Disclaimer: All these characters belong to ABC and Mr. Marlowe

With her cheeks pressed up against her palms and the sharp angle of her elbows digging into her desk, Kate glared at the pair of gloves positioned next to her keyboard. Staring back at her. Taunting her. And completely messing with her mind. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she dropped her arms, allowing them to rest against the heavy wood. They were only a pair of gloves for goodness sakes. Completely harmless.

Although, the problem was that they weren't hers. They were Alexis', forgotten after yesterdays shopping trip until she discovered them in her handbag this morning. At first she thought it was no big deal, she could simply return them to Castle tomorrow, as tomorrow was their next scheduled date.

But now, as the bustle of the precinct had died down and it was on the verge of near empty, she was about to go insane. She still had a hefty pile of files in front of her that required her signature, but for some frustrating, inconceivable and completely impractical reason, she couldn't concentrate. Couldn't squish that stupid voice in her head that was encouraging her, almost daring her, to return them today. See him today.

Picking up the paired items, Kate frowned. If Castle were here, he'd be trying to convince her that they were a sign. 'A message from the universe,' to be exact. She could practically see him with that smug smirk on his face, his eyes slightly creased, yet-

Great. And now she was thinking about him. Again.

It was the gloves.

Lifting up a file, Kate dropped it down on top of the accessories, effectively covering them from her view. After all, today was a date free day, a Castle free day more specifically, so the absolutely last thing that she should even be considering was to go see him. No, she shouldn't think like that. Couldn't think like that.

Looking at her large pile of files, Kate combed her fingers through her hair. She could do this. Pulling down the top file, Kate opened it up and prepared to read. All she needed to do was stop thinking about him.

Just don't think about Castle. Don't think about Castle. Don't think about-

Okay, now this was just getting ridiculous. She needed to do something, anything to put an end to this, so maybe, just maybe-

Looking at her unappealing, cold cup of precinct quality coffee, Kate bit her lip, contemplating. She could do with some fresh and decent caffeine anyway, and there was that great twenty-four hour coffee shop that just so happened to be near his place. Well, nearish to his place. Okay, well at least it was in the general vicinity. She could simply go grab a cup of coffee, and quickly drop by and see him on the way- No. Return Alexis' gloves. She could quickly drop buy and return Alexis' gloves on the way.

"Girl, I'm telling you. The way you're headed, you're going to give yourself a nasty ulcer."

Extracting herself from her thoughts, Kate lifted her head. "Lanie? What are you doing here?"

Positioned in a chair next to Kate's desk, Lanie overdramatically crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Oh, I simply came down to check on my friend. Make sure she's still alive since I haven't heard so much as a peep from her lately," the medical examiner said harshly, providing Kate with an accusing stare.

Sitting up straighter, Kate pulled some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "How long have you been sitting here?" she hesitantly questioned, her nerves slightly coming through her tone.

"Long enough to notice that whatever is distracting you, it most definitely is not case related," she noted confidently. "You do realize you've been giving dreamy eyes to a pair of gloves..."

Kate frowned. "My eyes aren't dreamy," she adamantly responded, before quickly rubbing her eyes for extra measure. "I'm just a little tired."

"Oh, so that's what that was," Lanie replied with an unbelieving glare as Kate stood from her chair. "So, where were you off to?"

Neatening her desk a little, Kate avoided her freind's stare. "Ah, nowhere particular," she replied.

"Nowhere particular?" Lanie repeated. "Girl, quit being so difficult. You're like a damn Rubik's Cube."

Straightening out her files, Kate used the time to consider her options. She could leave out the information concerning her little detour, but really, her reasons were perfectly justified, so she had nothing to be worried about. "I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee, and quickly go by Castle's on the way. No big deal," she attempted to casually shrug.

"What? You two have a date now? It's 10pm!"

Kate swallowed and continued to look busy. "Ah, no. Not exactly," she replied, internally hoping, praying that Lanie wouldn't fit the pieces together.

"Not-? Wait, so you're telling me that you're going to see Castle, despite the fact that you don't have to?"

Clearly, she was out luck. Looking at her waiting friend, Kate picked up her cold cup of coffee. "Maybe," she replied, before spinning around and escaping into the break room.

