And the ending..she hath come!

Thank you thank you SO much to all of you who added story and author alerts and continued to read and comment on this story! I have had the best time writing it! I am considering doing a "sequel/followup" to it...so hit the comments/reviews and let me know if you would be interested in reading more!

A MASSIVE thank you goes to my amazing Betas - Stella, Marjo and Nick! - you ladies are sheer perfection and awesomeness and I am so thankful you took time out of your crazy lives to read my stuff! Thanks for all the giggles your comments and emails have afforded me in the long writing hours!

Onward ho!

Disclaimer: If I owned or had anything whatsoever to do with this show don't you think Caskett would be together by now? Just saying...


She watched his blue eyes go slightly wide as the words took hold of his mind and settled in. She wanted to scream, part of her wanted to pull the words back from the universe and erase the memory of the past minute. But she knew she couldn't. She knew that she had actually said the words out loud. And she knew that she was going to have to deal with whatever came next. She could see him breathing, his chest was just barely rising and falling but she could see it.

"Come again…" he finally said, his soft voice cutting harshly through the tension and the stillness.

"I…" a sound to her left startled them and they both turned to see the older woman standing in the doorway in her night robe. She smiled when she saw them.

"Kate, sweetheart, don't you look gorgeous!"

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Snyder. Is everything ok?"

"Oh yes, dear, everything is fine. I just wanted to see if you two would mind taking this argument inside? Normally I would not mind eavesdropping one little bit but Clyde…"

"Has been so ill. Oh Mrs. Snyder I'm so sorry."

"He's just been having some difficulty sleeping and he's finally just drifted off."

"We'll just…take this inside," she said with a glance to Castle then moved to open the door. She stepped inside her apartment and turned back to see Mrs. Snyder looking Castle up and down with a sly grin on her face. The woman was in her early eighties and feisty as a twenty year old sometimes. Kate couldn't help but smile and tried to suppress a laugh at the disconcerted look on Castle's face. Finally feeling generous and thinking this detour wasn't going to do anything to help his mood she reached out of the door, grabbed his arm and pulled him into her apartment with her. She closed the door with a last smile and a 'goodnight' to Mrs. Snyder, locked the deadbolt then chained the door. She took a deep breath in and exhaled before turning toward him. When she met his gaze she could still see the shock and questions lingering in his eyes. His countenance was clouded and she knew that she couldn't face this just yet.

"Kate…"

"Coffee…" the word shot out of her mouth louder than she had intended and realized she practically yelled it at him.

"Huh, what?" he stuttered.

"Coffee…you wanted coffee. That's why you came up here in the first place…"

"Kate, why don't we just…"

"Are you ok with decaf? It's kind of late…" she said as she began to move toward the kitchen. She stopped short, the air catching in her lungs and burning her through, when she felt his hand in hers. She turned at his prodding and looked back into those deep blue ocean eyes. She fought the urge to fall into him right then and there. To just say everything she was thinking – everything she was feeling. But just like she always did, she held it in. She shoved her thoughts, her emotions and her fears down into the hollow of her heart and placed the lid over it. Not now, she told herself, just not yet.

"Don't you think we should…"

"Castle," she cut him off before he could finish his thought. "I'm going to make coffee…and then…we'll go from there…" she finished softly, her words barely audible, even to him. He dropped her hand and she walked into the kitchen. He watched her and tried to organize his own thoughts. He knew he had heard her correctly. She'd said he was supposed to be upset about them not working together, about their partnership ending…that he was supposed to be in love with her.

Her voice was still echoing in his mind and he couldn't help but replay the look in her eyes – the passion that he so rarely got to witness burning with so much intensity that it nearly knocked him back. Once the pot finished brewing she poured the coffee into two white ceramic mugs and handed him one. She replaced the pot and grabbed her mug with both hands letting the warming ceramic push away the tension that was settling into her.

"We should probably sit." Kate said finally breaking the silence that had settled between them. She walked toward the living room with him right behind her, both of them absentmindedly sipping their coffee. She let him sit first taking a place on the couch then she sat right across from him on the coffee table. They both set their mugs on the table and she placed her hands in her lap and stared at them for a moment. She realized she had been picking at her fingernails. She pulled her hands apart and placed them palms down on her thighs and then looked up at him. He was staring right at her, and she knew he was waiting for her to speak. He was letting her take control and she couldn't help the feeling of relief and compassion that rushed through her at the realization. He wasn't speaking or trying to make her speak…he just sat across from her, his hands clasped in his lap and his eyes fixed on her.

