Helloooo Caskett'eers! I'm sorry I've left you dangling, but it seems my muse has done the same to me. I hope you'll stick with me; please stand by...

When we last left our couple, Kate was getting ready to enjoy a bubble bath; Castle was headed to the couch and they were both happy to have the loft to themselves after finishing the case.

This one's a bit shorter than I like, but let's move them along, shall we? Here's Chapter 5!

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Rick somehow let 45 minutes pass as he ate a couple of slices of pizza, sipped on a glass of wine and just leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep desperately but the fact that Kate was soaking in his jacuzzi kept him from crawling into his own bed and fully relaxing.

Part of him wanted to do exactly that, with the hope that maybe after she bathed Kate would crawl into bed beside him and also fall asleep. But when it came to this woman, he had to be a realist.

And let's face it, he wanted to be awake to soak in every move she might make. Who knew how long she would actually stay with him?

Still, he let himself drift into a light slumber thinking about how she had looked in his kitchen a few mornings ago. He felt himself smile with the memory of the smell of bacon, coffee, and the feel of her kiss.

The vocal sigh that escaped from his throat made Castle's eyes fly open as he jerked his head up and looked around. He halfway expected to see Kate standing at the end of the couch laughing at him.

She was nowhere in sight - still in the tub he assumed - but the sound of her phone ringing raised his hackles a little further. Who would bother her after the past 48 hours that they had endured?

He found himself clambering to the other end of the couch where she left her phone when she sat down to remove her boots. Rick halfway expected the caller to be Captain Roy Montgomery, checking to make sure Kate was not still at the precinct.

Instead the caller i.d. was even more scary… the picture of Jim Beckett with the identifying "Dad" on the screen made Rick suck in a breath. He knew Kate had been in touch with her father as this case progressed. And he knew Mr. Beckett had pressed to see his daughter, especially after learning of her apartment explosion.

Rick also knew that Kate had not shared with her father her current living arrangements - if they could call them that.

And, with that thought in mind, there was no way he was going to answer this call. Luckily, the ring tone ended and the call went to voicemail. But, he decided he'd better take the phone to Beckett in case she had somehow heard the ringing as well.

Without a thought he carried the phone to the bedroom and headed toward the bathroom. It was only after he stepped inside the room that he looked up and caught sight of Kate, her hair in a messy bun on the back of her head, body submerged beneath the edge of the tub with her head resting on a washcloth that she was using as a pillow.

He stopped in his tracks for one simple reason… Even from this view she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met and she looked comfortable in his tub, in his home, with him.

Castle soaked in that thought, much like Kate was soaking in his tub. It took him another minute to gather himself and remember why he was getting ready to interrupt her.

He knocked on the inside of the door to get her attention and then knocked just a little harder when she made no move to acknowledge him.

"Beckett?" He called out but stayed in the doorway.

"No, it's not time to get out, the water is still warm," she moaned slightly and Rick could only smile as he watched her slowly lift her head off the cloth pillow.

"The heated jets will keep you warm for a while," he informed her then added, "no need to get out, I just wanted to let you know that your phone rang…if you didn't hear it. I didn't answer, but looks like it was your dad calling."

Kate took in a long breath and glanced over her shoulder. "I should call him and fill in all the missing blanks," she thought out loud.

"From a dad who worries about his teenage daughter, I'd say that would be a good idea," he looked down at the device in his hands and wondered about how worried he would be if Alexis was in Kate's shoes. Oh, shit, no, not gonna think about that!

"Do you want your phone?" He asked and heard Kate sigh again.

"Actually," Kate shifted slightly in the tub, "No, but…" she hesitated.

"What? You don't want me to call him back, do you?" Rick asked, hoping to God that wasn't what she was thinking.

"No, that's not…" she chuckled at that idea. Again she tried to look over her shoulder at Rick and realized he was too far away. "Can you come over here please?"

Rick's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he stood there momentarily frozen.

"Beckett, last time you were naked in a tub you didn't want me anywhere near you," he told her the first thing that came to his mind.

