A/N: Written for prompt "7x03 Caskett forget to use protection" at CastleFanficPrompts on tumblr.

It takes her far too long to realise.

But it's just so good, and she's so content in the afterglow, basking in the feel of him here when she wasn't sure he'd ever be again.

Then it hits her.

"Castle, you didn't… I mean, we didn't…"

Fuck.

They've always remembered protection before, no matter how desperate they were for each other.

But it's been so long, and she stopped taking the pill when he disappeared because she was sure she'd never have sex again if it wasn't with him, and why the hell didn't she think to start again when they found him?

She knows why, she knows that she'd been so unusually nervous about talking to him about it, afraid that he was still getting over disappearing for two months and losing his memory too, and she was so distracted by it all that she didn't even think.

"Oh, I-"

Apparently Castle's reeling too, playing over his part in this in his head, but really it's not his fault at all, because she easily could have pulled away for a moment and grabbed a condom from the long-untouched box in the bathroom, but she was just so desperate to have him that the thought never crossed her mind.

For over two years they've been using both, and apparently all it takes for her to forget any form of birth control for the first time in her life is a prolonged separation and feeling beyond sexually frustrated.

What surprises her is that she's not freaking out.

Not really.

She's shocked at herself, that she's capable of being so careless, but the consequences? There's a twinge of fear, but it's nothing substantial.

"It's okay," she tells him, recognising the look on his face – the one he gets when he's waiting for her to let him know what she's thinking.

"Yeah, it's okay," she repeats, lying back down on his chest, running her fingers up and down his sweat coated skin.

So what if they're pregnant?

It's something they've decided is in their future, and after two months without him the idea of kick-starting any part of the future they have planned is surprisingly appealing.

He was expecting her to freak out, clearly. He's looking at her in complete shock, and she narrows her eyes and looks up at him, makes sure he's not the one freaking out.

She finally felt as thought they were getting back to the way things were, but now she's unsure.

But then he's grinning, and she lets out a shaky laugh. She presses a kiss to his chest, and he runs his fingers through her hair.

"Does this mean you want to start…" he trails off, and she twists her head to look at him again.

"Trying?" She clarifies, and he nods, his expression giving nothing away. "Not right now, but if it happened, it wouldn't be terrible," she says, a little distracted at the thought of kids with this man. Their kids, with his eyes and playful nature that will likely drive her insane, but…

She grins, tries to hide the expression of awe on her face against his chest, but he's had enough of that, shifting them so that she can't look away.

He can't do this to her, can't look at her like that when her emotions are already all over the place.

But he does, kissing her languidly and making her moan, and God, she needs him again. And he's right there, ready beneath her and it would be so easy to just shift her hips and take him, but she shouldn't.

It would be stupid, really, to risk it when they've already admitted that they're not quite back yet, but she can't be logical when he's looking at her like that, when visions of their kids are playing in the back of her mind.

"You want me to grab a condom?" He asks, and she sees the need reflected in his own eyes. She kisses him again, buys some time as she tries to convince herself not to be so irresponsible.

But his hands are everywhere, making her shiver and moan, the sounds barely muffled by his lips on hers, and fuck it – she doesn't care.

The bathroom is too many steps away and they've already done it once.

It makes her brave, being consciously careless, and she grins at him briefly before pressing her lips against his, undulating her hips.

"Kate…"

Her name is a moan on his lips, and she brushes her lips against his ear.

"Take me, Castle."

tumblr: l03l