This story was written by kimmiesjoy and AlwaysCastle.

Disclaimer: We own nothing and no one. Oh and hey, go check out the Castle fanfic awards, our very own kimmiesjoy is nominated :D

A/N: This is a belated birthday present for LoveJessieLou though coincidentally we had started it just as a 'we love you babyvoodoo' story ;) and it's turned into a birthday thing. So happy belated birthday we love you!

Voodoo, Baby

She was standing alone in the kitchen, his kitchen and from the doorway of his study, he stood watching her. It was becoming a habit to watch and wait, trying to find the most opportune moment to sneak up on her, surprise her...something.

But the woman had ears like a bat and clearly there was some ninja DNA somewhere in her lineage because not once...not once in just over a month and a half or, in actual fact, four years together had he ever really and truly been able to surprise her.

Shock her maybe.

Take her breath away...hell yeah, daily and in every way he could imagine. Dirty ways, kinky fun nasty leading ways. And of course in all the girly romantic ways. He had become an expert at all the tiny gestures that would make her eyes shiny and her cheeks lift with that beautiful smile.

But make her jump ?

Nope.

"Don't even try it." She says, her smirk becoming visible as she shuts the cabinet. Her head slowly turns towards him, his body ready to pounce, but he sags against the doorframe when he realizes for sure...no...he cannot scare Katherine Beckett. She would be screwed if she ever got the hiccups.

He pouts, crossing and uncrossing his arms.. looking like someone just kicked his puppy, and shuffles over to her. "You are no fun at all." He says, falling against the counter-top, his cheeks in his hands.

"Aww." She replies, walking over and pushing his hair from his forehead. "Not what you said last night." She smiles as she gives his cheeks a rough squeeze before lifting her hand back to his forehead.

He straightens a small gleam in his eyes. But then it falls away quickly, "That's different...this isn't a team effort to save the omniverse. Which, by the way, you ruined the whole aspect of a surprise attack."

She stops feeding her hand through his hair, pausing as she lets her hand slip from his face, down his cheek to his arm. "I already said I was NOT dangling from the ceiling on a spyrope."

"Alexis would have done it." He mumbles, walking around her to start a pot of coffee.

'Then get her over here... and you can scare her ." She rubs a hand up his arm, all the way up and then pats his cheek, her other hand getting out two coffee mugs.

"I know all the ways to scare her.. it's you I don't.. there is more fun it it... learning all the things..." He says, blinking as she pats his cheek again. "I know.. your ticklish.. in...certain places. " He says with an eye waggle..."I know.. you are NOT a morning person...I know...You have a fiendish obsession with chocolate, most especially in syrup form...I know that even though you're not a morning person.. you still enjoy a good...romp at 3 in the morning."

She let her hand fall from his face, her mouth opening in shock "Romp? Really?"

"Mmhmmm." He says with a nod, turning away so he can measure out the coffee.

"I'm not sure 'romp' covers what I am capable of." Kate leans into the countertop, so they are face to face as her hand claims her chin she waits him out.

His eyes dart comically, trying to decide between pursuing her obvious attempt to distract him and standing by his statement.

"Well... that's besides the point... All I know is around 3 am almost every morning.. that sneaking hand of yours ...WHY CAN'T I SCARE YOU?" He yells, throwing his hands in the air.

Kate actually laughs, leaning back against the counter, hand over her mouth. When she calms, she places a hand on his arm. "You'll just have to try harder." She challenges with a raised eyebrow as she sashays around him, and out of the kitchen.

"Challenge Accepted!" He yells at her retreating form.

She woke the next morning, stretching her fingers out in the bed, seeking the warmth and early morning smile he often provided. Keeping her eyes firmly shut she let her fingers spider walk across the bed, smirking to herself.

Kate wants to feel loose, she's on the tail end of a damn awkward case and if she has any luck at all today she will be making an arrest. But starting the day off on a high would be good...

And he certainly knows how to turn her legs to jelly.

Fingers creeping she finds the bed empty, with just a hint of his warmth still evident in the sheets. She sighs, rolling forward until she's face first in the dip his body has made, and breathes in, letting out a sigh as she curls up in everything him.

Moving, she keeps moving until she's in a tight ball, upsetting the pillows and pushing at the sheets, trying to find the perfect spot. And then, she reaches her hand for his pillow, tugging it down, down until she's nearly hugging it.

Not the same.

