When he opens his eyes, he's pretty sure he's either still dreaming or he unknowingly took more painkillers than he thought and is hallucinating now. Face to face with him lies Kate Beckett. As beautiful as he remembers her. Her hair longer though, falling in soft locks around her face, making her look younger, softer – especially in her sleep. She's so close that her soft puffs stroke his lips like sweet kisses of air.

He's neither dreaming nor hallucinating. She's real. And fast asleep in his bed. 664 days of nothing and suddenly he wakes up to Kate Beckett fast asleep in his bed, only inches away from him.

and she kissed him! he suddenly remembers, almost screaming it out loud. But he doesn't want to wake her, judging by the dark circles under her eyes she needs all the sleep she can get before the boys or the captain appear to update them on the case. Knowing Beckett, she probably sneaked out again to tell the guys what he learned after she got him into bed… She … wait. She got him into bed. She undressed him, did she? He's lifting the blanket they share and looks underneath, seeing his boxer shorts. Oh. She did. And he also catches glimpses of her naked legs so close to his, making his breath catch.

He hears a soft chuckle, lifting his eyes again to hers still closed, but a smile tugs on her lips.

"Come on, Castle. Nothing you haven't seen and touched yesterday already. Several times." He inhales sharply at the memory of her soft skin under his hands, the feeling of being allowed to touch her gorgeous legs, something he never thought would happen outside a dream. But instantly regrets it as a stab of pain shoots through his chest. Damn, he almost forgot that he had some bruised ribs. Her sight in his bed made the pain bearable.

"What is it? Your ribs?" She props up on her elbow, leaning over, her hand hovering over him as if she wants to touch him but is not sure she's allowed to or hurts him.

"Yeah," he presses out and breathes shallowly to dull the pain. "Almost forgot."

"Let me get you something for the pain." She's out of bed before he can say anything, and then he's distracted by her long legs and her cute lace underwear printed with hearts. Huh. Kitten, the seductress, wears mesh stockings and a flimsy glitter bodysuit, Kate wears cute underwear. He kinda likes that more. She's back almost instantly with a glass of water and the package of oxycodone Giorgio's doc gave him.

"No, Beckett, I don't need them. They make my brain mush. We can't have this with the case." He knows that he whines like a little boy, but he really needs to solve the case before they can do something really bad and fire that bomb.

"Castle! You have three broken ribs and a broken arm, you need them."She glares at him, pointedly opening the package.

"They're not broken, just bruised. I'll take some vitamin I and it's fine." He tries to put her off, knows he probably should listen to her and take the stronger pills to get out of the bed because he has no idea how to move from his position, lying on his right side with the bruised ribs on his left side feels bearable for the moment if he doesn't breathe too deeply … but to get up, he has to roll on his back and then over on his left and he has no idea how he's supposed to survive that. And according to her look, she sees right through him and his dilemma.

"You told me this morning that you have three broken ribs, Castle. Don't lie to me." She crosses her arms before her chest, pressing her breasts up and he has to avert his gaze before this gets even more embarrassing.

"I did? Told ya that the pills make my brain mush," he tries to joke, but she doesn't laugh, instead she sinks onto the bed, hangs her head.

"I saw the bruising, Castle …" He wishes he could grab her hand, but lying on his right side, not willing to move because he knows that she'll insist on taking the oxycodone when she hears him scream in pain at the movement, he just weakly pads the space next to him to get her closer to him. She merely looks at him without moving, making him wonder if the kisses he clearly remembers mean anything at all or were just born from her relief that he's okay, they both are.

"Kate, I'm not lying. Giorgio's doc checked me through, did an x-ray of my chest. They are only bruised, I promise. But he said that I should cool them, so if you're so eager to take care of me, you could bring me some ice and I'll be good and lay still." At least until she's taking a shower or going up to get dressed and he can roll out of bed without her noticing the pain he's in.

With a sigh, she gets up to retrieve the icepack from the kitchen, probably remembering where he stores them from her time at his apartment after Scott Dunn and he cooled her bruises. He was so sure that something was building between them then, but she started something with Demming–

"Here you go," she says softly, carefully lifting his arm, causing thousands of stabs of pain shooting through his body, but he grits his teeth, not willing to let her see how much it pains him, while she places the pack on his side.

"Don't think I didn't notice how you crunched up your face," she scolds quietly, sending him a glare, her finger playing with the hard material of his cast. "I'm a trained detective, so stop trying to fool me. And I know how badly even just bruised rips hurt." He slowly lets out the breath he held trying to not jostle his ribcage too much. "And I also noticed that you haven't moved since you woke up."

He closes his eyes grumbling. "Okay, fine, it hurts. Happy?"

"No. I'm not happy that you are in pain, Castle. Why would I?" Her voice is small, her face turned away, making him feel guilty and sorry for snapping at her just because he's in pain. He's a bad patient, he hates being sick or in pain or as helpless as he feels right now.

