AN: I've been having a horrible case of writers block lately. but this suddenly came to me.. so I don't know, do you think I've got my writing juju back? :) How about you read on and let me know in a review. :)

Kate Beckett was a strong woman. Her resolve was never broken easily. She had stayed awake nights investigating murders, showing the city that nothing could come in her way when it came to catching killers. But behind all of this, was a human and even humans tire. Kate Beckett was no superwoman, and so, after a day of standing still over a bomb, for fear that with even slight movement she could trigger it to go off. Her feet ached to the bone and her body craved rest. The fatigue had begun to set in even before she could allow the idea of it being her last moments of life while standing on that trigger plate to overtake her thoughts.

But she didn't let it show. No one, not even her colleagues would have guessed that she had no energy, no strength in her legs to stand anymore.

But Castle wasn't one of them. Castle knew exactly what she was trying so well to hide, and so he held her against him the entire time, allowing her to lean against him, to shift her weight from her own feet, even if it was just a little of it on to him, and he disguised it as his need to hold her close.

She appreciated it, she appreciated the way his arm wound around her, holding her so gently. She loved him for everything he had done today and she couldn't wait to go home with him tonight and tell him again just how much she loves him.

The elevator stopped at the parking garage and when the doors opened, Rick let go of her hand. She looked at him, and before she knew it, her feet were being lifted off the ground, his arms, one around her waist and one hooked under her knees, were strong and sturdy, and had all the strength that she lacked.

"Castle" she protested.

"No one's here. No one's going to see. Just let me."

There he was again. That sweet caring stubborn man. He carried her to the car and helped her into the passenger seat. She wasn't going to fight him about him driving her car tonight. Instead, after he got in and strapped on his seat belt, she leaned in, caressed his face and kissed him once again, softly and passionately. When she pulled apart his baby blues looked at her with love.

"thank you" she said, and he didn't want to reply with words right now, so he kissed her back, with a similar emotion radiating through the kiss, letting her know just how happy he was that they had made it out of that alive.

Castle drove them through the evening traffic of New York, now and then looking her way, just to check on her. He could see it in her eyes, she was over whelmed by the events of the day, and he wanted to do everything he could to make her feel okay. Her eyes were getting droopy and by the time they had reached his building, she was asleep, her head tilted to the side, her beautiful lips parted slightly, her ponytail hanging loosely, down over her right shoulder. He didn't want to disturb her sleep. But he had to get her upstairs.

He got out of his side of the car, opened her door, and carefully lifted her out of his car. 'My sleeping beauty', he thought proudly, while carrying her into the lobby of his building.

She stirred awake, and snuggled her face into his shoulder.

"It's okay, I'm taking you home" he said softly.

She smiled. She liked that. Home.

When they were in, he put her down on the couch.

"I'm alright Castle"

"You can't be… You must feel dead tired." he said as he leaned down to take her boots off.

"Castle…" she tried to protest again. He was being so good to her. And it was making her heart feel so strongly for him now, more than ever before.

"Castle, just sit with me."

"No... You must be hungry. Is there anything I can get you?"

She thought for a moment, looked towards the door to his room and back at him and then said. "You know what, I think I could do with a nice warm bath, care to join me?"

He smiled.

"Anything for you Kate. Stay right here, I'll get the bath running and get you something to drink."

Before she could say anything, he disappeared. She smiled to herself. She couldn't imagine her life without this man. Her Castle. And as she let her body relax, she felt the weight of the day weighing down on her, allowing her body to sink into the comfort of his couch, and her eyelids, as if she had no control over them anymore, slowly closed again, for a short nap.

Castle came back from his room, and went straight into the kitchen to pour two glasses of wine. He found her fast asleep on his couch when he brought the glasses to the living room. He watched for a moment, and then slowly took a few steps closer. He placed the glasses down on the table and sat beside her torso.

He watched attentively, how her soft breathing allowed her chest to slowly rise and fall, how her eyelids remained still and her face so expressionless. He was thankful. He was thankful for this moment. He pushed a stray hair away from her face and behind her ear. And as if on cue, she snuggled her face closer to his palm, feeling comforted by his warmth. He smiled. .

He was thankful, to be able to watch her sleep, to be able to still feel life in her when he held her. He couldn't imagine what life would be like without her. There would be no purpose at all. And that's what drove him to stay by her side today, no matter what.

A tear came to his eye when he thought about the possibility of losing her today. In that little while that he had been escorted out of the building, and he fetched coffee for them, he had allowed himself a tiny moment to just understand the reality of it all, and it was there that he had decided, he was going to be with her, even if it meant dying with her.

He wiped away the tear that rolled down his cheek and then looked around. He could make dinner and then wake her up for a soak in the tub. He kissed her forehead and allowed his lips to linger there, taking a whiff of her beautiful scent, Beckett. He softly spoke to her skin "I love you"

He then got up and got busy with dinner preparations.

