Chapter 6.
Kate cringed and gathered herself enough to respond. "Castle I'm fine I'll be out in five minutes" she tried to sound cheerful. She held her breath and waited for his response. "Okay sweetheart ". He bought it. Kate slowly stood up from her sitting position, exited the shower and wrapped a towel firmly around her body. Once again looking herself up and down in the mirror. Where usually she would dress in the bedroom in full view of Castle , Kate opted to change and do her make up in the confines of the bathroom. He knew every detail of her body. Every curve, every dip, every scar. She couldn't risk it.
Meanwhile Castle sat on the end of their bed patiently waiting. His phone started to ring so he made his way across the room to answer. The caller ID read 'Espo'. "Hey man, how's Becks? Haven't heard from her since yesterday?" Espo asked a little concerned. "Seems to be okay, she came to bed quite late last night so I'm going to try and talk her into coming into the precinct late. Can you cover her?" Rick asked. "Sure thing bro, I'll catch you two later this morning. Ciao" Espo ended the call.
Kate entered the bedroom as Rick was finishing up the phone call. "You're going to talk me into it hey?" Kate asked incredulously. "I, I was just going to..." Rick stuttered. Kate figured she had to step up her game and tread more carefully around Rick if she was to get away with what she was hiding so she laughed it off. "Rick I'm kidding its fine, I'm feeling much better but it would be great if we could go somewhere for breakfast" Kate hinted with a little smile. Ricks eyes lit up..."Amore?" Rick asked. "You know me too well" Kate said sweetly.
Rick was over the moon. His Kate was back. Maybe it was a bout of the flu. They left the loft hand in hand and headed for the coffee shop over the road. Rick went to order the coffees but Kate stopped him. "Let me, I owe you. You have put up with my rotten mood for weeks" she gave him a soft kiss and left him at their booth. Kate then headed for the counter.
"One coffee and a decaf please" Kate almost whispered. "No coffee Miss Beckett?" the barista asked surprised. "No not this morning, I've umm already had two...better not overdose right?" Kate lied. "Oh right no of course, I thought it was a bit out of character..I'll get right on these" the barista smiled.
Kate headed back to the booth and slid in next to Castle. She thought it best to clear the air and ease his mind about her wellbeing. She covered his hand with hers and rested them on his thigh under the table. "Listen Castle I have to apologise for my behaviour towards you and the boys" Castle was about to interrupt but she cut him off "no let me finish please" she pleaded. He nodded for her to continue. "You've been nothing but patient, loving, caring and comforting. I love how you try and look after me. I promise you, I'm fine now. I think it was nothing more than a bad case of the flu. The clammy skin, the unsteadiness, the pains..." Kate began to ramble off her symptoms. "The pain?" Castle asked surprised by that one, she hid that well. "Oh nothing major Castle, more of a dull ache...plus it's gone now" Kate explained as she stared at her half eaten carrot cake. He seemed convinced.
This was getting more and more difficult. She was getting in way too deep. The person that grounded her, the person she confided in, the person this affected more than anyone was currently in the dark. If things went wrong this would all land in his lap.