Author's Note: Apologies for the wait but without further ado, I give you Castle and Beckett's first real date. Enjoy!
Accidentally in Love
Chapter 29
They solved their case early Thursday afternoon.
Kate bit back an entirely unseemly, un-cop-like smile as she sent Castle a text message to that effect and confirmed that their date could still go forward.
His response came within a few minutes, the number of exclamation marks he included leaving no doubt about his excitement, followed almost immediately by the more practical question of whether he should pick her up at the precinct or at her apartment for their dinner reservation.
She had brought her dress to work just in case but she really didn't want to change into it here because she could imagine just how much gossip would be generated from the mere sight of her dressed up so clearly for a date. Yeah, she really did not need that sort of gossip.
It would probably be cutting it close but she told Castle he could pick her up at her apartment at 7.
She did cut it close. It was 6:23 when she returned to her apartment and had to rush through a quick shower before slipping into the minimalist underwear she had picked out and then the new dress she'd bought. It was a red cocktail dress with a single flutter sleeve that left one shoulder entirely bare, simply cut but with just enough of a hint of a ruffle to keep it from looking too severe. And with heels, she knew it would accentuate the length of her legs.
Thankfully, as it happened, she had just stepped into one of her heels when she heard Castle's knock on her door. She hurriedly slipped on the other heel and checked the mirror one last time, satisfied that she looked good enough to impress Castle, before she opened the door.
"Hey, Castle."
Castle was impressed. His eyes flared wide with approval and some arousal too, his jaw going a little slack. "Hi, you look…" He trailed off, his eyes wandering down the length of her body, lingering for just a moment on her chest and her legs, before moving back up again to meet her eyes. "You look amazing."
She smiled, feeling a blush heat her cheeks, her neck. "Thanks." So did he, in a well-cut dark suit that seemed to showcase his height and the breadth of his shoulders, the dark maroon of his shirt bringing out the blue of his eyes by contrast. He looked like the dashing, eligible bachelor he was—and he was there for her. She felt a renegade thrill zip through her, mingled in with a flash of desire. He hadn't chosen to wear a tie but she decided she liked that better because with the top buttons of his shirt left undone, it left the little hollow of his neck just below his Adam's apple bare. She wanted to press her lips to that spot. Later, she promised herself.
"I brought you these." He offered her a brightly colored bouquet of tulips.
"Thank you. They're lovely." Their fingers brushed as she accepted the bouquet and he took the opportunity to step closer to her, leaning in to brush his lips against her cheek. She bit her lower lip to try to hold back her smile—okay, maybe not entirely for that reason—and looked up at him and his smile deepened as he accepted her invitation and kissed her lips.
She really liked his kisses.
The bouquet rather got in the way, keeping the kiss brief.
"I'll just be a minute to put these away."
She returned to her kitchen, having to reach into the back of her cabinet to dig out a vase to put the flowers in. Come to think of it, when was the last time a man had given her flowers? She couldn't even remember.
She set the flowers on the kitchen counter, having to appreciate the way they immediately seemed to add cheer to the room, and returned to her living room to see Castle perusing her bookshelves.
Which meant that he would have seen the shelf full of his books.
"You have a very eclectic collection of books." He paused and then the smirk tugging on his lips gave him away before he added, "Including your Richard Castle collection."
"Yeah, yeah, Castle, you knew I read your books." She fought back a blush.
He waggled his eyebrows at her teasingly. "Well, yes, but that's not quite the same as having just about every book I've ever written, all neatly organized too."
She spared a moment to be glad that a couple of his books—the ones that meant the most to her—were out of sight in her bedroom so it wasn't quite so immediately obvious that she did, in fact, own every book he'd ever written. "Do you want to stay here and gloat or are you going to take me out to dinner?"
Put like that, he made haste to join her by the door, helping her into her wrap and only pausing to dust his lips along her bare shoulder, sending a little shiver rippling through her. On second thought, they could always order in.