"I'm not sure how to say this, so the best thing to do is probably just to say it…" she mused quietly, almost to herself. "I lied to you."

"What do you…?"

"Just let me get this out, ok?" She cut him off before he could finish. He could see the tension in her posture and knew not to question. She needed to say whatever she was holding inside, and him interrupting would only make her lose her nerve. He nodded slightly in response, acknowledging that he would not speak and let her say what she needed to say.

"I lied to you…to Kevin and Javi and Lanie…to my dad. I just didn't know what else to do." She was still staring at her hands and she forced herself to meet his eyes. She took a breath in and held it for a moment, just holding his gaze. When she exhaled, she spoke and her voice was just above a whisper: "I remember…"

She could see the question in his eyes and knew that he would not voice it – that he would keep his unspoken agreement to not interrupt her and allow her speak unhindered. And she was overcome with the thought of how thankful she was for it…maybe it would make what she was about to say come out more easily:

"I remember the shooting, Castle. I remember the feeling of the breeze so tender on my skin. I remember the sunlight glinting off the casket handles and the badges. I remember the sound of the gunshot – the sound was deafening and seemed so far off but right next to my head all at the same time. I remember the searing in my chest as the bullet ripped through my body. I remember the feeling of you tackling me. Then suddenly I could feel the coolness, the prickling of the grass." Before she even realized what she was doing her hands moved of their own accord and fell onto his squeezing them gently before continuing: "Then all there was…was a bright blue sky…and you - your face, your eyes...your voice. Your voice telling me to just hang on, begging me to stay…and then…" her voice trailed off. She waited for the moment and thought she just might implode when she saw the realization cross his features. His brow furrowed slightly and she imagined she could see the wheels turning in his head. "Castle, please, say something…"

"How long?" he finally said after a beat.

"What?" She asked.

"How long have you remembered?" she could see it in his face…he was catching on to something. He could always see through her. No matter how hard she was trying to hide it she knew that he could see it and lying at this point would only make things worse.

"Since I woke up in the hospital…"

"How much?"

"Everything. I remembered everything."

"So…"

"I lied…It was never blank, it's been there the whole time with startling clarity actually." She could see him physically retreat. He dropped her gaze, his shoulders slumped slightly and he removed his hands from under hers. He stood and moved around the coffee table and began to slowly pace the width of her apartment. She moved off the coffee table and sat on the edge of her couch watching his movements. She could see the frustration rising in him and was trying to prepare herself for the inevitable.

"All this time…" he said once he finally stopped pacing and turned to look her straight in the eyes.

"Yes."

"The entire time?"

"Yes."

"You didn't say anything…"

"I couldn't."

"Really, why?"

"You know why…" she said quietly.

"Do I?"

"Castle…I couldn't…I was with Josh and after everything with Montgomery…"

"That's a convenient excuse, Kate and you know it…"

"It's not an excuse…it's true…"

"Well it may be true but it's not the truth."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she was getting angry now. She stood from the couch and moved toward him. She stopped in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest and stared him right in the eyes.

"It means you're not being honest with me."

"I am being honest with you…"

"Then tell me why you really didn't mention that you remembered the shooting? That you remembered what I said…for sixteen months it just escaped your mind."

"That's completely unfair…"

"Then why, Kate? Why?" he was looking her in the eyes. She couldn't remember ever seeing so much pain in those irises…the only other time that even came close to this moment was their argument on the sidewalk, outside the bookstore only three months after the shooting. This was worse…he was hurt and upset, and she knew it was because of her. Which only served to make her lash out more…

"I don't have to explain every little action I make to you, Castle…I didn't say anything then because I was in a relationship…what did you expect me to do?"

"That's bullshit!"

"What about that is bullshit?"

"So then after you and Josh broke up?"

"What?" she could feel her delicate house of lies begin to crumble.

"Your 'relationship' explains the first three months, what about the last thirteen?"

