Author's Note: A mostly fluffy chapter in which Castle and Beckett actually go out on a date. Enjoy!

Nothing Lost

Chapter 41

Kate smiled as Castle burst out laughing. "No, really? That is priceless."

Her dad laughed too. "There's an old quip that the worst thing about being a lawyer is the clients and I'm sure my counterpart that day was thinking just that since his client's admission lost him their case. A little lowering for me, of course, as funny as it was because it meant the first case I actually won as a lawyer had nothing to do with my own skill, just plain dumb luck," he joked.

Castle grinned. "As they say, it's better to be lucky than good."

Kate didn't think she'd seen Castle's face shine with so much merriment in a long time, possibly ever, even with his humor. Admittedly, he'd returned to her life under somber circumstances so it meant all the more to see his eyes so bright now. It occurred to her that Castle genuinely liked her dad. She had usually focused on the reverse, of her dad liking Castle, but it meant something to realize that Castle liked her dad too.

"That's a great story, Jim."

"Sadly, my work isn't usually quite so funny. My wife saw more of the craziness with her work in criminal law. She used to come home with some great stories. Do you remember, Katie?"

A reminiscent laugh escaped her. "I remember the one she told about the guy who showed up high as a kite and when asked, he said flat out it was because he didn't want to let the pot go to waste by throwing it out so he just smoked it right outside the courthouse."

Castle laughed again and her dad also gave a chuckle of remembrance. "Oh yes, that was a good one. Johanna really got a kick out of that."

The mention of her mom's name sobered them all a little where even her dad's reference to her mom had not.

Castle sat back and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I can imagine she had some great stories," he agreed more quietly. He did not say that he would have liked to have met her mom but the unspoken sentiment still had her dad momentarily glancing away and clearing his throat while Kate felt her own throat get a little tight with emotion.

"Thank you for lunch, Jim. It was delicious," Castle spoke up, changing the subject. "You've done all the cooking since I arrived yesterday so how about I make dinner? I make a pretty good pot roast, if I do say so myself."

Oh wait. She'd been procrastinating since Castle's return to the cabin yesterday and now her procrastination was coming back to bite her, so to speak. Kate straightened while her dad glanced at her. "Well, that's a nice offer, Rick, but actually Katie has something else planned for you two for dinner tonight. Hasn't Katie mentioned it?"

"You do?" Castle blinked and turned surprised and curious eyes to her.

She felt some heat creep into her cheeks. "I was about to tell you. I made plans for us to go out for dinner," she explained a little awkwardly. "I thought I'd surprise you."

Castle's smile was soft as his eyes lit up. "Well, you know how I like surprises."

She knew she was blushing even more at the way Castle was looking at her but she managed to hold his gaze. "I do know that," she agreed not very smoothly. It had partly been the impetus for her entire plan. It wasn't the sort of thing she did, planning romantic surprises like this. She certainly never had before, since simply buying little gifts for her past boyfriends hardly counted, not really being one for surprises in general or for that matter, not being comfortable revealing so much about how much she cared by making the effort to plan a surprise outing of any sort. But then, as she'd already known, Castle was different. And Castle did like surprises.

By the look in his eyes, Castle understood just how far she was stepping out of her comfort zone in doing this but all he said was, "Just tell me if there's anything I need to do to get ready."

"No, I can handle the preparations. Just be ready to leave around 5:30."

"You have things to prepare? You really are—" he broke off and then went on with assumed casualness, "I should get some writing done anyway so I can stay out of your way this afternoon."

"Okay, thanks."

Her dad cleared his throat a little, startling them both as they had rather forgotten about his presence. "That sounds like a plan. Kate's already briefed me on it so I can give Katie a hand if she needs it, Rick. And then I'll be going out myself. The Nealans invited me for dinner."

That, she hadn't known. She smiled, glad her dad wasn't going to be alone this evening but would be having dinner with their neighbors and good friends, the Nealans, instead. "That's nice. Say hello to them for me."