"Oh-no. Don't think you can run away from me, Kate Beckett," Lanie replied, beginning pursuit. "He's growing on you, isn't he?"

"Lanie, you make him sound like some sort of parasite," Kate sighed, emptying the contents of the mug down the sink. "Although now that you mention it..."

Feeling her friend's stare, Kate briefly turned back to face her. "I'm going to return Alexis' gloves. That's it."

"I'm not even going to ask how his daughter's gloves ended up with you, but I'm telling you, lying is not your strong point," Lanie instructed as she rested her hands on her hips. "You can't at least tell me that the kiss I saw plastered in the papers had no affect on you. The kiss which we are still yet to talk about, I might add," she continued, pushing for a reaction.

Kate froze and felt her heart rate pick up. That was completely different territory. Territory which was just easier to ignore and-

"Or are you just pretending like it didn't happen?"

Okay, she was good...

"No, it- happened," Kate responded, begging her body to relax, "but-"

"Well damn, Girl. A kiss like that deserves an appropriate response, and not just to be used as daydreaming material."

Rinsing the mug clean, Kate kept calm, before placing it on the sink. "I was thinking about work."

"Oh, so you're saying that the photos of old Mr. Thompson lying on my slab caused you to develop that little blush I saw creeping up your cheeks? I mean, I don't usually go for that kind of thing but if that's what you're into, then-"

Lanie clearly wasn't giving up, so spinning around to face the other woman, Kate complied, dropping her arms against her side. "Okay, fine, so I might have been thinking about Castle," she blurted, interrupting her friend's speech. Noticing the smile that began to spread across Lanie's face however, Kate quickly continued. "But briefly. Only for a split second. Actually, no. Make that half a second, and he was literally a passing thought..."

"Yes, and how much work have you gotten through exactly?" Lanie rebutted, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows.

Kate considered her, attempting to swallow the lump in her throat. So, yes. Maybe they were getting along better, and maybe she found herself thinking about him from time to time, but-

"Well, we're spending a lot of time together. Surely other people who have been in fake relationships have found their thoughts drifting once or twice..."

"Jeez," Lanie began, overdramatically rolling her eyes. "Why don't you do some research? There might be some support groups out there for all of you to get together and compare, or at least a hotline or something," she replied, receiving a sarcastic glare from Kate. "You know it's unhealthy to keep everything bottled up like you do?"

"Please, now you sound like my Dad," Kate frowned. "And I don't bottle anything up," she added before heading back to her desk.

"Oh, so that's why you're telling me that you're going to skip halfway across town to simply drop off a pair of gloves?"

"Yes."

"So you're not using them as an excuse to perhaps see a certain hunky someone?"

It was hard enough trying to convince herself, let alone someone else, but letting out a sigh, Kate replied. "I just... don't want her to miss them."

"Yes, despite the fact she is the daughter of a multi-millionaire and probably has a pair of gloves for each day of the week," Lanie highlighted.

"What if they're her favorite?" Kate casually shrugged, lifting her coat from behind her chair and pulling her arms through the holes.

Lanie simply stood there and watched as the detective fixed her collar, allowing a moment of silence to pass. "Whoa," Lanie finally spoke.

Completely oblivious, Kate raised her eyebrows in question and locked eyes with her friend. "What?"

Lanie was smiling, but this was different. The mood had somehow shifted and Lanie relaxed her shoulders as her features softened. "You seriously have it bad for him, don't you?"

Kate was stuck, completely frozen in place as the words of denial refused to pass her lips. Quickly breaking eye contact however, Kate quietly cleared her throat. "I told you, I don't-"

"Girl, save it," Lanie interrupted, holding up her hand. "Go."

As if they both signed an unspoken agreement, had an unspoken understanding, Kate offered her friend a shy smile, and pulling her handbag strap over her shoulder, began to make her way to the elevator.

"Ah, Kate?"

Spinning around, Kate raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Yeah?"

"You might want to take these," Lanie advised, picking up the forgotten gloves from her desk.

"Right," Kate noted, walking back to her friend. "Thanks."

