A/N: I couldn't NOT write a little something after this finale... Bear in mind that I haven't watch the whole episode yet, only the last scene on the swings... Living in Europe, I woke up this morning with gif and pictures of the proposal.

It wouldn't leave my mind all day long. So, between teaching classes, or while my students were working (and I'm not even ashamed :) ), I came up with this little thing. Hope you like it...

Disclaimer: If I did own them, we would have had an aswer...

Katherine Houghton Beckett, Will you marry me?

She sat there, mouth agape and air having left her lungs. She was sure that, hadn't she been sitting on that swing, she would have collapsed onto the ground.

She had rehearsed on the way to the playground what she wanted to say to him.

Starting with 'I'm sorry'. She knew she shouldn't have kept secrets and he had every right to be mad at her.

The rest of the conversation was a little bit trickier...

She had reached a decision and, judging by the way she felt, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she knew she had made the right choice.

She just needed to share the news with him now.

Seems simple enough... Only that's the part that she struggles with... letting people in, baring her heart and soul with the real possibility that your hope for a future, any future could be shattered with just a few words.

Because how can you tell someone you passed out on the biggest career break of your life without forcing them to make a move?

When he wouldn't let her speak after having apologized, she had been convinced that he was going to break up with her.

How could he not? I thought about our relationship, what we have, he had said. I want more... We both deserve more, he had continued.

Wanting to keep some of her dignity, she had agreed... while waiting for the shoe to drop.

So when he got down on one knee and said those beautiful words, she was shocked!

With all these thoughts running through her mind, she finally realized that he was still waiting and she hadn't given her answer yet.

But what can you say to something like that? This wasn't a simple yes or no question. She wished it could be that simple. She wished she could say Yes, I'll marry you and they could live happily ever after.

But with them, nothing was that simple. They still have communication issues they couldn't ignore. If they wanted to build a life together, they needed to have rock solid foundations.

So How can I make him understand that without him believing that I'm rejecting him, she pondered...

Not wanting to drag this any longer than it needed to be, she took a deep breath, locked eyes with him and started talking all the while praying she could get the wording right...

"Castle, why are you doing this now?" she asks

Not letting him the time to answer, she forges on.

"Before I can answer... Before I can accept this" she corrects, hoping to convey her feelings and her intentions, "we need to talk"

And so he takes his seat back next to her, a little less nervous because, if he's not mistaking, he did hear her say accept.

"You need to know I came here to tell you I'm not taking the job. Sure it's a great opportunity but my life is here... my home is here with my dad, my friends, my work and ... with you"

"I know I haven't been straight forward with you about this all thing and I'm sorry about that. I was scared... I guess old habits die hard"

She stops, wondering how to explain this without making him feel guilty.

He senses her trouble and decides to take the lead...

"I know I have to shoulder the blame for this mess. I know I've been taking you for granted since before that Vaughn thing. And when you asked me where we were going, I knew it wasn't a practical question and that you deserved more than a "to the bedroom" answer but ... I was terrified.

It took me four years to finally tell you how I feel about you and another to say it again...

You and I together is the most important and real relationship I've ever had and, giving my track record, I was scared to screw it up. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you in my life."

"When you didn't tell me about the job interview, I felt betrayed but, on the other hand, I think I understand your need to have a plan, a Where do I see me in five years? kind of thing. And seeing as I didn't provide you with honest answers, I get that you felt obligated to think about a career path future.

Well, you should know that five years from now, I see breakfast in bed,

I see wardrobes instead of drawers,

I see toothbrushes kissing in the same goblet,

I see movie nights cuddling on the coach,

I see strollers in the park...

I see us, always.

He's done it again, she thinks with tears welling up in her eyes.

They're finally on the same page but before she can say anything, he continues

"It's always been you... But I guess I was afraid you'd run if I mentioned any of those things to you"

"I might have" she confesses. "If you had said anything like that the first few years we've known each other, I would have thought you were crazy. But over the years, you've helped become who I am today - alive and happy.

At the beginning of our unique partnership, I wouldn't have dreamt about the future, the Where do I see me in five years? plan, on a personal level or career wise.

I want all those things now... And that's thanks to you."

Their eyes are locked and both are a little red filled with unshed tears.

"We still have a lot of work to do if we want to do this right but I think it will be worth it" she concludes.

"Does that mean..." he trails off, letting her voice it.

"It means... I promise to say yes the next time you ask me. But I think we should work on our communication skills for now ... and maybe some of those things you see in our future" she says with happiness in her voice.

"Like kissing toothbrushes and wardrobes?"

"That'll be a start..."

And that his cue to kneel once again and ask "Katherine Houghton Beckett... Will you move in with me?"

This time, she isn't shocked.

This time, her mouth isn't agape.

Her lungs might still be a little air deprived but this time happiness radiates from her smile and her eyes when she answers Yes, I will.

THE END

thoughts?