"Come on, Beckett. You've got to eat," Rick pleaded.
"I'm not hungry."
"You need your strength," he tried.
"I'm going to eat it and throw it all back up. I don't want it, Castle."
"What about some wonton soup? Lanie said you like that when you're sick. You can just sip the broth."
"Lanie said that? When?"
"When I begged her for any advice. I tried to stick to what she said."
Kate let a soft smile slip. "You did that? For me?" She asked in a congested voice.
"Of course, I was worried sick." He took in her congestion and red nose. "I'm still worried sick…"
"I'm fine."
"You won't get better if you don't eat. Please? For me?"
Kate could see the concern written on his face. She had no appetite but she couldn't stand to worry him any more. "Okay. Some soup."
"Thank you," Castle whispered before leaving his bedroom to order food.
By the time the food arrived Kate had fallen back asleep, her head on Castle's chest. Every so often she'd lift her head to cough but always fell right back to sleep.
He stayed still for hours, afraid to wake her. This was the first she'd slept soundly in days. He thought of that first night, of her words. I love you. Even if it was the fever talking, he knew it was the truth. He felt it. He'd always felt it, that feeling that they belong together. He just needed to make Kate feel that.
"Castle?" Kate asked. She felt disoriented and weak. She didn't know how much time had passed but it was now dark.
"You're up. How do you feel?" When she sat up, he repositioned himself; he had stayed still the entire time she slept and was now stiff.
"Hungry," she admitted. "But a little better." She thought for a moment, "You let me sleep on you that entire time. Why didn't you wake me?"
"You slept a solid six hours. That's more than you've slept since you got here. You needed the sleep more than I needed to stretch out. Besides, you make the cutest noise when you sleep…"
"You didn't have to do all that, Castle. Thank you."
"I didn't do it out of obligation," he said softly.
"I know," she whispered softly. Her stomach growled loudly, making her blush.
"Let's get you some food, hmm?" Kate stood to follow him out to the kitchen. "Oh, hey I'll bring it to you. Stay in bed."
Castle returned carrying a serving tray with wonton soup, ginger ale and some jello. "There's plenty more," he added as he placed the tray down in front of her.
"This is … thank you…I don't know how to…"
"All good, Beckett."
Castle could feel his brow furrowing when Kate stopped eating. He knew she had little appetite because of the flu but he had hoped she'd eat a little more. He made a mental note to keep an eye on that.
"I was going to watch the baseball game," he started when she'd finished her food. "I'll let you sleep in here and I'll crash on the couch…"
"You can stay in here," she offered. "I've done so much sleeping lately it would be nice to just watch some TV."
"Yeah?" He tried to hide his excitement at the idea of spending more time with Kate. He needed to prove to Kate he could be more than a confirmed bachelor; he hoped things like watching TV together would help her see what their life could be like. He also hoped it would give him an opening to tell her that she'd confessed her love for him.
"And Castle? You don't have to sleep on the couch." Castle couldn't stop the wide grin that stretched across his face. She was inviting him to share a bed. Again. He'd have one more night to hold her, feel her body pressed against him and smell the intoxicating scent of her shampoo.
They sat in bed watching the game. Kate had water but Castle had a beer. She occasionally snagged a piece of his popcorn. With the courage from alcohol, Castle wrapped an arm around Kate's shoulders. She gave him a nervous smile but inched closer to him, close enough for their bodies to rest against each other.
He gave her nighttime flu medicine; she didn't even last a half hour before falling back asleep. She was half sitting up with her head on Castle's shoulder.
Castle slid away from Kate, easing her until she was laying down. When he was on the other side of the bed Kate rolled closer to him without waking.
Kate didn't know how long she slept, but Castle was still watching TV when she woke, only this time he watched a black and white mobster movie. "I didn't expect to sleep so much," she admitted sheepishly.
"You're sick, Beckett. You need the sleep to recover."
"You're really good at this."
"At what?"
"Taking care of me," she divulged. She saw the conflict in his face and wondered if she'd said something wrong. "What is it? What happened?" She asked, growing serious.
"I've been searching for a perfect opening to say this but I can't pretend any longer—"
"Castle, you're scaring me…"
"You told me you love me…"
"That's not funny," she whispered.
"Kate—"
"I didn't say that. I wouldn't say that…" Castle would have taken this as a monumental defeat except that the truth was written all over Kate's face. She no longer had her detective poker face. Her eyes were wide and glassy and her lower lip quivered.
"Why wouldn't you say it? Because it's not true or because you can't let your guard down?" He challenged, refusing to let her slip through his fingers again.
"Rick," she whispered but couldn't think of anything else to say. He was right. She knew instantly that she'd said those words. She knew that she felt those words.
Castle took a few steps, closing the gap between the two of them. "If I kissed you right now what would you do?"
"You'll get sick," she reminded him. "It's not worth it."
Castle couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud at her words. "You still don't get it, do you? It's worth it, Kate. You're worth it. And I think we are worth it." Before she had a chance to challenge him, his lips were on hers. Crashing into her and connecting them. Her hand made its way to the back of his neck where she squeezed gently as she kissed him.
"You're going to get sick," she repeated when they came up for air.
"It's worth it. This is worth it."
