A/N: I'm really glad you guys liked that standalone scene, as I was really unsure about posting it like that. Thank you once again for your support and amazing feedback. You guys are the best.

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine.

At the end of the tunnel

Chapter 9

He watched them from afar, his hands shaking in anger when she immediately went into the bastard's arms the second he touched her. Just who the hell did she think she was to be cheating on him like this? She was his wife, goddamn it, his wife. The mother of his was supposed to act like one and fulfill her duty as such. Just because he had sought out other women in the past few years, it didn't give her the right to do the same.

He was a man. He had needs. And sometimes his wife just didn't cut it and he had to find others to meet those needs and desires. She had to understand that. And, god, she actually let the guy near his children. At least he had kept that part of his life sacred and never brought the kids along when he met one of his girls. Kate hadn't even respected that.

God, he really wanted to just march over there and punch the daylights out of this son of a bitch that had dared to touch his wife. Which part of married didn't the guy understand? She was taken and if he had anything to say about it, she would remain that way. He knew he had hit a nerve when he demanded the children's custody in exchange for the divorce and he was absolutely certain she would never go for that. If he said so himself, it had been a genius move on his part. He had only allowed her to move out because he had been sure she would come around eventually and would forget about this divorce nonsense.

He fisted his hands, gritting his teeth tightly when he saw her kissing that Rick person. The bitch. Apparently, she really thought she was going to get rid of him that easily; that she could just throw him away like he was a piece of trash.

Well, she thought wrong.

"Thank you for coming." Kate whispered after they had been in silence for a few minutes. He still held her tightly, giving her strength and slowly calming down her heavy heart. Rick pulled away to meet her eyes, before closing the distance and kissing her lips for a brief moment.

"Don't mention it." He told her softly, finding her hand that still gripped his shirt and entwining their fingers.

"How'd you even get here so fast?" She asked curiously, now that her mind wasn't so addled with so much pain.

"I have a meeting with my publisher in a few minutes so I was already on my way here when you called." He explained and she nodded, leaning forward so her head rested on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"A bit better, yeah." She sighed, closing her eyes. Right at that moment, all she wanted was to go home and curl around him in bed. "Garrett says we can fight for the kids. That my chances are good."

"You're a great mother, Kate. There's no way they're going to take Alex and Olivia away from you." He reassured her and she let out a heavy sigh. "Come on, how about we go get a cup of coffee, get you to relax a little?"

"I thought you had a meeting." She smiled, wrapping an arm around his neck, lightly playing with his hair. He shook his head and pulled out his phone.

"Gina, hey. Listen, something came up and I can't make it to the office right now. Rain check? In about an hour or two?" He quickly explained, his free hand brushing her hair behind her ear. "Okay, I will. No, don't worry. I'll be there." He said and hung up, pocketing his phone with a boyish smile. "All taken care of." He pulled away and took her hand in his. "Come on."

Rick took her to a nearby French Café and, for the next hour, he managed to distract her mind from the jumbled mess that her life currently was. When they walked back to the office building his publisher's office and her lawyer's were at, he kissed her again and they agreed to meet later that night at his place. He told her to take the kids with her since Alexis was actually going to be home tonight (and not out with her boyfriend or her friends for once) and she had been talking about seeing Olivia and little Alex again.

After parting ways, Kate made her way to her car and drove to the precinct. Now that Rick wasn't there to distract her, she felt that exhaustion seep into her bones and she felt her entire body ache with the heaviness of the stress she had gone through this morning. All she wanted right now was to go home and hide under the covers, hoping this was all a very vivid nightmare. But she knew this was the coward's way out and she wouldn't solve anything like that. So her best option now was to go to the Twelfth and distract herself with work until it was time to pick up her kids.

Then again, not everything about this morning had been bad. Rick actually told her he loved her. She still couldn't wrap her mind around it. He was in love with her and she was absolutely sure that feeling was so very mutual on her part. It was strange, really. They had known each for two months and, for the better part of that period, they had tried their hardest to not give in to the obvious connection they had. But despite that, they had fallen for each other, anyway, and it was just mind boggling for her. Because, really, they hadn't even had sex yet, they hadn't been on a date or even defined what the hell they were. And yet, they loved each other with a strength that quite honestly scared her.

It didn't matter, though. This was her fresh start. And she was going to make the best out of it.

"Hey, Alexis." Kate smiled when the redhead opened the door to the loft. Alex was leaning against her leg, his little arm wrapped around her thigh while Olivia was nearly bouncing on her feet in excitement. Her daughter had really taken to Rick's kid and had been talking for hours how she couldn't wait to see the teenager.

"Kate, hi." Alexis smiled back and stepped aside to let them in. "Hi, guys." She ruffled Alex's hair and smiled warmly at Olivia, who waved back enthusiastically. "Dad's in the kitchen. It's homemade pizza night." She announced and Kate nodded with a smile, taking her jacket off and then the kids' as well. "How do you guys feel about watching a movie after dinner?" She asked Olivia and Alex and reached out a hand to the little boy to encourage him to let go of his mother.

Alex sneezed a couple of times and Kate watched him take the teenager's hand with concern. The last thing she needed right now was for him to get sick. Walking in the direction of the kitchen, Kate smiled when she saw Rick working at their dinner and let out a quiet laugh when she saw what he was wearing. He looked up at her and his smile was so happy that she felt her feet carrying her body towards him without even realizing.

"Nice apron you got there, Mr. Castle." She teased when he pulled her against his body in a hug. He grinned and kissed her lips after checking that the kids were distracted choosing a movie.

"You like it?" He looked down at the black apron that said 'This is what a really cool Dad looks like' with a grin and then back up at her. "Father's Day present last year."

