in the shallows

Disclaimer: I tried looking on eBay. I couldn't buy the rights to the show on there. Damn. (Also, I'm really sorry if any of the medical stuff is a bit… iffy. My end result in Biology was an E, so…)

Kate holds her breath once the words escape her mouth, stills.

Wow.

Has she really just said those words? Were they really her own?

One look at Castle, at the beautiful, astounding awe in his eyes, tells her that yes that just happened.

And she can't stop the smile that creeps up on her.

Oh, God, she's so beautiful. He's never, ever seen anything so beautiful in his life.

"Kate-"

The word is choked, and he can't think of what to say. All his thoughts are disjointed, muddled. Because here's Kate Beckett. Kate Beckett. Crying and smiling and here and telling him she loves him and he can't make any sense of it-

Can't even get the words out to say yes, me too.

She can see that he's struggling for words, or what to do next, and she doesn't blame him. Even she's still shocked she's said it, even though she's known it for so long now. So, because she can't think of anything else, Kate takes advantage of her hands cupping his cheeks and pulls him close for a kiss.

She wasn't sure where she was headed with this, really. They're in a hospital- she's not even sure if Martha and Alexis are in the room anymore- so it's not like anything can happen. And just a kiss isn't enough.

But the moment his lips come into contact with her own, her mind is a blissful blank.

And she loses herself within it, hands scraping through his hair, upper body arching into his. He groans, and she moans in reply as he nips at her bottom lip, gasps when his tongue meets hers. God, this has never been so intense, and the warmth is pooling so rapidly in her stomach even she's surprised at her body's reaction. But oh, she's not complaining. And he can put that hand as far up her shirt as he likes if that means the other one won't stop-

Suddenly, Castle lurches away from her, gasping wildly. Kate stills in shock as he battles to breathe, a mess of swollen lips and trembling hands, and then finally comes to her senses.

Punctured lungs. Stabbing wounds. Right.

"Jeez, Castle, I'm-"

"If you say…" Castle cuts across her, pausing to breathe once again as he rests back against his pillows. "Sorry, then I obviously… Need to work… On my technique."

A startled laugh rips from Kate's lips, and Castle laughs along with her too, albeit breathlessly.

"Well then, I'm not sorry."

Castle grins at her, and she's rendered speechless at the amount of awe and happiness and love in his eyes that she's never seen before. Sucking in a startled breath, she grins back, places a hand on his arm.

"But… No more, um, well, you know, until you're better."

Castle stares at her, wide-eyed. "'Um, well, you know'? Kate Beckett, are you shy?" He asks, incredulously.

Nose bunching up in a ridiculously adorable way, Kate glares at him through slits as eyes in mock-anger. However her reddened cheeks betray her, even as the hand on his arm curls slightly to dig her nails lightly into his skin.

Castle holds his hands up, palms-forward. "Okay, okay, I surrender. Stop with the look."

That does it. She lets a smile run loose, and then suddenly she's leaning forwards into him, her forehead leaning against his shoulder. She breathes in softly, and then lets out a little content sigh. She was wrong. This is enough. And just the promise that there'll be more- well, yeah. He's waited four years, she's waited two. Fairly certain she can wait for him to recover.

"I'll stop." She whispers.

Relaxed, Castle lets one of his large hands rest on the small of her back, index finger tracing lazy patterns into her shirt. It sends shivers down her spine.

"Stop what?" He asks, and she delights in the way his breath washes over her face, tingles on her tongue.

Oh, but that's a subject of a more serious matter, and she doesn't want to fight him on this. Instead, she wants to simply exist in this moment and be nothing more. It's wonderful and warm and just right. There's never been a time when she's ever been so thankful for Richard Castle in her life.

"Oh…" She mumbles, twisting slightly to look up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "It doesn't matter. Not now."

And he lets it be, as he leans his cheek on top of her head and sighs, content.

Alexis and Martha cradle cups of steaming coffee in their hands as they walk back to Castle's room, Martha carrying an extra cup for the detective.

"Are you sure we shouldn't give them more time together? I mean…" Alexis pauses, a blush beginning to creep up on her features. "To talk?"

Martha smiles slowly, takes a sip from her cup. "Darling, if we wanted to give them time enough to talk about everything, we'd never see that room again."

"Oh."

Martha looks over at Alexis, sees her frowning slightly. They come to a stop before the door to Castle's room, and Martha turns Alexis to face her.

