Author's Story Notes:
This takes place some time in the latter part of Season 4, (BC).

The sound of a cell phone playing a bizarre ringtone echoes throughout the loft.

Martha comes down the stairs and finds Castle's phone on the counter, it shows Beckett is calling. She decides to answer it. "Hello Kate, it's Martha." ... "Oh I know, I've been hearing this phone of his ring and ring. Oh good gracious no, it's not your fault, you're trying to reach him he's the one who's abandoned his post." ... "I don't know what he's up to. Oh, one thought comes to mind, hold on while I check." Martha peeks into his office and finds Castle sitting with his feet up on the desk typing on his laptop furiously. "Yes, it's what I was afraid of, he's here and he's writing."

Martha laughs and sits at the counter "Kate, I know you've been around him for a while now but you've not had the... um... experience of being around him when he's had, what we call 'writer's diarrhea'." Laughs "Yes, it is a very unpleasant visual, I'm sorry for that. Those of us who've had to deal with him when he has writer's block learn about these sort of things. You'll be learning them quickly enough in time. Right now, he has the opposite of writer's block hence the unpleasantly descriptive moniker. He's doing what you might call a stream of consciousness exercise, he's got all these things bouncing around in his head and he just lets them pour out onto a page, he can then take that document and pull out plums to expand on."

"Of course dear, you're always welcome here. Come by any time you want. Just be aware, when he gets like this he can be, shall we say, different as well as difficult." ... "Well, here's the thing of it. You know how Richard has a short attention span? Okay, you're right, microscopic is a better word. Well, there are times when the dear boy's attention can get stuck on something. No, worse than a low-neckline, I mean unshakable. Right now I could go in there and tell him that you've been captured by pygmies and his response, if he had a response, would probably be something like 'as long as they're nice to her'. No, really, it's funny sometimes. And, if you get lucky, when you proofread his work, you'll find something in there about pygmies kidnapping some strange woman."

Martha laughs heartily "Oh it is truly entertaining to see his mind hop the track like that. We do it to tease him at times but we've all learned to never ask him anything important, or god-forbid, serious when he's like this." Listens for a bit "Yes, you should. Come over and have a few laughs. He got home yesterday about 5pm and judging from what I can see, he's not stopped writing since. No, I mean it, he's going on eighteen hours of writing, he's probably taken two or three potty breaks but that's it. I say that because I don't see a puddle on the floor under him. Sure, I'll be here. Just give me extra time to get to the door from upstairs."

Martha hangs up the phone and smiles. As she puts the phone down, she looks towards his office and says "Well Richard Castle, you are going to get your comeuppance today. I wish I was a fly on the wall for it." With that she heads up the stairs smiling broadly, to await Beckett's arrival.

A little while later, the door bell buzzes. Martha glides down the stairs to open the door. "Kaate. Please, come on in."

"Hello again Martha."

"You know what Kate, let me do something." as Beckett closes the door, Martha walks over to the kitchen and takes something from a corner. "Kate, I've been in enough relationships to know that the idea of having someone else's key can be significant but I'm going to bypass that with this." she hands Kate something "Here's the key to our front door. It's not from Richard, it's from me, just a friend."

"Oh Martha, no."

"No Kate, I insist. I can't think of anyone in the world we'd trust more so that's not an issue and this way the baggage of him giving you a key is avoided."

"Martha, I.. but...he..."

"Kate, that's just it, I am giving you the key because it makes my life easier. This way we don't have to stop what we're doing to let you in, I'm allowing you to come in on your own. You have an open invitation to our home."

"But..."

"No buts. I'm doing this for me. And... well, truth be told, because if Meredith finds out it'll drive her crazy. I know she's Alexis' mother and I respect her for that but there's still the urge to twist the knife at times."

"Okay. I'll do it for you. If there's ever a time you want it back, please, don't hesitate or think twice to ask for it back."

"It's a deal. Now, Richard's in his office, I'll be upstairs."

"Thank you Martha."

"Ta ta daaling!" says Martha, gliding towards the stairs.

Taking off her coat Beckett looks around. "Well, let's see what he's up to." she says under her breath as she sneaks into his office thinking to herself "It's almost too easy. I wonder if I should... Naaa... I'll be good..."

Once inside the office she decides to have a little fun after all so to tests the waters "Hey Castle, a giant panda just took a subway hostage." she says to him.

"Humm... that's nice dear." he says typing away without missing a beat.

"Dear eh?" she thinks to herself smiling.

"The Swedish bikini wrestling team is trapped too."

"Dontcha..." type type "..love..." type type "...New York..." type type type he replies.

