What Comes After

Disclaimer: Castle™ and everything associated with it is copyrighted to ABC. I am in no way profiting from this writing in anyway. I am only borrowing the characters for my own creative exploits and this stand alone story is in no way associated with the Castle franchise. This story takes place sometime after the Season 4 Finale and is intended for entertainment purposes only. Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen 'Always' don't read this as it contains spoilers!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled episode…

Originally written May 8, 2012

Sunlight was streaming through the curtains and a small beam was hitting her right in the eyes. Kate Beckett cracked one eye open for a peak and immediately shut it again at the bright light. She grumbled and rolled over. Only to have her right arm graze something soft and warm in her bed. She froze. There was someone else in her bed...and then it all came crashing back to her.

Yesterday...her mother's case, clinging to the rooftop, walking for hours in the pouring rain, and then appearing on Castle's doorstep almost as if her feet had taken her there unbidden. And when he'd opened the door and actually let her in...and then afterwards they had...her eyes snapped open in alarm and she had to suppress a gasp for fear of waking him.

She glanced at him, lying beside her, peaceful in sleep. He really was ruggedly handsome. But she couldn't do this right now. Not after resigning from the precinct. Not after finally getting over her mother's murder. She traced a finger lightly over his face and then placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She did want this, she did want him, but their escapades last night, while delicious and something she had been secretly longing for, was not something she could deal with right now, first thing the morning after.

So Kate gathered her scattered clothes as quickly as she could and then quietly left Rick Castle's apartment.

That same sunbeam slowly crept across the bed only to come to rest across Castle's eyes an hour or so later. Not even bothering to open his eyes for he knew that warm feeling meant it was, unfortunately, morning, he rolled over expecting to find someone beside him and came up empty. His eyes snapped open and he sat up; he was alone in his bed. Had it all been a dream? A passionate, blissful, stupid, dream? He sighed sadly, it must have been or else the new and improved Beckett would still be here beside him. So he steeled himself for another day alone and got out of bed to get ready for the day.

It was over a month later and Kate still hadn't gotten up the courage to visit Castle again. And since he hasn't sought her out, she figured their night of passion had been only that: emotions run wild with stress that simply needed a release. She knew she loved him, but if he wasn't serious enough to come to her afterwards, perhaps she had misjudged the boyish writer in the end.

She had decided to meet Lanie for coffee to get the latest gossip from the station. She missed it so, but she would rather have resigned than let Gates oust her for her actions. She hadn't see Javier since that day and she only hoped that his decision to have her back, which had cost him his job, didn't make him hate her too much.

When Lanie arrived, the two ordered coffees and just sat idly chatting as old friends do. She had barely touched her coffee when she suddenly felt a pang of nausea. They hadn't quite gotten around to talking about Castle, and Kate knew they would eventually, but even the slightest thought of him made her stomach clench. She had been ready to be with him, she had given up everything to be with him, but he obviously was still the foolish playboy she had always taken him for. She huffed in frustration and Lanie placed a hand on hers.

"Everything okay?"

Kate cleared her throat and as she did so, the taste of bile filled her mouth. Could Castle still do this to her after over a month? Was she always going to be weak in the knees for him?

She stood up and waved a hand at Lanie's concerned expression. "Coffee's not agreeing with me so much anymore. Not since Castle."

At her friend's confused look, Kate went to the coffee house's bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. Within moments of locking the door though, her pain and anxiety came rushing back to the forefront and it was all she should to do remain standing as another wave of nausea rocked her where she stood. She felt as if she was having another panic attack as emotions swirled inside her and she retched into the toilet.

Castle was sitting outside of an internet café just down the street from his apartment, enjoying, or rather trying to enjoy, his coffee. Coffee just hadn't been the same since he's walked out on Beckett. He sighed pathetically and wondered how long would he really need to get over her. He could barely believe it had been four months since he'd last seen her. And the hole she'd left in his heart didn't seem to be getting any smaller the longer he was away from her.

He idly stirred the creamer around for the umpteenth time when out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of curly long brown hair across the street. His head snapped up and he just caught sight of a blue scarf disappearing into a store. He'd know that scarf anywhere, it was Beckett's and she usually wore that particular scarf when she was upset.

Without even realizing what he was doing, he was simply in a blind panic to get to her, he got up and rattled the table in his haste, knocking over his coffee. Not even bothering to cross at a cross-walk, he rushed across the street towards her and barely avoided an oncoming car. Even to just glimpse her or see how mad she still was at him, he had to be near her again, if only for a moment and he wasn't thinking clearly. He just had to get to her.

