22. TwentyTwo: Sunday

Twenty-Two

"A run would help," he murmurs.

"Castle," she growls and curls up tighter, away from him. "I did that yesterday and look what happened."

He laughs, like an ass, and presses a kiss to her shoulder. "Make-up sex was great-"

"We will not be having sex, so get that out of your head."

"Not even a little?"

She hedges, wavering. Maybe later? In the shower, oh, yeah, actually, in his hot, steaming shower. "Just let me - I don't have to get up and force myself into work, and I have the worst cramps right now, so can you just get out of my bed and go somewhere? Leave me alone."

He's still curled up at her back, and he slides his hand over her hip and presses his palm tight against her abdomen. He kisses her shoulder, the pressure of his hand actually, crazy enough, helping, and then he disappears.

"Call if you want anything," he says from the doorway.

She sighs and closes her eyes to sleep.

She doesn't even know what she said, does she? Get out of her bed. He kind of loves that, and it makes him have this silly, stupid grin on his face as he makes breakfast. Of course, it could be the way she enveloped him yesterday morning, smothered him in I love you after she got back from her run.

Any of that really. She's great. She's really great and she's made his vocabulary narrow down to this idiotic she's great and he can't even think of anything past that.

He gives her an hour to sleep, then brings breakfast in to her. In her bed apparently. Hers. He is completely willing to cede her the bed.

He sets the tray on the nightstand and sits down at her hip, brushing the back of his hand over her stomach. Her lashes flutter; she's curled tightly on her side, cheek to her palm, and then she stirs awake.

"Rick."

Whoa. Wow. Just - he's going to have to get control of that reaction if just her half-asleep voice can do that to him. With his given name. That's probably it. Reminds him of-

Yeah, okay, don't go there right now.

"I made breakfast. If you want it. And I brought the heating pad."

She darts a hand out for the heating pad, pulls it from the tray with a sigh. "You're a smart man, Richard Castle." She curls around the heating pad and her hand comes out to circle his wrist. Then her eyes drag open. "Wait. How did you know - and seriously, I should go for a run? It helps? Who told you that?"

He freezes. "Uh."

"Castle."

"I asked Alexis." Her eyes flash and he fumbles to correct that misconception. "Years ago. Years and years. Not today. Oh no, not today."

Her eyes track his, something speculative. "Years and years? Exactly how old was Alexis when you had this conversation?"

"Uh. Maybe a little too young." He winces and rubs at his jaw. "Maybe she was twelve. But she went to my mother first, and I was - I'm the cool dad!"

Kate gives him a warm and indulgent smile, then shifts her body to curl around him instead, the heating pad between them pressing at his thigh. "You're the good dad, Castle. But twelve?"

"I probably shouldn't say much more, her privacy and all, but-"

She presses her mouth to his kneecap. "Probably not. But she told you that running and heating pads helped?"

"Yeah."

"What else?" she murmurs, her eyes closing again.

"Chocolate."

"That's a good one."

He brushes his fingers along her arm, haphazard, no real plan; he just likes to touch her. "That's about it."

"Alexis is right, but Lanie says I'm crazy."

He huffs a laugh and glances at her face; her eyes are still closed. Breakfast is growing cold, but he can heat it up for her if he has to. This conversation is about as intimate as he thinks he's ever had with her, at least outside of bed.

Well, okay, technically they are in bed. But-

"Lanie can't move when she gets hers; she's got no energy. She says I'm crazy to run."

"You are crazy to run," he grins back. "But at least you stopped running."

She opens her eyes and looks at him, something tender there that he likes, that makes his heart beat faster in response to her. She lifts her arm and reaches for him, fingers in his shirt to tug him down to her.

Her kiss is sweet, all surface tension, skimming his lips and breathing against his mouth.

When she pauses, her fingers playing in his hair, he opens his eyes and sees hers are closed; he can feel her humming.

"Kate?"

"Hm?"

"Did you just tell me what Lanie-"

"Oh no. Shh. Don't tell her. And I won't tell Alexis."

He laughs softly at that. "Deal."

Her fingers tangle with his and she tugs on him. "Lie down with me."

"I thought you kicked me out."

"You were being annoying. But now you're being sweet."

He grins and lies down behind her, wraps his arm low around her stomach, the heating pad between them so he can press it against her. She melts back against him on a sigh. He softly kisses the side of her neck, the curve of her shoulder, and she wriggles him off.

"Stick with sweet, Castle. Not seducing."

"The seducing was working though, wasn't it?"

She squeezes his hand in hers, but-

Yeah. It was so totally working.