A/N: So, the test is over! And I have no idea how I did, and I won't find out for another twenty days! Gah! Next chapter will be up soon, though. It's already typed, just needs proofreading.

So, of course I loved the Twilight novels, but there are actually people out there who didn't! Well, at least they hate vampire stories so they didn't even read the books *cough* Mom! *cough* ( you'll see what I mean in the first part of this chapter)

Castle had just missed Kate and Alexis by minutes, Lanie had told him. He'd stopped by to check on her and compare thoughts on that morning.

He was very surprised though when he was told that Alexis was the one who had concluded he was a vampire.

"She's so level headed, I had no idea she'd be so willing to accept that vampires actually exist," Castle mused aloud. "She didn't even read Twilight because she said she thought supernatural fiction was too 'juvenile.'" Rick used air quotes to indicate his daughter's mocking tone when she'd put-down the popular novels.

"She's an amazing kid," Lanie concluded. "I'm sorry, I meant 'young lady.'"

Rick smiled fondly and confirmed, "Yes, she definitely is." Then his expression clouded. "Did she seem scared or upset when she realized...?"

Lanie thought a minute, taking Rick's question seriously and giving it the thought she knew he needed. "No, not upset, exactly. Definitely not scared. More... worried, I guess. She just seemed to want you back home more than anything."

"Well, that's a good sign."

Lanie smiled at him when she realized just how much he adored his daughter. But he was still too preoccupied with thoughts of his only child to notice Lanie's expression.

Finally she had to ask him, "When did your eyes turn purple?"

Rick blinked several times, as if by blinking them, he could see their new, strange color. "I don't know," he finally said. "It must have been this morning."

"You think it has anything to do with becoming a vampire?"

Rick nodded slowly, "It must. Your eyes are purple, too."

"What?" Lanie snapped, sitting up in bed.

"Well, not completely purple," he amended. "But when the light hits them just right, they sparkle purple. Maybe there was something in the vampire blood we were given that made our eyes change color."

"Why do you think there's such a difference? Your eyes are, like, glowing. Could it simply be original eye color?"

"Maybe."

Lanie added, "I had more injuries than you. Maybe the majority of the blood I was given was used to repair the damage to my body so less went to make my eyes glow."

Rick nodded, thinking about it. "That makes a lot of sense. Maybe the blood didn't change you, it only healed you."

This time, Lanie nodded. "I don't feel any different."

"Well, neither do I, except for the thirst. Well, what I thirst for anyway. And I have a better memory. And I'm faster and stronger and I can feel it vibrating in my muscles and bones... okay, maybe I do feel different," he concluded, smiling.

Lanie smiled back and said, "I think I'm right. Either I got less blood than you, or it only went to heal me, but I don't think it changed me any."

Rick nodded, not sure what to say. On the one hand, he was happy that Lanie's life could go back to normal once she left the hospital. But Rick had been comforting himself with the thought that even if he had changed, at least he wouldn't be going through it alone. Now, it looked like he would be. Which just made him need to find Crow all the more.
Soon, he said goodbye to Lanie and promised her that he'd speak to Kate and Alexis soon, as well as return to visit her in the hospital again.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Castle made his way silently through his quiet apartment, amazed at how little noise he was making. Considering his new, improved hearing as well, his silent footsteps seemed even more impressive. He even avoided the creaks and groans natural to any stair case.

So far, the scents of the loft had been bearable. Nothing seemed to make him want to go on a rampage, but when he paused outside his daughter's door, he held his breath. Better safe than sorry, he thought. But that defeated half the purpose of this errand, so before touching her door, he sniffed it, tentatively. He smelled something flowery and sweet, but still nothing to make him hungry.

Rick slowly opened Alexis's bedroom door, tensed for any tasty scents. Still just flowers and sweetness and just enough of something that smelled like himself that marked the girl as his offspring. That genetic half of her that had come from him still smelled like him. He idly wondered how much of that flower smell had come from Meredith.

Rick slowly approached the great, girly, purple bed in the center of the room. His eyes didn't even need to adjust; he clearly saw Alexis, curled up on one side, her palms pressed together and resting just below her cheek.

Rick inhaled slowly in and out and simply enjoyed the scent of his child. He remembered back to the smell of her baby shampoo and how her nearly bald head had smelled so wonderful after a bath. He would never admit it to anyone, but he'd always believed that one of the most amazing smells in the world was Alexis's hair just after a bath when she was a baby. Her scent now, though, was just as comforting. He felt silly for worrying that she'd suddenly smell like food to him now.

There was no tempting fragrance here, just his child who needed her Dad to come back home. And he would, soon, he decided. There was no danger to Alexis if he did.

Rick leaned over her bed, and pressed a soft kiss to his 'little girl's' forehead. She mumbled nonsense in her sleep and made her dad smile at how cute she still was.

Time to go, he decided as Alexis began to turn over. He didn't want to spook her should she happen to wake.

He knew Kate was spending the night, so he paused outside the guest bedroom and listened for a moment. He couldn't hear any noise from within, but he wasn't sure he should check on her as he had Alexis, mostly because there would be nothing altruistic behind the gesture. And he knew it would be creepy, watching her sleep without her knowing; it would be very different than checking on his daughter. Though, he needed some things from his room, so he finally stopped staring at Kate's door and went to his bedroom.

He was halfway through to his closet when he realized his mistake and the fragrance permeating the large room brought him to a dead stop.

