Here it is, two days later than promised, but 4000 words longer than I intended. This chapter takes place over a whole week and since it is just pieces from each day, I labeled the days. I know I used a lot more narrative in this one than I normally do and I know I brushed over a lot, but it is 7000 words, so there is a lot here, regardless.
Also, I want to say I know it takes time for me to add chapters. I am getting better about it and am constantly trying to get even better. However, please understand that I was unemployed when I started this project and had no idea it would turn into something this big. It's not an excuse, just the truth. Anyway, I want to thank those who have stuck with me and continue to hang in there.
P.S Andy-Thank you. Seriously.
THURSDAY
As the elevator lurched to a stop, Beckett noticed Castle's wince. He sighed heavily and pushed himself off the car's wall. His good hand was pressed against his broken ribs and he'd once again lost his healthy coloring. He hobbled out with a pronounced limp. This was the longest he'd been on his feet since the accident the day before and from the looks of it, it seemed he was glad the walk was coming to an end.
"Are you ok?" Beckett asked as she produced her keys and unlocked the door.
"Yeah, I'm just tired and the meds are wearing off," he admitted. Beckett reached for the lights, but Castle waved her off.
"Your head bothering you?" she assumed. He nodded briefly as he eased himself on to the couch. Beckett hung back awkwardly, not sure what to do next. She had a million more questions for him running through her head. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you need anything? Ice pack? Warm pack? Pain meds? Would you be more comfortable in bed? What can I do? However, she bit her lip to keep them in, not wanting to overwhelm him.
Castle took a moment to assess his condition. Pain licked up and down his left side, spreading out across his chest. The light and sounds on the ride home had his head throbbing; and the remains of a repeatedly interrupted night's sleep pressed insistently behind his eyes. If he had been this miserable at the hospital, he would have asked them to reconsider discharging him.
"Kate," he sighed. He could literally feel her thinking from across the room. He knew she wanted to take care of him and he knew he needed to swallow his pride and let her do just that. In an instant she was at the couch, kneeling in front of him.
"What can I do?" she asked imploringly. He managed a small smile.
"Would you mind finding me something to eat so I can take some more meds?" he asked softly.
"Absolutely. Any requests?" she obliged. He gently shook his head and lead back to rest against the couch.
Within the hour, Beckett had Castle fed, medicated, and resting what she hoped to be comfortably in her bed. She sat cross-legged opposite him, watching as he slept. As he was drifting off, he had extended his braced arm to intertwine a couple fingers with hers. Her eyes flicked to their hands and then back up over his chest, following it as it rose and fell with each deep breath. Her mind ran over all the information the nurse had given them this morning. He was not allowed to do really anything for the first week. No TV, no computer, no books, no texting, and limited use of the phone. He was to avoid bright lights and loud sounds. Anything over stimulating was going to agitate his concussion. He needed lots of rest and plenty of fluids. He also needed to take deep breaths despite the pain of his broken ribs. The nurse had said some scary stuff about fluid buildup if he didn't. She sighed and scrubbed her free hand over her face. While she hated seeing him in pain, there was part of her that was relieved he was feeling puny because she knew he was going to be a nightmare once he got back to feeling like himself, especially with nothing to entertain him.
Once she was sure he was really sleeping and wasn't going to slip into a coma, she released his hand and went to get a few chores done around the apartment. As she was folding one of Genevieve's numerous hoodies, she heard shuffling in the bedroom. She looked up to see Castle's standing in the doorway, desperately clutching the doorframe to keep him upright.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" she wondered, expecting the combination of pain killers and exhaustion to keep him asleep for a few hours. However, along with his white knuckle grip on the doorframe, she noticed a few other things that didn't seem quite right. His eyes were wide and confused and he still looked deathly pale. He let go of the door and took a few stumbling steps in her direction, his hands scrabbling for an object to support him. Beckett sprinted towards him, quickly sliding an arm around his back. From her close proximity she noticed his shallow breathing and elevated heart rate. Beckett immediately recognized the signs. She'd seen them a million times with Genevieve. He was having an anxiety attack. "Castle…" she started softly, hoping to gain his attention.
"Kate…" his fingers trembled as he touched her shoulder. He swayed heavily against her.
"You're not steady on your feet, let's go back and lay down," she coaxed gently. He nodded and let her guide him back into the bedroom. She made sure he was comfortable she crawled up next to him and took both of his trembling hands in hers and rubbed soothing circles over his knuckles. "You're ok," she whispered. "Can you take a couple deep breaths?" He obliged, pulling in a handful of shaky breaths, wincing as his chest expanded.
