Here we go, the continuation of dinner... :)

Castle and Beckett spent their time trying all the different dishes in front of them. Castle asked about how the afternoon went with the guy that came in and confessed to the murder and Kate explained it all to him. She had spent quite some time in the interrogation room with the guy confirming details to make sure he was telling the truth and he wasn't covering for someone else.

When Castle asked what made the killer turn himself in, Beckett still wasn't really sure. Kate said that it didn't seem like he was afraid that anyone was after him, it just seemed to be that the guilt of knowing he had murdered someone became too much to handle. After looking through files it seemed to be the first time the guy had ever murdered anyone , he had a few minor assault charges previously but nothing huge.

Castle asked what she did for the rest of the afternoon, in which she responded by explaining one of the most boring parts of being a detective, paperwork. A lot of information had to go into the paperwork and it took quite some time.

"As a writer, I would think that you may actually like paperwork," Beckett said. "You get to write all the details down, a little like writing a story." It really wasn't anything like writing a story, but she was interested to see what Castle's thoughts would be.

"Except, it's all truth and there's no fun to it," Castle added.

"There's no fooling you is there? You're right. Paperwork is just painful. You should be glad Lanie isn't making you do any at the medical examiners office."

"Yeah, I am quite thankful that I don't have to do that myself but, you know, there are parts of every job that we wish we didn't have."

"Oh really? So, there's things about being a successful writer that are as bad as having to do a whole bunch of paperwork with every case."

"Well yeah, there's the whole having a publisher and publicist thing. They are so pushy, you have to do what they want you to do, and they make it really difficult to argue with them."

"Oh, so it's kind of like having a boss," Beckett said raising her eyebrows at Castle.

"Ok, you got me there. Let me think about this for a second."

Beckett watched him carefully as he thought.

"Got it!" he said after a moment of silence. "Tabloids! It doesn't matter what you say or what you do, they always change a story to make it look how they want it to look. They'll write anything to make money, even if it puts a person down or creates an image for them that isn't right. Add that to the fact that I have a publicist and you know what that means... I end up with people telling me to do things just to get stories in the paper and it creates this false image of who they want me to be, not who I want to be. It may not be paperwork but it makes the job more difficult and painful."

Beckett was starting to see the man in front of her in a different way. There was definitely a lot more to him than she had originally thought. A part of her wanted to continue asking questions but she didn't want to dig too much and bring him down. Even though the evening was far from what she had expected, and she got dressed and ended up staying in, she had been having fun and didn't want to ruin that.

They continued to eat until they had eaten as much as they could handle. Castle helped Beckett clear up the containers of left overs and took them to the kitchen.

"We'll put these left overs in your fridge for next time," he said.

"Again with the next time? I still haven't decided whether there will be a next time Castle," Beckett teased.

"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad am I? Tell me you're not enjoying yourself and I'll leave here now and won't bother you ever again."

Kate thought about it for a second. Having Castle not bother her could be a good thing when it came to her work, but she was enjoying herself and she couldn't lie to him. Besides, a part of her was looking forward to having him around a little more.

"As much as it pains me to say this, I am enjoying myself Castle."

"I knew it!" he said excitedly.

They had put the containers in the fridge and made their way back to the sofa. Castle took his seat first and Kate found herself sitting a little closer than last time feeling more comfortable in his company.

"What would you have done if I said I wasn't enjoying myself? You really would never bother me again?"

"Actually, no I probably wouldn't, but that's okay, because you, Detective Beckett, admitted that you are enjoying my company."

"I said I was enjoying myself, not your company."

Castle fisted his hand in his shirt over his heart. "Oh Beckett, you wound me"

They both laughed.

"So, how about that movie?" Castle asked.

"You know what," Kate said. "How about we just finish the wine we've got here and save the movie for another time. It's getting late and I have work tomorrow."

"So… you admit that there'll be another time? You're not just saying that to be nice."

Kate giggled a little and placed her elbow on the back of the chair, bending one leg in front of her body. Her knee now touching Castle's leg, she turned to face him. She rested her head in her hand while holding her wine glass in the other.

