Roy nods. "Officer Beckett, this is Richard Castle." He pauses, then adds, "the author."

Kate lifts her eyes heavenward, but Castle is still smiling. "We know each other," he assures Montgomery. Officer Beckett-" he waggles his eyebrows, and Kate blushes scarlet- "and I had the opportunity to meet several weeks ago." He turns back to Kate. "Your Captain and I have played poker a few times."


After the ridiculous news that her boss was acquainted with her- whatever he was- Beckett had taken Castle's statement. He'd shown himself out of the precinct with minimal fuss and she'd been amazed by how quietly and quickly he was going, until he reminded her that he needed to pick Alexis up from school. For what it was worth, he was a great father.

Kate glances at her watch. Her shift will be over in a few short hours.

"Come round for dinner tonight?" he asks.

She hesitates. "Will Alexis be okay with that? Seeing me again so soon?"

He nods. "I can't see why not. She likes you, you know."


Rick's still shaken by the turn of events at the bar and he swoops on Alexis and hugs her tighter than usual at the school gate.

"Dad!" she complains wriggling out of his grip. "Not here!"

He chuckles, ruffles her hair as they start walking together. "Sweetie, is it okay with you if Kate comes over for dinner again?"

"Will she stay the night again?"

Damn. Does nothing get past this kid? "You- uh- you know she stayed the night?"

She nods, eying him sideways, knowingly. "Uh-huh. I saw her leave this morning."

"How do you feel about her staying the night, Alexis?"

She shrugs. "I don't know?"

"It's okay if you don't know. I don't think Kate or I know either, because it's pretty new. So let's just take it one day at a time, huh?"

"What if she doesn't like me? Lauren at school said her Mom's boyfriend doesn't much like her."

"Alexis, I think Kate likes you a lot."

She looks at him slyly. "What are we cooking Kate for dinner?"

"So you're happy for her to come over?" He loves his daughter, has to trust that she's okay with this if she says she is.

"Only if you play laser tag with me first."

"Deal!" He offers his daughter a high five and she laughs, skipping ahead.

"But Dad? If you want to try and beat me at laser tag and cook dinner for your girlfriend? You have to get home faster." She takes off at a run and he jogs after her.


By the time Beckett actually gets out of the precinct it's getting dark, so she calls Castle.

"Castle," he answers, a smile in his voice.

She can't help but smile back. "Hey… anything you need me to bring?"

"Like… what? You?" She grins. Damn. She's got it bad if a sentence that simple can get to her.

"I'll be a bit, is that okay? I have to stop by my place."

He assures her there's no rush, so she heads home to change.

When she gets to her place she takes a moment to look around. She loves her apartment, irrationally misses it. She was here yesterday, but just like this, to get changed and go. It's always been such a safe place, she's lived here since she moved out of the NYU dorms. For just a second she thinks about calling Rick, cancelling. Not because she doesn't want to see him- God, she does. But she wants him here. Could she ask him to come over here, instead? Kate thinks she probably could, if Alexis wasn't in the picture. Her eyes fall on the empty wall. She's still looking for something to fill it. She wants something bold, large. But now is not the moment to contemplate art. What she needs to contemplate right now is the way that things seem to be moving fast- very fast- with Castle. He has a daughter, and that's not something she's ever had to deal with before. What if she does mess it all up?

Pushing it out of her mind, she showers. She feels better the instant the water hits her skin, washing off the day. It had started so well, but she hates that Rick saw her in danger like that. And in that dress. Kate doesn't know what's worse. She rolls her eyes at herself as she gets out of the shower and dries off, choosing jeans and a casual shirt. She throws her uniform into the growing basket of dirty laundry in the bathroom, promising herself she'll find some time to do washing over the weekend.


Dinner itself is a calm affair. Rick's made pasta with bolognese sauce- comfort food, he assures her, a nod to the day they've had, to which Alexis is blissfully oblivious. Alexis, for her part, is quiet, staring up at Kate any time she thinks Kate isn't looking, but none of the moodiness from the previous day is there. In fact, she seems to want to impress Kate, assuring the officer that she helped with both the pasta and the salad.

Rick keeps touching her knee under the table. He's been like that since she arrived, finding ways to touch her. She isn't complaining, but she needs more, wants to abandon dinner for the bedroom. She resorts to letting her fingers linger on his when she passes him the salt, regretfully meeting his eyes with a knowing smile.

