"I won't be taking cold showers forever, darling Kate. You want me as much as I want you. And when your memories return, God help me, I'll have you."

Disclaimer: I'd like to dream that I own these characters, but I don't.

Castle didn't know what came over him. It took everything in him to pull away from Kate. She indignantly stalked off to the guest room upstairs. In frustration, he went for a walk to clear his head. The need to have her was all-consuming. In his wildest dreams, he never would have imagined this. He ran over the last three months in his mind. Mistress Heat. Making love in Kate's apartment for the first time. Hot sex in the storage closet. Finding out she lied about hearing him say 'I love you' when she was shot. Distance. Acceptance. Her accident. Paralyzing fear. The baby. Lost memories. Lost Kate. Had he really lost his Kate? He wasn't sure, and it scared the hell out of him. Sure, Kate was at his loft and was in his bed last night, but was it really his Kate? He wasn't so sure his Kate would have calmly just accepted the pregnancy. Did she even know she was pregnant before the accident? Also, his Kate would have fought him tooth and nail about staying with him and taking time off from the precinct. This Kate didn't even remember that she was a detective. No, the banter was still there, and God knew that the undeniable attraction was most definitely still there. Hell, it was taking all of his control to just keep his hands off her. She was feisty and persistent, but vulnerable at the same time. She was naïve, more dependent, and definitely possessed a jealous streak. She remained a challenge, and he actually thought she was even more beautiful now than he had ever seen her. Maybe it was because she was carrying their child. He honestly didn't know how much longer he would be able to restrain himself around her. She was like forbidden fruit, and he craved and hungered for her with every fiber of his being. Truth was, it didn't matter if she was his Kate or not. She was still Kate, and he was still quite helplessly in love with her.

When he finally returned, he went straight to his study and attempted to write. He figured that Kate remained upstairs, and he knew he was still a little frustrated. He decided they both could use some time alone. He ended up staring at his laptop for an hour. Finally, in defeat, he decided to order Chinese takeout. He left his study and found that the loft was oddly quiet. Alexis was spending the weekend with Paige. His mother was at a spa retreat for at least another week. He hesitated for a minute, but then he went upstairs to look for Kate. He found her curled up and asleep on the bed in the guest room with his copy of Heatwave. He smiled, leaned down, and tucked a stray brown curl behind her ear. He let his fingers ghost over her cheek and lost himself in her beauty. He snapped back to reality when he heard someone knocking at the door downstairs.

He gently shook Kate awake. "I ordered Chinese. I thought maybe you would like to try some. I ordered your favorites."

She sat up, stretched, and gave him a tentative look. "Thanks. Give me a minute, and I'll be down."

Castle answered the door and paid for their supper. While he was opening the cartons and putting them on the table, Kate joined him downstairs. He offered her an apologetic smile, "Dinner is served."

Kate got one whiff of the Chinese food and immediately sprinted to his bathroom for the third time that day. Castle caught up to her, just as she was flushing the commode and rinsing her mouth with water. He leaned against the doorway, brows furrowed in concern.

"Toast and tea?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the Chinese though. It was sweet," she shyly smiled, bit her lip, and blushed a little.

Castle smiled back and opened his arms to her. He gently hugged her close to him as she rested her head against his chest. They were going to be okay.

Kate managed to eat a few bites of toast and drink a little bit of tea, but she found couldn't keep it down. He did manage to get her to eat a popsicle before she fell asleep on the couch. He grabbed a blanket from the closet and gently placed it on her. He knelt down and lovingly brushed a few stray brown curls out of her eyes. He softly kissed her cheek. He was really starting to get concerned about her. If she continued this, he knew she would become dehydrated soon, which wasn't good for either her or the baby. He hated seeing her so sick. What made it worse was that he knew it was partly his fault.

As Castle was putting away the Chinese food in the refrigerator, he heard a knock at the door again. He answered it and was completely surprised and shocked to come face to face with Meredith. Before he could even protest, she was through the door. She grabbed him roughly by his face and savagely kissed him, like a starving tigress. She tightly grabbed the lapels of his shirt and forcefully pushed him into the door, slamming it shut.

Unfortunately, the noise jerked Kate awake. She jumped up quickly from where she was sleeping on the couch, just in time to see Meredith rip Castle's shirt completely off and kiss him ravenously again.

"Hey!" Kate yelled.