"I was shot…"

"Yes, I remember. I was there…"

"What exactly did you expect, Castle?"

"I expect you to be honest with me. I expect you to trust me. I guess that's the issue, isn't it?"

"What's the issue? That you're blowing this completely out of proportion?"

"No, that you didn't tell me because you don't trust me."

"Of course I trust you." She said slowly, quietly.

"And again with the bullshit…"

"Hey…"

"You can say it all you want, Kate, but that doesn't make it truth."

"It is the truth…"

"You didn't trust that I would never push you or hurt you in anyway and you didn't trust that I could understand…"

"Well if that's what you meant then I guess you've proven me right because you obviously don't understand…"

"Well obviously, I don't!" He screamed at her. He stalked to the door, pulled it open and then slammed it closed leaving a shocked Kate Beckett staring at her apartment door in disbelief. For the second time in one week he had walked away from her leaving her with an ache in her chest and tears burning the corners of her eyes.


Twenty minutes later, with her five-inch, peep-toe, black satin shoes lying on the floor and her hair down in waves around her shoulders she sat on her couch with her head in her hands. She let the tears fall freely not caring about staining the satin and lace dress she was still wearing. She kept telling herself to go change…to just go change and accept the fact that the night was over and it had ended in a nuclear explosion. But she couldn't. She couldn't move from her spot on the couch…it had taken everything in her to get to this spot in the first place.

She had only moved because she heard a knock on the door, maybe a minute after he left. Something inside of her stirred and she moved quickly to the door…she ripped it open and felt her heart fall into her stomach when she saw Mrs. Snyder standing in front of her. The older woman asked if she was ok. She had heard some yelling, and then the door slam, and wanted to make sure Kate was alright. Kate assured Mrs. Snyder that she was fine, it was just a fight and bid the woman goodnight. Kate walked back into her apartment, closing the door as the tears began to fall. Her mind replayed it all…every word, every expression on his face. She replayed the pain and the anger in his voice and the anguish – that she hadn't expected. He had looked so completely anguished by the realization that she had been lying to him the whole time. For the past sixteen months she had told herself that it wouldn't be that big of a deal, that he would understand why she had not told him. She had not thought of the repercussions of her actions, how much it would hurt him. That's what I always do isn't it? She chided herself, I only considered myself and didn't think about him or his feelings at all…of course he's angry…I would be too.

Then she had to force herself to admit why she really hadn't told him all this time. Especially as they had grown closer. Yes, for those first three months she had been with Josh – though that wasn't really even true. Castle didn't know that she had broken up with Josh only a week after waking up in the hospital. Josh had gotten upset that she never tried to stymie Castle's very obvious affection for her and she balked, saying she had no control over the man's feelings. Josh wouldn't accept it. They argued and in the end he accused her of being so complacent in the matter of Castle's feelings because she was as much in love with him as he was with her.

When she did not respond to him, only stared at him in shock with her mouth gaping open, he knew he was right. She knew he was right. He moved to leave her hospital room and Kate told him not to come back. He didn't. She was sent home the next day and then went out to her father's cabin the day after that.

Her father had brought her a copy of Heat Rises the day it was released and she sat on the front porch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders reading the words. The events that had inspired the tome kept replaying in her mind. She saw Montgomery over and over again. The coolness of the hangar, of his skin as the life left his body haunted her dreams. Her heart broke when she read the final chapters and knew that if Castle could have had his way, it was how the real life situation would have played out. He would have taken the bullet for her…

Another knock on the door drug her back to reality and she wiped her face as she stood and moved bare feet over hardwood toward her door.

"Mrs. Snyder I promise I'm…." she stopped short when she saw him standing in front of her. "Castle." She whispered.

"Can I come in?" She didn't answer, just stood aside and left him room to enter. He was completely taken back by the look on her face. She had been crying, he could see it in the redness of her eyes and his heart ached slightly knowing he was the cause.

"Castle…look…" she said as she closed her door and walked toward him.

"Kate, just let me get this out ok?" He said echoing her words from not even an hour before. She showed him the same courtesy he had extended to her earlier and sat on one of the stools at her kitchen island. He ran his hands through his hair, an action she guessed he had repeated many times since he had walked out as his hair was sticking up randomly. It gave him a rugged, mussed look that just made her heart beat faster with the sheer sexiness he exuded.

