Kate looks at Rick. "Can we start the night again?"

He nods, eagerly. "Kate. Come to bed. Sleep." He presses a kiss to her cheek, and she relaxes against him.

"Or… bubble bath?" She bites her lip, and he laughs.

"Bubble bath." He takes her hand and steps over the bath, turning the taps.


The next couple of weeks go much more smoothly, and Rick is thankful for small mercies. He felt like he'd barely spoken to Kate the week her father stayed, and Alexis had missed her too. Once she's spoken to her father a few times she seems to start to believe that he might just stick it out in rehab, and she starts to loosen up a little. It doesn't go unnoticed that she's wearing a different watch, and that she lays it down on the dresser each night with the same reverence that she reserves for her Mom's ring.

He manages to get his Mother to stay overnight with Alexis twice, and so he takes Kate out for a real date one night. They go out for dinner, and to a club after. Truth be told, he feels a little too old for most clubs these days, but dancing with Kate is a treat, and he can see the attraction, after all, when they're on the dance floor, pressed close together. They finish the night at a small bar near her place, and he revels in her closeness as they sit tight against one another in the booth. She surprises him with her choice of tequila, but as she licks the salt from his hand instead of her own he suddenly becomes quite the fan of the liquor. Hot. He may have promised Kate that their personal personal life won't find its way inside the pages of the Nikki Heat- but this? This is going in.

Rick stays in with her in her apartment the second time Martha has Alexis. He's seen Kate help him cook at his place, but only when he's already planned the meal. This is different, and as Kate pulls together an amazing chicken dish, he's impressed. Huh. She really can cook. They've started watching movies together, and he's starting to get a handle on her eclectic taste. He only lets her choose every second movie though- for every action movie she chooses, the next is always a rom-com, and there are only so many of those he can handle. "But you like romance," she tells him, surprised, when he disses her choice.

"You've forfeited your right to choose movies for the rest of the week," he tells her. "And I do like romance. But these movies? Not cool." Then again, she likes Temptation Lane, and Nebula 9, so there's just no accounting for taste and he's just glad she likes his books as much as she does. Obviously her taste in books in far superior to her taste in film and television.

Another night, he has to attend a book launch party- it's not his own book on show, the last Storm is still a few months away from print, but Rick's contracted to appear at a certain number of Black Pawn parties. They're promoting a newer author, and he's actually happy to attend- Black Pawn's been good to him over the years, and he wants the newer authors to have the same opportunities that he's had. To his surprise Kate agrees to come, as long as he promises he won't introduce her as his muse. He agrees, but when he looks at the guest list, he thinks she actually has ulterior motives for attending. Rick's pretty sure he's her favourite author, but she does own an awful lot of crime fiction, and she'll be rubbing shoulders with quite a few writers at the event.

His mother wrangles an invite for the event as well, so he's forced to get Katrina in to babysit. "Why?" He asks her with a note of desperation in his voice.

Martha just shrugs mysteriously. When the evening comes, and he loses sight of Kate for a moment, only to see her again across the room, being introduced to Gina, he could slap himself for being so stupid. He sees the flash of recognition in their eyes, the caution in Kate's body language and the edge to the hard look Gina gives his girlfriend. Fuck. And then he sees Martha swan in, and say something- he can't hear her from where he's standing, but she looks to have defused the situation. Okay. Turns out he's glad his mother is there after all. "Darling," his Mother whispers pointedly in his ear, later.

"Thank you?" He grimaces at her, and she laughs.

"Oh Rick, it was fine, really. Kate's a strong young woman, she would have been fine."

"Don't think I've forgotten that it was you who introduced me to Gina, Mother."

"And she's an excellent publisher, Richard. You should be grateful." Martha shimmies off, to find another drink, or chat up one of the many eligible men in the room- Rick doesn't want to know which.

When he finds Kate and tears her away from intense conversation with one of the other authors for a dance he subdues his jealousy, considering he inadvertently put his girlfriend and Gina in the same room. "Sorry," he whispers in her ear.

"A little warning would have been nice," she grumbles, but obviously Gina wasn't deliberately bitchy, or otherwise Kate really can hold her own.

"What did she say?"

"That she remembered me. Then your mother swooped in, and thanked Gina for being such a great publisher for you." She shrugs. "It doesn't matter, Rick."

"For what it's worth, I really am sorry," he tells her again.

Kate shakes her head. "It doesn't matter, Castle. Just dance with me, okay? And try not to run me into any of your other exes anytime soon, okay?"


"So. This weekend."

Rick nods. "Yeah. It'll be Monday before we know it."

"Yeah." She leans into him to kiss him. She's really going to miss him. Never mind that they got out of bed half an hour ago- her body is telling her she won't make it through the next three days without this man, and the way he's pressing back into her, he's obviously feeling the same way, as his hands thread their way into her hair.

"Ew," comes Alexis' voice from the staircase, and she blushes as she pulls away from Rick and meets his daughter's eyes.

"Sorry," she whispers, not quite sure if she's apologising to Rick or Alexis. "Right. Well, that's my cue- I'm going to work, and I will see you guys on Monday, okay?"

Alexis skips across the living room to give Kate a hug.

"Remember what we talked about last night?" Kate asks her. Alexis nods, but she's clutching Monkey-Bunkey a little too tightly, Kate thinks. She kneels down to the girl. "Anytime you get scared in the flight, you just hold your Dad's hand, okay? But mostly- it's okay to be scared, but just remember that the pilots fly their planes all the time. They're real experts, okay?" Alexis' fears of flying had apparently come up out of the blue, with Castle assuring her Alexis had been fine with flying last time they went away.

