A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm still just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

Rick had always been cautious because he was different. Don't try too hard, don't move too fast, never volunteer the answer. That had served him well in school but in adult life, only most of the time. Sometimes he needed to do his best for someone else, like Beckett. Especially Beckett. By the time he had invited her to the Hamptons, he knew he was in over his head with her. The fact that she dumped Demming and came with him changed his world. Sometimes he would worry but mostly it was just so totally awesome.

He was still circumspect with her though, it was too ingrained into his nature to open up to her fully. Mainly it was revealing all of what made him different. Just thinking about it freaked him out about as badly as he would expect her to be. However, when the time came, she must have been so accustomed to him being different that she was only surprised; there was no freaking out at all. She even challenged the last remaining barrier he'd had.

He was never sure why, sometimes he just felt that some things were risky or a bad idea with no clear reason why. One of those had been about having unprotected sex. He had always consistently used condoms without knowing why. However, when she brought it up and he waited for that feeling to return, it didn't. Maybe he had been using protection for no reason or maybe it was suddenly all right with her. Maybe it was just a matter of breaking down the last barrier. He didn't know and now he didn't care. They were finally at a place where they could fully commit to each other. He had no secrets left and if she still wanted her 'one and done' in him, it was now possible. There was still one obstacle left: the dragon. That guy had to go down and sooner was better.

He woke the next morning when Kate apparently became restless with a dream. He just watched her as she settled down and looked so peaceful in her sleep. He was caught watching a few minutes later as her eyes fluttered open and her muttered "Creepy" was contradicted by her big smile. He returned her smile and her cheeks became a bit red before she reached over and pulled him in for a kiss.

He was in such a good mood and her apparent good mood just made everything seem perfect. Even her energy level seemed up and if such things happened to him, he would have had sore muscles from smiling so much. She gave him a look when he insisted on coming along for her trip to her apartment but his return look made her give up and just accept it. Her only objection was eliminated as he was capable of protecting her and wasn't at much risk while doing so.

Rick was on even higher alert as he went with her to her place, otherwise he might have missed the fact that something was different. He normally ignored the electromagnetic energy all around him as being just so much noise. However, he noticed an unusual pattern coming from her coffee table. Since there didn't appear to be anything electronic there, it certainly made him curious.

She had said something about what she was going to do but he had been so distracted that he didn't catch what she had said. She was looking at him curiously and about to ask him something when he held up his finger to his lips and moved silently toward her coffee table and after scanning the top he got down on his knees to peer under it and froze in surprise. When Kate silently joined him he pointed at the bug planted under the table and she gave him a shocked look.

He mouthed 'act normal' to her as they both got up and as Kate gathered up some of her things, he continued to peer around and found another one hidden on top of her kitchen cupboard and one under her dresser in her bedroom. Kate played her role well with some chatter that he would respond to as necessary.

Once they were out in the hall she gestured at her purse and the bag she had packed with a questioning look. He hadn't noticed anything but checked anyway and finally spoke up. "There's nothing." She started walking back towards his car before speaking herself.

"They bugged me! I can't believe it. Are they new or have they been listening to me for a while?"

"The glue was new, I'd say they were placed last night."

She gave him a curious look and asked, "Let me guess, super smell too?" His response was a shy shrug and hers was a smile and taking his hand.

On the way back, they discussed the possibilities of tracking who was listening but since the devices where omnidirectional there were a lot of possible locations to check although he guessed the range of the devices was not great. He was about to unlock his door when he heard someone in the loft. Under normal circumstances he would only verify it was his mother but he was going to treat this as a possible invader. He whispered "We have company", unlocked the door and ran up the stairs as quickly as he could. He saw a very surprised man about to leave through the window but he grabbed him and hurled him across the room before the man could even blink. His concern and urgency made him react more forcefully than he would have normally.

Unfortunately, the man appeared to be unconscious but he tried to get something from his mind anyway, just in case he got lucky. Kate appeared as he tried and several seconds later, he gave up.

"Did you get anything?"

"Maybe. I accidently knocked him out; it's harder when they are unconscious. I tried to get who he worked for and all I got was the name Lazarus."

"That sounds like an alias. Unfortunately, I've never heard of him."

He tried to tidy up anything that would make it obvious what he had done while Kate called dispatch about having an unconscious suspect in a break-in. Rick tried to hide his embarrassment while a couple of emergency technicians checked out the slowly recovering man. Fortunately, he was not inclined to speak of how he'd been captured so Rick hoped that meant he didn't remember. He wasn't too worried about people believing a suspect but it was much better for the subject of his speed and strength to not come up at all.

Fortunately, the robbery detective who showed up was not Demming and since it looked like the man had intended to plant bugs rather than to rob Castle, he didn't seem particularly interested in the case either. Once they were gone, Rick found and removed bugs from his office, living room and kitchen. Since they'd know their man had been caught, there was no reason to leave them around. The man must have entered soon after they left and Rick was disappointed in himself that he hadn't noticed they were being watched. He had to do a better job of looking out for Kate.