Bonus Prompt: Original #16 (Puppy Piles) chapter:

"Um... all right. You guys have fun. Don't miss me too much. The dog, not you," Castle rambled in confusion, high tailing it out of her apartment as if something was chasing him.

She watched him go, a nervous chuckle escaping, the ghost of his thumb still running circles on the back of her hand, sending tingles all the way down to her toes.

She sighed.

The apartment suddenly felt emptier, bereft of his presence.

She looked down at the dog consideringly. Damn, he was cute.

The dog, that is.

Ugh.

She moved to the couch, slowly placing her feet up on the coffee table, watching Royal watch her, a happy puppy grin on his face from his spot on the floor.

She wished-

She wished her wall wasn't there, that she could be over at the loft, in Castle's arms, on his couch, one of his hands under her shirt rubbing those same soothing circles on the skin of her hip. Royal stretched out beside her, his magnificent yellow head in her lap, looking up at them both adoringly with those huge puppydog eyes. The domesticity of the vision was terrifying and tantalizing all at once.

She wished she'd had the courage just a few short minutes ago to grab hold of his hand as it held hers, to pull him close and wrap her arms around him, bury her face in his collar. Stretch up on her toes and kiss him. She could practically feel the silky slide of his lips under hers, burned into her memory from a farce put on a year ago.

She wished she was free from fear, free from holding back. She wished she could express clearly and freely to him just how much he meant to her, in actual words.

She wished she could tell him she remembered.

She wished she could tell him she loved him back.

She wished so many things.

Instead, she gave in to the dog.

"Okay. C'mon. Right here," she squeaked Mr. Squeaky, and Royal was up on the couch in an instant, giving her big, wet, doggie kisses. She looped her arms around him, giving him a squeeze as he all but bowled her over. "You're so cute!" she cooed, petting his sleek, golden coat.

She might not have her wishes. She might not have him. But at least for tonight, she wasn't alone.

A knock on the door resounded through the apartment.

Kate froze. So did Royal, sensing her caution.

"Stay here, boy," she commanded quietly, crossing to the door, quickly checking the peephole to see who it was before she threw it wide open. "Castle, what do you want?" she demanded, angling her eyebrow in just the right way to let him know she was amused rather than annoyed.

He breezed in past her as if he owned the joint. "His ball rolled out of the bag. I only notice when I was about to-"

He stopped short, staring in disbelief at Royal, who was giving him his happiest doggie smile, tail thumping heavily against the couch cushions.

Castle turned slowly to look back at her, a devious grin lighting up his features. "You let him on your couch?!"

She shut the door, sashaying past him to take up her previous position on the couch- feet on the coffee table, dog snuggling next to her, her poker face firmly in place. "Got a problem with that?" she asked challengingly.

He shook his head with comic enthusiasm, before a thought crossed his face. "You know, I was thinking..." he began leadingly, crossing to the couch and plopping himself down as close to Royal as he could get, thus a little too close to Kate. She willed her cheeks to not blush, but she had a feeling she lost that battle. "Shared custody doesn't have to mean just one or other of us. We could actually share him for an evening."

Royal turned to greet him with face licks. Traitor.

Castle gently pushed the dog away. Unphased, Royal stood in the tiny gap between them, then turned around and flopped so that his hind legs were pressing Kate more firmly into Castle's side, while the treacherous pooch settled his head on his front paws so he could look up at Castle adoringly.

She kind of didn't blame him. She would, too, if she were the one in his lap.

"Movie?" she asked, not actually sorry for the excuse to keep him there.

He smiled, handing her the remote and letting her choose, before gesturing to her lean against him. He looped an arm over her shoulder, and she took a deep breath, stilling the butterflies in her stomach and relaxing into him, choosing to take the leap.

By the end of the movie, all three occupants of the couch were cuddled into each other, fast asleep.

Thoughts?