AN: So... you all seemed to like chapter three...*cue blush* Um... yeah... So I'll be updating every Tuesday for the next month or so, I have the whole thing outlined, and it's got quite a bit left. Enjoy!


She woke first, wrapped up tightly in his arms, her face buried in his chest. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent, the scent of them combined. God. We smell like sex, she thought with a smirk. Another deep breath and the fine hair sprinkling his chest began to rise, the arms encircling her tightening perceptibly. A groan found its way out of his throat, but he didn't waken. Well, he may not have wakened himself, but he definitely awakened something in her. She shivered at the sound, a rolling wave heat racing down her spine and shooting straight to her core. Suddenly all she wanted to do was taste him… so she did. She opened her eyes, tilting her head up to check that he was still sleeping soundly. He was, but not for long.

She darted her tongue out past her lips, tasting the skin of his chest. It was like he bathed in pure vanilla extract, because that's what he tasted like, with just a hint of saltiness from their activities the earlier in the morning. He didn't stir this time, just continued his even breaths, which couldn't have pleased her more. She wriggled loose of his grasp gently, and threw her leg over his waist, straddling his legs. She slithered down, her tongue never leaving contact with his skin. She circled a nipple with the very tip of her tongue before ducking her head down further and using the flat of her tongue to trace a line to his belly button. She dipped her tongue into the depression, withdrawing it just as quickly, and repeating the process, effectively fucking it with her tongue.

He groaned again, one arm flopping out the side in search of her. … but that's not where she was, she was lower, much lower. She tripped her tongue along the contour lines of his abdominal muscles as they tensed, teasing her way lower and lower. When his hands came up empty, he grunted and lifted his head, his hazy eyes opening slowly, not finding hers for several moments as he looked around.

"Kate?" he questioned, not fully comprehending the situation.

She withdrew her tongue for but a moment to respond, "Castle, be quiet and let me enjoy this."

She paused as it occurred to her then, that maybe they should talk about last night before anything else happened between them. Maybe her blowing him wasn't the best way to start that conversation. She shook the thoughts off, gently kissing his navel, she wanted to return the favor for last night.

"Kate?" He asked softly, his fingers finding their way under her chin to direct her eyes up at him.

"It's nothing," she shrugged off his hand, returning her mouth to his skin.

He swallowed hard as she resumed her tongue's journey. Skirting along the v of his hips, she tasted more and more salt on his skin as she descended. Avoiding the place that they both yearned for her to reach the most, she withdrew her mouth from him. She gazed up at him, taking in his ruffled hair and the glazed look to his eyes, and something more, worry. He looked like pure sex, he tasted like pure sex, and that's exactly what she wanted to do… again, she thought, but he was worried, about what? She ducked her head, blushing slightly, not sure which was worse, the fact that she was so horny, even after the incredible sex last night, or that he seemed to be having second thoughts.

"Kate, stop, we need to talk about this," he paused, motioning to her, "whatever that was, I need to know…"

"Castle- I'm…" She backed up off the bed, taking the comforter with her. "I'm sorry. I- I thought-"

"Sorry?" he repeated slowly in question, "For what?" He implored, his brain still shaking off the final cobwebs of sleep.

"Just- sorry. I – didn't mean to wake you, I shouldn't have um- roused you quite like that," she stammered, looking at the floor, not her usual, confident self that she had been moments before.

"Kate, look at me," he prompted, sitting up and pulling the remaining flat sheet over himself, this conversation seeming to mandate a modicum of modesty.

She glanced up past him, not meeting his eye.

"No, Kate, look at me," he said more forcefully, but still gentle as a feather, which the situation seemed to summon from him. "It's morning, that happens when I wake up anyway. Besides, I was bound to be aroused by your presence at some point, so don't feel guilty. Geez, I'm almost always aroused by your presence, why do you think I've been wearing jeans to the precinct more often?" He joked, giving an exaggerated wink, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

She met his eyes slowly, obviously afraid of what she might find there, but his words were working.

His eyes shone with nothing but sincerity and love as he said, "Kate, you can wake me day or night, for any reason, big or small, be it a nightmare, a fantasy, a body drop, or," he paused, thinking, "you want me to make pancakes!" He smiled warmly at her before dropping a pun on her head, "I'm at your Beckett-call!" He raised his eyebrows, trying to convey that she should laugh at his little pun, and she did, she let out one puff of laughter before she hurdled herself back onto the bed and into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm such a wreck!" she cried into the crook of his neck as she wrapped her arms around him, and he cradled her to him.

