I'm glad you guys liked the first chapter! Now here comes just a tiny bit of my trademark angst... Review & enjoy! :)


It had been 2 weeks since Alexis moved out. Rick and Kate were enjoying working together at the 12th again, now that Rick wasn't behind on his writing. It was the first time they had really been alone in the loft, and they were enjoying the alone time. Lots of it. Unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and roses.

"Please, Kate? We need this."

"Rick, I don't think you understand," Kate fumed, getting up from the dinner table. A few minutes earlier, Rick had asked Kate if she wanted to go to the Hamptons next week. She had said no because she had to work, he had begged, and it had just blown up. "I can't just do whatever I want whenever I want."

"But you have a right to take some time off," Rick insisted, getting up and following Kate into the living room.

"Rick, I took a week off when we went to LA. And a day to see you in Houston."

"Kate, that was three months ago!"

"Rick, you have no idea how vacation time works, do you? I have a very important job. People count on me! I don't just sit around the house and choose my own hours!"

"Kate, I'm at the Precinct with you most of the time!"

"Yes, you're around all the time, so you know Gates. No way in hell she would give me another week off. And working at the 12th isn't your job. You just play detective. At the end of the day, you can leave whenever you want."

"I can't, Kate!"

"Why? Because you're too busy breathing down my neck? Being overprotective?"

"Because I love you, Kate. Because I don't want to lose you," Rick said forcefully. He made a move to grab her hand, but she pulled away.

"Rick, I am so sick of you treating me like a child! I have PTSD, I'm not five years old!," She yelled in frustration, tugging on her hair. "I can take care of myself!"

"Kate, why is it so hard for you to let me care for you? That's what do you when you're married. You have to stop being so closed off!"

"I'm not closed off!," Kate insisted stubbornly.

"Really?," Rick asked, folding his arms across his chest. His eyes shone with hurt. "So why did it take you 4 days to tell me you thought you were pregnant?"

Kate blinked back tears. "That is not fair," she said angrily, storming past him towards their bedroom. When she got to the doorway, she turned back to him.

"You know what, Castle? I don't want to fight about this anymore. Or yell about it, whatever. I think I'm gonna sleep in the guest room tonight."

Castle threw up his hands. "Kate, that is ridiculous! This is our apartment, you've lived here for almost 10 months! If you want to take a breather and sleep alone, you can do it in our bedroom!"

"No thanks!," she yelled, heading into their bedroom. He rubbed his eyes and kicked a chair angrily.

Kate emerged a few minutes later, in an oversized NYPD shirt and a pair of blue plaid pajama pants. She was holding an extra blanket and pillow, and she was scowling, but in a kind of cute way. She stormed up the stairs to the guest bedroom, trying to keep herself from looking his way.

"Good night!," he yelled after her, still annoyed. "Love you too!"

He frowned and settled down on the couch, pulling a blanket from one side over his body. If she wasn't gonna sleep in their bed, neither was he.

xxxx

Kate woke up at 4 AM and looked around the room, confused. Why was she in the guest room? Then she remembered her fight with Rick from the night before. She sighed and rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow. She screamed into it, letting out all her anger. It only took a few minutes for the screams to turn into sobs. She rolled onto her back again, taking loud, shallow breaths. She regretted every single thing she had said to Rick, but at the same time she knew that if she apologized, he would ask her again, and then they would be back where they started.

Honestly, she needed the work. It made her who she was, and she loved it. It also hadn't been a lie when she said that Gates wouldn't give her time off. Sir Victoria Gates wasn't a Rick Castle fan, and Kate didn't have enough vacation time anyway. With Roy, she may have been able to get a few extra days, but not Gates….

She bit her lip, closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep, before she let her mind dwell on Roy Montgomery. Because the last thing she needed was more tears, and more sadness.

xxxx

Kate woke up again at 8:30, staring at the ceiling of the guest room. She didn't really know what to do. She didn't want to go downstairs and run into Rick, so she just grabbed one of his first Derrick Storm books off of the guest room nightstand and started to read.

She was on page 47 when she heard a quiet knock. She dog-eared the page and looked up at the doorway. An arm with an NYPD coffee mug in its hand was stretched out in the open doorway, floating by itself.

"I come in peace," a quiet voice said from the hallway. Rick poked his head into the doorway, with a cute, sheepish smile on his face. He walked in the room slowly, holding his other hand behind his back. Kate tossed the book back onto the bedside table and took the coffee mug from him. She took a big sip.

"Thanks."

Rick nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. He brought his other hand out from behind his back, revealing a large bouquet of red, pink, and purple flowers. He handed them to Kate. She smiled.

"Rick, they're beautiful."

"No, you're beautiful. These are just plants."

She took his hand. "Thank you. And I'm sorry about last night."

"Me too," he said, scooting closer to her. "It's my fault, for not thinking before I make extravagant plans. I just... I want you spoil you."

