Title: Rock Foundation

Disclaimer: I do not own the Castle characters or their story lines. I just borrow them for fun.

Summary: A Sequel of sorts for my one-shot Rock Solid. Kate and Rick deal with the aftermath of Knockdown and move forward with their lives, learning to balance their partnership with their budding relationship.

Author's note: So, this chapter is significantly shorter than the last one, but it's, well, I mean, read it…you know you want to.

I just want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews and feedback I've been getting. Writing this story is proving to be very entertaining and highly rewarding, and I'm extremely excited that everyone has been enjoying it so much.

Happy Castle Monday! Oh, and that Valentine's thing too…

Chapter X

They reached his building and made their way up in the elevator, Rick pulling Kate flush against his side for the entire ride. He unlocked the apartment, refusing to let go of his Detective, and came face to face with Alexis, who was sitting on one of the bar stools, an impressively large array of school papers spread out before her.

Kate and Rick disengaged slowly and went about putting their coats on hooks and shoes by the door, all the while enjoying the sight of Alexis lip-syncing into one of her pencils to a song on her Ipod. She looked up as the song ended and a blush rose on her cheeks before she hastily took out her earbuds and shuffled papers on the counter.

"Hi Pumpkin," Rick laughed as he dropped a kiss on her head and made his way to the refrigerator.

"Hi Dad," Alexis replied before turning to Kate. "Hi Kate! How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Alexis, how are you?" Kate asked as she sat down next to the teen and leaned over to see what Alexis had been rocking out to. "I didn't know you were a Glee fan."

Alexis blushed. "I'm…uh, not usually, but…I mean, Darren Criss…"

Kate giggled. "He is pretty handsome and talented."

"He was totally better in A Very Potter Musical, though," Alexis said excitedly. "Have you seen it? Or the sequel?"

"I haven't actually, but I remember Castle singing some of the songs for a while."

"Oh, yeah. Dad was totally obsessed with it. He rolled into every room for a while, trying to be Draco Malfoy."

Kate laughed and Rick turned and looked at them incredulously. "You do know that I can hear you talking about me, right?"

"That's half the fun," Kate said lightly. "Now, what's this about rolling around like Draco Malfoy?"

Alexis grinned. "It's something you really have to see. Are you a Harry Potter fan, Kate?"

"I read the whole series, and I've seen the films," Kate shrugged. "I haven't, necessarily, obsessed over them, but I did really enjoy them. Why?"

"Well, if you've got about 3 hours, I can burn it to DVD so we could watch it after dinner? I assume you're staying for dinner?"

"That sounds great, Alexis, provided that I don't fall asleep."

"Oh, you'll stay awake, trust me. You'll be laughing too hard!" Alexis said excitedly as she gathered up her homework. "Call me when it's dinner, Dad?"

Rick nodded and they watched her go up the stairs. Kate stood and joined him in the kitchen. "She's a great kid, Rick."

"Thanks," he replied, pulling out a cutting board and some vegetables. "Stir-fry good?"

"Sounds great."

They worked silently for a few minutes, passing food between them and going about prepping the meal. They stood close together, chopping and grating vegetables and throwing them into various bowls full of different Asian sauces.

"How'd you learn to cook?" Kate asked randomly as she watched him light the burners under the frying pan and toss the first, slow cooking vegetables into it.

"Would you think less of me if I said TV and the New York Times?" he asked.

"No. I'd be interested to know why though," she laughed.

"I could not, for the life of me, cook very much when Alexis showed up. I'd gotten by in life by ordering in and taking my women to fancy restaurants as soon as I got published. Mother was always on the road, so we at take-out all the time when I was a kid. But then, I had this little girl who wanted mac and cheese and omelets and real food. I couldn't just get her Chinese; she wouldn't eat it."

"So you started small and built up?"

"I got good a kid food pretty quickly, and then, well, I spent so much time in the house that I took to watching the cooking channel…and experimenting. Alexis will have stories about my more colorful failures. But, in the end, I turned out alright, I'd say."

Kate grabbed a carrot out of the pan and nodded as she popped it in her mouth. "You do seem to eat well here."

"How about you?" he asked as they added more to the pan and Kate started setting the table.

