A/N: Thank you so much for your incredible feedback. You blow me away every time. Really.

Of Bars and Secrets

Chapter 11

The first thing her mind registered the next morning was that she was alone. Before even opening her eyes, she reached out her hand and touched his side of the bed. It was still warm, which meant he had gotten up not too long ago. Maybe that was what woke her up because, as she checked the time on her phone, she realized it was too early and her alarm hadn't gone off yet.

Blinking away any remnants of sleep, she slowly sat up and stretched her arms above her head. It was barely six in the morning, but she decided to get up, anyway. She could get a head start on the investigation she knew was waiting for her at the precinct.

Rubbing her eyes, she made her way to the bedroom door and stepped out into the corridor, only to find Rick leaning against Alexis' doorsill with a mug in his hands. She smiled at the scene. His hair was a total mess and he was wearing mismatched socks – which was completely adorable – but the look on his face was the one thing that sent the butterflies in her stomach into overdrive. A clear image suddenly invaded her mind and she could see him with that exact same expression looking at a newborn baby, with a tuff of dark hair and green eyes, holding onto his finger. Before her imagination could lose control, she shook her head to dissipate the thought.

No, she told herself, with as much conviction as she could muster. She had no business having baby fantasies with Castle. Her feelings were really starting to scare her with their intensity and straight forwardness. These thoughts couldn't possibly lead to anything good. At least, not for a long while.

Their relationship was still so new that she was sure anything like that would break them. She mentally counted the days to her next period, suddenly nervous, and let out a relieved sigh when she realized she still had another week until then. Shaking her head again at her thoughts, she walked quietly to Alexis' door and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

"Morning." She whispered, placing a soft kiss on his back. She had felt him stiffen for half a second, but his entire body relaxed after he heard her voice.

"Morning." He replied and pulled her around himself so she was standing in front of him, her back to his chest and his arms around her waist. "What are you doing up? We don't have a case, do we?" he murmured against her hair and leaned down to kiss her neck.

Kate allowed herself to close her eyes and enjoy the feeling for a few seconds. Then, with a sigh, she turned around in his arms and rested her head over his heart.

"Actually we do, but I don't have to go in until 8. I was just wondering where you were. The bed was cold." She confessed and looked up at him, brushing his messy hair away from his forehead.

He leaned down and claimed her lips with his own.

"I just wanted to check on Alexis." He told her when they broke apart. "I never sleep well when she's sick. Her message yesterday scared the bejeezus out of me, you know?"

His hold on her waist tightened and he pulled her closer. She stood on her tiptoe and kissed his lips softly, trying to comfort him.

"I know. But she's okay now." She said, her hand gently caressing his cheek. He leaned into her touch, pressing a kiss on her palm.

"I know. It's a parent thing. No matter what happens, I'll always worry about her. I don't care that she's almost a grown woman. She will always be my baby girl." He offered her a small smile and she smiled back.

"Yeah. She was really brave yesterday, though. When I was about her age, I was in a car accident and broke my arm. All I could do was cry, then, but Alexis was like a fort." She assured him and he looked over proudly at his daughter sleeping peacefully in her bed.

"That's my girl." He whispered to no one in particular and Kate wrapped her arms around his waist again, pulling him closer. "Do you want to go back to bed and get some more sleep?" he asked her after a few minutes in silence.

"No, that's okay. I thought I'd go in earlier and go over what Ryan and Esposito dug up yesterday while I was with Lex."

"Did I tell you how relieved I was when you told me you were with her yesterday?" he whispered against her hair and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Kate looked up at him. "Thank you so much for taking care of her."

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure, really." She said with a smile and pressed her lips to his one last time before stepping away. "I'm going to go take a shower and get ready. You going to be okay here?" she took his hand in hers and laced their fingers together, not wanting to end their connection yet.

He nodded and gave her a peck on the lips. "Go. I'll take care of breakfast for you. Anything in particular you feel like eating?" he called after her as she made her way back to his room.

"Pancakes?" she said over her shoulder and he nodded.

"With enough chocolate syrup on it to feed a small army?" he winked at her with a grin and she laughed.

"You know me so well." She said and entered his room, shaking her head in amusement.

She was startled out of her thoughts when her phone vibrated in her back pocket.

Are we still on for lunch? –L

She had been at the precinct for the past four hours and staring at the murder board for the last 30 minutes and she still had nothing. She had left Rick's loft after having a delicious breakfast with him and Alexis, and gone straight to the Twelfth. She loved getting there earlier than everyone because it gave her the peace and quiet to think about whatever case she was working on. So she settled with Ryan's and Esposito's notes about the investigation and their updates on the murder board, but she still couldn't shed any light to the case.

