48. Fake-Flirting

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Kate woke the next morning with Castle's head resting on her stomach and she grinned at the adorable sight in front of her, his hair tussled, his face slack and ewww, he was drooling on her.

Okay, maybe this was not so adorable after all, she thought trying to untangle herself from his arms which only caused him to hold on to her more tightly.

"Don't get up yet," he slurred, his eyes still closed as he nuzzled his cheek against her skin, "stay in bed."

"Castle," her fingers ran through his hair and he hummed with pleasure, "you're drooling on me."

"Huh?" his eyes opened with a start and he pushed himself off of her to inspect what she meant, "Uhh gross," he scrunched his nose and wiped his hand over her bare skin. "Sorry."

Kate patted his cheek with a soft smile, pushing the covers back to crawl out of bed, but he stopped her, "Hey," he pulled her back into his side, "where do you think you're going? It's your day off."

She laughed, "Yes, but Alexis has to go to school and you have a meeting at Black Pawn at 8:30, so we both should get moving."

"Five minutes," he pouted, his fingers dancing up and down her bare back and the thought crossed his mind that they should be more careful with sleeping naked when the kids were in the house. It could lead to some embarrassing explaining on their side.

"And what are you planning to accomplish in five minutes?" She raised a flirty brow at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief and excitement about what she knew was to come.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what I can do in five minutes," he growled, burying her beneath him.

He hadn't lied, he could do excellent work under pressure Kate had to admit and she was still grinning from ear to ear on the way over to her apartment when she remembered their early morning encounter.

She had decided Jamie and she would walk home after dropping Alexis off at school rather than taking the subway to get some fresh air and she was already regretting her decision. A light November rain had been falling down on them for the past five minutes and she had picked Jamie up so they could move faster to get home.

She needed to do some grocery shopping on the way as well, unsure what was left in the fridge and she realized once more how much time they were spending at the loft with the Castles. She wasn't sure how she felt about this, about giving up her independence so willingly. She worried that it might bite her in the ass at some point, but right now with Jamie babbling on her hip about her shopping trip with Alexis and Martha the day before she couldn't care less. Instead of worrying if things might move too fast between her and Castle she felt a warmth spread through her that easily chased away the chill the cold autumn air and her thoughts created around them. Right now she was happy, truly happy.

"Mommy?" Jamie asked, pulling at her mother's coat.

"Yes?" Kate smiled at her daughter, trying to shield her a bit from the rain. "What`s up?"

"I want pasta," she declared and Kate chuckled.

"Is that so?" She questioned, amused. "Mmmh, I will think about it."

"Pasta Mommy," Jamie pouted and somehow she reminded Kate very much of Castle right then.

"Okay," she relented, "I'll make pasta for the two of us."

"Alexis and Daddy?" Jamie asked with wide eyes.

"It's just you and me today, Baby Bird," told her. "Is that okay?"

"Just Jamie and Mommy," the girl nodded and then nodded with a smile, obviously happy to have her mom all to herself today.

Castle would be busy all morning and almost all afternoon with meetings at Black Pawn about his new book and so Kate and Jamie could enjoy their first real mother-daughter day in weeks. Not that Kate minded spending so much time with Castle and Alexis, on the contrary, she loved it, knew Jamie did too, but it was nice to have her daughter to herself again.

They weather prevented any outdoor activities and so Kate decided they would just hang out at home, maybe read a book or just play with Jamie's toys and when her daughter would fall asleep after lunch Kate could see to some overdue paperwork that had pilled up over the past weeks. And maybe later tonight Castle and Alexis could come over for pizza. Yes, that sounded like a good plan to her.

Castle didn't listen to what was going on around him, instead he stared out the window thinking how happy he was. Things with Kate had been going great so far and much less complicated than he had expected, although that might be the one thing that actually worried him. The way she had given into everything, how easy she had adapted to the new situation, from what he knew about Kate he had expected more complications, more worries and more concerns from her side. One step forward, two steps back. But she seemed to be content with the direction their relationship had taken and with the speed they had established and yet he wondered if that moment of recognition was still about to come, the moment she would recoil from him. He hoped it wouldn't and yet he found himself preparing for the worst.

