STILL FALLIN'
POST-SERIES

And after every sunrise holding you,
After all the crazy we've been through
Every day and every minute, girl, it's something new,
I'm still learning, still burning

Still Fallin' - Hunter Hayes

Rick Castle had a bad week.

He's dealing with a deadline, writer's block, and countless meetings and calls about his upcoming promotional tour.

Kate tries to help her husband's week improve the best she could, but her week wasn't exactly great, either. She had to perform several performance reviews of her detectives and officers, and attend almost daily budget meetings, so by the time she came home every night she was mentally tapped out.

Sometimes she misses just being a detective, the days when all she had to worry about was catching murderers on no sleep.

When she wakes on Saturday morning to find Rick's side of the bed empty, she decides that they both need a day off from responsibilities. And she's going to do it by spoiling him.

She follows the smell of coffee and bacon to the kitchen, and while his back is to her, she takes the opportunity to watch him for a few moments. She loves his unruly hair, the way the muscles in his back ripple under his t-shirt when he works the espresso machine, the perfect curve of his ass in his pajama pants.

He startles when he finishes the coffee and turns, a splash of coffee spilling from the mug in his hand. He gives her a sheepish smile and sets the mug on the counter in front of her.

"I was about to come and wake you," he explains, grabbing a pair of tongs and turning the bacon in the pan. "Would you like pancakes, waffles, or French toast?"

Kate takes a sip of the coffee and smiles, closing her eyes at the taste. It's perfect, as usual.

She swallows, feeling the caffeine course through her veins already, and sets the mug down. "None of those," she says, covering her smile with her fingers when his jaw drops. She reaches her hand out, her palm up, and wiggles her fingers in invitation until he takes her hand.

"You had a bad week," she explains. "So today is a 'yes day.' Anything you want to do, I will say yes to." His eyebrows wiggle, and she rolls her eyes. "Not that kind of yes day," she adds, but pauses and considers, her lips lifting in a slow smile. "Well, maybe later."

Rick squeezes her hand. "You didn't exactly have a stellar week yourself," he points out. "Why is it a 'yes day' for me?"

Kate tugs at his hand until he leans forward far enough that she can touch her mouth to his. "You always take care of me, Rick," she mutters against his mouth. "I want to take care of you for once."

Rick smiles and brushes his mouth against hers. "Oh, you take care of me plenty," he teases, his fingers flexing around hers.

"Perv." Kate chuckles and leans back. "So, what do you want to do today? And 'cook my wife breakfast' is not an acceptable answer," she adds, cutting him off when he starts to say something. Judging by the flush that creeps onto his cheeks, that's exactly what he was going to say. She pokes her finger in his chest. "Your things cannot include doing things for me. I'm doing this for you."

Rick's lips lift in a slow smile. "Okay," he agrees. "Can we go out for breakfast at that place we found last month?"

Kate narrows her eyes in thought, her mind racing, trying to remember. "The place in Queens?"

"Yeah." Rick's eyes light up. "Then after, can we go apple picking? Oh, there's that corn maze near the restaurant. Let's go there, too." He steps around the counter, smudges a sloppy kiss to Kate's temple. "And then carve pumpkins?" he continues as he retreats to the bedroom.

Kate shakes her head and smiles, amused by her husband's excitement. She's not surprised; his child-like wonder is one reason she fell in love with him. That he would know exactly what he wants to do with his "yes day" is not surprising.

She's about to follow him, but her attention is pulled to the stove, and she quickly takes over watching the bacon, sets it on a paper towel-covered plate when it's done. She hears the shower turn on as she's washing the pan, and she abandons it in favor of joining him.

They finally leave the apartment an hour later, and Kate grabs the car keys, ignoring his protests.

"You're supposed to say yes," he reminds her.

Kate lifts a brow. "You get too stressed about parking. I'm driving today." When he pushes out his lower lip in a pout, she pats his arm, lifts herself to her toes to kiss his pout away. "You can drive tomorrow," she promises.

