Summary: In which an accidental confession reveals much more than Castle intended. Spoilers for 5x10.

Author's Note: I'm so overwhelmed by the response to this. You guys are so sweet and wonderful and it was just amazing to receive so much feedback. Thank you so much, and I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations!

Disclaimer: Pretty sure the Castle writers weren't stuck without power for 4.5 days due to the hurricane. Yeah, didn't think so.

Chapter 2

"How, ummm, how much did you hear?" he asks nervously.

"All of it," she replies honestly, voice shaky.

Castle nods contemplatively, wracks his brains for the best solution for this situation. One that won't send her into a panic, because he can tell that she's fighting hard right now to stay calm.

"I'm sorry," he offers uselessly, but it's as good a place to start as any.

"Why?" she asks in surprise, not the words she was expecting.

"That you had to hear all of that."

Kate steps back, face paling. "So you didn't mean it?"

"No, not...of course I meant it," Castle responds right away, scrambling to find the words.

"Then what..."

"Kate..."

They both stop short, fall silent. Castle sighs heavily, runs a hand over his face. "Look, Kate, I...I love you. I want to be with you. I meant everything I said to Meredith. I just...didn't mean for you to find out this way. It's not...it's not the right way for something like that to come out, and it's definitely not the right time."

When she says nothing, he takes a hesitant step in her direction, then another. She still makes no move so he stops there, allotting her space while she sorts everything out in her head.

The moment stretches, awkward and tense and uncomfortable, but Castle can see in her eyes that she's sifting through her emotions, patiently waits her out. Okay, well, not patiently. But he waits nonetheless.

"I don't even know what to say," she says finally, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. "I was expecting a night of cuddling in front of a fire and...doing other things in front of the fire..." she adds with something resembling a chuckle, a slight blush staining her cheeks. "I definitely wasn't expecting this."

"Neither was I," he replies honestly.

"And I don't..." she begins, hesitates. "I don't know where we go from here."

She looks so fragile and scared that it breaks his heart. He wants, with everything he has, to reach out and pull her into his arms, wrap her up and make everything okay. But he knows that avoiding this won't solve anything. So, ready or not, they need to sort this out now.

"We..." he says, sighs. "We go back to where we were, Kate. We make hot chocolate and start a fire and curl up on the sofa. We go to bed together tonight, just like we were planning."

"But what about...Castle, I can't just un-hear your words," she protests.

He steps closer then, reaches out to twine their hands together. "I know," he soothes. "I know. But just because you heard them doesn't mean you have to respond to them right now. I'm not trying to pressure you. We'll just keep doing what we've been doing. And when you're ready for the next step, then we take it from there."

"And you're okay with that?" she asks tentatively.

Castle lifts his thumbs to rub random patterns over the back of her hands, gentle and relaxing. "I love you, Kate," he says bluntly, and she feels her stomach flutter because even though it's been seven months, she's still not used to hearing him speak those words so freely. "As long as we're together, everything else can wait."

"I...okay," she stammers, insecurity and confusion written all over her face, in the lines creasing her forehead and in the frantic path of her eyes all around the room, anywhere but at him.

"Look...I have to go check on Alexis, make sure she's okay," he says to break the silence. "Why don't you...make us some hot chocolate, okay? There should be schnapps in the liquor cabinet." Maybe they can still salvage some of their evening.

She nods half-heartedly, steps back. "Yeah, okay."

With a squeeze of her hand, Castle disengages his fingers, turns to head out of the office and up the stairs. Kate stands in place a moment longer, attempting to regain her composure, shake herself out of this frame of mind. Things have been so amazing lately and no matter what just happened, she doesn't want this to ruin what they've so carefully built.

She takes a deep breath, releases it slowly before making her way to the kitchen.

She can do this. She'll be okay.

"So why the sudden need for a drink tonight?"

Kate shrugs, slips onto a bar stool next to her friend. "No reason."

"Subtlety never has been your strong point, you know," Lanie points out bluntly.

"I'm sorry?"

"Girl, please," she says as though it is obvious. "You and Castle have been walking on eggshells with each other all night. Not to mention the fact that it's your weekend off and you two are fully clothed and here with all of us instead of naked and home alone."

"Lanie..."

She's right, of course, but Kate suggested this impromptu gathering to avoid talking about it, not to be grilled by her best friend. Then again, she should've known better than to assume that Lanie wouldn't notice.

"Kate," she interrupts, tossing a glance over her shoulder at Ryan, Esposito, and Castle, still seated in the booth across the room. They're involved in some sort of animated discussion, but Lanie can tell from the faraway look on Castle's face that he's only partially engaged.

Kate follows her line of sight, eyes falling on her boyfriend at the exact moment that he lifts his gaze, and their eyes meet and lock. He offers a small smile and she sends one back to him before sighing heavily and looking away. She turns back to the bar but doesn't meet Lanie's eyes, instead watches as her fingers trace the designs carved into the wood, artwork and the initials of various patrons over the years.

"Did you two have a fight?" Lanie asks gently after a moment, resting a hand on Kate's shoulder.

She lifts her eyes then, shrugs. "Not exactly. Just..." she trails off.

"Just what?" Lanie prompts.

"Meredith showed up."

