A Little Too Long
She watched them walk away, their arms around one another's waists, and then looked away. She wanted to call out to him, to tell him what she'd started to tell him, that she wanted to open up to him, to be with him, that she was ready to trust him with the one thing she never gave away, her heart, but she couldn't, not now. It wasn't part of who she was.
Her mind flickered over to Demming, Tom. For the briefest of moments she wondered if she'd been a fool to give up such a good man. As soon as that feeling came, it was gone again. What she'd said to him was the truth. He was a great guy, but he wasn't what she was looking for, what she really wanted. That was Castle, and she knew that now.
Lanie had known all along. Apparently Javier had as well. Even the Captain dropped a whopper of a hint on her earlier in the evening. Only Ryan had really kept quiet, but she didn't doubt that he knew as well.
She could feel them all watching her, through the glass, but she couldn't make herself face them. She almost felt like she'd let them all down, silly as that might be. She knew they were all rooting for her and Castle to get together. Hell, now that she'd finally decided to face up to it head on, she couldn't remember anything, anyone she'd ever wanted more.
She watched them get onto the elevator together, and she knew that she'd made a grave mistake. She'd missed her chance with him. She'd seen all the clues, but had never managed to put together the picture for herself. She'd waited just a little too long.
She braved one last look as the elevator doors began to slide closed. Gina had her arms around his, and she was looking up at him, a happy smile on her face, …but what made her heart slowly start beating again was one simple fact. Gina had been staring adoringly at him, but when she'd looked up again, he was staring at her, and his eyes never left her own, until the closing doors ended it.
Kate Beckett found herself in very unfamiliar waters. For the first time in a very long time, she knew what, and who she wanted, and also for the first time in a very long while, she had absolutely no idea what to do next. It was shaping up to be a very long summer.