A/N: Story told from Kate's POV. Can be read as a one-shot as Chapter 2 is the same story but told from Castle's POV

Kate sat down heavily in her chair and rested her head in her hands. God, she was tired. She'd been up for at least 30 hours, maybe more, tracking down their killer and when they'd finally found Joseph Samuels it had taken all of her team's combined efforts to subdue and cuff the guy. Samuels was a brute of a man; there was simply no other way to describe him. At well over 6 foot tall and weighing at least 250 pounds, the guy had put up a heck of a fight. Kate grimaced at a sharp twinge of pain from her side, courtesy of a blow to her ribs which Samuels had managed to get in. He had caught her surgery scar dead on and it hurt like hell.

Kate gingerly sat up straight, lifting her head from her hands and taking a couple of slow, deep breaths. She could ignore the pain, she would ignore it; anything else was not acceptable. Kate looked around the bullpen to see if anyone had noticed her moment of weakness but no-one seemed to be paying her much attention. She glanced across at the empty chair next to her desk; fortunately Castle had wandered off somewhere after the interrogation and wasn't sitting in his usual spot. She wasn't sure she could summon the energy to mask her discomfort from him. Without realising it Kate's gaze remained on the empty chair, her tired mind dwelling on images of her partner sitting there playing with his phone or generally finding some way to annoy her. As was often the case these days, Kate felt a vague sense of loneliness at his absence, as if part of her was missing when he wasn't around.

Kate shook herself, suppressing that thought as quickly as it had arrived, unbidden, in her head. She passed her hand in front of her eyes, she was tired, that was it, just tired and she wasn't thinking straight. Kate turned her attention back to the papers on her desk, she did not want to dwell on thoughts of Castle or the reasons why his absence, even for a few minutes, left her feeling a little lost and alone. The paperwork on her desk had to be correctly logged and filed and she should concentrate on that, something simple and concrete - easy to understand, a standard process to follow. Paperwork wasn't complicated; tedious certainly and very necessary but so much simplier than trying to understand the complex web of her emotions.

"Beckett," the voice said suddenly at her shoulder, after she had been working away for several minutes.

Kate jumped in surprise. She turned to see her erstwhile partner hoveing behind her chair. "Castle, don't creep up on me like that! Are you trying to give me a heart-attack?" Kate demanded, in annoyance.

"Um...no," Castle said, taking a small step back from her.

Kate passed her hand across her eyes, they felt gritty with lack of sleep and she regretted taking her irritation out on Castle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean...just don't creep up on me like that ok?" she said grudgingly. Kate hated apologising for anything.

Castle blinked at her, seemingly a little surprised at her apology. He looked closely at her for a long moment before moving towards her and leaning down so that he could speak without being overheard by anyone. "Kate, you look exhausted. You should go home, get some rest."

"I'm fine Castle," Kate said fiercely, her general tiredness and irritation flaring once more at his interference. "Unlike you, I've got to do this paperwork before I leave otherwise all of our hard work from today will go to waste."

"Hey, I'm still here aren't I," Castle protested. "Anyway, by the look of what you have written on that screen if you try to file this paperwork as it is you'll only be doing Samuels a favour."

Kate whipped her head around to stare at her computer screen. She had not really been paying too much attention to what she'd been typing away before Castle's interruption but it only took a quick review of what she had written to realise he was right. Even a quick scan of the document showed a dozen silly mistakes that needed correcting. None of them were particularly serious by themselves but the very fact there was so many showed she was not thinking as clearly as she should be.

"Kate," Castle said quietly again, using her first name as he did more and more often these days. "The paperwork can wait until tomorrow. Samuels isn't going anywhere and this doesn't have to be filed tonight. You've got until three o'clock tomorrow which is plenty of time for you to do this in the morning, after you've had some rest."

Kate started up at Castle in surprise. "When did you become such an expert on police procedure?" she asked without thinking.

