She sits.
But she does not eat.
He narrows his eyes at her, thinking loudly.
"What? I'm not hungry." Castle sighs, pours coffee from the pot into two mugs and adds creamer. He picks one of the mugs up and starts to reach out to give it to her. She puts her gun down on the chair next to her and lifts her hand to take it from him but he pulls it out of reach, fixing his best 'I'm-mad-at-you-Alexis-and-you-know-damn-well-why' look. "Why do I feel like I'm about to get told off?"
His face softens, "Because even Ryan could tell there's something wrong, Beckett. Of course, it was pretty obvious when you collapsed in the bullpen yesterday. And they are detectives, you know." He passes her the cup of coffee and she gives him a small, guilty smile.
"So, detectives are medical professionals now, are they?" She sips at her drink and she shuts her eyes to savour the taste, "Mmm, Castle, this isn't my usual coffee."
"Like it?"
"Do I like it? It's amazing." His eyebrows twitch to go with the pleased smile he can't suppress.
"I'm glad. I worked hard to perfect that blend."
She rolls her eyes, "Of course you did."
He picks up a bowl of porridge and sprinkles some dried fruit and chopped nuts in with a drizzle of runny honey, rustles up a spoon from the top drawer and starts eating while leaning his hip against the counter.
"So what're you going to have for breakfast?"
She looks at the spread across her kitchen and shakes her head slightly, "I told you, I'm not hungry, Castle." She starts to braid her wet hair to keep it from frizzing.
"You have to eat, Kate." She meets his eyes for a fleeting second before guiltily looking back down at the food again. "And I'm not going to stop cooking for you until you look healthy again. Beckett..." He puts his bowl down and leans his hands on the countertop, drawing in a deep breath while he searches for the right thing to say, but it all tumbles out of his mouth before his brain has had time to process what he's saying, "I know how tough the last few weeks have been for you, and we're all trying to be here for you, to help you, but it's like you're not trying to help yourself. You've got to eat to be strong so you can catch more bad guys and stop them from shooting at us all, 'cause I know you don't want to face Lanie or Jenny or Alexis and tell them you weren't quick enough because you didn't eat breakfast that day. You've got to put fuel into your body, y'know?" He hangs his head with a sigh and mumbles, "That sounded better in my head."
Beckett surveys the food before her again, then studies Castle, his whole body drooping in defeat in the face of her stubbornness. She picks up a fork and starts to dig into the huge plate of scrambled eggs in front of her without a word. He looks up at the sound of cutlery on crockery with a stunned smile on his face. "You gonna sit with me or what, Castle?" she asks around a mouthful of eggs, gesturing to the chairs for him to take his pick. He pulls out the chair beside her and starts to sit without taking his eyes off the beautiful sight of Kate Beckett eating the food he made for her.
He shoots up out of the chair with a speed he didn't know he has. Beckett laughs and pulls her gun off the seat, "Sorry, Castle." She keeps laughing, "I wish you could see your face!" He sighs melodramatically and sits back down with a huff, but the smile creeps back. "I am sorry. You're right. Ineloquent, but right." He digs into his porridge again with his cheeks aching from the smile she's put there by simply letting him be in her apartment with her.
Castle allows her a few minutes of silence to pick out everything and anything she wants from his piles of food. He knows he went overboard, but he wanted to prove a point with this first meal. And from the look she gives him when she eats a smiley-pancake, he reckons he's managed it.
She leans back in her chair with a contented sigh, "I'm so full."
"Good," he stands and starts to clear the leftovers away towards the countertop where he'd left a chopping board. He chops some bacon up and puts it into a tub he'd brought with him. "So, this big tub with the blue lid is for you to take to the precinct for lunch, I already put some salad in there, lettuce, avocado, and plum tomatoes, some sunflower seeds and grapes, and bacon too." He points at them as he continues, "And this tub with the green lid has a buttered wholegrain roll in to go with it if you want, or for a snack or something... And this other tub is a fruit salad and yoghurt." He looks up at her, "While we're thinking about it, what would you like for dinner later?"
Beckett just stares at him, awestruck at the domesticity. His eyebrows knit together in concerned amusement. She gets up and goes straight to him, slipping her arms around his waist and placing her forehead to his chest. He tenses up in surprise but relaxes and drapes his arms around her shoulders and still-damp hair. She can feel his heart beating solidly and his breath tickles her ear. "Thank you, Rick," she mumbles into his t-shirt. She feels him pull away and she bites her lip, already anticipating the loss of his embrace, but he does something that surprises her.
Castle lifts her chin with a gentle finger and leans in. Kate's eyelashes flutter against her cheeks, and they carefully close the distance. Their lips touch, soft and gentle, barely brushing before they break apart. He smiles down at her with a twinkle in his eye and it's all she can do to keep breathing. Slowly, he takes a step back, letting go from their embrace, "I'll see you at the precinct later." In a flurry of activity, he grabs his phone and jumper, slips his flip-flops on, and is out the door before she can even reply.
A/N: The End :)