"Come with me to the dark side, my progeny. Fulfill your destiny!"

Poking his head out from the edge of the lounge room wall, Castle took a brief glance around the immediate area, attempting to catch sight of his daughter.

"Ha!" Alexis shouted, jumping out from behind the couch, gun drawn. "You will never turn me!"

Twisting his body to get back behind his cover, Castle raised the gun against his laser tag vest. "But your failure is imminent, young one," he responded with his best sci-fi voice. "All your secrets shall soon be discovered and then you will be begging to come join me!"

"Never!" came her enthusiastic reply as she hurriedly dove behind the coffee table.

"Well then," Castle began, finger firmly placed on the trigger. "It looks like you must be destroyed!" Satisfied, Rick jumped out and shot at the small table, hardly registering the fact that Alexis was no longer there, before his vest suddenly sounded and died.

Turning around, Castle found his smirking daughter standing behind the kitchen island, gun now resting on her hip.

"You shot me!" he squealed, looking down at his vest. "But how did you-? I was the one who first taught you how to wrap your tiny little finger around the trigger. How is it that you now beat me?"

"I don't know, Dad," Alexis replied, walking towards him with a satisfied grin. "Maybe you're just getting too old for this."

"I'm not old. I'm still very youthful. The youthfulness is radiating from me."

"Well youthful or not, it looks like the student has finally become the master," she confidently smiled, blowing at the top of her gun.

Castle scrunched up his face. "I feel disappointed yet oddly proud at the same time," he reflected, unstrapped the flashing laser tag vest from his chest.

Dropping her smile, Alexis placed her gun back in the large storage box, allowing a moment of silence to pass. "Ah, speaking of disappointment..."

"What?"

"Well, we have Greg's wedding coming up," she continued, slowly lifting her head.

"Yeah. Sunday. So?" Castle questioned, watching his daughter cautiously.

"I can't go anymore."

"What? Why not?" he replied, voice raised a pitch.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't realize it was the same day as Beth's birthday, and she's organized this massive day for all us girls and I know you only invited me so you could have a plus one, so I just figured that you could find someone else to go with you."

Letting his daughter catch her breath, Castle released a sigh. "Alexis, it's two nights away. And you know what those bridesmaids are like. They're like sexual piranhas the way they stalk the dateless men out. At least having you there would ward them off a bit."

"Well I'm sure Grams is free," she casually suggested.

"No, there's no way I'm taking your grandmother. Forget the bridesmaids. Your grandmother is in a league of her own," he shivered. He has way too many memories of her at those types of events and- ew. It was just best not to go there...

"I'm sorry, Dad. Look, if you really want me to go, I can."

Watching her through his laser tag goggles, Castle let out a sigh and shook his head. "No, it's okay. I will relieve you from your plus one duties. But on one condition," he began sternly. "We play one more round. Winner takes all," he offered, playfully raising his eyebrows and dramatically lifting his gun.

Alexis smiled. "Deal."

"But I warn you, my child," Castle informed, moving to strap his laser tag gear back on. "Revenge is sweet," he overdramatically whispered.

"Ha, we'll see about that!"

Both grinning, they moved to get into position, before Castle froze, lifting his gaze to the ceiling.

"What?" Alexis questioned, curiously watching her father.

"Shh! Did you hear that?" he whispered, eyes wide.

"Hear what?"

"Banging," Rick replied, completely entranced.

Moving to stand beside him, Alexis offered him a suspicious stare. "Dad, I don't hear anything."

"No, it's definitely coming from up there. We could have someone trying to break in, or maybe it's Boba Fett coming to aid me in my quest for world domination!" he admonished with an evil chuckle. Feeling his daughter's judgmental stare however, Castle soon dropped his grin and cleared his throat. "You know, either way, I should probably call Kate. Get her to bring her gun and scope the place out."

Widening her eyes, Alexis gaped at her father. "You just want to see her, don't you!"

"That is not what this is about," he disagreed somewhat unconvincingly.

Sagging her shoulders, Alexis let out a sigh. "Dad..."

"What? As a responsible father, I just want to make sure we're safe," he attempted to justify.

