Their meal arrives and they consume their burgers and fries with some fun in between. She steals his fries and he takes a drink from her shake.
"Yuck! Kate. I hate strawberry shakes. I'll stick to my chocolate "
Beckett laughs out loud
Castle is so happy that she is laughing. He was very worried that after what he told her about the twins that he would be eating alone. Not just this afternoon, but from now on.
After Kate and Rick finish their burgers, he takes her bag and tells her to come with him. But he warns her that if the photographers pester them, he might just give them something to take a picture of.
She smiles back up to Castle. "Rick. I think I will be OK with this"
Castle is looking out the window "Great! I see one of the paparazzi outside like he is a cat perched ready to jump a mouse"
Kate drops her head a little. "Castle, can we delay the media photo op for just a little longer?"
"Sure Kate, follow me. I know the back exit to this place"
As they rush out thru the ally exit hand in hand Castle runs to the street and hails a cab. Once inside the back seat and away from any cameras, Castle puts his arm around Beckett.
"SO, Kate since you didn't run out of the restaurant screaming, can I tell the world that you are my girlfriend?"
She leans into his shoulder and puts her head on his chest she quietly in almost a whisper answers "Yeah. You can do that"
Castle gives the driver his address and they spend the next few minutes cuddled together as they travel to his place. Beckett feels safe with Castle now. He has opened up to her more than she thought he might ever be willing to do.
They arrive at the loft it is still early. In fact they just had lunch about 3:00 and now they have finished their day it not even dark. They enter the loft and Castle loudly announces his presence for the women
"I'm home anyone here?"
Both red heads respond almost in unison "Richard DAD" is all he can hear
Both women stop cold when they see that Kate is with Castle. They were not sure if she would be returning. Ever!
"Detective Beckett" Alexis loudly says and she walks over and gives her a hug "Glad to see you
"Good to be here Alexis and please call me Kate. Outside the station I am not a detective. Just Kate"
"Katherine very good to have you here, now maybe you can convince my son to order dinner. We are starving"
Castle and Beckett look at one another and laugh. Castle finally speaks up "Kate and I just finished lunch at Remy's but we can still order something for the two of you"
Alexis jumps and grabs the menu from Pop's Pizza Delivery and tells her grandmother it's her turn to select dinner. Martha audibly groans
"Just no Anchovies this time, Please!"
"How about jalapeños instead?"
"NO. My mouth is still on fire from the last time you did that to me"
"OK Grams deluxe pizza no peppers no anchovies" As the younger red head grabs the phone and calls in the order
Martha walks by Kate and just shakes her head. "You should see what its like when we order Chinese"
Kate is smiling this entire time. She is so enjoying the family banter that she is seeing between these three. She starts to wonder what it will be like when the twins join the family. Sometimes you just don't know what you have been missing until you finally get it to see it. Kate is seeing now what she has missed for so many years. And she likes what she sees
Alexis orders the pizza and rushes up to her room to change. Castle goes into his bedroom to change also. This leaves Kate and Martha alone in the living room
"Well Katherine. I assume Richard told you the news about the twins?"
"Yes Martha, he did"
"So, what are your thoughts about this?"
Beckett pauses just a minute before answering "You have a wonderful son Martha. He is a very loving, caring man. I can tell how important you and his daughter are to him and how high he places his responsibilities"
"Yes he does. Those girls are also very important to him. I know he will be as dedicated to them as he has to Alexis."
Martha walks into the kitchen and retrieves two glasses from the cabinet then steps to the counter and pours wine for Kate and herself. She hands the glass to Beckett and the two women walk into the dining room and sit down
"Actually, I thought after you found out about the adoption, you might decide that you just want no further part of this madcap family"
Beckett takes a sip from the wine glass then places it down on the table
"Martha, a month ago I thought Rick was just the playboy skirt chaser the tabloids depicted. Back then I would have hit the door running and never looked back. But then you had us to the Hamptons, everything changed. At least for me"
Kate is looking toward the bedroom door just waiting for Castle to come out "I got to see a man who cares like my own dad does. He takes care of Alexis. He takes care of you"
Martha laughs "Taking care of me is a full time job kiddo"
Kate laughs "Then I saw him change from the good neighbor who was asked to just watch the twins for a few hours to a concerned grieving guardian focused on finding the ones responsible for the death of the parents. Why would I not want to stay around after that?"