"Shhh, Kate, you're not a wreck, we're just- obviously neither of us has done this in a long time, and it's going to take some getting used to. We need to learn each other's habits, and work with them, which shouldn't be too hard, considering the fact that I watch every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take…"

"Really, Castle?" She shook her head, her fears forgotten.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Are you going to start singing to me?" She pulled back, looking at the expression on his face.

He cracked a grin. "If it gets you to calm down and see my point, then yes, that is exactly what I will do," he murmured, kissing her forehead.

"Well, it's helping, but only because it's ironic," she smiled, pressing her head back down against his neck.

"Oh? How so?" he questioned, intrigued.

"It's by The Police, about a stalker" she chuckled, "You're a stalker, and I'm the police."

His smile lit up the room, even if she couldn't see it. "Oh, can't you see? You belong to me!" he sang softly, nuzzling his nose into the hair just above her ear. He kissed the spot tenderly, and whispered, "It's so hot when you understand how to properly use literary devices."

She shook with silent laughter. "I think it's pretty hot when you use literary devices too, Castle."

"Aha!" he exclaimed, "I knew you liked my books!"

"I don't like your books, Castle," she said, feigning exasperation.

"Oh," he let out, sounding defeated almost at once.

"I love your books," she breathed, pulling back to look into his face once again, "and I love you."

He beamed at her, and pulled her in for a luxuriously languid and loving kiss.

When they finally pulled apart he smirked and asked, "So… did you want to finish that little wake-up call or…" he trailed off at the look on her face, which was not promising, "or… did you want me to make you my famous pancakes?" He smiled brightly, not wanting to push her.

"Pancakes sound incredible," she said, her eyes slipping closed and her mouth going slightly slack.

"Great!" he exclaimed, rolling over her and planting a kiss on the tip of her nose. "I'll go do that… and you do… whatever it is you do in the morning," he pressed another soft kiss to her lips and tossed himself off the bed with gusto.

Kate just lay there ogling him for a few moments as he moved around her room stark naked. He gathered his boxers in one hand, and pried his phone from his pants pocket, checking it for messages.

He had one from Alexis, We still on for that library run today?
He tapped out a quick reply, Sure thing, Pumpkin. I'll be home in an hour or two.

When he looked up, he caught Kate staring at him, and smirked. His phone still in his hand, he swiped open the camera from the lock screen and snapped a picture of her nude, but tastefully covered , form. The click of the camera shocked her out of her daze in an instant.

"Castle!" She yelled, jumping up off the bed and pouncing on him. "You have to delete that! You can't have naked pictures of me on your phone!"

"Why not? It's not like anyone else can see them! I have a passcode!"

"Yeah, let's guess, what is it? Alexis' birthday?"

He looked down for a moment before he shook his head. "No, it's not... but that's not the point, the point is – I took the picture and I'm keeping it." He turned the phone around, "Look, you can't even see anything out of the ordinary."

"Out of the ordinary?" she questioned, her tone sharp, and her eyes becoming slits, "What, am I hiding tail or something?!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it, but if you must know, your body is not ordinary, it is extraordinary, and therefore, I am safe in my wording." He smiled smugly, before ruffling her hair. "Now, I'm going to go make those pancakes and stare at this beautiful picture while I stir the batter," and with that he turned on his heel and fled down the hall, still naked, his boxers flapping in his hand as he made his escape.

She just rolled her eyes and went about her business.


Castle managed to scrounge together a breakfast of pancakes, apple slices, and some bacon that he found in the freezer. As they ate, they talked about their plans for the day. It was 'their' day off, after all.

"So, did you want to go see a movie, or take a walk in the park, or I don't know, go to the bookstore?" Castle asked, unsure if she would want to spend the day with him.

"Actually, I have a doctor's appointment today, in a couple of hours," she noted, looking at the clock on the microwave. "But, um… maybe after that we can do something, um… anything you want." She really didn't want to shut him down, especially with how shaky things had been lately.

"Alright, is everything okay? Just a checkup?" He sought.

"Oh, um… actually, it's not that kind of doctor," she paused, gathering herself up, "he's a psychologist, the department one. I've been seeing him since the shooting, he's really been helping me figure things out, make sense of what happened then and what's been happening since." She met his eyes after a few moments, needlessly afraid of what she might see there.