Lanie's text reminded her that she was way overdue for a coffee break, so she made her way to the break room to make herself a cup of cappuccino and texted her friend back.

Sure. Want to go now? I could use a break. –K

After she sent her message, she took her mug from the coffee machine and leaned against the counter, savoring the rich taste of her cappuccino and how the caffeine spread deliciously through her veins. She really was a caffeine junkie, she thought to herself with an amused smiled.

Meet me down here in ten? I'm just finishing up a body.

Kate read her friend's text and laughed. Only Lanie could talk about lunch and dead bodies in the same sentence like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Ok, I'll be right there.

She finished her coffee and washed the mug quickly, placing it back where it belonged, and went back to the bullpen to grab her coat and purse.

"Hey, guys. I'm taking a lunch break with Lanie. Call me if anything comes up, alright?" she told Ryan and Esposito and they nodded.

"You got it, Becks." Ryan told her and she smiled at the nickname. He had taken to calling her Becks for the past few weeks and she thought it was really cute.

"Okay, I'll be back soon. Hold down the fort." She called over her shoulder, making her way to the elevator.

Twenty minutes later, she and Lanie were walking down the street on their way to their favorite restaurant. When they were almost there, however, she was surprised to see Rick walking in the restaurant's direction, looking like he was lost in his own little world.

She fought the smile trying to make its way to her lips and nudged Lanie.

"Look who's coming over there." She told her friend and the medical examiner looked at Castle surprised.

"I thought he was away for a tour." She said confused.

"Oh, he came back last night. Something about not being able to stay away from his kid when she was hurt and all that." Kate explained and Lanie nodded.

"That's really sweet." She commented as Castle got closer.

"I know." Kate said quietly, a smile playing on her lips. "Where do you think you're going, Castle?" she called out and laughed when Rick stopped and looked at her like she come out of thin air.

"What… How did you get here?" he asked, confused and both women laughed.

"We walked here, writer boy. We're having lunch. What are you doing here?" Lanie asked curiously.

"I, uh…" he looked at Kate, trying to figure out she wanted to play this. "I just thought I'd get Beckett some lunch. You know, to thank her for taking care of Alexis yesterday and all." He swallowed and Kate offered him a small smile to tell him it was okay. "I didn't know you were going out with Lanie for lunch." He said dejectedly for having his plans ruined.

Kate bit on her bottom lip and had to fight the urge to reach out and touch him.

"Well, maybe you can take some lunch back to the precinct? I'm sure the boys would love it. Thank you for thinking of bringing me lunch, though. That was sweet of you." She told him with a happy smile and he shrugged. "How's Alexis?"

"She's doing better. Mother is staying with her today." He explained, still looking a little put off. Lanie looked from Kate to Castle with a knowing smile.

"So how about I go in and secure us a table? You guys finish talking here." She announced and walked into the restaurant before either of them could say anything.

Kate waited a few seconds to see if her friend was really out of earshot and stepped closer to Castle.

"Hey, is everything okay, Rick?" she asked quietly, discreetly taking his hand in hers.

"Yeah." He smiled at her. "I just wanted to surprise you, that's all. You didn't say anything about going out with Lanie, so I just assumed you were staying at the precinct and would skip lunch like you usually do."

"I'm sorry for ruining your plans. Maybe we can have dinner later? I'll make it up to you, I promise." She told him with a little smirk and Rick seemed to cheer up completely.

"I like the way you think, detective." he said with a grin. "I miss you." He added, giving her hand a light squeeze. "I really wish I could kiss you right now." He whispered and she bit her lip, refraining to do just that.

"You do know that Lanie is probably watching our every move, right?" She raised her eyebrow at him and he sighed. "Look, I know this secrecy thing kind of sucks, but I want to enjoy my time with you without anyone interfering. And whenever we start telling people, that's exactly what's going to happen."

"I know, you're right. And I kind of like the whole secrecy thing. I just don't like it when I want to touch you like I do now and I can't do it." He involuntarily reached out and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Come on, I'll get the boys some lunch and leave you and Lanie alone to your girl talk."

Kate smiled and gave his hand one last affectionate squeeze before letting go and walking into the restaurant, with Castle following closely behind.

"So… is there anything you'd like to share, Ms. Beckett?" Lanie asked her when their food finally arrived.

Kate tried not to roll her eyes at her friend. She was so predictable.

"Not really, no." she said and took a sip of her Coke. "How are things going with Esposito?"

