Chapter 5

First: I can not claim ownership of Castle, the show or any of the charatcers.

Second: I did not think up the idea of the restaurant myself, or rather the way they choose the toppings for the burgers. In season 1 of the TV show Man Vs. Food he goes to a place in Denver, CO where they pick toppings like that. The place is called Duffy's Cherry Cricket for those who are interested

Third: Kie Santiago I got this chapter up fast especially for you :p

Beckett woke up to see sunlight streaming in through the window. She opened her eyes slowly and stretched before looking at the clock. It was almost 10:00 and she couldn't remember the last time she had slept in that late. She lay there for another few minutes basking in the sunlight and the fact that she didn't have anything to do until later that night.

She rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen. After putting on a pot of coffee she looked around her. Ok, maybe she did have something to do this afternoon.

Kate couldn't remember the last time she had thoroughly cleaned her house. After taking her time drinking her coffee she set to work on the dishes. When those were done she opened the fridge and pulled out all of the old leftovers and half empty take-out containers. Sniffing at a couple of them she was surprised she had left them in there that long.

Moving on to the living room she picked up the few empty coffee mugs and food containers. Pulling the vacuum out of the hall closet she proceeded to vacuum the carpets.

After all this was done she flopped down on the couch and looked at her phone. She had a text from Castle change of plans. I'll be picking you up around 4 instead.

She sent a message back I don't have to get dressed up do I?

Momentarily she received a reply wear whatever you are comfortable in. And warm in, we will be outside for a while.

She contemplated this while she dialed Esposito's cell phone.

"No, you do not get to call and check up on us."

"What? No hello?" she said with a smile.

"I'm under strict orders not to tell you anything."

"Orders from who?"

"The captain and Lanie."

"Damn."

"Sorry detective."

"It's ok, get back to work."

Kate wore away the rest of the afternoon watching movies on TV and snacking on the few things left in her fridge. Before she knew it 3 o'clock rolled around and she had to start getting ready.

She decided to follow another of Lanie's suggestions and take a bath, though she skipped the candles and music. She let the tub fill up with steaming water and slipped in slowly up to her neck. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes she took a few relaxing breaths.

She had dreamt, the previous night, about Castle, but it had been on the verge of a nightmare. They chased a suspect into an alley and before she could blink he had turned and fired a single shot. She was sure he had been aiming for her but a cry from behind her told her she was wrong. She allowed herself a fraction of a second to look at Castle's body lying on the ground, twisting in agony. Then she raised her gun and returned the gesture. The suspect fell to the ground and she dropped to her knees beside Castle, tears stinging her eyes. It was as he breathed her name that she woke up

She took a deep breath and dunked her head underwater. Holding her breath she made a decision. She had to tell him how she felt. What if she lost him before she got another chance? Her lungs were burning but she stayed submerged. Tonight. She would tell him tonight. She sat up gasping and reached for a towel.

Half an hour later she was suddenly nervous when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it anyway and Rick was standing there smiling. "Hey" was all she could manage to get out.

"Hey, ready to go?"

She grabbed her keys and wallet and they were off. A few minutes later they found a parking stop by central park and Castle pulled a bag out of the back seat before leading the way into the park. Not far down the path they came upon a small stage set up with speakers and lighting and dozens of people sitting in front of it on blankets. She looked up at Castle "We're seeing a play?"

He nodded as he pulled a faded quilt out of the bag and spread it out. "I know the guy that does the lighting and I remembered you saying that you liked theatre in college."

She smiled at the fact that he remembered things like that. "What play?" she asked and he could hear excitement in her voice. He handed her a pamphlet. The play was 'Waiting for Godot'. Of course she thought. What is this, some sort of sign?

As the play started she leaned closer to Rick and whispered "What's in the bag?"

He pulled out a thermos of hot coffee and a bag of popcorn. She was grateful for the warm liquid as he handed her a cup. It was late March and things were starting to warm up but the sun was setting and there was a breeze.

