A shift in Richard Castle's room slowly tore the man out of the deep sleep he was in. Despite having his eyes closed he knew it was still dark out, but just barely. He wondered what exactly could have had woke him up after...less than three hours of sleep, he groaned after glancing at the alarm clock.

The man had gone to bed late the night before, busy outlining his next Heat book until the wee hours of the morning so he had planned to sleep in for once. Until something decided to wake him up at 6:25 a.m.

As Castle woke more fully it came to him that it wasn't much of a shift than a mix of smells that had brought him back to consciousness. The smell of coffee was filling the room and, as he wondered absently why the smell was coming from his bedroom and not the rest of the loft, another smell tickled his nose. Cherries.

'Cherries?' Castle abruptly sat in his bed, startling another form sitting on the edge of his bed, her slender features still perfectly recognizable in the early morning shadows. "Beckett?"

"Hey, Castle." Kate greeted him with a small smile and Castle chuckled at the shyness emanating from the woman. He could have bet that she would have waved at him if her hands weren't currently busy holding two cups of coffee. "Sorry to wake you. Did you have a late night?"

"Um. Ah. I...you're here."

"Yes."

"You're here, sitting in my bed at...6:28 in the morning, holding coffees. You're here."

Kate rolled her eyes as she shoved one of the coffees in the writer's hand. "Jeez, Rick, if that's how you react when I'm just sitting here, how will it be when we-"

Castle choked on his coffee and Kate snapped her mouth shut, her eyes wide and a deep blush coloring her cheeks. "When we what?"

Kate glared and shook her head, a small smirk on her lips. "You okay there, Castle?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her as he got the coughing under control. "When we what?"

"Get your head out of the gutter, Castle."

Castle met the detective's stare, changing tactics. "Okay, what are you doing here at this hour, sitting on my bed, holding coffees? How did you get in?"

The blush on Kate's cheeks spread to her neck but, to her credit, she didn't shy away from the writer's bright gaze. "You gave me a key, remember?"

"Ahhh, yes I did. Glad to see you didn't throw it away." He teased her, enjoying the moment so much he forgot about the crying lack of sleep that would come back and bite him in the butt later.

"You know I didn't."

"I know. So, what brings you here? Are you okay?" It didn't take him long to see that something was bothering the woman, judging by the way she was holding herself stiffly. Castle also noticed, as he watched her closely, that her eyes were slightly red and puffy, and that she had dark circles under her eyes.

Kate looked away, glancing from her own coffee to the writer's hands, anywhere but at his mussed hair and sleepy features. Or to his naked chest. "I...I'm going away. For the weekend. I should be back Sunday night or Monday morning."

"For the weekend? Kate, today's Thursday. What's going on?"

Castle was surprised when sad eyes were suddenly on him. "My dad and I, we always go to the cabin for a couple of days at this time of year. For my mom's birthday."

"For the last eight years, we go and spend her birthday up at the cabin. We go to the cemetery to put flowers on her tombstone, and then we spend the day together, or the weekend depending of which day her birthday is that year. We don't do anything special once we're up there, because the most important thing was to be there together."

"Except this year," Kate whispered as she blinked back tears, Rhonda happened."

Castle put his coffee aside and leaned closer to the upset woman, freeing one of her hand to hold it in his. "Girlfriend?"

"Yeah. When we talked last night he said he wanted to go, but that he had been given a second chance with her and that maybe it was time to make new memories, for him as well as for me."

"Kate-"

"It's fine, really. I already cleared it with Gates, but I wanted to tell you in person. And to give you your coffee. I just need some time to clear my head."

Giving up his inner battle for respecting Kate's space, Castle climbed over the covers and swiftly moved next to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He didn't say anything and just held her close, oddly proud when she leaned into him and accepted his embrace.

Castle basked in the moment, until the feel of her clothes against his skin suddenly made him realized what she was wearing. "Um, Kate? Are you wearing leather?"

