So this came to me while I was watching 1x04 Hell Hath No Fury tonight. Rick talks about how he used to hide in his pillow fort and down a fifth of scotch when his book came out and that image paired with the fact that he and Beckett are together now was too cute to pass up. So it's a short and sweet little piece that I wrote to avoid having to do NaNoWriMo because frankly I'm doing really bad at it.

This takes place in at the end of Summer 2013 (but really it doesn't matter, it's the story that counts).

One a side note: how fantastic was Monday's episode. The Final Frontier is officially on my list of favourite episodes. As a self-proclaimed geek I was freaking out and giggling so much through the entire episode that I kept having to pause and rewind a lot. But it was so worth it just for that end scene.

Anyways, what do you think of this little fluff piece? Let me know.

As always you can follow me on twitter vatrask or on my new blog: madamewriterofwrongs (.blgogspot) .com

Enjoy

"Rick" she called out into the apartment that echoed in eerie silence. Odd; she'd texted him last night, telling him (in some rather explicit detail) that she had the day off and would be over in the morning to entertain him. He wouldn't not be here for that. She called out to him again as she slipped out of her jacket and tossed on the coat rack, treading carefully through the loft. The next thought that passed – after 'oh my god has he been kidnapped' – was 'where could he be hiding waiting to shoot me with his laser gun.

It made her grin sometimes when she thought about how much of a goofball her boyfriend was and how giddy she got thinking of Rick Castle as her boyfriend. Sometimes it seemed a little surreal to have one of her favourite authors write a series of novels about her while he romanced her. But thoughts fame and pride were always replaced by his goofy grin and the dazzling way he starred at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

She continued to tiptoe across the creaking floor into the living room where she found nothing. All of the lights turned off and not a sound filling the open space. The door to his study was open however and she paused in the doorway, a sad smile on her face. In the middle of the floor, piled just underneath the large projector screen was a pile of blankets and pillows gathered from around the apartment to complete and mountain of browns, blacks and reds. Sinking into her hip, she crossed her arms and watched the pile breath soundlessly, expanding and falling in an exaggerated manner.

What was he doing in there?

Then she spotted the open bottle of scotch sitting on his desk and she pursed her lips to keep from smiling. Right; she'd forgotten that today was the day the fifth Nikki Heat came out. Normally on release day she would be waiting by the mailbox or outside the local bookstore anxiously awaiting the moment the books hit the shelf but the last two years had found her with an advanced copy and a front row seat for the actual writing process so the magic had sort of gone out of the day that everyone else got to read her boyfriend's books – she grinned. But for Richard Castle the author, today marked the month of hell where he irrationally worried that his books wouldn't sell and he called his agent twenty times a day asking how sales were going – even though pre-sales were through the roof and statistics didn't come in that fast.

She would never tell him this but she sort of liked that month where he freaked out over nothing but it was a reminder that with all of this success and this ridiculous playboy persona that still played in the back of her mind from the first time they officially met, he was still just a guy; an insecure guy who was very vulnerable when it came to his life's work. It was a bit endearing. This habit that he was displaying right now was one of her favourites simply because it was so silly.

Shaking her head, she finally stepped over the threshold of the office and looked around for an entrance to her goofball boyfriend's pillow fort while he hid from first day sales and downed a fifth of scotch. Screw healthy, she was going to join him.

She finally found an entrance wide enough for her to slip through that wouldn't collapse the fort and she removed her shoes so she could slither in and find herself right at his side. "Hey."

"Hi." He grumbled, pouting into his empty glass. She breathed in and nearly choked on the smell of alcohol and the sheer warmth that surrounded her in this tiny, enclosed space. So there were some downsides to doing this but it was worth it when she got to lean over carefully and kiss his cheek.

"Will it do anything if I tell you not worry?"

"No." it seemed his voice was auto-set on grumble.

"Okay then." She let the room slip into silence as she settled down into the floor, burrowing beside him in comfort.

Rick of course, suddenly startled out of his pouting to stare down at his girlfriend "so you're not going to try and comfort me?"

She looked at him sideways with those big, bright, fake innocent eyes "I thought you said it wouldn't help."

"Yeah but I still expect you to try."

"Is that so?" She sat up on her elbows, smirking at him before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his in a brief but searing kiss. "Stop worrying, the books good, sales are good; you're good." She tilted her head "how was that?"

"Mm, may need a little more encouragement." She didn't even time to roll her eyes as he met her in another kiss that lasted much longer this time. When she tried to pull back as she was smiling too hard for it to be a really good kiss he followed, rolling over so she landed on her back, forgetting that they were currently enclosed in a mountain of pillows. The fort came tumbling down around them, trapping them in the remains of his sorrow, leaving only a squealing Beckett and a chuckling Castle. He continued to kiss her as the pillows caved in around them, burying them; not that either of them noticed. Her arms came up to wind around his neck, pulling him as close as possible, and he sank into the space around her, holding her hip and cradling her head against his forearm.

Finally she broke away with a freely singing giggle that he couldn't help but join into. She stopped first, staring into his bright blue eyes with curiosity and amusement but as his own laughter died down, she smacked him upside the head "you weren't even upset were you?"

He couldn't hide the grin even if he wanted to – which of course he didn't "Kate I am a twenty plus best-selling novelist. I stopped worrying about first day sales years ago. Especially with the Nikki Heat series." Then he paused, opening his mouth but quickly closing it a moment later.

"What?"

It didn't take much to get him to talk to her anymore "it's just that with 'Heat Wave' I was actually pretty worried. And 'Naked Heat';" he paused again "and Heat Rises was pretty bad." Her breath caught as realization set in and he looked into her eyes, a smile resting there behind his tender insecurity "Frozen Heat was when I knew it was a sure thing."

"What about this new one?"

The smile shown through this time "the sales on this book will keep me going for a while."

She ducked her head to hide the blush as she tucked a hair behind her ear "and how many more Nikki Heat books do you think you'll write."

"As many as it takes to write Nikki and Rook's story."

She opened her mouth, not trusting herself to breath properly, taking in a breath that was nothing but him "then I think you're set for life."

There was that crinkled smile that made her heart melt and it was meant all for her. He leaned down again so his words were passed only between them "I'm counting on it."