AN: I can't believe I have over one hundred followers for this story! Thank you for that. Sorry for the wait, school has started again. Anyway, constructive criticism is welcome!

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Chapter 9

"So, how was Friday?" Johanna asked.

It was Sunday night, and Kate had called her mother to say hello and catch up on each others weekend. Kate had not told her mother about her run-in with Rick the week before.

"It was...interesting," Kate responded, biting her lip as she recalled the almost kiss that had occurred.

"Oh, how so?" Johanna asked, her interest clearly peaked.

"I may have danced with someone."

"Really? Who, another teacher?"

"No, the father of one of my students."

"What's his name? Is he nice? Is he cute?" Johanna asked, going into courtroom mode. Kate laughed at her mother's eagerness

"Yes, he's nice and quite handsome, but that's not the important part."

"What is it?"

"His name is Richard Castle," Kate stated, waiting for her mother's reaction. There was silence on the other end. "You still there?"

"Yes, I'm here. Sorry, I was just a surprised, that's all."

"I was too. It turns out that his daughter, Alexis, is in one of my classes."

"What a coincidence. So, you danced with him, huh?" Johanna teased.

"Yes, we did. He is actually a pretty good dancer."

"So, anything else happen?"

"We may have almost kissed," Kate said hesitantly.

"Almost kissed?" Johanna said incredulously.

"He was about to kiss me, but then we were surprised by the sound of the microphone."

"Well, did either of you try again?" Johanna asked impatiently.

"No, I chickened out and went back into the gym," Kate said, recalling the way she spent the rest of the night avoiding the author.

"Katie," her mother scolded.

"I know, I know. It's just that I start thinking about how it won't work out and what will happen once I let him see all of me. I've experienced the ugly truth too many times to risk getting hurt again."

"He could be different, Katie."

"You thought James was different," Kate pointed out dryly. She heard her mother sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, I thought he was and so did you."

Kate frowned. "Yeah, I did. Unfortunately, we were wrong. I wouldn't mind being friends with Rick, though." Yes, she could be friends with Rick. Friendship was safe, comfortable territory; she could deal with friendship. "So, how did your case go?" Kate asked, wanting to change the topic.

"Not very well, I'm afraid. The defense is not cooperating, as per usual. Also, I have a feeling that my client has a few skeletons rattling in his own closet," Johanna sighed.

"Well, have you asked him about it and dug into his financials?"

"I plan on doing that first thing tomorrow. Sometimes I wonder why you didn't become a lawyer."

"Mom," Kate groaned. It was a rare occurrence, but sometimes Johanna would question Kate's career choice.

"I'm sorry, dear. I know you like what you do, and you're great at it. However, you could have been a pretty damn good lawyer, I think."

Kate smiled, thrilled that her mother had such confidence in her. "Thanks, but I'll stick to teaching. I prefer to read about criminals receiving the justice they deserve."

"Yes, speaking of, what did you think of Mr. Castle's new book?"

"I thought it was pretty good, except for one part," Kate responded, thinking about the small flaw she had found.

"Which part?" Johanna asked, curious. Kate then went on to explain the small issue she found in one chapter. The rest of the conversation was filled with discussion of the book, with the occasional swooning about the more sensual parts. Kate liked the fact that a simple thing like a book made her and her mother bond. That was another reason why she liked literature. It gave people the ability to find common ground, even if there were many differences in opinion. Suddenly, Kate could hear soft knocking from her mother's end. "Oh, that must be your father. Talk to you during the week, dear."

"Bye, say hello to dad for me," Kate said, before hanging up. She looked at her coffee table, where Rick's book still sat. She picked it up, and turned it over to the back where his photo was. She looked at his eyes in the picture and recalled the way they had looked at her on Friday. The ocean color eyes had reflected what she could have sworn was admiration, and another feeling she could not place.

She started to remember the way his hand had felt in hers, and the way he had placed his hand on the small of her back. It had felt right, and she had enjoyed dancing with him. However, when he tried to kiss her, she had snapped back to reality. She had a feeling that they would not work. Kate did not want to risk her heart again, plus they traveled in different social circles. He lived in the world of cameras, autographs, and for him, women. It would be expected that he date a model or some other celebrity who was attractive and lacking flaws, physically at least. Kate knew that she did not fit into the last category at all. She then frowned, and mentally scolded herself for being self-conscious. Kate knew she was attractive, but unfortunately, the scar detracted from that. Kate remembered the looks of pity and horror she had received from her classmates after the fire. It had taken a while to get used to, but she did. The makeup helped too.

Staring back down at the book, Kate looked at the author's smile, which was slightly mischievous. He had given her the same smile throughout the night, but it had seemed more light-hearted and genuine. She found herself wanting to be the reason for that smile. Kate then shook her head.

