Kate had planned to spend some time alone with her father in the afternoon at one of the local café's. She felt like she had neglected him a little over the past few days with everything else that had been happening and she needed to make it up to him. They'd been spending time altogether, but she hadn't spent much time just with her dad and she knew Rick would appreciate the time alone with his family too.

"Dad, do you really think everything is going to be okay when you're back on your own? " she asked, taking a sip of her strawberry milkshake.

"Yeah. You know what, I really think it is. I haven't wanted a drink at all since being here, and I don't see that changing. I'll be going to AA meetings and Rick and I have said we'd call daily to make sure we talk about how we're doing for the first few weeks. The support I'll have will be great and it'll make things a lot easier. I just feel so much better about everything and seeing how happy you are these days, I don't want to lose that again. So yes, I think it'll all be fine."

"That's great. You know I'm so proud of you. I know my work can be hectic, and I'll be starting my detective training when I get back so who knows how busy it'll get, but I want you to know that if you need me, I'll be there for you," she said smiling at her father.

"I know you will. It's the same for you too, you know. I am never too busy for you. I know I haven't been there much over the past five years, but I want to make it up to you."

"You don't need to make anything up to me, dad. Knowing that you put yourself through rehab to get past your addiction and put your life back together, that's enough for me. As long as I don't lose you again, I'm happy."

"You wont lose me again Katie, I'm fixed and I'm back for good."

He really was doing so much better. He looked healthier, he was happier, and he just seemed more like himself than he had in years. "So, are you looking forward to going back home? Having things go back to normal?"

Jim nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am looking forward to going back, making amends and then getting on with my life."

"And looking forward to having some peace and quiet again?" Kate questioned.

Jim laughed. "You know what, I actually think I'm going to miss all this when I go back. Not the house and the activities but the people. Having Rick and his family around has been great. I've actually really enjoyed the time with them. They've become like a second family to me."

Kate really didn't think she could feel any better than they did at that moment. Everything was going so well for them.

"How about you Katie? Are you looking forward to going back? Getting back into work? I know you love your job."

Kate thought about it for a moment. "Yes and no. I do love my job, but I think this time away has really taught me a lot. I need to learn to balance my life out a little better, and I think that's going to be difficult. I need to pull myself out of my old habits and I need to make more time for others. I need to make more time for you."

"Anyone else you need to make more time for?" he questioned knowingly.

Right at that moment, Kate's phone buzzed, and she was grateful for the interruption.

"Excuse me dad, I should check that, I'm not sure who would be trying to contact me."

She pulled her phone out from her pocket and had a message from Rick.

'My mother is driving me crazy with questions! How is it with your dad?'

Kate laughed and then quickly replied, 'I think we're just getting to the questions now.'

Putting her phone away she didn't realise the look she had on her face, but it hadn't gone unnoticed by her father, who had the biggest grin she had seen in years.

"What?" she asked him.

"Katie, Katie, Katie," he said with a sigh.

"What?" she asked again.

"You know in all the times we've managed to catch up for coffee, you've never once actually responded to a message while we've been in the middle of a conversation. If it's work, they usually call and you've had to get up and go, and if it's someone else just texting, you ignore it and get back to it later. So who could it be and what could it be that's so important this time that you had to respond immediately?"

"It was nothing, dad," she said trying as best as she could to be convincing.

"It was Rick, wasn't it?"

"Why would Rick be messaging me?" she said, not realising her face was not matching her confused tone of voice.

"Katie, let me ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me."

"You know I'm always honest with you."

Jim raised his eyebrows as if to say he didn't believe her.

"Most of the time," she added, and Jim laughed.

"What's going on between you and Rick?"

"Nothing," she said a little too quickly.

"Are you still playing that game?" he said.

"What game? Dad, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You two have been extremely close over the last few days, almost inseparable. You've been holding hands, getting cosy on the lounge, then there's those looks you give each other. You've been sharing stories about your mother with him and completely opened up to him, and since you got that message this huge smile has taken up residence on your face and I can almost feel your happiness shining from you and beaming onto me. Don't tell me there's nothing going on."

