"I hate you." – He decided to ignore her. Now that he was more comfortable he wanted to go to sleep. He was tired and maybe he would wake up from this nightmare.

She was stung by his words. Did Castle really hate her? Did she wait too long?

"Please think about it. Good night Castle." – And she was gone.

His last conscious thought was that her voice sounded different. Like she was sad. Why would she be sad?


Kate was devastated. When she came up with this plan it seemed so easy. She thought that Castle would break right away and then maybe they would work it out from there just like they always had. But Castle looked very determined not to tell her what his problem was.

When Kate heard Castle say that he hated her it wound her badly. She was shocked how much it really hurt to hear that. Kate was almost ready to give into her feelings she knew she had for him but she just couldn't force herself to do so, because she wasn't the type to come forward that easily.

Then she felt even worse because Kate really thought that he would wait for her. She didn't exactly tell him to do that, but she was hoping that the subtle hint would be enough. They had been closer than ever a couple weeks ago. Now Kate felt like they have never been further.

She couldn't take it anymore. Kate slowly slid down the wall next to the door, and felt her tears start falling. In a minute she started sobbing. She has never felt this lonely since Castle showed up.


Castle wasn't sure about why he woke up. He thought maybe Beckett came back but he still couldn't see anything. Then he heard something strange.

Castle could only think that his ears were playing games with him. Beckett would never cry. Especially not when he was around her. It must have been his imagination.

Then he heard it again. It sounded like someone was crying right in front of the door. Well he would see if it was really her.

"Beckett." – He called out softly, after clearing his throat.


Kate froze when she heard him say her name. Shit. Did she wake him up?

She decided to check inside. She slowly opened the door, but she couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not, so she slowly walked to the nightstand and turned on the light.


He tried to control his breathing when he heard her open the door. He couldn't see her but Castle was sure that she was coming over to him. He hoped that she wouldn't do something crazy. When Beckett turned on the lamp he felt that he had to look at her.

She definitely cried. Her cheeks were puffy and red and she was still holding back the sobs. And yet he thought that he had never seen her more beautiful than this. Castle tried to take her hand by instinct but soon realized that he wouldn't able to do that.


In that moment Castle knew he failed. He really tried to forget about her and slowly drift out of her life, but he immediately knew that would never happen anymore. He became too attached to her in the last few years. And he still loved her, after everything she put him through.


Kate lost herself in his deep-blue eyes. She saw the whirlwind of emotions and how Castle was fighting with each one. When she saw that glimpse, she started hoping again, because she was sure that she caught the feeling which disappeared almost instantly. Love

So he still loved her. Kate felt something finally break in her and she started crying again. She couldn't tell if it was relief, helplessness or simply because she was tired. And it didn't really matter.


When she started crying Castle couldn't feel angry anymore. How could he? The love of his life was standing in front of him crying, totally broken. Whatever problems he had with her he could put aside for now. He just wanted to comfort her.

"Beckett. What's wrong?" – Castle whispered.


Kate saw his features change even through the tears. When he looked at her with concern she couldn't help it and started crying even more. Because how could he be so selfless? She knew she had hurt him somehow and still he was looking to help her. How could she deserve that…?

She heard herself whisper, though it was barely there.

"You."

When Kate saw his puzzled look she tried again:

"I need you." – She had done it. She finally admitted it. And now she didn't know what would happen. It was all up to him.

Kate could tell he was trying to figure out what she implied. She watched as confusion, doubt, fear and many other emotions ran through his face. But she felt her heart jump when the last one to show up was clearly hope.


Castle was seriously and utterly confused. Beckett kidnapped him, tied him up, planned to keep him here for days, and now she was crying and telling him that she needed him. This wasn't the serious detective he knew.

He tried to figure out what she meant, and even though Castle tried not to think about it a little piece of him couldn't help but wonder if she said it like that.

Did Kate Beckett feel something towards him? Even after she lied to him for months? Castle tried to keep himself composed. He knew that he couldn't take it if she broke his heart again. So he decided to wait.


When Castle didn't respond Kate got scared. What if she misread his feelings? They would be done forever that was for sure. And she found herself willing to try anything to keep that from happening.

"Castle?" – She wasn't sure what to say. She had so many things she wanted to tell him.

She felt a sudden urge to touch him, embrace him and never let him go. Kate was hit by the intensity of her emotions. She started to untie his hands. She didn't know what he would do after she set him free but she needed to feel him close.

When she was done, Castle slowly sit up. His eyes were still on hers and they were burning with desire, concern, fear and hope. After she took a look at his hands to see if he was hurt she brought her eyes back to Castle's. And she saw nothing else but love. And that was when Kate realized that she didn't only need him, she didn't only like him. She was madly in love with him too.


