AN: Hey guys, i'm majorly sorry that it's taken me so long to do this chapter and i guess i don't really have an excuse so i'll just have to hope you forgive me and keep leaving me nice reviews.

Chapter 2

"Hey Dad, since it's nearly summer, it'd be really cool to have a new wardrobe" Alexis did as her grandmother had requested.

"Does this have anything to do with that guy?" her father teased.

"Maybe" Alexis conceded happily, hoping it would stop her father probing for the real reason for the impromptu shopping trip she was suggesting in a very indirect way.

"Well, I think we can squeeze in some shopping over the weekend if you'd like. Or you can go with your friends"

"No, it's okay Dad, I'd like to go with you. Would it be okay if Kate came too though, a female perspective would be really helpful, and I don't think Grandma is quite what I need"

"Yeah, Grandma can be a bit outdated" Castle admitted "But Detective Beckett? You really want Detective Beckett to come with us?"

"Yeah Dad I do" Alexis offered no further explanation as to her desire for such an odd shopping companion and hoped her father wouldn't question her conviction.

"Well, if you're sure, then I guess I'll have a chat with her"

"Thanks Dad, you're the best" Castle smiled when his daughter wrapped her arms around him as a sign of appreciation, wondering if he'd still be so appreciated when Beckett turned him down, which she undoubtedly would. Not that he was going to give up because of a little resistance though. He'd make sure he did everything he could to keep his little girl happy, although he couldn't deny that the idea of spending part of his weekend with Beckett outside of work would be enjoyable, and interesting.

"Now, how about you help your old man pick out an outfit for his dinner" Castle asked casually pulling himself back to the present and the non-date that he still had to get ready for and if he was going to pick up Beckett on time he'd better make it fast.

"Since when do you need help getting dressed?"

"I just thought you might want some input, so I don't leave looking like a homo." He didn't wait for a response before disappearing towards the stairs, he didn't have time for Alexis' indecision.

"Fine" she grumbled trailing after him "Wait a second. You never told me who you're having dinner with" a surprising thought suddenly crossing her mind.

"It's not important" Castle dismissed.

"Right, of course it's not" Alexis replied sarcastically "It's Detective Beckett, isn't it"

"Yes" Castle admitted "But it's work. For me that is. We're going to talk about the book"

"Sure you are" she muttered disbelievingly before receiving a reproachful look from her father "Fine, let's just get you dressed"

Ten minutes later Alexis had convinced him to go with the pink shirt and jeans and talked him out of the tie. He had reservations about the outfit but if he wanted to pick up Kate on time then he didn't have time to get changed again.

On his way out the door he reminded his teenage daughter not to do anything crazy while he was gone, not that he thought she would, sometimes he wondered how he'd gotten as lucky as he had with Alexis. Then he requested in a whisper that she keep an eye on her grandmother, who he knew needed all the supervision his daughter didn't.

Miraculously, Castle was standing outside Kate's apartment five minutes early. He wondered whether he should ring the bell anyway and hope that she was ready, or should he wait outside until the exact time he was supposed to pick her up? Maybe seven meant seven fifteen, or worse seven thirty, he knew some women believed that arriving on time for a date was incredibly rude and cut into their primping time. But the more Castle thought about it the less he thought that Kate was one of those people. No Detective Beckett valued punctuality and she certainly wouldn't appreciate him arriving late, good thing he was early he decided pressing the bell for her apartment without thinking about it anymore.

"Castle" Beckett seemed surprised to see the man who had been studying her for the past few months on her doorstep. Though Castle surmised that her surprise was not so much because he was there but because he was on time and he wondered not for the first time what sort of mistreatment she'd suffered from the other men who had passed through her life.

His next thought was how stunning she looked outside of work. His intuitive writer told him that she wasn't the sort of person who worried much about fashion, but she still liked to look good. Or maybe she didn't care, and it was all incidental, either way Kate Beckett was the kind of woman that could make men everywhere drool, and even a few women Castle guessed.

He'd half expected her to be wearing jeans and a sweater, the thought that she might be wearing a skirt had barely crossed his mind. He wasn't even sure she owned one. But there she was, framed by the soft light from within her apartment in a stylish black skirt topped by a flimsy purple shirt that left little to his imagination. If he wanted to know Kate Beckett better then he was certainly getting his wish.

"You look nice tonight" he finally commented.

"Just let me grab my purse and we can get going" Castle barely heard the words, he was focussed on the way she tilted her head forward trying to hide the faint blush that spread across her cheeks from his positive appraisal.

"Oh, no hurry. I couldn't get reservations until eight" Castle made no attempt to hide the way his eyes strayed over her shoulder to take in the homey decor of her apartment, filing each object away for examination later.

"Fine, come in" she agreed with a sigh, noticing the way Castle's eyes lit up upon being granted entry into her apartment "You better not use all this for Nikki Heat" she added, able to guess what his mind was already doing.

"Nikki Heat is just based on you, she's not actually you, so while I might use some things I'm not going to use everything and if there's something that you really don't want me to use then I have to respect that."

"Wow, never expected that from you Castle, guess you do have a soul" Even though the comment was meant mostly in fun, Castle still grimaced at the harsh words.

"Kate" he pleaded for her to understand, to forgive him for making her so exposed.

"Let's just go Castle. Don't you have some grilling you want to do?"