A/N: Speculation on my part as to how the end of this season might be handled.


"I hate this," Rick mumbled into his wife's neck. "Just for the record, I hate this."

Kate tightened her arms around him. "Seconded."

"Even if it's the best of a bad bunch of choices. I want to go with you."

"You can't, babe, you know why."

Their lovemaking had been fierce and desperate and he, of all people, had burst into tears after they had come down from their respective highs. Kate's tears trickled silently down to soak the pillow under her head and she held him fast, as though he were the one who'd soon be leaving.

Rick lifted his head to gaze down at her as she lay beneath him.

"I do know," he said. "It wouldn't be so bad if I could call or write you or something. Are you sure there are no global carrier pigeon networks any more?"

That was a hint of his usual dark humor. Kate knew that, even if she had a chance to get in touch with him, the means might not be available. She had no idea where she'd end up, or in what state, but she wouldn't be alone.

But she wouldn't have him by her side.

"At least I'll have Rita as my 'handler'," she said, trying for a silver lining. "I've seen her in action, Rick. If anyone can help us chase down a criminal mastermind, she can. And I trust her more than I trust your father. You know that."

He nodded; their previous joint experience with Jackson Hunt had left a bad taste in both of their mouths, and Rick himself wasn't anxious to interact with the man again, ever. For all her detached demeanor, he and Kate both knew by now how much Rita cared about them both.

Things had become dire, after Kate's investigation into LokSat had been thrust into the public eye. Half the people who knew about it didn't believe it, and those who did believe it wanted to throw Kate under the bus. She had been permitted to resign from her NYPD command position, and after hours of discussion and analysis with Rick and Rita, she had made a decision to partner with the latter in their mission to defeat LokSat.

Rick would have dropped everything to go with them - but Rita put her foot down. And he saw her point. His career as a novelist made him too recognizable (though he had offered to grow a beard and wear glasses); he had financial and other obligations, including that of keeping his mother and his daughter safe.

"If you disappear, there are too many people with a stake in you and your career who'd tear around looking for you," had been Rita's assessment. "If Kate disappears - sorry, dear - it'll cause a much smaller ripple in the public eye."

"I'm counting on it," Kate had said. "It'll just look like I faded into the shadows. Reckless, disgraced - gone rogue." She had turned to Rick then and said quietly, "You have to be here for my dad, too, you know. You'll be our home base, our central ops. Everything we find, everything we know, we'll make sure you get word."

Now he lay back and gathered his wife to his chest, not expecting to sleep, knowing that tomorrow night he'd be alone in this bed, but not knowing for how long.

"I love you," he said vehemently, then more softly, "I love you, Kate. Always."

She wrapped herself around him and murmured, "I love you too, Castle."


To be continued