"i wanted to give you a warm welcome to the neighbourhood by baking you something but turns out you're hella allergic to something i put in and yOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE HOLY SHIT I FEEL HORRIBLE" au

He uses the sleeve of his navy plaid shirt to wipe his slightly sticky forehead when he hears the front door knock, dodging multiple cardboard boxes in order to get to the entryway of the new apartment.

Once he swings the door open, he finds a woman on the other side, her wavy hair cascading down her front, the caramel colour complementing her cherry red sweater. She greets him with a cheerful smile and a small wave of her left hand as a brown paper bag occupies her right.

"Hi," She speaks with slight hesitance, "I'm Kate Beckett, I live a couple of doors down."

A grin breaks out on his face as he reaches a hand forward to shake hers, hoping it's not too sweaty from all the moving about he's had to do.

"Hey. Rick Castle." He replies, keeping a comforting grip on her hand even after he's stopped shaking it.

Kate seems to notice this, letting out a quiet cough until he releases his grip clumsily, wiping his warm palm on his light blue jeans.

"I thought I'd welcome you into the neighbourhood by baking something for you?" She says with a lilt in her voice, as if she's nervous about his response.

He is a little taken aback, he didn't realise people still did this, but he welcomes her nonetheless, opening the front door slightly wider so she can step in.

She accepts his invitation with a gentle nod, her eyes roaming the room as she steps in.

"Sorry about the mess." Rick says meekly with a shrug.

"Seriously?" She replies with a raised eyebrow, "You moved in about four hours ago, I'm not judging." Her sentence ends with a melodious chuckle as she places the bag on the kitchen counter.

"So, what made you want to move here?" She asks casually over her shoulder, carefully lifting a clear plastic container out of the bag, the tip of her tongue poking out of her lips in concentration.

"You want the honest answer?" Rick questions as his posture slumps.

Her head turns, looking at him with wide eyes, "Well, if you lied to me within the first minute of us meeting I'm not sure what that would say about the future of our relationship."

He knows she's joking, but just the word 'relationship' has his heart skipping a beat and thinking about how he could be living next to elderly people that grumble whenever he passes them in the hall or rowdy young adults that party every night with ridiculously loud music but instead he's been given the opportunity to know this gorgeous woman that has the brightest hazel eyes he's ever seen and-

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Her voice breaks through his thoughts, a look of apprehension now gracing her features as her pearly white teeth sink in to her bottom lip.

"No, no," He backtracks, hoping that he hasn't already made her uncomfortable, "Um, I broke up with my wife, well, now ex-wife."

Her mouth opens a fraction and he can almost see her racking her brain for what to say, "I'm sorry?" She offers, but the way her nose scrunches shows that she isn't sure it's the right reply.

"It's okay," He shrugs, the papers had gone through almost a month ago, and whilst he was upset that he was separating with whom he once thought was his soulmate, he could recognise that the relationship was becoming a strain for both of them. His Mother had assured him that in time he would become certain about the fact that the divorce was a good choice.

And as much as it sounds like he's rushing into things, he thinks he's beginning to see that whilst standing in his new barren kitchen with this woman.

Kate uses her hand to bring a loose curl behind her ear nervously as they remain silent, so Rick decides to attempt to diffuse the awkwardness.

"Also, this apartment is 2B and I couldn't resist," He adds with a smile, Kate's head tilting at the statement, "2B or not 2B?"

She lets out a laugh at that, and whether it's genuine or not, he's thankful for the fact that she's accepting the change of subject.

"I'm a writer," He continues, "Maybe this place will fill me with inspiration."

Kate nods curtly, "Well, I'm not a chef, but here, I hope this is still okay." She jokes as he approaches the counter, looking over her shoulder to see a pie covered in whipped cream, some of the crust broken from the small container, but it still looks incredibly appealing to Rick who only ate an apple earlier this morning.

"Looks great!" He enthuses, smiling at his guest for a couple of seconds before she lifts her eyebrows at him, "Oh! Yeah, we need a knife to cut it, don't we?"

He immediately starts shuffling around the cardboard boxes that litter the ground, reading his haphazard labelling in order to find the correct one.

The loft is filled with silence other than the scuffle of his shoes on the floorboards, so Rick tries to initiate conversation once more.

"So, you said you aren't a chef, what do you do?" He calls out as he crouches down to inspect one of the larger boxes.

"I'm a Detective in the NYPD. Homicide." She answers back with a hint of amusement laced through her words.

"Awesome! At least I know this building is safe," He replies, grunting as the seventh box he opens has bed linens in it as opposed to what he's searching for.

"Yeah, it comes in handy sometimes."

He narrows his eyes, unsure what she means exactly, "I'm sure it does."

"Especially when figuring things out."

Rick hums to prove that he's listening, even though he's still distracted by scouring through his items.

"Like when finding cutlery, for example."

Finally, his head snaps back up to hers, finding a large grin on her face.

"Wha-?"

"It might just be my cop instincts, but maybe you should try looking in the box that says 'kitchen'." She lifts her arm to point over to the left side of the room, a box with the word scrawled on the side in black marker.

