A/N: Have I mentioned how awesome you guys are? Because you really, really are. Thank you so much for all your support. Seriously, the amount of alerts and reviews has blown me away. Talk about pressure, right? I'm loving it. Also, if you guys have been wondering what Tyler looks like (because so many of you seem to be in love with the little guy, which is pretty cool), this link (http:/bit* .ly/qErl77) is exactly how I had pictured him. Go on, satisfy your curiosity. Let me know what you think and if it was exactly how you pictured him as well.

Hope you enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine.

Someone Like You

Chapter 7

The moment their lips touched, Kate realized they had just stepped into a very, very forbidden territory. She had only intended to comfort him, but having him hold her like that, his lips pressed to hers, she knew she was a goner. How were they supposed to walk away from this now? Damn it, couldn't have she just kissed him on the freaking cheek, like they had gotten so used to? But he had looked so lost and defeated as he recounted how his daughter had had a terrifyingly close encounter with death that she didn't think before acting.

The kiss in itself was very brief. In the end, it was just what she had intended it to be – a way to comfort him. But now they had crossed the line they had been tiptoeing so carefully since they had met two weeks before. She pulled away from him and watched as he still kept his eyes closed for a moment longer, his hold on her waist tightening as if to stop her from running.

They stared at each other for few seconds, trying to wrap their minds around what they had just done. He reached up and touched her cheek, his thumb gently tracing her lips. Kate closed her eyes for a moment and felt his lips press against hers one more time. He surprised her by not trying to deepen it, instead just placing butterfly kisses on her lips. Damn it, so much for trying not to do anything about it in an effort to not ruin things between them.

"I really blew it, didn't I?" she finally whispered against his lips and felt them curve into a smile.

"I wouldn't say that." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on her skin. She lifted an eyebrow at him, skeptically. "But if I'm being honest, then yeah, kind of." He chuckled when she closed her eyes, grimacing.

"Damn, we were doing so well." She shook her head and he pulled her closer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Because that was definitely not going well." He told her and she laughed, resting her forehead on his.

"We are ridiculous." She whispered and he placed a chaste kiss on her lips again. She kissed him back and when his tongue brushed against her lips, she gave in, her last wall crumbling to the ground. She had just gotten a taste of his tongue deliciously playing with hers when her phone rang, making them both jump. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down her racing heart before answering. "Beckett."

"Hey, boss. We got a new one just a couple of blocks down from here." She heard Ryan's voice and sighed, closing her eyes. Of course her job would interrupt their moment.

"Alright, I'm already on my way back to the precinct, so I'll be right there." She told him and hung up, looking at Rick apologetically. "I have to go." She said softly, resting her forehead on his again.

"New case?" he asked, his arms sneaking into her open coat and wrapping around her waist. She nodded. "Those damn murderers." He shook his head with a teasing smile and she rolled her eyes, amused.

"I'm sorry. Can we put this conversation on hold until later?" she asked and he nodded, leaning in to place another kiss on her lips, and then trailing down to her neck. She closed her eyes for a moment, giving in to the feelings he was eliciting.

"Go catch the bad guys, detective." He told her with a pleased grin at what she undoubtedly knew was her flushed skin.

"That was not fair, Rick. So not fair." She shook her head with a small smile and stepped away from his embrace. "We'll talk later?"

"Call me when you're done here?" he asked, unlocking his car and she nodded.

"I'll see you later, writer boy." She smirked at him and he laughed, waving as he got inside and drove away.

Kate stood there in the sidewalk for a few more seconds, reality crashing down on her. What the hell had they done?

Hours later, she could still feel her lips tingling from his touch as she stood in front of the murder board, trying to make sense of the timeline that led to her victim's death. She looked over to the break room where Tyler was chatting happily to one of the uniforms. She had picked him up from school a couple of hours before and since his usual babysitter was still out of town, she had no choice, but to take him back to the precinct with her.

She had almost called Rick to ask if he could watch him for a few hours, but she had no idea where they stood at this point. Things had seemed fine after they had kissed, but she knew she had been doing her fair share of freaking out since then. Who's to say he wasn't doing the same?

They had really screwed up. Sure, the lines had been incredibly blurry between them, but they could always just chalk it up to being really close, really affectionate friends. Now that they had kissed, it felt like they couldn't back away from it and she wasn't sure about what she wanted to do. Did she want a relationship with him? Was that even what he wanted? And what if things just became awkward between them, how would the kids be affected by it?

