to her car a couple of minutes later, they were both breathless from the run and from laughing the entire way. Kate almost slipped when she approached the driver's door and he caught her around the waist.

"Careful." He whispered and she hated herself for the shiver that ran through her, the memory of that heated kiss still fresh in her mind.

"Thanks." She turned to look at him and found his lips entirely too close to hers. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of his arms and opened her door. "Come on." She nodded towards the passenger seat and got in, waiting for him to do the same.

He gave her his address and she eased the car back into traffic. The 15-minute ride to his place was made mostly in silence, but contrary to what Kate thought would happen – especially after that unexpected make out session – it wasn't awkward. She stole glances at him every few minutes and, when he caught her gaze one of those times, he just gave her a small smile and started up conversation. She parked in front of his building and turned off the ignition before turning to him.

"Thanks for the ride, Kate." He leaned in and pressed his lips gently to her cheek, offering her a somewhat timid grin when he pulled away.

"No problem." She smiled back and touched his arm in parting. He nodded and stepped out of the car, circling it quickly over to her side.

"Hey," He started once she had rolled down the window. "I don't want this to make things awkward for us." He leaned down so he could meet her eyes through the opening. "It doesn't change anything, right?" He asked quietly and she could hear a little bit of guilt and insecurity in his voice.

"Doesn't change anything." She reassured him and touched his hand that was resting on the edge of the door, giving it a little squeeze.

"Alright, I'll see you soon?" He inquired and she nodded. "Bye, Kate." He gave her one last smile and turned around to leave. Before he got very far, she found herself calling his name and he turned back to her. "What?" He asked, jogging back to the car.

"I was thinking about checking out a few apartments this weekend. I could use some company if you're up to it." She told him before she chickened out and bit her lip, waiting for his reply.

"Sure. Just let me know when and where." He answered cheerfully and leaned down again, giving a quick peck on her cheek. She waved goodbye at him and he winked, jogging back to his building; it was starting to rain again.

She knew the wisest decision was probably to stay away from him. But, God help her, this magnetism between them was stronger than her.

A/N: Thoughts?