Well it looks like you got your bonus chapter after all. Yay! Now I just need to put the pedal to the metal and write some more. Hopefully the temporary chaos around here will ease up soon so I can go back to writing, since I've posted almost everything I've completed.

Just so you know, I'm going to give this chapter a "SEMI-Spoiler" alert. This chapter is the first one to start pulling away from the show. It was written over a week ago, when I'd seen some pics for Cops and Robbers, but no promos or sneak peeks. Now that I've have seen those, I am sure that this chapter will differ greatly from what will air. So if you've stayed 100% spoiler free and haven.'t even watched the promo that aired right after Demons, you may want to wait til Tuesday to read this, but for everyone else... which I'm guessing is 99% of you... I'd say you're safe.

Also as I said, I'm starting to pull away into my own time line, so pretty much from this point onward, there will be very little that mirrors the actual season 4.

I think that is all for now. Thank you again for all the alerts , reviews and feedback via PM, Twitter, email, reviews etc.! You are all the best! If you enjoy what your read, please tell your friends!

Chapter 4

"So today I was wondering if you could tell me more about you and Castle." Dr Burke stated after looking over his notes. "The last several visits have always started with us talking about your work or the shooting or even your mom's case, but no matter what, it always seem to come back to him."

Kate shifted in her seat and stared at her hands, but didn't answer.

"If you don't know where to begin, let me help. What kind of changes or growth have you noticed in your relationship with him recently?"

"Ummmm. I don't know. Since this summer, I don't know that anything has really changed much at all. We're kind of in a holding pattern. Rick and I are still just good friends."

"Really? That's interesting."

Curiosity piqued, Kate sat up a little straighter in her chair. "Why do you say that?"

"Well for one thing, You almost never call him Castle anymore. The first four weeks I saw you, you never called him anything but Castle. Now, at least when you're talking with me, and when you're not angry with him, its almost exclusively Rick. What's changed?"

"I still call him Castle!" she retorted defensively.

The doctor didn't answer, but let her continue her thoughts.

"He'll always be Castle, even if I call him Rick sometimes. That's just who he is."

"So you don't think that you use his last name as a way to distance yourself from him?"

"No. It's just his name, just like Ryan and Esposito are Ryan and Esposito. I hardly ever call them by their given names."

"But you have at some point?"

Several memories passed through her head of when she'd used her co-workers first names, Javier, Kevin, Roy. They were times of friendship and support. Times when the walls and customs of work were down and it was a personal moment. Times when they were a family. "Yes. I have. But it's rare."

"But would you say that calling Castle, Rick, is still rare?"

She rolled her eyes. "Probably not as much, no."

"Since going back to work have you used his first name more often than your other friends and coworkers?"

"Yes."

"To his face?"

"Yes," she repeated with a sigh.

"Then I repeat, what has changed?"

Kate balled up her fists so that her nails dug into her palms. Why does he ask me questions I can't answer! "Nothing," She blurted out, and then reconsidered. "Everything! I don't know, we never talk about it."

She stood from her chair and paced the length of the room, searching deep into her heart and mind for answers. "He told me that he loved me, when he thought I was dying, and if I could have spoken at that moment, I would have told him I loved him too, but I couldn't and never really thought I'd have the opportunity later on. Then I woke up and all I had in me was fear. I was afraid the sniper would be back; afraid that my mom's case would consume me. I was afraid of spending my life with the wrong person or perhaps spending it alone, but at the same time I was, am, afraid that being with the right person could be worse. What if it doesn't work out? What if something... tragic happens, again? The stakes are so much higher. So I closed everything and everyone out and tried to just push the fears away without dealing with them. And maybe if I had been dealing with someone else that would have worked, but not with Castle, not with Rick. Everything I do or see reminded me of him. For three months we never spoke, we never saw each other, not one second of communication, and yet I saw him and heard him everywhere. I missed him. It wasn't like that with other people. Sure I missed my friends and family and even my work, but it didn't invade me like missing him did. I couldn't ignore that. So when I came home, I went to him. I apologized for not calling and we talked about some things."

