A/N: Now we'll see how hard it is to fool Castle. Still not mine.

When Gates had started with the 'make them sweat' interrogation technique, he realized that he should treat this as an interrogation too. He may not be able to get to her thoughts without physically touching but the nearer he was the more he could sense about a person's muscle tension, heartbeat/blood pressure and even directly glean some emotions from their mind. In short, he was a living lie detector and nearly impossible to fool. Even Sofia who had fooled the CIA for years couldn't fool him. He was going to read Gates as she'd never been read before.

As the interview proceeded, he was struck more than once at the disparity between what Gates projected on the outside and what she really felt. For one thing, she'd been sincere when telling Kate that she was impressed with her record. When she'd admonished Kate about following procedure, he sensed some genuine concern, it may not be at the level he'd sensed from Montgomery, but it was there. Even the moment when Kate had made the indiscrete comment about not going after pensions, Gates' anger was mild, she was mainly studying Kate. Apparently she was playing 'bad cop' to nobody's 'good cop', starting out strict and possibly easing up later if she could. He couldn't help it, he was impressed. He knew enough about leadership techniques to see them in action.

However, the overarching theme of her interaction with them was observation. She was intent on reading them and he was sure she was getting information whether they wanted her to or not. Her scrutiny extended to watching them through her blinds as they walked back to Kate's desk. Unfortunately, he got nothing on what she was looking for. She talked mostly about the case but had not tried to threaten Kate to get to him at all. He had no idea if she was curious about their exact relationship or not. Despite his skills, Victoria Gates was not an open book.

Rick had been so sure that Gates was going to try to get rid of him that her questions about Montgomery caught him off guard despite Kate's note. He was furious with himself for letting that happen and when she challenged him on the length of the call he knew that he was busted. He had to give her something so he chose the lesser of two evils, plus it was probably already documented anyway. Gates was proving to be a worthy opponent and he had decided that making something up on the fly was too dangerous. He'd been optimistic that he'd be forgiven but she kept avoiding any communication with him and the longer it went on the lower his spirits sank. The only thing keeping him calm was the fact that she was containing her anger and later seemed more thoughtful than seething.

Still, when she delayed their departure and the boys left with concerned glances at him, he began to feel anxious again. He stayed near her, although not too near, and when they waited for the elevator nobody was with them. He'd hoped for some sign from her but she remained stoic as they stepped in and she pressed the button for where her car was. The moment the doors shut, she seemed to be preparing to speak but his pent up words burst from him first.

"I'm so sorry. I was caught completely off guard and I had no story ready. I chose the less dangerous truth. I was not throwing you under the bus, I swear, she kept twisting…"

Her fingers came up to his lips and stilled him with a touch and a small smile. "I figured that out on my own, Rick. We're good. We have to talk but we're good." Her smile grew a little when he sighed in relief.

"Do you think she has my phone records?"

"I doubt it. Given the history of the NYPD, warrants are easy to get for cops, especially for internal investigations. She'd have Montgomery, me and the guys so I think she is working only from that. To get yours she'd need more probable cause and she doesn't seem to have that. Would there be a problem if she did?"

"Not that I can think of but I don't want to get caught off guard again, once was enough."

She chuckled and leaned into him but moved back when they reached their floor. They proceeded to the car but she stopped him just before they reached it. "Why don't you go 'feed the animal' while I start dinner?"

He smirked initially, she certainly hadn't forgotten her first encounter with Vulcan Simmons but the smile quickly disappeared. "We need to stick together, you know that."

She had to stifle anger again and it reminded her of what they had to discuss later. She took a deep breath and realized there was an easy compromise. "OK, I'll go and if you see anyone watching or following, call me. Or maybe do your superhero thing, whichever. I also think it would be a good thing to be seen leaving separately once in a while."

He wasn't sure about that as there could be an ambush later but things had been shaky enough today between them that he decided to just go with it this time since nothing had happened since the funeral. He'd certainly give things a very good look before tending to their prisoner though. He nodded reluctantly and walked to where she'd be leaving the lot. He was already scanning around before she got there and he continued until she was out of even his range.

There'd been one man that caught his attention but it had been false alarm. He stared off in the direction she had gone and decided to find out if his plan would work. He wanted a fast resolution just for Kate's protection from Bracken but now a fast resolution could save her from worry about her new Captain or even the task force. Some information from Simmons would help him solidify his plan so he resolved to get it, even if he had to dangle that man from a roof again.

He arrived at the loft with the information he wanted, Simmons could be very cooperative with just a hint of motivation these days. He was still a little troubled about how things had gone with Kate however. He was internally berating himself for not recognizing her need for space. He could push her away if he got too demanding with her. He knew she was an adult perfectly capable of defending herself but he was anxious about her being able to handle whatever Bracken might decide to throw at her.