"Of course, Katie."

With their plans for the evening settled and Castle now aware of it, at least to an extent, conversation again became general as he helped her dad clean up after their lunch. She could, now that she was better, help but as usual, both Castle and her dad insisted she do no such thing, refusing to let her clear the table of anything other than their napkins. She huffed but didn't bother arguing, already knowing the futility of it.

Well, she would insist on doing most of the preparations for tonight, no matter what her dad said, since that was partly the point, although she knew that was actually very little. She had planned for that too and tried to work around her own limitations. She just hoped Castle wouldn't mind too much.

Somewhat to her surprise, Castle heroically did not so much as mention her surprise on their usual walk that afternoon. He really did like surprises, to be suppressing all his innate curiosity by not inquiring further. And true to his word, once they returned to the cabin after the walk, he retreated to his room claiming the need to write without even waiting for her to hint she needed to start preparing.

It all gave her more than enough time to take care of what little she needed to do, packing a picnic basket with food and drink with her dad's willing assistance. It was a little weird, preparing for a date—because it was clearly a date—with her dad but her dad, having initially agreed to the plan when she'd broached the subject over the weekend in Castle's absence, was preserving a briskly practical demeanor, trying hard to act as if he was merely assisting her with something like a school project, no romantic overtones at all.

Of course, preparing the food for a romantic picnic for two was the easy part. The rather more complicated question was deciding what to wear and that part was entirely up to her.

Kate bit her lip as she surveyed the rather meager contents of her closet. Most of her wardrobe was still in the city obviously so she didn't have a lot of options and most of the clothes she had out here were very casual, loose workout clothes and loungewear of the kind she'd been living in for the last month. But for this, for what really would be her first actual date with Castle, she wanted to make an effort, even if she could not dress the way she normally would for a date or night out.

She settled on the nicer of the couple sundresses she had out here, releasing a little breath of relief on slipping into it when she confirmed that the neckline was cut high enough that the still red scar between her breasts wasn't visible. Only to be brought up short when she belatedly realized one of the reasons she hadn't tried to wear anything similar before was that the dress zipped up the back. Twisting her arms in order to zip up the dress pulled on the surgical incision on her side and a sharp gasp of pain escaped her. Ow, shit!

Damn it damn it damn it. She bit her lip, shutting her eyes against the stupid prick of frustrated tears. God, she hated all this, hated how limited she still was.

She scowled, feeling any of the small flicker of anticipation she'd allowed herself to feel at the idea of going on an actual date with Castle wither, as she pulled out the single other sundress she had here. It was more casual than the other one and fortunately, slipped on over her head. It tugged a little on her side to put it on but she managed it. One potential problem down. The bigger issue was that it had a lower v-neck that made her a little uneasy. The v-neck wasn't very low and viewed straight on, hid the angry scar in her chest but she suspected it would be visible if she bent over and if anyone—Castle—tried to look, well, they would almost certainly see it. A bullet hole in her chest was not sexy. She had tried, with some success, not to think about her scars or the fact that if she and Castle ever had sex, he would inevitably have to see them—no, not if, when—but now, she couldn't avoid the thought, the fear.

She knew—she did—that Castle's feelings about her were far deeper than lust and she honestly didn't think the sight of her scars would affect his feelings. He wasn't that shallow, she knew that, she did! But for all that, she couldn't think of him seeing her scars without some fear creeping in.

He might not care but she did. He was still Richard Castle, the man who was known for dating beautiful women and had probably never been with a woman who wasn't physically flawless in his life. And it wasn't made easier by the fact that he himself was so hot; she doubted he had any bodily flaws.

She stared down at the red mark on her chest. It was only in the last week or so that she'd stopped keeping a bandage over it and she lifted a finger to tentatively touch it only to freeze with her finger barely an inch away, a shudder going through her. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, a flash of sensory memory shaking her, the burning agony in her chest, the terror of not being able to breathe, the initial moment of utter confusion. She shut her eyes and tried to steady her breathing, in and out, reminded herself where she was. She was alive, recovering, preparing to go out with Castle.

