Hours later, she watched his face as he dozed peacefully. Limbs entangled, she realized that she had never been more relaxed or comfortable, despite the sore muscles and bruises she'd sustained from her earlier rooftop chase.

Deep in thought, she barely noticed that he had woken up and was watching her intently under half-closed eyelids. "Penny for your thoughts, Detective?"

"I'm just thinking that I could easily spend all day, right here, without ever addressing the outside world," she murmured as she moved in to snuggle against his neck. The pulse of his heartbeat in that curved space was so soothing, and when she took a breath she inhaled deeply, committing the scent of his cologne to memory.

"Does this mean you're going to take a day off from work?" he asked.

He doesn't know, she remembered suddenly. With all of the haste of the night before, the conversation hadn't progressed to the point where she could tell him about her resignation. Sensing her hesitation, he reached over and took her chin in his hand, gently guiding her eyes back to his and raising an eyebrow to re-ask the question silently.

"Castle," she started, then paused. "Rick." A brief smile shadowed her face at the self-correction. "I need to tell you something." Easing herself to a sitting position and wrapping the bedsheet around her chest in a moment of awareness, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she searched for the right way to approach the conversation. Sometimes simplicity was best, she realized. "I resigned from the 12th."

"What?" The announcement had him caught somewhere between numb shock and absolute awe. "What do you mean you resigned?"

"I went after the shooter and threw everything else out the window, protocol, rules…you," she said, shaking her head at the thought. "I was irrational and…and stupid. I was so focused on finding the truth that I became someone I'm not proud of. I got Javi in trouble. He's suspended. Gates was suspending me, too, so I just turned in my badge and my gun and I left. Truth is, Ryan is the only reason I made it off that rooftop, and he's still damaged from what happened. Javi's not even talking to him. And I'm responsible for all of it. I broke my team."

He sat quietly, letting her get all of her frustration out, not knowing exactly what to say. He kept his hand on her knee, his thumb rubbing slow and gentle circles. She raised her head to look at him again and shrugged her shoulders. Waiting for him to say something, anything, was almost unbearable, but she knew he was giving her time and space. She linked her fingers with his and brought their joined hands to her forehead, resting her eyes and sighing.

"You know, the Kate Beckett I know…and love…wouldn't give up so easily on anything that mattered as much as this," he said calmly. "I don't know all the details, but I do know that the NYPD was, IS, lucky to have you around. I don't think they'd let you go that easily. Maybe if you just go back, talk to Gates, you could –"

"I don't know if I can." She said it so quietly, so plainly, so simply, the words crushed him. This was a pain that he couldn't bear for her. She had come to him the night before, heart open and ready, but the bruises on her emotions were just as potent as the ones he could see blooming from her physical struggles the day before when she'd almost lost her life.

"You don't have to make any decisions now," he decided. "Not today. Today is ours. At least, until Alexis gets home from her friend's house, which will probably be sometime soon." He turned to check the time on the alarm clock for confirmation. Turning back to face her, he cupped her cheek in his hand and ran his thumb along her cheekbone. "One step at a time, I promise," he said softly.

"Thank goodness," she replied, reaching for him and pulling him closer for a passionate kiss. "How much time until Alexis gets home?"