Of early birds and Haley's comets

"God damn it...Shut up! I hate you birds. Please...just stop it." Kate Beckett was tossing and turning in her bed, finally pulling the pillow over her head. The glowing numbers of her digital alarm clock said 4:30 am, but the doves on Beckett's windowsill seemed hardly impressed of the early time.

Instead they were purring and cooing around in the early morning's darkness, all that at a stage of volume she would never have expected of these animals.

After another 30 minutes of silently praying and cursing st the same time, she finally gave in. She got up and went to take a shower.

If she started the day early, maybe she would be able to work a little until the killing heat of a New York City summer day would melt all their brains away.

Nobody else in the 12th seemed to have had this idea, since the rooms were deserted except for the night shift.

In the meantime the sun had risen and while listening to the familiar sounds of the coffee machine, Kate Beckett watched the gleaming roofs of the buildings around.

Today would be terribly hot.

As if that was not bad enough, the morning peace was over all of a sudden when a tornado came into the break room, swirling around Kate and finally stopping in front of her.

A tornado named Richard Castle.

"Beckett, Beckett, Beckett! Good you're already here, I..."

"Good morning, Castle. Have a nice day, too." Kate had to smile facing his excitement about what ever. "What's up?"

"You got some overtime left you can use?" Castle put his hands to his hips, shaking his hair back and looking at her. The smart author he was, a smirk on his lips, waiting for her answer.

The sunlight was shimmering in his hair.

Beckett needed a few seconds to pull her gaze from the image of him and focus.

"Why?" Her eyebrows came up.

"Because you got to go somewhere with me. Today, in the afternoon. Well, and tonight.

I mean, it will take a little while. So you need to skip afternoon hours, and then you'll need sturdy shoes, and long pants, and a warm pullover. That's most important, a pullover."

He looked at her for a moment, his face smooth in a puppy-ish way. "Please, Kate. It's important."

She suppressed a smile but had to admit he had made her curious...somehow. Warm clothes in New York - in July? So she shrugged.

"Okay. I'll see what I can do."

He was satisfied and turned to leave.

In the doorway he looked back at her.

"I promise, Beckett: You won't regret it." The he left.

She shook her head and looked at him from behind.

"Whatever, Mr. Castle, whatever."

Ryan and Esposito were cleaning their desks for lunch beak.

"Beckett, Castle, you coming with us? We're heading to Chino's."

Both shook their heads.

"No, I'm off now. Taking early weekend." They spoke as one, and for a second the four of them threatened to fall into an awkward silence, but then Castle kicked in.

"Ya know, guys: I gotta do some research for my new novel. I think I will let Nikki have some fun with a guy from work. But who should that be?"

The guys left for the elevator, laughing and jesting.

Kate watched them for a second, only wondering about what Castle was up to do with her. Her gaze fell upon her desk. A lonely note was glowing there.

"I'll pick you up at 3.

Don't forget the pullover.

RC."

They had been driving for about two hours and with every crossing they took a turn on, it seemed that Castle was up to leave civilization behind as far as he could.

When he finally stopped the car and they climbed out, it was standing on a small clearing in some forest Kate did not know.

She turned around a few times, looking in every direction but could not see anything but trees.

Well, and Castle, of course.

Castle, who was now grabbing for his backpack. Which was more than over-dimensional.

Kate did not even want to guess how heavy the monstrous item must have been.

"Catch!" he yelled in even this moment, and being thankful for her reflexes, Kate caught the bottle of insect repellant.

"You wanna go on a hike with me, Castle?" she asked, spraying herself generously.

The New Jersey mosquitoes might be small and silent, but they can sting like big ones.

"Well, we have to walk a little while, I think. But I hope you don't mind a little hike?" He smiled and shouldered his backpack, suppressing a sigh.

Kate thought for a second. "Why not?", she said then. Inside she was sending a short thank you up to heaven for havin taken the sneakers.

The sky was, as usual in July, already streaked with dark blue stripes who announced the coming night. The sun would not exactly be down for more than an hour, but in here, under the thick roof of leaves, the air was already getting comfortably fresh, pushing the sticky heat from the city out of their lungs.

"Let's go. This way", Castle started on a small path that soon disappeared in the thicket.

Kate pushed her way through the undergrowth, still wondering about how this man's brain might be working.

"Okay, Castle. Now you got to tell me why we are here. I've been waiting since the morning."

Richard turned and grinned shamelessly.

"Come on Beckett, it is way better not to know before. Trust me. Look, there are deer!" He pointed somewhere into the woods.

"Richard Castle, don't distract!"

He stood and looked at her. "Come on, I want it to be a surprise, okay?"

She made a quick step up to him and smacked him in the face.

"Ouch. How did I deserve THAT?"

She gave a wicked grin and showed her palm, which was smeared with the rests of some insect.