"I…I feel funny," he admitted.
"Yeah, that's probably your medicine. It can make you feel a little anxious," she mentioned. He nodded half-heartedly. "That and you're exhausted. You need sleep," she added, bringing a hand up to run it through his ruffled hair. Castle didn't respond. He flicked his eyes away from hers and looked around the room.
"Maybe I should go home," he stated, flatly.
"What?" Beckett blurted.
"I think I should go home," he repeated, trying to move from the bed. Beckett dropped her hand to his shoulder to still him.
"Why do you want to go home?" she asked. When she and Alexis had talked about what to do after Castle was discharged from the hospital, they talked at length about just taking him home and having Beckett and Genevieve just stay there for a few days. Alexis was actually the one who pushed away from that idea. She said the loft would give her dad too much temptation. She knew he would get bored after a few days and the loft was his play house. It would be too easy for him to go against the doctor's orders. He wouldn't get the rest he truly needed. Beckett had to admit she agreed, however she hadn't known his medication would make him anxious. Guilt knotted her stomach as she considered the fact that he may be less anxious in his own home.
"I just…I don't want to bother you," Castle sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.
"You're not bothering me. I want you here," she assured him. His eyes cut back around to meet hers. He blinked a few times. He appeared unconvinced. Before she had a chance to argue further, he broke into a yawn. "I tell you what, why don't you try and get some sleep and if you still want to go home when you wake up, we'll figure something out?" she suggested.
"Are you going to stay?" he asked, his eyes pleading.
"I'm not going anywhere," she promised.
"Thanks," he sighed, finally allowing himself to relax again.
Beckett could feel her phone vibrating in her back pocket. Her eyes slowly blinked open. She must have fallen asleep when she laid down with Castle. She glanced over at his still sleeping form as she fished her phone out of her pocket.
"Hey Alexis, what's up?" she answered softly.
"Is this a bad time?" Alexis wondered, noting Beckett's hushed tone.
"No, you're dad's just sleeping next to me," Beckett explained.
"Oh, ok. How is he doing?" concern was evident in the young woman's tone.
"He's adjusting. He said he was hurting earlier, but he seems to be ok now. His new pain meds seem to make him anxious though. So he kept asking to go home earlier. I told him to sleep on it and we'll see how he feels when he wakes up," Beckett relayed.
"Do you mind if I stop by?" Alexis asked.
"Alexis, you don't have to ask. You're welcome anytime," Beckett mentioned. "I probably have to leave soon to pick up Genevieve anyway."
"I can pick her up on my way," Alexis offered.
"If you want to, but you don't have to," the detective replied.
"You've been taking care of my dad all day, it's the least I could do," Alexis countered.
"Alright, I'll call and let the school know you're coming and we'll see you in a little bit," Beckett ended the call.
"…'s that 'lexis?" Castle mumbled.
"Yeah, she's going to pick up Gen and then come visit for a while," Beckett provided, rolling back over to face him.
"Good," he breathed, easing up on to his good side.
"You feeling better?" she checked.
"Seem to be, just tired mostly," he replied, hooking an arm around her waist and spooning her against his chest. Her whole body tensed, resisting the movement.
"Castle! I don't want to hurt you," she squeaked.
"If it hurt, I wouldn't do it," he retorted. She gave in and let him curl around her. He buried his face in her hair and kissed her neck. "Sorry about earlier," her murmured.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, you're heavily medicated and you have a head injury," Beckett started. "If you still want to go home, we can make that happen," she offered.
"No, I wanna stay," he returned, his warm breath ghosting over her skin and he did want to stay. Not only did he recognize how momentous it was that Beckett invited him into her personal space and offered to take care of him, he also felt he could actually relax at her place. The loft would just make him feel guilty, his office taunting him with the work he wasn't getting done and all his gadgets begging to be messed with. No, he would much rather stay with Beckett. Beckett who had taken off work to be with him and was currently less than a heartbeat away. She squirmed as his thumb brushed her hip bone.
"This would be more fun if you weren't injured," she whined.
"You're preaching to the choir," he groaned, rolling back onto his back. He rarely got Beckett to slow down and relax enough to be overly affectionate with him. She had gotten better as of late and even more so now that he was injured. He just wished he could enjoy it more. Beckett had moved with him, sliding a hand over his chest, relishing the feel of his easy heartbeat.
"We've waited this long, what's a little longer?" she sighed, pressing a kiss to his lips. He made a face that said she had a point.