"I don't know, maybe." She smirked but Castle saw she used the distraction to wipe her eyes and pull away. "You're only noticing now? I'm shocked, Ricky." She made a point to ignore how good it had felt to be in the man's arms, especially in his current state of undress.

"Um." Castle let his eyes roam over the detective's graceful form. The black leather pants she was wearing were as tight as if they were a second skin on her legs and hips, while the moss green woollen sweater hugged her form pleasantly and brought out flickers of emerald in her eyes. The outfit was completed by a softly padded leather jacket and a white, soft looking checkered scarf. She looked..."I-"

"I was more preoccupied with the fact that you were in my room, sitting on my bed and watching me sleep. "Wait, leather? Does that mean you're taking your motorcycle? Is that why you're leaving so early?"

Castle jumped out of bed so quickly he almost made Kate fall out of bed. He ran to the closet and began pulling out clothes, under the detective's confused look. "What are you doing, Castle?"

"I want to see your bike. No, scratch that. I want to see you straddling your Harley. This is going to be the best day ever." Castle practically giggled, getting dressed in a matter of seconds under the detective's glare, although the effect was dimmed by the amused smile she was sporting.

"You have everything?"

"Yes, Castle. I'm a grown woman, I know how to pack." She rolled her eyes at him playfully, secretly enjoying the way he was gawking at her. Turned out she didn't even have to be straddling the ebony, sleeky soft tail Harley to have the man drooling. Just standing next to it while revealing just exactly her leathers pants were tight were enough to send Castle into a stammering mess.

"Did you pack food?"

"There's a grocery store right on the edge of the town, I don't need to bring food. I'm on a motorcycle, not in a pick-up."

"Still, isn't that bag too big?" Castle looked uncertain. The bag pack the woman had just pulled up on her shoulders seemed heavy, food or not in it, and the straps were tight against her ribs. "It won't hurt your scar?"

Kate stopped smirking and put her hands on the writer's shoulders, a genuine grin gracing her lips. "I'm fine, Castle, I promise. It's not as heavy as it seems."

Castle nodded but reached behind the woman to grab the bag's handle and lift it curiously, Kate rolling her eyes but humoring him nonetheless. "Satisfied now?"

"Yes. You'll call when you get there?"

"It might be a text, but yeah, I'll let you know." Kate answered patiently as she put her helmet on. "What?"

"Is that a new helmet? The one you normally have with you at the precinct isn't as bulky or closed up around your face."

Kate shook her head, the weight of the helmet slowing her movements down a little, and fished in her pockets to find her gloves as she shot Castle an amused look. "It's too cold out for the other one, I don't want my face to freeze."

Castle smiled appreciatively at the shiny black and silver racing helmet and grabbed the lower part covering the detective's chin to bring her closer. Not expecting the sudden pull, Kate stumbled on her feet and crashed against Castle's chest. "Jeez, Castle!"

"Sorry, I always wanted to do that." He grinned widely before engulfing the woman into another hug. It was kind of awkward because of the helmet and the bag pack, but neither of them seemed to complain. Castle's smile brightened against the cold helmet as Kate hugged him back tightly. "Be careful, okay?"

"Always."

"See you Monday?" Castle asked softly, his eyes searching Kate's.

"See you Monday." She echoed with a nod as she mounted her bike and adjusted her bag when Castle's voice made her turn to him. The 'click' of his cell phone going off had her glaring at him, the man not caring as he seemed so happy to finally have a picture of her on her motorcycle. "Happy now?"

"Oh, so tremendously happy. Really, detective, you have no idea."

Something flashed in Kate's eyes but it was gone so fast Castle couldn't tell for sure for it had been. His thoughts were drowned when the bike's engine turned to life, startling him as it roared in the quiet street. "Don't forget to call."

"I will, bye Rick."

