Kate grabbed her bag and walked out towards Central Park. She intended to go home and clean, she did, but she didn't think a walk through the park was going to hurt anything. She needed to clear her head, although she was starting to think that all of this thinking was only leading to badness. She was getting more and more confused about something that, last night, had seemed so simple. Maybe Lainie was right. Maybe what she was feeling WAS more than a silly little crush.

Richard Castle. Was she really falling for him? No. That was absurd. He was just her partner…a friend. Sure, she trusted him with her most personal secrets. And okay, he did make her laugh an awful lot. And maybe she did find herself thinking of him quite a bit lately. Occasionally in naked, sexy ways…

She shook her head before she went too far down that road. She needed to get back to her apartment, do some cleaning, grab some Chinese for dinner later, and watch a movie to get her mind off of Castle. She turned down the sidewalk leading towards her apartment when she felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket. Great.

"Hey, Castle. What's up?"

"Have I ever told you, Detective, that you look incredibly sexy in jeans and a tee shirt?"

She twirled around in a circle. "No, I think you actually forgot to mention that."

"Mmm. Damn shame. I don't know how it slipped my mind."

Kate jumped when she felt a hand on her back. "Castle! Damnit! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

He was smiling from ear to ear, looking especially adorable in jeans and a tee shirt of his own. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist."

With heart still pounding she spoke, "What are you doing here?"

"Alexis was meeting some girlfriends so I walked with her. Thought I'd get in some quality dad time while I still can."

"Sure." She said without a trace of her usual sarcasm, "She's only got, what, two more years, right?"

"Yeah. They're going to fly."

She tried to think of something to make him feel a little better. "Maybe you'll get lucky and she'll choose NYU."

"Maybe…" His voice trailed off for a minute and Kate smiled. She didn't see it often, but when she did this side of him could make her melt. She put her hand on his arm.

"Come on. Walk me home."

His eyes brightened again and he took her hand in his. "It would be my pleasure."

They walked hand in hand for a minute before anyone broke the tension. Kate wasn't sure what to make of this. There was definitely something going on with them and it was impossible to pretend not to notice. She finally decided to speak.

"Thank you again for your help yesterday. I couldn't have gotten it all done without you."

"Oh sure you could've. But it wouldn't have been as fun." He winked at her and squeezed her hand. She whirled around to face him, never dropping his hand.

"Castle what's going on?" Her voice was steady, but obviously tense.

His brow furrowed and he looked around, knowing exactly what she was talking about but choosing to pretend otherwise. "Well, Kate, it's a gorgeous Saturday and I thought we were taking a walk through the park."

"Come on, Castle. We don't stroll through the park. Not unless there's a dead body waiting for me somewhere in it."

He sighed and tried to hide a nervous smile. "Kate, did you have fun last night?"

"What?" She shuffled her feet and pulled her hand away, self-consciously crossing her arms.

"Did you have a good time with me last night?"

She started to relax a little bit remembering the night before. "Um…yes…of course I did."

"Okay then." He took back her hand, "Then just walk with me."

She was surprised to find that her instincts weren't to pull away. She was pretty sure she was smiling, actually. "…okay."

Fifteen minutes later Kate was holding onto his arm, leaning into him, laughing hysterically about the horribly bad joke he had just made. To the world they appeared to be another happy couple, spending their Saturday together at the park. Casual, relaxed…content.

Kate looked at him for a moment, not sure what she was feeling, but sure that she was feeling something. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Do you maybe want to come back to my place with me? I was just going to get some Chinese and maybe watch a movie…if you don't have plans, I mean. Which is ridiculous. I mean, it's Saturday night of course you already have plans…"

"I don't have plans."

"Really?" She was like a teenager.

"Well, I do now, of course." He winked at her.

Kate smiled and laced her fingers through his. This was going to be a good night…