New chapter, hope you like it. I've got a few ideas so I'm hoping there will be more chapters in the future. If anyone has any ideas, or something they'd like to see, let me know.

What if Lanie had gotten Kate a second date even after she walked out on Brad.

"So I know you're annoyed about me walking out on Brad," Kate said as she walked into the morgue, "But it all ended up ok in the end, he was getting to know number three so I'm pretty sure he's ok with it."

Lanie glared at Kate. "That took me a lot of setting up," she groused.

"But..." Kate prompted.

"But yeah you're right, he was happy with number three," Lanie admitted, "But that's beside the point. I set you up with a great guy and you were too busy with Castle to stick around long enough to get to know him."

"I was working Lanie," Kate pointed out.

"Mmhmm," Lanie muttered, "Course you were."

"Lanie!" Kate exclaimed, "We were working, and we solved the case, that was it."

Lanie just looked at her until Kate started to squirm. "So what did you come down here for?" Lanie asked eventually, giving Kate a reprieve.

"I was kind of hoping you might be able to set me up again," Kate said in a quiet voice, refusing to look Lanie in the eye as she spoke.

Lanie narrowed her eyes then smiled as a thought came to her. "Sure," she said, "I'll see what I can do but on one condition."

"Ok..." Kate said, wondering where Lanie was going with this.

"It's a blind date," Lanie stated.

Kate frowned. "I'm not so sure about that Lanie."

"Oh have a sense of adventure Kate," Lanie said, "It'll be fun."

"Ok fine," Kate accepted after a moment.

Lanie smiled at her. "Right then, get going, I've got a magic wand to wave to get all this sorted. I'll text you the details."

Kate blinked a few times at the sudden dismissal but then turned and left. Once she was out of the room Lanie pulled out her phone and dialled. "Hi," she said when the person on the other end picked up, "I need a favour."

Kate read through the text again. "Dinner is at seven-thirty tomorrow evening. A car will pick you up and take you there. Dress nice." She'd tried to push for more information but Lanie hadn't budged, she'd been particularly smug and closed mouth about the whole situation. Sighing she put her phone down and looked herself up and down in the mirror one more time before she took a picture and sent it to Lanie. Is this appropriate? She text alongside.

You look great Kate Lanie text back You're going to have a fantastic evening. Just promise me one thing.

Ok Kate text back, feeling a little apprehensive.

Just stay for the evening and have fun, don't leave early.

Now slightly concerned Kate text back that she wouldn't leave without giving the guy a chance. She knew that Lanie wouldn't set her up with anyone dangerous or anything like that but the text had made her wonder.

All thoughts were then pushed from her mind as there was a knock at the door. She pushed her phone into her clutch then went to the door and opened it.

"Car for Kate Beckett," the man at the door said.

"That's me," Kate answered as she grabbed her jacket and pulled it on, "Just let me lock up and we can head down."

The driver took a step to the side and then led the way out of Kate's building and to the curb. He opened the door to the waiting town car and Kate slid in.

"So where are we going?" Kate asked as the driver got in.

"I've been told to keep that a secret ma'am," the driver answered.

Kate frowned again. Lanie had a lot to answer to, but then again Kate had messed up with Brad so she supposed she deserved this. Rather than overthink it she sat back and just relaxed, letting the driver take her wherever he would take her. She watched the lights of the city through the window, wondering what Lanie had planned for her.

They pulled up behind a restaurant and Kate frowned. "Why are we in the loading dock?" she asked the driver.

"Orders ma'am," the driver answered, "I was told to pull up around the back for privacy reasons."

"Ok." Kate drew out the word. What on earth had Lanie done.

She waited for the driver to walk round to open her door before she got out, checking to make sure that no one was there in case there was something weird going on, but the bay was empty.

"This way ma'am," the driver invited, gesturing her towards the door.

Kate walked towards it and then, after looking back at the driver who smiled and nodded, she walked through the door. It was dimly lit inside and it took Kate's eyes a moment to adjust but then she found herself in a corridor that she followed through to a room that was set up with a candlelit table for two.

Looking around she couldn't see anyone and she was about to pull out her phone to text Lanie asking what the hell when she heard a noise behind her and then a voice say, in a very confused tone, "Beckett?"

She spun around and saw Rick standing there, holding a bottle of wine.

