Disclaimer: Don't you think if I owned Castle, Castle and Beckett would already be married?
'Dinner tonight? Found this good Italian place last night near the café, already reserved so you can't say no.' Kate smiled as her fingers swiped at the keys on her phone, quickly sending a text back.
'Are you sure I can't say no? That sucks me in, you know..' Kate had been texting Rick all day today and until she'd fallen asleep last night. He even sent her a goodnight text that she woke up to when she stopped answering him.
Right now it was around 4PM and she was filling out paperwork. Ryan and Esposito were tossing a koosh ball back and forth having finished their paperwork about thirty minutes ago. Kate noticed the two of them glancing at her once in a while, wanting to go home of course.
Kate finally put her pen down and looked up at the two, sighing. They all stared at each other, eyes going back and forth between the three of them before Kate turned back to her desk.
"Alright, go home." The pair gathered their things and said their goodbyes before Kate could even look up and when she did, her phone was blinking. She picked it up and read, smiling.
'Sorry, you're stuck with me. Meet me at my loft at 7?'
'I need an address, Mr. Rich-Lives-In-A-Loft-Castle.' Kate's heard swelled when he said she was stuck with him. She wanted to be stuck with him. No, she just wanted to be with him. Can five days of knowing a man really do this to her? She'd already met his daughter. Hell, she thought, she'd already pushed his daughter on the swing and watched her climb the monkey bars.
When Kate, Rick and Alexis went to the park two days earlier, and Kate had enjoyed herself more in four hours of being with them than in the two years it's been since her mother's death. She felt almost guilty for not thinking much about her mom while they were all together. Kate reached up and rubbed her hand along the ring around her neck.
Rick texted Kate the address and she made her way out of the precinct and to her house with a skip in her step.
xxxxxx
"Mads, I have nothing, absolutely nothing!" Kate stood in front of her closet next to her best friend, Madison Queller, who was searching through her closet for something to wear tonight. Turning to Kate, she let her hands fall on her thighs.
"Okay, I figured this would happen, so.." Maddie walked out of the room, and returned holding two dresses. Both were the same length, and both were absolutely beautiful. "I brought these. Pick one."
Kate smiled and scanned the two, then pointed to the one on Maddie's right.
"That one is perfect."
An hour and a half later, Maddie and Kate were hugging goodbye and Kate was making her way to Rick's loft for their dinner-date. Date? Wow, Kate thought, date.
xxxxxx
As Rick hobbled through his room, one arm in his shirt, his belt unbuckled, he took a glance at the clock. Mumbling a curse under his breath, he put his other arm in his shirt and buckled his belt. He heard a knock at the door when he'd finished on the last button and called for them to come in.
Kate poked her head in, but when she saw Rick, she entered fully. The watch Rick was trying to clasp to his wrist fell to the floor and his mouth fell open. Kate smile shyly and looked down. She was wearing a knee length body fitting gray dress, with a shoulder strap. The strap was covered in jewels and Kate's straightened hair flowed along the jewels.
Rick bent down to pick up the watch he dropped and started towards her. When he finally clasped the watch together, he looked back up at her.
"Kate you look.." She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear.
"You're not so bad yourself." When Rick had asked her to go to dinner with him, he figured she'd wear a dress, but this is far more than Rick had ever expected. Rick kissed her on the cheek and put his hands on her shoulders.
"You are definitely not my mother." And at that, there was a knock on the door along with Alexis calling to her father.
"No, but that might be. You get the door; I'll see what Alexis wants." Rick released her shoulders and headed towards the door, Kate moving to the stairs. When Kate walked into the girl's room, she dropped her clutch on her bureau and moved quickly to sit next to Alexis on the bed, pulling her hair back from her face.
Alexis had her face in her trash barrel, and Kate could smell the usual vomit smell that had escaped from the barrel. Kate pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, still holding it behind her head.
In the past few days, Kate has gotten relatively closer to Alexis, and also to Rick, so seeing the girl leaning over her bed, wrenching into the trash barrel made her heart clench. For a second, and just a split second, Kate wondered if this is what her mom felt like when she was sick.
Alexis finally stopped heaving and leaned her head and body back against Kate's. Kate leaned forward, grabbing a tissue and wiping Alexis' mouth rid of throw up. She threw it into the trash and slid her shoes off.
Climbing onto the bed and leaning her back against the wall, Kate held her arms out for Alexis, and the girl climbed into Kate's lap. Kate ran her hand down Alexis' hair and leaned her cheek against the top of her head. Kate kissed the crown of her head and held her as tight as she would hold her own.
When Rick knocked at the door and leaned against the doorframe, Alexis yet again plunged forward, her head going toward the barrel. As gracefully as she could in the dress, Kate kneeled next to her, still on the bed, and held the stray pieces of hair away from Alexis' face.
When Alexis was finished, Kate yet again wiped her mouth and they returned to the positions they were in earlier. Rick sat next to Kate on the bed with their shoulders touching and put his mouth to Alexis' ear, letting her know he was there.
Both Rick and Kate were expecting Alexis to move to her father; Kate loosened her grip on Alexis, only to have her tighten hers around Kate's neck. Neither of them commented on it, Kate because she was shocked as hell, Rick because he didn't find anything wrong with the situation.
"Where's your mom? Was that her at the door?" Rick nodded.
"Yeah, I should probably go send her home. It looks like we're spending the night in." Shooting her a sympathetic look, he bent to kiss Alexis' forehead. He then turned to Kate and kissed her temple, standing up and walking out. Kate sat stunned and counted until four until Rick returned to the room, a hand over his mouth.
"I'm so sorry, Kate!" Kate held up a hand and shook her head.
"It's fine, Rick. Really. Go talk to your mom." Kate smiled at him and as Rick walked out of the room Kate's smile became wider. She pulled Alexis closer to her chest and leaned her cheek on the top of the girls head. Maybe they were good for her. Maybe Alexis and Rick were good for her.
A/N: I really liked this chapter haha, I enjoyed writing it! I hope you guys like it! As you can see it doesn't really follow a day-by-day thing anymore so if that lost your interest, I apologize. Obviously my mind likes to take these ideas into its own hands. I hope you stick around!