Author's Note: I received a lot of requests for this one - hopefully it makes up for the terribly lengthy delay.

4x05 – Eye Of The Beholder

"I guess the least the NYPD can do is take you out for a hamburger?"

She's looking up at him through her eyelashes, a timid yet hopeful expression on her face, and he can't help but smile. Because things haven't exactly been smooth going between them these last few days and yet here she is, offering to take him out for dinner.

One that he could certainly afford, despite the hefty fine from the museum, and he knows that she knows that.

"I accept," he answers smoothly. As if he possibly could turn her down.

The smile that crosses her face is brilliant, and he feels his heart twist in his chest. She's so beautiful. Serena was interesting and intelligent and beautiful as well, and he admits to being more than a little intrigued by the woman. But she'll never measure up to Kate. No one will.

"Come on," Kate whispers, pausing to reach for her jacket, phone, and keys before falling in beside him as they cross the bullpen, head for the elevator. "Let's go."

It's a lovely evening. They order burgers and fries and milkshakes. They keep up a lively conversation. Castle steals a few of her fries ("eat your own," she scolds) and dips them in his milkshake, a combination of which she still hasn't quite found the appeal.

And when all is said and done, they sit back, nursing what's left of their shakes and enjoying the pleasant company.

"So...nude modeling, huh?" he chances with genuine interest, though his fascination with this tidbit from her past lies more in the 'nude' aspect than the 'modeling' one. For obvious reasons.

Kate raises an eyebrow. "What about it?"

An off-handed shrug. "Just never pictured you for the type."

"And what kind of type did you picture me as?" she challenges.

"Something more...clothed?"

She scoffs. "Right."

"I mean, it doesn't surprise me that you were a model. I just..." At her quirked eyebrow he trails off, attempts to change the subject. "I didn't know you were into art."

Kate shrugs. "I appreciate it."

"Ah." He nods his understanding and they fall into silence. Kate pokes around the bottom of her glass with her straw, slurping up every last bit of the creamy deliciousness. It's cool as it slides down her throat, calming the heat in her veins, the burn of his gaze. He's picturing her naked right now. She knows he is. It's written all over his face.

She doesn't want to admit what that does to her, but she thinks she might not be doing a great job of hiding the blush that stains her cheeks.

Eventually, Castle clears his throat, speaks tentatively. "So you just stood there naked while people sketched you?"

Kate fixes him with a stern glare. It's all she can handle right now; brushing it off as annoyance. Not that other thing.

No. Definitely not that.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"You were naked."

"Yes, we've established that."

"And people were looking at you."

"Well, it would've been hard to sketch me without looking."

He opens his mouth, closes it again.

"What?"

No response.

"What, Castle?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing, sorry. I'm just still caught up on the 'you were naked' part."

"Like you've never seen a naked woman before," Kate retorts. It's harsher than she intended, feigned irritation meant to mask the jealousy surging up within her. It's bad enough that she had to watch him kiss Serena, fall under the spell of the woman's wily charms. Now she's thinking about all the other women he's been with over the years. Fantastic.

"Yeah but..."

But it wasn't you.

He just manages to bite back the words before they escape. It's been less than two months since their conversation on the swings, since she asked for time to put herself back together after the shooting. Probably not the time for him to pour his heart out.

When he inexplicably falls silent, Kate lifts her head, and the way he's gazing at her is almost more than she can handle. It's heated and deep, as though Serena and all the others are nothing compared to her.

It takes her breath away.

She cocks her head in curiosity, silently coaxing him to continue. To her dismay, he shakes his head, brushes it off as if it were nothing. "Nevermind." He gestures to her empty glass. "Enjoyed your shake?"

Kate exhales the breath she doesn't realize she's been holding. Despite her curiosity, she's infinitely grateful for the change of subject. Judging by the look in his eyes, she's pretty sure whatever words he wanted to say would've been far more than she could handle right now. "Mmhmm."

He tilts his glass, slurping at the straw to finish what remains of his beverage. "Thanks for dinner."

She smiles, a gorgeous curve of her lips that lights up her entire face, crinkles the corners of her eyes. "No problem."

