A/N: Your reviews are my new drug. The more you give me, the more I crave it. Therefore, tell me what you're thinking about this story and then the faster I'll get new chapters out.

Because, you know, I need my fix.

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine.

Touch

Chapter 10

When he awakes again, the sun is already high on the sky. He stretches his body and sits up, rubbing his face, trying to chase away any remnants of sleep. He blinks slowly, his mind still foggy, trying to remember how he ended up on the couch when he was sure he had fallen asleep in his room upstairs. Suddenly, he remembers last night's events and shakes his head, feeling a bit stupid and embarrassed. He can't believe he woke her up at 4am because of a nightmare. She didn't seem to mind, though, and he is so grateful that she took it all in stride and forfeited her sleep in order to comfort him.

With a sigh, he reaches for his cell and is surprised that it's already past ten. He also has a new text message.

Morning, sunshine. :) –KB

Instead of texting her back, he hits her speed dial number and waits patiently for her to pick up.

"Beckett." He hears her clipped tone and she sounds like she was in the middle of something.

"Morning." He says, leaning back against the back of the couch.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." The tone of her voice immediately changes and he can almost hear her smile. "Sleep well?" she teases, but he knows that deep down she is asking how he is.

"I did, actually." He smiles and stays silent for a few seconds. "Thank you for last night." He says quietly.

"You don't have to thank me, you know that." She whispers and he hears her move around on her side of the line and then the sound of a door closing. "I wish I could have done more for you." She sighs. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Slept like a baby after we talked." He stands up, stretching again, and makes his way into the kitchen. There has got to be coffee somewhere in there. "I'm sorry I bothered you so late. I didn't mean to wake you. I guess I wasn't really thinking then and just reacted."

"Rick, come on. You didn't bother me at all." he tries to protest, but she interrupts him. "Don't start." She says and he stays silent. "I'm worried about you. You scared me last night."

"I'll be fine, Kate. Don't worry." He tells her and hears her sigh. "I promise. I just panicked when I woke up and didn't see you here, that's all." He pours himself a cup of coffee.

"Okay." She says, resigned. "You know I'm here if you ever need to talk about anything, right?"

"I know." He smiles and sips his coffee. "Do we have anything going on today?"

"Not really. No bodies yet. Are you still coming in?" she asks and he knows she's trying to sound casual and is ridiculously failing.

"Of course. How else am I going to see you?" he asks quietly and hears her sighing heavily.

"We've talked about this, Rick. Remember our plan to spend some time apart?" she tries to reason with him, but he is having none of it.

"Kate" he says her name quietly. "I need to see you even if it's just to watch you do paperwork." He lets out a sigh, trying to come up with the right words. "I wish you could've been here last night. I needed you here. I understand why you couldn't come, but I still need you now." He finishes in a whisper. "I'll be on my best behavior, I promise." He waits nervously for her response. "I just need to see you."

"Only if you bring me my coffee and bear claw." She agrees after a minute and he laughs. "And for the record? I need to see you too." She whispers softly into the phone and he smiles. He can't believe how far they have come in only a couple of days.

"Yeah?" he asks her and still can't believe that is really Kate Beckett saying she needs to see him in a totally non-professional way.

She giggles. Honest to God giggles. "Yes, Rick." He bets she's rolling her eyes. "I miss you and you scared the hell out of me last night. I need to check for myself that you're really okay." She confesses and his smile is so big that he feels it's about to split his face in two.

"I miss you too. I got spoiled, you know? Two nights in a row and then nothing? Not cool, detective. Not cool at all." He grins when he hears her laugh.

"Rick?" he hears Gina's voice and freezes. "Where were you? I woke up and you weren't there. I asked Alexis if she knew anything about you going out and she said she hadn't seen you. Where have you been?" She sounds upset and he can't really think of anything to say.

"Guess you have to go, huh?" Kate says sadly and he realizes he is still holding his phone to his ear.

"I'll be there soon, okay?" he tells her, hoping she will understand why he needs to go now before things get ugly.

"Yeah. I'll see you soon." She replies and hangs up.

