A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and alerts, much appreciated. So this is the second installment of the one-shot series. This one is a little more humorous than fluffy. Hope you enjoy it.

Castle, unfortunately, is not mine.

Chapter 2 - Valentine's Day

There were a few things Kate Castle would never admit publically. This included the massive crush she had on Vanilla Ice when she was a teenager, how funny she found her husband's silly antics and how much she actually enjoyed Valentine's Day. Yes, Kate Castle, homicide detective and realist to the point of being a cynic actually liked receiving overpriced flowers, a corny card, fluffy teddy bears and expensive chocolate. She was a woman after all. Therefore, when she awoke the fateful morning of February the 14th, the expectation was that her husband – the undying romantic – would shower her with gifts, or at least make heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. With this in mind, Kate – after getting ready for work – made her way down to the kitchen in order to see whether Rick was indeed busy with the creation of heart-shaped pancakes. Instead of finding him engaged in this domestic chore, there was no activity in the kitchen. Not even the coffee machine was turned on. Scanning the surroundings, Kate also did not see the big bouquet of flowers she had anticipated nor the fluffy teddy bears or the expensive box of chocolates. Her brow furrowed slightly at this as she stood puzzled in the living room. Knowing her husband was probably in his office typing away, she walked to the study.

"Morning," Kate greeted brightly as she made her way towards where Rick was sitting at his desk. His was still in his pajamas, hair standing in every direction making him look more mischievous than usual. He was typing furiously as storylines for his fourth Nikki Heat novel ran through his mind. For the last few days, Kate would wake up alone in their bed and find Rick working in his office; his writer's block seemingly a thing of the past.

"Hey hon," he greeted only removing his eyes briefly from the screen to look at Kate. She made her way around his chair and wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind, she bent down and gave him a peck on his stubbled cheek. Rick took in a breath, smelling the cherry scent coming from her with a whisper of a smile forming on his lips. She stood up straight and looked down at the computer screen where words were turned into paragraphs, paragraphs into pages and pages into chapters. Even before they met, Kate loved Rick Castle's books - the plotlines, the characters, the authenticity and most of all the insight that he had shown into the psyche of murder. Now that she knew the man behind the books, she was even more amazed by how he weaved the different elements together to create a story. Adding to this, she had also become part of the process. In fact she was the muse - a title Kate had become immensely proud of.

"So, how is it coming along?" Kate asked while affectionately running a hand through his disheveled hair.

"Uhh... great. Good enough to keep Gina off my back. I got a great idea for a new twist. So seems like inspiration finally hit me." Rick continued to type as Kate made her way to the edge of the desk, proceeding to half-sit on it.

"Okay, I'm glad... Even if it means I wake up alone every morning. If I didn't know better I would've thought that you were having an affair with Nikki," she replied smiling at him playfully.

"Ooh, am I sensing jealousy KC?" Rick looked up at her and gave her a sly smile.

"In your dreams... kitten," Kate said flirtatiously leaning forward towards him.

"In my dreams Detective, you're naked and there's whipped cream involved," Rick quickly said with a smirk, earning an eye-roll from his wife.

"Is that all you ever think about?" she asked with a slight chuckle.

"Well what do you expect me to think about when you come in here to distract me?" Rick leaned back in his chair and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. "Shouldn't you be at the office? Fighting crime?" Kate, still expecting a Valentine's gift or some sort of gesture along those lines, quirked one of her eyebrows up in surprise.

"Wow, can't wait to get rid of me, huh?" she replied careful not to indicate that she, tough detective, was actually waiting for her husband to pull out some corny gift.

"With you around I will only be thinking about us being naked with whipped cream," Rick replied with a mischievous smile. "Or better yet - body chocolate!" His eyes lit up as the idea crossed his mind earning yet another eye-roll from Kate.

"Okay, okay. I'm going." Kate held up her hands, realising Rick probably forgot all about Valentine's Day. "I'll see you later." She leaned in for a lingering kiss before walking out of the office.

Hearing the front door shut, a sly smile slowly formed on Rick Castle lips. "It should be there by now," he thought glancing at his watch.