Kate paused in her pacing and stood behind the chair looking out the window. "I didn't tell him I loved him or that I heard him tell me that, probably because I'm some kind of coward. But I did tell him that I couldn't have the relationship I wanted while I had this wall around me that I put up after my mom's death. He told me he'd help me put my mom's case to rest and then later promised to help take down the wall. Since then, whenever we have a moment where we get closer on my moms case or where I sort of have a little emotional breath through, he gives me a brick, to show me that another piece of the wall is down. I now have eight bricks at home."

"How do you feel about him doing that?"

"I... I really cherish it. He's so good at reading between the lines, and really knowing whats going on inside."

"Do you think he's good enough at the subtext to know how you feel then?"

Kate shrugged. "Maybe. I think deep down he must, but I doubt he lets himself act on in just in case he's wrong."

"Do you think that maybe being open with him might help the situation? It's not like sharing your feelings will lock you into a life time commitment."

"I do. And sometimes I really want to do that, but something always holds me back. Its never seemed like the right time, and now over the last couple weeks I feel like he's even put up a wall, like he's hiding something from me."

"Maybe he's just trying to reign in his feeling so he doesn't get hurt. Whether you acknowledge it or not, he's already put himself out there once and it wasn't reciprocated. He might be afraid to do it again."

"I know."

"In the next week I'd like to challenge you to think of ways that maybe you can be a little more open with your feelings, not only with Rick, but others as well."

"I'll try."

"Good. Have you been working on your journal?"

"Yeah. At first it was intimidating, but now I find myself looking forward to adding to it."

"Excellent. Then that's a step in the right direction, because you're being open with yourself and acknowledging your feelings, whether you're ready to share them or not. Maybe this week would be a good time to go back and re-read some of your entries. It might give you a starting point for how to be more open with others."

Kate nodded again. Her allotted time for the session was coming to a close and she couldn't wait. She didn't like being confronted with the idea of telling Rick that she cared. She knew it had to happen soon. But like always, she could only think of one response. Not yet.

XXXXXXXXXXX

That night it was late by the time Kate stumbled in from work. She was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Her team didn't have their own case, but lately every extra body in the station was helping Karpowski's team work a serial murderer who's victims of choice were little old ladies. Nine bodies over three weeks and very little evidence. It was finally Esposito who found the smoking gun, or bloody glove as the case may be. Not long afterward, the psychotic medical supplier was identified, tracked down and caught after a three hour stand off that ended in a deadly shoot out. Two officers had minor injuries but were able to walk away, which the same could not be said for the killer.

Kate threw her jacket on the couch and kicked off her shoes as she headed to the bathroom. By the time she'd turned on the shower she had stripped down to her bra and underwear.

Soon the heat of the steam and the pressure of the water began soothing away the stress of the day. But while she stood under the pounding spray she couldn't help but let her mind wander to how wonderful it would be if someone was waiting in the next room to help her finish unwinding. In fact if she was completely honest, she wasn't just picturing someone, but someone specific. She knew without a doubt that if she and Rick were together, he would willingly listen to her talk about her day and then kiss or massage away the residual stress.

Coincidentally, as soon as she allowed herself the luxury of letting the daydream take on its own life, the hot water turned cold, causing her to jump out of the shower. Kate grabber her towel and robe and wrapped herself in their terrycloth comfort.

Kate padded back out into her room. The shower had definitely relaxed her but at the same time served to wake her back up a bit. Her plan to fall into bed, no longer held the same appeal. Instead, she decided to take Dr. Burke's advice a reread some of her journal entries.

So she grabbed the book, and a pen in case she felt inspired, and curled up in her bedroom chair and flipped randomly through the pages.

October 13, 2011

My heart goes out today for my good friend Kevin Ryan. One of a cop's worst nightmares has come true for him today. His weapon, which was stolen last year, has been used in a murder.

Some people might argue that he shouldn't take it so hard, it wasn't his fault, but good cops like Ryan take their responsibilities seriously. His piece was entrusted to him and now it has taken an innocent life. I know I can't speak for him, but I can imagine that it must feel like someone put a gun in his hand and then pulled the trigger.

Ryan is a brother to me, both in the field and in friendship. I'll do whatever it takes to help him resolve this and then find solace in what has happened, just like I know he would do for me.

Kate smiled as she read the last sentences. It was true. She never had biological siblings, but she also no longer wondered what it must be like to have them, because she knew. She had two amazing brothers in Ryan and Esposito, and she would never take that for granted.

