Apology in advance. I'm really psychotic about chapter lengths, and I'm well aware of that. Consistency just doesn't seem to happen in my world. Ever. And this one's really short. So I'm sorry, but I hope you like what there is of this (for what it's worth, I do), and I will try to get more up as soon as I can. :) And that should be soonish because I have more written already, it's just a matter of adding, perfecting, editing, and posting. But considering I'm in Florida visiting my granddad right now and my schedule's a bit off, the whole process is going slower than normal.

Her hand was actually on the doorknob to her bedroom—or the bedroom where she was staying for the night, anyway—when she changed her mind. She acted fully on impulse, something she seemed to be doing more lately than she'd ever done before, because if she'd allowed herself time to think about what she was doing she wouldn't have done it. She didn't know, nor did she want to know, why, but the next thing she knew, her hand was on the knob of a different door, one she'd never entered before, turning it noiselessly.

The room was big, as she might've expected, but from what she could tell in the dark, surprisingly simple. As her eyes adjusted she made out his shape, dwarfed a little by the large bed that surrounded it. She forcefully pushed back a thought about how many women had probably been in this bed, not wanting to think about it, and not liking the feelings thinking about it gave her.

To her relief, he was sound asleep, with no idea that she was here. But why was she here? She told herself that she was just making sure he was okay, that he didn't need anything, but why wouldn't he have been? He was clearly well on his way to better, and what he needed most now was rest. If anyone needed care now it was his daughter, and she'd handled that already. She thought about how she'd feel if their positions were reversed—if she was asleep, and he was standing beside her bed, watching her. It wasn't that many months ago that he'd spent the night at her apartment, and she'd threatened his life if he so much as turned her doorknob. Granted it had been an empty threat, for the most part, but still… what was she doing?

Logic won her over and she turned to go, making her way slowly back to the door, careful not to make any noise.

She was about two steps away when a groggy voice stopped her in her tracks. "Kate?"

Her heart caught in her throat and she felt her cheeks burning. "Uh, yeah. Hi," she stuttered, as she slowly turned to face him again.

He pulled himself into a seated position and she was relieved to discover that he was wearing a t-shirt. This was awkward enough to begin with, and a half-naked Castle would not have helped. He smoothed the comforter over an area of the bed beside him and patted it, inviting her to sit. She had half a mind to just bolt and hope he'd think he dreamed the whole thing, but for one she knew that would be cowardly, which she was not, and for another, she knew him better than that. He would not believe, even for a second, that this had been a dream. So she returned to the bed and sat down in the place he'd indicated.

"What are you doing in here?" He didn't ask harshly, as she knew she probably would've in his place, or mockingly, as she might've expected him to. Instead, he just asked. Softly. Kindly.

"I, uh…" She found that she couldn't lie to him, even if she'd wanted to, and she didn't. But at the same time, she didn't know what to say, partly because she didn't even completely understand the answer to his question. "I was… checking on Alexis, and then, I just figured…" she tried to trail off and allow him to finish her thought, or at least ask a question to prompt it, but for once he was silent, a slight smile on his lips that she found oddly endearing. She sighed. "I just figured I'd um, come make sure you were doing okay."

He squeezed her shoulder gently. "I'm doing great."

"You look, er, um¸ you sound…" she almost said "great," but stopped herself, clearing her throat. Too soon. "Much better."

"I feel so much better," he confirmed. "Thanks for being here. For everything."

She shrugged. "Just returning the favor."

He frowned and waved her off, but was apparently unable to keep his mind on this particular line of conversation. "How is Alexis? You said you checked on her?"

"Uh, she wasn't great, but I gave her some tea and some Advil, and I think she's sleeping now."

"Good," he said, eyebrows still knitted. "That's good. You're gonna make a great mom someday."

She half-smiled. "Maybe someday."

He sighed. "Alexis had to go and get sick. There's a beautiful woman in my bedroom and I'm totally distracted."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't be here right now if she hadn't."

He rolled his eyes. "It doesn't, but thanks for trying."

"She's fine, Rick," she assured him, unsure what she thought of the feel of his first name as it rolled off her tongue. It was definitely something she'd have to get used to. "I promise."

"I know, and I trust you, it's just…" He shrugged. "I'm a parent. I can't help it. I'm gonna go check on her." He started to get up. "You should go back to bed. It's late." He smirked. "Unless you had some other reason for coming in here."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Oh, you're definitely feeling better." She shook her head. "I'm glad. But I think I will go back to bed. My bed."

"Your bed?"

"You know what I meant. Your guest room."

"Just making sure you're not trying to escape on me. You agreed to stay here tonight, I won't have you driving home at three in the morning."

"Honestly? That didn't even cross my mind."

She jumped as she felt his hand on her back, guiding her to the door. It wasn't a bad feeling, not a bad feeling at all, but it surprised her. "Good."

She yawned.

"Back to bed with you." He paused in front of the guest room's door and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. It seemed somehow more innocent than their earlier kiss had, but still it wasn't quite platonic.

She gave him a smile, a glowing smile that she didn't think she could've hidden if she'd tried, before slipping back into her room, closing the door behind her. Her hand strayed up to her cheek, where his lips had touched, as she tried to hold on to what it had felt like. As she got back into bed she allowed the wave of pure happiness to wash over her, for once not thinking about what she was doing or the negative consequences it might cause. Thinking only of the warmth of his lips against her skin.