A/N Wow, imagine my surprise when I turned on my laptop this morning to all these hits and alerts. You guys are amazing and so very kind. I've kinda lurked here for a while now and only recently starting leaving reviews myself. Only now do I fully appreciate how important these are, so for all you readers only, take the plunge and leave a comment and make someone's day, you have no idea how happy that makes them. With so many talented people on here, I still feel somewhat intimidated so I just hope that for the people that continue to read this, you enjoy it as I'm having fun trying to write it. Thank you again.x Oh, I did find a few mistakes after posting the first chapter and as soon as I figure out how to edit and correct them, I shall.
"Castle, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked again, not moving from her position in bed.
"I got concerned when you didn't answer; you always answer my texts, even if it's just to tell me to go away."
"Well I can do that in person now, go away Castle, can't a person be sick and feel sorry for herself in private, before you say anything, that wasn't a question Castle."
Castle looked her up and down. He didn't fail to notice that her whole upper body was flushed and there was sweat glistening on her forehead. If she clearly wasn't so sick, he would be thinking that she looked so damned sexy in that position.
Sensing that he was admiring her form, she called out, "Castle" to snap him out of it.
"Wow, you don't look so good Beckett." He commented, his eyes scanning her whole body.
"Well thanks for stating the obvious there Castle."
"Are you sick, can I get you something? I brought over some Chinese" he started to say, "I didn't think you'd eaten much today and might be hungry" He was still standing there looking at her with the takeout still in his hand.
"No thanks Castle, another time, I just don't feel like eating just now, I'm just tired, so if you wouldn't mind?" her eyes directing him back out the room and towards the door.
He knew she wasn't going to be pleased with what came out of his mouth next, but there was no way he was leaving her sick and alone. "I'm not leaving you alone when you're so sick, so my dear detective, you're just going to have to live with it." He turned away from her and headed towards the kitchen to put the Chinese in the fridge, she might feel like eating it later.
Kate shifted around in the bed. She really didn't have the strength to argue with him, that quick conversation on its own had wiped her out and she was glad Castle didn't catch the small smile that escaped her lips when he refused to go.
"Just let me sleep okay?" she asked, on his return from the kitchen.
"No problem Beckett, I can do that. The trouble is, how do I keep myself entertained?" he questioned himself, looking around her bedroom trying to find something, anything to take his mind off the fact that she was near naked in the bed right in front of him.
"Go watch TV" she suggested, "and keep the noise down will ya?" She pulled the thin sheet over her body and turned away from him, effectively killing his view too.
Castle half heartedly walked out and switched on the TV, turning the sound down to a peep. He sat heavily on the couch and began flicking through the channels, trying to find something to hold his attention. He came across an old black and white movie and decided that it would do.
About an hour into the movie, he got up and made himself a drink. He glanced into Beckett's bedroom on the way back. The thin sheet she had used to cover herself was now bunched up at the bottom of the bed and even from where he stood; he could clearly see the layer of sweat that covered her whole body. In fact, it was hard to miss. Her hair was matted around her neck and the front of her vest top was saturated, she was burning up.
Castle carefully approached her bedroom and walked in right over to her and placed his hand on her forehead. She was red hot. He looked down at her, not in the admiring way of earlier, but in concern now.
"Kate" he said quietly, "You're burning up, we have to cool you down." His fingers were now brushing the damp hair from her forehead as he studied her.
"Mmm." she mumbled, not opening her eyes.
Castle moved quickly to the bathroom and grabbed two washcloths. Turning on the cold water, he soaked them through and returned to her side. Sitting on the end of the bed, he placed one on her forehead the other to the back of her neck. She didn't waken up, only groaned out.
He continued to move between the bathroom and her side for a few hours, replacing the washcloths when the heat from her body had rendered them useless. Her fever wasn't subsiding any and now she was starting to shiver.
"Kate" he said more forcefully this time, "We have to cool you down, and you're really burning up here… Kate" Castle gently stroked her arm bringing her out of her sleep.
