A/N: Sorry for the delay on this. I've been busy planning a vacation but I wanted to update this before I actually leave on said trip this Sunday.

Two months after moving to Hawthorne, Kate felt settled and quite content in the small town. During one of her weekly phone calls with her father, he mentioned taking a weekend to visit. At first hesitant about bringing a part of her life in New York to her new life in Hawthorne, she realized that regardless of where she was located, her dad was part of her life, period. Although she and Rick had developed a good working relationship since their dinner at his place, she didn't feel ready to introduce him to her dad. She knew that if she mentioned his upcoming visit, Rick would insist on stopping by.

With the weekend of her dad's visit approaching, Rick suspected Kate was hiding something. Earlier in the week when he stopped by her office to go over finalizing the storage needs for the new library, Kate ended a phone call abruptly when she spotted him outside her not-quite-shut door. He distinctly heard her say, "I love you, too. I'll see you Saturday," as she hung up. While they were not even dating, Rick still felt a knot form in his gut at the idea that Kate was seeing someone and that it seemed serious. It was ridiculous for Rick to assume that just because he and Kate had developed a friendship that she was no longer able to see people romantically, but part of him hoped that Kate was, if not on the same page, at least in the same chapter. It was looking more and more like he and Kate weren't even looking at the same book.

For some reason, the jealousy fueled Rick's motivation to write. The evening after eavesdropping on Kate, Rick found himself typing out page after page of a new book he was plotting. The next three nights Rick pounded away at his keyboard as his word count grew and grew. With his daughter out of town for the week he had no pressing responsibilities and in just four days he had nearly finished a very rough draft of a new book. Just before nine o'clock on Friday night, Rick needed to take a break from his writing and clear his head. The nearly fifty thousand words he'd written was therapeutic and helped him sort out his feelings and motivations regarding Kate, but it was also like someone drinking away their problems. Rick felt burnt out and a little hungover from his writing binge and needed a walk in the balmy May air.

Stepping off his front porch and crossing the lawn to the sidewalk, Rick didn't know where he was going to go, but he wanted to pass by Kate's place, even though it was nearly dark and he knew it probably wasn't a good idea. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Rick walked to the main street of town and took in the surroundings. The nearby pub was one of the few businesses still open and judging by the whoops and hollers coming from inside, the place was lively and at full capacity. Turning in the opposite direction of the pub, which also happened to be the same way he would take to get to Kate's, he walked past one of two gas stations in Hawthorne, then the small grocery store that was closing for the night. A few blocks down the street was where the new library was being built. The basic structure of the building was nearly finished from what people could see on the outside, but Rick knew it would be a few more months before he and the other library staff could start moving into their new space.

Approaching Apple Orchard Road, Rick decided it wouldn't hurt if he just happened to pass by Kate's house. Her house was elevated from the main road, so the risk of her seeing him from the sidewalk was low. The windows of Kate's living room glowed through the white curtains so he knew she was home. A pair of headlights illuminated the path in front of Rick as a car drove slowly down the street, the driver looking out the window like they didn't know where they were. When the Mercedes pulled into Kate's driveway with Rick only a hundred feet away, his heart sped up. It was Kate's mystery man. The one she loved and was supposed to be seeing on Saturday. He heard the man's car door slam, then saw him shuffling up the front stairs with a bag slung over his shoulder. A few moments later, Rick couldn't decipher what he was hearing but Kate's joyful laughter echoed down the street and rattled his heart.

The unexpected arrival of her father made Kate happy, but she was unprepared. She planned to do her necessary grocery shopping before he was supposed to arrive on Saturday afternoon, but now it looked like she was going to be taking him along on a full tour of Hawthorne as she ran her weekend errands. Being that Nate's Foods was just down the street, Kate and Jim Beckett decided to walk, bringing along an assortment of canvas and cloth bags to lug their food home.

Dragging a cart from the corral just inside the store, Kate parked it off to the side while she went through her list one more time. Rick had given her the recipe for his famous lasagna a few weeks before and tried to pawn off his smorelette recipe as well, but she knew her dad would appreciate the lasagna more than the egg and chocolate monstrosity.

While Kate and Jim walked the aisles of the store, grabbing what they needed and a few items they didn't need but wanted, Kate talked about her life adjusting to a small town and Jim brought Kate up to speed in regards to his life in New York. Stopping in the meat department to review her list for any items she forgot or still needed to get, her Dad told her he needed to grab one thing and that he'd be back quickly.

"Imagine running into you here," a familiar low-timbre voice called from across a display case of bratwursts.

Kate's heartbeat thumped against her pressure points with more intensity. Her work partner smiled at her as he came around to meet her in front of the butcher's display case. In spite of herself, her mouth quirked into a smile and even though the meat department was chilly, she felt warm. "Hi, Rick. I'm just waiting for my…" Kate paused.

"Your who? Does our Kate Beckett have a secret boyfriend?" Rick teased, hoping his playful tone covered up his jealousy.

"Ha! Like I have time for a boyfriend; I have to deal with you five days a week. I could have three boyfriends with the amount of energy I spend working with you."

The confirmation of Kate's single-dom made the rocks nestled in the pit of Rick's stomach turn to butterflies. "I'm clearly too much man for you."

"You're definitely too much of something."

"Katie, I found those frosted animal crackers you liked so much as a kid," Jim Beckett announced, holding up a bag of pink and white sprinkled cookies that she indeed did love even as an adult.

"Oh, Dad. I'm not eight years old anymore…"

"So, you want me to put them back?" Jim asked.

"I didn't say that," Kate grabbed the bag with a smirk and placed it in the cart. "Dad, this is my coworker, Rick Castle. He's the other head librarian."

"Hello, Mr. Beckett," Rick thrust his hand toward the older gentleman with more enthusiasm than he intended.

"Hello Rick, and please call me Jim," he took Rick's hand and shook it.

An awkward silence between the three had Rick announcing, "I don't mean to be rude, but I have a very hungry daughter waiting at home because her dear old dad forgot to stock the fridge while she was on a camping trip with her friends the last week."

As the Becketts and Rick said their goodbyes and Rick disappeared down the snack food aisle, Jim turned to his daughter and said, "you like him. I can see it written all over your face."

"Oh shush," Kate reprimanded with an eye roll just like her mother did. Jim's knowing smirk caused Kate's face to flush.

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