A/N: Howdy! Since I had a little creative outburst today I thought I'd give a lil' sumthin' sumthin' to you guys, yeah? Haha. Acording to 'How Great Thou Art' I put it on temporary hiatus because of school. Sorry guys. But anyways, hope this one-shot is enough to put you on a happier note.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Castle. Sorry.

"She started to cry today." Rick Castle said as he entered his loft, his hands shaking from the winter's cold air. His jacket coated in flurries and specs of deep white. He threw his jacket on the couch and headed for god knows where. He stopped in front of his daughter who was typing furiously on her keyboard. He stared at her complexion, pale, just like her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I made her cry. I've never made someone cry before." Alexis looked up from her laptop and cocked her head.

"What do you mean? Who cried?" She asked softly, closing the lid of her computer half way before standing before her father. She placed a hand on his arm. "Dad, who cried, what's going on?" He took a hold of her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Kate, I made-I made her cry. Why did I do that?" Alexis' heart fell. She led him to their couch and sat down.

"Dad," She whispered. "What happened?" He forced his eyes shut but as soon as he did Kate's image appeared again. She was so sad already. What actually happened before he came into the precinct, before he walked to her desk, before she slipped into Detective Beckett mode, after he yelled, after she yelled back, after she cried, after he left?

"We- we had a fight, a nasty, nasty fight. She and her boyfriend, Josh they broke up and she was just so sad and-"Alexis squeezed her father's hand.

"Dad, you don't have to finish." He shook his head.

"I want too." Alexis nodded as he continued.

"I came in and she told me to leave, to just leave her alone. I told her I wasn't going anywhere until I knew what was going on. Then she yelled at me, she told me I was nothing, that I should just leave the precinct all together. Then I yelled back. I said she was afraid, she was afraid of having something real. But then- then she got up from her chair and she pushed me, hard. I- I put my hands on her shoulders but she smacked me. Then she started to cry. I just left after that." His heart was thumping hard against his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Oh daddy," Alexis got up and hugged her father. His baby blue eyes were becoming blurry. His vision became nothing but the silhouette of his daughter. He cried, he cried because she cried. What went wrong?

"I don't know what to do." He said as he let a few tears trickle down his cheek. He kissed her on her forehead, murmuring, cursing, under his breath. Alexis looked up at her father's blue eyes, shining in her bright blue one. In his daughter's eyes, he saw hope. He saw love and support. In his daughter's eyes, he was the prince who saved the princess from the dragon. In his daughter's eyes, he saw what every little girl wanted to become. He smiled.

"Go ahead daddy." She kissed her father on his cheek. "Go get the girl." He smiled and grabbed his coat. He opened his door, but stopped suddenly. He looked back on his little girl, who's smiling beyond belief. He gave her thumbs up before closing the door and running down the hall.

Instead of waiting for the elevator he raced down the stairs, skipping two at a time. All he could think about was the beautiful detective waiting for him. He ran across the lobby and through the doors and into the cold, New York City air. Taxi, Taxi, Taxi, TAXI! He thought as he watched each one race by until he flagged one down and climbed in. He gave the cabbie her address and told him to step on it.

It was already 9 by the time he got to the precinct earlier. He looked at his phone, beaming bright in the dark taxi interior. Fuck! 11:30! He looked out his window, noticing the traffic ahead of them. He huffed.

"Stop," He yelled at the cabbie, which looked at him with confusion. He paid the man and ran down the street. The crisp leaves and snow mixed beneath his feet as he ran down the street, buzzing past people and on lookers. He past their favorite restaurant Remy's and raced past her favorite book store. He smiled and ran faster, his feet becoming blurrier every step he took.

He reached her building on the corner of 69th. He jaywalked across the street and stopped right in front of the building entrance. This was the time to run back, to cower in his office, to lose unwanted tears because of her.

Did he want a life with Kate Beckett? That was the question, simple enough. Did he want to spend the rest of his life with her? He thought about it, every single day he thought about, wondering what it was like to actually love someone and for them to love you back. Yes. He wanted to have a life with her. Did he love her? Yes. Did she want the same thing?

A soft tap on his shoulder brought him back to the present. "Mr. Castle?" Rob, Kate's Doorman, asked.

"Hey Rob, how were you this fine winter evening?" he laughed.

