The next week flew by. Kate had hundreds of pages to read for her classes and Rick was working hard on his next novel, Gathering Storm. Gina had him on a tight deadline for this one. It had already been 8 months since Unholy Storm was released and she wanted him on track to release one Derrick Storm novel a year. By the time Thursday rolled around Rick and Kate had only been together a week, but it had felt like so much more. They had several long phone calls and two short dates since they parted on Friday - coffee on Sunday and lunch on Wednesday. Things were going really well and both were really excited about Rick's party. This would be their first public appearance as a couple and both of them knew what that would mean. Rick had prepared Kate for the media presence at the party and she knew that there was a chance that her picture would end up in the paper the next day. She was surprisingly OK with this knowledge.

Kate was ready a half hour before Rick was due to arrive to pick her up for the party. She was wearing a simple, yet elegant blue cocktail dress that was very flattering on her slim figure. It was the nicest dress she owned and Kate wondered exactly how many dresses she was going to have to buy in order to keep up with her new boyfriend's lifestyle. He did say that he threw a lot of parties. Kate sat down at her desk and mindlessly played around on her computer while she waited for Rick.

Friday had been both wonderful and awful. Wonderful because she woke up in Rick's arms and awful because she spent the rest of the day missing him and wondering when he would call. Even though it felt like forever, she didn't have to wonder for very long. He called that night at around 8pm, just after Alexis had gone to bed. They talked for nearly three hours and both of them almost fell asleep on the phone. Rick wanted nothing more than to take Kate out on Saturday night, but he didn't want to scare her off by coming on too strong, too fast and being too clingy, so he didn't ask her.

On Saturday, Kate worked on her lawyering assignment, which was a substantial performance paper about the construction of the fictional "Overlook Hotel". Whoever dreamed up this particular assignment must have been a Stephen King fan. Rick spent the day with Alexis. They didn't speak on the phone on Saturday, but they did exhange a few texts that ended in them setting up a coffee date for the following day. Alexis had a gymnastics class at 10am, which left him with a free hour.

They met at a Starbuck's on 6th Avenue, Kate was there first and Rick was disappointed to find out that she had already bought her coffee. She stood up to greet him and he pulled her in and gave her a light kiss on the lips, pausing afterwards to gently stroke her face with his right hand while giving her right hip a gentle squeeze with his left hand. It was just enough to say, "I missed you and I'm happy to see you," but not enough to make anyone nearby feel uncomfortable about the PDA. As he made a move to pull away, Kate pulled him back for one more quick kiss before letting him go.

After Rick got his own coffee, he settled next to Kate on the sofa in the corner. She had picked that spot so they could sit next to each other and he was happy that she did. Rick snuck a look at the side of Kate's coffee cup so that he could figure out what she likes. Skinny Vanilla Latte. Next time he wasn't going to let her get away with buying her own coffee.

"What is that, peppermint?" Rick grinned, he wasn't the only one trying to guess coffee orders.

"I love the seasonal flavors. Sometimes I get peppermint, sometimes gingerbread. Oh, and have you tried the pumpkin? That one is amazing." Rick held out his drink. "Here, try this one, it's a peppermint mocha." Kate took a sip.

"I think I got more whipped cream than coffee in that sip but yeah, it's uh, minty." She scrunched her nose and handed the cup back. "I think I'll stick with vanilla." Kate leaned into Rick's side and their hands gravited together. They drank their coffees in comfortable silence as he absentmindedly drew circles on her hand with his thumb.

I could get used to this, they both thought simultaneously.

Before they knew it, the hour was up and Rick had to pick up Alexis from gymnastics. Kate went home to study and Rick promised to call later after Alexis had gone to bed. Kate's phone rang at 8:45pm.

"It's a good thing you called now. I have an important date at 9 that I can't get out of."

"A date?" Rick couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. "I don't know, Kate, I kind of got the idea that we had something exclusive."

"We do, don't sound so worried, I was just teasing you." Rick breathed an audible sigh of relief. "My favorite show is coming on and I can't miss it."

"Oh thank goodness. Let me guess, you're an X-Files fan?"

"Guilty. Are you?"