He grins and steals another kiss. "Deal."

They manage to arrive at the restaurant just after the breakfast rush, so they're quickly seated, coffee appearing in front of them in seconds.

"Pancakes, huh?" Kate teases when their food arrives, and she digs into her omelet, chuckles around her food at the fake glare that she gets.

Rick quirks a brow and cuts a small piece of pancake, holds it out for her. "Yes. A thank you for last night," he murmurs, his eyes darkening when she leans forward and curls her lips around the utensil.

She nudges his foot with hers. "You're welcome," she husks. She gives him an exaggerated wink, and he clears his throat and starts to push himself back from the table. "Nuh-uh, we're not leaving. And we're not canceling the rest of our plans today," she adds, anticipating his next suggestion. She loves lazy no clothes days as much as he does, but she's determined to stick to their original plan.

Rick narrows his eyes, but he scoots back up to the table and takes a long sip of his coffee. "Fine," he concedes, his teasing tone betraying his pout.

Rick decides on the corn maze next, and as Kate pays for their tickets and takes the map from the cashier, he bounces on the balls of his feet, his excitement palpable.

Kate grins as she takes his hand, lacing their fingers together, and she tugs them towards the entrance.

"Can I see the map?" Rick asks before they step into the maze. He brushes a kiss to her mouth when she hands it over, and he unfolds the paper, his bright blue eyes roaming over the diagram. He nods and points at a spot in the corner. "Okay, we're going there," he announces.

Kate looks at where his finger is, and she furrows her brows in confusion. "That's a dead end," she points out. She squeezes his hand. "Do you need to get your eyes checked again?"

Rick nudges her shoulder with his. "You just want me to wear glasses all the time," he teases in a low voice.

Kate's face flushes. He's not wrong - she certainly appreciates the look - but a very public corn maze is neither the time nor place to entertain that particular fantasy.

Rick pulls her to face him, and he laces his fingers at the small of her back, leans down to rest his forehead against hers. "No, it's so we can make out," he grumbles, his lips lifting in a seductive smirk.

Kate draws her bottom lip between her teeth, revels in the low growl that comes from his chest.

Maybe some making out would be fine.

"I can't believe that happened," Kate hisses as they slide into the car. She adjusts the rearview mirror so she can see herself, and she runs her fingers through her hair, pulls it back into a messy bun.

Rick chuckles at her side, buckling his seatbelt before curling his hand over her knee. "I'm not sure why they were so upset. It's not like we were having sex," he points out. "What's the harm in some kissing?"

"Your hand was on my boob!"

Rick shrugs. "Still. Banning us was harsh for light groping."

Kate rolls her eyes, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Light groping" is a bit of an understatement; it had been thrilling at the moment, her husband's tongue in her mouth and his hand against her skin, but now they have a lifetime ban from one of her favorite places to go in the fall.

She's captain of a police precinct, the wife of a famous author. She can't be seen doing things that could lead to a public indecency arrest. God, that would be embarrassing if she needed to explain it to 1PP.

I'm so horny for my husband that I couldn't wait to get home to dry hump him.

She glances at the husband in question as she starts the car, her lip quirking despite herself.

Well, it wouldn't be wrong. She certainly is horny for her husband.

"Where to next?" she asks, covering the hand on her knee with hers. Rick smirks and she shakes her head. "We're not finding somewhere for a quickie."

"Fine." Rick bounces in his seat. "There's a pumpkin patch Alexis and I would go to when she was a kid, but it's on Staten Island. Is that okay?"

Kate leans across the center console and presses her mouth to his, pulls back when his tongue prods the seam of her lips. "Staten Island is just fine," she assures him. She pats his cheek and leans back in her seat. "Try not to get us kicked out of this one."

Rick chuckles. "No promises."

