A/N So I think this is the last chapter, I didn't set out for it to be but it mostly wrote itself. A huge thank you to everyone who both read or reviewed and major love and hugs to Leighace who was supportive even when I refuse to write quickly and I bugged her (I'm sorry I ended it, I'll write you something else I promise). I haven't beta'd this one as thoroughly as I probably should have so feel free to yell at me for any mistakes. Thank you for reading. Marie x

Chapter 3

To say she wasn't sure how she ended up snuggled into Richard Castle's chest would be an understatement. Although Kate didn't find her position necessarily a bad thing. As long as Rick didn't wake that was. His blue flannel shirt was soft and comforting under her right hand, which rested directly over his heart. The steady beats were calming. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck; the faint scent of his laundry detergent mixing together with his cologne filled her nose.

The apartment around her was hushed and, with a jolt she realised, warm. The cold the earlier nightmares had left her with had disappeared entirely. The faint light from the TV gave her barely enough illumination with which to see the clock, its intricate hands displaying 3:23.

Her detective instincts took longer to kick in than was customary however the empty bottle of Chateau Lafite in the centre of her coffee table could easily explain that.

Slowly the signs began the filter through her grey matter and memories fell quickly into place. Once Castle had settled the flowers to his satisfaction on her coffee table, a process that apparently took at least ten whole minutes, he had pulled out a well worn copy of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Apparently it had been one of Alexis' favourites when she was younger and hence whenever someone was ill or upset it was the first film Castle reached for.

"I'm not ill or upset Castle. I just...needed someone," Kate stated quietly, the latter being expelled on a sigh.

"Feel free to need me anytime Det..." His voice trailed off as he saw how his words caused Kate to close herself off; to most people the change would be unrecognisable but Castle could see her reinforcing her walls, the faint glint of wariness appearing in her eyes. Now was not a time for Rick Castle's playboy persona to come out to play.

He knew better than to push her, three years had taught him that much, and so he merely waved the DVD and announced "There's nothing an Audrey Hepburn film cannot solve."

"Mais bien sur."

There was a twenty second pause before Rick remembered to breathe again in which Kate happily settled herself back on the sofa and arranged the blankets around her again to chase away the remaining chill. Her walls began to come down automatically at the sight of the man child in front of her.

Right on cue Rick drew in a large gasping breath and started to make his way over to her whilst muttering,

"So sexy. Not fair."

After that Kate could only remember bits and pieces, most of the evening lost in a haze of laughter and friendship; scenes from the film, opening the bottle of wine Rick pulled from somewhere, leaning closer to Castle's heat as if drawn by a magnet. Wait, what? That particular memory will need to be locked away in the back of her mind, it hit a little too close to home for her liking.

Yet here she was, curled up against Richard Castle's chest and loving every second of it. The Lanie-like voice in her head was screaming for her to wake him up and perhaps do something she'd love even more but Kate Beckett was warm and content. Someday, hopefully soon, the wall would come down completely but until then she planned to go back to sleep and enjoy the moment. So with a smile on her face she tucked her head back into the crook of his neck and promptly fell back into a deep slumber.