"Then after that whole thing in the freezer and nearly dying I realized that I didn't…I didn't love him the way that I love you."

How, Kate wondered, could a person feel both fear and relief at the same time? She held her breath as she waited, both needing and dreading his response. She wanted more than anything to run. To go back to the party, collect her dad and make him take her home. His arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her close and holding her pressed tightly against him and had her sobbing out her plea.

"Please Rick, don't. Don't say anything."

His chin rested on her shoulder, his cheek pressed next to hers.

"Why Kate? Why won't you let me say it?" he whispered into her ear.

His breath was warm as it brushed against her tearstained cheek. The feel of his body surrounding her made her want to lean back and sink into him. Instead she held herself steady. She didn't bother trying to break his embrace because she knew that Castle possessed more strength than he let on, and that he would let her go unless he wanted to.

"Because you and I can't work Rick. We're friends. We're partners-"

"And what is it when two people are in love with each other if a partnership between friends?" One arm slid from around her waist up her body to press gently at her neck forcing her head to rest against his shoulder.

"I love you, Kate." He took her chin between his finger and thumb tilting her face towards him.

"I love you and I'm going to keep saying it until you believe me Kate."

She gave into him as he pulled her, turning her so that they were standing nearly nose to nose. The hand that gripped her waist was now pressing into the small of her back and the one that had been gripping her chin had slid back and was now tangled in her hair. His intentions were clearly written on his face as he brought his forehead down resting it against hers.

"Say it again? Please Kate, say it again. I promise it's easier the second time. Trust me."

"Rick…look at this place…This isn't me. I don't belong here. You-"

"Then I'll sell it." He blurted out.

"Rick-"

"No, I will. There's a place for sale right down the beach. It only has 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms-"

Despite the seriousness of the conversation at hand Castle was still able to make her laugh. She found herself rolling her eyes which earned her the patented Castle grin.

"Castle, I'm serious. I'm not the girl that ends up on page 6. I don't want to be."

"Then I'll sell it all. I'll stop writing and we can live off your paycheck. However, I feel I should warn you I'm kinda high maintenance."

"Rick-"

"Kate, these things aren't who I am. They're just things that I own. They're things that I would want to share with you. But if I had to choose between you and the material things, you win. No contest. I'd give it up Kate if it meant I could hear you say those three little words."The light brush of his lips against hers stole her breath.

"I love you." He whispered between kisses.

"I love you." Another kiss.

"Kate, please..." And another. She reached up to trace a finger along his jaw.

"I love you…" She heard his groan of relief just as she found her face cupped gently between his two hands and his lips crushing down onto hers in a searing kiss. She reached up to thread her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer.

The sounds of their friends and family only a few yards away brought them slowly back to the world around them. Kate heard herself sigh as Castle eased the intensity of the moment pressing several sweet less provocative kisses to her lips before leaning his forehead against hers once more. She realized as his thumbs began wiping the tears from her cheeks that he still held her face in his hands.

"Don't take this the wrong way, because I personally find you beautiful under any circumstances…but considering the fact that your father, and several gun toting cops, are waiting for us, I think that I should probably take you inside and let you wash your face. If Lanie or the boys see that I made you cry…Kate they know how to make my death look like an accident."

That Castle looked genuinely concerned made her laugh.

"Don't worry writer-boy, I'll protect you."

Together they made their way into the house. Kate took a moment to take it all in. Much like the outside the inside was understated elegance, but despite beautifully vanished hardwood floors and vaulted ceilings, the back wall that was mostly glass that offered a view of the ocean, the pool, and the tennis court the house was a home, it was lived it. Beside original works of art hung family pictures, not portraits, but pictures that she imagined one of the three people that lived here had taken. When he led her up the stair case and down the hall to his bedroom and then into the bathroom that was attached she could smell that scent that she had come to associate with him.

"This was the closest bathroom?" she was grinning at him as he stepped out of a small closet between the glassed in shower and the sunken tub with a washcloth in his hands. She leaned against the door as she watched him run cold water over the wash cloth before ringing it out and handing it to her.

"This is the only bathroom where I knew that no one would find us."

Kate was surveying the damage done to her make-up in the vanity mirror behind the sink when he said it. She knew Castle was immediately aware of the implications of the statement that he had just made as soon as he had said it. Their eyes met in the mirror, his wide with shock, hers with amusement.

"That didn't sound good. I swear for once I wasn't trying for the innuendo. It just slipped out."

She laughed into the cool cloth as she simply wiped away all traces of make-up, having decided that the damage irreparable. When she was finished she set the cloth down on the side of the sink before turning to face him. He stayed where he was leaning against the wall opposite her, and she stayed leaning back against the sink.

"Relax Rick. You wouldn't be Castle if you weren't making a pass at me."

She felt so much lighter than when she had stepped out of her father's car. Suddenly she realized that all of the nerves and anxiety had simply melted away. They were still them, still Beckett and Castle. Everything she had put herself through over the past few weeks seemed a little trivial. If she had just told him sooner they could have both avoided so much stress and heartache. ' I should have told him last summer before her left with…'

"Rick, where's Gina?" she hoped that he hadn't noticed the mild trepidation in her voice.

"Gina? Why would I know where Gina was?" Kate could hear the confusion in his voice.

"No reason. What about the deep-fried Twinkie?"

"Meredith? I believe she's off with the catch of the month sailing in the Mediterranean, Maybe it was the Rivera? I usually tune her out when she gets on a roll about something. I didn't think it was very patriotic of her, but it's Meredith so…Why the inquisition about my ex-wives?"

"I just assumed that they would be here this weekend."

"Both of them? At the same time? Kate, I've done some pretty stupid things but…Wait. Why would you think that one or both of my ex-wives would be up here with me?"

