AN: Carry Me Home was actually meant to be just a one and done piece-an experiment to see if I could write something like that. Then so many of you signed up for a story alert...I felt obligated to go on. As I sit here, looking at this blank Pages document, I really don't know what direction this chapter is going to take. Don't hate me?

And, that picture. For those of you who may not have seen it, I won't go into further detail, but it does bring up the interesting topic of repercussions and consequences, something I'm really interested in exploring now. So, I think this just became a full blown story. There's no smut in this part, but if my muse plays dirty, there will be some in the next part.

There's also a thinly veiled BSG reference. I had a good chuckle after I wrote it, so I hope you do too.

"We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality." Ayn Rand

Even though she didn't have to go back to the precinct until the afternoon to finish up the paperwork, Beckett made a date with a punching bag in the gym. Was she really just that stupid? She let a little wine and an adrenaline rush get her into bed with Castle. Something in her judgement was seriously compromised.

Her Palm Pre rang as she walked through the door of her apartment, and part of her dreaded looking at the screen for fear that it might be Castle, trying to call her after discovering her absence. With almost the same amount of dread, she saw that it was Josh. "Hey."

"Hi!" It was the middle of the night, and he'd been operating all day, but he still managed to sound like it was maybe three in the afternoon. "Are you okay, Kate? They said on the news that a cop was injured trying to apprehend that triple killer guy."

"He knocked Ryan around a little bit, but he's okay."

"But you're okay, though? I've got someone who can cover for me if you don't want to be alone." He said, his worry for her obvious over the phone.

"I wouldn't be much company. I'm going to take a shower and fall into bed."

He didn't speak for a moment, which made her wonder if he was still on the line. "Okay. Page me if you need me, and I'll be there. No questions asked. Are you going in tomorrow?"

"Paperwork, and then I should be home." His 'no questions asked' statement threw her brain for a momentary loop, but she tried to stay active in the conversation. No questions asked? Sleeping with Castle probably wasn't covered under that.

"I'll call you, and then pick up some burgers and cheesecake from Skylight. We'll have a night in, watch some movies."

"That sounds fine." She said, trying not to let the edge she felt in her system seep into her voice.

"Okay." Josh suddenly sounded distant, and Kate heard another voice in the background. "Kate? I've got to run. I love you."

She was glad he was in a hurry as the call ended a split second later; glad because she wasn't sure she could have returned the sentiment.

"What the hell are you doing?" She said to the empty room. "Put your head on straight." It had been good; she couldn't deny that. But it couldn't happen again. It was as easy as that.

She'd been about to open to Castle once already this year, only to have that crumble around her in flames. She wasn't ready to do that again, and if this went on, it would only end badly. The only option? To stop it now, before Castle got any crazy ideas. Or could tweet about it.

########

Kate was gone the next morning, the side of the bed she occupied cold and there was no sign of any of her clothes. Hoping she was taking a page out of Nikki Heat's book, he dressed and walked into his study, where he ran into Alexis, but not Kate. "Hey you." He said.

"Hi Dad." She was scanning bookshelves, obviously looking for something in particular. "Do you have your autographed copy of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy here? Ash wants to see it when he comes over tonight."

"It's in the safe. What time is it?" He asked, his eyes trying to focus on the clock on the wall.

"Not quite ten. You still hadn't gotten home when I went to sleep, so Gram and I tried not to disturb you. Beckett called this morning and told us what happened and to keep an eye on you."

He relished the feel of the hug Alexis gave him. Beckett called? That must have meant she left in the middle of the night with no one to watch her go. "I'm a lot better now that I get to spend the day with you." He said with a smile.

"Is Beckett okay? Gram said she didn't sound quite right on the phone."

He took his turn to hug her. "This was one bad guy we couldn't catch."

########

Normally, an outing to the Central Park Zoo was a field day for Castle, but he couldn't stop fidgeting with his phone as he and Alexis journeyed through the exhibits. Gina finally stopped trying to call; she'd just sent an empathetic text saying to call her when he was ready to talk about it. He desperately wanted to see the cover of Heat Wave flash on the screen, to hear from Beckett, and at least know she didn't run off and marry that other guy when he was still sleeping.

"No more Battlestar Galactica for me." He muttered under his breath.

"Daaaaad." Alexis said, waving her hand in front of his face. "Earth to Dad!" She called again

He shook his head, taking him out of his daydream. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering where you were off to." She said. "You're usually right up against the rails when we get to the penguins, trying to jump in with them. Are you still thinking about last night?" She asked.

"A little. But, a day out with my favorite girl is the cure for all that ails. How's that new camera of yours working out?" He asked, gesturing to the small, pink digital camera that he had given her before the Taylor Swift concert.

"It's so great!" She said with a grin. "You want to take a break and see some of the pictures from today? We can grab a smoothie and you can tweet about the amazing time you're having with me."

"That sounds perfect. Lead on."

########

"Hold the elevator!"

The last thing that Kate wanted to do was hold the elevator for the owner of that voice, but not was as good of a time as any to lay down the ground rules of how things were going to be from now on. She stuck her arm out to stop the doors from moving, letting Castle join her in the small space. "Hi." He said, catching his breath.

"Castle." She returned evenly as the doors closed. It had been two days since their night together in the loft, and they'd gotten another case last night, which caused her to leave Castle a message.

This promised to be the longest elevator ride ever, and in between floors she hit the emergency stop button. "Your loft should have never happened." She said sternly. "And as far as I'm concerned, it didn't. You're still with your ex-wife, and I'm still with Josh. That's as far as this goes. It was nothing more than wine and exhaustion."

On his way here, he'd rehearsed what he was going to say to her; the impassioned, eloquent soliloquy where he was going to convince her that this was going to be worth it in the end if she'd just give it a chance, but as he looked into her eyes from his side of the elevator, he forgot all the words and couldn't come up with any more. "I was going to say the same thing." He said, and he could have sworn he heard his voice crack.

"Good."

An uneasy truce reached, she hit the button to make the elevator resume its path to the precinct. Another murder awaited; another person demanded answers that just couldn't wait.

Ending Notes: If it seems like they're getting off a little too lightly, don't worry. I have a plan! Hahaha. I'm of the camp that something like this can't happen between two people with obvious chemistry without huge repercussions to their already existent relationship.

The next part involves changing one of the outcomes in "Murder Most Fowl," and while that means the situation gets sad, it also leaves room for some more dramatic development.

Now that Nano's done, I should be able to work on this story more than I was able to in November. Thank you all for your continued support!