Dedicated to purplangel for her awesomeness.
"Where are you right now?" He asks tossing the blankets back and jumping up to get dressed. No way he's letting another second go by without seeing her. No matter the sting he feels in his chest.
"Home I-I'm not going in today but I'm on call."
"I'm coming. I'll be there in twenty." And he hangs up, unable to steady his voice or hand holding the phone.
She's shaking, trembling violently but at least her voice sounds calm to her ears. But when he says he's coming over her stomach drops to the floor, her heart races, and she gets dizzy. It's been so long since they've seen each other and she's changed. Her hair is shorter, about right above her shoulders, a darker brown than the last time he's seen it. She's also skinnier, lost about twenty pounds over their hiatus. What if he doesn't think she's beautiful anymore?
Kate quickly hops in the shower and changes out of her sweats into something more presentable but not something that makes it look like she's trying to hard.
But this is Castle. He never cared about anything like this. What has she done to them? To herself? To him? She's fucked this up and they'll never be the same as they once were. Happy, in love, and together, heart and soul. They'll never get that back even if they get past this obstacle.
Before he knows it he's knocking on her door to anxious to pace, to impatient to see her again.
The door swings open and their eyes meet for the first time in over a year. It's as if time has stopped and all they can do is stare at one another, stare at their other half, the piece of the puzzle that's been missing from their lives.
And they're both overcome with a warmth, a feeling so deep and conserved they could explode at any moment. Their bodies immediately ready to pick up where they left off, their hearts ready to mold as one. What broke them up seems so unimportant and all that matters is that right now they're together.
Kate speaks first, tells him to come in and sit down if he wants. He walks in, takes in her new apartment and smiles because it's so entirely her it surprises him that she's the same. He expected drastic changes. He doesn't know why.
He doesn't sit. He faces her again and she's biting her lip, a nervous habit he knows. But before he can't tell her to stop, she's throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Castle. I'm so sorry," she says and then she's sobbing. He's seen her cry before but never this. Never these heart wrenching sobs that stem straight from her core. "I'm sorry what I did to you. What I did to us."
His arms sling around her back and he nods. "Me too."
They sit and talk through majority of the morning. They talk about how neither has been able to move on from each other.
"Lanie set me up on a date once and I- I couldn't even make it to the restaurant Castle. Everywhere I looked all I saw was you."
When they both explained their communication problems he smiled so brightly Kate felt her heart begin to heal.
He cooks her a big dinner. A thanksgiving style dinner and piles her plate up. He gives her a fork and demands her to "EAT!" But she just smiles and nods.
After dinner they both are completely satisfied and they collapse on the couch together. But Kate breaks first.
She kisses, fully intending it to be a quick chaste, thank you kiss but it quickly escalated into much more. Before either one could stop it.
"Kate," Castle says between kisses. "Kate we can't."
She stops, climbs out of his lap, and sits next to him on the couch. Panting.
"I'm sorry I just-"
"I know. Me too." He stands grabs his jacket and says, "I think I should go."
"Yeah yeah okay." She doesn't want him too. "But, um are we-"
"I don't know yet. I still have some thinking to do." He leaves after a small "bye" and leaves Kate standing there.
But a second later he's opening her door again coming in and kissing her deeply one last time.
"Look Castle I know I broke your trust but I want you to know that I'll do anything to make this right. I love you and I want you more than anything. This past year it was like I couldn't breathe but now with you here I can. And I don't want this to be over."
"I know. But it's gonna take time. This isn't something that can be cured over one dinner."
"No matter how long it takes," she says quickly. Clutching his hand to her chest.
"Good."
The next day at the precinct she finds a coffee cup in her desk with a note written on the side.
"Some things never change. Wanna have dinner tonight?
RC
And she smiled.
Fin
Thank you