After Alexis had gone to bed, Kate and Rick decided to go for a stroll along the beach to get some time alone without feeling like they were being watched by their parents.

"Did you see the look on your mothers face all the way through dinner? The way she kept looking at me, I thought she was going to start interrogating me or something."

"Yeah, I noticed. She likes to try and read people Kate, and I think that's all it was, although I'm really not sure why she would need to try and read you, she's spent almost two weeks with you. I'm pretty sure she knows the type of person you are. You'd think being an actress she'd be able to do a better job of hiding the staring though."

"Trying to read me? Does she do that often when you start a new relationship?"

"Well honestly, since Meredith, Alexis's mother, I haven't really introduced her to any other women. There's not been anything serious enough."

Kate's mind automatically went to all the times she'd read things in the newspaper about Rick with a new woman, calling him a play boy. Was that really who he was? If there was nothing serious, were the newspapers right? It's not who she thought he was. It definitely wasn't the man that he appeared to be with her. All these times he could have pushed for more from her yet, he didn't. But, she had only known him here on holidays. What if he was different back in the city?

"So, no one serious since Alexis's mother?"

Rick could see some uncertainty on Kate's face, it was asking a lot more than her voice was asking. He knew what it was right away, she was worried about his past and obviously what the media said about him.

"Since Meredith left, no, there's been no one serious. I know that newspapers often show me with different women. Some of them have been friends, or other upcoming authors that my publisher and publicist tell me to go with. And I won't lie, there has been the occasional fling, but it's nothing like the newspapers say. And Kate," he said standing in front of her and placing his hands on her shoulders, "this isn't like those times either. This is different, this is real. This, what we have, is special."

The worry from Kate's face dissipated and a smile broke out again. "So your mother was reading me?"

"Yeah, but there's nothing to be worried about," he said taking his place at her side again and continuing their walk down the beach. "You know that both her and your father were our biggest cheerleaders. If it wasn't for them we wouldn't have had…" he stopped himself from saying more about their night alone, remembering Jim's words.

"Wouldn't have had what Rick?"

"Uh, we wouldn't have had such an easy time with them today," he said unconvincingly.

"Rick," she placed her arm out in front of his chest stopping him in his tracks and turned to face him. "Don't lie to me. What did they do?" she insisted.

Rick sighed. He couldn't lie. Even if it meant she would get angry at him. She couldn't stay angry, not when they had accomplished so much that night, thanks to their parents. He ran a hand down his face and prepared himself to speak.

"Rick?" Her voice was firm, and he knew he was going to have to tell her what had been done..

"It's not bad Kate, really. They were trying to help us along, they didn't realise we'd already talked things through."

"Rick, what did they do?"

"The other night, when the lights went out, and they stayed in the hotel." He took a deep breath. "They planned it."

"And you knew about it? And didn't stop it?" she said suspiciously.

"No, I didn't know, not until after they left. That's what your father talked to me about on the phone. That's why it took so long. I wanted to tell you, but he told me not to. He said you'd get angry, and that we really needed to have a night alone, and well I just I couldn't argue with him."

"So, the whole thing, was my dads idea?"

"Yeah, so they somehow had the lights go out, I still don't know how they did that, while they were supposedly out shopping. But they had already taken themselves to a hotel for the night."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." She wasn't sure whether she should be angry or upset at him but, at the same time, surprisingly, didn't really feel either.

"Your dad said if I told you, that you would have stopped it. But Kate," he said reaching out for her hand and holding it between his. "Look at what it did for us. The evening was amazing, and you were able to let go of all that emotion and hurt that you'd been holding on to, and honestly, if I had a chance to relive that night, I wouldn't change it."

If there was any doubt previously in her mind about how much she loved him, Kate was sure it was gone now. She expected herself to feel something, to be annoyed, but Rick was right, that night changed things for her. She opened up to him, she wouldn't have done that if others were around, and she'd be hiding behind her walls still instead of breaking through them with his help.

Kate looked up into the eyes of the man in front of her and saw love mixed with fear. He was really worried about what this meant for them. She needed to reassure him, let him know she was okay with it.

"You know what Rick," she said, letting a gentle smile make its way onto her face. "I don't think I'd want you to change it."

"Really?" he said with his eyes growing wide.

