Undelete

by Laura Picken

Yep, it's a quick post-"Always", morning after piece. This will be followed up by a much longer piece currently in progress. But there was one thing that, even in the deluge of morning-after fanfic, I've still seen very few people bring up. So I'm gonna. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own 'em, I just write to get the stories out of my head because otherwise they'll drive me crazy...er.

Kate Beckett woke up to the feeling of soft, but unfamiliar sheets underneath her. She buried her head in the pillow next to her, relishing the scent of clean sheets and...him. Memories from the past two days flooded back into her consciousness as she woke up. How Castle had walked out on her. How she'd almost gotten herself killed by Cole Maddox. The end of her police career. And how Castle had taken her back...heart, soul, mind...and body. She found it impossible to wipe the smile off her face as she stretched the muscles that were sore both from the life and death fight with Maddox and her very life-affirming night with her partner.

Partner. Castle had given himself the title to persistently remind her of his endless loyalty to her. Now, though...what were they? Partners sounded odd now that she was no longer a cop. Was she his girlfriend? Were they just lovers? A knot formed in her stomach as she remembered the faint smell of alcohol that had been on Castle's breath the night before. Had she just caught him in a weak moment? Did he even *want* them to be anything beyond last night?

Beckett's rumbling stomach convinced her that she was worrying far too much and not taking care of much more basic needs, so she grabbed the two closest articles of clothing she could find-his shirt and her underwear-and got herself dressed enough to go downstairs.

The smells of coffee, cinnamon, pancakes and sausage overwhelmed her as soon as she opened the bedroom door, which only made her more hungry. She made her way downstairs to find Castle in the kitchen preparing a feast that looked like it could have served at least twenty people. Kate let out a chuckle at the size of the spread...which got Castle's attention. He finished the pancake he was working on, then turned off the stove, fumbling awkwardly. "I, uh...I figured you might be hungry after last night."

"I am," Beckett replied with a shy smile, "I don't think I've eaten since yesterday morning."

Castle immediately dished up more food than she could possibly ever eat and motioned for her to sit down at the kitchen island. He then dished up an equally generous plate for himself and started to dig in.

Beckett wasn't sure if she could still tease him...but she couldn't help herself. "Castle, are you really going to eat all of that?"

Castle looked up at her with a mouthful of pancake. "Wha?" Swallowing, he then returned the teasing. "Hey, I need to refuel too! If I remember correctly, we both got quite the workout last night..."

Beckett shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Yeah, about that..."

"Kate? What is it?"

Beckett found herself unable to look into Castle's eyes. "Where does this leave us, Castle? Where do we go from here?"

Castle knew where was coming from and there was no way in hell he was going to let that particular wall go back up again. He put down his fork and pulled Beckett off the stool to get her as close to him as he could. "Kate Beckett, I love you with all my heart. You are the most important woman in my life." With a wry smile and a wink he added, "well, except for maybe Alexis. If you don't want anyone to know about us then I'll take the secret to my grave. If you want us to go out on dates then I'll take you anywhere you want to go and spoil you absolutely rotten. And if you want more of a commitment than that, well then at least let me pick out the ring. On that point, I'm kind of old fashioned."

Kate's breath caught in her throat for a moment before she realized he was teasing her with his last point. Castle then declared with absolute sincerity, "Kate, last night was one of the best nights of my life. And this much I can promise you, right now. I'm going to be right here, right next to you, for as long as you'll have me."

The soft click of the front door opening and closing was barely noticed by the couple making out in the kitchen. "Geez, dad, if you were going to have someone over, you could have at least told me last night...Detective Beckett?"

Kate separated herself slightly from Castle, reminding herself that Castle was going to need to know about her resignation at some point. "Hi Alexis."

Taking in the scene before her, Alexis turned to her father with a sly smile. "So I guess you didn't spend last night playing Mass Effect 3 like I thought?"

Castle blushed slightly. "No, I never turned on the Xbox."

"So, detective-"

Beckett cut Alexis off, figuring this was probably as good a time as any to break the *other* news she had to tell Castle. "Actually, Alexis, since I'm no longer a cop *and* I'm...dating...your father now, I guess you could call me Kate."

Castle couldn't get past the first part of Kate's statement. "What? Kate, why? What happened?"

"Gates wanted to put me and Esposito on suspension for the way we handled things with Maddox. I guess I've just gotten fed up with dealing with the NYPD command structure. So I quit."

Rick had trouble believing what he was hearing. So much of Beckett's life was wrapped up in what she did as a cop that Castle was sure that she'd never give it up. Or that she would be dead before she ever had to be forced to give it up. "So that's it?" Castle exclaimed in bewilderment. "You're done? What about your mother's case?"

"I'm not sure yet," replied Kate, choosing her words carefully. She reached out for Rick's hand and squeezed it hand reassuringly. "But I have a lot more to lose now. I can't just go after these guys without considering how it's going to affect you and your family. I made that mistake once, and I'm never going to do it again."

"I think that there's something you need to see, Kate." Castle took his beloved's hands in his own and led the slightly confused Kate across the apartment to his office.

Beckett was confused and just a little nervous. After everything that had happened between her and Castle over the past three days, what else could he possibly need to show her?

As Beckett sat down warily, Castle crossed the room and turned on his touch-screen monitor. He let out a small sigh as he remembered what he had done the previous night...and why he had done it. Then the memories of everything that had happened after that flooded his mind. It's incredible how quickly things can change...let's hope this doesn't change them back. Resolved, Castle recovered the file named "Beckett" from his trash and opened it.

