Author's note: the first half of this is new, up to the dividing line thing. After that it's part of the original chapter six. I had forgotten how kind and generous and forgiving everyone is on this site! Thank you all for the reviews and the patience with me while I was figuring out where I was going with this story. For that, I'll be posting the next three chapters within the next two days.

Though Kate had been tired enough to doze off- in the same room as Castle- reading, when Kate finally slipped into bed, she lie awake, thinking.

Downstairs, part of her mind had been sleeping, but her ears had somehow been able to register when Rick's fingers had stopped flying over the keyboard. Kate had almost full slipped into unconsciousness in the quiet following, but just before she could, she'd heard his chair move. His footsteps had been almost silent, but in the quiet room, she could hear them. Fully alert now, she pretended to sleep, waiting as he stood over her, doing nothing that she could hear. When her hair fell into her face, it was a struggle to remain still and not scratch the spot her hair was tickling. But then Rick reached out and brushed the lock away.

Kate's first impulse was to jump up and chew him out for touching her without her permission, but the touch was so sweet, so innocently meant and tender that she stopped thinking and let herself enjoy the touch. She must have still been half asleep, she decided, because then she had actually nuzzled her face into his touch.

Kate heard his intake of breath, and it inexplicably pleased her that she could affect him by simply responding to his touch, even in such an innocent way. But then his hand was gone, moved to her shoulder. It was such a simple touch, but one that induced myriad complicated emotions. She wanted to shove his hand away at the same time she wanted to grab it and pull him closer.

Lying in bed, she could still recall the heat of his palm on her, could imagine it traveling over her skin…

But she shoved that thought aside and wondered at the new- found tension she had experienced as they walked, side-by-side up to bed. Part of her wanted to invite him to follow her all the way into her room, but she knew better than that. Rick Castle wasn't capable of loving her the way she wanted to be loved, and she wasn't about to settle. She'd held out for 32 years for the right guy, she didn't want to give up now, even if she suspected that a night with Castle might be worth the cost.

When he had paused on the landing, she had turned toward him, almost out of habit. And then he'd said goodnight and before she could reply, he'd put his hand around her wrist, leaned in and kisser her… cheek. She hadn't been able to think of a response, she could only stare at him as he studied her eyes for a second and turned away.

As she lay in bed, remembering, her hand moved up to touch the corner of her mouth where Castle's had touched her. A small smiled quickly grew out of her controld and she found she was grinning stupidly.

She really had been ungrateful to the castle family, she recalled. She'd have to find a way to make it up to them. She knew one way that she could make it up to Rick, but she decided that could remain a fantasy for the time being. Laughing a bit at herself, she turned over and closed her eyes. Her last thoughts before she finally gave in to unconsciousness were about Castle, and what might have happened if he'd had better aim.

The next day while in the precinct, Kate found Rick alone in the observation room, watching someone on the other side of the glass.

Rick glanced up when Kate entered the room, but went back to staring at the guy in the interrogation room. "I hate that guy," Castle commented, conversationally.

But when Kate said nothing, she just closed the door behind her, Castle turned to find her studying him with a serious look on her face.

"What's up?" he asked, concerned, but trying not to worry.

Kate studied, the floor for a second, slightly uncomfortable. "I never said thank you when you and your daughter gave me a place to stay."

"Kate," he began, denial in his voice. "You don't…"

"Yes, I do," she cut him off, looking up at his blue eyes. "You gave me a safe place to stay when I needed it, and I thanked you by treating you and Alexis like crap. I…"

"Kate," he cut her off this time. "You had just been blown up in your own home, a psycho was stalking you, with the intent to kill you, and your work life was unstable, to say the least. I understand you needed space after the fact, and believe me, Alexis understands too. We're just sorry all that happened to you."

She smiled at him, touched that he never seemed to hold anything against her, no matter how she treated him. "Please, let me say thank you by making dinner for you and Alexis this weekend."

Rick looked hesitant, almost uncomfortable. "You know how to cook?" he teased. "That is so bizarre."

She laughed, and said, "I guess you'll find out, won't you?"

He nodded, smiling. He loved the sound of her laughter, a sound he hadn't heard much of until recently. "I'll warn Alexis."

The conversation was done, and Kate felt better, knowing she was forgiven, but she hesitated.

After spending so much time with his family, and coming to know them so well, she knew they were affectionate people. They had allowed her to have her personal space up to now. But she was an affectionate person too, she just didn't have a family to show that side of her personality to. Tired of hiding, tired of feeling separate from everyone and everything, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Rick. She knew he was surprised by her actions, but his arms immediately wrapped around her waist. She pressed her cheek into his shoulder, her eyes closing, as she simply enjoyed the embrace.

"Thank you," she said quietly, finding comfort in his arms. "For everything."

"I know better ways you can thank me," he suggested, teasing.

She pushed him away, scoffing. "I'm not that grateful, Castle."

"No, the gratitude comes after a night spent in bed with me."

"You just ruined a perfectly nice moment, Castle. And here I thought we were almost friends, then you blow it."

"Psh," he made a noise, brushing her comment off. "After a hug like that, you know I gotta try."

"Besides," she added in her dry tone, the one she always used when she teased him. "I'm more into comedy, not horror."

"Ha ha," he replied dryly, narrowing his eyes at her, but pleased at the same time. This was the Kate he had missed, the Kate that had disappeared for weeks. He was glad she was finally coming around again.

She just rolled her eyes at him. As she turned away to exit the small room, though, she smiled. At least her relationship with him seemed to be getting back to normal. She never thought she would miss the man when he was gone, but she was suddenly very grateful that he never seemed to give up.

Author's note: I gave Kate an arbitrary age, just cause I needed to make a point. I have no idea how old she's supposed to be in the show, but Stana is actually 32- according to Wikipedia- so I went with that. Also, I stole that whole 'grateful' bit from one of my favorite books. Sweet Liar, by Jude Deveraux. The relationship between those characters is vaguely similar to the one between Kate and Rick. Kind of. But I had to give credit where credit is due. And it really is a good book. I've probably read it 20 times, at least, over the years. But it is definitely rated M… or higher…

PS, sorry about the trouble posting, I tried to post at school, and that didn't work. Hopefully I fixed the problems, and will actually be able to keep this chapter up!