A/N: Thank you so much for the incredible support, guys. Really. You have no idea how important that is for a writer.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Someone Like You

Chapter 3

Well, that had been an interesting experience, Kate thought as they exited the movie theater.

They had met there a few minutes before the movie started and she had barely had time to say hi before Rick was ushering them inside saying he didn't want to miss the previews. After finding good seats, somehow they ended up sitting together with the kids giggling to their right. She noticed that he had already bought popcorn and snacks for them and made a mental note to talk to him about paying for everything. He had already paid for dinner last night; it was only fair that she contributed today, right?

It wasn't like this was a date. They were just taking their kids to the movies together. That's all. No date. Right? Because it couldn't be a date if their kids were there.

Except it felt like one, as much as she wanted to convince herself otherwise.

No, she couldn't even go there. She hadn't been with someone in so long that she was starting to get delusional.

During the movie, they shared the big popcorn while Tyler and Alexis shared a smaller one. She honestly felt like she was back in junior high and this was her first date with her first boyfriend. Whenever their hands brushed against one another or their arms touched, she felt her skin tingling.

It was downright ridiculous.

He wasn't completely innocent either as he did try the overused, cliché move of stretching and then casually leaving his arm around her. Well, he didn't exactly put his arm around her as he left it on the back of her chair, but he would more often than not brush his fingers lightly on her shoulder, sometimes venturing a little further down her arm.

Whatever this was, it was ridiculous and it needed to stop before they both did something stupid. The point here was to get their kids together and here they were flirting like two inexperienced teenagers.

They had decided on getting some dinner while they were out and Rick was leading them to his favorite pizza place in Manhattan. It had grown considerably colder since she had left her apartment and snow was falling lightly around them. Kate pulled on her gloves and called Tyler to put on his gloves and hat. Putting a glove on his injured hand was more of a challenge than she had anticipated and by the time they managed to complete the task, she was feeling horrible for putting her son through something uncomfortable, even if he did tell her that it didn't hurt all that much, just felt funny.

As they exited the theater – the kids walking slightly ahead of them with their heads close together as they discussed the movie – he gently touched the small of her back, guiding her on the sidewalk. She looked at him, eyebrow raised, but he merely shrugged and ignored any more of her looks.

Fine. Two could play this game.

"Any big plans for the rest of the weekend?" she asked as they continued on their way through the slippery sidewalk.

"Not really. It's too cold. I'll try to entertain Alexis at home, probably." He told her, his hand remaining comfortably at the small of her back. "You and Ty?"

"Sleep in, hopefully. If no body drops, that is. Those are always the worst times to get called in. Middle of the winter when it's freezing and all you want to do is curl up at home with a good book, you know?" She said and watched as her breath condensed in front of her. Involuntarily, she stepped closer to him, drawn by his warmth.

Or so she told herself.

"Why did you decide to join the NYPD? I mean, it's not exactly a common line of work for a woman, right? And I'm not trying to sound sexist at all here, I promise." He grinned at her and she gave him a small smile.

This was a subject she was not prepared to discuss with him. At least not yet. It had been ten years since she had lost her mom, but the wound was still too fresh, too raw. She never talked about it with anyone, really, and she barely even knew Rick. Sure, they had clicked like she had never done so with anyone before – not this quickly, anyway – but that didn't mean she was ready to open up to him.

"It's, um… it's kind of a long story and it was..." she sighed heavily, trying to think of a way to evade the question without sounding rude. "It was a really difficult time of my life, when I decided to join the Academy. Just…" she let out a breath and ran a hand through her hair, frustrated.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me, Kate. I was just curious, that's all." He stilled her hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm. "If it's too personal, I completely understand."

She sighed in relief and smiled at him gratefully. He placed a gentle kiss on her hair.

"Thanks. It's just… it's hard to talk about it." She admitted and he smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just talk about something else." He suggested and she resisted the urge to stop him right there in the middle of the sidewalk and give him a hug.

It turned out that his favorite pizza place was this really low key restaurant, owned by a really sweet Italian couple that Rick had known for years. Both he and Alexis were completely at home there and Mr. Giacomo, the owner, had waited their table himself so he could catch up with them. Rick introduced her and Tyler to the couple and Kate was surprised to find out that she was the first girl he had ever taken there, as Mr. Giacomo told her with a knowing glint in his eyes. Of course he only volunteered that information when Rick had excused himself to go the restroom and now Kate wasn't really sure about what to do with it. Alexis even confirmed that this was kind of their place and it was the first time they came here with other people.