"You're right. We probably wouldn't be here right now if we didn't have that night. I'd still be hiding parts of myself from you and ready to run at any moment. But that night we had alone, my trust in you just grew immensely. That night is a huge reason for why I'm not running right now."

Rick let go of Kate's hand and threw his arms around her and twisted side to side a couple of times while Kate just relaxed and laughed in his arms.

When he pulled back he placed his hands on her upper arms and kissed her forehead. "Thank you," he said and they continued walking down the beach again.

"So, what were we talking about before that whole parents planning our night alone thing?"

"Ah… I do believe we were talking about our parents being cheerleaders and my mother approving of you," he said.

Kate suddenly had a thought and chuckled out, "could you imagine my dad with a mini skirt and pom poms Castle?"

Rick let out a roar of laughter. "Oh gosh, no way! But you know you can get male cheerleaders, and they don't wear skirts."

"Yeah, but I always just think pom poms and mini skirts."

"Well you know, back to our parents, without the mini skirts and pom poms. They've been our cheerleaders since we got here. So, my mother definitely approves of you. And I don't think my mother would have been so pushy if she didn't. She was never a cheerleader when Meredith was around."

"So, she looks out for you. Wants to make sure you've got what's right for you. That makes sense. And so you really, truly, honestly think she approves of me?"

"Why wouldn't she? You're the breath of fresh air that I needed in my life and I think she can see that," he said as he gently swept his hand past hers.

Kate felt the touch on the back of her hand, and took Rick's hand in her own interlacing their fingers together. "I'm pretty sure it's you who has been the fresh air that I've needed. Or actually, maybe the breeze that has just come in and swept me away."

"Ooooh, I like that. I could use that in a book."

Kate turned her head to look at Rick sceptically. "Really? You would use my words rather than your own? Aren't you supposed to be the writer, I'm just a cop."

"Yes, I'm a writer but you got one thing wrong there," he said with a smile. "You're not just a cop. You are the most incredible, remarkable, amazing, and let's not forget beautiful NYPD soon to be detective. And actually since we are talking about it, there is something I wanted to run by you."

"Yeah?"

"You know how I said I'd been writing again, and coming up with new ideas."

"Yeah. You got something you needed help with? I know you said my NYPD insight could be useful."

They had both surprised each other with the things that they had remembered about each other from previous conversations when they hadn't been discussed in great detail. It made them both feel like they were on the right track with each other even before they had admitted it to themselves and each other.

"Actually, it might be a little bit more than that. Maybe we should sit down for a second," Castle said as he slowed down his walk.

Kate looked up at him again. "You're not going to ask about a ride along again are you?" she asked.

"No," he laughed. "Not just yet," he added with a grin.

"C'mon then Castle. Sit down and tell me what it is you want to tell me."

Rick took a seat in the sand and pulled Kate to sit in the v of his legs with her back to his chest. He wrapped his arms tight around her and kissed the back of her neck causing her to shiver in his arms. They stayed there for a moment staring out at the water while Rick tried to decide what to say. In the end he realised it didn't matter what he said, he just needed to say it.

"Kate," he said as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "The ideas that I've been coming up with, they started the day I met you. That very first day at the rehab centre, there was something I saw in you back then that sparked a passion within me to write again. I didn't really know anything about you, but just watching you, I could see there was a story there, and I found myself writing things down, I found myself wanting to know the story. Then as I got to know you, you continued to inspire me even more. I couldn't believe it at first, I don't think ideas had ever come to me quite as quickly as they were, and well I've come up with a new character idea that I'd like to explore. A sexy, smart and quite remarkable detective. I know it might sound cliché, like it's been done before, but I don't know, I think this character is special, and with your permission, I'd like to keep writing about her."

"You don't need my permission to write about a fictional character."

"Well, no I don't. But this character, is inspired by you, and I wouldn't feel right writing any more without you knowing. So, what do you think?"

"What do I think?"

"Would it bother you if I wrote about a character inspired by you?"

"Actually," she said turning her body sideways to him, and curling her arm around his neck. "I think it's kind of sweet. I'm your inspiration?"

"Yeah, you are," he said with a bashful smile. "So I can keep writing then?"

Kate thought for a second. "You wont be writing my own personal story will you? I'm not sure I want to share that with the world?"

