When Alexis had told him she needed 150 flameless candles for a drama assignment he had laughed at the preposterousness of such a request. Right now, however, he was quietly thankful for his daughter's don't do things by halves attitude, for her candles had come in awfully handy over the past 24 hours.

He set up the flickering LED candles - one in each corner of his bathroom, three on a small plant stand by his tub - and turned off the light.

"Perfect," he uttered to himself.

He moved to the vanity, pulled a small wicker basket from the very back of the cupboard and browsed the selection of essential oil bottles it held until he found the ones he needed: tea tree and lavender. He added the oils - just a few drops of each - into the stream of water running from the faucet and watched as each of the oil beads disappeared into the water.

Satisfied that everything was under control, he walked back to the living room.

"Find your poem yet?" he asked, beckoning Kate's attention.

She looked up at him, a proud smile on her face. "I did."

He took the book from her hands when she offered it and read over the somewhat familiar words. He didn't find it unusual for her to resonate with a poem such as this one - given her history, given her chosen career, given humanity's general curiosity with what comes next - but the timing of her subconscious seeking out these words from her teenage years, so soon after a grim reminder of her own mortality, was duly noted.

"Where'd you disappear to?" she asked after a few seconds of silence.

Rick shifted the book from his line of view so that he could see her face unobstructed. "Come with me," he said, then closed the book and placed it down on the coffee table.

He reached for her hand and slowly helped her to her feet before he led her into his bathroom. They walked, hand-in-hand, until he stopped just shy of the bath tub. Kate stepped closer, so her body pressed against his arm, and she leant her head on his shoulder.

"If you keep this up I might never want to leave," she said softly.

Rick huffed out a soft laugh. "Maybe that's the plan," he said as he turned to face her.

He curled his index finger under her chin and tilted her head, then leaned in and gave her a tender, loving kiss. He pulled away, tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear.

"The water should hopefully help ease the pain a little," he said. "Take your time. Relax. Call out if you need anything."

"You're not gonna stay?"

"And watch you bathe?" he asked and Kate laughed.

She shook her head. "Join me," she clarified. "There's plenty of room for two."

She took a small step backward and began to slowly unbutton her blouse, watching as Rick's eyes drifted and followed the path of her hand. When the last button popped free of it's restraint his eyes returned to hers, darkened by his desire, and she knew she had him.

She looked up at him through fluttering lashes. "Please?"

Rick nodded and Kate smiled victoriously.

"That's not always gonna work on me," he warned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied; her voice honey-sweet.

He slid his fingers across the back of her neck, brushing aside the dampened strands of hair that had slipped from her bun and stuck to her slick skin. Then he leant forward and pressed his lips to her. The soft moan that came from her in response sent sparks of electricity surging through his entire body, encouraged him to keep going. He ghosted his lips across her skin - up the back of her neck, against the shell of her ear, down to her shoulder - determined to bring goosebumps to every inch of her flesh.

"I've been meaning to ask," he muttered against her shoulder before pressing another kiss to her body. "Is Lanie okay?"

"Seriously?" Kate sat upright, twisted her torso to look over her shoulder at Rick. "You have me naked and in your arms, kissing me... and you're thinking about my best friend?"

"What? I, uh- no! I was just-"

The corners of Kate's mouth twitched as she watched Rick stutter and stumble over his words, until she couldn't hold back any longer. Her smile was bright as her playful laughter echoed against the bathroom's tiled walls. "I'm just messing with you," she confessed before returning to her position, leaning against the wall of his chest.

Rick's arms wrapped around her as he took a relieved breath.

"She's okay," Kate said with a slight shrug. "She's just worried about Javi."

"Is he okay?"

Rick didn't know the details of what had happened that day; but he knew enough. Enough to know that he owed Esposito more gratitude than he could ever put into words. Enough to know that, given the slightest change of circumstances, Kate might not have been here with him right now. Ryan, too.

Two inches higher and you'd be crying into that Pad Thai, Bro.

They had joked about it as if it were nothing but Rick understood that that was just how they dealt with these things. He had watched as Jenny rolled her eyes and shook her head, laughing alongside her husband-to-be; but he also saw the reassuring squeeze of his thigh under the table, her quick study of his ocean blue eyes to ensure he wasn't drowning in the what ifs of it all and the nearly imperceivable nod of his head in response, assuring her that he would be okay.

What he hadn't noticed was, well, anything different about Esposito. He was his usual playful, sarcastic self; or so Rick had thought. Perhaps he was wrong. Although the group had always been so welcoming to him, he was under no illusion that he was on the inside. He had to earn his spot there - and he would, one day - but he knew that day hadn't come yet.

"He's, uh- he's dealing with things," Kate said as she lifted their joined hands, pressed his knuckles to her lips.

"He seemed alright at dinner."

"Because you were there. He's got it in his head that he can't show weakness in front of an outsider," she explained. She turned her head to look at Rick. "Don't take that personally."

"I won't," he assured her.

He leant his forehead against the side of her head, breathed in the scent of her hair as she spoke again.

"It's a cop thing, I guess. Even Lanie had to fight to be seen as one of us. He still struggles to let her in and I'm pretty sure she's only gotten this close because I spent so long convincing him she could handle it."

