A/N: Sorry for the delay, my own exams phase got me and I didn't have much time to write. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please review so I can improve my writing :)
It was early when Josh's alarm went off. Carefully, trying not to wake Kate, he left the bed and made his way into the bathroom, and within half an hour he was off to work.
Kate, despite his trying to be quiet, was awake, too.
'Josh's probably saving some lives in the early morning and I'm just lying here, unable to get up and be productive' she thought while turning around to spread herself through the entire bed, breathing in his scent, which still lingered in his pillow.
She tried to drift off to sleep again, but her mind went elsewhere, and soon enough she found herself thinking about the upcoming days, the past ones, Castle..
She wondered if he was still as sick yesterday and decided that she'd be unable to do anything else until she found out about that.
Hey, are you still as whiney as you were yesterday?
After getting that message out, she finally pushed thoughts about Castle aside and got up to take a shower. The streamy hot water kept her from thinking and Castle didn't even occurred to her until her phone buzzed while she drank her 3rd morning coffee.
I'm never whiney, detective. Well, not that much ;) nevertheless, I'm doing better today, thanks for caring.
It was short, but she felt like she could hear his voice in her head while reading the lines, could see the smirk on his lips and the sparkle in his eyes he got every time he teased her.
She was glad that he was doing better, because if there wasn't a new body found today, she had a boring day full of paperwork ahead of her. Additionally, she would have to survive without one of this fantastic vanilla-lattes along with a bear claw she usually got everyday when Castle was around.
With a sigh she placed her empty coffee mug in the sink, reached for her Keys and coat and left her apartment for work.
The day went by without a new body or anything interesting to do.
As the clock turned 4, Kate decided to call it a day and grabbed her stuff to leave.
Standing in the elevator, a spontaneous idea occurred to her, and she pulled out her phone to inform Josh that she'd be home late today.
Hopping into her CrownVic, she was determined to see if Castle was really doing better today. The traffic got her stuck for a short time, but finally she was able to find a free parking lot just a few meters away from Castles loft.
While driving, she hadn't really noticed that it had started to rain and it increased with every second.
Holding her jacket over her head, she sprinted towards the huge building Castles loft was set in.
Greeting the doorman, she made her way into the elevator and waited for it to arrive at her determination.
While waiting, her thoughts started to overthink her decision of visiting Castle.
'What if he doesn't even want to see me? What if one of his ex-wives decided to take care of him and they want to spend some time alone..? What if he's still too sick to even deal with any visitors? What if..?'
She shook her head to clear her mind and calm down.
'Relax, Kate. You're his partner. It's all natural to visit him and care for his wellbeing. No need to stress out.'
It didn't really work. Anyway, there was no additional time to deal with it and soon she found herself standing in front of his apartment, knocking the door.
Castle way lying in his bed, feeling awful. His loft was empty and he couldn't get himself enough motivation to move or do anything. His head still felt terrible and the flu made him weak. He was just wishing for some company.
As if the greater good answered his prayers, he heard a knock at his door. First, he was unsure if he really wanted to get up and check who was standing at his front door, but soon enough his curiosity won and he slowly stepped out of bed and made his way to the door.
Opening it swiftly, it revealed his beloved partner, standing irresolutely in the hallway.
"Beckett! What are you doing here?", Castle asked bewildered.
"Oh, hi, Castle! I just wanted to check if you're still alive and doing well, but obviously you do. I didn't wanted to interrupt anything or come unwanted but.." she shrugged, "well, you seem to be ok, so I don't wanna disturb you any longer if you want to be alone.."
Seeing that her speech let nowhere in particular, she started to turn and leave as Castle finally got what she actually wanted to say.
"Thank you Kate, for caring. Actually, I'd love some company around. It's been pretty boring.. being alone in the loft."
Surprised by his sudden use of her first name, Kate turned and found Castle spreading the front door widely and gesturing towards her to come inside. She nodded and cracked a small smile, entring the all too familiar loft right after him.
Inside, the loft still looked as ordinary and clean as it always does. Leading the way, Castle entered the living room and sat down on his huge couch and Kate took a seat next to him soon after.
"So, how have you been, all sick and stuff?", she asked, unable to hide a small glimpse of worry in her voice.
"I was awful, really, I'm not exaggerating anything or overreacting. I thought I had to die.'" Castle started his huge speech about how he bravely fought the flu and came back stronger than ever.
Kate just rolled her eyes and teased "I see you are much better now. Just don't wanna come back to boring paperwork, isn't that the real reason for calling in sick, Mr. Writer?"
Castle shook his head vehemently, denying her accusation. "No, I would never let you alone with paperwork if it wasn't for me being absolutely sick!", smirking, he continued, "But if we stop fooling around and get serious again; I'm doing much better, but my headache is still pretty bad and I feel weak. But I'm sure it'll be better after the weekend, so I'm back with all my special crime-power to help you, my dear detective."
"You can't stay serious for even the tiniest bit of time, can you?" Kate chuckled. "But I'm glad that you seem to get better everyday."
"So, how have you been without me in the precinct? Are our boys missing me, too?", Castle teased.
"Since when do we call them 'ours'? Anyway, there wasn't a real case this week, just paperwork and cold cases so far. Ryan and Espo are currently re-checking the background of some suspects of a case a few years ago, just to be sure there wasn't anything overseen or to find new leads in order to solve that case. But you missed nothing spectacular."
They kept on chatting about cases and things at work, but soon their topics changed to more personal stuff and revealed how close they've gotten over the years.
"How's Alexis doing? And how is Martha getting along with her new boyfriend.. Karl, isn't it?" Kate asked.
"Well, they're doing pretty fine. Alexis is busy with studying and stuff, she's almost never at home and I get to see her quite rarely." He frowned. "But it's ok, she'll have more time after her exam phase and we planned to go to the hamptons for a few days then." He smiled at the thought of his daughter spending some relaxing summer days with him.
"Mother is doing good, too. Karl seems to be a good guy and she's head over heels. But due to that, she's not that much at home, too. That's why I'm home alone, although I'm sick!
Anyway, how are you and the doc doing?", he asked after explaining his current situation.
"You whiney baby will survive a few days alone, although you're sick!", Kate teased. "Oh, Josh and I are doing really great, he cooked a delicious meal for me although he is quite stressed."
Going on about how their lives were they didn't even realized how time flew and soon it was dark outside and their stomaches began to growl.
"Guess we forgot about time during chatting, didn't we? I guess you've to go, Josh will already await you." Castle said with a hidden sadness in his voice. It was fun talking to a good friend instead of being alone all day.
"Nope, it's fine. He's on duty. I guess I can stay a bit longer if it doesn't bother you... Well, you know what? I'll stay even if it bothers you." Kate chuckled and reached for her phone.
Castle chuckled and smiled at her.
"Anyway, what should I order in for dinner?"