She opened her eyes and looked again at the ugly scar even as she slowly lowered her hand. Even after taking a bandage off, she had yet to actually touch the mark, had no desire to touch it. This foreign, unfamiliar, but now permanent mark on her skin, as if she'd been branded with the proof that she'd almost died and been brought back to life, almost like some zombie. She suppressed another shudder and tried to shove the thought out of her mind. It shouldn't matter, it didn't matter, not really. And anyway, she was weeks, if not months, away from being recovered enough for it to even start mattering.

She'd barely spent any time at all looking in a mirror but today for the first time since arriving at the cabin, she did, spending more time on her hair—it had definitely grown longer and she left it down to curl as it would rather than tying it back into a utilitarian ponytail as she had been—and actually putting on makeup, eyeliner, some mascara, and lipstick. When she was done, she looked both oddly strange—after so many weeks of seeing her bare face—and yet more familiar too, because she looked more like her usual self, more like the Kate Beckett she had been before all this had happened.

She looked more like the woman Castle had initially fallen for.

The thought made it easier to venture outside of her room, surprising her dad into dropping the magazine he'd been flipping through.

"Oh, Katie-bug, you look beautiful." His voice was a little thick with emotion and her dad abruptly ducked his head.

She paused next to him. "Dad, what is it?"

Her dad looked up at her, managing a wobbly smile. "Don't mind me, Katie. It's just… seeing you dressed up like this—it reminded me how far you've come and I'm just so… happy."

Her heart clenched, reminded all over again just how deeply afraid for her her dad had been, how worried he still was. She forced a brighter smile than she felt. "Well, now you can really see that I'm fine." She couldn't zip herself up and she still couldn't wear heels but she was better and for her dad's sake, she had to be even better than she was.

"Of course you are, Katie." Her dad's smile firmed.

"Castle's not out yet?" she asked rhetorically.

"I think he's waiting until you tell him it's time to leave. He does seem to like surprises."

"Yeah, he does." She smiled to herself, a smile that faded as she moved down the hall to Castle's door. A ridiculous flutter of nerves came to life in her stomach. It was only Castle and she'd already spent most of the day with him, to say nothing of the last few weeks. She knocked quickly on his door. "Castle, you ready?"

His door opened with a promptness that suggested he'd been hovering on the other side of the door, just waiting for some sign. He had changed too, she saw, was now wearing jeans and one of his usual button-downs in a blue just a few shades lighter than his eyes. He had such blue, blue eyes. And she wasn't sure why but somehow, wearing a button-down made him seem taller, his shoulders broader, than when he wore a t-shirt.

He too was dressed as he usually was in the precinct and looked more like the man she'd grown accustomed to working with a couple years ago. She felt the old tug of attraction at his appearance, stronger than ever now that she wasn't trying to fight it.

His eyes went wide at the sight of her, his lips parting as his gaze swept over her from head to toe. "Kate…" he breathed. "You're gorgeous."

She flushed, a silly, delicious thrill going through her at the way he was staring at her. In that moment, she forgot all about her scars, her lingering insecurities. She felt beautiful, for the first time in months.

Had he said something? She should respond, right, yes.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she tried to sound flippant but suspected she sounded more breathless than not.

Behind her, she heard a faint cough and turned, reminded—again—of her dad's presence, flushing as she realized just how mesmerized she and Castle had been, blind to everything except him. Oops.

Her dad was making an unsuccessful attempt at hiding his smile. "Well, why don't you two get on your way?"

"Oh, right, yes. Now will you tell me where we're going, Beckett?" Castle asked, clearly trying to sound brisk.

