Okay folks, this bit is what I would do if I was writer for Castle. The tale starts after the spoiler clip we have previewed of Castle finding Kate's boarding pass to DC, and Castle and Kate fighting about it. I specifically have not included the swing set scene because I have no idea how the real writers will include that, and I'm sure their version of it is better than I could ever imagine writing. I know Marlow said Kate's mom's murder won't play a role in the finale, but for my story purposes, it definitely does. I do not own Castle, and if I did, we would have seen a lot more action this season, if you get my drift. Please enjoy! I plan on this story being a two parter, and I hope to get the second part done before the finale tomorrow. Thank you for reading, and I welcome any reviews.

Martha walked in to see her dear boy sitting on the couch, eating Ben and Jerry's Rocky Road Ice Cream directly out of the tub with a spoon and wearing his pajamas and robe. "Oh, this can't be good," she groaned aloud.

Richard just shrugged, and stared into the vat of ice cream. Martha walked towards the couch, and sat down next to him, glancing at the array of once full, and now half empty, tubs of additional ice creams flavors. "What's wrong dear?"

Richard sighed, and stuck the spoon in the ice cream. Rubbing his hands over his eyes and through his hair, he moaned, "I don't understand, Mother. I just don't get it."

"What?" she asked.

"Kate. Kate and I. What we are, what I've been doing." He looked at her with piteous eyes. "Five years. I have invested five years in this relationship. I was her friend, confidant, partner, now lover, and she flips my world and decides to possibly leave, without considering me? What have I been doing, if I could mean so little to her?

"Well now, calm down. Let's start at the beginning. What do you mean by Katherine possibly leaving?" Martha asked.

Rick got up, sitting the ice cream on the table with the other tubs and throwing a blanket off of himself. "I mean, she's leaving. She had an interview with the Attorney General's Office."

"Oh, but that's wonderful!" Martha exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. "She can have a more esteemed job, and one that neither of you will be getting shot at. Now, I know you would be disappointed not to play cop anymore at the precinct-"

"It's in DC. The job is in Washington."

And Martha understood. "Oh," she murmed quietly. "Oh, Richard, I'm so sorry. And she didn't tell you about the job?"

Richard paced back and forth in front of her. "No! I found her flight stub, and she tells me, 'Oh yes, Castle, I had a job interview in DC. Oh no, why would I consider you?'" I mean, seriously?"

Martha looked at him pointedly. "Well, why should she have? It's not like she needs your permission."

Rick came to a complete stop in front of her. "What? Seriously? We have been dating for almost a year, and you take her side on this? I'm not saying she needed to ask my permission. She's not a child. But she should have considered me!"

"Why?" Martha shot back. "What have you told her, given her, to let her know that you want her to stay?"

"I love her!" Rick shouted. "I love her! I have told her I love her. I have stood by her, when she is standing on a bomb, I have jumped to save her from a bullet, I have gone above and beyond to be there for her. What more does she want?"

"A normal life," Martha explained. "Don't you see, Richard? You have shown her what a normal life could be. Before you, her life was consumed with her mother's death, and with her work. It was just one day at a time. You told me she joined the police force solely because of her mother, isn't that right?"

Richard sighed, and sat on the coffee table. "Yea," he muttered.

"And now, thanks to you, she has learned to let that go. She has found her closure. And with you, she has started to think beyond today, and onto tomorrow. I doubt she would want to be a police officer for the rest of her life, if it wasn't her innate passion."

Rick scrubbed his hands over his face. "But why DC, then? She's never talked about DC, never discussed another job."

"Well, how did it come up?"

Rick thought for a second. "It had to be that last case. That agent wanted to talk to her privately. He must've said something to her about it."

Martha touched his arm, "He told her she could be great, bigger than she is now. Richard, she is an extraordinary woman, you have told me herself. She was heading towards big things once. Stanford, a law degree. Imagine if Alexis one day had her world completely stopped, and then could start again. Wouldn't you want that for her? To begin reaching for great things?"

"Yea, but," Rick sighed out of exasperation. "Why can't I be a part of that? Why would she shut me out?"

Martha looked at him sadly. "Maybe she feels you haven't given her a reason. Up, butbutbut," she shouted over Rick's sputtering, "Yes, I know, you stood by her with a bomb, and you've saved each other's lives. Goody for you. You did that before you became a couple. And let's face it Richard, for a man that is such a great writer, you haven't always been the best in life of explaining how you feel. Have you told her that you need her as a life partner, not just as a fun chase? Or do you even want that?"