"No, there may be glimpses of you in the character, she'll have a different story, she won't be you. I'm fairly certain it would be impossible for me to write a character as perfect as you."

Kate blushed a little. "Then yes, you should keep writing about this new character."

"And you'll help me? Like if I have questions about the NYPD, you'll be able to answer them. I like things to be realistic."

"As long as all the time we have together isn't spent talking about my job then sure, I can help you. I want to have time for just us too. No work, just us."

"Of course Kate, I want that too. And I know you said a ride along was out of the question, but maybe sometime in the future, we can revisit that? I'd really like to see what a day in the life of a detective is like."

"Okay Rick, we'll revisit that some day. I don't know when though, I have a lot of training to do still."

Kate rested her head on Ricks chest as he enclosed her in his arms, and they sat there silently for a while.

"So, we should probably talk about those weekly dinners we told the rest of our family members about while we're here too," Rick said after a few minutes.

"Yeah," Kate said sitting up, "I hope you didn't mind I said that. I thought it…"

"It's a great idea Kate," Rick interrupted. "Alexis loves your father, and like I've said before, it'll be good for her to have him around. She's really only got me and my mother, and your father has so much he can teach her."

"So, how are we going to do it? Do we all go out for dinner or do we stay in and cook?"

"Well, my loft is big enough for all of us, but if that makes you uncomfortable…"

"Rick, we've been staying with you here for almost 2 weeks, what makes you think it would be uncomfortable anywhere else?" she interrupted.

"I don't know," he said slowly and then laughed at himself. "Okay, well, should we say we'll have dinner at my loft then. We can order in or I'll cook, and if we want to do something different, then we can. We'll have to find out what day works best for your dad."

"Sounds great."

"We'll have our own dinners too, just the two of us," he said with a wink.

"Just the two of us," Kate repeated. "I like the sound of that." She leant into him and kissed him briefly, allowing a loud pop noise to escape her lips when she moved away smiling at him, and then her face dropped a little. "You know, with my work, and detective training, it's going to be difficult. Sometimes I'll need to stay late but it'll be last minute, so it makes planning a little tricky."

"Kate," Rick said stroking her legs, "We'll make it work. Even if it's difficult, you're worth it. And if we've planned a family dinner that you can't make it to because work needs you to stay back, we'll miss you, but I think we'll manage."

"And you know if work is really busy, I may not see you for days, or possibly whole weeks. Is that worth it? Honestly, you could have just about anyone. Our holiday is almost over, are you sure you want to continue this with me?"

Rick looked at Kate flabbergasted. He couldn't believe what she was saying. She was giving him an out if he wanted it because she thought her job would be too much for him to handle. Her emotions were seriously like a roller coaster at times, she may seem really confident at one minute but then a little later, she'd be worried again. Rick wasn't going to let it get to him though. He guessed that Kate still had walls that needed to be torn down, and slowly, one by one, they would get there.

"Kate, have you not been listening to everything I've been telling you? I love you. I don't want anyone else. Yes, when we leave here, things are going to be different, but this between us, what we have, I think it's only going to grow stronger. You'll see me Kate, I'll make sure of it. I'm a writer, I work my own hours, so I'll make sure, even if I just bring a coffee to you in the morning, I'll see you."

Kate's smile returned to her lips. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to having someone like you, so accepting of my work hours. I trust you, I guess I just need to stop falling back into bad habits," she said before resting her forehead to his.

"It may be hard, and running may seem easier at times but I promise you Kate, I will always come running after you."

Kate closed her eyes as a lone tear fell into the small space between them. "You're right, we can make this work."

Setting up for going back to the city :) I really do write Kate to be overly emotional! haha I can't recall anyone saying anything about it, but it's just something I noticed myself.

Did I ever mention that I was a fan of musical theater? (I wrote that the American way for you US people :) haha) Well, anyways, I am... So I'm now watching a range of musical movies while I'm writing, so hopefully my writing doesn't get musically corny! Does anyone else struggle to watch them without singing along? I went to see Les Miserables with my friend when it was at the movie theaters (did it again) and seriously, it was really hard for me not to sing along, she kept giving me looks when I started to sing quietly along hehe. I know so much of it word for word! In saying that, could you imagine a musical Castle episode? haha.