"Castle?" she asked, "The hell?"

"Lanie wanted me to meet a friend of hers," Rick explained as he walked past her and put the wine on the table, "Said she was a massive fan and that she'd love to meet me. Then she said that if I wined and dined her friend she'd help me go through a load of old autopsies to help me come up with some story ideas and to make sure that they were all fleshed out and actually possible." He paused for a moment. "But she never told me it was you."

He looked back at Kate. "Do you want to sit?" he offered, gesturing to the second chair.

Kate thought for a moment then remembered what Lanie's text had said about just going with it so she took a deep breath and then nodded, "Sure Castle."

She walked over to the table and then laughed as Rick pulled the seat out for her. "Such a gentleman," she teased.

Rick bowed his head slightly before he walked around the table and sat himself down.

"So you've explained how Lanie got you to do this," Kate said conversationally, "But why is this in a private room? Was that part of the deal as well?"

"It was yeah," Rick said, picking up the wine and offering some to Kate. She nodded as Rick continued. "Lanie said that the person I was meeting wouldn't want to be all over the press so she'd throw in an expert eye on some really old case files from the archives."

"Well she was right about one thing," Kate said as she picked up her wine and took a drink.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I really wouldn't have liked for this to end up all over the press," Kate said, "They already think you've got a thing for me already Mr number nine."

Rick inhaled his drink in shock then coughed a few times before he started to try and apologise but Kate just waved him away and laughed. "It's fine Castle," she said, "I was only teasing."

Rick smiled back at her. "So how did Lanie get you to do this?" he asked.

Kate thought about lying, saying that Lanie had tricked her into it, but then decided against it. "I asked her to set me up with someone," she admitted, "After I left Brad the other night I honestly thought she'd say no but here we are."

Rick blinked a few times. "Set you up as in on a date?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kate said, looking down at her drink as she spoke, her voice quiet.

Rick was silent for a few moments and Kate looked up at him to see if she could work out where his head was at. She was meet by the sight of Rick looking at her with a slightly sideways head as if he was trying to work something out.

Taking a breath Kate decided to be brave. "So," she said, "Since there's no murder case today to distract us did you want to order something to eat? Hopefully, the portion sizes here are bigger than at Drago."

"They are," Rick assured her, a smile breaking onto his face, "And it's my treat so order whatever you want, that was part of Lanie's deal." He paused then added on in a quieter voice, not sure if this was pushing it too far, "And this is after all a date."

Kate smiled at him. "That it is," she agreed, "And it seems only fair that I spend some of the money that you've earned off of me."

Rick laughed and handed her a menu.

The rest of the evening they sat and talked and laughed and ate, Kate refusing to overthink anything, and really enjoying herself.

After a dessert, Rick got to his feet and offered Kate an arm. "Shall we?" he asked, "I can get the car to drop you back to your apartment if you want."

Kate bit her lip for a second before she nodded. "Sounds like a good idea," she said, "But don't you need to settle up here first?"

"Oh no," Rick said, "I know the owner, which is why I picked here in the first place, he's very discrete, and he'll send me the bill later."

"Oh you know the guy do you," Kate laughed as she let Rick help her put her jacket back on.

Rich laughed along with her. He then offered her his arm. She hesitated for a fraction of a second before taking it.

"I forgot to say earlier, with the shock of seeing you walk through the door and all," Rick said as they headed back down the corridor that Kate had come in through earlier, "But you look amazing tonight Kate."

"Thank you," Kate said, "You don't look so bad yourself Rick."

At some point in the evening, they'd started calling each other by name rather than by surname like they usually did, but neither had said anything, they'd just gone with the flow.

They reached the loading bay and the car was there waiting for them. "He hasn't been waiting all night has he?" Kate asked.

"Of course not," Rick said. He held up his phone, "I texted the driver as we were finishing up."

"Sneaky," Kate said, "I never noticed you texting at all."

Rick winked and smiled at her. "Your chariot," he said with a flourish as he opened the door for her.

Kate laughed and swatted at him but got into the car. Rick shut the door behind her and then ran round to get into the other side.

"So where to?" the driver asked,

"Back to Kate's apartment please," Rick instructed.

"Of course sir," the driver said. The car pulled out and started driving back along the route that Kate had taken earlier that night.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before they started chatting again as they had been around the table, and soon they were laughing.

