I am so sorry about not updating sooner, somethings came up that were out of my control.
Next chapter will have a different picture so look out for it.
To see Castle and Beckett dating I have another story called Before the surprise, the dating reference in this chapter came from there.
Thank you everyone for all your follows, favs and reviews, you guys are awesome :)
The night was still as Kate walked up the stairs into the VIP section of the room, Martha's first night in her newest production, after 6 months of perfecting the lead of the play and hours of practicing with the whole Castle family and Jim, Martha Rodgers was ready.
"She's really nervous for this one, she hasn't had a play in a while." Castle told her.
"I understand, but I'm positive that she'll nail it."
"I'm sure she will."
The lights went off and Becca turned her head in slight alarm before settling into her mother's touch, the curtains rose and the spotlight positioned itself on Martha and she felt Castle grab her hand and squeeze and she turned her head and gave him a smile.
Then she heard the door to the small stall open it was Alexis and Ashley.
They took their seats barely nodding hello.
And during the intermission Jim came, he said he had a prior engagement to attend, something was going on with him, but now wasn't the time to question him.
The play was flawless and Martha shone with her role, it was no doubt that she would get good reviews from the critics.
She didn't even notice that her head had drifted onto Castle's chest Becca had drifted onto his lap and fallen into a deep slumber.
They rose as the cast took their bow signalling the end of the play, 3 and ½ hours of a play, before she and Castle had started dating she hadn't gone to a play since she went with her mother when her she was alive.
The whole group met at her dressing room after the play, she had a towel on her head and her robe wrapped around her body.
"Sooooo, how was I?" She questioned the group.
"Fantastic."
"Great, mother."
"Wonderful, Grams."
"Lovely, Miss Rodgers."
"Exquisite."
Where the answers she received.
"Thank you, you all helped with all the times I made you run through lines with me."
There was a knock on the door and she allowed them to come in.
It was a very neat man with age.
"You were great tonight." He said handing over the large bouquet of flowers to add to the ever growing pile.
She accepted them.
"Thank you Burt."
He turned to them.
"You must be the family."
They all shook hands.
"Martha is always talking about how much she loves you and, how she wouldn't know what to do without you."
They all talked for a while until they got the hint Martha was trying to throw and left.
They stood outside of the theater to go their separate ways it was summer time, so Alexis and Ashley decided to go for a walk in the park and Kate was on her two week summer vacation.
Jim noticed the way Kate was acting it was like she needed to have close contact with him even now she was leaning into him.
Jim stretched out his hands.
"What's wrong dad?"
"Give me Becca, I'll take her for the night I haven't seen her for a while."
"Are you sure dad?" Kate didn't know why she was asking but she just needed to make sure.
"Yea I'm sure we'll be fine I love being with her and plus she's already out for the night."
He put out his hands again and Kate handed her over and she didn't even make a budge.
They put the car seat into Jim's car before leaving.
In the end Kate and Rick decided to go to the beach they went to on their first date.
"Remember the first time we came here?" Rick asked.
"Yep, we were going on our first date when after you had your first gun battle."
"Yea and you had your short tom boy hair cut, you were so cute then."
"What are you trying to say?"
He mentally slapped himself he should have seen that one coming.
"What I'm saying is you were cute then but now you're hot."
She did an O gesture with her hand.
"Smooth, Mr .Castle, Smooth."
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back running his hands through her hair.
"I love your hair it's one of my favourite things about you." They take a seat in front of the ocean.
"I love everything about you." He cranes his neck and he is so close to her face, she almost feels like she is on their first date again and they are about to have their first kiss, the butterflies flies to her stomach and her heart stops.
His lips touches hers and she melts into him, suddenly a large wave sprays onto them and they pulled back and took a deep breath, that kiss lasted longer than they taught it had.
They stayed there wrapped in each other for a while before Castle broke the silence.
"So Becca's birthday is in two days?"
"Yep she's growing up."
He felt Kate tense up in his arms.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing, I just..." she paused and took a deep breath in.
"Maybe she's growing up too fast, soon she'll be going off to school."
She was on the verge of tears and they both knew it.
"You know we can solve that problem.
"How?"
She expected him to say a time machine or lock her in the house but he surely wasn't expecting his actual answer.
"We could have another baby."
She shot up from his chest.
"What?! Are you serious."
"Yes Becca's almost a year if we were to get you pregnant she'd be almost two, plus she could do with some younger company and Alexis is hardly around now."
Kate almost couldn't talk.
"You want more kids?"
"Of course I do, I love kids."
She was silent.
"I'm not saying that we should jump in bed and make a baby tonight, Although that would be really..."
Castle she said when he started to go off track.
"Right I'm just saying that I'm ready when you are."
Surprisingly that didn't scare her.
"Now lets go home and practice."
She rolled her eyes but followed him anyway.
"So how was it.?" the mysterious woman asked Jim as he walked through the door.
"Oh and you have your grand daughter." She said excitedly.