She skimmed over the other entries on the page but none of them grabbed her attention so she flipped back a little more.

October 2, 2011

In a little more than an hour I'm meeting my Dad for brunch. I can't wait. Tomorrow is his sixtieth birthday, and I have a surprise for him. He's done so much for me over the last few months and won't let me make it up to him in any way, but under the guise of a birthday present, I know he will finally let me spoil him a bit.

I know he's always dreamed of taking a hot air balloon ride, but for one reason or another, never has. With a little help from Rick (I swear he knows everybody), I've made all the arrangements to fulfill my Dad's dream. Today I'm kidnapping him after we eat and driving upstate a bit, to take him on the ride. With all the gorgeous fall colors in full effect and the warm Indian Summer temperatures, I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect day.

Kate's smile widened. That really had been the perfect day. She hadn't seen her father so happy and care free in ages. Maybe since she was a little girl.

Before she could read any farther, her phone began to ring. As she headed toward her purse in the living room she looked at the clock. It was after eleven and she was off duty. Who the heck was calling?

When she reached the phone Castle's smiling face was staring at her from the caller ID.

"Hello?" Kate answered.

"Hi."

A silent pause lingered for a second.

"Castle, you better not be drunk dialing me. Do you know what time it is?"

"I'm not drunk and I do know it's late. Sorry. You know, maybe this was a mistake. I should let you go."

Something about his voice pricked at her senses. He wasn't his normal playboy self.

"No, Rick. Wait. You called for a reason, what's up?" Kate took the phone back to her room and laid down on her bed.

"Remember about a month or so ago, you had a rough night and I told you to call me if you had nightmares, and you said you would but only if I did the same?"

Kate already felt guilty about snapping at him."You had one?" she asked softly.

He didn't acknowledge it outright but instead said, "I just needed to remind myself that you were OK."

"I am. I'm alive and well, sitting on my bed, talking to you. You want to tell me about the dream?"

"Not really. It's the same as it always is. You getting shot and then..." He trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

"Then what?"

"And then you're taking your last breath in my arms."

Unknowingly, Kate sucked in a deep breath. His dream was very nearly the truth. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

"Me? I wasn't the one shot."

"No, but you saw it. You live with it. It still effects you very deeply."

"Hmmmm. When you put it like that, I guess it's good then that you don't remember any of it."

Silence. Kate couldn't speak. A part of her wanted to just agree and brush it off, but the truth leaped to her throat, begging to be revealed.

Should I tell him? Now? Like this? I think we need to talk about this in person, not over the phone.

"I... I... guess you're right."

"Well, I should let you go. It's late. We both have early mornings tomorrow."

"Oh that's right, you won't be in until after lunch tomorrow right?"

"Yeah. I'm going with Mother to the bank to help her secure a loan for her school. I told her I would loan her the money, but she won't accept it."

"Well I don't blame her. Have fun. I know how terribly exciting those kinds of things can be."

"Yeah maybe if I get too bored, I'll pretend to rob the place, so you can come and get me."

"Brilliant plan, genius. I'm Homicide, you'd have to kill someone for me to show up," Kate joked.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to sit through it then."

"I'm sure you'll survive a trip to the bank, and when you're done you can bring me some Thai food for lunch."

"Mmmm sounds good," he hummed appreciatively. "Extra peanut sauce?"

"Of course!"

"Sweet dreams, Detective."

"You too, Castle. Good night."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Rick Castle if you get out of this alive, I'm going to kill you.

When Beckett heard the call from dispatch come over the radio that morning, she didn't think much of it at first. An armed robbery was in progress across town. Unfortunately those happened now and then. But then she heard the name of the location, First New York Financial.

Pulling over into an alley, she parked the car and started going through her glove compartment. The other day Castle had stopped at an ATM while they were out and after she'd dropped him off at home, she'd noticed the receipt had fallen on to the car floor. She'd picked it up and put it in the glove box to give him the next day but had forgotten. After a littlef searching, she found the slip of paper and unfolded it. Across the top was the 1st NYF logo. He and Martha were going to be at the bank today. There was a good chance, considering the address, that it was the same one.

Not wasting any more time, Beckett pulled back into traffic as she dialed Castle's phone. Without it even ringing, it went directly to voice mail. It was turned off. His phone was NEVER off.

