I own nothing, although I wish I did. I tried to resist, but it seems that season finales tend to leave the door open and I can't help myself. I started to write just a quick one-shot so I could sleep well Monday night, knowing that the story is going somewhere we can all be so happy about…not sure if it'll stay a one-shot or travel into something longer, but we'll see!
They lay wrapped in each other's arms and tangled in bed sheets, listening peacefully as the rain continued to beat against his bedroom window. The lamp on the nightstand cast a dim light across the room, but neither cared. For a while no one spoke. The silence that filled the air was one of comfort and security, things they both needed now, and that they both found in each other. After what seemed like an eternity, he broke the silence.
"I hope you don't mind that we skipped the movies," he teased. Shifting himself up on one elbow, he turned to face her while keeping his other arm draped around her waist. Pressing a gentle kiss against her temple, he tilted his head and drew back to look her square in the eye.
Laughing, she snuggled in closer to him, still not quite believing that this was real. "I'm sure we can catch up on that some other time, Castle."
"Rick," he said. "I'm pretty sure we need to be on a first-name basis more to be doing what we…just…did…." He wiggled his eyebrows at her to earn another laugh. He loved to hear her laugh.
"Of course," she said once she caught her breath. "Rick." Brushing her hand along his cheek, she traced the face she knew so well. "I have to say, given the day I had, this is not how I pictured things ending up."
"Well, you know, nearly dying will do that to you almost every time," he huffed. "Do I even want to know how close you were?"
"Let's just say I was…hanging out…in the wrong place at the wrong time. We can discuss that more some other time," she said, dodging the inevitable explanation of her resignation from the 12th. "I'd rather…talk about the present for a while."
"I do love to live in the present," he said. He moved his arm to hold her tightly against his chest when she rolled to her side. "I could stay right here in this present, forever…if I thought we could get away with it."
"Why stay in the present when there's so much of a future ahead?" She turned her eyes up to gaze into his, hoping he'd follow her meaning.
"The future," he started. "The future is looking a lot brighter right now. I can't tell you what it means to have you here, in my arms, in my life right now. Kate, it's not like I planned to get to this point so quickly, but I need you to know that I don't have any regrets, and I hope you don't either."
"No, no regrets," she agreed, lazily trailing her fingers down his arm.
"And as for the future, I think that we need to be sure you're ready to let go of your past before we can really move forward," he said. It was a bold move to make such a request, but there was a genuine understanding between them now, and he trusted that she could handle the honesty.
"When I was in danger, I called for you," she said. "I thought I heard you calling me, but it wasn't your voice after all…and all I could think about was that I needed you by my side. The past, no matter how important it's been to me, is nothing compared to the road that is ahead of me, of us. I understand that now." Leaning closer to him, she took his lips with hers and poured her heart into a kiss. Pulling her face back again, she opened her eyes to look at him clearly when she felt his hesitation.
"How much of this do we explore, and how fast? What do we tell the guys at the precinct?" His questions reminded her again just how much they would need to discuss, but she wasn't ready to delve into those issues yet. He wasn't going to be happy when she told him that she'd resigned. For the first time in what seemed like a very long, long time, she made a conscious decision that she would focus only on the moment at hand and enjoy every second she could.
"Let's just worry about now. The future will still be there in the morning," she said, kissing him in between words before silencing herself completely.
After all…forever has to start somewhere, she thought quietly.