Damn it, she should have just pulled it together and resisted her stupid hormones. But then again, her intentions had been pure and all she really wanted to do then was comfort him somehow. And now look at this mess.

"Hey, mom?" she blinked and turned to find her son standing next to her.

"Hi, sweetie. What is it? No looking at the murder board, young man." She added, turning him to face her, his back to the gruesome pictures she had been staring at.

"I wasn't looking, mom." He rolled her eyes at her and she hit him lightly upside his head.

"Watch it, kid." She pulled on his ear affectionately and smiled when he rubbed his head pouting. "You were saying…?"

"I'm hungry. Are we going home soon?"

He used his puppy dog look on her and she narrowed her eyes at him, before turning back to the murder board. She was still waiting on Lanie's report and the boys were bringing in the victim's next of kin. She still had a lot to do and going home seemed like a distant dream. She looked back at Tyler, trying to decide what to do.

With a sigh, she ran her fingers through his hair gently, pulling him into a hug. He immediately relaxed against her, his good arm wrapping around her waist and his head resting on her stomach. He was getting so big. Biting on her lip nervously, she pulled out her phone and composed a quick text message.

You busy?

"Just a second, okay, Ty? I'll see what I can do."

She leaned down, planting a kiss on his hair, reveling on the feel of her child's small body pressed on hers, his little arm hugging her. It was amazing how innocent and effortless their love for each other was. She couldn't even imagine her life without him, didn't even want to think about what Rick had gone through when Alexis was in the hospital. Hell, her son broke his arm and she had been damn near hysterical with fear.

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she opened Rick's reply.

Not really. Are you done already?

She took a deep breath, debating with herself if she should ask him or not. Finally, she decided that they were already screwed, anyway. This couldn't possibly make things worse, right?

Not even close. Tyler is here, though, and I don't have anyone to watch him until I'm done.

She pressed send and waited for his reply, holding her breath nervously. What if he said no? What would that mean for them? Her phone chimed again before she could give in to a full on freak out attack.

Say no more. On my way to pick him up. Be there soon.

She let out a breath, relieved and smiled down at her son, who was looking up at her curiously.

"Rick is coming by to pick you up. Is that okay?" She brushed his hair away from his eyes, which had lighted up at the mention of Rick's name. She still found it baffling how taken he was with Rick and Alexis after so short a time. But then again, who was she to say anything, really? She had made out with the guy after only two weeks. She was even worse.

"That's totally okay, mom." He told her with a big smile, the dimple in his cheek making an appearance. She smiled at his excitement and texted Rick back.

Thank you so much. Life savior, that's what you are. :)

Pressing send, she decided to take a break and led Tyler to the break room. The boy said hi to the two uniforms that were hanging there and immediately started discussing baseball with them. Kate shook her head, amused. That kid was the most social little guy she had ever seen. Making her way to the counter, she poured herself a cup of coffee, cringing at the taste as it went down her throat. Whatever, it was caffeine and she was way overdue for her fix. She had no trouble admitting she survived on the stuff and the lack of it made her completely cranky.

Just as she was finishing her coffee, Esposito popped his head in, saying the vic's mom was in the conference room waiting for her. Kate took a deep breath, trying to steel herself for what she was about to face. She always hated this part, telling someone that their loved one was dead. Half an hour later, she walked out of the room assuring the mother that she would do everything in her power to find who had killed her son. Once she had led the woman to the elevator, she walked back to her desk and was about to collapse on her chair when she heard laughter coming from the break room.

Curiosity got the best of her and she made her way there only to find Rick, Alexis, Tyler and the boys cracking up about a story Rick was telling. She stood at the door for a moment, watching the scene with a smile. Soon, Rick's eyes met hers and lighted up with a smile. She watched him for a beat, trying to decide how to play this, but Alexis interrupted her inner battle.

"Hi, Kate." The girl said with a smile, making her way to her to give her a hug.

Seeing that little girl with changing baby teeth after knowing what had happened to her just a couple of months before made Kate look at her in a whole new light. She hugged her back, leaning down to kiss her red hair, just like she had done with her son not long ago.

"Hey, Lex. Didn't know you were coming too." She told her as the girl grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room.

