Halloween night, Castle's loft
"Okay, here we are, Kate. Home sweet home," Rick announces as he guides Kate through the living room of his loft. He pulls off the long brown coat that completed his space cowboy costume and tossed it on the couch.
Kate takes a few moments to take in the high end apartment before saying, "wow, Castle, are you rich, or something?"
"Haha, now, here," Rick gestures for Kate to join him in the kitchen. She obliges and hops on to the edge of the marble island, her legs dangling above the floor. Rick opens his freezer and pulls out a bag of frozen peas. "These should keep the swelling down."
He gently reaches for her hand and presses the bag on to her already-bruising knuckles. She looks down at his caring movements and meets his eyes again as they look up. They each spend a few moments just staring, studying each other's features in a way they hadn't before. "How's that feel?" Rick finally asks, breaking the silence and tension. Kate snaps from the billowing love haze.
"Oh," she says. "Um...good." She smiles, still studying Rick's face, his blue eyes sparkling under the kitchen light.
"Good?" He repeats, his hips pressed softly against Kate's legs as the distance between them dwindles.
"Yes, good," Kate confirms. "Thanks for takin' care o' me."
"Of course," Rick smiles. "I'm really sorry."
"Why you sorry? You didn't do anythin' wrong," Kate slurs. Without making it a big deal that Kate was still very, very drunk, he kindly fills a cup with water and hands it to her.
"I should've been there, shouldn't have let that guy near you," he explains.
"Not your fault, Rick," Kate assures him. "I's dancin' with him."
"Well, you...you shouldn't have been," he sighs. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"Where did you go?" Kate asks, suddenly remembering what brought her to the frat guy in the first place. "I was lookin' for you. Me and Lanie were lookin', couldn't find you."
"I was...handling something," Rick says. "Doesn't matter though. I should have been with you."
"I wanted you," Kate blurts. "To be with me. But I froze."
"You did?"
"Yeah," Kate sighs. "I just froze. I shouldn't have."
"No, it's okay," Rick assures her, wiping the tear that is forming on her cheek. "Don't cry, Kate."
"I just—"
It's almost magnetic, and before she even realizes, she leans forward and crashes her lips into his, her uninjured hand caressing his jawline from chin to cheek. A soft moan escapes her lips when she feels him kissing her back, but it doesn't last.
His head jerks away, seemingly fighting every instinct. "Kate, we can't—you're, you're drunk."
"Not too drunk to know what I want," Kate replies, hoping that will reel him back in. "You, Castle. I want...you."
"Kate, I..." he gasps. It was like a dream coming true, but he knew it couldn't happen like this. He softly takes her head in his hands and places a loving kiss on her forehead. "I want you, too." He kisses her once more. "So much."
"Then let's do something about it," Kate says, her flirtatiousness exacerbated by her drunkenness. She reaches for him again, but this time he stands strong.
"We can't. Not tonight," he tells her as he guides her off the kitchen counter. "Tomorrow, we can talk. When we have clear heads and no goofy costumes on or asshole frat guys to ruin the mood."
"Okay, Rick," Kate smiles her agreement. "Now take me to bed."
"Kate, I just said–"
"I meant, show me where I can go to sleep," she yawns. "I'm getting tired."
"Right, here, this way," Rick says. He guides her across the living room to his bedroom. "You can sleep in here."
"In your bed?" Kate asks.
"Yeah, and I'll be in here. On the couch in my office if you need anything," he pointed to the room next door.
"Oh, Rick, I should take the couch–"
"Nonsense. I sleep on that couch all the time. So often it's kind of permanently formed to my figure so, it's basically custom fit now," Rick explains. Kate laughs but appreciates his story to make her feel better.
"Okay," Kate accepts.
"Is there anything else you need before we go to sleep?" Rick asks.
"Um, I don't th–actually, where's the bathroom?"
"Oh, right over there."
"Great. Thank you."
"Always. Good night, Kate."
"Good night, Castle."
Rick grabbed a blanket and was about to settle onto the couch when Kate calls out for him. He hops up and sees her standing in front of the bathroom mirror.
"Is everything okay?" Rick asks.
"I'm drunk," she states bluntly.
Rick chuckles, "Yes, we've established this."
"Thank you for not sleeping with me," she says.
"Are you okay?" Rick asks again. He sees the genuineness in her words even if she doesn't fully comprehend it herself.
"Can you help me take my makeup off?"
"Um, yeah sure." Rick shuffles through the drawers of the vanity for a facial wipe and gently rubs Kate's cheeks with it. After all the make up has been removed, he's humbled by her natural beauty, one she's not quick to show to anyone. Castle could sense that, too; that this simple vulnerability was something Kate would not entrust to just anyone. He takes a few seconds before softly saying, "All clean."
They leave the bathroom and before Kate climbs into Rick's bed, she turns to him. "Thank you for not sleeping with me," she says again. He silently smiles and helps her climb under the comforter before heading back to his office.
The next morning, Kate finds herself questioning where she is. She stares up at an unfamiliar ceiling, scans the unfamiliar room, feels the warmth of the unfamiliar bed. It takes her a moment, but once she's actually awake, she realizes where she is, remembers what had happened last night, everything that had happened last night. Then she realizes the reason she had woken up. A loud, unfamiliar noise. A baby crying? Why was a baby crying in Castle's apartment? Was it even in Castle's apartment? Maybe it was in the hall? No, it was definitely in the apartment. She scans the room again, realizing that Castle was not on his office couch. It was time to investigate. She rolled out of bed, careful not to put too much weigh on her bruised hand. She walked toward the living room, a flood of light filling the space and realized once again the beautiful design of Rick's loft. But it wasn't the modern finishes that immediately caught Kate's attention. It was the source of the noise. A toddler, with extremely fair skin, bright orange hair, and Rick's blue eyes, bouncing in Castle's arms.
