TWO

With a huff of frustration, Castle pushed himself away from his desk stood and gazed down at his computer with a frown. He definitely had not made as much progress on his writing as he'd wanted to, but for once that was not due to the fact that he had distracted himself with a thousand other things. Instead, the issue was his physical limitation. With his right arm still strapped in a sling, he could only type with his left (and non-dominant) hand, which was unfathomably frustrating. He briefly tried to use dictation software, but that only helped slightly. After several hours of hunt-and-peck typing, he decided it was time to give in.

Yawning dramatically, Castle stood from his chair and tilted his head from left to right to stretch out his neck. He absentmindedly scratched a spot on his stomach and then decided it was time to wind down for the evening. He shut the lid on his laptop, pocketed his cell phone, and then walked out of the office on his way towards the kitchen.

He intended to make sure everything that could be put away in the kitchen was and that all the lights were turned off, but he was interrupted on his mission midway across the apartment when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that the vibration had been notifying him of a text message from Kate that read, You still awake?

He responded immediately using the phones talk-to-text feature. "Yes. Need something?"He then continued on his way to the kitchen only to be interrupted by his phone vibrating again, this time due to an incoming call. He smiled at Kate's picture on his phone then tapped the green button to answer the call. "Hey Beckett; what's up?"

"Nothing I…It's silly." He could hear the groan in her voice and imagined her with a slightly embarrassed expression that was entirely adorable. "I shouldn't be calling this late."

"Please. You know I hardly ever go to bed before one." True, it was right around midnight and he was about to get ready for bed, but that didn't mean he was in bed. Even if he was, he always had time for his partner.

"I, um, I fell asleep reading and I had a nightmare about us being in the fire and I...I just wanted to hear your voice."

Castle's heart clenched when he heard how sad and afraid she sounded on the other end of the line. He knew all too well the unsettling dreams that could happen after a traumatic incident like the one they had survived; he experienced them too. He was also so proud of her for reaching out to him instead of trying to put on a brave face and muddle through on her own. On top of all that the sentiments of just wanting to hear his voice lifted his soul. It had taken nearly three full years for them to get to that place, but they were well on their way there—finally.

"Well I'm here for you Kate, and I completely understand about the dreams; I've had a few myself."

"I know its normal after something like that but they're still...unsettling."

"Yes, they are," he said, recalling the one from two nights prior in particular when he'd woken up choking, convinced smoke filled the loft, but after turning on all the lights he realized it had all be in his mind. He'd then gone back to bed and lay awake thinking about what happened and thinking about Kate for over an hour until sleep came again. With that in mind he suggested, "If…if you want to, you can come over."

She hummed, her voice a bit sluggish. "No, no; it's late."

"I know. Don't feel obligated but if you want to, you're more than welcome. We can talk about your dream, or what happened in the fire, or…or we can just sleep."

She was silent for so long that he was just about to check his phone to see if the call had disconnected when he heard, "Are you inviting me to a sleepover, Castle?"

Her tone was surprisingly light and playful; it made him grin. "Maybe I am."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Castle nearly dropped his phone from shock. He never expected her to agree! "I—oh. Okay. Great."

As soon as Beckett ended the call, Castle dropped his phone on to the counter and walked over to the refrigerator, then to the sink, then back to the refrigerator, completely unsure of what to do with himself. Beckett was coming over—Beckett was coming over to spend the night. Good grief—all his dreams were coming true!

…And his bedroom was a disaster!

Cursing beneath his breath he hurried across the loft, then remembered his forgotten phone and dashed back to the kitchen for it. Once in his room, he turned on all the lights and began to pick up the boxers and socks he'd tossed carelessly to the floor over the prior days. When all the laundry had been picked up, he noticed the crumpled used tissues and empty drinking glass on the nightstand and mentally scolded himself for allowing his life to drift back into that of a slobby bachelor after the demise of his relationship with Gina (again).

With the nightstands clear of clutter, he moved next to the bathroom, where he set out fresh towels and a washcloth in case Kate wanted them. He also double-checked to make sure the toilet seat was clean and presentable. With all that done, he returned to the bedroom, pleased with his work until his eyes fell on the bed. Shit! The bed! Rather—the sheets.

Castle looked down at the arm in the sling on his chest, and then back towards the bed with a slight cringe. He really wanted to change the sheets before Kate arrived, but could he really do that one-handed? He wasn't sure, so he considered the state of his sheets. They had been on his bed for somewhere between one and two weeks—he couldn't remember specifically—and since he generally defined the level of sheets "dirtiness" by a combination of length of time on the bed and amount of sexual activities taking place on them, they were certainly on the cleaner end of the scale (since the level of sexual activity was at a firm zero). But…No. No—he definitely had to change them; it was the polite thing to do.

Stripping the bed with one hand was easy enough and he even managed to replace the pillow cases by trapping the naked pillow against his chest with his chin and wiggling the case up from the bottom. He even thought he would have been able to handle the top sheet and the duvet, but it was just that damn fitted sheet. Castle tried every possible combination of his hand and his knees, his hand and his chest, he even at one point tried to use a sock-covered foot, but it was no use. Despite the fact that he had broken a sweat with his valiant attempt, he could not get the fitted sheet on the bed without his second hand.

Just as he was staring down at the balled-up mess of sheet trying to decide his next course of action, he heard a knock at his apartment door and cursed under his breath. He hurried out into the entry-way, took a moment to collect himself, and then opened the door.

"Hi—hi! Come in," he said with notable nerves when he ushered her into his apartment. Thankfully, her light laugh sounded a bit nervous too, which strangely made him feel better.