They manage to visit the pumpkin patch without offending anyone, although Rick does palm her ass several times during their hunt for perfect carving pumpkins. He pretends it's incidental each time, but the smirk on his face tells her everything she needs to know.

Not that she's complaining; she "accidentally" gropes him just as much.

Because they keep sneaking touches and kisses, it takes them a few hours to go through the patch, and it's already beginning to get dark when they load their pumpkins - carving and decorative - in the trunk of the car.

Rick glances at the pumpkin patch, at the sign advertising hayrides, and when he turns back to Kate, he has a hopeful smile on his face. "Can we do the spooky hayride?"

Kate grins and tucks her hand in the back pocket of his jeans. "Absolutely."

He grabs the throw blanket they keep in the car, and he leads her back, where Kate buys tickets for the hayride. When the flatbed-towing tractor pulls up, she settles in next to him, drops her cheek to his shoulder.

The hayride features several people dressed as various horror villains and made up to look like ghosts. They're sharing the ride with a group of teenagers who squeal at every jump scare, but she and Rick sit in comfortable silence, their arms linked and thighs pressed together under the blanket.

Rick extracts his arm from hers and drapes it around her shoulders, and she sighs and scoots as close to him as she can. As the tractor makes the final turn of the loop around the farm, he rests his cheek on the top of her head.

"Thank you," he breathes, his lips at her hairline.

She lifts her head and meets his tender gaze. "For what?'

Rick tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "For today," he mutters. "A shitty week ended on a high note because of you."

Kate smiles. "And your 'yes day' isn't even over," she teases, leaning close so their teenage companions can't overhear. Her nose bumps his, and she smiles at his low groan. "There will be plenty of chances for you to say yes when we get home."

Rick's nostrils flare and he leans back, his dark gaze meeting hers as the tractor jerks to a halt. "Is that a promise?" he almost growls.

She doesn't even have a chance to answer before he's tugging her towards the car.

He leaves her boneless and breathless that night, and she falls asleep with her husband at her back and a smile on her face.

By the time she drags herself out of bed on Sunday, sore but well-rested, Rick is at his desk, hunched over his laptop. Kate tries to sneak up on him and watch him for a few minutes, but as soon as she steps inside the doorway he looks up and grins.

"About time," he teases. He shuts his laptop and stands, closes the distance between them in a few large strides. His hands cradle her jaw and he leans down, brushes his lips against hers. "I thought you were going to sleep all day," he rumbled, dropping his forehead to hers.

Kate slides her hands under his robe and wraps her arms around his waist. "It's only ten," she murmurs against his chest. "You wore me out."

Rick chuckles. "Damn right I did." He drops a kiss to the top of her head, then steps back, guides her into the kitchen. "Today is your 'yes day,'" he announces. "What would you like to do?"

Kate lifts a seductive brow, her body tingling.

"Aside from me, of course."

She rolls her eyes, even as her lips curl into a smile. "I guess I can resist you for a few hours," she teases, sliding onto a stool. She watches as he flutters around the kitchen, working the espresso machine with practiced ease. It takes him just a few minutes to set a mug in front of her, and her cheeks flush when she sees the foam heart on top.

She's such a lucky woman.

As she sips her coffee her gaze flicks to the pumpkins in the doorway, abandoned last night in their haste to rid themselves of their clothes as soon as they got home. She nods her head towards them. "Maybe we can carve the pumpkins," she suggests.

Rick follows her gaze, then turns back to her with a wide grin. "Excellent plan."

Kate can't stop laughing, and the fact that her husband is annoyed makes her laugh even harder.

"It's not funny, Beckett!" he whines, putting the top back on his pumpkin. He wipes his hands on a towel and glares at her. "The pattern was incomplete."

Kate glances at his pumpkin again, and she doubles over at the waist, has to hold onto the counter to keep herself from falling to the floor in a literal puddle of laughter.

