58. Chapter 58

After Home Is Where the Heart Stops

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: How many of these are there that I don't own? Rating: K+ Time: See above

Author's note: So far in the After series, I have tried to stay very close to canon, and my one AU was very AU. However, I thought of this one and it required just a bit of AU. Really, you'll hardly even notice it.

As Richard Castle opened the car door, Kate Beckett swung her long, beautiful legs into the car, making sure that Castle got a good look at her legs, all the way to the middle of her thighs. She smiled as he stared briefly before closing the car door and going to the driver's side.

As he started the car, he turned to Kate. "Thanks, Beckett. I really appreciate you doing this for me."

Kate smiled and nodded. "You know, I really was going to let one of those two women buy that date with you. But then I thought, those are exactly the type Richard Castle usually dates. Either of those two would be thrilled to have Richard Castle sign their boobs, or other body parts. They'd spend the whole date telling you how much they loved your books. Feeding your ego by telling you how they just loved being with the great novelist, Richard Castle. You'd have had a wonderful time."

"And you couldn't allow that, could you?"

Kate shrugged. "Not when you could be doing something so much more fun." She waited a beat and added, "For me."

"Where is this place we're going?"

"Don't you mean where is this place you're taking me to, Castle?" She teased.

"Right."

"I'll program your GPS to direct you there." Kate began working on the GPS unit in Castle's Mercedes. "However, it's called the Budapest-on-the-Hudson. It's on the way to my family's cabin upstate. Whenever we went to the cabin, my mom would always insist that we stop there. On the way up we'd stop for lunch, and we'd stop for dinner on the way back."

"It sounds like a nice place."

Kate nodded. "It's not the type of place you'd go to. No one ever gets their photo on Page Six there, but I like it. I like the family that runs it as well, the, the Kovacs. They fled from Hungary just before the Second World War and went to work in a deli in Manhattan. Grandpa and Grandma Kovacs, as they eventually became, worked hard and eventually opened a little restaurant in the city. Then, they left the city and bought a restaurant upstate. I was just a little girl when we first went there. They were always so nice to me. They told me stories about Europe, the history, the culture, everything. They loved stories about beautiful princesses and dashing, swashbuckling, Hungarian cavalry officers. When we left I'd sit in the backseat of my parent's car and pretend I was a princess."

"Well, you are a princess." Rick said with a smile.

"No, I'm a cop."

"Close enough." After a while he asked. "Do you go there a lot?"

She shook her head. "I haven't been since Mom died. For the last couple of years I've wanted to go with Dad, but he always said he just couldn't face it. Too many memories." She looked over at him. "Thanks for taking me."

"Hey, you bought the date, remember?"

"Sure, but with your money."

They were well out of the city before she spoke again. "Why did you do it, Castle?"

"Why did I do what?"

"Invite me to the fund raiser."

"Why did I invite you? I invited you because you're my partner. Don't you think I would have looked a little weird with Esposito or Ryan?"

She shook her head. "I don't buy it. Rick Castle in his tuxedo, going undercover at a fund raiser filled with Manhattan's choicest young ladies? I really couldn't see you passing that up. You must have been salivating at the thought of really going undercover as an almost cop. Why did you get a ticket for me? And the dress?"

"You're very good, Detective Beckett."

She laughed. "You're just discovering that now?" She teased.

He thought for a minute. "Every once in a while you let your guard down and I see the pain in your eyes. The pain you must have lived with every day for years. I can't do anything about the pain." Although I'm working on it. He thought to himself. "But I thought I could give you a little fun in your life. It's not much, I know, but I thought it might help."

She nodded. "That's very sweet of you. And it helps a lot. Thank you."

"Any time."

"I'm curious, though. How did you get the dress? It fit perfectly, you know."

"I have my secrets. I always know a guy, Beckett."

"A redheaded "guy"?" She asked.

"Oh, very good. Yes, it was Alexis and Martha who found the dress. Mom knows a Broadway costumer and between them they managed to alter it to your measurements."

"Did you ask Martha to loan me the necklace, too?"

"No, that was all her doing."

"Again, thank you."

