Completely fluffy oneshot. I actually started writing this in January, so it was before the whole Pandora/Linchpin thing. Anyway I just found it again and decided to finish it and publish it. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I wish that I had a legal claim to these characters, I don't

Hurry up. Where was he? He was an hour late and she was starving. There was a knocking at the door and she sprang up to answer it

'Where the hell have you…' she trailed off as she saw him properly. He was drenched, wet through and shivering 'Castle? What the hell happened to you? Why are you so…wet?'

'It's ra-raining,' was his simple, shaky reply

'Yeah…and you've been outside for what-a second?'

'S-something like that,' he walked past her into the apartment and then stopped, looking up at her apologetically as he noticed the puddle of water accumulating beneath his feet.

'Then how are you so wet?' she shut the door and headed for a cupboard

'I…well I…it's a long story,'

'Please do tell,' she smiled as her head reappeared from the cupboard and she handed him a towel, keeping a big fluffy blanket held in her arms

'You might not wanna know…it's…well it's a bit…' he trailed off, taking the towel and wrapping it around himself, rubbing at his arms in attempt to dry off

'Castle you didn't break the law did you?'

'Well…no, not exactly but I…I did get fined,'

'What?'

'Yeah,'

'What for…what did you do?'

'I fell into the Hudson,'

She laughed. She couldn't help it.

'You…you fell into the Hudson river?'

'Yes,'

'How?'

'Well I was trying to see something, and I fell in,' he sounded almost defensive

'What were you trying to see? The bottom?'

'F-funny,' he shivered 'But no,'

'Then what?'

'It was…it was a body,'

'Excuse me?'

'Out of the corner of my eye I saw something vaguely human looking floating in the river, so I went to get a closer look and I lost my balance and fell in,'

'Over the railings?'

'I was on a dock,'

'A dock?'

'Yes, the mayor just bought a new yacht and invited me over to see it,'

'So…you fell into the Hudson whilst trying to see if there was a dead body in it after visiting the mayor and his new yacht,'

'Pr-pretty much,'

'Wow. Well this morning I did paperwork and drank my weight in coffee. So I think you win,'

'Th-thanks,' his teeth were chattering a little and he looked so damn cold. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him

'Maybe you should get a shower,' she suggested 'That would mean go-going ho-home. It's wa-warm here,'

'Castle, I do have a shower you know,'

He raised his eyebrows at her 'You're go-gonna let me use your shower?'

'I wouldn't want you dying of hypothermia and then haunting me,'

He laughed 'Th-thanks,'

'That's cool…here,' she ran back to the cupboard and pulled out another towel 'That one's already soaking. You know where it is,' she nodded her head towards her bathroom 'I'll find you something dry to put on,'

'Thanks Be-Beckett,' she smiled at him and then watched him drip to the bathroom, leaving behind a trail of water. She smiled despite herself and then headed for her bedroom. Throughout years of boyfriends and her dad staying over she'd managed to accumulate a fairly good collection of men's clothing so she dug in the corner of her wardrobe until she came out with a pair of tracksuit trousers and a tee shirt. She wandered back down the hall and then placed the clothes just outside the bathroom door before slumping back down on her couch and switching on the TV.

He emerged about a half hour later, looking just as wet but a whole lot warmer, towel around his waist in search of the clothes she'd promised to get him.

'Floor,' she said simply and he snatched them up, retreating back inside the bathroom again. After another five minutes he collapsed with a sigh onto the couch next to her and wordlessly she handed him the big fluffy blanket to wrap up in. She watched him wrap it around himself and then snuggle into the couch trying to stay warm, resisting the urge to reach out and wrap her arms around him.

'Feel better?' she asked

'Much,' he smiled at her

'I knew that would help,'

'Yeah you were right,' he conceded 'Only one thing could have made it better,' he grinned wickedly and she decided to take his bait

'Oh yeah, what?

'You,' she laughed and hit him playfully with a cushion

'Funny, Castle, real funny. You're clearly feeling better,'

'I am,' he smiled 'And I was serious. You would have made it a lot more fun,'

'Sure,'

'Would have been fun for you too,'

'Well then maybe next time,' she smiled evilly back at him

'Next time?'

'Please, Castle, I'm assuming you are going to shower at least once more in your life,'

'That doesn't mean I'd be showering here though,'

'Then maybe you'll just have to jump in the Hudson more often,'

'I didn't jump in. I fell,' his voice became a little petulant and she laughed

'Course you did, Castle, and you're also a real cop and I'm a figment of your imagination,'

'Oh you're always a figment of my imagination, Beckett,' he grinned

'Oh dear,' she shook her head and got up, heading for the kitchen 'I think you need food. What d'you want?'