Castle just grinned at her in amusement. "Well, I've been following this detective around for a while and despite what she may think I do actually pay attention to what she tells me...every now and again. You've got 24 hours to file that paperwork detective which means you don't have to do it right now, especially as it is clear you can barely keep your eyes open."

"Funny Castle, real funny," Kate muttered, secretly pleased that he had actually listened to her at some point. Kate sighed, as much as she hated to admit it Castle was probably right, this could wait until tomorrow and she would do a better job after a few hours sleep. Kate saved the file and shut her computer down, studiously avoiding Castle's gaze so that she didn't have to look at the self-satisfied smirk she knew would be there. She gathered up the papers on her desk and locked them in a drawer, so they would be there ready for her the next morning. She stood up, grimacing slightly at the pain which shot through her side. She reached for her jacket but Castle was already there, holding it out for her. Kate rolled her eyes at him but simply allowed him to help her into her coat without further comment.

Kate turned and headed towards the elevator, not bothering to look if Castle was following, knowing that when she pressed the button he would be there by her side. As they waited for the doors to open Castle turned towards her and opened his mouth as if to speak. He stood there for a moment with his mouth open before he turned back to look at the doors, saying nothing.

"What Castle?" Kate asked impatiently.

"Uh..." Castle said.

"Spit it out, I know you want to say something."

The bell dinged and the doors opened. Kate stepped in to the elevator immediately and turned to face Castle. She watched him step in to the elevator a beat or two after her and reach across to select the ground floor. Kate arched an eyebrow at him. She had assumed he would also select the basement for her, so she could collect her car and go home, just as he'd badgered her to do. Sighing, she reached across to press the button herself and was surprised when Castle gently caught her had in his, preventing her from pressing the button.

"Castle, what are you...?" Kate said warningly, trying to free her hand from his surprisingly strong grip.

"I don't think you should drive home tonight, let me get you a cab instead."

"Castle, I'm perfectly capable of driving myself home..."

"Under normal circumstances I completely agree, but not tonight. You're clearly exhausted and if that grimace of pain I saw earlier is any indication that blow to your ribs you took from our brutish friend is hurting you a great deal more than you're trying to let on. Please Kate, just let me get you a cab home, just this once."

Kate thought she had hidden the pain Samuel's blow had caused her quite well but clearly she hadn't done as good a job as she'd thought. "Castle, I'm fine...," she started to say but Castle cut her off.

"No Kate, you're not fine." Castle said, his tone angry and his voice louder than normal in the cramped elevator. "You've been up for god knows how many hours, running on coffee and not much else. I don't think you've had anything to eat since yesterday. And to top it all that thug hit you so hard in the ribs that you can barely stand up straight. So for once will you please not fight me and just let me make sure you get home ok!"

Kate stared at Castle in shock. She rarely saw this side of him, his usual jovial persona replaced by anger. She narrowed her eyes at him, preparing to respond in kind when the elevator suddenly jolted to a halt, sending a stab of pain through her side that caused her to involuntarily gasp out loud. Castle was at her side immediately as the doors to the elevator opened on to the ground floor of the 12th.

"Kate..." Castle started to say but she waved him to silence with her hand.

"I'm fine Castle," she managed after a moment or two as waves of pain passed though her body. She looked up at his face, seeing the concern which had replaced his momentary anger at her stubbornness and gave in. "But you may be right, perhaps I shouldn't be driving."

"Perhaps," Castle said quietly but loudly enough for Kate to hear the resignation in his voice. Castle placed a gentle hand under her arm and ushered her out of the open elevator. She shook his hand off, not wanting his support, especially in front of her fellow police officers. She walked straight-backed out of the precinct and down the steps, holding herself erect and ignoring the discomfort in her side. Castle came up beside her and shook his head at her before waving down a cab. She ignored his silent admonishment of her stubbornness and it was only after they were both in the cab and it was headed off towards her apartment the Kate finally allowed herself to relax and acknowledge the pain in her side.

"Fell better now," Castle said, looking across at her from his seat when she sighed.

"No," she said shortly, a little irritated at his tone.