Rick sat there, staring at his feet. Martha tried to catch his eye. "Richard? Do you want that with her? A life? Because if not, it's not fair for you to pout and cry that she is trying to make one."

He looked up at her sadly, and smiled. "I can imagine waking up by her side every day for the rest of my life. I can imagine us being happy. But, I don't know, I don't know if that is what she wants. I don't know if she wants every day. And then, if it is every day, how do we start that? Marriage? She knows my history, it isn't good."

Martha sat back into the couch. "Did you know that General Washington lost many battles before the American Revolution? He really wasn't known as a great general."

Richard looked at her like he was crazy. "What?"

Martha nodded. "It's true! Many people called him cowardly because he retreated so often!" She leaned forward. "But what do we remember? We remember his bravery in the American Revolution. We remember his genius, and his rally, for our independence. And we remember what a great leader he was as our first president."

Richard stared at his mother, then shook his head and responded, "I think I have a brain freeze, because I am totally not following."

Martha threw up her hands in exasperation. "She won't care about your past relationships, or marriages, not if you two were to marry. It will be about just you two, and how you handle the relationship together. Don't you see? If you love her the way you claim you do, and I do believe you do, then that will be enough. It will! I guarantee it."

Rick looked down his nose at her. "Says the woman that has been married more times than me."

"Yes well," Martha shrugged. "I never loved them the way that I see you love Katherine." She stood up, and kissed him on the head. "Well, with that advice, I will be leaving. But Richard," she paused. "Think very hard on your next steps. If this job is really something Katherine wants, you need to consider how you handle it. Do you hold her up to be the best she can be, do you leave her to fend for herself, do you drag her down? These next few days, hell, few hours, could define your relationship. So make it count."

And with those parting words, she walked out the door, believing she had given her son sound advice.

She was riding along on a purple unicorn, the wind in her hair, when suddenly the unicorn turned to her and started singing the Star Wars theme. Why was her unicorn singing the Star Wars theme? Why….

Oh crap. It was her phone. That was her dad's assigned ring tone.

Alexis reached her hand out, searching, searching, got it. She put the phone up to her ear, and said, "Dad? Watimeizit?"

"I'm sorry, Pumpkin, did I wake you up?"

Alexis lifted her head, stared at the clock. Wondered if the power had possibly gone off and stuck her clock on that time, because it couldn't possibly be right. Not with her dad. "Dad, is it really 6 am?"

"Uh, yes."

"On a Friday morning?"

"Yes, I know, I'm sorry, but consider all those nights I had to wake up and rock you, and take care of you –"

"Yea, yea." She sat up in the bed. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

"Yea, I think so. Or at least, it will. Can you come over?"

"Sure. When do you want me to come over?"

"Now," her father replied, firmly.

Alexis was befuddled. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." With that, her hung father hung up, and Alexis sat in her bed, stunned and curious as to what the day would bring.

Her father ripped open the door, and pulled her inside. "Come on! It took you like, forever!" He shouted.

Alexis laughed, and sat on the couch, where her dad had led her. "What is this about? What is going on?"

Castle sat down next to her, and took a big breath. "You and I have always been a team. I'm your father, you're my daughter. And I know I've put you through a lot, with my love life."

"You mean like the time my principal asked for your number?"

Her dad blushed. "Yea like that." He looked down at his hands and then up at her, seeming at a loss of words.

"This is about Detective Beckett, isn't it?" she asked.

Her dad blew out a big breath. "Yes. Yes it is. You know I love you. And you know I love her, right? But, you, you are my daughter. You are always a part of me, and I value your opinion."

Alexis sat back, crossing her arms. "You're going to ask her to marry you, aren't you?"

Her dad gulped. "Yes."

Alexis and her dad sat there in silence for a bit. Her dad ooched closer to her, scrambling, "Honey, I know you've been through two marriages with me, and I know you haven't always been a fan of Kate's, but –"

"You love her." Alexis stated, looking forward.

"Yes."

She looked back at her dad, right in his eyes. "Does she love you? Does she love you as much as you love her?"

Looking into her eyes, her father said, "I hope so. I think, I think I need to give her a chance to respond, to see if she feels this way. If she wants us. But Alexis, if you don't want this –"

"Dad, it's your life!" Alexis looked away. "You can do whatever you want."