"That's not true," she countered. "I just didn't want you gawking at me. I needed help getting out of the tub and needed your jacket, too, remember?"

"So you want me to come over and gawk at you now?" He pursed his lips together with a greedy kind of agreement. "I'm all for that, by the way. But just so you know, my towels aren't on fire, and neither is the robe I brought for you," he took a tentative step toward her.

"I just," Kate pressed her lips together, "I don't wanna get out yet. I was just laying here with lots of things going through my head. And I'd like someone to talk to but I don't wanna get out of the tub," she repeated. The woman felt a little girlish, a little shy as she thought about what she was asking him.

"Can you just come, sit over here by the tub and talk with me?"

Rick smiled to himself and had to wonder - Is this what domestic life with Kate Beckett would be? Bathroom conversations? Maybe I'd be in the tub as well…couple of glasses of wine or champagne…candles…

He shook off the thought but it didn't go away completely. Still he wandered toward her. He could see just her head, neck, shoulders and her toes peeking out from under the bubbles. He could smell the hint of the strawberry scented bubbles and for another moment he was blown away by Kate's presence.

Still Rick put Kate's phone on the sink then lowered himself to the floor at the foot of the tub so he could look into her face as she talked and shared with him.

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The two of them stared at each other for a few moments once Rick got comfortable. He almost squirmed under her gaze but reminded himself that she had invited him to sit down. If she wanted to stare at him, who was he to deny her?

"What's on your mind?" He asked with a smile that touched on flirtatious but actually told Kate how much he appreciated sitting near her.

She smiled back and took another couple of seconds to think about several of those thoughts that had run through her mind over the past half hour. Thoughts that revolved around him, them, the current situation…

Kate finally used the tip of her tongue to moisten her lips and then tilted her head to the side. "Can I ask you something?" She watched as he easily nodded in agreement. "Why are you doing all of this, Castle? Is it for me…or for you?" She wondered honestly.

Rick let his eyes drift away from her and shrugged one shoulder without saying anything. Was she expecting him to be fully honest? Was he supposed to just blurt out the big reason or make up small, more inconsequential ones?

"I…" He raised his chin up, pressed his lips into a small smile and then allowed himself to look into her face again. "I'm…your partner," he said just a little too succinctly, but Kate could read his mixed tones.

"Is that all?" She wondered, prodding him, wanting to press but unsure if she wanted his real answer.

Kate pulled her arms from the sides of the tub and tucked them under the bubbles and linked her fingers over her stomach, calming the butterflies that were fluttering more than they should've been around this man.

With his continued silence, she decided to push on. Her followup question was borne of her thoughts of him showering other women with gifts; buying their attention, perhaps only for one night. She knew he wouldn't like the query and might even be surprised that she was asking it. But she did want to know..

"Is this my partner, wanting to help me? Or is this you flaunting your money to try to impress me - as I know you've done with other women." She saw the immediate change in his demeanor and knew the answer to her question was a hard and firm 'No!'. So she continued quickly. "You know I could care less about your finances, right?"

Other than looking like she had insulted him, Rick was calm. Something inside of him told him that her mind was wondering how many other women had gotten this treatment.

"Kate," he paused, wanted to chastise her for even thinking that thought, but she opened her mouth again to speak, so he waited for her to continue.

"I don't mean it like that - well, maybe I do, I dunno…" she huffed trying to put words together. "I mean, offering me a place to stay is one thing because you do have an extra room. But you didn't have to buy me pajamas or clothes or go across town to get me pizza. You've opened your home to me, but all this other stuff…" she looked down at the bubbles that were still covering her nakedness.

Maybe she had saved face. She didn't want to start an argument with him - although they were really good at arguing. She just really wanted to know why he was practically pampering her…as if it wasn't blatantly obvious.

Rick thought about what she was asking and how he wanted to answer her. He waited until Kate looked back at him and made sure they were looking eye to eye before making a simple but meaningful statement.

