She woke as first light started to infuse the bedroom. A warm glow illuminating the mirror on the wall in front of her; the promise of a beautiful day. Gentle heat enveloped her skin and infiltrated the depths of her body. It reminded her of that delicious warmth felt after a day spent out in the sun. Only this was better, this warmth also filled her heart, her soul. She was with him, Rick.

And he was in love with her. In the moment last night, she hadn't been able to find the words to respond. She knew she felt it too, but expressing herself was something she was still working on. So, instead she'd pulled him in close, her hand gently caressing his cheek, willing him to see it in her eyes, and hoping to show him how she felt as she kissed him. The words would come in their time.

Now, he was curled around her. His arms a welcome weight, his legs tangled with hers underneath the sheets. Her head resting on his bare chest, hand extended over his heart as if she'd unconsciously been protecting it. He was still asleep as far as she could tell. The rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled slowly and evenly the only movement he made.

She nuzzled into him, ran her hand over the small patch of hair on his chest, just a slight movement as she didn't want to wake him; not yet. She couldn't hold back the smile that broke open on her face as she took him in. In her mind she replayed his words from last night and the several times that he had shown her his love, with his body and his tenderness. Just thinking of it now caused another wave of heat to course through her. She was happy, so happy.

She must have fallen back asleep because her next recollection of consciousness was a soft hand caressing her jaw. Her eyes slowly opened blinking the sleep away a few times, to find Rick close to her, his mouth mere inches away.

"Hey beautiful," his voice was deep and rich, the last remnants of sleep still obvious but very delightful.

"Good morning," she smiled back at him.

"I'm sorry if I woke you but I couldn't resist touching you any longer."

"S'okay. It feels nice."

He leaned in to kiss her, no concern for morning breath or the fact that her hair was for sure a mess. She sank deeper into him, the new intimacy coming easily between them. He parted from her after a moment and a moan of delight left his throat.

"Every kiss is better and better," he said leaning back to see her face and notice the slight blush that had filled her cheeks.

"I really don't want to move, but I also really need to go to the bathroom," he said, the tiniest bit of shyness to his voice.

"It's fine Castle, I could go too," she said as she shifted so he could get up.

"Be right back," he said and he gave her a quick kiss before getting up.

This all felt so normal, so comfortable.

They ate breakfast in bed. It was late enough that the other women in the house had already been up, had eaten and were off for their shopping day. So he cooked for her and insisted they enjoy the meal in bed as a special treat.

She was still only in his t-shirt, the one she stole last night. It hung off her shoulder and reached mid-thigh and was apparently quite appealing to Rick. He'd had a hard time keeping his hands off of her all morning. Another round after breakfast would be inevitable; and welcome she thought.

"I'm still hungry," he whined after finishing the last of the pancakes from his plate. He moved the tray away from his lap, setting it on the floor.

"Castle, you just had a plate full of food. How are you possibly still hungry?"

He moved her tray too, and then leaned back in to whisper into her ear. "I'm not hungry for food…" He dragged one finger over her skin, sliding the t-shirt further down her arm, exposing more of her to him. He leaned in to nip at her shoulder and the tendon that led up to her neck. A giggle escaped her throat at his eagerness, and the sensation he caused. This was new, Kate Beckett was not a giggler by nature.

They did nothing the rest of the day but eat, watch tv and make love. It was perfect.

He'd tried his hardest to get her to stay another night. The kiss at the door causing her toes to curl and her body to meld into his embrace. But she needed to go home, attend to the laundry in her closet, her empty fridge and prepare for work the next day, she did have a business to run. Begrudgingly he let her go, a promise to call or text before going to sleep. She was right though when she'd reminded him that he also needed to get some more writing done.

She came home to find an envelop halfway sticking out from under her apartment door. Though it had been a while since she last used her skills officially, detective mode instantly set in and she scanned the hallway up and down only to find it deserted. Whoever had left it was no longer around.

Cautiously she opened the door and found nothing out of sorts. She leaned down to grab the envelope, turning it in her hands, looking for an address or name but finding none. The small size indicated to her that there was little to no chance that it would be an explosive or any other threat to her so she opened it.

A key engraved with the number 47 was the only thing inside.

He missed her, one night without her and he felt he was already missing a piece of his heart. He wasn't usually one to be so needy but they were just getting started and everything was so wonderful. He already wanted all of her. Wanted her with him every night and every morning. Hopefully someday they would get to that he thought as he smiled. For now, there was coffee, which offered a great excuse to wish her good morning in person at the flower shop.

The little bell on the door signaled someone entering the shop and Kate's face lit up when she saw him. His eyes bright and his smile welcoming. Wow, it had been one night and she'd missed him already.

"Good morning gorgeous."

He handed over her coffee and leaned in close for a kiss.

"Hi, handsome. Thank you for this, the coffee and the kiss."

