Kate woke up to Castle idly making patterns across her stomach with his fingers. Some time during the night they had shifted positions so they were spooning and he had her pulled back against his chest. She giggled as his fingers glanced over a ticklish spot on her ribs.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" He asked softly.

"Mhmm, but it's okay, I don't mind." Her voice was still groggy from sleep and he smiled.

"You can go back to sleep if you're still tired. We have a few hours before we have to leave."

She stretched lazily and smiled at the fact that she could feel all of him against her. She tugged the sheet up around her as she rolled over to face him. He laughed at her modesty.

"You certainly weren't worried about me seeing anything last night."

"Castle…just because you've seen me naked, doesn't mean I'm just going to parade around naked in front of you every time we are alone." She reached out and ran her hand through his hair as she kissed him softly.

"Damn. Well, you can't blame me for trying."

She laughed and shook her head as her eyes met his. She held his gaze for a minute and could tell he had something on his mind.

"What's the matter?" She asked quietly, moving closer so she could wrap her arm around him. He pulled her against his chest.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie. Richard Castle, I've been around you long enough to know the look on your face when there is something you want to say. Out with it."

He sighed and hesitated before answering her. In that moment of hesitation she felt herself start to panic; afraid that he would say the relationship wasn't what he wanted. Now that he had slept with her, he didn't want any kind of commitment. She shoved the thoughts aside. They were her own insecurities and she was trying to use them as a way to push him away. She knew him better than that. She trusted him more than that. His arms tightened around her as he answered.

"Last night…"

"Was amazing." She smiled against him as she answered. He heard the smile in her voice and laughed lightly.

"Yes, last night was amazing. Its just that…you do know that's not why I did this right? It has nothing to do with why I brought you here…"

His sentence trailed off into silence and it took her a second to realize what he was suggesting. That last night had happened because she felt like she owed him something. She pushed herself away from him so she could look him in the eyes.

"Rick…no. I would never think that of you."

She could see the tension leave his body as she answered.

"Okay good, because I would never-"

"Shhh. Rick, I know." She silenced him by holding her finger over his lips.

"Now, I'm going to go take a shower and get ready to go home."

He groaned and pulled her against him as he kissed her. She kissed him back for a minute, content to just be in his arms. He sighed as she pulled back.

"At some point, I have to get up and get dressed. We have to fly home today."

"I know, I know." He grumbled as she climbed out of bed, taking the sheet with her. "Really? You're going to wrap the sheet around you as you walk in there. You live to torment me?"

"Something like that Castle." She said coyly as she let the sheet fall to the floor when she got a few feet from the bathroom door.

"See? I told you you're a tease!" He called after her as she closed the bathroom door.

After they had both showered and eaten breakfast they walked out to the front of the hotel to watch the fountains one last time before leaving. Castle noticed that there had been a shift in their relationship. They had always been comfortable being physically close to each other, but there was something more carefree in the way she walked next to him, their sides casually brushing against each other as they walked. They stopped at the front of the lake and Kate moved to stand in front of him, automatically leaning against his chest. As his arms went around her waist she realized that this embrace was starting to become a habit between them. He rested his chin on her shoulder and she decided she didn't mind.

"Would it surprise you if I said I didn't want to take you home?"

"Maybe a little bit. But not really."

"I just enjoy seeing you so relaxed."

"I love my job Castle."

"I know you do…I'm just saying…"

She turned in his arms and put her hands on his chest. He let go of her waist and let his hands rest on her hips.

"Thank you for this weekend. I needed it more than I realized and I've had a really good time." Her hand absent mindedly went to her neck where her finger ran over the necklace he had given her. He smiled when she blushed as she realized what she was doing.

"You are very welcome. You did need it. You don't always know when to take care of yourself. You get so wrapped up in the cases and work that you push your own needs aside. That's what I'm here for. I'm glad you agreed to come. I've had a good time too, and I'm not just talking about last night." He winked at her and she slapped him on the chest then turned back to watch as the fountains started dancing. They stood and watched until the show was over and kept standing there until most of the crowd had left, just content to be with each other. After a few minutes, Kate spoke.

"We have to go."

"I know we do."

"Come on Castle, lets go." She said softly, pulling out of his embrace and taking his hand to walk towards the hotel. Instead of walking with her he used her hand to pull her up against him as he leaned down to kiss her. Kate felt herself melt against him and her hands wound lazily around his neck as she kissed him back. He pulled back from the kiss, smiling as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Okay, now we can go."

Kate rolled her eyes at him and they walked towards the hotel hand in hand. When they got back to the room everything was already packed and in the limo, except Presto. He was sitting in the chair where they had left him. They made a quick sweep of the hotel room to make sure everything had been packed, then Kate grabbed Presto and they climbed in the limo. Castle thanked Matthew for the weekend and they were dropped off on the runway where the jet was waiting.

Kate went up the stairs into the jet first, Presto slung over her back and she heard Castle laughing behind her.

"If you are laughing at me with the pony I'll make you sit next to him."

"I don't mind, I think he'd be a quiet travel buddy."

"Seriously Castle, what am I going to do with him?"

"Put him on your bed? Isn't that what girls do with stuffed animals?"

"I suppose he would be fun to cuddle with."

"Hey now, if he's taking my spot in cuddling with you, I will throw him off the plane right now."

"You can learn to share."

Castle made a point of pouting as they walked into the jet. Kate set Presto in his own seat and then sat in the seat across from him. Castle took the seat next to her and reached for her hand. She let him take it and tried to focus on the movement of his thumb across her skin rather than the take off. Once the plane leveled out she let go of his hand. She didn't mind being in the air, but she hated take off and landing. She fidgeted in her seat and Castle smiled at her.

"Go to sleep, the fight is a lot shorter if you're sleeping."

"I'm not really all that tired."

He unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, offering his hand to her.

"Come on, we'll get more comfortable, I'll have you asleep in no time."

Kate rolled her eyes but unbuckled her seatbelt and let him drag her over to the long couch that stretched across the opposite wall of the jet. He sat down first and pulled her down to him. She sat down next to him and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. It didn't take long before she was laying down on the couch using his thigh as a pillow. He alternated between softly running his fingers through her hand rubbing her back slowly and she felt herself slowly drifting to sleep.

"Hmm, where did you learn to do this?" She mumbled.

"Do what?"

"Be so relaxing."

"From Alexis mostly I guess. I had to learn how to comfort her and get her back to sleep after bad dreams, or make everything okay after a bad day at school."

She smiled at how much he loved his daughter. She loved seeing them together because the feeling was mutual from Alexis's stand point. The girl loved her father.

Kate sighed and let herself sink deeper into the couch. She felt Castle's arm drape over her waist and she was content to lay there, half asleep , for the rest of the flight.

Authors Note:

Yup, I had to send them home at some point. ;) Thank you all so much for reading so far. Get comfy, things are about to get long. *passes out popcorn*

Review that made my Day: sam-ziva for the Everything is fluffy and nothing hurts comment. God that made me smile. BlondeOne1013 for suggesting that I tell people to bite me if they don't like the fluff. Again, it amused me. And to anyone who reviews, seriously...they make my day.

Side Note: Could may 2nd take ANY LONGER to get here? That episode is on my birthday and I am so impatient I think I might DIE! Lol.