"Would you mind if we move to the couch? Being cooped up in bed is getting old, fast," he mentioned, looking around the room. "I'd like to stare at the walls of another room for a while."
"It's only day one, Castle. Save that 'I'm so bored' pity party for later in the week," Beckett chuckled as she moved to let him sit up. "And what's so horrible about the walls of my bedroom?" she teased.
"Nothing, they're lovely. Such a nice bedroom. However, I'll admit this was not the way I expected to get invited to this room," he grinned. Beckett rolled her eyes and helped him to his feet. She followed close behind as he hobbled to the couch.
Genevieve and Alexis burst through the door awhile later, both eager to spend the evening with Castle. At one point Beckett pulled a very reluctant Gen away so Alexis could have some alone time with her father. They ordered take out and all sat around talking about their days until about eight when Castle began to look a little piqued. Beckett could tell he was in pain and knew that was probably the only reason he was still awake. His sleepy blue eyes told her he would be dead to the world if only he could get comfortable. He was sent to bed with a dose of pain meds and fresh ice packs.
Castle's eyes flew open. His heart was racing and sat heavily in his chest. He recognized the feeling from earlier in the day. His medication was making him anxious again. He took a moment to orient himself. He was still in Beckett's bedroom and although she was not pressed against him, he had a sense Beckett was still in bed with him. He lifted his head to try and see the time on the clock, but the movement sent a sharp pain zinging through his skull. He tentatively reached a hand out, looking for Beckett in the dark. He just needed to know for sure she was still there.
Beckett stirred as a hand came to rest between her shoulder blades. She could tell the gentle pressure wasn't meant to wake her, but with her current guest, she was sleeping abnormally light. She lifted her head and blinked her eyes open. Castle was on his side, facing her, his eyes were open but unfocused.
"Castle, you ok?" she checked. He nodded, but didn't look at her. "Anxious?" she assumed.
"A little bit, but I'll be ok. Go back to sleep, I didn't mean to wake you," he said softly. Beckett shifted so her body was mirroring his. She set a hand on his cheek, urging him to meet her eyes.
"I love you," she whispered, before tipping her head up to kiss him. He smiled against her lips and dropped his arm around her waist to keep her close. When their kiss ended he brushed his lips across her forehead.
"Love you too," he replied, snuggling against her as best he could and drifting back to sleep.
FRIDAY
Beckett carefully eased back into bed ager she returned from taking Genevieve to school. She was relieved to find Castle was still asleep. She really didn't want him waking up alone. After his bout of anxiety early in the night he felt back into an easy sleep and didn't wake again, but she didn't want to take any chances. She clicked on the bedside lamp and grabbed her book from the nightstand, content to catch up on her reading while she waited for him to wake.
Castle shifted in his sleep, grimacing as he pulled something sore. His hand groped for the warmth of Beckett's body. He vaguely noticed her leaving earlier and was now somewhat aware she had returned. He opened his eyes briefly, blinking in the soft light. He found Beckett leaning against the headboard, absorbed in her book. With a soft grunt, he managed to arrange himself in a sitting position similar to hers. He let his head fall to her shoulder and rested his hand against her thigh. She turned her head to kiss his forehead.
"Is the light bothering you?" she asked quietly.
"Mmm, no," he mumbled before surrendering to sleep again.
It was another hour or so before Castle decided to officially greet the day. He twisted his head to press a soft kiss to the underside of Beckett's jaw before he straightened up and rubbed his eyes. He quickly assessed his pain level and was surprised to find it nearly half of what it was when he arrive at the apartment the previous day. There was something to be said for pain killers and a good night's sleep. He gingerly stood from the bed and went to use the bathroom. He heard Beckett start to ask if he needed help and he gently waved her off.
After brushing his teeth, he took the first proper look at himself in the mirror since the accident. He looked tired but not exhausted and his eyes were not as clear as he would have liked. He assumed that had something to do with the concussion. The cut on his forehead and his split lip called for his attention but upon further inspection, both looked like they would heal without scarring. He looked down, noticing the small cuts and scrapes coving his arms. He pushed off the counter, wincing as he jostled his ribs. Those were going to hurt for a while. He lifted his shirt, hissing in pain as he gently pulled it away from tender skin. The bruising along his side was startlingly vast, stretching from shoulder to hip, and probably further down if he cared to look. Most looked benign and beginning to heal but the most prominent mark was the thick purple band left behind from a locked seatbelt. He was curious to know exactly what happened in the accident. From what he recalled, he was broadsided on the driver's side. If that was true, why did he look like he had hit the steering wheel? Maybe he had. Maybe the car spun, forcing another impact. He could ask Beckett. Surely, she knew. There was probably an investigation in progress. However, he didn't think she'd want to talk about it. The accident really scared her and now that he was coming out of his drug induced haze and had a chance to think about it and see what it did to him, it scared him too. The idea that he could've been taken from Alexis, his mother, Beckett, and Genevieve in an instant wasn't something he'd considered until that moment. He dropped his shirt and returned to the bedroom, slowly making his way towards Beckett's side of the bed. He took a seat in front of her.
