A/N: Thank you for the reviews! It really does inspire me. I enjoy writing this series! Hence the quick update.

Okay so this chapter is a little less fluffy, but don't worry there is fluff to be had... I wanted to write something where they experience some conflict; no one is perfect or happy all the time. Result - this chapter.

Enjoy!

Castle is some really talented guy's property. Not mine.

Chapter 9 – Guardian

"Kate!" Rick's voice boomed through the empty bullpen as he stomped towards where she was sitting at her desk. She stiffened at the sound and winced inwardly. 'Oh crap' she thought in apprehension as she looked up from her desk, seeing his angry disposition.

It was 22h40 and Kate was finishing up paperwork while Rick had been in a meeting with Paula and Gina. Even though she intended to be home much earlier, she had lost track of time. And now she was in trouble. Big trouble.

"Heeyyy sweetie," she started with a smile, in an attempt to coax him; their roles, for the time being, reversed.

"What are you still doing here?" Rick ignored her greeting, his face contorting in fury and his eyes flashing with rage.

"Uhmmm, just paperwork." She shrugged apologetically.

"Dammit Kate! We had an agreement!" he seethed, gesturing angrily with his hands.

"I'm sor-" she started to apologize.

"You were supposed to be at home by now! In bed! Asleep!"

"Rick, I'm sorry." She got up, her shoulders slumped a little while his large frame towered over her small one. Richard Castle could be physically intimidating and a little terrifying if he was in the right, or rather, wrong mood.

He turned and looked away from her, pursing his lips together and frowning; his hands placed on his hips. She had never seen him this angry with her before. A few moments of silence passed before Kate dared to speak again.

"I- I thought that while you were meeting with Gina and Paula that I'd stay a little later to finish up some paperwork." Her voice was soft; her eyes darting downward as she edged closer to him. He turned to look at her, his expression still serious, but the fury in his eyes cooling down upon hearing her soft, almost vulnerable voice.

"I lost track of time… I- I'm sorry, honey." She looked up at him, gently resting her hands on his chest. This caused his anger to almost dissolve completely. He took in a breath before speaking again.

"Have you eaten something?" Kate looked up at him a little alarmed, knowing that her answer might enrage him again.

"Uhh," she started with a nervous laugh. "I- I had something… this afternoon." His face grew taut again as his jaw clenched while his lips pursed together once more.

"Katherine Castle… I- you," he spurted out, shaking his head and pointing an angry finger at her; his eyes regaining their furious blaze.

"I'm sorry! Please don't look at me like that. Please honey," she begged whiningly, giving him her best little-girl-lost look. Rick felt his heart melt and anger turn into mild agitation. He sighed heavily before speaking again.

"Who am I kiddin'? I can't stay mad at you." He gave Kate a tentative smile before drawing her into a hug.

"C'mon, let's get you something to eat… But just so we're clear, you're not off the hook yet," Rick said, breaking from the embrace and holding her slightly away from him.

"Okay, okay," Kate said, breaking from his hold and picking up her jacket and bag. "It won't happen again," she promised as they walked toward the elevator.

"Yeah, well it better not," Rick mumbled, draping an arm around her shoulders. 'I'll make sure it doesn't,' he thought as the elevator doors closed.

XXXX

18h00. Kate Castle was home by 18h00 on a work day. Correction, she was ordered to go home by Cpt. Montgomery. And she was livid. Enraged. Furious.

'Rick had NO right!' she thought angrily while forcefully plucking out pots and pans to make dinner. Rick was not home yet; he had another meeting with Gina that afternoon to discuss the launch of his latest Nikki Heat novel. His absence only caused her anger to simmer and boil, while she took it out out on unsuspecting onions and innocent tomatoes.

18h20. Rick walked in to discover, much to his delight, that his lovely wife was home for once before 21h00. Taking off his jacket, he walked into the kitchen where she was busy.

"Hey honey," Rick greeted with a broad smile.

Chop! chop! chop!

"Hey," Kate replied stiffly, keeping her eyes on the counter while continuing to brutalise the vegetables in front of her. Rick moved around the counter to stand behind her, nuzzling her neck. He did not notice how she tensed at the touch.

"You're home early," he said, giving Kate a light kiss in her neck. She only nodded in reply. "Let me help you with that." Rick attempted to take a knife and help her chop the vegetables.

"I'm pregnant, Rick. Not an invalid," Kate snapped quietly, struggling to keep her emotions in check. "I can do it myself," she continued, slightly pushing him out of the way to reach a bowl.

"O-kay." His brow furrowed slightly at her reaction. 'Probably just hormones'. He opted to rather move to the other side to sit on one of the stools.

"So... how was your day?" He attempted again, seeing that she was not in the best of moods.

"Fine." Came the cool reply as Kate kept her eyes fixed in front of her. There were a few moments of deafening silence.

