A Day's Worth of Forever

This is probably a bit cliche at the moment, but this is my rendition of the season 5 sneak peek from ABC, linked with my hypothesis for how the opening scene of After The Storm could go. I made it as in character and close to the actual promo as I could, but please let me know if you think I made any drastic character errors, because I wrote this while studying for my biology exam. Many writers have already attempted this topic, but I couldn't stop after I penned the dialogue down. I specifically used information from the reviews from people who have already seen the episode, as well as my own ideas of what might have transpired.

Warning: Story becomes a high T at the end, but don't worry, there's no M rated stuff here, although I was highly tempted to write it, hahaha. Studying Sexual Reproduction in Humans does have an interesting effect on the mind of an author. :P

Spoilers: Season 5 promo, Season 5 spoiler interviews and comments from the lucky viewers who've already watched it.

Mistakes are all mine. I hope you guys enjoy it.

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He sees her. She's running away from the dark shadows just licking at her heels. He hears the first bullet piercing through the air, as she spins away to dodge it. He calls her name once, twice, even three times. Kate. She doesn't hear him. He wants to move closer but he can't. He already said that he's done. He can't go back. The image of her fades back into the misty darkness and all is silent once more.

Then, he hears her soft voice, barely a whisper but it reaches him. She's calling his name over and over again, her voice etched with unnatural sorrow and fear. The fear is what scares him. She sounds so far away; his eyes searched the area but at this point, they were useless. Rick. He moves about vaguely in the darkness, trying to pinpoint her location. Finally, he spots her, face turned away from him but he knows that it's her. He reaches out to grab her side, and turn her around to face him. When he does, he snatches back his hand in absolute terror. Blood, HER blood, is pouring out from the huge gunshot wound to her chest, but this time, there's no hospital to rush her to.

She's dying, again, and this time, he can't bring himself to say those three little words that nearly caused his heart to shatter.

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Richard Castle sprung up on his king-sized bed and blinked at the rays of sunshine that filtered through his window. The room had a quiet stillness that made him slightly uneasy. He drew in a shuddering breath and felt the sheets on the other side of the bed. He was half surprised to discover that they were cold. He turned towards the digital clock by his bedside, wondering how late it was. 8.00am.

Perhaps he was mistaken. Perhaps last night was one of his self imposed fantasies that never happened, and never will. Kate Beckett standing at his door step dripping wet from the rain, whispering that she was sorry and she wanted him. It certainly sounded like a scene from one of his books.

The door opened quietly, and the woman of his dreams, literally, walked up to the foot of his bed. She held two cups of coffee in her hands. From the looks of it, she had rummaged through his closet and pulled on one of his white dress shirts that somehow managed to fit her perfectly. It covered her all the way up to her thighs, exposing her slender long legs to him. The mattress dipped slightly as she sat down, facing him.

Kate bit her bottom lip to hide her grin when she noted where his gaze was trained at. Of course, he would notice that she wasn't wearing anything other than the shirt. She would never admit it to anyone else, but she had missed the way his eyes would always inadvertently end up on her, although she would have to quickly divert his attention to something else. She didn't have to do that anymore.

"So it wasn't a dream." He remarked, watching as the sun glinted off her messy chestnut curls, that looked like someone had gotten the pleasure of running his fingers through it. There was relief and adoration in his deep blue eyes, a stark contrast to the cold and lifeless looks he had sent her for the past few weeks, when he thought she wasn't looking. She had always been looking.

"As much as I am flattered that you dream about me, Castle, last night was very much real." She answered, with a tentative smile, allowing him to see the fresh emotions running through her.

"I see you've found my espresso machine," He said, nodding to the coffee cup in her hand. "among other things."

"Ahem, yes, I did. So, you liked it?" She asked softly, watching him closely as he took a sip from the cup.

"Yeah! The three times after that first round should be a good indicator." He replied, with a teasing grin overcoming his serious expression.

"I meant the coffee, Castle." She retorted with a roll of her eyes, the light blush returning to her cheeks as she hid her face into the coffee mug.

