Her head is pounding by the time she finally makes it through the door to the loft. She hasn't had a headache this bad since the hangover she got post karaoke night in the Hamptons. All she wants to do is take a hot shower, or maybe a long bath, and crawl into bed. But the look on Castle's face when she walks in the door tells her that's easier said than done.
"Why do you look like someone just gave you a puppy?" Kate asks, pulling off her boots.
"Oh, no reason," Castle answers, nonchalantly, pretending to be engrossed in whatever magazine was lying on the coffee table.
She really can't put up with his games right now, at least not without an Aspirin or something.
"Castle, whatever this is, can we just do it later?" she asks with a groan as he accidentally knocks the TV remote to the floor and the noise sends a fresh jolt of pain through her skull.
He notices her wince at the sound and his expression changes to one of concern. "You okay?"
She shakes her head pinching the bridge of her nose. Castle's on his feet instantly, making his way over to her.
"What's wrong?" he asks, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Bad headache," she grumbles.
He leads her over to the couch and disappears, coming back with a glass of water and some Aspirin. Kate takes them from him gratefully as he sits back down next her. She curls into his side, her head falling onto his chest and her arms wrapping around his torso. Castle wraps one arm around her and brings the other up to her massage her scalp.
"I was going to go take a shower," she says quietly. "And then go to bed."
"I can let you go do that if you still want to."
"No, this is good," she hums.
"Is it helping any?"
He feels her nod against his chest before she snuggles in closer to him. He holds her there, still massaging her scalp, long after she drifts off in his arms. She wakes up about 30 minutes later, catching him watching some Spanish soap opera on mute with the captions on.
"Why are you watching that?" she mumbles, her eyes still heavy with sleep.
"I'm trying to learn Spanish."
"How's that working out for you?"
"Muy bien."
"Really?"
Castle hums. "No. How's your head?"
She readjusts herself so she's sitting up straighter, but still leaning against him. "It's better. I'm still a little nauseous though."
"You didn't tell me you were nauseous. Are you coming down with something?" he asks, placing the back of his palm on her forehead.
"From the look on your face when I walked in, I think you already know."
"What look?" he asks, playing dumb.
"Honestly, Castle, why were you going through the trash in the first place?"
He sighs, knowing that he's been caught. "It's trash day. I was just gathering it and you'd left the thing right on top, what was I supposed to do?"
"Not look at it and wait for me to tell you myself."
"So tell me now."
Kate looks up at him and watches his face light back up with excitement. "I'm pregnant."
He smiles even wider before bending down to kiss her. "I'm sorry I ruined your surprise."
She shrugs. "I'll just have to be more careful with our next one."
Castle swallows. "Our next one?"
"Yeah, that lunatic from the future said we were having three kids, didn't he?"
He laughs. "Right, right. He also called you Senator Beckett."
"Hmm I guess they're going to just give me Bracken's job once we finally expose all of his lies."
Castle keeps laughing, trailing his hand from her back around to her stomach. "I'm going to love this kid so much."
Kate leans up and kisses him again. "Me too, Castle. Me too."