"Everything ok?" she checked, noticing the solemn look on his face. He leaned forwards and pressed his lips against hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth as she responded easily. He kissed her with everything he had, like he may never get a chance to do so again. He wanted her to know he understood her fear, he understood how serious things could've been and how grateful he was that they weren't that way. He threaded his fingers into her hair, locking her against him as he explored her mouth with his own. He needed to get his message across. They finally broke apart, breathing ragged and hearts racing, their foreheads still touching.
"I love you and I am so sorry I didn't appreciate your fear and the gravity of the situation earlier. I can tell you I wouldn't have handled things as well had our situations been reversed. Thank you, for everything," he whispered.
"Castle…I…" she swallowed thickly, fighting back tears. She wasn't sure how to respond, taken back not only by his kiss, but his admission as well. Instead, she kissed him again, chaste but no less meaningful. "I love you too, and I'm just glad you're ok," she managed.
He moved to stretch out next to her once again. His pain had started to flare up again and he was trying to hold off on his medication until he had food in his belly. Not to mention he was still a little weary of the side effects.
"What are the chances of you letting me take a shower?" he wondered.
"Slim to none," Beckett replied.
"I haven't showered since Wednesday morning. The closest I've come since was when they wiped the blood off my face at the ER," he mentioned, his face showing disgust. Beckett made a similar face but more so because of the image of Castle's ruggedly handsome face covered in blood rather than the fact that he's hadn't showered in days. She pushed the thought away and continued with the conversation.
"I just don't want you standing for that long. Plus the heat could make you lightheaded. I don't need you passing out on me. I don't want you any more injured than you already are," she explained. "However, I think I would be ok with you taking a bath," she decoded.
"A bath? With bubbles?" his eyes lit up.
"I think it would just be a tub of hot water if it didn't have bubbles," she laughed.
"I haven't taken a bubble bath in ages!" he grinned looking the most like himself since she brought him home from the hospital. Beckett loved it.
Beckett stood in the doorway, just watching. Castle was humming to himself as he moved around in the tub. He grabbed a washcloth from the edge and dunked it in the sudsy water. He brought it up to scrub his face and quickly dropped it. He twisted his hands through his hair, forcing the wet strands into a soapy Mohawk.
"You doing ok in here?" she finally spoke up. Castle looked up at her, his toothy grin and makeshift Mohawk giving him a boyish quality. Beckett was aware she should probably feel awkward as she pushed off the doorframe and went to stand over him where nothing but soapy water separated her from his naked body. However, she found herself wishing she could join him.
"You should join me," he said as if he was reading her thoughts. She took a seat on the edge of the tub. She ran her eyes over his chest. Now that she was closer, she could see the yellow bruising dappling his skin, reminding her of exactly why she couldn't join him.
"You know I can't. Nothing over stimulating," she reminded with a wink.
"Well, I'm just regular stimulated and you're not doing anything about it," he pouted.
"I could always remove myself from the situation and have your mother come stay with you," Beckett teased, threading her fingers through his hair and effectively destroying his Mohawk.
"Annnd you fixed it…" Castle grimaced at idea of his mother breaking through his salacious intentions with Beckett. He batted Beckett's hand away and redid his hair.
"Try not to drown yourself while I switch out the laundry," she chuckled, walking out of the bathroom.
The rest of the day went very similar to the previous one. Castle slept off and on, switching from the bedroom to the couch around midday. Beckett kept a close eye on him, always at the ready with anything he would need to decrease pain, stop thirst or hunger, or simply entertain him. However, today Castle seemed to be in better spirits. Now that he had an opportunity to catch up on his sleep, his exhaustion faded and he was less irritable. He was able to focus more on his injuries and on getting better. He was starting to get used to his pain medication and the side effects and adjusting to new habits that wouldn't cause a throbbing headache to ignite. He was excited for Genevieve's return from school so he could hear all about her day and what was happening in the world. Without being able to read or watch TV he had no connection to life outside his temporary home, but Gen was more than happy to keep him informed. He listened to her talk for hours before he finally decided to call it a night.