No, no, she scolded her unruly senses, they could do the ordering in some other time, not for their first real date.
She wasn't surprised to see the fancy town car waiting outside her apartment building and the smiling, familiar face of the same driver who had driven them to the zoo the other day. "Hello, Frank."
He clearly remembered her too, smiling and nodding at her. "Good evening, Miss Beckett."
Frank opened the door for them and they slid into the back seat, with Castle taking her hand in his and placing it on his thigh, idly playing with her fingers.
"It's not too much, is it?" he murmured into her ear.
"What?" she blinked at him, a little confused. He couldn't be wondering if his holding her hand was too much.
He waved his free hand to indicate their surroundings. "The car and the driver. It's not too much?"
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He really was sweet. "It's not too much. It might be if we used it every day but for our first date, it's okay."
"Okay, good." He leaned towards her in his turn but then, as her eyes drifted closed, surprised her by pecking the tip of her nose rather than kissing her mouth, making her laugh.
He grinned at her, before sobering a little. "You closed your case, huh? So what happened to Dr. Ziskind?"
He had, after all, seen the murder board about the case. Talking about murder on a date was a little odd but then again, this was Castle so it wasn't unusual for them. She gave him a short summary of how Dr. Ziskind had a gambling habit that he had kept hidden from his wife and friends.
"Have I mentioned that it is so cool that you're a Detective?"
"You might have mentioned it once or twice," she returned dryly.
He only grinned at her. "Well, it's worth repeating," he said blithely as the car pulled up to the curb and slowed to a stop. "And here we are."
Where was "here"? She was curious to see what sort of place Castle chose for their first date, a tiny corner of her wondering if he would go all out to some glitzy, ostentatious place, but "here" turned out to be almost the exact opposite of her vague apprehensions. He had brought her to a quiet, almost nondescript restaurant, at least from the outside, and the interior was elegant, discreet. The maître d' greeted Castle familiarly and led them towards the back to a semi-enclosed booth with plush benches, allowing for a modicum of privacy. It was lovely.
She smiled at Castle, reminded again that whatever Page Six might say about him, Castle himself was not the over-the-top celebrity, was more down-to-earth than that. "Nice place."
"Yeah, I like it. I was last here for my mother's birthday with my mother and Alexis."
She was marginally surprised because even from the one time she'd met Martha, she would have expected that Martha Rodgers would prefer a louder, more public atmosphere but she chose not to comment. And as it happened, Castle seemed to guess her thoughts because he added easily, "Coming here was sort of a compromise option because my mother tends to like more showy restaurants but I prefer not taking Alexis to restaurants where she might be photographed."
A waiter approached to tell them the specials of the day and then left with a promise to return in a few minutes.
"Since you've been here before, what would you recommend?" she asked.
"Everything I've tried here has been good. Last time, Alexis ordered the chicken and she liked it. The salmon is also good if you want seafood."
The waiter returned for their orders and Kate decided to order the chicken—flashing Castle a smile with the aside, "I trust Alexis's opinion"—while Castle ordered steak, as she had rather expected he would. When had she started to become familiar with Castle's food preferences? She wasn't sure but it abruptly struck her as a very girlfriend-like knowledge. Huh, it was weirdly… nice to think that she was getting to know Castle so well.
"How is Alexis?" she asked as the waiter left. She had accepted Castle's invitation the other day and gone over to the loft after she and Hassan had finished going through the vic's financial records but Alexis had already been asleep and then the next morning, she'd had to leave to return to her apartment to get ready for work before Alexis had woken up so she hadn't seen Alexis since the weekend.
His expression softened as always at the mention of his daughter but for the first time, she noticed that it was accompanied by a little flicker of something darker than that too, something like worry. Was something the matter with Alexis? But then, how could Castle still be out on their date? "She's fine. She says hi and that she misses seeing you."
