You guys are so fabulous with all the alerts! Confession time: I'm horrible at case stuff, I do fluff the fact that there is this much case in one of my stories is a new record. Just a heads up. Castles still not mine.

Chapter 6 - Therapy

The couch was warm and sinfully comfortable as I settled into it, kicking off my shoes, tucking my feet under me. Somehow being in this room meant that I was going to spill my secrets to the man across from me. At first, it had really irked me that somehow he was always able to question my most basic motives without a flicker of emotion.

"How was your week Kate?" it rumbled from him in that soothing manner that just made you want to tell him the best and the worst of the week, because he would know exactly what to say, even if it was nothing at all.

I looked at my knees briefly evaluating my week, how to describe this topsy -truvy week. I settle on, "It was a lot," but I know without him even prompting me that that wasn't going to be enough. "We had a horrible case, but I ran into Richard Castle." I confess unable to stop the smile forming on my face.

"The mystery author?" I don't question that this is the fact that he latches onto, not the case but the unusual thing that happened. I nod in confirmation looking out the window thinking of our last interaction. I think I've finally peaked the therapist's interest for the first time in all of my sessions. He's leaning forward in his chair like a middle schooler waiting to get more information. The juxtaposition makes me laugh a little bit, "I take it you already know Mr. Castle."

"He shadowed me for nearly a year…" I paused thinking about it, "god nearly three years ago it feels like just yesterday," I marvel.

Dr. Burke is puzzling something out for his very own though. "So you're the inspiration for Nikki Heat?" I can't tell if he's merely bemused at this fact or thoroughly delighted.

I sigh fondly; it's been years since I've heard that question. "I am."

Burke nods, leans back in his chair, resuming is standard position, making a note on the pad of paper in front of him. Finally, he asks, "So this was a good thing?"

"Running into him?" he nods his head, "Yeah it was he asked me for coffee when I finished the case."

"And?"

"We had to ask for his help on the case."

"How did you feel about that?" the shrink speak came out of his mouth as if he didn't know anything else.

The disappointment at admitting that Ryan and Esposito were right about needing to ask Castle for a crazy theory flooded my thoughts. "Disappointed…" I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, "when he left three years ago to go write the bond novels I was… heartbroken is too strong… I felt like I'd missed a chance at something."

Dr. Burke just watched me without saying anything, just waiting for me to continue my story. "When I saw him again it felt like a second chance and then I had to go and ask him to do the one thing that would stand between us working together." I shook my head, "I know, I'm romantizing this we were just friends. Work friends at that before he left because we didn't even keep in touch."

"So when you asked him about the case you were afraid that you'd fall back into that work friendship pattern?"

"Yeah, I was," I nodded.

"Well did you?" The shrink asked eagerly.

I'd been seeing him for nearly six months and I'd never seen a crack in his resolve as he poked and prodded me in our sessions trying to help me move past the PTSD and work through the issues that my mom's case had brought up. However, at the possibility of a date he was acting like my best girlfriend, although he had been trying to get me to make friends outside of the precinct. I giggled, "It was different than I remember it but it was nice to have him in the precinct he brings a sense of humor to what is often a rather depressing job."

"Do you want him to help you on a regular basis again or do you want him to just be a friend and possibly something more."

"I…" I went to start, "I really don't know, I do want to be friends with him, at the very least. He adds a sense of … I don't know what to call it but it's lighter."

"So why not have coffee with him separate from work?"

I opened my mouth, and closed it again before answering him. "I did."

The bastard cackled when we'd kicked down the door and hadn't made any move to run just cackled. It took so much of the satisfaction out of slapping the cuffs on his wrists as I read him his Miranda rights. But, we got him and after doing a cursory check of the apartment, I left the cataloging to the uniforms and went to go check on Castle. He'd come into the building with us but when I'd turned to ask him what he thought he wasn't in the apartment.

I found him leaning against the hood of my vehicle. The "writer" vest that been living in the trunk of my car for years now still wrapped securely around him. "How you doing Castle?" I asked coming to a stop just a few feet in front of him.

He looked up at me squinting into the early morning light, "Adrenaline rush." He paused, "I'd forgotten that, I'd forgotten what it's really like following you through a door with no idea what's waiting on the inside." He seemed almost like he was in a panic not that he didn't want to go through the door but rather he didn't want me to. He didn't give me a chance to respond, "Are you done here?"

I looked up at the building knowing that uniforms could handle the rest and that paper work would have to wait anyway. He'd already confessed that there was no one else, "at least not yet," were his exact words. Castle had pushed himself upright by the time I'd concluded I wasn't needed, watching me expectantly. "Yeah I am. What did you have in mind?"

Then there it was his signature Castle smile. "Well it's early so I thought we could start the rest of the day off with a good cup of coffee."

His face went back and forth between being proud of himself for coming up with the idea and scared that I'd say no. Fortunately, the answer fell out of my mouth before I had a chance to even think about it, "I'd like that." I said with a smile pulling on the velcro of my vest heading over to my door leaving him dumb struck for the second time this morning. "You coming?" I ask spurring him into action.