As the weekend progressed, Castle began to feel more and more human. His sensitivity to light and sound lessened and he was beginning to manage his pain with over the counter pain killers rather than the strong stuff he'd been prescribed. And with his reduction in pain killers, his episodes of anxiety were nearly nonexistent. Genevieve had spent most of the weekend glued to Castle's side. When he was awake they talked, told stories, or played word games; and while he was resting she sat quietly and read. Alexis had visited a few times and finally convinced Castle to make a phone call to his mother. By Sunday evening, Beckett was feeling comfortable enough with Castle's progress to return to work in the morning.
MONDAY
From the bedroom, Castle could hear Beckett trying to convince Genevieve to get ready for school. However, the young girl insisted someone needed to stay home with their injured guest and she figured she was just the girl to do it. Castle chuckled to himself. He carefully moved from the bed to the bathroom before going to join the girls in the kitchen.
"Genevieve, listen to you mother," Castle interjected as he limped into the kitchen, one hand pressed to his sore ribs. He carefully leaned down to kiss the girl's hair. He shuffled past her to kiss her mother, murmuring good morning.
"You should sit down," Beckett urged.
"I'm ok," Castle insisted, leaning against the counter. "Now Gen, go get ready for school like your mom asked," he repeated. He felt a little out of place parenting the girl, but since her argument was on his behalf, he felt he could step in.
"But what if something happens to you while I'm at school?" Gen asked.
"Nothing happened to me while you were at school on Thursday or Friday," he argued, not bringing up Wednesday. Obviously something happened on Wednesday or they wouldn't be having this discussion.
"Yeah, but you slept most of those days and Mom was here with you," the girl countered. Castle had to admit she had a point, but he didn't acknowledge it.
"If I said I would pick you up from school, would that make you go get ready?" he decided bargaining was his only option. She was just too smart.
"Castle, no. Genevieve Katherine, you get ready for school now or you lose library privileges," Beckett stepped in.
"Fine," Gen gave in, nosily scraping her chair back from the table and stomping out of the kitchen. Castle arched an eyebrow in Beckett's direction.
"Don't look at me like that, you crossed a line and you know it," Beckett snapped at Castle.
"I know, I know, your daughter…" he sighed.
"No, I was ok with you backing me up. What I had an issue with was: A. bargaining with her and B. bargaining with things you can't deliver. Now please, sit down," she spit out. Castle begrudgingly took a seat at the table. The truth was he was feeling steadier on his feet than he had been in days and he wanted to take advantage of the feeling.
"I wasn't trying to promise her something I couldn't deliver. I would have picked her up at school," Castle mentioned as Beckett set a bowl of cereal in front of him.
"How?" Beckett asked gently, trying hard not to get frustrated with Castle. He'd been a surprisingly cooperative guest, thus far, but Beckett could tell as he started to feel better and his personality fell back into place, they would clash more in their unusually close quarters.
"I have a car service. It wouldn't take much to get to the car and have them drive me to her school," he shrugged.
"Castle, you've just begun being able to tolerate the lights in the apartment, exactly how do you plan to combat the sun?" she wondered.
"Sunglasses," his answer was simple.
"And the sound?" she pressed, sensing he was getting irritated as she pulled his nice little idea apart.
"I don't know, Kate. Look, I just wanted to help. This wouldn't even been an issue if I wasn't here. Not to mention, I feel useless. You guys have been wonderful hosts and I figured that would be a way I could help. Plus, I haven't seen anything but these walls for days. It might be nice to see the world again," he snapped. Beckett's expression softened as she took a seat next to him.
"You shouldn't feel useless. You're injured, you're not supposed to be useful. Don't even worry about helping us out, you have barely inconvenienced us. In fact you're one of the best houseguests we've had, all things considered," she paused to smile at him. He managed a small smile in return, and reached over to thread their fingers together. "But it's only been a couple days and this is the first day you're going to be on your own for a few hours. Can we see how you do today and if everything goes well, you can pick up Gen tomorrow?" she reasoned with him.
"That sounds fair," he conceded.
"Now, you promise to call me if you need anything, right? And you won't do anything you're not supposed to?" she checked one more time. They'd gone over all of this the night before. She felt somewhat guilty for leaving him, but he had insisted he would be fine.
"Scout's honor," he said, holding up three fingers.
"You were never a scout, babe," Beckett chuckled, kissing his forehead as she stood. For a moment, Castle was taken back by the term of endearment, but he recovered quickly and grinned up at her. "I mean it Castle, you behave today or I won't let you go out tomorrow," she warned.