"Things are going great, but don't change the subject, young lady." Lanie shook her finger at Kate. "There's something going on with you and Castle. I can feel it."

"Oh, you can feel it, can you?" she said with an amused smile.

"Call it my spidey senses, as Castle himself would say. I know you, sweetie. There's something different about you. You seem… happier, I guess, lately."

Kate was about to respond when her phone rang. She fished it out of her purse and sighed when she saw who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kate. How are you doing?" she heard Josh ask casually.

"I'm fine. You?" she asked to be polite.

"I'm great. Listen, I was just wondering if we could get a cup of coffee and talk things out. I feel really bad about how things ended between us and I'd like to give it another shot. What do you say? Can I pick you up at, say, 7?"

She was silent of a moment, trying to absorb and then dispose of all the arrogance he managed to transpire through the phone.

"Josh, I already told you. There's nothing to talk about. It's over." She said patiently, hoping he would get the hint and leave her alone.

"No, Kate, listen. I'm sorry. Give me another chance. We were so good together." He insisted.

"You told me to have a nice life and slammed the door on my face. I understood the message. It's over and I'm not interested anymore. Not after this." She told him, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"I shouldn't have done that. I was just mad and wasn't thinking. I don't see why we couldn't give it another shot. I'm single, you're single…"

Kate closed her eyes and prepared herself for what she was about to say.

"I'm seeing someone." She said quietly, praying that Lanie wouldn't catch it, but from the look on her friend's face, she wasn't as quiet as she thought.

Damn it.

"It's him, isn't it? I knew it. As if it's not enough to cheat on me, you flaunt it in my face now?"

She sighed, willing the headache pounding in her brain to subside.

"Josh, can we please not talk about this now? I'm trying to have lunch with a friend here. We can discuss this later." She said, but with absolutely no intention of following through.

"Damn right we'll talk about it later. This is not over, Kate." He said angrily and hung up.

Kate looked at her phone for a moment, befuddled, before putting it back in her purse.

"Well, that sounded fun." Lanie commented and Kate laughed.

"Yeah, you can say that again."

"You broke up with Dr. McDreamy?" she asked gently and Kate nodded.

"Yeah, over a month ago." Kate replied, running a hand through her hair.

"Why didn't I know about this?"

Kate shrugged. "Never really came up, I guess. And we haven't really talked in a while so…"

"Are you okay, though?" Lanie asked concerned.

"Sure. It's just that I ran into him yesterday at the hospital and he got into his head that he wants to get back together. He's been calling incessantly." She took a piece of her lasagna and moaned at the taste. "This is so good."

"Mhmm." Lanie nodded and looked at her suspiciously. "What about this supposed someone you're seeing? It doesn't happen to be a famous mystery novelist, does it?"

She arched an eyebrow at her and Kate felt herself starting to blush. Damn it, now she was really screwed.

"Lanie…" she started, but the medical examiner interrupted her.

"Ha! I knew it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I knew there was something different about you two. How long has this been going on, girl? Oh, this is so great!"

"I never said anything was going on." Kate still tried to backpedal, even though she knew it was already too late.

"Girlfriend, I swear I'm gonna smack you if you try to deny this." She threatened. "I'm your best friend, you can tell me." She added, softly.

"Since December."

"Wait, what? Are you telling me that you've been seeing Castle for three months and you didn't tell me?" Lanie looked at her in shock.

"Well, actually, no. We kissed for the first time back in December. But we've only been officially together for a little over two weeks." She told her friend and felt a little relieved at finally talking to someone about this. "It's been really complicated."

"Love usually is, honey. So back in January when those pictures came out…"

"We were sort of together, then, yes." She sighed. "Like I said, it's really complicated.

"Well, we still got about an hour until we have to go back. Fill me in on why you and Castle are so complicated." Lanie pretty much demanded and Kate rolled her eyes with a smile.

An hour later, they paid for the bill and, while Lanie went to the ladies room, Kate called Rick.

"Lanie knows." She said when he picked up.

"Does that mean I can tell Ryan and Esposito?" he asked with a chuckle.

"No. We'll be right there. Don't tell anyone anything. Unless you don't want to know what I've got planned for you tonight." She finished with a sultry tone in her voice and tried not to laugh when she heard him take a deep breath.

"Oh, detective, you're such a tease. My lips are sealed. For now."

"This is me rolling my eyes at you. We're still on for dinner tonight, right?" she asked, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, distractedly.

"Absolutely."

"Okay, I'll see you soon." She smiled contentedly.

"See you soon. Love you." He said and hung up.

Kate's hand froze on her hair and her breath caught.

Thoughts?