"My mom taught me a lot when I was in college and at the end of high school," Kate replied wistfully. Rick grabbed her hand as she finished setting the counter and pulled her into a hug. "She was a great cook. After she died, I sort of stopped trying. I make food sometimes, but not that often…as you saw last year."

"We can always order in the next time, if you want," Rick offered.

Kate gave him a squeeze. "Nah. It's time for new memories."

Rick nodded and they disengaged. Kate turned off the pan and dumped the meal into a large bowl while Rick called for Alexis. They sat down and Kate found her earlier melancholy fading away in the fast-paced conversation. There was just a sense of normalcy, sitting there in his kitchen, bumping knees with Rick and chatting with his brilliant daughter. Well, perhaps normalcy wasn't really the right way to describe it, Kate thought as she listened to an anecdote about Rick trying to deep-fry a turkey and subsequently burning off his eyebrows.

"I had to cancel two book tours during because of that" Rick regaled petulantly. "Though, it did teach Alexis to do eye makeup."

"And to this very day, that's been his take-away from the whole experience," Alexis shook her head.

"Remind me not to let you talk me into that, ever," Kate snorted as she started cleaning up plates.

"I'll go grab the movie?" Alexis asked. The adults nodded and she went up to her room.

"I think we're done with explosions," Rick commented as they rinsed the dishes and put them into the dishwasher. "I certainly don't ever need to see a fire cloud again."

Kate nudged him with her hip. "Agreed."

They finished with the last glass and Rick grabbed a large bag of popcorn and popped it into the microwave as Kate found a big bowl. Alexis returned as they sat down on the couch, one of the girls on either side of Rick. Kate found herself snuggling into Rick's side and enjoying every bit of the musical. It was clever enough to keep her attention, and stupid enough to keep all of them laughing.

When it ended three hours later, her sides hurt and she couldn't remember an occasion in which she'd laughed so much.

"So what did you think?" Alexis asked excitedly as the end credits rolled.

"It's brilliant," Kate giggled. "It's really a wonderful parody. This is how Darren got started?"

"Yeah! It went viral like a minute after it went up."

"So Youtube is the way to fame now? What have I been doing wrong?" Kate looked skyward. "I'll never gain notoriety now!"

"Hey!" Rick exclaimed. "Being the inspiration for a successful series of crime novels is no longer enough for you?"

Alexis and Kate shared a look. "It's not really the same thing," Kate told him while patting his chest.

Alexis laughed. "While you placate his wounded ego, I'm going to go to bed. She gave Kate a hug. "You'll come over again soon?" she asked as they disengaged.

"I promise," Kate replied.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Like your father," Kate laughed. "To bed with you!"

"Alright. Night Kate, night Dad."

They watched her go before Rick pulled Kate back down to the couch and wrapped his arms around her. "You're such a tease!"

"Rick, I will need to sleep tonight," she said crossly, but made no move to get up and leave, content instead to snuggle into his embrace.

"But cuddle time is so much more fun than sleep!" he said happily as he pulled her onto his lap.

Kate giggled as his hands wound around her midsection. This was fast. This was very fast, she thought as she felt his hands rubbing circles against her skin and his breath hot against the nape of her neck.

"We could have another early morning," she mumbled.

"It's only 11, Kate," he whispered against her ear before kissing the top of her neck below her earbud.

"Rick," Kate protested as he leaned closer. "What are we doing?"

He pulled back and their eyes met. The question wasn't unexpected. "I…" he stuttered, suddenly finding verbalizing his feelings difficult. "I…you…Damnit! I'm an author," he grumbled.

Kate laughed. "Feelings are harder than page 105."

Rick paused for a second. "What I feel for you goes way beyond Page 105, Katherine Beckett."

Kate looked into his eyes and found only raw emotion staring back at her. The playboy she'd met on the first case they'd done together was nowhere to be found. She was sitting on Rick's lap, in his apartment, after dinner with his daughter and a silly movie night, and it felt so right. She'd expected to feel apprehensive, scared, even flighty. Instead, all she felt was comfortable and safe and, if she dared, loved.

"I know," Kate replied, giving him a small smile.

"You're extraordinary, Kate," he said seriously. "And I mean that. I truly do."

"I know you do."

"You're not a conquest for me, Kate."

"And you're not one for me, Rick. You…" now she couldn't find the words. "I feel…oh hell."

