AU: So as all my fellow Castle fans know, we have been being treated with some amazing Castle episodes as of late. Tick Tick Tick and Boom are both great, and chalked full of Casketty moments. After sorting through a few plot bunnies, I've managed to produce the one your about to read. As usual it begins with a scene from Castle and then continues on from there. Though there were so many moments to write about in Tick Tick Tick, I think this scene really got the ball rolling for the teasing that went on.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy it. I am trying to work on another chapter for Tick Tick Boom, but I'm experienceing some difficulties with where to take it next. That's what happens when you attempt to follow where the show is going. As always please remeber to review, alert and favourite because it makes me happy, and I love you all for it!

xoxo -imaginationrunsfree

Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I don't own Castle. Those that do are doing one hellva job tho!

Kate slowly picked at her Chinese takeout as she read the latest article about their case in the paper. Ever since the FBI took jurisdiction over their Nikki Heat stalker case almost every step they made was plastered on the front page of the Times.

Just as she was getting into the reporter's description of Castle's stun gun takedown, a loud creak echoed through her apartment. She tensed, listening as yet another creak sounded. Someone was outside. Quietly getting up, she opened her dresser draw and withdrew her gun. Gun raised she carefully approached the door. With careful fingers she removed the chain lock and threw it wide, her gun thrusted into the air, ready to shoot the at a moment's notice. What she had been expecting was a weasel of a man with a cynical expression on his face, and instead she found a scared looking writer clutching a bottle of wine. "Castle?"

Castle quickly attempted to recover, holding his wine with a flourish. "Wine?"

Kate had resumed her position on the couch and was now giving the case file another look over. Castle had already found the wine glasses, and was pouring the deep red liquid into two glasses. "So what happened to your security detail, I didn't see anyone outside."

"I sent them home after I got in" Kate replied, very nonchalant. Castle looked up from his task to give her a look. He clearly was not impressed. "What?" Castle made a slight gesture indicating a silent you know very well what. Kate chose to brush it off. "The windows are locked, the doors are locked, I'm armed." Though she wasn't directly stating Castle knew it was her way of saying "relax, I'm superwoman remember?" Castle decided against arguing and brushed it off with a shrug.

Kate turned away from Castle and went back to reading the case file. "So our guy killed the others where they were found" sher brow furrowed as she chewed on her lip. "Why not this girl? Why not just leave her in the garage where we'd find her."

"He's changing it up." Castle strode over to the couch, two glasses in his hand.

"Or this victim is special." Castle took a seat and held out a glass of wine for Beckett. She took a quick glance before refusing. "Oh no thanks"

Castle wasn't going to give up that easy. "No, no no, Agent Shaw said we needed to decompress. Nothing decompresses like a 2000 Chateau neuf de pub."

Beckett's face suddenly began to lighten, a teasing expression just behind her eyes. She reached over and took the glass. "Oh well if Special Agent Shaw said so" she said sarcasm dripping from her voice as she performed a classic Beckett eye roll and raised the glass in a slight toast. Castle was quick to notice her tone.

Titling his head he gave her yet another questioning look. "What is that supposed to mean?" Beckett smiled as innocently as possible.

"Nothing. I just see the way you listen to her. The way you look at all her fancy equipment. Now my murder boards not enough for you, now you need a smart board?" Her eyes narrowed slightly at the smart board comment. Suddenly Castle realized why she was acting funny.

"Are you jealous?" It was meant as a question but came out almost as an accusation. Castle had hit the nail right on the head. Beckett was so used to being the woman in charge, she wasn't happy that she had to give up that power; especially to someone with so much more resources. It was bad enough that she had to give up control on the case, but she had to give up Castle's admiration for a little while to. The only other time she had seen Castle this impressed of someone was her, and when she saw that expression on his face when he talked to Shaw needless to say she was not happy.

"I'm not jealous. I'm just embarrassed by the way you act like a 10 year old all impressed by her data matrix." Castle couldn't help but scoff halfway through her sentence. She was so jealous. "Oh it collates data so quickly Agent Shaw, tell me all about it."

