A/N: You guys are almost breaking the 300 mark on alerts for this story. That is pretty freaking awesome and I love you all for it.

Also, today I realized I can spend hours and hours on Tumblr and not get bored, so I thought I'd get one for myself. If you feel like it, the link is on my profile or you can just look for trappedinamatchbox there. Creative, I know. I think this is a way we can interact a lot more, so feel free to come and say hi. I'm still learning my way through it, so please bear with me.

Hope you'll enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: If Castle was mine, I certainly would not be writing fan fiction.

Someone Like You

Chapter 13

It had been two weeks since that lazy Sunday spent at Kate's apartment. After Alexis arrived and Kate told Tyler it was time to come home, they ordered pizza and played board games for a couple more hours. Around 9pm, they decided to call it a night and he reluctantly left her. He was getting so addicted to her, it was ridiculous.

He talked to Alexis that night on their way home and, upon hearing Kate was his girlfriend now, the girl rolled her eyes at him, saying she already knew. She had seen them kissing on the lips and had talked to Tyler about it already. The boy had just confirmed it for her while they were playing earlier that day.

"Are you going to marry her?" She asked as they entered the loft. Rick looked down at her, eyes wide, for a moment.

"I… I don't know, pumpkin." He made his way to the kitchen and poured himself some water, downing it thirstily. His throat felt like the Sahara Desert.

"Well, it would be nice. I really like her." She smiled at him, climbing up on one of the stools. "And then Tyler could be my brother, right? So that would be really cool."

"I think it's entirely too soon to be thinking about that, sweetheart. But I'm glad you like her." He smiled at her, kissing the top of her head lovingly.

"And she's a really nice mom to Tyler too." She added, her voice slightly quieter, but he noted the change in her demeanor. It broke his heart, knowing that she was so starved for motherly affection, even after spending all day with Meredith.

"Yeah, she is." He agreed, picking her up and holding her tightly to him. Sometimes he wished being a single parent wasn't so damn hard.

A slap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. He was at the precinct, waiting for Kate. They were going to grab some lunch, as it was the only time they could actually have some alone time as both Tyler and Alexis were always with them. Remembering the heated make out session on her couch that Sunday afternoon, he wondered when they would be able to finish what they had started. It seemed like they were always surrounded by people.

"I hear Lanie gave you a hard time, man." Esposito chuckled, passing him on the way to his desk. Rick laughed, nodding.

"Guess you could say that. That woman is tiny, but she's damn scary." He commented and the detective nodded.

"Don't I know it…" he trailed off and Rick lifted an eyebrow at him. "Anyway, Beckett is interrogating a suspect. Shouldn't take too long. The guy has guilty written all over his face."

"Killed his wife, right? Kate told me about it last night." He leaned back against the chair, making himself comfortable.

"Yeah. Nasty stuff too." They were quiet for a beat as Esposito sorted through the stack of papers on his desk. "So you and Beckett, huh?" he said and Rick looked up again, only to find his gaze slightly more threatening than it had been barely a minute before. "You treating her good?"

"I care a lot about her, if that's what you're asking." He said evenly and Esposito nodded, watching him thoughtfully.

"We care a lot about her too, Castle. That girl is like my little sister and she's been through hell and back in the past few years." He told him after checking that Kate was still in the interrogation room. "I guess it goes without saying that if you hurt her…"

"You can make it look like an accident, I know. I think it's great that you guys are so protective of her, but I really do care about her, Esposito. Too much, probably." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Good. As long as we're on the same page here." He leaned back against his chair, propping his feet up on his desk. "So, do you play anything?"

"Does Xbox count?"

"Sure. What about basketball? Do you shoot some hoops?" Rick had the distinct impression that the detective was testing him.

"Haven't in a while. Why?"

"Well, Ryan and I sometimes hit the court to play ball on our weekends off. You're welcome to join us next weekend." He offered him a friendly grin and Rick realized he was just trying to be nice.

"Sure, that'd be great. Maybe we can play some Halo afterwards? I got the new one just last week." He invited and the detective grinned at him in what he was sure Kate would describe as childish wonder. Then he realized he already knew her well enough to know how she would react to certain things. He didn't even want to think of what that possibly meant. Not yet.

"That would be awesome, man." Esposito bumped his fist with his and he smiled. At least they didn't hate him, he thought to himself. "So, Saturday cool for you?" He asked expectantly.

