A/N: You guys are amazing. Thank you so much for your awesome feedback. I'm still a little shocked at how well this story was received. Really, thank you.

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine.

Hiding my Heart

Chapter 4

The next morning, Kate slept through her alarm. When it sounded for the third time, she groaned and rolled to her side, reaching out blindingly to shut the damn thing off. Stretching her body slowly, she moaned when everything hurt and rubbed her eyes, trying to find the strength within herself to get out of bed. Her throat felt like it was completely raw and it hurt like hell to swallow. Damn it, she had gone to bed just fine. Why was she feeling like this now?

Blinking groggily, she turned her head to look at the alarm clock on her nightstand and sat up abruptly when she saw it was almost 9. Shit. She was so late. So incredibly late. God, she hurt everywhere and the last thing she wanted to do was get out of bed, but duty called. Swinging her legs to the side of the bed, she sat still for a moment to get her bearings, and then stood up carefully. She felt weak, her entire body hurt and she was pretty sure she had a pretty nasty cold, if her stuffy nose was any indication.

Whatever, she would just pick up some cold medicine on her way to work. Right now, she needed to get into that bathroom and take a shower and leave for work in the next five minutes, even though she knew that was not humanly possible, particularly in her current condition, but she had to try. Painfully making her way to the bathroom, she turned on the shower and brushed her teeth while she waited for the water to get warmer. Ten minutes later, she was hastily putting on her boots – flat ones; god, she was really sick – and looking for her keys. After locating them on the coffee table, she threw on her jacket, picked up a scarf to wrap around her neck and protect her throat from getting any worse and grabbed her purse from the couch. Locking the door behind her, she didn't spare a second glance to the envelope on the floor.

The cold wind hit her with a startling force when she left her building, giving her chills. Nevertheless, she braved the gush of cold air towards her car and sighed in relief when she settled behind the wheel, throwing her purse on the passenger seat and starting the ignition. The drive to the precinct was quiet and rather quick. By the time she dropped her things on her desk on the fourth floor of the 12th Precinct building, it was almost 9:30. Falling onto her chair, she closed her eyes for a moment, praying it would be a slow day and they wouldn't catch a new case. She honestly felt sick enough to not want to work.

"You okay there, boss?" Her fellow detective Javier Esposito asked, passing by her desk. Kate looked up and sighed, her stuffy nose making the action a lot harder than it usually was.

"I think I might be coming down with something." She said quietly, closing her eyes again.

"You think?" He commented and she cracked one eye open to glare at him. "You look like crap, Beckett. Why don't you go home? We can hold down the fort without you for today." He suggested gently and Kate smiled weakly at him.

"I'll stick around until lunch. If no body drops, I'll go home." She rasped out. Great, her voice was starting to disappear. Just what she needed. "I promise." She added when he lifted an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"Alright, suit yourself." He shrugged and started to make his way to the break room. "Want some coffee?" He offered and she grinned at him, nodding.

"I love you, Espo." She called out after him and was rewarded with his laugh. "You're my hero."

"Yeah, yeah. That's what they all say." He said over his shoulder and entered the break room.

A couple of minutes later, when he brought her a steamy cup of their crappy coffee, Kate realized she hadn't even had anything to eat yet today, as she had left her apartment in such a hurry. Checking her email while sipping the disgusting coffee, she made a mental note to go get something to eat soon. After cleaning her inbox from unwanted spam, however, she started reviewing her notes for their last case and got distracted. When she checked the time again, it was almost noon.

Sighing heavily, she figured now was a good time as any to go grab something to eat. Who knew, maybe she would actually feel better if she had something in her stomach. Grabbing her purse and jacket, she told Esposito and his partner, detective Kevin Ryan, that she was going down to Remy's to get something to eat and asked if they wanted anything. When they said they were okay, she made her way to the elevator. When she was exiting it on the first floor, her phone rang.

"Beckett." She said quietly, not wanting to strain her voice even more.

"You don't sound so good." Rick's voice greeted her ears and she found herself smiling as she opened the doors and stepped onto the street. The sky was overcast and it looked it was going to rain – or god forbid, snow – at any moment.

"Well, I feel like crap." She told him honestly and heard him chuckling on the other side of the line. "And hi. What's up?"

"You work at the Twelfth Precinct, right?" He asked lightly and she could hear traffic on his side of the line.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I'm just a block away from there." He said and she heard the smile in his voice. "Thought I'd see if you wanted to grab some lunch."