"That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. They have a lot of past and they've made a lot of mistakes. You know that, honey."

Alexis fiddles with the lid of her coffee, biting her lip. "Can't Kate just… Say sorry?"

Surprised, Martha chuckles lightly. "Of course. But it wasn't all completely one-sided, Alexis, it doesn't work that way between them. They're both to blame for this mess. She never promised him anything, she never even wanted him to be there in the first place, but you know how much of a big heart your Father has. I guess his persistence won out in the end, but don't be so blind by your Father's wallowing that you believe it was all her doing."

At the loaded statement, Alexis ducks her eyes down guiltily, back to her coffee. Perhaps her Grams was right. Her Dad had always seemed to defeated when it came to Kate, so lacking hope, even leaving in the end. But then again, she's never seen how Kate reacts to anything, never seen her when she arrives home with a soft sigh and an aching in her heart. Of course, now she's seen Kate's vulnerable side. When they were in that bathroom, with Kate crying and covered in blood, she began to see Kate in a new light. Maybe now is the time to stop being so bias about it.

"Okay. I…" She sighs, nods towards the door.

Martha gives her a wary look, then nods too and passes through the door, calling out "Coffee, anyone?"

When they enter, Kate's lifting from Castle's bed and settling into the nearest chair. She beams at Martha as the older woman passes her the cup of coffee, mumbling. "Oh, bless you Martha." Before gulping the liquid down steadily.

Castle stares at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Kate, when was the last time you ate anything?"

Kate finishes gulping the warm liquid and bites down on her bottom lip, places the cup down in her lap. "Eh…"

When she looks up, all the Castles are staring at her. She feels herself blushing. Okay. Way to seem obsessed.

"I don't really… know." She replies slowly, fingers beginning to drum a pattern on her coffee cup.

A nurse enters the room then, and Kate has never been so grateful for an interruption in her entire life, sags back against the chair in relief. Castles eyes remain fixed on her, though, she can feel them burning through her skin. So she takes another sip of her coffee, allowing the warmth of the blessed liquid to flow through her while holding back a pleased moan.

"Now, Mr Castle, how would you rate the pain now on a scale of one to ten?" The nurse asks with a smile, and Castle finally turns away from her.

"Um…" Castle glances at his Mother and daughter, sees them looking at him with concerned faces. Kate's still hiding in her coffee cup. Well, maybe he can lie a little. "A three?"

The nurse raises her eyebrows, makes a small noise of disbelief. "Right." She says, and then begins with his painkillers.

"Oh." He moans. "Don't give me them. They'll make me sleepy."

Startled, the nurse laughs brightly. Apparently, she has no idea about the tension that the rest of the room is preoccupied in. The nurse doesn't listen to him, though, and he turns away with a huff.

Kate smiles shyly from behind her coffee cup. "Appreciate the meds, Castle. God knows I missed them when I was weaned off them." She tells him, and her tone is light and caring, but the words stop his heart.

Her shooting.

She's been through all of this before.

The nurse gives the pair a look, and then leaves the room. Maybe he's being overdramatic, but he's fairly certain he can feel the medicine beginning to take its effect already.

Something in Kate's eyes changes as she takes in her own words and Castle's reaction. Oh-

"Castle." She says softly, reaching out to lay a hand over his own. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Castle turns his hand beneath hers and laces their fingers together. "It doesn't matter. It's okay."

Kate squeezes his hand beneath hers, but her eyes still say sorry.

"Wanna know how you can make it up to me?" He asks, and can sense the surprise run through Martha and Alexis, that he would ever ask her to prove her apologies. He smiles. "Go home, Kate. Get some sleep. Eat."

Oh, yes, the meds are definitely taking effect now. His eyelids begin to grow heavy, his grip on Kate's hand slackening slightly. Kate frowns.

"Castle-" She begins to protest.

"Please." He says, and he can feel the slurring beginning to creep its way into his words. "It'll just be a couple hours at most. I'll be knocked out during that, anyway."

But Kate stays where she is, stock still.

Castle sighs. Stupid, stubborn woman.

His eyelids keep falling closed, now, too heavy to open anymore, and he loses grip on her hand. "Kate…"

Just as he slips into the land of sleep, he's sure he hears a soft "Okay", followed by the feel of her lips brushing against his cheek.