Sunlight poured into the bedroom of Richard Castle, as he groaned at the idea of morning. He blinked his surroundings into focus and immediately found comfort in the familiar features that made up Katherine Beckett.
Curled up, still asleep in his arms, Kate gently rolled over and snuggled into Castle's warm, bare body. He traced his fingers gently up and down her spine, until her eyes batted open, hazily meeting his. The small smile she greeted him with quickly disappeared, as she looked around the room in confusion. "Did you make us coffee?" she asked, swiftly sitting upright.
"And a 'good morning' to you too," Castle mumbled.
"I thought Martha was in Florida."
Castle sat up beside her, begrudgingly accepting that she would not let this go unanswered. She just had to be a detective, he thought to himself. "She is. I bet it's just the lingering scent from last night, after we-"
"What about Alexis?"
"She wouldn't come home if I bribed her."
Kate rolled her eyes. "C'mon Castle, we both know she adores you."
"No, it's true- I tried it," he said with a half-hearted laugh. "Twice."
"Then who-"
"I don't know, Kate. Let's just go back to-" but it was too late. Beckett was already up, reaching for something to slip on. Castle shook his head with a bemused smile. "Alright, let's check it out," he sighed, throwing on a pair of jeans a dress shirt. "But after that, can we go back to bed?"
"Promise," she answered, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She crept out of the room as Castle followed a steps behind, watching her walk away in nothing but one of his oversized T-shirts.
Beckett peered into the kitchen to find…"Alexis?"
Castle shuffled in to see it was, in fact, Alexis- with her hands wrapped around one of the two cups of coffee resting on the counter.
"Oh! Um, hi Detective Beckett." The girl's eyes went wide at the sight of Kate in her father's shirt. "I wasn't- I should've- I mean- I didn't know you were here. I, um, would've made another cup," she faltered.
Kate uncomfortably ran a hand through her hair and avoided Alexis's gaze. "Oh no, that's sweet of you, but I can make my own."
"Alexis, honey, what're you doing here?"
"I'm sorry Dad, I just crashed here for the night. It won't happen again- I worked late and I had to get out of the bad part of town I was in and I was passing through here and I was tired and-"
"Hey," Castle hushed, putting both hands on her shoulders. "The offer still stands. You can alwayscome home. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, that's great." She pulled out of his reach and grabbed her bag off the counter. "But this was a one-time thing. I'm late for class- Beckett, you can have this," Alexis slid her cup of coffee over to Kate, stuck her phone in her jean pockets, and backed up towards the door. "I'll call you later, Dad" she smiled.
Castle stared as the door swung shut, and then he just stood there- as if he was waiting for his daughter come running back in for a hug goodbye.
Moments passed before Kate cleared her throat and reached for one of the mugs. "Coffee?" she tried.
"Did you see that?" he asked, mindlessly taking the mug from her hands. He was too distracted to take a sip, though. Instead, the coffee swirled dangerously around the rim of the mug as he rattled on, "I don't get it. She stays the night but won't have a conversation with me, she makes me coffee but she won't meet my eyes, and she barely said goodbye. What'd I do?"
"I could talk to her for you," Beckett suggested as she took a seat at the counter.
"Hmm?" Castle finally broke his staring contest with the door and looked her way. "Oh, no, it's fine, she'll come around." He was about to have his first taste of the coffee, but he changed his mind right before the drink reached his mouth. "She will come around, right?"
"I'd like to think so," she replied, already having made the decision to have her own private chat with Alexis. "But until then…" a sly smile danced across her lips, and her eyes glanced back suggestively towards the bedroom.
Of course, that snapped Castle right out of his daze. He flashed Beckett a devilish smile and took ahold of her hand, pulling her to her feet. She leaned into him and rested her forehead on his, until he dove in for a kiss. Kate immediately pulled her shirt off, and Rick scrambled to do the same with his. He'd just popped enough buttons open for Kate to jump in grab the shirt off for him. Rick pulled her close and hoisted her up into his arms. Kate kissed his neck until he pressed her up against the wall and took control, his lips consuming hers. They made their way clumsily to the bedroom, hardly coming up for air. Kate raced her fingers through his hair. Rick lowered her down on the bed. He hurried to take his jeans off when a vibrating noise came from the bed.
Rick glanced up at her in surprise, "Why Kate Beckett, I never." He climbed on top of her, his eyes wide with excitement.
Kate looked less than amused, however. "That's my cell phone, genius." She reached for her phone and checked the screen.
Please don't say it, Castle wanted to beg.
"There's been a murder."
Just like that, the mood was killed. Castle rolled off his fiancée in defeat, and watched as she got dressed.
"Castle," she beckoned. "You coming or what?"