This is just a quick little one-shot set during "Tick, Tick, Tick." How adorable was it that Castle was there to protect Beckett? Or better yet, that she let him stay? Just had to add a little something to it. A huge thank you to SD for the title.


Beckett closed her bedroom door and leaned against it with a sigh. Richard Castle was sleeping on her couch…for her protection, nonetheless. She shook her head at the absurdity of it. The fact that she'd greeted him at her door with a gun to his face should have been enough evidence to the fact that she didn't need his protection. After all, she was the cop in this relationship.

With another sigh, she pushed herself away from her door and walked over to her dresser to change into her pajamas. As she did, their conversation replayed through her mind. He'd asked her if she was jealous, and she'd told him that she was embarrassed by his childish behavior. He'd been right to tell her she was being ridiculous. They were all on the same team. The problem was that she was jealous. As crazy and possessive as it sounded, Castle was hers and she didn't like having to share him, regardless of how good Special Agent Jordan Shaw was at her job.

Beckett pulled the covers down and crawled beneath them. As tired as she was, she was still aggravated by Shaw's dismissal of her earlier, telling her that she needed to get some rest. This psycho had targeted her…well Nikki Heat, but her by extension…and it was her job to stop him before he killed somebody else.

With another sigh, Beckett reached out and turned off the light on the bedside table, thrusting the room into darkness. As she settled back into the pillows, she glanced over at her bedroom door, fully aware of the fact that Castle was settling down for the night just on the other side of it. She closed her eyes against the unbidden memory of the one time she had caught a glimpse of his bare chest and reminded herself yet again that they didn't have that kind of relationship. "Sexless" is how he'd referred to it earlier.

Agent Shaw's words replayed in her mind then. "If you're not sleeping together, why do you keep him around?"

Kate sighed as she considered the real answer to that particular question. Because he'd proven to be surprisingly useful? Because she'd gotten used to having him around? Because he made her job more fun? Or was it more related to the fact that he was currently sprawled out on her couch to protect her? That he cared enough about her to put himself in harm's way in his misguided attempt to take care of her? Or maybe it was because in that part of her that she liked to pretend didn't exist, she was very much aware of the attraction between the two of them and she knew that if anything was ever going to come of it, she had to keep him within arm's length.

Kate listened to the silence of her apartment for another long minute before rolling to her other side, her back to her bedroom door. She had reminded Castle that she slept with a gun, but even as she'd said the words, she knew that she'd never need to use it on him. There was no doubt in her mind that he respected her enough that he wouldn't try to take advantage of her. The only thing she was more certain of was that she would be a more-than-willing participant if he did.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Kate forced herself to relax. She closed her eyes and gave in to the exhaustion, her last conscious thought actually bringing a smile to her lips. Richard Castle was really sleeping on her couch.


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