Chapter 6

It was now almost 9 a.m. and Kate had managed to get a good portion of her paperwork completed. She ran her fingers through her hair and then across her face, letting out a small sigh. Right now, nothing sounded better to her than a nice warm bubble bath. She just wanted to relax and soak away the stressful week.

Just as she was about to continue with her paperwork again, the elevator dinged. Because it was a police station, the elevators constantly had people going in and out of them. She was so used to the noise that it hardly even registered with her anymore. Before she could continue with the work in front of her, she heard a familiar voice.

"Good Morning Detective Beckett."

She looked up from her work to see someone she had not expected standing in front of her.

Holding a coffee in one hand, and a white paper bag in the other, he moved a little closer before speaking again. "How are you today?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Castle?" she said, still shocked that he was there.

How did he even know where she worked? I mean, she had told him that she was a homicide detective that worked at the twelfth precinct, but still… She couldn't help but look at him, puzzled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still sporting that very confused look.

He smiled and chuckled a little to himself.

"I know you are surprised to see me here. That was my intention, and it looks as though I have succeeded. Can I sit down for a minute?" He says looking around.

"Oh, yeah, of course." She says, gesturing to the chair placed next to her desk.

He takes a seat and sets the coffee on her desk, pushing it towards her. He then places the mysterious white paper bag gently on her desk next to the coffee.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by. I brought you a coffee and some breakfast." He says, gesturing to the food in front of her. "I figured you'd be tired after last night. You said you were already tired from the long week. I thought maybe you could use a little boost."

She looked at him and then looked at the items on her desk.

"Thanks Castle. You didn't have to do this, really." Kate says lifting up the coffee and taking a sip.

The hot liquid felt so good going down her throat. This was a million times better than the crappy coffee the precinct had in the break room.

"No problem Kate. I just wanted to say thanks for last night. I had a lot of fun." Castle said giving her a smile.

Kate couldn't help but smile back, taking another sip of coffee before saying, "You're thanking me? I think it should be the other way around. I mean you're the one who gave me the free drinks, not to mention inviting me to sit and talk with you." She paused for a brief moment before continuing. "This is really sweet Castle. Thank you."

"Open up the bag." He says gesturing towards it.

She unfolds the bag and looks inside. A smile comes to her face as she reaches in and pulls out the delicious treat.

"A bear claw? How did you…" she's shocked that he knew exactly what she liked.

"Well you mentioned last night that you really liked them." He says casually.

"Yeah, I mentioned it like once, yet, somehow you still remembered." She can't help but slightly blush as a grin came to his face.

She knew he was listening to her last night. She could tell by the way he looked at her; his body reacting in some small way to what she was saying. Kate just never thought that he would remember stuff like this…the little things.

After a minute or so of silence, Kate snapped back into the real world. Castle was looking at her with those sparking blue eyes of his that she loved. The way he looked at her made her blush, even more than before. Her flushed cheeks caused a small smile to spread across Castle's face. He reached his hand out and gently touched hers.

"It's just breakfast." He said giving her a grin.

As his hand touched hers, shivers went down her spine. She got butterflies in her stomach like last night. This time though, it was more intense.

After a few seconds, Castle took his hand away and sat it on his lap again. She secretly wished he had kept his hand on hers a little longer.

Kate thought about last night and how he had asked her to dinner. She had declined, saying she wasn't ready to date or be in a relationship.

Now though, as this man sat in front of her, she began to rethink her answer to him. Before she could speak again, Castle stood up.

"Well, I better get going. It looks like you have work to do Kate." He said eyeing all the paperwork on her desk.

He didn't really want to leave, but he didn't want to interfere with her work either. Honestly, he could have sat with her all day. There was just something about her that he couldn't help but like. He found himself wanting to know more about her. Wanting to know her deepest secrets. Not only that, but also all those small things. He wondered what her favorite food was. Whether she was an action thriller or romantic comedy type of girl. He wondered if she was a bagel person, or more of a cereal person. He wanted to know the answers to all these questions. He wanted to know her.

Looking at her desk and then her again, he finally said, "Have a nice day Detective, and thanks again for the talk last night."

With that, he turned around and began to walk back towards the elevators.

Something came over Kate, and she rushed out of her seat and over to the elevator as he was getting in.

"Castle, wait!" she said.

He turned around, sticking his arm in front of the elevator door so it didn't close.

"I…I…" she just stood there, frozen, staring into his eyes. Finally she managed to get the words out that she had been wanting to say since the minute he sat down.

"I was just wondering if your offer of dinner still stands? I am free tonight and I thought maybe after work we could go out."

This surprised Castle. Deep down he had been hoping she would change her mind. He didn't think she actually would though.

A giant grin came across his face. "Of course the offer still stands. What time do you want to go out?"

"Eight?" she says nervously.

"Eight sounds perfect. Do you have any preferences? I mean, do you want to go to somewhere fancy? If you don't want that we could go to a diner or something too." He says never taking his eyes off her.

"I think something fancy sounds nice. Surprise me." Kate says, giving his a smile.

"I will detective. I'll pick you up at eight then."

Still smiling, she pulls out a card and grabs a pen off a nearby desk.

She hands it to him saying "Here's my card. My cell number and address are on the back."

Castle gladly takes it in his hand. As he does so, his fingers gently brush against hers causing chills to go through both of their bodies.

"See you tonight." He says giving her one last smile.

"See you tonight." She says as the elevator doors close.