A few hours after the case had been solved; Castle sat at his desk helplessly trying to continue his largest novel yet. Typically, he had always chosen the title before he even started typing up the manuscript. Everything about this book was different. The story fell in line with his current Nikki Heat series, but it almost seemed like a finale. Castle only worked on this book when he had pure inspiration. Imagination simply would not do for this book. The day's events were so overwhelming that Castle actually couldn't write more than a few paragraphs. After an hour of so of fiddling with the keyboard, he decided to go for a walk.

Castle looked up in amazement when he had instinctively walked all the way to Beckett's Apartment. His legs ached from the walk over and he glanced at his watch. 1:35. Wow, how did I loose so much time? There was a fine line between Castle's actual writer's block and his heart being confused. Both of his hands slid into his pockets after he shivered rather violently. He had been so lost in thought that he not only lost track of time, but he had foolishly got himself stuck outside in the New York winter. At this point, the only thing he could think of was to cross the street and head up to Beckett's apartment.

Courage didn't exactly overtake him when he entered the apartment complex. Despite the temperature, a bead of sweat dripped down his face and onto his maroon button-up shirt. He stood with his fist touching her door for nearly ten minutes before he actually knocked on its freshly painted surface. Two minutes later, there was still no answer at the door. Castle combed his hair back in frustration with his cold hands and slowly walked away.

"Castle." His heart rose quickly into his throat as he turned around to see the beloved owner of the voice. A sigh escaped his lips and he only took one small step towards his partner.

"What are you doing here? Did you walk?" Beckett looked him up and down quickly and answered her own question.

"You must be freezing…need me to call a cab?" She was way too awake for this hour of the evening. The thoughts swirling through his head didn't make any sense. At this point, the cold had saturated Castle's mind so much that he just stared at the floor. Beckett walked over to her estranged partner and grabbed his lapels as she gently led him into her apartment.

"C'mon, Castle. I could use the company and well, your lack of speech tells me you do too." Though her apartment was like a second home to him, he looked it over thoroughly. He removed his jacket and hung it on the coat rack next to the kitchen entrance. Beckett brushed his arm as she walked to the cabinet to grab a mug.

"You're shirt is all wet, Cas. Let me grab you a dry one from my room." This odd behavior snapped Castle out of his daze instantly.

"Beckett," he said. "I will not be caught dead wearing one of your shirts. I mean it's kind but…" She ignored him and continued to walk toward her bedroom. On her return, she proudly presented him with one of his black sweaters and a white t-shirt. A smug look grazed Beckett's face when she plopped herself down on the couch and cuddled into a blanket.

"You left some of your stuff here last week when we pulled an all-nighter on that case. So I just washed them and kept it around just in case you needed it while you were here."

"You seriously stole my clothes for your own keeping? I cannot help but conjure up ideas…" A familiar smirk sank deep into Castle's face. "You missed me didn't you?"

"Are you kidding me? You walked all the way to my apartment at 2 in the morning and you are going to tease me about keeping your clothes here?" Castle unbuttoned his shirt on the way to the bathroom and slipped into the fresh, dry clothes. Beckett leaned over the back of the loveseat to shout a comment at him. "You better not throw your shirt on the floor. I am not your wife, Castle." Castle let forth a loud laugh and threw his wet shirt into the living room.

"Oh, and I suppose you bought me a toothbrush too? Where is it?" He asked. She could hear him shuffling through the medicine cabinet. This was enough to get Beckett off the couch. She picked up his discarded shirt and draped it over his head. Instead of retaliating, Castle kept the shirt on his head and continued to berate her. "Oh and um…I don't see any tiger around, what do you say we give the cuffs another shot, shall we?" Beckett tugged his sweater and slapped him in the chest. Castle removed the shirt from his head and shared a brief moment staring into her beautiful eyes. Even though her eyes clearly acknowledged that she was annoyed, he didn't care.

Beckett quickly grabbed his left wrist and spun it behind his back. Before Castle knew what was happening, she had cuffed him to the towel rack. "How's that?" She asked. The door closed behind her and she left him in the bathroom with the light off.

"Very funny, Beckett."