Prompt: Beckett calls in sick, Castle goes to find out what's wrong with her. S2

Castle stands in front of her door, contemplating whether it's really his place to visit her like this. Then again, he can't just leave her! They said she was sick. She's never sick! Even Esposito and Ryan says so. Coming in that morning he'd been surprised hearing she'd called in sick. Montgomery had said he could stay if he wanted to as long as he didn't piss off Ryan or Esposito. Which he kind of did since he'd immediately started questioning them about Beckett's health. She hadn't been sick in the two years he'd been shadowing her and that fact alone hadn't even occurred to him. How the hell has she never been sick? Or has she but never told him? Maybe she's been sick but taken the pill and gone to work anyway. Who knows?

As he's standing outside of her door he's still thinking about whether she's going to be pissed about him being there or if she will actually accept his help. They've grown closer ever since that offer of three more Nikki Heat books. He feels as though she genuinely would've missed him if he'd gone off with the 007-offer. She's looked at him differently. He hopes it's for the better. Hopes he's seeing right. But those looks doesn't necessarily mean she'll be happy he's here now.

With another deep intake of air he knocks on the door and awaits. And waits. And waits. Suddenly he gets a frightening vision in his mind. What if she's tripped and hit her head?

Just when he's about to consider kicking in the door, or try to pick the lock, the door slowly swings open.

"Castle?"

Her voice is an immediate tell her nose is stuffed, her eyes are puffy with tiredness and her cheeks are a bit flushed with the fever she evidently has.

"What are you doing here?" She sniffles and if it hadn't been for how worried he is he would've found her adorable.

"They-eh said you called in sick," he says, dumbfoundedly.

"No shit, doesn't explain why you're here," she sneezes and picks up a tissue.

True. "I was... worried. You're never sick."

Castle tries to act as normal as possible, as if it's not at all weird that he shows up without calling or anything first. Beckett puts her hands around her chest, as if she's cold, and moves to the side as she nods her head for him to walk inside. He doesn't hesitate, because if he does he's afraid she'll change her mind.

"I'm not never sick, Castle," she sighs. "It just doesn't happen very often." She shrugs her shoulders and but he can see that simple movement made her cringe. She looks exhausted.

"Have you eaten anything today?" he questions, looking at her weakened body. He can tell she doesn't have the strength she usually has by seeing the small wobble in her legs.

"Don't worry about that," she says, waving her hand in front of her in a dismissive matter.

It doesn't take him two seconds to think before he opens his mouth again. "I'll make you my famous chicken soup. Let me see."

As he roams her kitchen for the ingredients she tries to argue but doesn't have the strength to do that either. Triumphantly he starts with the soup when he, with his most surprise, has found all the ingredients he needs. He takes note of her wandering away from the kitchen, probably due to being too tired to shoo him away, and he sees her slump down in her couch. As he prepares the soup he continues to steal glances of her, watching how she wraps herself into a soft blanket and puts her head against the armrest. He can even tell when she starts to drift away, breathing deep and sound asleep as he pours all the ingredients together in order to put it on the stove. She must have a really high fever to let her guard down this much when he's in her apartment. While the soup gets heated up he carefully tip goes over to her, very gently laying his wrist against her forehead to feel it is indeed very warm. She doesn't move a muscle. Which both worries and relieves him. He doesn't want to get shot at due to crossing any lines but at the same time the fact that she's not really on guard makes him wonder how bad of a fever she really has. He walks back to check the soup to find it ready and so he starts looking through her cabinets until he finds a bowl and a spoon. As soon as he's found it he pours the soup into the bowl and starts walking back to the couch. He sets it onto the table before he sits down on his knees, placing himself in front of her and his hand gently touches her arm.

"Kate?" he whispers. "The soup is ready."

Her body squirms a little as she hums her confusion. When her eyes flicker open they look at him with surprise embedded in the green flecks of her hazels.

"Castle? What're you doin'ere?" she mumbles and he has to refrain himself from stroking her cheek the way his fingers want to.

"I made you chicken soup, it'll make you feel better," he turns slightly in order to take the bowl with said soup.

"Not hungry," she rumbles and he's starting to realize he might have to feed her to make sure she eats.

"Come on, you need to eat." She closes her eyes with stubborness. He sees no other way. "If you don't eat yourself I'm going to feed you," he threatens and her eyes immediately pop open, narrowing.

"You wouldn't."

He smirks, knowing it would work. "I will." He picks up the spoon with some chicken on it and starts moving it towards her mouth. To his outmost delight she sighs but shrugs herself up a bit until she's halfway sitting up. To his outmost surprise she doesn't take the spoon from him but simple pulls the blanket closer around her as she opens her mouth. He doesn't hesitate despite his surprise and immediately feeds her, once again wondering how high her fever actually is in order for her to allow him to do this. Without another word he keeps feeding her, and she lets him, until the soup is all gone and that's when he notices the reddish color on her cheeks. She's blushing. He's not sure he's ever seen her blushing before, and he's not sure of the why. But he's curious. Not only because she's blushing but because the fact makes his insides tingle with a small excitement he's not used to.

"Thanks, but you don't need to waste more time on me, Castle." She's not looking him in his eyes and he suddenly gets the feeling it's because she doesn't want him to see how badly she wants him there. He's got nowhere to be anyway.

"Don't be ridiculous," he says and her eyes immediately snap to his in a surprised manner. "Who's gonna be your home-sick-buddy?" he questions and he can swear he sees the corners of her lips twitch for a smile.

"My home-sick-buddy?" she asks and he sees it's getting harder for her not to smile.

"Yeah, you know, 'oh no I'm home sick I don't wanna be alone, oh look I can call my buddy and we can watch tv together all day'," he makes the most dramatic impression of a teenager he can muster and she actually starts laughing. Kate Beckett is laughing. At him. He made her laugh. He can't stop the warm feeling from spreading inside his body as he feels pride overwhelming him.

"You're an idiot," she shakes her head before she starts coughing. This time he can't help it but reaches out his hand in order to softly rub her back, trying to soothe her body in the only way he can.

"Well," he swallows hard, "I'm your idiot."

He only mumbles it but can see by the way her eyes flicker to him that she's caught on. Not meeting her eyes he's just waiting for the 'get out' to leave her lips. It would come just any second now, and she'll demand him to not return to the precinct ever again. He won't survive it, but he will listen to her this time. He's decided that if she doesn't want him there, for real doesn't want him there, he won't push anymore. A small movement peaks his interest and he looks at her just in time to see her teeth sink into her lower lip, her eyes looking at him shyly before she once again pulls the blanket closer to her body and relaxes into the cushions of the couch.

"Yeah you are." He only just hears it before she nods towards the empty space beside her. "If you're gonna be my home-sick-buddy you should sit down and get ready, because there's no way I'm changing the show I'm watching."

Castle doesn't hesitate before he sits down beside his partner, tries his best not to make it more weird than it technically already is. "Which show were you watching?"

"If you laugh, I'll kick you out," she threatens as she pushes the button to light up the small tv in front of them.

He looks at the screen and states, "Temptation Lane. Interesting choice."

He's not sure, can't be sure without reading her mind, but in his peripheral view it looks like she's satisfied with his reaction. As if the reaction had been the first test out of many to see if he would accept her as she is. He couldn't dream of a world when there would be anything of her that could push him away. He was there to stay. As long as she would let him.

The End