Her heart clenched a little. "I miss seeing her too," she murmured and she really did—even if she didn't know when or how that had happened. It wasn't like she was used to seeing Alexis every day and yet, somehow, she missed the little girl after not seeing her for a few days, missed the sight of her smile and the sound of her laughter.
Again, some expression she couldn't identify flitted across his face—or no, was it a tinge of anger—before it was chased away by a smile. But for once, the sight of his smile made her stomach churn because it wasn't his usual smile, it seemed forced. "Thank you for that."
She leaned forward, impulsively reaching out to touch his hand. "Castle, is something wrong?"
He blinked and then pasted on a charming smile. "I'm on a date with a beautiful woman, what could possibly be wrong?"
She almost recoiled. She did stiffen a little. For almost the first time in her memory, he sounded like the glib playboy she had rather been expecting when they'd met. "Castle, don't." In her sudden spasm of nervousness—what could have gone wrong so suddenly on their first date?—her voice came out harsher than she'd meant it and he abruptly straightened, an arrested expression on his face.
Things had been going so well between them, even in spite of her having to cancel their originally scheduled date on Tuesday—but maybe that was it, things had been going too well. Too good to last. Oh god. She hadn't noticed anything wrong earlier but maybe she'd been fooling herself. "Castle, what is it? Did I… do something…"
She hated—hated—how vulnerable she sounded but she couldn't seem to help it but for once, it helped because Castle seemed to jolt, grasping for her hand. "Did you—no!" He brought her hand up and pressed a kiss to her palm that sent jolts of heat streaking up her arm. "God, Kate, it has nothing to do with you. You are the best thing that's happened all day."
There was enough fervor in his voice that it made her cheeks heat, her heart skipping in her chest as she relaxed. "Oh, okay. But something is wrong?"
He grimaced a little. "It's fine. It's nothing, really."
"It's not nothing," she contradicted. "I can see that. It's something to do with Alexis?" she guessed. It was the mention of Alexis that had started it after all.
"Sort of."
"You can talk to me, you know. I care about Alexis too."
"Too?" A faint smirk tugged at his lips, his expression brightening.
She blushed. "Shut up. You knew that already. And stop trying to distract me."
He had the grace to look a little sheepish. "You noticed that, huh?"
"Detective, remember?"
He perked up. "Ooh, is that an interrogation technique? You did say you'd tell me more about it."
"Castle." Castle wasn't a liar but he did tend to deflect when he didn't want to talk about something, she was starting to realize. They were alike in that. "If you don't want to talk to me about it, just tell me that."
He hesitated. "It's not that I don't want to talk to you—"
At that inopportune moment, they were interrupted by the waiter returning with the wine they had ordered.
After the waiter left, she raised her eyebrows at him. "So what is it?"
He made a face. "I'm pretty sure talking about another woman while on a date breaks every commandment about dating."
She huffed a laugh. "I'd hardly call Alexis another woman."
"Huh?" He grimaced. "Oh god, no, I wasn't talking about Alexis; I was talking about Meredith."
She stiffened and schooled her expression not to react. His ex-wife. "Oh," was all she said, dumbly. He was thinking about his ex-wife while on their date? Not like that, she knew it wouldn't be like that. She trusted Castle.
"Nothing like that, Kate," he hurriedly assured her, reaching for her hand again and holding it in his. "It's only… she called me earlier today and I'm… having an ethical and parental dilemma, I guess," he said with a huff that tried to be a laugh and failed.
"What's worrying you about Alexis?"
He hesitated. "You're sure you don't mind? This isn't exactly good first date conversation."
"We'll have other dates. And if it's to do with Alexis, I do want to know."
A smile flashed across his face at the mention of other dates before he sobered. "It's Meredith that's the problem. She called to tell me she's going to be visiting for Mother's Day."
Oh. She supposed that would give her a chance to meet Castle's ex-wife then. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. "Oh, well, won't Alexis be happy about that?" And if it would make Alexis happy, that was really all that mattered.
