FOUR
When Kate is awoken later that afternoon it isn't through panic stricken nausea, not a desperate and hurried race to the bathroom, but rather it is the steady tap of his fingers expertly dancing over well-worn computer keys that draws her back to the real world. The soft click of the space bar that has wriggled itself a little loose over the years and the lightening fast whirl of his hands as they race to keep up with his thoughts drift slowly through to her subconscious, tangling around the edges of sleep and battling against the heavy fog that still litters her mind.
The wonderfully familiar sounds of Castle working away beside her are a beacon of hope to her pain addled body, funny little imaginings of his furrowed brow and frown of concentration playing out like the movies against her eye lids that are still too heavy to hold themselves open. Her almost-dreams of the man she loves a beautiful distraction from how awful she feels; grateful that the nausea seems to have buried itself far away, but still taunted by fever, by a head that pounds without relief and a body that aches in ways she hadn't even thought possible.
Castle is almost at the end of his next chapter when he feels Kate waking up beside him, her arms stretching out of the covers in a way that seems almost feline and eyes blinking against the lamp light that now bathes his room.
He quickly types himself a list of storyline reminders and saves the new pages that he has written that afternoon, clicking down the lid of his laptop and tucking it away for another time.
"Good morning." she murmurs, reaching out in search of his warmth, his touch.
"Close enough." he replies, smiling softly to himself at how utterly adorable she is with sleep in her eyes and his shirt huckled around her waist. The startling heat of her skin tells him that she is still tormented by the flu, but he is relieved to find a little more of the his Kate Beckett back; to know that she is filled once more with fight, with spark, with the ethereal magic that he is yet to find the words to explain.
"Not morning?" she asks, cheeks blushed cherry pink with bashfulness and fever.
He pulls her flush against his chest, their legs entwined together as he kisses her quickly before replying. "Nope, not morning."
"Mmm'kay, that's good." Her words are a muffled sigh that sink deep into his musky skin.
"Good?"
"Too comfy for it to be morning." she states, as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world.
And as he holds her close, burying them both a little deeper under the covers and tangling his fingers through her hair, Castle has to agree with Kate's sleepy logic; it definitely does feel too comfy to be morning.
After a dreamy hour of blissful cuddles and almost chaste kisses, they are both beginning to feel the itch of restless feet; tangled limbs fidgeting in protest at having spent so long in one place, desperate to stretch out, to move and creak.
Clambering slowly over to her side of the bed, Kate snuggles herself back into his ridiculously fluffy dressing gown and pads into the bathroom to wash away the sickly remnants of the day. Castle is more than a little reluctant to let her go alone, but she assures him that she feels well enough to survive the shower and promises to call out if she needs him.
And so off he goes, heading into his office and rummaging through cupboards like a little kid at Christmas time, leaving Kate with half an hour to herself.
The misty spray of the shower is almost too hot to stand under, but that is exactly what she needs; clean and refreshing as the continual drum of the water soothes her weary body, warming her bones and clearing her mind. She feels awake, alive, human for the first time in what seems like days but has in reality only been hours, the hope of feeling better so close that she can almost reach out and take it.
But deep down Kate knows that she is still a long way from being back to her real self; and yet somehow she doesn't mind that thought as much as she should do, just as long as Castle is there to hold her hand and kiss her softly as she sleeps.
To be continued..
I'm sorry, I know that it is rather a short chapter once again, but I have fluff-filled plans for the next update that really need a chapter of their own :)
I hope that you are still enjoying my little story?
If you have a chance to do so, please let me know what you thought.
Thank you for reading,
Katie x
P.s. I am shamelessly plugging a little one-shot that I wrote earlier today ..it is called One Day, and I would love for you to take a peek.