AN: Thank you all for the reviews. It has been a long time since I've written anything, so I'm glad you are enjoying it. I'm sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than the previous one. I have this fic mostly written ( I say mostly cause I'm still going back and forth on whether I like the ending haha) so I will try to post weekly. For those who are questioning why Esposito is captain, it will be explained in a later chapter. Thank you again.

CH2

It was a great first day with Detective Ryan, it really was, but he couldn't get Kate out of his head. He wanted to know more about her. Why did she leave? Is the bakery named after her mother and if so what happened to her mother? Is she seeing anyone? Does she want to be a baker or is she doing this more for her dad? So many questions and he was determined to get the answers.

His mother was coming over for dinner...well with dinner too. She had an audition downtown and wanted to stop by. He hadn't seen his mother in a while, so he accepted the offer. He figured the least he could do was bring dessert with him. And what better place to stop than at Johanna's. This time when he walked into the bakery it was quiet and Kate was the only one behind the counter. It didn't surprise him, since it was close to closing time. He was actually a bit surprised that she was still open considering some bakeries were closed by now. He wasn't complaining though. She looked up from whatever she was writing when she heard the bell ring.

"Twice in one day? I'm guessing everything went well."

"It did. You know, you could have told me you used to be a detective and I was working with your old team."

"I could have, but I figured Ryan would tell you when he saw the box."

"They really miss you over there."

She sighed. "I miss them too….but I can't be a homicide detective anymore."

"Too much death and not enough death by chocolate?"

She rolled her eyes and he thought that was adorable. "No...I...well I got hurt pretty badly….shot actually. It just barely missed my heart. We weren't out on the field, so I wasn't wearing my vest at the time. It took me a while to recover from it, but I don't think my dad has fully. He would have these night terrors and started drinking again while I stayed with him for three months recovering. Thankfully, he has been working on his own recovery and I've dealt with my own issues, but I couldn't go back. I realized I would always want to find the person who tried to kill me and I couldn't put my dad through that again. My mother was murdered and I know he wouldn't survive my death."

"I'm so sorry, for all of it."

"Thank you. Some people understand and some don't as to why I quit, but I want to try to enjoy my life with my dad the best I can….even if that means te never figure out what happened to my mother."

"Your mother was Johanna?"

Kate nodded. "She was. She and I would make breakfast together on Sundays and on Christmas she and I would make cookies. She taught me everything I know about baking and cooking."

"I'm sure she's proud of you."

Kate smiled. "Thank you. Did you want to order something or did you just come in to ask questions?" She wasn't normally this...well this open with people, especially ones that she had just met (well she knew who he was, but just as the author). Maybe it was because she had that comfort of knowing he was working with her old team, her friends. She wasn't sure, but she felt like she could trust him. He was her favorite author too, but she wasn't like this when she met him at a book signing (which obviously he didn't remember).

"Both. My mother is coming over tonight and I need a dessert. I know you're closing up shop soon, but I was seeing if you had maybe a cheesecake or something."

"Strawberry, plain, or chocolate?"

"Strawberry."

She opened the case to take out the full strawberry cheesecake and placed it into the box.

"Did you need anything else?"

"No, but I'll be back tomorrow to pick up some coffee. Until tomorrow, Kate….or do you prefer Beckett?"

"Kate will do just fine, Castle." She couldn't help but slip back into her old ways by calling him by his last name.

He gave her a smile. "Until tomorrow."