He made a face. "It would, assuming she actually shows up this time," he muttered, somewhat to himself.
She suddenly remembered the way Alexis had said so matter-of-factly that her mom didn't try to keep her promises. And Kate remembered too that the first time she'd met Castle, he'd been worrying about Alexis because Meredith had reneged on her promise to come visit for Thanksgiving. Yeah, Kate didn't think she would like Meredith.
She stayed quiet though because, well, this was somewhat fraught territory and it wasn't like she'd ever met Meredith after all.
Castle shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in a gesture that surprised Kate a little, it was so… uncharacteristic of him, of the cheerful optimistic nature she associated with him. He didn't look like either the dashing bachelor or the excited little boy he had resembled during his tour of the precinct. Now he looked like… well, he looked like what he was, a single father worried about his daughter. It was the side of him she had seen the first time they met and it occurred to her that it was seeing this side of him that had made her trust him. It might be the side of him she liked the best.
He looked, she thought, not for the first time, lonely. She had wondered about it before, months ago, but she knew him better now and she knew it was true. In this, when it came to taking care of Alexis, he was alone. Martha was clearly a loving grandmother but she wasn't always around and in the end, the responsibility—the burden—was Castle's and his alone.
But that didn't need to be entirely true anymore. This was what her dad had been talking about. If her relationship with Castle was going to last—even if she was still a little surprised and a lot terrified sometimes at how fiercely she wanted this relationship to work out—she needed to take some responsibility too.
But it wasn't only that. She wanted to. This was the other side of the coin of caring about Castle—she wanted to help him, wanted to smooth the frown from his forehead, wanted to see him smile again.
It was her turn to reach out and take his hand, making him look at her and then move his other hand to cover hers, his expression already smoothing out a little.
"You're worried about Alexis?" It wasn't exactly a question.
"Can I ask you something?" he blurted out.
She blinked, a little nonplussed. "Of course."
"I want to know your opinion. I've been thinking, maybe I shouldn't tell Alexis that Meredith is coming to visit. I just… I don't trust Meredith to keep her promise and I can't stand to see Alexis be disappointed again. If I don't tell Alexis and Meredith does come, then it'll be a nice surprise for Alexis but if Meredith cancels again, Alexis won't be hurt."
Oh, that was what he'd meant by an ethical and a parental dilemma. And he was asking her. He really did trust her, didn't he? She looked at their joined hands for a moment and then back up at him. "You really want my opinion?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."
"I understand your reasoning but I just wonder, what would happen if Alexis finds out that you kept something like this from her? She talks to her mom too, doesn't she?"
He grimaced. "Yes, she talks to Meredith too, of course she does."
"Alexis trusts you, Castle, and you said yourself that you try never to lie to Alexis."
He sighed. "You're right. I just… I hate seeing Alexis get hurt."
"I know you do but it doesn't mean keeping something like this from Alexis is the right thing to do either. All you can do is be there for Alexis and from what I've seen of Alexis, I'd say you're pretty good at cheering her up."
The ghost of a smile just touched his lips. "Thanks. You aren't so bad at it yourself."
"I like Alexis. It's easy to be nice to her."
He tightened his grip on her hands. "Thank you, Kate, really."
She felt herself flush at the look in his eyes, warmth blossoming in her chest. "You don't have to thank me, Castle. You can pay me back by making more of your tiramisu for me," she joked, taking refuge behind humor. It was easier—and yes, she wanted to make him smile too.
It worked. His expression cleared, brightened, as he grinned. "That, I can do."
The arrival of their food caused an inevitable break in their conversation—and had him releasing his grip on her hand—but that might have been fine too. They had talked seriously and now they could try to return to something more like typical date conversation.
