Castle stood in the hallway outside Kate's apartment. They had just shared an amazing night together and she had left his arms to go have lunch with Lanie. On one hand, he was happy that she didn't drop everything for him, but part of him wished they were still in bed together. He walked away from her door, whistling with happiness. He was going to make their dinner that night extra special. He walked out of the building and hailed a cab. It didn't take long for him to get back home and was whistling and dancing when he got off the elevator. He put the key in the lock on his door and walked in spinning his keys on his finger. His mother was in the kitchen pouring coffee.

"Nice to see you finally getting home, darling." His mother said with a smile on her face. "Doing the walk of shame I see?"

Castle stopped dead in his tracks, and stopped whistling. "Good morning mother." He said with a smile.

She looked at the clock. "It's almost lunch time dear. Dare I ask where you have been?"

"You can ask, but I'm not telling. " He said with a smirk on his face. He walked to the kitchen and got a mug before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Fine, Richard. I hope you know what you're doing." Martha said as she walked away waving her hand in the air.

I hope so too. He thought to himself as he drank his coffee.

Kate left the morgue after lunch with Lanie and headed to the station. There was paperwork to be done and there was no telling when a body would drop. She was on cloud 9 as she got off the elevator and walked to her desk. She took off her jacket, put it on the back of her chair and sat down. She tried not to smile too much, but it was unavoidable.

She was in love.

She logged onto the computer and tried to concentrate, but it was hopeless. All she could think of was his touch on her skin and the way he made her feel. Focus Kate. You're going to see him later tonight. She took a deep breath and got to work. Ryan and Esposito had come back from lunch and they spent some time working with her to get the paperwork done. They worked well together, but they couldn't help but have a little fun at her expense.

"So, Beckett, where's Castle?" Ryan asked with a huge smile on his face.

"How would I know, Ryan? I thought it was your turn to watch him?" she replied.

"You must have been out pretty late last night to not come to work until after lunch." Esposito said as he tapped his watch.

"For your information, not that it's any of your business…I had lunch with Lanie before I came in." She replied in a stern voice.

"That may be true, Beckett, but who were you having breakfast with this morning?" Ryan asked, chuckling.

"Can we get back to work, please?" She said with frustration in her voice.

"Sure boss. Whatever you say." Esposito replied with a sarcastic tone. It only took a minute for the three of them to get back into their work. They had finalized all the paperwork and closed the case when Kate got up to get coffee. As she stood up, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it and read, "Looking forward to tonight. How about dinner and a movie at my place? I'm cooking." She smiled as she read the text.

"Sounds great. What time?" She typed then poured her coffee. She took a sip as the phone buzzed again.

"How about 7? Dress comfortably. Miss you already."

"See you then. Me too." Kate typed as she walked back to her desk. She sat the cup of coffee down before looking at her watch. It was 4:00. She decided to work till 5:00 before heading home to change. She sat down in her chair and got back to work.

At the loft, Castle was busy getting dinner ready He wanted to make a good meal for Kate, but not go overboard since they were watching a movie as well. He'd decided on Caesar salad, broccoli and cheese quiche, and root beer floats for dessert. He was smiling and whistling as he cooked. Alexis was nearby working on homework and gave him a confused look.

"Dad?" She asked.

"Yes, pumpkin?" He said as he chopped the broccoli.

"What's going on?" She questioned him as she tapped her pencil on her school book.

"Well sweetie. Beckett is coming over for dinner and a movie." He said with a huge smile on his face, popping a piece of broccoli into his mouth.

"Dad, she's been here lots of times. What's so special about tonight?"

"Well, we are dating now and I want tonight to be perfect." He answered with a sparkle in his eye.

"Since when is anything perfect with you, Dad?" Alexis asked.

"Hmmm, you've got a point. It's never too late to start. She will be here soon and I'm going to be on my best behavior. "

"Good luck with that. Should I leave?" she asked.

"No, no. You are welcome to stay and eat with us. The movie depends on what we decide to watch. Fair enough?"

Alexis smiled in agreement and grabbed some broccoli from the pile on the cutting board. She picked up her books, and headed up to her room to finish homework. Rick reached into the refrigerator for the rest of the ingredients and went back to work on dinner. He chuckled to himself as he realized he couldn't stop smiling. It was going to be a great night.

Kate stepped out of the shower and toweled herself off. She wrapped the towel around her body and headed to her closet to find something to wear. Castle had said to dress comfortably, but she still wanted to look nice for him. In the end, she chose a green v-neck cashmere sweater and blue jeans. She smiled to herself as she slipped into the black lace bra and panties. Just in case. She said. She went back into the bathroom and pulled the clip out of her hair, shook it out, and brushed it. She touched up her makeup and put on new lipstick. She grabbed her brown leather jacket and keys as she went out the door.

A few minutes later she was ringing the bell at Castle's loft. She could hear music playing and footsteps. The door opened and she was greeted by a smiling Alexis.

"Hey Kate. C'mon in." Alexis said.

"Thanks. Kate said as she stepped inside the loft. Castle was in the kitchen working. He looked over to her as he wiped his fingers on a towel. Kate walked further into the loft and Alexis excused herself and went back upstairs to her room.

"Hey Beckett." He said with a smile and a wink.

"Hi Castle." She said, trying not to smile too much. "Do you need help with anything?" She asked as she took off her jacket and laid it on the back of the couch.

"Nope. Everything is almost ready. You can go ahead a grab a beer if you'd like." He replied to her. She stepped into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. She took out 2 beers, opening them both before setting one down in front of him.

"Thanks." He said with his eyes twinkling. He leaned over and kissed her lips briefly. Kate moved to one of the stools at the breakfast bar and sat down. They spent a few minutes talking about their afternoons while he finished up the salad. Kate stood up and they moved to the table. He pulled out her chair and she sat down. Castle took a moment to call out to Alexis to let her know dinner was ready.

"I hope you don't mind if she joins us for dinner. She promised to retreat to her room for the movie."

"No, I don't mind at all." Kate said with a smile. "I like seeing that part of your life."

Alexis came bounding down the stairs and got herself a soda from the fridge. Rick picked up the salad, and Alexis got out 3 salad bowls. They were serving themselves and just enjoying the company. Alexis was talking about school and her activities. They talked a little bit about the case they closed the night before and about Castle's latest book. After a few minutes, Castle stood up to get the quiche from the oven. He cut it into pieces before bringing it to the table. They each took a slice and kept talking.

"Who's up for dessert?" He asked as he pushed back his chair.

"Not me." Kate replied as she took another drink of her beer.

"Me neither Dad. I've got to get back to my homework." She gave him a quick kiss before she went back upstairs.

"Dessert can wait then." He said as he began to clear the dishes from the table. Kate picked up a few things and it took no time for them to rinse them and put them in the dishwasher. He got 2 fresh beers from the fridge before pointing to the living room.

"It's movie time!" He said excitedly. "Ladies choice." He led her to the cabinet where all the movies were stored. She looked at his DVD collection before picking one. She took it out of the case and placed it in the DVD player. She turned and smiled at him before sitting down. He sat down beside her, putting his arm on the back of the couch and snuggled in.

"So?" he asked.

"Just wait and see, Castle." Kate said as she hit the PLAY button. He has no idea what he's in for.