Well here is the second and last chapter of this particluar story I hope everyone likes it. I must say this one was very fun to write, but once again it has not been betaed so there may be mistakes. Now writing this I did the part after the break to music, and I recommend listening to some while you read to set the mood. I recommend YouTubing "Expression" by Helen Jane Long. You'll understand what I mean when you get to that part of the story. I want to thank everyone for reviewing it really means a lot to read what you guys write.

Once again I do not own Castle nor any of its characters/storylines/properties

Enjoy!

Around an hour after Kate read Castle's note, once they had brought the Vic's yoga instructor in, the case was wrapped up. Between Tom and Kate it took only about ten minutes of grilling the guy before he cracked. Apparently he had been infatuated with their Vic and became overjoyed at the prospect of a private lesson which had led to a sexual tryst. Unfortunately for the instructor their Vic was only looking for a casual relationship and when the instructor had tried to become more formal she had cut him loose. From that point on it had just spiraled out of control until she had cut off all contact. Four days later his obsession had gained control of him and he had shot her out of passion. More importantly to Kate was that Castle was right the entire time.

Somehow without even meeting the yoga instructor, and purely going over her notes on the interview, Castle had single handedly come up with not only the killer, but he also accurately pinpointed the man's motivation. Castle solving the case where she was stumped was not what bothered her, what did bother her was that she hadn't even participated in his process and instead had impeded him at every turn.

Kate had been torn between immediately finding Castle and finishing the case ultimately deciding to wrap the case up as fast as possible. Now that it was over she had to find Castle to apologize for brushing him off when he was trying to help and to find out exactly why he had such a look of anger on his face as he left.

Just as she was packing up her things and shrugging into her coat Tom came over with a large smile on his face. "Well it looks like we make a pretty good team. I knew if we kept at it we would be able to get the right guy. Now how about we grab that dinner?" he said with a tone of satisfaction.

Kate was a bit taken aback by that statement, especially considering they hadn't solved a thing Castle had. "We just booked him we didn't solve a thing. I can't go, I have to find Castle and figure out how he solved it and why he didn't tell us. Maybe some other time Tom," Kate said quickly hurrying towards the exit saying the last sentence over her shoulder as she pulled out her phone.

Once in the elevator she quickly dialed Castle's number and to her dismay got bounced to voicemail without it even ringing. Figuring that maybe he was home she tried his house phone next surprised by who answered.

"Hello," Alexis' voice chimed on the other end.

"Hi Alexis its Kate is your dad home?" she asked.

"No actually he left about three hours ago when Gram's after show party started," Alexis informed her. Damn she had missed him.

"Do you know where he went by any chance?" she asked hoping that Alexis would have an answer.

"O yea he said his publisher needed a couple of chapters revised by tomorrow so he went to our house in the Hamptons to have some peace and quiet. He said you guys wrapped up the case early so that's why he came home. Why is something wrong, he seemed fine when he left?" Alexis questioned unsure of why Kate was even asking.

Having too much respect for Alexis to lie Kate confessed, "Actually he wrapped up the case early today and it took me until now to catch up. I may have gotten short with him earlier and I want to apologize but since his phone is off I can't get a hold of him and I was wondering if you knew where he was."

"Sure you have a pen?" and with that Alexis rattled off an address that Kate quickly took down as she walked to her car.

"Thanks Alexis you're the best," she said feeling her heart getting a little lighter at knowing where Castle was and that she would work everything out soon.

(BREAK)

Pulling up at a house Kate double checked the address to make sure it was Castle's. After making sure she began walking up to the door. Kate had no idea what she planned on saying, or even how she was going to say it. All she knew was that she had to talk to Castle to not only find out why he left upset, but to also apologize for brushing him off earlier today.

Standing in front of the door she took a deep breath and rung the bell. One minute went by, then two and still nothing. Knocking loudly produced similar results. Thinking that maybe she took down the wrong address she grabbed her phone and redialed Alexis' number. It was only ten Alexis hopefully wasn't asleep.

"Hey Kate," Alexis's voice said on the other end, "You find the place ok?"

"Yea Alexis I am just double checking the address are you sure you gave me the right, one no one is answering," Kate explained.