"Yea but she's out, Rick and Kate looked like they needed sometime together so I took her from the night."
"That's sweet of you."
"Well, I am a sweet man."
She kissed his cheek.
"I know."
He put Becca in Kate's old room they had moved Kate's old crib to her room so that Becca could spend the night if it was needed.
Johanna had been his wife for so long that when she died, he had blocked himself from all relationships, for a while he had even done it to Kate. Then 7 years before he met her at a AA meeting, an independent woman with black hair a, a slim look and an attitude that strikingly reminded him of Johanna. Through out his journey to giving up his alcohol addiction forever, he had spent it trying to avoid her so he didn't have to be reminded of the great person he had lost, until one day she came up to him and wouldn't leave until he told her the reason why he didn't talk to her, just like Johanna.
She had understood and slowly their friendship started to grow, even after they had finished the AA class they would still meet up for a coffee or some lunch, then one year ago something changed and they started to date despite the fact that he told her he would never get over Johanna and the relationship had been going well since then.
Martha was the first to notice that he was seeing a woman, when she pointed out that he smelt like 'Gucci's Flora Eau Fraiche,' luckily Kate wasn't in the room, but Rick and Alexis was and he pleaded with them not to tell Kate.
He was worried about how Kate would react, but by the looks she gave him tonight his secret wouldn't last for much longer, he had to tell her.
He gave the woman who was already asleep next to him one last time before settling into a slumber with her.
Kate ran her fingers down Castle's chest and sighed in content, the needed this, the time alone with no one to disturb them, thank God that her dad took Becca, speaking of her dad.
"Hey Rick?"
"Hum?" He hummed half asleep.
"Did you notice anything about my dad's behavior lately?"
His eyes shot open and he shifted slightly so they could face each other, good thing the lights were off.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean he's always late due to, 'Prior engagements.' and he always he always avoids letting me go close to his room now and it's weird, I feel like he's hiding something but I don't know what it could be at least not yet."
His voice got caught in his throat and he paused for a while thinking about what to say.
"Well maybe he's hiding something like your birthday or a Christmas gift or maybe he's hiding Rebecca's gift."
"Sure, but I don't understand why he would have to hide it like that."
"Yea well I wouldn't worry about it, he's a grown man."
He massaged her shoulders.
"What if he's in trouble?"
"He would have told you Kate, I'm sure he's fine."
"But."
He kissed her favorite spot on her neck and she let the topic drop, she couldn't focus anymore.
He hiding things from Kate but, the truth was he really didn't hear alot all he heard was Jim claiming that she was just a friend, his mother said yea right and her went after Kate.
Kate started to stir next to him after all it was after 10 almost going to 11 he watched as she stretched her muscles and a soft mew escaped her mouth she was so cute when she just wakes up especially with tousled hair and sweat dried skin.
"Hey." he greeted.
"Hey." She answered her voice still husky from sleep.
He gave a light peck.
"I want coffee and lots of it."
Castle sat up.
"Coffee coming right up."
"Thank you." she gave him another peck.
"I'm going to go take a bath then after we could go collect Becca."
After they had both taken a bath and gotten something light to eat, the left for the baby Castle.
The doorbell rang it had to be Kate and Rick, he shot the woman a look and she sighed and went into the bed room.
"Hey Dad." Kate said giving him a hug.
"Hey Katie, hey Rick."
"Hey Jim thanks for taking her last night it was fun." Castle thanked him.
"No prob Rick."
"So what are you doing today dad?"
"Oh nothing much I'm just going to catch up on some long awaited rest, probably golf with Jack later, you know the usual."
Kate nodded her head and their was an awkward silence when a soft thud was heard from upstairs.
"What was that?" Kate asked.
"It's nothing, just some rats running around upstairs in the attic."
"Wow, those must be some pretty big rats if you can hear them from downstairs." Kate said not convinced, they both knew he was lying.
"Yea they are I have to call the exterminators for them."
She nodded her head, she would accept that answer for now.
Jim was relived when they finally left Kate was really starting to get suspicious.
"When are you going to tell your daughter about us?"
He was startled by her question.
"I've already told my son about us and he and his family love you Jim, why can't you do the same and tell her."
"Melissa, I'm not divorced like you my wife died and I haven't dated anyone but you so I don't know how she's going to react towards you, I don't want you to have to get hurt if she doesn't take our relationship well."
She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
"I understand Jim, I'm sure I could handle what ever she throws at me, let me in Jim you don't have to hide me from your family I'm not going to leave you, we've been dating for a year."
He spun his body to face her how could she possibly know him so well.
"Alright Melissa, I'll invite them to dinner sometime just let me talk to Katie first.
She nodded her head a huge grin on her face, and Jim faked a smile.
Gosh he hoped Kate didn't take this out of proportion.
Well that's it for now, next we see how Kate reacts towards her father and Melissa.
Please Review and Follow.
Suggestions are noted.