A/N: I honestly had no intention of writing another chapter for this, but what can I say? You guys can be very persuasive. Thank you so much for all your support!
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Of Diners and Cold New York Nights
Chapter 3
The first thing Kate was aware of the next morning was that her back hurt. Then she realized she was sleeping on the floor for some reason, after touching the wooden surface beneath her. Why the hell was she sleeping on the floor when she had a perfectly comfortable (and big) bed in her room was a fact that was completely baffling to her at that moment, when sleep was still holding onto her tightly.
The next thing she became aware of was that sleep was not the only thing holding her, for she could feel warmth surrounding her and something was definitely weighing down on her chest. Opening her eyes – because curiosity finally won out – she first focused on the sheet that seemed to be serving as a ceiling.
Hm. Interesting.
Wait, why was there a sheet serving as ceiling?
A movement in the general direction of her chest followed by what sounded like a light snore distracted her from her inquiring thoughts and she looked down. The sight of brown hair sticking out in every direction met her eyes and she frowned, confused. Then realization dawned on her.
Castle.
Sleeping on her.
Wrapped around her, really.
Wow.
Another light snore escaped her writer and she smiled involuntarily. A hand moved out of its own accord and the next thing she knew, she was running her hand through his hair gently. Her touch seemed to stir him from sleep as she felt him move and tighten his hold on her. She waited patiently for him to wake up fully and felt a smile tugging her lips upward when he finally turned his head to look at her.
He blinked sleepily at her, frowning at first as if he couldn't decide if she was real or not, but soon smiled back.
"Hi." He croaked out and she pushed his hair away from his forehead.
"Hi." She answered, her voice soft, as she continued to run her fingers through his hair gently. He rested his head on her chest again and sighed contentedly.
"What time is it?" he asked after a few minutes in silence.
She stretched her body (as much as she could with Castle sprawled on top of her, that is) and brought her wrist up to check her watch.
"A little over 8." She said, rubbing her eyes sleepily, and yawned.
"Want to sleep some more?" Castle asked equally sleepily.
"Mhmm." It was all she could muster up the strength to reply.
She felt Castle moving around and she missed his warmth immediately when he moved away for a moment. Then suddenly, his arm was around her again and his face was now hidden in the crook of her neck. His lips pressed against her skin in a light caress and a sigh escaped her lips.
"Thank god it wasn't a dream." She heard him mumbling against her neck and chuckled, amused.
"I told you it wasn't, but you never listen to me." She teased him and gasped when he started sucking on her pulse point.
"I know. You were so right." He murmured and continued showering her skin with butterfly kisses.
She turned to her side and pulled him closer to her until their bodies were pressed against one another, legs intertwined.
"I'm always right, Castle." She told him jokingly before pressing her lips to his.
Just like the night before, an inferno seemed to engulf them. They kissed fiercely for a few minutes, tongues, lips and teeth battling. She let it go on until she was on the verge of losing control, but the fact that Tommy was still in the apartment made her slow things down. She did not want a repeat of last night.
"Is he awake?" He asked, still a little breathless. She leaned in and kissed him lightly.
"No idea." She sighed and relaxed with her head on his shoulder, her fingers tracing patterns on his back absentmindedly.
"Should we go check on him?" he kissed her forehead, his lips lingering on her skin. It felt like there was a magnetic force constantly pulling them together and it was useless to fight it.
"Hmm, just a few more minutes." She snuggled closer to him, kissed his shoulder softly.
"Alright." He yawned, his arm tightening around her.
Soon they were both asleep.
"Aunt Kate?"
She heard a child's voice calling her, but it sounded so far away. Maybe if she ignored it, it would eventually go away.
"Aunt Kate?"
This time the voice sounded like it was closer and she felt small hands shaking her shoulder. Opening her eyes groggily, it took her a few seconds to focus on the little boy kneeling down next to her. His hair was a complete mess and he was rubbing his eyes sleepily. For a moment, she allowed herself to wonder if that's what life was like when you were a mother. Would her child do that as well? Did all kids do that to their parents? She couldn't remember if she had when she was little.
"Are you awake, Aunt Kate?" His voice now carried a layer of impatience now.
"Tommy. Hi, sweetie." She reached up and brushed his hair away from his forehead. "Did you sleep well?"
He nodded and she patted the space next to her for him to lie down. He immediately followed her instructions, his head resting on her shoulder.
"Have you been up long?" she asked quietly so not to wake Castle, who was still sleeping soundly with his arm around her waist. Tommy shook his head.
"I wanted to watch cartoons, but I wasn't sure if I could." He explained with a shrug and Kate smiled.
"Of course you can, buddy." She stretched her body lazily and felt Castle's hold on her tighten. Touching his hand lightly to reassure him that she was still there, she turned back to the child next to her. "Do you want any breakfast?"
