She resigned. She was done. She gathered up her marching elephants, her personal belongings from her desk, took one look back and walked away. She walked away from what had been her life for over a decade. She left behind her family but marched forward toward something else, something new full of possibilities. She rode the elevator to the lobby and walked out the doors of the 12th precinct for what she imagined to be the last time. She looked up to the graying sky with clouds full of oncoming rain and strode down the street to the subway.
When she arrived at her apartment, the sky was drizzling, but she didn't care. She was only dropping off her bag before heading out again. By the time she was back on the street, the sky had opened up and was drenching the streets with rain. Within minutes, she was soaked, but she trudged on. The night had come by the time she reached the park where their swings were. The rain pelted her at every angle, but she didn't feel it anymore, the only thing on her mind was Castle.
She took a seat on a swing and looked over to the empty swing next to her. She imagined Castle being there with her, listening to her as she told him about her wretched day, how she quit her job and how she almost lost her life. She needed him to be there. She thought back, earlier in the day when Castle told her exactly what he had been trying to say for years.
"Four years I've been right here. Four years just waiting for you to just open your eyes to see that I'm right here. And that I'm more than a partner. Every morning I bring you a cup of coffee just so I can see a smile on your face because I think you are the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating person I've ever met. And I love you, Kate."
She pushed him from her life and she wasn't sure if she'd ever get him back. She was so frustrated with him in that moment, she felt betrayed by the man she thought she could trust with her life that she didn't tell him how she felt. She loved him. There was no doubt in that. She loved him more than she had ever loved another person. As she sat in the swing, looking over at the empty one next to her, she affirmed to herself that she was in love with Richard Castle. It took her almost losing her life for her to finally see she needed to tell him. He wasn't going to wait around forever. She was ready to tell him, kiss him, make love to him. With a sense of urgency, a pressing need to tell him, she stood from the swing and ran. She ran, through the rain, thunder and lightning. She just ran.
She ran for several blocks before she found herself in front of Castle's building. It drew her in like a hug. She greeted the doorman with a nod and rode the elevator up to the loft. The elevator opened to his floor and she hesitantly approached his door. She took a deep breath and knocked three times.