Rick was silent for a moment, pondering his words before he spoke them. "Can she? Handle it, I mean. You seemed worried."

"She can handle me," Kate said earnestly. "I'm not exactly the most straight-forward person when it comes to my emotions-" She looked at Castle through the corner of her eye, expecting a sarcastic remark. He smiled slightly, but didn't tease, so she continued. "But she knows how to get me to open up. She thinks she can do that with him, too. But he's different: he won't talk to her about this."

"At all?"

She shook her head. "He knows she's worried; that's why he's still staying at her place. He thinks that physically being there will ease her concerns but he's so mentally checked out right now-" She stopped and sighed heavily. "If anything he's just making it worse. I just don't know what to do. A part of me wants to tell Lanie to back off a little, let him handle this his way."

"I don't see that going down well," Rick commented.

"Another part of me wants to grab Espo and shake some sense into him. Someone like Lanie doesn't come along every day and if he keeps her at an arms length forever-" She shook her head.

"He'll lose her," he finished in a quiet mumble, saddened by the thought.

"He wouldn't be the first to push someone away by trying too hard to shelter them from the downsides of the job," she mused aloud.

"Hell of a downside," Rick said as he combed his fingers through her hair, tucking a few errant strands behind her ear. "Have you ever-"

He stopped himself once he realised the question swirling in his mind had begun to slip from his lips, but it was too late. Kate stiffened and he froze.

"Killed someone?" she said bluntly, finishing the question he couldn't.

"I'm sorry," he blurted. "I didn't- you don't have to- I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her body and held her against him, pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "I wasn't thinking," he whispered against her skin. "I'm so sorry."

"I mean, everyone wonders, right?"

She placed her hands on the sides of the tub and leveraged herself out of his arms, sliding forward.

"Kate-" He leant forward, instantly missing the closeness.

Water sloshed over the sides, splashed onto the tiled floor as she turned around to face Rick.

"When you put on the badge you know that the day might come," she said, defending herself against an accusation he hadn't made. "But that doesn't make it easy."

"I know that," he assured her. "I'm sorry if I insinuated that I thought it did."

Kate closed her eyes and scrubbed a hand over her face as she let out a heavy sigh. She shook her head and brought herself closer to Rick. "You didn't."

Rick reached for her, pulled her into his embrace and she shifted again to make herself comfortable as she rested her head against his shoulder, her forehead pressed to his jaw.

"Sorry," she said softly. "It's been... a long week."

He sighed, kissed her forehead. "I know."

Minutes passed in silence before either one of them spoke again.

"I don't think I could do it," he admitted quietly. "What you do," he added for clarity.

Kate huffed, an amused laugh. "That's funny; I actually think you'd be pretty good at it."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You have the tenacity for it. And a curious mind: the need to solve the puzzle, to get the answers."

Rick smiled to himself, taking her words as the compliment he hoped she meant them as.

"And you're observant," she added. "That's important."

"Good enough to be your partner?" he asked, playfulness in his tone.

She looked up at him with a smile. "I might have to teach you a thing or two."

"I'm a very good student," he assured her with a smirk.

"That you are."

They were onto their second movie of the evening. Almost finished their second movie of the evening, actually. But he couldn't recall anything that had happened in the last half an hour... at least.

He felt like a teenage boy: way too distracted by the pretty girl beside him to be able to focus on anything else. As soon as they had polished off the pizza they'd ordered for dinner, Kate had tucked herself under his arm and made herself very comfortable curled up against his side.

Her enticingly scant, forest-green silk pyjama shorts had captured his attention - or, more accurately, the impossibly soft skin of her exposed thighs had - offering such a pleasant distraction. His hand (that had started so innocently drawing circles on the bared skin of her shoulder) slowly travelled down her back, over the thin strip of skin between her shorts and matching camisole until it finally came to rest on her thigh. He slowly, delicately grazed his fingernails across her skin; down toward her knee and then back up toward her hip, again and again, watching with an amused smile as she shuddered and goosebumps erupted across her entire body.

"That tickles." She giggled as she turned and hid her face in his chest.

She swatted his hand away, looked up at his face and gave him a stern look.

She knew it would only encourage his antics, though.

"My apologies," he said, bringing his hand to rest on her hip.

They went back to watching the TV screen but only a few minutes passed before his hands began to wander again; underneath the silken material of her camisole and across her stomach.

He tried to focus on the movie - he really did - but his hands had a mind of their own as they inched lower, toyed with the waistband of her shorts.

Kate smiled, arched her brow. "Can I help you with something, Rick?"

Rick hummed as he leant forward, nibbled at her ear. "Well, seeing as you offered-"

"Watch the movie," she warned.

But there was very little authority in her voice. In fact, she sounded almost as distracted as he was.

"I am," he replied; hands still roaming.

"It's almost finished: you're going to miss the best part."

He mumbled something incoherent, something that sounded like a dismissive seen it before, as he kissed her neck.

