What if instead of joint custody Kate had come up with a different idea.
"There is another way we could do this," Kate said with a smile as she beat Rick at roshambo for the third time.
"I was just going to suggest best of seven," Rick admitted with a smile, "But let's hear your idea."
Kate smiled back. She wasn't convinced this was her best idea but she knew that it would be a great evening if she had the nerve to suggest it.
"You said Alexis is away for the weekend," she started. Rick nodded. "I don't want to assume anything," Kate then continued, "But your place is bigger than mine." Rick frowned slightly but didn't say anything. "And I will admit I would love to spend the evening with Royal, he's just so…" She trailed off and glanced towards the conference room where Royal was standing staring out of the door at them. "And I think you're the same," she then said, looking back at Rick.
Rick continued to frown slightly, he really didn't know where this was going.
"How about we all head back to your loft, is that's ok with you," she said in a rush, knowing she needed to get this out quickly or she wouldn't get it out at all, "And I stay in your spare room and we both spend the evening with Royal."
Rick blinked a few times as he digested what had been said and then his face split into a grin. "You know what Beckett," he said animatedly, "That sounds like a great idea."
She smiled at him and then ducked her head to hide the slight blush that was spreading across her cheeks. This was the first time she'd invited herself over to Rick's house and she hadn't been sure that it would be a good idea when she'd thought of it, but seeing the smile on Rick's face made her realise that it was going to be a good evening.
"What time do you think you'll finish up here?" Rick then asked her.
"Um," Kate said, thinking for a moment, "Shouldn't be too much longer."
Rick glanced at his watch and then back at Kate. "How about," he said, still smiling, "I head out now and grab some supplies." He rubbed the back of his head, slightly abashed all of a sudden. "Since I was meant to be on my own I don't really have a lot in." He dropped his hand. "And then when you're done you bring Royal to the loft. That'll give me time to go shopping and then get home and dog proof."
Kate thought for a moment and then nodded. "That sounds like a great idea." She glanced around them and then said, "I'll text you as I'm leaving?"
Rick nodded. "I'll see you in a bit," he then said as he grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and then headed for the elevator. Kate watched him go and then turned to go and let Royal out of the conference room. He greeted her with a wagging tail and she knelt down to scratch his ears for a moment before she turned and headed back to her desk.
She finished up what she needed to get done and then text Rick to let him know that she was done at work and just needed to head home to grab a few things and then she'd be over. As she got into the lift, Royal at her side, her phone buzzed with a reply from Rick. She read it quickly.
Be quick it said, I miss Royal.
She laughed quietly and Royal looked up at her, his head tilted slightly to the side. "It's ok boy," she muttered to him, "Just Castle being Castle."
Royal stared at her for a few more moments before he looked away.
Kate quickly reached her apartment, grabbed a few things and shoved them into a bag before she was back out of the door and heading towards Rick's loft, Royal sticking close to her the whole time. She hailed a cab and gave the driver the address then sat back and for the first time thought about her suggestion to Rick.
Part of her thought that maybe she was making a massive mistake, maybe she should have just kept kicking his ass at roshambo and taken Royal home herself, or maybe done some sort of joint custody thing, something that didn't mean she was going to be spending the evening alone with Richard Castle in his loft.
But the rest of her knew that she was, more likely than not, going to have a great time.
Royal seemed to sense her internal fight because, from where he was sitting in the other footwell, he moved his head and licked her hand. She smiled at him and scratched behind his ears, he leant into her hand and closed his eyes as Kate stared out of the window, watching the city go by.
The cab pulled up in front of Rick's building and Kate quickly paid the driver before she grabbed her bag and got out on the sidewalk, Royal jumping out beside her, his lead firmly in Kate's fist.
"Come on Royal," she then said, tugging the lead slightly and heading towards the front door to Rick's building. She walked in and smiled at the doorman.
"Detective," he greeted.
"Hey Reggie," Kate replied, "How's it going?" She had no idea when she'd gotten to know Rick's doormen, but she knew all of them on sight, and they all knew her.
"It's good Detective." He came out from behind his desk and looked down and saw Royal. "And who's this?" he asked, crouching down and giving Royal an all overhead scratch. "Something to do with a case?"
"Yes," Kate replied, "Couldn't keep him at the precinct overnight so Castle and I are going to spend the evening going over some case files together and Royal is going to be keeping us company." She knew she was stretching the truth a little, but for whatever reason, she didn't want Reggie to know that this was basically just a social call.
"Well have fun ma'am," Reggie said, getting back to his feet and walking back behind his desk, "When Mr Castle came through earlier he had a lot of bags so I'm sure you're in for a treat."
Kate smiled at him but then shook her head as she walked away, what had Rick gone and done now?
She got into the lift, Royal sitting at her feet without even being asked, and pushed the right floor. When the doors opened again she headed down the hallway and stopped at Rick's door. Royal started scratching at it and Kate smiled down at him. "Can you smell Castle?" she asked him in a quiet voice.
"Probably the steak," Rick's voice said, making Kate jump slightly.
Without her noticing, Rick's front door had opened and he was standing there smiling at her.
"Castle," she greeted, covering her momentary surprise well. Or at least she thought she'd covered it well, but going by the slight smirk on Rick's face she hadn't fooled him.
