This time it is Kate who wakes up first, unable to sleep with the distraction of a ringing phone. She reaches off the bed to see her still rain-soaked jeans on the ground, and realizes she never took her phone out of the pocket. After all, they had been out of the bed room most of the day and the time they spent in it…well there were other distractions. More enjoyable distractions, she thinks to herself, quickly glancing to her partner who is still fast asleep.
As she grabs the phone out of her pocket she checks the caller ID… 12th precinct. Unsure if she's able to handle the situation right now, she lets it go to voicemail. Maybe when Rick wakes up (and she has a cup of coffee), she can begin to assess the damage that has been done.
She slowly attempts to sneak out of bed, not wanting to wake him, but before she knows it he begins to stir. "Kate? Where are you going? Stay in bed", he says in a sleepy voice. She softly chuckles, recalling how there were very different circumstances the last time she heard those words from his mouth. "Well Castle, I need to get out of bed to figure out why we've been drugged and handcuffed together…". Her sarcastic tone wakes him up, and he grabs at her wrist to pull her closer to him.
"Very funny Kate… now come here and give me a good morning kiss" he says with a sleepy smile on his face. "Castle, I would hardly call it a good morning kiss when it's-", she glances down at her phone, "7:30 at night". "Ok," he replies, "good evening kiss then", as he pulls her into his arms, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. A loud beeping sound startles him and causes them to break apart.
"What was that?" he asks, confused. "My phone, I got a call from the 12th while you were sleeping. I let it go to voicemail" she replies, matter-of-factly. "Do you really think that's a good idea, Kate?" he begins hesitantly, "What if it's important?".
She bites her lip, thinking about her response. I suppose it can't hurt to listen right? "Alright Castle, but stay with me, please?"
"Always, Kate", he replies with a smile, giving her reassurance as she punches in her voicemail password. Castle waits impatiently as she listens to the voicemail, and a few moments later, she places the phone down, a stunned look upon her face. "Castle, Cole Maddox is dead".
After the initial shock wear off, Kate explains that Gates wants her to come in to talk about what happened, and the possibility of reconsidering her resignation. Castle convinces her that this could be a good thing for her, and for them. The death of Maddox not only provides closure to her shooting, but also to her mother's murder, both of which played a huge part in Kate's emotional growth and bringing them closer together.
She eventually agrees, but under one circumstance… that he will come with her. Unwilling to let her go alone anyway, Castle quickly agrees to go with her, and they get dressed and head off to the precinct. On the way there, Kate says she would feel most comfortable if they didn't bring up their relationship to anyone other than immediate family yet, especially at the precinct. With all the issues with the case, and Ryan and Espo's partnership, they both feel there will be a lot of other explaining to be done.
When they arrive at the homicide floor, to their surprise they are greeted by Ryan and Esposito. And they're both smiling? From what Kate had told him about what had happened that night, he never thought he would see them together so soon, and smiling? He glances over to Beckett, whose face mirrors his confused look. Clearly they made the right decision not to tell anyone about their relationship yet, because it looks like these two are going to have a lot of explaining to do.