Many, many thanks for the great feedback on the first chapter of this story! I'm delighted that so many people are interested in it and I'm honored that so many people enjoy reading my stories. That makes me really happy!

For those of you who know the song, I'm sure a few more parallels will become clear in this chapter. There will be more of them, I took some passages very literally. But the song is just too fitting for the two of them not to do that.

Enjoy chapter two, and let me know what you think!

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Castle stood in front of his open closet, feeling quite ridiculous for changing his shirt for the third time now. Not one single day since they had started working together had he felt as nervous as he did today. But facing her today, after what she shared last night, no matter how drunk she might have been, would be different. And if it could boost his self-confidence a little to feel like he was looking good, he would do himself that favor.

He finally decided on a dark blue shirt, knowing it would go well with his light gray coat. He closed the buttons, tucked the shirt into his pants, and left his bedroom. He was already through the door when a thought crossed his mind. Stopping and turning around on his heels, he walked back through his bedroom and into the bathroom. He opened the cabinet above the sink and pulled the little box of aspirin from the small shelf.

He didn't need it, but he was almost sure Kate would. And he was just as sure she would be too proud to admit it to herself. Now ready to leave, he pressed a kiss on Alexis's head while passing her in the living room. He wished her a good day at school, feeling like he would have a wonderful day. He pulled on his coat and slipped the little box into one pocket, his phone and keys into the other one.

When he reached the precinct and rode the elevator upstairs, he felt nervousness rising and tingling his nerves. It would go well, he reassured himself. After all, they felt the same way for each other. That was all he needed to know and all they would need to make it work and finally escape their little game of to-and-fro.

The elevator door slid open, and he immediately spotted her sitting at her desk. Oh, this was so her. There was no way she was feeling good today, and yet, here she was, right on time and one of the first ones to arrive at the precinct. Right then, he noticed that he didn't recall her taking a sick day in over a year. Actually, he didn't recall her being sick at all.

Today, she wasn't really sick, but as he approached her, he could already tell by her posture that she definitely wasn't feeling well. Her elbows rested on the desk, her face buried in her hands, and even though the screen of her computer was on, she seemed to stare at the surface of her desk. He slowed down his steps to make as little noise as possible and walked up to her.

Now, he saw that her eyes were closed, a frown covering her face, and she looked rather pale. He preferred the grinning and beaming version of her he had seen last night.

His nervousness prevented him from sitting down on his chair by her desk, so he wordlessly set the cardboard cup with her usual morning coffee down in front of her, waiting for a reaction. All he got was a slight grunt. It seemed to be even worse than he had thought.

He pulled out the box with the small pills from his pocket and placed them beside the coffee, the plastic making a little sound against the tabletop. Hearing the sound, she slowly and very carefully opened one eye just far enough to see what he had put on her desk. Another grunt escaped her throat, but this time, he thought it somehow sounded grateful.

In slow motion, she lifted her head and lowered her hands down to the desk, grabbing the little box. She opened the lid and shook two of the pills into her palm, putting them in her mouth, and then downed them with a sip of coffee, grimacing slightly.

Setting the cup down again, she finally looked up at him with tired eyes, and he just stared back at them, once more thinking how beautiful they were.

"Why are you standing there?" She asked, her voice sounding a little husky.

Tearing his eyes from hers, he broke his freeze and shook off his coat, placing it over his chair before sitting down. She squinted her eyes, then opened them again, releasing a deep breath. He carefully eyed her, waiting for any sign on her features to tell him what was going to happen, who would be the first to talk.

But all she did was start typing on her keyboard, the crease still deep between her brows. A little insecure, he cleared his throat and folded his hands in his lap just to keep them busy.

"Not feeling that well today, huh?" he said quietly, knowing her head could probably not handle anything much louder than a whisper right now. The little noise she made was answer enough.

He remained quiet for a second, his insecurity growing and slowly turning into confusion.

"Well, um, at least you had fun last night."

Her fingers stopped their movements on the keyboard, and she looked over at him with an inscrutable stare that wanted to make him squirm in his seat. But then her features slowly relaxed, and she softly shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess you're right. But now I pay the price. And I don't even remember most of the evening."

He felt his heart sinking but was relieved to get an explanation for why she didn't seem to feel the need to talk about what had happened yesterday.

"Oh, so you don't remember anything?" he asked, trying to sound casual while his heart was pounding.

She looked back at the screen in front of her and shrugged her shoulders again. "I do remember the first part, but then after some point, it's just a blur."

"That's a shame." He mumbled, trying to ban the disappointment from his voice.