"Yeah." He nodded and snuggled closer to her with a yawn.
"Do you want to sleep a little bit longer?" she asked with a smile as she watched his eyes droop.
"Can I stay here in the fort?" he asked sleepily and Kate nodded, placing a kiss on his messy hair.
"I'll come get you when breakfast is ready." She told him, but he was already out.
With a sigh, she decided to get a move on and try to find something to feed the kid with. She was almost sure that there was nothing breakfast wise in her fridge, though. Whatever, she would just go down to the grocery store and buy a few things. Were they already open?
Sitting up, she checked her watch. It was 9:15. Maybe she could just run to that little café down the street and get him a hot chocolate and a few pastries.
"Kate?" she heard Rick calling behind her and turned around. "Where are you going?" he asked groggily, his eyes barely open.
"I'm getting us breakfast. Go back to sleep." She leaned down and kissed his lips lightly. "Tommy is here." She murmured against his lips when he tried to deepen the kiss. "You guys sleep. I'll be back soon."
"Are you sure?" he pulled her down for another brief kiss and she smiled.
"Yeah. You boys stay here. Anything specific I can get you?" she asked as she made her way out of the fort and looked back at him.
"Coffee." He yawned and she chuckled.
"Alright, sleepyhead. I'll be right back."
Standing up, she looked around the living room for her shoes for a moment, locating them near the door. Quickly slipping on the pair of flat boots – yes, she did own shoes without heels – she grabbed her keys and her purse and went back to the couch to grab her coat.
Just as she was zipping up her coat, someone knocked on her door. Frowning, she made her way to the door, wondering who it could possibly be out there on a Saturday morning. When she looked through the peephole, she remembered.
Lanie.
Shit.
They were supposed to have breakfast together today. Damn it. She completely forgot.
Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for the endless questions that were sure to be fired her way as soon as her friend found out that Castle had slept over.
"Hey, girl. Thought you were still sleeping for a second there." Lanie teased as soon as Kate opened the door. "Ready to go?"
"Uh, Lanie, about today…" she started, but Lanie interrupted her.
"Oh, don't tell me you forgot."
"Kind of. And I'm babysitting for Maddie. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot we had plans." She apologized sheepishly.
"Well, how long is the kid staying here for?"
"Maddie is picking him up some time this morning, so I can't really go anywhere until then." She explained.
"How come are you all dressed to go out then?" Lanie asked confused, gesturing to Kate's coat and boots.
"Oh, I was going to go get us some breakfast. I have nothing to feed a 5-year-old here." She explained, praying that her friend would leave it at that.
"And you were leaving the little tyke by himself?"
Shit. Now how was she supposed to get out of this one without telling her that Castle was sleeping inside the fort that was currently taking up a third of her living room?
"Not really?" she said, but it came out almost as a question. Then with a sigh, she told her the truth. "Castle is in there with him. I'd never leave a little kid alone in my apartment, Lanie. I'm not that clueless."
"Really?" A wide, knowing grin spread on Lanie's face and Kate willed herself not to blush and give everything away. "And just what exactly is Castle doing here on a Saturday morning, my dear Detective Beckett?" she asked, a teasing tone to her voice.
"Can we put the interrogation on hold for now, Lane? I really have to go buy something for the kid to eat." She let out a breath, hoping Lanie would just take a hint for once and not push for more information.
"But, Kate, this definitely ranks as high priority on my list. We can do both, come on." Kate rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her. "Castle in your apartment on a Saturday?"
"He is my friend, you know. We do hang out outside of work." She told her, exasperated.
"Really? That's news to me."
Kate could see the mischievous glint in her friend's eyes and sighed. There was no getting out of the third degree this time. Damn it.
"He came over last night and helped me out with Tommy. Then it was too late for him to drive home, so he crashed here. In the living room." Kate explained slowly as if she was talking to a small child.
"And that's it?" Lanie sounded disappointed and Kate willed herself with all her might not to blush.
"Yup. Sorry to disappoint you, Lanie." She offered her friend a grin.
"You guys are no fun."
They stepped into the elevator and Kate sighed in relief. Crisis number one averted.
When they returned to Kate's apartment carrying coffee trays and a package with pastries, Castle was still asleep. Tommy, on the other hand, was lying down on the floor, by the entrance of the massive fort they had built the night before, watching cartoons.
"Hi, Aunt Kate." He waved at her and turned his attention back to the television in front of him.
"Hi, sweetie. Where's Rick?" she asked and Tommy pointed to the fort. "He's still sleeping? Seriously?" The boy nodded and Kate shook her head. He was incorrigible. "Hey, Tommy? My friend Lanie here has some breakfast for you. Why don't you go get it?" she suggested and Tommy ran to the kitchen.