She lets out a grumpy sigh, where is he? She opens her eyes, tugging on it again, and then suddenly she snatches her hand away, leaping back when a ...

What the hell is it?

Comes tumbling down and whacks her in the eye.

It jingles!

This little ...um fairy? or...a demon.. or a mummy...

"What the hell?" She picks it up, holding it away from her face with the tips of two fingers, letting it spin in the air.

It looks weird, but it's kinda cute.

And...it's wearing a helmet.

She laughs, bringing the small...thing, closer to her face to get a proper look at it. It carries a sword and some sort of...she squints, Oh it's a shield.

Huh.

It looks like a gladiator, and she wonders if he is making another 'Skeptimus Maximus' joke at her expense. She twirls it on her finger, contemplating.

Sitting up in the bed she scoots to the edge, taking the toy with her. When her feet hit the floor she spots the card on his nightstand. He's left it for her to find, so he at least plans to explain some of this insanity.

Good.

Reaching for the card, fingers still twirling her mini hero, she reads it, smiling as she registers the words.

"Watchover me Voodoo...Gladiator..."

She looks down at the little...ok apparently it's a voodoo doll, in her hand. "Huh...To help give you strength to fight for all the things you believe in."

She smirks, shaking her head. Only he can he weird and sweet at the same time. With another shake of her head, and a small snort of laughter through her nose, she flicks the little bell, and gets up from the bed.

She's rushing to get out the door. Frantic and hurried because, she flicks her eyes sideways at him, she's going to be late for work.

And of course he's the reason why.

And he's smirking because he knows it. He's thoroughly pleased with himself for delaying her, lingering over her body just a little longer than normal in the shower.

Castle stands by the bedroom door, leaning with this amused look on his face, and he just watches as she struggles to put on her heeled boots. Balancing to one side, leg bent upwards and her tongue between her teeth as she pulls them on.

No time to unbuckle them and do it properly.

"You know.. you could help me." She suggests, slamming her one heeled foot onto the floor and throwing her hand out, fingers splayed for her other boot. It's at his feet, having been kicked off in a fevered attempt to get into his room as fast as possible the night before.

"If you insist." He says, pushing off the door-frame and reaching down, all the while she's shooting glares at him. "Here you go." He smiles, handing her her heeled boot.

"Thank. You." She says, snatching it up and shoving her foot into it haphazardly. She shrieks, falling sideways and kicking her boot from her foot. "Getitoff!" She yells swinging her foot until her boot tips of the end of her toe, falling to the floor.

Castle is laughing, holding onto her elbow so she doesn't fall, and watches with her as a tiny thing comes flying out.

"CASTLE!" She screams at him, yanking her self free, his hysterics hindering his ability to hold her upright anyway, shoves him, and stomps over to her boot, picking it up.. and the little... "Again! what is it with these things!" She shakes the little...tinkerbell looking voodoo doll in his face.

The bell jingling wildly completely in tune with her rage.

"Can't...breathe!" He pants, holding his chest. "It's just...voodoo...baby."

She narrows her eyes, huffing the hair from her face, and pulls down on her disheveled blouse. "I don't have time for this." She seethes, pulling on her boot and flinging the tiny fairy at him, " and don't call me baby!" She adds before slamming the door, leaving him laughing in her wake.

Climbing into her car, she sets the coffee cup between her thighs, holding the case file in her mouth, so she can reach behind her and pull on her seatbelt. Once she's strapped in with the door shut she thumps the wheel, tossing the file onto the seat and diving on her coffee cup.

Crazy day.

Mad, insane, crazy making day.

But now she holds salvation in her hand.

She lifts the cup slowly to her mouth preparing to savor the flavor, enjoy the slow burn as the rich liquid flows down her throat. Only as it nears her nose she realizes...it smells weird.

Kate pops the lid, and shudders when she gets hit in the face with the full force of something most definitely not Vanilla latte flavor.

"Ughhh." She groans.

It's just...not her day.

She re-caps the coffee and drops it into the cup holder, away from her and ready for the trash. With a deep mournful sigh aimed directly at the cup she starts the engine.

She is supposed to swing past the loft and pick up Castle, and frankly the idea of spending the next hour in a car with him as he moans about not being able to drive, whines about her choice in music and in general bitches for the entire journey...it's less than appealing.

Reaching her hand up she lowers the visor, squinting into the afternoon sun...

And something bonks her on the head.

"...The fu..." Kate looks down into her lap, already knowing what she is going to find. But this one, still attached to it's little information card, is kinda...perfect.

