A/N: I just wanted to say that I am so lucky to be a part of this fandom. We really are a family and your kind words meant the world to me. Thank you so, so much.

A Helping Hand

Chapter 2

"We should probably get going." He said when she yawned for the third time, leaning against the window.

They were still at the diner in Providence, but their meal was long gone. The burgers and fries they had shared, now warmed Kate's stomach and made her drowsy. After all, it was already past 10 and she had been driving for hours on top of working practically all day. Exhaustion was starting to catch up with her and she nodded, agreeing with him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She sat up straighter on her side of the booth and bumped her knees with his affectionately. "How long until we get there?" She asked after he asked their waitress for the check. The waitress came back and, before Kate could even reach for her wallet, Castle had already thrown a couple of twenties on the table and stood up. "Castle…" She sighed, annoyed, but he only shrugged.

"You can pay for it when we stop here on our way back home." He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. Deep down, however, she was glad that he was smiling again. "And we still have another hour or so to go. I'm driving, though." He said firmly and she chuckled, handing him the keys.

"Be my guest." She teased and he took the keys from her, his fingers brushing hers in the process, causing her skin to tingle where they had touched. "We still have to look for a place to stay, right?"

They started toward the door and as soon as they stepped out into the warm Rhode Island air, Kate felt his hand touch the small of her back again, guiding her to the car. She chanced a glance at him out of the corner of her eye and found him looking straight ahead, a small smile playing on his lips. Shaking her head, amused, she relaxed into his touch and even stepped a little closer to him, losing the battle against a yawn.

"Tired?" He asked quietly, his lips suddenly so close to her ear that she could almost feel them brushing her skin and made her shiver slightly at their proximity.

"A little, yeah. It's been a long day." She said when they reached the car. He opened the door for her and she settled on the passenger seat, waiting for him to go around the car to the driver's side. "How are you doing?" she asked softly after he put on his seatbelt. He looked at her for a moment and then leaned his head back on the seat, letting out a sigh.

"I don't know." He answered honestly and she nodded. "I don't think it really hit me yet." He offered her a sad smile, turning the key in the ignition as the car roared back to life.

She mimicked his move from earlier and reached out, touching his thigh gently. He turned to look at her briefly, but she could see the grateful look in his eyes as he eased the car back into traffic. Leaving her hand where it was, she relaxed back into the seat and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, after they had left the city behind and were back on the Interstate, she felt him touch her hand and close his fingers around it, lifting it up to his lips. Opening her eyes, surprised, she turned to look at him and found him smiling as he sneaked glances at her.

"What?" She asked a little self-consciously, a small smile tugging her lips up. He squeezed her hand and put it back on his thigh, but didn't let go.

"You really are extraordinary." He mused and she bit her lip, feeling her face heat up a little.

"Thanks, Castle." She watched him for a moment, trying to determine what had made him say that. After a minute of her mind drawing a blank, she turned back to him. "Although I have no idea why you think that." She said sheepishly and he chuckled.

"I don't think we have enough time for me to list everything." He threw a teasing grin in her direction and she rolled her eyes.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." She stated with a laugh and he shrugged, smiling at her boyishly before turning back to the road ahead.

"Just this, Kate. You coming with me, not pushing me to talk, this," He lifted their joined hands to show her and she brushed her thumb over the back of his hand in acknowledgment. "Everything, really."

"No place I'd rather be, Rick." She said earnestly and he nodded, lacing his fingers through hers. "Really." She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes, after seeing him smile softly out at the road.

When they finally made it to Cape Cod it was close to midnight. Kate had fallen asleep halfway there and just as he was parking in front of a hotel, she stirred and looked around groggily. Stretching her legs (she had pulled her knees up and fallen asleep like that so she felt a little stiff from sitting in the same position for over an hour), she turned to look at him when the engine died.

"Hey, sleepyhead." He threw her own words back to her playfully and she chuckled. "We're here." He said, taking the keys out of ignition and handing them back to her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to fall asleep on you." She yawned and he shook his head, dismissing her apology. She looked out at the hotel and sighed. "Let's hope they have vacancies. It is summer, after all."

"Let's go check it out, then." He told her and got out of the car, waiting for her by the trunk so they could get their bags. She popped it open and he quickly grabbed both of their bags, shrugging when Kate glared at him for carrying hers. "What, I'm trying to be a gentleman here." He said, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Come on." He nodded in the direction of the hotel and they started toward it.

Stepping into the building, he guided her to the reception area. A young man behind the counter smiled at them in welcome as Kate asked if he had two free rooms for tonight. Just as Kate expected, he offered an apology and said that unfortunately they were fully booked.

"Oh, wait. Ma'am!" The young man called after them when they were making their way to the exit. "We do have one room available, if that's alright. The Barnstable Village. It's one of our best."

"Perfect. We'll take it." Castle said, handing him his credit card.

He gave him his information and a couple of minutes later, a bellboy was leading them to their room. Kate felt a little apprehensive about being in a confined space with a guy she obviously had feelings for and was extremely attracted to. Castle looked like he had no problem at all about sleeping in the same room as her as he once again touched the small of her back. Then again, it was silly of her to expect or hope that anything would happen between them in these circumstances. Right now she had to focus on being his friend, on supporting him and giving him strength to get through this.

"Right this way, sir." The kid was no older than eighteen and still had a baby face, even though he was really tall. He opened the door to their room and placed their bags on the couch. "If you need anything, room service is available all night." He informed and Castle nodded as Kate looked around the room in wonder.

"Thank you." He handed the kid a nice tip and wished him a good night before closing the door behind him. "Not too bad, huh?" He asked her and she bit her lip, nodding.