After making sure Lanie was distracted with the boy, Kate entered the fort and poked Castle's side gently.
"Five more minutes." He mumbled and she smiled, shaking her head again.
"Rick." She shook his shoulder and he finally opened his eyes to look at her.
"Oh, hi." He immediately smiled when he realized it was her there with him. "Morning." He whispered and pulled her down for a kiss.
"Lanie is here, Rick. We can't do this right now." She told him after giving him a quick kiss.
"Seriously?" he groaned and she nodded, touching his stubbly cheek. "This sucks. Who invited her?" he pouted and she chuckled.
"I forgot I had plans with her today. By the way, I told her you slept here, but that absolutely nothing happened." She told him and he nodded. "I just wanted to keep this between us for now. Is that okay?" she asked, unsure of his reaction.
"As long as I get to be with you, I'm okay with anything." He whispered and kissed her palm.
"Why, Mr. Castle, I never pegged you for a romantic." She teased him and he pulled her down for another kiss, this time taking her breath away.
"You haven't seen anything yet, Detective." He said huskily and kissed her again.
"Guys, breakfast is ready." Lanie's voice made them jump apart as if they had been burned.
"We'll be right there, Lanie." She called out and pulled him to a sitting position. "Come on, Writer Boy. Don't give us away." She narrowed his eyes at him and he leaned in, pressing a kiss to her jaw.
"Don't worry. I can be very convincing." He promised her and crawled out of the fort. "That was a pretty cool fort we built, Tommy." He told the boy, who was sitting on the floor drinking his hot chocolate, eyes glued to the screen in front of him.
"Yeah, it's awesome. Can we do it again some other time, Rick?"
"Sure, if that's alright with your Aunt Kate. You gotta ask her." Rick told him and pointed at Kate, who was making her way to the kitchen.
"Aunt Kate?" he asked hopefully.
"As long as you boys put everything back where it belongs, go ahead." She told them, her eyes locking with Rick's across the room. He smiled at her and she smiled back involuntarily. He seemed to have that effect on her.
"Thanks, Aunt Kate. You're the best." Tommy called out from his spot in front of the TV and Kate chuckled.
"Looks like you've got a fan there, Kate." Lanie teased her and Kate rolled her eyes.
"She was great with him last night. You should've seen her." Rick said and sat down at the kitchen table. Kate handed him his coffee. He smiled at her and winked. "Good morning, Dr. Parish."
"Good morning, Mr. Castle." Lanie answered in the same teasing tone. "Care to share what brings you here this fine Saturday morning?"
"The little one over there." He pointed at the kid behind him. "Kate said she didn't know anything about kids, but she was totally better than me." He grinned and took a sip of his coffee, moaning a little as the caffeine hit his system.
"Really? And what did you guys do?" she asked, mischief lacing her voice.
"We went out to eat. Rick took us to this diner and they had the best burger in the world." Tommy explained, suddenly appearing behind Kate. "Can I have one of those, Aunt Kate?" he asked, pointing at one of the croissants.
"Go ahead, sweetie." She handed him the croissant and he smiled his thanks.
"What else did you guys do last night, Tommy?" Lanie asked innocently and Kate looked at Rick, worried.
"I fell asleep on the way back. When I woke up again, I was thirsty so I asked Aunt Kate for some water. And then Rick and me built the fort." He told Lanie excitedly.
"Did you have fun?" she asked him and he nodded happily, chewing his breakfast.
"I even got to sleep in the fort for a little while today." He added after swallowing. "Rick and Aunt Kate were already sleeping in there and then Aunt Kate let me stay there with them."
"That's really nice, sweetie." Lanie told him, apparently satisfied with his answers.
"I'm going to tell Jamie about this fort so we can build one like that in her house." He turned to Rick.
"I'm sure she's going to think it's really cool." Rick told him and ruffled his hair.
"Who's Jamie? Girlfriend?" Lanie nudged his side and he laughed.
"No, she's my best friend. Just like Aunt Kate and Rick." He explained and Lanie nodded, stealing a glance at Kate, who was busy eating a croissant. "But we don't kiss like they do. It must be a grown up thing, right, Rick?" Tommy turned to Rick, who was looking back at him, eyes wide.
Kate almost choked on her coffee and the hot liquid burned down her throat.
"Yeah, it's a grown up thing, little man." He told him and stood up. "How about we start cleaning up the mess we made last night? Your mom will be here soon." He led the boy back to the living room and turned back to Kate, who was glaring at him. He shrugged apologetically.
Lanie laughed at the silent exchange between the two and turned to her best friend.
"I totally knew that what you told me before was total bullshit, Kate Beckett. You can't lie to save your life, girl."
Damn it.
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think?