She squinted her eyes again and pinched her nose, the bright light of the screen blinding her. "I'm sorry if I said something stupid."

Again, his heart started to feel heavy, no matter its speedy rhythm.

"No. Nothing stupid at all."

She blinked at him, a slight redness spreading over her cheeks in contrast to her pale skin. "Really?"

He nodded his head and forced himself to smile. "I promise. Everything you said was fine. Nothing stupid at all." Actually, what she had said had been more than fine. It had been the most wonderful words he had ever heard. But he couldn't tell her that.

Kate let out a sigh of relief. "Good." She returned her attention to her screen but gave him a small smile before starting to work, letting him sit back in his chair to sort out his thoughts.

So, she didn't remember what she had said to him. For some reason, that possibility hadn't even crossed his mind. But then he had to admit she had been quite drunk, and he shouldn't be surprised. Still, he felt a little disappointed. He had been convinced today would be the day to change everything between them.

But as it seemed, he had been wrong.

But that didn't mean it wouldn't change at all. No, she had still said it, and it still meant the same, whether she remembered or not. The only difference was that now he might have to put in a little bit more effort to bring her to admit what she was feeling in a sober state.

A smile played around his lips as he eyed her. He wouldn't mind investing all the effort it needed. She was worth it, he was sure of that. All he had to do was come up with a good idea of how to get closer to her and create a situation that would allow her to let her guard down again.

It suited him well that she seemed to have a lot of paperwork on her desk today. That way, he could spend most of his day thinking about the best ways to put his plan into action while getting to be close to her the whole day.

Even though the perfect idea didn't occur to him throughout the day, it came to him in the evening. Kate had headed home after a quiet day, something she seemed thankful for, and he could understand. He knew firsthand how bad a hangover could be, especially for someone not used to them.

He had stayed by her side the whole day, doing nothing more than distracting her from her work here and there and letting his thoughts trail off in all different directions. To the night before and scenarios of a future where he wouldn't have to leave her apartment after laying her down on her bed. And, of course, trying to come up with a plan to reach that goal.

None of his ideas really convinced him, though. They would all seem staged, and she would probably think he was up to something before he could even get a chance to reach out to her enough to convince her it was safe to open up. It felt a little frustrating, but he was sure he would come up with something.

But then, when he picked up dinner at his favorite Mexican restaurant that evening, he suddenly didn't have to anymore. He walked past a wall covered in posters and advertisements, and from the corner of his eye, a word caught his attention, ringing a bell somewhere deep in the back of his mind.

Holding the bag with food in his hands, he walked over to the wall and took in the poster. Yes, sure, that word was the name of a band he remembered Kate mentioning about half a year ago. She had been sad to miss a concert of them because of a complicated case that needed her to work through the evening.

His eyes studied the poster and slowly wandered to its bottom, taking in what was written on it. Today was what, November 18th? A satisfied smile spread over his lips. This strange-looking indie band whose name he wouldn't even try to pronounce would be playing downtown this Saturday. He was sure this had to be a sign.

Pulling out his phone from his pocket, he unlocked the screen and searched his contacts. Looking back at the poster to be able to read the name from it, he waited for the man on the other end of the line to pick up.

"Hey Ty, this is Rick Castle. You need to do me a favor…"

The next morning, when he arrived at the precinct, Kate's obligatory coffee in hand, he found her sitting at her desk again, just like the day before. But today, he could tell that she had recovered from her hangover and was back to her usual self.

He rounded her desk, served her her coffee with a smile, and received one in return. Usually, that would make the best part of his day, but today, he hoped the day had something else and even better in store for him. Taking off his coat and dropping it to his chair, he let himself fall into it, too. Kate eyed him and softly furrowed her brow at his smile.

"Why so happy this morning, Castle?" She asked, her voice heavy with suspicion.

He directed his smile at her, not even trying to hide his great mood, and shrugged his shoulders. "It's just a good day, isn't it?"

She arched her brow and leaned back into her chair. "Is it?"

He nodded eagerly and pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans. No message from Ty yet, but in almost seven years of being his ticket guy, he had never disappointed him. So, he fully trusted him he would be able to get two tickets for this funny little band she liked.

Slipping the phone back, he grinned at her. "Yes, it is. Or better, it will be. You will see."

Her brows shot up in surprise. "Will I?" And he nodded again.

Slowly turning towards the screen of her computer, she mumbled. "I'm not sure if I want to."

He chose to ignore it and just kept on doing what he always did while she was doing paperwork: pretending not to stare at her while he used every chance he got to steal a look at her.