"Not too bad at all. I can take the couch tonight." She offered, pointing at the couch to the left of the king size bed. The room was really spacious with the one bed, a couch and a small kitchen further to the right. A big flat screen TV hung on the wall and double doors led to a small deck where they could see the marina, where several boats were anchored, as they danced slowly in the dark water. "You need to get a good night's sleep, Rick." She added when he opened his mouth to protest.

"Doesn't mean you need to be uncomfortable, Kate. That's ridiculous." He rolled his eyes and she sighed, looking at the bed. "We're adults here. We can sleep in the same bed and it doesn't have to mean anything." He said quietly and she bit her lip, pondering her options for a moment.

"Okay." She gave in and stepped out of her shoes, letting out a quiet moan when her bare feet touched the floor. "Do you mind if I use the bathroom first?" She asked and he shook his head, taking off his shoes as well. Kate nodded and grabbed her bag, making her way to the bathroom.

After a quick shower, she felt refreshed. New York had been incredibly hot and she had been feeling hot and sweaty all day long. Now, she put on a pair of shorts and an old tank top, before checking her reflection in the mirror. She had not anticipated having to share a room with Castle and this was the only thing she had to wear to bed. It would have to do, she thought, pulling her hair up in a loose ponytail. After removing her makeup, she brushed her teeth and deemed herself ready to go back into the room.

A quick survey of the space told her that he was nowhere to be found. Frowning, she placed her bag back on the couch and made her way to the small deck outside. Sure enough, there he was, sitting in one of the vine chairs, looking out at the boats. It was a clear night and the full moon was shining brightly on the sky, its light casting a cool glow down on the water. It was a mesmerizing view.

"Hey," she said quietly and he jumped, startled, and turned around. "Bathroom's free if you want to use it." He nodded and she sat down on the chair next to him.

"I used to come here a lot when I was a kid." He told her after a moment, relaxing back into the chair. "Every summer until I was 16, 17 maybe, I would come here for a couple of weeks while Mother was busy with her plays or movies. My Uncle Charlie had a boat and Sam and I would spend hours pretending to be pirates or bringing girls here when we were older." He turned to her with a cheeky grin and she chuckled, shaking her head. "Sam was two years older than me and he was kind of the guy I looked up to, you know? Especially when he started high school and had all these girls chasing him. I thought he was the coolest guy ever." He let out a quiet laugh, looking out at water thoughtfully.

"Why didn't you guys keep in touch?" She asked quietly, resting her hand next to his on the small table that sat between their chairs. Rick sighed and shook his head, regret obvious in his eyes.

"I don't know, really. He started college and went out to the west coast and I stayed here. Then I started college and published my first book and I guess we never made time for each other." He shrugged sadly and she covered his hand with hers. He immediately turned his palm up, threading his fingers through hers and gave her a small smile. "We did see each other a few times over the years. Usually at family events. I think the last time I saw him was maybe three years ago, I don't know. No, it was before that. I hadn't met you yet." He finished with a small grin, but she could see it didn't reach his eyes. "Alexis was still a little girl."

"I know it doesn't fix anything now," she started slowly. "But at least you have years of memories with him in your childhood, you know? You should hold on to that."

"Yeah, I know." He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand gently and sighed. "That's the funny thing about life, isn't it? We always think we have more time." He said sadly and Kate couldn't help but relate to their own issues and how it was her fault they were wasting precious time because she couldn't deal with her inner demons.

"We should cherish the time we have with the people we love, then." She said quietly, mostly to herself, but from his quick intake of breath, he heard it too.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and found him watching her curiously, as if trying to understand what exactly she meant by that. She squeezed his hand and turned to him, holding his gaze for a moment and allowing him to search her eyes for whatever hidden meaning he thought he might find. After a moment, a smile tugged a corner of his lips up and he looked at her in wonder. Kate bit her lip, feeling a little self-conscious under his intense gaze, but stood her ground. He nodded almost imperceptibly and brought their joined hands to his lips, placing a soft kiss to the back of her hand.

"I think I'm going to go take a quick shower. Do you want to order anything?" He asked as he stood up and she shook her head.

"No, I'm not hungry. Unless you want something?" She added and he shook his head, that look of wonder still present in his eyes as he watched a lose strand of her hair fly in the breeze. "I'm just going to go to bed, then. Maybe watch some TV for a little while."

"Okay. I'll be back soon." He said and went back into the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Now she felt a little uneasy for what she said and hoped against hope he understood her message.

Standing up, she watched the boats float aimlessly in the breeze, the moonlight shining brightly down on them. After a couple of minutes, she went back inside and slipped under the covers in bed. She turned the TV on, but dozed off in a matter of minutes. When she woke up again, the room was dark and she felt Rick slip under the covers next to her. Every cell in her body screamed at her to move closer, but she remained still as a statue, almost afraid to breathe too loudly and betray that she was awake.

Closing her eyes, she tried to fall back asleep, but he kept moving around, apparently trying to find a better position. It wasn't until he touched her that everything seemed to stand still. He stopped abruptly and she could feel that his hand was hovering close to her stomach, as he seemed unsure of what to do now that he had touched her. With a sigh, Kate decided to move slightly closer to him, hoping he would take that as permission to touch her without feeling guilty. A few tense seconds passed before she finally felt his hand rest lightly on her stomach, his touch still unsure. She moved a little closer again and he seemed to get his confidence back as his hand slid over her stomach and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her impossibly closer.

With a satisfied sigh, she closed her eyes again, relaxing now that she could feel his body against hers, warm and reassuring. It wasn't even sexual; it was more of a comfort for both of them.

She felt him press a kiss to her cheek and smiled in the darkness.

"Night, Kate." He whispered and she could feel his smile as he burrowed his face into her neck, confidence back in full power.

"Night, Rick."

The sound of his steady breathing soon lulled her back to sleep.

A/N: Thoughts?