Kate Beckett had been fully prepared to greet Castle with a full-on mouth open, hands groping kiss when he answered the door, but thankfully looked before she leapt.

"Hi, Martha." She said in as cordial a voice as she could manage.

"Kate." Martha Hugged her, then stepped aside and gestured for her to enter. "So nice to see you."

"Thanks. You too." Kate looked around for Castle. "Something smells delicious."

"Doesn't it?" Martha poured a glass of wine and handed it to Beckett. She then poured another for herself. "Richard didn't take my advice often when he was younger, but he did listen when I told him that women adore a man who can cook."

"Lucky for us." Kate replied as Castle came down the stairs.

"Lucky for you, Dear. I know when I am not needed." She winked at Kate.

"No, really, Mother. Stay." Castle said in a voice that implied the exact opposite.

Martha rolled her eyes and Kate laughed out loud.

"Good evening, Detective." He said as he wrapped his arms around Kate and kissed her deeply.

She normally was not comfortable with PDA's but, in this moment, she didn't care that Martha was standing next to them. She lost herself in the feeling of his mouth on hers and his arms around her.

"I believe this is my cue to exit." Martha said as she downed the rest of her wine and grabbed her purse.

Castle parted his lips from Kate's, but held her to him. "If you have to." He said to his mother, never taking his eyes off of Kate. She placed a soft, but lingering kiss on his lips, then gently removed herself from his grasp.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat with us?" Kate asked.

"That's sweet, Darling." Martha touched her cheek. "But you don't need this old woman hanging around on your romantic evening." She checked her lipstick in her compact and fluffed her hair. "Besides, being between romances at the moment, I don't really want to stay here watching the two of you try to keep your hands off of each other." She grimaced.

"If you change your mind…" Castle said without much conviction.

"I'll be sure to call before I come home." Martha whispered to her son as she kissed his cheek. She walked to Kate and kissed her cheek as well. "Have a wonderful evening." She winked and headed for the door. On the way out she dimmed the lights.

Kate smiled and walked to the kitchen to see what smelled so good. She lifted a lid and dipped a spoon into the soup. "Castle, this is delicious."

He kissed her. "Yes, it is."

She pushed him away playfully. "I mean the soup." She took another taste. "Is that crab?"

Castle nodded. "Crab Bisque." He topped off her glass of wine and poured one for himself. "I thought we could have Brie and wine on the balcony." He took her hand and led her up the stairs. He opened the French doors and out onto the small patio. He pulled out the chair closest to them and waited for her to sit, then he pulled his own chair closer and sat next to her. He spread some Brie and red pepper relish on a cracker and held it out. Kate ate it from his hand, her eyes holding his.

"Mmmmmm." She said as she chewed. "Castle, this is wonderful."

"I'm so glad you like it." He made a cracker for himself but hesitated before eating it.

"I never knew you had this Balcony. The view is amazing." She said as she stood and walked to the railing.

Castle walked up next to her and leaned on the top rail. "This is my retreat. I come here when I really need to think." He watched how the city lights reflected in her eyes. "I can't tell you how many times I have called you from this very spot."

"When?"

"Sometimes with an idea about a case." He looked down at the traffic passing by on the street. "Sometimes I just couldn't get you out of my mind, so I made up an excuse to call." He swallowed hard. "Once because I knew you had dinner plans with Doctor Boy."

She looked at him, disbelief on her face. "What?"

"I paced here, picturing you with him… and I… called." He finally met her gaze. "Are you mad?"

Kate shook her head and looked back at the city. "I guess I should be." She paused. "I'm sure I was then."

"You weren't happy." He replied with a sheepish grin.

Kate laughed quietly. She looked at his freshly shaven profile. "How often could you not get me out of your mind?" She asked.

"Often."

"Really?"

"In the beginning, you were an attraction… and a fascination." He looked into her eyes. "In the past few years… you have become the voice in my head."

"You hear voices in your head?" She asked with a smile.

Castle didn't smile. "Everything I do, I hear you. Sometimes you are my advisor. Sometimes my comfort. Often, my fantasy." He smiled broadly, then his serious face returned as he touched her chin. "You make all the songs make sense." He kissed her softly.

Kate's breath caught in her chest, expecting him to follow with the words 'I love you.'

The words sat on the tip of his tongue. He had almost worked up the courage to say them.

"Dad, are you home?" Alexis' voice came from the hallway.

"We're out here, Sweetie." The disappointment at the interruption was obvious.

"Hi Detective Beckett. I'm sorry. Am I interrupting?"

"No." Kate said, hugging the teen. "It's great to see you."

"What's wrong, Sweetie. I thought you were staying at Paige's."

"I wasn't feeling so great. I decided to come home." Alexis replied, stepping up to the railing with Beckett and Castle.

Castle pressed his palm to his daughter's forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever."

Kate was always amazed by the relationship Castle shared with her daughter. Their concern was so genuine, but so was their friendship. He was one of those few parents who could successfully balance parenting with friendship. Of course, Alexis was the kind of young woman who could be trusted to make good decisions most of the time. Kate was so envious of what they shared.

She had a very good relationship with her father now, but the years following her mother's murder had been very difficult for both of them. Her dad had hidden inside a bottle. Kate had withdrawn into herself. They had coexisted for several years without any meaningful interaction. She couldn't imagine anything separating Castle and Alexis that way.

"I'm OK, Dad. I just have a bad headache and a sore throat." She replied. "I didn't know you guys had a date tonight. I'll hide in my room."

"Don't be silly." Kate put her arm around Alexis. "This is your house. You don't need to hide just because I'm here."

"Do you feel like eating something? We were going to head down to the kitchen in a minute."

"Did I smell your Bisque on the way in?"

"You bet." Castle replied. "Best sore throat medicine I know."

"You don't mind?" She asked Kate.

Kate shook her head. "With you here, maybe we can watch a good movie instead of whatever he had planned." She winked at Alexis.

"OK." Alexis agreed. "I am going to go take a shower and change, then I'll come down and we can pick something to watch."

"That's a deal."

Castle kissed her forehead. "OK, Pumpkin."

They watched her go and he turned to Kate. "I'm sorry."

"Never apologize for needing to be with your daughter." She kissed him.

"It's just that I had this very romantic evening planned and I wanted everything to be perfect."

"Castle, everything is perfect." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him again. "Romance is nice once in a while, but I'm more of a 'real world' kind of gal." Her hands caressed his back. "Kicking back on the couch with the Castles and watching TV sounds like my kind of evening." She looked deeply into his eyes. "I'm going to let you in on a secret."

"Do tell."

"The way you are with your daughter is one of the most appealing things about you. When we first met, I thought you were arrogant and self centered."

"And ruggedly handsome." He said with a grin.

"Maybe." She conceded. "Then you told me you had a daughter and I thought… poor kid."

"What?" He said in mock indignation.

"And then I met her and saw how you are with her." She smiled at him. "I immediately changed my opinion." She took a step closer to him. "There is no way a man could be so profoundly kind and caring on a part time basis." She kissed him and said softly. "I decided you were worth my time."

"I hope I have proven you right." He said as he touched her hair.

"Most of the time." She said with a serious face.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, his pulse racing as she moaned in response.

"Maybe we'd better go downstairs and eat before I lose all self control." He whispered against her mouth.

"In a minute." She melted into him.