A/N: It's been a while since I wrote a Castle fic and this is very short but I love that Lanie and Esposito are back together and this came to mind after last week's episode. It's a tag to 7x8 with my take on what happened while Castle was missing. I hope you like it :)

As ever, I own nothing to do with Castle.

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There wasn't a single light on in the apartment, but she'd been awake long enough that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She could see the the heap their clothes formed on the floor where they'd exhaustedly undressed before collapsing into bed, and the way the curtains quivered in the ice-cold breeze which blew through the vented window into the stuffy bedroom. The mirror on the dressing table seemed to have attracted every trace of light from the city outside, and its reflection showed her own tired form, in dark shades of blue and grey.

But more importantly, it showed the rise and fall of the mound of covers beside her.

She'd almost lost him. Again. Guns and explosives and a killer flu virus. She didn't know what threat had scared her most, only that she couldn't remember the last time she'd been so frightened.

He'd been her rock throughout the time that Castle was missing. When every John Doe had the potential to be her best friend's fiancé, he'd been just a call away, or better yet, accompanying her to the scene. After her failed attempts to draw Kate away from her obsessive investigation, just for long enough to get some rest, his arms had been wrapped around her without the need for a single word.

And at some point they'd fallen back in love.

Necessity and despair turned into peaceful mornings waking beside one another. Instead of seeking comfort they were stealing kisses. In the stairwells of the precinct. When he volunteered to come down to the morgue to discuss her findings. Right before she headed to a scene, instructing him to follow ten minutes behind - just in case anyone was being particularly observant that morning.

By the time Castle returned and the shadow which had loomed over their lives dispersed, they were happy. It hadn't happened suddenly with a monumental and desperate declaration of their feelings. In fact, it had taken them by surprise.

Yet here they were - back to being Lanie and Javier. Together.

The sound and sensation of the mattress springs creaking eased her out of her own head and back to the dark bedroom. Her gaze altered its focus from the reflection in the mirror to the real person stretching in his sleep beside her.

As he rolled over, and emerged from underneath the duvet, she reached out to touch a hand to his forehead. Her fingers lingered as she made an assessment of whether his warmth was from illness or simply from hours spent sleeping beneath the heavy covers. Rationally, she knew it was the latter, but she had to be sure.

He'd been released from quarantine and had enough needle marks in his arms to assure her his blood had been tested multiple times and the antivirals had been administered. The doctors at the hospital and from the CDC were satisfied he was safe, but that hadn't stopped her jumping when he sneezed during dinner, or eased the sickening feeling in his stomach when he cleared his throat several times during the movie they were watching.

"Lanie," he mumbled. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she responded, drawing her hand away and tracing it down his jawline.

Her lips turned into an amused smile, as he fought against the sleep he so badly needed. He was always determined to be the tough guy. But if she'd found the case exhausting, she could only imagine what being trapped in the subway had done to him.

"I love you, Javi," she told him quietly, having waited until she thought he'd drifted back into his dreams.

Then, knowing she should also try to sleep, she lay down and pressed her body gently into the curve of his. It only took a second before his arm came to rest across stomach and pulled her even closer.

"Took you long enough," he breathed with a chuckle.

"Took us long enough," she corrected, adopting a slightly softer version of her best bossy tone.

Several moments passed in silence, but both knew that the other remained awake.

"I love you too," he responded, his words silencing the remainder of the medical examiner's worried thoughts.

Javier Esposito and Lanie Parish were a couple. They were together. And more than that, they were ready for everything which being in love entailed.