The children's museum had been a good idea and Kate mentally gave herself a pat on the back as they strolled through the Egyptian interactive exhibit. Nikki was still too young to appreciate it, but, with his pacifier in his mouth, he seemed mesmerized by the different colors and sounds, attentive to the decors and costumes. Alexis also seemed to be having a blast as she took it upon herself to explain everything she was reading to Nikki who couldn't possibly understand and to Kate who listened attentively.

At the moment, Kate was seated, quietly bouncing her son up and down on her lap, as he let out intermittent bursts of laughter. They watched from further away, Alexis and another perky 10 year old she had met, play a game that included hieroglyphics, mazes, treasures and some kind of insects, a game Kate hadn't even attempted to understand.

Their childlike giggles came back to her and she smiled, picking up her vibrating phone and bringing it to her ear.

"Hey, Rick," she greeted.

"I'm done with the hospital. I'm at the loft, where are you guys?"

"Children's museum, I-"

"That place is awesome! We used to spend hours on end in this place before Alexis started school."

"Do you-"

"I'm coming over," he stated. "What exhibit are you guys at?"

"Egyptian," she chuckled, and before she could let out another word, he had hung up.

Rolling her eyes, Kate put her phone away and, ticking her son's sides, she added, "Looks like Rick's joining, baby boy."

And he had.

In record time, he had.

"Hey, dad!" exclaimed the red-head seated on the floor, waving from a distance when her father joined them.

"Hey dad? That's it. No hug? No kisses. Ouch," he exclaimed and Alexis rolled her eyes, going back to her dress-up game with Stephanie and Nikki, a couple yards from him.

"You're spending too much time with Kate," he groaned comically and Kate had to chuckle at the red head's reaction. It did look like the girl had picked up on her signature move.

Rick turned towards Kate, sitting beside her, "No troubles with pick-up?"

"No troubles," Kate acquiesced, "How's Martha? Everything all right?"

"She's going to be fine. A sprained wrist and a pretty massive bump on her head. Though, I still set her up in the guest room for a couple days at least. The doctor said it would be better if she wasn't alone tonight in case of late signs of a concussion, just to be safe."

"Good. That's good, no lasting damage."

"She's been at the loft for one hour and already it's the "Martha Show" in there. She was with a couple of her troupe buddies at the loft when I left, being her dramatic self. They were vehemently bashing on the acting of the Lifetime movie that was playing on TV and setting up how they would have done a better job at it. Looks like they were having a good time, so my guess is, she's going to be just fine. I think her ego was more damaged than her arm in the fall."

Kate smiled, "Glad it was more scare than hurt."

"I'm still going to sue the life out of the décor manager, though. It was completely reckless, completely irresponsible, he was-" stated Rick.

"Rick, it was a crazy accident," she reassured, placing a hand on his forearm, comforting. "Martha told us so. It's not worth the trouble. The guy was already a mess, he's sorry. Suing him wouldn't amount to anything."

Rick shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so."

Kate smiled at him, "You know so," she added, and when he nodded, she turned towards where the kids were playing; gently patting the skin under her hand as they silently watched them.

Alexis soon afterwards, irrupted excitedly in their faces, all smiles, as she asked, "Kate, Stephanie's mom is taking her and her sister, Vanessa, to a presentation. It's about the construction of the Great Pyramids and it's in fifteen minutes. Can we go too?"

"Really?" Castle exclaimed laughing, "Kate? No dad? Should I just, go?"

Alexis' head bobbed to the side as she placed her hands on her father's knees, leaning into him, she stated, "Dad, you know I love you, but we both know who calls the shots," making Castle's jaw drop and Kate erupt in an unconstrained laughter.

…

Kate crouched down and placed the baby in the hollow of Alexis' diamond-crossed legs, seated in the front of the room. "Just motion me if he gets to be too much, bud, I'll be in the back with your Dad," Kate said, pointing to where Rick was leaning on the wall. "Nikki will probably fall asleep somewhere during the presentation though, he had a really short nap. He shouldn't be too much trouble," she winked at the girl.

Alexis gave Kate a thumbs-up as she wrapped her arms around the boy, and Kate walked back to Rick, who smiled, his eyes not leaving her, as she settled beside him.

"What?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Nothing," he responded, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Spit it out, Castle," she demanded gently.

He quirked his head and shrugged his shoulders as he managed to let out, "You're just good with her."

"Everybody's good with her, it's her trademark or something," Kate laughed lightly.

"Yeah… Not Meredith," he stated serious, looking to the front of the room, avoiding her stare.

"Rick…" she said, her eyes narrowing on him and her hand finding his, squeezing it gently.

"What? It's true," he said, with a little more emotion than he had intended to, turning towards Kate. "She isn't. And I wish Alexis could have had it. I wish she hadn't been stuck with Meredith. But that's on me, right? I wish she had someone…" His gaze diverged from hers again, as he went back to fixating at a point in the front of the room. He added, almost in a whisper, "Like you."

She paused, smiled shyly, and adding in a whisper that matched his, bumping her shoulder to his, "I wouldn't have hated that either."

"You wouldn't?" he asked turning his whole body towards hers.

Kate laughed, "I mean minus the whole Teen Mom part of it, but yeah, sometimes I wish she was mine." She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I wish Nikki turns out half as great as her. She's just an amazing little person, Rick. She's smart, she's kind and she's funny. And that's on you."

He smiled a glimmer of pride in his eyes as he looked to his daughter, chatting away in the front of the room. She added, "She's a people pleaser. She's great with Nikki. She's great with you. She's great with everybody. That's on you too. Mostly."

"I'll take mostly," he added.

She smiled, turning to face him completely, and her eyes inadvertently went to his lips for a second, only a second, the only second she had allowed herself in a while, a very long while. They quickly shifted back upwards, to his deep blue eyes, getting lost. And in that moment, she saw something in his eyes, something she'd never seen before, something new entirely, or something she hadn't been willing to see, hadn't been ready to see, until now, something she needed, something she wanted.

As much as she told herself she was okay with it, that she was okay with being friends, just friends. She wasn't going to spend her life only dipping her toes in the water, never fully getting wet, never jumping in. She was there, he was there, and she wanted more. She wanted so much more.

And with the simple glimmer of his pupil, the split second it took, she realised it.

She just wanted him.

She didn't need to get shot in the heart to hear it.

She didn't need to dangle off the edge of a building to realise it.

She didn't need a swing set in the pouring rain.

She didn't need the story of the hard wired detective and her plucky sidekick writer. She didn't need any of it.

She just knew.

All she needed was him, him in this less than romantic setting.

So, she bit at her lower lip and smiled, bringing her hand up, her fingers trailing the side of his jaw as she slowly moved her chin upwards. And she knew he wanted it too. His face dipped towards hers, his eyes closed, as did hers. And finally, she got to feel the warmth of his lips on hers, as his arm snaked at the small of her back, mindlessly pulling her closer.

As the kiss started to deepen, and their tongues battled for dominance, a pitch black room joined their staggered breaths as the lights died down completely, and the loud snap of a whip, had them both jump back to where they were, when they were, and their lips parted.

Smiling.

Any thoughts?

As usual, I want to thank CaskettFan5 for the beta. You're the best, dude. :)