The past month went by slower than any other month. Every night consisted of Kate having several nightmares that made her wake up sweating or crying. They caused her to walk her apartment, gun in hand, making sure everything was locked. This would sometimes go on for hours before she was certain nobody could get inside. And once she would lay back in bed, Alyvia woke up. So, she wasn't getting any sleep, the most being three hours.

She sat at her desk with her head in her hand, doing paperwork for the case they just closed. As she was writing the date, her head began to loll forward. Her eyes shut for a moment, but once the scene of her traumatic event started to play, she snapped up straight.

"Everything alright?" Ryan asked, walking away from the break room with two fresh coffees. He set one of them on her desk.

"Thanks," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Maybe you should ask Gates if you can take some time off. We all know you have tons of vacation days stacked up from the past few years."

"I can't."

"The coffee isn't doing anything for you. And if you get in trouble for falling asleep on your desk, it's all on you."

"Thanks for the love, Ryan," she forced a smile, getting one in return.

"So, how's Alyvia?" he asked, not wanting to get back to his own paperwork.

"She's getting big. She actually smiled for the first time yesterday."

"I bet that made you feel better."

"Yeah. It did," she replied, smiling at the pictures of her daughter on her desk.

"Ryan, what are you doing?" Esposito asked, taking his jacket off.

"Taking a break from writing."

"Let's get this done so we can go play the new Madden."

"Right. I forgot," Ryan glanced at Kate before returning to his desk.

She continued to work on the case in front of her, slowly losing her concentration. After every sentence she read, her eyes closed for brief moments. Eventually, they stayed shut and she fell asleep. That was until someone tapped her on the shoulder. The tapping frightened her so much, she almost fell off her chair.

"Whoa," Rick exclaimed as he jumped back, not sure on what just happened. "I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered.

"It's okay, Castle," she sighed and continued her paperwork.

"Aren't you gonna say hello?"

She slowly turned her chair toward him, letting her eyes trail down to his hand and what he held. She instantly felt horrible for not remembering that he watched Alyvia for her today.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize what time it was."

"That's okay," he replied, setting the carseat on the floor. "I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee," he smiled before walking away.

"Hey," Kate said in a gentle tone. "How are you, sweetie?" she immediately got a smile from Alyvia, which made her feel so much better. "Let me finish the last few pages then we can go home, okay?"

She turned back toward her desk and tried to write as fast as she could. When Rick sat down next to her, she could feel his eyes on her. It felt like he was looking into her mind and he knew what was going on. But he won't question her because he doesn't want to put her on the spot.

"What, Castle?" she asked before she had the chance to sweat.

"Nothing."

"Spit it out."

Rick opened his mouth to say something, but Alyvia let a frustrated cry. He silently thanked her for the perfect timing and watched Kate turn toward her daughter.

She unbuckled Alyvia and slowly lifted her up. "You're a little stinker," she kissed her daughter's cheek.

"Want me to hold her while you write?" Rick asked.

"It's fine. I'm used to holding her while doing various tasks around my place," she answered, making Alyvia sit on her lap with her head still supported. "See?"

"Alright. Since you're all good now... I'm gonna head back home."

"This might sound really bizarre," she wanted to smile at how fast Rick's head turned toward her." ...but would you drop me off at my house? My car is still being fixed."

"Still? They are definitely ripping you off."

Kate waved her free hand at him. "I doubt it."

"You said the heat wasn't working, right?" he got a nod. "Repairing that shouldn't take two days."

"True…"

"But I will bring you home," he smiled.

"Thanks. Let me just grab my… Oh, it's in the break room," she looked at her partner. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he happily took Alyvia from her and watched her walk into the break room.

When she returned, he already had Alyvia buckled in her seat. He was rocking it until she was next to him.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yup. Do you want me to carry it?"

"Are the sidewalks slippery?"

"Yeah."

"Then you can carry it."

They smiled at each other and proceeded to the elevator. Before Kate hit the button, Gates called her name. She rolled her eyes and turned around.

"A word?" Gates questioned.

"Hold on, Castle," she glanced at him before walking into the Captain's office.

"Yes?"

"I'm not comfortable with a baby being in my precinct."

"She was here for only ten minutes…"

"Is he the father?"

Kate's eyes have never been this wide before. Her mouth was instantly dry and scratchy. She had to cough at least tie, giving her enough time to form words in her mind.

"No, he is definitely not her father," though she couldn't deny that she wished he was.