"What's happening on Saturday?" Kate asked, reaching her desk. A smile immediately tugged on Rick's lips. They hadn't seen each other in a couple of days and he had missed her terribly. Yeah, he was a total goner.

"We're playing basketball and then Halo." Esposito told her happily and she looked back at Rick, eyebrows raised.

"Is that so?" she asked, fighting a smile. "Hi." She whispered and he had to stop himself from pulling her against him and kiss her like there was no tomorrow.

"Hi." He smiled at her and helped her put her coat on. "And yeah, Esposito here invited me to play some ball with him and Ryan. Then we're going back to the loft to play Xbox." He explained and Kate nodded looking at both men interestedly.

"Alright, you boys have fun." She grabbed her purse. "Are you ready to go? I'm starving."

"Sure." Rick followed her to the elevator, hand resting comfortable on the small of her back. "Esposito, we'll hash out the details later."

"Sure thing, bro. Beckett has my number." The detective said.

"Alright, kids, you can talk about your play date later." Kate teased and Rick nudged her side playfully. "Esposito, call me if anything comes up. I'll be back in an hour." He nodded and Rick guided her into the elevator. Once the doors were closed and the elevator moving, Kate leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips. "You're playing basketball with the boys?" She asked, amused, and he shrugged.

"He invited me." He wrapped his arms around her waist, finally getting to feel her body pressed against his after two whole days. "He also gave me the speech about not hurting you or I'll end up dead. You know, I think I've never received so many death threats in such a short amount of time." He grinned at her, kissing her nose lovingly and she laughed.

"You don't have to do that, you know." She commented, hugging him. "I know they can be difficult."

"I want to, Kate. They're part of your life." He pulled away slightly to look at her. "And they love you. Enough to kill me if I ever do anything wrong." He chuckled and she bit her lip, shaking her head. "So what's the harm in getting to know them, right?"

"I guess." She sighed and framed his face with her hands, pulling him down for a kiss. "You're too good to me." She whispered against his lips and he hugged her tighter, his teeth nibbling on her bottom lip.

Before he could respond, the doors opened and they pulled away from each other. Even though Lanie, the boys and the kids knew about them, they still tried to be careful in public. There hadn't been any more paparazzi scares, but they had learned their lesson. Rick knew that Kate was a really private person and that the fact he was constantly under public scrutiny bothered her. But he would do his very best to not mess up.

Linking his pinky finger with hers, he led her to their favorite Chinese restaurant, which was just a few blocks south of the precinct. She smiled at him upon feeling his touch and he grinned back. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but it was still intensely cold. Rick skirted a patch of melting snow on the sidewalk, wishing fervently for spring to arrive already. He had had enough of the below freezing temperatures that had been torturing New York City that winter. It was still February, however, and they still had a little while to go.

Speaking of February, Valentine's Day was right around the corner and, as he looked at Kate through the corner of his eyes, he wondered if she was the kind of woman who loved all things about the holiday. This year, it would fall on a Monday and he was sure she would be working then. So whatever she wanted to do – if she wanted to do anything – it would most likely have to wait until the following weekend when he hoped she would have a day off. The woman worked way too much for her own good.

"Penny for your thoughts." Her voice pulled him out of his inner debate and he smiled slightly at her, firmly enveloping her hand in his, now that they were almost at the restaurant.

"I was just thinking. Valentine's Day is next week." He wiggled her eyebrows at her suggestively and she laughed.

"I know. Monday, right?" She entwined her fingers with his.

"So I was wondering if you wanted to do something. I mean, I know you'll most likely be working on the 14th, but maybe the next weekend? Maybe we could go out to dinner, just us. Since, you know, we haven't even been on a date yet and we've been doing this for almost a month." He knew he was babbling, but it seemed that his mind lost its filter whenever he was near her.

"Sure, I'd love to. I just have to find someone to babysit Tyler. I think I actually have that weekend off, for once. Not even on call." She grinned at him and he saw a spark of excitement and – dare he think it – desire in her eyes.

"It's a date, then, detective." He mirrored her grin and brought their joined hands up to press a kiss to her skin. "I can ask my mother to watch Alexis and Tyler if she's not busy."

