Here is the prequel, I guess, to 'Quite a Scare'. If you read it, cool, you know what's going to come next. If not, I would start here, that way you will be surprised! Or maybe not.

This is a set up chapter, there will be more exciting stuff to come soon!

I do not own Castle!

ooOOoo

Detective Kate Beckett always considered herself a morning person. She was always the first detective on scene, usually even before the medical examiner arrived. Things changed once she married her shadow Richard Castle and became Mrs. Kate Castle. Rick loved to keep her up late a night. He would beg her to watch a movie, go out for a late supper, or her personal favorite, spending the night in bed making love. Staying up late always meant sleeping in a little bit longer that necessary. Rick made sure of that. She didn't mind that extra time alone with her husband. It made her feel special and loved as he curled up behind her and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. What she did mind though was showing up last at a crime scene. Maybe not last, but definitely not first.

So when her alarm clock went off for the third time this particular morning and she was not willingly making an effort to get up, she realized something must be wrong.

Rick did not keep her up late last night. A case had that honor; one that just didn't want to get solved. There were too many suspects and not enough evidence. Her and the team had been at it day after grueling day.

Kate went through a 'body checklist' in her head, she noted that nothing was hurting. She's not sick. Then, mentally she counted the days and it clicked. It was about that time of the month. The time of the month where her hormones went crazy and she was likely to bite someone's head off. Every month was the same, down to not wanting to get out of bed for the entire week.

Apparently another five minutes had gone by because her alarm clock went off again. Finally, she decided to turn it completely off.

"Rick?" She called softly, trying to not disturb him if he was still asleep.

When there was no response she rolled over to face him. She loved to watch him sleep. He always looked so peaceful and innocent… he liked to say the same about her. But he wasn't sleeping… he wasn't even in the bed! Rick Castle was awake before she was. Groaning, she flopped onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

Inspiration liked to hit him at odd hours of the day. He was probably in his study writing up a storm.

No sooner than she thought that there was a rather loud bang and a muffled 'shit' coming from downstairs.

Kate shoved the blanket off of her and shuffled downstairs to investigate. What she saw was an amusing sight. A crooked smile formed on her face.

Rick was on his hands and knees tending to the dropped fry pan. Bacon was splattered everywhere along with the grease. He managed to grab a wash cloth and a trash can, but figuring out the fastest way to clean up the mess was escaping him. So when he went to pick up the bacon strips with his bare hands Kate couldn't help but laugh.

"Hot, hot, hot. That's hot!" He mumbled to himself. Her laughing of course alerted him to her presence. "Well, good morning to you too, sleepyhead."

"Ugh, this is not a good morning," she said while walking towards him; avoiding the mess on the floor as much as she could. "What are you doing up so early?" She gave him a quick peck on the lips and went to sit down at the bar.

"I thought I would make my exhausted wife breakfast in bed, but it seems I didn't quite make it in time."

"Well I can still eat it down here, can't I? What did you make?" She asked.

"There was bacon. I have toast, pancakes…"

All of a sudden, Kate got a whiff of, "Eggs." She paled slightly, her stomach churning.

He looked surprised, "Yep!" He didn't notice the effect the smell was having on Kate. He bent down to keep cleaning until he heard the scrape of metal against the hardwood from Kate's barstool. Standing up, he asks, "Where are you going? I thought you wanted to eat." When he sees her walking towards the stairs pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers he becomes concerned. "Kate, are you alright?"

"Yeah, Castle I'm fine." She doesn't mean it though. Her stomach churns again and she's not sure if she will throw up or not. "I'm already running late for work, so I thought I'd skip breakfast and go get ready," she says quickly, trying to escape the smell as fast as possible.

"Why?" Castle looked disappointed.

"I'm not that hungry and I don't want to be late."

"But you just said not two minutes ago that you would eat!" He follows her to the staircase and halts her movement.

"I know, it's just the smell, and, and I'm not in the mood to eat right now."

"Kate you need to eat something. You skipped lunch and dinner yesterday because of the case. You've got to eat, you'll starve." He knew full well that she wouldn't starve. And he's not that worried, she does tend to skip meals often, but what he is concerned about is the way she won't meet his eyes and her skin looks all clammy.

"Fine," she surrenders, "just get me a granola bar. I will eat it as I get ready," she snaps at him.

He grabs two.

They meet up again in the bathroom, both of them finding conversation awkward. That is until Rick spots the granola bar sitting on the counter with only one bite taken out of it. She doesn't notice and starts to leave the room. He holds up the bar so she can see it in the mirror.

"You didn't finish this," he states.

"I'm not a child, Rick. I can eat or not eat whatever I want." Her voice starts to elevate. "Why are you so adamant that I eat something?"

"Maybe because I care about you and your health!" He turns around to address her.

They now stand face to face, toe to toe.

"My health," she scoffs.

"You have been going nonstop for days, not taking anytime to take a break, relax, eat, spend time with me or Alexis"

"Don't bring Alexis into this!"

"I'm not. I'm just saying you need to slow down and take care of yourself. Starting with eating right." He hands her the granola bar.

She immediately throws the bar back down to the counter. "I told you, Rick. I'm fine! So drop it already!"

Just then her cell phone rings. It's Esposito, they have yet another case to add to the pile. She is wanted at the precinct pronto. Kate hangs up the phone and sits on the edge of their bed, pulling on her boots.

She yells to Castle, who is still inside the bathroom. "I've got to go in. There is another case." She pauses, not knowing what to say. "I guess I will see you there."

He watches her leave, but doesn't say anything. It's not like her to get that snappy at him, so he decides to play it safe and stay silent. He looks at himself in the mirror and then down to the barely eaten granola bar. He takes a bite.

"I don't see how hard that was," he says to himself.

ooOOoo

TBC…