She carried a medium sized duffle bag over her shoulder and set it down on the ground to take off her coat, revealing a t-shirt and black leggings underneath. When she picked the bag back up again, she explained, "I, ah, I brought my stuff so I can just leave from here tomorrow morning."

"Oh—smart. Um…" He sighed and dropped his chin a little. "I'm so sorry—I wanted to change the sheets for you, but I just…I can't get the fitted sheet on with this—this thing." He gestured towards his right arm with annoyance.

Kate, on the other hand, looked far more amused than annoyed. "You want me to put the sheets on the bed, Castle?"

"I'm sorry—would you mind?"

She shook her head. "It's no problem." She walked into the bedroom, tossed her bag in the entryway of the office presumably so it would be out of the way, and set to putting the fitted sheet on the bed. Of course, with her two functioning hands she had no problem at all. Once the bottom sheet was on, Castle stepped in to help her with the other sheet and duvet. It wasn't until they were both tossing pillows back in to place that he took note of the domesticity of their action and smiled about what similar events their future might hold.

"Thanks for helping. You can, um, you can take that side of the bed," he said, gesturing towards the side furthest from them. She nodded, picked up her duffle, and walked with it over to that side of the bed. As she dropped the bag in front of the nightstand he asked, "Do you want the alarm clock?"

"No, I'll use my phone."

"Need a charger?"

"I got one."

"The plug is just...yeah…" His voice drifted off when she clearly found the outlet and no longer needed his direction. He watched as she plugged in her phone and then placed it on the nightstand before turning and pulling back the duvet cover. "Do—do you need anything else?"

She looked at him a little bit amused but assured, "No, I'm fine." She sat down on the mattress and reached back behind her to adjust the two pillows he'd placed there for her.

"I think I have some firmer pillows if you prefer but-"

"Castle," she said, her tone showing slight impatience. "Everything is fine."

"Sorry," he mumbled. He walked over, knelt on the mattress beside her, and said, "I just want you to be comfortable here." His words spoke of not just that night, but the future. He wanted her to feel comfortable in that space—to feel at home—because he knew even then she was settling into what would be her side of the bed. Soon there would be tissues, or lotion, maybe even a lip balm cluttering the nightstand and its drawers, and he couldn't wait for that time to come. He wanted her to want that too.

She gazed at him, steady and kind. "I am comfortable with you, and if I need something I'll let you know."

He smiled. "Okay." Then, he pulled back the covers to his side, slipped his legs beneath them and sat on his hip as he looked at her. "You want to tell me about your dream?"

Chewing on her bottom lip, she settled in with her legs crossed beneath the covers and her hands resting loosely in her lap. Without looking at him, she recounted the nightmare. "I was…I was walking through the dark. I think I was outside, but then suddenly I was in a building. It was still dark but echoing and then this light came in to view. I was in the basement on that building and the burning debris was crashing around me. I…I could hear your voice. I could hear you calling my name, but I couldn't see you. I was running around, trapped by the flames, and then I saw your face in the fire and I-"

"Hey." When he heard her voice grow progressively more stressed, Castle placed his hand on her arm and she looked at him with watery eyes. He smiled reassuringly and said, "We're okay, Kate; we both made it out."

"I know. I know that. It was just…it was one of the scariest things I've ever been through."

He nodded, agreeing to that sentiment. Feeling bold since she had agreed to spend the night with him with very little arm-twisting on his part, he leaned over, pressed a kiss to the side of her head and said, "Just keep telling yourself that everything is okay and I'm right here beside you."

She nodded, reached over to turn out the light beside her, and then sunk down beneath the covers. As he mirrored her actions she asked, "Did—did you say you had one too? A dream."

"Mmhm. It was pretty much the same: trapped in the basement but couldn't get to you because of the fire."

"Thanks for letting me come over, Castle."

Hearing the hint of emotion in her voice, he wished for nothing more than to comfort her. He wanted to pull her in his arms and snuggle with her, promising everything would be alright. Unfortunately, with her laying on his right side and his stupid arm still immobile, he couldn't any of those things. He shifted his body just enough to be able to reach out his left hand and brush his fingers gently against her arm.

Kate hummed out a soft, "'night Castle," that made him smile.

"Night Beckett," he returned. Then, smile still on his face, Castle shut his eyes, relaxed into his pillow, and fell asleep almost immediately.

"Mm wha's…whazat…?" Castle grumbled when he heard an unpleasant beeping sound. The bed began to shift, and he heard a hushed, "Sorry; I'll be quick."

Not sure if he was dreaming, he opened his eyes to see the blurry image of a woman sliding away from his body and getting out of bed. Not awake enough to process, he merely grunted and shut his eyes so he could fall asleep. A few minutes later, he was vaguely aware of lips pressing against his forehead and the soft words, "Thanks for last night."

Two hours later, Castle awoke again to a sunlit room and the distant hum of city traffic. He yawned, stretched his left arm overhead and then sat up in bed while lazily scratching his stubbly jaw. His gaze drifted aimlessly around the room until they landed on the spot beside him in bed. The covers were pulled up over the pillows. He never made the bed like that; he always left the pillows out. That was odd, very odd, and he—

"Beckett!" he gasped aloud.

In his pre-caffeinated state, he had nearly forgotten about his surprise midnight guest. Which meant he had not dreamed that a woman had left his bed early that morning; it was Beckett! Grin on his face, he reached for his phone to send her a message, but he typed out and deleted three different wordings before deciding he needed coffee before coming up with a friendly but not overly exuberant morning greeting.

As he swung his legs out of bed and made his way to the kitchen, he could already feel his cheeks aching from the smile on his face. Beckett had spent the night with him for the first time and it was going to be an amazing day.

A/N thank you so much for reading & reviewing. final part will be up Saturday!