"It's ok to admit that it hurts sometimes, you know that right?"

"Oh, you're just full of insights tonight aren't you Castle," Kate said acerbically.

"Only as far as you're concerned, my dear detective" Castle said blithely, evidently choosing to ignore her tone.

Kate fought an irrational and truly childish urge to poke her tongue out at him. God, this guy could drive her crazy!

The rest of the cab ride passed in silence. Kate was initially still a little pissed at Castle for wanting to wrap her up in cotton wool. But as the journey progressed and that initial irritation faded Kate was forced to admit that she was glad that he was taking her home. She really was exhausted and her side did hurt quite a lot. And she was woman enough to admit that it was nice to know that Castle cared enough to do something to force her to step back. Kate knew that she pushed herself hard, perhaps too hard on occasion and much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she needed someone like Castle to restrain her every now and again, to tell her to relax and to accept she had limits.

When the cab pulled up outside her apartment block Castle got out and came round to her side to help her out. Kate would normally hate that but tonight she was actually quite grateful for his assistance as her side had stiffened up considerably during the short cab ride. She leant on his strong arm as she slowly stood up and surprised him with a smile of gratitude. Castle grinned uncertainly back at her and stood staring into her eyes for a few moments, long enough for her to feel a little uncomfortable and to look away from that intense stare.

Kate heard Castle clear his throat in embarrassment before he said, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then detective."

Castle started to move his arm away from Kate so that he could get back in the cab but she instinctively gripped on to it, suddenly not wanting him to leave her. Castle stopped moving towards the cab and he looked up at her in surprise. "Castle," Kate said, hearing the hesitancy in her voice but, having already been betrayed by her own body she felt committed now. "Uh, can you...um...help me into my apartment..." It was a feeble excuse and she knew it. As painful and sore as her side was she was perfectly capable of getting into her apartment by herself. But she really didn't want him to go just yet. She should be mad at him for forcing her to take a break but actually all she really wanted was for him to take care of her, for a few minutes more, before she finally let him go for today.

Castle looked at her for a moment before smiling and saying, "Of course."

After he paid the driver Castle took her arm again and guided her gently towards her building. They said nothing as the rode the elevator to her floor or until they had entered her apartment. In fact they said nothing for a few long moments after the door had closed behind them. Kate found herself at a loss as to what to say, her impulsive desire to have Castle stay with her for a while still burned within her but she didn't know how to communicate that to him without sounding ridiculously needy. She'd already compromised enough of her hard fought independence tonight and she didn't want to give up any more, but she didn't want him to go just yet either. So Kate stood there, frozen to the spot in indecision.

Fortunately Castle broke the spell with a simple question. "Shall I, uh make us a drink?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry Castle," Kate managed to say, embarrassed at her moment of hesitation.

"Sit down Kate," Castle said gently as he headed towards her kitchen. "Before you fall down."

"Hey," Kate protested half-heartedly as she sank gratefully into her sofa. She really was absolutely exhausted and unable to stay on her feet for much longer.

"Only telling it like it is detective," Castle said from her kitchen.

"Hmm," Kate managed unable to come up with a more coherent comeback for his teasing. She shifted her position until she found a way to lie that was almost comfortable.

Kate closed her eyes as she listened to Castle bustle around in her kitchen, a small smile on her face. Castle had been to her place several times before but he would not normally be the one making the drinks and she could hear him rummaging around, no doubt opening and closing draws trying to find mugs or whatever else he was looking for. It was really quite relaxing to have someone else do the work for a change and as she started to drift Kate couldn't help but think how nice it felt to have Castle here with her. The last thought Kate had before the exhaustion she had been denying finally overcame her was she hoped that Castle didn't try to make her coffee tonight...