Kate smiled at him lovingly and put her hand on his cheek. "Oh, honey, that's kind of you. But I do have a schedule to think about."

"Well, it's not really that kind," Rick winked. "I just want to see you in that swimsuit from LA again. Or skinny dip with you, either way work for me. I'm not picky."

Kate laughed and put her hand on his arm, pulling him towards her.

"Oh, really?"

He laughed and she pulled him down on top of her, kissing him. He tangled his fingers in her hair, kissing her neck. She moaned softly, arching her back as Castle kissed her passionately.

"How is it," she asked him between kisses. "That you can make me feel like this with just a few touches?"

He smiled and placed his hand on one of her bare breasts under her t-shirt, massaging it. She gasped and hooked her legs around his. She threw her head back as he gently pulled her shirt up and gave her other breast equal treatment.

"Oh, Rick…"

He lifted his head up from her chest and captured her mouth in another heated, passionate kiss.

"Oh my god," he moaned into her hair. "We have a small argument, spend a night apart, and I feel like I haven't been with you in weeks."

She murmured in agreement. Then, she pushed Rick off of her. He looked confused, but she just grinned. She pulled her shirt off and kicked off her pants, then wiggled out of her panties. She grabbed Rick and pulled him towards her, tearing off his clothes. Lucky for her, he was still in his pajamas, and old navy blue t-shirt and baggy sweatpants.

He laughed as Kate pushed him back down on the bed, basically attacking him. "Did you actually just rip my shirt in half just to get it off?"

Kate nodded, and kissed him hard. "Yeah…. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," he whispered, kissing her chest.

They were passionate, fiery. Although it wasn't new to them, as a couple they were more sweet and loving. But they had their sexier moments too. When they were finished, Kate collapsed on the bed next to Rick, panting.

"That was…"

"Amazing," Rick finished, panting as well. Kate grinned and ran her hand down his chest, stopping just south of his belly button. He gasped.

"I was thinking…. Orgasmic," Kate whispered sexily, moving her hand and climbing back on top of him.

"So what do you say, Writer Man? Got a round two in you?"

He grinned. "Yep. I could go all day, Katherine."

"Sounds like a plan," she said before kissing him hungrily. "It is my day off, after all."

xxxx

It was about 2 in the afternoon when Kate and Rick realized how hungry they both were. Rick ordered Chinese food, and they both put their pajamas back on. They sat at the kitchen counter, eating spring rolls and chow mein, smiling at each other.

When they were done, Kate came up behind Rick and started to massage his shoulders.

"So, I'm feeling a little dirty… how does a shower sound?"

Rick grinned and slid of the barstool, pulling Kate towards him. He kissed her tenderly, and she jumped into his arms, locking her legs around his hips. He held her, and smoothly as he could, walked the both of them into their master bathroom.

xxxx

Kate and Rick were twisted up in the sheets hours later, holding each other and talking.

"So, I thought of a wedding date," Rick said softly, twirling a lock of Kate's shiny chestnut hair in his fingers.

"Mmmh, really?," Kate asked with a soft smile.

"Yeah... March 9th, the first day we met," he said proudly. "It will have been 5 years."

"Wow," Kate said. "I can't believe it."

"Me neither," Rick whispered, turning Kate to face him. "I am so, so lucky to have found you."

Kate smiled and cupped his chin, placing a sweet kiss on Rick's lips. "I'm glad that your books inspire homicidal tendencies in your readers."

Rick laughed and took Kate's hands in his. "Me too. Because they brought me to you, and without you, I would be a much lesser man than I am today."

"You helped me too," Kate said. She bit her lip. "I don't think I ever told you this, but your books – they helped me through my mom's death. Without you, I would definitely be lost."

Rick looked at her in awe. "I never knew that," he whispered, hugging Kate close to him. "I mean, I knew you were a fan, but…"

Kate nodded. "You saved me. Years before we met, you lifted me out of all of the pain."

"Oh, Kate," Rick said, kissing her hair. "I love you. So much. And I wish, as much as you do, that your mother could be at our wedding."

Kate held onto Rick and let herself cry. "She would have loved you," Kate said through her tears. Rick sat up, pulling Kate with him, so they were face to face. He took her face in his hands.

"I know I would have loved her too," Rick said. "And you know what? I bet that right now, she's watching us and crying because she misses you, too."

Kate smiled and laughed weakly. "I hope she hasn't been watching for the last few hours… that would be awkward."

Rick laughed and wiped away Kate's tears with his thumb. Kate smiled at him lovingly.

"March 9th is perfect, honey," she said to him. "I love the idea of the wedding being on our 5th anniversary."

He smiled. "Great. We can start figuring out the details soon… but we've got time."

"We have forever, remember?," Kate asked with a little grin.

"How could I forget?" Rick grinned adorably, kissing her. She wrapped her arms around him and deepened the kiss, yesterday's fight forgotten.