The wind whistles and groans through the thin and sky-reaching trees, complete darkness plunging the forest into a pitch black night. The moon partially pierces through thick clouds - barely offering any light, and giving the place a gloomy and disturbing atmosphere.

When the wind finally falls quiet and the clouds dissipate, silence reigns.

Not even the usual dull rustle and bustle of nature can be heard, everything soundless, muted, still.

Suddenly, leaves rustle and twigs snap, rapid and blurry oddly shaped four-legged creatures moving from one tree to the other with occasional grunts and hisses, quick feet jogging across bushes and leaping over streams with high-pitched short laughs that could belong to primates.

One of them stops in the moonlight - the forest now penetrated by slashes of vertical streaks of lights - arms stretched down and bottom down on the ground, the same way a dog would sit. A thick mass of tangled hair covers most of what could be a child's face, dusty and muddy, piercing blue eyes shining through– like the eyes of a wild beast hidden in a bush.

The girl screeches and lifts her bottom in the air as the second girl gallops and comes to a stop next to her with the same wild look.

The smallest girl of the two points her slim and short finger in the air, high above them as she tilts her head back with a high-pitched yelp. An unnatural yellowish glow from above sprays her face with a gentle light. Falling back on her bottom, the small girl claps her hands, then reaches out for whatever she's seeing, one distinct word slipping out of her with a hoarse voice.

"Mama!"

Alexis had just left, once he had assured her for the fifth time that yes, he can perfectly stay on his own, go have fun. He had lost it, it happened, and while he understood where she was coming from, he was fine. In fact, he had just started seeing clearer than he ever had in a while, the heavy cloud of guilt and anguish beginning to dissipate, leaving room to a long-awaited clarity. He was finally ready to start all over on the right footing, and that began with Captain Kate Beckett.

He had been an asshole to her, fully knowing she had been giving it all she had for the past four months. He had been there, had seen her going through endless piles of files that led her nowhere, looking for sighting of cars, credentials, phone bills, and going over it all again and again, solely for his benefit. Not once had she ever questioned him.

He was an idiot.

Although reluctant at first, she had opened her precinct to him, had given him all of her free time, and most of all – she was in this with him.

Not because she knew who he was, but because she cared.

Something he wasn't so sure he deserved.

"Castle, get your hand off that and give it to me – this is evidence"

They had been going through his brother's personal stuff for hours now, and the man was behaving like a child; pouting at her when she said no, whining when she had to swat his hands off before he could put his fingertips all over evidence. If she had been annoyed an hour ago, she was now barely hanging on.

She was about to throw him out – or murder him.

"No, I'm telling you – there must be something in there," he answered, resolute and way too stubborn.

If he heard the annoyance seeping through her voice, he ignored it.

"I've read it four times myself, there's nothing," she stated, shaking her head at him.

The way he threw himself into it, inspected each item with careful eyes and resolve, with a burning fire illuminating his usual dark blue eyes, was sometimes quite attractive. She'd always found such hard determination to be enticing, but it was currently driving her crazy.

This was not determination, this was relentlessness, obsession.

"Then, you must not have looked hard enough," he said, regarding her with an eyebrow raised and almost accusing eyes.

Stunned, she let herself drop against her chair back with wounded eyes and found herself at loss of words.

Such heavy silence must have thrown him off if the confused look he cast her was anything to go by.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her arms folded against her chest as she watched him sit up straight and gape at her - caught off guard.

"Not hard enough ? Castle, I've been going through all this stuff for days – nights," she started giving him a look that made him shrink, his eyes suddenly curiously interested in her desk. "Do you honestly think so little of me ?"

He jerked his head up at her with startled eyes, "What, no! It wasn't like that."

"Then, what?" She raised her voice, struggling to get a hold of her blooming frustration.

He remained silent, looking so small – like a little boy getting scolded at. He was such a confusing man, all about contradictions. She couldn't read him, didn't know how to handle him. He frustrated her, made her want to strangle him or more simply throw him out for good, at times. But he was also sweet and funny, and incredibly thoughtful when it came to her.

But sometimes, his eyes turned into a dark turbulent blue and the lines of his face hardened drastically, making him look so much older. And then, he snapped at her, took it out on her.

And she took it. Visibly already cared enough to let it go.

She usually didn't let anyone walk all over her, but that was different. That was a man who didn't know how to control grief, a man who was fighting and rejecting it.

Still, sometimes it hurt, and sometimes.

Sometimes they fought.

Sighing, she stood up and dragged her chair to his side of the desk, sitting just beside him, while he still refused to look at her.

Stubborn, man.

She let her hand land of one of his own, currently lying above his knee, and squeezed – trying to get him to look at her.