He watched her go, his mind spinning with so many fantasies about both Kate and Nikki Heat, but mostly Kate that it took him several minutes of staring into space before he realized that his phone had died in his hand. "Crap!"

Alexis was in the kitchen having breakfast when Castle barged in and aimed for his study without even seeing her. "Dad?"

"Dad, what are you doing up at this hour?"

"Had an unexpected early start, sweetheart." Castle sighed in relief when he found the usb cord, plugging his phone to his laptop, grinning at the little battery sign told him it was now charging. "Ready to go to school?"

"Almost. What kind of early start?" Alexis was looking at him dubiously. Her father was far too chipper for this time of the morning.

"Kate stopped by. She's going away for the weekend so she stopped before leaving."

The teenager frowned at the sudden news. "For the weekend? We're Thursday."

"I know, sweetie. She has some things to deal with and she needed time away."

Castle looked up from his phone at found himself staring at bright, inquisitive eyes. "Is she okay?"

"Kind of. It's her mother's birthday this weekend and she and her father usually spend it together at their cabin, but Jim decided that it was time to make new memories, so he's staying with his new friend instead."

"Oh. So she's going to be spending several days in the woods, alone and upset?" Alexis blurted out, her eyes sullen as she met her father's eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"Already ahead of you, kiddo."

The ride had been longer than he had thought because of traffic, and Castle exhaled in relief when the small cabin belonging to Kate's father came into view. It was a few minutes short of ten in the morning, so he knew the detective would still be around.

True to her words Kate had called him the day before once she had gotten there, and even texted him once or twice during the evening.

Castle had given her the day so she'd have space and have some time alone, but he had gotten up at four on Friday morning, grabbed an overnight bag and drove outside of town to spend the remaining of the weekend with the woman he loved.

Kate didn't know he was coming and, if he didn't have a clear picture of how she would react once he got there, he doubted she'd send him back home.

There was no sign of life around the house when Castle climbed the steps and stopped in front of the front door, suddenly nervous. He raised his hand and was about to knock when the door opened before him, making him jump. "Castle?"

"Hey."

There was surprise in the detective's eyes but, as Castle suspected, there was also relief. Gratitude. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?"

Kate rolled her eyes and let him in, closing and locking the door behind him. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Sure."

Castle let his eyes wander around the small room, immediately loving the homey feel of it. The wooden walls, mismatched furniture and numerous bookshelves reminded him if the detective's apartment; it was small but cozy, and the wood burning in the fireplace warmed the place pleasantly. "There you go."

"Thanks." Castle said as he followed Kate to the couch and both took place on the same one, not sitting next to her but still close enough if she needed him. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Not too bad, actually. The peace and quiet felt nice even if it threatened to drive me a little crazy." Kate shrugged as she took a sip of her coffee, bringing her legs up on the couch and twisted sideways so she could face Castle on the opposite end.

The writer smiled at the movement but his eyes were watching his friend to see how she was holding up. He decided she seemed tired and more withdrawn then usual but he was relieved to see that it didn't look like she had spent the night alone, crying. "How did you manage to spend two months here anyway? You never seemed to be a camping and hiking kind of girl."

"Wow. You know, now I'm really curious to see what your house in the Hamptons look like because if you qualify this as camping, we need to show you what camping in the woods really is like." Kate snorted, knowing Castle was yanking her chain, but suspicious about what to expect exactly now that she had opened the door to a whole other discussion. More than one, in fact.

"You know you are welcome to visit my Hamptons house whenever you want, Kate."

Kate had expected a cruder comeback, or at least a sassier tone from the man, but his voice was soft and gentle, genuine. It only threw her off even more than his surprise visit. "Yeah, because that worked out so well last time." She blurted out, her eyes widening at what she had just said. "Anyway, it's not like I had a choice into spending the summer here, Castle. My dad didn't want me to stay in New York for a while."

"What do you mean, last time?" Castle inched closer, his eyes on hers and refusing to let her look away. "The only time I ever asked you, you already had plans with Demming."

