Prompt: Hi. I have a prompt for you: Kate gets a hit from the suspect and has a concussion. Castle takes her home and has to take care of her while she is lightheaded, dizzy and nauseous. In the end they snuggle together on the couch and she falls asleep so Castle carries her to bed. Thanks ️

Here you go! I hope you enjoy it, anon.

This was the second time Castle had rounded the corner of a hotel to find Kate unconscious on the floor, and that was entirely too many. He thought that his heart would find some peace with his wife as captain, but if the last nine months were anything to go by, he was very wrong.

She had come with the boys to canvas the seemingly abandoned hotel when she got bored with a slow day at the precinct. He had heard her hit the wall from the adjacent hallway and flew to her. She was only out for the few seconds it took for him to get to her, but it was enough to scare the living daylights out of him.

Ryan and Espo had managed to apprehend their suspect and call for a bus, but he only had eyes for Kate. Her eyes were open when he fell on his knees before her, but they were fogged over and he could tell she couldn't quite get a handle on where she was.

"Kate. Hey, Kate, hon, look at me." He breathed a sigh of relief when she cringed slightly at the use of a sweet nickname in a work setting.

"No, no, don't try to get up." He said as she struggled to her elbows."Just give it a minute, Espo has a bus coming."

"I'm fine, Castle." She grit out and gave him a backoff glare. He held his hands up in mock surrender, but he couldn't resist the hand that caught her elbow and dragged her upward. He kept it there for as long as she would allow, seeing the dizziness still present in her eyes.

As soon as she could she was ordering around the uniforms and overseeing the scene. He could tell she was still feeling the effects of the fall. She could fool her inferiors with the mask she put on, but he knew her way too well to be fooled.

He hovered behind her, just far away enough to not get his head bitten off, but close enough to be there when she needed him. He couldn't pay attention to what she was saying or the crime scene being constructed around them, there was only one sound in his head.

He would never forget that sound, the sickening crack of his wife's head on the wall as she had been thrown back into. It replayed in his mind over and over, even long after the she had begrudgingly allowed the paramedics to check her out and she had given out final orders to the boys.

She had let him drive her home, that was the first clue that his wife was really in pain, he hadn't even had to insist, she just handed him the keys and climbed into the passenger seat. The paramedics said it was just a concussion, they weren't concerned enough to strap her down and force her to the hospital, just said that she needed to be watched and if things got too bad to bring her in.

She withered in her seat with every block. The hardened Captain Beckett exterior faded and Kate emerged. He chose to remain silent, simply let her rest her head on the cool window with a comforting hand on her knee.

She didn't even stir when he parked in the garage next to the loft. He got out and went around to her side. He opened her door carefully, after he was sure her head was no longer leaning on the window, but on the headrest.

"Hey Kate, you okay?" He said as he came to rest on his haunches outside her open door. She nodded, but instantly regretted it when a wave of nausea rolled over her. "I think we should get you to the hospital, just to be safe."

Her eyes flew open at that. "No. 'm good, Cassle." She slurred sleepily. He knew his wife hated hospitals, but he was becoming increasingly worried about her. It was clear that her head was swimming.

"Alright, we'll give it an hour, okay?" She seemed content with this and let her head droop again. "Kate? We're home, we gotta get you inside."

Her movements were sluggish and slow as she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. Her hand rested on the door for a few seconds longer than usual as she got her bearings. He put a hand on the small of her back to steady her as they made their way to the loft. She leaned on him heavily in the elevator, wrapping both of her arms around his bicep and resting her head on his shoulder.

Kate headed straight to the couch as soon as he had the door opened. He watched her curl up around a pillow before he went to work. The paramedics said no medicine until the morning, to decrease the risk of missing worsening symptoms, but he figured she could use something to eat. He cut up some fruit and made some toast for a light snack and fixed a glass of water for each of them. He brought the tray to the living room, before going back to the bedroom to find Kate's favorite furry throw. Whenever she had a rough day she would always wrap herself up in it.

Her head lifted when she felt the cushion dip beside her. She sat up and swiveled herself toward her husband, coming to curl up into his side with her head on his chest. He couldn't help but smile as he wrapped the throw around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Made you some fruit and toast. When was the last time you ate?" She let out a small grunt and buried her head further into his chest.

"Can't get you any medicine until the morning." Her grunt was a bit louder this time. He still couldn't get rid of the worried, nagging voice in his head that wanted to scoop her up and take her straight to the hospital. However, he had done some research on concussions when Alexis had an unfortunate soccer accident in grade school, so logically he knew that this was pretty normal.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked quietly, knowing that his question quota for the moment was fading.

"Already doing it, Castle" She replied, thankfully clearer than her speaking in the car. Some of his worry loosened and he smeared a kiss to her hair.

KBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBBK

He woke up about an hour later, his internal clock reminding him that she needed to be woken up to ensure she was still okay. He coaxed her awake gently. Running his fingers through her hair and speaking softly, sweet nothings into her ear.

Once her eyes opened she smiled up at him.

"Morning sunshine." He singsonged. That earned him another soft smile. She pushed herself up to sit by his side, but it was too fast. Her eyes were glassy, her face immediately went green, and she eased herself back onto the cushions. He pulled the metal trash can to bump with her legs just in case, before turning his attention back to Kate.

He ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it up off of her neck. When her eyes met his, and he was sure that she wouldn't be sick, he helped her out of the work jacket she was still in and handed her the glass of water he had made earlier.

She took a small sip to test it and after a few seconds drank a bit more. She huffed as a fork of cantaloupe made its way into her line of vision.

"Are you going to open up, or am I going to have to make airplane noises?" She glared at his joke, but a smile came right after it that she was either too tired or too dizzy to repress. He managed to get enough fruit in her to last a while before she refused.

Looking at his watch he decided it was past time for bed, they had a long night of waking up every hour ahead of them. Somehow he knew that she was not going to be okay with that.

"Time for bed, love." He said, but she just leaned heavier on him, clearly not wanting to test her legs after sitting up was too much for her. "Too tall for the couch, Beckett." He reminded her, but she still wasn't budging.

That was all the excuse he needed to scoop her up in his arms as he stood. He carried her as he would a small child, with her arms and legs wrapped around him. He always savored the moments when she let him take care of her. That was really all he wanted, to take care of her, to hold her close and never let go.

"I love you, Kate." He murmured into her hair as he stepped over the threshold of their bedroom, unable to hold the words in any longer. Desperate to make absolutely sure she never doubted them.

"Love you too, babe." She replied sleepily.

He deposited her on the bed and helped her out of her clothes. She rested back over the covers while he wet a washcloth for her in the bathroom, she was in no state to sufficiently wash her face so he did it for her. He threw the cloth across the room in the general direction of the hamper, unwilling to leave her side again.

"Get some rest, Kate, I'll call the boys and tell them to take care of things in the morning and get an update on the case." He said as he helped her slide under the covers and pull the duvet up over her shoulders.

She looked so young and innocent snuggled up under the covers, though he could do without the little wrinkle of pain on her forehead.

"I'll be right back." She caught him around the wrist before he could get very far.

"Hey, Castle?" She said, her eyes trained on his.

"Yeah." He whipped around, afraid he had missed something she needed.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"Always."

Fin.

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