Title: The Best Kind of Hangover- Walking and Wondering with Castle
Rating: M
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Disclaimer: When I want something to take worry away / I see what Marlowe's work has to say. / Every season is perfect the way that it is. / And to take credit is to steal what's rightfully his.
Author's Note: I'm ready. I'm ready to write. Yes. You betcha, I am ready…

Beckett: Psyching yourself up again, huh?
Me: Have to I haven't written in months. Remind me not to keep playing catch-up with myself, ok?
Beckett: Well, what's the alternative? Have Castle write your fiction chapters for you?
Me: Do you really want that? He'd turn the whole shebang into one of those Fifty Shades of Gray things, and then I'll never hear the end of it.
Castle: …You do realize I'm standing RIGHT HERE IN THE ROOM, right?
Me: Castle, you KNOW you'd turn my fiction into smut. It's you and Beckett. Think about that for a moment.
Castle: *thinks and grins* yeah… oh yeah… YEAH.
Beckett: Really?

Would these two get out of my head? Oh wait, maybe not such a good idea since this fiction is about them, and I would have nothing to write. Oh darn.

I gave myself a hiatus because I got blocked. Sorry about that… Writing a section every day, coupled with learning how to do my new job at work was hectic. I had to focus on one or the other, and unfortunately, this had to take a backseat for a bit. But, I'm back, and here's the next bit. If you'd like to review, please do so. If you'd like to criticize, then please let it be constructive, not a bash. I'd really like that. Thanks, guys!

Springing Castle from the slammer was nothing. Gina dug up the dirt she needed and did the legwork, but Beckett got the benefits. And what benefits there were: hand in hand, she clung to Castle's magnetic side, laughing at his jokes, blushing at his flirtations, and watching him make an utter fool of himself with every chance he could. But the kind of fool he made was the kind of fool she wanted to be, a fool who, for all intensive purposes, was in love and in it for the long haul.

He never whispered it to her in the moments they had been alone, not in his voice, but in his eyes. She knew, knew probably more than he did, that he wasn't playing. The long, slow, moment by moment courtship that she knew had occurred throughout the four years they'd known each other poked her in the ribs and teased her with that promise. The sidelong glances, the cups of coffee, their trademark "always" after affirming, reaffirming, and re-reaffirming their tested and true commitment to each other in every shape and form… that wasn't something to scoff at. It wasn't something to play with, and she didn't take that for granted. All through her life, she'd cycle men in and out of her life like the changing of the seasons. They came, did their time, and parted ways, staying long enough for her to get used to them until they left for one reason or another. She was too guarded, he was too irresponsible, something didn't work, the results were always the same regardless of the situation or excuse. But Rick was not a seasonal trend, warming or cooling off whenever she least expected it. He exuded warmth every step of the way, a constant summer with more heat and passion than she originally thought was possible to feel.

But with the weather came the rain. And the sleet. And the snow. Lightning and thunder, hail and tornadoes. There would be storms. There were always storms, and the one eating her up in the back of her mind was named Nikki Heat. Where would she be, now that her inspiration chucked her badge and her gun for the arms of her creator? If Castle wasn't chasing after her anymore… Would there be a Nikki Heat at all?

An inconsistent nibbling gave her a little bit of pause after every chuckle, a slight downturn of her lips that prevented her smile from reaching from ear to ear. It shone as a dulling haze to her glittering eyes, and placed a slight halter in her step, so badly so that when Alexis snapped up the opportunity to grab a delectable from the local hotdog vender at her father's expense, Castle wrapped his arms around Kate's shoulders and nuzzled her hair with the slightest of kisses. "What's wrong?"

"Hmmm?"

"You've been walking arm and arm with me for the last block and a half, and all you've said to me was something about the weather."

"I'm just… distracted. I'm sorry, Castle. My head's a million miles away."

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that." He hugged her. "You want me to help you find a landing pad?"

Kate sighed. Why not? He could see right through her anyway. "I'm thinking about my job. Or ex-job. I don't know if I want to go back."

Castle paused. "Well, do you want to go back? I mean, I could kidnap you from the rest of the world, and we could travel. Go to the Hamptons on vacation, or see Paris in the moonlight. I've always wanted to see the leaning tower of Pisa, if only to wonder if it was Pisa or really Pizza. Pizza makes more sense to me, for some reason."

"Italy would be nice… but what about life here? Wouldn't you miss New York?"

"Ah, my mistress." She raised an eyebrow and he gave her a half-hearted smile. "Well, second mistress. The one that doesn't look hot in some classy lingerie."

"Wouldn't you miss it?"

He looked down into her hazel eyes and smiled. "Miss the magic, the mayhem, the murder? Yeah. But I've got more than enough right here, with you."

"Oh really?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, this city is a disaster waiting to happen. There's always a murder not more than five minutes away. But for all it's worth, this city means nothing to me without you in it."

She loved it when he said things like that. "'Home is where the heart is', huh?"

"Something like that. I could see a hundred crime scenes, catch a hundred bad guys, and that wouldn't do anything for me but make me lonely for you. We met because of this city's stupid crime rate. I'd hate to lower it without your help, your expertise, and giving you the credit."

"So, what of Nikki Heat? Where does she go from here?"

"Nikki? What, are you worried that I'm going to have writer's block now that we're not catching criminals?"

"I don't want to be the reason why you suddenly can't even sell magazine articles, let alone the next chapter of your most famous series."

Castle shook his head. "I told my mother once that it wasn't about the books anymore, and I meant it. I can find something else to write about; that's always an option. But, I'd like to think that Nikki will have a few more adventures up her sleeve. She always has a habit of surprising me, and she always ends up going in a different direction than what I'd planned."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I wanted to kill her off after the first book, but hey…"

Kate punched him in the ribs and he chortled. "Wise guy."

"Yeah. But you love me."

And she did. There was no denying that.