Rick was giddy. Her hand was cool against his, like ice almost, but that was even better because he had a reason to rub her hand between both of his. She threw him a couple of glaring looks, but she didn't try to remove her hand. Okay, not entirely true. She wriggled every now and again, like she was testing her bindings, but he kept a firm grip.

The rest of the play went by too quickly for him, and soon the house lights were coming on and the actors had taken their curtain calls. Alexis and Kate were talking animatedly about the last scene, which Castle didn't even remember, and Ashley was gathering up his coat and the playbill. Castle still had Kate's hand, and he wondered if she'd forgotten. Oh, no. She hadn't. There it went. Kate took her hand back to shrug on her leather jacket, and Castle did the same. He led the way out to the aisle and waited there for everyone to move past him.

Interestingly enough, Kate stopped beside him and waited for Alexis and Ashley to go ahead of them before walking up the aisle with him, nearly side by side. Alexis was holding Ashley's hand, which kind of needled him in a way he knew was both immature and overbearing, but Kate's hand was close enough to his that they nearly brushed.

And that soothed him a little.

Once he'd held open the theatre doors, and they were in the lobby, back into the crush of people, Alexis reached back to grab Kate's hand. "Don't want to get separated."

Castle grinned and took Kate's hand as well, and they snaked their way through the crowd. Quite a few people recognized him, and Castle had to stop and make nice with a smile and a quick drop of Kate's hand, but all three of them waited just out of range until he'd finished. He was nervous when the Page 6 reporter cast her eyes around the area, clearly seeking out his date, but Alexis stepped up quickly and took his arm.

"Come on, Dad. I'm ready to go."

He shot Alexis a relieved and grateful look, then turned back to the woman with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, have to get my daughter home. It's a school night."

Alexis pulled him away and he turned to find that Ashley and Kate were gone, but Alexis patted his arm confidently. "She's still watching, Dad."

He smiled at her. "Good girl."

"They're both outside, waiting for us."

"Very good girl." Rick leaned in and kissed his daughter's temple, grinning. "You're the best."

"I know." She grinned back at him and leaned her head against his arm. "But what I want to know now is-How'd you get Detective Beckett to agree to this?"

He chuckled. "I honestly don't know."

"I like her a lot," Alexis said softly, still leaning into his shoulder. "More-"

He waited, but she just sighed and shook her head against his arm. "More what?"

"Nothing. Just. I like her."

And then Castle understood what Alexis wasn't saying. More than Gina. He sighed too and wondered again how he'd gotten to this point. It was feeling more and more like a date, and he kept thinking about ways to kiss her. Not that he'd ever grow the pair necessary to do that, but just having those thoughts in his head was, he figured, pretty damning.

"I'm glad you like her. She's a good friend. Saved my life more than once."

"She has?" Alexis pulled away from him and gave him a glare. "I only know about once. What are the other times?"

Castle felt panic crawl through his gut and gave his daughter a smooth smile. "Figure of speech, Alexis. Stop worrying. Nothing to worry about. She's a detective, remember? We hardly ever get into real trouble."

"Your dad's right, Alexis." Beckett had been leaning against the concrete facade of the theatre, but now she approached them both, Ashley at her heels. "Never in any real trouble."

He met her eyes, but was afraid to look too grateful when Alexis was still watching him. "See, sweetie? No real trouble."

Alexis didn't exactly looked convinced, but she glanced at Kate, then back to her father, and seemed willing to drop it for the moment.

"So who was that? Alexis told Ashley to kinda hustle us out of there pretty quick."

She was trying to change the subject. Away from the possibility of his being in real trouble, and back to his being in a different kind of trouble. But he didn't mind. Appreciated the effort actually. "Page 6 reporter."

Kate's face stilled.

"Hey, it's all good," Alexis said intently, pulling at Kate's elbow and leading her down the sidewalk. "You both were gone. The reporter saw me and Dad, that's it. That's all it usually ever is. So you're good."

Ashley looked a little nervous too, so Castle clamped a hand on the boy's neck and walked him down the block as well, following Alexis and Kate closely. They were nearly a block from the theatre before Kate looked back at him.

"She didn't see who you were sitting next to in the theatre?"

Castle shook his head. "She said specifically that she hadn't seen me inside."

Kate absorbed this and then nodded. She seemed to reach some decision because she paused and let Ashley step past her and take Alexis's hand. Castle kept walking and Beckett fell into step beside him. "It would've been fine, you know."

"What's that?"

"If she had seen me." Kate glanced over at him and then flushed a little, shaking her head. "I mean, maybe you didn't want that all over the society pages, I understand. But it wouldn't have made me mad at you."

"It wouldn't?"

"No." She spoke softly, but her voice held steel to it. For some reason, the surety of her decision made him feel good. Really good. Like he'd cleared some kind of hurdle with her.

"I'm glad."

"Well. Good." She seemed confused by her own words, like she'd not meant to say any of this.

"You know Gina and I aren't. . ." Castle gestured, as if to encompass some kind of relationship in the air. "We aren't anymore."

"I know."

He couldn't read that little admission. He had no idea what it meant. If she knew, why hadn't she said anything? Of course, this was Kate, she wouldn't. On the other hand, she did like to tease him about his failed marriages. He had no idea what this meant.

His hand came around hers again, her thin, cold hand. He held on loosely, afraid to draw too much attention to his action.

"Castle."

And here it came. The big brush-off. The soft apology in her voice, the averted eyes, the slow pull of her fingers away from his palm. His chest hurt just knowing it was coming.

"Kate."

"I'm still with Josh."

He knew that. And yet it wounded him in a way he hadn't fathomed it ever would. Wow. For her to have such sway over him after such a short time. For her every word, good or bad, to hold this influence over him. Perhaps it would be better to cut this thing off, keep it from spreading. It was a good thing she was doing to him, letting him down gently.

"Right. Josh. I-I know." If he was a better man, he'd let go of her hand.

But he wasn't. He wanted her, Kate Beckett, and Josh wasn't here right now. So he kept hold of her hand and walked in silence through the City's night, crammed with advertising and lights and tourists and theatre people, letting its noise fill the space between them.

She didn't say anything more, but she didn't shake free of his hand either. And Castle considered that a victory.