"Uhmm, you know, usually when someone asks how your day was, you ask them how their day was." Rick shifted in his chair, starting to feel a little irritated.

"Alright." Kate abruptly stopped with what she was doing and looked up at him, placing her hands flat on the counter and leaning forward. "Honey, how was your day?" She asked spitefully, giving Rick a challenging look.

He watched her siliently for a few seconds, sensing that the battle lines were being drawn. He, however, did not know why they were being drawn.

"Did I miss something here, Kate?"

"Do you know why I'm home earlier than usual?" She ignored his question while she snapped spaghetti into the pot with boiling hot water on the stove. Without giving him a chance to respond, she answered. "Montgomery sent me home." She moved to stand at the counter again. "Rick, he ordered me to come home." She looked up at him again, narrowing her eyes slightly and clenching her jaw. Kate Castle was a woman who could get quite angry, given the right circumstances. Add pregnancy hormones and you got yourself one scary lady... with a gun.

"Oh," Rick thought with a sigh. "This isn't good'. He shifted again on the stool and squared his shoulders.

"Well, you have been working hard, honey. I don't think it's such a bad thing. Do you?" He said casually before popping a grape from the fruit bowl into his mouth. He held her gaze, sending a message that he was not about to back down.

"Did you talk to him?" Kate cut to the chase, looking him straight in the eye; her green eyes flashing. Rick sat back in his chair and folded his arms, still holding her gaze.

"Yes, I did," he replied unapologetically. Her face tightened and her eyes grew wide, her pupils dilating.

"You had no right!" she hissed harshly.

"I had every right!" Rick snapped angrily, simultaneously getting off the stool.

"You talked to my boss behind my back!"

"Yes I did and I'm not apologizing for that!"

"You. Had. NO. Right!" Kate basically yelled, her face flushed and her features animated. The tension had now grown into a full-blown fight; dinner forgotten.

"What the hell was I suppose to do? You are working twelve to fifteen hour days. You are constantly tired! Exhausted!" Rick hit back, his blue eyes pools of fury. "You don't listen to me... So, yes, I talked to Montgomery."

"I can take care of myself! I don't need you to wrap me up in cotton, Rick!"

"You are now more vulnerable than ever!"

"I'm coping!"

"You are five months pregnant for God's sake!" He screamed, blind with anger.

"I'm pregnant, not sick!" Kate shouted back, matching his rage. There were a few moments of silence. "I wish that everyone would just stop treating me like some fragile porcelain doll," Kate said in a softened tone, her eyes focused on the kitchen counter.

"And I wish that you would realise that you're not Superwoman" Rick retorted. "You can't catch every murderer in New York, Kate" he continued with Kate shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm just trying to do my job," she replied, frustration audible in her tone.

"Yeah, I know," Rick said while taking up his jacket. "And I'm just trying to protect the mother of my child," he continued before walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Kate called angrily, moving out of the kitchen.

"I'm going for a walk," Rick retorted sharply, matching her agitation. "To cool down and give you and your hormones a chance to do the same." He flung the door open and walked out, hearing it shut cruelly as he made his way down the corridor.

XXXX

Rick brushed past strangers in a busy street, hands tucked deeply into his pockets as the cool wind swirled around him and nipped at his body. He was deep in thought, still processing the events of the evening. Somewhere between buying a cheap (and horrid) cup of coffee and finding a bench in the park, Rick allowed his mind to drift to an unhappy memory. To the memory in which he realised that he loved her.

The only sound in the room was the rhythmic beep of the heart monitor, telling him that she was still alive. Still there. Still fighting. He held onto her hand for his own sanity, not taking his eyes off her. In some irrational way, Rick Castle believed that Kate Beckett would somehow open her eyes if he kept his fixed on her. Even with two bullets to the abdomen, excruciating life-saving surgery and pipes flowing out of her throat, Kate was still breathtakingly beautiful. To him anyway. He, on the other hand, looked terrible - dishevelled, unshaven, pale, red-eyed and exhausted. But he couldn't drag himself away; he couldn't reliquish the hope that she would open her green eyes and look at him.

"Hey Rick..." Cpt. Montgomery greeted softly stepping into the room. "I brought some coffee." His face contorted again upon seeing his finest detective - and surrogate daughter - lying passively on the hospital bed.

"Thanks," Rick mumbled absent-mindedly, still keeping his eyes on Kate. Still hoping. Montgomery cringed inwardly as he watched Rick and the haunted expression he wore. The day had started out pretty normally - a body, a murder, a few leads. It ended with Kate Beckett fighting for her life.

"How's she doing?" Montgomery asked, taking a seat on the opposite end from where Rick was sitting.

"The same. She's..." Rick trailed off. Eyes religiously focused on her. Still hoping. But by now also praying. Hope wasn't enough anymore.

There were a few moments of silence.