"My pleasure. So, you sleep ok?"

"I did," she bite the edge of her lip before continuing, "but, I missed you."

At that he abandoned his coffee, grabbed her waist and pulled her in close to him, winding his arms around her, her long lean arms coming up to curl at his neck.

"Wow, not even one night apart and you can't live without me, huh?" he smirked at her.

"Well, if you're going to play it that way, maybe it will be another night apart, just to prove I can handle it," she teased back.

"No, don't say that. I have a confession to make," he said quickly, "I missed you too. A lot."

She smiled and he kissed her then, his mouth anxious to be joined with hers once again. He backed her up into the counter of the storage room, her waist leaning against it as he pressed his body into hers. His hands searching for soft skin under her shirt as she drew him into a duel of tongues.

They didn't notice the precarious placement of a basket of flower petals, (ones that she saved for brides who wanted real petals for their flower girls), above her until it was too late. The intensity of her hitting the counter caused it to spill from the shelf and fall down on them from above. Soft, colorful petals raining over their heads and bodies before falling to the floor. They both pulled back from the kiss, still in each other's arms, as they broke out into laughter.

"OK, guys. You're cute. But maybe next time, get a room!" They hadn't noticed that Alexis had come in until that moment.

"Sorry sweetheart!" Rick called out to his daughter as another roll of laughter escaped them.

"It's ok," Alexis said "I'll grab the broom."

"I think that's my cue to leave," he said and he pulled Kate in for a quick goodbye kiss before heading out to write.

About a week later Rick was yet again on his way over to the flower shop with coffee for his girlfriend. They'd spent most of the previous day together at her place before parting for the night. Alexis wanting a movie night and some time with her dad. He'd left Kate with the promise of coffee the next morning.

Rick walked out of the loft and was halfway across the street when he noticed two police cars parked in front of The Wild Flower. Lights flashing, police tape draped across the front of her shop.

Oh, no.

As he got closer he saw the broken glass all over the sidewalk. Her lovely window display smashed. Bites of color, probably crushed flowers all over the floor. He broke into a run as worry enveloped him.

Kate.

She wasn't there. He told the police the owner was his friend, but it didn't help much. The only thing they would tell him is that the owner had been there, but had left minutes prior to his arrival. They gave no details about the break-in and wouldn't even tell him if Kate was hurt or not, but he could see the police were still taking finger prints of her destroyed store.

He immediately called her several times but to his dismay it continued to go to voicemail. He left two messages, his voice shaking slightly, distressed that she hadn't answered. She must be ok, he tried to reassure himself. The cops had seen her this morning. Maybe she was making calls to her insurance company.

He went to look for her, reaching her apartment in record time. He knocked, but there was no reply. He knocked again after a moment; put his ear to the door but there was no sound, no tv, no squeak in the floorboard in her entryway to signal she was coming to the door.

Kate where are you?

He texted her. No reply. No little bubble blinking back, letting him know she was typing a response.

Two hours had passed and he had called three more times. Alexis hadn't heard from Kate either, she wasn't scheduled to work that day. He went back to the shop to find the front boarded up with plywood, most of the glass cleaned from the sidewalk.

He couldn't go home, couldn't sit still, he needed to know that she was alright. He went back to her place and knocked again and again. Still no answer. Feeling defeated, he sunk down on the hard floor of her hallway and let his head fall back against the wall.

Rick did his best not to panic, but his heart was racing, dread filling his mind. What if something had happened to her? What if she was at the store during the break-in? What if she was at the hospital, hurt and alone? He was about to google the numbers for all the local hospitals when a text popped up on his screen.

I'm ok Castle

He called her immediately after reading the text. Thankfully this time she answered.

"Hey, Rick," she said slowly, her voice sounded distressed and unusually quiet.

"Kate! Thank goodness. Where are you? I was so worried about you. Are you ok?" All the words rushed out of him one right after another. The panic in his chest only slightly subsiding upon hearing her voice.

"I'm alright. The store, it was broken into last night."

"I know, I was there this morning. I thought-Kate I thought something happened to you, I was so worried."

"I'm sorry, Rick. I'm so sorry I didn't call you back sooner. I had to give a statement down at the precinct."

That surprised him since there had been several officers at her shop that morning. I would have made sense to take her statement there.

"Oh, they made you go down there?"

The pause was longer than normal before she answered, "Um, yeah."

Something wasn't right. She was acting strange and evasive. He tried to brush away the feeling, to explain her behavior away. This was a stressful situation, he got that, but it felt like something more was going on.

"Can I see you? How can I help?"

"Thanks, but I'm fine Castle. I just have a lot to deal right now."

"Kate, please let me help. I can hire someone, a company to help you fix up the shop, replace the glass. I can-"

"Ok," she conceded, essentially cutting him off, "meet me outside the coffee shop," and she hung up.

Something was definitely going on and it wasn't good.