Chapter Two

*sitting in Br. Burke's office*

"Okay you two. What seems to be the problem?" Dr. Burke asked.

Castle and Beckett both looked at each other. They weren't sure who should go first.

"Mr. Castle, since you scheduled this appointment, how about you go first."

"Okay. Well. Um. It all started a few weeks ago. It was Kate's first day of being a Captain at the precinct. We were having a great morning. And then she got a call. She said it was from work; that she had a meeting with 1PP."

Kate was just looking at Castle. She remembered that day clearly.

"And so she left to go to this meeting?" Dr. Burke asked

"Yeah she did. Or so I thought. It turned out that there was never a meeting. She lied to me. She was doing some undercover secret work that had to do with her entire AG team was killed. She went missing for 36 hours. I was so worried. No one knew where she was. And after I went to the ends of the Earth to find her, she left me. "

"Kate why did you leave Rick?" Dr. Burke was very curious as to hear why Kate had done what she did.

"My entire AG was killed. I felt like it was all my fault. I had to do something. So I had to go. I had to get my head right. I had to figure some things out so that we could have our happily ever after. I was trying to save our marriage." Kate said while looking down at her hands.

"But what I don't understand is why you didn't include me in this Kate. You know that if you have a problem, then we both have a problem. Like always." Castle said.

"It wasn't like that this time Castle. I had to do this on my own." she said. Of course she did. Castle was getting so annoyed. He was starting to regret his decision to come here. He felt like they were getting nowhere.

Dr. Burke was sensing the tension in the room. "Well Mr. Castle, when Kate when missing what was your reaction? And how did you feel when she left you?"

"Well like I said I was very worried when she went missing. Those 36 hours were the harde-" Castle admitted.

"-and a year ago Castle you were gone for eight weeks! EIGHT weeks! You missed our wedding!" Kate said angrily.

"That was different Kate and you know it."

"It sure was. You still don't remember what happened during six of those weeks and yet I trusted you. So please just trust me. I didn't so this to hurt you. I did it to protect you." Kate could not understand what Castle could not comprehend about her rationale for leaving. Castle was just staring at her. He wanted to say something but he didn't know how.

"Go ahead Rick. Tell her how you feel. This is why we are here."

"Kate….I don't always need or want to be protected. I feel like you think you are always obligated to but it isn't your job to protect me. In a marriage, it is the husband's job to protect his wife; his family. And I understand that since you are a cop, it is in your blood to do it. But I don't want you to do it anymore. I want to be able to help you through this stuff. I want you to be able to feel like you can come to me for help and not some other man. It kills me when you keep this kind of stuff to yourself because it is a lot to take on by yourself. And if in the end something happens to me, I will be okay because I know that I did everything in my power to help you."

And there it was. All the anger and hurt that was built up inside Castle came out. The truth. Kate looked up at him. He had tears in his eyes. He needed her to know that it was okay for her to ask for help. She didn't know what to say.

"Kate? What do you have to say about what Rick just said?" Dr. Burke asked.

"I don't know. I never knew that was how he felt. I just keep doing this because I would not be able to live with myself if something happened to Castle because of me. And then I think about his mother and Alexis and it just pains me even more because they are his world and vice versa. I just don't want to have to tell them that something happened to Castle because of me. But I understand where he is coming from."

"Okay well let's think of a way that the two of you can find a happy medium. I think that for you Kate, you need to have more trust in Rick. You need to not be so protective over him. I understand how you would feel if something were to happen to him. But you also have to think about it from his point of view too." Dr. Burk suggested. "And as for you Mr. Castle. You need to express your feelings more often. I know you want to give Kate her space. But when you think something is up and she is not telling you, you need to invade her space. You need to insert yourself into her problems. Like you said earlier, make her problems your problems. If she doesn't like it or doesn't want it, DO NOT back down. Keep pushing so that she knows you are not going anyway; that you will do anything and everything for her."

They both nodded their heads. It seemed like a logical plan.

"Well our time is up for today. I am very happy that I could assist you two in whatever is going on here. Remember if you want to talk at any time, just give me a call." Dr. Burke said as he was shaking both of their hands.

"Thank you Dr. Burke for all of your help." Castle said.

"Yes thank you. We really appreciate it." said Kate.

They both left Dr. Burke's office feeling better. Like a big weight had been lifted off their shoulders. They both got inside the car and headed back to the loft.

*back at the loft*

"Well that went really well." Kate said. She was changing her clothes in their room.

"Yeah I guess it did." said Castle while walking into the room. He was sitting on the bed looking off into space. Kate noticed that he hadn't said anything in a while so she walked over and stood right in front of him.

"Hey babe." she said. She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I really am sorry for everything I put you through. I didn't really take into account how you would feel about this whole thing. I was being selfish and I am sorry."

She looked sorry too. She was tired of all the fighting and Castle being mad at her and him being hurt. He looked at her and smiled. "You know, after the meeting with Dr. Burke, and the silent car ride we had back, I got to do some thinking. And I came to the conclusion that I can forgive you. You have been through a lot…and you have lost a lot. And in a way I was kind of being selfish too. So I forgive you and I would like to say sorry also. I never shou-"

In the middle of his apology she kissed him. She just wanted him to stop talking. And plus she had been dying to kiss him since she got back to the loft. Like a real kiss. She pulled away….." Rick you have nothing to apologize for okay?" She needed him to know that none of this was his fault.

He kissed her again. "Okay." He said with a smile. He was so happy that they were starting to get back to normal. All of a sudden you heard a loud growl. They both looked at each other and started laughing. "I guess you're really hungry." Castle said laughing.

"Yeah I am starving." Kate said while rubbing her growling stomach.

"How about I make us some smorelettes and we can just eat them and have a lazy day." he suggested.

"Sounds like a great plan." Kate said smiling.

She got off of Castle and they walked to the kitchen hand-in-hand. They were starting to get back to normal. And it felt so good to the both of them.