Author's note: Good thing I didn't get sick in the meat of the story! I'm feeling better now, though, so we should be wrapping up

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Beckett was asleep when he peeked his head in through the doorway. He hesitated, debating, but despite the fact that he knew she needed sleep, he entered his room and closed the door behind him, softly. Walking over to the bed, he sat down on the edge and reached for her hand. The action caused her to stir, and she opened her eyes.

"Hey."

Her hand tightened on his and she smiled sleepily up at him.

"Hi."

"How are you doing?"

"Okay."

"Sore?"

"A bit."

"Need a pain pill?"

Beckett shook her head and looked around, still sleep-dazed, but trying to wake up a bit.

"Everything okay?"

Castle nodded.

"I just wanted to check on you."

"What's that smell?"

He sniffed.

"I might need a shower…"

She smiled.

"That isn't what I meant. Something smells wonderful."

"Ah, that. My mother is baking a lasagna for dinner. Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"She made you chicken broth."

Beckett's smile faded and she was going to argue with him and tell him she was more than capable of handling something as hearty as lasagna, but then she saw the amused glint in his eyes and realized he wasn't serious. She nudged him with her elbow, but not hard.

"You're so mean."

Castle grinned.

"I couldn't help myself." He leaned over and kissed her temple. "Do you need anything right now?"

"Company?"

"I can do that."

She could hear the pleasure at the request in his voice and it made her smile. She leaned back against the pillows that were propping her up and once she was comfortable he sidled up against her. He was properly on top of the blankets, but Beckett took his hand anyway and then rested her head on his shoulder.

"Your room is a lot more restful than I imagined it would be," she told him.

"Yeah?"

"M-hmm. I expected all sorts of toys – video games, big TV and VCR, that kind of thing. Things to keep you awake all night."

He grinned, and shifted, reaching over her and opening the drawer of the stand by his bed. He pulled out a remote and reclaimed the position beside her. He pressed a button on the remote and turned his head just a little, looking over at his dresser. Beckett followed his gaze, her head still on his shoulder once he was holding still again, and as they watched a very large flat screen rise up out of a special harness built into the rear of the dresser.

"Like that?" he asked.

She snorted, amused.

"No video games?"

He smirked, and pushed another button on the remote. Another hidden panel opened by the TV, revealing a video game console, and he reached over her again and pulled out a couple of controllers from the same drawer that had produced the remote. He handed one to her and took the other for himself and with a click of the remote he turned on the video game system.

"Play a game?"

"I don't think so," she told him. "I'm not very good at them."

"It's easy," he assured her, flipping through a menu of different games. "It's all set up so we don't even need to get out of bed to change games. Very cool."

She was still uncertain, but his enthusiasm was undeniable so Beckett shrugged and let him choose a game for them to play. He ended up picking one where they had to choose a character to battle the other's, and he showed her how to manipulate the controller to jump, kick and punch.

"I don't know," Beckett said. "You're pretty competitive. I'd hate to beat you and have to deal with you sulking for who knows how long…?"

"I don't sulk."

"You do."

"I won't. I promise."

Besides, he knew she wasn't going to beat him. He played all the time and she was new at it.

Kate rolled her eyes, but against her better judgment she agreed to play. He settled beside her, and started the game, helping her pick her final character.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Almost a half an hour later Castle's phone beeped, warning him that there was a text. He dropped his controller and once more reached over her, this time to get his phone. Beckett appreciated that he was being careful not to jar her when he did it, but she did like that he wasn't afraid to touch her, and she thanked him by running her hand along his belly when he moved back to his spot. He smiled, caught her hand and looked at the display on his phone.

"My mother says dinner is ready and wants to know if you're ready to eat."

"Why didn't she just come in?"

"Most likely because the door's closed and she was afraid of what she might see."

"Ah." She smiled, and slid her hand along his stomach again. "Like me beating you at Double Dragon?"

"You didn't beat me," he told her.

"My guy killed your guy."

"That-"

"Eleven times in a row."

"You got lucky."

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"I'll give you a rematch later, if you want."

He took the controller from her, and turned off the video game.

"We'll see. Are you hungry?"

"Starved."

"In here or out at the table?"

She knew he was asking where she wanted to eat, and as comfortable as his bed was she was ready to try and get up for a while.

"Out at the table."

"I'm going to go help set the table," he told her. "Come out when you're ready."

Beckett nodded.

"I won't be long."

He hesitated and then kissed her, softly at first but then harder when she responded with enough enthusiasm to make him think that dinner might wait just a little while longer. Her hands came up to cup his face, tenderly, and his weight pressed her back into the pillows when he leaned against her, propping himself up with a hand on either side of her. He groaned into the kiss when his shoulders protested the action and her breath caught in her throat at almost the same moment when her gunshot wound complained about the added pressure.

He pulled back, chagrined at how she'd paled.

"Sorry."

Beckett smiled.

"I'm not. We definitely need to continue this conversation later."

Castle echoed her grin.

"Okay."

She leaned forward and kissed him again, but this time it wasn't so sensual. Still nice, though, and more than enough to make him consider staying.

"Go get dinner ready."

"I'm going."

Slowly.