"I'm sorry," she eventually gasps. "I'm not laughing at you, but that-"

Rick crosses his arms, but the corner of his mouth twitches. "It's supposed to be a spaceship," he insists.

Kate wheezes with laughter. "It's not-" She gulps for air, and after a minute she manages to compose herself enough to stand up straight. She points at the carving. "That's not a spaceship," she giggles.

Rick throws his hands in the air, but Kate knows him well enough to know that he's pretending to be angry. Judging by the twinkle in his eye, he's just as amused as she is, although holding himself together better than her.

"Yes, I know that now." He shakes his head. "I wish I'd realized before I carved a dick on my pumpkin."

"Oh, Rick." Kate sidles up to his side and wraps her arm around his waist. "Your pumpkin will just be part of our private collection." She punctuates her words with a pinch, and he chuckles.

"I'll show you my private collection," he murmurs.

Before she can react she's upside down over his shoulder, and she laughs, smacks his ass as he carries her back into the bedroom.

"What do you want to do next?" Rick asks a short time later, as Kate tries to catch her breath.

She manages to lift her head and watch as her husband steps into the bathroom, and she hears the shower turn on before he pokes his head back through the door. "Lunch?" she suggests, earning a low chuckle and a generous view of his bare ass when he turns around.

"Think about where," he calls out, "and what to do later."

Kate throws her forearm over her eyes. "I can't even move," she mutters to herself.

By the time Rick emerges from the bathroom she's managed to stand, and he smirks and smudges a kiss to her temple as she passes him.

She takes her time in the shower, not for the first time grateful that they have a massive hot water heater and showerheads with the perfect amount of pressure to soothe her aching muscles. They've had marathon lovemaking sessions before, have left each other unable to move on multiple occasions. But she hasn't felt this sated - and sore - in a long time.

Much to her disappointment, Rick is fully dressed when she eventually tears herself away from the luxurious shower, so she quickly pulls on clothes for another casual day. Before she shuts the closet door she spots a familiar green sweater on Rick's side, and she smiles and grabs it.

Rick quirks a brow when he spots the shirt in her hand, and she hands it to him, her cheeks warm.

"Can you wear this instead?" she asks. "Not that I don't like the shirt you have on," she quickly adds, reaching out to thumb the collar of his maroon button-up. She bites her bottom lip, her eyes dropping to his torso, raking over every inch of skin revealed as he unbuttons the shirt.

Rick smirks and flexes his arms. "Like something you see?" he teases. When Kate just flushes more, he chuckles and slips on the green sweater. As soon as he pushes up the forearms Kate's eyes darken, and he steps closer, crowds her space.

"You like this sweater, don't you?" he rumbles.

Kate takes a deep breath, lets it out in a shaky exhale. Oh, she certainly does, and she allows him to tug her into his arms. "Yes," she breathes, her eyes locked firmly on the base of his throat. She can almost feel the desire radiating from him, and if she looks in his eyes and sees the arousal that's probably there, she'll be a goner. They won't even leave home.

"What do you want to do?"

His question comes out in a low growl, and before she can stop herself, a low whine escapes from her throat.

She manages to slow her breathing enough that she lifts her gaze to his without passing out. She almost scraps her plans for the rest of the day when she sees how dark his eyes are, but at that moment her stomach lets out a loud growl.

Rick smiles. "Hungry?"

Kate pokes his shoulder and steps out of his arms. "Apparently," she shoots back, "since we skipped breakfast."

Rick reaches out and curls his hand around her hip, bends down to capture her mouth with his in a searing kiss. "Speak for yourself, I ate plenty," he murmurs when he finally pulls away, leaving her dazed and more than a little turned on.

"It's such a gorgeous day," Kate sighs that afternoon, as she leans back into her husband's arms, looking out over Central Park.