"That would be great." She smirked at him. "And, you know, maybe we can have my place to ourselves." She lifted her eyebrows at him, her grin widening at his reaction.

"You're killing me, woman." He whispered in her ear, fighting really hard to not nip at her skin with his teeth, and she laughed, biting her lip.

"Katie!" They heard someone calling her and turned around, looking for the source. A gray haired man, who looked like he was in his fifties, was smiling at Kate. Rick turned to look at her and found her with a mixed expression of surprise and happiness.

"Dad." She said with a smile and let go of his hand to hug the man. Rick's blood froze in his veins. Holy shit, it was her father. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you'd be in the city today." She hugged him tightly for a moment and Rick smiled at the scene. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, sweetheart. How are you doing? How's Ty?" he touched her cheek and she smiled happily. For a moment, Rick could see the little girl Kate had once been shine through.

"I'm doing really good and so is Tyler. Finally took his cast off last week, so he's happy about that." Her father nodded and then seemed to notice Rick standing a step behind his daughter. Kate followed his gaze and smiled at what he was sure was the slightly nervous look on his face. He really needed to practice his poker face more often. "Oh, dad, this is Rick Castle." She looked at him for a moment, bottom lip trapped by her teeth. When he nodded slightly, she smiled and continued. "My boyfriend." She said and rolled her eyes at the happy smile Rick gave her. "Rick, this is my dad, Jim Beckett."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Beckett." He said with what he hoped was an easy smile and shook the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Rick. And please, call me Jim." He smiled and Rick let out the breath he had been holding. "Wait, your name sounds familiar. Are you a writer?"

"Guilty as charged, sir." He said and linked his pinky with Kate's again.

"Isn't he the author of those books you love so much, Katie?" Jim said and he watched as Kate blushed next to him and glared at her father.

"Wait, books you love? You never told me about that." He grinned at her and nudged her side before taking her hand in his, squeezing it encouragingly as he looked at her expectantly.

"You never asked." She managed to recover and throw him a teasing look. "So, dad, what are you doing here, exactly? And you should've called, you know." She narrowed her eyes at her father, aptly changing the subject.

"Just meeting Peter for lunch. He said he needed to talk. I think things aren't going so well with his marriage." He explained and Kate nodded.

"Well, tell Uncle Peter I said hey. I miss him." She said and he nodded. "Why don't you stay over tonight? Tyler misses you and he would be so happy to see you."

"I'd love that, honey. We have some catching up to do." He nodded towards Rick and grinned at her knowingly. Rick chuckled at the look on her face, receiving an elbow to his stomach.

"Can you stop by the precinct in a couple of hours? Then we can go pick up Tyler and you guys can spend some time together maybe?" she suggested and Jim agreed immediately. Hugging her father, he heard her whisper her love to him and smiled. "I'll see you later, dad." She kissed his cheek and stepped away.

"It was really nice to meet you, sir." Rick shook his hand again with a smile.

"Likewise, Rick. You take care of my little girl." He looked at him sternly, but a smiled soon appeared on his lips. He seemed to be genuinely surprised Kate had a boyfriend, but happy at the same time. Rick made a mental note to ask Kate about that later.

"Always, sir." He assured the man and they said their goodbyes. Once Jim was out of sight, Rick turned to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Well, that was interesting." He commented and she laughed as they continued their way to the restaurant.

"Sorry about that. Definitely wasn't how I'd imagined you two would meet." She chuckled and he squeezed her shoulder. "But he seems to like you, if that makes you feel any better."

"Thank God. You know, I was afraid he was going to pull out a shot gun for a moment there." He said as they entered the restaurant and Kate shook her head, amused.

"Well, the last boyfriend I introduced him to was Ty's father, so the track record isn't the best."

"That explains why he was so surprised when you introduced me to him. Which, by the way, was the first time you introduced me to someone as your boyfriend." He grinned at her happily and she rolled her eyes, fighting a smile.

"Weird, wasn't it?" she commented as they sat at the table. He took her hand in his, entwining their fingers.

"Good weird, though." His thumb caressed her skin and he brought her hand to his lips, making her smile.

"Definitely good." She bit her lip and squeezed his hand, her smile making his heart skip a beat.

For a moment, an intense warm feeling ran through him. It felt a lot like something he was sure was entirely too soon to even start thinking about.

A/N: Thoughts?