She bit her lip, self-conscious again. "You'll have to drive, if you don't mind. There's a nice park, not too far from here, so I thought we could have a picnic, watch the sunset. It's not fancy, I know—"

"It sounds great," Castle jumped in before she could continue, the absurd urge to babble in her consciousness that it was her own stupid issues that had led to her planning a picnic, a quiet, private spot, for their first date, rather than going to a restaurant. A public place with other people and unexpected sounds, all of which she didn't feel like facing again, not so soon after the debacle that had been her trip to the grocery store. "It's a great day for it and I see you have the food already packed and ready to go."

"Yeah, it's all ready." She paused and then opened her lips to remind Castle that he would have to carry their basket of food since she could still not carry anything nearly that heavy but before she could, Castle had already hurried forward and claimed the picnic basket and the tote bag with the picnic blanket as if he'd planned this whole thing to begin with rather than just finding out now.

"Lead the way, Beckett."

Her dad accompanied them outside to Castle's car and it occurred to her that this was the first time her dad was seeing her off on a date since high school.

And clearly, she wasn't the only one thinking such a thing because Castle slanted a teasing smirk at her before addressing her dad. "Don't worry, Jim, I promise to bring her back in time for her curfew."

Her dad chuckled while she pretended to scowl and swat at Castle. "I don't have a curfew."

"I appreciate that, Rick. Have to make sure Katie's tucked in bed early enough since tomorrow is a school day," her dad returned.

It was a lot less pleasant that her dad and Castle got along so well if they insisted on teaming up to tease her. "You two think you're so funny," she groused.

"Oh, we know we're funny, Katie-bug," her dad responded giving her a limpid smile.

She made a face at him while Castle opened the passenger door for her with an exaggerated courtly flourish.

"You two have fun."

She gave in and returned her dad's smile. "Enjoy your dinner with the Nealans, Dad."

He nodded and raised a hand in a slight wave.

"We'll see you later, Jim."

Castle joined her inside the car and reached over to grasp her hand, bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss. "Thank you for planning this, Beckett. Where are we headed?

She returned his smile. "I'll direct you once we get out to the main road."

He started the car and they set out. He slid a glance at her. "Was your dad always so pleasant to your dates in high school?"

She laughed. "Hardly. Dad had quite a reputation at my high school for being intimidating."

"It's because he's so quiet," Castle answered confidently.

She glanced at him curiously. "Why do you say that?"

"I'm a guy, Beckett, I know these things. The scary dads aren't the ones that are really loud and obvious, it's the ones who are quiet. That leaves the threats up to your imagination and the quiet ones are the ones who plan things out and that is truly terrifying."

She had to laugh. "You might be right. I remember hearing a rumor about one of my dates who reportedly said my dad was creepy-quiet, if that made sense."

"One of your dates? Just how much did you date in high school, Beckett?"

She shot him a smirk. "Wouldn't you want to know."

"I really do."

"Not a chance, Castle. Not unless you feel like spilling all about your high school dating exploits."

He grimaced a little but then they were distracted as she needed to start directing him to the park.

It had been years since Kate had been there but it didn't appear to have changed from what she remembered, fortunately, and she was pleased to see that it wasn't very busy either, just a scattering of other cars in the various lots. She directed Castle further into the park where there was a small hill that overlooked most of the park and out towards the town. Even better, they appeared to have that section of the park to themselves. She had hoped it wouldn't be busy, being a random Tuesday night, and at least in this, her hope had come true. "Here we are," she said unnecessarily.

"I like it already," Castle smiled. "Clearly you're brilliant."

"It's just a picnic spot, Castle, not the discovery of a new world," she demurred but couldn't keep from smiling, ridiculously pleased to see the light in his eyes.

Lowering herself to sit on the picnic blanket without unduly pulling on the incision scar was a little awkward but Kate managed it with a little grimace, hating the reminder, as if she needed it, of her physical limitations. "I know it's not the sort of fancy restaurant you're used to going to for dates but I thought it'd be nice to get out of the cabin."

