Hi guys,

This one was a quick chapter. The Lanie/Kate interaction almost wrote itself, and it was certainly fun to write. Rick/Kate at the end.

Have fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Chapter 6

"Have you been able to find a new apartment yet?"

"No. Not really." Sighed Kate as she played absently with her glass, observing the little alcohol that was still inside. She and her best friend Lanie were decompressing from the events of the day in a bar near the precinct. Another killer behind bars, another case solved.

It had been almost five weeks since her apartment exploded. Since then she had been living with her dad. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy seeing him more often than she did normally, but she craved for her own private sanctuary. She wanted to be on her own again. But until now she had yet to find a new apartment that she could see herself living in.

Loud laughter drew her attention immediately to the billiard tables in the back of the bar.

A group of men were having fun, playing in teams against each other. But every time she glanced into their directions, there really was only one man she was looking at.

It was a coincidence, really. She hadn't known he'd be here tonight. Hadn't even seen him here in the past. She and Lanie sat at their usual table, enjoying a few drinks together. And like always Kate had scanned the room mindlessly after sitting down, taking in the people in the bar. That was the moment she had seen him.

She had recognized him immediately. His tall height and broad shoulders, his brown hair that looked as soft as the last time she had seen him. And especially his blue eyes that seemed to have a constant spark in them. Every time she heard the group laugh, her eyes magically landed on him on the other side of the room.

Honestly? She'd have never thought that she'd see him again.

Kate had to admit that she still had his shirt. At the beginning she told herself that she'd return it to him, but she quickly realized that she didn't know where he worked at exactly, and searching every firehouse for him would have made her look crazy. After dismissing the idea of returning it, she planned to keep it a few days longer, since it really was one of the only pieces of clothing she had then.

But she still had it.

A shirt of a man she didn't know. After two months since the explosion. She'd never tell a soul about that, and she hoped to god that nobody would ever find out. What this little fact told her about herself, she didn't want to know.

"Earth to Beckett."

"What?" Kate exclaimed surprised, completely caught off-guard by her best friend.

"Really?" Lanie asked. "Where the hell are you with your thoughts tonight?"

Kate shook her head dismissingly. "Oh well, nowhere special."

Lanie sat up a little straighter, a teasing glint suddenly visible in her eyes. "Do you want to know what I'm thinking? I think your thoughts are somewhere in those blue eyes of the man you keep eyeing throughout the evening." stated Lanie. "Should I leave you two alone?"

"Oh, please!" scoffed Kate. Maybe she hadn't been as discreet as she had thought. Damn, it was time for damage control. "Maybe I looked once or twice in his direction. So what?"

"Sure. That's something you can tell our dear god, and even he wouldn't believe you."

Why was it that Lanie always seemed to look right through her? She always knew when she lied or tried to deflect when she came too close to the truth.

"It's him." Kate murmured, keeping her head lowered.

Lanie had barely heard Kate's reply because of the loud noise of the bar and her friend's quiet voice. "It's whom?"

Kate sighed, slightly annoyed that her friend made her spill it out for her. "The fireman that helped me out of my apartment."

"The one that saw you naked?"

Now she rolled her eyes, making her annoyance obvious to Lanie, who smiled satisfied at her. "He didn't see me naked. He was a gentleman. He turned around almost instantly and gave me his shirt to cover myself up."

"Almost instantly." repeated Lanie, drawing out the word almost. "He's hot."

Kate gazed back at him, humming slightly.

Lanie eyed her friend curiously, taking in her absent glance towards the group of men in the back. If she didn't knew it better, she'd say that Kate Beckett had a crush. Biting down a smirk, she decided to keep that kind of knowledge as ammunition for later use.

After a few seconds Lanie thought it was time to get Kate's thoughts back to their table. "I don't know about you, but I get to know a guy first before I take off my clothes for him."

That statement earned an eye roll from Kate. Lanie would never let her live that one down. What did she expect? It hadn't been like she knew that her apartment would explode any minute.

Now it was Lanie who looked towards the men, narrowing her eyes. "But he's definitely a Mr.-July kind of guy. Are you claiming him or is he fair game?"

"Lanie!" Kate hissed, already feeling how her cheeks turned pink.

Lanie looked innocently at Kate. "What? It was just a normal question. Relax." Taking in the flushed expression of Kate she smirked again, not being able to keep another teasing jab to herself. "God you must have it bad."

"There's nothing and there will never be something. He was kind to me, that's all. He probably wouldn't even recognize me again."

"Why do you think that? Because he didn't approach you after your second longing glance towards him?" Lanie stated matter-of-factly, earning another annoyed glance for her exaggerated statement. "The bar is packed. The poor guy most likely hasn't seen you yet."

"Or it's like I said it is. He didn't remember me. He rescues dozens of women."

"Women who are completely naked?" countered Lanie with a smirk.

"I'm already regretting ever telling you about that." sighed Kate.

"Technically you didn't. The boys told me about that little fact. You'd have never told a soul about that."

"Gee, I wonder why!" Kate remarked sarcastically. "Remember me to give those two knuckleheads my paperwork for the next two weeks as a reward for extraordinary gossipy. "

"Did you really expect a different behavior?"

Kate chuckled at that. Lanie was right, those two would probably never change. But as much as it was annoying at times, she wouldn't want it any other way. They were her partners, her family.

"I have to make a quick visit to the bathroom. Why don't you order us another round?" asked Kate, not really waiting for a response.

A few minutes later Kate made her way back to their table, coming to an abrupt stop when she saw that Lanie wasn't sitting in her seat. Was she still getting their drinks?

Continuing to the table, she spotted instantly the plain white napkin with Lanie's handwriting on it. Sorry, Girl. Couldn't resist. Enjoy the rest your night.

Kate looked confused at her friend's message. What did she mean?

"Hey."

All of the sudden her body tensed while her heart skipped a beat. She didn't! Lanie would never dare…

Kate turned around and winced inwardly. She did. She actually did it.

In front of her stood Richard Rodgers, smiling softly at her. The man who had held her attention more than Lanie had this evening. There was no point in denying it anymore. At least not to herself. If asked by anyone else she'd be fully in deflection mode.

"Hi." She replied surprised, feeling a little awkward. What should she say to him?

"Your friend approached me. Told me who she was and that you're here too."

"Yeah. And then she ditched me." She answered drily.

Rick smiled. "She shoved me those drinks in my hands," he explained, holding up the drinks Lanie should've gotten them. "Telling me that she had to be somewhere else. Something about bodies. I take it she works for the police too, otherwise I might have let a serial killer on the loose."

Kate chuckled, biting onto her lower lip. She flushed slightly as she noticed his eyes glancing quickly down at her lips before his blue eyes were staring directly into her hazel ones again. "She does work for the NYPD. She's our ME."

"Explains the talk about bodies." Rick grinned.

An awkward silence fell over them. Both of them seemed to not really know what to say. After a few seconds their eyes meet again, and they both erupted into laugher.

"I'm sorry. I honestly thought that I'd never see you again."

"Yeah, me too. It's not often that I meet a person again who I carried out of a burning apartment." He stated. "So you got ditched and my friends already left, why don't we enjoy those free drinks together?"

She should go home. Tell him that it had been nice to see him again, and wish him a good night. She had had enough drinks for the night already, had to be early at work again the next day. She should pack her things, pull on her coat and walk out of the door not once looking back at him.

She really should do all that, stay in her routine. A man didn't fit in her life at the moment.

But something stopped her from doing so, realizing quickly that she just didn't want to do those things.

She smiled. "Sure why not."

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

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