"Are you okay?" he asks instead, the fingers of his broken arm snatching hers as they play with the hem of his cast, ignoring the jolt of pain running through his arm, already soothed by the feeling of her fingers between his. She simply shrugs, still not looking at him. "Your head?"

"Hurts a little, I feel slightly off, bit dizzy, not sure if it's from the impact or the sleep we got," she then says surprising him with her honesty and openness. When she looks at him all words escape him at the intensity of her gaze.

"Castle, I –" The doorbell rings at that moment, causing her to bite her lip and look at the ceiling. Probably cursing the universe, because he does it right now. It felt important, whatever she wanted to say. "Probably the guys with updates. I'll let them in. Rest, okay?"

Before he can protest, she already hurries away, grabbing his bathrobe on the way, leaving him alone and frustrated with his stupid injury. It's just some bruised ribs, nothing is broken, he should just suck it up like a man, get out of bed, and join them. The doc said as well that he should rest, give the bruising time to heal. Yeah, well, how's that supposed to work when they have a threat like that over their heads?

No, he needs to work with them on the case. He clamps the icepack between his arm and his ribs, grits his teeth, and prepares himself for the pain, contemplating if he should treat this like ripping off a bandaid. Fast or slow? What's causing him less pain?

Fast. He'll go with fast, takes a slow breath, prepares himself for the pain, and rolls over quickly. And instantly regrets it, the pain so piercing, that he can't stop his movement, drops from the bed landing hard on his knees, trying to catch himself with his arms before he falls over – forgetting the broken one and crying out in pain. The jolt of pain running through his arm, making his stomach roll.

"Caste? What happened?" Kate is almost instantly at his side, her hands flitting over his body as if searching for new injuries, but he doesn't want her pity, doesn't want her to see him so weak and clumsy, not able to leave the bed on his own because of some stupid bruises.

"I'm fine, just go, Beckett," he grunts through gritted teeth, his eyes squeezed shut from the pain and the embarrassment he feels.

"Gosh, what's it with men and their egos?" she scoffs and even with his eyes closed he can see her vividly rolling her eyes, but then her arm wraps around his unscathed side, her hand carefully draping his arm over her shoulders, her voice almost tenderly when she speaks again. "Come on, I know you won't listen to me, so let me help you up, go to the guys and let them bring us up to speed, okay?"

"I don't need your help," he grunts, feeling miserable. Way to impress the woman he loves.

"I know that you don't need it, Castle. But I want to help you. Let me, please?" Her breath is hot on his neck as she turns his head, probably to look at him, her nose connects with his chin, nudging him, causing his eyes to fly open in surprise, looking in her intense hazel eyes. How did they went from no physical contact 664 days ago, to absolutely no contact at all, to now this? Kissing, touching, sleeping together in his bed, half-naked, nuzzling her nose on his chin. She's been engaged to another guy until yesterday, for God's sake! Is he her rebound guy? Is that what this is? Does she need someone to not feel alone? Especially after the day they had yesterday?

"What do you want, Beckett?" his heart is pounding heavily in his chest when he voices his question, feeling how she tenses up at his side, her eyes widening, biting her lips, then licking it. She knows exactly what he means with this question, but she averts her eyes.

"Right now, I want to get you to the boys, so they can tell us what they found out, because I know that you won't rest either way. On three, slowly, okay?" She counts down before he can protest again and rises slowly with him, he's pulling her closer to endure the pain, probably almost squashing her. But she doesn't complain, drops her cheek on his chest instead, almost as if they were cuddling.

"I know it hurts, Castle. It's always worse in the mornings, but it'll get easier. I'll get you some painkillers when we reach the couch and you'll take them, okay?"

"How about you kissing my bruises better?", he grunts, half-joking, half-snaping at her for no reason other than his frustration. She doesn't answer and he shouldn't be so disappointed, he knew she wouldn't, didn't make him hope less though. He's moving forward towards the door, wincing at the first few steps at every stab of pain jolting through his ribs, but she was right, it does get a bit easier the more the movement loosens his stiff body.

The moment they reach the door, he holds onto the frame and untangles himself from her, the proximity too much for him now – and he doesn't want to look weak in front of the guys. He's a man, for god's sake. He's supposed to be strong, suck it up, gloat with his injuries instead of leaning on the woman he loves. Women want strong men who can protect them, not feeble ones who can barely walk on their own because of some stupid bruising. It's just bruising!

The pain is so sharp, he's trouble standing on his own, every breath piercing through his ribs like a thousand little knives. But he straightens up nonetheless, grits his teeth against his pain, and walks slowly through the door, ignoring her soft protest. He may walk slowly, he may bite his lip so hard he can taste blood, he may not be able to speak, but he's walking on his own. Kate hovering behind him as if she's expecting him to fall any second. Yeah, great.

