Castle caught the door of the elevator and forced it open. Kate stood leaning against the far wall, her arms folded against the cold she felt, though it was a summer night. Her eyes snapped up at the dull ping of the elevator and she caught sight of his ridged figure framed squarely in the doorway, one arm holding the door at bay. He was angry.

"If you don't want me as your partner anymore then fine." His voice was quiet but Kate heard it shake slightly beneath the forced control. "I'll walk away. I'll get the hell out of your life."

Something in her chest tightened. She had steeled herself for the job that needed to be done but the image of a world without him had taken her off guard and the heavy grief she had been forcing down suddenly consumed her.

"- But you owe me one thing." Kate stood frozen, pinned to the wall by his fierce gaze. For what seemed like an eternity she watched his broad shoulders rise and fall.

"Tell me that you're not in love with me." The words seemed to ring in the air long after they had passed over his lips.

"Castle I-" she faltered, shaking her head and looking at the floor. The hurt in his voice was making her ache but she knew she had to end it. She was going to hurt him. Either by putting him in the line of fire with her job or else by infecting him with the pain and darkness that still remained in her heart thirteen years after her mother's murder. The picture of Alexis clinging to her father's neck had been a haunting reminder that he wasn't hers to gamble. No. It was time to stop being selfish. Time to set him free. And this was the only way.

"I'm sorry Castle, I'm not in love with you." she said with forced frankness. "And I'm sorry if I gave you that impress-"

"Look at me and tell me." He said, cutting across her crap.

Kate's eyes snapped up to meet his blue. Normally she kept her emotions perfectly veiled but standing in front of him under that unwavering gaze made her feel completely naked. She forced herself to hold his stare but a tight lump was growing in her throat and it was taking all of her self control to swallow it down.

"Castle it's not that-" she started again, trying to brush him off.

"I need to hear it." He pleaded.

It was too much. His voice hadn't cracked but something in her heart had. She tore her gaze away again and felt her eyes fill up with hot tears.

"Kate, look at me." He said more gently. "Kate."

He took a step forward and tilted her chin up to meet his eye. "Hey".

She bit her lip and a tear slid silently down her face. Castle brushed it away with his thumb.

"I'm not in love with you" she croaked but in the same moment she pulled him towards her and kissed him hard. The warmth from his lips took her by surprise and instantly she felt the tightness in her chest soften. Frowning slightly, she wrapped both her arms around his neck and she felt the world spin fast around her. Castle had been still for a moment but now he returned her intensity. In one movement he swept her hair away from her neck, kissed her pulse point and backed her hips into the wall with his. Kate felt her knees shake and she placed a hand under his shirt to steady herself. Castle stilled again at her touch. Kate fixed her eyes on his and without a word she pushed the emergency stop button on the wall above her head, bringing the elevator to a silent halt. Then, just as slowly she began undoing the buttons of his shirt, Castle breathing into her hair as he watched her fingers work. She wasn't able to deny it anymore. She loved him. Wanted him. There suspended in the air between two floors nothing else seemed to matter. Finally, she told him all she hadn't been able to with words.