They rode in silence for another hour or so, until Rick turned off the road into the parking lot of the restaurant. He got out and raced to open Kate's door. When she got out, he offered her his arm. "Detective Beckett, we are here."

She took his arm and they walked on into the restaurant. Kate stopped as soon as they were inside and looked around. "It's exactly the same." She whispered. "Nothing's changed." Then she saw Michael, the owner heading towards them. She smiled.

"Mr. Castle!" Michael cried. "How good to see you again!"

"And look who I brought with me, Michael."

Michael stared at Kate for a second, then he threw his arms around her and gave her a ferocious hug. "Come everyone, it is Rick Castle and he's brought Kate Beckett back to us."

In seconds Kate and Rick were surrounded by Kovacs of all ages, happily talking all at once. They had heard about the death of Kate's mother, so Kate brought them up to date on what had happened since then.

"A police officer." Said Michael. "You will find your mother's killer and bring him to justice. I know this!" Everyone agreed.

"But, Rick," asked one of the younger Kovacs daughters, "where is Alexis?"

"Oh, I'll bring her back. Tonight's my night with Kate."

Suddenly, the crowd of Kovacs' parted for a tall, spare, well-dressed, elderly man. He walked slowly to Kate, stopped and bowed.

"Grandpa Kovacs!" She cried. "How good to see you again. I've missed you and your stories."

"As I have missed you, Princess Katherine." He said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "May I escort you and this dashing cavalry officer to your table?"

"I would be honored." She replied, curtsying in return.

When they were seated and had their wine in front of them, Kate tried and failed to glare at Castle. "You've been here before."

"Sure. Lots of times."

"And you didn't tell me."

"I like surprises."

"No, you like to surprise people. You don't like it so much when you're surprised."

He wiggled an eyebrow at her. "I think we've both been happily surprised."

Kate thought about all the times she had been here with her family. Surely one of them would have noticed the author Richard Castle, and Alexis would have been pretty hard to miss, even as a little girl. "Did you ever come here when I might have been here?"

He shook his head. "No. Alexis learned about this place from one of her friends when she was about ten, well after you stopped coming here." Castle looked at her seriously, then said, "Maybe I could being Alexis here sometime and you could bring your dad?"

"Maybe." She said, noncommittally. Was Castle asking her out?

When the menus arrived, Kate was surprised and pleased at how they seemed to like the same things.

"The potato soup is great and so is the goulash. But you know that, right?" Rick said.

She smiled and nodded. "The Hungarian meat loaf is great, and the eggs inside are a nice touch."

"So are the stuffed peppers, but the casino eggs are good, too."

In the end, they ordered entirely different foods, but promised to share.

When the meal was over, Castle smiled at Kate. "How was the surprise?"

"Very good. I'm glad we did this."

Kate was interrupted by Grandpa Kovacs, who walked over and bowed stiffly to her. "Princess Katherine, may I gave this dance?"

As soon as Kate stood and took his hand, a waltz started playing.

"Strauss?" She asked.

"But of course." Grandpa replied.

Castle watched as Grandpa danced as best he could with Kate. He must be over ninety. Castle thought. Then he saw Grandpa motion to him to cut in.

"May I cut in?" He asked.

Grandpa was starting to get red in the face and breathe heavily. "Yes, of course." He turned to Kate. "Princess Katherine, this dashing hussar wishes to dance with you."

"My pleasure." She said.

Rick took her in his arms and danced. "You're a good dancer, Princess."

"I have many secrets, Castle. You'll never learn them all." She said quietly.

"You never can tell."

The dinner and dancing over, Castle drove them back to the city. Before long, Kate rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

"Hey, sleepyhead." He whispered in her ear. "Time to wake up."

Kate opened her eyes to find them parked in front of her building. Castle got out of the car and opened the door for her, then walked her to her door.

"So you had a good time?" He asked.

"I did. And you?"

"I'm afraid your nefarious plot failed. I had a great time."

She leaned up and brushed her lips against his. "Maybe I'll have better luck next time." She said, turned and went into her apartment.

"Next time?" Castle said to himself.