Chapter 7

"Beckett, what are you doing here?"

The question reverberates in her head as she stands outside his door, looking into his eyes. She is scared, but also surprised by the onslaught of feelings storming inside of her. She had assumed that Castle had been "just a guy", but maybe she has been wrong all along.

She had already forgotten the warmth of his eyes when he looked at her, the blatant connection they had. She always had tried to ignore it, because after all, he was an arrogant ass. But, at the moment, he was the only one who could really help her.

"Beckett?" he repeats his question, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, Castle," she says, barely audible. "I didn't know where else to go."

Castle nods weakly and opens his door wider, motioning her to come in. "Okay."

Beckett walks into his apartment, her mouth falls open. She had forgotten that he was rich. That rich.

His place is huge - a loft with skylight and spacious kitchen, not to mention big bookshelves, filled with every kind of book. Classy furniture and warm colours. Every nuance of the apartment shows taste and wealth.

"Woah," she mumbles under her breath.

Castle closes the door behind her and turns around, his brows furrowed. "How did you find out where I live?"

Beckett doesn't even turn around; instead she continues looking at the apartment, slack-jawed. "Esposito told me," she mumbles. "Wow, Castle. I didn't…. When you told me you were a famous author, I didn't peg you to be that famous. Your place is amazing!"

A smile flashes through Castle's features. "Thank you. I love the place, too."

She is still in silent awe, when he steps closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinches slightly, but she doesn't move away. Her initial awe fades away when she remembers why she came to see him. Turning around, she searches his eyes again.

"I…" She doesn't know even where to start. This is so complicated. And so fucked up. "Castle, I am sorry." Maybe asking for forgiveness at first is better than anything else.

"Sorry for what?" Castle asks, holding his gaze, but doesn't press the matter further.

"For… For kicking you out of the bakery. For yelling at you. Now thinking back on it… I shouldn't have done that."

"Kate...," he starts, but she raises her hand, signing him to shut up.

"I'm not finished yet, Castle." she sighs, but flashes a quick small smile before continuing. "It… what happened to my mother… I have never really told anybody. Only to Lanie. The boys knew because I had a breakdown a few years ago and they caught me in one of my worst states."

"Oh, Kate." He breathes out, trying to hide the worry that is creeping into his soul.

"Yeah. I was really mad at you. Prancing into the shop and just randomly talking about it, like it was a joke to you."

"It wasn't," he defends himself.

Beckett nods. "I know. But it didn't stop me from being defensive about the whole thing. So. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, you know that?" he says, stepping an inch closer to her.

Beckett nods. "But still."

Castle doesn't say anything after that. He stands there, looking at her. She falls silent as well, quietly observing him. Slowly, she turns her gaze down as the silence and uncomfortableness creeps around them.

He senses that this is not all. The apology wasn't the only thing she came here. There is something else. Something she is reluctant to share.

"There is something else, isn't there, Kate?"

Beckett nods slowly. "Yeah. I… well. There isn't a bakery anymore."

"What?"

His sudden outburst makes her jump a little, taking a small step back, but still holding her gaze.

"How-" Castle stammers. "What happened, Kate?"

Beckett takes in a shaky breath. "Health inspector. Very creepy guy. He found rats."

"Rats?" Confusion covers castle's face and he raises his hand to massage the bridge of his nose with his fingers. This new information is baffling.

"Yeah, Castle, rats," Beckett confirms.

"But how? I mean…," he stutters. "Your place was the epitome of cleanliness. How can one find rats in there?"

"You got me," Beckett shrugs and turns towards the kitchen and takes few steps to the counter. Seems that Castle was in the middle of making dinner when she crashed his place.

Castle follows behind her, suddenly remembering his food. He is still baffled, but now distracted with tending the pot on the stove.

"There must have been some foul play," he mumbles as he stirs the soup.

Beckett smiles at the sight and sits down on one of the high chairs in front of the counter. "Honestly, I'd like to believe that too. That way there could be a chance I could get my bakery back someday. What are you making?"

"Lentil soup," he wrinkles his nose.

"Lentil soup?" Beckett raises her eyebrows. In her mind, he was making spaghetti and bolognese. This lentil soup came as a total surprise.

"Yeah, Alexis told me it was "healthy"," he shares, making air quotes. "She implied that I had gained a few pounds after spending my time at the bakery. She thought it was good idea to eat something healthy for a change."

"Alexis is a smart girl," she responds with a smile. "Is it good?"

"It tastes weird," he grimaces while looking at the pot, "But I added a crazy amount of tomato sauce, so it has to be good now."

