This is a small one-shot that sprouted from 3am inspiration (I can't be the only one who suffers this 3am inspiration issue!) I had fun writing it…just excuse the cheesiness of it all. Takes place sometime before Rick and Kate started dating. Enjoy!

Tides

Kate placed the guitar across her lap and let her hands relax into the old yet familiar feel of the wood. It had been so long since she'd held the instrument and it sent warmth through her. She had forgotten how happy it made her.

Slowly, trying to remember what she had known all those years ago, she began to strum a few chords. The metal pressing her fingertips stung, and somehow felt good at the same time. After a while, she began to hum softly along with the music, staring contentedly out at the waves crashing against the shore. Behind the chords of the instrument, she could hear seagulls passing overhead. It was so peaceful, and if she could stay forever, she would.

Finally, feeling as though the music was part of her again, she began to sing. It was one of the only songs she knew by heart, and only because her mother had taught her to play it when she was young.

"Rose up this morning, smiled at the rising sun. Three little birds, sat on my doorstep, singing sweet songs." Her voice drifted into the air and were soon lost in the pulsing sound of the waves on the sand.

When the song was over, she closed her eyes and breathed the salty air.

"I didn't know you could play."

Kate whirled around and came face-to-face with Richard Castle. For a moment, she just looked at him, startled. Then she shook her head and raised her eyebrows.

"Castle…what the hell? How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't. I used to walk this path with Alexis when she was little. She would play around in the water and I would sit in the sand and write. It was our way of escaping reality for a while." He sighed and stared out at the ocean, "sometimes I still come out here, mostly on weekends, just to feel that sense of serenity. I…didn't know you came out here too."

Kate was silent for a moment and turned her head to momentarily become lost in the relaxing motion of the waves, "sorry. I guess I just didn't realize that other people knew about this place. I used to come out here with my mother every weekend and she would teach me how to play. We would just…sit in the sand and sing for hours. It never got old." Tears stung the back of her eyes and she took a deep breath, trying to hold them back.

"It's a place of memories. And good ones at that." He smiled slightly and after a moment's pause, said, "well I'm going to head home. I didn't mean to…intrude on you here."

Kate nodded at first, and then thought for a moment. She wasn't sure the feeling that washed over her, only that it made her glance up into his soft eyes and smile back, "are you sure? You don't have to go. I mean, it's your spot too."

"Yeah, but I came after you did."

"Sit down, Rick."

He looked taken aback for a moment, and then sat carefully in the sand next to her, kicking his flip-flops off, "if you insist." He grinned.

"Do you know the song I was playing?"

"Three Little Birds. Bob Marley." They caught each other's eyes for a brief second before she nodded.

"It was the first song my mom ever taught me."

"Will you play it again for me?"

Kate's cheeks flushed and she shrugged. She had only ever played in front of one person before. And that was how she liked it. But this was new and different. And somehow, it just felt right.

She began the song again, and instead of singing along, Rick watched her face, amazed by the way her emotions became her expression as the words flowed easily from her mouth. When she finished, he glanced away, knowing he would be chastised for watching.

"Wow."

"What?"

"I just…didn't know anyone could have a voice that beautiful."

"Oh whatever." She smirked, slapping his arm lightly.

"I'm dead serious, Kate. You have the voice of an angel."

She blushed again and shook her head, trying to hold back a grin, "I suppose I should say thank you."

He laughed, "no need."

They were silent for a moment and she fixed her eyes on the indistinct line miles away where the sea met the sky. One blue against another and it made her feel so small, and yet so free. And then she noticed his head turned toward her, eyes focused on her face and taken over by an expression of complete fascination.

"You're beautiful when you think so deeply." He said softly, turning his head away, "the Kate Beckett I know doesn't even seem to exist here, right now."

She turned to him and watched his face. He was such a complex person, packed full with memories and experiences she would never, could never, even begin to imagine. Such was every human being. However, he was entwined with something else, as well. He had felt love, and felt loss. He had been a man he no longer was and clearly never wanted to be again. He had changed.

"Deep thoughts are what make us who we are. Maybe we're all different people than we appear on the outside."

With this, he turned and their eyes met once again. However, this time, they stayed there. And suddenly it seemed they understood each other more than ever before. And, without thinking or even registering what she was doing, Kate leaned forward and her lips met his. For a brief moment, it was a stiff kiss, but soon he registered what was happening and kissed her back. And as the sun began to set and the music of the ocean filled the air, their fates were spread before them and she suddenly knew everything she had ever wanted and everything she wished to be.

Thanks for reading! I hope you thought it was as sweet as I did while I wrote. Reviews=love…so please leave them! Have a wonderful new year!