"Hey, Rick," she says after a few moments. She'd clearly startled him as he quickly turns on his heels to face her. "Uh, what's with the baby?"
"Oh, Kate. Uh, good morning," Rick says awkwardly. "The baby? Yes, I can explain."
"Great, I was hoping you would," Kate giggles.
"Right, uh," Rick laughs. "Don't freak out."
"I won't freak out," Kate tells him confidently, though she's not sure there's much truth to that promise.
"Kate, meet Alexis. My daughter."
"Your...daughter?" Kate repeats, trying not to freak out.
"Yes," Rick confirms.
"Right, well at least it's not just some random baby you're holding," Kate says and then immediately questions why she said that.
"No, not random," Rick says.
"Cool, um," Kate laughs, still trying very hard to not freak out. "I think...I'm gonna go..."
"Kate, no don't leave", Rick calls out as Kate turns around to head back into the bedroom. "Please?" The pleading was genuine, Kate knew that without even seeing the puppy dog look on his face.
"Rick, I really shouldn't take away from your...family time," she tells him. "I didn't know you had a daughter."
"Not many people do," Castle shrugs.
"Ho-how old is she?"
"She'll be a year in January," he tells her.
"Nice," Kate says awkwardly. "She's, uh, got your eyes."
Rick smiles. He's obviously heard that before, but when Kate said it filled him with a fatherly pride he didn't feel often these days.
"Okay, well, like I said, I should..." she gestures toward the door.
"Please at least eat some breakfast before you go. I made pancakes."
Kate hesitated but eventually obliged. She could do pancakes. She smiles and nods, quickly realizing that it was much more than just pancakes. He'd made eggs, and sausage, and fresh squeezed juice, too. "This looks amazing, Castle." That was an understatement, she thought. It looked more than amazing, it looked extraordinary. It looked perfect. She thought back to happier times when she'd wake up to spreads like this every weekend. Her mom and dad slaving away on the perfect brunch, the smell of freshly brewed coffee overwhelming her while she enjoyed the leisure and serenity of the morning crossword. She'd tried so hard to go back to that time and place, but hadn't truly felt it until now, in Rick's loft.
"My mother will be here shortly to watch Alexis," Rick tells her. "Once she arrives, I was hoping you'd join me for a walk in the park."
"We should probably talk about last night, shouldn't we?"
Rick nods, "And a few other things, too."
"What other things?"
"Nothing bad," Rick assures her. She exhales and they both fill their plates from the smorgasbord while Alexis looks on from her high chair, feeding herself some eggs and fruit that she'd smashed with her toddler grip. "How are you feeling? How's the hand?"
Kate tests it out, opening and closing her fist. "A little sore," she admits. "But I'm okay."
"Good," Rick smiles. "No hangover?"
Kate laughs a little, "I told ya I wasn't that drunk." She purses her lips while Castle debates what to say next, but before he can speak, the paper on the table catches Kate's eye. "Is that the Times? Saturday puzzles are always the toughest."
"You're a crossword girl, I should've known," Rick smiles. He passes it over to her with a pen.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kate asks sarcastically but with her classic raised brow that always made Rick stumble over his words.
"No-nothing, I just, you know, it-it's...hot," he manages. They share an awkward glance at hot but he decides to carry on rather than letting it simmer. "I started on it while the coffee was brewing. I'd say let me know if you need help but you're probably even better than I am."
"Probably," Kate jokes, a wide smirk on her face as she gets to work where he left off. And then there was...bliss. Sweet, domestic, comforting bliss.
Until there wasn't.
"No, Alexis, be—", a crash, a screaming toddler. It took Kate a moment to realize what had happened. She had been so enthralled in the puzzle, but soon, she throws it down on the table and springs from her seat. Rick says something, but she's too frantic to truly comprehend what he'd said. It was pure instinct when she stuck out her arms because she had no idea how to console a child, much less a screaming infant she had only just met.
"Rick, I don't–"
"Kate, please, I'll be right back." He runs off to the bathroom while Kate does her best to calm baby down. Despite Kate's efforts, Alexis squirms in her arms and runs her face into Kate's chest, staining the sleep shirt Rick borrowed to Kate with mucus and tears.
Rick returns with a damp rag and an ice pack and it dawns on Kate what had happened. Alexis, still learning to walk, had stumbled and fell into the corner of the coffee table, a bump already forming on her forehead. To Kate's relief, Rick grabs the baby from her and sits with her on the couch. Just then, an older red headed woman enters the apartment.
"Oh, heavens! What happened here?" The woman says, dropping her large purse and rushing over to the couch. Kate recognized her, an actress, but she couldn't remember her name. Shortly, Alexis is beginning to settle down, and Kate realizes how out of place she feels. The feelings of domestic comfort and memories of weekend brunch were just a mirage.
Kate quietly sneaks toward the bedroom to collect her things and slides along the wall toward the front door. Not wanting to draw attention, she opens the door and quietly announces her departure.
"Wait, Kate," Rick pleads from the couch. "Please don't leave."
"I have to go," Kate tells him. "I'll call you later."
She walks into the hallway and softly closes the door behind her. Tears roll down her cheeks as she journeys back to her apartment, her Halloween costume in hand and Rick's oversized crewneck and sweatpants swallowing her frame but keeping her warm in the November cold.