For all the thoughts and prayers for us in Dallas...

THANK YOU


Later that afternoon relaxing at home Rick and Kate are sitting on the couch waiting for the return of the children.

Kate is laying on Rick's lap reading a book on her kindle while Rick is jotting down notes on a plain paper notepad. Or rather trying to make notes. The events of earlier today gave him some more fodder for the escapades of Nikki and Rook.

He wonders, at times, how many people have figured out that his stories are written very close to what happens with him and his wife behind closed bedroom doors…and sometimes other closed office doors, but at least they make sure the doors are closed

Castle's mind continues to drift to the beautiful woman currently relaxing with him. He is smiling and thinking about all the adventures they have shared before and since becoming a couple.

Kate looks up from her tablet to seen his face "What?"

"What, What?"

"Your smiling…and staring. That's creepy"

"I am thinking about how lucky I am"

"Lucky how?" she sits back up, puts her kindle down and slides next to her husband

"Lucky to have you. Lucky to love you. Lucky to be married to you"

"Wow. That's a lot of luckiness" She leans in to kiss him "What brought that on?"

"Today. This afternoon. Yesterday. Last week. Last month…the last five years"

"Long time to be lucky?" she remarks

"Kate. I don't say this enough but you are the best thing that has ever happened to me"

After being married for five years and being friends and partners for almost ten years, he can sometimes still get a blush out of her

"Back at ya"

The front entry door opens and the little two Castles head inside once again. "Hey mom, hey dad" comes from Alexis then followed closely behind by the voice of a much smaller version of Rick "MOMMY…DADDY"

Kate turns to face her son just as he climbs onto the couch "How was school today?" she asks

"Good…we learned about numbers" he holds his hand out and starts pointing his fingers "one…two…three"

Rick looks over to his son "And how many is Jimmy?"

He has to fight to hold up the three fingers "Three!"

Alexis speaks up "So…you two are going to a dinner party at the University President's house later huh?"

Kate Jimmy jumps down and runs up the stairs "I gotta go potty" bringing a chuckle from his mother

Answering Alexis' question "Yes we are" Beckett responds as she smirks at Castle and putting little innuendo in her voice "it seems the school president wants to impress some faculty and guests and see what favors she can get from them"

Rick looks at his wife "I would have told you about the invitation even if you weren't there"

"You went to the school today?" Alexis asks "Any particular reason?"

Bringing a renewed blush from Kate "I…uh…I just went to see your dad and see if we could grab some lunch"

Castle leans down and whispers to Kate "Or grab something else?"

She reaches over and pokes his arm "Not in front of the children" she whispers back

There is no doubt in Alexis' mind that something else happened besides a lunch break

"Do you know what you are going to wear" she asks Kate

"Yes. One of the dresses that your dad bought for me when we went to the wedding in Colorado"

Castle looks at Kate "Which one?" He remembers the dresses he made her buy. One or two were definitely not suited to be the matron of honor

"The dark blue-grey one" Kate replies with a hint of devil on her face

Castle lets out a huff

"It comes with a jacket that makes it more formal or without the jacket it becomes more evening cocktail"

"Oh is it that the nice grey with the deep V back and six inches above your knees? The one you showed to me when you were trying to select a dress for the Mayor's fund raiser a few weeks ago?"

"That is the one" Beckett responds

"You will be the hit of the evening" Alexis remarks

No one is looking at Castle who is sitting quietly just smiling trying to keep his blood pressure down

"Rick has prepared a dinner for the little Castle and his caregiver as Kate begins getting dressed. The knock on the door signals the arrival of the babysitter for the evening, Jim Beckett

Castle goes to the door and welcomes the man inside "I fixed diner for everyone, Jim. And that includes you"

"Thanks Rick, but just being able to watch my grandson is enough for me"

"Oh believe me you will need all your strength, so there is grilled chicken with broccoli and mashed potatoes"

The two men hear the voice of Alexis coming down the stairs "hi grandpa"

"Hi Lexi, don't you look nice?" She has dressed to go out to a party with some friends

"Thanks" as she rushes to get her shoes on. She looks at her dad "I'm gone. I 'll be home by midnight"

"Have fun pumpkin" Castle kisses her on top of the head then she turns toward the door, speaking a little louder "Have fun tonight mom"

Kate's voice is heard "You too"

Jim looks at Rick "Alexis is calling Katie mom now? I'll bet that was a surprise?"

"It was, and I have to tell you that your daughter is honored and I am proud. Listen Jimmy is upstairs. He has been waiting for you. He is excited and we appreciate you watching him for a few hours"

"My pleasure, now you better get ready and I'll see to it that he eats"

Rick and Kate are finishing getting dressed for the party. He is wearing one of his button down shirts, that Kate likes to wear when she feeling frisky. He added a nice tie and sports coat

She is just finishing putting on the dress she bought during their stay for the wedding in Colorado a few years ago. She has not worn it since then.

Her hair is pulled up in a bun on top of her head. She looks at herself in the mirror thinking back to when she bought it and how she was worried that after getting pregnant that she would never fit in it again especially after how big her boobs got.

But here she is…in the dress, and just like before, it hugs her body just right.

Castle walks up behind his wife and put his arms around her

She leans back against him "Is this ok Mr. Castle?"

"You will be the sexist woman there"

"How do you know who will be there?"

"I doesn't matter. You will be the sexist woman there"

She slips the jacket top on and turns to Rick. Do I look OK?"

