Author's note: I know this is a bit late in coming, but this is based on the season two finale and how I wished it would have gone.

Kate sat in her living room, pretending to read. She eventually sighed in frustration and set the book aside, finally admitting to herself what she was really doing was moping.

She broke up with a perfectly lovely man for another one who walks away from her in the arms of another woman.

Kate curled her legs up to her chest and thought about Tom. He was a good cop, a good man and she knew he'd be much more reliable than a playboy mystery novelist. But she'd burned that bridge. There was no way she'd ask him to take her back, assuming she even wanted to. She wasn't that cruel. And how fickle would she look, changing her mind about Tom twice in one day?

It was making her sad thinking about him and how royally she'd blown it with Demming.

So she tried to put him from her mind and jumped to the next topic she'd been dwelling on. And then she started getting mad. Mad at Castle, mad at herself, and mad at his stupid ex-wife.

And on that childish note, she thought, rolling her eyes at herself.

With a mental shake and an admonition to place blame where it was due, she acknowledged that she was mad at Castle, even though she knew it wasn't really fair. Rick had followed her like a faithful puppy for over an entire year and when he finally takes the hint that she's not gonna go there with him, she changes her mind. Only he's finally moved on.

Kate finally acknowledged that she was mostly mad at her self. She hadn't been willing to see why he was following her. She just accepted the "research" excuse and never looked too closely. Oh, she knew he was attracted to her, but never really took his flirting seriously. Now she saw and actually understood how much he had cared about her. Jordan was right, darn it! she silently griped, upset, not that Jordan had seen through her so easily, but that she hadn't seen it before someone else had. He really did care about me. And I ... I care about him, too. She finally admitted.

And he had already, finally, moved on.

She dropped her elbow on the back of the couch, her hand shoving through her hair in frustration. She didn't know whether to be furious or depressed, so she ended up just feeling miserable in general.

A sudden- obnoxious- knock sounded at the door, causing Kate to jump and her heart to start racing. She was almost embarrassed about her gasp of surprise, until she remembered she was alone in the room.

Always alone, she silently grumbled as she got up to answer the door. She guessed it would be Lanie on the other side of the door.

…That is until whoever it was knocked again, obviously impatient now.

"I'm coming!" she snapped at the door seconds before she reached for the knob. She was so annoyed she didn't look first, just yanked the door open, and then fell back a step in surprise. "Castle! What are you doing here?"

"That's not what you were going to say," he blurted, obviously riled up. He paced several steps into her apartment- uninvited- and added, "What were you going to say?"

After a confused- annoyed- pause during which she glared at Rick's back, Kate shut the front door. Turning back to frown at Castle, she replied, "Who's the jackass knocking obnoxiously at my front door this late at night?"

He shook his head and Kate imagined she could hear the loose screw rattle around a bit in his head. "When we were at the precinct, you were trying to tell me something. But then Gina showed up and you… you copped out."

"I did not cop out!"

"Yes, you did. You were going to say something that was obviously difficult for you to spit out, then Gina walked up and you said 'have a great trip.' You copped out," he accused, stepping into her personal space so he could level a glare at her.

Her lips had pressed together and she had glared at him as he had spoken. Now she crossed her arms, leaning closer in an attempt to take back control of the conversation by not letting his nearness appear to affect her. She brought her nose centimeters from Rick's. "What was I supposed to do?" she snapped angrily. "Tell you I'd changed my mind, and spend the weekend in the Hamptons watching you and your ex make cow eyes at each other?" He was obviously surprised and when a long moment passed without a response, she repeated her earlier question, "What are you doing here, Castle?"

Ignoring the question- again- he wondered, "You changed your mind?"

"Yes, I …"

"About this weekend?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Yes, I …"

"Or about me?" he added, talking over her again.

She paused before she replied this time, knowing better than to bite her lip or avoid eye contact, both of which she was tempted to do. When she finally inhaled deeply to reply, Rick knew the coming words were going to be a lie. Or a half truth, at least. "I changed my mind about going to the Hamptons this weekend. I haven't had a real vacation in a long time."

"That's all you were going to say? There was nothing else you were going to add?" Castle prompted, obviously fishing.

Her eyes widened innocently and she batted her lashed once or twice. "What else could I possibly have to add?"

His eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he saw no way to force the truth out of her. Instead, he moved on. "You're going to the Hamptons with me then?"

"I already told you, Castle. I'm not going to watch you and…"

"She's not going," he quickly offered, talking over her again. It was a new annoying habit he seemed to have picked up in the last half hour and Kate hoped it was a habit that wouldn't stick.

Then she realized what he'd said, and she repeated stupidly, "She's not going?"

"No," he replied in disgust. "I hadn't even dropped her off to pack yet, and she was already getting on my nerves. And then, when I picked her up to head out, she started nagging me because my attention was still on figuring out what you had been trying to say and not on her. After about four blocks, I turned around and dropped her back at her place. I won't be going anywhere with her again."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I realized we're only okay so long as all of my attention is on her."

"Oh," she said again.

There was a long- awkward- pause while each tried to think of something to say.

"So," Rick finally broke the silence. "You still want to go to the Hamptons?"

Her mouth twitched in a smile that she was fighting. "Are you sure you don't want Gina to go instead?" she teased.

"Heck, NO," he replied emphatically. Then he casually added, "I've already seen her in a bathing suit." He finally grinned, and Kate was reminded why she liked having him around so much.

She suddenly realized just how close they had moved to each other during their conversation, and how blue his eyes looked this close up. Kate moved back, taking a half step away, striking a pose, and planting a fist on a cocked hip. "Unfortunately, I don't own a bathing suit," she fibbed in an 'aw shucks' tone.

Rick's eyes swept down her body, still very close to his own, and took his time as his gaze wandered back up. Her short silk pajama bottoms suddenly felt much too short, but she wasn't about to readjust them with him watching. And the spandex-like camisole felt much too tight and revealing as his gaze lingered on her bust. "Luckily, my place is minutes from a nude beach," he replied, finally meeting her eyes again.

She simply rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the blush that colored her cheeks. When Rick grinned, Kate knew she was caught. She turned and walked into her living room to hide her responding grin. "Would you like a drink?" she called back, knowing he had followed her into the kitchen when she started to disappear.

"Got any tequila?" he asked pointedly, teasing Kate just a little by referencing the steamy love scene he'd written, inspired by her.

"Not if you're driving us to your beach house tonight,"

Author's note: I have no idea if there is a nude beach in the Hamptons, or anything else about the place. Rick was simply making a flirty comment to provoke a response from Kate. I currently have no plans to continue this, but I supposed I could if prompted. It might take me a while to think up a plot though, cause the whole Kate-and-Rick-get-together-and-start-a-family thing has been done to death. (Done very well in many cases, but still, there are too many for me to want to do another one).