"I think I prefer the puzzle…"

Beckett smiled, and picked up the paper that they'd been keeping score on.

"You mean because you owe me $3,545 dollars?"

He frowned.

"You said we weren't playing for money."

"That was before I started winning."

Her grin told him that she was only teasing, but it had been obvious that she was definitely better at Gin than he was. Or at least she was that particular evening. Not surprising, really, considering how distracted he was. She wasn't as sharp as she might normally have been, either – she was tired – but Beckett knew that Castle would have given her more of a challenge on some other day.

"Do you take IOUs?"

She chuckled and reached for the discarded cards, but Castle shook his head and leaned back sideways against the back of the sofa.

"I think I'm done, Kate."

Beckett studied him while she gathered the deck of cards and put them back in the box. His face had been pale when they'd started (from the memory of the reason for the arguments of his captors) and even though they'd been playing for a couple of hours, he was still ashen.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked him.

He knew she was worried about him, and he didn't want her to be. She'd already done so much for him, and was stuck at the safehouse because of him. She looked just as tired as he felt – because she'd stayed up late with him the night before, he reminded himself – and while he liked the idea of having her to himself, this wasn't the way he'd had in mind.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Just tired of losing my money to a card shark."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you're a suspicious person?"

"Or because you're not telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I'm okay," he assured her.

"Do you hurt?"

"No more than before, and my head doesn't hurt as much." He tilted his head sideways. "You look tired, though. Maybe you should take a nap?"

Or just go to bed early. The afternoon was well gone and they were already into the evening. After the large lunch he'd made neither of them would suffer if dinner was late – or skipped completely.

It was a measure of just how tired she was that Beckett nodded. She shifted a little on the couch and leaned her side against the back of it, too, looking at him as she rested the side of her head against the cushions behind her.

"What are you going to do?"

"Spy on the neighbors for a while."

"You'd be better off sleeping, Castle. You look like you could use it."

His smile was a little wistful.

"I will in a bit."

"You can have the bed." she offered.

"I can't spy on the neighbors in the bedroom," Castle pointed out. He offered up another smile, but it just made him look tired. "You go ahead. I can sleep on the couch when I get tired."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not going to try very hard to sleep?"

"Because you're a suspicious person?" he repeated. "It's a good trait in a detective, not so much in a roommate."

Beckett frowned. Humor aside, she was really worried that he might stay up and not sleep. While she knew that he didn't sleep a lot if he was in the middle of writing, she also knew that this wasn't the same thing. He probably hadn't slept much while he was captive – she knew she wouldn't have – and she knew he hadn't had much sleep since. She knew why, and she understood completely, but he had to sleep.

"We could call your doctor friend and maybe he could prescribe something to help you sleep…"

"I don't want to sleep, Kate." It slipped out before he could censor it, and he saw her expression soften at the admission and turned away, looking at the TV screen instead. "Maybe I can call Alexis."

"That's a good idea," Beckett told him. "Use my phone, though. It's secure and untraceable."

His hadn't been charged, yet, she knew, but he could have plugged it in and used it, and she definitely didn't want that.

"You think someone might track me down?"

She shrugged.

"It's doubtful, but I don't want to take the chance something might happen. Just do it my way, okay? I'll feel better."

And hopefully he would, too. Alexis was always able to cheer her dad up, Beckett had noticed.

"Okay."

"And don't tell her what's going on," she reminded him.

"Right."

She handed him her phone and got up and got the clothes she was going to sleep in and headed into the bathroom to give him some privacy.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

When she came out a short time later he was still sitting on the sofa, but he looked a little better.

"Did you get hold of her?"

"Her and mother both. They were getting worried, since I haven't answered my phone. I told them it was dead and let them scold me for a while."

Beckett smiled and came over and sat beside him.

"How's the trip going?"

"She likes UCLA, she likes Oregon State and she is looking at a couple in Washington tomorrow and the next day."

"Well that's good."

"I'd rather she went to school a little closer to home."

"Kids don't want to go to school close to home. Did you?"

He scowled.

"That was different. My mother is crazy."

She reached down and took his hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to take you to bed with me."

Castle arched an eyebrow at that, and she saw the amused gleam in his eyes. He knew she couldn't have meant what she was saying.

"Oh? And you're not worried about being videoed?"

Beckett chuckled, glad the mood was upbeat and intending to keep it that way if she could.

"The cameras record outside, not in. Come on." He let her lead him into the bedroom and then she pushed him toward the bed. "Get changed. I'll be right back."

He gave her and odd look, uncertain where she was planning on going with this – and just how far – but she didn't wait around to let him ask. She was all for anything that would keep his mind off being afraid to sleep. Beckett went and double checked all the locks, used the TV to check that none of the cameras had lost their feed and then she turned the TV off and head back into the bedroom. He was under the blankets and his clothes were piled in the corner. She frowned; he wasn't wearing a shirt – which made her wonder if that was all that was missing in his wardrobe.

"Are you naked?"

"No."

"You're not lying?"

He smirked.

"Katherine Beckett, you're so suspicious."

"Where's your shirt?"

"I didn't feel like forcing my arms up again once I got the other one off."

Beckett gave him another suspicious look, but she walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled the top blanket back. Castle rolled over to watch, and she saw the surprise in his expression.

"What?"

"You're really going to sleep with me?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to sleep with you, Castle, not have sex with you."

Hence the reason she wasn't sleeping under all the blankets he was.

"Your secret would be safe with me."

"I bet."

She inched over in the bed until she was against him, and then rolled over onto her side.

"We can't be face to face," Castle told her. She could see that he was actually starting to droop a little. Maybe it wouldn't take him long to fall asleep once they got quiet.

"Why not?"

"Because."

Which wasn't the best reason. Beckett didn't want to explore that any further, though, just in case the reason was something she didn't want to know. Instead, she rolled over onto her other side and kept her distance from his front – again, just in case. Castle surprised her, though, and put his arm around her, pulling her against him. And she couldn't help but tense, even though it had been her idea. He shifted a little, getting comfortable, and his hand ended up on his stomach.

"Relax, Kate. I'm not going to do anything."

Castle's voice was sleepy and amused and his hand tightened on her. He was grateful to her for being willing to cuddle with him, and he would rather hold her than have her hold him. He closed his eyes, trying to relax and holding completely still so she would relax, too. After a few moments, she did just that, and Castle felt himself start to drift off after only a few moments. He was so tired.

OOOOOOOOOO

The police car patrolling the neighborhood noticed the dark sedan around 10pm. It was parked in front of a well-lit house several blocks from the house he'd been advised was being used by some police officers, and the hood was up. The officer inside glanced at the driver as he drove by, debating whether the man needed his assistance or not. He decided he didn't. It was still early, and everyone had cell phones now days. The driver gave him a slight nod as he passed, and the officer kept driving.

The patrol route went through the area every 20 minutes or so and the car was there the next time the officer went by. The hood was still up, but the driver wasn't anywhere to be seen. The officer hesitated, decided that the driver might have been picked up by a friend, and simply made a note of the license plate number – just in case.

At midnight, when the cruiser went by for the last time before the shift change, the officer noticed that the car was gone. He made a note of it on his sheet, and then finished his patrol and went back to the station.