During the intermission she grabbed the popcorn from Castle, who had been hogging it. She decided now was as good a time as any to speak up "This is really nice Castle. Thanks."

He shot her one of his dazzling smiles "I'm glad you like it detective. Dinner will be even better I promise."

She smiled and shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth. They still had five minutes until the play started up again ad Kate glanced over at Rick and saw he was looking at her. "What?"

"Are you cold?"

"Um….a little why?"

"Your nose and your cheeks are getting all red. It's kind of cute."

She decided to get playful and not take it seriously "You offering to warm me up?" she raised an eyebrow and grinned as his jaw dropped.

"I…um…" he stammered

"Relax Castle, I was joking, sort of." She said as she poured herself a little bit more of the coffee. The play started again and he was still shocked by her comment. She grinned as she noticed him stealing glances at her out of the corner of her eye. She shivered…maybe she was colder than she had realized. She took a deep breath and scooter closer to Castle, leaning into him a little bit. He looked down at her, surprised by the action and hesitantly put an arm around her. She looked up at him and smiled and he noticed something in her eyes that told him she was comfortable where she was. He smiled back and then they both turned their attention to the rest of the play.

The play ended and Castle reluctantly took him arm away from the brunette that had nestled herself next to him and stood up. Kate stood up as well and helped him fold up the blanket. They got back in the car and Rick turned up the heat as they headed to dinner. "So did you like the play?"

"Yeah, I read it a long time ago. It's a good one. Where are we going?" She didn't recognize the part of town they were in.

"You'll see when we get there" he said in typical Castle fashion. They pulled up outside a building that barely even looked like a restaurant. Castle lead the way up to the door and held it for Beckett. She blushed as she stepped past him and into the room. She looked around her in awe at the place that was nothing like the outside of the building.

Castle stood aside and watched with a grin as she took everything in. One wall was taken up by a bar, above which hung old fashioned signs for various brands of booze. The rest of the small establishment was taken up by tables, but it was the walls that drew her attention. It was like a mini Hard Rock café. Memorabilia from various musical groups, old movie posters and multiple sports jerseys covered almost every inch of space. She noted autographs from the members of Perl Jam, and Aerosmith, tacked up next to signed headshots of Johnny Depp, Madonna and Sylvester Stallone. There seemed to be no reason or order to anything.

She looked back at Castle in amazement. "This is unreal. How did they get all this stuff?"

He shrugged and led her to a table in the back. "Just collected it over the years I guess."

They sat down and a waitress came up and asked them what they wanted to drink. Castle said he would have a beer and Kate asked for the same. "So are you ready for the best way to order a burger ever?" Castle asked with a grin. Kate raised an eyebrow in question and Castle stood up. "Follow me."

Kate got up and followed Castle to the opposite corner of the restaurant where there seemed to be a giant target painted on the wall. They got closer and she realized that's exactly what it was. Only there were words written all over the target. "What is it?" she asked.

A waitress handed Castle a handful of darts and he threw one of them at the wall. "You throw darts to pick what toppings are on your burger." He said with a huge grin as he handed Kate three of the darts. She looked at what his first one had landed on. Bacon. Other toppings on the target included guacamole, salsa, cheese, onions, a fried egg, chili, peppers and various dressings. She decided what the hell and threw a dart. It landed on onions. She laughed

"There you go" Castle said throwing his last 2 darts. He ended up with bacon, peppers and cheese on his burger. "Finish yours" he said stepping back.

She closed her eyes and threw the last two at the same time. She ended up with onions, a fried egg and a pepper jack cheese sauce. "Castle this is ridiculous" she said laughing.

"I know but isn't it awesome?" he said as they went back to their seat after placing the order.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Kate looking around at everything on the walls and Rick looking at Kate. She noticed but didn't say anything. After a while she turned back to him. "I have to tell you something" she said, taking a sip of her beer.

"Go for it." He said meeting her eyes and holding them for longer than normal.

