Kate got undressed and turned the water on. Sliding the curtain open, she slipped under the warm water and just let it run over her. She stood there for a while, just letting the water soak into her skin, thinking about the last few days.

Rick sat in the chair for a few minutes, before deciding to shower as well. As much as he wanted to be with Kate, he knew how vulnerable she was. She meant too much to him, and he was not willing to risk their friendship. He showered and shaved quickly, smiling to himself. He knew just what to do to make her smile.

Kate stepped out of the shower, dried off and got dressed. She could hear him rustling around, and smiled, wondering what he was up to. She ran a comb though her hair, and stepped out of the bathroom. She laughed when she saw what was on the table.

There were piles of poker chips, drinks for both of them, a bowl of nuts, and a bowl of pretzels.

"Alexis?" she asked as she walked closer.

"Yes. I was going through the box she sent and found all kinds of goodies. I thought we could play real poker tonight, if that's ok with you."

"Ok, Mr. Castle. You deal, and prepare to be beaten." She said, with a devious grin. He dealt the cards and the game began.

An hour later, Rick dealt the final hand. Kate was laughing as she stacked her massive piles of chips and looked over to his sad little pile. She had won almost every hand. She grabbed a few pretzels from the bowl and took a drink.

"What's the matter, Ricky? Can't stand to lose to a girl?"

He shuffled the cards and smiled at her…clearly annoyed. He dealt and the game began.

"Texas holdem…winner take all." He said, as she looked at her cards.

"Fine by me, Writer Boy." She looked at her cards, raised her eyebrows, and tossed about 20 chips into the middle of the table.

Castle counted his chips, looked at his cards, and tossed in the same amount. He laid out the next card and waited.

Kate tapped her fingers, checked her cards again, and smiled.

"All in." She said – pushing the huge stack of chips to the middle of the table.

Rick furrowed his brow, chuckled, and pushed his few remaining chips to the huge pile that was Kate's.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." He said with a devilish grin.

Kate just smiled and put her cards face down.

"I fold." She said.

"What?"

"I fold."

"That is so not fair Kate."

"Fair has nothing to do with it, Ricky. You win. You get all those chips." Kate said, as she stood up and walked over to him.

"I don't want the chips; I wanted to beat you fair and square."

"I guess you'll never know, will you?" She gathered up all the cards, and pushed the chips in front of him.

"Winner take all, Castle. Claim your prize." She said, sitting on his lap.

"So what's my prize, Detective? Chocolate, coffee, ice cream?"

"No, silly; your prize is me!"

She leaned in, taking his face in her hands. She pressed her lips to his ever so lightly, and then reached down to put his hands around her waist. He smiled, and deepened the kiss. She reached around, putting one hand on his broad shoulders, and one on his neck. His fingers moved to her hair, and pulled her toward him. She traced his lips with her tongue, and she heard him moan. They didn't move from that spot for quite a while, they just stayed and enjoyed one another.

A few hours later, Kate woke up to Rick kissing her neck. At some point during the night, they had decided to go to sleep, but she didn't want to be alone. They had cuddled together on the bed, and fell into a blissful slumber. His hand was on her stomach, and he had pushed her hair away so he could nuzzle her neck.

"Good morning." He said when he felt her stir.

"Good morning." She replied, not moving a muscle.

Now that she was awake, he decided his tactics needed to change. He slowly moved up to her ear, and kissed it, before nibbling on it. Then, he worked his way down her jaw, until he was just below her lips.

Kate just stayed still for a while, enjoying the sensations that Rick was bringing out in her. She shifted just slightly, so she was on her back, instead of on her side. When he reached her lips, she leaned up and kissed him.

As always, it started out slow, but quickly turned passionate. Being here with him was bringing all her feelings to the surface. Knowing that she would probably never see her family or friends again made her sad, but having Rick her, helped her to forget their eminent doom. He was all she had, and was determined to make the best of it. She wrapped her arms around him, running her fingers through his hair. He moved to pull himself on top of her, and he felt her smile. They got lost in each other's touch once again.

Kate pushed up Rick's t-shirt, and ran her fingers across his bare back. He moaned into her mouth, and then moved to kiss her neck. She scratched him ever so slightly and he sucked on her pulse point. She hugged him to her, and he pulled away just a little.

"Kate." He said, breathlessly.

"Oh, Castle." She said.

"What are we doing?" he asked.

"I think it's called making out, Castle." She said with a chuckle, her green eyes twinkling.

She looked over at him, his hair all mussed and a day of stubble on his face. His blue eyes were twinkling and he was smiling.

"What are you smiling at, Castle?"

"Just happy to be here with you."

"Yep, it's true. You finally got me into your bed."

He laughed, and then his expression turned serious. He looked into her eyes, and took her hand in his. Kissing her hand, he started to speak.

"While it's true you are in my bed, that is not why I'm so happy. Being here with you these last few days has helped me to cope with the war that is currently raging in our bodies. Not knowing when or if we'll ever get out of here is hard for me to deal with. With you here, I feel like I can handle anything."

She leaned up, and gently kissed his cheek. Pulling him into an embrace, they just stayed quiet for a little while. He kissed her softly and sat up.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. " Looking at the clock, he noticed that breakfast would soon be arriving. Stretching his legs over to the side, he found his slippers, and slid them on. Standing up, he walked across the room to the boxes that Alexis had sent.

Kate sat up, stretched, and found her slippers as well. She slipped her feet into them, and headed to the bathroom. She made it about 3 steps, before falling to the floor.

Rick heard the noise, and turned around to find her lying on the floor. He reached over to hit the CALL button on the wall, and then sat down beside her. Reaching down to her, he put her head in his lap and quietly called her name.