Chapter 9:

Of Phone Conversations and Dinner Plans

The person on the other end wasn't someone she was expecting. She thought at first that either Lanie or one of the boys would be calling, or perhaps even the Captain. She had overlooked the possibility that the only person left who would call her would be her own father.

Kate felt somewhat guilty as she started to have a conversation with him. Here he was, a perfectly good man with great intentions, and he was always the one dealt the worst hands in life.

"Hey, Dad. What's up?" she asked, hoping that everything was okay. Usually, he would only call her on occasions that had to do with her mother. Unfortunately for their situation, that was happening a little too frequently now. She had informed him of this last case and vented frustrations to him about her mother's case, but her dad seemed to be less than happy to watch her dwell on such things.

"Nothing really, I just wanted to check in with you and see how you were doing. I haven't heard from you in a few days," he replied.

"Well, you're going to be a little surprised right now. I'm on vacation in the Hamptons," she paused, then added, "with Castle."

Her dad was quiet after that admission for a few moments, and Beckett glanced at the phone to make sure that they hadn't lost connection.

"Castle's with you? Are you guys "a thing" now or something?" he asked. He didn't like Castle at first due to the media's ongoing obsession with him and all of his private matters, but after he had seen what Castle had done for his daughter, always risking his own neck for her just to make her happy and give her some kind of justice to her mother's murder, how could he not respect him? He watched his daughter feign annoyance time and time again when she would talk about him, but something in her eyes always contradicted the words that came from her mouth. If anyone was good enough for his daughter, he decided, it was Richard Castle.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? What, do I have a tramp stamp on my butt that has his name on it or something?" At this, she felt one of Castle's hands drift idly lower on her body, as if to check for said tattoo. She swatted it away, glaring at him and attempting to get out of the tub. She almost succeeded when she felt one of Castle's hands pull her back in and dragged her to sit more closely against him. Giving in, she let herself be immersed in Castle while she finished the currently annoying conversation she was having with her father.

"Honey, the man is obsessed with you. Everyone who watches you for at least five minutes can see it. The question is, why can't you see it, too? That, and why aren't you doing anything about it? You're not discouraging him in any way. If anything, you're encouraging his behavior. Going on vacation with him only makes things harder. If you really don't feel anything for him, why let him take you to one of his vacation spots?" he pressed, trying to make his daughter see his side of the situation.

"Dad, my boss made me go with him. He said I had been working too hard, and that emotionally I was starting to become a little erratic. He told me that I had to go on this vacation with him. The way he made it sound, it sounded like I'd be fired if I didn't. So here I am, trying to enjoy myself while Castle's around," she finished.

"Honey, I'm just concerned about you. What about your feelings on this? You can't sit there and tell me that you don't have feelings for him—"

Beckett cut him off. "I think we're done here, Dad. I really don't want to have this conversation with you."

Her father sighed, finally giving in. "All right, sweetie. If you don't want to talk about this now, then I won't press you. However, sooner or later, you will need to address it."

Beckett rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the rush of emotions that the conversation with her father was eliciting inside of her. The two said their goodbyes and hung up.

Beckett sat in Castle's arms for a few moments, silent and lost in her own thoughts. Were her actions really that noticeable that even her own father, who saw her only a few times a year, could see them and judge that she and Castle were "more than partners"?

She shivered, causing Castle to pull her closer into his body. He didn't know what all had been said to her, but he knew that the conversation was about them in some way. Kate usually didn't get this flustered unless someone started a conversation about something that really bothered her.

"What's going on, Kate?" he asked, trying to get her to open up.

"That was my dad. He's fine," she said curtly. She really didn't want to have this conversation with him right now.

"Kate, I'm your friend. From the way you were talking about things, your dad was pestering you about us. Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked, glancing at her hopefully.

Kate sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time and rolled her eyes. "He seems to think we're attracted to each other," she began. "In fact, a lot of people do. Lanie, the captain, Esposito and Ryan. Why can't they tell that we're just friends? Why do they all have to insist that we are more than that?"

"Maybe it's because something has changed between us, Kate," Castle replied. "Look, I know it might not be something that you want to hear right now, but I think you should listen anyway. There's something between us, and I think we owe it to ourselves to explore it."

"Don't." Kate said pleadingly.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Castle inquired, honestly confused.

"You know exactly what I am referring to! I can't do something that stupid and risk losing you. Jesus! You're my best friend. You've been with me through hell and back. If I were to go into this thing with you, I'm not entirely sure that it would work out for the better. Then what? You'd leave, and I would be left alone to pick up the pieces. I don't think that I would ever be strong enough to do that."

"What if you're wrong, though? What if we explored this and it turned out to be something so beautiful? What then? You'd actually be happy. You'd have a family who adores you, and I'd never leave you. Even though we've been through so much and I've seen a lot more than I probably would have in these last few years than I would ever want to in my life, I'm still here. I'm not running from this, and I'm not going to let you either. So stop making up excuses. Stop running! If you don't, then I'll just have to keep chasing you," he replied.

During his rant, Beckett's heart pounded, and her breath quickened. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Here he was, saying all these perfect things, but she was still very uncertain of how things would work. Shaking herself mentally from her thoughts, she decided to just enjoy the ride that Castle was offering her.

"You said we're going to dinner?" she asked. At his nod, she unwrapped herself from him. "Well, if we're going, I guess I had better get ready." With that, she stood up and got out of the tub, giving Castle an excellent view of what he had been missing while they were in the tub together.

The golden bikini that she decided to wear was one of the more modest that he had bought for her. However, it still left almost nothing to the imagination since she was soaking wet. Her nipples pebbled as the cold air hit her, which made him want to do nothing but get out of the tub and warm her up.

That was not a proper way to begin things between them, he reminded himself with a groan.

Beckett dried herself off and went inside again to Castle's bedroom. She inhaled sharply before she opened his closet, then gasped. Inside was a gorgeous floor length ballgown.

It was zebra and floral patterned, with a sort of keyhole neckline in both the front and back. When she put it on, she noticed that the dress also had a high slit in front. She rolled her eyes. Castle would do almost anything to get a glimpse of her body.

As for her hair, she chose to leave it down in loose waves down her back, and put on her makeup a little heavier than usual. She felt like she was getting ready for prom all over again.

When she was done, it was close to six. Beckett grabbed a simple clutch purse he also left for her and placed her cell phone, spare handcuffs, and badge inside, putting on some simple black stiletto heels as well. After checking herself in the mirror and dabbing some perfume behind her ear, she was ready enough to go find Castle.

He was standing at the bottom of the stairs with his back turned to her. She cleared her throat in order to get his attention, and he turned to greet her.

His breath quickly exited his lungs and his jaw dropped as he got the full effect of Katherine Beckett. She was simply stunning. The dress fit perfectly on her and hugged every curve of her body like a glove.

"You gonna wipe up that drool, Castle? I think I may have to get a canoe to get across the lake you're making on the floor," she teased.

Castle shook himself from his mental state. "You look absolutely stunning," he complimented, holding out an arm for her.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she replied taking his arm gently.

Castle was wearing a white tuxedo with a black bow tie and black shoes. He looked every bit like a movie star. She could hardly keep her eyes off of him.

Castle led her gently outside to the waiting limousine, which drove them away to the luxurious restaurant.

A/N: This chapter was such a long one! Sorry the last one was so short, but I made this one much longer in order to make up for it. Hope you guys are enjoying this as it unfolds as much as I am! REVIEW!