He ignores the couch, though; the thought of sinking into the soft cushions makes him feel sick, especially when he has no idea how to get up again without making a fool of himself. The bar stools at the counter, on the other hand, look much more tempting and it's easier to get on and off them.

"Yo, Castle. Everything alright?" Espo looks at him, grinning, confusing him. He's not able to speak yet, the stools still too far away so he just nods and shuffles further.

"Yeah, you two had a good night?" Ryan chimes in, eyebrows raised, grinning as well. What's with them today? And does he look like he had a good night? He came home sometime after six and it's barely ten now, so no, of course, he didn't have a good night. He ignores them, finally reached the stools and slides on the closest to him, wincing when the cold surface of the stools touches his bare skin– Wait. Why is his bare ski– Oh. In all of this hustle to play the strong man, he completely forgot to put on pants.

No wonder why the boys are grinning. He's only dressed in a T-Shirt and boxer shorts, Beckett in a bathrobe, his bathrobe, both coming straight out of bed …

"Nothing happened, guys. You know how our night looked, so stop it." Beckett probably glares at them, he's still too focused on breathing with out the sharp pain in his ribs. Why do bruised ribs hurt as if they were broken? Maybe he should get them checked again, to make sure he didn't break them overnight. Or with his attempt to get out of bed. He heard that ribs can break by coughing. So what happens to already bruised ribs doing stupid things he just did?

Beckett steps into his kitchen, preparing coffee and breakfast, moving as if she never left two years ago, as if she belonged there. He hates how much he likes that, so he averts his gaze, examining the surface of his counter instead. Clean. Yeah. Good.

"So, what have you got?" She asks the boys, stepping into her leading detective role with ease, causing them to clear their throats and join him on the stools.

"The New Americans is a white supremacist party, there are some police reports about harassment, vandalizing stores of colored people, illegal demonstrating, minor assault, but nothing ever came out of it, no charges or anything. Speaks for friends in high places, if you ask me. No one's got them on their radar, though. Not the nicest people to be around, but nothing concerning to justify watching them." Beckett sighs at Espo's report, drawing Castle's attention back to her, she almost disappears in his robe, making his heart ache with longing.

"The same with Barkley and Dean Mason. Reports about minor assault and harassment on the father, stalking, harassment, and sexual assault for the son, but all charges were dropped. Nothing that we can use", Ryan ends almost apologetically, while Beckett rubs her forehead, whisk in her hand. God, she looks so beautiful right now. Her eyes find his as if he said it out loud. He didn't say it out loud, did he?

"What about the cleaning company?", she asks then, concentrating on whisking the pancake batter again.

"As clean as the work they do." Espo drops the files on the counter with a thud, his frustration visible.

"So, we're back at square one?" She sighs again, staring into the bowl, her forehead wrinkled. "It doesn't surprise me to be honest. These guys are smart and crazy, they wouldn't risk their plan by doing something stupid. Especially if they have friends in high places like Castle's source says. They have ears and hands everywhere to keep their work secret."

"And careful. If something or someone might endanger their plan, they just get rid of it. Giorgio said that one guy talked and instantly died in an accident. Probably your vic. You were too curious and I was at the wrong place at the wrong time and we both should've died in that car if you hadn't brought your weapon." Her eyes meet his, he can see the memory of their accident running through her mind, her eyes slightly widen, before she shakes it off and busies herself with his pan, the coffee machine gurgling in the background.

"What about the bug in the precinct? Any news on that?" Espo shakes his head.

"We found it in the Captain's office after we had some strange interference with one of the radios we used at the scene. We were just about to talk through everything that happened and how to continue with what you and what you found out. No one knows that you're still alive apart from this immediate family, the captain, and Lanie. Karpowski and L.T. covered your apartment, know anything officially apart from their involvement in the case. We have no idea who knows that the dancer Kitten was actually an NYPD detective and we had eyes on them the whole time. We have no idea what this will do to their plans, if they change them now, if they act sooner."

"They probably will", Castle interjects. "They've been keen on keeping it a secret; when they know that the police were onto them, they won't risk their work to be for nothing, so whatever is supposed to happen, it will happen fast."

"Agree," Kate says, turning over the first batch of deliciously looking pancakes, before putting a glass of water down in front of him, filling one for herself, and popping out two pills from a blister of painkillers that lay on the counter. One for him, one for her. She's looking at him raising an eyebrow, waiting for him to take it. He does with a huff, propping it into his mouth and washing it down with the water, giving her an annoyed look. Not missing the sweet little smile on her lips though.

"So what now, boss? Montgomery put details on the Masons, the cleaning company, and the club. But if they have people at the police, they probably know that they are being watched. Montgomery couldn't keep it a secret."