His face was boyishly honest with a near-whispering voice as he explained, "I would spend every penny I have to make sure you're okay, Kate. I told you, I was terrified when I saw your apartment blow up. My heart was in the pit of my stomach and my first thought was that I needed to find you. I couldn't stand there and watch the flames die down, I had to get to you. Somehow I had to make sure you survived."

He took a deep breath and pulled one knee up toward his chest. He wrapped his arms around his shin and placed his chin on his knee as he continued looking at her. "Bringing you here had nothing to do with…flaunting…my wealth," he swallowed a little roughly as her face took on a more studious look. "If you're here with me, I know you're okay. And if I can provide you a little extra comfort after all you've been through, then so be it. I just want you to be comfortable and cared for."

"I can't pay you back," she ventured to say simply because she couldn't think of anything else.

Rick tilted his head, giving her an are you kidding me? kind of glare.

"You're right," he nodded. "Because there's nothing to repay. Maybe if I was paying for us to stay at a hotel or flying off to Europe to get you away from danger…"

Kate rolled her eyes at him. "Not an option," she said definitively.

"Really?" Rick's face softened into the more relaxed state again. "Cause just wait till Mother and Alexis are back. Stick around long enough and you'll be ready to move to Europe," he concluded.

Kate thought about his words and the fact that she didn't currently have a place of her own to run to…except the guest bedroom.

"I dunno," she laughed at her own idea, "As long as the bedroom door locks upstairs I think I'll be fine."

"Would you really turn down a trip to Europe?" He asked as he worked past her thought of him simply showing off his financial abundance. And then he was also working through the idea of her laying claim to his extra bedroom.

"Not everyone can just pack up and travel, Castle," Kate noted. She was slightly happy that they were moving pretty easily past her monetary accusation.

"Well, sure, for those of you who refuse to take vacation time," Rick went in a different direction completely, sort of, and commented with a shake of his head.

Beckett grunted, "I meant, we're not all writers who can just pack up our laptops and go work from some remote location," Then she continued quickly, "I take vacation time," she added as a little sidebar.

"Really? When?" Rick challenged her. "I've known you for three years now. When was the last time you took a week off? Was it one of the weeks that I wasn't around? You never talk about traveling or even a stay-cation. Psshh…" He blew a breath out through his lips in mock disgust, "You won't even splurge and take a long weekend to come up to the Hamptons with me."

That caught Kate a little off guard. But she had to respond. "You've never invited me to the Hamptons, Castle," she shot back in the heat of the moment...as unheated as it was.

Rick thought for a second. Had he not…oh, maybe asking her to wear a bikini at his pool wasn't exactly a true invitation… "Would you?" her line left him an opening that he couldn't resist.

"Would I what?" Kate had to stop and think about what had been said.

"My house in the Hamptons," Rick put his knee down and stretched his legs in front of him on the floor. He sat up straighter and looked at her seriously. "I'm inviting you now. Would you like to spend a weekend in the Hamptons with me? We could all go up, there's plenty of room, extra bedrooms and bathrooms. A lot more space than we have here…" he continued, getting more excited about this option.

"More space than here? Castle, you've got a mansion here in the city," Kate couldn't quite bring herself to let his offer sink in.

"But it is like a vacation up there, Beckett," he ignored her question, now really thinking about taking her to his second home, outside the city. "Come on, you know you want to. Think about it. Room to move and breathe without someone knocking into you when you try to take a walk…a beach where you can just relax and listen to the water…you can work on your tan…"

"Rick," Kate laughed a little but looked at him with a face that told him she was going to say 'no'. But then she ad libbed, "It sounds amazing," she schooled her raised eyebrows and the immediate, "I couldn't," that had been resting on her tongue.

"Maybe someday," she conceded with the realization that his offer, his invitation, played right into the thoughts that had been converging in her head as she lay in the tub alone.

She had been surprised that she was able to relax so much in Castle's tub. She surprised herself even more when she asked him to sit down and talk with her while she was lounging naked in his tub.