Castle looked at Beckett in disbelief. Shaking his head at her he replied, "You are ridiculous."

Kate chose to ignore Castle's comment; she was already on a roll and didn't want to lose it. "Oh and to top it off you are now building theory with her."

"So?"

The thoughts went off rapid fire in her brain before she continued, "So you're supposed to be building theory with me, you're supposed to be on my team." In other words, your mine.

Castle looked like he was growing more confused as she went on. "But I thought we were on the same team?"

Crap. She thought. He got me on that one. "We are, it's just I think if you have an insight you should run it by me first." That way Castle's great ideas came out of her mouth, before Agent Shaw could claim them.

"Fine then I will. Now drink you wine."

Kate looked down at her forgotten glass. "Thanks, but I'm tired and I need to go to bed" Her arm swept to the left in a 'that's your queue to leave' motion. Castle had been expecting this moment to come. He was hoping not so soon, but you got what you got. He had already decided he was going to stay, no matter what she said. A mad man was on the loose because of his stories, and he wasn't going to leave her alone without any other source of protection.

"Oh no, I'm not leaving. I'm here to protect you." Castle did his best to sound as serious as possible.

Kate's mouth perked up in amusement. "With what, your vast arsenal of rapier wit?"

"There is a mad men gunning for you because of me. I am not going to leave you alone." Kate's jaw had tensed slightly during Castle's words but she quickly realized she didn't have the strength or will power to argue.

"Okay fine. I'm too tired to argue. But I will have you know Mr. Castle, I sleep with a gun." She warned, making sure to give him a pointed look.

Castle smiled both in victory and understanding. "Understood" he said, before pouring Kate's untouched wine into his own and setting back down into the sofa.

It was nearly one o-clock in the morning, and Kate still couldn't get to sleep. Her thoughts had been muddled already by the case, and now the added excitement and terror of having Castle sleeping on her living room couch wasn't helping. Feeling her dry mouth, she decided to get up for a drink and maybe a midnight snack. Tip-toeing ever so carefully she slipped out her door, moving as quickly and quietly as she could, trying not to make a sound. She heard Castle shift on the couch and she froze, her entire body tensing. She slowly turned to look at Castle to see if she was caught. What she saw was her adorable partner curled up on the couch, mouth hanging wide. Kate fought to stifle a giggle, before moving on to the fridge.

She opened the door quietly and began rummaging for something good to drink. After moving aside at least half a dozen takeout containers she came across the can of beer she had been looking for. She knew it was probably not the best thing to be drinking at one o'clock in the morning, but she needed the alcohol to calm her nerves. She closed the fridge door and turned, walking straight into the chest of the man standing behind her. Instead of letting out a shriek like most woman, Kate punched the man in the face hard, hearing a satisfying crunch as her fist made contact with his nose. The man let out a loud yelp, his hands coming up to cradle his now bleeding nose.

It took a moment for the adrenaline in Kate's body to step down a notch. When it did, the form in front of her slowly began to appear clearer in the darkness of her kitchen. Oh crap. Standing in front of her wincing in pain was none other than the writer she had been trying not to wake. Realizing what she had done her first reaction was to see if he was okay. That thought was quickly run down by the anger she felt towards him for acting so stupid.

"Castle what the hell? You came here to protect me from a stalker, and then you sneak up on me in the dark?"

Castle took a moment to stop blubbering to answer her. "I wasn't thinking okay? You woke me up with all your rummaging and I thought it would be fun to surprise you." Removing his hands from his nose he noticed the blood, "Remind me never to do that again."

As much as Kate was annoyed and angry with the writer right now, she also was worried about the damage she might have done. She flipped the light on so they could see and wetted a dish cloth to wipe up Castle's nose. Grabbing his chin in her hand she instructed him to hold still as she wiped away the blood from his face.

"Is it broken?" he asked. "My publisher is going to kill me if it is. I have a press conference in two weeks, and I can't go looking like batman."