But today, he interrupted his study of her to check his phone now and then, and by 10 a.m., he slowly started to become nervous that today, of all days, could be the first time Ty wouldn't be able to fulfill his request. When he pulled his phone from his pocket for what had to be the 15th time in the last two hours, she looked over at him with a frustrated sigh.

"What is it, Castle? Is there somewhere else you need to be? You know you could just go about your day and let me do my work."

He looked back at her with a confident smile. "No, thanks. I prefer to keep you company." He put all his charme into his voice and loved to read on her face how well it worked, even if she tried to hide it.

He remembered her words: "I do it to cover up that I'm in love with you". Oh yes, she really was good at covering it. But now that he knew and didn't have to read it in the tiny traces on her features anymore, it did seem rather obvious. Oh, how he loved it.

She returned her attention to her work when his phone buzzed in his hands, startling him a little. But when he read the caller ID on the screen, he was on his feet in a heartbeat.

"Excuse me for a minute. I'll be right back." He walked towards the elevator and turned around halfway, calling, "Don't go anywhere!"

Kate shook her head in confusion and turned back to the screen. Whatever was going on with him today was strange, even by his standards. But she had learned not to question his little attacks of weirdness a while ago. Usually, they faded without doing any harm, and she had to admit, in some ways, she liked to watch him and see him having fun.

It didn't take him more than a few minutes to return to his chair beside her desk. With satisfaction evident on his face, he let himself fall into it and grinned at her. Curious about what all of this was about, she looked back at him with a questioning look when he placed a plain white envelope on her desk in front of her.

She eyed down to it and then back to him, suspicion shimmering in her eyes.

"What is this?" She asked dryly.

He shrugged his shoulders, his grin growing a little wider. "Guess you'll have to open it to find out."

She looked down at the envelope again and considered doing what he said for a few seconds. But then she placed her finger on the white paper and slowly pushed the envelope back toward him.

"No, thank you. I would like not to be part of one of your silly tricks." She was sure this was just some other stupid little game she didn't want to participate in. Or at least she wanted to pretend she didn't want to for a while.

With a sigh, he lowered his gaze to the envelope, his expression turning serious. "What a shame. Well, that means I'll have to go with Alexis then."

Her brows narrowed as his gaze met hers again. "Go where?" She asked, trying to hide her curiosity by making the question sound a little irritated.

He placed a single finger on the envelope, just like she had done a few moments before, and pushed it back over to her.

"I fear you will have to open this to find out." He said with a little smirk on his lips.

She stared back at him, her lips pressed together in a thin line when she pressed "Fine" through them after a couple of seconds.

She reached for the envelope and tore off one edge, shoving her finger inside and tearing it open completely. She pulled the sides apart and eyed inside, her brows suddenly shooting up in surprise.

With her jaw slightly dropped, she looked back at him as she pulled the two tickets from the shredded envelope. "What? Castle, how did you? Those sold out weeks ago."

He waved it off with a happy smile and a gesture of his hand. "You know, I've got my sources."

Slowly, she shook her head in disbelief. "But how did you even remember I like them? I mentioned them once, months ago."

He shrugged his shoulders, his smile not fading from his lips. "What can I say? I'm attentive."

Kate huffed, but it turned into a joyful little chuckle that made something in his chest flutter.

"So, you want to go?" He said, feeling brave by the way she seemed so sincerely happy.

"Of course!" she replied without batting an eye. Then her smile froze as she looked from the tickets to his face. "Wait, is this supposed to be a date?"

Slowly, he shook his head. He had expected this question and knew it would be wiser not to label it. She would find out what it was soon enough.

"No, just two friends going out to see your favorite band. You can consider it an additional birthday present. Since my first one was called self-centered, I thought it would be nice to come up with something else that fits the expectations a little more."

The frown on her face softened again, and the smile returned to her lips.

"So, what do you say? I'll pick you up at your place at 7:30, and then we'll be right on time and won't have to wait in line. Our seats are reserved anyway."

She hesitated for another second, looking down at the tickets again. He could see the thoughts working in her head. This wasn't something they usually did, and he knew it would feel like crossing a line. But he hoped the opportunity to see her favorite band would be tempting enough for her to let her guard down a little, the first bit of what he wanted to turn into her completely opening up to him.

When she looked back up at him, she smiled and nodded her head. "Sounds great."

Her smile mirrored on his lips, only ten times brighter. "Great!"

Internally, he crossed off this first step from his list. This had worked out exactly as he had intended it to, and he was positive tomorrow evening would turn out just as good. He couldn't wait. As Kate carefully put the tickets into her bag, still smiling, he started to count down the hours until tomorrow. Only a little more than a day, and hopefully, everything between them would be different.