Always.

Fifteen.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." Castle said, as he kissed her head as she walked past him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up the next morning, I was startled and confused when I saw that Castle wasn't there lying next to me. I sat up and saw a note on his pillow.

I went to the grocery store to get some eggs to make breakfast. Be home soon. PS, I love you... :)

~Rick

I smiled at the note, and decided to get up. My tired body seemed to scream coffee, so that's exactly what I went to get. I went into the kitchen and made two cups, one for me and one for Castle, since I figured he would be back fairly soon.

I took my coffee over to the counter, where I noticed that he had left the newspaper. I sat down and started reading it. That only lasted a few minutes, though. I was getting exasperated that nothing actually newsworthy made it in there. I finished my coffee and decided to take a shower.

I went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. I thought I heard the door open, so I figured Castle was home.

I took a fairly quick shower, because I wanted to make sure I got the breakfast fresh. When I got out, I figured that since I had the day off, I wouldn't be going anywhere, so I just threw on one of Castle's button-up shirts. After I brushed my hair, I walked out of the bathroom.

"That's weird." I said to myself. I figured that as I got out, I would be welcomed by the smell of breakfast. "Maybe he's just taking his time."

As I rounded the corner to get into the main room, I was not greeted by Castle, but someone else.

"Who are..." was all I managed to get out before I was whacked over the head and knocked out.

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Sorry this chapter was short, I'll try to make up for it in the next one!!!