She tried to resist but he so quickly found that sensitive spot behind her ear and her eyes fluttered shut, a moan escaping from her lips without her permission. And with that, she gave up the fight. She rolled to her back, curled her arm around his neck and pulled him down, capturing his lips in a heated kiss.

Rick was careful as he slipped his hand under her camisole, smoothed his palm over her abdomen on his journey upward. Kate's fingers combed through his hair, fingernails raking gentle over his scalp as he caressed her soft skin. When he reached his intended destination, cupped and massaged her breast, she curled her fingers in his hair and somehow pulled him even closer.

So caught up in all the little sounds of them - each breath, each sigh and moan - Kate almost missed the faint sounds of rattling keys on the other side of the front door.

Almost.

She pulled back from Rick's kiss, her eyes fixed to the floor as she listened intently for the sound she wasn't quite sure she had heard. Keys rattled again, then they both heard the unmistakeable sound of the door opening: the click of the lock mechanism, the creak of the hinges as the door began to move.

Rick pulled his hand from Kate's shirt and she sat upright, placing some much needed distance between them. Her movements, however, were abrupt and even after her soak in the tub, her abs ached as she moved. She didn't have time to dwell, though.

Alexis barrelled through the door, head hung low as if to hide away from the world around her, slamming it shut behind her.

"Alexis?" Ricked asked, his voice nearly a whole octave higher than usual.

Kate looked at him, confused. Alexis wasn't supposed to be home for another three days. Judging by Rick's expression, she wasn't the only one confused. She turned her attention back to the girl, noticing (for the first time) her red-rimmed and teary eyes.

Rick placed his hands on Kate's forearms, holding her steady as he shifted out from behind her.

"Where is she?" he asked his daughter as he rose to stand.

His voice was low again; so angry it sent a chill down Kate's spine. She never, ever wanted to be on the receiving end of that tone.

"It's fine," the girl insisted as she made her way toward the stairs. But her voice betrayed her with it's watery rasp. The girl had been crying, that was undeniable. "Don't make a big deal out of nothing."

"Nothing?" he repeated incredulously. "This isn't nothing."

Alexis stopped her ascent on the second step, turned to face her father. "I'm fine, Dad. I have to study anyway. I'll be upstairs, quiet as a mouse." Her eyes darted - for only a microsecond - to Kate, then back to her father. "I won't interrupt your date or whatever."

"Alexis-" Rick's voice was firm, warning. "Where is she?" he repeated.

And the girl broke.

"We ran into Mr. Pettman," she confessed. Rick sighed and Kate realised that she was the only one who didn't instantly understand what that meant. "He was on his way to some mixer, and casually mentioned that she was welcome to join."

"She kinda already had a prior commitment," Rick snarked.

"I said it was fine," the girl defended; but her defence lacked conviction.

"She shouldn't have even entertained the idea," he shot back.

Alexis sighed. "She's been trying to get a meeting with him for years-"

"I don't care."

"Dad, please."

Rick took a breath, rubbed a hand over his brow as he tried to simmer his anger for his daughter's sake.

After a few seconds, he moved toward his daughter. "You sure you're okay?"

The girl nodded. "I'm fine," she said again.

Kate watched Rick as he watched his daughter. She could see the array of emotions that crossed his face with each second that passed: the concern, the anger, the disappointment. When she turned her attention to Alexis, she could recognise many of the same tells in the girl's own expression. Concern, anger, disappointment... and a deep, heavy sadness.

Rick moved to the bottom of the staircase and reached for Alexis' hand. She took it, walked down the two steps she had managed to ascend before he had stopped her, and threw her arms around her father's neck as he hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I know." The girl pulled back and smiled at Rick. "You can go back to your movie," she told him. "I promise I'm okay."

"Do you want to join us?"

The invitation slipped from her lips before she could really even think it over. And when Rick and Alexis both looked at her with surprised looks on their faces, she thought that perhaps she had overstepped. Her stomach flipped as she waited for someone to say something... anything.

But then Rick smiled.

"I don't want to interrupt-"

The girl's insistence was cut off by her father.

"You're not," he assured her.

"This movie is almost done-" Kate grabbed the remote and paused the still-playing movie. "But I get to pick the next one and I've been trying to convince your dad to watch Legally Blonde. Maybe you'd have more luck than I seem to be."

Alexis looked at Rick with a frown and then turned her attention back to Kate. "Trying to convince him?" she asked.

"She tried to bribe me," Rick explained. "With chocolate and popcorn," he rushed to add once he realised the implications of his explanation.

Implications he was certain he daughter would never have even considered - not in his perfect world, anyway - but he wanted to clarify, just to be safe.

"You didn't have to bribe him," Alexis told Kate with a smile. "It's one of his favourites."

Kate's jaw dropped and she turned her attention to Rick. In her mind she replayed their bickering over which movies to watch and, if she was remembering correctly - which she was - he had scoffed at her suggestion and declared it too much of a chick flick, even for him.

"Traitor," he accused of his daughter.

But she looked mighty proud of herself.

"Love ya, Dad."

"Go get in your pyjamas then come join us," he instructed.

Alexis looked at Kate. "You're sure?"

Kate nodded and the girl bounded up the stairs in significantly better spirits than she had been just moments ago.