Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters I write about. If you recognize a name, odds are it isn't mine. But seeing as this is a fanfic website, you probably knew that already.

Thanks again to Sunshiny-Kate, the best beta a writer could ask for!

"Castle?" Beckett whispers, then waits a moment before trying again, this time louder. "Castle?" When he still doesn't wake up, she leans over and gently presses on his shoulder.

He opens his eyes slowly, then blinks twice. "Kate?" he murmurs sleepily, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize."

Castle glances at the clock on his bedside table. "At two in the morning?"

"I couldn't sleep," Beckett shrugs, her voice breaking slightly.

"Are you crying?" Castle sits up halfway, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Not anymore."

"Kate," he whispers reverently before reaching over and pulling the covers down, "come here."

She toes off her tennis shoes and slides into the bed. Castle drops the sheet and blanket once she's under them, and then turns onto his side. He wraps his arms around Beckett and tugs her to him. She presses her body flush with his, tangles their legs together, and tucks her head under his chin.

"Castle, I'm so sorry," Beckett begins, her breath warm on his chest even through his thin cotton tee-shirt.

"Kate, it's okay," Castle whispers soothingly, "we're gonna fight sometimes."

"I know, but this wasn't a fight. I bit your head off and made you leave the precinct, and I didn't even give you an explanation as to why I was upset." She sniffles and Castle can hear her swallow hard. "I couldn't deal with what was going on and I took it out on you and I just did everything so wrong," she pauses and moves just enough to be able to turn her head to look up at him, "and I'm sorry."

Castle places a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead, then brings his gaze back to meet hers. "Are you ready to talk about it now?"

Beckett nods and shifts herself further up on the bed so her head is on his pillow with their faces just a couple of inches apart. She pulls his arm from beneath her and takes hold of his hand, letting their joined limbs come to rest between them. His other arm is still over her side, and he starts slowly rubbing his hand up and down her back in lazy movements that are meant to relax her. She runs her free hand through his hair and then over his cheek, then drapes her arm over his side so her hand is on his back. She takes a deep breath and then leans in to kiss him.

"I thought I was pregnant," she says against his lips.

Castle pulls away and meets her eyes with his own. "What?"

"I was late by a few days, so I took a pregnancy test."

"When? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was two days ago. I didn't tell you because of what the results led to."

"What does that mean, Kate?" His eyes widen. "Are you pregnant?"

"No, the test was negative. But what surprised me more than anything was the fact that I wasn't sure how I felt about that." She waits, but Castle just looks at her, telling her wordlessly that he wanted her to keep talking. "I realized I wasn't so sure that I didn't want to be pregnant. It got me thinking about us, what we have, where this relationship is going. I'd never taken a pregnancy test before, and suddenly there I was, thinking about the possibility of being a mother, and it made me miss my mother and all these thoughts and emotions welled up inside me and then the case was frustrating me and I wasn't sure how to bring all this up with you and then I just snapped after that interrogation and you know the rest." She takes in a deep breath, having expelled all the air in her lungs with her rushed confession.

"Kate, I -"

"I'm in love with you, Castle." Beckett blurts before he can say anymore. "I should've said so already, but I was afraid to."

Castle stares at her for a handful of moment before he realizes she's waiting for him to respond. "Why would you be afraid to say that?" is all he can muster.

"Because, Castle, there's no going back from telling you that I love you, and if this wasn't going to go anywhere long term, I didn't want to make things harder by telling you."

"Say it again."

Beckett sighs. "There's no going-"

"No, not the whole thing," Castle interrupts her.

She squints her eyes in thought, then a smile spreads across her face when she realizes what he means. "I love you."

Before she knows what's happening, Beckett is on her back with Castle's full weight on top of her, pressing her down into the mattress. His lips find hers with a furious passion, and she can't help the whimper that slips from her throat when he bites down on her bottom lip and then soothes it with a too gentle kiss. His tongue slips into her mouth, stroking the roof, sending arousal shooting through her entire body. He moves to her neck, sucking hard, and she doesn't even care that there will most likely be evidence of the act in the morning.

"I love you, Kate," he pants against her skin, never letting up in his onslaught of kisses as he continues to speak, "I love you so much and I have for so long, that I don't even remember what it feels like to not be in love with you, and I never want to." He moves his mouth back to hers and slows down his pace, tangoing their tongues together in a languid dance. He breaks the kiss and touches his forehead to hers, "I guess we should have talked about this before now to make sure we were on the same page. So here's my thoughts about our relationship. I don't want what we have to ever end. I'm in this for the long haul, if you'll have me." He kisses her again. "Someday Kate, when we're ready, I want to be your one and done."

Kate pushes on his shoulders and he rolls off of her. They both turn back to their sides, facing each other as they share his pillow again. "Do you want more children?"

"Yes," Castle replies without hesitation, "but only if you're their mother." He waggles his eyebrows. "You know we'd make some ruggedly beautiful kids."

Beckett hits him on the arm, but the touch is playful, and she can't help the chuckle that slips out. "I'm being serious, Castle. I want to have kids someday, and I need to know if you're on board with that."

"I am," he smiles, "and I'm being serious about you being the mother. I don't want kids with just anybody. I want kids with just you."

Beckett smiles, that wide, full smile that is reserved usually just for Castle. "I want to move in together."

"You do?" Castle's eyes light up with excitement.

"I do."

"I'd like that very much. When?"

"Tell you what," she kisses him lightly, "after this case, I'll take a few days off. We can take some time to ourselves, and talk about all of this some more. Including figuring out the whole moving in together thing."

"We could go up to the Hamptons," Castle suggests, "I could make some calls in the morning, just to make sure the place is clean and stocked."

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

Castle scoots over, erasing the little space that remains between them. He kisses Beckett but keeps his lips still over hers, then breaks away with a loud pop, earning a laugh from her.

"I know it's gonna be a while before any babies show up," Castle says, whispering into the air between them, "But while we're at the Hamptons we should practice the baby making process. You know, just to make sure we know what we're doing."

"Don't you worry. We're going to get in plenty of practice."

They both laugh at that, then Beckett nudges Castle's shoulder and he turns on his back. He slips an arm under her neck and she lays her head on his shoulder, then lets an arm fall across his chest. He places his free hand on her arm and squeezes gently.

"Good night, Kate."

"Night, Castle." She cranes her neck until she can press a kiss to his cheek. "I love you."

Castle hums happily. "I love you, too." They fall silent for a while, then he picks his head up slightly. "We could practice right now, come to think of it."

"Go to sleep, Castle."

"Okay."