They pulled up in front of Kate's apartment and the car stopped. The two fell silent again looking at each other.

"So," Kate said nervously, "Would you like to come up for a nightcap?" She wasn't sure where that had come from but she didn't want this night to end just yet.

"Sure," Rick said, "If you're sure."

Kate nodded and got out of the car, Rick following after her. "Give me a second," he said as he went to the driver. After a few quick words, Rick stepped back and the car drove off.

"Shall we?" Kate asked, offering Rick her arm.

Rick took it and the two-headed up to Kate's apartment.

"Make yourself comfortable," Kate invited, "I've got a bunch of messages from Lanie that I need to go through before she starts freaking out."

"Sure," Rick said, "Where's your wine and glasses?"

"Kitchen," Kate said, pointing him in the right direction.

Rick headed to grab some glasses and then started perusing her wine collection. Kate headed into her room and dropped her jacket before she headed to the toilet to freshen up. She then read the multitude of messages that Lanie had sent her at various points in the evening.

Just got home she texted And you and I are going to have a long chat tomorrow about what is appropriate to do with work colleagues.

Told you you'd have fun Was all Lanie text back.

Kate rolled her eyes and then went back out to meet Rick, who was waiting for her holding two glasses of wine, one in each hand. He offered one to her and then stood awkwardly. "I meant it," Kate said, as she toed her shoes off, "Make yourself comfortable."

Rick smiled at her, put his glass of wine down so he could take his jacket off he then looked down at his feet. "Go for it," she said.

He knelt down, untied his shoes, and then toed them off. He then wiggled his toes and dug them into the carpet.

"Nice socks Rick," Kate laughed, seeing the smiley faces on the end of his socks.

"Thanks," Rick said as he continued to wiggle his toes.

Kate passed him his wine again and then took a seat on the sofa, curling her feet up under her as she did so.

Rick looked around the apartment. This was the first time he'd gotten this good of a look into the life of Kate Beckett outside of the precinct. "You look like a kid in a candy store who's been told he can have anything he wants," Kate said with a giggle, "Help yourself, but the bedroom is off-limits."

Rick smiled at her and then headed off towards her bookcase. Kate just shook her head and then drank some more of her wine. Any other day she'd have been freaking out about what was happening here but right now she was just happy to go wherever this evening would take her.

"Nice choice in books," Rick called from the bookshelf, "You really are a fan aren't you."

"What can I say," Kate called back, "He's a pretty good writer." She got up and walked over to where Rick was studying her bookshelf, running his hand up and down the Richard Castle collection she had. "And then I meet him."

"Yeah?" Rick said, keeping his back to her as he carried on looking at her books, "And what did you think of him?"

"I mean to begin with I wasn't too sure about him," Kate said slowly, "But then he grew on me, a bit like a fungus really, but now I wouldn't know what to do without him."

"Oh?" Rick said, now turning to face her. He was a bit surprised by how close she was but when she didn't move away he decided to go with it.

"Yeah," Kate said, "James Patterson is a really nice guy."

"Oh you wound me," Rick said theatrically as he grabbed his chest in mock distress.

"But there is this other guy," Kate said. She had no idea if it was the wine making her brave or something else but she took a step closer, nearly touching Rick chest to chest. "Richard Castle, he's pretty special."

She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard. She sucked on her lip for a moment, before she licked her lips. Her gaze drifted from Rick's eyes to his lips then back to his eyes. Rick swallowed hard again and also licked his lips.

The two of them stood staring at each other for a long time before they both closed their eyes and moved in close.

Kate sat up in bed when there was a knock at the door. Her eyes went wide when she saw that Rick was lying next to her. Whoever was at the door knocked again, much louder this time, and it woke Rick up.

"Morning," he said as he sat up.

"Morning," Kate replied.

Rick blinked a few times as he woke up properly and realised where he was. "Kate," he said, "Um hi."

"Hi," Kate said with a smile.

There was another loud knock at the door. "Who's that?" Rick asked.

"I don't know," Kate answered as she got out of bed and pulled on a robe, "But they sound pretty insistent. I better go and check before they try and break the door down."

"Ok," Rick said, "Do you want me to get up and come with you or is it ok if I stay here for a bit longer? I'm pretty tired."

Kate giggled, then blushed, then left the room as the knocking got really loud.