"You know, if I wasn't married I would try to have my way with you right now"

"Well I might just take you up on that…"

Then into his ear "later"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The car service drops them off at the school president's house at around 6:45. Castle does not believe in being late. Not even fashionably late like what is his mother's choice

They knock on the door only to have it open quickly by a man in a butler's outfit. He stands aside and welcome's them inside

"So glad you two could come" They are quickly greeted by the administrator who is wearing a more modest dress that what she was wearing the last time Kate saw her "please come into the parlor. There are some others I want you to meet" She directs Rick and Kate father d the home

They come the great room where there are several others standing around holding drinks and talking.

After they pass the entry, Dr. Sellers speaks up "Everyone. This is Richard Castle, the famous author and his wife Katherine Beckett. Kate is a captain with the New York Police Department"

There is a soft murmuring of greeting from the assembled group.

Dr. Sellers begins introducing the other guests to Rick and Kate. She starts with the couple by the fireplace Professor Jordan Bailey and his wife, June. He is a professor of archeology. He is a well-groomed man probably in his early 40's and his wife is quite attractive herself. Not as tall as Kate with shorter strawberry blond hair and a nice figure. She is a real estate broker

Dr. Sellers moves around the room "This is Professor Jean Baxter and her husband Ray. She teaches history and Ray is in commercial real estate"

"Good to meet you" Rick says as he extends his hand and Kate does as well

Dr. Sellers continues to the next couple "This is Rod Best and wife Michelle. He teaches advanced mathematics and Michelle works for their church"

Then they finally the come to the last couple "Here we have Lawrence Crawford. He is the grand-son of the founder and now chancellor of the university His wife Tami is an international law attorney"

"Good to meet you, Mr. Castle. I have read a lot of your books" he looks at Kate "Especially enjoy the Nikki Heat series. I believe that this is the model for the character?"

"It's Rick. Thanks you for being a fan and yes" Castle looks at Kate who seems to be blushing once more "Yes she inspired me to write about the NYPD and her fine work"

The butler walks up to them "Can I get you something from the bar sir?"

Kate looks around and notices most guests are having white wine "A glass of white would be good"

Rick responds to the man "Two glasses of wine. Thank you"

For the next few minutes they mingle with the other guests waiting for the meal to be served. Castle just has to ask Jordan Bailey about any archeology field work he has done.

Naturally Kate knows where husband is going. She remembers o well when they had the case of the archeologist being killed by a Gargoyle falling from a building and how he got in trouble for opening a sarcophagus at the museum

She watches her man-child almost giddy listening to the stores of excavations he has been involved with and the artifacts he was able to locate

But, as is the most frequent occurrence, nothing of true importance is found.

"In fact, Rick, I spent two months in the Gobi dessert digging at a tell but found absolutely nothing" Bailey tells the couple

Kate looks at his wife "Jane, did you go to the desert as well?"

"OH No" June responds "I sell real estate and summer time is the best-selling time for me. So I just let him go do his thing. Gets him out of my hair for a little while. I am sure you understand Kate…getting a little time away from your husband"

Kate looks at Rick "No. Actually I love being with my husband"

Rick finishes the thought "In fact the longest we have been apart is four days while I was on a book tour"

Before Jane can even respond the butler enters the room and announces "Dinner is served"

For the next forty-five minutes enjoying a five course meal including appetizer, salad and soup followed by a nice medium prime rib ending with a modest portion of Crème Brule

After the deserts are finished Dr. Sellers offers for the men to go to the library and ladies will go to the living room for coffee and conversation

In the library, the men discuss the latest wins for the school Lacrosse team, when Lawrence Crawford brings up rick's date for the evening "Rick. So Kate is your inspiration for Nikki Heat?"

With much pride in his voice he responds "Yes. She is"

"How did you two meet" Road asks

"She arrested me" Rick responds causing a long pause in the conversation

"We met almost ten years. A murder occurred copied after one of my books and she took my breath away"

"She is strikingly beautiful"

"Thank you"

"How long have you been married?"

"Just under five years" he responds

Jordan asks the obvious question that all the men want to know "So those sex scenes in the books are…?

Rick answers quickly "NO. I wrote those first books while we were just partners and friends. Long before we became involved"

The general appearance in the room seem to be disappointment at his answer

Meanwhile in the parlor, the ladies are discussing shopping, in-laws and children. Jane finally asks the question "So Kate. Do you have any children?" assuming she does not since her figure is very slender

"A three year old boy. He is staying with my dad tonight"

There is a note of disbelief from Michelle "Wow, you look great"

Kate smiles and gives her thanks for the compliment

Michelle then directs her next comment to June. "I can't believe you let your husband out of your sight for two months each summer. You have no idea what he is doing when he is away from you"

June responds "He is getting hot and dirty digging in the dessert. If he wants to dig for old pots and pans, he can do that all he wants. I get to do my thing while he is gone"

The next comment is directed at Beckett "So you are a police captain?"

Kate smiles softly "Yes. I spent several years in homicides. That's where I met Rick. He followed me for the Nikki Heat series. We finally gave in to our own hearts and here I am"

Michele asks another question "So is your husband faithful? I mean he did have history"

Kate is not really understanding this woman's attitude "I trust him completely. When he first came around he was still chasing skirts, then it became evident that he and I has so much chemistry we had to stop denying it"

"We, Ms. Beckett if you believe that your man or any man will stay faithful, you have a hard lesson to learn"

This woman is evidently not happy with something going on in her life "I just have a hard believing any man can stay faithful to one woman"

She takes a deep breath

"I know my husband is running around on me…"

The hostess decides this is a good time to halt this little conversation.

"I think we need to see how the others are doing" she stands and moves toward the library to rejoin the men. Kate knows this is the sign that the evening is reaching its conclusion and not any too soon