She looked down and gathered her courage before continuing. "I'm really glad you've stayed with us at the precinct. You've been a big help."

He decided to be just as bold as she was being "is that the only reason you're glad I stayed?"

She opened her mouth and closed it again. Not sure exactly what to say. She took a deep breath and jumped off the metaphorical cliff "No." she looked up to measure his reaction. He was just staring at her, waiting for her to continue. So she did. "It hasn't always been easy working with you, but I've enjoyed it. You bring a little bit of relief to the job. And you've helped me out personally as well. When I'm around you" she paused, trying to figure out the right way of saying everything she wanted, needed, to say. "When I'm around you everything is a little bit better. You know me better than anyone, and as Lanie pointed out to me, you've managed to get past a lot of the walls I've build up around myself, and I've decided to take down the rest of them for you." She looked up at him again to see him grinning.

He took another sip of his beer before responding. "I am honored detective, really. I never meant to break down any walls but I've always had a thing for you, and somewhere along the line I figured 'hey, I've got time'"

She smiled. "So that means you're sticking around for a while?"

He laughed "As long as you want me here."

Kate blushed "well as long as we are being honest…I've kind of had a thing for you too, and I want you around."

Just then their orders arrived. Both of the burgers were bigger than any Kate had seen before. "Oh my gosh Castle, I'm never going to be able to eat all of this" she said, trying to figure out how to take a bite without getting it all over herself.

"Bet you $10 it's so good you finish the whole thing no matter how full you are" Castle said with a full mouth.

Kate laughed "you're on Castle."

They spent the next hour sitting at the table eating and talking about anything and everything. They had seen each other outside of work before, the two of them along with Ryan, Esposito and Montgomery sometimes visited The Old Haunt for a drink, but she had never spent this much time with the writer. She was surprised to find herself laughing and talking freely as if this happened all the time. And they had so much to talk about that work was never brought up.

When she looked at her watch she was amazed that the time had passed so quickly. "Castle, as much as I'm actually enjoying myself I should get home soon. I do have work in the morning."

They had finished eating long ago and Castle had no problem with taking her home. He pulled a few bills out of his wallet and left them on the table as they got up and got back into the car.

They pulled up outside of Kate's apartment and Rick turned the car off. "Can I walk you up?"

She was about to protest but remembered her talk with Lanie and changed her mind. "Sure."

The air outside seemed freezing compared to the heat of the car, but the lobby of the building was warm and so was the elevator. "You know, I had a really good time tonight Castle. Thank you, for everything" Kate said as the doors opened and they go off on her floor.

Standing outside her door Castle asked "does that mean I get to take you out again sometime?"

Beckett stood with her back leaning against her door and studied the man before her for a second. "I guess that would be alright."

Castle took a step closer towards the woman before him. "In that case can I ask one more thing for my IOU?"

Kate was surprised but, as she realized, not uncomfortable with his sudden proximity. All she could do was nod.

"Don't move," Castle grinned, "and don't shoot me." He took another step that brought them so close their chests were almost touching, their faces only inches from each other. Kate's breath caught in her throat as he slowly leaned in, gauging her reaction. She could feel his warm breath on her lips as he got even closer and…his phone rang.

He pulled back a little bit and they both closed their eyes in frustration. Kate let out her breath and tried to steady her heartbeat as he answered the phone. A minute later she opened her eyes to see him staring at her.

"I'm sorry" he said. "I shouldn't have-"

She cut him off. "It's ok" she said, still a little breathless.

"But, I have to go…that was Alexis"

"No worries, will I see you tomorrow?"

He smiled at how hopeful she sounded. "Of course"

"Well, goodnight then, and thanks again for everything."

He nodded "until tomorrow detective."

He turned and headed back for the elevator as she unlocked her door and let herself in. They were both thinking, hoping, that maybe, just maybe, the person they had both been waiting for had finally shown up.

TaDa!

Reviews please?