Just a little one-shot that hit at work one day! Decided to post since I have NO IDEA when I will finishing up the last chapter of Playing With Fire...

This was inspired by one of my all time favorite songs - Everything by LifeHouse

Hope you enjoy!

The sound of the apartment door opening sounds like heaven to my ears. The past week has been exhausting. I never thought I would be working another critical missing case then yesterday morning the call came in. A six-year-old boy from the upper west had gone missing. His parents searched high and low in their house, at the neighbors, checked with all of his friends, his school – and nothing. He had just vanished.

Thirty-four hours later we found him locked in a closet in an abandoned tenement building in Queens. He had wandered into a park near his school and a woman – thirty-eight years old, five feet tall with trusting eyes and a sweet smile – had enticed him to her and taken him. She said she just wanted a child and he was the perfect one. She had seen him in the park before and knew that he should be alone before school…she took her moment when she saw him wander in that afternoon and was so amazed when she finally had her son. I sat in the interrogation room feeling slightly sick to my stomach. Looking to my left I could tell from the look on Castle's face that he felt the same way. We were both just trying to keep our poker faces.

After the confession was uttered, written down and signed we left the room. Castle excused himself allowing the 'real cops' to handle the paperwork and walked from the bullpen. That was four hours ago. It's nearing midnight now and all I can think about is the warm bath and the glass of wine waiting for me.

I open the door, close it and lock it. I flip the switch next to the door but the light doesn't turn on. For some reason; however, the apartment isn't pitch black like it normally is when I arrive home. I turn around and take in the sight of the apartment bathed in the glow of hundreds of pure white candles of varying shapes and sizes. Interspersed in the candles are dozens of red and pink Gerber Daisies – my favorites. I look to my right where the stereo sits with a note now attached to it. I set my bag down at the base of the table, which sits next to the door and place my keys in a bowl on top of the table. I move toward the stereo, reach over and open the note: Push Play

Wondering if I should follow orders from a post-it note, I turn it over in my hands for a moment then give in and press play. The song that was playing the night of our first date begins to fill my apartment. The soft melody of the violin and guitars of the chords make me smile and I close my eyes for a moment letting my mind take in the words and remembering the look in his eyes as he sang them to me that night nearly a year ago:

Find me here and speak to me

I want to feel you. I need to hear you

You are the light that's leading me

To the place where I find peace again

You are the strength that keeps me walking

You are the hope that keeps my trusting

You are the life to my soul

You are my purpose; you're everything

I let my eyes open and take in the scene once again. Then I notice the pathway that is laid out in daisy petals on the floor. They begin at the stereo and move toward the dining room. I follow the first stage and find another note – this one a folded piece of plain paper sitting on the wooden table. I reach over and grasp the paper holding it lightly in my hands and turn it over and over. I open it and read: "It was five years ago today that you walked into my life and turned my entire world upside down. From the moment I looked into your eyes I knew my life would never be the same. I still cannot believe just how right I was."

And how can I stand here with you

And not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

The petals continue on from the dining room toward the kitchen. This time the paper is clinging to the refrigerator with a magnet. I pull it off the fridge and open it, reading to myself: " I never imagined that I could feel the way you make me feel. That I could want to be better than what I was. To be everything that you deserved."

You calm the storms and you give me rest

You hold me in your hands you won't let me fall

You still my heart and you take my breath away

Would you take me in?

Take me deeper now

The next page lies on the edge of the bar: "There is still so much of me that feels that I don't deserve you. Your kind and gentle heart, the softness of your touch, the contagion of your smile when it lights up your face and makes your soft green eyes shine – they always take my breath away."

And how can I stand here with you

And not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

The music is swelling in my ears, surrounding me. I can feel the tears beginning at the edges of my vision and I try desperately to hold them at bay. I see the next piece of paper lying on the coffee table and I reach for it. I take a deep breath and read: "Everyday I wake up and see you lying next to me I know that I could never even dream of anything better. To be lying there with my soul mate, my best friend…my very own dream come true is more than I ever thought I would have."

Cause you're all I want

You're all I need

You're everything, everything

The pulse of the music feels like it's pounding through my veins now. I can feel the heat from the candles warming my skin, but I know they are not the only reason I'm warm. I look to my left and see the next piece of paper lying on his desk in the study. I walk into the study and reach for the page lying on top of his laptop. This time I cannot stop the tears from slipping from my eyes: "I know that I never want to spend a second of my life without you. I love more than I could ever express with words alone. If you'll let me – I'll spend the rest of my life proving it to you."

And how can I stand here with you

And not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

I see the movement out of the corner of my eye and turn toward our bedroom. He is leaning slightly on the doorframe with the most pleasant smile on his face. My heart just keeps racing faster and faster as he moves toward me. His smile expands and mine follows suit. The electricity runs through my body when his hands make contact with my arms. I let my eyes close and savor the intense heat of the action, which is completely familiar and also foreign. We've never been here before…at this moment. I'm wondering how he'll do it…what he'll say. Will it be traditional? Or will he pull out the rest of the stops and be his normal exuberant self?

He surprises me when he reaches his hands up to frame my face and places a feather soft kiss on my lips. When I open my eyes he is in front of me – down on one knee. His eyes remain on me as he pulls the black box from his pocket and opens it. The sound of his sultry voice stops my heart when I hear it utter the words I have only heard in my dreams:

"Katherine Johanna Beckett – will you marry me?"

This time, I don't try to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. I always told myself I would never be the kind of girl who got weepy when a man proposed. But this isn't just any man, or any proposal – this is him and me and the rest of our lives together. Without hesitation I fall down onto my knees so we are on the same level, I place my hands on either side of his face and press my lips to his. After a moment, I pull away and whisper into the stillness: "Richard Alexander Rogers – what took you so long?"