"I hope the steak is for us and not Royal," Kate said, sauntering past Rick and into the loft, Royal tailing along after her.
"Oh there's plenty for all of us," Rick informed her with a smile as he shut the door behind her. "Make yourself comfortable," he then instructed, "Dump your stuff on the stairs and you can take it up later."
Kate nodded and dropped her bag on the stairs and then lent down and unclipped Royal's lead. He immediately began roving around the loft, sniffing at everything.
"Wine Detective?" Rick called from the kitchen.
"Sure," Kate called back. She made her way towards the kitchen and lent against the counter. Rick smiled at her and then passed her a glass of wine, placing his own on the counter.
"How do you like your steak?" Rick then asked her, "The veggies and potatoes are done I just need to do the steaks."
"We could have just ordered in Castle," Kate told him in a tired voice.
"You eat too much take out," Rick informed her, "And I had to go shopping for stuff for Royal so we're having steak."
"What did you get for Royal?" Kate asked him.
"Well I did say we're all having steak," Rick told her with a slightly chagrined smile.
Kate rolled her eyes but just let it slide. She took a sip of her drink. "Medium rare please chef," she then told him.
He smiled at her. "Perfect," he said, "It'll be a few minutes and then we can eat."
-/-
The two of them had a nice meal together, sitting at the counter, drinking wine, and watching as Royal chased around the loft some electric toy that Rick had brought him.
The whole meal had given Kate a very domestic feeling but she had ignored the tiny thrill of panic that had risen up her spine at that thought and had just enjoyed the evening.
Rick noticed that she seemed really relaxed but didn't comment, just enjoyed her company.
After the meal they feed Royal and Kate shook her head as Rick cut up the third steak and stuck it in a bowl on the floor, but otherwise didn't comment. Royal wolfed it down and really seemed to enjoy it. Once he was done he sat in front of the sofa, alternating between staring at Rick and Kate.
"I think he wants to be invited up," Rick commented in the low voice.
Kate nodded but didn't say anything. She wasn't sure if she'd let the dog on the furniture in her place, although she suspected she would say no to begin with then fold and let him up, but this wasn't her place, it was Rick's, and therefore it was his choice on whether the dog could come up or not.
Kate knew though, that Rick was going to be even more of a pushover than her. No sooner had she had that thought than Rick had patted the sofa beside him and Royal had jumped up. The dog got comfortable in the space between them and each of them reached out and started to stroke him. Royal almost immediately flipped over and exposed his belly to them. They both laughed and started to scratch him all over while Royal let his head roll off the edge of the sofa and his tongue droop out.
"Do you fancy a movie or something Beckett?" Rick asked her, "It's still early."
Kate nodded.
"I think if we move his highness will kick up a fuss," Rick then said, "So how about Netflix? That way we don't have to move."
"Sure," Kate replied, her attention more on Royal than anything else.
Rick lent forward and snagged the TV remote and quickly brought up Netflix. "What you in the mood for?" he then asked her.
"Something fun," Kate answered quickly.
Rick glanced between Royal, Kate, and the TV and suddenly had an idea. He smiled to himself as he typed in the movie and was glad to see that it was available to watch. He pressed play and then shifted around a bit till he was more comfortable, earning a reproachful look from Royal for his troubles.
Kate laughed at the look and then turned her attention to the TV. She frowned for a few moments before the title screen played and then she looked at Rick and shook his head. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua, really Castle?"
Rick shrugged. "Just sit back and watch," he told her, "Would you like a top-up or movie snacks?"
Kate shook her head and the two of them settled down to watch the movie.
Partway through Rick got up to go and grab the open bottle of wine that he'd left in the kitchen. Royal had huffed at him for the disturbance but had obviously gotten over it pretty quickly as when Rick came back Royal had taken over the seat that Rick had vacated, although his head was on Kate's lap.
"I swear to god that that dog is giving me a smug look," Rick said, topping up Kate's glass and then his own.
Kate paused the movie and looked down at Royal who rolled his eyes to look back at her but otherwise didn't move. "I think he's comfortable," she commented, she scratched Royal's head and he shut his eyes.
"Good for him," Rick said in a huff, "But he's taken my seat."
Kate looked between Rick and Royal and then shrugged. "I don't think he wants to move Castle," she said, "And I'm also very comfortable."
Rick scowled at her. "And in my own house too," he muttered.
Kate just smiled at him and then shifted in her seat just a little. Royal opened his eyes but then closed them again, leaving his head on Kate's lap. "There's space here," she said, patting the seat on the other side of her, "And provided you leave your ego behind there should be plenty of room."
Rick rolled his eyes but sat down next to her. He was closer to Kate than he had been, their legs almost touching, and he could feel the warmth radiating off her.
"Shall we continue with the movie?" Rick asked.
Kate nodded and Rick pressed play.
As they watched Kate drifted even closer to Rick until she was leaning against him. Rick sat frozen for a moment before he relaxed and put an arm around her shoulder. Kate shifted again so that even more of her weight was against Rick, and Royal shifted so that his head was now on Rick's lap with his upper body of Kate's.
Kate felt herself dozing off and let it happen, she was comfortable and warm. Between Rick and Royal, she felt really content and happy. A soft smile graced her lips as she fell asleep, snuggled up with Rick.