"No, I'ts our life. You and me. We have been together through everything. And it's important to me, Alexis. Before, when I asked Gina to marry me, you were too young to ask and I thought I was doing the right thing by you. But now, you're of age, and it will impact your life too. Albeit, I think in a positive way. But it's your life too. It's our life. And if you don't want it…"

Alexis sighed. "I want you happy," she whispered. She looked at her dad. "That's all I've ever wanted. I've read your books. They are adventurous, and exciting, but the characters are yearning for love, and I know that is you speaking for yourself through your words. You want that. And I want that for you. And," she shrugged, "I want it for us. For us to be happy. And if you think Kate will do it for you, will make your dreams of true love true, then do it. Do it, Dad."

Her father smiled. "Really? You mean that?" And with his look and his words, she knew he would not have asked Detective Beckett for her hand had she protested. She smiled, "Yea, I'm sure."

Her dad's grin grew, and he hopped up on feet. "Okay then! Off we go!"

"Off to where?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"Well, if I'm going to ask Kate to officially join the family, it's only right that I have my daughter help me choose the ring, right?"

Alexis smiled. "Absolutely. Can we go to Tiffany's? I love the idea of Tiffany's."

Rick smiled. "Tiffany's it is."

The little bell on the door of the diner jingled as she walked through the door. She took a cursory glance around the tables, and finally spotted the man she had called to help clear her head.

"Katie!" shouted her dad. He had a table in the back, and had even left her the seat facing the door, just the way she liked it.

She skirted her way through the busy tables, and reached out to hug him. "Hi, Dad." She squeezed hard, and for some reason, didn't want to stop. She realized she'd already hurt Castle, but was this going to hurt her dad too?

"Hey now," he murmured, and rubbed his roughened palms up and down her back. "Everything, okay?"

Kate felt her eyes begin to tear up, and pulled out of her dad's embrace. "I don't know, Dad. I'm – I'm afraid I'm screwing everything all up." She looked into her father's eyes. "And I don't know if you are going to be happy about what I have to say."

Her father slowly sat down in his seat. "Okay. What is Katie? Are you – I mean are you and Castle, um…"

Kate shook her head. "Are we what?"

Her dad took a big breath. "Katie, are you pregnant?"

Kate just stared at her dad. And stared. "No," she stated vehemently. "No, Dad, I'm not pregnant. No. I mean, if I was, I would like to imagine I would be happier – "

"Oh, and me too, I would definitely be happy. For you. Two. I mean for you two. Um."

Kate just couldn't help but smile at her dad and his awkwardness. She reached out across the table and grabbed his hands. "Dad, I'm not pregnant. But, I have a job offer."

Jim's eyes rose. "Oh? A promotion?"

Katie looked down. "No. I worked a case recently with a federal agent. He works for the Attorney General's office."

"I didn't even know they had Special Agents."

Kate shrugged. "Yea, there aren't many of them. But, he said he thought, maybe, I could be good at his job. He got me an interview. They called today, this afternoon. They want me. They want me to work for them."

Jim's eyes lit up as he smiled. "That's great news Katie! That's great!"

Kate looked up. "It's in Washington." And with that statement, she saw the glee in her dad's eyes dim, just a little.

Jim leaned forward. "Well, that would certainly be exciting. Washington, DC is a bustling place, and you've never lived anywhere else." He paused. "Is the job in DC, permanently?"

"Yea," she replied.

Jim's forehead creased. "And how does Rick feel about that?"

Kate crossed his arms. "I haven't told him I got the job. Not yet. We haven't seen each other since last night."

Jim's eyebrows rose. "Oh. I take it you told him about the prospect, and he wasn't too happy."

Kate winced. "Well, not so much. He, um, found my plane ticket, and it kinda came out." She glanced at her dad's face, and was sad to see the disappointment shining out of his eyes. "Look, don't look at me like that. Okay? I didn't know if there was even a good chance of getting it, and it's a job a lot of people would kill for. I didn't feel there was a reason to get Castle all worked up over it."

"Did you not want to get him worked up over it," Jim said, "Or did you want to keep him out of the decision?"

Kate teared up. "Does it matter? Either way, he's upset. He said that if I left, it would be the end of us."

Jim leaned forward. "Would it?"