"This is perfect, Kate, even better than going to a restaurant," Castle assured her. "At a restaurant, I wouldn't be able to do this—" he leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss, "whenever I feel like it but here, it's just the two of us so I can." He favored her with one of his familiar smirks.

Reassured, she tossed him a teasing look. "Never would have thought you were too shy for some PDA, Castle."

He adopted a look of limpid innocence. "I was only thinking about you. I assumed you wouldn't want to be written up in Page Six for publicly making out with me."

He might have been joking but the reminder of his fame, the publicity that tended to follow his relationships, made her still, feeling as if she'd been splashed with cold water. "Oh. Right, good thinking," she managed to muster up a smile.

But he apparently saw straight through it, sobering. (When had he started to read her so well?) "I wish I could promise you that Page Six or any other gossip column won't be interested in our relationship but I won't lie to you. My face might not be as recognizable as an actor's but I am… somewhat well-known and I do get recognized by the occasional fan."

What he wasn't saying was that his playboy reputation also meant that his personal life was all the more interesting to people. She herself had seen enough speculation and gossip about his romantic life in Page Six and elsewhere to know that. It was how she'd become aware that he'd rekindled his romance with Gina last year.

In the bubble of privacy and isolation provided by the cabin—and because she had admittedly been preoccupied with other things—she'd forgotten about Castle's fame and celebrity status. Her insides seemed to twist at the mere thought of having her name and private life splashed over the tabloids, so much fodder to add to the usual precinct gossip as if it wasn't already bad enough.

He sighed and reached out to take her hand. "We could try to keep it quiet when we get back to the city. If we're careful about how we act in public and limit going to places where I'm more likely to be recognized." He paused and then added, "It might get a little harder once people start finding out that I'm writing about Nikki Heat again but it should still be possible."

"People don't know you're writing about Nikki Heat again?"

He blinked, as distracted as she had been. "Oh, well, no, not yet. I haven't even mentioned it to Black Pawn yet, just told Gina I'm working on something new to get her off my back but nothing else."

"Why not? Don't you have a deadline?"

He shrugged a little. "I'm already late and the draft is only about half done so I haven't mentioned it yet. I probably will soon; I don't think I can put Gina off for much longer." He focused on her again. "But about the publicity, I meant it. We don't have to tell people. I know you're a private person."

Of course she was a private person, detested the idea of anyone knowing about her personal life, but… "No," she blurted out before she'd fully realized she was going to.

"No, what?"

"No, we don't have to keep this, us, a secret, not like that. I don't want us to have to sneak around." Except—wait. "Oh, but NYPD regulations prohibit partners from being romantically involved."

His sudden smile made her frown. "What?"

"Is that what I am, your partner?"

Oh, right, she hadn't exactly called him that before. She fought back a ridiculous blush. "Aren't you? If we're going to be working together again…" And more than that, she trusted him to have her back. She had always thought she preferred to work alone without a set partner, just Espo and Ryan to have her back, but well, Castle had shown her otherwise. That having someone else around to bounce ideas off of, to provide a different perspective and, yes, to make her job more fun, could be better, made her a better cop.

"Yes, definitely." He squeezed her hand. "Partners at work and outside of it."

She returned his smile. "Yeah, partners. The regulations might be a problem but they might not technically apply since you're not a cop."

He frowned. "Except from what I've heard from the boys, the new Captain's a real stickler for the rules. I'm not sure she'll agree."

Oh. She hesitated, a little surprised at herself for suggesting such a thing but, well, she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, wanted to work with Castle again and be in a relationship with him. And with how shaky her emotions tended to be, she really didn't like the thought of trying to return to work, all the stresses that entailed, without Castle at her side. "You're still friends with the Mayor though, aren't you?"

He flashed her an appreciative grin. "I knew there was a reason I liked you. That's brilliant. I'm sure Bob will be able to persuade the new Captain to be a little flexible about the regulations."