Kate raised her eyes to stare at the ceiling, mad at herself for opening that particular can of worms. She had the firm intent of never talked about that summer ever again, but there was no way Castle would back down now. Not when he knew that there was something more to the story. Their story. "Remember when I pulled you aside to talk that summer?"

"I, I was going to accept to go with you. I had broken up with Will earlier."

"What?" Castle's mind was reeling, almost wishing he hadn't heard right. Wishing he hadn't inadvertently ditched Beckett from a possible romantic weekend at the beach to mope and argue with this ex-wife. "Why didn't you tell me? I mean, after?"

"Right," Kate scoffed, "like I was going to tell you that with Gina there? Not with the way she was staring me down. She didn't even let you hug me goodbye."

"Kate..."

"No, it's fine. It was years ago and the timing wasn't right."

Castle pursed his lips to keep his next words from spilling out. "I guess know I know more how you must have felt." Maybe he hadn't closed his mouth hard enough.

"What?"

"This summer, Kate." He reminded her, the immediate guilty look the detective took making him frown. "I'm not going to put up a fight with you again, but judging by the way you treated me when I got back last year, the way you all treated me, you have an idea of how I felt all summer long."

Kate visibly deflated on the couch and she put her coffee on the table, suddenly not thirsty anymore. "I wasn't thinking straight, Rick, you know that now. I thought you'd all be safer that way. I would've stayed in town but my dad wouldn't hear any of it. I came straight here when I left the hospital, they didn't even let me go back to my apartment to grab my things."

"They?"

"My dad, and Lanie."

"Oh. I know it's useless to say this now, but I had offered your father to let you stay with us at the loft while you recovered, but he refused. I even tried to get him to borrow the Hamptons house but he said you needed to get away from everything."

"I didn't know, he never mentioned it." Kate was staring at Castle in surprise and shock. In truth she had expecting him to make such an offer, but she later thought he must have had decided otherwise. "I'm not sure I would have accepted, but it was a really sweet thing to do, Rick."

Castle smiled, acknowledging the woman's admission for what it was. Kate had issues when it came to let people in to help, but just to know that she would have at least consider his offer was good enough for him. "I'm going to hug you now."

Kate opened her mouth to talk but Castle's arms were already around her, pulling her from the couch so they were side by side, her slender body pressed against his chest. "You've become quite the hugger, Castle."

"Well, I don't know how long you'll let me hug you without having to fear being shot so I'm taking advantage of every chance I can get."

Kate only tightened her grasp around the man's back as a shudder raced through her body. "Castle? Can we never use that expression again? I don't like it anymore."

"More than fine by me." He whispered in her ear and pressed his lips on the top of her head, the emotions of getting to feel her warm body in his arms again almost choking him to tears. "Oh!" He exclaimed out of the blue and regretfully pulled back from the embrace. "I forgot something in the car."

"Can't you get it later?"

"Can't get enough of me already, detective?" Castle stared and felt a smirk lifting his lips, but still he shook his head and turned on his heels. "But nope, they'll get ruined! Don't move from the couch."

Kate stood as soon as Castle was outside but, after an hesitation, sat back with a sigh. She hated surprises.

There were some strange sounds filling the small cabin as Castle came back, his arms behind his back and obviously holding something bulky. "Close your eyes."

"No."

"Beckett, please."

Kate rolled her eyes, but only because he had called her by her surname. It was strange to think that she had never truly noticed the change in his way of calling her. She had been Beckett and, one day, Kate had taken its place. Now he only used her surname when she was being particularly stubborn or when they were at a crime scene. "Fine. Better not hold a Sharpie there, Rick, or I'll make you regret the day you ever decided to become a writer."

A hearty laugh echoed and she jumped when his voice was in her ear. "Open your eyes, gorgeous."