He huffs loudly at her, prompting a loud laugh from her lips.

"You and your detective skills." He mutters as he rushes over, quickly ripping the tape from the box and instantly finding a collection of forks, knives, spoons and an array of different sized plates inside. He hastily grabs two plates, two forks and a large knife and walks back to Kate, who still has an amused look on her face.

He cuts them both equally sized portions without even asking her if she wants some, but she happily takes a fork from his hand as she smiles in thanks, the two of them standing at the counter whilst they eat due to the fact that there are no chairs currently in the vicinity.

"It's nice!" He compliments after a few bites, "Kinda tangy."

Kate smiles earnestly, and he swears he sees a flush of red creep onto her cheeks, "Thanks, it was my Mom's recipe, she used to make it for family barbeques all the time." She says cheerfully, and he begins to wonder why she's using the past tense.

Before he can voice his question, he smacks his lips together repeatedly, his brow furrowing at the strange sensation that overtakes his mouth.

"You okay?" She asks light-heartedly whilst watching his weird facial expressions.

"Yeah," He replies, "Just… tingly?"

Her mouth opens to reply, but she's interrupted by coughs erupting from his throat.

"Whoa, you sure you're alright?" Kate asks hesitantly, her eyes widening with worry.

When he attempts to speak, only a wheezing sound comes out, followed by more coughing.

Kate instantly pushes the plate away from him, her hands grasping both of his shoulders, "Rick, what's going on?"

"Wh-" Another cough. "What kind of pie is this?" He asks, his voice now raspy and harsh-sounding.

"Kiwi lime." She answers immediately, panic shown in her voice and eyes.

"Key lime? That should be fine."

"No, kiwi lime."

His eyes widen to a level that would be comical if they weren't both terrified.

"Kiwi?" He splutters.

"Yeah, is that bad?"

"I'm allergic to kiwi." He tells her, before beginning to cough again.

Her mouth gapes open in shock, "Who the hell is allergic to kiwi!?" She shouts, slapping him on the arm.

"Me!" He replies at the same volume as her, touching his fingers to his lips as he begins to feel them swell up.

"Daddy, you okay?"

Kate whips her head around to see a small ginger girl, no older than eight, scurrying down the stairs with fear in her eyes.

Shit.

She's going to make his child an orphan.

All because she had to show off and make the hot new neighbour a fancy pie.

Why couldn't she have baked something more stereotypical like a batch of cookies or brownies?

"I'm fine, Alexis." He answers, reaching out for his daughter as she approaches, though the girl definitely doesn't look convinced. Probably because it sounded more like something along the lines of 'Mhm fime, 'leksis.'

"I'm driving you to the hospital." Kate says with a tone of finality, not bothering to argue when Rick shakes his head, instead grasping his forearm and shoving him to the door, her other hand reaching out to take Alexis', the girl doing so even though she just poisoned her dad.

The looks Rick gets from his other new neighbours as he coughs from his swollen mouth definitely leaves an impact.

A long fifteen minutes later, the three of them are in a hospital room, waiting for a Dr Cooper to consult with Rick.

Alexis sits on the bed with her Dad, swinging her legs nervously and wincing every time she hears a wheeze or a cough from his throat. Kate runs her hands over her face as she stands by the door, unbelieving that she's already had such a negative impact on this family from just one day.

"Not your fault." Rick mumbles, Kate looking through her fingers to see him attempting a smile with his bright red lips as if he knew exactly what was circling in her mind.

She scoffs at his words, but still offers a smile back for his kindness, him seeming somehow calmer than her and his daughter combined.

Finally, the doctor walks into the room with a determined stride, almost running directly into Kate.

"Okay, Richard Castle, here for an adrenaline injection to combat anaphylaxis?" He reads from his clipboard, as he places down on the table, reaching over to a drawer to fetch a pair of plastic gloves.

Rick hums in assent – Kate's not sure he can do much more at this point – before looking over at his daughter and tapping her knee, which is clad in baby pink tights to compliment her flowing white dress.

"Go wait outside, sweetie." He manages to say, the girl immediately shaking her head furiously.

"No, daddy, I wanna stay and help." She pleads, and Kate herself can see his resolve crumbling as he stares into her crystal blue eyes.

"Kate will help me." He insists, both Castles looking over at the woman in question as she nods.

"Please, pumpkin, you can come back in a second." He says, everyone in the room concentrating to understand him through his clogged up throat.

Kate speaks up in an attempt to persuade his daughter, moving closer to her, "Tell you what. I saw a little bookshelf outside, how about you pick out a book you like and see how much you can read before we finish up in here."

"I'll read loads," Alexis boasts with a smile, suddenly distracted from the problem at hand, "My teacher says I'm a good reader."

"Oh yeah?" Kate goads, happy that she's caught on, "Prove it. Bet you can't make it twenty pages."

"Bet I can!" She rebuts, putting her hands on her hips.

"Okay, it's a bet. You read more than twenty pages and I'll buy pizza when you get home." Since the pie is obviously out of the question.

"With extra cheese?" The girl asks, folding her arms as she squints at Kate.

