Disclaimer: I don't own Castle...

Authors Note: This chapter is from Beckett's POV.

I was sitting at my desk in the Precinct. It was too early for me to expect anyone to come, so I was bare foot and dressed in jeans and a white, knitted sweater with my hair hanging loosely at my shoulders.

It was September eleventh, the ten year anniversary of nine-eleven, so, out of pure curiosity, I was looking through everything about the nine-eleven case that I could access until a name caught my attention.

Special Agent Carrie Rogers, Secret Service.

Born: May 1st, 1979

Died: September 11th, 2001

Known Family: Richard Rogers. Married on July 31st, 2000.

When I read her husbands name, I pulled up his file. While it loaded, I took a sip of coffee and did a spit take when his file loaded and his picture came up.

Castle.

Richard Freaking Castle.

I looked up when the elevator dinged and the doors opened to see Castle walk out. From the distance between us, from my desk to the elevator, I could see that his eyes were red and puffy from crying.

I could see him pull a picture out of his walled and stare at it for a long time. That was when I realized that this must have been really hard on him when I thought of how I lost my mother.

But this.

This was his wife!

I got up and quietly walked over to him as he sniffled and put the photo back in his wallet before looking up to see me standing in front of him.

"How long have you been here?" He asked me.

"Long enough." I replied. "Rick, I'm so sorry!"

He sighed; "There is nothing I could have done to change it. It would have happened anyway, Kate."

It broke my heart when I saw a tear slowly make its way down his face. I reached up and gently brushed it off before pulling him into a hug.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm here." I soothed. "I'm here and I am not going anywhere."

He nodded.

I looked at him, to make sure he was alright. I nervously gulped when I realized that he was looking at me, and slowly, very slowly, pulled me closer. Then, he leaned in and kissed me.

It was our first kiss since the parking lot.

But, that one paled in comparison to this one. This one was soft, loving and full of building tension over the years.

The way it was supposed to be.

He was broken.

I pulled back and looked into his eyes which screamed 'help me!'

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I was out of line. I made a mistake. I'm sorry."

I let out a little laugh and replied; "Hey. No, you didn't make a mistake. You were learning to let go."

He looked at the floor.

"Rick, look at me." I said and waited until he looked at me. "I love you, and I am not the stuck-up cop you think I am, and plus. I'm not supposed to be here today. So, let me take care of you, and I won't leave until you are ready. Alright?"

He nodded.

I quickly walked over to my desk and put on my coat before joining him again. Leaving the steaming cup of coffee on my desk that I had made just moments before.