Her heart beat faster and her adrenaline began to pump. She triggered her siren and flipped on her bubble, then steadily gained speed as she raced through the busy urban streets.

That had been seven hours ago.

Now she stood back by the ambulances watching and waiting as the SWAT team prepared to storm the bank. Ryan stood next to her, arms folded over his chest as he waited nervously. Esposito was next to him with an arm wrapped around Lanie, who had shown up a little earlier. Even though they weren't currently dating, he'd called her and were were facing the crisis together. And lastly, to Kate's right, stood Alexis and Martha, who were desperately trying to fight back tears, as they held each other tightly.

The only people left in the bank now, were the four gunmen and Castle, and she knew without doubt that it was that way because of him.

Almost two hours earlier, the hostage negotiator was contacted by one of the gunmen. One of the hostages was a pregnant woman who had gone into labor. They would be willing to let two paramedics enter the lobby to get her, in exchange for three cases of bottled water. It was a no brainer. They would make the exchange.

Kate, being in the right place at the right time, heard this and made a suggestion. Let her dress like an EMT and go in with the other paramedic. She was a trained investigator who was good with details, maybe she could give the rest of the PD an inside look into what was going on in there.

After a little convincing, it was agreed upon. She and David McBurrows, who was a paramedic with combat training, would be the two who would go in, get the hostage and get out without delay, but would also try to bring back as much intel as possible.

When she and McBurrows pushed the gurney up to the doorway, a gunman who had a hostage at gun point opened the door and let them enter.

They rolled the gurney up to the desk nearest the entrance where the young woman sat, panting and sweating. David took the water and put it on the desk, while Kate made a show of taking the woman's pulse. All the while, she could hear two men talking. The first one, she didn't recognize, the other belonged to Castle.

"What makes you think that I'd release all these people just for you?" a man in scrubs asked.

"Trust me I'm good collateral. Talk to the negotiator, offer to let people go. They'll work with you. Then when they're all safe, I'll stay with you until you can get away."

Panic welled up in Kate's throat. Shut up Rick!, she wanted to scream. Carefully, she took a good look around while she and David helped the woman get settled on the stretcher and strapped in. There seemed to be four robbers, all dressed like surgeons, two with hand guns, and two wielding machine guns. All the hostages, which looked to be about twenty five in total, were laying on the floor, face down, hands over their heads, in front of the teller's counter. Only one dared to raise up his face, and when his blue eyes met her hazel ones, there was a second that the world stood still.

Just before she felt the gun barrel press into her shoulder blade, she saw Rick's eyes grow wide. A low voice hissed at her from behind.

"That enough sight seeing, Sweetheart. Either get Mommy here and get out, or get your ass on the floor with everyone else."

David was watching her carefully. She nodded. "We're going."

With one quick glance out the corner of her eye, she could see that Rick was still watching her, and that Martha had moved her hand to cover his.

The bang of the smoke bombs going off pulled Kate from her memories and back into the moment. As the doors became hidden behind the smoke, she couldn't help but wonder if that second before leaving the bank would be the last time she ever looked into his eyes again.

Chaos broke out. Guns fired, men shouted. Alexis began sobbing next to her. Kate never took her eyes from where she knew the main entrance was through the smoke. As the haze began to clear, she could see SWAT scrambling like ants on their hill. There were shadows of two people lying on the ground, both appeared to be wearing scrubs. Another shadowy figure was being dragged out from the inside, but she still couldn't see Rick.

The smoke continued to thin out and blow away on the breeze. Again the main door opened, and a large man in a suit and carrying a brief case emerged. It occurred to Kate that it looked weird to see Rick carrying a brief case; it wasn't usually his style. But then the man in the suit reached inside his jacket and pulled out a gun. There was more shouting and more shots. The man fell backward from the impact of the bullets hitting his body. Ryan and Esposito ran forward, but Kate was frozen in place. She couldn't process what she'd just seen. It didn't make sense. Lanie moved past her to Alexis who had crumpled to the ground, sobbing, while Martha still did her best and held her tight.

As Kate continued to stare, she noticed one of the men wearing scrubs move. At first it was slow, but then he pushed himself up to sitting, then waved at someone... to Ryan.

"It's Rick. He's OK." Kate said numbly as she ran forward into the mess of people.