"Whatever you want." Kate resolves, laughing to herself as she sees a flash of red hair jumping down from the bed and sprinting out of the door.

Rick looks at her with a wondrous gaze, then lets out a sigh of relief. Kate shifts and occupies the place his daughter once sat, nudging his shoulder with hers.

"What's the matter, Rick? Didn't want your daughter to see you cry like a little girl when you get your shot?" She teases playfully, but is faced with a scared look in his eyes when she mentions the injection.

Oh.

She says no more and upturns her lips into a small smile as she offers her hand to him, both of them gazing into each other's eyes when their palms meet for the second time today, the footsteps of the doctor coming closer breaking them out of their haze.

"Okay, Mr Castle, I'm just going to inject the outside of your thigh," Dr Cooper explains as he lifts the injector, "no need to take your pants off."

"That's a shame." Kate whispers into Rick's ear in an attempt to make him feel better, but when he begins spluttering and coughing even harder, she's sure she's done him more harm than good.

The doctor suddenly shoots the needle into Rick's skin, his grip on Kate's hand tightening infinitely.

"Ow, motherfu-!"

An hour later, Kate's sitting on a different hospital bed, glancing up at the x-ray of her hand that's been placed on the wall. The door opens slowly, two heads poking in silently.

"Come in, guys." Kate insists as she rolls her eyes, the Castles walking in and perching on either side of her on the bed.

"I'm sorry my Daddy broke your hand." Alexis speaks up, her eyes wide with worry.

"Hey! I didn't break it! The doctor just said it was a bone bruise." Castle rebuts back, though he's missing the joviality that surrounded him earlier.

"I'm just glad you're pronouncing your syllables properly again." Kate tries to joke, but a frown still remains present on Rick's face.

She goes for a different approach, "I just wish you could've done it to my right hand."

"Why?"

"Then I could get out of doing paperwork for a while."

They both chuckle, and she's already becoming fond of his smile.

"How did he hurt your hand?" The redhead interrupts, still clueless about most of the situation since she's been outside reading (thirty-nine pages, Kate was definitely impressed).

"Your dad held it a little too tight when he was getting the shot." She explains, Rick over-exaggeratedly pouting by her side until she smacks his leg playfully.

"Because he's afraid of needles?" Alexis voices innocently.

Her Father gasps, "You know?"

"What?" She shrugs, "I'm not silly, Daddy, I see you look away when I get my shots."

"Well, if you're such a smarty pants maybe you should be a detective like Kate." He teases, leaning over her to ruffle his daughter's hair.

"Speaking of Kate," Alexis begins with a grin on her face, "Can we have pizza now?"

Rick is about to chastise his daughter for being so forward, but Kate is already agreeing, boasting about how she has the best place for takeout pizza on speed dial.

That evening after Alexis goes to bed, Kate and Rick are left sitting on cushions on the floor of what's to become the living room after the three of them have finished their pizza together – extra cheese on Alexis', like promised – Rick being the one to break the comfortable silence.

"Hell of a first date, huh?"

Kate snapped her head round to him, "What kind of dates are you going on?"

"Day!" He corrects quickly, "Hell of a first day. You know, of us being friends. Because that's what we are. Friends."

She places a hand over his to comfort him as he stumbles through his words.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I almost broke your hand." He says, hoping the pink glow on his cheeks isn't as obvious as he thinks it is.

Kate thinks about teasing him, but decides against it, "Sorry I poisoned and almost killed you."

"This friendship is going to be fun if it keeps going on like this." He says with a glint in his eye.

"'Friendship?'" She repeats in a questioning tone, "After a near death experience and possible bone breakage, this is just a run-of-the-mill friendship?" She teases, shuffling closer to him.

"A high level friendship," He answers without hesitation, though Kate thinks she can hear his voice wavering slightly, "At least level ten."

"Huh," She replies, nodding her head with pursed lips as if deep in thought, "Do I need to reach at least level twenty before I can do this?"

His brow furrows, "Do what?"

She bites her lips as she places her other hand on his bicep to steady herself before leaning in, her nose brushing against his whilst she stares into his eyes, looking for any sign of discomfort. During this pause, Rick pleasantly surprises her by swooping in himself, capturing her lips with his (that have thankfully returned to their normal size).

They both keep the kiss chaste, and draw away slowly, Kate keeping her eyelids closed for a couple of seconds before fluttering them open to see his gazing at her in fascination.

"Well," He begins, coughing when the syllable comes out with a slight squeak, "that just boosted our level by nine."

Kate bites the inside of her cheek in an attempt not to break her small smile into a fully-fledged grin, "But not twenty yet?"

"Mhm, maybe you should try again." He concludes, already leaning that infinitesimal amount forward to bring their mouths together once more.

This time when she makes him lose his breath, it's much better.

Remember when I said this was going to be the summer of fanfic? Well, I then got hit by writer's block. (I blame this heatwave.) I wrote 4 different fics before this one, but they all fizzled out about 600 words in. I'm glad I managed to write this 3k fic, even though I'm not too keen on it.

Anyway, hope you're all having a wonderful summer wherever you are! Feedback is always greatly appreciated :)

Lou xo