"Is this why you have been falling asleep at your desk?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know everything that goes on with my people. I was just told earlier today what happened."

"Oh," Kate nearly whispered.

"I don't like giving my best detectives time off, but you need to tell me if you need it."

"No, I'm fine."

"Do not lie to me, Detective."

Kate sighed, defeated. "Maybe a couple days so I can get sleep."

"I will see you in three days," Gates said as Kate began to walk out of the office. "And, Detective?"

"Yes?"

"You have a beautiful daughter."

"Thank you, sir."

Kate shut the door behind her and walked over to the elevator.

"Why are you smiling?"

"I think Gates is finally warming up to me… or maybe she's a mom too."

"Maybe?" Rick asked, stepping into the open elevator.

"I mean it's possible, but I don't know."

"You are confusing me, Detective."

"That's okay," she smiled.

About twenty minutes later, they were walking toward Kate's apartment. She went to unlock the door, but noticed it was never locked. She nodded her head toward Alyvia. Rick immediately picked up the seat and watched her take her gun from her waist.

The door opened to the messy apartment. Kate let out a breath of relief until she noticed lights flickering down the hall.

"Call Ryan and Esposito. Tell them to get here and fast. And do not leave my daughter's side."

"What's going on?" Rick asked, full of panic.

"Just trust me, okay?" she noticed the terror all over his face. "Stay in the living room."

He nodded and quickly walked into the living room. He sat on the couch, taking Alyvia out of her seat. When he looked up, Kate locked the door and gave him a nervous smile before going down the hall.

Her hands starting shaking when she noticed that the light was coming from her daughter's room. She bit her lip as she used her foot to push the door open, gripping her gun tighter. Once it was fully open, she almost dropped her gun. Before she knew it, she was on the ground with her hands clutching her head.

"Kate, they are he-" Rick stopped when he saw her on the ground. He stepped behind her, looking into the room.

The light in the room was flickering, making everything look a lot scarier than it should. The furniture was thrown across the room, like someone was looking for something. And the scariest part of all were the pictures that hung on strings from the ceiling. These pictures held Kate's most traumatic night. The night that she was raped.

Rick swallowed hard to get the lump out of his throat. How the hell could someone be this sick? Before he got more angry than concerned, he knelt down by Kate's side.

"Hey, Kate," he whispered, gently putting his hand on her shoulder.

"MAKE IT STOP!" she screamed, the whole night replaying over and over in her head.

He quickly pulled her away from the room and closed the door, making her sit up against the wall.

"Can you hear me?"

When she nodded her head, a huge wave of relief came over him. He didn't know what to say or do so, he hesitantly held her into his side.

…..

"Is she okay?" Rick asked as he finally stopped pacing.

"She's asleep," Jim answered.

Rick nodded and began to pace again.

"You can calm down, Rick. She's okay for now."

"I know, it's just…"

"You're angry and I understand. The only thing stopping me from going after that guy is that my daughter is a homicide detective."

Rick smiled, relaxing a little.

"You care about her. I can see that. But letting anger control you right now won't do you any good," Jim licked his lips before continuing. "And from what I hear, her team is kicking down the door of that sonuvabitch's house as we speak."

"But that won't repair the damage that he's done to her."

"No, it won't. We will help repair that damage. It may takes days, months, years, and maybe even her entire life until she is completely healed. But we will help her every step of the way."

"I just feel so helpless when I see her like that," Rick sat on the couch, slouching into the seat.

"Where do you see your relationship with my daughter going?"

Rick immediately sat up straight. "Come again?"

"I see the way you look at her. I used to look at Johanna the same way."

"Umm…."

"I'm not trying to put you on the spot, Rick," Jim laughed. "I just want to know."

Rick rubbed his hands together, trying to buy himself more time to say the right answer. Part of him wanted to tell Mr. Beckett his true feelings and the other part of him wanted to say they were just friends.

He looked up. "I love your daughter. I love her more than any other woman I have ever met."

Jim sat down next to him, causing his nerves to go on end. He placed his hand on Rick's shoulder.

"Never stop loving her, Rick. You want her to fall in love with you?" he leaned in closer when Rick nodded. "She already has."

"What?"

"She has for awhile, Rick."

"Why are you telling me this? I mean why now?"

"You deserve to know and I don't want you to give up on her."

"I never will… Jim."

AN: Thoughts?

I also plan to wrap this up in the next few chapters because I want to start a new idea I have for an AU fic.