Author Note: So this was originally a one shot dealing with a take on what could have happened in Season Six. Over the past six years I've had a number of requests to continue this so here we are because I couldn't stop thinking about this.

Kate Beckett wants to throw her work bag across the room as she walks in through her apartment's front door. She wants to be as far away from the bag containing all the files she needs to still go through and the horrors they hold, but hurdling her entirely too heavy bag across the living room was sure to wake up her boyfriend who was sure to be asleep by now. She had originally thought she'd be home in time for dinner with him but dinner was pushed to a nightcap over text. As the hours passed on she eventually told him to go to sleep and she would get home whenever she could escape the work that never felt finished. So instead of throwing her bag, she places it carefully on the floor by the entryway. A quick glance at her watch tells her it's already 12:47 am, meaning there is no way she would even consider starting on the files she feels like she only recently shut, so instead she kicks off her heels by the bag and walks barefoot into the kitchen. Even though there is a feeling of power that comes from wearing heels all day long, there is a feeling of total comfort that comes from taking them off finally. After her long day the only thing she wants is some scotch and then to crawl into her boyfriend's arms and try to forget everything that she had to comb over searching for the inconsistencies that would help them put the bad guys away. Instead of having to search for the scotch that she had picked up a few days ago, she is almost surprised to see the bottle, a tumbler and a note sitting in the lowlights of the kitchen that Castle leaves on for her to see when she gets in late.

Expecting to find an eloquently phrased version of we're out of some grocery item or something that was equally not truly newsworthy but a homebody thing she loves about living with Castle once again, Kate finds herself quickly glancing at the note as she pours herself a couple fingers of the amber liquid. Setting the bottle down, she picks up the note in her hand and reads Rick's thick scrawl telling that there is a plate wrapped in the fridge if she's hungry and that "I love my kickass girlfriend, but even superheroes need to sleep sometime. Come and find me if you are ready for a well deserved night's sleep." Kate will never understand what she did to deserve a man like Rick. Even when she pushed him away like she did, he still treats her like there's nothing that she could do wrong in the world. Truly she doesn't deserve him, but she will thank whatever power of the universe that, let's be real- Rick is more likely to believe in before she normally would, gave her a second chance with him. So instead of savoring the liquor like she might have on any other night, Kate throws back the glass, letting the amber liquid warm her all over before setting the glass in the sink. As she makes her way towards the bedroom, she's already unbuttoning her top so that she can climb into bed as quickly as she can. Letting her feet pad quietly across their bedroom, she pulls off her white button down her arms and slings it into the hamper by their bathroom door.

"Mmm, feel free to continue stripping the rest off as well." Her shoulder's release the tension they had been holding onto from the day's work just from hearing his sleepy voice. Turning ever so slightly, she can see her boyfriend's head barely lifted off his pillow to smile at her.

"Hey handsome. I thought you were asleep." She can't help but return his smile.

"Dreaming lead to an idea that I should probably jott down before I forget it." This wasn't the first time that writing had pulled Rick from the depths of sleep. Sometimes he's jutts awake with a fully thought out idea that he must write out right then while his motivation and inspiration is in full swing, other nights he'll just make a note on his phone that he may or may not remember what he means by it in the morning.

"New adventure for Nikki?"

"Possibly." He runs a hand across his eyes as he lets out his reply.

"Are you going to go write?" His head shakes quickly.

"No, too sleepy." He mumbles, but his left arm stretches away from the bed to grab his phone. He clicks the side button and almost instantly is squinting at the screen. Once his eyes adjust, he notices how late it is. "Did you just get home?"

"Few minutes ago yeah. We have about a million case files to read through for this case and it's never ending paperwork." Kate rolls her neck as she walks over to where she keeps her sleepwear. A loud pop emanates and suddenly her neck feels looser.

"Was that your neck?" Rick stares in shock. "Did you like break something to get it to pop that loudly? Are you pranking me?"

"Nope. Just sat at a weird angle for too long." Kate's hand reaches up to rub where she felt the pop while bending over to pull open the drawer that holds her lounge wear. Sometimes sleeping in silk felt more soothing, but tonight she just wants comfy clothing that she can stay in through tomorrow morning since she doesn't have to go in. So reaching for one of her favorite jersey tops and a pair of shorts she pulls the top on before reaching under it to unhook the bra that she had been wearing for too long.

"You know you do have a boyfriend that gives great massages and he doesn't even ask for too much in return, just way less clothing then you're wearing." Kate can't help but roll her eyes at Rick's antics as she takes off her slacks and replaces them with some cotton shorts.

"I'm so tired Castle, I'd fall asleep in the middle of a massage. Right now all I want to do is wash all of this off," She motions towards the makeup she still is mostly wearing, "and fall into bed."

"Raincheck for it then. You sound like you could use it." Kate nods before dumping her slacks in the hamper.