His heart sank as he saw her turn towards him in the kitchen. She'd tried to hide the signs but she had been crying. It was very hard for anyone to hide things like that from him, even across the room. He began to rush towards her to offer comfort and the way her jaw begin to clench had him rethinking his plan until he saw her expression soften and she began to move to intercept him. He engulfed her in a hug the moment that he could and she returned it firmly and put her face into his chest.

They just held each other silently for a few moments until they both said, "I'm Sorry." Their concurrent actions made him chuckle and he was pleased to hear and feel her chuckling at the same time. One thing that he didn't have to worry about is them being in synch. They still had it.

Kate pulled back and started to speak. "I don't really think you have anything to apologize for, Castle. I'm the one having trouble dealing with things. You didn't do anything wrong and she probably has something in my file about my obsession with the case already. Montgomery had to sign off on my counseling and I'm sure the reason is in there somewhere. I'll admit I was upset but I got over it."

She paused and checked on dinner as she continued but she didn't look at him. "I don't know why I keep pulling back, wanting space. I love you and I want to be with you, I really do but I get these moods…." She sighed and looked down as she spoke in a softer voice." I've gotten better since I met you; I'm trying to have a real life and not just my job. Sometimes I wonder if I have gone as far as I can on my own. Maybe I need to go back for more counseling."

It was obvious to him that she was ashamed and he just couldn't stand for her to feel like that. He came up behind her and put his arms around her and spoke softly near her ear. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. If you feel you need counseling then fine, go for it and I'll support you. If it'll help, I'll go too. Maybe I'm not doing something right. We're both in this relationship; we'll both have to work on it."

Her answer was turning around in his arms and giving him a fierce kiss. A timer interrupted before they got too far so they switched gears and finished getting dinner ready and then eating it. Kate was very flirty and the closer to done they got, the hotter the conversation got. A different sort of dessert was on the menu then and they were just starting towards the bedroom when Kate's cell rang, startling her and momentarily breaking the mood.

He assumed it was a call from the precinct but her reaction when she checked her phone didn't correlate with that. She smiled slightly as she brought the phone up and said, "Hi, Dad."

She was giving him a somewhat apologetic looking smile when her expression completely changed to chagrin. He wondered if he was delivering some sort of bad news when she gave him a glance that seemed like a plea for help but he could tell that she wasn't panicking or anything, he had no idea what was going on but didn't want to eavesdrop either, that was a bad habit.

"Ummm, well I sort of... moved."

He gave her a sympathetic look as he had a good idea that her father had just discovered something the hard way.

"Yes, I'm at his loft." She covered her face with her hand and he could tell she was embarrassed.

"Things have been sort of busy. I wasn't trying to hide anything, I would have told you soon."

"Our plans? Oh! I completely forgot!"

By this time she was staring at the floor so he moved closer and took her free hand is his own to offer his support. She squeezed his hand back as she continued, "How about tomorrow night then?"

She gave Rick a startled look then said, "Just a sec, I'll ask him."

She took her hand back and put her phone on mute and turned to Rick. "He wants for both of us to meet him at his favorite restaurant."

Rick wondered if he was going to get the 'prospective son-in-law' talk from Jim and it must have showed on his face as she chuckled before speaking. "Don't worry, Rick. I'll be there to protect you if he starts an interrogation."

Rick rolled his eyes before replying. "Tell him I'll be glad to attend. Thank him for the invitation."

She gave him an affectionate smile before returning to her phone. "We'll both be there, Dad, and Rick says thanks." She nodded and then replied, "6:30 sounds fine, we'll see you then."

"Bye."

She ended the call and practically fell into Rick's arms as if exhausted. "I forgot a dinner date with my father and he went to my apartment and found it pretty much empty. I'm a bad daughter."

"I'm sure he's just happy you're fine and he's already forgiven you. On the other hand, I may have some explaining to do."

She laughed and tightened her hug. "Dad never liked my boyfriends, especially during my rebel phase. However, he has told me he likes what I've told him about you."

"So, what have you told him?"

She smirked at him and replied, "Only the good stuff. Don't worry; he'll be fine with us. You're getting to meet him on neutral ground and I'll be there. There's nothing to worry about."

That's the moment that he realized that Kate didn't know that he'd already met her father. He pondered a moment but he knew keeping a secret would almost certainly be a mistake. "Actually, I've already met your father."

She looked startled and then her eyes began to narrow. "Tell me about it."

That wasn't a request and he hoped she wouldn't be too mad at him. This also meant the mood was broken for tonight. Maybe he'd take a cold shower later.