Rick's eyes moved before his head and easily spotted Kate, stretched out under his dark sheets. His feet moved without him willing them to, and he stood over the bed, studying her shape outlined by the soft material. She was on her front, arms and legs all stretched toward a different corner of the big bed. And the sheet she wore only covered her to mid-back, allowing Rick to see that she wasn't wearing a top... in his bed. And by the look of the seamless flow of sheet over her body, she wore nothing else under it.

For a long time, he studied the soft, flawless skin of her back, wishing very hard that she would turn over. Although he knew she'd be pissed if she knew he'd seen her topless. He's deal with her anger, he decided, he just kept hoping she'd...

Kate began to stir, but Rick was too foggy headed to realize he should probably hide now. Luckily, Kate didn't wake; she just turned over in her sleep and got comfortable again. One leg went straight, the other bent almost into a yoga pose. Her arms curved up, over her head, provocatively- at least for Rick- displaying her bare chest.

In a second of rational thought, Rick closed his eyes, aware briefly of how wrong this situation was becoming. Yes, this was his house, and this was his own bed, but Kate hadn't expected him to be here. He knew Alexis had probably forced her to sleep in here, knowing the guest bed wasn't nearly as comfortable as this one. And possibly finding perverse pleasure in forcing Kate to sleep in his bed- the fact that he wasn't also there was completely irrelevant to the teen.

Rick took a deep, calming breath and grimaced; her sweet, cherry scent only fanned the flames of his desire.

With eyes still closed, he reached out and found the corner of the sheet, dragging it up to cover her breasts- hopefully, though hope might be the wrong word. When he opened his eyes, she was 'decent'- though the thin material, and his memory, left little to the imagination.

He stared down at her, studying her hair, her face, the outline of her body and thought about how much he had always wanted to make love with her. How could she not see his Nikki Heat novels for what they were: extra long love letters- wish fulfillment?
Oh, how he wished so hard, every night, that she'd see what he was still trying to tell her on paper: he loved her.

Rick was in love with her mind, her body. How clever she was, now independent and sexy. Would she ever see? Rick almost wished she'd open her eyes and see him there, and finally see how much he wanted her.

Just then, her eyes did open- slowly and blinking heavily- and she sat up. The carefully adjusted sheet fell away from her, exposing her breasts again and this time, he couldn't help it: he stared.

Let me in, he pleaded silently. Please, let me in.

Her eyes- more closed than open- blinked up at him, and she reached out. Rick must have been closer than he realized because she didn't have to reach very far. Kate's hand fisted in his shirt and pulled. She lay back again, pulling him down with her, guiding him... right on top of her.

He held himself up, over her, and studied her in surprise. "Kate..." he began, but she cut him off.

She lifted her head to his and kissed him. Every fantasy he'd just had went flying out the window as the reality of Kate touching him blew them away. Her small hands snaked up under his shirt and over his back. Then down over his butt, where she squeezed and pulled his body against her own.

Rick couldn't have stopped them now if he tried- his hands finally moved to touch her breasts and caress every curve he'd just seen outlined under his sheets.

As he kissed her, he felt every part of her body pressed against his own, her leg moving against his hip. He thought about her legs- those long beautiful legs he'd just seen glimpses of in the past and realized they were now moving against him. His hands delved beneath the sheet and ran as far down her body as he could, and when he cold reach no further, he wrapped his hand around her thigh and hitched her leg up, around his waist. He turned his upper body a little to continue his exploration of her long slim leg.

All the while, her fresh, luscious scent intoxicated him. He wanted... he wanted to consume her and make her body a part of his own. The thought startled him so much, he broke away, panting, and looked down at her. Kate's eyes were closed and she was breathing quickly also. Her lips were parted and kiss-swollen, looking like the most ripe fruit he could spend hours just tasting. The graceful lines of her neck were strained, and Rick wanted to taste them too.

As soon as Rick had the thought, Kate turned her head, almost as if she could hear him thinking it. He studied her skin for a long moment, luminous with a light sheen of sweat and nearly glowing in the dim light. Even in the near dark room, he could see the pale veins snaking beneath her skin, pulsing with the scent he so wanted to taste. Kate's hands, currently caressing his chest under his shirt, moved around his body and pressed against his back, urging him closer. She arched her back then, when he hesitated, pressing her breasts into his chest, her head still turned to one side.

The scent and the invitation drew Rick irresistibly closer. He put his mouth on the cord of her neck, sliding his lips over her soft skin, enjoying the texture. He could even feel her heart pulsing through her veins. His lips parted to feel the soft beat with his tongue, and he thought he could taste the blood within. Rick sucked gently and Kate moaned. It was the sexiest sound he had ever heard and at the same time he pressed his hips down into her, his teeth carefully penetrated her skin.

Kate gasped, but Rick barely heard. He was caught up in the taste of her, better than anything he had ever had before; it was almost orgasmic in its pleasurable flavor.
The first waves of sensation passed, letting Rick appreciate all the subtler aspects of Kate's blood and body, and as he focused again on her he realized something disturbing: Kate was currently trying her hardest to push him away and she was too weak to move him- or he was now too strong to be moved. There was something satisfying as a man to know that he was now stronger than her, but he'd never had to force himself on a woman in the past and he wasn't about to start now- not with this woman. So he allowed Kate to push him away, holding himself over her on outstretched arms.

Kate's eyes were finally open and Rick realized that up till now, she hadn't been awake. Her eyes were shocked and terrified and made Castle feel like he'd just done the worst thing he could have ever done to a woman.