She was a little disgusted, even to shake her head at her own foolishness at the beginning of summer. Foolish to think he was anything different than from what she had expected.

Only he had done such a good job of making her believe that he had changed, was changing, that he made the best choices he could in the situation and hoped the good won out. With Alexis, with his failed marriages.

She still had a sour taste in her mouth from that night at the beginning of this summer. Which was interesting, because last summer he had gone behind her back to investigate her mother's murder.

Well, that had turned out better than it appeared on the surface. Castle was responsible for her finding a majority of the answers she'd always obsessed over. So while it seemed a stupid move on his part, she had to give him credit for coming to her with his findings instead of just dropping it altogether.

Kate pushed aside her lingering aches and let Castle scope out the lobby before following him to the elevators. The front of his building was a lot of window, but the elevators were hidden from view. She stood with him in silence, frustrated with herself for still not being over this summer.

She had moved on. It was time to stop dwelling over the past. She had been wrong to assume that his friendliness and teasing were anything special; this was just the Castle m.o.

She got off the elevator first and proceeded him to the door, waiting while he unlocked the loft. Alexis bounced up from the couch and grinned widely at them. Martha had started on the wine and was in the middle of a story or something, because she had swept one arm out in a grand gesture just as they walked in.

"Darling-and Detective Beckett! How lovely." She shooed Alexis on ahead of her and reached them in time to press air kisses to their cheeks.

"It's Kate," she said and slowly took off her jacket as Alexis stood waiting for it. "Call me Kate."

"Kiss me, Kate?" Castle said, turning back to her with a raised eyebrow.

He got a smack from both his mother and her, and his mother said, "Behave."

Kate couldn't help the small smile that cracked. Alexis had hung up her jacket and was pulling her towards the kitchen.

Kate grabbed Castle's sleeve as he made to move past her. "Wait. Castle."

He paused and the whole group paused, and she felt her cheeks growing hot, but this was ridiculous. She lifted the back of her shirt and detached her holster, holding it carefully out of Alexis's view.

"My weapon," she said gently, and backed away from the group.

Castle's face did something strange, like reality had just intruded and he was both surprised and rebuked by its appearance. She was embarrassed she had agreed to this dinner, and wished she'd gone home instead.

"My safe," Castle said, taking her elbow and pulling her away from the kitchen. "If that's ok. You don't have to have it close at hand, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Was this some kind of psychological test of his? Ever deeper into the mind of Nikki Heat?

"I don't know the rules. Are you still technically on duty?"

She smiled a little, cradling her weapon in its holster. "Not on duty. And I don't keep my gun on me when I get home. So the safe is ideal, with Alexis around."

He nodded and opened his office door, then turned on the lights, revealing all his little gadgets and toys.

"What am I saying?" she laughed to herself. "It's better in the safe with you around."

"Hey now," he warned, giving her a sly grin in return. "It's so cool in here, isn't it?"

She gave him a roll of her eyes in response but glanced around the room as she turned away from him, noting the touches. She could tell he spent most of his time in here, and recently, judging by the half empty water glass on a stack of bills beside his laptop. She had never seen him pay bills before.

He had a floor safe just under his desk which he was now opening right in front of her.

"Castle?" She averted her eyes. "Don't you want me to turn around while you do that?"

He grunted as he pulled the door open and then laughed at her modesty. "If I have to worry about you stealing from me, then this city's got bigger problems than we knew."

She wouldn't. But still. Kate shook her head at him and placed her weapon inside the safe, then tucked her badge in after it out of habit. She froze with her hand inside, debating whether or not to take it back out, but then sighed and left her badge in the safe.

"And there goes Detective Beckett," Castle said softly, shutting the door on his safe. "I wonder what Kate is like? Perhaps something of an exhibitionist? Or maybe a closet knitter?"

She couldn't help the laugh that sneaked out of her mouth; she gave Castle a head shake for it and stood up.

He was smiling back. "So Kate is a laugher. Is she also ticklish?"

Kate immediately stepped away from him, putting up both hands in warning. "I may not have my weapon, but I do know plenty of ways to kill you with my bare hands, Castle."

He held up his own in surrender. "Fair warning. Got it." She was still wary as he came towards her, but he only moved past her and through the door. "Come on, Kate. Let's get dinner."

Normally at dinner, the Castle family served themselves from the stovetop or the counters. Someone would lay out plates and forks, and then everyone grabbed what they needed. But Rick wanted Kate to eat more than her usual, so he served up everything himself and set their plates before them.

Alexis gave him a funny look and Martha sighed at him, but Kate glanced down at her plate with something that looked like trepidation. Perversely enough, it made Rick smile and he had to hide it into his first bite.