Kate woke with a start to a loud beeping noise, coming from somewhere beside her head. It took a moment or two for her brain to engage enough to identify that the noise was coming from a cell phone on her dresser. She reached out to grab the phone and shut the damn thing up but only got a few inches before a bolt of pain shot up her chest from her battered ribs. She hissed in pain and froze, waiting for the worst to pass. It took a few moments but eventually the pain subsided to a dull throb and Kate was able to gently manoeuvre herself so that she could grab the phone. She blinked in surprise at it, it wasn't her cell. She stared at it a moment or two before her brain finally put the pieces together and she recognised the cell as Castle's phone.

'What the hell?' Kate thought as she swiped a finger down the screen to shut the annoying beeping off. 'Why is Castle's phone on my bedside cabinet?' Kate looked over to where she'd grabbed the phone from, hoping for some clue as to what was going on. It seemed that the cell phone wasn't the unusual only item on her dresser. A glass of water was also sitting there along with what appeared to be some painkillers. Leaning against the glass was a folded piece of paper with her name on it.

Kate blinked lazily at the note, trying to put the pieces together in her head. The last thing she remembered was sitting down on her sofa listening to Castle blunder around her kitchen. She looked around, well she was definitely in her own bed, alone. Kate looked back at her dresser and gingerly reached for the note. Even with just her name written on the outside she recognised Castle's handwriting immediately. Not sure what to expect she opened his note and started to read:

Kate,

I know that you will probably be wondering what the hell is going on so I thought I'd get an explanation in really early! You fell asleep on your couch whilst I was making you a drink, in fact you were dead to the world. I considered leaving you there but I thought that sleeping on your couch would probably do your bruised ribs more harm than good so I eventually decided to carry you to your own bed so you could sleep properly. Please note that despite the obvious temptations in that situation you are still fully clothed!

Kate broke off from reading Castle's note to look down at herself. She was indeed still wearing her clothes from the previous day, the only exception seemed to be that her feet were missing her boots. She must have been completely gone last night as she had no memory of Castle tugging her boots off or carrying her to her bed. She shook her head and turned back to read the rest of his note.

I knew you would want to get to the precinct to finish off that horrible paperwork on our case. Rather you than me! Anyway, I couldn't get into your phone (what is your passcode?) so I set the alarm on mine – hopefully it wasn't too rude an awakening. Oh, and I also left you some painkillers as I'm pretty sure your ribs are going to be really stiff and sore when you do wake.

I hope you slept well,

Rick x

Kate smiled as she finished reading Castle's note. It seemed that he tried to think of everything and it was really sweet of him to take care of her like this. She looked at his phone and wished for a moment that she could remember being carried to bed by him. That thought alone was enough to broaden the smile on her face considerably before she realised what it was and clamped down on it. 'Katherine Beckett,' she told herself firmly, 'stop acting like a love-struck teenager!'

Kate read through Castle's note again and could almost hear his voice in her head and see the grin on his face as he pencilled it. She wondered briefly if he had stood watching her sleep whilst he wrote it before deciding that actually she didn't care all that much if he had. Her fingers caressed his note briefly before she carefully folded it and wedged it under her pillow. It couldn't stay there for long but she would indulge her girlish self that much, for a little while at least.

She manoeuvred her legs to the side of her bed, being careful to not move her injured side too much. She popped the painkillers out of their packaging a washed them quickly down with a gulp or two of the water. Hopefully a combination on the painkillers and moving around would help the stiffness in her side and reduce the shooting pains to something a little more manageable. Kate looked down at her dishevelled state, slept in work clothes was not a great look for her. Standing carefully she headed into her bathroom to shower and change.

Fifteen minutes later Kate emerged feeling a good deal more refreshed and awake. Her hair was wet and hung limply down her back over an old t-shirt that she'd dragged from a cupboard. She knew she would have to do something about that before getting dressed and heading into the precinct but for the time being her attention was more focussed on getting something to eat - her stomach was definitely demanding immediate attention. Kate walked out of her room and towards her kitchen. She got halfway there when she pulled up short, spotting Castle fast asleep on her couch. She stared at the writer for a few moments, taking in his presence before shrugging to herself and continuing into her kitchen. She really shouldn't have been surprised to see him there, it really was unlikely that he would simply have upped and left her alone last night, even if she was in no condition to entertain him.

