3. Chapter 3

After The Good, the Bad and the Baby

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Still don't own any of this. Rating K+ time: After the Good, the Bad and the Baby.

Author's note: This is way out of the sequence of the other After…vignettes, but I had the idea, so I wrote it. I have some more Afters…from season three in mind.

Kate slid into bed next to Rick and slipped her arm across his chest. "I'm stuffed. If anyone calls about a murder before about noon tomorrow, pretend you don't speak English, Mr. Rolfe."

Rick nodded. "Agreed, Pocahontas. I'm afraid that if I move, I might just roll off the bed, I'm so full."

Kate kissed him lightly. "Good night."

"Um, Kate?"

"Yes?"

"I shouldn't tease you like I did."

Kate giggled. "I'm not opposed to a little teasing."

"There's something I teased you about that I'd like to clear up."

"You don't have to apologize for teasing me. I mean, I tease you all the time." Kate ran her hand under his tee shirt. "Do you really not like that?"

Rick ran his hand through her hair, causing some to fall out of the sloppy bun she'd put it in. "I like it. It's just there's something I accused you of that I know isn't true."

"Accused me of?" Kate began to worry. In spite of everything, there was still a very tiny part of her mind that told her that Rick Castle couldn't possible want some cop.

"When you were standing on that damned bomb? I told you I knew you fell for me at once. I know that's a damned lie. I fell for you first. There's no question of that."

Kate touched Rick's forehead. "There's no fever, but you're obviously delirious. Should I take you to the emergency room?"

"I'm serious. From the first day I met you, I knew you were special. I was fascinated by you."

"Fascinated is not love, writer boy. Or did you get the pages of your dictionary stuck together again?"

"That's writer man, if you don't mind. And I'm not through. Do you remember when I went out with that woman who was on the Ledger's ten most eligible bachelorettes list? And you went out with that fireman?"

"Sure. We ended up eating dinner together at Remy's. So?"

"In spite of the fact that I said I was upset with being romantically linked to you by the paper, I knew they were right. I had talked about you the whole interview. And when I saw you there with the kitten saver and I looked at my date, I knew I'd asked the wrong girl out. I knew I was in love with you when we ate our cheeseburgers together at Remy's."

"So that's when you knew you were in love with me?"

Rick nodded. Kate threw both arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Then she sat up, threw her leg over his torso and sat astride of him. "Woo! Woo! Another win for Team Beckett! YES! Give me a B! Give me an E! Give me a C!.."

"What are you doing?' Rick said, laughing.

"That was when you fell in love with me, Mr. Castle? That was when?"

"Yes. Do you think I'd lie to you?"

"Do you remember saying goodbye to me in a hotel lobby after we'd reunited Mr. Hajek with his son?"

"Of course."

"And you stood there and told me that you were going to off and write books about some Englishman instead of partnering with me? Well, you broke my heart! We were standing there shaking hands and I decided I was going to drag you behind a pillar and either pistol whip you into staying with me, or I'd sexually assault you."

"In the hotel? I would have hated being pistol whipped." He said with a smile. "But why are you so happy?"

"Because, Castle. I was first. I knew about us before you did. While I was working on our relationship, you were inventing idiotic theories about time traveling penguins, Buddhist conspiracies and giant rats in the sewers. I did all the heavy lifting for us while you made jokes. If not for me, we wouldn't even be at the hand holding stage by now. If our relationship was up to you, we'd go down the aisle in wheelchairs. I'm responsible for us. There's an us because of Kate Beckett and Kate Beckett alone. And don't you ever forget it!"

Castle laughed. "I will never forget how lucky I am to have you, even if you didn't plan on reminding me every day." Rick slid his hands under Kate's tee shirt. "Can I give you something to show my appreciation?"

"You'd better."

More author's note: Every time I think about it, I come up with a different idea of when Rick and Kate fell in love with each other. Unlike this fic, I do think Rick was the first to find out that he was in love. If anyone has any other ideas, let me know. Maybe I can write more on this. Or maybe not.