A/N: So, my mom said she got me a dog for when come home. I think she's just finding ways to lure us back because she doesn't like being an empty nester. (Also, she needs someone to pass the responsibilities off on, when she stops liking the dog. Go figure.) Anyway, that's why this.

It wasn't so much her words that told him how much she would miss him, as the little things she'd started doing, in the couple of weeks before he had to leave on his book tour.

For example, she would drag a blanket from the bed and curl up to read her book on the couch in his office, while he wrote in the evenings, where, normally, she would just stay in the other room. Or the things she'd leave him that let him know she was thinking about him. Like the pack of his favorite gum that he found on the kitchen counter one morning, with a note that said, Thought you might need it for all the plane riding you'll be doing. Xoxo –K. And, she'd never been much for holding hands in the car, but recently, she'd even gone so far as sliding the fingers of her free hand into his fist when they were driving to a crime scene.

And tonight, instead of her usual peck on the lips, before rolling over onto her stomach and maybe pushing one hand under his back for contact, she'd curled into his chest and buried her nose in his neck.

"So tell me, Kate," he said, grinning as he raked his fingers down through her silky hair. "However will you survive the next three weeks without me?"

She made an incredulous noise against his shoulder and replied, "The same way I always did before: Enjoy some quite time for once, and actually get some sleep without a big, clumsy, sweaty body rolling all over me in the night.

"Ahaha, very funny," he said, with a sarcastic laugh.

He felt her lips curl into a smile against his neck, before he heard a muffled, "The real question is, how are you going to survive, without me?"

"That is a good question. And, I'm not really sure," he said, sounding suddenly, very sincere.

Of course, he'd had book tours before. But this was the first one since they'd started seeing each other in a less-than-professional capacity. Not to mention, they'd spent a pretty fair amount of time together in the last four years, and even before he'd been sleeping with her, he'd missed her like hell whenever he'd had to go away. And he was willing to venture a guess that she had too.

Since then though, he'd gotten used to her leg being thrown over his, and her occasional soft snoring, and her hair tickling his face while he was sleeping. He'd gotten used to kissing her in the morning and massaging her neck in the evening, and the way she trailed her index finger up his forearm, when no one else was in the bull pen. He had gotten used to her bodyweight leaning against his in the elevator, and her hands in his back pockets while he unlocked the front door, and hearing her whisper, "Goodnight, Castle" after they made love.

But now, for the next almost-month, all he had to look forward to was a cold, hotel bed, Paula yammering in his ear, and on-the-go pastries with non-Walter's-Coffee-Hole coffee.

He sighed and Kate pulled her head back to look at him. "There's always FaceTime, Castle," she said with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah." He looked down at her and smoothed his thumb along her bare shoulder where her nightshirt had fallen down. "But it's not the same as holding you."

"It's just three weeks though," she said, dislodging a hand from between them and gliding it down the side of his face.

"A lot can happen in three weeks."

A smirk formed on her lips. "Or not happen," she whispered huskily, shifting their lower halves, closer together.

He grunted. "That too."

They were silent before she finally said, "I will miss you though," rubbing her foot up and down the back of his calf.

"I know."

He did know. But she knew that he needed to hear it. Because he caught on to her little, unspoken hints, but he also needed words from her. And she tried to give them to him, when she knew what they were.

"I'll miss you just as much," he said.

She just smiled, closing her eyes as his mouth came in contact with hers.

Castle walked through the corridor, chain-link fence on either side of him. The smell of disinfectant mingled with the slightly fouler odor. It was echo-y in here, all kinds of dog sounds bouncing around the walls of the animal shelter. He had considered finding a breeder and throwing down $600-$800 on the perfect puppy, but he was pretty sure Kate would prefer a rescue. She had a tender heart that way, and after all, why would he want to break the bank, when there were plenty of perfectly good dogs that just needed a home? Though, that hadn't stopped him from searching high and low, through more than a few SPCAs trying to find just the right one.

They hadn't talked about it. Not directly anyway. But he knew Kate liked dogs and had casually thought about getting one in the past. Royal was a perfect example of that. And he had always loved the idea of having a dog. He'd only talked about it with Alexis about a million times before she went off to college; they'd just never made it happen. And since she'd moved into the dorm, he'd been distracted enough with his new relationship, that loneliness hadn't driven him to it yet. But now, he was going to be gone for three weeks and he figured it was the perfect opportunity to give Beckett a little company, in his absence.