He watched as she struggled and his heart sank. He hated seeing her so helpless, the detective, the Kate he knew always remained so strong. She wasn't one to give into weakness.
"Castle," she whispered out, almost child like, still half asleep, "What are you doing?"
Castle was currently trying to get her to sit up, but at svelte as she was; she was a dead weight trying to move.
Changing his plans momentarily, he let her rest as he made his way back to the bathroom. Moving his head out to check on her, he proceeded to the tub, put the stopper in and started running the bath. As it was running he moved back to the bed and grabbed the washcloths, taking them back to the bathroom. A short time later with the bath now full, he made his way over to Kate.
"C'mon Kate, you have to get up," he pleaded, "We have to get you in the tub, cool you down. I promise it will make you feel better."
He began to try to sit her up again, but she was fighting him all the way. Well, not so much fighting as she literally didn't have the strength. Every time he tried to get her to sit, she would just flop back onto her side and curl up in a ball.
It was time for more drastic measures. He managed to prop her up against the headboard of her bed. He could see from her sweat covered body that she was wearing underwear under her night clothes, so it made sense to take them off. The less she had on the cooler she would be.
He moved in tight and sat beside her, he didn't want to risk her lying back down in the bed again. His hands moved to her top, and before she knew what was happening, he was pulling it up and over her head, she didn't even fight it. He looked at her fleetingly, studying her for what seemed to him to be the longest time, but in actual fact had been mere seconds. In all of his dreams, this was not the way he had envisioned peeling Kate's clothes off. As beautiful as she was, he was not there to ogle her like some piece of meat; he had too much respect for her to do that.
Swiftly realising that she probably wouldn't make it to the tub unaided, he quickly kicked off his shoes and took off his socks.
Pulling her upright now, he sat her on the end of the bed and placed her hands on his shoulders for support.
"I'm gonna lift you up and you just hang onto me alright?" he informed her, and in one rapid movement, they were both standing facing each other.
Kate's eyes were now opened as she just stood there, Castle taking most of her weight. "I can't stop shaking," she told him, "yet I'm so damned hot." Her forehead found the upper part of his chest and he immediately felt the heat.
"I know," he assured her, "It's just the fever, but were gonna take care of that."
Castle placed one arm around her waist and took her hand with the other, walking them both towards the bathroom. Sitting her on the end of the tub, he began to take off his own shirt. Confusion flashed across Beckett's face as it dawned on her what he was planning.
"Hell no Castle, there is no way you're getting in that tub with me." She tried to protest out.
"Look," he started to tell her, now unbuttoning his jeans, "Just let me do this alright? Believe me detective, the only thing I'm interested in doing right now is getting your temperature down, nothing else." He was now standing in front of her with just his boxers on and as sick as she was, she did not fail to notice how striking he was.
He moved towards her and pulled her vertical. She tried to cover her modesty with her hands, but in reality it was too late, he had already seen everything.
"Do you want to remove your shorts too?" he asked her, "It will make you feel a whole lot more comfortable." She expected him to have some sort of glint in his eye at that request, but what she saw was something entirely different. In all their years of innuendo, the one consistent thing was Castle's dirty mind, but not this time. What she saw there was genuine concern and she was touched. The more intimate moments were few and far between, but when they came, it always gave her knots in her stomach.
"Yeah, I guess that would make sense," Kate agreed as she gently bent over and pulled them down, just leaving her now standing her in bra and panties. "I swear to God Castle, if this ever gets out that we were standing in my bathroom in just our underwear …"
"You have my word Beckett, no-one will ever hear about this from me, but if it makes you feel better, you can shout at me later. I'll even let you pull at my ear, whatever you want."
He lifted one leg and placed it in the tub and let out an "Ohh, that's cold." Quickly lifting his other leg in, he now stood in the tepid water. Offering her his hand, she followed by entering the tub and they sat down together.