Sorry for the very long wait! I was writing another Castle story that I wanted to finish before ***SPOILER *** the episode on which it is based airs...

CHAPTER 36

When Kate woke up, she immediately realized something was wrong. Not only was she alone in bed, she could barely move her arm. She was handcuffed to the bed. She rolled her eyes and let her head fall on the pillow. What the- She jiggled her wrist when she heard footsteps, someone was coming. Castle stopped and stared at her from the doorway.

"I think next time has come," he said raising eyebrows. "Finally."

"Except that I'm handcuffed to the bed, not to you."

"I can arrange that," he said showing a second pair of handcuffs.

"How many do you have?" she asked, surprised.

"Two," he said as he walked in. "Just enough. Hey, look what I found!" he said all excited.

Castle looked like a kid who wanted to show his best friend the present he got for his birthday. Apparently, it was the best present ever. He reached for something at the foot of the bed.

Kate bursted into laughter when she saw it, she couldn't stop. Tears ran down her cheeks, she wiped them off with her free hand. She opened her mouth to speak, but she immediately laughed again.

"Much cuter and less dangerous than the one we've inopportunely met!" he said looking at the sixteen-inch stuffed tiger he was holding. He hid his head behind it and walked towards Kate, roaring and voicing the tiger. "Hungry. I'm hungry. I know there's some very tasty flesh around here..."

She had her free hand on her mouth, trying to prevent herself from laughing again. She was shaking her head, she couldn't believe it. He was near the bed, leaning forward a bit. He moved the stuffed tiger away from his head so he could look at her. His marvelous imagination and childish excitement never ceased to amaze her. She looked at him with tenderness and wonder, biting her lip.

"You're a genius Castle, that's why I love you!" she said with a big loving smile on her face.

As soon as it was out, she realized she had said it out loud. Her smile quickly faded away. Castle stood there, speechless, his eyes wide open. It had been so genuine. Heartfelt. She had not even thought about it before actually saying those three little words. She really meant it. And he didn't expect it. At least, not that day. They stayed staring at each other for a minute before Kate eventually looked away. She had no way of hiding or escaping the consequences of those three little words. She had to face it, to face him.

She had known for a while now that she loved him but she had been scared of uttering it. Kate always thought it would have come out of her mouth in another one of their life-threatening moments. She had not prepared herself for this. It had caught her completely off-guard.

"It's probably not the way you wanted me to say it..." she apologized.

And it was probably not the way she had wanted to say it. Castle shook his head, looking at her with wonder.

"You could have said it in Japanese, I would have been just as happy," he smiled.

"Well..." she said shyly. "I think you can... remove the handcuffs now, you know that... I'm not going anywhere. I'm not gonna run away," she said very softly, eventually looking up at him.

Yes, now he knew she would not leave him. She wasn't held hostage, she was really there of her own will.

"You were so scared by the tiger you felt you had to say it so that it would spare you?" he asked smiling.

He thought a little joke would help her in a moment like this. She simply shook her head as an answer. No, she didn't say this to protect herself. It was the opposite. Saying this actually felt like laying herself bare, putting herself in danger. The danger was to get emotionally hurt, at any moment. Castle leant forward and brushed his lips against hers, before tenderly kissing her.

"Well, that's not exactly what I had planned... but it's even better," he whispered.

He gently removed the handcuffs, allowing her to curl her arms around his neck. She kissed him back. Without looking away, he delicately put the tiger on the bed next her. He brushed her hair behind her ear, looking deep into her eyes.

"Katherine Beckett... may I make love to you?" he asked in a serious tone.

Kate stared at him for a moment with a tender smile. She slowly took his shirt off, letting it fall on the tiger, sat next to them on the bed.

"Please do," she answered.

##########

A morning that had started in silence. Unusual for Castle. For Kate too. She had become accustomed to hearing the sound of his voice almost 24/7 without any pause. But it had been hours now since she had last heard his voice. The real tone of his voice.

"Could you-" Castle started barely able to make himself heard.

His voice sounded like a whisper, it was so weak he sounded like his vocal cords were about to break.

"Shhh, you need to rest your voice," Kate gently said putting her hand on his forearm as she passed him the bowl of fruits.

"That means no talking whatsoever, son. Don't even try. We know that's hard for you. We genuinely sympathize..." Martha teased him before sharing a smile with Kate.

The three of them were having breakfast after a quick visit of the doctor.

"If only you had listened to us... Your voice was hoarse a week ago, you should have rested it then, and not wait till you can't speak at all. But you're a writer. You can write to express yourself," Kate added. "Here's a pencil and a pad of paper," she said with a smile.

"Make good use of it. There's only a limited number of pages," Martha joked.

Kate let out a laugh before kissing him on the cheek for some comfort. They were really sorry for him but they also knew this could be one funny, and memorable, time for them. Richard Castle being quiet, too rare.

Thanks. I knew I should have learnt sign language... he wrote on the first page of the paper pad.

# # # # #

They arrived at the precinct an hour later. Castle was all grumpy and unable to really express his frustration, which made things even worse. He greeted the boys with a small gesture of his hand.

"Hey, Castle. How are you?" Esposito greeted him. Castle simply made the OK gesture to Esposito's astonishment. He looked questioningly at Kate. "You were so tired to hear his voice you cut his tongue or something?"

Castle showed him his tongue to prove him wrong.

"Then he lost a bet and he's not allowed to talk for a week?" Ryan suggested.