"Of course I am, it's a brilliant show. I have a TiVo, it automatically records every episode. You're welcome to come watch it with me anytime."

"I'd love to, Rick, but the suspense will kill me if I have to wait. How would you like to watch it with me right now?"

"You'll come over right now?" Rick said excitedly.

"No, I mean over the phone. That is, if you want to. Could be fun."

"I can think of other ways that we could have 'fun' if you came over." Oh this man and his words. Kate sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"You sure know how to tempt a girl."

"What can I say, our time was cut short this morning and I miss you." So much for not coming across too needy. "So, what do you think of the season so far?"

"It's just not the same without David Duchovny," sighed Kate as she grabbed a blanket to snuggle with. It wasn't as good as having Rick to cuddle with, but it would have to do. "It's not as enjoyable to watch."

"Scully and Mulder have great chemistry. You need great chemistry to have a great TV show. Is that what you mean?"

"Sure, that too. I don't really like the new guy. It's the last season and Scully and Mulder need to end up together. At this point we can only assume a romantic relationship, but I want to see it."

"So Kate likes romance?" Rick made a mental note of this, after all, Valentine's Day was coming up and if his girl wanted romance then he would have to plan something memorable.

"Yes, Kate likes romance. Plus, David Duchovny is really hot." Kate giggled. Wait, giggled? I do not giggle, thought Kate. Crazy how this man is turning me into a different version of myself.

"Uh oh, do I need to be jealous?"

"Don't worry, Rick. He's a big celebrity. What are the chances I'd meet someone as famous as him?"

"Wait a second, I'm just as famous as he is!" Kate snorted. "Well I am!" Kate was full on laughing.

"Well that just proves my point, writer boy. I've already met one hot celebrity so what are my chances of meeting another?" The fact that Kate just referred to him as "hot" was not lost on Rick, but he had to clear up something else before he could linger on that sentiment.

"Are you saying that if you ran into David Duchovny tomorrow and he asked you out that you'd say yes?" Did she detect a hint of insecurity in his tone? Kate was just having a little fun teasing him, but she wanted to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about.

"Of course not, don't be silly. David Duchovny may be hot and he may have an entire song dedicated to his hotness, but he's no Richard Castle."

Rick breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait, an entire song?"

"You've never heard it? It's actually quite catchy."

"No, I haven't. Would you sing it to me?" Rick didn't actually expect Kate to start singing, so he was surprised when she did.

It's Sunday night, I am curled up in my room
The TV light fills my heart like a balloon
I hold it in as best I can, I know I'm just another fan
But I can't help feeling I could love this secret agent man
And I can't wait anymore for him to discover me
I've got it bad for David Duchovny
David Duchovny, why won't you love me?
Why won't you love me?

"Wow," Rick said when she finished the verse.

"Wow?" Kate laughed, "It's a cute song, but it's not that great."

"The wow was for your voice, Kate. I could listen to you sing all night. Also, I suddenly wish that I was David Duchovny. Will you sing the rest of the song to me?" Kate blushed and she was glad that Rick couldn't see her turning red over the compliment. She didn't usually sing for people, but whenever she was with Rick, or talking to Rick, she found herself wanting to open up to him and let him see the parts of her that she usually kept hidden.

"Show is starting, maybe next time." Kate could almost hear him pouting over the phone. She lowered her voice and said in a seductive tone, "I'd rather sing to you in person, Rick." The way she said his name sent shivers down his spine.

"I'm going to hold you to that," he said, almost breathlessly. They both settled back into their respective pillows and started to watch the show. When the show was over they ended up talking for another hour before finally saying goodnight.

"This show makes working for the FBI seem so cool."

"Really, Rick? Is that what you would be doing if your writing career didn't work out?"

"I don't know, maybe? But probably not FBI, I think I'd be more of a CIA kind of guy. The X-Files are right up my alley, but I don't think there's a real life Scully and Mulder who get to work on such awesome cases."

"Probably because there's no such thing as aliens."

"Well now we know who the Scully is in our relationship." Kate laughed at that.

"Don't tell me you're one of those people who thinks that the X-Files episodes are based on real cases."