"Now I know hoe Gen felt when you threatened her library privileges," he grumbled.
Castle's day went by seamlessly, albeit boringly. After Beckett and Genevieve left, he did the dishes from breakfast (a chore not on his restricted list) and then made a couple of quick phone calls to Gina and Paul to check in. His concussion gave him the perfect excuse to keep the conversations brief. He then decided it was time for another bath. He was feeling steady enough that he could probably shower, but he didn't want to getting light headed and cracking his head open while he was home alone.
By lunch Beckett had called four times and was offering to stop by between suspect interviews. He assured her he was fine and was planning to take a nap, telling her he would call when he woke up.
As evening rolled around, the quiet apartment began to make Castle restless. He did a quick self-guided tour of the place, studying each knick knack and photo on every wall and shelf. He considered thumbing through the handful of photo albums on the bookshelf, but decided against, wanting to wait until Beckett actually invited him to see that part of her life. Instead, he opted for switching out the laundry and seeing what could be thrown together for an acceptable dinner, neither activities being restricted. He was following the rules to the letter. Not only did he want to be able to go out the next day, he also wanted his concussion to heal as quickly as possible. The headaches it brought on were horrific.
When Beckett walked in with Genevieve to find dinner on the table, her first reaction was to be upset, but Castle looked so healthy stand more properly upright than he's been able to in day that she really couldn't bring herself to care. It looked like she just might have to let Castle leave the apartment the next day.
TUESDAY
Beckett quietly let herself into the apartment. She had yet to hear from Castle that morning, so she wasn't sure he was awake yet.
"JOHN JACOB JINGLEHEIMER SCHMIDT!" The loud voice made Beckett jump. Her head snapped in the direction of the source. Castle was sitting at the table…coloring. He shuffled through the coloring books in front of him as he continued to sing.
"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, his name is my name too, whenever we go out, the people always shout, there goes…" he drew in a deep breath to raise his voice again.
"Castle!" Beckett stopped him, wondering how long he'd been serenading the neighbors. Knowing him, it could've been hours. At least she knew he was taking deep breaths. There was not concern of fluid buildup with all that shouting.
"Kate!" he smiled, surprised. He obviously had not heard her come in.
"Coloring?" she asked, arching an eyebrow as she observed his work. She wasn't even going to ask about the singing.
"Superheroes," he confirmed with a nod, pushing a perfectly depicted Batman in her direction. "I figured since there is a laundry list of things I cannot do and this is not one of them, it would pass some time," he shrugged.
"I see, and where did you get the coloring books?" she wondered, knowing her didn't have them when she left for work that morning. His expression went guilt as his eyes flicked towards the box on the counter.
"You did not order me groceries again! You promised you wouldn't!" Beckett recognized the box immediately.
"I said unless there were extenuating circumstances, and I think this is the definition of extenuating circumstances. That and I weighed the options of ordering groceries or having my car service actually take me to the store and I decided this would make you less mad," he explained, standing from his chair and kissing her cheeks as he moved past her to hang a full color picture of the Avengers on the fridge. "What are you doing here anyway?" he wondered.
"Well, I do live here," she started, earning a dead panned look from him. "And you weren't awake when I left and I hadn't heard from you since, so I figured I'd stop by to make sure you were still alive," she shrugged. Castle stared at her for a moment, trying to decide if he believed her.
"You missed me," he realized.
"Did not! Just like I didn't miss you yesterday," she replied too quickly.
"Then why did you call so many times?" he asked.
"Again, to make sure you were alive and to make sure you weren't doing anything you weren't supposed to. Obviously, I should've called today, considering all the trouble you've been up to," she gestured towards the coloring books and the box of groceries.
"There is nothing on my list about ordering groceries or coloring, I check specifically!" he protested. Beckett rolled her eyes. She should've known he'd check the list first. "Admit it, you miss me," he teased.
"How can I miss you if you never leave?" she resisted.
"Come on, just admit it," he grinned, reaching out to wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his body and staring down into her eyes with what she was sure was supposed to be an intimidating look. He just looked silly, but it was working.
"Fine! Ok, fine! I might have missed you. Just a little bit," she gave in, holding up two fingers to show him the miniscule amount she missed him.
"I knew it!" he gloated victoriously.
"Shut up," Beckett grumbled, burying her face against his shoulder.
"No, you've pretended to be my wife, told me you loved me, and admitted you missed me all in one week, it's like Christmas," he laughed.
"I had hoped you'd forgotten about the wife thing," she groaned.
