A/N: I suck at updating. I know. Life just got in the way. Hope you guys are still interested!

Through The Looking Glass

Chapter 6

Her body felt like a live wire.

The moment her lips met his, it seemed like she had just been zapped; adrenaline and desire running rampant through her veins when he pulled her closer, pressing his body into hers so deliciously that she didn't even know what to do with herself. The kiss had started off slowly, but soon escalated to a passion so intense that Kate felt like she was about to combust if she didn't do anything about it in the next few seconds.

His hands explored her body gently, cautiously, but his palm touching her skin under her shirt left a burning trail of heat. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't been with anyone in a while or that they shared this freakishly intense connection, but right there and then, Kate wanted him. Badly.

But they were also making out on his couch like hormonal teenagers with his 9-year-old daughter sleeping upstairs and this was so not right.

"Rick." She tried, but it came out like a gasp that turned into a low moan when he sucked the tender skin on her neck where her pulse was beating erratically. "Rick, wait." She finally got out after a moment.

"What's wrong?" He pulled away just enough to be able to look down at her. Somehow they had ended up lying on the couch and she could feel exactly how much he wanted her pressed against her thigh.

"We can't do this." She told him and watched bemusedly as his expression fell.

"What? Why? What's the matter?" He asked quickly, pushing himself up on his arms to give her some space.

"Here. We can't do this here." She corrected and he sighed in relief, a small smile playing on his lips when he relaxed. She chuckled and touched his swollen lips with her thumb, tracing the sensitive skin gently. "We don't want your daughter walking in on us now, do we?"

"Right, of course." He shook his head at himself with a wry smile and leaned down to press a chaste kiss to her lips. "Sorry, guess I got a little carried away."

"Takes two to tango, you know." She laughed and playfully bit on his bottom lip, then the underside of his jaw. "But maybe we should slow down a little bit?"

"Okay." He took a deep breath and leaned down again, resting his forehead on her shoulder in an effort to keep himself under control. "Still not weird?" He asked jokingly after a moment and she laughed, running her hand through his hair.

"Absolutely not." She reassured him and felt him sigh against her neck.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, Kate gently running her fingers through his hair as he laid half on top of her. With any other guy, this... thing, whatever it was that was going on between them, would have made her run for the hills, but it was different with Rick. She had never been much of a cuddler, but she found that Rick made her feel safe; and having him here was just what she needed, just what she had been craving for all these years.

They cuddled, talked and kissed playfully for a while, until Kate resumed her previous activity of running her fingers through his hair, her nails gently scratching his scalp in a soothing touch.

"I'm going to fall asleep on you if you keep that up." He warned sleepily and she chuckled, letting out a yawn herself. "See, you're sleepy too."

"Yeah, I should probably go." She stretched her body lazily and felt him tighten the hold he had on her waist.

"You can stay here, you know. It's late." He offered, but she shook her head. "You can sleep in the guest room, if you want. Although I'd be more than happy to share my bed with you." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she chuckled, sitting up.

"I know. But maybe it's best if I go home tonight. I don't want Alexis to get the wrong idea about us." She smiled down at him and touched his cheek.

"Are you sure?" He insisted, but she nodded, tugging on his ear playfully before leaning down for a kiss. "I'll call the car service to take you home."

"Rick, that's not necessary." She started to protest, but he stopped her.

"I know you're a cop and that you can take care of yourself, but it's two in the morning, Kate." He sat up and reached over to the coffee table to retrieve his phone. "Let me do this for you?" He looked at her and she sighed, leaning back against the back of the couch.

"Alright."

With the promise to meet at some point the next day, Kate arrived safely at her apartment. Taking her shoes off after locking the door, she stretched her body and groaned when she felt her joints pop. Tonight hadn't turned out quite as she had expected, but it had been wonderful nonetheless.

This relationship or whatever it was with Rick was progressing far too quickly for her usual standards , but instead of making her want to run, she just felt giddy and excited for the first time in a really long time. He seemed to be really interested in her as a person, as opposed to the other guys she had dated previously, that just thought she was a hot chick or had a thing for cops. But not him. Rick liked her, Kate, and not just how she looked and that in itself was completely refreshing.

Making her way to her bedroom, she quickly changed into an oversized shirt and crawled into bed after brushing her teeth. She texted him to let him know she had made it home safely and his reply, saying good night and sweet dreams was the last thing she saw before letting sleep take her over.

Kate slept in the next day. It was her first entire weekend off in a couple of months and all she felt like doing was catching up on sleep. Her body, however, had other plans. By 9:30 she found herself too restless to stay in bed and got up with a groan, rolling her eyes at herself for not being able to sleep in like she used to when she was a teenager. Rubbing her eyes, she made her way to the kitchen and started the coffee maker, trying to stifle a yawn. When the coffee was ready, she poured a healthy dose on her favorite mug and turned the TV on.

Pulling the blanket that was on the back of the couch over her thighs, she got comfortable to enjoy a couple of hours of mindless television. She knew she should eat something at some point, but she was just feeling lazy this morning. Maybe she'd get some cereal later.

About an hour later, she heard her phone ringing from her room and debated with herself for a moment if she should let it go to voicemail. Deciding that it might be something important, she put her mug on the coffee table and ran to her bedroom. She retrieved it from her nightstand and smiled when she saw Rick's name on the screen.

"Hi." She said happily into the phone and felt just a little ridiculous that her heart was racing and she couldn't stop smiling. They had had one unofficial date, she had no right to be feeling like this. Right?

"Morning." He said and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I've been awake for a while. What's up?"

"Well, Meredith is taking Alexis this morning, so I thought maybe we could do something?" He asked, a little hesitant, and she grinned.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Maybe we could do an early lunch, say, in about an hour or so?" He suggested and she checked the clock on her nightstand. It was almost 11.

