Her drive home was quiet, the lulling music coming from the radio station doing nothing to pick up her mood. The inside of her apartment is calm, the ever present emptiness much too thick, and the silence begins to eat at her. The suddenly too heavy burden of loneliness creeps into every crevice of her home; every fold of her heart. Castle, Castle, Castle. Castle is all she can think of, and the worst part is, she knew what she was getting herself into when she let herself get too close- too attached. Castle to her was more than just another crush. He was real; he was honest. He challenged her in ways other people never had. He climbed so deep into her soul that she began to feel safe. She began to trust the thought that he wasn't going to go anywhere- but he did. They always do.

So she throws herself into her case, blocking out any stray thoughts of the man who she so desperately longed for. Hair up, sweats on, she works. Works until she feels that familiar tingling sensation starting to take over her brain, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Kate, it tells her. You need to go to bed. Her body may be tired, but her soul is exhausted. Worn out and beaten down from the events of the night, she climbs into her bed, flicks her TV on, and waits for sleep to take over. But it never does.

She tosses and turns, replaying every single event, every single word spoken and breath taken. Every flick of his eyes, and every touch of his hand seems to burn holes into her memory as searing reminders of everything that went wrong. She tries to convince herself that it's just his job- he isn't leaving on purpose. But deep down she can't shake the feeling that if he really cared- if she really meant anything to him, he would have tried harder. He would have made his move a long time ago, and he definitely wouldn't have let her kiss him.

It's 2:45am when her cell phone rings on the nightstand beside her.

Hands shaking, stomach churning, she reaches out to grab the device, keeping her eyes shut in the process to delay the rush of panic that she knows will flood over her the moment she sees his name. With a shaky breath in, she answers the call.

"Beckett." She answers, waiting nervously for the voice she knows so well.

"What happened?" comes Laine's voice. Kate lets out a breath of relief, as her nerves begin to subside. She doesn't even think about questioning where Laine got her information, and doesn't have the energy to grill her about calling so early in the morning. All she knows is that she needs a friend, and as usual, Laine's there for her.

"I don't know." Kate responds, and for the first time, Laine hears something in her best friends voice that she can't quite place.

"Here's what I think:" Laine begins, trying to be as gentle as possible. "I think you're both being stubborn. Clearly, you're both feelin' somethin', and whatever that somethin' is, is important enough for the both of you to be more than a little upset. So-"

"Both of us?" Kate interjects

"Don't think Castle doesn't tell me things," she says, pretending to be insulted. But the sarcasm behind her words is clearly evident, and Kate knows that it's just Laine being Laine.

"But he doesn't tell you things." Kate reminds her.

"Yea, but he tells Esposito things… Which is basically the same."

Kate chuckles to herself, while Laine giggles on the other line and they sit for a comfortable silence. The moment is so pure and innocent that Kate almost forgets what they'd been talking about.

"I just don't know what to do, Laine." She breathes. It's a small statement, but it's a testimony to everything that she's feeling. A clue to how lost she really is- how new this whole ordeal is for her.

"Call him, Kate. Just tell him the truth."

x

If there were a word to describe the way he felt on the drive home from the precinct and for the hours following, it would be some sort of complicated blend of every emotion known to man kind. Was he angry? Yes. He was angry because he's finally broken into the interior of the woman he loves, yet he's too late. Is he upset? Yes. He's upset because he doesn't want to leave; not like this, not without her. But is he happy? Yes. She kissed him. Kate Beckett opened up her heart enough to let someone else in for once, and she'd kissed him, proving everything he'd been dreaming about for the last four years to be completely possible.

He soon realizes that an empty house and a full mind are two very dangerous things when they come together. He feels something churning within him, some desire or urge that he can not yet decipher- but the deafening emptiness around him seems to urge it forwards; Kate Beckett.

Just her name sends tingles down his spine. He replays the moment over and over in his mind, the swift movement of her hands as they graze his neck, and the paralyzing sense of joy that ripped through him as she carefully placed her lips onto his. Then he feels it again; that thing growing steadily inside his heart, like a lost emotion just waiting to be found. He tries to concentrate on it, tries to find a section of calmness that allows him to dig deeper into his own heart- to have a battle with his own emotions.

Then is clicks; it's complete. He replays the moment once more, feeling each touch as strongly as ever, and he realizes how full he felt. How utterly and totally finished his whole life seemed. How with Kate on his arm, he could finally find the answers to the questions he'd been waiting years to discover. How ironic, he thinks to himself; all these years that he's spent with her, telling her about his search for his soul mate and the need for the belief in destiny, when in actuality, both of those things had been sitting there in front of him the whole time.

He knows what he has to do.

He overcame the first hurdle- winning her over. But what he didn't know is that he overcame that hurdle years ago. Whether she loved him or not was never the question. It was whether they could come to their senses long enough to realize it

Now they have.

It's 3:56am when his cell phone rings on the kitchen counter beside him.

Thank all of you so much for your lovely reviews. This story was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but the majority of you requested otherwise- so here is chapter 2!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

Lots of love and blessings sent your way;

-O