"I thought our date was supposed to be on Friday night, Mr. Castle." She chuckled and side stepped a pedestrian, who had almost knocked her over in his hurry.

"Well, this doesn't count. Just like this weekend didn't count." He countered and she rolled her eyes. "Hey, are you outside? Cause I think I can see you."

"Yeah, I was about to go get something to eat. I honestly feel like I'm dying and I'm not even being dramatic here. Thought some food might make me feel better." She explained and coughed in the end, her throat feeling it was on fire.

"Then it's definitely you. Turn around." He said and she did, finding him walking in her direction, just a few feet away. Hanging up, she slipped her phone into her back pocket and smiled when he reached her.

"Hi." She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, knowing that she probably looked like crap too.

"Hi." He grinned happily at her and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "How are you feeling?" He asked, touching her cheek gently with his thumb.

"Like total crap." She closed her eyes and couldn't help but lean into his hand. She was sick and any source of comfort was more than okay in her book. "You shouldn't be near me. I don't want you to catch whatever this is."

"I just took care of two sick children these past few days. I think I'll be okay." He gave her a small smile and she shook her head, stopping mid-action when it made her headache kick up a notch. "Why did you even come to work? You should be home resting."

"I didn't think it'd get this bad. I'm probably heading home soon." She shrugged and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder when he saw her shiver.

"You should go home now." Touching her forehead, he felt her temperature for a moment. "I think you're running a fever, Kate."

"Shit." She cursed and closed her eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

"I'll tell you what. Why don't you let me take you home and we'll grab some food on the way?" He suggested and she looked up at him, tempted to just lean against him right there in the middle of the sidewalk.

Wait.

Did he just invite himself to her apartment?

"I'm not exactly going to be the best company in the planet right now, Rick." She murmured, pissed off that her voice was all but disappearing.

"Let me just take you home. I'll make sure you get something to eat and get some cold medicine and then I'll leave you alone. Promise." He told her and she bit her lip unsure. "Let me take care of you, Kate." He asked and she smiled weakly at him, trying to figure out what she had done to have this man suddenly barge into her life willing to take care of her like that.

"Okay." She sighed after a few seconds of inner debate. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder again. "Let me just go tell the boys I'm going home for the day." He nodded and she finally allowed herself to lean into him a little. She could always use the excuse that she was sick and weak.

"Lead the way."

They walked the few feet to the Twelfth and Kate pushed the doors open, greeting the uniform that held the elevator for her. Before she knew it, they were stepping off on the Homicide Department floor and Kate immediately made a beeline for her desk, Rick following closely behind. Ryan looked up at her surprised.

"You already had lunch?" He asked astonished and she shook her head. "You really don't look so good, Becks." The blue eyed detective looked at her with concern and she sighed.

"Yeah, I'm going home, if you guys don't mind." She said and he nodded. "Call me if something comes up?" She asked and Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Go get some rest, boss." He chuckled and seemed to realize there was someone with her. "Is that your new boyfriend?" He asked quietly, a teasing tone to his voice. Kate smacked him.

"This is my friend Rick Castle. Rick, this is Detective Kevin Ryan." She introduced them, narrowing her eyes at her partner, who just grinned at her, looking innocent.

"Nice to meet you, man." Rick shook his hand and Ryan nodded.

"You too. Hope you're taking good care of her." He said in his most intimidating voice and Kate had to bite the inside of her cheek to suppress a laugh. Rick nodded seriously.

"Of course." He promised and Kate shook her head, amused. Grabbing the rest of her things, she touched Rick's elbow and started to drag him back to the elevator.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." She called over her shoulder – or whispered, the way her voice was almost gone – and pushed the button for the elevator. Thank God it had been just Ryan. If Esposito had been there, she was sure they would have most likely interrogated him. "Sorry about that." She whispered when they were finally alone inside the elevator. Rick chuckled.

"Don't worry about it. He's just looking out for you, isn't he?" He said and she nodded, leaning her head back against the wall. "I would've done the same if I'd been in his shoes."

"He's a great guy. They just tend to get a little overprotective sometimes." She chuckled and grimaced when it made her throat hurt more. "God, I really need my bed." She moaned, closing her eyes and felt him touch her forehead again.

