"That was a lot of fun." Castle said as they walked back to his house.
"I thought it was funny when Becks ran off with the ball."
"Yeah."
They walked up to the back door but then something caught Beckett's eye. It was a pathway that leads to the side of the house. "Where does that lead?" She asked Castle.
He looked a little reluctant to answer but eventually did. "It's where I go when I have a lot to think about."
She slowly followed him. It was kind of cool; there were flowers and bushes and trees surrounding it. At the end was a little bench swing with a fountain in front of it.
"It's cute." She said and sat down on the swing. "I like it." She said. She felt like she was in Castle's inner sanctum. He sat down next to her and pushed the swing. She scooted closer to him and he put his arm around her. This time she knew what she was doing.
They sat like that for a while, not talking, both watching the fountain and thinking.
Suddenly Beckett got a chill and shivered. That's when she realized how late it was getting.
"I have to go." She said climbing off the swing and heading back down the path.
"Can't you stay until tomorrow?" Castle asked.
"I… um… I guess it can't hurt." She said and a huge smile crept across his face.
"Alright. How about we go out to eat?"
She thought about it for a moment.
"Okay, I need to shower first though." She said and headed up stairs.
"Just holler if you need any help."
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When she got out of the shower she looked in the mirror and was horrified. She was sun burnt really badly. No wonder the hot shower hurt. It hurt her to just move. She looked at her back and it scared her. It was soo red.
She pulled on a really baggy T-shirt and some shorts.
She was embarrassed to go down stairs, but she had to. When he looked at her a small smile crossed his face.
"Don't laugh."
"I guess we aren't going out." He said.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."
"You look like a cherry." He said and then she thought about how her shampoo was cherry scented.
"Don't make fun of me."
"I'm not; it's just, I have offered in the past to rub sun tan lotion on you, right now I bet your wishing you would have let me." He said then chuckled a little.
"Don't laugh at me. Seriously, it hurts all over."
He got up and got a bucket and started to fill it with ice and water.
"What are you doing?" She asked confused.
"Give me a minute." He said and ran upstairs. When he came back down he had a couple big baggy T-shirts in his hands. He dunked them in the water and then poured in some white vinegar.
"This happened to Alexis once." He said dunking the shirts in the water. "And we figured out something that really helps." He reached in the fridge and pulled out some Aloe gel. "First, I'm going to have you put some of this on the burns."
She took it from him and rubbed some on her legs, arms and face. Then she thought about her back. She needed some on her back most.
"Um… Castle?"
"Huh?"
"I… uh… I can't get my back."
"Would you like me to?" He asked. It was her best choice.
"Please." She lifted up the back of her shirt making sure she kept the front half of herself covered.
At first it was just really cold but then as he massaged it in it felt nice. She was disappointed when he stopped.
"Okay now." He held up one of the ice cold shirts to her. "Go put this on."
"Are you serious?"
"Trust me; it helps to draw the heat out."
She took the shirt and went into the main bathroom to change. When she slid it on she could feel it absorbing the heat. Wow, Dr. Castle was right.
She walked back out and found him pulling out the couch bed.
"Whatcha doing?"
"You'll be comfier lying down."
"So why can't I just go upstairs?"
"For one, we still need to eat, and for two I need to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't have heat stroke."
It made her heart melt to hear how concerned he was about her.
"Thank you Castle." She said and lay down on her belly.
"Any time." He said sweetly and walked back to the kitchen.
Poor Beckett.
I think it was two summers ago my mom got a really bad sunburn on her legs and then she put some black pants on and went to work. Basically it baked her legs all day long. She was at the point where it was hard for her to walk. Anyway, she had heat srtroke and when she went to the doctor he recomended putting some vinegar in some ice water and then dunking towels in and putting it on her legs. It was crrazy how fast they got hot. I was up all night changing the towels for her because she couldnt get up and do it. Not the most fun time of my life. (Sorry, you probably didnt need to know all that)
Anyway, let me know what you think...