"I know what you meant." Rick watched as her eyes traveled up and down his body, seemingly taking in his state of undress for the first time. The softness in his tone betrayed his seriousness, and she locked eyes with him in question. In response, he gently took her coffee cup out of her hand, and placed it onto the bedside table along with his own. "Kate, what are we doing? Will this all be over when we step out of this room?"

"What do you want us to be doing, Rick?" She returned, rolling her eyes when he gave her a look. "Other than that."

His hesitation told her more than the reassuring squeeze from the hand on top of hers could ever say. The realization that he was still unsure of her feelings towards him was like a splash of reality. She knew how much it must have cost him, to be willing to walk away and never look back. It almost made her shy away with pain to even think of ever seeing him hurt again, much less be the cause of it.

"I want what you're willing to give, Kate, and more."

"Me too." She replied quietly, giving him that shy smile that she knew he loved. His answering smile mirrored hers, and she couldn't help the warmth that flushed through her veins, filling her with a certain joy that she couldn't keep within her.

Rick let his mind wander for a moment when he chastised himself for his residual doubts. The woman in front of him was literally glowing with a happiness that was likely not much different from his.

He gently tugged at the edge of her shirt, pulling her on top of him. She willingly followed his lead as she placed both hands on either sides of his face and lowered her mouth to his. A different kind of all-consuming heat soon enveloped her senses, and she craved him all the more. She nibbled on his lower lip, letting out a soft moan when he opened up for her almost immediately.

It was as if he was living a waking dream, having Kate Beckett kiss him as if she was drowning and he was the only thing keeping her afloat. His arms encircled her waist, pressing her body harder against his. He could feel her smile against his mouth when she suddenly shifted such that she was straddling his lap, her fingers running through his hair.

They broke apart for air, and Kate rested her forehead against his. She would never tire of having him this close to her, hot breaths mingling, and the ever present anticipation because he was finally hers. If he wasn't already here with her, she would never have believed it. His hands trailed down her spine, leaving her impatient with his teasing. She pushed him back against the pillows, and placed lazy open-mouthed kisses on his bare chest, slowly moving down to his stomach.

She was driving him crazy, and he knew that she knew it, but he couldn't ask her to stop. He would never get tired of feeling her smile against his skin. Rick roughly pulled her back up to press kisses against her neck, making his way up to her lips. His hands didn't fumble as he unbuttoned her shirt, one button after another, until she was able to shrug it off, leaving her bare before him. For a moment, he couldn't take his eyes off her. She caught his stare and frowned, confused by his reaction.

"What?"

"You're beautiful." He said simply, as if the sheer simplicity of it would be able to make even the most complicated feeling seem logical. There was only one more phrase that would be able to do such a thing, but she hadn't found the courage to say it yet. So, she was resolved to show him, in place of actually saying it.

"You know you've already seen me naked before, right?"

He shook his head, trying to find a way to explain it to her. "It's different." His thoughtful expression made her want to kiss him again, but she held back, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Finally, he shrugged, not wanting to waste any more of their precious morning in thought, when he could spend it exploring her body. He lifted himself by his elbow, so that his mouth was in line with hers, and suddenly turned to whisper softly into her ear. "I'll just have to show you what I mean, then."

And show her, he did.

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Her body was once again hidden beneath the sheets, but he could feel her warmth surrounding him. Lying on her stomach, she curled up into his side, with her head on his chest, the hair that he loved so much tickling his neck when she breathed. Part of her thigh lay on top of his legs, and his arms were holding her close, their fingers interlocked. They were so much as tangled up on the bed as they were intertwined in each other's lives.

There was still so much between them that had yet to be said, but that would come later. Neither wanted to ruin the moment by saying something, so they remained in a bubble of comfortable silence. Little did they know, that their quiet morning was soon to be disrupted by the booming voice of a certain redhead when she entered the house a few hours earlier than expected.

However, just for that moment, it was just the two of them, enjoying each other's company before reality set in and the world went back into chaos. It was as if the world had stopped for that one millisecond, granting them that time of peace and perhaps trapping them there for all eternity; not that they minded.

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Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think:)