"Oh, this could be really really fun or, if I'm not careful, pretty disastrous." she thinks to herself. "Well Kate Beckett, how badly do you want to get him back for all those goofy jokes he's hit you with?" she looked at the man engrossed in his work and smiles, "Well, maybe just a little bit of fun won't hurt."

She walks up behind him and reads what he's typing on the screen. Yup, there it is, 'a giant panda in a bikini wrestling a subway car.' "I feel like a cat playing with a mouse." she thinks. Reading on, she sees he's in the midst of writing a chase scene, she reaches out and gently strokes the hair on the back of his head, twirling a finger around in his locks. Looking at the screen, she can see what happens, 'The suspect's car collided with the police cruiser blocking their path as Nikki Heat, gun drawn, runs towards them twirling her finger in Jamison Rook's hair yelling "Police! Don't stop!"'

"Oh good grief." she to herself as she rolls her eyes. "I was right, this is too easy." leaving the office, she heads for the kitchen thinking "I'll make a sandwich for lunch and maybe that'll break his spell, he looks like he's not even showered or eaten since he got home." As she starts to orient herself in the kitchen, Martha comes back down.

"Kate, I have to go out for a few hours. It seems running my own school has demands. Please make yourself at home."

"Thank you Martha." she smiles "I have to ask, how long can he go like that?"

"If we let him, he'd go until his body shuts down and he passes out from exhaustion. We've seen it happen a few times. Usually, he's good for about thirty to thirty-five hours from waking up to turning off. What you see there is about twenty and he had been up with you folks at the precinct for another eight to ten so he's at the tail end of his run. Don't be surprised to hear his laptop fall to the floor and he just goes limp and falls sound asleep."

"Okay, so I shouldn't feel bad breaking him loose from the grip he's in?" Kate asks concerned.

"Oh no, absolutely not. If you weren't here, I'd be starting on him now. The poor boy needs some food and sleep... and a long shower."

"I'll see what I can do to wake him up for you."

"Thank you Kate. I'd say 'be gentle' but I think he may deserve what you'll do to him." Martha says smiling as she heads for the door "Toodles!" as the door closes behind her.

"Hmmmm... I wonder..." she thinks as she heads into the office again and reads over his shoulder 'Into the bullhorn she yells "This is Nikki Heat! You're not going to get away! We've got you surrounded!" Jamison Rook, looks at her, continually amazed at how strong she is. Nikki, turns to him'... Kate laughs to herself and whispers into Castle's ear "Richard, take me. Take me now. Make me feel like a real woman." she looks at the screen ...'continually amazed at how strong she is. Nikki, turns to him and she pulls him down on her, kissing her passionately he whispers in her ear "Oh Nikki. Nikki. Kate. Your skin is so soft, I love you so much" says Jamison Castlezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

She stands up abruptly, shocked at what she's just read. She suddenly feels herself go flush, cheeks hot, embarrassed, and unsure of what to do. His eyes, are now fixed way off in the distance. His hand stuck on the "z" key. She reaches over and pushes his hand off of the keyboard. His eyes begin to close. He looks like a kitty that doesn't know it is about to fall asleep. His body starts to go limp, she catches the laptop as it slides off his legs. His head rolls forward then backwards, his mouth open and his breathing heavy and his eyes shut tight.

She suddenly feels naked and very unsure of herself. She puts the laptop down on the desk. Looking at him, there's not much she can do... unless... She gently puts his feet down on the floor, puts his arm over her shoulder, and whispers in his ear, "Richard? Richard. I want you to get up." and she starts to boost him from the chair as his body stiffens a little and he begins to move at her command. "Now, let's walk into the next room." and, like a zombie under her control he begins to let her move him forward into the living room. Carefully she turns him around and lets him down onto the couch. She covers him gently with a blanket and lets him sleep.

She looks at the sleeping form on the couch and smiles. Catching herself, she stands up straight and shakes it off. "Well, I..." looking at the television and then glancing at the office door... "No, I shouldn't..." she bites her lip and then hurries into his office pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing it. "Lanie?" she says in a hushed voice "Are you free for a couple of minutes? No, I'm not in the precinct." as she sits down in his chair "I'm in Castle's office! No, really! He's asleep on the couch." she twists her face "No you dirty little girl. Get your mind out of the gutter." she giggles. "Let me tell you what happened..." and she tells her best friend in the world about the morning's events... "Let me read it to you from his screen..." and she then relates the story of Nikki and Jamison and as she finishes, she feels herself blushing again "Isn't that amazing?!"

Lanie Parish, on the other end of the call, is sitting in her office with the door closed, laughing so hard at the story her friend is telling her that tears are streaming down her face. "No honey, it isn't amazing. It's only amazing to you. The rest of us know that story very well. Yes, I promise, I won't tell anyone, not even Javi. Not that he'd believe me but I wouldn't want to ruin your fun."