Well, maybe not exactly typical date conversation. Castle took the opportunity to return to asking her about interrogation and after rolling her eyes at him, she gave in and launched into a crash course on interrogation techniques and witness questioning as they ate. Not something she had ever talked about on a date or imagined talking about on a date but Castle was clearly fascinated, his eyes bright and focused on her face as he peppered her with questions.
She felt an odd, visceral tug of attraction that had nothing to do with the physical just from the way he listened to her, looked at her as if she was fascinating. It was a heady feeling because she really wasn't that fascinating but somehow, he seemed to think so. And it made her stomach flip.
After she exhausted her store of knowledge about interrogation, conversation easily shifted into a lighter vein with Castle relating funny stories about encounters with pushy fans asking intrusive questions and from book tours he had been on and she told him a few of the humorous incidents from work and the Academy. It was a little surprising, still, how easy and fun it was to talk to Castle but it really was. She liked talking to him, just liked him so much—almost frighteningly much—but there it was.
What with the delicious food and talking and laughter, dinner sped by and Kate was a little surprised when the waiter returned to ask if they wanted to look at the dessert menu. Before she could even look towards Castle, he forestalled her by quickly saying they wouldn't have dessert, only needed the check. He was cutting their date short?
The waiter left and Castle turned back to her, explaining "I have other plans for dessert."
Oh, well, in that case... She quirked her eyebrows at him teasingly. "Oh, you do, do you? And don't I get a say in these other plans?"
He looked so adorably pleased with himself. "Nope. I've planned this evening out very carefully and you'll like it."
"That sure of yourself, huh, Castle?"
"Yes. I'm an expert at wooing women." The moment the words fell from his mouth, he realized what he'd said, his eyes widening. "Not like that! Well, yes, a little like that, not that I plan to be wooing anyone—" he broke off. "You know what, I'm just going to shut up now." He made an apologetic face. "Sorry, that did not come out right. I didn't mean to sound like that."
His obvious embarrassment and remorse made her soften, letting a laugh bubble out of her. "It's all right, Castle. I know you didn't mean it like that."
Castle greeted the waiter with the check with an alacrity that the waiter must rarely see and thanks to Castle's eagerness, they left the restaurant within the space of a few minutes where they found Frank waiting by the town car.
Frank appeared to know where they were headed because Castle didn't bother telling Frank their destination. The car had barely moved away from the curb before Castle was sliding his hand behind her neck until she turned to look at him and he leaned in to capture her lips with his. Her whole body relaxed into him as he nibbled lightly on her lip and her little sigh was swallowed by his mouth. Oh, yes, this was what she'd been expecting, hoping would happen on this drive. Her fingers slid into his hair, holding him in place, not that he showed any inclination to go anywhere as his mouth leisurely sipped at hers, keeping the kiss slow and lazy but still, oh so good.
Her mind had gone deliciously blank so she was startled when he ended the kiss(es), had to blink a few times before regaining some measure of coherence. God, what this man could do to her.
It was something of a relief to see that he had to do the same, looked a little wild-eyed, his breath uneven, his hair disarranged thanks to her fingers (she wasn't at all sorry). "Ah, right," he began, looking out the window and then back at her. "We're getting close so will you do me a favor and close your eyes? I want to surprise you."
She narrowed her eyes at him in mock warning. "This better be good, Castle."
"Do you trust me?"
Yes. It wasn't the sort of thing she found it easy to say, though, so she only made a show of closing her eyes tightly, hoping the gesture spoke for her. He appeared to understand because he brushed a quick kiss against her lips as if in thanks.
It was about a minute before she felt the car turning and slowing to a stop at the curb and she resisted the urge to open her eyes as she heard Castle exit the car and then felt him take her hand to gently guide her out of it. It was an amazingly vulnerable thing, stepping out into the noise of a Manhattan sidewalk without being able to see. She couldn't think of another person she would have trusted like this and felt a flutter of nerves rising in her chest. She didn't do this sort of thing, trust easily or completely.
"It's not far, Kate, just follow me."