Kate hummed to herself as she grabbed a bowl and dug some cereal out from a cupboard and milk from her fridge. She grabbed a few slices of bread from the counter and dropped them in her toaster, flicking the switch on before pouring out the cereal and some milk into her bowl. She didn't try too hard to keep her noise down so she wasn't surprised to hear Castle stir a few minutes later.

"Kate?" Castle's voice drifted sleepily up from her couch.

"Mm...hmm," Kate managed, smiling around a mouthful of cereal. She couldn't deny it, hearing Castle say her name in that sleepy, drowsy voice was setting off all sorts of thoughts in her head.

"What time is it...and is that breakfast I smell?"

"It's half eight and yes, it is my breakfast that you can smell," Kate said, emphasising her words carefully.

Castle's head appeared wearily around the side of her kitchen, his hair seriously mussed up from sleeping on her couch. 'It rather suits him,' Kate thought before viciously stamping down on the thought.

"Did you...ah...did you get my note?" Castle asked tentatively.

"Mm...hmm," Kate replied, trying hard not to give anything away. It seemed to have worked because Castle just stood there uncertainly, clearly having no idea whether his note and his actions had been well received or not. Kate let him stew there for a few moments before smiling brightly at him. "For God's sake Castle, stop just standing there. Come and have something to eat."

Castle stood there for a moment or two more and Kate could swear she saw him give a sigh of relief before he moved into the kitchen, his normal smile back on his face.

"There's some toast over there and some cereal on the counter. No pancakes this time Castle," Kate said impishly.

Castle's smile faltered for a moment before he wryly nodded at her. Castle grabbed a couple of slices of toast before taking a seat next to her. "Did you sleep well Kate? How's your side?"

"I slept very well thank you and my side is stiff and sore – although I suspect it hurts a lot less than it would have done if I'd stayed on the couch." Kate reached over and handed Castle's phone back to him. She let her hand linger a moment longer than was necessary in his hand as she looked at him and simply said, "Thank you Rick."

Castle's hand briefly closed on hers before he took his phone from her. "You're more than welcome. I'd be happy to carry you to bed anytime detective," Castle added, grinning at her.

"Don't push your luck Castle," Kate said, not bothering to keep the resigned tone out of her voice. "At the moment I'm feeling quite forgiving but I might just find some excuse to arrest you."

"Handcuffs again Kate," Castle said before holding his hands up in front of him and saying, "Joking, I'm joking!"

"Uh, huh," Kate said noncommittally, although she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face.

"Soo," Castle said after a few moments. "You're going to go into the precinct today, to finish up the paperwork on the Samuels case?"

"Of course, you know I've got to. You're always welcome to join me to do your share," Kate said.

"Uh, much as I would enjoy spending my day watching you type on your computer I don't think I can really add much to that part of your job."

"It's amazing how that whole aspect of police work never manages to find its way into your 'research' or one of your books Castle," Kate said dryly.

"Writing about someone sitting there typing up reports and filing documents doesn't make for good reading detective, you know that. I have to give my readers what they want. Murder, mystery and danger, yes; paperwork and filing, not so much."

"Ah, so it's your readers' fault that you never help out with the paperwork?" Kate countered, enjoying baiting Castle.

"Well, that and it's as boring as hell," Castle admitted unashamedly. "I also do have to find some time to write otherwise there won't be any more Nikki Heat books and I wouldn't have an excuse to grace you with my company...don't you think that's a better use of my time than watching you do paperwork?"

Castle grinned at her as she stared back at him in. Damn, he'd managed to turn that one back on her in a blink of an eye! He knew all too well that she enjoyed his books and he also knew that there was no way she'd want him to leave the precinct. He was being facetious and they both knew it but she couldn't think of a decent comeback right there and then. The best she managed to come up with was a rather childish, "oh, shut up Castle!" which did nothing other than broaden his grin.

