California Dreaming

Chapter 14

Kate smiled shyly as Rick's thumb stroked over her hand. It had been like this all morning, this shy affection. Things were tenuous, fragile between them, too new and shiny to have any real strength. Their friendship was a foundation, yes, but this… this was something else. Rick knew Kate didn't want to rock the boat, she'd admitted as much to him. He was playing it safe, careful, for her own security and peace of mind and to decrease the painful drama that was inevitable if he did rock her boat too much. Each time he had, she'd closed down.

It was also why, for the first time in his writing career, he made arrangements to sneak out of the back of their hotel, Kate's hand in his, and in the back of LAX to avoid the public and the paparazzi. Paula had looked at him in confusion, but he'd simply smiled disarmingly. Things had changed.

"So I was thinking," he murmured as they sat in the first class lounge, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it gently. "We land just in time for dinner."

One of Kate's eyebrows went up. "Oh?"

"Mmhmm," Rick replied, thrilling at the sparkle that shone in his eyes. "I was thinking since we agreed to try last night's date on home turf that you should come for dinner with me."

Kate's cheeks went an adorable shade of pink. "You've been away for a week," she replied quietly. "You should spend some time with your daughter."

He felt his heart fall slightly.

"Rick, don't," she said quietly, squeezing his hand. "I know how much Alexis means to you."

"You mean a lot to me too."

Her blush intensified.

"Alexis won't mind," he continued, heart lifting at the idea that he could convince her to do dinner. "She could come with us."

"Rick…" Her body had tensed.

"Or not," he backpedalled quickly. Kate had never been against a meal with his daughter, but he guessed that maybe the new circumstances put some sort of new pressure on her.

Kate chewed her lip slightly. It was kind of endearing to see how much he wanted to have dinner with her that evening. And it didn't take a genius to see it. He didn't really want to let her go. She bit her cheek hard to keep her little smile from blooming across her face. She could understand he was nervous. They were back in New York, in their real lives, away from the fantasy of California and he was worried that if he let her go she wouldn't come back again. She could see the logic in it. She hadn't stopped to think about what they were doing unless she was alone. That morning had been the first time she'd thought about what exactly she was doing. She'd been curled up under the blankets and allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts about dating Rick Castle and had almost scared herself until he'd knocked on her door. She'd greeted him with a shy smile and he'd responded with a gentle kiss.

"I'll think about it," she finally said in agreement, just as they called their flight. She smirked as she stood, tugging on his hand to get him to stand. "Plus, if we're not careful, we're going to get sick of each other."

She hadn't meant it as anything other than playful banter, but when he stood, his eyes were serious. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her body against his. Rick pressed his mouth to hers, managing to slip his tongue into her mouth. Kate's breath caught as a hand came up to cup the side of his neck. He pulled back with a hum and a smile, even as his blue eyes stayed serious.

"I will never get sick of you, Kate."

Their flight was smooth, even as Kate's nerves make him chuckle. He held her hand as they waited for their luggage at the carousel.

"Rick Castle!"

Rick stiffened, eyes darting to Kate. She'd stiffened with him, aware of the squeal in the voice that had called his name. His eyes fell closed as he whispered, "Can't a guy pick up his luggage in peace?"

Her smile was tight, but there.

"Mr Castle, is it true?"

His brow wrinkled in confusion as he faced the man behind him, a notebook in his hands. Kate's hand slipped from his, her focus on the luggage carousel. He focused on the man. "Is what true?"

"That's her!" a woman squealed, a different voice from the first, "The woman in the picture! Nikki Heat!"

Rick met Kate's eyes, the latter panicking. Her eyes asked the same question he knew had to be on his face: what picture?

"Rick."

He turned to Paula, the woman holding out her iPhone. There, on a blog page Rick recognized was a picture of him and Kate in their kiss at LAX. He barely resisted the urge to swear. He hissed as Paula's nails dug into his arm. "Paula."

"Get her out of here," his agent told him. "I'll handle the luggage."

There was nothing in the world that could make him more thankful for the raven-haired woman beside him as his attention focused solely on his detective. He took Kate's elbow.

"Chris is outside waiting for you. He knows you're coming," Paula explained lowly. "Go."

Rick pushed Kate along, weaving in and out of crowds, glancing at his companion's tight face. He almost pulled her back when he caught sight of the reporters outside and his driver standing at the back door of his towncar. Instead, he took a deep breath. "We're going to push through them," he told Kate quietly. "Hang on to the back of my shirt, don't say anything." He couldn't stop himself from pressing a kiss to her head, then he was pulling her through the shouting crowd.

"Rick, Detective Beckett! Over here!

"How long have you two been dating?"

"Was this really a book launch trip or a honeymoon?"

"Detective! Is he as fantastic as the rumours claim?"

"What will this mean for Nikki Heat?"

Rick just barely resisted the urge to growl as Chris pulled open the door. He swung Kate around in front of him, then followed her in. He immediately reached for her hand, well aware she was spooked. "Kate-"

She shook her head, stopping his words and his breath in his chest. "Just…"

He wanted to yell. There was no way he was going to be able to convince her to go to dinner with him now, that much he knew. She was too overwhelmed. But he was afraid to let her go now, afraid that if he did, that would be it, that she wouldn't ever again think of the two of them together. He kept his hand tight in hers. "Paula's getting your luggage then-" He swallowed thickly. "Then we'll take you home."

And he could only pray this wouldn't make her change her mind completely.

It was brought to my attention that this took me TWO WEEKS to do! Trust me when I say it upsets me as much as it probably bothers you. Unfortunately, school punched me in the gut and it's been downhill. Then this chapter wouldn't work for me... I battled with this, almost for a whole week!

Second thing, Rick and Kate have not slept together. They went to separate hotel rooms "last night" but since their suites are side-by-side he didn't have to really leave.

Third, sometimes I surprise myself with how many underlying things I can shove into a chapter. It was fun times!

I was (am?) not happy with how long this was for the fact that I've been gone for 2 weeks in updating this, but it was a battle to get it this far so I made the executive decision to cut it off here. Hopefully the next freaking chapter won't take half as long. I'm off to try and jot it down in my notebook now.

Please review? I'm not kidding when I say the next one should be up soon. Probably by maybe even tomorrow, but probably more like Thursday. Not to exactly bribe you, but the faster you review the more motivation I have to put up a new chapter sooner!

And bless each and every one of you who has taken the time to review. It's always a pleasure to get such positive feedback and even more so for those of you who take the time to leave me both the things you liked, and the things I could change. I appreciate it!

Until next time!