After lunch at Remy's they'd walked hand-in-hand through the park, and now they find themselves at the rooftop bar on top of the Met, enjoying the clear, crisp fall afternoon and cocktails. Kate doesn't usually like spending the money on overpriced food or drinks, but she lets Rick spoil her anyway, and now they're standing at the railing, ignoring the tourists around them.

Rick taps his forehead against her temple, his mouth smudging across her cheek. "Not as gorgeous as my wife," he murmurs into her ear.

Kate's cheeks flush and she turns to look at him. "Which wife?" she quips.

He narrows his eyes and slides his hand around her waist, sneaks it under the hem of her sweater to splay his fingers across her stomach.

She yelps when his cold hand touches her skin, her hips jerking back, and she steps out from his arms, gives his shoulder a light smack. "Ass," she says in mocks annoyance. She wraps her arm around his neck and tugs his mouth down to hers.

Since they're in public she keeps the kiss relatively chaste - getting kicked out of two places in one weekend for being too handsy is not on her bucket list, although it would be a great story - but she does nip at his bottom lip before stepping away.

"You know what would be fun?"

He raises his brows.

She looks back at the door to the roof and drains the rest of her drink. "Let's see what's playing at the Angelika."

Rick grins. "Maybe they're showing 'Forbidden Planet,'" he suggests, finishing his own drink and curling his fingers around hers. "Wanna sit in the back row and make out?"

Kate just rolls her eyes and leads him towards the door.

"Well, that was a blast from the past," Rick mutters as they leave the Angelika, fingers laced together.

Kate shivers when a gust of cold wind sneaks under her coat, and she lets go of her husband's hand, instead hooks her arm through his and leans into his side. He's a walking heading pad, as usual, and she smiles when he pulls her close.

"Which part?" she asks, resting her cheek against his bicep. "That they actually were showing 'Forbidden Planet,' or that you whispered along with half the dialogue?"

Rick gasps and directs her to the side of the building, out of the way from other pedestrians. "I didn't whisper along with half the dialogue that time," he insists, "and I didn't do it now!"

Kate just chuckles. "You did," she argues, "but I forgive you. At least this time no one was around us to get mad." She tugs his arm to get him to start walking. "That's how I knew you lied about never seeing it," she continues. "You've never been subtle, babe."

Rick lets out a low "humph," and she pats his arm in assurance.

"It kinda made me fall for you a little," she admits, realizing when he stops in his tracks that she hasn't told him that before. She steps in front of him and tilts her head back so she can look him in the eyes. "I liked you, but when we came here? When you pretended not to know the movie just so I could think I was making you feel better?" She reaches up and cups his jaw, brushes her thumb across his bottom lip.

She's rambling, she knows, and maybe this is a conversation better had in their warm apartment. But he's gazing at her with so much wonder, the awe that, even after all these years, is so obvious any time she shares something personal, that she continues.

She lifts a shoulder in a casual shrug. "I dunno, maybe I loved you before that. I don't really know when it happened. But I definitely knew that I loved you then."

Rick stares at her for several long moments before curling his lips in a slow smile. He shakes his head in wonder. "God, I love you so much," he finally breathes, cupping her face in his hands and bending down to capture her mouth with his.

She loses herself in the kiss, allowing his tongue to slip through her lips. Her arms tighten around his neck, but the loud honk of a car has her jumping back.

His gaze locks on her mouth, and his tongue darts out to lick his lips, as if savoring her taste that likely lingers. "Anything else on your 'yes day' list?" he grumbles, his voice tight with desire.

She draws her bottom lip between her teeth, feels her cheeks flush with pride at the low moan it draws from his throat. She considers saying yes, that she wants to get ice cream at Serendipity. But she wouldn't be able to resist eating her ice cream as seductively as possible, and he'd probably lose control, and they'd be banned from another New York establishment.

So instead, she scraps that idea, saves it for another day.

"Just one thing."

His eyes flash with disappointment, but he still plays along, a man of his word. "Anything."

"Take me home. I want to say yes to you all night."

-FIN-