Castle was relieved that he was able to use his hands again. The thought to leave didn't even occur to him. All he could see that she needed him. No, she even told him that she needed him. He still had a hard time believing it. Kate Beckett needed him. It was a strange thought to get used to.


Her mind was blank when he reached out for her and pulled her close. Kate didn't even protest, just let him sit her down next to him. She leaned into him and she could feel her tears start rolling again. Castle didn't say a word, just held her to him as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"I'm so sorry Castle." - She managed to say somehow. – "I'm so sorry for everything."

"Shhh. It's going to be okay." – He tried to answer confidently, but he knew his voice was trembling.

"I was so scared. I thought I would lose you. I had to do something. I-I just can't lose you Castle. Not right now." – She admitted. – "I know that what I had been doing is very stupid but I didn't know what else to do. You wouldn't talk to me and I didn't know what was wrong. I still don't, but I want it to be like it was before. I want you back. I want my partner back."


Castle looked at her with a surprised expression.

"You really don't know?" – She shook her head. – "Kate, I heard you say that you remembered everything, and figured out that you had been lying to me for months. I thought we were slowly moving towards something new. When we had that talk about your walls I was willing to wait for you. But when I realized what you did I guess it was just easier for me to think that you didn't mean it the same way as I did. I thought that you only wanted to be friends or colleagues. And it hurt me so much." – His voice cracked. He tried to fight back the tears that almost slipped out.


Kate looked up at him when he stopped talking. As soon as she saw the sadness in his eyes her heart began to ache. She felt crushed by how much she had hurt him with her dishonesty. She wanted to take the pain away, so she did the obvious thing without thinking.


Castle felt his heart stop when her lips slowly touched his. It was slow, deliberate, not filled with passion how he imagined it many times before. But it was still extraordinary. He didn't try to deepen the kiss, just let himself get lost in it. After a moment his brain prevailed against his heart and he pulled away.

"Kate. Don't do this please. I don't want to ruin the rest of what we have." – Castle heard her breath catch when he said this, but before he even knew what was happening she captured his lips again.

It was her that tried to deepen the kiss. He felt her tongue press against his lips and after a second he gave in. He was far too lost in his feelings to try to stop now.

They parted half a minute later, both catching their breaths, trying to get the oxygen they desperately needed.

"I love you Kate." – It was out before his brain could filter it out. He went stiff immediately, trying to figure out how she would react. Castle tried to prepare himself for her anger or hostility, or what would hurt the most, Kate saying that it was a huge mistake.

Not once had he thought about what she would do instead:

"I love you too, Rick" – it was barely a whisper but it caused flames to erupt in his body.


He couldn't believe it. As bad as he wanted to, he couldn't. Not this easily. If she loved him then why go through all this? Why put them through this agony?

"Kate. Are you all right?" – He had to make sure, but he didn't dare to ask the question he wanted to. Castle told himself that if she was just tired or something else was going on, he had to know because he wanted them to be able to still salvage something.

"Rick, please. I know what you think. But it's true. I love you. I didn't even realize it until recently. I knew that I felt something for you and really tried to get there to accept your feelings. But I just kept telling myself that I wasn't ready. And I felt so bad for lying to you about it but I didn't know how to tell you the truth after all that time."


So she meant it. She loved him. Oh, this remarkable, challenging, maddening woman.

He always thought that he would be the one to come forward with his feelings first. And never in his wildest dreams had he thought that it would happen like this. And yet here she was in his arms. He knew that the both needed time to heal their wounds and forgive each other, but as long as they were together time didn't matter.


They sat in comfortable silence for a while, both of them just enjoying the other's company. But soon Castle could feel his legs stiffen.

"So… Do you think you could untie my legs?" - He asked in a slightly lighter tone.

Kate blushed and mumbled something under her nose that sounded very much like "Oh God, I'm so sorry." He released a chuckle at that.

"Or you could always tie me down again and we could do something more fun." – He earned himself a small slap on his shoulder. He was glad that they could go back so easily to their old selves.

"Stay with me tonight, please." - Kate looked up at him.

"Always" – he answered and pressed a kiss to her temple. – "Always, Kate."


A/N: Well there you go folks... I'm really not sure about this one. I hope I didn't fail your expectations. Like I said this is my first time trying to write something and so I'm figuring stuff out as I go. In this chapter you could see that with the changed perspective. I really hope that you could enjoy this. Please let me know how you feel about it, because it would mean a lot to me to hear your thought on my first piece of work. It would help me to see what I needed to change. Thank you everyone who took the time to read this story.

A/N 2: Also, there might be an epilogue so stay tuned for that...