"Look, it's okay. We've been going at it for a while now, you're tired," she said with a soft voice, and felt his hand twitch under hers – saw his head rise and his eyes meet hers with guilt flashing right back at her. "You should go home."

He nodded, wetting his lips and giving her a faint smile, his other hand coming to rest on hers.

"Yeah, I should," his voice was hoarse and raspy, telling of the long hours spent over analysing and over analyzing every tiny detail, desperately hoping it'd lead somewhere – anywhere.

"But hey, I'm in this, you know that, right?" She tried, going for a real smile this time, trying to coerce something from him, trying to get him back to her and out of this dark place he seemed to be stuck into. "We'll find something, sooner or later."

Swallowing roughly, he nodded once again, and let his thumb glide on the so soft and thin skin of her hand, sending tiny wing-like flutters inside her stomach.

"I know, I know you are."

Shaking off the flash of memories taunting him, he stepped towards the entryway and put his coat on, checking his watch. Seven o'clock, if he was lucky she'd still be at the precinct, and if she wasn't – well, he'd probably called.

He opened the door and closed it behind him, and made sure to lock it. But when he was about to turn and leave, he almost knocked someone down in his momentum.

Swearing, he still had the reflex to catch the back of the arms of whoever he almost had send flat on the floor, but when he raised his head to take a better look at who it was…

"Beckett?!"

"Castle!"

Well, looked like he was not going anywhere.

Eyes wide, Beckett barely now registered how warm his large hands felt around her arms. He seemed as surprised as she was, his wide blue eyes sparkling at her like shimmering water on a sunny day.

Sensing that it started to get awkward, she cleared her throat, and stepped back as he let her go, and she immediately missed the warmth of him, not that she would openly admit it.

"Do you have any intention of inviting me in, or are we gonna stand here all night?" she asked with a slow smirk, the gold in her eyes dancing around as he lowered his own glance to the ground, looking all kinds of embarrassed.

Interesting.

"Ah- Right, yes," he muttered, getting a small laugh out of her to which he raised his head and smiled back. Turning his back to her, he unlocked and opened the door wide enough to stand aside and let her in first, an arm extended inside.

"Go ahead, I'll get your coat."

Shaking her head, and with a light smile still attached to her lips, she took her coat off and watched him do the same. She avoided his gaze as soon as he looked at her to take her coat, and chewed on her lip.

She took some time to take a look at the room, it was beautiful. Not really what she had expected, better than. It suited him, it felt warm and welcoming, and at the same time had a really refined touch.

She saw Castle shift from one foot to another for a second, and had to cover her mouth to stop a laugh from bubbling out. He looked so unsure of himself, it was as unsettling as it was funny.

She didn't think she'd ever see the day.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable over there, on the couch, I'll bring you a glass of wine," he said, now looking at her but still sounding strangely shy. "Is that okay with you?"

She nodded, her eyes scanning his face, an amused smile still holding onto her lips.

He did look nervous.

"It's perfect, thank you."

He offered her the glass and sat next to her, putting an unnecessary large distance between them. Both remained silent for a minute or two, staring into the void and occasionally sipping at their wine.

He didn't know how to start, what to say, so much wanted out, but yet-

"I-" he started.

"Look-" she interrupted.

Both smiled at each other, gazes meeting and interlacing for a second. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the warm liquid gold that turned so, so soft when she looked at him. She was so painfully beautiful, it made him uncharacteristically quiet, his throat too tight to let the air out, even less form words.

"You start," she said, inclining her own body towards him, giving him full attention.

And that, that made him brave.

Clearing his throat, he stroked the back of his neck with self-inflicted guilt.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out, eyes softening and taking the form of a peaceful sea, "For everything, I've been unfair to you, multiple of times."

"Yes, you have," she answered with a small smile, unconsciously dragging herself closer to him. Although, she noticed the way his eyes swept in between them with an additional spark.

"I- I haven't been myself. . . in a while. I know this is no excuse, but, I just want to make it clear that -" he started before trailing off, staring straight into her as if trying to make her see, feel, how serious and heartfelt he was. She'd like it better if it didn't make her want to fidget like a teenager, "That I truly appreciate and will forever be grateful for everything you've done."

He watched a little dumbstruck, as she tipped her head downward, a curtain of chestnut waves falling around her face – oh, how he ached to run his fingers through those curls.

Shy Beckett was entirely too adorable.

But then, she curled her hair back behind her ears with a deep intake of breath, seemed to be avoiding him now, and averted her eyes to stare at her pressed knees. "My mother was murdered when I was 19."

Oh, he certainly hadn't been ready.

A mix of dread and a curious and overwhelming need to protect her washed over him, making him choke around her name. "Kate-"

"One night, we were waiting for her at the restaurant. It was getting late and she still wasn't there but you know, she was a lawyer – it happened."