It kind of put things in a whole new light, didn't it?

Or she was just overanalyzing everything and this didn't have to necessarily mean anything. God, this whole thing was starting to get exhausting.

Just as he was returning to their table, her phone rang and she groaned inwardly.

"Please tell me you're just calling to say hi, Esposito." She greeted her fellow detective and heard him chuckling.

"Sorry, boss. We've got a fresh one in Central Park. We're five minutes out." He told her the exact location and she wrote it down on a napkin that Tyler had conveniently provided when she looked around the table for something to write on. "See you there?"

"Yeah." She sighed, running a hand through her hair, eyes closed, trying to think. "Just give me half an hour to find someone to stay with Ty?

"Sure thing. I'll see you soon. Tell my boy Ty I said hey." He said and hung up.

She put her phone back in her pocket and looked at Rick apologetically.

"Work?" he asked and she nodded warily.

"I have to find someone to stay with Tyler and I am almost sure Mrs. Johnson is out of town." She told him, but she was mostly talking to herself, going through a mental list of likely babysitters that were potentially free on a Saturday night to watch her kid.

"You know, I can watch him. That way they can hang out a little bit more." He nodded at the children who were currently watching their conversation looking disappointed that their time together was about to be cut short.

"No, I can't ask you to do that, Rick." She shook her head and he touched her hand on the table.

"You're not. I'm offering. It's really no big deal." He said and he sounded so genuine that she felt herself start to give in.

"Are you sure?" She bit her lip, uncertain.

"Positive." He gave her hand a light squeeze. "We'll have fun, won't we, guys?" he turned to Alexis and Tyler, who nodded enthusiastically. "You can just come pick him up whenever you're done."

"If you're sure…" she trailed off and he squeezed her hand again. He was definitely making a habit of it.

"I am, Kate. Go be the super detective I know you are." He grinned at her and she laughed.

"Fine. I'll try to wrap it up quickly, I promise." She said, gathering her things.

"I told you, don't worry about it. Give me a call when you're done?" he asked and she nodded with a smile, standing up.

"Absolutely." She turned to Tyler and leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You be good to Rick, okay, Ty? Best behavior." She told him and he nodded seriously.

"Scout's honor, mom."

"You're not a scout, Pinocchio." She shook her head with a chuckle and ruffled his hair. "Behave. I'll come by Rick's to pick you up later, alright?" He nodded again and kissed her cheek. "Love you, kid."

"Love you too, mom." She smiled at him and turned to Rick. "Thanks, Rick. You're a life savior."

"Go do your job, detective." He found her hand again and gave it a light, teasing kiss.

She could still feel his touch all the way to the murder scene.

It was only four hours later that she managed to make it to Rick's loft. It had been a particularly gruesome murder and the victim was practically a kid. Her name was Julie and she was 14. Her killer had raped her and then slit her throat. When Kate arrived at the scene, the snow around her small naked body was covered with deep, striking red.

She hated when the victim was a kid. Hell, she hated all murders, but kids always tug a little deeper. All she wanted to do was get to her son and hug him tight for a long time.

She called Rick when she left the precinct and he gave her his address. It was almost midnight, but she felt like she had worked all night. When she arrived at his place, she was surprised to see that his loft was absolutely nothing like she had thought. Sure it was big, but it didn't scream money at her face like she thought it would. She knocked and he immediately ushered her inside.

"Where's Ty?" she asked when he closed the door behind her.

"He fell asleep a couple of hours ago. I put him in the guest room, come on." He took her hand and led her up the stairs and into the first room on the left. "Right here."

She entered the room and sat down on the bed, watching her little boy breathe for a couple of minutes. She touched his back, gently running her fingers up and down his little body, reassuring herself that he was safe. After a few minutes, she leaned down, kissed the top of his head and stood up.

Surprised to find Rick watching her from the door, she made her way to him and offered him a smile.

"Thanks for watching him." She whispered and he nodded.

"It was my pleasure, Kate." He said and she looked back into the room, her son safely asleep in the huge bed. "Tough case?" He touched her shoulder, catching her attention.