Before her nerves could morph into more, Castle had led her by the hand the space of a few yards, somehow managing to neatly skirt other pedestrians, and she heard him opening a door, the tinkle of a bell. And then he was pulling her into a restaurant—no, not a restaurant. The air felt warm, smelled sweet. Well, they were here for dessert.
"Just a second."
She heard Castle exchange a few quiet words with someone, thanking them, and then heard retreating footsteps and a few quiet sounds before Castle said, "Okay, open your eyes."
She did. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Oh, this man. He had brought her to the cupcake bakery where they had first met on her terrible, wonderful birthday. More than that, he had clearly arranged for it to be reserved just for them because, not only was the bakery empty of anyone else including an employee, the space had been rearranged so there was one small table in pride of place with a bud vase with a single red carnation in it sitting on the table. And she thought it might be the carnation that had her chest feeling so tight with affection. She vaguely remembered mentioning in passing that she didn't much like red roses after working a case last year of a florist who'd been shot in a hold up. It had been one of the early stories from work she had told Castle months ago and he remembered.
She stepped forward, catching his face between her hands, and giving him a fast, hard kiss. "Thank you."
It was a totally inadequate thing to say but it was as much as she could manage.
Luckily, he appeared to be entirely satisfied with her reaction, smiling as he returned her kiss. "Happy first date."
A laugh bubbled out of her. He was ridiculous but oh so dear. "Happy first date, Castle."
He stepped away in order to pull back a chair with a flourish. "Now, what kind of cupcake would you like?"
Kate chose a chocolate cupcake while Castle settled on red velvet. They ate their cupcakes mostly in silence, punctuated by the occasional glimmering smile. When they were finished, Castle cleared the table again except for the bud vase and then returned to her, giving her another of his small, private smiles. Their eyes met and held as the very air seemed to shimmer between them and Kate's lungs seemed to momentarily find it hard to function.
"You know what I thought when I first met you?" Castle asked, his voice quiet.
"'Who is this crazy blind person who just ruined my jacket?'" she offered facetiously.
He laughed, his eyes lighting up with humor. "Hey, don't mock the way we met. I consider it the luckiest accident of my life," he said lightly enough, even as the butterflies took flight in her stomach at the implied declaration he was making.
It might be true for her too. If she hadn't crashed into him the way she had, she would have fled the bakery immediately and it would never have mattered that she and Castle had been in the same room. They would have passed each other like ships in the night and never known otherwise. The very thought had her stomach clenching.
He sobered, lifting one hand to trace her cheek, her chin, with gentle fingers. "I thought that I wanted to see you smile."
That was enough to make her grant him his wish and smile. She couldn't help it.
His lips curved slightly in return. "I also thought," he went on, his voice lowering, "that you were a mystery I would never solve."
Only a mystery writer would phrase it like that...
"And even after getting to know you so much better, I still think that. I'm still amazed at the depths of your strength, your heart."
Oh god, his words…
His lips quirked up into the beginnings of a smirk. "And your hotness."
She choked on a laugh. Only Castle. "You're not so bad yourself," she managed to husk although her mouth had gone dry.
She had no idea which of them moved first, not that it mattered, as his hand cupped her cheek and hers rose to rest on his shoulder as their lips met. The kiss was a soft, gentle thing, a lingering exploration of each other's mouths, more tender than passionate.
Castle drew back slowly, just enough to end the kiss even as their noses still brushed and their breaths still mingled. "Come home with me?" he asked, his voice somewhat breathless.
In answer, Kate smudged his lips with hers again. "Yes." As if she'd ever had any intention of not going back to the loft with him after their date. She still wanted to have him entirely to herself in her own apartment but she knew that couldn't happen tonight, with Alexis at home with a babysitter.
That settled, they left the bakery within minutes, Castle assuring her that he'd already arranged for things to be cleaned up after them.
It was a few minutes after 10 o'clock when they stepped into the loft to see a gangly teenage girl sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine.