Kate threw her hands up. "I'm not the one who is saying it would have to end. I mean, people make it work, right? We could do weekends, holidays. And he's wealthy, he has a Ferrari for goodness sakes. He can take the train, or a private jet whenever he wants to."

Jim shook his head. "But Katie, that's not a life. You should know that. Do you think it would've been possible for your mother and I to have the life we had, with you, only on holidays and weekends?"

Kate sighed, and her shoulders sagged. "No," she murmured.

"Is that the kind of life you want with Rick? One like your mother and I had?" her Dad asked. A tear rolled down Kate's face, and she frantically brushed it off. "Katie?" her Dad inquired.

"I thought so," she blurted. "But, we've been together a year, and I don't know where we are going."

Jim chuckled. "Oh geez, the where are we going girl conversation."

Kate was bewildered. "Seriously? A girl conversation? This is a serious thing, Dad! And especially considering the man has been married twice, and dated more women than I can count!"

Jim shook his head. "You aren't giving him enough credit, Honey. Didn't you tell me that Rick never had a father figure? It was just him and his mother, right?" Kate nodded in assurance. "Then he's never truly experienced what an appropriate relationship really is. What steps there are to take, nor has he had a male role model to really discuss it with. As for his other marriages? To my understanding the first wife was a flake, right?"

Kate chuckled, and wiped her eyes again. "Yea. But she told me her and Castle never worked out because he didn't open up."

"Katie," her dad admonished. "You are an investigator. You question people every day. Do you ever question Castle? I know he's questioned you about everything, butted into your life about everything, but have you done the same to him? Have you ever asked him for a silly trinket that meant something, or what movie has the most meaning to him?"

Kate began to have a cold dread in her shoulders. "Well, no but –"

"But no, nothing. Sounds like wife number 1 didn't try, and sounds like you aren't either. And what about wife number 2? Do you know what went wrong with that one?"

Kate pondered for a moment. "Yea, he told me."

Jim tilted his head. "So he has given you information on his second marriage. Sounds like he is open with you, hmm?"

Kate blushed. "He said he married her for Alexis. That she needed a mother, but he just didn't love her that way."

Jim smiled sadly. "I can understand that. I understand that completely. There were times, times when I wondered if I had just moved on quickly, found you someone that could be a second mother, if it would be easier for you. It's a sign of a flawed man, but one that loves his daughter, Katie. You can't fault him for that."

Katie felt tears rolling down her face. "So then why not me? Why hasn't he asked me?"

Jim reached over and grabbed her hands. "Honey, you mean the world to me. I love you. But sometimes, sometimes you make it difficult for people to get to you. I remember Rick sitting there for hours, days, waiting for you to wake up when you were shot, and once you did? You sent him away. And I remember when you had that big fight, and you said you were done, he still took you back with arms wide open."

"But I came to him!" she shouted. Heads turned towards them in the diner. Kate just smiled weekly at them, and leaned in closer to her father. "I came to him," she whispered harshly. "And I'm the one that started the relationship."

"Katie he had started the relationship long before that. You just weren't willing to start it at the same time." Jim smiled. "The man doesn't need to have a conversation with you about where you are going, because for him, he is already there. I've seen him with you. He looks at the way I look at your mother. You are the endgame for him. There is no where else to go. It's just you, and what you want to do."

Kate began to cry earnestly. "Dad, what do I do?"

Jim shook his head. "I can't tell you that. But let me ask you something, if you had to choose one or the other, Rick or this exact job, in 50 years, what will still be there for you? What will mean the most to you? If it's the job, then go, and don't look back. But if it's Rick? Then stay. Heck, I'm sure Rick would support you doing another career around here if you wanted. I mean, you always wanted to go to law school."

Kate tried a gentle smile. "Yea, that's true."

Jim squeezed her hands. "Let's eat some juicy burgers, and you tell me your thoughts okay? And know that no matter what, I'll support you. Even if it means taking a plane on Christmas to see you, okay?"

Kate's smile grew. "Okay, Dad."

"Flowers, flowers, flowers," Castle looked around until he found the bouquet of roses. He grabbed them, stuffed them in the crystal vase he had brought, and set it on the table that he had also covered with a linen table cloth. He reached over to the stove, and stirred the pasta sauce that was simmering in the pot.

Okay, so he had broken into Kate's apartment. Well, not so much broken into, he did have a key. But, she had initially told him only to use the key for emergencies. But this was an emergency. He loved her, and she needed to know that. He needed her to see that.