'You,' he too got up and followed her

'Castle, c'mon be serious. You should eat something, and until you turn into a cannibal or a meat eating animal you can't eat me,'

'Chinese,' he answered

'Chinese it is,' she grabbed her phone from her pocket and dialled the number

'You know the number? That's quite impressive,'

'Quite? I would say very,' she smiled back at him

'Well yeah I would too, but then I have three different Chinese restaurants on speed dial, which I'd say is more impressive,' she laughed and then turned her head to the phone as someone answered and she simply mouthed back at him 'Sad,'

He laughed and pulled the fridge door open to grab a couple of beers before heading back over to the couch with a wicked grin on his face. She came and slumped down next to him a few minutes later

'Food's on its way,' she smiled over at him as he handed her her drink

'Thank you,' he smiled back, meeting her gaze

'For what?' she laughed 'Feeding you?'

'Well that, and looking after me,'

'Always,' she replied as she clinked her bottle with his and settled back, his arm warm and steady beside hers

….

They sat and watched rubbish TV until the food arrived and once the food was gone they talked and drank until late into the night

'What time is it?' she asked as she wiped her eyes, she'd been laughing so hard that she'd started to cry

'Erm,' he lifted her hand to look at the watch sitting on it

'Castle what happened to your own watch?' she asked pulling her hand away and shaking her head at him

'Hudson, remember,' he grinned grabbing the collar of his borrowed T-shirt and wiggling it at her

'Oh, right,' she laughed 'You do know that I'm never letting you forget this, don't you?'

'I assumed,'

'Good,' she turned to her watch and gasped 'Oh my God,' she exclaimed 'Castle it's 2 o'clock,'

'So?' he asked innocently, taking a sip of his drink

'So?' she raised her eyebrows at him 'So what about your family? Won't they be wandering where you are?'

'Nah,' he shrugged snuggling a little closer to her on the couch

'Castle I'm serious! Won't they be worried about you?'

'They're out of town,' he laughed

'Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?' she hit him playfully, but forcefully on the arm

'Ow, hey!' he complained

'Well why didn't you?'

'Cos it's fun to see you do such a quick turnaround into Cop Mode' he laughed

'Cop Mode?' she raised an eyebrow

'Yeah, you know, when you go all serious and practical. It's cute,'

'Cute?'

'Well yeah, you are cute,'

'I'm cute?' her eyebrow was up again, but there was a wicked glint in her eye

'Yeah, sometimes,' he shrugged 'Although most of the time you're just plain hot,'

'You think so?' the grin spread from her eyes to her mouth as she pulled back to meet his gaze

'I always think you're hot,' he replied

'Always?'

'Always,'

There was a pause while they just stared at each other through the dim light of the room until Beckett finally dropped her gaze to her lap, pulling her lip between her teeth

'Beckett?'

'Mmm?' she murmured

'I can feel you thinking,'

'Sorry,'

'Tell me,' he bumped his shoulder with hers gently

'No it's…it's stupid,'

'No it's not,'

'How would you know?' she laughed, but kept her eyes fixed on her legs

'Because nothing you think is ever stupid, not to me,' he answered, his voice completely earnest and she finally lifted her head again to meet his gaze

'You really mean that don't you?'

'Of course I do,' he looked a little confused 'now what was it you were thinking?' she took a deep breath and turned to him

'I was thinking that if that's true, if you really think that, then why is it that you never do anything about it?'

He stared at her for a minute, gobsmacked 'I…well I…do you want me to?'

'What do you think?' the edge of her mouth pulled up in a shy smile

'I think that if you're not going to shoot me for it, then there is a whole bunch of stuff I wanna do to you,' he coughed 'I mean, with you, with,' she laughed at him and laced her fingers through his

'Well?' she asked him, and she didn't need to ask twice. He pulled her to him and captured her mouth with his, letting his fingers trail down to her waist. She responded eagerly, winding her fingers into his hair and tugging him down on top of her. She let her legs tangle with his as his tongue fought with hers for dominance and he started to tug at the buttons of her shirt. He moved his mouth down to assault her neck with kisses and she tugged at the edge of the borrowed T-shirt pulling it over his head and throwing it across the room as he brought his mouth back down to hers. His hands returned to the buttons on her shirt and soon it had joined his on the floor. She moved her hands over the smooth flesh of his back and then moved them round to his shoulders, gently pushing him off her. His eyes met hers in confusion as she removed herself from him and stood, holding a hand out for him to take

'C'mon, Castle,' she grinned

'Where're we going?'

'Well, comfortable as my couch may be, I think you'll find that my bed is a lot comfier,' he jumped up and half ran towards the door in her apartment thst he'd never been allowed through, dragging her along behind him. He stopped at the door and spun around to face her, their momentum causing her to almost crash into him before pulling her mouth to his again in a crushing kiss

'You know what I said about you being hot?' she nodded 'Well you're getting a whole lot hotter by the minute,'

'Just you wait, Castle,' she laughed 'I was serious with that offer of next time…I mean, if you did fall into the Hudson again, it would be almost cruel to make you shower alone, wouldn't it?'

He didn't reply, only kissed her again as he staggered backwards into the bedroom and let the door swing closed behind them, deciding that maybe falling into rivers didn't have to be such a bad thing after all.

Hope you like it. Thoughts?