"Does it have a red door, big tree in the front with a tire swing?" Alexis asked to which Kate responded in the affirmative. "Yea that's the place maybe he stepped out to grab something there is a spare key in the flower pot to the left of the door let yourself in till he gets back."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude, I mean I need to talk to him but what if he's asleep?" Kate asked losing some of her nerve when she realized she would have to enter uninvited.

"Kate trust me he won't care. Just grab the key and get in the door I have to go to sleep sometime," Alexis teased hearing and knowing Kate's apprehension.

Sighing in defeat Kate found the key and opened the door. As soon as she swung the door open she heard music emanating from somewhere in the house, more specifically it was coming from a piano. Sorrow would have been an understatement to the tone of the song being played, Kate felt like her heart was being broken just listening to the heart wrenching sounds. It was absolutely beautiful, but at the same time tear jerking, she had never heard something with so much feeling before.

"Umm Kate is that Piano music? Maybe you should go home" Alexis said with hesitation and nervousness in her voice.

"Yea whats wrong Alexis?" Kate asked not sure why Alexis would have such a mood swing from playful to hesitant in such a short time.

"Dad's killing someone," was Alexis' shocking response.

Completely taken off guard by that statement Kate was left for speechless, Richard Castle famed author was killing someone? Before her imagination could get the better of her Alexis clarified, "I mean he is killing a character of his. Dad always plays the piano when he writes a death scene for a character. Usually he does it at home and it doesn't take more than a few minutes, but not always. Sometimes… sometimes when he really likes a character or he has a connection to them he goes to that house by himself and plays the piano for hours as he writes the scene out. He has only done it a few times with the last being Derek Storm. I… I cried the first time he did it at home hearing how he played and he hasn't done it here since." Alexis whispered almost on the brink of tears even though she wasn't there.

Kate herself was feeling a lump in her throat from the pure feeling of anguish that was floating on the air in the form of music. She wanted to do nothing more than curl up and cry because she knew that for her to feel that feeling meant that Castle was feeling something even worse as he played. Kate couldn't let Alexis down though and she couldn't let Castle stay this way.

"Alexis sweetie I'm not going to let him go through this alone, I will take care of him don't worry about a thing. This is my fault I think and it's up to me to fix it so you go back to sleep and I will have him back to his annoying self tomorrow," she promised hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt, it was just… that music… it was so laced with pain.

"Ok Kate I trust you bring him back to me with a smile please. I'll try and get some sleep," and with a sniffle and a brighter tone in her voice Alexis hung up.

Closing the door Kate felt like she was a fish on dry land, completely out of her element. This entire house, this entire situation was so unlike Castle that she had no idea what to do or how to even begin. Squaring her shoulder's she reminded herself she was a NYPD homicide detective and that she would be damned if she backed down when someone needed her. Besides Castle had always been there for her even when she didn't want him and there was no way she was going skip repaying that huge favor when he needed it in return.

Walking towards the music each step she took became slightly harder as each note that filled the air weighed heavier and heavier on her shoulders. Finally she entered the room where she saw Castle sitting behind a grand piano with a pad of paper on the top alongside a glass and open bottle of wine. An eerie fire glowing in the corner of the room threw off the only light in the entire house.

There Castle sat those eyes that had bore into her hours ago closed as his head moved in tune with what his hands created as they danced along the keys. With the light playing on the side of his face Kate stopped to study him becoming completely enthralled at a completely different facet of the man that she thought she knew so well. What was even worse was the feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had somehow driven him to this state that he was in.

Interrupting her musings Castle's eyes opened and he fixed her with a piercing glare that she didn't even know he was capable of. For the first time that she could ever remember in his presence Kate felt fear tingle up her spine at his gaze.

"Can I help you Detective?" Castle asked making it sound more like a insult than an actual title.

"I got your note," god how did she even start she didn't know what to say because she really didn't even know what she had done.

Nodding his head his eyes once again closed as he shifted into another song just as heart wrenching as the last. "I figured you would eventually notice, I hope it was helpful, but I imagine the two of you solved it well before then." Bitterness and malice laced his voice in a way that she had never heard before, even when they discussed the most cruel and vile killers they had ever seen.

"Actually we were at a dead end until I found it… You were right even about the motive we just finished booking him about an hour ago. I… uh… came here as soon as it was done," she said nervous and completely caught off guard by the entire situation she found herself in.

