Author's note: Thanks for the reviews, guys. Castle was pretty hurt so he's spent time sleeping to heal, but he'll be awake a bit more now that he's catching up on the sleep. I'll even toss in some alone time with him and Beckett as the scenes allow.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Full of fast food, Beckett dozed off after the guys left, but only slept for a few hours before the she felt a hand on her forehead that woke her up with a start. Lanie smiled and pulled her hand back.

"You look pretty good all things considered."

Kate smiled, and sat up a little more.

"I got lucky."

"Yeah, that's what I've heard."

She walked over to Castle's bed and sat down on the edge of it, looking down at him as he slept. The bruises were fading a little and the scratches weren't nearly as red and terrible as they had been, but he still looked pretty rough. Beckett wasn't surprised to see her friend shake her head and then brush her fingers against his cheek. Hadn't she done the same thing only a few nights before in a very different setting?

"He, on the other hand, looks exactly like I expected…"

"Handsome?" asked Castle, sleepily, who opened his eyes in time to catch her hand before she could withdraw it.

"Beat up," Lanie corrected with a smile.

Castle snorted, and tried to sit up a little, but winced at the motion. Lanie pressed her free hand very carefully against his upper chest to stop him.

"Stay where you are," she told him. "I can see you just fine and you don't need to move to see me better."

He nodded and sighed, leaning into his pillows and closing his eyes but not relinquishing his hold on her hand. She grinned over at Kate, who rolled her eyes.

"So…" Lanie said, looking over at the machines that were monitoring Castle's condition – probably deciding his condition in some way that only doctors know. Even doctors that are far more used to dealing with dead people. "Beckett…"

"Yes?"

"How did you guys get along?"

She gave her friend a suspicious look.

"Did Ryan and Esposito send you?"

Lanie shook her head.

"No. I was just wondering. You know… the two of you… all alone in the middle of nowhere…" she trailed off suggestively, arching an eyebrow at Beckett as if daring her to deny anything.

Which she did. Immediately.

"Nothing happened."

"Nothing?"

"No."

"Castle?"

"We slept together," came the instant response. He didn't even bother to open his eyes.

"No we didn't."

"Yes, we did."

"No. We didn't."

"Yes. We did."

"We didn't."

Castle opened his eyes and looked around Lanie to Beckett. With both of them watching her she sighed and rolled her eyes again.

"Okay, fine. We slept together."

"You dog!"

"But we didn't have sex," Beckett told her. "We were just sharing body heat."

"Castle?"

"She's right," he admitted. "We didn't have sex."

"Aw."

"She saw me naked, though…"

"What?" Lanie turned to Beckett, who flushed and looked at Castle.

"I can't believe you remember that."

He smiled.

"A man always remembers the first time a woman undresses him…"

Lanie looked down at him.

"Did you see her naked, too?"

He shrugged.

"Oh, please… I've undressed her a million times in my mind."

"I'm going to kill you…"

Lanie shook her head.

"If only it was Thursday."

Both of them frowned at looked over at her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Beckett wasn't one of the best detectives in New York for nothing, though. Her eyes narrowed.

"You were in on the bet!"

"What bet?" Castle asked, confused.

"They were betting on when I'd want you dead…"

"We didn't know your plane had crashed," Lanie told them. "It was for during the convention. We were just expecting that Castle would say something that would make you mad and you'd threaten him with bodily harm."

"Like I'd ever do that…" Beckett scoffed.

Now it was Lanie's turn to roll her eyes and she looked at Beckett pointedly.

"No. Never." She let go of Castle's hand and stood up. "To change the subject completely, I spoke with your doctor and he's going to release you tomorrow. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"They're releasing me?" she echoed. "Already?"

Lanie shrugged.

"You're able to take care of yourself and the medications have knocked back the infection they were worried about you getting. You're ready."

"Oh."

"Probably can't wait to take a long hot bath, huh?"

"Yeah."

She looked over at Castle, who had been watching quietly and she was uncertain what she saw in his expression before he turned his head and closed his eyes, pretending to not be paying attention. Lanie followed her gaze and misread the concern in her expression.

"He'll be here another day or two, probably, but he's doing a lot better than they thought he would be considering his condition when you guys arrived. A couple more days of rest and he'll be ready to go home." She smiled. "A week after that and he should be shadowing you again."

Beckett tried to make her expression look annoyed but she failed. Lanie ran her hand along Castle's cheek again softly, and leaned over and pressed a light kiss against his jaw.

"I'm glad you're okay, Castle," she whispered with a smile.

He opened his eyes and caught her hand to squeeze it once more.

"Thanks, Lanie."

She left them, then, and Beckett turned to Castle, who had closed his eyes again.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

She got out of bed and walked over to his bed and took the spot Lanie had just left. She looked down at him but he didn't open his eyes.

"What's going on, Castle?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

He shook his head.

"I'm glad you get to go home…"

"But…?"

"Nothing."

She rested her hand on his arm, unwilling to risk touching him anywhere else.

"But…?"

He opened his eyes and Beckett saw vulnerability in his expression. It didn't help that he looked so beat up.

"You're leaving me."