She hadn't been snooping, not really. But she was ordered to take a few days off, and Castle was in a meeting, and she just wanted to escape her reeling mind for a few hours. So she found herself looking through his mountains of books.

Their books, really. She had added some of her favorites to his bookshelves downstairs, and they had donated any duplicates they had. Any that were her Mom's she kept closer to her, sometimes on her nightstand, or on the case that he had cleared for her, closest to the door of their bedroom. Her other books, the Russian poetry and the sappy love stories that she just didn't need to read anymore were kept upstairs in boxes in the spare bedroom. They had joked about the sheer volume of books when she had moved in, laughed about how this is what happened when you paired a novelist and an avid reader together. How they would ever clear that room, they hadn't quite figured out, but so far they didn't have to worry about it. She knew the conversation was coming, but with the last few day's events, she had put all thoughts of babies out of her mind, and tried to focus on her own healing instead.

Today, she was struggling. She was exhausted, as usual, not really sleeping because of the nightmares that plagued her. Kelly Nieman's voice kept going through her head. Good. You're awake. We can get started.She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she remembered it. It's a crime to cover up such a lovely face. She could still feel it, Nieman's cold hands reaching out to caress her face, and being unable to stop her. She still flinched when Castle did it, and she tried hard to make sure he didn't notice, but something told her he did. He had touched her face less often over the last few days, focusing instead on her shoulders, the small of her back, or even just holding her hand. He was still there for her, and he showed her that every day. Now, her tired brain was playing tricks on her, making her see the doctor in places where she couldn't be. Kate knew she hadn't been there. She had killed Nieman, with a scalpel, a fact she was sure would make her terrified of surgery and doctors offices for a little while. So she had decided to escape into a world where Nieman, surgery, and advanced technology didn't exist.

Which is why she found herself perusing Castle's fantasy collection. That wasn't usually her cup of tea. She loved a good, suspenseful book, maybe a mystery, but something that really got her thinking. Those usually involved murder and crime, so she wanted to stay away from that. She pulled out Mistborn, a science-fiction novel that he had told her he hadn't had the opportunity to read, but had heard was fantastic. It looked interesting enough, a badass girl with short dark hair holding on to a dagger on the cover. So Kate curled up on a chair to read it, tucking her legs underneath her and settling the book in her lap.

When she opened the cover, a pink envelope fell out. She pushed the book to the side, picking up and inspecting the envelope. Her name was written on the front of it, the familiar handwriting of her husband. She would recognize his scrawl anywhere. She had seen it enough times in the covers of her books, or the notes he left her in her little notebook, and felt it in the way he traced letters into the small of her back. For the first time that day, she felt the corners of her mouth turn up in a grin as she slowly rubbed her thumb over her name.

It had to be a valentine's day card. At that thought, her heart fell a bit. Their first valentine's day as a married couple had been spent with her abducted and tied to a table, and him searching frantically for her. What a way to spend the romantic holiday. Those definitely weren't their plans. Their plans included an expensive dinner, a walk in the park, and maybe some dress up. She found herself looking around to see if she was alone, and laughed out loud at herself. The card was hers, it had her name on it, did she really need permission to open it?

She found her heart fluttering at the simple question it posed. Will you be my valentine? He had never asked her that, not even while they were dating. It was a frilly and awkward question, and he knew better than to ask her. She would have answered with an eyeroll and a sarcastic comment about that being the best that the wordsmith could come up with. But now, knowing what they had been through, she was learning to appreciate the simple things, even if it was a cutesy pink card with a simple question on the front. She laughed out loud when she opened it. That was a rhetorical question. You don't have a choice— we're married. Happy Valentine's Day.

He had written her a note underneath it, his familiar script dancing across the bottom of the card diagonally. I feel like this was meant for older couples, people who had been together for years, sick of the whole Valentine's Day hysteria. But sometimes, I still can't believe that we are actually married, and that I can call you my wife. That, and I thought it would make you laugh. I love you, and here's to many more Valentine's days to come. He had been right, it made her laugh. She caressed his words with her thumb, and as she heard the door open, she jumped up, shoving the card back into the envelope.

She walked into the other room, finding her husband standing in the kitchen, pulling a glass from the cupboard. He turned around and saw her standing there. "I'd hoped you'd be asleep. You woke up a lot last night." He said to her, pouring himself some milk.

Kate shook her head. "I didn't want to sleep. Not while I was alone." As simple as his suggestion was, it honestly helped to look at his face when she had nightmares. She moved toward the kitchen, hiding the open envelope in her hand behind the loose fabric of her pajamas.

"She's still there when you close your eyes." He stated, not needing to ask because he already knew the answer. He took a sip of his drink, and leaned on the counter. "Maybe when I'm done with this, we can take a nap."

She grinned, chuckling to herself at the innuendo, but knowing that he meant a real nap, with real sleep. Because the last few days had left them both exhausted, and each time she woke, so did he. She nodded, and sat at the counter. "What if I said no?"

He raised his eyebrows at her. "To a nap? Kate, you're exhausted, I'm exhausted. I'll nap with or without you, but I need some sleep."

She laughed and shook her head. "Sorry, that's not what I mean." She placed the opened envelope on the counter and pushed it toward him. "I mean, what if I say no to being your valentine."

He looked confused at first, but then his mouth dropped in mock shock. "We are married, Kate, it goes without question!"

She laughed, her mouth stretching into a huge smile. "Maybe someone else asked me first!" she teased him.

He walked over to her, grabbing her hand. "Who? Who had the audacity to ask my wife to be their valentine? Was it Esposito? Because I can take him!"

She laughed some more, standing on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his lips. He ran his fingers through her hair, and when his thumb brushed across her chin, for the first time in two days, she didn't flinch. She pulled away, touching her forehead to his, and staring into his baby blue eyes. "Fine." She sighed. "I guess if I have to, I'll be your valentine." She couldn't even keep a straight face as she pretended he was twisting her arm, not when she saw his face light up as he leaned in to kiss her once more.

"Good." He whispered to her. He lifted her off her feet, and held her bridal style. His strength never ceased to surprise her. "Now, valentine, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. Shall I take you to bed?"

"You shall." She giggled, and he carried her all the way to their bedroom, dropping her lightly on her side of the bed. He covered her with the blankets and crawled in on his side, grabbing her and holding her close. She laid with her head on his chest, her arm wrapped around him. "I love you too." She whispered as she closed her eyes. She never saw the smile that was stretched across her husband's lips as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

A/N: If you find me on Tumblr, you can see the picture that prompted this!]

I sort of feel weird asking this, but I am putting it in all my stories this week and will continue to do this throughout the month of April... I have a campaign on Facebook that I would be honored if people could share. facebook.c0m (slash)ordinaryisextraordinary is my way of trying to raise awareness about sexual abuse. Pinned to the top is a video called Ordinary is Extraordinary (Yes, that is me, in case anyone was wondering what I look and sound like). If you all could find the time to share the page and the video, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!