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Castle knows damn well that Kate hates to sit by, doing nothing while someone suffers. He's not suffering much at the moment, though - anything beats dying, by a long shot, but what he's ended up with is a doozy of a headache, dry mouth, and an overall feeling of having gone over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Or at least what his writer brain could imagine that felt like.
Anyway, he manages to focus on the beautiful brunette sitting next to his hospital bed, stroking his hair, and says, "You don't have to stay, Kate."
She looks startled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know this isn't your scene. Hospitals, recovery rooms, all that." He tries to wave a careless hand but it seems like too much effort.
"You're going to be here overnight," says Kate, apparently ignoring his comment. "Just to make sure the toxin is completely out of your system."
"I know. They keep taking blood samples and, well, other samples that you don't want to know about. Let's just say that I won a small victory by begging them not to fit me with a catheter."
She grins. "Glad to hear it. You're going to need everything in working order once I get you back to my place."
"Believe me, I'd rather be in your bed than theirs. Always." He smiles at her, then sobers and says, "But you don't have to stay. You should go home, get some sleep."
"Castle," she says, shaking her head. "I don't need sleep. I need to be with you."
"Which is really sweet and all, but all I'm going to do is try to nap between samples and I can't think of anything more tedious than watching me sleep. Especially for a woman of action like Special Agent Katherine Beckett."
"I'm not Special Agent Beckett at the moment," she says quietly. "I'm Kate, your fiancee, who just watched you escape death by a matter of hours, and I'm not letting you out of my sight for a while yet, no matter how unconscious you are."
Her smile is soft and open and he takes hold of her hand, wishing he felt strong enough to get up and put his arms around her. "Come here," he whispers and she stands up, leans down to hug and kiss him. When she moves to straighten up again, Castle tugs at her hand, then pats the mattress beside him.
"I mean, come here," he says. "You might as well be comfortable. And I want to hold you."
He scoots over a bit, closer to the monitors and the IV feed, and Kate comes around the other side of the bed, hesitating.
"Are you sure there's room?"
"How much room do you need?"
That gets him his favorite eye roll, but she does kick off her shoes and ease herself down by his side, wedged against him, his arm coming around to cradle her while she lays her head on his chest.
"A close fit," he murmurs, kissing her hair.
"A good fit," she replies, closing her eyes.