A/N: Wow! Thanks for that awesome response to that first chapter! Y'all made me want to write another, so here it is!
Castle unlocked the door and stepped back to let Royal and Beckett enter his apartment. He then handed over her bag with a flourish, as she rolled her eyes and wondered yet again how he managed to grab it before she could as they got out of the car.
"You can go change or whatever and I will order food. Thai okay?"
"Perfect." She said as she walked towards his guest room. She shut the door behind her as she entered the room, and put her bag down on what she would only admit to herself (and barely, at that) was the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in.
She had just pulled her t-shirt out of her bag when she heard a scratching sound at the door. She opened it and Royal jumped up on her, grabbing her shirt in his mouth and wrestling it to the ground.
"Oh, Royal! No! Bad dog! What are you doing?" She grabbed the t-shirt, but Royal wanted to play tug-o-war. Beckett didn't want to rip her shirt, so she let go. Royal ran out of the room with the shirt in his mouth, and Beckett sat down on the bed and sighed.
What was she going to do? She had a bag of clothes here somewhere, the "just in case" bag that Castle had suggested she keep at his apartment a few years ago. He had named it that, the "just in case" bag-"just in case your apartment blows up again"… "just in case you get snowed in"… "just in case you fall asleep on the couch watching a movie and it is really indecently late to be leaving my home in the clothes you came in" (he had said that one with a waggle of his eyebrows and a suggestive smirk—she had slapped his arm). The only problem was, the last time a "just in case" situation had arisen, she had worn her t-shirt home and had forgotten to bring an extra one to replace it.
Luckily, she hadn't started undressing when the dog scratched the door, so she walked out of the room and went to the kitchen, where she assumed Castle would be getting out plates for their Thai or, knowing Rick, a bottle of wine. However, all she found was a note written in a familiar scrawl on top of a neatly folded t-shirt.
The note read, "Apparently, Royal likes to play tug-o-war. I ran out to get him a rope so he doesn't have to play with any more of your clothes. No telling what unmentionables he might leave lying about the apartment. ;) Just in case you didn't replenish your 'just in case' bag from last week, here is a t-shirt. P.S. Maybe you should have a 'backup just in case' bag for just in case your 'just in case' bag fails you. Just saying."
Beckett rolled her eyes. Did a best-selling author just use a winky face? Yes, yes he did. He was never going to hear the end of that one, though she knows he probably won't even care. Besides, she thought it was cute, so maybe she won't rib him about it.
She picked up the t-shirt and brought it back to the guest room. She closed the door again, and this time, when she heard the scratching, she didn't open the door.
As she put the shirt over her head, she breathed in the familiar smell of Castle's detergent. She felt warm and safe and at home surrounded by the smell. It was a bit unsettling that she could find security in the man's presence without him being anywhere near her, and that just his smell could put her at ease.
But she didn't want to think of that right now. That was dangerous territory, so she opened her door and was met by Royal, who again jumped up on her, but finding nothing to play tug-o-war with, got down and lay on the ground, belly up, wanting attention.
She rubbed his belly and scratched behind his ears until she heard the apartment door open. Well, she didn't hear it open, but Royal certainly did. One second he was lying there while she played with him, and the next, his ears pricked up suddenly and he was gone.
A/N: Chapter 2 complete! I hope you liked it!