"Mosquito."

He looked at her in disbelief, but then a smile broke its way onto his lips.

"Come on, you crazy detective. A few miles, then we made it."

She followed him in silence.

Kate was almost startled when all of a sudden there was a wide clearing in front of them.

In the shadows of the trees, night had nearly completely fallen, but on the free ground before their eyes there were still the remains of daylight making the grass shine in gray and blue.

"There we are!", Castle announced and tromped up to the middle of the clearing, letting his huge backpack fall to the ground.

"Wonderful, Castle. And what is here?" Kate would never admit it, but she really was exhausted.

She had never expected that walking through the woods for what she guessed were 4 miles would be so strenuous.

She was just hoping that "it" would be worth it.

"Don't you hurry, Kate. Instead, will you be so kind to give me a hand in building a fire?" He smirked while opening his backpack.

"Well, that really has to be a big thing going on here", Kate murmured and made her way to pick some dry wood.

When she came back with an armful, Castle was already arranging some logs around a tiny little flame. Thankful he took what she brought and made the flame grow with some thinner, then thicker sticks, finally taking some of the logs and putting them up over the growing fire.

The flames instantly began to radiate a nice warmth.

Over the shining heat, Kate looked at Richard. His eyes were glowing, but not only from the fire. He was happy, that she could see.

When she let her gaze fall behind him, she finally saw why his backpack was that big.

He had thought about simply everything needed to spend one night in the woods.

"Tell me, Rick, are you doing things like this more often?" She pointed on the camping supplies and sleeping bags around him.

He smirked and cocked his head.

"Kate, what do you actually think I'd be doing when spending the entire summer in the Brampton's. Lying in my summer house?"

He placed himself on one of the sleeping bags, patting the ground next to him. "Sit down. You hungry?"

She gave a sigh and let herself fall next to him. "Starving."

Taking two longer twigs, Richard took out his knife and began sharpening the edges.

Kate slung her arms around her knees, alternating between watching him, the fire and the smooth dark walls of trees around them.

Except for the spit of the fire and the wind rippling softly through the trees, there was no sound.

"Wow", she whispered.

Then she felt him looking at her, sensing his gaze on her face.

"Here", he said softly and handed her one of the sticks. He nodded toward his bag. "There are sausages. Take one."

When she took the stick, their hands touched for a mere second, sending a shiver down her spine.

She felt her heart racing. This, the woods, the fire, him..it touched her more than she would have expected.

"This place is beautiful", she whispered.

"Just wait until it starts", he murmured close to her ear.

Wrapping his arm around her, he reached for the package of sausage next to her and took one.

They sat around the fire and listened to the crackling of the wood.

The world around kept on vanishing in the darkness while Kate and Richard were sitting there and talked, their eyes fixed on the dancing flames. She leaned in on his shoulder, a little, not more, and started to drift off. Almost.

All of a sudden, Richard started to shake her.

"Kate, come on, it's starting!"

He grabbed one of the sleeping bags and shoved her a few steps away from there fire, closer to the shadows of the trees.

Then he let himself fall flat on his back, pulling her down with him.

Then he pointed into the dark sky.

"There!"

A shooting star enlightened the black background, for merely a second, then it vanished.

But the sky did not stay dark for long. Soon, another star followed, seemingly falling from the sky.

"Halley's Comet", Richard whispered.

"One of a kind, every year." He looked at Kate, a peculiar shine glowing over his face.

But he was already pointing up again.

"There!" A few silver linings were simultaneously enlightening the black sky, leaving only darkness before the lightning started again.

Watching the overwhelming spectacle, Kate felt how her partner's excitement and happiness were transferred onto her.

She understood why he had brought her here:

Nobody inside the city lines of New York would catch a glimpse on these tonight. The city lights blocked the stars far out, the hectic traffic and glowing billboards would have stolen the magic.

Just the two of us. They grew silent for a few minutes, almost entranced by what they saw.

She then took Rick's hand and averted her gaze from the sky.

Hie eyes were glowing, not only from the shooting stars, when he looked at her and lightly squeezed her hand.

"Thank you", she whispered.

"You're welcome." His voice was not more than a breath.

They could feel their closeness when he put his other hand on her cheek.

They moved in the same moment and their lips met halfway.

They had kissed once before, but this...this was entirely different.

No dirty street, no urge to kick that stupid bouncer somewhere where the sun didn't shine.

In here there were only Kate, Rick and the falling stars above.

His lips were warm and smooth on hers and she felt a deep wish to be even closer to him. While he wrapped his hand around her neck she let hers run over his shoulders and back. She opened her lips a little and he accepted the invitation, invading her mouth with softness and the taste of smoke and him.

When they finally parted, gasping for air, they stared at each other, holding each other close under the streaks of lightning. His eyes were almost black and her lips felt hot and swollen.