She kept her voice strong and focused, matter-of-fact, letting no emotion whatsoever through.

"Only, she never did," he added, watching her intently, the urge to get closer burning and itching.

She nodded, still not looking at him, "She'd been stabbed," she said with a slight tremor, the word itself seeming to physically hurt her, deep.

Oh, to hell with it.

He came closer, their thighs almost touching, and lay his hand on one of hers currently resting on the couch. The same way she had done with him each time he had lost it, instead of shutting him out - she was so incredibly patient with him, it was admirable.

A strand of hair fell past her ear once again, and he was so tempted to brush it aside – that he did. He let his fingers softly bring her hair back behind her ear and saw her slightly shift as if to get away – but no. If only, she moved even closer.

"So, I know. I know," she emphasized tilting her head up and facing him at last, eyes intend and hard on him, barely aware of how close they both had gotten. "I won't let you do it alone, Castle, I'm here now."

She was, and it made his heart so much lighter, he felt like he was floating.

It felt good, it felt so incredibly good to share it with someone who got it, got her. It hurt, but not as much as it used to. It was now only a dull pain throbbing once in awhile behind her heart, but it had ceased to bring her on her knees, had stopped ruling her life and ordering her around. It was now a part of her she had learnt how to cohabit with.

She could help him. Because now she knew, it got better.

"What happened then? That's why you made detective, isn't? Have you caught him?"

She chased her thoughts away and blinked once, twice – and oh. His eyes were looking down on her with such an intensity, it burnt holes into and through her skull. But that wasn't what had her stomach twisting around and the hair at her nape stand. No, but their newly acquired proximity most certainly was.

When had that happened?

They were so very close, she could very well just tilt her mouth up and towards him and she'd be ki-

Nope, not going there.

She slightly moved back to look at him with a small smile, "I have, three years ago."

His own lips stretched into a large smile that beautifully reached his eyes, digging soft wrinkles at the corners, and getting them to sparkle with…

"I am proud of you," he stated so low and warmly that she could feel it vibrate within her, his smiling eyes giving her cheeks an adorable pinkish tint and making her eyes shy away.

Pride.

"Oh, did you arrest him? I bet it was badass."

Laughing, she gently shoved at him shaking her head when he swayed right back into her with a laugh of his own, his eyes crackling with mirth.

This was one of the things she lo- liked so much about him, how easily he lightened the atmosphere, and made her heart so much lighter - it felt like freedom.

She had never felt this safe with anyone before.

"I did. William Bracken, former US Senator. My mom had hidden tapes inside my elephants, just under my nose, all these years," she said looking at him with such bright eye, tiny green spots catching the light like gems. He couldn't have looked elsewhere even if had wanted to, she transpired victory, and he couldn't help soaking it up.

"Espo knocked them over by accident, can you believe it?" She said around a light laugh, still remembering the look of pure terror in his eyes, still remembering the cold sweat that had flooded her whole body from head to toes when that tiny cassette had fallen to his feet.

"Doesn't surprise me, the man needs space"

Beckett barked a laugh, slamming a hand over her mouth to muffle most of it while her eyes still danced with glee, until both fell dead silent and serious. They looked at each other with a renewed tension, carefully gauging each other.

She didn't mean to shift closer, she really didn't. However, something in her seemed to have a mind of its own, and she couldn't help letting her eyes flirt between his lips and eyes, which were promptly darkening. One of his hand came to dislodge her own from her lips, keeping her thin wrist trapped, the searing of his fingers making her skin tingle with awareness.

Her heart was beating and pulsating at a furious pace, so much so that it was all she could feel and hear - a low squelch invading her eardrums as the air made itself scarce. She let her head drift closer slowly, very slowly as her eyes fluttered up to see his own fixated on her parted lips. Her cheeks grew warmer, her whole body alight when he finally closed the remaining space to graze her lips when-

When her phone rang, abruptly breaking the silence and sending them both bolting back on their respective sides like caught teenagers.

"Beckett?" she answered with sharp, clipped words – her voice slightly laboured, her chest heaving embarrassingly fast, and her eyes purposively avoiding him.

Fine. He was entirely too busy replaying the last two minutes, anyway. Staring into space, he dumbly raised a finger to his lips, she had or- had he? They had- were about to kiss, if it hadn't been for that stupid phone, they probably would have now been-

"Castle."

The anguish in her voice brought him back to earth, his eyes landing on one panicked face, her eyes alert and – glistening.

"They found it. They found the car."

Hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas, and thank you for your kind reviews.

Side note: I'll be done writing this story very soon and while I'd like to keep writing, I still haven't found about what. If you'd like to share your ideas, do send me prompts through reviews, PM or on my tumblr : yesiwillmarryyou