Just friends, she reminded herself. She then got up from the couch and prepared for bed.

The following morning, Kate got up for work. Doing her usual routine, she got dressed and headed into the bathroom to put makeup on. After putting on some lipgloss and eyeshadow, she reached for the jar of concealer. She frowned when she felt how light it was. Opening the container, she peered inside, only to find it empty. Kate immediately opened the medicine cabinet, searching for another jar. When she found none, she groaned.

Crap, today's going to be interesting, she thought.

Later that same day, Rick sat at his desk in his office, his laptop on his lap. He had been staring at the blank word document for almost an hour, the blinking cursor taunting him. Gina had been after him about sending her ideas for his next book. The only problem was that words would not come. He had been facing an irritating bout of writer's block the past few days. In an attempt to rid himself of it, Rick had tried his usual methods. He had tried everything from writing a different genre to eating half of a pint of ice cream. However, his methods were failing, and he had a feeling that he would be visited by his charming publisher/ex-wife before the week was up.

Maybe she'll let me live, he thought morbidly.

The author was then broken out of his thoughts by the sound of the loft door opening and the sound of his daughter's voice.

"Look, I'm sorry, Paige," she said, obviously on her cellphone. There was moment of silence, before Alexis responded. "Yes, but would you like to be talked about that way? She's a nice person, and Jeremy went too far, so did Lisa." By this point, Rick had entered the living room to see his daughter sitting on the couch, a slight frown on her face. "Well, at least you said something, too. Besides, we can find another table to sit at, if they don't let us back in by the end of the week." More silence. "Okay, see you tomorrow, bye."

"Rough day at school?" Rick inquired, seeing the annoyance on the younger Castle's face.

"Sort of," Alexis responded, sighing. Rick raised an eyebrow.

"It sounded like more than a 'sort of' to me," he said, going to sit down next to her.

Alexis frowned. "Paige, me, and two other kids got exiled from the lunch table today."

"Is there a reason?"

Alexis nodded. "During English, Ms. Beckett walked in and we all noticed something was different. When she faced us, we noticed that she did not have any concealer on her face. You could see the scar she was hiding under the makeup," Alexis explained, her voice getting quieter at the last sentence. Rick frowned, and had a bad feeling about what was coming next. "I could hear some kids start whispering about how horrible she looked. Ms. Beckett just told them to be quiet and continued teaching. At lunch, Jeremy, who is a junior, said that he thought she was still hot, but he wouldn't imagine her face anymore, when he, er, you know," Alexis mumbled, embarrassed. Rick pursed his lips and nodded, understanding the teenage boys thoughts. "Some of the guys agreed with him. Lisa chimed in and asked why anyone would be attracted to someone like her. Paige, Lindsey, Tyler, and I got mad and started defending Ms. Beckett. Paige said that it wasn't right to judge a person by his or her looks. Lindsey and I both said that she was a nice person and didn't deserve to be criticized. Tyler told the group that they should be a ashamed of themselves."

During her explanation, Rick smiled, proud that his daughter and her friends had stood up for the teacher. "So, what happened after that?" He asked.

"Everyone started yelling, and somehow, we wound up getting exiled from the table for the rest of the week."

Rick frowned. "That doesn't seem right."

Alexis shrugged indifferently. "It's okay, we can form our own table if we have to. Paige is a little annoyed, but to me, it was worth it."

"Well, I'm proud of you for standing up for her," he said, putting an arm around his daughter's shoulders. Alexis looked and him and smiled a little.

"Thanks, I just don't understand why they could say those things. She doesn't look that bad."

Rick wanted to say that he thought the brunette was gorgeous, but instead settled with saying, "Some people are just really shallow and can't see beyond what's on the outside."

"Apparently, you can," Alexis said, teasingly bumping his shoulder.

"She's a nice lady," Rick stated simply, knowing what Alexis was implying.

Alexis gave him a 'are you really trying to fool me?' look. "You know that's not what I meant. I saw you dance with her on Friday." Her tone wasn't accusatory, just knowing.

Rick shrugged. "I thought it would be nice to do it as friends, since it was Valentine's Day," he said, a little nervous for Alexis' reaction.

"Relax, Dad, I don't mind. Just take it slow, okay?" Alexis said softly, looking at her father.

"I will, pumpkin. Now, I believe you have homework to do?"

"Okay, Okay, I get the hint. I'll go do my homework," Alexis said, before bounding up the stairs. As Rick watched his daughter, his brain was already working on ways to run into a certain hazel eyed teacher again.

AN: I got a little stuck on this chapter, but it turned out okay. Also, just in case anyone is wondering, the case Johanna is talking about has nothing to do with the Pulgatti case. There is no murder in this story. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.