Even with Castle sprawled on the couch snoring softly, there was room for Beckett to curl up with his laptop on the other end. The couch was more comfortable than the chairs he had, and besides, she could tuck her feet under his comforter to keep them warm. With another pillow from his bed against the armrest, it was just as comfortable as being home, and another cup of coffee kept her company as she read her way through a couple more stories on the site Castle had been reading from. They weren't too bad – a little embarrassing, in some spots – but some of them were pretty far-fetched, and many made her character out to be a damsel in distress, which was a little annoying to her sensibilities.

She read until her eyes started to ache from staring at the screen, and then she transferred her notes from Castle's statement onto the official form. He'd need to sign it before she could turn it in, but she wasn't planning on going into the station until he was awake anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal. She read through it once more, just to check for typos, and set it on the coffee table – away from her coffee cup to prevent any accidents.

A quick glance at Castle told her he wasn't probably wasn't going to be waking up any time soon, but she didn't want to risk waking him by turning on the TV. She got up quietly, and wandered into his office/den knowing she'd find his books in there, and certain that he wouldn't care if she borrowed one. She'd read them all, but she could reread part of one to keep herself occupied. She picked one of her favorites and headed back to the couch, reclaiming her spot at the other end and tucking her feet back under his blanket near his own.

Just as comfortable on her end as he was on his, she found herself dozing off before she'd even finished the first chapter. It hadn't even been a long day, and she'd slept in earlier, but there's nothing that will make a person sleepier than watching someone else sleep. She glanced at her watch, making sure it wasn't time for Alexis to be back so she didn't need to worry about her being late, but while most of the afternoon was gone, it was still early to start wondering where she was. She leaned back into the pillow and started in on the next chapter, but was asleep before she even needed to turn a page.

OOOOOOOOO

He hurt. The throbbing in his shoulder was pounding through his entire body, making it hard for him to concentrate on the woman who was standing in front of him. She was holding a gun, but it wasn't pointed at him. Her expression was aloof, her eyes were cold.

"You're a witness, Castle," she told him. "That means you're a liability to me. I can't let you leave here alive."

He was too tired to argue with her. Too miserable to even try to think of something to say. Besides, he could see in her eyes that nothing he said was going to make a difference.

Then out of nowhere a shot rang out, deafening him momentarily. The woman in front of him fell and the gun clattered from her lifeless hand.

Castle jerked awake, wincing as the motion caused the ache in his shoulder to deepen until it seemed to be in his whole torso, with pain running down his arm to his fingertips. He bit back a curse, and when he had a chance to look around and get his bearings he was glad that he had.

He was on the couch where Beckett had left him, but she was curled up on the other end, asleep, with one of his books in her lap. He was still for a long moment, watching her sleep, enchanted by how peaceful she looked asleep as opposed to when she was awake and there was always that lingering hurt in her expression.

Quietly, carefully, he slid out from under the blanket she'd tucked around him and stood up. His stomach was growling like he'd never eaten before and he really needed to use the bathroom. Otherwise he might have watched her sleep even longer. As it was, he gently pulled the book from under her hand, and then pulled his blanket up over her, making sure she was warmly covered. He put the book on the coffee table, and leaned over her for a moment longer, pressing a tender and feather-gentle kiss against her cheek.

After all, it wasn't a tucking in without a kiss.

That done, he left her to her nap and headed down the hall.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The sound of a cell phone ringing brought Beckett awake, and she opened her eyes and sat up, still half asleep, looking for her phone.

"It's mine," Castle told her from where he'd been sitting nearby. He glanced down at the phone. "And it's Alexis." He smiled and answered the phone. "Hello, Daughter."

She watched as he listened to whatever she was telling him. She could hear Alexis' voice, but couldn't understand what she was saying.

"Hold on, let me discuss it with Beckett…" he turned to her. "She wants to stay overnight at her friend's house. Her dad managed to get tickets to some science symposium…" he rolled his eyes and Beckett smiled. "She wants to know if it's okay, or if you need her help babysitting me…"

Which made him roll his eyes again.

Still sleepy, Beckett shrugged.

"I can handle you. Tell her to have a good time."

There was an excited squeal on the other end of the line, telling her that even though she couldn't understand Alexis, the girl had had no trouble understanding her. Castle smiled and put the phone to his ear.

"You heard? Yes. Have fun and be home at a reasonable time tomorrow. It's a school night." There was a pause as she said something. "I love you, too."

He hung up and put the phone down on the coffee table, and Beckett stretched, realizing that he'd covered her with the blanket and he didn't look like he'd just woken up.

"How's the shoulder?"

"Not too bad. How was your nap?"

"Peaceful. Thanks."

He nodded.

"You must have needed it. It certainly couldn't have been the reading material."

"It wasn't." She looked at her watch, and realized it was early evening – which meant she'd slept for a few hours. "Still no word from your mother?"

He shook his head, smiling.

"She must be having a very good time. But if you have other things you need to do, you don't really have to stay and watch me. I'm fine and-"

"No," she interrupted him. "With the medication you're taking, you really do need someone to watch you once you've taken it. You never know what kind of reactions there can be. I don't mind staying with you, I just need to go get a change of clothes if I'm going to stay over again."

"I just put dinner in the oven, so you have about an hour and a half…"

"You made dinner?"

She was supposed to be taking care of him. He shouldn't have to cook.

"It's just a frozen casserole. But it's good. I promise."

"Are you up for a drive?"

He hesitated, but shook his head.

"Not really. If I promise not to take anything while you're gone, can I stay here?"

"Yes." It wasn't like he was a prisoner, after all. "But if you need me, call. Okay?"

"I promise."

She pushed the comforter aside and got up, stretching again.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Want me to stop and pick up anything?"

"Ice cream?"

"Sounds good."

Beckett only took a few minutes more to make sure she was awake and then grabbed up her car keys and purse. With a final admonishment to call her if he needed anything, she left.

Castle smiled at the over protectiveness, and did his best to fold the comforter one handed before he gave up a few minutes later and just left it in a heap on the end of the couch she'd vacated. Then he flopped down as carefully as he could without hurting himself, and reached for his laptop.

The doorbell rang only a moment later, and Castle stood up – again as carefully as he could so he wouldn't hurt his shoulder.

"You can just come in, Beckett," he said as he walked over and opened the door. "It's not-"

He trailed off as he found himself being hugged as tightly as he could be, and only an instant later recognized that it was Joel who had firmly attached himself to his waist. At the same instant he realized that it wasn't Beckett at his door, it was Theo Martin.