Hey! Kay so firstly, I'm calling time on the mini contest that I attached to my other one-shot, Wake-Up Call, so congrats to the following:

Msgtt

Aggieboyle

Docnerd89

So hopefully the fics chosen by them will be up soon. In the meantime, here's one I meant to post earlier . . . as in, last year J so all that's left to say is I do not own the TV show Castle or any of the characters therein *sob*. Enjoy!

Comfort in the Oddest Place.

Detective Kate Beckett was tired. That was an understatement, she was exhausted. Since the beginning of their most recent homicide case, a killer who went after celebrity look-alikes, she'd been pulling double-shifts and the previously occasional all-nighter had become increasingly more frequent.

As she stared at the computer screen without seeing it, her eyes began to drift shut. Castle, who had just come back from getting coffee, put the two Styrofoam cups down and gently touched her shoulder. Beckett started at his touch and looked up at him, her eyes questioning.

"Go to the break room and have a power nap,' he said quietly, 'You're exhausted." Beckett opened her mouth, as though to argue with him, but he cut her off. "Go and lie down. You've done almost all the paperwork. It's only Wednesday, and the remaining paperwork doesn't have to be in 'til next Monday, Montgomery said." He pulled her to her feet, turned her around and placed his hands on her back, ready to give her a little push in the right direction if she still argued. "Go on. If anyone asks for you, I'll wake you up."

She scowled, but Castle felt her relax against his hands. She turned her head to the left and spoke softly over her shoulder. "Promise?"

He smiled. That was so child-like, and unexpected from the normally mature and fiercely independent Detective Beckett. "Yeah, I promise,' he almost whispered. She sighed, and headed off to the break room. Castle smiled softly to himself again. She actually listened to him. Sure, she listened to his theories on the murders they investigated, but for her to listen to him telling her what to do for a change was definitely an occasion to stow away in his memory. He settled himself at her desk, pulled his laptop from its bag, opened it up and began to write the next chapter of his most recent book.

It felt as though hours had passed, but when Castle went to check on Beckett and looked at the clock, he saw to his disbelief that it had only been half an hour. He got up, stretched and headed to the break room. As he got to the door, he heard Beckett mumbling, presumably in her sleep. He stood stock-still for a moment, confused. Kate Beckett didn't talk in her sleep . . . Or did she? He didn't honestly know. Curious now, he entered the break room to see Beckett tossing and turning on her makeshift bed on the couch, muttering.

Castle, having seen his daughter have a nightmare - and Detective Beckett was most certainly showing all the classic symptoms of a nightmare - before, knew how to deal with it. The question was, was he willing to risk being killed by Beckett for being within a close enough proximity to touch her, let alone comfort her? He didn't really have to think about it.

Moving to sit on the couch next to her, Castle reach out tentatively and placed a hand on her shoulder, whispering quietly, "Beckett . . . Beckett." she didn't hear him, and although she had stopped tossing and turning, she called out in her sleep more loudly than before.

"No, please, don't hurt him. Please, don't do it. Put the knife down. We can sort this out, just please let him go. Please." tears began streaming down her face. Castle gently shook her shoulder, murmuring slightly louder, "Kate. Kate, wake up. You gotta wake up now. C'mon now, wake up!"

Her eyes flew up as she sat up so quickly Castle jumped backwards in surprise. He had never seen her like this. She looked, well . . . Terrified. Her eyes were wide and filled with fear as they darted around the room, looking for both her imaginary tormentor and her saviour. When her eyes came to rest on Castle, she visibly stiffened and her gaze was drawn to his shoulder where, thanks to his open-necked shirt, a corner of the startling white bandage that covered his most recent souvenir, a knife wound. Still hanging between dream and reality, she raised her hand, hovering it over the bandaged area of his shoulder. Castle, sensing her otherwise well-hidden concern, slowly brought his hand up to rest on hers, then gently pushed her hand down onto his covered wound. Hearing her sharp intake of breath, he gave her a soft smile.

"It doesn't hurt," he murmured, in an attempt to reassure her. She looked up at him, skepticism written all over her tear-stained face, causing his smile to grow. She fought to keep the contemptuous scowl on her face, but felt it slide off to be replaced with a smile anyway. But her eyes came to rest on the lily-white bandage again and her smile fell. Her eyes filled with sadness and regret. She gently, almost tenderly, traced the faint shadow on the gauze made by the still bleeding wound, tears tracing a path down her cheeks again.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, "I-I . . . I tried to stop him, but. . ." she choked on her tears and lowered her head, suddenly ashamed that Castle, of all people, was seeing her cry. To her surprise, he placed his hand tenderly under her chin and slowly lifted her head so she was looking at him.

"Hey, I don't blame you for my little scratch," he spoke with a gentle smile, causing her to smile weakly in return. He really didn't blame her. It was his fault for getting held hostage . . . again. He mentally scolded himself for causing her so much pain. Then, an idea suddenly hit him. A smirk came to his face and he turned to Beckett, who was settled in his arms sleepily. He gently poked her, causing her to look up at him from under her sleep-ruffled fringe, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Tell you what, next time you tell me to stay in the car, I promise I will stay in the car, kay?" a smile once again spread across Beckett's face as she let a small airy laugh escape her.

"Sure, Castle, like you'd ever be able to restrain yourself and stay in the car." Slowly, she removed herself from his arms and stood, heading towards the door to the bullpen. She stopped as she reached it, then turned to him and quietly said, "But thanks anyway, Castle." She afforded him a small smile, and headed to her desk to finish off her paperwork.

Please review. Also, may do a second part to this, not sure if Castle will stay in the car, though : D