Lasagna. Thick pasta, heaps of melted cheese-of course, it was made with ground turkey, out of consideration for Alexis's picky constitution, but that was good protein. He doubted that Kate had eaten something so rich in calories and good stuff since before the summer, judging by the constant shadows under her eyes and the way her bones jutted through her skin. Even her hip bones, when she stretched and he could see them through the billowing shirt.

Rick ate his meal with relish, mostly because he could see Beckett in his peripheral vision reluctantly taking bites. It was good, of course, but it was also one of their usual meals which Alexis made. She liked getting everything together, making a meal, having people around to eat it. She said it was soothing, which was something Rick actually understood. He enjoyed cooking as well, the creating aspect of things, and showing it off to the people he loved.

When he and Alexis had things in common, he held those things dear. So he encouraged the cooking, and was grateful to her for choosing this particular recipe tonight. Kate was positively looking pale as she moved things around on her plate.

Alexis seemed to sense something amiss, because she gave her father a questioning look and then hesitantly queried Kate. "It's ground turkey-is that ok? Oh, wait, are you a vegetarian?"

The genuine dismay in her voice snapped Kate out of her eating funk. Rick hid his grin behind his fork as she sought to reassure his daughter.

"Oh no, it's fine. It's very good, Alexis. Did you make it?"

"Yeah. I like to cook at least once a week. Otherwise it's a sandwich or waffles-Dad's specialty."

"Hey now. I can make more than waffles. Remember that Greek salad?" He pointed his fork at her in warning.

"Oh yeah, that was great! I'd never had that before." Alexis took a swallow of her water and gestured to Kate. "You should come over on Greek salad night. That was so good."

"Feta?" Kate asked, her fork still at her plate.

Rick nodded. "But really it's the vinaigrette dressing that makes it."

"Sounds good, Castle."

He smiled back at her and waited a moment too long, waiting to see if she would keep eating or use conversation as a distraction. She frowned at him, as if she could tell he was up to something, so Rick carefully buried another mouthful and looked back at his plate.

"Oh, we have bread too!" Alexis jumped up from her seat and ran towards the kitchen.

Rick half-stood to watch her check the oven. "There was bread in the oven?"

"I had already turned it off. Just letting it stay warm in there. It should be ok." Alexis grabbed the pan of toasted garlic bread from the oven using the potholders she had made back in third grade. Bright purple with orange and yellow streaks that should've been a design. He loved those potholders.

"Put them in that wooden bowl-"

"Which bowl?"

"The one on top of the fridge. Yeah, that's it. And bring it over to the table." He watched her a moment more, to make sure she had it under control, and then turned back to the table. Kate was looking at him strangely, her hair falling softly around her face. It was long. The longest he'd ever seen it, and she'd let it hang naturally so that sometimes it waves a little around her eyes.

Alexis interrupted their staring contest by dropping the bread onto the table and chatting about something-which he missed. Martha laughed and took up the thread of the conversation, which he figured out was something about a play they had gone to see last weekend.

Kate suddenly broke in. "I read that play in college. It's performing here?"

Castle listened intently to his mother's explanation of the theatre's location, tried to picture where that was. "I think I know the place."

Kate looked at him with a frown. "I used to know the theatre district so well. But I have no idea where that is."

Castle jumped at the opportunity. "We should go. I'll take you. Mother, how long is it running?"

Before Kate could refuse, Alexis was jumping in with an explanation of the street and the major intersections, and Martha was giving him the run dates and suddenly they had it settled.

"Tonight. We can make it if we hurry-oh, you've barely eaten-"

"No, no, I'm good. I can eat fast," she said, which completely knocked him off balance. Rick felt his chest expand at the burst of joy that made her lips go crooked, and even as he watched, she was pushing another forkful into her mouth, her eyes not meeting his but shining.

He looked at Alexis in sudden inspiration. "You want to come see it again with us?"

Alexis hesitated, which he knew meant she'd really like to, but felt obligated by homework or by the idea that this might be a date-and it wasn't, not at all-and so she shook her head.

"Alexis, if you want to come with us, you should. Forget your homework."

Martha gave him an eyebrow raise and not very subtle look at Kate, and Rick warned her off with a shake of his head.

"Really?" Alexis glanced to Kate. "But I have already seen it. . ."

Kate swallowed thickly and knocked back a gulp of water. "Please come. It'd be fun." And everyone at the table knew she meant *easier*.

"Well, okay," Alexis looked again to her father, but Rick was still nodding at her.

She smiled broadly and came around the table to hug his neck. He loved that look on her face; he'd do anything to put it there. Like she'd been picked first for kickball on the playground. That was the same joy and pride he'd seen when she was three years old and had conquered the big kid slide.