"How is he justifying using so many police resources without an actual lead?" Castle wonders, looking at the boys. He might've been away for two years, but he remembers clearly almost every case they had and how difficult it was to have someone watched. Ryan grins as he starts to inform them of the newest changes in their case.

"Lanie managed to finally prove that the accident was actually murder. She found painted wood in the wound that probably belonged to a bat. They also managed to reconstruct where he 'fell' into the river, not far from where you went in by the way and nothing there matched the wood in the wound."

"Lanie is a genius", Castle exclaims.

"Oh, yeah, bro, she is", Espo grinning proudly.

"But with that, Montgomery was able to inform the chief about our investigations, that Beckett was undercover and had the accident, just after she called in with new information. Knowing all that, your friend, the Mayor, insisted on having your death investigated in detail and pressured the chief into giving the captain all the resources he needed. But it gets better. They wanted to tow the car out of the hudson this morning – but it's missing." Ryan's eyes sparkle at that.

"The car is missing?" Kate almost drops the flipper, staring with an open mouth at Ryan.

"How can someone steal a car from the bottom of the Hudson?"

"No idea, bro. Montgomery is about to have a press conference to say that they are investigating a murder now." Castle looks at Espo, not sure yet what he should think about the new development in their case. Then a thought crosses his mind.

"Call Montgomery, tell them that the car was empty and is missing now, that we managed to get out–"

"Have you lost your mind?" Kate drops the flipper for real this time, almost tosses it away, pressing her hands on the counter, staring at him. "They are going to kill us just because we ruined their plans."

"Exactly. And we're prepared. Beckett, when they have the car, they must've watched the scene and they know that no one was rescued or that bodies have been recovered. They are probably familiar with police protocols, maybe even had their own officer at the scene. They stole the car to let us know that they know. Let Montgomery drop the act and tell them that we survived." She rounds the counter while he speaks, standing in front of him, hands on her hips, fury in her eyes.

"Castle, no… What about Martha? She could get in the crosshairs as well?"

"She left the loft at 5:30. I booked her a flight for 7 AM before I went to Giorgio. The moment, she lands, she and Alexis will be under the protection of someone I trust."

"You should go as well, Castle. Be with your family. It's our case. Our responsibility. You just stumbled into it by accident." Sorrow runs over her face, making her eyes glisten, her hand lifts to his face, her fingers hesitant to touch him, ghosting over his cheek, her eyes falling to his lips before she drops her hand again and turns away. "I'll have someone we can trust bring you to the airport, make sure that you're safe."

"The hell you will," he scoffs angrily, startling her. He needs to get a grip, needs to get his temper under control again. It's not like him to lash out so easily, or it wasn't like him 664 days ago. But after what real friendship and love means, after losing it, and seeing how empty and meaningless his life really is without her, without the boys, the captain, the precinct, the work they did together, the justice they brought to people, he quickly became bitter and resentful.

"I'm in this. They tried to kill me because I knew something. I cracked this case wide open with my source, and he spread the word to contact me when they heard something. I'll stay til the end." She flinches at his words, but he means them. He'll not leave her side again. "We'll corner them. We'll force them into action. We have ears and eyes everywhere and they don't even have a clue. They will be moving faster and they can't keep covering their tracks like they used to. That's how we'll get them. So, will you take me back as your partner?" He can still see fear in her eyes - fear for him? – but she slowly nods.

"Yeah, bro," Espo says, slapping a hand on his shoulder, causing a stab of pain to jolt through his ribs at the impact, but he just grits his teeth, exhales slowly.

"Welcome back, partner." Ryan pats his back as well, jostling his ribs again, but he stays strong, even manages to smile at them, even if it probably looks more like a grimace. Kate's worried gaze rests on him when their eyes meet, troubling her bottom lip, then she suddenly leaps forward, cupping his face with her hands, pressing her lips almost desperately on his.

"Don't make me regret this," she whispers in his mouth, her voice shaking. He wraps his arm around her, pressing her body against his ignoring the ache in his ribs, kissing her instead dearly, releasing all the feelings he kept inside for four years. "I missed you," she confesses breathlessly against his lips when they part, a sweet smile on her lips now that blossoms into that full-blown smile he loves so much on her. So different from the one after Demming kissed her. And one, he probably mirrors.

The boys hem behind them, and he expects Kate to jerk away, but she blushes instead, only slowly, almost reluctantly pulls back, her fingers tenderly sweeping over his bottom lip, before she lets it fall. "Okay, so, you meet with Montgomery, tell him about the plan …"

"… and we'll figure out the story, find out everything we can about the New Americans and who they might want to target to start a war and clean the country." He finishes her sentence, causing the boys to chuckle.

"I missed this." Ryan grins widely.

A/N: Come on, guys, Out yourself. Who was missing them theorizing together as well? Just felt fitting to end the chapter there, hehe.