She leaned in and kissed him, trying to tell him what she couldn't quite figure out how to say. He responded instantly and it was several minutes before they broke apart, breathing heavily as they rested their foreheads together.

"And not a criminal in sight," he whispered as he peppered her face with light kisses.

"Well, the lack of danger is a con," Kate whispered and then laughed as he began to tickle her.

"I'm not enough?" he asked petulantly and he shifted them so that she lay under him, struggling to avoid his hands as he tickled her stomach. "You need danger? You need excitement?"

"No! No!" Kate shrieked and laughed. "No danger, no criminals! I swear!"

"Hey!" Alexis called from the head of the stairs, a hand over her eyes. "There are some of us who are trying to go to sleep up here!"

Kate and Rick lay still, Kate's cheeks bright red. "Sorry Lex!" Rick yelled up the stairs. "We'll behave!"

"You better!" Alexis called back, before they heard her pad back to her bedroom and shut the door.

Rick sat up again and helped Kate up. "Well, we may not have criminals, but we've got one hell of a ninja teen to keep us in check."

Kate laughed. "I don't think she needed ninja hearing for that one, Rick."

"I didn't know you were ticklish," he smirked. "Another layer peeled!"

"Oh boy. Are you going to decide that you've peeled a layer of the 'Beckett Onion' every time you discover something about me?"

"Nah, just the ones I know I can use against you."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "How can you use that against me?"

"You know when you twist my ear? Yeah, well, I've got a defense now," he said smugly.

Kate turned on her best glare and he shrank back slightly. "Tickle me on the job and your ears will be the least of your worries."

"Note taken," he replied.

They stared at each other for a long pause. "I really should go," Kate sighed as she spotted the clock on the side table.

"You could stay," Rick said quietly. "Not for…well…but, I mean, just to sleep, you know? It's been a long day. And I'll make you breakfast in the morning. Anything you want."

Kate considered him. "That's tempting Rick." He grinned. "But I think, for now, I should go home. It's not that I don't trust you, but this is still new, even if it doesn't seem like it."

"You feel it too?" he asked, taking her hand and playing with her fingers.

"Yeah, I do. We've had three years to get through the 'get to know yous,' and now I think we just know each other well enough, you know?"

"I do," he nodded and pulled her back onto his lap. "Can I still take you out? On a real date?"

Kate grinned into his shoulder. "I'd like that."

"Later this week?"

"Definitely. Now, you have to let go so I can leave," she told him. He didn't move. "Rick, please."

He sighed and gave her temple a peck before letting her stand and following her to the door. "Drive safe," he said as he helped her into her coat and she grabbed her bag.

"Thanks. Sleep well."

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss, which lasted far longer than anyone would deem decent.

"I have to leave," she whispered as they broke apart.

"Uh-huh," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her again.

"Rick," Kate panted as they broke apart for the second time. She gently pushed him away and tried to control the giddy grin that was threatening to stretch across her face. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," he sighed, letting go of her waist and stepping backward. "Until tomorrow, Kate."

"Tomorrow," she nodded, before she quickly pulled the door open and left, shutting it gently behind her.

Rick stared at the door. Twelve or so hours seemed an awfully long time. He turned and began to clean up the living room, bringing the bowl of popcorn back to the sink and straightening up the odds and ends, before he made his way into his study. He needed to do something to keep his mind quiet, and sleep definitely wasn't the answer.

At the same time, Kate stood slumped against the wall outside his apartment, her breath still coming back to her. Their undercover kisses had been mind blowing, but they didn't even compare to what she'd just experienced. If that was how he kissed, suffice it to say she wasn't going to be able to leave the next time. She gave herself a little shake to ward off the bubbly, excited feelings that were attempting to break free and sighed. Tomorrow seemed a long way off.

Author's Second Note: I do not, in any way, work for, formally endorse, or over-enthusiastically support Darren Criss or AVPM (if someone would like to offer me a position as such a person, however, I would be game).

For those of you who don't know, Darren Criss is the newest member of the Television cast of Glee. Before that, though, he was one of the co-creators and song writers for the student musical A Very Potter Musical, which, if you haven't seen it, I suggest you march on over to Youtube and prepare to give up a good six hours of your life (there's a sequel). It's a brilliant love letter to JK Rowling, and everyone should enjoy the magic. I think it's something Castle and Alexis would definitely flip over.