Jim had called Rick asking if Kate was okay, and that she sounded upset and was wanting to meet Jim. Castle handled it in stride, and immediately knew what he would do while she was gone. Tall cream candles were now strewn all over Kate's kitchen and living room and were glowing dimly. He's surprised the fire alarm hasn't been set off. He's cooking her favorite pasta dish, and has chilled chocolate covered strawberries and champagne set out on the table. Michael Buble was playing over the speakers. He is wearing his favorite suit, with the purple pinstriped shirt she's such a fan of. And in his pocket there is a small Tiffany blue ring box, with a ring that looks similar to her mother's. It has one large ruby in the middle to represent their year long courtship, and two diamonds on either side of it to represent their four years of friendship. The proposal had to be perfect. If she said no, he wanted it to be because she honestly didn't want to be married, not because of a shoddy presentation.

As he started to check the seasoning of the sauce, he heard a knock on the door. Humming to himself, he walked over, and peeped out the door to see a bike delivery guy with a dark helmet on and holding a medium sized brown box in his hand. Odd, at this time of hour, but those biker guys really worked their tail off. Cast;e swung open the door to see he towered over the short guy. The delivery guy seemed startled. "Ugh, dude, is this Detective Beckett's residence?"

"Yes, it is indeed. I can sign for that though," Rick responded and started to take the box.

Pew!

Castle felt a searing pain in his right knee, and felt it give out, slamming his body into the side of the door frame. The delvery guy barreled into him, slamming him back into the apartment, and shutting the door quietly. Castle gagged at the pain. He looked down at the blood pouring out of his knee, and looked up to see a small whole in the box the guy had been holding. "Wha…fuck?

The guy pulled a black cylinder out of his pocket. With a whip, the black cylinder extended into a baton. He stooped low beside Castle. "Okay, buddy. Detective Beckett here?"

"No, no." Castle uttered. His teeth were beginning to clack. God, don't let Beckett come home soon. But she should be…

The guy looked around the apartment. "Huh. Nice get up." He looked to Castle. "Where is the file?"

Castle, barely able to comprehend, stuttered, "The file?"

BOOM!

Castle's head exploded into pain, the knee long forgotten. Jesus, what was that? The baton came into view again as the delivery guy shook it at him. "Where is the goddamn file?" shouted the stranger.

"I, I, don't know. I don't know what file you are talking about."

BOOM!

God, the guy had wacked him across the forehead. Red began to smear Castle's vision. "The Bracken file!" he heard, as if from a distance. He heard stuff begin to crash. "Where is the Bracken file?"

Castle tried to laugh, but chocked on the pain. "It's not here."

The delivery guy came back and leaned into him. "Where? Where did she stash it?"

Castle knew he couldn't tell him. He couldn't tell him the file didn't exist. God, Kate… "It's somewhere you won't get it."

BOOM!

With that hit, Castle began hearing bells. Funny, they sounded like church bells. But there weren't any church bells nearby. Castle's hearing and vision began zooming in and out, like a bad movie. "Where is the file? Where is it? Tell me!" He heard over and over. The guy began to beat at him, and now it was relentless. Strike after strike after strike. No, no, not like this. Not now…and with that thought, Castle lost consciousness.

Beckett searched through her purse for her keys as she walked down her hallway. Her discussion with her dad had been great, just what she needed. After the past few weeks and the big cases and life events, her head had gotten all jumbled. All it took was an hour with her dad to know what she needed to do.

But when she started to put her keys into her door, she saw the red streak. So small, about knee height, but there it was on the door frame. She dropped her purse to the floor, and reached into it for her gun. Drawing it up, she put her left hand to the door, and opened it slowly. She poked her gun around the door. Not hearing anything, she shoved her body through the door shouting, "NYPD, come out with your hands up!"

But no one came out. And she stepped into a nightmare.

The soft crooning of Michael Buble filled the air. She smelled burning pasta sauce. Her apartment had been totally trashed. Couches were ripped open, books and items thrown off her shelves, and a vase of roses that hadn't been there before had crashed on the table, and were dripping a sad drip, drop.

And there, spread on the floor, lay Castle, his head mangled to the point she could hardly recognize him, and his knee bloody and twisted unnaturally.

