A/N: I know, I know. I haven't updated in more than two weeks. You probably don't even remember what this story is about anymore.
I'm really sorry for the lack of new chapters and the inconsistent posting.

I have been sick (unfortunately the kind of sick that doesn't really inspire you at all…) and very busy on top of that. Then I received a very wonderful review from Israel that motivated me so very much that I finally started writing again. Then my birthday arrived out of the blue and things got delayed again for a couple of days. Anyway, now I'm fine and happy and officially a year older and here's your new chapter.

Enjoy!

Kate couldn't help but grin at their current position. Their faces were so close that his every breath washed over her skin as he tried to calm his buzzing body. Behind her, cooking utensils had been pushed to the far side of the counter in their hurried attempt to make room for their bodies on the surface. They were both physically aroused to a point that defeated logic, ready to do it like animals or horny teenagers right here in the middle of what served as her living room and kitchen. If she were any other girl, he would be buried inside her right now, but he wasn't because she meant more than any other girl ever had before. He was literally only one touch away from losing control, but he reigned himself in and she knew. She knew what it cost him and she knew what it meant. Somehow all of that made her grin.

"So…what now?" she asked and subconsciously sucked her lower lip behind her teeth. He thought it would be safer if he closed his eyes.

"Now we give it another try. We go on a date and I woo you like you deserve to be wooed" he said and opened his eyes to search for her reaction. She was still grinning, but lightly shook her head.

"I don't need to be wooed. I think you've already proven what you're capable of."

Now he was the one who shook his head. "Come on, humor me" he said, reached out and laced his fingers through hers, the gentle touch sending thrills down both their spines.

"Let me spend a ridiculous amount of money on you and take you on a date with me, okay? This time we'll do it right. This time, we'll restrain ourselves and pretend we haven't already had sex yet, okay? This is new. It may not feel that way all the time, but this is new, so we should take it slow. Please, Kate. Please"

And because he'd said please twice and looked at her with those big irresistible eyes, she simply couldn't say no. She didn't trust either of them enough to lean in for a kiss, so she simply nodded her head and whispered "Okay."

She tugged at his hand and silently led him to her couch. She left their fingers intertwined when they sat down, their sides brushing.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" she asked and he turned his head to meet her eyes.

"Yeah, I've been up a while. I couldn't sleep."

He was surprised when her gaze was nothing but honest. "Me neither."

He leaned in and touched his lips to hers. He had intended the kiss to be fleeting, but when her eyelids fluttered closed he applied a little more pressure and her lips parted. He brought his free hand up to cup her cheek. Her foot was making its way up his calf and her hand was clutching his shirt, but before things could get out of control he pulled away. Yet again, he left her wanting more. Her eyes swam with lust and emotion; they threatened to draw him in and pull him under once more. Because he was turning all mushy inside, he quickly changed the topic.

"Have you already punished Ryan and Esposito for betting on our private lives?"

She chuckled, her eyes still glowing from the inside out. "The universe took care of it for me."

His face lit up. "You believe in the powers of the 'verse?"

She rolled her eyes in her typical fashion. "If it wasn't that, it must have been Karma. Have you talked to Esposito recently?"

He laughed. "Oh yes. He must have caught it pretty bad. He sounded a little like Gollum when I called him last night. Is Ryan sick, too?"

She shook her head. "No, but he fell down a flight of stairs, remember? Don't you think that's enough for a week?"

"I guess what goes around comes around" he agreed. He paused in thought for a second. "Sometimes I feel as if those two are like secondary characters in a TV cop show. You know, the ones that always have to take all the crap."

She couldn't suppress her smirk, but bumped her shoulder against his in a sign that was supposed to show her affront. He gave an innocent shrug.

"We get to do all the fun stuff while they have to do the real police work and get beat up for it! Nothing bad ever happens to us" he tried to explain his declaration.

"Now that's a lie, we were just lucky this time! Just think of all the times we had to chase criminals down a street or were exposed to nuclear bombs…" she started.

"Or were abducted by secret agents…" he continued.

"Or got shot at…" she added, then backpedaled. "Well, actually Ryan and Esposito do get shot at just as much. They were also the ones that got tortured with ice water…"

Rick raised a finger up in the air. "But we were the ones who got stuck in a freezer!"
He dropped his finger. "I guess you're right, though. We were lucky this time."
Then the 10-year-old made an appearance. "But that also made this case kind of boring, don't you think? No bomb threats, no shootouts…We didn't even get to chase anybody!" he whined.

She rolled her eyes once again, but smiled. "Times like these remind me that you're actually nothing more than an annoying writer on a sugar rush..."

He faked a pout, but then suddenly turned serious. He lightly squeezed the hand he was still holding.
"Will you tell me something?" he asked and she furrowed her brows.

"That depends…" she offered tentatively. He looked at her and she felt as if his soul lay bare before her, as if she could see right through his blue depths to the core of his being.
He looked afraid, almost shy, and more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him.

