This is set post-"Knockdown" and contains spoilers.

A huge thank you to Educate The Masses for the quick beta read. And for being a wonderful friend.

Kate sat in the silence of her apartment with the glow from the muted television providing the only light in the room. It had been a stressful few days, complicated even more by the phone call from Josh earlier that afternoon asking if they could have dinner.

She considered blowing him off again, work being the convenient excuse, but she had avoided him long enough. Instead, she'd suggested he pick up take-out and meet her at her apartment. The "we need to talk" being left unsaid.

As much as she'd cared for Josh - and there was no denying that she'd had feelings for him - what it really came down to was a matter of trust. It pained her to admit it, but she didn't trust him. Not really. Not with the important stuff. Not with her heart, and most certainly not with her mom.

It had been a week since her life had been turned upside down again. A week since she'd stood in the middle of the street, her heart racing, her stomach churning, and her hands holding tight to Castle as they shared a mind-blowing kiss.

His breathless "that was amazing!" had summed up exactly what she'd been thinking. Unfortunately, there hadn't been time to dwell on their kiss. There was still a murderer to be caught.

And they had caught him. Together. The way they always did.

Then Castle had surprised her. She had expected him to push her, to demand that they dissect exactly what had transpired in those few seconds. Instead, he'd been amazingly quiet about the issue, not even mentioning it to Ryan and Esposito when they'd traded stories about their capture and subsequent rescue.

He still brought her coffee every morning. He still badgered her about her eating habits. And he still wove ridiculous tales about their latest victim and the motive for her murder.

He was still…Castle.

And yet, he was suddenly so much more to her. He was someone that she'd finally admitted she trusted. When Raglan asked who Castle was, there was no hesitation in her answer, no doubt that she trusted him. Not when it came to her mom. He'd proven himself more than trustworthy. The last week had her giving serious consideration to the possibility that she could also trust him with her heart.

After the first couple of days of him not mentioning "the kiss", Kate had seriously wondered if she'd completely misread the attraction between them. And then they'd found themselves alone in the break room.

Castle had been standing at the espresso machine when she walked in, a fresh cup of the expensive brew just finishing. He'd handed it to her without a word, quickly setting the machine to make another cup.

There was nothing unusual about it. Until she reached past him for the cream and accidentally brushed against his shoulder. His entire body had gone rigid, causing Kate to turn and look at him.

"Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Fine," came his curt reply as he took a step to the side, effectively breaking contact with her.

She'd studied him for a long minute, noting that his eyes stayed glued to the machine in front of him. It was his hands that finally gave him away though. There was no hiding the slight tremble in them as he prepared his own coffee. And when he finally lifted his gaze to hers, there was no denying the raw desire in his blue depths before he quickly glanced away.

It was then that she'd realized that when (and it was suddenly no longer a question of "if" in her mind) they took that next step in their relationship, the decision would be hers to make. Castle would never pressure her into something he didn't think she wanted.

Armed with that knowledge, Kate had done some serious soul-searching. What she'd finally decided was that it was time to end things with Josh. It wasn't fair to either of them to try to make a relationship work when she knew that she would never be able to fully commit to it.

And now, for the first time in nearly ten months, she and Castle were both unattached. She would be lying if she said she wasn't slightly freaked out by the idea of a romantic relationship with him. But it would be just as much of a lie to pretend that she wasn't intrigued by the idea as well.

She knew they were neither one ready for a full out romantic blitz. However, she knew she was ready to take that first step...a baby step no doubt, but a step nonetheless. She wanted to find out if she could honestly say that Castle was someone she trusted when it came to her heart.

Taking a deep breath, she reached for her phone and composed a text.

"Ice cream?"

It was mere seconds when his reply came through.

"When and where? I'm there."

As she sent him the name of her favorite ice cream parlor, she couldn't help but smile. He really was there, wasn't he?

As always, reviews are much appreciated. And just like the previous chapter, if you have a prompt you'd like me to use, please let me know. I promise it won't be as long between updates this time. The next chapter is actually already written.