"I could never forget my wife," he chuckled.
"Well, you have so many," Beckett countered. Castle feigned hurt. Beckett stuck her tongue out at him.
"You're my best wife yet, even if it's just pretend," he mentioned, kissing her nose.
"It's frustrating that you can go from annoying to sweet in a matter of seconds," Beckett mused, a little abashed by the amount of times "wife" was being used in reference to her, even if it was a joke.
"All part of my charm, sweetheart," he quipped with a cocky grin. She affectionately rolled her eyes and allowed herself to relax against him. Their banter told her he was feeling more like himself again. She'd seen small glimpses of it throughout the past week but she was glad to see it coming back in full force. She thought about the idea of missing him and realized just how comfortable she'd gotten having him around. He was constantly in her space, touching, kissing, cuddling, sharing a bed and a bathroom, and helping with chores and Genevieve. It would take a couple days to adjust once he went back to the loft. By the look of things, he'd be back at his place by the end of the week.
"So you are picking up Gen, correct?" she checked, they had talked about it last night, but she wanted to make sure he hadn't changed his mind about getting out of the apartment. She didn't think he would.
"Yes, she's pretty excited about it. However, I'm not sure how excited I'd be if a guy with a limp and a split lip picked me up from school," he laughed.
"You look much better than you did a few days ago. Plus, I like the split lip, it makes you look tough," she finished with a wink.
Castle convinced Beckett to stick around long enough to eat lunch with him, then with a kiss he sent her on his way, promising to have dinner waiting when she got home.
A couple hours later he ventured out of the apartment for the first time in nearly a week. He was pleased to see cloud cover, however, even that had him blinking. He tugged down the baseball hat he was wearing and slid on his sunglasses.
It took Genevieve a moment to recognize him with the hat and glasses, but as soon as she did, she bolted at him. She stopped short, not wanting to slam into him like she usually did. She knew he was feeling better, but she still didn't want to hurt him. He noticed her hesitation and pulled her into a gentle hug.
"Hello, Rick," she greeted. She hadn't been able to call him by his first name most of the week with the way her mother was constantly hovering around.
"Hey kid, how was school today?" he asked as he led her back to the town car.
"Boring, but I'm glad you came to pick me up," she smiled. "Are you ok?" she double checked.
"Absolutely fine, sweetheart," he returned her smile, even though the pain in his knee was rather insistent and he was on the verge of a headache. He knew if he got back to the apartment and took a couple Tylenol, he'd be fine.
Genevieve chattered the whole ride home and did her homework at the counter while Castle fixed dinner with the recently purchased groceries. While they waited for Beckett, they moved to Genevieve's room, where they each sat with a coloring book sharing idle conversation.
The apartment smelled wonderful when Beckett returned, but she found the kitchen empty. She could hear voices down the hall and turned to find her boyfriend and daughter, but a note on the counter stopped her.
Kate,
Coloring in Gen's room. Her homework's done and dinner is in the oven.
Love, Hubs
Beckett snorted when she saw how he signed the note. He really was never going to let her live it down that she told the hospital staff she was his wife. She quickly balled the note up and threw it away. She didn't need Genevieve finding it and getting any ideas. She moved down the hall to find Genevieve laying on the floor and Castle's spread out across her bed, both coloring their respective superhero. She realized Genevieve was going to miss having him around just as much as she was.
WEDNESDAY
"You're going home tomorrow," It was a question, just a statement of fact.
"I sure am, kid," Castle responded, setting a bowl of ice cream in front of Genevieve. "Is there something wrong with that?" he wondered. Gen took a large scoop of her dessert while she pondered his question.
"I guess not. I was just hoping you…stay," she finally replied with a shrug, her eyes never leaving her bowl.
"Sweetheart, I'm not leaving. I'm just feeling better so it's time for me to go back to the loft," Castle assured her.
"You don't like it here?" Gen wondered.
"I do honey. I am so glad you guys let me stay here this week and I love being around you and your mom all the time, but this is your home, not mine," he said gently. He didn't want her thinking this had anything to do with her. To be honest he had not considered how she would handle him going back to his loft and he hated himself a little bit for that. In his defense, he had been focused on healing from a rather serious head injury among other things, so he hadn't had a whole lot of time to think about it.
"It could be your home too," Genevieve insisted. He sighed and fought to not pinch the bridge of his nose. He didn't want her to think he was exasperated with her. Truth was, he'd probably been up and around too much and had agitated his aforementioned head injury. "I don't understand why not, you and Mom have been dating for a while," she argued.