"The truth is out there, Kate. I want to believe." He said it so seriously, but Kate still couldn't hold in her laughter.

"Well, I've read your books so I know what an active imagination you have. Don't ever lose that, Rick. It's refreshing. The Scullys of the world need Mulders to make their lives more interesting."

"I'm happy to be your Mulder, Kate. And spoiler alert, he gets the girl."

"He already has the girl."

Monday and Tuesday were busy days for both Rick and Kate. Rick had several meetings and a book signing. Kate had classes and a heavy load of homework to deal with. She'd spent a good deal of Monday afternoon filling Barbie in on the status of her new relationship. Barbie was thrilled that Kate was so happy and made her promise that they would go on a double date sometime in the near future.

Rick called Kate on Tuesday afternoon and they made plans to meet for lunch the following day. Kate had a two hour break between classes and Rick didn't have to be at any meetings or book signings. Gina and Paula decided to give him a break before the big party Thursday night.

Alexis had been doing her homework at the kitchen table when Rick was making the lunch date with Kate. He didn't realize that she was listening attentively to his side of the conversation until he had hung up the phone.

"Hey, dad?"

"Yes, pumpkin?"

"Who's Kate?"

"She's my new friend. I'm taking her to my book party on Thursday night. Sarah is going to babysit, remember?" Sarah was Alexis' favorite babysitter. She loved Disney movies almost as much as Alexis did and she let her stay up late, eat ice-cream, and paint her nails. They always had a great time. Sarah treated Alexis like a friend, not like some kid she was paid to watch.

"Is Kate your girlfriend?"

"Alexis, do you know what a girlfriend is?" They had never talked about this before because there had never been a reason to. Rick had dated women since his divorce from Alexis' mother, Meredith, but it was never serious and he never introduced them to Alexis.

"Sure, it's someone you hold hands with and you talk on the phone a lot and go places together, like parties. That's what they do on TV and you just said that you're going to take Kate to your party. So is she your girlfriend?"

"Yes, Kate is my girlfriend. Is that OK with you?" Rick had made a promise to himself that he would always be honest with his daughter. He was nervous, but Alexis deserved to know the truth.

"Is she nice? Do you think she'll like me?" Rick sat down next to Alexis, wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"She's really nice and I know that she's going to love you."

"Does she like unicorns?"

"She loves unicorns."

"Great! I'm going to make her a picture of a unicorn!" Alexis had finished her homework and she was pulling out paper and art supplies so that she could make her father's new girlfriend a picture. Rick was thrilled that the conversation about Kate had gone so well.

"That's great, sweetie, she's going to love it."

Wednesday's lunch was a welcome distraction for both Rick and Kate. Rick had been working hard on his latest novel and Kate had just gotten out of her Civil Procedures class and her professor had ripped apart her latest assignment. Who knew drafting a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss would be so difficult? Despite the fact that Kate followed every rule, she still managed to make mistakes that she didn't even realize existed. The only consolation she had was seeing that everyone else had similarly marked up papers. She was happy to stuff the paper in her bag and forget about it for a couple hours.

Kate was thinking about her lunch with Rick when she heard a buzz on the intercom linked to the front desk. "Yes?" She asked as she pressed the button and spoke into the box on the wall.

"A Mr. Castle is here to see you?"

"Tell him I'll be right down, thanks!" Kate grabbed her coat and her purse, took one last look at herself in the mirror and headed downstairs.

AN: I didn't plan on getting sidetracked with the X-Files, but there it is. That song has been stuck in my head for 3 days now! If you haven't heard it, search for it on youtube. The video is full of 90s celebs, including the cast of the X-Files. It's hilarious. I saw Bree Sharp sing it live at the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan around the time this story takes place. Funny story about TiVo, I had gone on a blind date with this really creepy guy back in 2000 or 2001. He was trying to impress me and he told me how his company was going to unveil the next "big thing" that would completely revolutionize the world. He then told me about this device that would record TV shows automatically and how you could use it to pause live TV. He was talking about TiVo. So I figured it was still fairly new in 2002 and we all know Castle would be the first to have it. Imagine it sitting in his living room right next to his Xbox and Playstation 2...