For Sparklemouse, who always seems to know what to say to make me feel better, even with 3000 miles between us. There's a subtle(?) SVU reference in here for you, Jessa. ;)

He sits and talks with Alexis til she falls asleep, sweeping his hand over her forehead like he did when she was little and couldn't fall asleep. He convinced her to stay at home for a couple of days, mostly for his own peace of mind. In case he finds himself waking in a cold sweat, thrashing against the sheets as his heart pounds in fear for his little girl.

God, he's so relieved.

He heads back downstairs, flicking the lights off as he goes, and finds Kate curled up in his office hair in a pair of black leggings and a loose, cut-off sweatshirt, her hair swept off her neck and feet curled under her thighs, Casino Royale open in her lap. He watches her from his spot propped against the doorway, watching as one of her hands fingers the ends of her fallen curls, the corner of her lip caught between her teeth.

"Are you reading or thinking?" he asks softly, propelling his body off the frame toward her.

She gives him a small smile. "Little of both, I guess."

He leans against the edge of the desk, his palms resting at the corners. She's silent as she closes the book, the tips of her fingers caressing the cover. She sighs, lifting her head. "You okay?"

He hesitates. "I will be."

She nods slowly, letting out a long whoosh of a breath. "Okay," she murmurs.

He cocks his head, noticing for the first time the circles under her eyes, the hunch of her shoulders, the tension in her neck that doesn't seem to have abated, even with Alexis' homecoming.

"What's the matter, Kate?" he asks quietly, lifting his hand to brush his thumb against her cheek.

She shakes her head and the corners of her mouth tip, but it's a watery smile. Her eyes are too bright, shiny with unshed tears. "'m fine, Castle." She swallows. "Really."

"You wanna try that with a steady voice?"

She laughs shakily and rests her fingers against his knee, anchoring herself to him. "I'm not mad at you, Castle, but - I just...I wish you'd answered my calls. When Jackson - your dad, when he shot your phone, I thought - " She breaks off, shaking her head. She opens her mouth to finish her thought, but then closes it again.

She hesitates. "But here you are, so." She lifts herself out of his chair, her fingers sliding up his thighs as she presses a warm kiss to his mouth. "Ready for bed?" she hums, already pulling away from his body.

"Kate." He stills her with a hand on her hip, pulling her back into him. "Talk to me."

She sighs. "Castle-"

"You're allowed to be upset. I should've called you. I didn't even think - " He scrapes a hand through his hair. "Shit, it didn't even occur to me that you might've thought something happened - "

She cuts him off with the smooth slide of her lips against his. "You were a little preoccupied," She breathes, her fingers curling over his ear. "It's perfectly understandable."

"Still." He wraps his hand around her wrist. "Doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it."

"I don't have the right, Castle. How can I be upset with you or angry or scared when you were trying to rescue your daughter?" she whispers fiercely. "I don't have a child, so I can't-"

"Don't." He shakes his head, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her up into his lap. "Don't go there, Kate. Don't do that to yourself. It's not fair."

"It is. I-"

"Just because you don't have a child of your own yet," He nudges her nose with his, doesn't miss the little delighted catch of her breath or the way her eyes widen ever so slightly. Yeah. Ohh, he wants it, too.

"It doesn't mean you don't understand." He closes his eyes, relishing the sensation of her lashes fluttering against his cheek. "It doesn't mean you don't empathize, Kate." He swallows. "God, you of all people know what that fear is like, what it drives a person to do," he rasps, his throat clogging with anguish.

Her palms are warm and solid at his cheeks as her body shudders in a sigh. "I just - I need you to take me with you next time, Castle." She kisses him, brief and soft. "I need you to take me with you so I don't have to wonder if you're going to make it home." She takes a breath, her eyes slipping closed. "So I don't have to keep kicking myself for waiting so long to tell you how much I love you."

He holds her tighter at the sound of the crack in her voice. "I knew, Kate," he reassures her. "Your eyes give you away, you know." He smiles. "So if you wanted to keep it a secret, you weren't doing a very good job."

She gently shoves his shoulder with a laugh, so full and brimming that it spills out of her eyes.

He smoothes his hands through her hair, brushing his thumbs over the tears that linger at the corners of her eyes, that are so very full of her love for him. "You're beautiful," he says reverently. Her laughter subsides as a light blush works its way up her face.

She smiles, a little shy. So adorable. "I do love you, Castle."

He grins, a little breathless with it all the same. "I love you too, Kate."

She sweeps her mouth over his for a toe-curling kiss, her fingers scraping gently through his hair as she rocks into him just so. Ohh, he's missed this.

"Ready for bed now?" She asks breathlessly, throwing him a sultry look.

His fingers slip under her shirt, caressing the warm skin he finds there. "I am always ready for bed," he growls, latching his lips to her neck.

"This requires moving, Castle. Unless you wanna have sex on your desk next to the book that your Dad - "

He whips his head up to hers again. "Do not finish that sentence."

She smirks, sliding off his body, far too slow and languorous to be an accident. She wraps his fingers in hers and it's all he can do to put one foot in front of the other as she leads him back to the bedroom.

"He'd like you, you know."

She throws him a smile over her shoulder "Yeah?"

"He's a smart-ass like you are. A little bit snarky and - "

She turns then, her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised in a challenge. Go ahead and finish that sentence, Castle.

He splutters. "Bad-ass. So bad-ass. And loving. Kind, even. So - so kind."

Her mouth twitches, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "Shut up and take me to bed, Castle."

"Yes, dear."

Thoughts?