Kate's phone buzzed again, and as much as she wanted to ignore it, to try and prove her father wrong, she couldn't do it. She pulled it out and read the message.

'Come back soon, I'm beginning to think my mothers mind reading powers are real and she's going to find out more that we want her to know.'

Kate laughed, but didn't respond just yet. She looked over at her father he had a smug look on his face but she couldn't even be annoyed with him. She was just too happy. She realised she no longer felt like she wanted to keep what she had with Rick a secret from her father. What she and Rick had felt real, and by telling her father it would make it more real. She wouldn't usually tell her father so soon in a relationship but it wasn't like he didn't already know, they just hadn't admitted to anything.

"What do you say we start heading back to the house?" Kate said, hoping her father would drop the conversation they were having.

"Not so fast Katie. You still haven't answered my question truthfully."

Kate bit down on her bottom lip while she put together words in her head. She couldn't lie, but she didn't want to tell him everything without Rick by her side. "Rick and I are getting along really well. He's a good friend, but I really don't know what more you want me to say. Is that enough of an answer for you?"

Jim squinted his eyes at his daughter. He was going to get a proper answer out of her soon, but it didn't look like it was going to happen at that moment. "Okay," he said that will do for now, but this conversation is not over. Let's go"

Kate quickly replied to the message on her phone telling Rick they'd be back soon before leaving to head back to the house.

When Jim and Kate returned back to the house Martha pulled Jim aside quickly to talk to him.

"I think maybe I was wrong to say we shouldn't leave them alone. I think they need to talk. There's something Rick needs to tell Kate and I think they need the time alone for him to say it."

Jim nodded.

"We know there is something happening, Alexis let that slip, but from what I've been able to get out of my son, I think they're still working it out. He admitted that he is in fact, in love with your daughter, and I trust that they will come to us when the time is right, so for now, I think we just need to let them be," Martha finished, almost thinking herself crazy. She was usually so interested in her sons love life stepping in when she felt she needed to but for now she felt like she had to take a step back a little.

"I think you're right Martha. Kate really won't tell me much, but her face tells me plenty. I do trust that she'll tell me when she needs to. "

From where they were standing they watched as Rick and Kate spoke with Alexis at the table. Rick had his hand rested on Kate's back while she had her hand on Alexis's shoulder looking at something Alexis was showing them. They looked like a real family.

"They look good together," Martha said with a smile.

"Yeah, they do."

"Let's go see what the plan is for the afternoon then shall we Jim."

Martha and Jim made their way over to the table to find out if any plans had been made for the rest of the day. Kate said she was looking forward to going for another swim but other than that, nobody had any plans, so they all decided to go spend some time by the pool.

After a while of lazing out by the pool, Martha and Alexis announced that they were going to organise dinner, and Jim followed closely behind leaving Kate and Rick to talk alone.

"Finally," said Rick as he swam over to Kate and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She was quick to return the gesture with her arms snaking their way over his shoulders. "I know," she laughed.

"Did I tell you how good you look in a swim suit?" Rick asked squeezing Kate's sides a little.

Rick squeezing Kate made her body startle a little. "You better be careful, or this will be the last time you see me in it," she warned.

"Kate Beckett! Thinking about skinny dipping while our parents and Alexis are in the same house, you should be ashamed of yourself."

Kate tried to stop herself from smiling to tell him off, but she couldn't, instead she pinched at the skin behind Rick's neck.

"Ouch!" he said with a pouted lip. "What was that for?"

"I think you know exactly what it was for Castle. Skinny dipping?"

"You're the one who mentioned it."

"I never said such a thing," Kate argued, pulling herself out of Ricks arms and taking a step back so she could look at him seriously, or at least try to look serious.

Rick could see that she wasn't angry, she still had her gorgeous smile, so he continued to tease. "Sure. But you were thinking about it, weren't you?"

"You really are looking to get yourself in trouble."

