Disclaimer: I own nothing of value, and certainly don't own any of the characters mentioned here. Alas!
Richard Castle had woken up in some odd places, and in some odd situations, but this was certainly one for the books.
He was asleep on the futon in his living room, which wasn't unusual.
Alexis was curled up beside him, not something that happened often anymore, but certainly something that had happened before.
It was the other person sleeping with him – on him – that made him wonder if he was still dreaming.
Detective Kate Beckett.
As he shook off some of the fuzziness in his head, he started to remember; she'd come over last night to join him and Alexis for dinner and a movie. He was somewhat surprised that she'd accepted the invitation, but wasn't at all upset about it. To be honest, he liked having her over, and so did Alexis.
Not long into the movie, Alexis had fallen asleep on Beckett, then soon after, Beckett had fallen asleep on him.
When the movie was over, he had tried to wake them. Granted, he hadn't tried all that hard, but he had tried.
As carefully as he could, Castle had slipped out from underneath Beckett and eased her down into a more comfortable position. Alexis had turned in her sleep until she could wrap her arms around the other woman, and Beckett had unconsciously curled around her protectively.
Castle had to swallow a lump in his throat. Jesus, she was incredible.
The lever on the side of the sofa that he was looking for was finally located; the back of the sofa could be lowered, transforming the giant squishy sofa into a giant squishy futon. Castle had purchased it after he'd first found himself sleeping on the sofa when he was married to Gina.
He had pulled a blanket from the hall closet, draping it over them, then crawled under it himself, settling on the other side of Alexis. The time before he fell asleep was spent just watching two of the most important women in his life.
Now that he was awake, he wasn't quite sure how they'd ended up in the position they had, not that he minded it at all. Castle was laying on his back, with Beckett on top of him. He had one arm wrapped firmly around her waist, keeping her there, and the other arm was being used as a pillow by his daughter. Alexis had her arm thrown over him and Beckett, and one of Beckett's arms was wrapped around Alexis's waist.
It was a true jumble of people, and there was nowhere else he'd rather be.
He held himself very still when he felt Beckett stir.
~CB CB CB~
The first thing that Kate Beckett noticed when she woke up was that she was warm; unexpected, since the heat in her apartment had been broken for the last two weeks.
The next thing she noticed was that her 'bed' was rising and falling slightly. She was on her stomach, her arms were wrapped around something, and something was holding on to her.
She took a deep breath and stiffened when she recognized the scent.
Check that. Someone.
And not just any someone.
Castle.
She was, by all accounts, sprawled out on top of award-winning author (and award-winning pain in her ass, at times) Richard Castle, on the sofa in his living room. She cracked her eyes and saw a shock of bright red hair. Alexis too, it seemed.
How the…?
The events of the previous evening returned, and she relaxed slightly. Alexis had invited her over for pizza and a movie, which had been infinitely preferable to shivering in her apartment. The three of them had curled up on one of his ridiculously oversized sofas in front of their ridiculously oversized television, with Beckett flanked by the two Castles.
They weren't even halfway through the movie when a weight on her shoulder made her look over; Alexis had fallen asleep. She had been sort of hunched over and looked uncomfortable, and Beckett found herself almost instinctively guiding the teen around until her head was resting in her lap. Beckett had smiled slightly and absently stroked the girl's hair.
She'd then had that feeling that you get when you know you're being watched. Turning around, she'd found Castle looking at her with the strangest expression on his face.
"What?" she'd queried softly.
He'd smiled then. "Nothing," he replied just as quietly. "I'm just…really glad you're here."
She would later blame the late hour, the wine, or just the overall mood that had settled over them for what she'd said next.
"I'm glad I'm here too, Castle."
She'd turned her attention back to the movie, but had eased over just enough that her shoulder brushed his.
She must have fallen asleep not long after that, though for the life of her she couldn't figure out how they'd ended up in this tangle of bodies and limbs.
For a second, she debated getting up, but that idea was short-lived. Wasn't this something she'd been craving, the feeling that she was part of something…that she was cared for? Something that had been missing from her life ever since her mother had been taken from her?
Even though she knew, logically, that she wasn't a part of Castle's family, she couldn't suppress the small part of her that wanted to be, even if it was just for a little while. To experience firsthand, even though it was pretend, what she knew it could be like every night.
With a contented sigh, Beckett snuggled closer to Castle, tightening her grip on both him and Alexis briefly before allowing herself to succumb once more to the pull of sleep. She would let herself pretend a little while longer.
~CB CB CB~
He smiled faintly when her body relaxed and she sighed. He'd been so sure that Beckett would try to slip away once she realized where she was, but she'd stayed. She'd stayed, like she wanted to be there.
Pulling them both just a little closer, Castle decided to enjoy the moment and sleep for a little while longer. As he drifted off, he didn't realize that there was a faint smile teasing the corners of his mouth.
~CB CB CB~
Alexis smiled as she finally felt her dad relax and go back to sleep. She doubted either of them realized that she had been up hours before to get a drink of water. She'd been careful not to wake either of the adults up as she'd slipped out from between them.
She'd been unable to suppress a grin when she'd come back a few minutes later. In the absence of her body heat in the middle, it seemed like Detective Beckett had gravitated towards the next best thing…her dad. Alexis smirked when he'd unconsciously pulled her closer until she was draped over him. She'd crawled back into the bed and curled up beside her dad.
If she had her way, she thought as she settled in to sleep, they would be seeing a lot more of Kate Beckett in the future.
The End!
A/N: I sincerely hope you enjoyed this little piece of fluffiness. Reviews are love!