"Freezing my ass off, what about you? Going in to see Ms. Beckett I presume?"

"Yes sir. I have some…things to take care of." Rob smiled and let him through the glass door.

"She was quite upset when she came up today. Would you have anything to do with that?" Castle took a quick breath and nodded.

"I'm going to fix Rob; well at least I'll try."

"Well good luck to ya then Mr. Castle." He tipped his hat and stood back in front of the door. He nodded and calmly walked into the lobby. Elevator or stairs? He thought carefully.

"Elevator," He said aloud. He jogged into the enclosed space and hit the number 'five' button. The elevator music jingled a very Christmassy tune and Castle almost found himself humming along. He quietly laughed. The elevator door creaked open and let him into the lightly lit hallway.

He walked along the crème colored doors until he reached door '506'. He drew out a breath and continued to stare at the door. He was going to fix this, whether she liked it or not. But should he?

A strong knock to her door confirmed his suspicions as he waited quietly against the wall. Was she going to answer?

"Castle…go away." Kate said against the door. He ran a hand through his sleek hair.

"Kate, please, just unlock the door. Please." He put a firm hand on the door and bowed his head. "Please."

"Castle just leave me the fuck alone would you!" She yelled, her back sliding against the door. Eyes welling up with tears.

"Damn it Kate!" He pounded his fist against her door. "Just open up the god damn door, we can talk about it!" He yelled, quietly enough for her to hear.

He heard the door unlock and open. But there before him was not the Kate Beckett he knew, no. Her hair was in a messy pony tail, her makeup smeared against her flushed cheeks; her beautiful jade green eyes red and irritated. She wore her long flannel bottoms, the plaid ones that she wore to work sometimes before she went to the gym. Her 'NYPD' shirt was faded but still had the gleam of the yellow letters on them. Her hands were tapped and bandaged, blood staining the inner part.

"Kate…" He pleaded.

"Are you going to come in or what?" She asked hoarsely. He nodded and stepped inside. The first think he looked for was the picture of her and Josh. He looked up onto her now bare wall, nothing. A small smile crept upon his face but disappeared as she walked in front of him.

"So, you wanted to talk? About what? How I told you to leave me alone the first time? How I told you that you were nothing? How I pushed you into the wall? Or was it how I smacked you and you just walked away, because I'm at the point where I could do it all over again!" He closed his eyes shut.

"Kate-"

"No! Don't Kate me! You just had to come in and laugh at me!" He was confused.

"Laugh at you? Why in the hell would I laugh at you Kate?"

"You were going to come in here and laugh at me because Josh broke up with me!" She stated, letting a few tears trickle down her face. He walked over to her and took her face in his hands; his thumb brushing the small crystals away.

"I wasn't going in there to laugh at you, Kate. I was worried about you. Am I glad that you and Josh broke up? To tell you the truth, yeah, that guy was a douche!" She laughed and nodded. That's a start.

"But I would never, ever, EVER go and laugh at you."

"Oh Rick, I- I didn't-"

"Hey," She looked up into his eyes, watching as each blue wave crashed with love. "When Gina broke up with me I thought you were going to laugh too, no worries, yeah?"

"God, now I feel dumb." They laughed.

"Don't be." She smiled and for the first time in months she was happy again. She walked to go get the empty tub of Ben and Jerry's on the floor, Rick following. They both leaned to grab it at the same time but fate had different plans. Their hands took an interrupted detour and brushed ever so slightly against each others. She stopped and stood up quickly. He smiled and stood up as well but instead of doing anything else he abruptly took her hand in his own.

She knew what would happen next because she could feel it. She could feel the warm, sweet tingle surging through her body. He swallowed his pride and spoke.

"Kate," She starred into his baby blue eyes and nodded. They stayed like that for a good 10 minutes, looking into each other's eyes, each having their own apology. Rick stepped closer to her body, now toe to toe. "Kate,"

"Yes?" She answered, pushing her body flush against his.

"Can I kiss you now?" She smiled and shrugged.

"I guess so." He moved in so his lips were mere inches from hers. He lingered there as much as possible before she closed the distance between them. Maybe there were happy endings for her. Maybe, just maybe, he could be loved by someone. Maybe, but for now, this was enough.

A/N: Not my best but I hope you like. Reviews are appreciated and make my day.
-Ari