"Okay, scarf down your meal and let's go." Rick had already finished his off, so he picked up his plate and rinsed it off, loading it in the dishwasher. "Mother, will you run these after we leave?"

"Of course. I might be out when you get back though." She waved off his questioning eyebrow and he knew not to ask more. If it was a date, she was superstitious enough to clam up before she could jinx it; if it wasn't a date, it might be something he wouldn't want Alexis to know about. Sometimes that still happened.

Alexis was gulping the last of her water, still standing to make a hasty escape from the table. "Can I be excused? I need to change."

"Oh no, you don't," Kate said, grabbing her own plate. "I've still got my work clothes on. You're not changing."

Alexis laughed and took Kate's plate from her, then gave both of them to her father. "Come on, I'm in jeans! You look so put together; let me at least change into pants."

"She's right, Kate. Even in work clothes, you look good." He winked at her and finished loading the dishes.

Alexis shot for the stairs as Kate gaped at him. He dried his hands on a dishtowel and came around the island towards her. Martha had disappeared to her room and it was the two of them in the open kitchen.

"I've got the whole day still on me-" she hedged and backed away from him.

Rick pushed in closer and tugged at the sleeve of her tasteful black sweater. He could see the play of her red silk shell at her collarbones and it had entranced him all day. "The whole day looks good on you."

"Can I at least use your bathroom?"

And that effectively interrupted whatever it was he'd been playing at-flirting or serious seduction, he wasn't sure himself.

"Of course," he said, and gestured for her to follow.

She wasn't sure how he'd done this either. What was wrong with her today? But when Ash had shown up at the theatre after a sly text from Alexis, and that look on his daughter's face, Castle had paid for him as well. As well. Yes, somehow he'd managed to procure their tickets before she could even locate the box office. So now she owed him one.

At her hesitation, he'd tried to reassure her. "Doesn't mean anything, Detective. Look, I paid for Ashley and he and I aren't dating. We're not even friends."

Ashley had given a nervous laugh, Alexis had rolled her eyes, and then walked arm in arm with Ashley down the main aisle until she found their seats. Their very close, probably quite expensive, eighth row seats. Kate could kill him.

Except the show was so good. And funny. She hadn't remembered the details too well, only that she'd liked it in class, but there were some really clever lines that she was sure hadn't been as funny when reading it in class. The actors were first rate, as they almost always were in New York, and the director had added some spice to the whole thing with his stage set-up.

After a few musical pieces, Kate found herself laughing out loud and following the action closely. She was so wrapped up in the story that she forgot to be frustrated with Castle's manipulation or wary of his intentions. She was just, finally, enjoying the show.

Castle, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying her. He'd somehow managed to arrange things so that she sat sandwiched between himself and Alexis, with Ashley on the other side of his date. Kate was surprised Castle had let Ashley get so far away from him, especially with the way the seats fit together so snugly that everyone had their knees pressed against each other.

Castle's left knee was digging into her thigh. He'd had to angle his body so he wouldn't take up space on his right, where a large woman in a black sheath dress was chuckling loudly. The heat coming through the material was nice, in a weird, comforting way. So she didn't move away. Also, she wasn't sure she could-the space was that tight.

Her gun was strapped in. She couldn't bear to leave it at Castle's place, since she'd not gone out of her own apartment without it since. . .since forever. And it kept her options open. If the whole thing felt uncomfortable or Castle got out of control, then she didn't have to go back to his place. Not that she wouldn't, just that-

Kate narrowed her eyes at the stage, frustrated with herself for her stupid, girly mind wanderings. Take it one moment at a time. They were friends. Which was probably more than they'd been two years ago. Although last year, their friendship had kinda taken a backseat to a distinct sense of boundaries; it hadn't been quite as easy to just get together and hang out. Why was that?

Well, anyway. She dismissed it and paid attention to the play, pushing her mind back to the stage.

Castle's knee twitched, shifted, and pushed her kness closer together. Playfully, she shoved back, giving him a fierce look. He made an apologetic face before he caught on, and then he leaned in to chuckle into her ear. "Normally, I'd be making a play. But it's too tight in here."

His voice was pitched low so as not to be overheard by the actors. She couldn't help the shiver that crawled under her skin as well. She could hear the unsaid dirty joke in his voice; she didn't know how he did it, but there it was.

Instead of moving away from him, like she would have all this past year, she leaned in on the armrest and touched her shoulder to his. Castle gave her a confused look but smiled and didn't move away. What the hell was she doing?

Ashley and Alexis had disappeared the moment the curtain closed for intermission. Castle leaned towards her and asked if she wanted anything, but she shook her head.

