AN: You can all thank my chaperoning duties for the quick update. While I was sitting around doing nothing from 7:00 AM to 2:00PM but drinking coffee with other teachers, I wrote this.

I know this chapter is kinda short, but I think I like it. I don't know about you, but I needed a lighter chapter after the last few so let me know what you think.

There's more to come soon and I have two more chaperoning things to do so that's 16 hours of boredom to fill at the end of the week.

You guys are still the bee's knees… whatever the hell that means.

DON'T OWN CASTLE…. If I did, we'd be married and have little Castle babies by now… wow that was creepy.

Beckett closed the bathroom door behind her and sat on the closed toilet seat. She needed a few minutes. She had just divulged far too much information for her liking. She usually played her hand extremely close to her vest but once she started talking to him, she just couldn't stop. She felt a lump in her throat and her eyes burned. She was going to break and she knew it. She lurched forward and turned the shower on for noise control. She found herself sitting on the tiled floor with her knees pulled up as far as she could without her side hurting. Her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and she rested it on her knees. She wrapped her arms around herself and let go.

When her sobs subsided moments later, she rose to her feet slowly, wiping at her face. She gingerly walked into the shower and cleaned herself up.

The fight was becoming too much. She wanted him. In every way, she wanted him. She finally admitted it to herself between last night and now. The problem was that she didn't know what to do with that knowledge. He was Richard Freaking Castle! He was a Millionaire Playboy Author. She was Katherine Beckett; daughter to a Murdered Mother and a Recovering Alcoholic Father; a cop. What did he ever see in her?

She sighed as the warm water washed over her and stung the wound on her side. This was going to be a rough week for the both of them.

Castle headed downstairs and was met with the concern faces of his family.

"Morning." He mumbled as a greeting.

"Morning, Dad."

"Good Morning, Richard."

He moved to stand across from them as they sat at the island in the kitchen. They both looked scared to bring up what they had witnessed the night before. They looked scared to start any kind of conversation but his daughter braved it out.

"How's detective Beckett this morning?" she asked him.

"You know?" he sighed. "I have no idea. Physically, I think she's doing better. Otherwise, I just don't know."

"Kiddo, it's going to take a while for a girl like, Kate Beckett." Martha told him. "She doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve like you do, Richard."

"I know, Mother." He said, smiling. "and I'll wait."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence before he clapped his hands together and smiled.

"Okay, who wants breakfast?"

The two red-heads smile.

"As long as it's not Smore-letes, I'm in." Alexis answered.

"Me too." Martha nods.

Upstairs, Beckett had exited the shower and was having a bit of a hard time taping on her bandage. She wouldn't ask for help, though. She'd had enough of that. After struggling for a bit, she managed to attach it relatively well and put a well-worn NYU t-shirt over her head gingerly. She threw on a pair of jeans, to make her feel a bit more human than sweats, and exited the spare bedroom.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard laughter from downstairs. She smiled instinctively at Alexis's and Martha's laughter as she stepped down to the lower level. The scene in front of her made her grin grow.

Castle was attempting to flip omelets in a pan and, by the looks of the counter and floor, failing miserably. He tried behind his back and under his leg, both times failing. She stood on the stairs watching for a bit before walking the rest of the way down.

"Five-second rule, Castle?" Beckett smiled and announced herself.

Castle froze and looked at her. She was dressed casually and she looked better than she had in the past few days. Her color was returning and she was standing up straighter. Her hair was wet and tied back and she wore no make-up. He smiled as his brain registered how gorgeous she was. It concerned him, however, how puffy and red her eyes seemed. "Had she been crying?" he thought. He decided to leave it be and joke with her.

"These eggs are strictly for entertainment purposes only." He smiled, "unless you want to eat them."

"I'm good." She laughed. "You know, I've heard of trick-bartending, and hibachi chefs but never trick-fry cooks."

"I'm inventing a new hybrid." He smiled. "I'm gonna call it "The Ome-lympics."

"Yes, because that name rolls right off the tongue." She laughed at him.

He was grinning at her like a fool and he knew it. He loved the banter they had. He had forgotten that his mother and daughter were watching them until Kate turned to them and offered them a greeting.

"Good morning, Martha, Alexis." She smiled, approaching to sit next to Alexis on the third stool. "I'm sorry if I woke you last night."

"You saw us?" Alexis asked, surprised.

"Nope." Beckett answered, smiling at the girl. "But if I woke up your Dad, who was downstairs, I'm sure you heard as well."

"Oh." Alexis replied bashfully, realizing that she gave both herself and her Grandmother up; the same grandmother that intervened and changed the subject.

"So, my dear, how are you feeling today?"

"You know, Martha, I honestly feel better." She replied honestly. "My side doesn't hurt as much, though that could be because I'm actually taking my medicine on time." She laughed. "I don't like taking pain meds, but I like it a heck of a lot more than passing out. So, the lesser of two evils I suppose."

Castle stood behind the counter and watched as she conversed so naturally with his family on many different topics. She was careful with her words about how she felt and what happened in the past few days, but she was never dishonest with them. It made his stomach do flips and a smile spread across his lips. He wanted this. He wanted this forever. He was staring at her when he was harshly brought back to reality.

"Earth to Castle!" Beckett's voice broke his reverie.

"What?" He questioned and shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

Her brow furrowed at him and she cocked her head slightly to the right as she studied his startled face.

"I asked if you were making breakfast or just wrecking the life's work of about a hundred hens."

"Umm… the first one." He stuttered and she looked at him funny.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Alexis asked, curiously.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He smiled. "So, what would everyone like in their omelets?"

Alexis and Martha had excused themselves to get ready for the day and Beckett and Castle were cleaning up the kitchen after their breakfast. He insisted that she relax on the couch while he took care of it but she refused, she needed to feel normal. They were clearing the counters on opposite sides when they literally bumped into one another. Beckett hissed with pain and stumbled as Castle's strong arms caught her.

They both don't know how it happens, but she is facing him in his embrace and she is left looking up at him without her ridiculously high heels on. His hands and arms have landed around her waist and back and hers lie flat against his chest. He looks down at her and breathes out her name in a whisper.

"Kate…" he blinks. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," she whispers back, "just startled me."

"mmm.." he replies.

He stares into her eyes, he knows he should step back and she knows the same, but neither wants to. Castle decides that he's the daring stupid novelist and he's going to take the shot that he needs to. He leans down slowly and let's his eyes slip half-closed still locked into her gaze.

She knows he's going to kiss her, and for once there isn't the voice in her head telling her to run. She is stunned by the silence in her brain and questions if it can be the pain medication affecting her cognitive abilities. In the half-second that the thought passes, she decides she doesn't care and she leans up to meet him halfway.

When their lips finally meet and their eyes slide closed they both sigh gently at the contact. Neither has ever felt anything more "right" in their entire lives.

CLICK ITTTT? Please?