AN: As always, thank you for your kind reviews.

CH12

He knew that these past few days had been hectic (which didn't even seem to be close to describing it) for her. He insisted that she come to the loft, where she could relax in the jacuzzi tub, he could cook her dinner, and just not be alone with her thoughts tonight (especially ones of a certain senator). She accepted but needed to stop at her apartment to grab a few things.

Once they were at the loft, he ran her a bath, provided her with a glass of wine, and told her to call out if she needed anything. He looked to see what he had in the fridge that screamed comfort food. He took out the cheese, butter, and milk, knowing that mac and cheese was a good go-to.

He was about to grab the flour when he heard the familiar sound of a key unlocking the front door. His eyes went to the front door and was surprised to see his daughter and mother there. "Alexis?! Mother?"

The pair of red hairs smiled at him. "Surprise! I picked her up from the airport. She wanted to surprise you for Father's Day."

Shit, he didn't even realize…and oh no….Kate was in his bathtub, trying to relax. This was not how he wanted them to meet his new girlfriend.

"Dad, you okay?"

"Fine, Pumpkin. I'm….just surprised." And most likely dead once Kate comes out and sees that their night alone was no longer that. "I was just about to start dinner. Did you eat?"

"Grams and I stopped for pizza. You can't get New York pizza at Stanford. One of the downsides of living in California, and of course not seeing you and Grams as much."

As much as he missed his daughter, he was glad that she was spreading her wings and finding what she wanted to do in life. He remembered the day she sat him down for a talk and told him she wanted to spend her summers with her mother. To not only work on their relationship, but to see the beauty of the west coast…and Stanford. Her heart was set on it since she was ten and he couldn't say no to his 13-year-old daughter for wanting to spend time with her mother.

It gave him time to travel too. It seemed to help his writer's block, but it was only temporary since it would always come back once a new book was written. That was until he met Kate. It seemed lately he couldn't stop writing. Which reminded him….

"As much as I love that you're both here….I…well…there's someone else here."

They both looked around the room and saw that there was no one else around. "Richard, what are you talking about?"

"She's in the other room at the moment. She's…my girlfriend….Kate…well she's a homicide detective and today was a bad day. So she might not be her charming self. Hence my favorite mac and cheese."

"Kate's here?" Alexis wasn't expecting that.

"Darling, is this Kate from the bakery?"

"Yea, that's her."

"So she bakes and knows how to handle a gun?"

"Do me a favor, Pumpkin, can you start the cheese sauce once you're settled in? Mother, boil water if you think you can manage that without burning the loft down. I'm just going to go in and give her a heads up, so she's not surprised."

Castle headed into his bedroom and to the bathroom where he saw the glow of the candles he lit for her coming from underneath the door. He knocked, giving her a heads up, before entering. She looked more at ease, with her head resting against the bath pillow, her eyes closed….and he was about to take that from her. He knelt by the bath before she spoke.

"Everything okay with dinner?" She opened her eyes and looked over at him. She saw the expression on his face. "Castle, what's going on?"

"Well….it might not just be us for dinner and when I say might, it's definitely not just us." She looked confused. "My daughter is here and so is my mother." She moved, so she was no longer lounging. "She surprised me for Father's Day." He saw that she wasn't as stiff, knowing he wasn't bringing her over to meet his family for the first time. "I can tell them to go if you're not ready to meet them. Trust me, this is not how I pictured you meeting them. I was hoping you'd never meet my mother."

She gave him a playful glare for that one. "Thank you for the offer, but I'll be okay. The bath helped and if anything it might help in taking my mind off of things."

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "You're the strongest woman I know, Kate Beckett. Thank you. I'll meet you out there when you're ready." He exited the bathroom and made sure that Kate's bag was in the room. He also placed his robe onto the bed, just in case she felt the need to cover up more so, before heading back into the kitchen.

"Everything alright, darling?"

"She's just finishing up. She should be out soon." He went over to the stove, playfully moving Alexis out of the way. "Thank you for your supervision and making sure Grams didn't burn down the place."

Alexis moved to pour her dad and her grandmother a glass of wine. "Does Kate like wine?"

"She has a glass, but I'm sure she'll appreciate the refill."

It wasn't long before the mac and cheese was done and Kate was walking out of his office. Castle saw her first and smiled. She chose not to wear his robe, but she was in an oversized shirt and some yoga pants paired with some slippers. Her hair was up and she looked comfortable. "Hey."

She walked over to him and she returned his smile. "Hey." She turned her attention to the two women that were sitting at the barstools. Before she could say anything else, Martha beat her to it.

"You were on the news today. You're the detective that saved the senator."

Kate tried to brush it off. "Yea, that was me. Your son helped me save him." She wasn't sure how they were going to react to knowing that their loved one was in danger. She wasn't sure how much they knew about Castle shadowing her either. She looked over to Alexis. "You must be Alexis. It's nice to finally meet you. Castle has told me about how you attend Stanford. I loved it there."

Her eyes lit up. "You went to Stanford?"

"For a little bit. I…well I had to come back to New York before I was able to graduate, so I finished my degree at NYU."

They discussed Alexis's job, Martha's new show, how Rick's new book was coming along, and what Kate's life was like as a homicide detective and the bakery over dinner. It might not have been the ideal day for Kate to meet his family, but Castle was thrilled that they were getting to know each other and getting along. It also did seem to help Kate forget about the past few days. He noticed that she seemed more relaxed and she was smiling, one of his favorite sights to see.

Alexis excused herself for the night after Martha had left to return to her apartment, leaving the couple to themselves. They had made their way to the sofa, not ready to call it a night yet. He had his one arm wrapped around her and she leaned into him so she could rest comfortably against him.

"Thank you again for dinner. It helped."

"Even with my mother and Alexis here?"

"Actually, it helped that they were here. I expected tonight to be…well trying to convince myself that what I'm doing is right and not looking into Bracken, maybe a few tears, and possibly a fight if I hadn't convinced myself." She made sure to look at him when she spoke her following words. "But being with your family tonight, I don't remember the last time I had a family dinner. My dad and I have always met at a diner and we don't really celebrate the holidays anymore. When I was recovering from my shooting, he was battling his own demons. It reminded me that my life can still be good even if I can't put my mother's case to rest. I can still do what I love, live my life, and still honor my mother. Besides…now it's not just about me and my dad. I have you and your family to think about. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I dove back in and put you all in danger. If Bracken is behind this, he's seen us. He might not know we're romantically involved, but he knows you're my partner and I can't…"

He saw her eyes, starting to water, and moved his hand to cup the side of her face. "I know."