"Feel free to go," she said, gesturing towards the aisle. They weren't too far down the row that he couldn't scoot past those that remained in their seats.

He took a moment to study her face, and she wondered what he saw there. But he shook his head and stayed beside her. Which was surprising. He was a social butterfly, flitting from flower to flower in his quest to be liked. That was a harsh, she knew that, but she had never considered the man content to sit still.

Only here he was, at ease in his seat beside her, his shoulder brushing hers in the cramped confines of the theatre, his knees pushed to the back of the seat in front of them, but his face composed, as if content to sit there all night.

"Don't you usually go out there at intermission?" she asked, glancing over at him as he thumbed through the playbill.

"If I'm-" Castle paused, as if to consider the words before they came out of his mouth. No way, she mused, and waited for the rest of it. "If I'm on duty, so to speak."

"On duty?" She watched his thumb trace circles on his knee, the playbill forgotten in his hand.

"You know, doing the media blitz. Show up with the model, the agent, what have you."

"You have to do that? Make an appearance at shows and stuff?"

"Frequently. Don't get to be famous without some hard work."

She noticed, maybe for the first time, the wounded boy behind the scoffing humor. Maybe it was the first time he'd been honest enough to show it, but maybe it was the first time she'd truly put aside her defensiveness to actually see it.

Again she wondered what drew him to death, to murder mysteries and dead bodies and ride-alongs with detectives. Her first meeting with him had centered around her irritation at his nonchalance when confronted with death. She had wanted him to take it seriously, had wanted him to show the proper respect for the dead woman posed in parody of his novels. She had seen only what he let her see-carefree playboy-and she had refused to dig deeper.

And of course, he'd accused her of that when she'd stopped investigating the murders once they found the social worker's crazy patient. She had been blinded by his facade, just as he had wanted her to be, and it was still taking monumental effort to look past it.

Somehow, someway, he must've wanted her to know him, to see past the media blitz. Or else she wouldn't be here, he wouldn't have stuck around, challenging her, demanding her attention and her concentration and her respect.

How had she gotten here? She couldn't dismiss him anymore.

"You think I'm guarded," she murmured.

"What do you mean?" He seemed to have lost track of their conversation. He probably had, considering she'd just spent nearly a minute staring at him in silent speculation. He'd been staring back, and not exactly at her eyes.

"This image you project for the media blitz. You very rarely drop it, you know. Even when it's just the guys at the precinct. And I've seen you in rare form in front of your own family. Like you don't know when to stop."

"Maybe I don't," he said, grinning at her with that devilish look. Still playacting.

"Come on, Castle. You really can't be serious?"

"I can be serious. Just maybe not right now." But he didn't seem to be absorbing her words; he was tossing them off like they were nothing.

She arrested her own thoughts, narrowing her eyes at him. He might seem like he was cavalier, but hadn't she just discovered that he wasn't? That it affected him? So he was hearing her, but he couldn't help pretending like it didn't mean much.

"All right," she said softly. "Maybe not right now. Time and a place, right?"

The flash of emotion across his face confirmed it; but he was still grinning-it didn't even slip. Still, she had seen it, if only for a moment, seen something on his face that was more than just light-hearted.

"That's right, Detective." He flipped his hand over on his knee and nudged her elbow until her hand dropped into his.

She squeezed his back, friendly and open, suddenly feeling like she had all the power here. "That *is* one of the reasons I tolerate you, Castle."

"What is?"

"Your totally inappropriate timing. It does make me laugh." She smiled at him slowly, tracing her thumb along his hand.

"Just tolerate?" He was pouting at her now, brow pulled low, but Alexis and Ashley were at the end of the aisle now and making their way towards their seats.

Kate dropped his hand and stood so they could pass, feeling Castle at her shoulder also standing. As Alexis gave him a pat on the arm as she passed, Castle snagged at her hand.

"Ashley behaved himself?"

Ashley gave a chuckle that got a look from Castle, but Alexis rolled her eyes and pulled free of her father to sit beside her boyfriend. Kate dug her elbow into Castle's ribs.

"What? Can't a dad be concerned?"

Kate lifted an eyebrow and he shrugged at her but left it alone. Castle did try to grab for her hand though, but the theatre was flashing its lights to get everyone back to their seats and she managed to untangle herself from him.

"Are you liking it?" Alexis said, leaning in close.

Kate smiled at her. "It's really good. They've kinda made it into a musical."

"I know! Isn't it great?" Alexis turned to listen to something Ashley was saying, and Kate found her hand snagged by Castle once again.

She sighed as the lights dimmed and couldn't figure out how to work her hand free.