Skeptical, Alexis raised her eyebrows at him. "It's good to see that you're finally trying to come up with other excuses then your dates to see her, but this? Don't you think you should try something a little more realistic?"

"I'm not using our dates as an excuse to see her. That's... ridiculous," he nervously chuckled.

"No. What's ridiculous is the both of you continuing like you are. Everyone can see what's going on except for apparently you two," she honestly replied, before looking up to her father with a slight shrug. "You know, if you wanted you could always take her to the wedding with you."

Rick opened his mouth to begin another line of denial, but wherever it was, he couldn't get it to surface. Swallowing, he relaxed his posture. "Alexis, she wouldn't-" he began, before letting out a sigh. "Kate only agreed to go to the dates Paula organized. There's no way she'd want to-"

"Dad, maybe you should just ask her before you determine her response," she offered softly. "Besides, it would give you two a chance to spend some time together in public without all the press, and with such a romantic setting, you never know what could happen," she not so innocently hinted.

Remaining adamant however, Castle was quick to reply. "See, that's where your plan falters," he rebutted. "No press. That's what this is all about."

"Dad, that's not what this is all about and you know it," she frankly admitted as she held his gaze.

Rick could do nothing but stand there, completely helpless to the onslaught of his own thoughts, his own feelings, before he heard a knock at the door. "Did you order takeout?"

"No," Alexis responded, shaking her head. "Maybe you phantom burglar thought it was more polite to come through the front door instead," she commented with a slight shrug.

Ignoring her tease, Castle lifted his gun. "Well then, I guess I better go check this out."

"Alright. Well, while you go recruit Boba Fett, I'll be upstairs," Alexis replied, shockingly uninterested as she made her way to the staircase.

Castle however, was completely enthralled. "Looks like I'll be fighting this one solo," he dramatically whispered to himself as he crept towards the door. Molding his hand around the metal handle, he took a moment to adjust his laser tag armor, before eagerly swinging it open. "Step back, or I will zap your brains out with my- it's you!"

Lowering his gun to his side and lifting his goggles to rest on top of his head, Castle stood there, shocked as his eyes locked onto those of Kate Beckett.

Her lips parted, attempting to come up with an appropriate response, before settling on a slight frown instead. "Yeah, hi, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come without calling first," she apologized.

Sensing her retreat, Castle took a quick step forwards. "No, wait, I didn't mean that in a bad way," he hurriedly clarified. "I was just surprised to see you, that's all," he smiled, somewhat stunned by her presence. "So, what brings you around?"

Peeling her eyes away from his, Kate briefly looked down to her hands. "Ah, these actually," she replied, lifting up Alexis' gloves.

Intrigued, Rick watched her with a curious stare. "You came all the way here just to return her gloves?"

Locking eyes once again, he could have sworn he saw a flash of panic cross her face, before she offered a slight shrug. "Yeh, well I needed some coffee, and the coffee shop was near your place, well sort of, so I figured I would drop by on the way," she anxiously smiled.

"What coffee shop?"

"Ah, never mind. Here," she said, offering him the gloves.

"Well, thank you," Castle smiled, amused by her apparent nervousness. "So did you want to come in?"

"Oh, no, I should really get going," she quickly replied, offering a nod for extra reassurance.

Castle however, wasn't going to be persuaded that easily. "What about a compromise, I could accompany you back to the precinct and we could grab that cup of coffee of yours?"

"You really don't have to do that."

He didn't know what it was, but something, call it a tingling in his gut or some sort of universal magnetic pull, didn't want to say goodbye to her just yet. Confidently puffing out his chest a little, he continued. "Actually, yes. I do."

"You do?"

"Yes. You see, this is precisely a plot I would concoct myself. You and I know exactly how this is going to end," he nodded.

"And how's that?" she questioned, cynically raising eyebrow.

"Kate left the handsome author, instead choosing to walk-"

"Catch a cab…"

Raising his hand for her silence, Castle continued his narration. "Instead choosing to travel through the shadows of the night alone." Pausing for dramatic effect, he widened his eyes. "And she was never heard from again," he whispered.

"Oh," she scoffed. "Seriously?"