"Daddy is taking us to the park." She explained, stopping next to Rick, who lifted his eyebrows at her questioningly. She nodded and was surprised (or not really, if she was honest with herself) when he kissed her cheek gently.

"Hi." He said quietly and she offered him a small smile.

"Hi, yourself." She leaned back against the counter next to him, their arms brushing slightly. "Thank you for coming. I just didn't want him to stay here for too long." She told him quietly and watched out of the corner of her eye that her partners were watching their interaction interestedly.

"No problem, Kate. I'm taking them to the park for a little bit and then we'll go back to the loft. Maybe watch a movie." He said and she nodded, smiling. "Are you picking him up later or do you want me to drive him back to your place?"

"No, I'll come pick him up, don't worry. I'm just not sure how long I'll be."

"That's okay. Just come by whenever. We can get something to eat, talk." He looked at her and she knew exactly what he wanted to talk about.

"Sure." She told him and fought the urge to relax into his side, his warmth was so inviting.

"Hey, Beckett, Lanie says she found something we should see." Esposito told her and she sighed. God, she just hoped it was something good so they could crack this case. They still had no leads.

"Alright, let's go." She watched as the boys filed out of the room and turned to Rick. "I'll see you later. Thanks for taking care of him." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you later, Kate." He squeezed her hand lightly and she watched as his eyes focused on her lips for a second. She shook her head, nodding at the kids who were happily chatting behind them. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and she smiled.

"Later." She whispered and he nodded with a small smile. "Ty, you be good to Rick, okay? I'll come by the loft to pick you up later." She leaned down and kissed her little boy's forehead.

"See you later, mom. Love you."

"Love you too, kid." She smiled, ruffling his hair. "Best behavior, young man." She narrowed her eyes at him and he gave her a salute. She shook her head, chuckling and leaned down to give Alexis a kiss as well. "See you guys later."

It was past midnight when she finally got in her car to drive to Rick's loft. She was past the point of exhaustion and just hoped to get there in one piece, as sleep was threatening to get the best of her. She pulled out her phone and called him quickly to tell him she was on her way and started her car. The drive was silent and slow as she had to drive carefully through the slippery New York streets. The snow had finally given them a break, but there were banks of melting ice everywhere. The temperature had dropped significantly as well and she shivered, pulling her coat closer to her body when she got out of her car near Rick's building.

She crossed the lobby and smiled at the doorman, who told her to go right ahead, Mr. Castle was waiting for her. She tried not to dwell on the fact that the doorman already knew her, even if she had been here only a couple of times. The elevator ride was short and soon she was knocking on his door. Smoothing down her clothes, suddenly feeling self-conscious, she waited nervously for him to open the door. A few seconds later, the door opened and he greeted her with a smile.

"Hi." He pulled her inside and wrapped her in his arms. She sighed and relaxed into his warmth, feeling him press a kiss to her hair.

"Sorry I took so long." She whispered against his neck and pulled back to look at him. He touched her lips with his lightly. She guessed they were okay with the whole kissing thing, then, but that didn't exempt them from that talk.

"No problem. We had fun, the kids and I. We had a full out snowball war in Central Park." He told her and she saw that childish glee in his eyes that she thought was incredibly adorable. "Don't worry, I got your boy some dry clothes afterwards." He added and she chuckled, nodding.

"That's good, I'm glad he had fun. Thank you for watching him. You didn't have to." She leaned her head on his shoulder again, exhaustion getting the best of her.

"I wanted to. He's a fun kid." He gently ran his hand up and down her back. "Long day, huh?"

"You can say that again." She yawned and he led her to the kitchen, arms around her waist. A small part of her brain was yelling at her that they should talk about this before giving in to it so quickly, but she was cold and tired and he just felt so good and his embrace was everything she needed right now.

"You hungry?" he asked, opening the fridge as she leaned against the counter.

"Not really. I'm just really, really tired." She told him through sleepy eyes.

He offered her something to drink and she took a glass of water. They went back to the living room and Kate collapsed on the couch, knowing that they needed to talk. He sat down next to her and she leaned into his side, his arm immediately pulling her closer.

"We should talk." She whispered, rubbing her cheek sleepily on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead and ran his fingers gently up and down her arm.

"Yes, we should." He agreed. "What do you think we should do?"

When there was no answer from her for over a minute, Rick looked down at her. A smile lighted up his features as he pressed another kiss to her hair.

She had fallen asleep.

A/N: Thoughts?