The girl looked up and put the magazine down as she smiled. "Hi, Mr. Castle. You must be Kate," she added, turning her smile to Kate.
Kate returned the girl's smile. She guessed the girl was 16 or so, cute, with something of the lanky grace of a young colt about her as she stood up. "Hi, and yes, I am."
"Hi, Katrina," Castle greeted. "Thanks for watching Alexis tonight. Is she asleep?"
"Yeah, she went to bed around an hour ago. We had a good time tonight. She beat me at Twister," Katrina grinned. "And then we had some ice cream as my consolation prize, she said."
Castle chuckled softly. "Your consolation prize or her victory prize?"
Katrina shrugged and laughed. "Does it matter?"
Castle handed Katrina a couple bills as they reached the front door. "Well, thanks again, Katrina. Say hi to your parents for me and have a good night."
"Good night, Mr. Castle. Night, Kate."
"Good night, Katrina," Kate offered.
Castle turned back to Kate as he closed the door behind Katrina. "Katrina lives downstairs on the 3rd floor. She's become more of a friend to Alexis than just a babysitter."
"That's nice that they're friends."
"Yeah, Katrina's a good kid." He slipped his hand into hers as he headed towards the stairs, no doubt to check on Alexis. She followed willingly, wondering when and how it seemed so natural that she would accompany him upstairs to check on Alexis. She hadn't before, not since that first night she showed up here after the Trevor Adelson case, but it didn't seem unusual now.
He eased Alexis's door open quietly and only then released Kate's hand to pad over to the girl's bedside, bending to brush a hand lightly over Alexis's bright hair. But as it happened, all his care turned out to be wasted because Alexis stirred, blinking sleepy eyes at her dad. "Daddy?" she mumbled, her voice foggy with sleep.
He crouched down by her bed. "Yeah, pumpkin, it's me," he whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."
Instead, Alexis yawned a little, rubbing her eyes like an adorable bear cub emerging from hibernation. "Is Kate with you?"
Kate stepped forward from where she'd been lingering in the doorway. "Yeah, Alexis, I'm here."
Alexis lifted her head, looking a little more awake as she looked eagerly at Kate in the dimness of her room. "Kate, you look so pretty. I wanted to stay up to see you but I got sleepy," she explained.
"Thank you, Alexis," Kate said quietly, bending over the bed. "But it's late and you should probably sleep."
Alexis nodded, reaching out one hand to grasp Kate's. "But I'm glad you came over, Kate."
"I am too." And god, that was terrifyingly true. It was overwhelming and scary too, the way she could feel herself getting so drawn into this family, but somehow, for all that, it also felt… comfortable.
Kate reached out and stroked Alexis's hair gently. "Go back to sleep, Alexis. Good night."
Castle in turn resettled the blankets over Alexis and bent to kiss her forehead. "Sleep tight, munchkin."
Alexis yawned, her eyes already falling closed. "G'night, Daddy, g'night, Kate."
Kate straightened up and felt Castle slide his arm around her waist as they watched Alexis for another minute or so before he signaled that they could leave with a tightening of his hand on her side.
The moment they were out in the hallway, he was backing her up against the wall and kissing her fiercely, his tongue sliding easily past her lips as he swallowed her little gasp.
She sagged against him when he eventually released her, thoroughly discombobulated as only he could do to her.
"Do you have any idea how much I adore the way you care about my daughter?" he husked against her cheek.
She turned her head so her nose was nudging his and then kissed him again. "I think I have some idea," she managed to say, "but why don't you take me to bed and show me how much you appreciate me instead?"
He huffed a laugh that was almost smothered by the press of her mouth. And then he did just that, proceeding to appreciate every inch of her with his hands and his lips and his tongue until she felt like a blissful, boneless puddle in his bed.
~To be continued…~
A/N 2: Here's wishing you all a very happy 2019!
