Chapter 3

(She needs him.)

Castle rejoins the team for their next new case. He brings her coffee as usual and spins his wild stories like nothing has changed.

And on the surface, it is like it never happened; if Castle's gaze lingers on her just a little more than usual, well, neither one of them mentions it.

.

Two days pass. And then three. By the fourth, Castle is crawling up the wall and Alexis and Martha are suffering for it.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Alexis asks him as she comes down for breakfast that morning.

"Honey, why would you think something's wrong?"

Alexis gestures at the array of food items on the counter. "Well, let's see. You made pancakes – chocolate chip and blueberry – , squeezed actual oranges to make juice, cut up five different types of fruit, finished off a dozen eggs so that you could scramble, poach, and hard-boil them, and of course, there's my granola yogurt parfait - " Alexis picks up her usual breakfast item. "- all before 7 a.m. Not that Grams and I don't appreciate the choices but really dad? This isn't normal behaviour."

Castle flips another pancake. "I've just been a little wired these past couple of days. Can't sleep… or something."

"Is it your writing? Maybe I can help you with some ideas."

Castle smiles. "As wise as you are, daughter, I don't think you could help me out with this particular problem."

"Well… alright," Alexis looks hesitant. "Do you want to do a movie night, tonight? That always cheers you up. I mean, I made plans with Paige but – "

"No!" Castle cuts in. "It's a Friday night; go be a normal teenager and have fun with your friends. You don't have to worry about your eccentric but lovable father."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. In fact, I insist you stay out past 11 o'clock tonight."

Alexis laughs. "Sure thing, dad." She glances at the clock. "I've gotta go."

"Okay, pumpkin. You have a good day." Castle kisses her cheek and goes to lock the door behind her. He sighs, realising he now has to find something else to entertain him.

.

Honestly, Kate is not doing much better. Though, she is better at hiding her anxiety than Castle is. She, at least, has a constant stream of criminals to catch and if she finds herself with some downtime, she exercises to work off that extra energy. But, no amount of sparring could get Kate's body to stop the intense want that overcomes her whenever he's in the same room. Even the anticipation of his arrival makes her skin tingle and her muscles twitch.

It's not even that she had been going through a dry spell, sex-wise. Her and Josh had crossed that barrier on their third date. But, it is something about Castle specifically that she is craving – maybe it's because he's never made it a secret how much he wants her and she has always wanted to find out what he is like in bed. God knows she's read enough about his sex-life in the gossip rags (which she denies she reads). She wonders if he's as passionate with everybody else as he had been with her.

.

Castle breaks first. He shows up at her door after making it through the week without having done anything drastic around her – like pulling her into one of the interrogation rooms and ripping her clothes off on the wrong side of a two-way mirror.

He assumes she had checked the eyehole because when she pulls open the door, she is not surprised. Just slightly frustrated. "Castle –"

"- I need you."

Three words, said simply, and Kate knows that she's done for.

She pauses for maybe two seconds before grabbing his shirt and yanking him fiercely into her apartment. Castle kicks the door shut after them.

She's already turned away from him, pulling her shirt off as she walks rapidly towards her bedroom. Castle follows diligently as always and by the time they cross the threshold of her room, they're both left in only their underwear.

"Beckett," he starts, "Should we maybe ta –"

She cuts him off. "Shut up, Castle." She pushes him onto her bed. "You talk too much."

A/N: Thanks so much for the lovely reviews - you guys are great and I really appreciate it! As for updating, based on responses (which ranged from hourly to once a week!), I'm going to try for at least twice a week :)