By the time she reached him, he was standing and Ryan and Esposito were patting his back. She knew the moment he saw her though, because he opened his arms wide and smiled. Without thinking she ran directly into his embrace and buried her face in his shoulder. His arms tightened around her, squeezing the last air from her lungs.

"Rick, you're OK." She whispered into his neck. "You're OK."

"Yes, I'm fine."

Kate turned her head so that she could look at him, just as he turned his face to look at her, causing their noses to bump and their lips to graze ever so slightly. She pulled back from the electric shock the almost kiss caused and stared at him with wide eyes. She might have stood their longer if not for Alexis calling to him as she ran up.

Kate stepped back all the way now and noticed for the first time, everyone else who was watching them. Martha, Ryan, and Esposito all sported matching, knowing smirks. Lanie nodded at her and winked, and Captain Gates, who Beckett didn't even know was at the scene, stared coolly as she took it all in.

Embarrassment tried to creep in, but she wouldn't let it. She thought her friend had been killed, and he was alive. She had no shame in being happy about that. So she hugged him... who cares! It didn't mean anything. Yes, she loved the man, but they didn't know that, and they didn't need to. They could all just think what they wanted and leave her out of it.

Now that the situation was under control, another officer came and whisked Rick away. He needed to be checked out by a medic and then go back to the station for questioning and paperwork. His day wasn't going to be over any time soon.

No one spoke to her about what they saw that afternoon, or at least what they thought they saw happen between her and Castle, and for that Kate was grateful. The day had already had its share of stress, without that added on top.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kate gripped the bottle of red wine with one hand and raised the other to knock on the door.

You can do this Kate. It's time. Just knock on the damn door.

She wrapped her knuckles tentatively against the cool surface and waited. When she didn't hear anything she thought to try again louder, but at she raised her hand, the door opened.

"Beckett!" Castle said, obviously surprised. "Come in."

"Sorry to drop in uninvited and all, but I thought that after a day like today you might want to unwind with a bottle of wine."

"Sure sounds better than trying to write Rook out of his current situation."

"Will Martha want to join us?" Kate asked, hoping to get a feel of who was around but not to sound like a complete moron.

"Noooooo, no. After this morning she declared that she'd earned a week at the spa, and frankly I can't say that I blame her. She left minutes after I got back home."

"Oh."

Alexis ran down the stairs, smiled politely at Kate and headed to the dining room table calling to her dad as she went, "Dad, have you seen my purple jump drive? It has all my physics notes on it for my project."

"Coffee table."

"Thanks. I'm trying to get all my stuff together so that I can leave for Kari's place right after Ash calls."

"I thought he was supposed to call an hour ago." Rick answered his daughter as he took the wine from Kate and strolled into the kitchen, with the detective following.

"He was. I don't know why he hasn't. I don't want to miss him, but I need to get to study group too."

"Well what's stopping him from calling you after you leave?"

"I told him to call here, cuz my phone never gets good reception at Kari's."

Rick took the glasses down from the cupboard, placed them on the counter and turned back to his daughter. "Hon, I know you miss him and really look forward to the times you can talk, but you can't keep puttin your life on hold, waiting around. Something probably just came up. If he calls, I'll tell him to try your phone. He can always leave a message if he can't get a hold of you."

Rick's parental advice was good, but from Alexis' body language, she didn't agree. Kate wanted to agree with Rick and maybe even add a little advice, but felt it wasn't her line to cross.

Before Alexis said anything in response, the phone began to ring. Her face lit up and and she dashed into her father's office while calling out, "I've got it."

Once she was out of sight, Rick popped the cork on the wine and turned to her. "It's been like this since he left. Is this normal?"

"She's young and in love. It's all normal behavior, but it's also good for you to keep encouraging her to not put her life on pause for him."

Silence filled the loft as he began to pour their drinks, allowing the sounds of Alexis' rising voice to drift out to them. She sounded upset.

Rick put the bottle down and stared toward his office, worry creasing his brow.

Kate placed a her hand on his. "Go see if she needs you. I'll finish this."

He nodded and slowly wondered off to stand in the doorway.

She finished pouring the wine and put the rest in the fridge before picking up the long stemmed glasses.

Just before reaching Castle, she heard Alexis coming out of the office and detoured to the steps so as to stay out of the way. She could still hear though and felt some guilt over eavesdropping on the conversation, but listened anyway.