"Sure. Do you want to meet somewhere?" She offered, making her way to her closet to see what she was going to wear. Pulling out long sleeved shirt with a V neck, she looked at it critically while he talked.

"I can pick you up. If you don't mind, that is." He added as an afterthought and she chuckled at how hesitant he still was.

"Of course I don't mind." She threw the green shirt on her bed and pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans to go with it. "I'll text you the address. See you in an hour?"

"Really looking forward to it." He told her before hanging up.

Kate sighed and felt ridiculous again for feeling this way so soon. She wasn't a teenager anymore, for Christ's sake, and here she was, sighing like a lovesick fool because of a guy she had only made out with once. She wasn't like that. Not anymore.

Shaking her head at herself, she quickly sent him a text with her address and checked the clock again before going to the bathroom for a quick shower. Half an hour later, she was applying her makeup when the doorbell ringing startled her so badly that she nearly poked her eye with the eyeliner. Cursing under her breath, she made her way to the front door and asked who it was.

"It's me, Katie." She heard the muffled female voice and a smile immediately appeared on her lips. Quickly unlocking the door, she opened it and beamed at her grandmother.

"Nana!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around the older woman. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming to town!"

"Oh, Patrick here said he was driving down to the city, so I thought I'd come say hello to my favorite police officer." She explained and Kate realized there was a man standing to the left of her grandmother.

"Patrick, hey!" She smiled at him and hugged him quickly. They had been close growing up and he lived right next door to her grandparents cabin upstate. "Long time, no see."

"Yeah, it's great to see you, Katie. I hear you're a cop now?" He smiled at her and Kate nodded while ushering them inside the apartment. "I hope you don't mind my being here. I didn't want Mrs. Mayer to come up by herself, in case you weren't home."

"Thanks." She said and tried to ignore the way he was obviously checking her out. "Make yourselves at home. Do you want some coffee, Nana?"

"Oh, that would be great, honey. It's quite chilly outside today."

The older woman sat down on the couch and leaned back with a sigh. She was turning 75 next month and Kate knew her arthritis bothered her when it was cold. She was always so elegant, though. Tall, but not as tall as her granddaughter, and just a little on the chubby side, Alexandra Mayer carried herself with grace. Kate loved her hugs. They had the immediate effect of making her feel safe and loved, especially after her parents died and she was the only family she had left.

"Sure. Patrick?" Kate turned to the tall, light brown haired man. His blue eyes were still following the curves of her body and it was starting to get on her nerves.

"I'd love some, yeah." He grinned at her appreciatively and she nodded, making her way to the kitchen to put a new pot of coffee on.

"So how have you been, Nana? Sorry I haven't called these past couple of weeks." She asked her grandmother when the coffee was ready and poured in three mugs. Putting them on a tray, she balanced it carefully in her hands while she walked back to the couch.

"Oh, don't you worry, Katie. I've been just fine. Went to the doctors last week and I'm healthy as a horse." The older woman grinned at her granddaughter, who smiled back, handing her the warm cup. "Thank you, honey." She took a sip and sighed happily. "Oh, this is just what I needed, Katie."

Kate smiled at her after giving Patrick a mug. "I missed you." She confessed, sitting down next to her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I missed you too, my darling girl. Look at you. You look just like your mom, Katie. So beautiful." Mrs. Mayer tucked a loose strand of Kate's hair behind her ear affectionately. "You're all dressed up. Did you have plans?"

"Yeah, I kind of did." Kate smiled sheepishly, looking down at her hands for a moment. "But I can cancel, that's okay." She reassured her grandmother, who shook her head.

"Nonsense, Katie." She took Kate's hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "I was the one who showed up unannounced." She protested right before her doorbell rang.

"Excuse me. I'll be right back."

Kate excused herself and made her way to the front door again, trying to decide what to do about the situation. Should she cancel on Rick? Or let him in and have him meet her grandmother? Would that scare him off, meeting the family so soon? On the other hand, she had already met his daughter, even his ex-wife. So what did that mean?

Taking a deep breath, she asked who it was and smiled when she heard his voice.

"Hey." She grinned at him when she opened the door and found him leaning against the doorsill, smiling at her. Before saying anything, he took her hand and pulled her to him, capturing her lips with his.

"Hey, yourself." He grinned boyishly and stole another kiss. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah... so, I had kind of a surprise visit from my grandmother just now and, well... I can't just leave her here." She sighed and rested her forehead on his chest, before looking up at him. Without her heels on, the height difference was striking.

"Oh." He looked so disappointed that she couldn't help but kiss that look away.

"I'm really sorry. Tomorrow, maybe?"

"Oh, Katie, invite the poor boy in." She heard her grandmother's voice and groaned against his chest. "Hi, darling. Oh, he's so handsome, Katie." She said, showing up at the door and Kate pulled back from him and blushed intensely, wishing the floor could swallow her whole. She had forgotten how much her Nana loved to tease her when it came to boys. "I'm Alexandra Mayer, Katie's grandmother."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mayer. I'm Rick Castle." He looked amused at Kate and shook her grandmother's hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Castle. Why don't you come in for a cup of coffee?"

"Nana..." Kate started, but Mrs. Mayer interrupted her protest.

"I'm not going to ruin your date, sweetheart. We can have a cup of coffee while Mr. Castle tells me a bit about himself and then you kids can go on your way. We can catch up later when you get back." She patted her granddaughter's cheek with a smile and winked when Rick entered the apartment. "Quite a catch you got there, Katie. Quite a catch." She nodded appreciatively and Kate knew Rick could hear every word.

God, how had her day turned upside down like this?

A/N: Thoughts?