Disclaimer: All characters directly owned by ABC and Andrew Marlowe. I take no credit for them, nor the situation that brought them to this point.

Spoilers for Watershed as well as SLIGHT POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 6. Though really this is just a person take on it.

So... yeah. This just kind of came out. Not completely sure if I'll keep it going or not. Feedback is highly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

"Katherine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?"

Kate swallows down the lump that had been forming at the back of her throat since the conversation began and her whole body freezes in shock. Because the look in his eyes doesn't match what he's asking and she isn't sure if she just imagined that last sentence. Thirty seconds ago, she would have sworn that he had only shown up at the swings to break up with her, and now he's on one knee before her, and she can't breathe, she can't think.

Her legs stand her up before she really knows what she's doing. Bringing a suddenly sweaty palm to her forehead, she stares down at him, the whole situation still not sinking in. They aren't even on proper speaking terms right now. And true, when she saw him sitting on those swings as she walked over, she had brief thoughts of giving it all up for him, but this is too much.

"Castle…"

"Marry me," he repeats.

She shakes her head at him. He can't really mean that. His face is still so serious, his lips pressed together and his brows set firm. She's no longer sure if he's mad or if he's silently pleading with her.

When she doesn't answer him, Castle drops his head and audibly groans as he stands to face her, to level with her. He won't let her run this time.

"Kate, don't even think about it."

She gapes at him, and doubt begins to sink through her. Will he ever trust her?

"About what Castle? You just pulled a damn ring out of your pocket. Was I supposed to be expecting that? You've barely spoken to me in the last two days." She pauses, but he doesn't step up to fill the lull, so she gathers her thoughts and carries on.

"I really thought you were ending this, the way you were talking just a minute ago. I know I should have been more honest about D.C., but you're the one who walked out a couple of days ago."

"I know. And I know it's sudden, but you're it for me. I don't want this to end, do you?" he asks.

"No!" The scowl she throws him as the defiant word leaves her lips gives him a flicker of hope.

Castle brings his hand back up, the ring still grasped between his fingers. Offering it to her once more. The honesty in his bright blue eyes burns through her.

"You can't just propose to me and expect that to fix everything." She's not mad exactly, just frustrated at the both of them for the way they are always trying to patch things up without talking about it. She doesn't want to lose him, but she doesn't want him proposing for the wrong reasons either.

"That's not what this is. I don't want to just fix it this time. This- this is a promise to work on everything. This is a promise to stick it all out, to go through the good times and the bad times. I'm not sure where we're headed right now but I want only the best for you, and to be by your side, forever."

She's sure he's pleading now, and it melts her to see him like this, trying once more to be there for her. She knows they aren't perfect, and that's okay. She doesn't want perfect, really. Perfect isn't real. What she wants from him most is to know that he will be there work on what they have, to make it better, to make it real.

"Go on," she murmurs quietly, the strength in her argument having flown out from under her.

"You're it Kate. You've been the one since the day that I met you. I may not have known that then, but I do now. And I don't have all of the answers, but the one thing I do know is that I never want to go back to being without you. I love you. So marry me, Kate Beckett. And promise to always come back to me too."

She bites her lip as a different kind of lump forms in the back of her throat. She nods her head just twice.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yeah," she breathes. "I mean- yes. Yes I want to marry you, yes I want to work on this with you, yes I always want to come back to you."

"Always?" he asks.

"Always," she responds.

He nearly starts laughing in relief, head thrown back to the sky and eyes that begin to water.

His eyes come back down to fix on hers then, and he reaches for her left hand. He cradles it in his palm and squeezes her fingers ever so gently. The softest, most genuine smiles cover both of their faces as he slides the ring onto her finger.

It's her turn to let out a hearty exhale of joy.

"It's beautiful Castle." His smile finally breaks free and his eyes crinkle with joy. And she can't help but return the sentiment whenever he looks at her like that.

His arms find themselves wrapped around her torso and instinct moves her arms up to clasp behind his neck just in time to be picked right up off of the ground. He spins her around in circles, kissing her cheek as they turn, basking in the beauty of the laugh she lets out.

"Put me down!"

He does, but only after he's gotten a third twirl in.

As soon as her feet are planted firmly on the ground, she kisses him. She kisses with all of the feelings she's ever held back because this is it; she's going to marry this man. His arms pull her closer and her back arches into him, their hands pulling at each other as they lose themselves further and further into their own little world by the swings.

Kate bolts up in bed, back ramrod straight and lungs gasping for air. The groan she cries out fast turns into a sob. Not again.

Thanks again for reading! Please please please review! Constructive criticism and your opinions mean the world to me.