And she was trying, with more and more difficulty, not to tell him how much she wanted to take an extended leave of absence, pack her bags and go to the Hamptons, or Europe…or stay right here in New York City, with him.

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Her answer was simple; it made Rick hopeful. It hadn't been a definite 'yes' but it also wasn't the full 'no' that he had expected. And on top of that, she said 'someday', meaning that there wasn't a real end in sight for them at this point.

Maybe he did have a chance with Kate Beckett.

He heard the water splashing slightly in the tub and quickly refocused his attention on her. Kate was grabbing the washcloth from behind her and generally adjusting herself, carefully in the water.

"I think I'm pruning," she looked at her fingertips and then stretched to see her toes when she again lifted them out of the water.

Rick watched as she had obviously distracted herself. Without a thought, she bent one knee, placed a foot flat on the floor of the tub and pushed herself upwards to straighten her back.

Of course with that move, she nearly raised her breasts above the soap bubbles until the realization hit her. "Castle!" she barked at him, his eyes practically willing her to continue exposing herself to his enjoyment.

"What?" Rick answered casually, somehow, although his eyes were now set on the waterline where he had almost caught a glimpse of her chest. His breath was caught in his throat until the moment was done and he shook himself out of dreamland.

"Wait, what'd I do?" He recalled her tone of voice.

"Don't…" Kate stuttered. Her actions had nothing to do with him.

"Don't tell me not to look," he took over her rant, "when I've been looking right at you for the past 15 minutes. You could've just held your hand out for me to see that you're pruning. You didn't have to give me a peep show. I didn't ask for it. Won't say no, obviously, but that was not my fault," he defended himself and finally moved his eyes back to hers.

"I think I'm ready to get out now," Kate responded matter-of-factly, ignoring his practical plea to see her naked…again.

"Go ahead," Rick smiled at her, crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his eyebrows.

Kate took in a short breath, huffed it out, and gave him a glare that Castle absorbed without even a flinch.

After another second of enjoying the moment, Rick took in a deep breath and let it out slowly so she could hear his air of disappointment. "Here, hang on," he stood up and Kate decided to watch and see what he planned to do. She halfway expected him to grab a towel and hold it open with a promise not to look as he again helped her out of a tub.

She couldn't help but smile inwardly. Kate couldn't say she was 100% against that idea, but if that was what he had in mind…

Instead he went to the linen closet and grabbed what appeared to be an extra bath mat. He laid it on the floor next to the other one at the side of the tub and then moved her clothes over to the edge of the sink so she could grab them more easily.

"If you're done with me, I'll go back in the living room. I was gonna make some popcorn and turn on the Maltese Falcon and fall asleep out there. You're welcome to join me," he smiled at her with complete innocence. "Or you can head on up to bed if you'd like."

Kate turned carefully in the tub and watched him walk toward the door of the bathroom. She considered his invitation. "Gosh, I haven't seen that movie in ages. I'll see how I'm feeling once I get dressed."

"Fair enough," Rick answered and took another step toward the door.

"Oh! Castle?" Kate called his attention back to her although she had sat forward in the tub enough that he could now see her bare back.

"Yeah?" He opted to stay put for his own sense of discretion.

"Why do you have a life-sized Boba Fett statue in your bathroom?" Kate pointed toward the corner on the somewhat hidden side of the linen closet. She wouldn't tell him that the thing had nearly scared the bejeezus out of her when she had first settled into the tub.

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Afterthoughts...I really didn't mean for this chapter to end here, but as I think about it, this might just give me a little break to get Kate out of the tub without jumping into some inappropriate Castle-gawking. On the other hand that could be fun as well. lol

Thanks for sticking with me. And for those who choose to let me know your thoughts about this chapter/story, thank you! I love reading your reactions - and your reviews feed my muse!

Now, in the next chapter...more on that Boba Fett statue... and does their weekend alone deserve a little fatherly intervention?

Thanks again Caskett'eers!

Until next time...
KTCLF!
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