"Mhmh," she mumbles something as if in agreement. Castle continues stirring the pot as the awkward silence falls between them.

Beckett suddenly becomes aware that she has been staring at him for a longest of time and averts her eyes to the counter in front of her to gaze at the granite pattern of its surface.

She came there to ask forgiveness and ask for help, but instead he sucked her in to this domestic routine of his, making her feel incredibly comfortable and surrounded by warmth. It feels good to just sit there and think about something other than her bakery or her mother's death. It's better than wallowing with only a wine bottle as a companion.

At that moment, she knows she made the right decision to come to his place, seek his help.

Suddenly, she feels a hand on top of hers.

Startled, she looks up to find a pair of blue eyes staring back at her hazel ones. Totally unprepared for his proximity, her breath hitches and she feels a flash of fire surge within her.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his face and voice revealing his concern.

She doesn't move her hand. Somehow it feels good to have him this close to her. She takes in another breath of air and smiles weakly at him. "Yeah, I think so."

"You are a terrible liar," he states, still staring at her intently.

"I…" she starts to protest, but he stops her with a caress of his finger along her wrist.

"Come on, Kate. These past few days have been rough for you. Anybody would be in a bad state after that. It's understandable."

A tear rolls down her face and she closes her eyes, trying to force back the rest of them. Last thing she wants to do is cry in front of him.

"Kate..." she hears him whisper and then feels a touch of his hand on her cheek. A finger of his catching the runaway tear. Slowly she opens her eyes. Only to find out that he has moved closer, way too close. His blue eyes are now fixed on her face, gazing over her lips, her cheek and nose. Finally, the gaze returns to her eyes and the flash of hotness reverberates through her body again.

Just like he could have sensed her inner fire, Castle leans in closer and she can do nothing else but close her eyes and take in a shaky breath before his lips touch hers - his soft, warm lips against hers. It feels incredibly good. He moves them a little, discovering the new feeling. His other hand moves from covering her hand to caress her cheek.

Just as she is gathering the courage to reply to him with the same, there is suddenly some kind of hissing sound behind him.

They jump apart.

The healthy lentil soup thought it would be a good idea to boil over at precisely that moment.

He moves away from her hastily, a row of curse words spewing from his mouth as he returns to the stove and saves the soup.

Beckett takes it as a perfect moment to gather herself. She takes in few sharp breaths and tries to still her racing heart and she combs her fingers through her hair, pulling some of her hair behind her ear. She finds that her hand is shaking a bit. She presses it against the counter. She doesn't want to show to him exactly how much he has an effect on her.

Castle pulls the pot off the stove and sets it on the counter beside him.

"There, I think it's ready," he breathes.

Kate smirks at him weakly, but her features grow serious. She doesn't know how to act now, after that brief kiss. What is the proper protocol after something like this? Does she need to pretend like it never happened or…

Her thoughts are interrupted when Castle starts moving around the kitchen, taking the bowls from the cupboard and placing them on the counter in front of her.

While observing him, she decides to go with the flow, since he seems to be ignoring what just happened. Only the slight redness of his cheeks reveals his awareness of her in the room.

He fills the bowls with soup and places the deliciously smelling food in front of her. He coughs and says, "Here you go."

"Thank you," she mumbles.

She takes a spoonful of the soup and then looks at him, surprised. "Mmmm, this is really good, Castle!"

He flashes her one of his greatest smiles. Wiggling his fingers, he answers, "I'm a wizard in the kitchen."

"Yeah, sure," she laughs while taking another spoonful of soup.

They make a bit of small talk while eating, but nothing more. Neither one of them mentions the kiss, and Beckett is bit by bit loosening the tight grip on her emotions and lets herself relax in his company. When Castle takes away the empty bowls and ushers her into the living room, she decides it's the right time to ask help from him.

"Castle?" she begins as he sits down next to her on his big leather couch.

"Yeah?"

"You know, I didn't come here only to ask for your forgiveness," she starts. Castle perks up, watching her every movement.

"Yeah?"

"I… I need your help."

"My help?"

She takes a deep breath and looks into his eyes. "I need to find out who killed my mother."

"It's been 84 years…."

Sorry, not gonna quote that classic movie line.

Sorry I haven't updated for so long. Real life caught up with me and I have had zero time. This weekend I got some rest and squeezed this chapter out of me. I hope you like it. I really do.

Let's hope that my inspiration is back and I can continue updating it faster,

Please let me know what you think about this chapter.

Read and review!