"Yes, and when they send the search party out looking for you, who's going to be the number one suspect? The last known person who saw you, which would be me. See, so for the sake of my freedom, you've got no option but to say yes," he smugly smiled, satisfied with his efforts.

Kate however wasn't, as watched him with a curious glare, seemingly weighing up her options. Okay, so his efforts might have been a litte pathetic and somewhat melodramatic, so unstrapping his laser tag vest, he tried again. "Okay, how about my shout?"

Gripping their coffees, Rick used his body to hold open the coffee shop door as Kate waked past him, stepping into the cold chill of the air. Following, he handed over her warm drink, before they fell into a synchronized stride, walking side by side down the pavement. Alone. No press. No Paula barking out instructions. It was just them. And it was kind of nice.

"So," Kate began, taking a sip of her liquid. "Does that normally work for you?"

Recollecting his focus, Castle turned his head to face her. "What?"

"Step back or I will zap your brains out," she recapped, amused, but omitting some of the flare he originally greeted her with.

"It seemed like the most rational threat to use at the time."

"Oh, of course," she responded sarcastically.

"Well I got a bit caught up in laser tag, so when I heard you knock I thought you were Boba Fett," he responded. "Not that I think you look like him or anything- although, he is known for being both mysterious and dangerous, so I guess I could see some similarities-" Catching her frown and his own apparent lack of a filter, Castle stopped. "Ah, it's a sci-fi, Star Wars thing, so- you wouldn't understand," he quickly dismissed.

Continuing her stride however, Kate narrowed her eyes. "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Confused, Castle narrowed his brow. "Disturbing? It's not disturbing, it's simply-wait." Pausing, Castle jerked his head to her in disbelief. "Did you just quote Darth Vader?"

As if the whole conversation was her plan to render him speechless, yet again, Kate simply raised an eyebrow and flashed him with a knowing smile.

He grinned, before once again catching up to her side. "You see. Mysterious."

She was unbelievable the way she could do that, allow him to slowly learn more about her, get a peak to yet another side, another layer, another- "You know, you remind me of an onion."

"Oh, first Boba Fett and now an onion. Charming."

"No, just give me a chance to explain," he reassured. "You have layers. Just like an onion. And slowly, you peel back those layers-"

"And now you're mentally undressing me?"

Why wasn't this sounding as logical as it had in his head? "Ah, okay, I admit, that didn't exactly come out right," he fumbled. "But my point is, every time I think I have you figured out, you surprise me," he smiled, catching her gaze and attempting to illustrate the sincerity in his voice.

She watched him for a moment, before focusing her eyes ahead. "Yeah, well you too."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she sighed, before briefly turning to him with a teasing glint in her eye. "Your ability to continuously test my patience levels never ceases to amaze me."

"Whoa, I kinda set myself up for that one," Castle responded, before sneaking a look at her. She was still smiling, so with a mischievous spark, he continued. "Although, you know that if anyone's patience levels were wearing thin, it would be mine," he nonchalantly mumbled, molding his lips around his coffee cup to conceal his obvious amusement.

"And how's that?"

"Well have you ever tried dating you? It's not exactly easy..."

Hearing him, Kate came to a halt. "What?"

He loved this- teasing her, driving her crazy, and taking a few more steps forward, he eventually spun around to face her. Doing so however, he had to catch his smile as he noted the way her forehead was creased into a little frown, her lips shaped into the slightest of pouts. Adorable.

"Mmm-hmm. Actually, this gives me a chance to get some things off my chest. Do you know I have to base my conversations with you depending on what mood you're in? It's like a pre conversation safety procedure. First I assess your threat level, which can be very hard to determine, by the way, but I've come to realize that whenever you're grumpy, you're nose starts to do this cute little twitch thing, and I always know when to shut-up when you do that- oh, there it is-"

"Oh, well what about me?" she rebutted, stalking towards him. "Dating you is like babysitting a five year old."

"A very handsome five year old," he cautiously added, wary of keeping a reasonable distance between them. Mysterious and dangerous, remember.

"Actually, make that a monkey. A monkey high on red cordial."

"That's a bit harsh. Although at least I'm a monkey that buys you coffee."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged, walking past him. "I guess you've gotta be good for something," she teased.

