It Was Just a Dream...

"Wake up, sweetheart, shhh...wake up..."

The sound of Rick's voice is a distant echo, but getting louder. As the smell of smoke from the blazing car swirls away into blackness, Castle's scent - a sweet musk that always reminds her of chocolate & Christmas - fills the air. The heat from the flames mellows into the warmth coming from his chest against her back, his breath against her ear, and his heavy muscled arm around her waist. Castle. He is alive, breathing next to her, and they are in his bed. His soft lips brush her temple.

"Kate, sweetheart...wake up."

Her heart rate is slowing down now. I t was just a dream...an awful, awful, nightmare... Still, her voice sounds strange to her when she speaks, shaky and scared like a little girl.

"I'm awake, Rick..."

"Was it the dream again?"

Kate nods and turns in his arms, he shifts onto his back so she can lay her cheek against his chest, her tears damping his skin as she splays her arm across his body. They are naked, having made love merely hours ago. Their wedding is only days away, but the brief idea they'd had to sleep separately the week before the wedding, "to make the honeymoon even hotter," had been thrown out once she'd nailed Bracken. She'd nearly died. Again. The relief of knowing that no one would be trying to kill her anymore was overshadowed by the sense of how precious life is, how precious time is. As far as she was concerned, being away from each other a second more than necessary was out of the question. Castle couldn't argue with her... Of course, he hadn't really tried either. He'd already been wishing the wedding was over and they were on that island already. Wrapping his arms around her lithe yet curvy frame, Castle brushes a kiss against her head.

"Well, I'm right here, sweetheart. Alive and well."

He feels her hand tighten on his shoulder.

"It was a car-crash this time."

Castle is silent, stroking her hair soothing, knowing she needs to talk out the vision so she can banish it from her mind. He suspects these nightmares of her losing him under horrible circumstances are a form of her PTSD. Tomorrow he might gently suggest she go talk with Dr. Burke. Tonight, it's his job to comfort her and keep her grounded in the reality of them: Kate Beckett and Richard Castle, getting married in seven days.

"You were driving to the wedding..."

"I was driving? Alone?"

"Yeah, you had to go pick up our marriage license."

"Like we did today?"

"No...not like today."

Castle feels her smiling. Today had been fun. Her last day at the precinct until after the honeymoon. Getting a month off hadn't been hard. She'd done two weeks vacation and two weeks unpaid leave - which he then given her the difference as part of his wedding gift to her. He'd heard Javier teasing her about the perks of marrying a rich guy - but then he'd smiled and said she deserved it. From there they'd gone and picked up their marriage license. He could tell Beckett was getting mushy. She'd wrapped an arm around his waist and had her head tucked against his shoulder. He'd felt the same way...until the clerk had made a snide comment under her breath about the third time being the charm.

"No, actually, she's the charm."

Beckett had blushed, smiled, and kissed him - right in front of everyone. Then she'd looked the clerk in the eye and asked if everything was in order - because they had a lifetime to get started.

In the car she'd turned to him.

"Rick, we both have pasts - it doesn't make what we have less amazing..."

"I know. But I meant what I said. You are the charm. Your brilliant, beautiful, compassionate, loyal -"

"Loyal? Dogs are loyal, Castle." Kate chuckles, but her eyes are quizzical

He hadn't meant to say that. He's never mentioned Meredith's cheating. The fact that he still slept with her after that isn't a point of pride for him. Still, he can't have Kate thinking he was comparing her to a golden retriever.

"Meredith...I caught her in bed with her director."

Kate's face paled, and her eyes flashed fire. "That's why you divorced her."

"Yep."

She seemed to calm as quickly as she'd angered.

"I'm sorry she hurt you like that...but I'm selfish, too. If she'd been smart enough to appreciate what she had, we wouldn't be getting married in three days."

Her wicked hand had ghosted up his thigh before moving to shift the car out of park. Once back at the loft she'd sequestered them to their bedroom and had them naked in three minutes flat. Thank god it was Thursday afternoon and both Alexis and his mother were at their respective schools. Neither he nor Beckett had been in the mental space where they could have tried to be quiet. Castle's room is pretty soundproof, but they'd learned the hard - and embarrassing - way that it wasn't completely so. Thank god it'd been Martha and not Alexis. It was one of the reasons Beckett still had her apartment.

"Hey, lover, where'd you go?"

"Someplace embarrassing...what time is it?"

Beckett glances at the clock on her side of the bed (it had quickly migrated to her side when Castle realized just how often Beckett had to go to the precinct early to do paperwork.)

"Umm, 9:30."

"Guess we skipped dinner. Feel like some late night pizza."

Really, Kate just wants to stay in his arms and listen to his heartbeat. ..and yeah, she wants to make love again. She needs to explore the terrain of his body, slowly this time. Whenever she slows things down, he inevitably snaps and take the lead, and she wants to be blanketed with his body, the weight of him an assurance that she's only having nightmares. Kate Beckett does not believe in the occult or fortune tellers - none of the nonsense Castle is so open to. Yet she's never had dreams like these - so vivid it was like watching HD TV.

"Maybe later." She kisses his chest. "Right now...I feel like having you."

"Understandable. I am delicious."

"Um hmmm." She inches up his body, loving the feel of his skin against hers. Soon she finds his mouth and her tongue tangles with his. She pulls away and playfully nibbles his ear before whispering, "I want you on top."

Their eyes meet, and Castle sees the remnants of her nightmare behind the sparkle of her eyes. She's vulnerable and wants the comfort of his body. He loves her even more for this, amazed she let's him see her fears and her need for him. For moment the two are lost in each other's gaze. Then Castle flashes his wicked smile.

"As you wish."

END

I'm not sure if this is a one-shot yet. I have some ideas of what's going on next, but for now, it's just me re-writing some of the season six finale. :)