He smiled at her, grabbing her hand from his adjacent position at the counter. "Kate, that's great, I didn't know, but I'm glad you had someone to talk to." He squeezed her hand gently, "but you know that you can talk to me too, right?"

She nodded and felt a few tears sting at the back of her eyes. What had she done when she pushed him away so hard last year? He was so obviously willing to dive into things with her, and she just gave him one big shove out of her life for the entire summer. No wonder he –

"Kate, I can hear you thinking," he joked, letting go of her hand to cup her face. "I'm here now, okay? Forget about both of our past failures, and live in the moment."

She leaned into his hand and turned her head slightly to kiss the inside of his wrist.

"I wish it were that easy for me, but it's not," she admitted.

"Yeah, it isn't easy for me either, but if you just keep on trucking, eventually, with one final hard push you'll get through whatever roadblocks you have standing in your way," he spouted his ever-flowing wisdom to her. Where he got it from, she would never know.

"Yeah," she sighed, her mind floating off to places unknown. He just grinned at her, knowing the effect he was having.

"So… what are you going to talk to this doctor about today, hmmm? Are last night's activities fair game?" He attempted some levity.

"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely going to tell Doctor Burke about our hot sex in the wee hours of the morning," she drawled, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I actually would like to know if that's a topic we're allowed to talk about… like, am I allowed to tell Alexis that things have… progressed between us?" He asked seriously.

"Oh," she breathed softly, not having thought of that, "I- I suppose… Yeah, I mean, you shouldn't keep it from Alexis, she has a right to know… though, you know, you might leave out a few details, wouldn't want to scar the kid," she let out in a rush.

"Well, yeah, I didn't plan on going into detail," he chuckled. "I thought I'd just burst into the loft singing some ridiculously happy song and she would just know." He grinned like a fool.

"Yeah, that would probably do the trick," she laughed, shaking her head at the mental image.

"Anyway, I should get going. I have to pick her up soon, it's our library date day," he explained.

"Aw, cute! I almost wish I could tag along to watch you get lost in the books," she said dreamily.

"You're welcome to join me at the library anytime," he said sincerely.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure… the last time I caught you in the library, I had you arrested," she smirked at him, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"That's true… maybe we'll save that for a later date," he pondered thoughtfully.

"Sure, we'll table that one for later, but think up something fun for us to do today while you're out," she said, a light in her eyes.

"I'll do that," he vowed. "Now, you finish up out here, and I'll go get dressed and leave you to your routine," he smiled and leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead. "You don't need me hovering while you get dressed and everything."

"Wow, I thought that would be on the top of your list of things to do!" She teased.

"No, no… I would much rather watch you get undressed," he announced cheekily, slipping off the stool and strolling back to her bedroom to put his clothes back on.

He emerged several minutes later to find her still sitting there, staring off into space.

"Hmmm, let me guess… you're imagining all of the wonderful things I could do to you with my tongue," he murmured in her ear, effectively scaring the bejesus out of her.

"Ah!" she shrieked as she flailed and toppled off the stool.

"Wow, nice startle reflex, Beckett," he badgered, righting her.

"Yeah, yeah," she huffed, shaking him off, "you shouldn't sneak up on me, what if I had been armed?"

"I'm pretty sure if you had been armed, you still would have fallen off the stool," he laughed.

"You know what? I think it's time you go… I have to shower and get dressed," she pursed.

"Alright, but call me when you're done with your appointment," he nodded, heading towards the door with her on his heels. "I'll pick you up and we can do something fun," he promised, leaning down to kiss her goodbye briefly.

Brief was the last thing she wanted, so as he pulled back, she wrapped her arms around his neck, weaving her fingers through his hair roughly, and kissed him harder. He fell back against the door, the air whooshing from his lungs, and pulled her close. She teased the crease of his lips with her tongue until he finally relented and allowed her access. She groaned at the taste of syrup mixed with his own unique taste, she was instantly regretting not finishing her sampling of his flavors in bed earlier.

They stood there, making out like horny teenagers for several long minutes before they broke for breath.

"I should," he panted and indicated to the door with a nod of his head.

"Yeah," she breathed, stepping away from him slowly, "I'll call you later."

"Alright, love you," he said as he backed out into the hall.

A beat too late, "Love you too!" she called as he stepped onto the elevator.


Thoughts?