Comfort Kiss (Caskett Fanfiction) - DISCONTINUED

Chapter 26

Feeling better after having gotten the good news off my chest with our parents, I decided to return to the precinct in the next few days.
"Castle, I have had so much time off it's ridiculous! I need to go back to work." I told him as I stepped out of the shower, getting ready for my first day back at work, much to his protests.
"Kate, you are still recovering from getting hurt. I don't want you to push yourself. I could't bare it if you got hurt again."
"Castle, we've been through this." I told him as I started to get dressed into the clothes I had already laid out. "I'm going to let the boys handle the field work for a while till I'm better. I'm gonna be in the precinct most of the time."
"But you sleep most of the day and..."
"Rick." I said firmly, cupping his face as he stood in front of me. "I'm going to have to get back to work sometime. I'll be fine." I told him, pulling him down to kiss him, letting go to finish buttoning up my shirt.
"Fine, but as long as you know I am not happy about this."

When I walked into the precinct that morning; much to Castle's irritation, I was welcomed back with open arms by the boys.
"It's good to see you back, Beckett." Esposito smiled as he pulled back from the hug, leaning against his desk while Ryan embraced me.
"Jenny and I have been worried sick about you. I couldn't imagine if something happened to Jenny or my little girl." Ryan stepped back and gave me a comforting smile. "How are you doing?"
"I'm still a little sore. But I'm getting better." I smiled.
"Well take it easy and don't push yourself till you're better. We'll cover for you till you're ready." Esposito said firmly but with kindness. Nodding and smiling at the boys, Castle helped me back to my seat, much to my irritation; even though I didn't verbally protest.

After working at my desk for a few hours, I could feel my eyes getting heavy, so I pushed back on my chair and stretched and got up, walking into the break room, flopping down onto the couch and closing my eyes almost immediately. Letting out a tired sigh, I curled up and felt myself drifting off.
I later awoke to a loud clatter on the ground, making me sit bolt upright and look around the room with startled eyes. Taking a few deep breaths after scanning the whole room, I swung my legs over the couch and heard my heals clack against the warn wooden floor. Holding my head in my hands I sighed heavily, scrubbing my hands down my face. Looking down at the floor, I saw my phone sitting just under the coffee table in front of me.
"Ow." I grumbled in protest as I knelt down, my bruising making it painful to bend to reach it. I got down on my hands and knees and reached under the table and pulled out my phone. I could fell Castle's eyes on my back and hear an angry grumble, making my head snap around to see him standing in the door jam, scowling.
"Beckett, you have to tell Gates. You can't risk getting hurt again."
"Castle, I'm just getting my phone. It's not a big deal."
"But I know you." He continued. "And I know you will push yourself before you are ready to do things. What if next time you aren't so lucky? What if we lost it?" He said firmly. "I won't let you risk the life of our baby." Castle said firmly.
My eyes widened as I saw who was standing behind him. Castle looked at me with a confused expression before he turned around to see a stoic expression from none other than Captain Victoria Gates.
"Ah, shit!" He mumbled. "Kate, I'm so sorry. I've done it again." He stumbled back against the door frame, his legs struggling to keep him upright.
"I assume this is why Mr Davidson struck you at his trial." I nodded numbly. "And when did you plan on coming to tell me that you were pregnant?"
"I-I..." I struggled to collect myself, taking hold of the side of the bench top, trying to pull myself up, Castle rushing to my side to help me stand back up again, carefully wrapping his arm around my waist, supporting me, keeping both of us upright.
"Kate and I wanted to wait till she was better but I want to make sure that something like the trail doesn't happen again." Castle said protectively, his hands drifting to my belly protectively.
"I understand your protective paternal instincts, Mr Castle. And we can set up a way for Kate to be safe, but she is a police detective and we can't protect her from everything." She told him gently, stepping in closer slowly towards us. "But we will do our best to do so." She added, resting a hand gently on my arm. "I have kids myself, Kate, and I know what you are going through. And I want to help you in any way that I can so I can make this as comfortable and safe for you as I can." She smiled gently, rubbing her thumb back and forth, up and down my arm. "This department is a family. And it's time you start trusting me." She smiled gently. "I recommend that for the time being you don't go out to do any field work. You can still do interrogations but in the interest of safety for yourself and your child, you will be accompanied by a male officer for protection. Either Detective Ryan or Esposito or potentially you, Mr Castle." Castle and I looked at each other, slightly stunned about what had just happened. Castle thought was the first to say something.
"Thank you so much, Captain. You have no idea how much this means to us. To me." Castle told her, letting go of me and wrapping his arms around a surprised Captain Gates. Eventually though, she recovered and patted his back awkwardly.
"You're welcome, Mr Castle." She replied, pulling away as he stepped back and wrapped his arms around me from behind, his large hands splayed over my tender belly, placing a loving kiss on my neck before resting his chin on my shoulder as we both looked at Gates, smiling. It felt so good to be open about or relationship and my pregnancy to everyone. I wasn't normally used to PDA but for some reason I didn't mind it when it came from Castle as he did it with the utmost sincerity.
"My only request is that you try and keep the PDA to a minimum or at least professional for the workplace."
"What would you deem as inappropriate?" Castle asked teasingly, earning a elbow in the stomach from me.
"Use your commonness, Mr Castle." She sighed, shaking her head as she left the room. Smirking, Castle turned me around and kissed me on the mouth.
"That is inappropriate." She called out, making us both laugh. Resting my head on his chest, wrapping my arms around his torso, I let out a long sigh of relief, leaning against him, I closed my eyes and simply breathed him in. I felt myself drifting off as I felt his fingers trail gently up and down my back, with just enough pressure to not tickle.
"Kate, with you being so tired, I think we should consider maybe working alternate days so that you can get the rest you need. And if you don't want to do alternate days, we could do half days?"
"And by 'we', you mean 'me'?" I clarified, laughing halfheartedly.
"I think it's worth talking to Gates about in the next few days." He encouraged.
"We can talk about it more tonight. But I need to get back to work now." I sighed again.
We stood like that for what seemed like forever, not moving except for Castle's hands running up and down my back. I could feel that he wanted to say something, but was holding his tongue and waiting for me to move first before letting me go. Over the years he'd learnt, having been living with two women, that sometimes being the last to let go is a good thing, because sometimes a girl needs to be cuddled and held and just doing so can help her more than he realises.
My eyes started to feel heavy and I felt my body leaning heavily against Castle, incredibly, feeling myself start to drift off standing up.
"Kate?" He whispered gently, rubbing my arm to try and coax me awake. "Sweetie, if you're falling asleep, I can take you home." He suggested. Stirring slightly, turning my head on his chest, inhaling deeply, trying to open my heavy eyes. "There you are." He said smiling down at me, cupping my cheek. "Hi sleepyhead." He chuckled quietly.
"Hi." I mumbled back, my voice husky with sleep. Leaning down, Castle tapped his lips to mine, resting his forehead against mine.
"You ready to go back in there?" He asked.
"Yeah." I replied on a yawn, letting him go and stepping back slightly.