The man knows things...

How?

She isn't entirely sure, but looking down Kate feels some of her tension drain away, her thumb glancing the head of the weird looking creature in her lap. It's green and reminds her of a turtle and for some unknowable reason she pokes the little creature in the fluff of its tiny stomach before she reads the card.

"Calmer...To help you keep your head when all others are losing theirs."

Kate pulls her lip between her teeth, smiling, before she extracts the doll from the card and hangs it from her mirror.

Where he's sure to see it when she picks him up.

It's a calm afternoon on her day off. And they haven't moved from the sofa for the last two hours. Her feet have taken up residence across his lap as she stretches out, smooshed in amongst the cushions. His head is lulled to one side, his eyes partially shut and it looks like he may fall asleep.

She smiles, he looks so adorable when he's dopey...and she's going to revel in it...feeling like he's been a nightmare lately with his mischievousness and trying to scare her.

Trying and failing, as she catches on to his little schemes quickly.

So this is like...well almost like having a kid.. and it's his nap-time.

Kate smirks as his lips puff out with a snore, or a deep sigh and he relaxes further into the couch. Watching him as his eyelids finally slide home, she carefully moves out of his lap, socked feet hitting the floor beneath with a soft slip, and she catches herself on the armrest.

Walking on the balls of her feet around the sofa, she leans over it, brushing her lips lightly over his forehead and making her way to the kitchen.

She reaches the sink and...huh?

Kate stands, looking about with one hand on her hip.. not sure what to do with this.. lull.. the peace and quiet she's been seeking. But now that she has it.. she's actually craves some excitement.

But she doesn't want to wake him... he was up all night writing, clacking away at those keys when he thought she was asleep.

When in truth, she just lay there, cocooned in his sheets and his smell and the internal warmth that burst to life whenever she thought about him, and listened.

The rhythmic tapping of his keys, a lullaby from the writer for his muse.

Kate smiles then, looking over at him asleep, his head now tilted back, mouth open. She can hear a light snore and grins wider.

He's so cute.

She scrunches her nose in annoyance at her sappy heart, but the smile doesn't fall. She has a little collection of those weird dolls he insists on springing on her and as she meanders towards the fridge, Kate actually wonders if there is a connection between that tender ache in her chest and the extremely cute but kinda evil poppets that seem to appear everywhere .

She reaches for the fridge, wondering if she could be losing her mind, then freezes...that excitable flutter of apprehension entering her heart...

Will anything be popping out at her this time?

Slowly, she pulls open the door, looking around tentatively and then letting out a sigh.

Nope. nothing in there...

She's not disappointed. No.

She shakes her head at herself, pulling out a container of filtered water, and going for a glass, okay, maybe there is one in there then?

No.

"God Kate..." she whispers, trying to laugh at herself as she takes a sip, hand pushed into her hair. "Being ridiculous..." she places the cup in the sink.

What to do.. what to do... She ponders, padding back to the living room and standing behind him as he sleeps soundly. And then she grins, leaning over him and whispering

"Castle." She waits for a second and when he doesn't move or respond she smiles wider still, heading for the bathroom.

Once in there, she strips down, turns on the shower, and lets it steam up. The entire room becoming a haven of hot mist and she relaxes letting herself be consumed by the heat.

A long while after, completely content, Kate steps out of the shower, walking wistfully to the mirror, and wiping her hand across it.

Looking at her reflection she unconsciously reaches for her hairbrush, sort of in a daze and starts at the top, brushing down, all the way to the ends, which catch in the brush.

And then Kate screams.

Out right shrieks and throws her hairbrush across the bathroom.

Castle comes tearing through the door to see Kate backed up against the wall, eyes wide and clutching at her towel.

"What! What happened?" He asks and then his eyes fall on the thing she's pointing at and he starts laughing.

"CASTLE!" She rounds on him, poking him hard in the chest before pushing past him and into the bedroom.

"Oh come on Kate... and by the way. I SO WIN!" He exclaims bending down and picking up her hairbrush.

She can hear the jingling of the bell, flopping down on the bed and clutching at her fluttering heart. "That was not funny.. I thought it was a bat! God Rick.. you need to stop."

"But why.. and come on admit it. I win."

Kate glares at him, tugging the towel tighter around herself.

He chuckles, unfastening the little voodoo from her hairbrush, and she cringes at the bell. eying the thing that looks more like a witch with a cape then a bat. But swinging on her hairbrush, the view from the mirror made it look like it was a creature flying about.

