This fic was originally intended to be a one-shot, but I've decided to turn it into a collection of outtakes from Spiral Bound. I don't know if there will be more or when they will be, but if inspiration strikes, this is where any additional outtakes will be posted.

Thanks Andy for the beta!

(Spiral Bound Chapter 84.5)

November 17th, 2014

"Kate."

"Hmmm?"

"Kate," he whispered again. She could sense his body hovering over hers, could feel the soft wash of his exhales against the skin of her neck. One of his arms was draped over her torso, fingers tracing gentle patterns on the bare skin of her stomach, while the other hand rose to weave into her hair, caress her scalp.

"Go back to sleep," she mumbled sleepily, peeking open one eye to squint at the clock on the nightstand. It was her day off and her birthday and it was only seven a.m. and she fully intended to sleep in.

But Castle was insistent and stubborn, and really, she should have known that, should have expected he wouldn't relent so easily.

"But it's your birthday," he sing-songed, lips close to her ear and no, that was not a shiver that just raced down her spine and it was most certainly not caused by him.

"And I wanna sleep in," she protested half-heartedly.

"Can I at least give you my present first?"

Kate groaned, rolled over and opened her eyes halfway. "You know I'm not going to fall back asleep if I get up and open a present."

"But how else am I supposed to bring you breakfast in bed?"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you woke me up."

"Please," he coaxed sweetly, tucking an errant tangle of curls behind her ear and leaning down to press his lips to her forehead. "For me?"

She huffed out a sigh but surrendered because, really, she never stood a chance, did she?

"This better be worth it."

Above her, Castle smiled lovingly, dropped his head to capture her lips briefly before rolling out of bed. He'd taken the time to slip on a pair of boxers and Kate took a moment now to snag the shirt he'd discarded the previous night and slip it on, fastening a few buttons in the front. It hung loosely off of her frame but would suffice to ward off the cool morning air.

As she settled back against the pillows, pulled the covers up over her legs, Castle reappeared. He held a medium sized box in one hand and in the other, a small spiral bound notebook.

"Here." He climbed onto the bed, sat cross-legged in front of her, and she could see the eagerness and excitement in his features but as she looked more closely, she also caught hints of nervousness, hesitance.

She dropped her eyes to his outstretched hand, found the journal already opened to a specific page. Upon closer examination, she realized it was different; the pages were a slightly different color, the corners of the cover not quite so worn. It was the newer one.

And the date at the top of the page was yesterday's.

Kate lifted curious eyes to his, was met with a reassuring smile and nod, and only then did she reach out to grasp the journal, settled it against her lap.

Dear Kate,

Just a few days ago, you stumbled across me reading our journal in an attempt to find inspiration for a birthday present for you. Until, you know, you distracted me. Very thoroughly.

(I should clarify that I have no complaints.)

I realized this morning, though, that by re-reading our journal I was going about this all the wrong way. Those words weren't my inspiration. You were. Are. You have been for the past five and a half years. Without you, there would be no Nikki Heat. There would be no story of Heat and Rook and their journey through thick and thin. There would be no journal to read. And I wouldn't be writing to you right now because our story wouldn't exist because you wouldn't be here to help me write it.

I want to thank you, Kate. For crashing my book party all those years ago. For captivating me from the moment I laid eyes on you and continuing to amaze and surprise me on a daily basis. For keeping me around, for giving me a second (and third and fourth) chance when I screwed up. For inspiring me each and every day, not just in writing but in life. For making me want to be a better man.

I will never fully understand what it was that convinced you to let me into your life and your heart, but I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to be there. To be here, with you, sharing our home and our lives and our love.

So it only seems fitting that your birthday present be one thing; the first pages of our story. Not the ones from the journal, but the ones that have forever immortalized us in the hearts of the readers. I know, I know, it's not truly us. But it's inspired by us, by you and your fierceness and strength and beauty. By our relationship, and the way it has evolved from detective and tagalong to friends to partners to forever.

I know many chapters still lie ahead of us, that there are thousands of blank pages waiting for us as we continue to write our own story. As we continue to inspire the story of Nikki and Rook.

I have no idea exactly what lies ahead for us now. A wedding, of course. A honeymoon. Smiles and laughs and amazing sex and nights spent wrapped up in each other in bed. Probably our fair share of squabbles and fights. But no matter what, I know we will face it together.

So today, this gift is a promise to you. A promise that for as far as we've come, we still have so far to go. A promise that I will be by your side for everything that happens along the way, and that I will do everything in my power to make you smile and laugh and feel the magic I think you're finally beginning to believe in.

I can only hope I bring to your life what you have brought to mine.

I love you so much, Kate.

Rick

By the time she finished reading, a giant smile was spread across her face, her eyes were watery, and her heart was pounding with the emotions of his words, the excitement of the object she was almost certain was contained within the box.

"Castle," she murmured, lifting glossy eyes to his. He was gazing at her expectantly, so full of hope, and she extended a hand, cupped the back of his head and urged him towards her for a kiss.

He pulled back much sooner than Kate would have liked but he wasted no time in setting the box on her lap, silently answering the question that was poised on her tongue.

Kate gingerly peeled back the festive wrapping paper, slid a fingernail under the tape securing the lid to the box, and flipped it open. Even through the thin layer of white tissue paper, she could see the words 'Heat Wave' typed in large black font, confirming her hunch. She folded back the paper, reverently lifted the manuscript from its box.

What she couldn't see through the tissue paper, however, was the smaller handwritten letters scrawled neatly in the bottom corner of the front page, written at an ascending angle in Castle's familiar script.

Happy birthday to my intelligent, beautiful, inspiring, and extraordinary muse, partner, and fiancée.

"Castle," Kate breathed, blown away by his words, the thoughtfulness of his gift, the magnitude of his love for her.

"You like it?" he asked tentatively, so nervous, and she answered with a broad smile.

She gently settled the front page back into place, set the bound stack of pages aside and reached for him with both hands. He came willingly, her hands framing his face as he melted into her kiss, felt the warmth of her touch infuse his veins.

"Thank you," she murmured against his lips, pulling back just enough to speak. "Thank you so much, Castle."

"I'm glad you like it."

Kate just smiled, stole from him another kiss.

After a lingering moment, Castle sat back, slipped off of the bed. Kate made to follow, was stopped by his words.

"Stay here."

She cocked her head.

"I still have to bring you breakfast in bed."

She rolled her eyes but her appreciative smile belied her feigned annoyance.

He hastily pulled a t-shirt over his head, ran a hand through his hair, taming it only slightly. In the meantime, Kate had picked up the manuscript again, was tracing the outline of the title with her finger.

Castle paused before leaving the room, leaned down over the bed to press one last lingering kiss to her lips.

"Happy birthday, Kate."

Thoughts?