Castle immediately jumped away from the door and absentmindedly rubbed his lips. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, except he was much, much more nervous.

"What the hell are you doin?" Kate's voice was condescending and had an edge to it like she was interrogating a suspect. Even though she couldn't remember being a detective, Castle thought she sure sounded like one.

"She...then she...it wasn't my fault." He paused, then uncomfortably and meekly added, "Kate...uh...Meet my first ex-wife, Meredith."

Meredith was definitely not pleased and huffed indignantly, "Rick, what is she doing here? I was hoping we could try for top ten, kitten." She reached out to run her finger seductively down Castle's chest. He immediately backed away and shuddered with a cold chill when he heard Kate's angry voice.

"She had an accident. She doesn't remember the past few years of her life. She didn't just show up at Rick's door, uninvited."

Meredith sneered and glared directly at Castle. "So what? She had an accident. Seems fine to me. Why isn't she at her own apartment?"

Kate lost all control and her eyes shot daggers at Meredith. Her voice was cold and direct, "Because she is pregnant with his child."

Meredith saw red, and her fiery eyes switched their glare from Castle to Kate. "Well, well, well. I guess congratulations are in order. You finally figured out how to trap him. It was relatively easy, wasn't it, Kate? All you needed to do was saddle him with your bastard child. Good job." She clapped her hands in applause. "What you fail to realize is that you're just another bimbo in a rather long line of bimbos."

Castle roughly grabbed Meredith's arm and snarled, "Enough. I mean it. You will talk to Kate with respect. She is the mother of my child."

"I am too. Or did that slip your mind? I can't believe you could be so irresponsible," she snapped.

"I said enough. I won't say it again, Meredith. Don't try my patience."

"Well, I never..."

Kate interrupted her. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists at her sides. She was shaking with fury, and her pregnancy hormones were kicked into overdrive. "And you won't again if I have anything to say about it. It's been a long day. I've had morning sickness all day from being pregnant with his child, which I'm sure you can sympathize with. I've butted heads with his second ex-wife, and now with his first." Kate's hand went up to her stomach. She looked pale and edgy. "I'm going to go puke my guts out for the fifth time today. When I get out of the bathroom, I expect for you to have the common decency to be gone. If not, I'll kick your bony little ass out myself."

Kate's hand went over her mouth, and she made another mad dash to the bathroom.

After Kate left the room, Meredith turned to face Castle and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Rick, are you going to let her talk to me like that?"

"You heard the lady. I'd advise you to get moving before she comes back."

After Meredith stormed out in a huff, Castle went to check on Kate. He found her with her elbow on the side of the commode. Her head was resting on it, and she looked utterly miserable.

"That's it. I'm taking you to ER."

"No. You're. Not."

"Kate, morning sickness is one thing, but you've been sick all day and have barely been able to keep anything down. You look dehydrated. You need to go to ER."

Kate hissed, "Listen to me and listen good. I didn't fight you about staying here. I've put up with both of your ex-wives today. I'm exhausted. All I want to do is sleep, and that's what I'm going to do. If you get in my way, you'll be sorry."

"I'll let it go for now, but if you get sick again, you're going to ER. I don't care if I have to carry you there kicking and screaming. Now, let's go to bed."

As Castle turned the covers down, Kate defiantly started to walk out of the bedroom. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"The last time I looked, partner doesn't mean wife. I'll be sleeping upstairs in the guest room. Isn't that where guests are supposed to stay? We wouldn't want to be irresponsible, kitten." She angrily glared at him for a second before she furiously crossed the room. "Oh hell."

She grabbed his face in her hands and savagely claimed his lips. Castle almost fell backwards from the force of it, but she held his lips steady to hers. The kiss was rough and hot. She bit his lower lip, and even though it stung, he granted her entrance into his mouth. Her tongue ravaged his mouth, taking all and giving none. When she was done, she abruptly pulled away and glared at him again before she slammed the door on her way out.

For a moment, Castle just stood there, dumbfounded. He started to go after her, but decided it might be better to leave her alone for now.

Oh, Kate was jealous. She was definitely jealous.

Two down, one more to go. Don't be too concerned about the morning sickness. How else would she end up making a quick trip to the ER where Josh is filling in? ;) Things are definitely going to heat up! I haven't forgot about her seeing the scar or the book signing. I plan on dealing with them soon. Thanks for reading!

Please review! It motivates me to update sooner.