Disclaimer: I wish!

A/N: I know I have other stories I should be working on but this is what happens when I'm bored in French class and can't stop thing about those damn promos. Spoilers for the "Always" promos.

Enjoy!

~Rose


She was numb. So much had happened in the past couple days that she didn't even know what to feel anymore. Castle had been looking into her mother's case behind her back. He had cut a deal for her life and tried to justify it by saying he did it because he loves her. She should have told him then that she loved him back but she was too pissed off in that moment.
She started spiraling downwards - getting more and more sucked in to her mother's murder. She had found the man who had shot her - Cole Maddox - and he had tried to push her off her apartment building. She had almost died, yet again.
After that, Castle had tried to talk her out of pursuing this any longer.
"I love you Kate and if that means anything to you please don't do this," he had told her, tears in his eyes.
He had cried and it broke her heart. She loved this man so much that it hurt, yet she couldn't say those words back to him. I love you too - they were only four little words; they shouldn't be so hard to say.
No, instead she had told him she couldn't stop and walked out.
Now here she was, in the graveyard she hadn't been at since she was nineteen. As she stood in front of her mother's grave she let the tears fall.
"I'm so sorry Mom," she whispered, running her hand over the gravestone, "I'm so sorry that I can't solve this."
She hated when people told her that her mother wouldn't have wanted her to risk her life over this, but they were right - Rick was right. She had to stop this.
She knew exactly what she had to do.

~O.o.O.o.O~

She walked into the precinct with purpose, ignoring all the stares she got as she walked past. Both Ryan and Esposito looked concerned as she walked up to the captain's office and knocked on the door.
"Detective Beckett," Gates acknowledged, "I thought I told you to go home."
"You did Sir," Beckett agreed, "I have something to say though and it cannot wait." The captain gave her a small nod, encouraging her to continue. Kate set her gun down on the captain's desk and then pulled out her badge. Throwing it down, next to the gun, she looked Gates in the eyes and strongly said, "I'm resigning," before turning around and exiting the office.
Esposito gave her a questioning look, wondering what had just gone down in the, and Ryan looked worried. Kate gave them a small forced smile and kept walking.

~O.o.O.o.O~

It didn't take her long to get where she wanted to go. Eduardo didn't even pause before letting her in. It was raining now and she was dripping wet, leaving a small puddle in the elevator from her soaked hair.
Practically pounding down his door, Kate stood there waiting for him to open it - overcome with adrenaline.
Opening the door and seeing Kate, dripping wet with an unreadable expression on her face, Rick was a little confused.
She couldn't deny how much she loved this man anymore. She opened her mouth to tell him but she wasn't the wordsmith - that was him. Instead she would show him.
Reaching for his face, she pulled him to herself and her lips crashed down on his. He didn't react for a moment but then his lips were frantically moving with hers. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip, begging for entrance. He allowed it and their tongues battled for dominance. It ended too soon and when they pulled away Rick wiped the tears off Kate's face that she didn't even realize she had shed. "Kate," he said so softly it was feather light.
"I love you," she whispered against his chest. She looked up at him through her eyelashes; there was so much love in his eyes that she couldn't help but press her lips to his again. "I love you Rick."
He just held her in his arms for a few minutes, savoring the moment. He knew they couldn't ignore the issue here: her mother's case. "I can't lose you Kate. I thought I had last May and it was the hardest and most terrifying experience of my life. Please Kate, don't keep this up."
"I'm done," she told him, tears still in her eyes, "I quit." He didn't understand just how much she meant by that. He put a comforting hand on her cheek and she added, "The force. I quit my job."
"Kate..." He wrapped his arms around her and just held on.
Who knows what was in store for them in the future. She had given up her mother's case and quit her job. That would hit her all of a sudden and she will probably shut down for a little while - but that's okay. They had admitted they loved each other. Rick knew Kate would end up begging Gates for her job back but for now all they could do was hold on to each other.


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