She smiled, relaxing a little. "You know we'll still need to behave professionally in the precinct, not make it obvious."

"It'll be like we're undercover, pretending not to be together. Ooh, stealth dating!"

Ridiculous man. She tried but couldn't quite smother her smile. "Calm down, Castle, it's not that exciting. And it means that outside of work too, even if we're not trying to hide it, we'll have to be a little circumspect, try not to have much publicity."

He sobered. "I guess we can manage that. I'll have a word with Paula."

She made a rueful face at him. "Sorry. I really don't want to have to lie or sneak around. And I do understand that your fame and publicity are a part of your life. It's just…"

"It's your job, Kate, I understand," he finished for her. "You don't have to apologize. It might not be easy but I'll talk to Paula and see what she can do. It'll be fine."

He leaned in and kissed her again, softly this time, and when he drew back, she returned his smile. "Okay, well, now that that's settled, do you want to open the picnic basket so we can eat?"

He readily agreed and started setting out what she'd packed—cheese and crackers and grapes and apples and sandwiches she'd made with cookies for dessert. She'd also included bottles of water and, to make things a little festive, some sparkling apple cider since she was still not allowed to have alcohol.

It was a simple spread, certainly bore no resemblance to the ornate food she would have expected to eat on a first date with Castle at some glitzy restaurant, but Castle appeared to find nothing lacking. And as they started to eat, it occurred to her how… easy it all was, how comfortable. For all her lingering issues, for all they might still need to talk about and deal with, this part of their relationship—spending time with him—was the easy part.

Maybe it was because they'd been spending so much time together lately or maybe it was just him, but she wasn't sure she'd ever met anyone who was so easy to spend time with, easy to talk to and easy to be quiet with too. She pointed out some of the local landmarks that were visible from their vantage point and some idle stories from her past summers in the area, told him a little about the Nealans, the friends her dad was having dinner with. He shared stories of other picnics he'd taken with Alexis, talked about the few weeks one summer he'd spent in Ithaca in upstate New York doing some book research while Alexis was at summer camp.

He fed her some grapes and at one point, she noticed a small spot of mustard on his lip from the sandwich and reached up without thinking to wipe it away with her finger and equally unthinkingly licked her finger clean. Something flared in his eyes and he abruptly kissed her with enough passion that her lips felt somewhat swollen. Afterwards, it was as if that kiss was really the start of something and the remainder of the meal was interrupted by frequent kisses and shared smiles and generally behaving in an utterly besotted way that Kate would probably blush over later.

By the time they were finished eating, the sunset was just starting to tint the sky with color and Kate shifted, turning so the last rays wouldn't be shining directly at her, grimacing a little as she realized she'd become a little stiff and, yes, achy from sitting on the ground for so long. It was so irritating, these constant little reminders of her infirmity.

"Beckett, come here." Castle had stretched his own legs out and was propped up on one hand.

She looked up as Castle gently tugged her hand until she was on the point of tipping over into him and then huffed a little. "Castle."

"Beckett," he parroted her tone before patting his thigh. "I meant, come here."

"You're sure?"

He only gave her a look and after a moment, she gave in and moved to sit on his lap, his arm coming up around her back as she leaned against his broad chest.

The temperature dropped quickly as it got darker and she had brought a sweater for it but curled up against his warmth, she didn't need it.

"Tell me if I get too heavy?" she mumbled against his shoulder.

He scoffed. "No need to insult me, Beckett."

Silly man. She hid a smile against his neck and looped one of her own arms around him while he curled both of his arms around her, resting his head against hers.

They sat in silence as they watched the sunset paint the sky in vivid pinks and oranges and even as the colors started to fade. Around them, they started to hear the first sounds of crickets chirping in their nightly chorus. It was so… peaceful, felt so safe, sitting there in Castle's arms, and she couldn't imagine how she'd ever pushed him away. And now that she knew what it could be like, being with him like this, she had the sense that she would never be able to keep away from him again. This was it for her. He was it for her. One and done.