"What do you think of my books?" he asked finally and now she could see hope in those blue orbs, too. The question took her by surprise and her resolve to be completely honest with him wavered for a second. She knew that he didn't ask out of arrogance. He genuinely wanted to know what she thought of his work. He wanted her approval.

"Of Nikki Heat or of your earlier work?" she asked, trying to find an easy way out, although not wanting to talk about either of the series. He quickly answered "Both" and thereby destroyed all her hopes of getting out of this without facing at least some of her feelings. She felt as though she'd done enough 'facing her feelings' in the last days to last her a lifetime, but apparently Rick had other plans in mind. She weighed the pros and cons in her head and finally decided to start with the Nikki Heat series.

She drew her long legs up under her body and they both turned so that they were facing each other. She cradled his hand in her lap.

"The Nikki Heat novels...I feel honored by them" she started. "What you wrote…it's like a tribute to the NYPD, to the 12th and everyone who works there. In all those months that you spent with us, you must have actually paid attention at a least every once in a while."

She smiled and he squeezed her hand. "Of course when it comes to our characters you exaggerated ruthlessly" she teased, "but the rest is quite accurate."

Kate took a deep breath. "It feels weird to read about Nikki and Rook when I know that you had me and you in mind when writing about them."

She didn't need to say that she was thinking especially of the sex scenes. He smiled warmly at her.

"When I was with Josh, it used to irritate and embarrass me to simply think about that. You and I hadn't even kissed yet, but there you were, writing all these intimate things about me. Fortunately for me, Josh was always too busy to read your books. I was really glad for that. I'm sure he would have viewed our relationship differently had he known about our fictional versions."

"Yeah I'm sure he wouldn't have appreciated that" Rick concurred.

Kate nodded. "You really skated on thin ice with all that romance. But ultimately, as a reader, I like the novels. And as the inspiration for the main character, I reluctantly approve."

He lifted his free hand to her face and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm glad you like them" he said, ran his thumb along her jaw and dropped his hand.

"What about Derrick Storm?"

There it was. This time it wasn't just about her opinion – he was trying to find out how much of a fan she really was. Now was the time to open herself and her past up to him and make herself vulnerable. She was surprised to realize that she trusted him enough to do just that.

"He saved me" she confessed after bracing herself for a second. "I don't know if I would be here today if it weren't for Derrick Storm."
She saw him suck in a breath. Rick silently asked her to continue.

"After my mum was murdered, I felt as if I were drowning. I couldn't let her go so I held on to everything that was hers, everything she meant to me. I found 'Gathering Storm' on her nightstand one evening and on a melancholy whim started reading it. I read till 4 in the morning. From then on I was hooked. Your books offered me hope during a time when I needed it the most and they made me crawl out of the rabbit hole that I had fallen into. In the Storm novels, the good guys always caught the bad guys, the victims always got their closure. I realized then that this was what I needed, that I would never truly be happy again until I had found who killed my mum and punished that person for what they'd done. Your books were essentially the reason I became a cop" she finished.

Rick was rendered speechless. He reached out for her, but she suddenly got up and walked to the other side of the room, where books were stacked in overflowing shelves and big piles on the floor. She grabbed one and returned to her place on the couch, but put a little distance between their bodies. When she held out the book to him, he could see that it was one of his novels, 'Storm Rising'.

"I went to one of your book signings once when I was just fresh out of Police Academy. Stood in line for over an hour."

He looked from the book to her eyes and back to the book. With calm, almost reverent motions he opened it to the dedication page.

To Katie,

May your gorgeous green eyes see many beautiful things on this planet.

Sincerely,
Rick Castle

He looked back up into her eyes, a somewhat sad expression on his face.

"I would really like to tell you that I remember this, but you know that I would be lying" he spoke softly.

When she replied, it wasn't in an accusing manner. "I expected that. I'm sure if you remembered, you would have bugged me about it by now."

He dared to place his hand on her knee. "You must know that it has nothing to do with you. I simply signed a lot of books and saw a lot of faces over the years. It doesn't mean your face isn't one to remember."

He swallowed and then the corners of his mouth tilted up in an honest smile. "In fact, your face is so beautiful and memorable that every night I see it in my dreams and every day I'm looking forward to laying eyes on you."

She reciprocated his smile and shifted closer to his body. "You can be pretty corny if your want to, Mister Castle" she said and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"I'm sorry?" he offered, but she shook her head, rubbing their noses against each other.

"Don't be. Just don't turn it into a habit."

A/N: Hopefully from now on, updates will be more regularly and frequent again. Don't expect a new chapter before Monday, though.

I sincerely hope I haven't lost anyone due to my unannounced virtual disappearance.

Thank you all so much for your constant support! You inspire me and motivate me every day. Without you, this would have never turned out the way it did. You have no idea how much it means to me just to know that there are people in all parts of this world reading my story and most of them apparently liking it. You are the best!

Off-Topic: My thoughts and prayers go out to Japan and everyone affected by the quake, the tsunami, the nuclear meltdown or any of the consequences of this terrible disaster. As far as I am informed, you can donate 10$ to the Red Cross by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999 in the US or 30333 in Canada. Please help if you can!