This was the fifth place he'd been to, and as he meandered through the kennels, stopping and attempting to pet the dogs, through the gates, and talking to them, he came to one kennel and knew he was done looking. The paper that was inserted in the plastic sleeve on the door said his name was "Scoot".

"Well, we'll just have to remedy that unfortunate mishap. Won't we, boy?" Castle said, turning to the dog and sticking his fingers through the chain-link.

He was just a puppy, but you could tell that he would wind up being about forty or fifty pounds. Not too big, not too small. His face sheet said that he was estimated to be about ten weeks old, and was an unknown mix. Castle figured he must have had some curly-haired relatives though, because he was soft and fluffy, and had curly fur sticking out everywhere, above his eyes, like bushy eyebrows. He was grey and chocolatey brown, with a brown nose, and he looked super cuddly.

As soon as Castle crouched down, Scoot started wagging his tail and licking Rick's hand furiously.

"How could she not love that face?" Castle asked no one.

The water was running, and Castle was kneeling in front of the bathtub giving the dog a sudsy mohawk, when his phone started ringing. Wiping his hands clumsily on the nearest towel, he reached in his pocket. "Hey, you," he said, sticking his Iphone between his ear and shoulder and going back to shaping the dog's fur into a pointy, shampoo-y mess.

"I thought you were coming back after lunch," came Beckett's voice on the other end. "It's like 4:30."

"Oh." Castle looked at his watch. "Sorry. Something came up and I got a little carried away."

"Figures." She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her and said, "Well, I'm trying to get out of here by 6:00. Are you coming back or should I just meet you at home?"

"Whose home?" Castle asked.

She started to answer, hers, but then cut herself off instead with, "Do I hear water running?"

"Uh, yeah I'm just…" He made a be-quiet signal to the dog, then said, "Don't worry about it. I'll swing by and pick you up at the precinct when you're done."

"Kay."

"See you soon."

"Bye."

He tried to carefully drop his phone onto the closed toilet lid beside him, and let the call disconnect on its own.

"That was a close one, huh buddy?" he said, swirling the dog's soapy fur around his fingers.

Scoot wasn't protesting to the bath, but he was shivering a little, despite the water being warm.

"Are you scared of the water, little guy?" Castle asked in full baby talk. "Ok. We're done. Let's go find the blow dryer and then meet your new mommy."

Castle was hugging the dog to his chest, with one side of his coat wrapped around him, shielding him from the fall wind. He'd texted Beckett that he'd meet her outside, and when she came striding out of the glass doors, her face twisted into a puzzled smile.

"Castle, why do you have a puppy?" She reached out to rub two of her fingers along the dog's small head, then looked up at Castle. "He's adorable!"

"Isn't he?" Castle agreed, beaming. "I got him for you! Well, for us. But I'll be gone for a few weeks so he can snuggle with you at night."

Her forehead crinkled into a frown but her hand didn't leave the dog's head when she said, "You got us a dog without telling me? Castle, you…"

Before she could go on, he held the puppy up, right in front of her face and said, "But Kate, look how cute he is! He loves you."

Scoot's tongue flicked out, and if he'd been a little closer it would have swiped her nose. The frown melted off her face and she reached out, taking him.

"He is super cute," she acknowledged, grinning while he licked her cheek. Then her head swiveled back to glare at Castle and she said, "But you I'm still mad at you for not telling me."

He looked sheepish for a second then wrapped his arm around her and started them walking, saying, "But I just wanted to surprise you. And I thought you wanted a dog. You're not really mad, are you?"

She made a futile attempt for about two seconds, but then gave up. "No. How could I be mad at that face?"

"Whose? His or mine?"

She shrugged, burying her face in the dog's fur.

"Mine," he decided, reaching up to pet the dog as well.

"He smells like cherries," Kate observed, scratching behind his ear.

Castle smirked at her. "He likes your shampoo."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Knowing you, you probably used the whole thing too. That stuff's expensive, Castle, you can't just buy it at Wal-Mart."

"I'll buy you some more."

They hailed a cab, and when they were nestled in, headed back to her apartment, she turned to look up and him and said, "He's perfect. What's his name?"

Leaning down to give her a quick kiss he said, "I was thinking… Sandor Clegane."

She snorted. "We're not naming him Sandor Clegane."

"Why? He's a hound, isn't he?"

Ignoring him, she stroked the dog's head and ears, saying, "I'm naming him Gus."

Castle smiled, liking the fact that she was taking control of the situation. He was pretty sure it meant that she was really on board with having a puppy.

"That was my second choice," he said, squeezing her shoulders.