Kate tosses in bed, can't find a comfortable position to sleep in. She's even tried burrowing her face in his pillow, tried hugging it to pretend he's here, but it doesn't work. He's on a book tour and she knows this is the reason she had been so afraid of real relationships. Because now, now, she's laying here unable to sleep because she's gotten so used having him beside her that she can't seem to find herself relax enough to fall into the land of dreams. Letting go of a rough sigh she's turning around again to reach her phone. Right when her thumb is hovering over his picture in her favorite contacts, it starts ringing and his picture takes up the full screen. The smile on her face is instant.

"Hey lover," she answers and hearing his chuckles only makes her smile grow wider.

"Hey, you were quick to answer," Rick says and she bites her lip.

"Couldn't sleep," she admits and he sighs.

"Me neither."

They're quiet for a couple of minutes, just listening to each other breathing. None of them wanting to break the silence because none of them really knows what to say. Kate has a feeling his call is due to boredom or perhaps the same kind of insomnia as she has.

"I miss you," she whispers into the dark, hears him take in a breath of relief.

"I miss you too,"he tells her. "Do you want to come with me next time? Please?"

She chuckles. "And do what? Be your eye-candy?"

That brings a laugh out of him and she can't help but join him. "Well, if that's what you want to then I wouldn't complain," he teases and she sighs in a chuckle. "No, but maybe I could take you to dinner, a dance, and we'd use it as the beginning of a vacation."

She smiles at that. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Me too," he says and before she can say anything else he opens his mouth again. "Do you want a bedtime story?"

She laughs. "Castle, don't you think I'm a bit old for bedtime stories?" She can imagine him shrug his shoulders with a smirk playing on his lips. "Castle," she says in a warning tone and he chuckles again. Damn she's missed his laugh. And his voice.

"Come on Beckett, no one's too old for bedtime stories. Besides," he says with a big smirk plastered on his face, she might not be able to see it but she can definitely hear it, "I thought you wanted to hear what's next for Nikki and Rook?"

Kate takes a deep breath, knows that he knows he's got her there. She's been asking him for months what happens to their alter egos after he ended that last book in a cliffhanger. And he's been perfectly quiet about it. It kind of bothered her how he could keep it a secret for so long, especially since he never shut up.

"Fine," she gives up.

"Fine what?" He's teasing her, she knows it, but she just rolls her eyes and settles comfy into their bed, pulling his pillow closer to be able to be surrounded by his smell.

"Please tell me."

He doesn't push her any further but simply starts to read the next book in his serie about them. He reads until none of them can keep their eyes open anymore and they fall asleep to the sound of each other's breaths going heavier and heavier.

THE END