"Okay." Alexis looks at her with wide eyes. "I wish you were coming too, Kate."

Kate grins. Much as she'd like to get out of the city for the weekend, meeting Castle's ex-wife isn't high on her priority list right now. Running into Gina the week before last was more than enough, and Castle had only gone out with her a handful of times. "Me too," she lies. "But I have to work. Next time, huh?" She kisses Alexis on the cheek, and presses another kiss to Castle's mouth. "Now, you two- go finish packing."

Kate rides the elevator down to the ground floor, wrapping her cotton scarf around her neck in anticipation of light spring winds outside. She loves the season changes in the city, the hope she feels when the snow starts to melt. Every day has the possibility for joy, she reminds herself. Three days without Castle. She can do it.


Kate texts Lanie on Friday afternoon, after she hears from Castle that he and Alexis have made it to L.A. She hates being that girl, who only calls her girlfriends when their boyfriend is out of town, but she and Lanie didn't really become friends until after she got together with Castle, so it's not like she's breaking any time honoured rituals between herself and the M.E.

Lanie, of course, already has plans with a big group including Hunter, but she insists that Beckett join her at the bar where she's meeting them. Kate's been running down paperwork for Jones all day, but she hasn't seen the inside of interrogation, and neither has she been at the scene. After a desk heavy day she's more than ready to get out of there, and kick back over a few drinks.

Veronica Hunter waves when she enters the bar, and Kate grins. Lanie's wrapped around some guy, she thinks at first it's Esposito, and she figures she won't really be hanging out with Lanie after all. She's pleasantly surprised when Lanie untangles herself, and again surprised to see the guy is someone she doesn't know, after all. Lanie shoos the guy off to get them some drinks, and Kate leans in to her friend. "What happened to Esposito?"

Lanie just laughs. "What can I say? Something better came along." Kate grins.

Lanie's guy comes back with a drink for Lanie, and another for Kate, and she accepts it with thanks. When Lanie turns back to the guy, Hunter squeezes her arm with a grin. "Haven't seen you in Vice much lately."

"Homicide's got me at the moment," she confirms.

"Lucky you," Hunter tells her. "I am up to my ears in slime. And my eyes-" she points at her face. "I might as well get this make up tattooed on, since it never seems to come off." Kate nods sympathetically and sips her drink. Hunter notices someone else she knows, and excuses herself for a second, and Kate is left alone.

She's just looking around, trying to remember how to do this, when a guy comes up. She thinks she remembers seeing him before. He introduces himself, offering her his hand. "Will."

She takes his hand. "Kate. Nice to meet you." She remembers now. Lanie had pointed him out, told her he was checking her out. "You're not a cop, are you?" There's something about him that just doesn't ring quite true as NYPD.

"Nope. FBI. But my buddy over there-" he points to some indeterminate guy- "is friends with Lanie." Well. Of course. Everyone is friends with Lanie, she thinks. He grins at her, and she has to admit, he is kind of cute. "Now, I know feds and cops don't always get along, but can I buy you a drink?" She wonders if he's flirting with her, or just being friendly.

Kate holds out the still full glass that Lanie's guy got her. "I'm okay, thanks."

He nods. "Next time, then." His interest is unmistakable as he steps closer, but before she can step back, Kate's phone buzzes in her pocket, and she smiles at him, and excuses herself as she ducks out of the bar to get somewhere quieter to take the call.

"Hey Castle."

"Hey Beckett. Miss me yet?"

"It's only been-" she looks at her watch- "twelve hours since I saw you."

"Yes. A very long twelve hours." He lowers his voice. "We've been with Meredith since midday and let me tell you- this day is never going to end."

"A little dramatic, don't you think?"

"Oh, come on Beckett. There's a time difference, you know? We still have to have dinner- if I don't kill her first. You work for homicide, you could get me off the charges, right?"

She laughs. "Not my jurisdiction, Castle. How's Alexis?"

"She's okay- it's odd- for such a sensible kid, she actually really loves to shop, so she and Meredith are getting along fine. And burning my credit card has always been one of Meredith's secret super powers, so…"

"Huh. Yeah. Sounds awful, to be honest."

"Really? I would have pegged you as a shopaholic- all those jackets and shoes, Kate." He sounds disbelieving.

"Don't let them fool you. I like having them, not the act of buying them."

"What are you doing now? At home?"

"On a Friday night?" She laughs again. "No, out with Lanie and Veronica. Actually-" it's Kate's turn to lower her voice. "I think I was just being hit on though."

"Should I be jealous?"

"No, not my type-"

"Oh yeah? Tell me about your type, Officer…"

Kate grins. "I'm going to go now- let you get back to your glamorous L.A. life."

"Kate," he whines.

"Hey, Castle, want to know something?"

"What's that?"

"I miss you." She hangs up before either of them can prolong the goodbye, and heads back inside, smile still on her lips.

Will looks like he's waiting for her, and she smiles wryly at him. "Boyfriend?" he asks, nodding at the phone still in her hand.

Kate nods. She's been avoiding labels, but she can't figure out why anymore. "Yeah."

"Too bad," Will tells her, smiling back nevertheless. Before Kate can say anything else, Lanie appears at her side, and pulls her onto the dance floor, and later in the evening, she sees Will and Hunter sitting pressed close to one another. Huh. She guesses she didn't break any hearts after all.