Set late season six, after 'Dressed to Kill' and before 'Veritas.'

DISCLAIMER: I don't own.

He was in the zone. Sitting at his desk at ten o'clock at night after downing four cups of coffee and a five hour energy shot, he had tamped out two chapters for his next book and he was going for a third. Heavy rain was pounding against his window panes and thunder rumbled lengthy and loud following bright bolts of lightning. None of that mattered to Rick Castle, though. He was lost in his little world of murder and justice. He was so lost, in fact, that he didn't hear the front door open. He didn't hear the clicking of stiletto heels against the hardwood. He didn't hear the door of his office open, or the sound of something dripping on the floor. He didn't hear any of that, but he looked up from his laptop as soon as she entered the room, as if he could sense her presence. He couldn't hide his shock when he saw Kate Beckett standing in the doorway of his office, soaking wet.

He stood from his chair immediately and rounded his desk. "Kate…"

It seemed she had been in a trance because as soon as he said her name, she blinked and snapped forward toward him. Her bottom lip trembled and her hands reached for him. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight as sobs broke loose from her throat. He simply held her until he was sure the shivers running through her body was due to only the rainwater on her skin and not whatever pain she was dealing with. "You're freezing," he murmured into her wet hair. He gently pulled back from her and led her into his bedroom and toward the bathroom. Castle began to fill the tub with hot water, pouring in Kate's favorite lavender bath oil, then turned to her. He stroked her cheek before moving his hands to her sodden clothes, removing each item slowly while she stood there almost like a statue. When the tub was filled and Kate was naked, he helped her into the tub. She wrapped her arms around her legs, her knees to her chest with her head resting upon them. She didn't say a word.

"I'm going to go make you some tea. I'll be right back," Rick said, sweeping his hand over her hair.

She closed her eyes and nodded slightly. He was gone five minutes, going to the kitchen and putting on a kettle to boil water and then making quick work of changing out of the clothes dampened by Kate's wet body. When he returned to the bathroom, Kate was still curled up, but now tears ran down her cheeks in slow rivulets. His heart broke to see her this way.

"Hey," he whispered as he knelt beside the tub. He grabbed a washcloth from a rack close by and dunked it into the water. The room stayed silent as he ran the washcloth along her skin, chasing away the chill of the rain. Her eyes remained closed and her bottom lip was sucked into her mouth. Rick was dying to ask her what happened, why she was out in the rain, why she was crying, why she seemed to be turning inside herself. She came to him, but she won't talk, won't tell him anything. So he accepted her silence and continued to wash her clean.

After she seemed to have calmed down, he began to drain the tub. He grabbed a clean towel and waited for Kate to stand up, then wrapped it around her body. He lifted her out of the tub and dried her off gently as she stood motionless once more. Rick was growing a bit concerned, never having been in this situation before. However, knowing Kate, her unwillingness to talk isn't a newsflash, and he took the fact that her coming to him in an obvious time of need was her trying to let him in. Since their engagement, he noticed a million different little things she would do to show him she was committed to their relationship. Now he figured he just had to wait her out. She would talk when she was ready.

Once she was dried, he led her to the bedroom. "Do you want to get dressed while I go get your tea?" She didn't answer in words, just nodded and turned to the closet. Rick came back a few minutes later with two mugs of chamomile tea. Kate was dressed in one of his V-neck sweaters and he spotted a hint of his boxers under the hem of it. She was sitting on her side of the bed, curled up again with her knees to her chest. He knew she needed this; he knew one of the ways she dealt with things was to close up. So he let her do it.

Rick set the mugs down on his bedside table and sat down beside her. He didn't say anything as his hand slowly reached across the bed coming into contact with her foot. She uncurled at his touch and before he knew it, she was moving into his lap, chest to chest, wrapping herself around him like a koala bear. Her head was on his shoulder, her nose cold against his neck and her hair damp against his shirt. Rick's arms were around her immediately, one banded around her back and the hand of the other cradled her neck.

It was silent for a few more minutes until Kate finally spoke. "I love you."

His heart always warmed when she said those words. "I love you too," he whispered before kissing her cheek.

"It was a hard day," she said. Her voice sounded so small. "Sometimes, when I let myself really think about the things I have to deal with…things like someone's death, their families, their killers, I break down a little. And then there is extra weight when there are cases like my mom's." Rick gave her a gentle encouraging squeeze. "It's so hard, Castle. Knowing he's out there, knowing what he's done and we have no way of proving it."

"We'll get him one day, Kate. One day soon."

She lifted her head from his shoulder and rested her forehead against his. Her hands cradled his head. "Where did you come from?"

Rick chuckled softly. "What do you mean?"

"Are you sure you are meant for me?"

"I don't know who else I would belong to," he mumbled.

Kate shook her head and moved to press her lips to his in a gentle kiss. "It doesn't bother you when I don't talk?"

"You told me what was bothering you. You didn't right away, but when you felt ready you let me in. I'm a patient man, Kate. I'd rather you not tell me what's going on if you don't want to than feel forced to."

"I hope you know that I'm trying. I want to be open with you, always," she said.

"Take your time with that. Whenever you're ready, with whatever you want me to know, I'll be here. You've come so far in the last few years, I know you are capable of talking to me. And just so you know, I love you in your silence just as much as when you're flapping your gums." He shot her a huge grin and she snorted in amusement with a brief roll of her eyes. "The point is I love you. And that's all I need to know that I am yours. Nothing will ever change that." He reached for her left hand, his fingers playing with her ring finger. "And even though you don't wear your ring all the time, I know you're mine. Unless you said yes to marrying me because you felt sorry for me."

"Yeah, you got me. I figured it had gotten difficult for you to find a good woman these days. I decided to step up and save you from a life of loneliness."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "That was very gallant of you."

Kate smiled and tucked her head back into the crook of his shoulder. "You always seem to know what I need without me having to tell you. And no matter what you do, you always make me feel better."

"Even when I'm being annoying?"

She snickered quietly. "I actually wouldn't have you any other way."

"I'll always try my best to make you feel better, Kate."

She kissed his neck softly. "Then never stop loving me."

He pulled her tighter into his embrace. "Never."

She exhaled a deep breath and silently sent gratitude to the powers of the universe for bringing Rick Castle into her life, for god knows where she'd be without him.

Thank you for reading.