As promised a few more coffees for you and then we shall move on to things that you are all patiently (or maybe not so patiently ;)) awaiting.

Castles not mine, what on earth gave you the impression that it was.

Chapter 8 – And A Few More

He's playing with the remnants of the piece of pie, he'd ordered at the diner I'd suggested this morning for our late afternoon coffee meeting. He'd order a slice of apple and a slice of cherry pie before I'd even gotten there. With two forks and two cups of coffee. He insisted that I eat one. I'd protested but both slices of pie were gone and we were on our third coffee refill.

He moves the fork back and forth across the plate across from me and all I can think is that his publicity really doesn't do him any justice. It makes him out to be the un-catchable playboy that lives larger than life. Right now however, he's telling me about the trials and tribulations of Martha's most recent romantic foray.

It was sweet how worried he was about her adventures. I heard about the engagement that she didn't even have a chance to break before her finance unexpectedly died. Then the arrival of her inheritance that led to a shopping spree followed by a stroke of inspiration when she decided to open an acting school with the money.

"She seems happy though. Like she's finally found her footing again. And this time it's on her own terms not because of some guy." He says with a sigh.

"Well that's a good thing Castle," I reached out brushing my hand across his arm, "that's really good though."

"I suppose. She's a good example for Alexis, and it's good for her to have an older female presence around to talk too when good old dad isn't enough."

"That's also good." I told him.

"Yeah, it is, but I don't think she's ever going to move out." He almost whined.

I chuckled taking a final sip of my coffee, "Don't lie you like having her around."

"I do. She certainly never fails to produce drama," He shrugged, non-committally. "But it'll be different when Alexis goes to college. Now its three generations living in one apartment, it's different when it's a 40 year old man living with his mom."

"Martha's living with you though not the other way around though."

"That's the semantics game I like to play." Castle smiled just a little bit and his eyes sparkled.

We were we sitting in a Starbucks somewhere between her apartment and the precinct. It was a warm morning in late January. It wasn't her day off but with the holidays we hadn't met for coffee in weeks so we'd compromised and decided we'd risk meeting even if she was on call. "Any way we solved it, after a lot of sifting through alibis," She finished with a flourish, it was a rather absurd case. They'd found a famous psychic stuffed in her sofa, a few days later a letter arrived at the precinct from the victim herself predicting her death.

Kate clearly believed that the whole thing was ridiculous and after all why shouldn't she, she reasoned they'd figured out that the psychic had solved one murder to only to be killed to keep that one secret. I studied her for a second, "Don't you believe in magic at all?" surely this wasn't possible.

She contemplated it for just a second, her bottom sticking out as she shook her head. "No. No, I don't."

"When'd you stop believing in Santa Claus?" I asked genuinely interested in how she existed in a world without magic.

She giggled, it was a soft floaty noise in contrast to the leather jacket, skinny jeans, and laced up heeled boots. "I was three and we didn't have a fire place." She admitted after a few seconds, the smile still on her face.

"Awe man, that's too bad. Your poor parents with a not yet school aged child that doesn't believe in Santa." I told her.

She just shrugged, "I think they survived. How long did Alexis believe in Santa Claus?" She asked looking skeptical.

I thought about it for a few seconds, "Well she probably started questioning his existence when she was about six and stopped believing in him when she was around eight. But in the Castle house hold Santa is as real as you want him to be." I told her.

She laughed, "You still get her presents from Santa?"

"Well I don't have separate Santa wrapping paper any more, but yeah. I get presents from Santa too." I explained, knowing that my daughter and mother went to great lengths to get me presents in addition to their own gifts and labeled them from Santa every year. "For example, this year I got a new remote control helicopter, which is good because I crashed my old one into the wall, and a collection of manuals on vintage cars."

Her eyes sparkled in amusement, "That sounds really wonderful."

"See Santa's not so silly."

"No, I suppose he's not." She said with a smile. "Anyway," She waved her hand bring us back to her story, "the only thing that we couldn't tie up with the case is the victims daughter told me she had a dream that a man named Alexander would be extremely important to me."

"Alexander?" I questioned.

"Yeah, Alexander. Why, Rick?" She was looking at me like she used to when I had a crazy theory for her.

"It's just that my middle name is Alexander."

Now she just looked confused, "No it's not. Your middle name is Edgar."

I couldn't help but laugh, "Your fan girl is showing again, Detective." Earning me a blush, "No Alexander is my given middle name. I changed it to Edgar for Edgar Allen Poe when I changed my last name to Castle." The blush had faded and she looked truly intrigued. "My given name is Richard Alexander Rogers."

For a long moment, we just watched each other. The silence not uncomfortable, but just a little bit of inexplicable charge until it was broken by the sound of her phone ringing. Fishing it from her pocket, "Dispatch," she almost groaned to me snapping it open, "Beckett." She jotted down some notes on a notebook she produced from a pocket in the jacket. "Call Ryan and Esposito, I'll meet them there."

Smiling sadly, "That's what we get for doing this when I'm on call." She apologized standing up.

"Go, I'm always free for coffee when you need it." I told her, trying not to focus on the little flips my stomach was doing from excitement because she was upset she had to leave.

"Thanks Castle." She smiled, leaning over and brushing a kiss over my cheek before she strode out of the shop leaving me to touch my cheek like a 13 year old that had just gotten my first kiss.

I don't know what I was thinking. It had been four weeks since I'd actually seen him, because between both our schedules it hadn't worked out. On the days I was free he was in meetings with his publisher, or traveling for book promotion. This last week he'd been gone with Alexis visiting all the schools she got into. They'd gotten back last night. Fortunately, I had the morning free, so I was standing at the door clutching two cups of Starbucks, waiting for him to answer my knock.

The door swung open revealing a very rumpled, very tired looking Richard Castle. "Kate…" fell softly from his lips, "aren't you a sight for sore eyes. And you brought coffee, thank god." He ushered me inside, "Mother, drank all of ours and forgot to get more."

Handing him the cup I smiled trying not to focus on the fluttering in my stomach, "Well I have the morning off and I thought I'd come hear about the Great Castle College Adventure."

Taking a deep sip from his cup he collapsed on the couch, "It was amazing, they're all wonderful. She'd be so happy at all of them, and she'd learn so much." Then his face just dropped, "She's all grown up Kate. When did my baby girl grow up?"

Kicking off my heels and shedding my jacket and sat down on the couch right next him. I wrapped my hand around the one that was on his thigh giving it a squeeze. "Castle you've raised a wonderful young women that loves you very much." He closed his eyes a tear escaping down his cheek.

Wedging my coffee between my thigh and the back of the couch, I wiped away the tear with my now free hand. "No matter where she goes to school she's always going to need her daddy."

His smile was sad, "Is it horrible if I want her to go to school at Columbia or NYU and live at home."

"No it's not. But you might have to accept that even if she goes to NYU or Columbia she's going to move out." I told him softly.

"Do I have to accept that today?"

"No." I chuckled softly, "No that can wait."

He wrapped an arm around me and squeezed, "Thanks." He said holding onto me for just a minute. "Ok enough of a pity party for me tell me how's the case that you were texting me about?"

Did any one see Nathan on Jimmy Kimmel last night? Hilarious as usual, continually making me want to marry him.

Any way let me know how these cups of coffee were for you and I promise more is to come.

Babyrose