A/N: So I'm really hesitant to put this one up, mostly because I'm really serious about it. It's going to be multiple chapters, but I don't know how many yet. I don't know, I just feel really different about this one, compared to my other stories. Anyways, hope everyone likes it.

I don't own Castle. (YES! I remembered. That's my thing, I always forget to put disclaimers.)


Ironing.

She doesn't do it often, just when her wardrobe is need of it, but Kate Beckett secretly loves ironing. She'd never admit it to anyone- unless Castle accidentally makes her- because it's such a housewife-ey thing to do. And Kate Beckett is not nor will she ever be a housewife. It's against her personality, her nature. So fortunately, a good portion of her wardrobe is ironable clothing. At least she has an excuse, right?

But ironing is a good way to let off steam (no pun intended). After a hard case it's nice for her to come home and blast her music so loud that she's not even paying attention to it, and iron. Its like smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes that she can't do with her life.

So while ironing may be one of her more strange pastimes, she loves it. Just- not right now.

She's been so distracted by this case she's working that she burned her hand on her iron. It's scalding, and she curses loudly.

Of course, being a cop, she knows what she has to do: run it under cold water.

Its still hurting minutes later even though it should be numb from the nearly frozen water. The tears she's been trying to keep in eventually overflow and stream down her cheeks, breaking the barrier so that she starts sobbing right there in front of her kitchen sink.

She knows that there's only one thing that could make her feel better (that's easily accessible, unlike her mother, and even her father who is up at his cabin). Castle. She's too stubborn to give in and call, but after a few more minutes of almost blistered skin, she grabs her phone out of her back pocket and speed dials him.

"Castle," he answers, with an extra bounce in his voice.

"Hey, Castle." Kate greets him, desperately wishing the quiver in her voice to even out. "You sound happy."

"Oh, yeah. Alexis just told me some wonderful news."

"Oh." Kate's a little let down. She doesn't want to tear him away from a good time.

"Why?"

"I, um... I burned my hand and I was wondering if..." she trails off.

"I'll be right over," Castle says, as if reading her mind, and hangs up, not giving Kate a chance to refuse.

Kate knows who is at her door even before she looks through the peephole. She opens the door, leaving her right hand- the burnt one- resting on the door.

"Hey… Castle." She drags the sentence out.

"Kate!" Castle seems frantic and quickly grabs the hand on the door. "Is this the one?" he asks, but then looks down at it.

Kate nods and hums an affirmation.

Castle looks at her poor, poor hand and realizes hat he needn't have asked: it's evident that it's the one she burned.

"Kate, this is seriously burned! How did it happen?" The concern in Castle's voice scares Kate. She can hear that his worry for her goes past platonic.

"I was ironing, and-" Kate's explanation is interrupted by Castle.

"Katherine Beckett, ironing?" He teases her.

"Anyways," Kate persists. "I was listening to my iPod, and I was thinking about… I was thinking and distracted, and…" Kate trails off once again, lost in her thoughts of how close she came to admitting that she was thinking about him and her, and… them.

Castle gives her a moment, but when she doesn't emerge from her own imagination, he tries to prompt her out. "Kate?" he asks. "Kate, we need to get your hand checked out. It's really bad."

Kate looks up into the eyes of the man that she knows loves her. Though she may be too scared to admit it to herself, subconsciously, she knows she loves him too. That's why, when she loses herself in his eyes for just a fraction of a second, she knows that she should trust him on this one. And she knows that he researched burns for one of his books. Of course she knows, she's read them all multiple times.

Keeping her eyes locked with his, Kate slowly nods her head- only down- as if to say 'ok'.

"Okay, Rick." The use of his first name is not lost on him. "What do we do?"

The words she's just spoken amaze Castle. Simply the fact that she's finally let him lead, finally let him decide what they should do, shows Castle how much she trusts him.

Not letting go of her hand, Castle steps closer to limit the space between them so much that it's highly dangerous, considering the way their relationship- partnership- works.

Barely enough space to fit their arms between them, Kate and Castle stand there looking deeply into each other's eyes. After too long, Castle finally decides that this isn't the time or place, and breaks the silence.