"Definitely. Give me like five minutes in here and then I'll come join you." Running her fingers through her hair, she pulls the curls into a messy bun on the top of her head. Then tired hands quickly swipe away her makeup and wash her face. It wasn't until she was in the middle of brushing her teeth that she felt hands on her shoulder working at her tired muscles and those hands always leave her muscles feeling heavenly and relaxed. Finding his eyes in the mirror she smiles around the toothbrush. "Hank Eww." She's too tired to wait until she's finished brushing to thank him so she says it while she brushes her pearly whites.

"Always." While his hands work on her shoulders, his lips drop down to kiss the now opened skin of her neck. "Have I mentioned how much I love your neck?" Kate's eyebrow raises up at him as she finishes up brushing. "So long and soft and kissable." Kate bends ever so slightly to spit out the toothpaste and finds his body even closer than she realized it was when her hips bump into his easily. His hands work their way down her back and then wrap around her waist. But his lips haven't left their spot on her neck and she can't help but reach up and run her hand into his hair as his lips on the spot that had popped only a few moments earlier definitely felt wonderful.

"Bed?" Kate asks softly and now its Rick's turn to raise an eyebrow at her. "Not like that. I don't have the energy. But I'm too tired to stay on my feet any longer."

"Even Batman has to sleep sometime too." Kate lets out a soft chuckle at his reference to superheros again.

"Is that from Bedtime for Batman? Let me guess you read it to Alexis all the time."

"No she was more a fan of Sweet Dreams Supergirl. First time I felt the betrayal of her choosing her own path."

"So I shouldn't mention that I prefer Captain America then?"

"Beckett! That's not even the same comic book universe! You can't even compare Captain America to Batman! They're different universes and that means you can like both of them!" She sees the horror in his eyes as she turns to look at him before pulling him towards their bed.

"But I think overall he might be my favorite. He reminds me so much of you." Kate smiles before running her hands through Castle's hair. "I mean his hair is very similar to yours and then there's his strength and his heart, and he just looks so good in red, white, and blue."

"I can see the similarities."

"But I think you were right. Even superheroes need to sleep sometimes, so…" Kate trails off as she pulls Rick's hand toward their bed. Landing on their bed with a plop, she finds herself thinking of the bed at the loft and missing it. Her body might be here in DC, but her mind and heart have been in NYC lately. There's so much of their lives that had been in New York and honestly, no matter how long they are here, she will still find herself wanting to be back home.

"Sleep does sound like a great idea Kate." Rick's arms are quickly pulling her towards him and within minutes she's asleep in his arms.

Even in her dream though, she finds herself thinking of their home. A mixture of memories of past adventures and possible future adventures mesh in her subconscious and she finds herself waking feeling almost happier than she's been in a while from just the activities of her dreams. Her eyes find Rick's sleeping face in front of her and she brings a hand up to lightly trace the face she has memorized. He smiles lightly as he opens his eyes to see Kate staring back at him with a matching smile on her lips.

"Good morning. Someone's in a good mood."

"Had a good dream." She leans in to place a kiss on his lips. Waking up next to him is something she will always cherish after their months apart from each other.

"Yeah? Was it the naked kind of good dream?" Rick wiggles his eyebrows at her with his own suggestion of a good dream and it makes her temporarily forget her dream as she decides to go down a new path.

"You know what? Who cares about the dream world when I have this reality in front of me?" Kate flirts back easily and this time it's Rick who's pulling her in for a kiss. It's a good thing she doesn't have to be at the office this morning.

"Ugghhh." Kate slams the folder shut and shoves it away from her. Rick looks up at the noise coming from across the table, such a different noise than from their bedroom earlier.

"What's wrong?" Rick can tell without a doubt that something is off with his girlfriend compared to the woman who woke up with him this morning.

"I don't want to do this anymore." Kate says honestly.

"The paperwork? I know it's a lot more than you did at the 12th, but you're helping different people in this position. The paperwork is just part of helping them." Kate shakes her head and he's confused.

"It's this job. I thought this was my chance. I thought if I didn't take it I would regret it forever."

"I know, that's why I didn't attempt to stop you from coming to take it."

"But it's all wrong Rick."

"What's wrong?"

"The job, being in DC. It's not the end all be all. It's just a job and it's not the right one for me. I never should have left New York. I wish we were back there all the time. I miss Alexis and your mom and my dad. I miss Ryan and Espo and Lanie and even Gates. I miss the loft. I miss Remy's. I miss New York. I think we never should have left."

"Then we can go back. It's not hard. Everything is still there and the NYPD would be stupid not to want their best detective back. Call Gates and talk with her. Start the steps to go home and I'll be on the flight back with you in a heartbeat. Home is wherever you are Kate. So just decide what you want to do and I'll be with you."

"Let's go home Rick. Let's go back to New York."

Author Note Part Two: Hope you enjoyed this second part that is more fluffy. Also I wanted to mention that even though Bedtime for Batman and Sweet Dreams Supergirl are real books they wouldn't have been around when Alexis was a child but in my AU universe we are just going to pretend they had come out like ten years earlier so that Rick Castle could read them to all his children, because we know he would.