"It wasn't your fault, Castle," Roy said quietly. Rick's eyes briefly flickered in the other man's direction. He didn't respond.

"Did you hear me?" Montgomery leaned forward in his seat. "It wasn't your fault," he continued more forcefully, slowly rolling the words from his tongue.

"It is," Rick snapped, looking up at the other man. "Because of me, she's lying here... Because of me, she's fighting for her life," he continued gritting his teeth. Eyes on her again. Praying. Pleading. Hoping.

"You didn't pull the trigger," Montgomery responded softly. "What she did was brave."

"What she did was stupid," Rick interrupted sharply, still looking at a motionless and eerily serene Kate Beckett.

"She saved your life." Rick stiffened at this before slowly turning his head in the Captain's direction.

"Yeah..." He mused sadly, nodding his head. "But I'm the one who should be lying here. Not her." He glanced down at her again, still hoping. "She's too good for this," he whispered, tears starting to blur his vision. He gently brushed strands of unruly hair away from her forehead.

"Yeah- yes she is," Montgomery conceded after a few moments, his voice a little shaky with emotion. Consequently, he got up from his seat and made his way towards the door. Before exiting, he turned to Rick.

"I'll be back in a minute...Take care of her, Castle."

"I will."

Blue eyes still glued on her. Praying. Pleading. And always hoping. Not just that she would wake up, but that she would be able to hear what he was about to confess.

"I love you."

XXXX

The door clicked shut softly as Rick stepped into darkness. It was past 20h00 when he got back from his walk, carrying two cups of ice creams.

"Kate!" he called out, making sure that she wasn't downstairs before ascending the stairs.

Light streamed out from underneath their bedroom door and relief flooded him. He gently nudged the slightly ajar door open to reveal a sniffling and red-eyed Kate, her knees pulled up tightly against her pregnant stomach. Rick noticed the large teddy bear he had bought for the baby lying next to her as well as a multitude of used tissues. His heart recoiled at the scene - he hated it when she cried. Even more so when she cried because of him.

They silently observed each other for a few moments before Rick walked towards the bed.

"Hey."

"Hey." The quiet, remorseful greetings came.

"I brought ice cream," he said gently, lifting the evidence with a small smile. Kate only returned a weak smile. He placed it on the bed stand near to him before sitting down next to Kate, facing her. They sat in silence for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Do you know when I realised that I loved you? Really, really loved you?" His voice was soft and gentle; his eyes fixed on where his hand was caressing hers. Without giving her a chance to respond, he continued. "The day you were lying in that hospital bed after the McKenzie case, fighting for your life." He glanced up at her, catching her gaze. "I knew that I loved you because... I wanted to lie there in your place. I wanted it to be me with the pain, not you. Me with the scars, not you," he continued, his brow furrowing as his eyes became slightly moist. Kate listened in silence, tears threatening to spill over the threshold of her eyes.

"I'm sorry about going behind your back-"

"Rick, I-" Kate interrupted him, looking at him with desperate, wet eyes. He held up his hand to stop her.

"Let me finish," he said gently. "I'm sorry for what I did. I handled it the wrong way." He kept quiet for a few moments, gathering his thoughts before continuing softly. "I know you can look after yourself... That's one of the things that attracted me to you the most. You are a strong, stubborn woman." He gave her a tender smile, before scooting a little closer to her.

"But, Katie, you're not Superwoman." He looked at her, lifting her chin in order to meet her eyes. "Let me take care of you once in a while... I'm your husband, I want to feel that I'm at least protecting you a little bit." He smiled at her. "Even if it only means that I make sure you get enough sleep and eat regurarly." Kate smiled at this through the tears. "Okay?" He dipped his head slightly, locking his eyes with hers. She only nodded meekly in reply.

"I'm sorry." Her soft reply came as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I love you."

"Me too, sweetie" Rick pulled her into a tight embrace, planting kisses on her temple.

"These pregnancy hormones are really kicking your ass," he said with a laugh as she pulled away from him, tears still dripping over her face.

"I know," she said, unable to contain her bawling. "I don't know what to do." Rick couldn't contain an amused smile from spreading cross his face as he watched his wife sob through a fit of hiccups. He gently rubbed a thumb over her tear-stained cheek before leaning down for a gentle kiss.

"Here, eat your ice cream," he said, handing Kate the cup with her favourite ice-cream: rocky road. "It'll make you feel better."

He went on to sit against the headboard with Kate cuddling up against him, her head resting in the nook of his arm while they ate their ice creams in silence.

"Thank you, honey," she said after a few minutes of quietness, tilting her head upwards to look at him. "Thank you for taking care of me." He smiled at that before leaning down for a deep kiss.

Rick wrapped his arms around her protectively, drawing her body closer to his.

"Thank you for letting me."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. I liked writing this chapter, as with everyone I write. If you have anything you want to see in this series, let me know.

Review please!

Thanks for reading :-)