"Kate," he whispers, still mesmerized by her eyes. His cheeks turn pink as he tries to fix it. He clears his throat. "Kate," he says louder. "A doctor. We need to go," he pauses, still entranced, but decided that he needs to finally break eye contact. He brings her hand up between their bodies, and looks down at it. "To a doctor," he finishes.

"Yeah," Kate breaths, barely audible, and her hot breathe on his neck makes his spine tingle. Against her better judgment, Kate leans in halfway to Castle, her heart beating a million miles a minute. If she weren't holding her breath, she'd probably be hyperventilating. Castle leans in until they are merely millimeters apart, his stomach fluttering so that he feels like a teenage girl having her first kiss. Because, in a way, this is his first kiss. Granted, it's his first kiss with Kate, it's also a kiss that he knows is going to be so much more than a kiss. It's going to be the beginning of a relationship with the love of his life. The love of his life is standing right there in front of him, waiting for him to kiss her, with a hand that needs immediate medical attention.

It nearly kills him, having to pull away, but he does, because he would rather wait one more day- hypothetically- than have Kate's hand be forever scarred.

"Kate," he whispers, even more delicate than the last time, "we can't." He pulls his head back.

Kate sighs deeply, bowing her head and closing her eyes, trying to get a hold on herself. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't." Castle says quickly. "Don't say you're sorry. Please."

Kate breaths deeply again. Her hands are shaking, and she can't bear to look Castle in the eyes.

Castle can see her struggle not to run far and not come back for a long time, not to hide her emotions. Not being able to bear to see her break like that, he reaches the hand that's not occupied with hers around her neck. He presses a lingering kiss to her forehead.

Kate's hand comes up and wraps around the lapel of his suit jacket. When his lips don't leave her forehead, she finally- finally- let's herself go.

Out of nowhere, Castle hears a sob. When it registers that it's Kate, he releases her hand and uses the one that was holding it to wind around her back.

"Whoa, Kate," he sooths, "it's okay. Just- let it all out." Somehow, Castle feels as if he understands exactly what she's trying to express by letting it out.

A sob makes it's way up her throat, and Kate's knees crumple. Castle catches her, making no attempt at trying to stand her up again.

The symbolism is not lost on her. Even in her moment of weakness, she understands that Castle is silently telling her that he'll support her.

"I want to," she manages between gasps. "I-," but she can't finish.

"It's alright, you don't need to explain." Castle rocks as he holds her body up in his arms. He feels comforted by the fact that he can comfort her, soothing her as she expresses her emotions.

"But I want to, I want this." Castle's breath hitches at her confession, but he makes himself compartmentalize; put away his emotions about it until a later date.

Castle is desperate to get her to stop talking. Firstly, and he knows it's selfish, but the sooner she stops talking, the sooner they can have a proper conversation. At the same time, though, he wants to let her get it all out. Leaving this train of thought, he focuses on her and what she needs.

Hugging her tight, Castle braves himself and asks, "What do you need?" He prepares himself for an onslaught of sarcastic answers. What he doesn't expect, however, is the answer she gives him.

"You."

Kate immediately stiffens, surprised at her honesty. She stops crying almost right away, asking, "Did I just… say that?" She wipes at her tears.

"Yes," Castle sighs in disbelief. Seizing the opportunity, he then says, "We need to go, Kate- we need to go to the hospital."

A hand firmly grabs his arm, and he jumps a little at the sudden feeling.

"Rick," Kate starts. "Please. Let me explain myself."

"Kate, I would love to have this conversation right now, really, but we really need to get your hand looked at. Don't worry, I won't… I want to, okay?" Castle doesn't know how to explain what he means, so he just leaves it at that. "Ready?"

Kate wipes her eyes again, then wordlessly walks back into her bedroom. She comes out a few minutes later, honestly surprised that Castle just stood there waiting for her, wearing a new shirt. "My other one was all wet," she explains.

"No, yeah, I um- I didn't ask."

"Let's go."


A/N 2: So yeah... ironing. I honestly don't really know how I came up with it, but I had to iron a tablecloth, and this just popped into my mind.

Also, I don't know much about burns, but I do know that one is supposed to run it under cold water for a while... Okay, so I can't finish that sentence because it would be a spoiler, but it will be explained next chapter. Also, please don't hate me for injuring Beckett.

Please review!