I'd let him give me directions to the desired location for this coffee shop. It turned out to be his loft, which I'd nearly protested but the room was alight with the morning light, filling it with a sense of life. Alexis and Martha were gone on whatever adventure the morning had in store and it was just of the two of us sitting at the counter sipping on the delicious coffee that he kept here. Certainly better than the stuff he'd been supplying the precinct with.

He was spinning me the tale of Alexis and Ashley the boy she was going to follow to Stanford in January, until she hadn't gotten in. Then Ashley had been too wrapped up in being at Stanford that he'd forgotten to make time for her. "It's ok though." He rubbed his eyes tiredly, "Relationships take work. I think she sees that now, so even though I hate seeing her get hurt she's learned from it. Now I can just hope that she never gets her heart broken again." He says with a small smile. His eyes were bleary with exhaustion, hair ruffled from the number of times he'd run his hands through it over the course of the night, the white button down that had been crisp when we'd left his apartment hours ago was wrinkled and the collar drooped. And he was still just worried about his daughter.

"I'd forgotten what a good dad you are." I told him with a smile.

He chuckled a little bit. "You make that sound like I'm only a good dad occasionally."

Taking a sip of my coffee, I shake my head. "No, it's just without you annoying me every day I forget that there's a lot more to you than the bestselling novelist."

"A lot more that you like?"

"A lot more that makes having you help on cases not so bad."

"Hey you asked for my help on this one."

"And you were helpful." I admitted. "It's nice to see you as more than just a famous author but as the genuinely nice guy you are. That's all."

"Well Detective Beckett it's nice to see you as a fully fledged person and not just on the pages of a book."He told me with a nod.

"Nikki Heat is all you Castle."

"Inspired by you though." He looked at me daring me to challenge him further. I just shook my head again watching his eyes follow my own curls, "God your hair is pretty long." Came out of his mouth completely unbidden causing a blush to creep up my neck.

"Thanks." Was all I could manage to get out. Before we lapsed into a quiet moment both of us taking a sip of coffee, giving ourselves a moment to collect our thoughts.

But quiet was never something he was good at, particularly when quiet could be filled with questions, "Why'd you still have my vest in your car?"

I shrugged, "It never hurts to carry a spare vest." I told him. The whole first year he'd been gone and I'd thrown a blanket over it so that I wouldn't have to look at it every time I opened the trunk, not being able to bring myself to do anything with it. When the blanket moved months later, it seemed to me that it was as good as place as any to keep a spare vest.

Clearly, my answer didn't cut it with him as he narrowed his eyes in my direction, but he didn't push. "Well I'm glad you had it today."

"You liked following me through that door."

He smiled. "Kate, I like following you. Even if it is through a door wearing a bullet proof vest."

The blush was back, "Yeah well don't get used to it Castle. You're not following me around for research anymore because your Detective Heat is retired."

He finished his coffee with a dramatic flair, "Not retired just finding her away through New York's criminal underbelly without me for a while."

I looked at him contemplating for a moment asking if he meant to bring her back. Deciding that I definitely didn't need to plant the idea in his head if it wasn't there already. Glancing at my watch, "It's already 11:30?" How had so much time passed? How much coffee had he given me? And how many bear claws had I eaten?

"Apparently it is."

Standing up quickly I snatch my coat from the back of the chair behind me sliding my feet into the heels I'd kicked off hours ago. "I need to go." My mind scrambling trying to decide what was top priority to get done on my day off. I paused looking at this incredibly sweet, caring, loyal man and realized in that instant I didn't want to let him out of my life again. "Thank you Castle for the coffee. It was definitely needed."

"Any time my dear detective. I'm happy to feed you're caffeine addiction." He said collecting the cups and plates, placing them in the sink before following me to the door.

Time to make my future work for me. "Ok, how about on my next day off?"

He looked shocked for just a second before pleasure seemed for radiate from his eyes out. "It'd be my pleasure."

"Kate?" Dr. Burke's voice cut through my memory and I realized I'd probably zoned out on him for at least ten minutes.

I cleared my throat, "Sorry."

"Going for coffee, I take it was a good thing?"

I could stop the smile spreading on my face. "It was it really was."

"Are you going to see him again?" I'd finally found a topic the doctor couldn't act like a doctor about. He wanted to know about my love life, probably because it was the exact thing he'd been encouraging me to do.

"Yeah I am."

"Well that's good." He said after a beat before standing up. "That's really good Kate, but it looks like we're out of time today. We'll talk more next week and remember…"

"…you're always available if I need help." I finish for him. "See you next week doc." I told him with a wave leaving the office as I pulled out my phone to find a text message with the address of a coffee shop.

I kind of adore her shrink and in my alternate universe she's seeing him because she still has things to work out even if they're not Castle related.

What are your thoughts?

Babyrose