Kate Beckett woke up to an absolutely scrumptious aroma. What was he cooking?! She slowly sat up and looked at her watch kept on the table. He must have taken it off of her hand while she was asleep. She had slept for a whole hour. She put her feet to the ground and stood up, taking a second to get a grip of herself, of standing on her own without assistance. She was alright for now.

She tip toed her way to the kitchen to find him at the opposite counter, his back turned to her. She smiled and made her way quietly to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist from under his arms and snuggled her face between his shoulder blades. She felt his body startle for a split second, and relax in just the same amount of time.

Her hands clung to his shirt, and his warmth was tempting. She kissed over his spine and hummed against him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he took her hand in his and turned around to face her. She was beautiful as ever. Her hair was a little messed up, but it made her look natural, herself. When she was here, at home with him, she didn't need to be detective Kate Beckett. She was Kate. His Kate. And he loved this messy haired, sleepy, homely Kate.

"Better, much better." She put her arms over his shoulder and around his neck and he pulled her closer by the waist. His lips sought out hers and kissed her. Letting her know time and again how much he loves her. She melted in his arms, getting lost in his kiss, in his lips.

He was the first to pull away. "So do you want to eat first?"

"I think I want to spend some time in that bath tub of yours, with you of course."

He chuckled, "That bath tub is nothing without me"

"Tell me about it" she played along.

"Why don't you go wait for me in the tub, and I'll be right in"

"Okay" she said and pecked his cheek and walked away to his master suite.

When Castle entered his bedroom, he spotted her clothes, the ones she was just wearing, kept in the laundry basket by the bathroom door. He walked in to find she had just sat herself down in the warm bath tub, filled with water that was covered with bubbles. He used her favorite bubble bath. The one she loves to soak in., he didn't care that it would mean he'd smell of her womanly scent after this bath, as long as it was what helped her relax.

"Come on Castle, this water's going to get cool soon, and I'll need something warm here." she smiled at him and he smirked. He stepped closer to the tub and began unbuttoning his shirt. After ridding it off his body, his pants followed along with his boxer shorts. Kate watched his every move. And like always, the minute his pants came off, her gaze would linger longer over his manhood while sizing up his amazing naked body.

"You love looking at me, don't you?"

She laughed, a little pink making it to her cheeks. "Looking at you is just the half of it"

She sat forward, making place for him to seat himself behind her, and after he did that, she leaned back against him, allowing herself to feel his body, tucked beautifully behind hers. She closed her eyes as his hands wandered over her front, softly grazing over her waist under water, then coming up over the surface of bubbles to drag some of the water over her shoulders. He softly began to kiss the side of her face and then down the side of her neck. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to completely relax against him.

"You're so beautiful Kate…" he whispered to her and kissed her some more. His lips were heaven against her skin, even more relaxing than a warm bath. His hands, if he wished could have been seductive, but she could feel, he was in no way trying to turn her on, he was just trying to soothe, to help her relax and it was helping.

She looked up a little from resting her head against his shoulder and kissed his jaw. She felt that slight scruff against her lips, but she didn't care, it heightened her desire to kiss him. She found it so hot every time that scruff showed. She guided his hands underwater to fondle her breasts, she urged him to make her feel more. His palms were warm against her, even underwater. She could feel him harden against her back, and the things it did to her.

"Rick…" she felt his hand move slowly down her body, to find her between her legs. She bent her knees and they surfaced out of the water, her feet griping the base of the tub getting ready for what his fingers had in store for her.

"Relax baby" he said as he found her folds

She whimpered. He whispered, "We're alright... We're both alive."

"Make me feel it…" she whispered and he could never deny her anything. He lips turned wild on her skin, his fingers invasive and hungry for her, in her. She moaned and moved and water ran out the sides of the tub, her head rested firmly against his shoulder, but the rest of her was restless, restless with need and want…. The desire to feel more of him, built in her, built between her thighs, until it couldn't be held back anymore.

"Rickkk..." She moaned one last time, as she fell victim to his talented fingers between her legs and his warm hand over her breast.

That's when she heard him "I love you Kate" he was whispering into her ear, the entire time. And she could only now focus on the sincerity in his voice, the honesty, the desperation to be heard and to be understood and acknowledged.

So she looked to him, and pulled his face in to kiss him senseless, and somewhere in between, she said it back…

"I believe you Rick. I believe you love me. I love you so much!" and she didn't even realize it, but as they kissed, tears flowed out of her eyes, she was alive, and here, with him, at his home, in his bath tub, naked and bare before him, proclaiming her love for him. She turned fully and kissed him with all her heart and when the tears couldn't be controlled anymore, she curled into his side and cried her heart out.