"Richard!" Paula's sharp voice reached him, made his ears ache.

"Mmmh?" he looked at her, not even pretending to know what was going on.

"The book tour?" her impatient eyes glared at him, clearly pissed with his lack of involvement in this matter.

Castle sighed, he'd hoped that this topic was done, "I've been telling you for weeks I can't and I won't go on an extended book tour." He tried to sound calm, but there was an edge to his voice he couldn't hide.

"But what you have failed to tell us is why?" She hissed. "And don't tell me it's about Alexis, you've made it work before so why is it such an impossibility this time."

"I have my reasons," he said so quietly that he hoped his agent would take the hint but of course she didn't.

"Enlighten us, Ricky," she said so sweetly that he could be fooled if he didn't know her so well.

"That's private," he simply replied and startled when Paula's hands landed hard on top of the table.

"Damn it Rick Castle, I've had enough of this," she barked, "you need to do this book tour. Don't you care about your career anymore?"

This actually made him laugh, "What's wrong with my career? Book sales of the latest Derrick Storm novel have been through the roof. I don't think Black Pawn or I have to be concerned about my career right now."

He shot a look into Gina's direction who had been surprisingly quiet this whole time. She couldn't deny that what he said was true. Black Pawn was more than satisfied with the latest figures, they were actually working on a new offer for the bestselling author across the table, eager to tie him to Black Pawn for the next five years.

Paula growled, "I don't know what to do with you. Are you dying or something?"

"That's not funny," he growled, his eyes dark with anger at her impertinence.

"No, it's not but your behavior isn't either," Paula sat back into her chair, trying to calm her temper but kept her eyes trained on Castle as if she could force him to reveal his secret by pure will power.

"I've got nothing else to say," he shrugged and watched Paula gather her things in return.

"You know what? Fine, suit yourself I have other clients to attend to who are more willing to cooperate than you are. Who actually take an interest in their careers and appreciate what I do for them."

She stormed out the door before Castle even had a chance to reply, leaving him and Gina alone in the conference room. To his surprise Gina didn't seem to be unfazed by his behavior in the least as she directed a warm, open smile at him and suddenly he felt nervous, all the coolness he had felt when defending his cause now gone.

"Rick," she purred in this tone that meant trouble. "Why don't I take you out for lunch, mmh? You still owe me one and I think Black Pawn as an offer for you you can't refuse."

"Shouldn't you talk to Paula about that?" He frowned, after all that was her job.

Gina shook her head, looking at him like he was a stupid, little boy, "I think it's best you hear it from me first, we can still discuss the details with Paula later."

Castle gulped, feeling trapped. He couldn't simply say no, not when she made it sound like she was taking him out on a business lunch.

"I could eat," he finally got out and the excitement about the victory he saw in Gina's eyes made his heart beat wild with fear. Oh boy, how was he going to survive this.

"So Rick, with you being so cryptic about your reasons why you won't go on that book tour I can't help but wonder if there might be a woman in your life that keeps you from going," Gina made it sound like a simple observation, but he knew exactly what was going on and yet Castle had no idea how to respond. He had no idea if he was allowed to tell his publisher that he was madly in love with the mother of his second child. As a matter of fact he was quite sure Kate wouldn't like it.

"Uhm, no," he shook his head, "that's not the case. I'm free as a bird," he laughed nervously and knew he had to do much better to convince Gina. He had to take control back over the situation and there was only one thing he could think of that would do the trick. He needed to flirt with her and after this was over he would make sure he wouldn't have to meet with her again until it was absolutely necessary.

So he put on his most charming playboy smile, leant over the table and asked, "How about you Gina? Is there someone special in your life right now?"

The effect was immediate, her eyes lightening up as her breath quickened and she closed the distance between them a bit further, "Why are you asking Rick?"

Kate was surprised he hadn't called or texted her till noon, figuring he would be so bored at his meetings that he would take any opportunity he could get to annoy her, but nothing. It was already two in the afternoon and she hadn't heard a peep from him.

Jamie was sitting next to her on the living room floor playing with her stuffed animals, while Kate sorted through the pile of bills on her coffee table.

