Author's Note:

Every time I work on a chapter, I imagine my former literature professor yelling , so I am now attempting to turn my vague outline for this story into something more detailed. Once that is done, I hope to update more frequently.

In the meantime, I present to you what I believe to be a somewhat fluffy interlude.

Thank you for your lovely reviews for the previous chapter.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Castle or any of its characters.

"Beckett!"

To say that she was surprised by the sight that greeted her upon entering her building was an understatement. The previous day, the man now rushing towards her had gone home before she had even attempted to start the closed case's paperwork. At the time, she had achingly attributed his rapid departure to the fact that he had to prepare for a date. To her relief, she now knew that he had fled the precinct in order to escape her wrath in the likelihood that she figured out that he was behind Ryan and Esposito's display of concern for her health.

To say that the sight before her eyes was an unpleasant surprise would be an untruth. She had no idea why he was there, but just being in the same room as him heightened all of her senses and made the effort to suppress the smile that wanted to spread across her face quite difficult. Succeeding, she further obliged herself to assume her usual demeanor.

As he came to face her, they questioned each other simultaneously.

"What are you -"

"Where -"

"- doing here?"

"- have you been?"

Kate crossed her arms. She was not going to answer first. After all, he was the one who was suspiciously camped out in her lobby. She had done nothing meriting an interrogation.

"I've been waiting for you! You wouldn't answer your phone."

Huh.

"I turned it off. Mandatory or not, this was a personal day, so I didn't think I would need it." She raised her eyebrow as she saw a slight pout forming on his face.

"But I was worried!" he objected, causing her raised brow to fully arch. "You didn't pick up last night, which I figured was because you were taking a long bath, maybe reading one of my books…" He trailed off, smirking. Great, he was picturing it. Sensing she was about to smack him, he rambled on, " But then you didn't pick up this morning, so I called Lanie to see if she knew where you were, and she didn't, so I started to worry that my plan had failed," Smooth. "and you had spent the night doing paperwork, so I called Espo, but he said you had indeed been shooed out of the Precinct, so then I started to worry you had passed out of sheer exhaustion before you even made it home, so I decided that it would be best if I came over here myself to assure your wellbeing."

"I see. Ignoring, for a moment, how slightly creepy that all was, how long have you been here?"

"Uh, a while." He grinned sheepishly, unwilling to disclose the exact duration of his wait. After all, she had already implied that his behavior bordered on creepy. "Chester here assured me that he had seen you come home, but that you had him call you a cab right before his shift ended in the evening." Arching her brow anew, she turned her gaze to the man in question who had been attempting to listen in but guiltily looked away from her glare. Seems like he had managed to charm her normally mum doorman.

"Care to enlighten me on your whereabouts?"

"What's it to you?" she countered with a slight smile.

"I'm just curious as to why my favorite detective disappeared while no one seemed to know where she was." Wiggling his eyebrows and hoping to provoke her, he continued, "There are so many juicy possibilities."

Kate observed him before answering. He was sporting a playful smile that made it seem like he was relaxed, but his eyes were unable to hide the concern and the slightest bit of jealousy that had caused him to wait for her arrival. Was it slightly creepy that he had seemingly spent hours in her lobby? By all means. However, she had to admit that she was hardly one to ignore her phone. Hell, if her calls had gone unanswered by him for that long, she probably would have showed up at his loft. After all, she was rather thrilled that he had worried enough to come to her apartment, ignoring her usual requests for privacy. She ought to reward him with the truth, but the genuine curiosity that came through in his voice made toying with him all the more appealing.

Leaning in so that her lips were mere millimeters from his ear, she whispered, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

She pulled away slowly, watching the sheer anticipation flicker in his eyes as he awaited for her to elaborate. Turning around, she picked up the tote she had laid at her feet and took a couple of steps towards the stairs, as if she was going to leave him hanging. Doing so, she counted to five, positive that he would deliver his protest in the short timeframe.

Sure enough, "Aw. Tell me! Pleaseee."

She watched him pout. It was pathetic at his age, but adorable all the same. Oh, no. Adorable?!?! She was in trouble. She shook her head both to get rid of the thought and to seemingly express her disproval of his childish antics.

Her attention turned back to her partner, whose pout had turned into a self-satisfied smirk, as she heard him further pry, "I suppose you weren't on a date?"

Now why would he just assume that?! Did he really think she didn't date? Ok, so the last time she'd been on a "date," she had ended the evening with him…That was beyond the point. She opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off, smilingly pointing to her bag.

"Embellished Lanvin totes don't exactly scream hot date."

Oh. Right. Maybe he wasn't making arrogant assumptions.

"I wasn't aware that you were a handbag expert." Now he could squirm.

"Have you met my mother, Detective? " He had a point there. She could picture a miniature Castle lugging Martha's bags and getting to know them. "And you're still dodging my question."

Sighing, Kate knew she was done playing. "Before I give you a viable answer, I want to know why you were so insistent on tracking me down on a day that you persisted I have to myself."

To her relief, he answered without hesitation, "For one, I wanted to make sure you were actually resting instead of doing paperwork in the comfort of your home, and I was genuinely worried when no one knew where you were." He paused before cautiously adding, "That, and I missed your company," He grinned, attempting to play down his last claim.

Kate could do nothing to control the fluttering in her stomach at his words. She compelled herself to raise an eyebrow in order to, at least, outwardly react like her regular self. When he said nothing more to refute the implications of his admission, Kate smiled warmly and decided to finally give him the answer for which he had been fishing.

"I was at home."

His eyebrows wrinkled as he gestured to the building they were standing in. "But..."

"No, no." She rolled her eyes lightly. "I went home, as in to where I grew up, and then, today, I spent the day with my dad."

She knew he'd have questions as she had yet to share any details of her youth with him and rarely spoke of her family. For once, she would be willing to be more open, but that had been enough detail for the lobby. After all, it seemed as if Chester wasn't quite as tight-lipped as she thought.

All she had wanted to do upon her entry from the cold had been to slip into a warm bath and admittedly read one of Castle's books. Yet, watching the worry and jealousy in his eyes transform into something more affectionate, Kate decided her bath could wait.

A/N: Reviews are much appreciated.