She didn't know what was stronger. The through that she could have lost this man today along with her own life, the thought that he was willing to give up everything for her, or the thought that she had finally put it out there in the open that she loved him, she was no longer hiding anything from him, they were both raw and honest and now madly in love with each other. It hurt her to think that all of this could have been lost had they not disarmed that bomb. And he was there with her, right till the last second. He didn't run away. Like she had always done. He had stayed. And there, sobbing softly in his arms, soaking together in her favorite scented bubble bath, she made a pledge to herself. She was in this for the long haul with him. She would stay, no matter what.

"You stayed Rick. For me..."

"I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else at that moment Kate. God forbid, if we hadn't to figure anything out till the end, I had decide that in those last few seconds, I would just step into that circle with you and hold you, shelter you, protect you from what I can, and just be with you. If we had to die, I wanted to die with you in my arms…"

"Kate put her finger to his lips "Shhhh…"

"No rick… We're alive, and we're okay. And you stayed. And that means so much to me... I wish you knew what I've been feeling ever since that moment I saw you walk back in with those mugs of coffee in hand…" there was a delicate smile on her face, even with those tears flowing down her cheeks, she looked like an angel. He kissed her until she could feel no emotion other than love, and until love wiped away those tears from her skin.

After rinsing themselves off in the shower, and taking turns to dry each other up with those soft towels that Castle keeps, they put on their robes and walked hand in hand to the kitchen. She watched him serve them two plates and that beautiful aroma made her tummy grumble. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until now. Thank god her boyfriend was a great cook. They ate together on the couch, now and then sipping from their glasses of wine.

Tonight was one of those nights where they took their time. Nothing was rushed. Both felt the need to just cherish this alone time together. To be in every moment and give the other every moment they could.

She walked off to their bedroom while he was still doing the dishes. She wanted to do something special for him tonight. It was always him who did this kind of thing, so when she opened that little cabinet near his side of the bed to find those lavender scented candles, a smile donned her lips. She placed a few of them around the room and lit them up. She was just done lighting the last candle when she felt his presence behind her. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to lean back onto him

"What's this for?" he asked.

"I want to make love to you tonight Castle..."

She turned to face him, her palms finding rest on his chest over his robe. She could feel his heartbeat below, softly thrumming against her.

"You didn't need to do all this, you're already exhausted… come on..."

He led her to sit down on the bed, and even before she could say anything, he drew her feet onto his lap and began to softly massage, first the right and then the left. His fingers seemed to know every plane and curve of her foot, a less knowing observer would thing he had a foot fetish, the way his hands worked her feet, but she could feel nothing but care overflowing from his warm hands, his thumbs, pushing out those knots in the balls of her feet, and it was doing miracles to relieve her of the pain.

She watched him, the way his eyes were solely concentrating on her feet. And she admired this ever so caring side of him. Time and again, he made her question, what did she ever do right, to deserve this love? She slowly pulled her feet away from his grasp, and when he looked up, he found her before him, kneeling in front of him on their bed and untying her robe.

Once she had untied the knot, she just let it hang loosely on her, she leaned down so that his face was in line with hers, his gaze followed the skin he could see between the open robe, and she knew just what he wanted to see.

"you've done so much for me, that I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you, however much I try" he looked into her eyes and saw something there, something that lured him closer to kiss her beautiful lips, she climbed onto his lap, straddling him, both of them still sitting up, but entangled within one another, she kissed him some more, softly, until he began to grow hungrier for her, he lowered her down, to lay on the bed, and what started off as slow, took on its own life, growing into one of the most passionate nights they've spent together.

Rick made love to her like there was no tomorrow, because truly, he felt there was no time like the present, he wanted to spend every moment of his life loving this woman, spoiling her, ravishing her and giving her all that he can to keep her happy and his, and she gave back with just as much enthusiasm and vigor to show him that she had learned her lesson after coming so close to the end today, she had learned that waiting any longer wouldn't do them any good, it was time to get a move on their life together, and the more he worshipped her body, the more the idea of spending her life with this man was engraved into her heart.

Their robes lay lifeless on the floor beside the bed, and these two young hearts, came alive together, in moans and groans, filling each other perfectly, completing the other, one beginning where the other ends, their voices and bodies forming a rhythm with a melody that their souls dance too. He gave and she took. The blankets that only partially covered them were witnesses to something so beautiful that it was a secret they'd feel proud to keep. Her toes curled as the last, long moan resounded and bounced off the walls of the room back to his ears, only for his ears. And in that voice he heard an unspoken proclamation of love, a promise of Always.

As she lay spent against his tired body, kissing away at his skin, both of them coming down from their euphoric high, she suddenly had a thought.

"I don't know why I was denying it all day, but I definitely fell for you long before you did for me."

He looked at her and chuckled.

"That can't be possible. You had me at first sight."

She hit him playfully and chuckled… "You just have to have the last word, don't you?"

"Always" he smirked.

review please?