Martha is visibly pleased to hear Beckett describing her son from the perspective of a possible suitor
"Well the Katherine. Are you telling me that you are in this for the long haul?"
"Martha let's just say that the first part of this trip has been extremely enjoyable and I am very interested to see how we get to the final destination"
Castle comes out of his bedroom now dressed in more casual slacks and shirt "Everyone ready for a movie?" As he rushes quickly to the kitchen to start up the popcorn
Kate speaks up "Can I pick the movie?"
"UH as long as you stay away from mushy chick flicks"
"Son, you are outnumbered three to one. If Katherine wants a chick flick, guess what we will be watching?"
The two weeks that the twins spent with their grand parents went by very quickly. After they returned to New York Castle arranges an evening with just them, Alexis, his mother, and himself. Before setting the reservations he asked his mother how much she wanted to be involved with the girls. Martha told him that the twins needed all the family they could get and even suggested that Richard invite Kate to join them
"Son, Kate cares about you like no other woman you have ever brought home. If she is willing to stay around knowing your time is divided so many ways I think she needs to be included in this"
"But mother, what if she later decides that this is all too much and wants out. The girls might become attached to her and it might feel like to them that they lost another parent?"
"Richard! How much do you care about Kate? I mean honestly care about her?"
Castle can only stare at his mother "A lot"
"Then quit thinking on the dark side. Invite her to the dinner and we can all get to learn everything there is to know about each other"
"Mother are you sure you are ready to let Kate know EVERYTHING about you?"
She throws a hand up in the air as she gets up from the table
Detective Beckett is at her desk waiting for her partner to arrive. The new partner that she has taken under wing, or is it more accurate to say he is taking her places she has never been before. She can't decide who is taking whom
The elevator bell announces the arrival of the writer. He walks off the car and onto the floor. The difference now is that everyone around speaks to him with gladness and he responds with a smile and a good morning by name to every member of the precinct.
He steps up to Kate's desk and places a cup of fresh coffee beside her arm. This coffee made exactly the way the likes.
"Good morning detective" his voice sings
"Really"
"What?"
"That sounds like an I just got laid voice"
"Detective. First off I did not just get anything except your coffee. And that voice is because I get to see you"
The edges of Kate's lips turn up at the sight of the coffee cup sitting beside her arm. She reaches down and picks it up and takes a sip. Then the smile spreads across her face "Thank you"
"No! Thank You"
"For what?"
"That smile. That is the whole reason I bring you coffee. That smile is my reward"
Kate blushes. She cannot believe that this relationship has done this to her. She wants to see him everyday. She loves talking to him every night. Sometimes they talk on the phone for hours even after being at the station all day together. And it's not like they are dating on the down low. Everyone knows they are seeing each other, but so far they have kept the romance away from work.
"Kate. I need to talk to you about something"
That does it! Kate's stomach tightens again. She still has this deep down fear about what is happening here with Rick. There is this little voice in the back of her head telling her that she is just a number to him and after her number is up, he will move on. She just can't seem to make it stop
"We are planning an intimate family dinner to talk to the twins about the adoption and we want you there."
OK Kate, get your head out of the pity pit. He just said you are invited to a private FAMILY dinner.
"Rick? Why are you wanting me there I'm not family?"
"Not officially, Not Yet anyway, but…"
"What do you mean? Not YET?"
"Kate. You already know how I feel about you. I will tell you that I want our relationship to grow. For it to become more"
"Rick! I…"
"Kate, I am not asking for you to run off to Vegas with me today, but look. I have never felt this way about a woman before. OK?"
She smiles "OK"
"And having you be at this dinner is part of the more I talked about"
Kate looks down at her hand, that at some point in this conversation become entangled with his
"All right. I will be there"