A/N: This is my first fanfic so I'm pretty nervous about posting it. Additionally I completely do not understand this system, so hopefully there aren't any seriously rookie mistakes in the formatting!

A/N2: So I edited this chapter a bit. Got some feedback that suggested the timeline was a little tricky to follow. Not sure if this helps, but the edit also let me fix a couple of spelling and punctuation mistakes that were just driving me crazy :)

I'd love feedback so feel free to review!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Castle. If I did, likely all the episodes would be fluffy like this! My highest praise goes to the writers, cast and crew at Castle and I hope that I capture the spirit of this fantastically addictive show. I love Mondays :)

Sunday

Kate lay curled up on the couch reading a book. It was Sunday, her day, and she had decided to spend it lazing around in her sweats. Of course, she had forgotten to pack her own the last time she had stopped in to her apartment so she currently rested comfortably in Castle's black fleece track pants and one of his softest over-sized sweatshirts.

She had let herself sleep late today, something she almost never did. Maybe Castle was starting to rub off on her. She was repeatedly amazed by just how late he could sleep in, and he did so every chance he got.

Unfortunately for him, today was not one of those days. Gina had insisted on meeting with him about his latest book and this was the only chance she could do it. He had whined and complained almost endlessly on the phone with her last week but it became clear fairly quickly that she just wasn't having any of it. He had finally relented but looked at Kate when he hung up with a pout that was part apology and part sulking.

Last week

"Castle, it's okay. It's just one morning." Kate really wasn't too upset and she wasn't really sure why he was getting so worked up about it.

"But Sunday is our day Kate. I wanted to spend it with you."

Our day.

She softened as he gazed longingly at her. He looked like he had just lost his puppy. He was so adorable.

"Well," she had said as she sidled up to him with a sultry expression looking up at him through almost fluttering eye lashes, placing her hands on his chest. "Maybe when you get back we can…" she paused for effect and watched him swallow hard.

"We can…" he stammered, his eyes glazing over with desire.

"Maybe we can do that thing…you know…that we did that first time…" She let the words linger in the air as she played with the buttons on the front of his shirt, a coy smile forming on her lips.

"You mean…when we…and then we…you mean that?" His eyes grew wider as he gasped out the words with a mix of longing and anticipation.

"Uh huh," she nodded curling up on her toes to place the gentlest of kisses on his lips. She lightly ran her fingers along his neck and down to the front of his chest as he let out a low moan.

She pulled back and looked unblinking at his gorgeous blue eyes, pools of deep desire and longing, waiting for his response.

"Okay." He could barely whisper the words out, his mind going a mile a minute processing what she had just said. Images flashed so fast he could barely keep up, remembering how incredible it had been.

As he reached out to put his hands on her waist she stepped away and slowly turned to walk back to the kitchen with a bit of a swing in her hips, knowing he was watching. He reached out to the empty air where she had just been, trying to stammer out some words of protest to get her to come back, when she turned and looked back at him with that stunning smile. "Patience," she said, and walked away.

Sunday

Now, as she waited patiently for his return from his meeting, she giggled a bit at the memory of his face, just stunned into silence, but at the same time trying to figure out how to get her to give him a preview. She had been about to give in, not truly wanting to wait either – her memories of that first night were still as vivid in her head as they were in his – but her phone had rung and dispatch assigned them their next case.

That case had been a pretty gruesome one. A jealous wife had murdered both her husband and his mistress upon walking in on them in their own kitchen. She had grabbed the closest thing she could, a 10 inch long butcher's knife, and had stabbed each of them several times with such force and anger that she had left them a bloody mess. She had then calmly washed the knife and put it back in the block, removing the visible blood and her finger prints, before pulling on a sweater and walking down the street to a neighbor's for coffee. After several misdirects from the various interviews they conducted of family, friends, neighbors and co-workers, they had finally narrowed in on the wife and Beckett had craftily interrogated the woman into a confession.

It had felt good to get justice for the two victims, regardless of how she felt about their affair. It definitely wasn't anything she could ever consider doing. But, the whole case had taken a real toll on her, so she was relieved to have a quiet and peaceful morning to recoup her energy,

Regardless of all that, she was a little disappointed when she woke up earlier today to find Castle's side of the bed vacant. She felt around his side, cold and empty to her touch, when her hand rested on a piece of paper. She opened one eye to look at what she had found, discovering that the paper was curled around the stem of a single red rose.

Her stomach fluttered slightly as she felt all those feelings for Castle come flooding in. At first she had been scared of these feelings and unsure of how to really show them to him, while still maintaining some control. But she trusted him so much – with her life – that it soon became easy. In fact, she found it was becoming a source of strength for her that she could lean on when things in her head got too complicated. She trusted in his love for her and was learning to let him guide her in these first stages of their relationship. Though she still had not yet said those three important words, she knew that she could trust him also to be patient with her. And she knew that she felt that for him, she just hadn't found the right time or the right way to tell him. If such a thing really existed.

She pulled the pillows up on the headboard and leaned back against them to read his note. As she unrolled it she breathed in the fragrant scent of the rose letting it tickle her nose with a light touch.

After one last deep breath in she put the rose aside and opened the note. It read:

My dearest Kate –

I am awed by the joy I feel at waking up with you in my arms. I hate to leave, to have you wake up without me by your side. But every moment I am away from you I am thinking of you with all the love that I possess.

Always, Rick

She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she read the beautiful heartfelt words that he wrote for her. She sometimes felt almost foolish for getting so emotional around him and because of him. It wasn't in her nature to be anything but strong and in control. But when she was finally able to let down her walls and open up her life to him, some of her strength and control kind of melted. Not in a bad way that made her feel out of control, it was just different now. She didn't have to keep her guard up all the time now and she liked getting to really lean on him at times. They were becoming true partners, in every aspect of their lives, and it gave her a different kind of strength. So, sometimes she felt a bit silly, though those times were getting farther and farther apart, but most of the time, she just felt happy.

As she brushed away the tear that had lightly fallen down her cheek she realized that there was more on the note.

P.S. – You better make yourself a good breakfast because when I get home I'm going to hold you to our deal, and you're going to need your strength.

She laughed out loud at his final words. So typical. So Castle. But she took his words to heart and decided it was time to get up.

She looked at the clock. 9:30. Castle's meeting was just getting started. She had lots of time to make some breakfast and get dressed. He probably wouldn't be home for several hours so she'd have to find something to occupy her mind until he arrived.

As she got up and realized just how tired she still was, she made the decision to make it a lazy day. She pulled the fleece pants out of Castle's dresser and pulled them up over her red boy-cut panties. She had to cinch up the drawstring to keep the pants from falling down, but she loved how his clothes felt against her skin. She grabbed his grey sweatshirt from the shelf in the closet and pulled it down over her matching red bra. She knew he loved red on her so why not give him a taste of what was to come right from the start? As she pulled the sweater down over her head, she breathed deeply to take in as much of his scent as she could. He smelled like sandalwood and vanilla, with a bit of spice, heady but sweet. He smelled like home.

She padded across the living room into the kitchen to make some coffee. She was moving quietly but she wasn't worried about waking anyone. Martha was in the Hampton's for the week and Alexis was at school. She had a big paper due and a mid-term at the end of the week so Kate knew she would be holed up in the Columbia library all week. She moved quietly because she was enjoying the silence of this usually bustling household.