It's after dinner, when Rick is upstairs tucking Alexis in- Alexis had wished Kate a goodnight, and told her she would see her in the morning, very matter of factly- that Kate's phone rings.

"Beckett."

"Katie… Hi."

"Dad." She takes a deep breath. "How are you, Dad?"

"Good, Katie, I'm good."

"I'm glad." Kate doesn't know what to say, never knows what to say.

"Actually." Her father clears his throat. "Actually, I've got some news. I'm cleaning up, Katie."

She closes her eyes. He's said this before, so many times. She wants to believe that this time it's for real. Being the daughter of a living corpse is tiring, and she's struck by a bout of longing. Not for her mother, or her father, but for herself. Her father calls her Katie, and she misses that. Misses being Katie. It's like three people died that day, not just one. "I'm glad, Dad," she finds herself whispering.

"What's your weekend looking like, Katie? Maybe we can have breakfast tomorrow, or dinner if you're working early?"

"That would be nice." The last few times she's seen him he's been a mess. "I'm working tomorrow afternoon, so how about in the morning, around ten?"

"Sure, Katie. That place near your apartment?" She agrees, since she's not going to tell him that she'll be waking up in a different neighbourhood, and hangs up.

Kate opens her eyes to find Rick standing at the base of the stairs, watching her.

"Are you okay?"

She nods. "My dad." She bites her lip. "Let's not talk about it." She stands up and walks over to him. He pulls her into his arms and as she returns the hug, all she can think is at last. She'd held off giving him anything more than a kiss on the cheek as she'd come in the front door, out of deference to Alexis. The physical relief of being in his arms is palpable and she lets out a breath she hadn't known she was holding as she lets him lead her to the bedroom.


They're lying in each other's arms, and Rick's tracing circles on her bare shoulders. "Did you figure out what happened this morning in the bar?"

"Apart from the fact Hunter thinks I bring my boyfriend to work with me?"

"Ha! Boyfriend. You said it, Beckett!" He's smirking, and Kate rolls her eyes.

"That aside, no. I mean, we got a bit out of the guy, and it wasn't random, he knew there were cops in the bar, but he's claiming no knowledge of a prostitution ring."

"Does that mean you have to go back in? Undercover, I mean?"

"What, I'm lying here with not a stitch on, and you still want to see me in that excuse for a dress again?"

He sweeps an appreciative glance across her body. "Hey, I'm happy to see you in as much or as little as you want me to see."

She grins but shakes her head. "Well, regardless, no, Hunter and I have been outed at that bar now, so we won't be going back in." She groans in frustration. "Which probably means I'm on paperwork tomorrow, unless a body drops and I get pulled over to homicide."

They fall silent for a while and Kate feels herself begin to drift off to sleep, before Rick speaks again. "Alexis saw you leave this morning."

Kate smiles ruefully. "Guess I wasn't quite the ninja I thought I was. Oops?"

He shrugs. "I think she's okay. But she had some questions this morning, and this afternoon."

"Hmm?"

"She wanted to know if you were my girlfriend."

Kate's eyes snap open. "And what did you say?" It's one thing for Hunter to make jokes. But if his nine year old is asking… well, she has no idea what that means. She only knows that everything she's seen so far has shown that Rick takes his daughter very seriously.

"That I didn't know."

She closes her eyes again. "Good answer." She takes a deep breath and looks at him. "Rick, I wasn't kidding the other day when I told you I was messed up. I might not be the kind of person you want around your daughter. I can't make any promises." She looks at him. "I mean, you saw what happened today. In an instant the whole situation changed. I'm a cop. So I can't even promise that I'm going to come home."

"Kate," he assures her. "Kate, I promise you that you are the kind of person I want around my daughter. Do you know how many women I've dated who I've let meet Alexis?"

She shakes her head. "No. But she wouldn't have met me, either, if I hadn't messaged you the other night, telling you I was coming over. I didn't even ask!"

He laughs. "Please. I knew what I was doing. I didn't exactly plan on you meeting Alexis so soon- or my mother, sorry about that, by the way- but I'm not sorry you met her, and I'm not sorry you're here now."

She raises her eyebrows, glances meaningfully at the clothes strewn about the room as she moves against him. "How about you show me again how not sorry you are that I'm here right now?"