Kate could hear the chaos before she even reached the door. Dishes clanged and Castle's voice floated through the hallway. Tentatively ringing the doorbell, a shouted "Come in!" surprised the detective. Turning the unlocked door handle, Beckett let herself into the apartment.

"Kate!" three chorused voices shouted as she came into view. Beckett jumped, but recovered quickly when Alexis stumbled over to wrap her in a tense hug.

"You met her, right? Is she nice?" the teen asked anxiously.

"I did," Kate answered with a laugh, "and I think you'll really like her. She was lovely and sincere and so excited to have a family."

Alexis sighed heavily. "I have a case of nerves like you wouldn't believe - "

"Daughter!" Rick interrupted her, "don't neglect your sauce!"

"Yikes, I'd better get back."

Kate followed Alexis into the kitchen where Martha and her son stirred and flipped and grated busily.

"Can I help with anything?" she asked.

"Yes my dear," Martha replied. "Grab yourself a glass of wine and come be a calming influence on Richard."

"Castle, are you nervous?" Kate teased.

"Of course I am," he snapped. "What was I thinking inviting her over? She could be crazy, or a murderer, or a psychopath, or – "

"Or she could be a really cool aunt, right?" Alexis interrupted her father. She rolled her eyes at Beckett. "Please Kate, make him calm down!"

"Castle, I looked over everything she brought me, remember? She is really who she says she is."

"She could have faked those documents," the writer stubbornly pointed out.

Beckett sighed and poured herself a half-glass of wine. Seeing the lines of tension around Castle's eyes, she decided to pour him some too. "Yes, but I made one call, with her sitting right next to me, to the Connecticut Children's Services office, and they confirmed they have an Aris Miron-Whitworth on file. And their information matches everything she gave me."

"She could have a plant at the CCS."

"Richard!" Martha scolded. "Stop seeing a conspiracy where there is none."

"Yeah Dad," Alexis added in.

Beckett smiled and walked around the island. "Yeah Castle," she quipped, handing him his glass of wine. He accepted it and took a long sip.

"Thanks for ganging up on me in my time of panic," he said dryly.

"You're welcome!" Alexis offered sarcastically.

Martha motioned for her granddaughter and headed for the stairs. "Come on Alexis, let's go figure out what you should wear to meet your aunt." Alexis took her sauce off of the burner and scampered up the stairs after her grandmother.

Once they were gone, awkward silence filled the air. Richard moved from the stove with a murmured instruction for Kate to watch the concoction simmering in the frying pan. Kate nodded and watched it while Castle set the dining table, unsure of what she should say. Once upon a time, filling the quiet had never been a problem for the author and detective, but this was the first time Castle and Beckett had been alone together since before the summer; Kate had made certain of that thus far. All the events of the spring and summer seemed to stand between them. Or maybe it just seemed like that to Kate. Castle didn't act any differently...maybe.

Kate shook herself, remembering all the soul-searching and decision-making she'd done over the summer. After she broke up with Demming and before Castle announced that he was back with Gina, Kate had let her emotions get out of control. Even if it was only for a short time, Kate could still remember how her heart had pounded – it felt like it would jump right from her chest. And she had felt anxious and also like she'd been reborn, in a way. But seeing him with Gina forced Kate to remember that Castle lived in a world she did not. He was a play boy – used to a star-studded, luxury lifestyle that she would never like to live in. After remembering all those things she hated about her partner's lifestyle, it had not been hard for Kate to convince herself that telling Castle how she felt would have been a stupid move. So she spent the summer getting to know herself again and by the time he came back to work, she was ready to face him again – as a colleague and as a casual friend.

After Castle came back from the Hampton's (broken up with Gina), the bureau had welcomed him back with open and eager arms. Even Kate was excited he was back, although she tried to ignore any resemblance of such a feeling (and she turned a completely blind eye to the point about his ex-wife.) She did her best to put their relationship where it had been before: flirty but productive; light but industrious.

But now...now Kate felt like she'd felt before the Hamton's, before Demming, before things got complicated. There was a time when Beckett had felt connected to Castle. Not romantically, per se, but like she could finally say there was someone in her life who knew her, really knew her. And when Aris had dropped her bomb in the Castle's life, it brought Kate back to that feeling...perhaps a little unwilling, but back nonetheless.

Finally, Castle finished setting the table and he moved back to the kitchen.

"KB," he scolded half-heartedly. "You're hardly watching my dish!"

Kate opened her mouth to make a smart comment, but closed it again. "I'm sorry," was what she settled with. She suddenly didn't feel like poking at the nervous writer.

"You're sorry? I saw that smarmy comeback on your lips. Come on detective, let's hear it."

She hid a smile behind a sip of her wine. "Nope, sorry, no comments from this peanut gallery."

Castle squinted his eyes at Kate. "You're hardly the peanut gallery," he said simply, a look in his eyes that Kate couldn't quite identify. She felt her heart skip a beat and before he could see her blush, she turned away.

"You'd better stir whatever's on the stove Castle," she reminded him. With a yelp, he leaped back to the stove and attended to dinner. Before he got things under control, the timer on the oven went off, followed closely by the doorbell. Alexis came bolting down the stairs.

"I'll get it!" she cried. At the bottom of the stairs, she stopped. "Just kidding, I can't, I'm too nervous," she said.

Castle, who was bending into the oven, glared at his daughter. "Alexis, go on! Don't just leave her standing there," he hissed.

"But Dad – "

"Don't 'But, Dad' me young lady, go on. Ouch!" Too busy arguing with his daughter, Castle hadn't paid attention and his arm contacted the hot oven door. Muttered profanities started to flow and Kate ran over to help him. She took the hot dish from his hands, swiping the oven mitts as she did so, and used her elbow to turn on the cold water.

"Alexis sweetie, don't panic," she said in a reassuring tone. "Just answer the door and invite her in. I promise we'll help you with the rest." The teen looked into Kate's steady eyes, nodded resolutely, and then went to answer the door.

Beckett turned to Castle and her tone was less kind. "Don't yell at your daughter, Rick, she's freaked out enough." Softening just a little she nodded toward the now cold water. "And put your arm under that until I find some burn cream." Kate finally set the dish down on a dish towel. She heard Alexis answer the door and exchange words with Aris. Before she could run upstairs for the first aid kit, Castle grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"Castle – "

Her protest was muffled when Rick pulled her into a hug – wet arm and all. He pressed a kiss to her temple and held her close. "Thank you for being here Kate," he whispered into her hair. Too surprised to do anything but accept the contact, Kate didn't have the facilities to fight the thoughts that were bombarding her. His arms were strong and they felt really nice wrapped around her. He had one hand at the small of her back that pulled her up into him, and a niggling little voice in the back of her head thought that this was probably how Jameson Rook held Nikki Heat, but she ignored it mostly. Finally, they heard Martha descend the stairs and Alexis and Aris coming into the room so Beckett pulled away.

"Kate, why is your back all wet?" Alexis asked.