"So?" Gina urges him and he tries to smile at her.

"Good morning." He greets her, but apparently she isn't taking any of his crap today.

"What happened last night? I woke up in the middle of the night and you were gone. When I woke up this morning, you were still gone. Where were you?" she complains.

"I…" he takes a deep breath, trying to think quickly. No way in hell he will admit that he had a bad dream and called the woman he is in love with – which by the way, is not her – so she could comfort him.

"Did you go out? Was there a murder or something?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at him. God, she is looking at him the exact same way she was last night when Alexis mentioned Kate had come over for a movie.

"No, not really. I just woke up and couldn't sleep anymore so I came down here to watch some TV. I ended up falling asleep on the couch and just got up." He explains and prays that she doesn't ask any more questions.

"Oh." It's all she says.

"Yeah." He leans down and kisses her cheek. "Sorry if I got you worried." He walks around her and makes his way to the stairs. "Are you working today?"

"I have to stop by the office later, but I'll probably be in and out. Why?" she follows him upstairs. "Did you want to do something?"

"No, I was just wondering. I have to go to the precinct, actually. Just got called in." he says over his shoulder, entering the bathroom.

"Oh, so that was Detective Beckett you were talking to just now?" He doesn't like her tone when she mentions Kate's name. He just nods, confirming her suspicions. "You sounded awfully cozy on the phone with her."

He takes a deep breath before turning around to face her.

"Look, we have both been through a really difficult situation just a few days ago. We're just helping each other out. That's all there is to it." He explains, but she just rolls her eyes. "Gina, please. Let's not argue about this."

"Oh, but we have to, Richard. Because, see, I know you have a thing for her and that conversation I just happened to overhear a couple of minutes ago didn't sound like business at all." She hisses at him and he feels like he has just got punched in the stomach. How much did she hear?

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just calling her back and she asked me to come to the precinct." He tells her slowly, trying to remain calm. The last thing he needs is Gina having a jealous fit.

"Cut the crap, Richard. You know, I thought it was a bit strange when Alexis said she had come over, but I decided to let it go. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like she had come over to hang out with you and not with Alexis." She says venomously.

"She is my best friend. What's the problem if she comes over sometimes?" he tries to reason with her, but she seems to have drawn her own conclusions.

"It's a problem when you clearly still have feelings for her." He opens his mouth to protest, but she interrupts him. "And don't you even try to deny it because you and I both know it's true."

He opens and closes his mouth, not knowing what to say. Should he deny it or just end this torture?

"That's all I needed to know." She laughs bitterly and he feels so bad that he is hurting her like this. She turns around and walks away.

"Gina…" he starts, but she holds up a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

"Don't!" she all but growls at him. "Your silence said more than enough already."

"I'm sorry." He tries to touch her, but she shies away.

"You know what the irony of this whole thing is? I knew you were head over heels for her from the get go. I've always known it, but when you invited me to the Hamptons this past summer I thought that maybe you had finally had enough of her rejections and that I might still have a chance with you." She shakes her head. "I should've known. We could never make this relationship work, Rick. There is always someone between us. It was Alexis the first time around and now it's your precious detective." She lets out a humorless laugh. "I should've known."

He is at a loss for words. He never thought it would turn out like this. He didn't even have time to think of a good enough excuse to break up with her without mentioning Kate and now it seems life did a complete one-eighty on him. It all happened so fast and out of nowhere that almost gave him a whiplash.

"Gina, please. Hear me out." He grabs her wrist, but she yanks it away. "I never meant to hurt you, I swear. Please, forgive me." He tries to convey in a few words that he is being completely honest with her, but she won't even look at him.

"Don't come crawling back to me when she rejects you again." She says quietly and it kills him that he can hear her voice shaking. He tries to think of something, anything, to say, but his mind is drawing a complete blank.

He watches her walk away, still confused about how this whole thing turned out. When the front door slams downstairs, he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. On the one hand, it's killing him that things had to end like this between them. On the other hand, however, he is so incredibly relieved.

One down, one to go.

Thoughts?