"I'm coming already," she called, "Keep your damn pants on."

"Maybe you should have taken your own advice there Kate," Lanie said as she opened the door. Lanie looked her up and down. "Late night?" she teased.

"Not the time Lanie," Kate said, suddenly very aware that Rick was lying in her bed completely naked, and if Lanie found that out Kate would never hear the end of it. She hoped with all her being that Rick would stay quiet and wouldn't blow her little secret. She tied her robe a little tighter.

"Oh?" Lanie asked, pushing her way in, "Do you have company?"

"No Lanie," Kate lied quickly, "But it's my day off and I had plans for a lazy day. You're kinda ruining that."

"I'd be upset if I didn't know you as well as I do," Lanie said, "But I know you're not trying to be mean."

Lanie's eagle eyes scanned the room and seeing the two wine glasses she made a beeline for them. She looked at them pointedly and then looked at Kate with raised eyebrows.

"He came up for a drink and then went home," Kate said, "We had a nice evening." She rolled her eyes at Lanie's smug smirk at her last statement. "But he needed to get home to Alexis so we called it a night and he took a cab home about fifteen minutes after I texted you."

Lanie narrowed her eyes. "So why didn't you answer the door when I knocked the first time."

"Because I was asleep," Kate said, as she picked up the glasses and moved them to the kitchen. "It's been a busy week and I was sleeping in."

Lanie kept a suspicious look on her face but nodded. "Sure." She then looked around the apartment and Kate was so glad she'd kicked Rick's shoes under the sofa the night before when things had gotten a bit heated, she had wanted to make sure no one would trip. Everything else of Rick's, and Rick himself, were currently safely hidden in her bedroom.

"Thanks for checking in on me," Kate then said to Lanie, "But I need to get showered and dressed and get some things done. I'll catch up with you tomorrow or next week ok."

Lanie looked around the apartment again before she shrugged. "Sure thing Kate, but I want all the details ok."

"Sure Lanie," Kate accepted. She then showed her friend to the door.

Lanie walked out but then turned just as Kate went to shut it. "Told you you'd have fun."

"Shut up Lanie," Kate laughed as she shut the door on her friend.

She lent her head against it for a moment, glad she'd gotten away with it, at least for now, then turned and headed back towards the bedroom.

"Rick?" she called as she walked in and didn't see him.

"Under here," Rick called from under the bed.

"What on earth are you doing under there?" Kate laughed as she crouched down and moved the duvet so she could see Rick.

"I heard Lanie," Rick explained as he crawled backwards out from under the bed, "And since I then heard you deny that anyone was here I thought I better hide just in case."

He stood up and Kate straightened her back. "I'd ask if you were ashamed of me and what happened last night but I don't think I want to know the answer to that question," Rick said as he found his boxers and pulled them on.

"I'm not ashamed of you Rick," Kate quickly assured him, "Or of what we did. I just really didn't want Lanie to know what had happened, she would have been insufferable."

Rick stopped pulling his pants on, one leg in one leg out, and looked at Kate. "So you're not upset or anything about what happened last night?"

"No," Kate exclaimed quickly, "I don't regret a single part of it. Do you?"

"No," Rick answered quickly, "I had a great time."

"Glad to hear it," Kate said.

The pair of them stood in awkward silence for a few seconds then Kate laughed. "So…" she said, "What do you want to do with this? One time thing or…"

She left it hanging, giving Rick a chance to fill in.

"I'd like for this to become more permanent if possible," Rick said quietly, "But we both need to agree on that."

"I'd be happy with that," Kate said with a smile, "But maybe just keep it quiet for the time being? I really don't want to be all over the paper."

Rick nodded in agreement. "I can live with that. How about Alexis, my mother, the guys, and Lanie."

The two of them moved back to sit on the bed, leaning up against the headboard side by side, Rick dropping his pants back onto the floor. "Well I'm not going to stop you telling your family," Kate said, "But maybe the guys and Lanie can wait. See how this goes."

"I like the sound of that."

Kate smiled at him. "So, we're really doing this then?" she asked, leaning against his chest.

"We really are," Rick agreed, kissing the top of her head.

Kate twisted her neck and caught Rick's lips with her own. "Too many clothes Mr Writer," she muttered.

Rick laughed and then started helping Kate out of her robe while she made a start on his boxers.