She gets up, refusing to look at him. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"This is my bed!" He says, hands in the air and she hears that bell again. "Or.." He says, and his voice has become less excitable and more mischievous.

She makes her way to the closet, rummaging through the draw she claimed, her ears pricking up when she hears the change in his tone.

Uh oh.

She straightens. gathering her clothes and walking to the bathroom again.

"Or. it can be...our bed." He says, moving closer.

She turns towards him at the door, looking over her shoulder and letting the towel drop just a little. "Well tonight it's my bed." she purrs. And closes the door in his face.

"Move in with me."

"No."

"Marry me."

"Definitely not."

He stretches out further along the bed, his fingers drifting peacefully through her hair "Kaaaaaate." He whines, his lips moving over her ear as each finger presses gently at her skull, hair twisting softly between his fingers.

"Casstllllle..." She moans back, starting out as a tease of annoyance at his whine, but falling into pleasure when his fingers move again, finding her neck, tilting her head.

"Why?" He whispers, his tongue snaking across her collarbone, cheating as he teases the truth... he hopes, from her scrunched lips.

"It's been two months..." She grumbles, turning in his arms so she can face him.

"Too fast?" He laughs, pulling her closer until they lie nose to nose. "It's been four years Kate."

She shakes her head. "Not too fast..." Her lips drift across his mouth, parting around his bottom lip so she can press a soft kiss there. Tracing it with her tongue.

"Too much?" He asks, the words falling slowing into her as he whispers them, an anxious edge to his voice.

Clutching tightly to him, her fingers sliding into his hair as they hold each other, a mirror image with their eyes fused together. "Never." She hums along the line of his lips, feeling his hand at her back, curling slowly beneath her shirt.

She counts them out, throwing each one onto the bed trying to work out exactly what he has been doing.

Is the number significant?

The names?

The places they appear in?

Clearly there is something...afoot. A Castle-esq mystery of...odd proportions.

And she might have jumped at one or two but after awhile she started to expect them and now...there are so many of them. A wide variety, all with meaning, all in the weirdest of hiding places.

Kate gathers them up, as many as she can fit within her grasp and holding handfuls of the teenie tiny dolls she dumps them unceremoniously into his lap, watching his head snap up as he laughs.

"Castle." She asks her hands falling to her hips. "What is with all the voodoo's?"

He chuckles again, looking at all the dolls, and then he frowns slightly. "There's one missing." He then says, rifling through them all.

"Castle..." She warns. "I better not find one in my-"

He smiles, a big, wicked shiny eyed grin, dumping the dolls beside him and reaching into his back pocket, revealing another one.

He holds it out to her, innocent look on his face, and she reaches out tentatively taking hold of this last voodoo.. at least she hopes it's the last one. The little bell rings, and for some reason, it sets her heart all a flutter.

This excitable, anxious beat.

Maybe it's because of the look he has on his face, or the odd tension seeping into her like there is something...coming .

"You robbed me of my heart." He says as she looks at this voodoo doll. It's wearing a red mask and red pinstripes holding a bag of money. A thief, clearly. She traces the head of the tiny doll, and damn him, they have grown on her, these weird little things.

"But you can keep it." He says then, waiting as she drops her head and meets his gaze. Taking hold of her hand, her white knuckles still clutching tight to the doll, and using the other to open up the tiny bag slung over its shoulder.

She gasps when he pulls out a ring.

If it wasn't for his hand wrapped around hers, she would have dropped the doll. "Castle." She whispers, as he pulls her closer. She stands in the V of his legs, bracing herself on his shoulder.

"Will you keep it...forever...?"

She nods her head, cutting him off with a kiss. "Yes." She kisses him again, and again and with each press of her lips she laughs muttering "yes...yes." Until they are both laughing and tipping backwards onto his bed...her bed...

"Our bed." He hums against her ear, still laughing. "And one day...maybe." His fingers slide into his back pocket again and...he lied because there wasn't just one missing.

He holds out his hand, the little baby voodoo nestled in his palm.

She scrunches her face "THAT...is seriously creepy."

"Awww." He rocks it gently in his hand before laying it on the mattress between their heads, meeting her eyes and basking in the teary shine. "I thought maybe we could turn them into a mobile, hang them over a crib and ..."

She cuts him off with another kiss "Castle...shut up, and give me my ring."