"You know, I'd never actually been on a picnic until Alexis came along?" he murmured, his quiet words sounding oddly loud after the long silence.

She lifted her head to look at him. He didn't often speak about his early life before becoming a parent, a successful writer. "Really? Not even when you were little, not at all?"

"I grew up in the city and you've met my mother. She's not exactly the outdoorsy type."

She had to smile at the mental image of the usually glamorous Martha dressed for some outdoors trek. "Maybe not but it's a picnic, not exactly climbing Mt. Everest."

"My mother's a redhead so she burns easily and tends to act as if she's allergic to the sun. She's not much of one for al fresco dining to begin with and even so, she prefers having silverware and glassware. It's not very fitting to have a bloody Mary or wine in a plastic cup."

She huffed a laugh. "I suppose not."

"Besides, my mother was almost always busy. Most of my free time growing up was spent backstage in a theatre." He blinked and she saw as he visibly shrugged off the trace of wistfulness. "Had a lot of picnics with Alexis though. She used to love the playground so I'd pick up food and we'd go to a lot of the local playgrounds to play and eat." He made a rueful face. "And I learned my lesson after one time when we ate first and then I let Alexis go on the swings."

"Did she get sick?"

He grimaced. "Yeah, she threw up and then was so mortified, she refused to return to that particular playground for almost a year because she was afraid kids would remember her as the girl who barfed."

Kate sternly bit back a laugh. "I think Alexis would hate knowing you just told me that."

"She would. But I think you can keep a secret."

"For Alexis, I'll try."

He smirked at her. "And you're usually such a blabbermouth?"

"Maybe I've changed," she said seriously, sternly clinging to solemnity.

He gave a crack of laughter that proved contagious and she laughed too as he briefly tightened his arms around her. "Whatever you say, Beckett."

Dusk was coming on rapidly, most of the lights in town already lit, and after a moment, she stirred. "I suppose we'd better head home before it gets too dark."

"You're right, as usual." He brushed his lips briefly across hers and then helped her to get up off his lap and stand up.

Packing up the remains of their dinner took even less time than it had to set out so it was very little time before they were heading back to the cabin, the short drive spent mostly in comfortable silence except for when she needed to direct Castle.

They arrived back at the cabin to see the lights were on inside so her dad must have already returned from having dinner with the Nealans, probably listening to tonight's Mets game on the radio, Kate guessed.

Castle again took charge of the picnic basket and caught her hand in his free one so they meandered back to the cabin hand in hand, neither of them particularly impatient for their date to end.

He shifted his grip on her hand to help her up the few steps of the front porch, as naturally as if there was nothing at all unusual in needing help to go up the stairs. Once on the front porch, he paused and set down the picnic basket before turning to her, reaching out to grip her other hand as well.

It really did feel rather like high school, ending a date knowing her dad was waiting inside. "We made it back in time for my curfew," she quipped, more to prolong the moment than anything else.

"Do you think your dad is peeking at us from the window?" he joked.

His quick smile and his tone were rather distracted and she wondered if he'd had an idea about his writing. She laughed softly. "I doubt it."

As if the reassurance of their privacy was all he needed, he bent and kissed her softly. "This was the perfect date."

His tone made her flush making her glad for the dimness. "I thought it was about time we finally went on a real date."

"It's not just that. No one's ever planned a surprise date for me. Thank you."

No one? How was that possible since Castle must have been on dates with more women than she cared to think about?

He kissed her before she could respond in words and she momentarily forgot her questions and her curiosity in favor of focusing on him, on the taste of him, the feel of his mouth and his tongue and his hands as he drew her closer and she sank into him.

Yes, everything else could wait. This—kissing Castle—was all she wanted or needed right now.

~To be continued…~

A/N 2: I know Castle and Beckett going on an actual date has been a long time coming so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, thank you to all readers and reviewers.