"No," Kate answered with a smile. "But that's an idea. Thank you. I'll bear that in mind for our next bet." Castle strongly shook his head to make her understand it was not a good idea. But how could he make her understand? He felt like a painter without a brush or in his case, more like a writer without a typewriter. "Loss of voice. The doctor said he needs to stay quiet for a few days... Don't know if he'll manage to do it though."

"See Castle, even your own body wants to make you understand you speak too much," Esposito joked. "Listen to your body!"

Castle could not talk. But he had another way of expressing himself. He simply banged his two fists together twice. Maybe Esposito would understand the meaning... if he had watched Friends, back in the days. He went to the white board. Another way of expressing himself was writing, as Kate had suggested. Expect he did not write. Castle started drawing symbols. An eye, a can, a knot, a mouth, a butt, an eye, a can, a ear, a plus symbol and a pen...

"Is that a rebus?!" Ryan asked laughing.

Suddenly everybody put on a straight face again and looked down. What? Castle wrote in full letters on the board.

"Mr Castle... Are you using New York's public equipment to play some rebus game with your friends?" Captain Gates asked, arms crossed.

Castle turned around shaking vigorously his head but soon realized that she was right. He turned to Kate with a puppy face, gesturing her to explain to Gates what he was doing. He was feeling helpless. He gestured to his throat, then to the rebus hoping she would sympathize with his delicate situation. A look of stupefaction crossed Gates's face.

"Wait, wait, wait..." she said holding up her hands. "Could it be that my wish has finally been granted? Shhh," Gates did holding up her finger. "Listen... Listen to that silence, in presence of Mr Castle. This is such a rare moment that must be appreciated. Enjoy it while it lasts," she said with a big smile before walking off.

Kate, Esposito and Ryan were trying to hold their laughter while Castle shook his head in irritation. He took the marker again to express his annoyance towards Gates: *#$%!

He wiped it away before writing something else.

When I'll be able to speak again, you're so gonna pay for it. All of you.

# # # # #

Castle tapped on the desk then clapped his hands to draw attention. He had an idea. A theory, rather. But how could he get it across? He stood up going for the white board, pointing at the photos and making some gestures like people arguing, kissing, being utterly shocked or cutting the head of someone...

"Great. After the rebus, here come the mimes..." Kate sighed, rolling her eyes.

Castle stopped to stare at Kate. He thought she would have had more confidence in him and would have been more compassionate. He took the marker to write something on the board.

"Is he doing rebus again?" Ryan asked not seeing what he was writing.

I [heart] U 2, he wrote and put his hand on his heart.

"Great band, I like their music. Actually the title of one of their songs fits perfectly what I'm thinking right now: I still haven't found what I'm looking for, our killer!" Kate said looking at Castle.

AH! AH! AH! he wrote in capitals. He wiped it away before going back to mimes.

"Hm... Chester Bohm was eating when he-" Ryan suggested as he was trying to decipher them.

"No, they were arguing," Esposito said.

"Oh... Looked like eating a sandwich... or playing the flute," Ryan said doing the same gesture.

"That movement with his hands, it's two people talking, right? Arguing?" Esposito asked.

Castle nodded energetically before going on with his explanation. He seemed to know what he was gesturing about. It was clear in his mind. But given the look on their faces, either it was not convincing or they just didn't understand his point. They frowned their eyes, perplexed. Castle was waiting for their opinion on his theory but they kept staring at him.

"Sorry, Castle, I don't think any of us understood what you were trying to... mime us. Guys?" Kate asked.

"Nah, I got lost at the... cutting-thing, vertical movement..." Esposito tried to explain, shaking his head. "Sorry, bro."

Castle sighed of desperation but did not give up. He turned the white board over and took the marker. He moved his shoulders as to warm up before a physical effort and started writing at the top left of the board. He wrote and wrote, words after words. They followed him with their eyes, from left to right, from right to left, from left to right... as the board was slowing becoming darker and darker. There was black all over, words all over it.

"You think this will make him realize how many words he says in just a minute or two?" Esposito wondered.

"Mr Castle..." Castle raised his head hearing her voice. "So now you figured it would be a good idea to write your next book on that board?" Gates asked.

He took a step back and starred at the white board. It was barely white anymore. He turned to Gates, who was still waiting for a written answer. Castle added a title at the top of the board: Castle's theory.

"Well... Let me guess, you're not the one who writes the back cover synopsis of your books, are you?"

Castle gave her a forced smile before turning to the team with a look that said So?

"I like your style. I may start reading your books one day," Esposito joked.

They would not leave him any respite, taking any opportunity they had to make fun of him. It was their time to tease him. And there was nothing he could do in reprisal. He was vulnerable. Castle sighed, this time he would give up. He gently put the marker down and started walking away.

"Where are you going?!" Ryan asked.

Castle turned back without looking at them and drew a house.

"To the Hamptons? No, because if you go home, technically it's not a house but an apartment so..."

"Okay guys, give him a break," Kate said trying to retain her laughter. She got up and gently stroke his back before taking a closer look at his theory. "Actually it's not that bad. We may-"

Kate got interrupted by a cellphone ringing. They all looked towards Castle, who was taking his phone out of the pocket. They were all curious as to what his next move would be. He looked at it, not sure what to do. It was Alexis. How could he possibly answer?

"You need help with this? Want me to talk to her?" Kate asked.

Castle shook his head before ignoring the call. Though he immediately wrote a message to his daughter. Writing would basically be his only way of communicating for several days.

"Those few days are gonna be very long for you," Esposito said to him. "Be strong."

To Be Continued...

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