"It suits you." She smoothed the fabric down his chest with a small smile. He stopped her hand with his and brought it to his lips. "How'd your meeting go?" She hopped up onto the counter and accepted the glass of wine he offered her.

"It was good. The new book comes out in a couple of weeks." He said while putting the pizza in the oven. "There's going to be a launch party on the 25th." He leaned against the counter next to her and put his arm behind her. "Will you come with me?" He asked a little timidly, his fingers doing a torturous slow dance on her hip.

"To your book launch party?" She asked, biting her lip when he nodded. "I would love to, really, but I'm not sure that's a great idea, Rick." She told him regretfully.

"Because of Jake, you mean?" He turned to face her, standing between her thighs. She nodded, brushing his hair away from his forehead affectionately. "You don't have to go with me, you know. I'll take Alexis as my plus one. But I'd really love if you could come too, just as a guest." He leaned into her touch when she cradled his stubbly cheek. "Please?"

"The 25th?" She asked and he nodded, kissing her wrist gently. "I'll try my best to make it." She grinned when his eyes lit up. "Let's hope I don't have to work then."

"I'm going to have a serious chat with all the murderers in this city. Ask them to take the night off." He teased and she rolled her eyes amusedly. "After the party I'm going to have go on tour for about a week, though." He continued with a sigh and she felt her chest tighten already. "I wish I didn't have to."

"Where are you going?" She asked, trying to keep the disappointment at not being able to see him for a week at bay.

"Boston, Washington, Chicago and a couple of others. I can't remember them all." He rubbed his palms slowly on her thighs and she bit her lip at the shiver that ran through her because of his touch. He grinned at her, his eyes darkening. "Wish you could come with me." He whispered, brushing his lips down her jaw, smiling when he felt her gasp.

"Rick," She tried to say warningly, but it came out more like a groan. "We're not alone." She murmured when he captured her lips with his in a brief, but deep kiss.

"Right. I know." He took a deep breath, his hands coming to rest beside her hips, and she smiled at his fight to pull himself together.

Kate touched his chin and made him look at her. "Soon." She assured him with a kiss on the cheek and he nodded with a small smile, his eyes still dark with barely repressed lust. "Really soon." She added before pushing him away gently so she could get down from the counter. "Come on, let's see if our pizza is ready."

After dinner, they sat down with the kids to watch a movie in the living room. Kate tried to keep her distance from Rick while the children were in the room, but it proved to be increasingly difficult the further they got into the movie. They started out at a respectable distance from each other, but an hour into it, Kate found herself leaning against his side, trying her hardest not to give in and rest her head on his shoulder. The only thing distracting her from his proximity was the fact that Alex was leaning heavily on her and she thought he felt a little too warm.

"You feeling okay, baby bear?" She asked quietly so not to disturb the rest of the group. Alex looked up at her slowly, his eyes heavy and a little glassy with apparent fever.

"My head hurts, mommy." He told her and pressed his cheek to her side sleepily. Kate touched his forehead and sighed.

"What is it, Kate?" She heard Rick ask and turned to him for a moment, before turning back to her son, who was quickly falling asleep on her.

"I think he's got a fever." She said quietly, pressing a kiss to her little boy's hair. "Do you have thermometer?" She asked and he nodded, kissing her cheek before getting up.

"I'll be right back." He told her and she thanked him, looking down at Alex. He had fallen asleep. She pulled on his legs and maneuvered his little body so he was laying with his head on her chest.

"What's wrong, mom?" She heard Olivia's voice and looked down at her daughter on the floor with Alexis.

"I think your brother is coming down with a cold, Liv." She explained and Olivia nodded.

"You can put him in my room if you want, Kate." Alexis offered, concern clouding her young features. "So he'll be more comfortable."

"That'd be great, Lex. I just want to take his temperature first. See if he's really got a fever." She thanked the redhead and looked up to see Rick returning with a thermometer in hand.

"Here."

He handed it to her and she stuck it under Alex' arm, cradling his sleeping form while she waited for the device to announce the temperature. Rick sat down next to her again put his arm on the back of the couch, giving a shoulder a comforting squeeze. She offered him a grateful smile and sighed when the thermometer beeped.

"101.4." She sighed, running her hands gently over her son's arm. "Do you have some kids Tylenol?" She asked Rick, but he shook his head.

"Not anymore. Alexis takes the regular one now." He explained and Kate nodded, thinking she should go home to get some medicine in him. "I can run down to the drugstore and get some. There's one right around the corner." He offered and she looked at him with a small, appreciative smile.

"Would you?" She said and he nodded, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead, before standing up. "Thanks, Rick."

"You got it, babe." He smiled at her and she bit her lip, trying to hide the small smile that wanted to break free. "I'll be back soon. You girls can go ahead and continue the movie." He told them, grabbing his wallet from the counter and made his way to the door.

When he closed the door behind him, Kate sighed, wondering how on Earth she had found such a caring man.

His heart jumped when he saw the wife stealing son of a bitch walk out of the building. So this was where he lived, Jake thought to himself, positioning the camera to take a picture of the guy and the building's entrance. He could see Kate's car parked a few cars down and he knew she had been there for a while now. He had followed her home from the precinct and had decided to wait around for a little while to see if she was going out. It had been a little after six when she came down with the kids and drove here.

He had had his suspicions that this was where this Rick guy lived and stuck around to see what time she was going home. It was a fancy building too and he wondered if the guy was rich. Now it was just past nine o'clock and she was still up there apparently. He wondered where the guy went at this time of night without her.

Sighing, he put the camera down and waited.

A/N: Thoughts?