Author's note: As much as I hate spoilers, this one really isn't one. Beckett isn't going to get pregnant in this story. I was using the protection thing as a way to show a different side of her is all. People can forget in the heat of the moment and people can also make bad decisions for the wrong reasons and as awesome as Kate is, she's a person and I wanted to delve into that a little.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Castle spent the rest of the day in the company of his mother and daughter. Alexis squealed with delight over the presents he'd brought her, and had insisted on spending almost an hour looking at all the pictures he'd taken throughout the week of all the various people and forums and places that he and Beckett had seen. Martha wasn't quite as impressed with her gifts.

"Richard…" she told him, reprovingly, eyeing the bottle of wine he'd brought her and the small stack of other items she'd pulled from her bag. "I'm certain I asked for a millionaire. You bring me candy, wine, coffee and other gifts, but I don't see a young, handsome heir anywhere…"

"Sorry, Mother," he told her as he leaned back into the soft leather of the sofa and put his arm around Alexis, who was snuggled against his side, flipping through pictures. "I looked, but there weren't any on sale anywhere."

She rolled her eyes.

"And I suppose you couldn't find any diamonds?"

"It was Seattle," he told her, grinning. "All they had was coffee."

"It's pretty," Alexis said, looking up from a picture he'd taken while on the ferry.

"That it is."

"Can we go there some time?"

"Sure. We'll need to stock up on raincoats."

She smiled and went back to the pictures while he told them both stories of what he'd done and who he'd met. Each time he mentioned a person he'd find a picture of that person and Alexis and Martha both smiled at the stories he told of the Texas Rangers and they both expressed interest in meeting them when they came to visit.

"So how did you and Detective Beckett get along?" Martha asked.

Alexis tensed beside him, and he knew she had frozen so he'd ignore the fact that she was there and might tell something that he normally wouldn't in front of her. He rested his hand on her head, telling her silently that she might as well breathe since he hadn't forgotten her presence, and then he shrugged.

"We roomed together."

"Really?" Alexis asked, surprised. Then she smiled. "And…?"

"Esposito and Ryan called ahead and cancelled her reservation," he told them, rolling his eyes. This wasn't a secret, however, and it was almost certainly something they'd hear in an off-hand comment, so he figured it was better to tell them upfront than let them think he had something to hide. But there was no way he was going to go into too much detail. "It was a prank – and retaliation for a time that she did it to them. There wasn't any other place for her to sleep and since I had a suite I invited her to share it."

"And…?" Martha asked.

"And she did."

Alexis made an impatient noise, and looped her arm through his.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you guys… you know…?"

He shook his head, and stood up, smiling as he looked down at her.

"I'm not answering that question."

"Dad!"

"Alexis!" She groaned and acted like it was killing her to not know, but Rick wasn't concerned about her health just then. He chuckled and pulled her off the sofa and looked at his mother. "So? What's for dinner? I'm starving."

"We're going to make you dinner," Alexis told him. "As a welcome home."

He beamed.

"And while we're cooking, you can tell us all about what you and Detective Beckett did this week," Martha added, carrying the bottle of wine he'd brought her into the kitchen.

Castle looked at Alexis.

"We could just eat out."

She laughed and pulled him into the kitchen as well.

OOOOOOOOOO

Beckett had a nice evening with Lanie. With the more intimate details already out in the open, her friend was now far more interested in what else she'd done during the week and the new people she met – as well as the different forums and events. As they sat in a relatively nice restaurant eating a hearty meal and drinking good wine, Kate spent an enjoyable time telling her about the different contests, including the driving, shooting and the crime scene room. Lanie was impressed with her win in the driving category and not at all surprised that Castle won the shooting gallery.

"He plays dumb," she said as she finished her glass. "But you know as well as I do that he has enough time on his hands to be very good at whatever he wants to learn. In this case, being a cop."

Beckett nodded. She'd known he was a good shot long before, and there was no question about his intelligence, but she knew that he was picking up on police procedure and all the nuances that come only with experience and practical application. He'd just proven it to everyone at the convention, much to their surprise. But not to hers.

"I know." She smiled, draining her glass as well and deciding that was going to be the last for her that evening. Otherwise she'd have a headache the next day. "Think my job is in jeopardy?"

"Nah. He'd be crazy to want your job. I know what you make."

Beckett smiled at that, and then she sighed.

"I will have to be careful, though…"

"You mean because of your change in relationship?"

"Yeah. It'll be tricky keeping the personal and professional separated."

Lanie smiled.

"If anyone can do it you can."

They chatted for a while longer, but it had been a long day for Beckett and the alcohol in her system was catching up to her and making her sleepy. It was the weekend and she didn't have to go back to work until Monday, but she didn't want to spend all day hung over, either. Or sleeping off her drinking. Lanie paid for dinner and then they parted ways, each to head home and to bed.

Kate took a shower and put on pajamas, more than ready for bed, but when she finally slid under the covers she found that she was oddly restless. Concern about what Montgomery might say when he found out about her and Castle (and he would), various conversations that she would face with Esposito and Ryan – and worse, the other cops in the precinct – but most of all she decided that she had become accustomed to having him with her in bed, and hugging the pillow wasn't at all the same as being held by him. She finally drifted off, but it took a lot longer than she had thought it would.