Silence falls once more but this time it's comfortable, easy. Castle leans back against the bench, one arm stretched along the top of the leather seat. He crosses one ankle over the opposite knee, relaxing against the bench. His eyes flit around the restaurant, taking everything in, but every few seconds they're inevitably drawn back to her. Always to her.

The first time she catches him staring, she offers a shy smile before glancing away.

The second, she quickly averts her eyes, busies herself with reaching for one of the few remaining fries, swirling it in the pool of ketchup before popping it into her mouth. From the corner of her eye, she can see his gazed glued to her lips. She snags another fry, pretends not to notice.

The third time, she finally cracks.

"Castle."

"What?"

"You're staring."

"Sorry," he replies automatically. He's not sorry at all and they both know it. And truthfully, she doesn't mind it as much as she used to.

Kate steals the last fry, pushes the empty basket to the center of the table along with her empty glass. Castle does the same, gathering up his dishes and used napkins, stacking everything into a somewhat lopsided pile.

"Shall we?" she asks, sliding out of the booth, pausing to adjust her shirt, smooth down the fabric of her pantlegs.

He's not even close to ready for the evening to end. Nevertheless, he rises as well. "Sure."

Kate turns to reach for her jacket but he's already there, holding it out for her to slip into. She slides her arms into the sleeves, allows him to settle the fabric over her shoulders before taking over, doing up the buttons herself.

He guides her out of the restaurant with a hand warm against her back, leading her gently through the front door and out onto the bustling sidewalk. They pause under the awning, and when Kate turns to face him, the grin on his face is far too satisfied for her liking.

"What?" she asks suspiciously, wary of the pleased twinkle in his eye.

"Nothing." His tone is much too airy and amused for his dismissive answer to be anything but a lie.

"Castle."

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Just thinking about how much I've enjoyed this little date of ours."

She narrows her eyes. "Excuse me?"

He raises an eyebrow smugly.

Kate opens her mouth, hastens to put an end to this line of thought. "This isn't a date."

"Au contraire, Detective," he fires back, as though he already has it all figured out. He probably does. "You invited me out to dinner, you paid for my dinner, and just now, you let me help you into your coat."

"You do that all the time," she interjects.

Castle pays her no heed, continues on. "At this rate, I'll be kissing you goodnight at your doorstep about twe..."

Kate whacks him across the chest. Hard. "Shut up."

She turns away sharply, ducks her head, but not before Castle catches a glimpse of the pink staining her cheeks and the bite of her tongue into her bottom lip, a smile she can't quite suppress. Kate takes off down the sidewalk at a brisk pace, determined to put as much space between them as possible. She needs to get a grip, and it's not going to happen when he's gazing at her lovingly and talking about kissing her goodnight and everything else that reminds her of an undercover but very much real kiss and those three little words he doesn't know she heard.

But her efforts are all to no avail. He catches up with her at the street corner, settles into step at her side, shoulders brushing as they're jostled into the street by the never-ending throngs of pedestrians. She catches his gaze on her still, eyes glancing back and forth between watching where he's going and watching her, and she really can't figure out what could possibly be so interesting about her walking down the street. Then again, she's never figured out what's so fascinating about watching her do paperwork either.

They're only a couple blocks from the Twelfth, and before she has much of a chance to conjure up a satisfactory explanation, they reach the front of the building, the concrete facade rising high above the city streets. Kate pauses outside the front doors, turns and chances a glance up at her partner.

"Well, I guess I'll just," he gestures over his shoulder, "head out." The reluctance is written all over his face, charmingly intertwined with his adoring gaze.

It's so intense that she has to look away. "Okay, well, see you tomorrow?"

Castle's smile widens, crinkles in the corners of his eyes deepening. "Until tomorrow, Detective."

The deep tone of his voice is enough to send her emotions into a tizzy, and when exactly did she lose the ability to hide her reaction to him?

From the amused glance he throws over his shoulder as he turns to head for the curb, she can tell that he knows exactly what he does to her.

He knows and he enjoys it far too much.

Thoughts?