The rest of breakfast passed surprisingly quickly. It seemed to Kate that only a minute had passed since Castle had so deftly turned her gentle teasing back at her but when she glanced at the clock she jumped up in surprise. She'd been talking to Castle for almost an hour and it was way past time she should be at work! Kate turned to find Castle looking at her in confusion, no doubt caused by her jumping to her feet halfway through one of his stories about Alexis as a child.

"Castle," Kate exclaimed. "The time, I've got to get to the precinct!"

Castle looked down at his watch and blinked in surprise, it seemed that she wasn't the only one who had not noticed time passing whilst they chatted aimlessly over breakfast. He looked guiltily up at her and said, "Kate, I'm sorry – I didn't mean..."

"Oh button it Castle," Kate said irritably. "It's not your fault. I should have been keeping a closer eye on the time." Kate quickly moved all of the dirty kitchen things to one end of the counter, she'd have to sort them out when she got home. She had no idea what had gotten into her, how could she and Castle have been talking for nearly an hour and not be aware of it! It wasn't as if they'd been talking about anything in particular, they'd just been talking about, well nothing really.

"I can do that for you..." Castle offered, indicating the dirty dishes.

"No, no, it's fine. I'll do them later." Kate said smiling up at him. "Castle, I'm sorry but I really do have to get ready to go to work." And Kate really was sorry as she'd really quite enjoyed sharing her breakfast with him evenif it had made her late for work. Sharing a meal like that was not something she'd done very often in her life, even with past boyfriends it was much more the norm for one or other of them to be rushing off somewhere so the opportunities for a peaceful, shared breakfast had been quite rare.

"I understand Kate," Castle said. "I'll just grab my jacket and get out of your way." He headed back into her lounge to get his jacket of the back of her sofa before walking beside her to her door. Kate opened it for him and he turned towards her. "Are you going to be ok today Kate, with your bruised ribs I mean."

Kate couldn't help it but she rolled her eyes at him, partially in resignation at his babying of her and partially because she knew he loved it when she did that. "Yeah Castle, they're sore but I'll survive."

"Well, stick to your paperwork and don't go chasing any bad guys without giving me a call first, ok?"

"What, are you my nanny now Castle?" Kate asked.

"God no. I just don't want to miss out on all the fun!"

"Go home Castle," Kate said, laughing at his boyish attitude. Only Castle could still call her job 'fun' after all the horrible things they had seen over the past few years.

"Going, going," Castle said without actually moving. He just stood there for a moment or two looking at her with that penetrating stare of his before nodding and finally turning to walk out the door.

Kate stood at the door to watch him go, any urgency to get to the precinct dropping to the back of her mind for the moment as he walked away. "Castle," she called out after he had taken a couple of steps. Castle turned to look at her, a question on his lips. "Thank you, for looking after me," she said, trying in those few words to communicate that she meant every day and not just last night.

Castle simply smiled at her and uttered that single word she loved to hear from him, "Always," before turning away and walking off.

Kate closed the door and leaned back against it a smile of happiness on her face. That word had come to mean so much between them, had so many layers that it was impossible to understand them all. It was a promise between them, a promise of what neither of them really knew but it was a promise of something, something special which words alone could not describe. And when Castle said that word to her these days Kate's could almost hear three other words layered beneath it, words he had only said to her once before on the day she had been shot, but words which his actions demonstrated to her almost every day.

Kate's hand involuntary went to her chest, to that place between her breasts where she would forever be marked. That scar meant so many things to her. One part was the obvious reminder of the shooting, the all encompassing pain it caused, the day the world went black and she had so nearly died. But the other was bigger, more meaningful to her than anything else in her life. It was a permanent reminder of the last thing she had seen that day before her world went black, of Castle's face looking down at her as he pleaded with her to stay with him. He still didn't know that she had heard him, that the image was forever burned on her soul, and that the scar she bore reminded her each day that he loved her.

"Always, Castle," Kate whispered to her empty apartment, wanting to say the words out loud. And as she did so she could hear the same layers in her words that she heard in his.