Kate didn't even have time to glare at the man that he delicately placed a bouquet of colorful flowers on her lap. The mix of summer flowers brought a smile to her face, the arrangement of yellows, oranges, whites and reds forming a beautiful ensemble that mirrored the flames currently dancing in the fireplace.

It was only when she glanced at the foyer that she noticed the other bouquets on the table. There were two of them, bigger than hers and made of differently colored flowers. "Castle?"

"The flowers on your lap are for you and the others, there for you mother." The man told her as he sat next to her, close enough to provide comfort if asked but far enough to give her the space she seemed to be currently needing.

"The white and pink one is from the guys and Lanie, and the red and purple one is from Alexis, mother and I. I wanted to go and put them on her tombstone on my way here but then I realized that I didn't know where-"

"She's buried." Kate finished for him, her voice thick. "It's in Murray Hill, there are a couple of small cemeteries there."

"Cas- Rick, I...thank you. For the flowers. And for coming." Kate glanced at the man next to her, her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she caught him watching her with bright, loving eyes. "We can go and give them to her later, if you want?"

"Of course, anything you want." Castle complied with a grin. "Can we take your motorcycle?"

"I only have one helmet, Castle."

"Ah. Dibs on the driving since it's my car!"

"Castle-"

"Nuh-uh. My car, my rules.

Kate smirked and stared until it made Castle cave but, to her biggest surprise, it didn't happen. The writer challenged her with a smirk of his own and his eyes took a wicked glint which Kate knew from experience that it wasn't a good sign. "Castle..."

"My car, my rules."

"You don't know where it is."

"I have a GPS."

"So?"

"Are you really challenging me, detective?"

Kate didn't answer and only continued to stare, but she caught the slight twitch of his hand. Um.

"You know, I've been learning interesting things about you over the years. Some that you fought to keep it a secret but apparently failed."

"What do you mean?" Kate's glared faltered and she shifted slightly, already racking her mind for what the man could be talking about.

Castle grinned as he reached out and took the flowers from the woman's lap and placed them on the table, out of harm's way. "A little bird told me about a case where you had to go undercover. A case where you had to wear a mike. A well hidden mike, it seems."

Kate's poker face wavered briefly, confirming the man's words. "It was only a presumption, of course, but it somehow got confirmed when I took care of you while you were sick."

"You didn't." The detective's glare was on full force and anyone but Richard Castle would have run for cover by now if they had been the ones on the receiving end of it.

"You, my dear detective," Castle smiled widely, "are ticklish. Very ticklish, even."

"Nope."

"Kate."

"Rick."

"The way you squirmed when I accidentally brushed my fingers against your side, you know that spot just below the lower ribs, it was so...adorable, I just had to remember it for future reference." Castle knew she could easily hurt him for being so cocky, so when she remained silent, just observing him with a calculated look, it didn't take long for the man to start struggling with the desire to bolt from the couch.

They both observed each other intently, Kate biting her lip as her eyes lost what he called her 'cop glare'. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she was getting nervous. "Did you mean it?"

'Huh?' "What?"

"You said 'anything you want'. Do you mean it?"

"Of course." Castle frowned, thoroughly confused. A small smile appeared on Kate's lips and she lifted her finger at him. "Okay. Come here."

"Huh?"

"Scoot closer, writer boy." Kate smirked but didn't roll her eyes.

Castle's eyes narrowed but obeyed, bracing himself for whatever she would do to him for having threatened her. He almost covered his ears in case she'd go for them but thinking it would only give her more ammunition, let his hands down against the couch cushions.

Castle finally inched close enough until his knees were flushed against the detective's thighs and, as predicted, saw Kate's hand raise forward. Castle's instinctively went for her side for retaliation when it stopped dead, halfway there. The delicate and incredibly soft hand had stopped inches from his ear, going for his jaw instead.

Castle's hand fell on Kate's waist and squeezed for support when he felt warm, silky lips on his.