"I have been pacing in front of your building for the past twenty minutes. I was going to just leave and go home but I couldn't. I just kept replaying everything and wondering how the night devolved so completely, so quickly…" He moved slightly closer to her. "I'm upset. I'm upset that you felt you had to lie to me for so long. I'm upset that you can seem to just put aside the fact that you hurt me so easily and I'm upset that you didn't just tell me up front. That the truth had to come out in an argument." She wanted to fight with him, to tell him that it wasn't easy to see him in so much pain and that it hurt her that he thought she didn't care that she was hurting him. But she held it in, she honored her agreement not to speak and allowed him to finish: "But I do understand. I understand why you didn't say anything. I know that I am not the most trustworthy person, especially when it comes to relationships and that you weren't certain if what I said was the truth."

"Castle," she said tentatively, testing the waters to see if it was OK for her to speak.

"Yes?" he said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

"It wasn't about you."

"Kate…"

"Maybe it was in a way," she interrupted, "but it wasn't only about you. I'm not good at this; I suck at relationships. And yes, at first, I wondered if you honestly meant what you said. But that wasn't the only reason I didn't tell you I remembered." She stood and walked closer to him, closing the space between them in two steps. "I didn't tell you because of me. Because I knew that the person I was at that point wasn't anyone who deserved you. I couldn't say anything because I couldn't face my shortcomings and all of the pain that I wanted to hold onto. I needed to let that go…to be the kind of person who would be worthy of being with you." She finished quietly. She gazed into his eyes and for one of the first times she could remember she wondered what he was thinking. She could normally figure out exactly what was in his mind by looking at him, not right now. Which was why his next action took her completely by surprise.

In an instant he had closed the small gap left between them, she felt his hands on either side of her face and then his soft lips against hers. In her shock it took a moment to realize that he was kissing her. She let her eyes fall closed and savored the feeling. How many times had she dreamed of this moment? The moment of their first real kiss…not brought on by a case, or the desperate need for a distraction.

Her mind was buzzing and all thought processes were gone. She moved her arms up around his neck and felt his hands move from her face and slide around her slender waist pulling her even closer to him. Her hands moved to run through his hair and she was amazed by how natural the act felt. She felt one of his hands move up her back and cradle her neck. She couldn't breathe and did not imagine he could either, but she couldn't bring herself to break away. After a few more seconds she felt his lips leave hers and she was struck by the impulse to grab him and ensure his lips never left hers again. He placed his hands on her upper arms as she slowly opened her eyes and met his gaze.

"I've been wanting to do that for years."

"Me too…" she whispered. She felt the blush in her cheeks when he smiled and let her hand move to cover her face.

"Kate…I want you to know that I heard what you said." He said as he reached for her hand and she looked him in the eyes. "On the swings in the park that day…that you won't be able to be the kind of person or have the relationship you want until your mom's case is solved. And I'm not going to push. I love you, Kate." A course of shivers shot down her spine as he placed his hands back on either side of her face. "I love you, and that means all of you. Every part. But, if you need time, then you can have it. Because when we do this, I don't want you with one foot out the door. When we do this – I want all of you."

"Even if I don't know how long it'll take?"

"Kate…I'll wait forever for you if I have to." He leaned forward and captured her lips once again. They broke apart and he ran his hands from her neck down the length of her arms. He grasped her hands momentarily and held her gaze. He dropped her hands and walked to the door, opened it and walked out of her apartment. Her hands flew to her chest and she closed her eyes willing herself to take in deep, even breaths. She ran her hands through her hair and then let them fall to her sides.

"What the hell are you doing, Kate?" she said softly to herself. She moved swiftly to her door, grabbed the knob and ripped it open. She ran out into the hallway and caught sight of him just as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Rick!" She called out to him and he turned at the sound of her voice uttering his name.

"Kate…?"

"Maybe forever is just too long…" She placed her right hand behind his neck and pulled him into her once again. Their lips crashed together and his arms found their place around her waist. Once they finally broke apart, her hand ran from his neck to rest on his chest. The smile on his face was contagious and she couldn't help but mirror it. The sound of the door opening down the hallway caused them both to turn.

"You two are just so damn cute."