Kate couldn't help but smile, picturing Castle running around the precinct humming the batman theme song. "No Castle, it's not. You'll have quite the bruise across your face in a day or two, but other than that you'll be okay. You're lucky you were standing so close, if you had been back an extra step you would have felt it full force."

Castle's bloodied hand reached up to feel his nose. "You mean that wasn't full force?" Kate chuckled.

"Come on; let's go get you cleaned up. She guided him towards her bathroom where she sat him down on the toilet as she began rummaging through her medicine cabinet. Finding what she was looking for she started with washing Castle's hands in the tub. Normally she'd do it in the sink, but her sink wasn't big enough to catch the water running off both their hands.

Castle watched in amazement as Kate worked her medicinal magic. She had been raving mad just a minute ago, and now she was being as gentle as a dove. Her hands moved from his and up to his face where she used a cotton ball with antiseptic to clean up the bits of blood she had missed with the towel. The antiseptic stung the little cuts her knuckles had caused, but he did his best not to whimper too much.

His eyes followed her as she studied his face, looking for anything she had missed. Satisfied her work was done she allowed herself to make eye contact. What she saw in his eyes made her blush slightly and quickly look away. Though she couldn't put an exact emotion on it, what she read was something along the lines of admiration, surprise, and love. Not sure how to respond she cleared her throat and walked back over to the counter. Refusing to look at him again she spoke to him with her back turned. "You're all good Castle. You can go back to sleep now."

She heard Castle get up from his perch and approach where she was standing. He stepped closer than he had before, so much so that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. She felt his soft breath on her ear as he leaned in from behind her. "Thank you" he breathed, before placing a slight peck on her neck, just below her earlobe. Kate had to fight back the urge to let out a moan. How could he have known about that spot? It had taken Will almost a month to find out what that spot did to her, and here Castle was kissing it before they even kissed on the lips.

Castle has always been that way though. Ever since they met he seemed to be in tune with her. Though he could be incredibly annoying, he always seemed to know what she was feeling, even when she didn't. She watched Castle leave the bathroom out of the corner of her eye. His body wasn't giving off the impression that anything had happened, but she could almost feel the electricity sizzle between them. Taking a long, slow breath she made her way back to the living room. To her surprise Castle wasn't sitting on the coach with a smug look on his face. Confused she walked further into the room before turning to catch Castle in the kitchen, happily sipping at a beer. "Wait a second, that's my beer!" she thought.

In one swift moment she snatched the beer out of his hands and stepped out of his reach. Half the can was gone already. "That was my beer Castle."

"Yes, well I figured since you hit me it was only fair that I got it." Despite herself Kate rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't work that way in my house. You buy the beer, you drink it, end of story." Castle's face fell into a fake puppy dog frown.

"Then what do I get to drink?"

"You just drank half my beer!" she shouted, her hands rose in exasperation.

"Okay fine. Can I at least get a cup of coffee and some company while I drink it?" he asked, a hopeful expression on his face. Kate smiled; he really was too damn cute sometimes. Without saying a word she made them both a cup of instant decaf coffee, no sense in making regular when they needed to be up in six hours. Setting the mug in front of him, she passed by him, her own cup steaming in her hand. "Is that a no to the company part?" he asked, his eyes following every step she made.

She hesitated for a moment before replying over her shoulder. "That's a no to company in the kitchen. I need to get some sleep eventually Castle. If you want to talk you're going to have to come chat in the bedroom." With that she sauntered off, leaving a stunned looking Castle contemplating whether she had been serious or not.

As Kate settled into bed, she couldn't help but glance at the door every five seconds, expecting to see Castle's adorable face peeking through her doorway. "It's been over a minute, what's taking him so long? I thought an opportunity to see my bedroom would have him running." Kate took a sip of her coffee as she contemplated.