XXXXX

Kate walked through the doors of the bull-pen still feeling a little disappointed that Rick had forgotten about Valentine's Day. It also didn't help to see heart-shaped balloons and fat cupids everywhere. But as she walked past a few uniforms and other officers she noticed everyone gazing at her and the odd one - usually a woman - smiling at her strangely.

Then she saw it. On her desk a basket with a massive bouquet of red roses and balloons attached to it. Next to it there was box of chocolates and a fluffy bear. Kate could feel the heat rise to her cheeks at this very public display of affection. And she also knew who was responsible - the incorrigible, 9-year-old-on-a-sugar-rush, man-child love of her life. Seeing Ryan and Esposito smirking at her as she approached her desk, Kate felt her cheeks glow with even more heat.

"Hi guys," she mumbled, trying to hide her obvious embarassment. She knew that they would have a field-day with this.

"Well hello Detective Beckett. Such a lovely morning, don't you think?" Esposito greeted with a grin.

"Love just seems to be in the air, doesn't it?" Ryan quipped with a smirk, gesturing with his hands toward the balloons.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay.. so I have a huge bouquet of roses, balloons, chocolate and a... fluffy bear on my desk," Kate said with a slight frown as she picked up the teddy bear. "What's the big deal?"

"We would have never have guessed you to be a Valentine's Day-type of girl, Beckett," Esposito added still grinning at her. Kate just rolled her eyes and shook her head as she searched for a card in the flower arrangement.

"Or one of those women who liked, a-hem, fluffy teddy bears," Ryan said picking up the teddy bear.

"Shut up," Kate murmured as she snatched the teddy bear from Ryan. "You know how Castle can be."

"Hey Esposito have you ever done anything like this for a girl?"

"No," Esposito answered with a contemptous snort. "Bet you have though."

"Nah, maybe just roses. I don't do Valentine's Day, man," Ryan answered, trying to sound a little more macho than usual.

"Oh really Kevin? What about last year when you got Jenny a bag full of teddy bears and she got you the coffee mug with 'world's greatest husband' on it?" Kate asked with a raised eyebrow causing Ryan to blush crimson red and Esposito to burst out in laughter. After Esposito calmed himself, Kate continued.

"By the way, Javier, Lanie told me about the dozen roses and her favourite Belgium chocolate she got. Very thoughtful of you." Kate smirked at him as the smile dropped from his face. "I think you boys have work to do," she added, still grinning at them. Her colleagues, considerably more humble now than a few moments before, made their way back to their desks.

Kate turned her attention to the card in her hands and opened it.

You thought I forgot, didn't you? Tsk, tsk. I know, despite your best efforts to deny it, Detective, how much you love V-day. Hence the PDA. And of course, it was done to brighten your day. Don't worry, KC, your secret is safe with me.

Love you,

RC

By the way - we're getting naked tonight! Sexy lingerie is mandatory.

Kate walked into the break room and punched in the familiar number, slightly biting her lower lip as a grin spread across her face.

"Morning Mrs. Castle. Miss me already?" Rick greeted smugly, a smirk audible in his voice.

"Ah, maybe.. a little. Anyway, I'm just calling to say that some nut desecrated my desk with flowers and teddy bears. It almost looks like Cupid threw up on it," Kate said, smiling unconsciously.

"Ahh no, sweetie. I'm sorry. Who would do such a thing?" Rick replied in mock seriousness.

"I don't know, I'm at a loss," Kate continued the joke. "But I'll tell you one thing-"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"If I get him, he's gonna pay," Kate said, lowering her tone.

"Oh, do tell, Detective," Rick replied excitedly, hearing the seductive tone in his wife's voice.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it, but I will only say this." Her voice dived a few decibels, taking on a husky tone. "- it involves Victoria's Secret and handcuffs. And I'm afraid it could get a little wild and kinky." Kate could practically hear Rick suck in a breath and swallowing hard. After a few moments of trying to gather himself, he replied with a slightly shaky voice.

"Don't forget the whipped cream."

A/N: Again, reviews will be appreciated. The next one will be a bit more angsty and more fluffy. Thanks for reading.