A/N Enjoy! Flashbacks are italicized.

"Beckett," she routinely said as she answered her phone.

"Yo Beckett," Esposito began. "We got a cold one, and it's right up your alley."

"How do you know it's right up my alley?"

"It's weird," he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fine, give me the address."

Esposito rattled off the address while Kate rubbed the sleep from her eyes and began getting ready to call Castle.

"Castle," he answered.

"Hey Rick, we've got a murder on our hands. I'll be in front of your building in about fifteen or twenty minutes."

"Oh. Um actually Detective I have something that I need to take care of today so I won't be able to tag along."

"What?"

"I can't shadow you today, I've got plans."

"I understood that part Rick, but what do you have to do?"

"Keeping up with my ware bouts?" he teased, hoping to lighten things up, perhaps avoid the question.

"You wish," she quipped. "You didn't tell me you had anything to do today though yesterday when we talked."

"It's a last minute thing."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll see you soon?" she questioned.

"You betcha but I have to go bye!"

She heard the click of his phone.

What was that all about? Castle had been so secretive on the phone that it unsettled her. He never did anything before ten in the morning unless it had something to do with Alexis or if they caught a case. Heck, he barely was ever up before ten o'clock.

So why didn't he tell her his plans?

If he had thought that putting distance between himself and Kate would be easy, he was so very wrong.

His mind drifted back towards last night and a conversation he had with his mother in the kitchen.

"Uh-oh," Martha said as a way of greeting her son as she entered the kitchen.

"Uh-oh what?" He questioned, directing his thoughts to his mother.

"You're sitting on the kitchen counter," she simply stated.

"Your know Mother, now might be a good time to tell me the point you're trying to make with your obvious observation," he hinted.

"Oh no, it's nothing dear."

"If you say so," he dismissed her as he looked down at his hands.

"It's just..."

"Mother just tell me before I loose my cool."

"You can't lose something you never had Richard," she joked but received a look from her son warning her with his eyes he was not in the mood. "Anyways, all I'm trying to say is that the only times that you sit on the kitchen counter is when you're thinking about something drastic."

"That's not true!"

"Oh it is and you know it."

"Oh yeah? Name one time," he challenged.

"Just one? Fine. The time that you and Meredith were in the process of divorce. Need another? The time you were going through some emotional troubles raising Alexis. Another? Okay the time -"

"I get the point," he interrupted.

"I'm not trying to upset you darling. I'm just pointing out that you must be going through something.

"Maybe," he murmured.

"You can try to lie to me Richard but I'm your mother and despite how much you don't like it, I've been able to read you like a book since you were a kid. Now spill," she encouraged as she slowly raised her body up, crossing her legs pretzel-style as she sat next to her son on the counter.

"It's Kate."

"Ah."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I figured as much. So what's wrong?"

"You know I wanted to get away to the Hamptons for a while, get a little R&R."

"Distance yourself from Kate, yes, I know."

"It wasn't like that!"

"Like a book Richard, like a book," she offhandedly said.

"Fine, maybe it was like that. Only a little bit though."

"Focus Richard," she reminded him.

"Well the reason I didn't go was because she asked me to stay. I'm glad she was brave enough to do that, I truly am. I know Kate is a woman who doesn't usually ask for something like that, so I stayed."

"And now you're questioning your decision," his mother filled in.

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Listen Richard. I'm your mother but most importantly I'm your friend. That means that I want what's best for you and will offer you my opinion and advice, so here it is. To others it may seem like you were running away from your problems when you wanted to go to the Hamptons, but anyone that knows you, and I mean really knows you, knows that simply is not the case. You are very fast-paced at times, but for the things that really matter to you, you like to step back and evaluate the situation.

You weren't sure where your relationship with Kate was going, and from what I can tell you still don't know now. It doesn't make you a bad person to want to look over things and decide what you want and what's best. I think it is an admirable characteristic, one that more men should have. If you need time to think things over, take it. But you don't have to go to the Hamptons to do it," she ended.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you don't need to travel all the way to the Hamptons to gain some insight on your relationship. You can gain that perspective here."

"How?" he questioned, unsure where his mother was going with this idea.

"You can always think about it in the privacy of your own home. I would be more than happy to help, and I'm sure Alexis would as well. Maybe if you distance yourself in a way that you're not totally unavailable to Kate, it will be better than being hours away in the Hamptons and she'll also be able to contribute to your thoughts."

"So what you mean is that I should go away, without actually going away?"

"I'm not suggesting that you abandon her Richard. She may have asked you to stay because she was scared of the idea of you not being in the city and not being able to contact you immediately. You can still think about what is happening between the two of you in New York City, and still be there for her when she needs you. She may just have been upset that you were just leaving. This way, you're still there for her and she's still there for you, but there's a distance so that you can think and evaluate the conundrum the two of you are in. All I am saying is maybe you need some space."

There had been few times that Richard Castle had actually listened to his mother, and following her advice was something completely different. So needless to say, he was surprised that he was actually following his mother's advice.

When she had called earlier and expected him to be there for the case, it shattered him when he realized that she was confused as to why he couldn't. Normally he would let her know his plans for the day. The truth was though, he didn't have any.

He had told Kate that he would be there for her no matter what, and he wanted to believe that he wasn't lying. He would be there for her if she needed someone to talk to or simply someone to hang out with, something his mother had pointed out that he should make sure he does. But that didn't mean he could do it all the time though, he was loosing his mind as all the desires of moving their relationship to the next level swirled around his head.

"Good morning Dad," the teen said cheerfully as she walked into his study.

"Hey Pumpkin," he replied.

"What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong?" He asked.

"Well considering Kate just called you and you said you have plans to do but you don't… I'd say something is up."

"I don't really know what's going on Alexis."

"Well if you don't know what's going on, how is she supposed to?" she asked rhetorically.

"I don't know what you mean," he said in confusion.

"Kate's going to notice that something isn't right, and knowing her, she's going to try to figure it out," she pointed out.

"But I don't even know what's going on," he said stubbornly as he placed his elbows on his desk and rested his head on them.

"No need to get cranky," she teased. "All I'm trying to say is that if you start sending her weird vibes and signals, she's going to want to know what's going on. So you better figure it out."

"I guess you're right Sweetie," he said defeated.

"Aren't I always?" she grinned.

"Of course. Sometimes I wonder how you got so smart."

"So do I, considering I have you as a father."

"Ouch. You wound me!"

"Well anyways, I hope you figure out what's going on in that head of yours. Maybe you should invite Kate over for dinner?"

"That sounds like a good idea, but not today sweetie. I think I just want to have the day for myself."

"Whatever you want Dad, just make sure you don't wait too long!"

Well there you go. I liked the way this chapter turned out, although it wasn't what I had originally planned. What do you guys think?

Review?