For the record, I do not condone having sex while you have tubes going in and out of you or if you are strapped to a monitor of some kind. Not for any health reasons; it's just that you might damage the equipment. And do you know what that means, people? Paperwork. Yeah, I know, it's a scary thought.

Beckett tapped on the frame of the door. "Knock, knock." She said gently.

Castle stirred and opened his eyes. "Kate," He grinned. "Hi."

"Hey yourself." She replied, entering the room and perching on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better than I was before." Castle replied. "It felt like I was hit by a tank."

Beckett smiled, taking his hand in hers. "What did the doctors say? Anything…" She swallowed. "Anything major?"

He shook his head reassuringly. "Nope; they took care of everything this morning. They'll be monitoring me for the night, and then I'll get discharged in the morning." He frowned. "Why don't you know all of this? Didn't they tell you?"

She shook her head. "No. Only family members, and since we're not… they said they couldn't disclose the information."

Castle watched her with warm eyes as she gazed down at their joined hands. Beckett wasn't entirely sure how to handle this situation. While she'd known it wasn't a big deal – well, if you can call a couple of cracked ribs 'not a big deal' – watching him get carted off had still been scary. Before, she had always been the one to end up in the hospital bed – either that, or they were both in the back of an ambulance. It had never been just him. She wasn't sure what to make of it.

With that in mind, she looked up at him, mischief twinkling in her eyes. There were two ways that Kate Beckett pushed back fear – by fighting harder, or by distracting herself. This time she was choosing the latter.

"You aren't expecting any other visitors for the evening, are you?" She asked.

Castle shook his head. "Alexis had to get back to school and Mother's got a show, so it's just us. Why…?" His face clouded over with puzzlement as he watched Beckett get up and close the door, flicking the blinds shut and pulling across the curtain surrounding the bed.

"Well, doctors traditionally hand out lollipops to good patients, but I think you're a little old for that." Beckett shrugged, the expression on her face nothing but naughtiness. "So I was thinking of a more grown-up reward for the brave hero?" She grinned.

Castle's face had 'oh boy' written all over it. "Did I mention that I love you?" He asked as Beckett climbed onto the bed.

"A few times." She said, getting up on her knees in order to slip off her tank top and camisole. "But it bears repeating."

"Well then," He replied, scooting up into a sitting position and throwing off the blankets, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Beckett climbed up the bed to straddle him. "I love you, too." She whispered it to avoid letting him hear her voice crack. She didn't waste a second but sank onto him, draping her arms loosely atop his shoulders. As she began to move she locked eyes with him.

"You promise not to let a suspect corner you like that again?" She asked, her words coming out with each gyration of her hips.

Castle's hands came up to grip her waist. "You know I can't predict those things."

"Then make sure that you stay out of danger." Beckett insisted. Her breathing became ragged, her words a little harsher than she intended. Castle didn't take offense at her tone, instead squeezing her gently for a moment before relaxing his hold.

"It's what we do, Kate. I'm the plucky sidekick; you can't ask anymore of me, just as I can't ask anymore of you." He reminded her.

Beckett picked up her pace, working out her frustration and her fear in her movements. "I know, I know." She choked out. "I just don't… just don't want to… I don't want to do this again."

"What? I'm… kind of liking this." Castle joked. He began to move upwards to meet her movements.

Beckett felt a pounding behind her eyes, like the foreboding building up of a migraine; only it was pleasure and not pain that was beginning to mount within her. She didn't reply, instead opting to lean forward and plant kiss after kiss on his forehead, temples, the bridge of his nose, eyelids… anywhere on his face that she could reach with her mouth. As the tension built, stretching like a rubber band, her kisses became more frantic, until Castle reached up and grabbed the back of her neck, yanking her down to seal their mouths together.

Beckett continued to move, even as the pressure became too much and the rubber band inside of her snapped, sending a few tears down her cheeks as she rode out her orgasm. She couldn't be sure when Castle finished, but when she finally stopped moving and collapsed on top of him he was rubbing circles on her back, humming tunelessly in her ear.

"I love you." She murmured repeatedly, senselessly, kissing him again and again until he pulled her back.

"If this is how you react, then I think I should get injured a little more often." Castle teased gently.

She smiled, letting him wipe off her wet cheeks. She clambered off of him, still smiling. Once she was fully clothed and had cleaned herself off, she returned to the hospital bed, helping him to settle down before curling up beside him.

"I'm your plucky sidekick." Castle assured her. "I'm not going anywhere."

Beckett snuggled in closer, inhaling his scent. "Plucky sidekicks always die." She murmured sleepily.

"Not all of them." Castle countered. "The first Robin, Dick Grayson, went on to have a successful career as a solo hero called Nightwing, and the third Robin, Tim Drake, is still alive and kicking, and don't forget about…"

His words became a droning lullaby as she drifted into sleep.

Wow. Would you look at that hurt/comfort and fluff? I swear, I did not plan to put that in there. Katherine Beckett, you sneaky little minx.