It took only a second for them both to know what they wanted, then he pulled her closer again and again there was the taste of smoke on her lips when their tongues met in a wild dance.

His hands roamed over the small of her back down to her ass, pushing her into his body.

She gave a soft moan into the kiss and started to open the buttons of his shirt, eager to touch his skin. Their lips parted again and he took the opportunity to pull her pullover over her head, just to latch his lips on her collarbone, placing kisses all over her neck.

She moaned again, letting her hands roam over his upper body. He laid her down on her back and went on with his ministrations to her body, tasting her. More than once he took her hands off his belt when she tried to unbuckle it.

"Don't hurry. We got all the time in the world", he whispered.

Slowly he opener her bra and looked at her for a long moment, taking in the sight of her, laying in front if him in the moonlight, stars sparkling in her dark eyes, until she whimpered for his touch.

He leaned down and kissed her breasts, first one, then the other, nibbling on her nipples until her moans became even more urgent.

Her eyes were closed now and she did not know if the sparks she saw came from the sky or from her insides, but in the end she did not care.

She just stopped thinking and gave in to his touch. She lifted her lips to help him rid her of her pants and panties at once. Shivering in the cold night she waited for him to touch her and her hips bucked when his hot hands and hot mouth came down on her at once.

He took his time to kiss and touch every inch of her skin, licking that spot on her neck, tracing the edges of her nipples with his tongue, sending heat and cold through her entire body and causing her to whisper his name.

His lips then found a trail down her belly, stopping at her navel for a moment before wandering even deeper, while his hands massaged her breasts, torturing her by ignoring her nipples.

All she could do was to gasp for air and bury her hands in his oh so perfect hair when his lips finally found her most sensitive spot, nibbling and sucking and it did take only seconds until the firework in her exploded as he sent her over the edge.

"Rick", she moaned, opening her eyes to see him hovering over her, lovingly looking down on her heaving chest while she recovered.

He took her face in his hands and placed a sweet, tender kiss on her lips, making her taste herself and heat boiling in her again.

Now he did not stop her as she fumbled on his belt but helped her. He stiffened and closed his eyes as she closed her hand around his arousal, stroking it lightly.

He placed featherlight kisses on her neck and positioned himself at her entrance.

She lifted herself on her elbow, parting her legs to grant him better access and laying her hand on his cheek, looking him in the eyes.

Their lips met in a long, lingering kiss as he slowly slid into her until he was completely surrounded by her heat.

She moaned and her eyes fluttered at the sensation of being filled so completely.

He caressed her hair and kissed her again while he slowly started to move inside her.

She wrapped both her legs around him to pull him even deeper, placed both her hands on his back to pull him closer to her until his body covered hers completely while he gently thrust into her, causing them both to moan.

She managed to keep her eyes open wide enough to look at him.

"Rick", she moaned.

He understood and began to brush his lips over hers, then her neck, her collarbone and finally her breasts while speeding up his thrusts.

Supporting his weight with one hand he used the other one to slide it between them and caress her folds, all of the hot flesh between her thighs, causing her to whimper repeatedly before she gave a little sigh and let her head fall back when waves of pleasure hit her entire body and made her tremble. At that, he sped up even more, working her through her high and not stopping to caress all the skin his hands could reach until he followed her over the edge, his forehead pressing against hers.

With one last hard thrust, he came and she locked her feet behind his back to hold him close even when he collapsed on her, his arms limp and shaky, both of them gasping for air.

When she let go of him after a little while he spooned her with his warmth, pulling the edge of the sleeping bag over both of them and she snuggled into his body, feeling the urge to drift off behind her heavy eyes.

Rick caressed her damp hair and laced their fingers together.

"Kate?", he whispered. "I just want you to know, this is not... I mean, I did not intend this when I invited you..."

She gave a soft, sleepy smile.

"Neither did I, but..." Her soft giggle ebbed away as she drifted off into sleep, covered by his body at her back, his breath on her neck and post-coital bliss on her mind.

The dawn was breaking when she woke up, instinctively snuggling back into the warmth behind her. Slowly, the events from the night came back to her mind and all she could do was to sigh and lace her fingers into his as his hand was covering her belly.

She opened her eyes enough to get a look at the clearing.

Morning fog was hanging thick and white over the grass, covering everything with cool dew. But the sky was already showing a light blue with golden streaks, announcing another day of summer.

She wondered what had awoken her but was pulled out of her thoughts by movements at her back.

"Good morning", Rick whispered on her neck and placed a kiss on the area his breath had heated up.

"God, I love birds in the morning, don't you?"

He pulled her close while waiting for an answer, pressing featherlight kisses on her hair.

Kate listened to the faint chirping of birds in the trees around them.

It sounded like a sweet choral, sung only for the two of them.

"Me too", she whispered and gave a smile.

" Yes, me too."