Maybe he was back home already? Maybe he had started to write and forgot about time? She picked up the phone dialling his familiar number and waited. Nothing. With a shrug she put the phone back down, he would call her when he had the chance she, was sure about that.

It was two hours later when Rick finally stepped out of the restaurant and felt like taking his first real breath for hours. He was tired from pretending that everything Gina said was fascinating. Sure she was a smart woman, but there was only so much fake-flirting a man could do, even a man like Richard Castle. They had departed on the half promise to go out for drinks sometime, a promise Castle was determined to break. In fact he wouldn't call her at all, if he could prevent it, but he started to realize that his plan of fake-flirting hadn't been the smartest one.

Black Pawn's new offer though had been more than interesting and he would make sure Paula would see to it.

Hailing a cab to finally escape his publisher he gave the driver the address of Alexis' school, thinking he could still make it in time to pick her up and spent some father-daughter time with her.

It was almost five when her phone finally rang and sent her sprinting down the hall to answer it.

"Beckett."

"Hey, it's me," his warm voice came over the line, "I just came home with Alexis. We had a science class emergency and had to make a few extra stops on our way home."

She chuckled, sinking down into her couch and feeling ridiculous for how much she loved hearing his voice. "So what's the emergency?"

"A volcano," he sighed, "due tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Kate gasped.

"Yeah," Castle confirmed, "she forgot about it and of course I had to dry a lot of tears until she was convinced we could still finish it until tomorrow. Unfortunately I couldn't convince her to accept that it's okay to forget some things once in a while."

"Ah poor Alexis," Kate sighed, she knew how serious the girl was about school. "I'm sure this is not easy for her."

"No, it isn't but I promised her we would finish it tonight and that I would even put in a nightshift if necessary," he continued but Kate sensed there was more and he didn't wait to fill her in, "Look I know we talked about having dinner tonight but I think we need all the time we can get, is it okay if we take a rain check?"

"Of course," Kate smiled, though she had to admit she was disappointed she wouldn't get to see him tonight, but she understood. Alexis had to be his priority tonight. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Kate," he sounded genuinely relieved and she wondered if he had somehow expected her to turn this into a big drama. They were both silent for a moment, both lost in their thoughts until Kate spoke again.

"Hey Castle, no need to thank me. I get it," she told him gently, "but you might want to tell Jamie goodnight before we hang up."

"Of course, but there's something I need to tell you," he started and then she heard him move around, "Cooper called. He put everything together for court and if we don't have any further question he will file for shared custody tomorrow." He told her.

"That sounds good," she told him, relieved that they were finally moving forward on that matter.

"So I'll call him and give him the heads up?" Castle asked just to be sure.

"Yes," she told him firmly. "I want it to be done this year."

"Okay, good," he grinned from ear to ear.

They hung up twenty minutes later, after Castle had talked to Jamie and had heard all about her day as well and when he walked into the living room to join Alexis, he thought how much easier things would be if Jamie and Kate just moved in with them. With a sigh he let that thought go, knowing she would never agree to it.

"Can we start Dad?" Alexis asked, looking up to him from the hardwood floor where she had spread out everything they would need to build a volcano.

"Absolutely Pumpkin, let's get started," he smiled and joined his daughter on the floor. They could all have dinner tomorrow. He would survive one evening without Jamie and Kate around.

Kate sat at Jamie's bed, reading from the book her daughter had bought with Castle. It seemed so long ago, another lifetime. So much had changed since then.

Jamie sat at her side looking at the pictures and whenever Papa Bear appeared she would put her finger to the picture.

"Like Daddy," she grinned up at her mother.

"Yes," Kate smiled. "Like your Daddy."

"I love Daddy," Jamie told her, when she finally snuggled under the covers. "And I love Mommy."

"And we love you too, Baby Bird. Now sleep tight." Kate told her, placing a soft kiss on top of her head.

"Mommy?" Jamie caught her mother's attention before she left the room.

"Tomorrow I go to Daddy?"

"Yes," Kate nodded. "I'll drop you off in the morning."

"Cool," Jamie stated satisfied, "Night Mommy."

"Good Night," Kate replied, closing the door behind her.

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