"You're almost there. What do you feel like eating?" He asked gently, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Nothing." She mumbled, hiding her face on his shoulder and letting out a sigh. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her.

"Alright, soup it is. I know just the place."

He placed a kiss on her forehead just before the doors opened and they stepped out. Kate led him to her car and handed him the keys after he insisted she was not okay to drive. Leaning her head against the window as soon as she was settled, she told him her address and felt herself dozing off. After what felt like a minute, she felt him touch her shoulder, calling her name quietly.

"What?" She asked groggily and found him looking at her with a smile, but she could see the concern in his eyes.

"We're here." He said simply and she looked outside, confused. They were parked in front of her building.

"Wait, I thought we were going to stop somewhere to buy food." She blinked, trying to wake up more fully and rubbed her eyes.

"We did. You were out as soon as we left the precinct." He explained and she nodded slowly, her headache coming back with a vengeance. "I can just walk you up and then let you rest."

"No, that's okay. You can come on up. Let's go." She smiled weakly at him and got out of the car. Rick followed her, a hand on the small of her back to steady her. When they reached her door, Kate unlocked it and invited him in. "You never told me what you were doing near the Twelfth." She commented as he crouched down to pick something up from the floor.

"You've got mail." He said, showing her an envelope. She nodded and told him to just leave it on the coffee table; she would check it later. "And I was at a meeting with my publisher. Turned in the first three chapters of the new book."

"Oh." She said, excitement running through her. Her inner fangirl was delighted to get this news first hand. "Derek Storm?"

"You read my books?" He asked, surprised and she shrugged. "You do." He said happily, picking up one of his books from her shelf. "This is so cool." He murmured opening it and checking out his own autograph. "When did I sign this for you?" He asked curiously and she felt herself blushing slightly at being found out.

"A couple of years ago, I think." She shrugged again and busied herself with opening the containers. The soup actually smelled really good.

"I don't remember." He whispered to himself. "I wish I did."

"You can sign another one now." She teased and he looked up at her, grinning. "I'm joking, Rick."

"No, let me do it?" He asked hopefully and she had to laugh at the expectant look in his eyes. This was surreal. Was he actually asking to autograph one of his own books for her?

"Sure, why not." She grinned at the happy look in his face. "Come on, let's eat, Mr. Castle." She told him and handed him his share of the food.

They ate in companiable silence and Kate felt slightly better with a full stomach. After dropping everything in the sink, saying she would take care of it later, she led him to the couch and turned the TV on.

"Do you have Tylenol or something like that?" He asked, checking her temperature again. "I'm pretty sure you've got a fever, Kate."

"Bathroom." She leaned her head back on the couch, feeling sleepy again. "First door on your right." She added when he looked at her questioningly. Nodding, he left in search of medicine and Kate closed her eyes again.

"Here." He handed her the pill and a glass of water. She swallowed it and returned to her previous position. "Maybe you should go to bed." He suggested and she shook her head, too comfortable and weak to move. The only thing she did was tug on his hand, making him sit down next to her.

"Do you have to go?" She asked quietly and he shook his head, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. "Want to stay for a little while?" She looked up at him sleepily and knew that if she wasn't sick, she would never ask something like that of a guy that could be a potential boyfriend in the near future. But she was sick and he was here, willing to take care of her, so whatever.

"I can stay until 3. Then I have to go pick up the kids from school." He kissed her forehead and picked up the blanket that was on the other end of the couch, throwing it over them.

"Okay." She snuggled closer and felt herself drift off.

When Kate woke up, hours later, she was alone and it was already dark outside. She still felt like crap, but it wasn't as bad as she had been earlier. Sitting up slowly, she blinked sleepily and grabbed her phone from her back pocket. It was already past 6pm. Throwing the blanket to the side, she stood up and found her latest Richard Castle book on the coffee table. Feeling confused because she knew she had left this in her room, she picked it up and opened it.

His handwriting greeted her and she smiled happily, butterflies flying like crazy in her stomach.

My dear Kate,

You are the best thing that happened in my life in a really long time.

Rick Castle

Feeling giddy and grinning like a schoolgirl with a crush, she put the book down and texted him, thanking him for the autograph. While she waited for his reply, she picked up the envelope he had found earlier on the floor and opened it. It was addressed to her, but she found it odd that it didn't say who it was from.

Pulling out the contents, she felt the blood drain out of her face.

A/N: Let me know what you think?