"Yeah, thank you." says Kate, getting up from the chair and walking out to the kitchen, aware that it feels normal to her and she doesn't feel like she's invading someone else's home. "I'm going to stay here for a while, Martha left me here to keep an eye on him... Oh be quiet you! I'm going to make a sandwich and watch some TV, it feels good to be out of my normal routine." ... "I'm going to call the boys now. No, Of course I'm not telling them where I am. Okay, thanks for listening. 'bye!" and she hangs up her phone smiling wide. She quickly dials it again "Ryan? Yea, anything exciting going on?" Listens "Okay, I'm going to take a short break. I'm going to be working on some old paperwork at home. If anyone needs me, call alright?" Smiles "Thanks. No, I'm not worried about Castle, you know him, he always appears magically. Great, talk to you later on. Thanks." and she hangs up the phone and finishes making her sandwich.

Looking around, Kate realizes that this is the first time she's ever had the chance to wander around the loft and look at things. So, with her sandwich in hand, she strolls around the living room, examining the books and nick-knacks on the shelves, trying to guess their stories. Suddenly she hears stirring from the couch "Nikki! Nikki! Look out!" and he goes back to sleeping soundly.

"What a sight. If I didn't think it was mean, I'd love to take a picture to wave at him later." she thinks. Kate continues to wander around, going into his office, she examines all the strange things he's collected over the years. She finishes her sandwich and heads back to the kitchen to wash the dishes she used.

Feeling unusually at home, she heads into the living room to check on Castle, he's still out. "Snorin' like a baby chainsaw" she thinks. "Well, maybe time to catch up on some TV watching." She sits down on the couch and turns on the TV low and starts to roam through the channels looking for something to watch, finally landing on a marathon of old episodes of "Temptation Lane", she puts the remote down, and curls up on the couch hugging a big pillow to lose herself in the show.

Hours later, she doesn't even know how many, she woke up. Startled by her own vulnerability in this state. She looked around and the blanket was piled on the couch but Castle was nowhere to be seen. She blinked and checked her watch. It looks like she'd slept about six hours. The sky was darkening over the city. She stood up and admired the view out these windows. Then she realized. Oh, I'm in Castle's home! She looks around, remembering she's a guest and goes to look for him. He's not in the office or the kitchen, she heads for his bedroom, her heart pounding at what she may find there. She opens the door and looks in. She can feel her face flushing yet again. She doesn't see anything and then she notices the light under a door. He must be in the bathroom. She lets out a sigh and heads back to the living room and begins to fold the blanket and neaten up when he comes sauntering in, wrapped in a towel, groggy but now the "normal" Castle she's used to.

"Hey! I didn't know we had a maid! You look just like that hot detective I work with." he says, obviously punching some of her buttons.

She blushes and pokes back "Don't you wish!"

"Remember Beckett, my wishes and dreams do come true." he smiles and winks at her with that oh-so-irresistible twinkle in those blue eyes of his as he heads into the kitchen. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes please! I'd love some." as she sits down at the counter.

"How long have you been here?"

"A few hours. Your mother let me in some time about noon. I helped you to the couch when you shut down."

"Sorry about that. I don't wish that on anyone. You could have just left me where I was. I'm actually kind of used to it. I wake up a little sore but none the worse for wear."

"It's okay. I found a marathon of Temptation Lane episodes so I did some catching up while you slept."

"Well, good. I'm glad you got something out of it."

"Oh yeah." she says, enthusiasm showing through, suddenly wishing she could take it back.

He looks at her and gives that annoying eyebrow of his a hoist just enough so she knows what he's thinking.

"I'm hungry. Would you like anything to eat?" he announces as he opens the door to the 'fridge.

"I don't know, I probably should go home and let you get some more sleep."

"No, please stay." now it is his turn to wish he'd not said it that way.

"Well... if you want me to."

"Yes, please. If you let me go get dressed, I'll take you out to some dinner."

"I don't know."

"Just a burger. I promise."

"Only if you buy me one of those thick shakes."

"It's a deal. We'll go to Remy's. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be right back."

"Okay. If you make me wait much longer you might have to buy me some fries too." she chuckled as he semi-ran into his room to change.

He comes out minutes later, dressed like he usually is. "He always seems to be able to simply slip into a casual suit and look good without looking dressed-up." she thinks.

"You ready?" he says approaching her.

"Yes." as she stands up from the counter, he gets her coat and helps her on with it. "Thank you." Ever the refined gentleman, he puts his hand on her back and walks with her to the door, opening it for her, and going out behind her.