AN: Hello again! I have returned with a new chapter and many thanks to those are continuing to read and extra thanks to those who have reviewed.

Everything from here on is pretty loose when it comes to events, so if any of you have ideas or suggestions, feel free to share!

I have also gone through the first few chapters and corrected some mistakes, and if you find any more, please tell me.

And now, here's chapter 14!

Disclaimer: Recognize it? Probably not mine. Unless it's my pen name, but that's about it.

Kate woke up suddenly, broken from a deep sleep. She could feel her arms being gripped by strong hands, squeezing them hard enough that she knew there would be bruises. It took her a moment to realize what—or rather, who was manhandling her.

Castle.

He was obviously doing it unconsciously—she knew he would never hurt her on purpose. After she got over her immediate confusion and momentary fear, she realized he was making small, whimpering noises.

He was having a nightmare.

She struggled to remove herself from his tight hold—for a writer, he was incredibly strong. Once she had freed herself, Kate grabbed his shoulders and tried to shake him awake, but to no avail. He only thrashed more, pushing her away from him.

He cried out her name, seeming to be begging her for something.

"Please be okay," she heard him say, knowing instantly he was begging for her to live.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched him, fighting something that only he could see. She made her way back to him, gripping his shoulders once more. This time, she didn't shake him. She pressed her chest to him and held him as tight as she could manage, her mouth at his ear.

"Rick," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "It's okay, I've got you. I'm right here, I'm alive. Please, Rick, just wake up, you're okay."

Her voice seemed to calm him down, his cries trailing off and his body no longer thrashing. She continued to whisper comforts to him, needing them just as much as he did.

After what seemed like hours, she felt his arms wrap around her.

"Oh, thank god, you're awake."

She felt him tighten his hold on her as if she was the only thing keeping him alive.

"I thought you… I thought I'd lost you." Her heart fell to pieces as his voice quavered and broke.

"I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

She pressed a light kiss to his temple, then rolled so she wasn't lying directly on top of him. He still held her close, his nightmare still far too vivid in his mind. He had had nightmares that were similar before, particularly after her apartment had blown up. There had been a night where he had dreamed of her not surviving the explosion, so he went up to the guest room where she had been sleeping and watched the rise and fall of her chest, just to ensure himself that she was still alive.

He thought about what would have happened if she would have woken up while he was there. He wasn't sure if she would have left and found another place to stay the next morning, or if she would have done something closer to what she was doing now.

The pair stayed awake for as long as they could, both waiting for the other to fall asleep first. Neither was sure who finally drifted off, but within an hour they were back to sleeping in each others' arms.

Alexis woke the couple the next morning, only a few hours after they had fallen back asleep. The young woman smiled at the way their arms and legs were tangled in with the sheets.

Kate moved first, taking a deep breath, then yawning as she propped herself up on and elbow. The movement caused her partner to stir, who, instead of moving himself, tried to move her back to where she had been as they slept.

"Castle, wake up."

"Five more minutes."

She smacked his arm. "I think your daughter wants to say good morning before she has to go to school."

At the mention of Alexis, Rick opened his eyes and sat up.

"Hey, sweetheart!"

Alexis chuckled at her father's eagerness to see her. "Hey." She looked between her father and Kate and shook her head.

"What?" Rick asked a little defensively.

"You're ridiculous." The girl let out another small laugh before continuing. "I made breakfast if you guys are hungry."

"You know, now that you mention it, I am pretty hungry," Kate said. She flipped the blankets off of her. After standing, she gave Rick a hand getting out of bed, then followed Alexis into the kitchen.

They all sat at the kitchen island, eating the omelets and bacon Alexis had cooked. Their conversation was light, the three of them unconsciously avoiding any topics that might stray into dangerous grounds.

When Alexis had asked how the two of them had slept, Rick was quick to say they slept fine, not wanting to bring up his nightmare. He knew he couldn't avoid it forever, but for now he wanted to keep the conversation untroubled.

Once Alexis departed for school, Castle and Beckett returned to where they had been for most of the previous evening: the couch. Rather than watching television, the couple decided to spend their time reading instead. Rick smiled as he watched his girlfriend find her place in Flowers for Your Grave, loving how much he knew she loved his books. Before she could comment again on his staring, he opened Death in the Clouds.

He was only twenty-three pages in when he felt two very cold feet slide between his legs. He let out a small yelp, then shot a quick glare at Kate, who was wearing a knowing smirk. Letting out a puff of air through his nose, he returned his gaze to his book.

"Hey, Castle?" Kate said tentatively after a few minutes, peeking from over the top of her book.

He set his book down onto his lap, keeping his finger in the pages to mark his place. "Hmm?"

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

A grin spread across his face. "I would love to go for a walk, Kate."

She jumped up from the couch comically, then strolled towards his bedroom. Rick stood from the couch carefully, grinning even wider at her apparent eagerness to get out of the loft.

If there was any way he would want to spend a day off, it would be a day out on the town with Kate Beckett.