SEVEN

Kate clings tight to the supportive hand that Castle holds out for her as she tentatively sinks her aching bones into the blissful warmth of his bathtub, filled to the very top with bubbles of velvet and vanilla salts that tickle across her tired skin, the last remnants of fever and flu dissipating entirely as her feet find their familiar resting place between the brass taps.

She pulls herself forwards, expecting Castle to join her amidst the bubbles, but his hands are hesitant in letting her go of her own, as if he is afraid to do so. But he doesn't need to be scared, not anymore; she's not the person who she used to be, he has made her so much more.
Squeezing tight to Castle's strong, ink stained hands, she offers him a silent promise of certainty; he doesn't have to worry, she isn't going anywhere. Any lingering concerns that she had held over staying at home with Castle had been vanquished by his love; every thought, every movement, every breath that he took designed only to care for her, to keep her safe, and she feels utterly foolish to have even thought of going to work today. This is where she needs to be, where she wants to be, wrapped in the warmth of her beautiful lover and his kindness that knows no bounds.

"Care to join me?" she asks, voice light and playful, easing the strain of uncertainty that had twisted itself around his heart.

His smile, bright and bold and loving, is all the reply that Kate needs; his doubts are gone, soothed by the simple truth – she is his, always.

And with carefree laughter that reverberates throughout the steamed room, Castle discards his boxers and sends water spilling over in every direction, his arms eagerly pulling her to his chest as they settle back against the tub, both forgetting the world outside entirely.

Turning towards her as he adds the finishing touches to their breakfast, it seems almost impossible to Castle that only the night before Kate had been a fragile whisper of her true self, wracked with sickness and weighted with exhaustion as she had curled into his arms and begged for it all to stop, so small, so vulnerable.
Because now she sits atop the kitchen counter as if it were any other morning that they have spent together, hair a tantalising mess of just-washed curls and legs bare beneath another borrowed shirt, swinging absentmindedly as she tunes his radio to her favourite station. She is beautiful, perfect, and he intends to savour every moment of their day together; it is his chance to spoil her, to look after her in the silly little domesticated ways that he has always longed to, and that isn't something that he is willing to let slip through his fingers.

Plates in hand, he waits for Kate to shimmy down from her place on the worktop, leading them over to the kitchen island, "Breakfast, Milady."

"Why, thank you, kind sir." she replies, eyes dancing bright and voice lilted with mischief.

They sink into easy conversation as Kate pours the coffee and Castle piles both of their plates high with his time honoured feast of 'feeling better' goodies; a special breakfast treat that came about in much the same way as his magic soup.

Passing Kate her expertly assembled plate, he cannot help the smirk that tugs at his lips as he waits for her response.

"Castle?"

"Mmm 'hum?" he mumbles, playing oblivious to the question that she is sure to ask.

"Why do all of my pancakes have a smiley face?"

Oh, there it is! Along with her adorable little frown of confusion that he has loved from their very first meeting. "Because, my dear Detective, these aren't just any pancakes. These are emergency, only to be eaten in times of great need, cheer you up pancakes!"

She's smiling up at him now, waiting for another beautiful glimpse into his life before the 12th, wanting to know all that he is ready to share. "Another Castle family invention?"

"Alexis' first day of school," his voice is wistful as he relays the story that has so often played through his mind, transported back to a cold, September morning of tears and waving his little pumpkin goodbye for the first time, "we had both needed a little happiness to see us through the day. Somehow we ended up with smiley face pancakes and strawberry milkshakes for breakfast, much to my Mother's discouragement, but it was a tradition that stuck with us; whenever we had an awful day, or had our hearts broken, or had been feeling poorly, our smiley face pancakes were there to offer us both a little joy. "

The space between them is almost nonexistent as Castle finishes his story, fingers softly interlocked and skin tingled by the heated whisper of Kate's lips as they dance teasingly close to his own; but her eyes don't read flirtation and silliness, they burn with love, with gratitude, with how truly honoured she feels to be allowed such intimate access to his heart, to be a part of his whole life. "We're both very lucky to have such a wonderful man to look after us."

"Oh no, I am most definitely the lucky one." he breathes, closing the distance between them completely, lips deliciously warm with coffee as they draw each other further into the magic of their kiss.

Once they are finished with their languid hours of breakfast delights, stealing strawberries off of each others' plates between chaste kisses and sips of sweet coffee, Castle takes Kate's hand in his own once again and leads her back through to his makeshift cinema. The sofa is seemingly moulded to the now familiar shape of their bodies as they sink into its cushions, limbs tangled together beneath patchwork blankets as they settle in for his promised Temptation Lane marathon.

For the past few hours she has been completely under the spell of her favourite memories, transported back to the comforting embrace of her Mum and the years old episodes that she can quote almost word-for-word, but as the credits to the final episode of season one roll across the screen Kate can feel the intention with which Castle is watching her; ocean eyes dark in the golden light and misted with a desire that she knows well.
Allowing the television to play out to itself, she turns so that she is facing him properly, fingers reaching up without even realising to lovingly smooth the wayward hair that had fallen haphazardly over his forehead. Stalling her fingers as they map a journey of the soft skin that lines his strong, sculptured jaw, Castle speaks with a sigh, his voice a quiver of seduction that fills the early evening air, "I love you."

Responding to Castle's heartfelt words with lips that ached for his kiss, Kate can see their entire lives spreading out before them; beautiful days of love, of happiness, of not being afraid or embarrassed to hide away in the comforting embrace of Richard Castle. He is her future, her life, and in that moment she vows to never stop in her quest to show him just how grateful she is for all that he has done to take care of her; not just over the past two days, but during every single second that they have known each other.
Starting with tonight, with four little syllables of love and trust and all that she is unable to find the words to say, "Let's go to bed."

End.

There we have it ..the end of my little story!
I will leave you to fill in the details of "Let's go to bed" as I have never been able to write anything past kisses.

I hope that you enjoyed the last chapter? ..Please do let me know what you thought.

Just before I go, I would like to thank you all so much for reading this. I have honestly been blown away with your response to this story *in the most wonderful way possible.*
And, of course, an extra-special thank you to Beth (look for dont-give-up-ily on tumblr) who sent me the idea for this fic. It has been a pleasure to write this for you, and I hope that you like the (finally) finished story.

Until next time,
Katie

Twitter: katieupatree