After another minute or two she finally heard the door creak as the writer timidly entered her bedroom. The man looked so scared, Kate couldn't help but smile. Castle settled down on the farthest corner of the bed, clearly still unsure about his actions. When he looked up he saw Beckett giving him a look of confusion. Sighing he tried to explain himself. "I wasn't sure if you were kidding or not. I really didn't want another injury." The couple stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"I'm not going to kill you Castle. If I was I would have done it long ago. Now scoot closer, you too far away." Castle gave her a smug look but obeyed. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just so used to you invading my personal space it's almost weird talking to you with that much distance between us."

Castle's smug grin grew wider as he scooted even closer to her so that their thighs were side by side. As Castle wiggled to get comfortable his hand gently brushed her side. Immediately her body tensed, the place where he had just touched burning. Kate couldn't believe how her body was reacting tonight. Castle had been this close before and though her body never rejected the closeness it had never reacted like this.

Having finally found a comfortable spot, Castle looked over at Beckett. Her jaw was clenched and her mouth in a thin line. Indicating she was either really pissed, or trying really hard to suppress something. Castle bet on the later, but suppress what? He studied her for another minute, trying desperately to discover something in her eyes. She let her eyes meet his for the briefest of seconds before flicking away and down to her coffee. Though it had only been for a moment Castle had finally caught the emotion she had been hiding, lust.

Kate looked over at Castle who was currently grinning like an idiot. "What?" she snapped. She was not happy with herself for reacting the way she did to his touch, and the grin he was sporting wasn't helping. Castle's grin only grew wider.

Desperately trying to have him stop looking at her with that knowing smile she changed the subject. "I thought you wanted to talk Castle, not stare at me while I drink my coffee."

"I said I wanted company, no one said anything about talking." Castle's eyebrow rose suggestively.

Grabbing a pillow she wacked Castle in the head, "Get your mind out of the gutter Castle or you can go back to the couch."

"Why do you keep beating on me? I'm just an innocent crime novelist, I did nothing wrong." Castle pleaded playfully.

Kate smiled. "Cause you act like a twelve year old on a sugar rush whose been flipping through his daddy's porn magazines." Castle brought a hand to his chest in mock horror as if to say who, me? Never. They both laughed.

"Yes well I may act like a twelve year old on sugar, but one you find to be incredibly helpful, and dare I say it handsome?" Kate rolled her eyes, it was clear Castle was in a playful mood.

"I tell you one time, one time that you're helpful and you never let me live it down. As for the handsome part I wouldn't want to inflate your ego any more than it is." She replied, her tone equally as playful as his had been.

"Wait so was that a yes, you are incredibly handsome, or a, I'm not telling you because I don't want you to know how I feel?" Kate's eyes widen in shock. Did he just try and ask her how she felt about him?

"I, ahh..it was a I'm not telling you because...let's just drop this okay?" she finally finished, completely embarrassed and unsure of what to do with herself.

Castle smiled, and waited to speak until she had resumed eye contact. "It's okay you don't have to say anything, I get it. Really I do. I just want you to know that I think you are the most beautiful, smart and extraordinary woman I know." Kate's eyes began to water she was so touched by Castle's words. She reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. "Just don't tell my mother I said that. She still thinks she's the most extraordinary woman out there." Kate let out a slight watery laugh, leaning closer towards Castle. Castle rested his back against the bed frame and allowed Kate to rest against his shoulder. The couple stayed like this in comfortable silence for a good while.

Finally, Castle broke the silence. "I'm sorry this stalker is after you. When I wrote Heat Wave I never intended for something like this to happen. I never wanted to put you in danger."

Using her hand on Castle's chest to give her leverage she turned to face Castle before answering. "Please don't be sorry Castle. I know you never intended for something like this to happen but it did. As I said before, it's not your fault; the killer just would have found something else to obsess about." Castle looked down and nodded, he knew she was right. "Besides I honestly can't imagine what it would be like at the precinct without you there every day to bug me."They both chuckled, grinning like idiots at each other.

Despite her best efforts Kate let out a loud yawn. "Seems like your mind is finally at ease detective. I guess my work here is done." He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight Kate. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Rick." She replied as she scurried down under her covers. The moment her head hit the pillow she felt herself drifting off, a contented smile plastered on her angelic face.