Found on the castlefanficprompts blog on tumblr: we've been on a few dates and my child just asked us when we are getting married AU. My contribution to Castle Fanfic Monday, so please forgive this cheesy piece of fluff.

She heaves a deep breath before knocking on his door, three steady beats of her knuckles against the wood. Her fingers curl together in front of her as she rocks on her heels, waits for what seems like forever.

She's reaching up to knock again when the door swings open, a little red head popping out from around it, big blue eyes meeting hers and fuck she knew she was going to meet his daughter today, but she figured he would be the one to introduce them. She hoped he would be the one to introduce them.

But he's not, and she's staring down at the big blue eyes and perfectly braided hair of her… boyfriend's daughter and she doesn't know what to say or what to do or if she should apologize or introduce herself or laugh or what because she's never actually met a guy's daughter before. Never dated a man with a child before.

So she's really surprised when the girl's face lights up in a smile. "Hi," she says brightly, "you must be Kate. Daddy's girlfriend."

She nods her head slowly, forcing a smile back at the young girl in front of her. "Yeah, that's me. And you must be Alexis. Rick's daughter," she responds.

The little girl lights up. "Daddy talks about me on your dates?" she asks.

This time, her smile is genuine as she bends down to put herself level with the little girl. "Of course he does," she promises. "You are your daddy's pride and joy. Did you know that?"

Alexis shakes her head, and for a minute she's tempted to explain what pride and joy means, but then the little girl is smiling wide and happy and reaching for her hand and dragging her inside and, well, this is also not how she imagined seeing his home for the first time, but she can't argue and offer to stay in the hall.

Alexis shoves her down onto the couch, giggling softly. She laughs, too, as she unexpectedly bounces on the cushion. Alexis then takes a seat across from her, right on the middle of the coffee table, legs crossed in front of her.

"I think you make my daddy really happy, too. Way happier than mommy ever did," she says.

She almost chokes on her inhale at Alexis' innocent words that really aren't all that innocent because she was barely ready to meet ther girl and now she's being compared to Alexis' mother and being told she makes Rick extremely happy and she's not sure if she wants to smile or run for the hills. She opts to smile.

"I do?" she asks. "What makes you think that?"

Alexis bounces. "Well, every time daddy comes home from a date with you, he's really smiley and he talks about you a lot and he says you are really nice and super smart and that you like vanilla in your coffee and he brought you here and he never brings girls here, just Gina 'cause she's his publisher," she rambles. "Oh, and he;s been trying on ties for the past half hour because he wants to impress you today. Says he wants this date to be really special."

She feels her cheeks turn pink, hopes the girl, however intelligent Rick claims she is, doesn't notice. A smile tugs at her lips when she speaks. "Oh, yeah? Did he tell you why?"

Alexis nods quickly, almost frantically. "He says he has something important to ask you," she explains.

"Hey!" calls another voice, his voice and Alexis giggles as she turns to face him. "Are you spilling all my secrets to Kate?"

Alexis shakes her head. "No, daddy. Not all of them," she answers.

She muffles her laughter behind her hand when she sees his eyes widen, as she watches him reach down and flip Alexis, lifting his daughter onto his shoulders.

"You, Alexis, are not supposed to be spilling any of my secrets to Kate. You know that?" he teases. "Because if you spill all of my secrets you'll have to be… tickled." And then his fingers are digging into Alexis' sides and she squirming on his shoulders, kicking at his chest, holding onto his head to stay steady.

"Daddy, no. Daddy! I'm gonna fall, daddy!" she shouts.

He stops, heaving a breath as he lifts her off his shoulders and sets her on the ground. "Okay. I guess I don't want you to fall."

Alexis nods. "Good," she says. She marches over to the couch, sits down. "And you interrupted our conversation. I was gonna ask Kate the most important question of all."

Her brows raise as she turns to Alexis, curiosity bubbling up within her. "You were?"

Alexis smiles when she turns to her, nods her head, braid bobbing behind her neck. "Yup," she says, popping the P. "I was gonna ask, before Daddy interrupted, when you and daddy are going to get married after he proposes today."

Her jaw falls, and when she turns to look at him, she sees that his has, too.

"I am so sorry for Alexis, earlier," he tells her as they're walking down the street outside the restaurant. "I swear, that is the last thing I expected her to say. And I promise I did not tell her I was going to propose. Not today and not anytime soon."

She smiles, bumps her shoulder against his. "What, Rick? Five dates not enough for you to know if I'm the love of your life?" she teases. But the words feel heavy on her tongue, in her chest, foreign but all too real. Like the idea of him being the love of her life isn't completely unpleasant, although five dates is definitely not enough to know for sure, she really likes him.

And fuck, she really likes his daughter, too. And him and his words and the way his fingers are currently drifting across hers playfully like he wants to hold her hand but isn't sure if she wants him to. And she really like that he spent half an hour trying on ties to impress her and that he ended up choosing the blue one because it brings out his eyes and the way he complimented her on her dress and stuck food from her plate like they're been doing this for months.

But it's only been five dates, she reminds herself. And he does have a kid. And an ex-wife. And she has a ton of baggage, herself, and though he knows about it, it's still not… conducive to a successful relationship.

Five dates. It's not enough for anyone, especially not her.

And yet, when his fingers actually do curl around hers, something in her stomach flutters, and then he's leaning towards her and her chest feels warm and his breath tickles her ear and she feels herself blush and fuck.

"Not yet, Kate," he whispers to her. "Five dates isn't enough. But I do know one thing: I really like you. I mean, a lot. And the idea of eventually proposing to you isn't unappealing. Just, not right now."

"Obviously," she whispers back.

The silence that follows is almost comfortable, laced with just a little awkwardness. Just enough to make her feel uneasy, to have butterflies in her stomach. So she breaks it.

"Alexis said you had something to ask me," she blurts. "And I know you're not going to propose, but you can ask me anything right now. I'm willing to be open."

She's shocked when he's suddenly tugging her aside, pulling her to the edge of the sidewalk so they're all but pressed against the wall of some boutique that's closed for the night. The sidewalk continues with it's hustle and bustle, but she's still and so is he and it suddenly feels like some scene in a romantic comedy and her heart is beating wildly in her chest as he reaches for her other hand, catches those fingers in his, too.

"Kate," he whispers, "I'm not going to propose, but I do have something to ask you. And you may find it a little old-fashioned, but I don't want to assume anything, so I have to ask you, Kate." His smile is bright, and though she's confused, she finds herself mirroring it. "Will you go, uh, steady with me?"

She actually laughs at that, squeezing his hands as she leans forward, into him, mumbling a "really?" under her breath. And yet she also finds herself endeared and reaching out to rest her hands on his jaw, smiling up at him. "Yes, Rick, we can, uh, go steady."

She finds herself wrapped in his arms only seconds later, her face buried in his neck, his lips pressing against her temple. And then she's slowly pulling away and her eyes are on his lips and she feels his on hers and she leans into kiss him. The first kiss. Flawless. Sweet. Soft. Gentle. Respectful.

And later, when he's saying goodbye at her apartment door but she's really not ready for the evening to end, she finds herself inviting himself inside for coffee… and whatever else comes along.

And somehow, as they laugh together, wrapped in her sheets less than an hour after that, she can't help but think that Alexis may have been right. Not about him proposing, of course, but about a wedding being a when and not an if.

But it's only been five dates. Five really good dates.