Okay seriously, why does he get into these with her again? "You know, lucky I know you're joking. I mean, otherwise, you should be seriously concerned for the state of my mental health and self- wait, you are joking, right?" he questioned, admittedly a little worried.

"I don't know. Writer-monkey does have a bit of a ring to it," she said, before flashing him with a smile.

Unable to do anything but smile back at her in relief, a moment of silence passed before Kate stopped and hesitantly turned to him. "You don't really assess my mood, do you?"

"Well, there was that one time when-" witnessing the speed at which she drew her eyebrows in a frown, he quickly raised his hands. "I'm kidding, kidding," he chuckled.

Catching sight of the Precinct up ahead and the subsequent end of their journey, Castle nervously dug his nail into the side of the styrofoam as they continued to walk. "Hey, thank you."

"For what?"

"For yesterday," he earnestly began. "You didn't have to come shopping with us and it meant a lot to Alexis to get a dress."

Kate watched him before slightly shying away and taking another sip of coffee. "No, it was no big deal, really. I mean, we were meant to spend the afternoon together anyway, so it was really just a change of location," she shrugged. "Besides, Little Castle is fine. Big Castle on the other hand..." she teased, before breaking out a grin and slightly nudging his elbow with her own.

Coming to a halt, Castle watched her as she continued to walk, a smile etched across his lips. It was ridiculous how much he did this lately, was doing this with her lately, and before he knew it, he was already talking. "So I guess that means you won't be interested in seeing me again on Sunday?"

With the hint of a smile still on her lips, Kate turned back to face him. "What are you talking about? Our next date's tomorrow. Tomorrow's Friday."

Castle stood there. Oh, boy. There was no turning back now. "Yes, but I'm talking about Sunday. An old college friend of mine is getting married, and Alexis was meant to go with me, but she's bailed, leaving me partnerless." Pausing, he cleared his throat. "So, I was wondering if you would like to go," he questioned, way too nervous than necessary. "With me..."

"We don't have to see each other on Sunday."

"I know," he admitted, but sensing her apprehension, he quickly continued. "But since you're pretending to be my girlfriend and all I figured you were a perfect candidate."

Kate chewed her lip, remaining silent. "Come on, help a guy out," he added. "If you agree, I'll make it up to you. On our remaining dates, you can tell me what to do," he eagerly smiled.

"I always tell you what to do, you just never listen."

Okay, she made a valid point. Dammit. Come on, think. Surely he could think of something else, anything, for her to just say-

"Alright. I'll go."

Wait. She'll what? "You'll come?"

She nodded, almost looking like she was fighting something within herself, before letting out a smile. "Yeah. But no more comparing me to Boba Fett."

Chuckling, Castle nodded his head in agreement. "Okay."

"Or onions."

"Got it," he laughed, way too in awe to say or do anything else.

"Well, I better get back to work."

"Yeah," Castle agreed. "I better get back to Alexis. We have a battle to complete."

Offering him a final smile, Kate turned around and began to make her way to the doors of the Precinct. "Hey, Kate," he called after her, causing her to spin around. "Just, ah, be careful. You know, with the whole guns and murderers and killing thing," he said as he began to ever so slowly walk backwards, not wanting to just stand there like an idiot but unwilling to lose sight of her either.

"Thanks. You too. Well, with your laser tag anyway."

"Yeah," he chuckled before almost tripping over his own feet. So maybe walking backwards wasn't the best of ideas…

"Night, Castle."

"Until tomorrow," he smiled.

"Yeah," she replied, matching his grin before turning around and heading back into the precinct.

A/N: So I'm cautiously poking my head out here, accompanied with a massive apology as I've gotten into this really bad habit lately of posting chapters about every month or so (or sometimes longer). There are a whole lot of reviews and PMs I haven't replied to yet, but I'm getting there, and I assure you that I've read every single one of them and they do make a difference. Now to the good news. My exams are done, university for the next two months is done and the crazy period of Christmas and New Years is done, which means one thing; more time to write. So look out for the return of regular updates and Happy Castle Monday everyone! :)

Bare Writer