Kate felt like she couldn't take her eyes off the monitor, staring wide-eyed at the picture of herself on the screen...surrounded by almost every piece of information she had shared with Castle about her mother's case. She crossed the room like the monitor was drawing her to stand in front of it, touching her picture as soon as she got within arm's length of it.

"I may have pushed you to stop investigating your mother's murder, Kate," declared Castle, "but that doesn't mean I did."

Beckett moved her hand from her own picture to her mother's, connecting with the image and remembering her own trip to the grave site. Her heart soared as she absorbed on a deeper level just how much Rick loves her...then winced slightly as she remembered how close she had been to losing the chance to have that love in her life at all. She had been so ready to give up the people behind her mother's murder if that meant getting Castle back in return...but now..."Why are you showing me this, Rick? Why now?"

Castle squeezed Beckett's hand, then turned her slowly to face him. "I had deleted this file last night...just before you showed up at my door. I thought we were done." He smiled warmly as he continued, "clearly things have changed a lot since then." Taking a deep breath, Castle then declared with conviction, "all I ever wanted to do was protect you, Kate. Clearly we both know how well that's worked. But I never, ever wanted you to change who you were so we could have what we have now. So, if that means you decide you want to go after these guys, even with..."

"I think what my son is trying to say is that these people can't be allowed to stay above the law and we'll support you one hundred percent if you choose to go after them."

Castle's voice trailed off as he and Beckett turned to see Martha standing in the office's entry way. Castle opened his mouth to speak, but Martha cut him off with a knowing smile. "Alexis told me everything, Richard. I'm thrilled that you two finally found your way to each other." Martha's tone then turned deadly serious as she focused her attention on Kate. "I know how much my son loves you, Kate. I trust you share his feelings?"

Beckett nodded, earning a breathless smile from the man at her side. Martha continued, "then I hope you won't find this too presumptuous, my dear, but I already consider you to be a part of this family. And one thing family does is support each other. No matter what." Kate then tried to speak, but Martha cut her off as well. "And while I have no desire to lose either of you, please don't forget that I was at Roy Montgomery's funeral too. And if these people are everything Richard has told me they are, I somehow doubt that they will stop coming after you just because you've left the police force. So if we can do anything to help you bring these men to justice, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Agreed."

The group turned to see that Alexis had joined the conversation. Castle suddenly realized that everything had gone so fast this morning that he had barely talked to his daughter, let alone... "Alexis? You're okay with all of this?"

"Well, I'll confess it's a lot more than I expected to come home to after my graduation party," she admitted, "but dad, I've seen what you're like when Kate is in your life and when she's not. She's your *north star*, dad. Of course I'm happy for you. Both of you." Turning to the monitor, Alexis added, "and as for all of this, Grams is right. If Kate is going to stay a part of this family, and if this comes with her, then we need to fight it head on."

Beckett was deeply moved at how Castle and his family were so willing to take on the battle that she thought was hers and hers alone. "Thank you."

"Always," replied Castle.

"So where do we start?" asked Alexis.

"I suppose I should pack up the files I have at my apartment and bring them here so we can work on everything from one place." Beckett got up to get ready to go when a new aspect of her situation hit her full force. "And I guess I need to find a way to make a living again..."

Kate didn't know what reaction that declaration would get, but smiles was not the response she was expecting. Martha seemed to decide to speak up first. "Kate, darling, the first thing that you should know about dating my son is that money is the last thing you have to worry about anymore. Now, if you would prefer to maintain your independence for a while I'm sure that Richard would help pay the rent on your apartment should it come to that. However, I'm also sure that no one would have any objections if you decided to move in here either."

Beckett turned to find Castle blushing furiously and Alexis nearly doubled over with laughter. Turning back to Martha, Beckett replied, "thank you so much for the offer, Martha. I promise I'll consider it."

Martha patted Kate's shoulder in a expression of support. Turning to Alexis, she said, "C'mon kiddo, let's let these two talk. I'll make you some lunch."

"Since when?"

"Okay, I'll take you to lunch. How about Indian?"

Castle watched his mother and daughter leave with a mixture of love and annoyance. Turning to Kate, he tried to smooth over the situation. "Beckett, I'm so sorry about that. My mother just forgets whose house this is sometimes..."

"So you don't want me to move in here?" Beckett replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Castle tried to backpedal immediately. "Of course I would love to have you here, Kate. I, uh, I just figured this was all so new for us and I didn't want to rush you..."

Kate but a finger to Castle's lips to stop his babbling. "Castle, if there's one thing we've yet to actually do when it comes to this relationship, it's rush into *anything*. I told your mother I would think about it and I will. But now I should probably get to my apartment..."

Pulling Kate into an embrace, Rick's eyes spoke volume about what he wanted to do with just he and Kate in the apartment. "Are you kidding? If you think I'm going to let you go now, you're crazier than I am."

So that's it. I'm sure I went a little over the top on fan-girliness by bringing up having them live together right away-sue me. Cops don't make much, and since she's now unemployed, I figured it wasn't *that* much of a stretch. And while I've seen some people talk about when he deleted Beckett's file, anyone with a computer knows that a file is only permanently deleted when you empty the recycle bin. And I seriously doubt he took the time to take out the electronic trash before he answered the door.

Please comment! The more support I get, the more motivated I am and the quicker I write!