Qu'elles Durent Toujours

Prompt: "Beckett catches a cold and Castle tries to convince her to go home. Maybe set Season 4 before they are together."

"You know, I'm really getting tired of saying 'bless you' today. I think I'm going to start thinking of other things to say when you sneeze. Gesundheit," Castle added, chuckling as Beckett sneezed for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

She shot him a look as she reached for a tissue. "Don't make me hurt you, Castle," she muttered as she raised the tissue to her nose.

From the moment she'd walked into the precinct that morning, he could tell that she wasn't feeling well, and as the day had gone on, she'd gotten progressively worse. The sneezes had become more frequent, and over the past hour, she'd begun coughing as well. Castle was beginning to wonder if it was more than just a simple cold, like she'd been insisting. He'd suggested that she go home multiple times, but each request was met with either a glare or a perfunctory "I'm fine, Castle."

He knew she wasn't fine, but she'd never admit it to him.

She bent down to throw the tissue into the trash can under her desk, which was almost overflowing with the day's offerings. When she sat back up, he noticed how red her nose and cheeks were. Her eyes were watery, and bags were beginning to form under them. She looked miserable.

"Beckett… you really should go home," he tried, knowing she'd probably ignore his advice again.

"Castle, it's only 3:00," she sighed. "And we still have to interview Mr. Stearns, not to mention following up with the victim's… wife… achoo!" she sneezed.

"Live long and prosper," Castle grinned, pulling a tissue from the box on her desk and handing it to her. "Really, Beckett, do you think you're going to be able to interview Stearns? You can hardly get two sentences out without coughing or sneezing as it is."

Beckett sighed. "You're right. I know," she consented. "But it's my case. I can't just drop it because I'm kind of sick."

"Kind of sick?" Castle asked, his eyebrows raised.

She looked at him, shaking her head slowly. "Okay, I'm sick," she agreed. "But Castle, I can't just go home now and abandon this case. We caught a murder, just yesterday. The family is counting on us. And if we don't interview Mr. Stearns now, we may not get the chance again. If he's really the one who did it, he'll run as soon as he gets out of here." She coughed, then pressed a hand to her chest, a pained expression on her face as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Beckett," Castle said, concerned, leaning in toward her. "Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, her hand remaining on her chest. "Yeah," she whispered. "Coughing… it made my scar pull."

Castle nodded, understanding. She'd been shot only eight months previously, and much as she liked to pretend that she'd fully recovered, he knew she hadn't. She'd been more open with him about her pain over the past couple of months, though. Ever since he'd witnessed a couple of PTSD-induced breakdowns during their case involving the sniper, she'd been more honest with Castle, admitting when she was hurting more readily than she had before. He loved that she was letting him in, and he was hopeful that the walls she'd built up around her heart would crumble soon.

A sneeze brought him out of his thoughts. "Kihe, a mauli ola," Castle grinned.

Kate sniffed, looking up at him. "What?" she asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"That's what Hawaiians say when someone sneezes," he answered simply. "It means 'Sneeze, and you shall live.'"

She shook her head slowly. "Stop annoying me, and you shall live," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Come on. Let's go interview Mr. Stearns." She stood up, motioning for him to follow, and they walked to the interview room, where Stearns sat waiting.

Twenty minutes later, they exited the room, victorious. The man had cracked under the pressure, admitting to having killed their victim. Amazingly, Kate had managed to make it through the interrogation without sneezing or coughing once, but as soon as they were back in the bullpen, the sneezes started again.

"À tes souhaits… à tes amours… qu'elles durent toujours," Castle spoke, adding a new phrase after each sneeze.

Kate wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "French?" she murmured.

"Oui," Castle answered, following her to her desk. "After the first sneeze, the French say, 'To your wishes.' After the second, 'To your loves.' And if there's a third sneeze, they add, 'That they may last forever.'"

He stopped beside the desk and pulled a tissue from its box, handing it to her. She took it, looking at him, and hoped that she wouldn't be able to read his thoughts from his expression. Although that truly was French sneeze etiquette, he really did wish those things for Beckett. Because…

Well, because he loved her.

A glimmer of recognition flashed through her eyes as she looked into his. She opened her mouth slightly, breathing in slowly.

"Castle… I…" she started.

Before she could finish, she was suddenly overwhelmed with a violent coughing fit. Her hand flew to her chest again, and she gasped, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Beckett," he said gently, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder. "You need to go home."

She jumped— his touch had apparently startled her— and she opened her eyes slowly, raising them up to meet his.

"But the victim's wife…" she started, her voice raspy.

"Ryan and Esposito can take care of that," Castle said. "You need to take care of yourself."

Her eyes stayed locked with his for a moment before she lowered them, sighing. "Okay," she said quietly. "Let me go talk to Gates, and then I'll go home."

Castle moved his hand off of her shoulder. "Want me to bring you anything tonight? Food? Medicine?"

Beckett shook her head. "I'll be fine. Thank you, though," she said, grinning as she walked toward the captain's office.

He showed up at her apartment three hours later, a pot of soup and homemade biscuits in his hands. She answered the door wearing a purple T shirt and pajama pants. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and she'd scrubbed the makeup from her face. She looked exhausted, but couldn't keep the grin from appearing on her face when she saw him standing there.

"You can come in on one condition," she said when she opened the door. "You don't say a word when I sneeze."

Castle grinned. "Deal."