"No," she croaked. "No, please God." She ran to him, flew to him, practically tripped trying to get to his neck to feel his pulse. She scrambled to feel anything, and finally was able to feel small puffs of air coming out of his mouth. She ran back out to the door, grabbed her purse and scurried for her cell phone. She called 911.

"911 dispatcher, what's your emergency?"

"This is Detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD. There's been a break-in at my address. I need, I need help! My, my, oh god, my partner, he's been attacked. He's, he's bleeding, there's massive head trauma-"

"Okay, Detective, we are sending an ambulance now. Calm down. Is he breathing?"

"I think, I think so. He's wearing a suit and tie, it's hard to get to his neck. I don't, I don't understand, why is he wearing this? Why is he here?"

"Detective! Are there any other injuries to your partner?"

Kate frantically looked down to the knee, squeezed her eyes shut when she saw it. "His knee. He's been kneecapped."

"They shot him in the knee?"

Kate gulped air. "Yes, yes, in the right leg. The right knee? Please, how long until the ambulance gets here?"

"They are on their way Detective. We have your address on file. They'll be there soon. Can you stay on the –"

Kate dropped the phone, and reached for Castle's head. She realized she shouldn't move him, he could have neck damage, but God, he was just lying there, and why was he in her apartment anyway? She looked around again. She melled the burning pasta again, and ran to turn the stove off. She flipped the dials, and turned back towards him. She saw a stack of wet paper on the table, saw the cover page that said, "Nakedly Happy Ever: Nikki and Jameson's Life Together." She began to sob. He had come here, had cooked, had gotten flowers, oh, and there was champagne and strawberries. And meanwhile she was determining whether it was worth it to keep him in her life.

She had made her decision. She was going to tell him that it was absolutely necessary to have him in her life, go over to his house and surprise him and demand a life together. She was going to go to him.

And instead, he had yet again made the first move. And wound up dying on her floor.

She heard a rampant knocking on her door. She scrambled over, yanked it open to allow the paramedics in. As two paramedics filed in she realized she was shouting at them, "He's there! He's there, help him, please!"

One of the young paramedics flipped Castle's eyelid open, another began to put a neckbrace around his neck. They were speaking to each in medical terms, and Kate couldn't keep up with the jargon. She wanted to scream at them to hurry, but she knew her distracting them wouldn't help Castle in the end.

After what felt like an eternity to Kate, the paramedics finally got Castle up on the backboard and took him down to the ambulance on the street. Cops were standing next to the room. "Detective…," one of the officers started to address. "No!" Kate shouted. "You can get my statement at the hospital, but I will not wait here while my partner is dying." She turned to the paramedic in the back of the ambulance. "Please! Can I get in with him?"

"Better hurry," the paramedic shouted back.

Kate frantically scurried into the back of the ambulance, and the paramedic closed the doors. "Get to the seat there on the left, and don't talk to me. I got to focus on him. Brett, let's go!" said the paramedic.

As the ambulance roared off, Kate heard the sirens begin to sound, and watched as the paramedic began scurring around Castle. As he inserted an IV into Castle's arms and cut off his shirt, Kate recalled a statement Castle said to her after she had been shot. "I watched you die in that ambulance. Did you know that? You know what that's like? Watching the life drain out of someone you, someone you care about?" She didn't understand then, but she understood now. She wanted to do nothing but grab Castle's hand and beg him to hold on, but the paramedic was all over him and she didn't want to get in the way. The paramedic was ripping Castle's pants, when he came to halt, and grabbed something out of his pocket.

"Here, hold that," the paramedic said, and threw something at Kate.

She barely caught the thrown object, then took a look down at it. Her hands began to shake. She was holding a Tiffany blue box, one that was shaped just the shape of a ring box. "No," she whispered to herself. She looked back at Castle with tears in her eyes, then back at the box. She tipped it open. Inside was a beautiful ring, and it wasn't just any diamond ring like every girl had, but an originally styled ring with a ruby. "No," she moaned aloud. "Please, no. He didn't, he didn't know how I felt, and, and-"

"Lady! I need you to be quiet, otherwise the hospital won't hear what I have to say okay?" The paramedic shouted at her.

Kate nodded, and continued to stare at the ring. She had asked him to stand up, to commit, and so he had decided to propose to her at her apartment. And now he was dying in front of her, and the last thing he had known, had felt from her, was that she was cutting him out of a life for a job. A job that seemed so stupid now, to her.

And she began to pray to whatever deity would hear her.