"What's wrong Punkin?" Castle asked, sounding very much like the concerned father that he was. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Boys are so dumb!"

"We do have our shining moments, don't' we? Wanna tell me about it?"

Kate grinned thoughtfully as she listened and watched. The Castles had moved just into her line of vision, so she could see Rick wrap his large arm around Alexis' slim shoulders. She remembered a moment or two like this as a teen with her own father.

"He just doesn't get it, Dad! He said he'd call at five and he didn't because he went with some friends to play paintball. And now because I'm upset about being forgotten, he thinks I'm overreacting! You know what he told me?"

"No, what?"

"He said I need to calm down, it's not like he was out with another girl! Can you believe that? Why even bring that up? It wasn't accusing him of cheating. I wasn't even mad that he was late. I'm just upset because he doesn't realize what it feels like to be forgotten."

Rick pulled her into a bear hug. "Honey, Honey, Honey. He didn't forget you. I don' think that's even possible. I'm not trying to justify his actions, but he probably just sees it as being a little late. Does he know that you had a horrible day today?"

"No. I couldn't reach him and I didn't want to text him about it. I let a message to call, but that s it.."

"Could it be that with all the stress of today, maybe you reacted a little more strongly than you normally would in the same situation?"

Kate couldn't hear an answer but saw the girl shrug.

"Maybe you should call him back and tell him."

"I can't. He was headed to the basketball game with his roommates."

"Then why don't you text him, tell him that you still would like to talk soon, and then go meet up with your study group. It's Friday night, you'll both be up late. I'm sure you'll be able to talk with him later."

"I guess."

"That's more like it. I love you Alexis."

Alexis stepped back from her father and sighed. "I know, Dad, I love you too."

Kate stepped back down into the main part of the room now as Alexis gathered a few things.

After a round of goodbyes, Rick held the door open for his daughter and kissed her head when she left.

Rick turned back to Kate after shutting the door. "I may have more run ins with bank robbers and insane criminals than the average writer, but its living with a teenage daughter that is gonna kill me!"

"Oh, you'll both survive this and be stronger for it. Remember, this may be the last year you have her at home."

"Don't remind me. It's funny, as much as I want to keep her young and home with me for the rest of our lives, there are days when I can't wait for her to be on her own. And she's a great kid! How do the parents of all those crazy teens do it?"

"You are asking the wrong person!" Kate laughed and handed Rick his wine. "I think we need to make a toast, here's to surviving whatever comes along whether they be teenagers or bank robbers."

"Here, here."

After clinking their glasses together they both took a sip and then found themselves lost in their thoughts and each other. After a moment Kate blinked, breaking the spell.

"I'm glad you came over tonight."

"Me too."

"Here, have a seat, get comfy."

Kate accepted and led the way to the couch, and then, in a calculated move sat in the center, giving Rick only two choices, sit close to her or in a completely different chair. He joined her on the couch. She rearranged slightly so they were facing each other and their knees were bumping.

"So," he said after taking another long drink of wine. "You wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Um, actually I was kinda hoping we could talk."

He watched her for a second before nodding.

"About what happened today..." Kate started.

"I'm sorry about that kiss, er, almost kiss. Did Gates or the guys give you a hard time about that?"

"No. Nobody said anything, and you have nothing to apologize for. Really. That's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Oh, OK."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. I gotta admit I was scared at times, but I'm good now."

Kate took a drink from her glass before continuing. "I know you volunteered to stay back so that everyone could be released. That was very brave... and stupid. You could have been killed."

"Maybe, but I wasn't, and right then I just knew that I had to do whatever I could to get as many people out as I could."

"Well I'm not going to lecture you on protocol or interfering, I heard Gates already give you the riot act. I'm just glad you're safe."

"Did you also hear her tell me well done after her lecture? Give me some more time and I will melt the Ice Queen yet."

"No I didn't but I'm glad she's starting to soften. You've certainly proved yourself time and time again."

Rick looked deep into her eyes "Have I?" He asked.

Kate reached out and placed her hand on Rick's knee. "Yes you have."

Another silence fell over them as they shared a meaningful stare.

Kate didn't even notice that Rick had moved his hand until it covered hers and squeezed.

The pressure on her hand reenforced her resolve. "We need to talk."