"Alexis may have mentioned that Gina forced you to come up here early under the pretense of working on the book." Kate tried for nonchalant but was failed miserably.

"So you assumed that meant that she came up here with me so that we could…"

"No! Maybe…well is that not what happened last summer? You asked me to go with you and then you turned around and took Gina."

"Last summer…Kate you said you didn't couldn't come. You had plans with Detective wonderful and didn't want to come. I didn't expect for things with Gina to happen. I just didn't want to be up here alone and I knew you wouldn't change your mind"

"Well I did."

"What?"

"I told Demming that I couldn't go with him. I told him that he was a great guy, but that I didn't think that what we had was what I was looking for. I was going to tell ask you if the offer was still open when…"

"When Gina walked up." He finished for her.

"So, motor-cycle boy came while I was up here…You were pretty serious about making it work with him. What happened?"

"A few things; He didn't understand why you were still shadowing me, even though I told him that we were partners. He still wanted to go to Haiti, and since he couldn't stay he wanted me to go with him. Then Lanie said some things that really made me think. What she said made me imagine what my life might be like without you in it. I didn't like it very much."

She explained to him all of the things that Lanie had said and by the time she had finished she was sniffling back tears again. When Castle took a step toward her she took a step as well, meeting him half way before she wrapped her arms around his middle and held on.

"Kate, no matter what I would have always been a part of your life. I wouldn't just walk away from our friendship."

"That's what it felt like. Everything that she said was happening. After you heard what Josh said that day at the precinct you stopped showing up, and even when you did come you didn't stay long. It felt like I was losing you. When it came down to it I wanted you more than I wanted him. Then you had a messenger deliver our invitations to this party."

"Kate that wasn't-"

"That stung. With a little pushing and shoving from Lanie I went to see you late last week. I supposed to tell you that I loved you and then smack you upside the head for being an idiot regarding the invites."

"Since you've already told me I guess you can smack me, but in my defense I wasn't trying to be an idiot. I was trying not to add to your problems with Josh…which now that I think about it does make me an idiot because I should have done more to drive him away! He seriously thought you would just go with him to Haiti for an unknown period of time? Who takes their girlfriend to a country that was devastated by an earthquake?"

"Rick…I didn't go. So you don't have to stand there and let your imagination run away with you."

"Sorry, occupational hazard. We should probably get back to the party."

Kate was sure that this moment, as Castle grabbed her hand and started back through his bedroom, was perfect.

"Ooorrrr…we could just stay up here. They all think we are off doing the nasty anyway…Oh hey!...Apples…Apples! It was just a thought." Kate watched from the corner of her eyes as he rubbed the ear that she had twisted with his free hand as he led them back down the hall. 'Now it was perfectly them.' She thought to herself with a smile.

As they stepped outside his hand released hers and moved to the rest at the small of her back, guiding her off the cobblestones of the back patio and onto the green lawn. As they approached their friends who were all gathered together around the food preparing serve themselves Castle's hand slipped off her back as he walked slightly ahead of her heading straight for their favorite M.E. Kate wasn't sure who was more surprised Esposito or Lanie when Castle leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to the M.E.'s cheek and whispered something in her ear. Espositio's, "Dude, don't make me kill you" broke the moment and Castle stepped away winking at his friend before inviting everyone to help themselves.

Two hours later only the adults were left sitting at the long table that had been set up on the grass. Alexis and her friends had gone down to the beach to stake out their spots for the upcoming fireworks and good off in the water. Rick was sitting at the head of the table with Kate to his right and Alexis's empty chair to his left. Everyone seemed to be involved in one conversation or another except for the two of them. Rick grinned at her as he picked up her hand and brought to his lips. They sat like that for a moment her fingers threaded through his just inches from his smiling lips. To distract herself Kate picked up her nearly empty glass of wine.

"Can I kiss you?" Castle asked just as the glass touched her lips. Her 'no' was slightly muffled as continued to take her sip.

"Please?"

"Castle…"

"I've noticed that as of today you've only called me Castle when I am annoying you." He told her.

"So stop annoying me." She replied.

"What did you say to Lanie?"

"I thanked her for being in my corner and offered anything she wanted in return for convincing you that you really were in love with me."

Kate looked over her shoulder at her father who was engrossed in a story that Martha was telling from the other end of the table. She knew that everyone there was aware of the change between herself and Rick, but she wasn't a person overly comfortable with public displays.

"So what did she want?" she asked quietly, hoping that he would respond in kind. She smiled when he did just that.

"Your happiness. I assured her that I would make it a priority." He whispered. It took Kate a moment to respond. When she did she relied on their old habit of teasing each other.

"I didn't realize you were such a sap Castle."

"Detective there is still sooo much for you to learn about me."

She laughed as she picked up her wine glass again and turned her attention to Martha realizing that the story she was telling was about one of Rick's childhood mishaps.

As the sun set most of his guests wandered down towards the sand to watch the fireworks. As Kate started to follow Rick grabbed her hand guided her to a secluded spot in the grass. He sat, holding a hand out to help her down and positioning her so that she sat between his outstretched legs, her back pressed against his chest and her head leaning against his shoulder.

"Trust me?" he whispered against her cheek.

"Always…" her reply was nearly lost as he leaned down to capture her lips with his. This kiss was brief but no less passionate than the few that they had shared earlier.

"Kate…" Rick whispered in her ear as they watched the sky light up in an assortment of colors. His arms were once again wrapped around her as she leaned back into him, and his chin was resting on her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Best…Day…Ever."

A/N: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. It just didn't come out the way I had planned. Oh Well. Hopefully you enjoyed it anyway. I think that there is only one more chapter left in this tale, I hope that the ending doesn't disappoint. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and also to those who have added this to your favorite story lists and alerts.