"Mere...Castle's ex?" Lanie exclaims as realization dawns.

Kate nods, traces more patterns on the wooden bench top with her fingernail.

"What happened?"

"She was supposed to take Alexis on vacation, but Alexis got sick. So Meredith just decided that she was going to stay at the loft while she's in town."

"She's staying with you guys?" Lanie half-wishes she'd been there to witness this simply for the comedy factor. Except that for Castle and Kate, this has obviously been a less-than-humorous occasion.

Kate shakes her head, smiles weakly at the bartender as he returns with their drinks. "No. He...talked her into leaving."

Lanie sips her drink, shakes her head in confusion. She's never met the woman in person but has heard enough about her from Kate to know that she can be immature, over the top, and pushy. "How did he manage that?"

Kate looks away again and Lanie immediately deduces that this is where the problem arose.

"Sweetie," she prompts, covering Kate's hand with hers on the bar. "What happened."

Kate blinks hard, discretely swipes at a tear before lifting her eyes to find her friend's. "He kind of admitted that he wants to marry me."

Lanie chokes on her drink, loudly enough to draw the attention of nearby patrons. She reaches for a napkin and graciously takes the glass of water offered by the bartender, swallowing a few gulps as she regains her composure.

"Sorry, what?"

Kate just raises her eyebrows, nods. "Yep."

"I'm guessing you heard this whole exchange?"

Kate nods. "He didn't realize I was listening. She was propositioning him and wouldn't take no for an answer so he...told her that."

"What did she say?"

She shrugged. "I don't remember much after that, to be honest. But it must've gotten the point across because she left."

Lanie nods thoughtfully. "What happened when he found out you heard him?"

Kate shrugs again, takes a long swig of her drink. "We talked it out as best we could and attempted to make the rest of the evening normal. But it's just...it's awkward still. I can't un-hear that, you know? He wants to marry me, Lanie."

"You act like that's a bad thing, sweetie, but it's not. That man loves you so much that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. Do you know how many girls would be flattered by that?"

"I am flattered. But I just..." she shakes her head, rests an elbow on the bar and drops her chin into her hand.

"Just..." Lanie prompts again.

"How much stock can I put in that?" she asks, and Lanie understands then the larger issue here. "He's been married twice before. What if..."

"You can't think like that, Kate," her friend interrupts.

"But what if it doesn't work?" Kate presses.

"What if it does?"

She falls silent for a while, sipping her drink and staunchly avoiding Lanie's eyes.

"I'm not ready for this, Lane," Kate admits after a long minute.

"Is he planning to propose in the near future?" the ME asks bluntly.

Kate's head jerks up. "What?"

"Is he planning to propose right away?" Lanie repeats.

"I, well, no."

"Does he know how you feel about all of this?"

She nods.

"Then you don't have to be ready for it right now."

"I know. He said the same thing. It's hard not to feel pressured, though. Those words are there in the back of my mind. They have been since he said them. And I don't know how to make them go away," Kate admits, defeated.

"You can't. You just have to accept them. I mean, look on the bright side...at least there's no doubt about his feelings for you," Lanie offers with a hint of a smile.

Kate can't help but smile faintly as well, lifts her drink to her lips and takes a small sip. "I just feel bad because he's so far ahead of me in this. I don't even know how he can say that already."

"Because he's been in love with you for years, Kate."

She opens her mouth, closes it and falls silent again. "I know," she confesses after a minute. "I know he has."

"And as much as you deny it, you've loved him for a while too."

She shoots a glare at her friend, though she can't honestly say that Lanie is wrong.

"Come on, Beckett," she urges, covering her hand on the bar again. "You're overthinking this. You love him. He loves you. He wants to marry you someday. That's a pretty solid place to be, if you ask me."

She sighs heavily. "I know."

"Then just let it go for now."

"I wish it was that easy."

"It can be," Lanie presses.

Kate shakes her head, traces lines in the condensation on the outside of her glass with one finger.

"Okay, then let me ask you this." Kate meets her friend's honest gaze. "And don't think, just answer. If he got down on one knee right now and asked you to marry him, what would you say?"

"Yes," Kate replies before her brain even has a chance to catch up with her mouth. "I...I mean," she stammers, attempting to backtrack, but Lanie interrupts before she has a chance.

"That's what I thought."

A satisfied smirk settles on her face and Kate is struck with the urge to stick her tongue out at her best friend, but she's still too stunned to react at all.

"Lanie..."

"Come on," her friend urges, standing and picking up her drink with one hand, gesturing back at the table with the others. "We should head back over there."

Kate stalls, slowly wraps her hand around her glass, mind whirling at her own accidental admission. Because she can deny it all she wants, but she answered Lanie's hypothetical proposal from Castle out loud, and she said yes.

She gets to her feet, turns away from her friend in an attempt to gain some distance from the confession Lanie just wheedled out of her. But when she lifts her eyes, she's met by someone standing frozen in place, directly behind where she's just been sitting. She trails her eyes up the all-too-familiar chest, up to the blue eyes she's come to know and love.

They're staring at her in shock, surprise mixed with apprehension mixed with disbelief, and Kate doesn't even need to ask to know that he's been standing there long enough to hear, well, more than he bargained for.

"Castle..."

Thoughts?