Title: Make You Feel My Love, Part 1

Spoilers: The Squab and the Quail. Set about 6 months after this ep. Pretending The Human Factor and Watershed never happened.

Summary: Things are finally perfect for Castle and Beckett. Only one thing is stopping them from making a happy family … Alexis.

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own entertainment purpose and will return them for the next user when done.

A/N:

Okay, where to begin? A couple of points before you start this journey.

1 – Aside from the prologue, this story is free of Caskett angst. Like the summary says, they're completely and totally happy. That's a first for me. It was interesting trying to maintain that. So many times I wanted to add Caskett drama like I normally do.

2 – Instead of relationship drama, Caskett must deal with outside forces. One of those forces being Alexis. Which leads me to my next point.

3 – Extremely uncharacteristic Alexis ahead. Just warning you now. I mean, I feel she has reason to be acting how she's acting and that reason is explained later on. But it was still tough to write.

4 – A couple of Caskett exes make their appearance in this story. But I have to make this disclaimer. The thoughts and feelings represented in this story do not in any way, shape, or form reflect the author's true feelings of a certain Doctor Motorcycle Boy. I think my muse suffered a mental lapse. That's the only explanation I have. You'll see what I mean.

5 – And finally. I am an engineer. I'm not a doctor, lawyer, or police officer. Any medical or legal plot points are from my imagination and will probably be inaccurate at best.

6 – Oops, one more note. This story was written in 3 separate parts. I'll post all the chapters of each part over the next couple days. But it's all one story. I just think 15 or so separate chapters is more manageable to read than 3 big chunks.

On with the show ...

Make You Feel My Love

Part I - Battle Lines Drawn

Prologue

Kate Beckett looks around the room, a spa paradise filled with soothing candles and music. Castle really went above and beyond this time. She knows in her heart that he truly regrets taking her for granted and can see that he's doing everything he can to make it up to her. But for some reason, it's not enough. Not anymore. She thinks it's time for more.

"Castle, where are we going?" she asks after his gentle kiss.

"To the bedroom," he tells her, that sly smirk on his face as he leads her into the room.

But she can't move. Not until he answers her question.

"No, Castle. I meant … where are we going? With this relationship," she clarifies, not sure if he legitimately didn't understand her or if he just pretended not to.

He gives her a curious look.

"Where is this coming from?" he wonders aloud, staring into her eyes to judge her seriousness. "Are we really having this conversation?"

"I think we are," she nods, moving into the bedroom. She's about to sit on the bed when she thinks again. The romantic setup of the room might just confuse and distract them. She moves back out into the living room instead. She takes a seat on the couch and waits for him to sit next to her.

She bites her lip, avoiding his eyes. Now that she's started this, she's not sure what to say or do next.

"Relax," he says, taking her hand in his own. "Unless you plan on walking out that door, I think we can handle this."

"I don't plan on walking out the door," she smiles, squeezing his hand.

"You asked where we're going," Castle reminds her. "Are you talking generally? Specifically? Short term? Long term?"

"I don't know," she sighs in frustration. "I just want to know how to define us. I want to know how serious this is."

She can't help but think of the questions raised by Erik Vaughn in that hotel room.

"You want to know how serious this is," he repeats, disbelief coloring the question. He shuts his eyes just as she catches a glimpse of something inside them. Anger? Frustration? Passion?

"Castle …"

"No, Kate. Let me tell you how serious this is," he says, anger slipping into his tone. "I am dead serious about this, about you. I … love … you."

He says each word slowly and deliberately, staring her dead in the eyes.

"I have never loved anyone the way I love you. I have never even said those words to anyone other than my mother and my daughter. Not to Kyra. Not even to any of my wives. Just you. For five years, I have tried to show you. In five novels, I tried to show you. For the past year, I have told you every single day. I love you, Kate Beckett. Why don't you know that by now?"

"I do know, Castle. And I love you, too. So much, and with all my heart," she assures him. She suddenly realizes how certain she is about him. And about what she sees as their future. She smiles at hin. "I told you before I was a 'one and done' kind of girl. You're my one."

"I'm your one," he smiles, his anger and frustration flying away at the realization of what she's saying. What she's finally admitting. "Just to be clear, you are talking about husbands, right?"

She just laughs, leans in, and kisses him. Her heart soars. How could she have not known exactly where they were going? It's more than clear to her now.

"Come on, Castle," she says, grabbing his hands and pulling him off the couch. "Maybe if you do this massage right, I'll be convinced to marry you."

"Like you said, maybe the third time is the charm," he chuckles, grabbing her in his arms and spinning her around, happiness flooding from every pore.

"Is this really happening?" she asks. "Are we really about to get our happily ever after?"

He just kisses her.

Oh yeah, she thinks to herself before getting loss in the kiss. How could she have not known where they were headed? Finally they're both on the same page. Finally, they're headed in the right direction. What can go wrong now?