"But not long enough, Gen. This was only temporary, until I got back on my feet. Think of me as a house guest rather than someone you're used to seeing regularly. Nobody really wants a house guest longer than a week. And if you're not tired of me yet, you will be soon, especially now that I'm feeling like myself again. You know what I'm like, you'd be annoyed with me in a day," he explained.
"Prove it," she challenged.
"Genevieve…" he warned. "I know you're upset, kid. But big picture wise, nothing is going to change. We'll go back to the way things were and I'll talk to you on the phone every night rather than in person. Plus, now maybe your mom will let me spend the night here sometimes." He finished with a goofy grin.
"You promise?" Gen was still skeptical.
"Of course, nothing could keep me away from you, you know that," he returned, shoving a unnecessarily large amount of ice cream in his mouth and juggling it around with his tongue as he battled a major case of brain freeze. Genevieve rolled her eyes and continued with her own dessert. His subdued behavior of the last week almost made her forget how weird he could be. Almost.
Castle made sure Genevieve was settled and content in bed before he went to find Beckett. She was in the kitchen making Gen's lunch for the following day. Castle slid an arm around her waist and pressed his mouth to the side of her neck. She sighed and cocked her head away from his, granting him more access.
"Love you," he spoke against her skin.
"Love you, too," she replied, spinning in his hold. Castle brought his free hand to cup her face and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss quickly escalated, tongues, lips and teeth colliding. Castle's hands fell to the counter top as he shifted his hips trapped Beckett. Beckett locked her arms around his neck as she ran her tongue along the split in his lip, eliciting a gasp from him. "Castle, we've got to stop," she panted, trying to keep her mind from thinking about what should happen next. About how tempted she was to run her hands up under his shirt and along his broad back. And how she wanted him to kiss her neck again, and work his way across her shoulders. And how every touch and kiss and "I love you" this week had been leading up to this moment and she just couldn't let it happen.
"Why?" Castle whine, putting a little space between them.
"Because of this," Beckett started, pressing a hand to his sore ribs, applying just enough pressure to make him go pale and cause his breath to catch.
"That's…not so…bad," he ground out, his jaw clinched against his discomfort.
"Try again. You lost three shades of color when I did that," Beckett chided.
"But it was manageable," he argued.
"It's not worth hurting you. We can wait," she shook her head.
"You're no fun," he pouted. Beckett tipped her head and kissed the pout from his lips.
"I may not be fun, but I am a good cuddle buddy, if you're interested," she offered.
"I guess that will do," he said with an overly dramatic sigh, but he didn't hesitate to follow her to the bedroom and climb into bed next to her.
"You feel good about going back to the loft tomorrow?" she asked. She had a lecture prepared for him about not staying up all night working in an attempt to catch up, not having the TV too loud, and listening to his body as it continued to heal, but she knew he was well aware of it all and didn't need to hear it again.
"I think so. I'll be glad to be home where I can order groceries without getting in trouble," he teased. Beckett playfully swatted his arm. "But I'll miss it here," he added.
"I would say I am going to miss you, but now that you'll be able to watch TV and work again, you'd probably be less apt to do my dishes and my laundry," she laughed.
"I'd do anything for you and I'd do it for the rest of your life if you'd let me," he admitted. Beckett tensed in his arms at the sounds of another marriage reference. She knew the wife thing was a joke, but she could tell by the way Castle said it sometimes that he was only half kidding. This, however was much blunter. "Relax, I didn't mean anything by it, I was just stating fact. We're not even close to there yet," he assured her.
"Castle…I didn't…" she didn't want him thinking she was having any kind of second thoughts about their relationship because she wasn't. If anything he past week had solidified what they had and she was now more ready than ever to take the next step.
"I know. I wasn't saying you did. I just meant that we just got to 'I love you' and I want to bask in that for now," he explained, capturing her lips in a chaste kiss. Beckett smiled and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was hard to believe that just a week ago, for the briefest of seconds, she thought she might never hear that heartbeat again. She pushed the thought from her head and let herself enjoy the moment. He was here and he was fine.
If you don't follow me on twitter, you don't know that I intended this chapter to be very couple centric. I wanted it to pull Beckett and Castle together. I know I didn't have a lot of parts with Gen in it, but with all of Castle's restrictions( I did A LOT of research on concussions and broken ribs), I didn't have enough creative ways for them to spend time together and I didn't want it all to be dialogue. I also have been working on this so intensely that I am not sure what's all here anymore, so hopefully, it's ok. I hope it doesn't seem too flat.