Hello everyone.

Mondays are half days at school, so I figured I would lock myself away from the wonder that is the Great British weather and add another update.
Enjoy..

Four

When Kate woke up, once again nestled between soft, Castle scented covers, she couldn't help the little flutter of disappoint that rose when she realised that he wasn't there with her. A flutter that was quickly dispelled when she turned her glance towards the alarm clock on the bedside table, and was met with a glass of water, two painkillers, and a handwritten note.
Kate pulled herself up against the headboard so that she could reach across to the little assortment of kind hearted goodies that had been left for her, smiling absentmindedly as she did at the memory of Castle's arms wrapping her up so softly in his ridiculously fluffy bathrobe that her body barely recognised that it had been stirred from sleep. Snuggling a little deeper into the blue stripped fabric, Kate reached out for the note that he had written on the back of an old envelope, thankful that the excruciating pain she had been in earlier had subsided into something which was at least bearable.

Kate,

I hope I didn't wake you when i left this.
If I did, go back to sleep for a little while, it's only early still.

Help yourself to anything you need from the bathroom, and my wardrobe is all yours as well.
Coffee and breakfast are ready whenever you are.

Castle xx

Ps. Don't forget the painkillers!

Pps. You're very cute when you snore.

He really was the sweetest man in the world. Although, a small amount of violence may be needed due to that last comment.
Smiling like a teenage girl whose crush had just walked by her in the corridor, Kate climbed out of bed and headed in the direction of his bathroom, quickly turning back to pick up the painkillers before she had made it two steps.

Part of her wanted to avoid the mirror altogether, scared of what she would find staring back at her, but she knew that it had to be done. She had to see for herself the damage, or else she would never be able to move on.
Wiping at the remnants of steam with her hand, and taking a tentative glance into the ever truthful glass, Kate saw something in herself that she hadn't been witness to in longer than was safe to think of; she saw happiness.
Despite the tracks of mascara that had seemingly cemented themselves to her skin, and the greyness that clung under her eyes. Despite the scratches that littered her face and the bruises that crept into view beneath the warm embrace of Castle's bathrobe. Despite everything that she had expected to find in her reflection, the only thing she paid any attention to was the unmistakable shine of pure, unadulterated happiness.
She had often heard people described as glowing, but had never before understood what it had meant. It wasn't so much a physical difference in her appearance, but rather a slight, almost imperceptible change in everything that she was; a change that she owed in its entirety to Rick Castle. The man whom she had hidden from for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to exist fully in the real world; the kind, and loving, and wonderful man who she had hurt for the sake of selfishly protecting herself. So there she stood, wrapped in his bathrobe and transfixed by the happiness reflected in her eyes, promising honesty and love to a man so wonderful that her whole body glowed with the thought of him.

Castle heard Kate moving about in his room, which meant he probably didn't have long before she would be in search of coffee and breakfast. He had no idea of when she had last eaten, but he highly doubted that it was anywhere close to a reasonable time ago, so he set to making a much needed feast of freshly brewed coffee, pancakes, and as many toppings as he could find.

As expected, it hadn't taken much longer than quarter of an hour for the gentle pad of bare feet to appear from the direction of his bedroom. Filling the biggest mug they owned, a novelty that Alexis had given him a few Christmases ago, he turned to the source of the footprints, with her coffee in hand.
Kate didn't miss his wandering eyes for a second; roaming over her entire body in the time it took for her to saunter over to him, the swish of her hips perhaps a little more exaggerated than she would normally allow.
Oh' she knew exactly what she was doing to him! Castle had tried, he really had, to keep his eyes locked onto hers, but that was easier said than done when Kate Beckett was concerned. All long legs and slender curves, she was addictive. Even more so in nothing but a pair of checked boxer shorts and an old grey t-shirt. His clothes. Her body. He never stood a chance.

She smiled up at him, eyes brighter than perhaps he had ever seen, eagerly accepting the coffee that he held out to her. Tracing her fingers across Castle's, she took the mug and gulped down as much of the desperately needed liquid as she could manage with one breath, conscious of his eyes that had yet to leave her.
Kate placed the coffee down beside her, catching his eyes as they lingered on her caffeine warmed lips, a slight blush creeping to her cheeks and a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Castle quickly accepted her invitation to close the gap between them, his hands hot against her skin in seconds.
"Good morning, Miss Beckett." He whispered, so close his breath tickled her nose. Anticipation tingled deliciously in her belly, clinging to the warmth that reverberated between them.
"Good morning, Mr Castle." She replied, her words lost to the intoxicating pull of his lips.

To Be Continued.

Thank you for reading.
I'm still new to writing when it comes to Castle, so please leave a review if you get chance.
They really do mean the world.

Until next time,
Katie