Chapter 10

Castle was nervous. Alexis might be coming back to the loft today and he wanted to make sure everything was ready. He sat up in bed with his phone in his hand.. Beckett propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him. "Castle, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to make a shopping list to get things ready for Alexis, but the damn auto-correct keeps making a mess of it. I want jello and Siri keeps writing hello."

Beckett looked at the time on his phone. "Castle, it's five A.M. You're not going shopping now. Give Siri a rest and later you can try some good old paper and pencil. It works really well for Ryan."

"It's worked for me too," Castle said. "I wrote 'In a Hail of Bullets' and 'A Rose for Ever After' in notebooks. Siri usually has me spoiled."

"That's all right, Castle," Beckett said, brushing her fingertips through his hair. "I can spoil you better."

Castle gently kissed her lips. "Show me."

Beckett took the phone from his hand and putting it on the bedside table said, "Turn over Castle." From light strokes through his hair, she moved down his neck and across his shoulders, massaging the tight muscles. Moving her hands down his back, she followed the path they had made with her mouth, featherlight and teasing. As Castle started to rise, she pushed him down again, making circles with her thumbs in the small of his back and following them with her knuckles. Castle moaned in pleasure and frustration, finally rolling over and pulling Beckett to him. Skin to skin, their lips pressed together, tongues searching. Reaching down, Castle cupped the curves below her back, bringing her upward so that they fit together, a perfect joining. Heat and excitement rose from the friction of their motion. Beckett wrapped her glorious legs around his back, bringing him closer still. Her hair splayed on the pillow as his lips and hands found every part of her until at last she threw her arms around him and clung, as the world exploded around them and they fell to earth.

They lay quietly for a few moments, getting their breath. Beckett sighed. "I don't know who spoiled whom," Castle.

"I don't care," Castle said, "but you can do it again any time." He held her until her alarm protested.

Beckett went to the 12th while Castle stayed behind to prepare for Alexis' arrival, making his list, and shopping before leaving later for the hospital.

Beckett was just settling at her desk, when Esposito came over. "Yo, we lucked out. Some unis spotted Donnegan's car outside a motel near La Guardia. It looks like he was getting ready to make a run for it. They're bringing him in now."

Castle paced the halls of the hospital waiting for them to finish the paperwork so he could bring Alexis home. At nineteen, she was still on his health insurance, although at that point he would have just written them a check if it would have made the process go any faster. Finally Alexis was loaded into a wheelchair and he was told they could depart. He grabbed the hospital bag with her belongings and went to get the car, as a volunteer wheeled Alexis to the curb outside the door.

They rode back to the loft in near silence. Normally, Castle would have chatted with Alexis about the details of the case, but he was afraid that under the circumstances, Alexis might find them disturbing.

Castle wanted to carry Alexis up the stairs, but she was only willing to accept the support of his arm to get to her room. "Buttons packed a suitcase for you," Castle told her, indicating a case on a chair. Castle handed Alexis one of the walkie talkies they had used during Beckett's birthday prank. "Anything you need, just call."

Alexis smiled. "Copy that."

Beckett sat across the table in the box from Roger Donnegan. She had deliberately turned the heat up and the room was warm. Beckett put a bottle of water in front of him. "Mr. Donnegan, we have video of a car like yours driving away from Maggie Burns' apartment during the time when she was killed."

Donnegan looked at Beckett coolly. "Lots of people have cars like mine."

"Maggie was killed by someone she knew."

"She knew a lot of people," Donnegan told her. "She was a very outgoing person."

"She was killed by someone who had access to her clotting factor."

Roger wiped the perspiration from his forehead on his sleeve, reached for the bottle of water in front of him and took a drink. "I don't have to tell you anything,"

"Fine," Beckett said, picking up the water bottle with a plastic bag. Detective Esposito will keep you company. Esposito sat, unsmiling, with Donnegan while Beckett went to the lab to get fingerprints from the water bottle. One of Donnegan's prints was a match to the partial from the vial from Maggie Burns' apartment.

Beckett returned to the box. "Stand up, Mr. Donnegan," she said.

Under Esposito's unblinking gaze, Donnegan stood.

"Roger Donnegan," Beckett told him, "You are under arrest for the murder of Maggie Burns."

Beckett let herself into the loft to find Castle with a walkie talkie clipped to his pocket, fixing a dinner tray for Alexis. "How's she doing?" Beckett asked.

"She's doing fine, "Castle replied. "She's got her laptop and she's catching up on her schoolwork. I'm just bringing her some dinner."

"You do have a thing for happy faces, don't you Castle?" Beckett asked, seeing the pattern formed by the bananas in Alexis' jello.

"I like to see people I love smile," Castle answered, heading up the stairs.

When Castle returned from Alexis' room, he cupped Beckett's cheek in his palm. "You're not smiling. Tell me about the case."

"Some unis found Donnegan and brought him in. I got his prints and we got a match to the partial on the vial."

"So why aren't you happier?"

"We had enough for an arrest, but I'm not sure we have enough for a conviction We need a confession and I'm not sure we can get one."

"I'm sure," Castle told her. "You'll figure it out. You always do. So what can I do to make you happy now?"

"How about a drink?"

Castle gave her a mischievous smile and opened a bottle of her favorite red wine. As Beckett relaxed on the couch, Castle brought a cutting board with a block of sharp cheese and a cheese slicer. A moment later, he added a plate with buttery crackers and berries. Castle lit a fire, poured a glass of wine for himself, and put an arm around Beckett, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

Castle left Beckett for a few minutes to retrieve Alexis' tray, but returned to let her lie with her head resting on his chest. Castle combed his fingers through a few strands of her hair. "Feeling better?" he asked.

Beckett stroked the back of his hand. "I thought you'd be taking care of Alexis tonight, But you're taking care of me."

"Always."