"It's really nothing new. I'm always in trouble," he said. "Ask Alexis."

Kate shook her head at the man in front of her. "Right, well just so we are clear. I never mentioned skinny dipping, that was all you. I hadn't even thought about it," she paused as she swam into his arms and leant forward to whisper in his ear. "But maybe some other time when we know we're alone."

"Let me tell you Kate, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I have an excellent memory. So now, skinny dipping with you is going to happen one day."

"I look forward to it," she said seductively into his ear, before she let go of his neck and placed her hands on his shoulders. As much as she enjoyed the fun and games, there was also some serious conversation she needed to have with him. "So, was the questioning really that bad from your mother today?"

Castle was surprised at her sudden change in tone. He wasn't sure how she did it, going from seductive temptress one minute, to serious Kate the next, but it definitely kept him on his toes. "No, I guess I'm used to it. I just worry that I'm going to say more than I should. What about your father?"

"Well, he said the conversation wasn't over, but I was thinking, maybe we should just tell them. As much as I would like to continue sneaking around, this is our last night here, and I want to spend it with you. I don't want to have to be waiting around for our parents to go to bed before I can kiss you goodnight. Especially if my dad behaves the way he did last night."

"So, you like kissing me then?"

"Castle! I'm trying to be serious about this."

"Sorry," he said giving her a quick peck on the lips. "It's just that I like kissing you."

"You are impossible," she said, removing her hands from his shoulders in the hopes to swim away until he was serious and listening, but he only tightened his grip on her waist and didn't let her go. "Rick! Let me go."

"Nope, not happening," he grinned. "So, you want to tell our parents?" he said getting back to the serious part of their conversation.

"I actually think they may know already, they are just trying to get us to say it."

"I was thinking the same thing," Rick laughed.

"Maybe at dinner, we'll just tell them."

"And until then, let's just make the most of the time alone in the pool." Rick said.

"I thought maybe I'd do laps actually," she said. "I didn't exercise as much as I normally would this holiday. I've only got a couple of days to make sure I'm in shape."

"Oh, you're definitely in shape," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Well, I'm still swimming. You're more than welcome to join me. Let's see if your stamina is better swimming than running."

"This still isn't exactly the exercise I was talking about when I told you about my stamina either."

"One day Castle, I'll learn all about that stamina, but right now, I'm swimming."

Rick dropped his hands for a moment and let her believe that he was going to let her do as she wished, but a moment later as she walked away from him he came swimming towards her underneath the water and managed to get himself between her legs so when he rose he had her sitting on his shoulders.

"Castle. Put me down!" Kate yelled, but Rick refused and began to tickle her feet that were now easily accessible.

Kate began to laugh and kicked her feet a little and it wasn't long before the tickling was too much for her that she couldn't keep her balance. Letting out a scream she fell back off Rick's shoulders and into the water.

Rick quickly checked to make sure she was okay, and when she came up and started coming after him he turned to try and get away as fast as he could.

He still didn't know how she managed to move so fast in the water but she did and she had soon caught up to him, so he braced himself for the punishment he expected to come.

Kate caught up with Rick turned him to face her and began to back him into the corner. "So, you think It's funny to play these games in the pool do you Castle?" she said trapping him with her body.

"Mmmhmm," he hummed as he nodded, even though he knew it would probably get him into even more trouble.

"Well, I know a few games myself that you might enjoy," she said placing her feet either side of his and pressing into his body.

"Really?" Rick squeaked out.

"Really," Kate said and then moved so her lips were a whisper away from his ear. "But I'm not sure that you would survive them," she said as she slipped her hands beneath the waist band of his shorts, grabbed his cheeks and pushed his hips up closer to her while pushing her hips into him, feeling the reaction from Ricks body immediately.

Ricks eyes widened and he took in a gasp of air. He didn't think his body had ever reacted that fast to anything before, and he was thankful that he would be able to cover himself with a towel when he went inside. He didn't need his daughter or mother seeing him this turned on.