"Congratulations Detective I am glad you got your man," he said still practically spitting out her title and refusing to actually refer to her by name. Something about that one sentence made it seem as if he were referring to more than the killer.

"Castle I need to talk to you about today I…." she began.

Not even giving her time to finish Castle cut her off, "Welcome to my home Detective; or as Alexis so lovingly calls it the 'Mortuary'. I have written some of my best work here, I still do when the occasion calls for it." Taking a pause from playing he grabbed the pen and wrote with exceeding care on the pad before resuming where he had left off on the piano.

"I suppose a congratulations is order many people have seen me write but very few have seen how I write the most important scenes in my book," he continued. "I always found writing a murder scene on a computer was a bit too impersonal. I am currently in the middle of something quite pivotal, feel free to stay if you want. I only ask that you don't try and distract me with stupid theories, after all I am working." With that sentence he locked eyes with her clearly restating the exact words she had said earlier that day.

Once again his eyes closed and the music increased in volume and somehow reached a new level of feeling. Hearing him and seeing him sitting there pouring his heart out on the keys brought a tear to Kate's eyes. God what had she done and how did she fix it.

"Who are you killing?" she asked hoping to get an insight into what he was feeling by what he was doing.

"Rook," he whispered in a hushed voice as if saying that name aloud would spoil the great ending that was brewing in his mind.

Another tear fell from her eyes at his statement. Rook… oh God Castle was killing himself off in their story what did that mean for them? Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook were their alter egos and if he was getting rid of Rook did that mean he would stay with her outside of the novel, or was he writing himself out in the book as a prelude to reality?

"Why?" she asked in a shaky whisper needing to understanding, needing to know what was the cause.

"Nikki doesn't really need him anymore. I am writing her a new partner, another cop, someone that is more to her approval," was his response.

"What did I do? How do I fix it?" Hell with referring to themselves through their characters she needed to know what was wrong.

"Are you really so blind to your own actions?" he asked once again opening his eyes to look at her.

"Please Castle I know I brushed you off but I am sorry. I didn't think… I should have listened," she said her voice slightly breaking with each word.

"How many times have I been there for you Kate? How many times have I helped you when you needed it? I entrusted my life to you when my only defense was a champagne bottle, I ran into a burning building in absolute terror that you were gone, I have done nothing but care with all I have," Castle said not breaking her gaze letting his emotions shine through his eyes as brightly as a light tower during a storm.

"Apparently it didn't mean much to you if it only took one case and one new face to forget all of that. I didn't care that you were trying to start a relationship, I didn't even care that you got caught up with working with him," as Castle spoke his words gaining a slight edge to them with each word.

Then closing his eyes he whispered, "You tossed me aside and treated me like I didn't have any importance, like I was simple a hindrance to your investigation. Never before have you dismissed me like that , you wouldn't even listen to what I had to say cutting me off before I could get more than a few words out of my mouth. That hurt Kate it still hurts, and it's the sign that lets me know you don't need me anymore."

Feeling her legs turn to jelly Kate collapsed on the floor freely letting tears run down her cheeks as she remembered in vivid detail everything she had done to him. Events of the past flashed through her head, of him taking her to Remy's, paying to find her mother's killer without a second thought, staying in her living room to protect her, running into her burning bathroom in distress, saving her life as she stared down the barrel of her own gun with a psycho on the other end, asking her to care for his daughter if anything happened, even opening his very home for her.

Every single endearing image just caused the next set to hurt even worse. Her leaving him standing in the garage, her calling his theories fanciful as she ordered him off to get coffee like an errand boy, building theory with Tom as he stood in the background clearly feeling unwanted, humoring him like a child as he tried to help solve the case, ordering him to wait outside the interrogation room, and finally cutting him off as he was in the middle of telling her his case solving revelation.

God help her, Castle was her partner by her own admission and she had treated him like he was beneath her. Kate got so caught up in Tom and her attraction to him that she didn't see she was pushing away one of the most important people in her life. Esposito, Ryan, Montgomery, and Lanie were all like family, but Castle… Castle went above and beyond that of a friend putting her safety and interests before his very own.

Castle was right, she truly was blind and had been blind to the amount of pain she was causing the man that was probably her dearest friend. Kate had confided in him more than any other person and he had never taken it for granted, never breathed a word no matter how much power in their relationship it would have given them. In return Kate had shunned, mocked, embarrassed, and degraded him without a second thought. All because she had found someone she deemed safe to show her feelings to, and as she sat crying she realized the truth.