"I meant it when I said I was enjoying myself. So yes, I think we could do this again," she said biting her bottom lip with her teeth and looking down.

"That's good," Castle said. "Just so you know, I'm enjoying myself too."

The pair looked up at each other smiling and found themselves lost in each others gazes. They stayed there silently for a minute or so, neither of them able to take their eyes away.

Castle didn't want to rush things, he didn't want to scare Beckett away by making a move. After all, it was still only their first date. It didn't matter how much he wanted to kiss her, he wasn't going to. He wanted her to get to know him before he tried anything like that. He didn't want her to think the tabloids were right about him all along.

"So, did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight," Castle said, breaking the silence.

"Thanks, but you know if I knew we would be eating in, I probably would have just stayed in my jeans. I thought you'd be taking me out somewhere fancy."

"Yeah, sorry about that, you know…"

"It's okay Castle," Kate interrupted. She felt like Castle was going to start explaining himself all over again. "I know you're trying to protect me."

Castle smiled. "You would have looked just as beautiful in jeans as well."

Kate blushed a little and took another sip of her wine. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Castle couldn't help but notice the red creeping up onto the detectives cheeks, and he would have loved to see her blush a little more, but he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, I always look this good. But I have to admit, my daughter Alexis helped me dress tonight" he said.

His comment did exactly what he wanted it to as Beckett let out a small laugh and he could sense that she was feeling more comfortable again. Beckett was just about to ask about Castle's daughter, she was interested to know more, but then Castle spoke up again so she decided she could ask another time.

"You know, if it makes you feel more comfortable, I'd be more than happy for you to go and change."

"Yes, I'm going to go and change leaving you in my apartment thinking about me changing while you're only a few feet away. I don't think so."

"Oh, you know I'm going to think about it now anyway."

Beckett playfully hit Castle in the chest. "There's no point changing now, I'll be getting ready for bed shortly."

"Oh, I don't mind if you do that while I'm here either" Castle said.

"Castle!"

"Sorry, but you asked for that one."

Beckett looked away not wanting Castle to see the smile she was trying to hide.

Castle picked up his wine glass and took one last sip finishing off his glass.

"You know, it's late, and like you said, you've got work tomorrow, so I should probably get going. I don't want to be the one to blame if you're late to work in the morning" Castle said.

Kate looked at the clock on the wall. "Yeah, well you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun."

"Indeed it does detective," Castle said standing to his feet and picking up the two empty wine glasses.

Kate got up and followed Castle to the kitchen where he placed the glasses on the sink and then walked over to the front door.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Castle said as Kate opened the door for him.

"That depends Castle. If a body drops and both my team and Lanie are assigned to the case, then yes, I guess I will see you tomorrow."

Castle took a few steps out of the door and turned to face Kate. "I know some people in high places, I'm sure I can arrange for us to be assigned to the same cases."

"Castle, you can't do that. There's a system."

"Alright, but just so you know. I'm going to be crossing my fingers and hoping that the next case I work on, you'll be there. And even if we're not working on the same case, I'll have a coffee waiting for you tomorrow morning at the morgue, if you want to drop by. If not, I'll drink it for you, and you miss out."

"We'll see," Beckett said leaning against the door frame. She gave him one last smile. "Night Castle."

"Until tomorrow, Detective" Castle said as he turned and walked down the hall.

Once she couldn't see him anymore, Kate closed her door and found herself leaning back against it. The night had not been what she expected at all, but she had enjoyed it. Castle was a fun guy to be around, at times, he may have made inappropriate jokes, but he always seemed to make up for it and he made her feel comfortable. She can't remember the last time she'd had a date where she felt so at home. Maybe it was because they were in her own home, but the nerves she felt at the beginning of the night were gone within a few minutes, he made her feel relaxed, and that's just what she needed after a hard day at work. She was a little surprised that he hadn't tried to kiss her as he left, but it made her respect him even more. She was sure it wasn't because he hadn't wanted to, he was just trying his best to behave.

As she got ready for bed, she struggled to remove images of his smiling face from her mind. She was a little excited to see him again, maybe she would go in for the coffee in the morning, even if it was just a quick stop over.