"See," Beckett said letting go and removing her hands, "I don't think you'd last longer than five seconds."

As Kate went to back away from Rick, he grabbed her and held her close. "You are a bigger tease than I thought," he said.

"And you love me anyway," she responded with a smile.

"Yeah," he laughed. "It may be crazy, but I do," he finished before melting his lips with hers.

Kate pulled him back away from the wall, and wrapped her legs around him. He held her there while allowing their lips to dance playfully.

Rick wanted to just stay there forever with her in his arms but it wasn't long before he heard the clearing of a throat from somewhere nearby and it caused him to freeze in his place. He knew it didn't come from himself or the woman currently attached to his body.

Kate also heard the throat clearing but made no effort to move away from Rick. They did release their lips and looked to the side where the noise had come from to see Jim standing at the edge of the pool with his eyebrows raised at the pair of them.

"Uh, dad," Kate said. She could feel her cheeks burning of embarrassment. "Have you met Rick? My uh..." she paused and looked down at Rick who actually looked really scared at that moment, "my boyfriend," she finished.

"Hmmmm…" Jim responded with a smile. "In fact, I do believe we have met. He's quite a remarkable young man, much better than the last one you brought home." He then turned his attention to the man his daughter was currently wrapped around. "You treat her right Rick," he said trying not to notice how close to Kate's backside Rick's hands were.

Rick nodded and they all went silent, not sure what to say next until Jim broke the silence again.

"I just came to tell you that we decided to order Chinese after all. It'll be here soon."

"We'll be there in a minute," Kate said and Jim made his way back inside.

When he was gone, Kate removed her legs from where they were still wrapped around Rick and then hid her face in his chest. "That was kinda humiliating," she said. "I hope he wasn't standing there too long."

Rick laughed. "Don't worry, at least now we've got less to worry about. Your dad knows, and my mum is going to know within seconds of him walking back into the kitchen."

"Yeah, I guess that did make things a little easier than having to actually tell them over dinner. He really didn't have much to say did he? He was quite blasé really. I can't believe I was almost scared to tell him. "

"Did he really just call me remarkable?" Rick said astounded.

"Yeah, I think he did, and you are. That's pretty big coming from my dad though, he doesn't say things without really meaning them." She unhid her face from her chest and lifted her hand up to his cheek. "I think he approves. He likes you," she added with a laugh.

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And I'd love to know about the last guy you took home. It didn't sound like your father had been impressed by him at all."

"No he wasn't. You really don't want to know about my past boyfriends though do you? I've got you now and my previous relationships are nothing in comparison to this, and we're only just starting out. "

"I guess you're right," he said pecking at her lips. "We should probably go join them though before they come back out here again looking for us."

Kate nodded and started making her way over to the steps to get out of the pool. Rick stood back a bit and just watched her as she climbed out, raking his eyes over her body. When she turned to look at him, she could see he hadn't moved.

"Seriously Castle?"

"What?" he shrugged.

Kate picked up her towel and waited for Rick as he made his way to the edge of the pool, but then he stopped.

"Um, Kate, could you bring my towel over to me?" he said looking down at himself and then up at her again with a guilty expression.

Kate laughed. "Oh, I did it again."

Rick nodded and Kate took his towel to him.

"Sorry," she said, holding it out as he got out of the pool and wrapped the towel around him. "I'll go distract the others while you run upstairs to sort yourself out."

"Are you sure you can deal with them on your own?"

"If I can deal with you," she said with a smirk. "I can do anything. Let's go."

Thanks for all your suggestions on whether to stop, continue or sequel the story. I've decided i will just keep this one going. i think it'll make more sense for me that way :) So this weekend, I'll spend some time working out how that's going to look so hopefully there wont be a break in my updating.

I'm listening to some old classic songs today. That I would do anything for love! And you know it's true and that's a fact, I would do anything for love! And there'll never be no turning back" Good old Meatloaf! haha I've got some Cutting Crew, Extreme and Billy Joel and Foreigner happening. I'm so awesome! haha