Wading through the racks of clothing in near-animal panic at losing her again, he blundered through the store yet didn't see her there. Perhaps he had been mistaken. As he was about to turn and apologize to the manager, he breathed out her name in despair. "Kate."

"Castle?" The voice was coming from behind him and he turned around so quickly that he upset a mannequin on a display stand. Not even bothering to pick it up, he rushed towards her, "Kate, oh Kate, I've missed you so much. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, can you ever forgive me? I thought you hated me. Please don't go." He was babbling but he didn't care. If he could only get around these infernal clothing racks he could finally put his arms around her again. And if he could do that, he would never let her go again.

But one more rack stood in his way and every time he moved to get around it, she shuffled to the other side, keeping it as a barrier between them. Finally, his breathing ragged at having found her, he stopped and just stared at her.

"Why didn't you call?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Call? I told you I was leaving the precinct because I didn't want to see you get yourself killed." Castle was bewildered.

Her eyebrows knit in anger. "No. Why didn't you call after I left your apartment?"

His eyes widened in shock. "That...that night...was...real?" His mouth dropped open but he didn't bother to close it. He only stared at her with honest disbelief on his face.

Beckett actually scowled at him. "A one night stand and you think it was a joke?"

Castle's spread his hands wide and tears welled up in his eyes. "A joke? No, I...I thought it was a dream. When I woke up and you weren't there, I thought the new Beckett would've still been with me. But since you weren't, I figured you must've thought it was a huge mistake. So I've been giving you your space. I...didn't want to hurt you again." His gaze dropped to his feet in shame.

Kate watched as a tear fell onto his shoe. Her heart broke; she didn't want to hurt him either.

"Castle...I...I'm sorry." She began.

He blinked hard and then looked her in the eyes again. Then he tried to move around towards her again. And again she moved so that the clothing rack was between them. He tried again, and again she moved to stay away from him.

He gave her a quizzical look and after another moment of tag, he moved quickly to one side, feinting, and then finally closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arms around her and his grip was like iron. As he clung to her, it felt as if he'd never let her go again.

After a moment, he realized something was odd about their current position. True, that his arms were encircled around her and her head was pressed firmly against his chest, but there was a larger-than-normal gap between their bodies. Castle glanced down and then yelped in surprise. Beckett's eyes remained firmly planted on the floor, this time to her own shame.

"Um, Kate?"

She didn't answer, didn't even move as he held her at arm's length. For a moment, he was afraid she'd actually stopped breathing.

"Kate?"

She took a shuddering breath while continuing to study the floor. The words that came next were barely a whisper and he actually leaned forward in order to hear them. "It's yours."

His eyes opened wide in shock and he glanced down again. "Um, Kate?" He prompted gently.

She turned away from him and he let her go this time. She hugged her growing belly and he could see her shoulders shaking as she silently began to cry. "It's yours." She repeated quietly.

He moved to close the distance between them and put his arms around her and her pregnant belly. She leaned into him and took a deep breath that shook. "That night...that one night."

Castle suddenly grinned and spoke softly into her hair. "That's what happens when you don't use protection in the throes of passion."

Beckett spun around so fast to face him that her baby bump brushed against his abdomen. He let out a small noise and reached for her again.

"I thought if you ever found out, you'd hate me even more." She looked utter wretched standing before him with her eyes downcast and tears running down her cheeks. "I lied to you about something so important. How could you not hate me now?"

"Kate, oh Kate, I could never hate you. I love you too much."

She snuck a look at him and there were tears of joy shining in his eyes.

Suddenly, and in the middle of a clothing store on the lower east side of Manhattan, Castle dropped to one knee. "Kate Beckett, I know this is going to come out of the blue, but I love you. I have loved you for four years now and I don't want to lose you ever again. You mean too much to me." He took a deep breath and looked up at her with the most true blue eyes she had ever seen. She saw her future in those eyes. And she saw the future of their unborn child. Undying love; now and always.

" Marry me?"

She took his hands, which he'd been fiddling with, and placed them on her growing belly. "It's a huge responsibility."

"Not as huge as you're going to be before this is over!" The smile lit up his eyes and warmed her all the way down to her toes. This was what she had been longing for. This was exactly what she needed and wanted.

"Will you marry me Kate?" He repeated. This time, a hint of doubt creeping into his voice.

She pulled him to his feet and leaned into his body; although the bump still separated them a bit. Then, she stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him. Slow and warm at first, but growing in intensity and heat the longer their lips were locked.

Gasping for air, he put his arms around her again as she laid her head against his shoulder. "Isn't that how we got here in the first place?"

"I love you too Castle."

The End