Kate was attracted to Tom because he was safe, a cop like her he thought like her they got along great he was safe. Kate knew she could be with him and he would never push her boundaries, never challenge her to overcome that which she didn't want to. Tom was safe but now sitting here listening to Castle manifest his feelings into absolutely heart wrenching music Kate finally understood. She didn't want safe, she didn't need safe anymore, she needed a risk. Lord help her she needed Rick like she needed the very air she breathed.

For so long she had never wanted to ever move outside of her comfort zone. Then Castle came along and forcefully pushed her out and she had went willingly without a second thought. Kate had lived, she had actually lived her life with him by her side. Joy returned to her hollow existence and she almost threw all of the away for some stranger she had barely known for a week because she was to afraid to admit how she really felt.

No more hiding, no more being afraid she vowed that very instant. She had made a promise to Alexis and she would be damned if she let her down. More importantly she was tired of her life of not taking risks and always glimpsing but never achieving happiness. That ended today, it ended now!

Rising to her feet tears still falling from her eyes she took one step towards Rick, then another. Almost as if in a dream she found herself walking towards him, but her eyes were not on him they were locked on his work. Reaching she grabbed his note pad in hand, her movement causing his eyes to snap open in surprise at her actions and proximity. With long strides she found herself in front of the roaring fire, and with a yell to release her emotions she threw his work into the blaze bringing an end to Castle's playing and a silence to the room.

Gone were his words of Rook leaving Heat, gone were his ideas for killing a character that reflected him, but most importantly gone were his words of him leaving her. Whirling on him gaining strength with each second the music was absent from the room, almost as if the very sound of it had sapped her strength, she returned to him long legs swiftly closing the distance.

Grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt she brought his face close to hers and she let him have it, "Bullshit! Don't you dare say I don't need you Castle don't you dare! Without you I would be lost, without you I would be a shell going through the motions of living! Dammit Castle I screwed and up I'm sorry, God am I sorry for what I did. But you know what I am glad because I did if I hadn't I wouldn't have realized that I… that I… THAT I LOVE YOU!!"

Stunned silence followed as tears continued to run down her cheeks and fall onto the floor between them. Castle had a look of surprise in his eyes, but slowly the mask of anger and indifference he had worn since her arrival began to crack. Gone was the anger, hate, bitterness, and hurt. What replaced it was a sight that caused the tears to increase two fold in Kate's eyes.

Slowly tears began to glisten in Castle's eyes mirroring her own, his mask shattered and a look of complete awe replaced it. In a voice that was so soft she had to strain to hear it, almost as if he thought it being heard would wake him from a dream, he asked, "You love me?"

Nodding her head she said, "God help me but I do Rick, and I think I have for quite awhile."

Hearing her reaffirm her confession the dam holding back his tears burst and soon he had tears as plentiful as her own falling to mix with hers on the floor between them. Without warning he lunged forward and brought his mouth to hers in a kiss that seared them both to their very souls. It was like nothing either had experienced before, akin to lightening striking it was breathtaking and soul shattering all at once, Kate felt her toes lift in her shoes and her legs shake threatening to lose their strength.

Pulling back in desperate need of oxygen they stood their panting, their foreheads resting against one another. "I have dreamed of it a thousand nights but never thought I would hear those words," Castle said his voice heavy with emotion. "I love you Kate and God is going to have to help us both because I think I have longer than you," Castle professed saying her name in a manner that it reminded her of a sweet caress.

"God I love that sound," she confessed safe in the knowledge that once again anything she said would be guarded by him like the very ending to one of his books. "Just tell me one thing," she prompted.

"Anything you name it," he responded with a look of love in his eyes that took her breath away.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" she asked innocently with a small smile on her face.

Hearing her question he blinked in surprise before bursting out in peals of laughter that were loud enough to echo throughout the entire house. Rick laughed until his side hurt as Kate caught up in his mirth laughed right alongside him.

Once their laughter began to die down he hugged her tightly against him burying his head into her hair, they were a perfect fit.

"Welcome back Kate," he said holding her tight.

"I never left Rick. I was just Losing Focus."

FIN