Author's Note: All right… I've written for other shows and this is my latest obsession, so here I am! I was VERY inspired by a fan video on youTube called "Castle : Forever and Always" by atem schnapper. If you haven't seen it you should check it out. Words in bold are the song by Parachute entitled "Forever and Always" and words in italics are flashbacks for Beckett. I hope you enjoy it… and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer… I don't own 'em… I wish I did… but I don't!

She's sitting at the table, the hours get later

He was supposed to be here.

She's sure he would have called.

Everything looks perfect… just the way she thought about it in her head when she hatched the plan earlier this week. He had book obligations for the newest Nikki Heat, so he hadn't been around the precinct much in the past few weeks. If she was being honest, he hadn't been around anywhere much in the past few weeks. They took the plunge and officially moved her in a few months ago, after he proposed and everything was falling into place. It wasn't at all what she had expected out of her life… she didn't think that she would actually get the happy ending that everyone else strived for. He waltzed in and annoyed the crap out of her when they first met, regardless of the fact that yes, she was a member of his fan club. They still laugh about that whole thing, and she finally admitted to him about a year ago that his books were what got her through her mother's death years ago.

Tonight, though, was something entirely different, but entirely about the happy ending that she was holding on to with both arms. She lets a small smile creep over her features as she sits down at the table and checks her watch. Her thoughts had gotten away from her, because she realizes that he is an hour late for their plans. The hour gets to her then, and stifling a yawn, she thinks that maybe she should call him.

Picking up her cell, she selects him from her favorites list and it goes straight to voice mail.

"Hey, Castle. It's me… I'm waiting here for our dinner date and everything is ready, but you aren't here. I understand if Paula is keeping you a bit later, but can you give me a call and let me know where you are? You usually call if you're going to be this late… You better not be autographing any chests, Mr. Castle… or Mrs. C to be is going to come after you with her gun…I love you." She says, and hits the end button with a laugh.

That's when she notices her subconscious move, and lets her smile grow even wider as she moves to double check the dinner she made for him.

She waits a little longer.

There's no one in the driveway

No one's said they've seen him

Why, is something wrong?

Realizing that he may be a little longer, she curls up with the latest of his novels and remembers a conversation they had when he was releasing it.

"You know, Castle… I was thinking, and don't you think it's weird to write Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook now that we're together?"

He stops to think for a moment before answering, "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know… you and me… them… I know the parallels…"

"Yeah, I do too… that's why I write them, and that's why I'll continue to write them…"

"So you aren't going to kill Nikki Heat off like you did Derrek Storm?"

"Do you think I'm ever going to stop loving you, Katherine Beckett?"

Her eyebrows knit together in confusion for a moment before she asks, "What does that have to do with you stopping loving me?"

For that response, he kisses her, long and slow. She could actually feel the love pouring out of him with the kiss. "My dear Kate… the first novel I wrote was because I was inspired by you. The rest weren't for money… weren't for the job."

"Then what were they?"

"My love letters to you… Yes, I know that they could be gruesome at times, and sometimes you hated what I did with Nikki Heat, but they were all just for you. It was the dedication of Heat Wave that made me realize it…"

"To the Extraordinary KB?"

"I always write my dedication last… usually right before I send it to be printed. It was after that first book that I knew that I would always write them for you."

She couldn't keep the tear from slipping down her cheek at his words. To be that loved was something she feared she would never be a part of, and here he was, parading his love for her on the NY Times bestseller list for all to see.

"I love you, Castle…"

"I'm glad… seeing as how you agreed to marry me…"

This time when she looked at the clock, she was worried. He was supposed to be here, so she calls down to the doorman.

"Mr. Castle?" the tinny voice answers from the intercom.

"It's Miss Beckett, Bobby… I was wondering if you could check to see if Rick's car is here yet?"

"Anxious for your fiancé to get home?" he says with a laugh.

"He was supposed to be home a few hours ago, so I thought I would see if he was sitting in his car on the phone. It went straight to voice mail and sometimes he does that."

"I'll go check."

She paces for a few minutes when she is startled by the buzz, "Miss Beckett?"

"Yes?"

"His car isn't here, ma'am. Do you need me to do anything?"

"No, Bobby, but thank you for looking."

It's then that she decides that maybe she should give Paula a call to see if they are still at the event he was scheduled to do.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Paula? It's Kate Beckett…"

"Ah, the notorious Nikki Heat in the flesh."

"I don't… I don't have time for our normal introduction."

"Why, is something wrong?"

"Can you tell me what time Rick is going to be home? We sort of had plans this evening, and he thought he was getting out early."

"He did. He left hours ago… around 7:00 because he said he had dinner plans with you."

"What?"

"I saw him get in his car myself. Have you tried his cell?"

"It went straight to voice mail."

"I don't know what to say, Kate. I know he left."

"Thank you."

"Please call me when he gets home… let me know that he's okay?"

"I will. I'm sure there's an explanation."

She looks back to the window

Suddenly the phone rings

A voice says something's happened

That she should come right now

She puts the phone down, thinking about her next steps as her stomach churns with thought and something else entirely. Where could he be? She steps over to the windows of their living room, looking out on the city she swore to protect. She's thinking about next steps to find him when the ringing of her phone startles her. When she sees a number she doesn't recognize, her mind races for a moment.

"Beckett."

"Is this Katherine Beckett?"

"This is, can I help you."

"I have you listed as the main emergency contact for Richard Castle?"

"Where… um… why are…" she stammers for a moment before collecting herself the way she knows she can. "Where is he?"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but something's happened, and I think it would be best if you came down to the hospital."

"Which hospital?"

"Presbyterian."

"I'll be right there." She says as she shakily puts the phone down.

She should call Alexis and Martha, but thinks twice about it. She needs to know the situation before she calls in the cavalry. Richard Castle has always gotten himself into trouble, so he very well could have fallen and broken his leg on a curb somewhere. Yes… she can't think about anything else, because she is the one who has the dangerous job… he worries about her… she has nothing to worry about.

Regardless of those thoughts, she clutches her stomach and runs to the master bathroom to release everything she ate today.