"Yeah." She sighed and leaned against the wall. "A girl. Fourteen years old."

"I'm sorry." His hand slid down to hers and he pulled her away from the wall, leading her back downstairs.

She sat down on the couch while he went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses. She watched as he made his way back to the living room, setting the bottle on the coffee table and pouring some wine for them.

"Thanks." She smiled weakly at him when he handed her a glass. They were quiet for a moment. "You'd think it gets easier, right? After all these years." She sighed and took a sip of her wine. "Kids are the worst, you know? I mean, how could someone hurt an innocent, pure little person? What kind of monster does that?"

"I don't think there's a logical explanation for that, Kate. However you try to spin it, nothing justifies ending someone's life." He said and she smiled sadly.

"I guess. It's just… when my victim is a kid, it hits too close to home. I look at them and all I see is my son." She bit her lip, willing the tears that were burning behind her eyes to go away. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she took another sip, giving herself enough time to get her emotions under control.

"Feel like watching a movie? Get your mind off of it for a bit?" he offered when she was quiet for a couple of minutes, lost in her own thoughts.

"I should get going. It's late."

"Kate." He said and she looked at him, his eyes intense on hers. "Let me help. Let me try to distract you for a little bit." She looked away and he touched her arm gently. "Just a movie, that's it. You deserve to relax for a little while. "

"Alright. Nothing intense, though, okay?" She agreed and the happy smile he gave her was adorable.

"You're the boss." He told her happily and made his way to the entertainment center in front of them.

A few minutes later, they finally settled on a silly comedy, but it was just what Kate needed at that moment. They laughed, making comments about the actors and the cheesy storyline. Over the course of two hours, they finished the wine and Kate found herself leaning against his side, oddly relaxed. She tried to fight it, but sleep won her over and she dozed off on his shoulder.

When she woke up, startled, the credits were just starting to roll up on the screen. She blinked sleepily, trying to remember where she was. Then she realized someone's arm was holding her close. She looked up at him and blushed when she realized she had fallen asleep on him. Literally.

"Sorry about that." She whispered sheepishly and tried to sit up straight, but his arm around her prevented it.

"Don't worry about it. You looked like you needed it." His fingers were lightly running up and down her arm and she felt goose bumps spreading all over her skin.

"Still, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." She looked up at him and he shook his head, dismissing her apology.

"I've been told I make an excellent pillow." He grinned at her and she laughed, rolling her eyes at him.

"So modest." She commented and he squeezed her arm teasingly. "Okay, fine, you do. You're very comfy, Mr. Castle." She smirked and he laughed.

"See, told ya."

They smiled at each other for a moment, eyes locked on one another. Kate was the first to look away.

"I should really get going now." She said and this time he let her sit up. "What time is it?" She asked with a yawn.

"Almost 2."

"Oh, god, I have to be at the precinct at 8." She groaned and stood up. He followed her and touched her arm again to catch her attention.

"Are you okay to drive?" he asked gently and she nodded.

"Yeah, I think I slept all that wine off." She told him and they made their upstairs so she could get Tyler.

"I can carry him down for you. He's a big boy." Rick offered and she smiled her thanks.

They walked to her car in a comfortable silence. Rick put Tyler in the back seat, the boy barely stirring the entire way to the car. Closing the door, he turned to look at her and found her watching him with a small, pensive smile on her lips.

"What?" he asked quietly and she shook her head, still smiling.

"Nothing. Just… thank you. You've been so great to us since we met. I mean, do you realize that was only three days ago?" she wondered and he chuckled.

"I know. Feels like a lot longer, doesn't it?" He agreed and she nodded. "Well, if anything, I'm really glad that we met, however odd the circumstances were."

"The feeling is mutual." They looked at each other for a moment and it was all he could do not to reach out and pull her in for a hug. "Good night, Rick." She finally said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Maybe we can grab something to eat tomorrow if you have some free time?" he suggested and hoped he didn't sound too desperate. He just wanted to see her again.

"Sure. I'll call you and let you know." She told him with a small smile and he took her hand in his, squeezing it lightly. "Tell Alexis I said bye."

"Will do. See you tomorrow, detective." He leaned in and kissed her cheek as it was quickly becoming the norm between them.

"See you tomorrow, Rick." She said and got in the car.

He watched as she drove away, thinking just what had he gotten himself into.

A/N: Thoughts?