Hello my little dumplings. It's been a whole two weeks since I've posted anything here and I've missed you all dearly. I'm back with a multi-chapter story.

I'm hoping for consistent updates (the goal is to finish this story before Season Six starts) so here goes nothing. I'll see you all soon! All my love.

Don't forget to check out madamewriterofwrongs .blogspot .com for more writing from the Madame.

Anyways, here you are (and PLEASE review). Oh, and follow me on twitter vatrask

Enjoy 3


She loved early mornings in the loft. It was quiet. There wasn't an overdramatic diva barreling through with helpful, if not unwarranted, advice; no teenager whom she loved dearly but liked to drop by unannounced when she least expected.

Sometimes there wasn't even an annoying writer to bother her with questions and kisses. Now it was just her: the permanent houseguest, making coffee at six-thirty in the morning, soaking in the silence before the world fell down around her and she had to step out into the world of murder, mayhem and destruction. Kate Beckett smiled when she felt a pair of warm hands coming around her waist, pepping kisses down the side of her neck. Okay, so she didn't mind being bothered with kisses.

"Morning."

"Mm, morning," she hummed, keeping her eyes on the spoon stirring two cups of coffee as her boyfriend wrapped himself around her, minty fresh breath telling her he'd brushed especially for her.

"You were up early."

She turned in his arms, pressing into the countertop as she passed him his steaming cup of coffee – complete with nutmeg. "Did you even sleep? You were up pretty late writing?"

They sipped in unison before simultaneously placing the cup on the counter behind her. "I came to bed. Eventually. Your alter ego was being particularly feisty."

"Mm, should I be jealous of all the time you've been spending with Nikki?" She emphasized the consonants with a roll of her tongue and a flick of her toes against the muscles of his calf as he stood between her legs. His eyes travelled down her body with obvious approval, lingering on the loose, worn, thin sleep shirt and matching shorts; on the way her leg was slowly wrapping around his in his distraction.

"Not at all. I'm always thinking about you."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the smile. "That is such a line."

"Yes. Yes it is." He planted his hands on the counter behind her. "And you still want to kiss me." She rolled her eyes but her smile was captured by his lips, soft and minty sweet. She kept her hands at her sides, portraying all the love and happiness with just a tilt of her chin and the pressure of her lips. He pulled back just enough that they were breathing the same air. "Have you thought about my offer?"

"I have." She opened her eyes full of playfulness and laughter. "And my answer is no. You are not taking my dad on a hunting trip to 'bond'."

He sunk down, slumping his shoulders and pouting in that ridiculously adorable way that she'd never admit. "Oh come on."

"Rick," she reached up a hand to his cheek, caressing his light stubble. "I know you want to be closer to my dad but do you really want to give him a rifle in the middle of the woods when you tell him that you want to take his little girl away from him?"

He paled and she wanted to double over in laughter. "Fair enough."

"Besides, we said we weren't going to make any decisions right away. Bonding is fine but let's wait until the whole job thing has died down before I put the ring on, okay?" He nodded, brightening at the fact that she'd finally stopped saying "ring" like it was a pressure-filled possibility and more like an inevitability. "Besides, he's not really the hunting type. If you want to bond, take him to a baseball game."

"I can totally arrange that. I'm not much of a hunter anyways."

"Oh thank god," she laughed as she searched for her ringing phone on the counter opposite them "because the thought of you with a gun?" She made a twisted, cringing face and he pounced just as she accepted the call. "Beckett." She slapped a hand over her boyfriend's mouth as he tried to comment, winking to calm him down. "Uh huh…okay…we'll be there. Thanks." She released his mouth to replace it with her lips in a quick kiss as she grabbed her coffee cup and headed back to the bedroom, swinging her hips just for him. "That was Ryan, we have a body." He watched her leave with a Cheshire grin before grabbing his coffee and softly running after her to help her get dressed.