"Mrs. Snyder…were we being too loud again?"

"Oh no, dear, you're fine just wanted to see what was happening after I noticed your man here coming back to your place."

"Oh…well, we're just going to, um…take this back inside." She looked at Castle and raised her eyebrows. She grabbed his hand and led him back down the hallway toward her open apartment door. She looked behind her before the door closed and noticed Mrs. Snyder smiling coyly as she tried to lean far enough to see around the door. "Goodnight, Mrs. Snyder. I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning, dear. You have a great night." She said with a wink and then disappeared into her own apartment. Kate smiled and closed her door. She turned and couldn't suppress the eye roll caused by the smirk on Richard Castle's face.

"So…" he said as he placed his hands in his pockets and rocked slightly back and forth on his heels. His voice has a slight singsong quality to it that made her eyes narrow even as a smile erupted on her face.

"So…" She responded, mimicking his tone and moving toward him.

"You like me." She punched him on the arm, but let a smile overtake her features.

"Shut up!" she said with a laugh and placed her hand in his. His eyes were shinning and seeing it made her entire body tingle. The warmth of his hand in hers felt so right and she leaned into him and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"So…"

"We are not starting that again…"

"What now?" he finished and it hit her that there was actually what sounded like a bit of apprehension in his tone.

"Now we talk." She stepped back and led him to her couch. She sat and drew him down next to her. She turned toward him and, lacing her fingers through his, set their entwined hands on her lap. "I want to be with you, Castle. I want to give us a try…"

"So do I."

"On two conditions."

"Uh oh."

"Oh come on…hear me out!"

"Fine."

"First - we take things slowly. I've jumped into things too quickly and I get the feeling you have as well…and considering our history and everything I know I still need to deal with, I want to do this right."

"Agreed. Condition number two?"

"Second – we keep this as quiet as we can. No one knows."

"You really that ashamed of me?" he said, trying to joke, but she could hear the hurt creeping into his voice. She released his hand and placed both of her hands on either side of his face pulling him into her. She kissed him softly but tried to convey every emotion that was coursing through her in that moment. She pulled away and smiled at him.

"Condition number three is you never even think, let alone say that ever again. You hear me?"

"Yes, Detective."

"You and I both know that relationships are hard with just two people. Then you add in friends and family and it gets even tougher. Then you add in people at work and that just makes things insane. But we also have the added bonus of all of your fans! I can't handle having all of them – plus everyone at the precinct – in our relationship just yet. We're still figuring each other out. I do not need nor want all those other people in my head. I don't want to screw this up, Rick."

"Neither do I. I agree to condition two…what about…"

"Tell Martha and Alexis. I'll tell my dad. But no one else just yet."

"Good, because I don't think I could hide this from Mother and Alexis…I'm good, but I'm not that good."

"No, you are good, they're just ninja's when it comes to finding out your secrets." They both laughed at the truth of her comment as she reached for his hands again. "I know it's late, but I really don't want you to leave just yet."

"How about a movie?"

"I think I have the perfect one, too!" She got up off the couch and moved toward the cabinet that held her movie collection. While she was perusing her DVD's Castle removed his shoes and placed them under the coffee table. He then removed the leather jacket he was wearing and draped it over the back of the couch. When he turned back around she was staring at him with her hands behind her back and an excited look on her face. He couldn't help but smile. She was so damned adorable.

"Should I be worried or excited by the look on your face?"

"Oh, you should be so excited you can't contain yourself!"

"Ooooh, what classic film will we be enjoying this evening?"

"Oh, it's a classic alright." She smiled broadly and whipped the DVD from behind her back handing it to him.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?"

"The original! Bad camera work, acting, writing – the WHOLE shebang!"

"You are the perfect woman…" She smiled, grabbed the DVD from him put it in the player and then reoccupied her place next to him on the couch. She moved closer to him and he raised his left arm, placing it around her shoulders. She placed her feet on the coffee table and relaxed into his side letting her head fall onto his shoulder as the music signaling the beginning of the movie filled her apartment.


Half and hour into the movie, his phone rang. She lifted her head off his shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him. He gave her his best smile and reached over into his jacket pocket to retrieve his phone. He checked the screen and registered it was Paula calling. Part of him contemplated declining the call but he figured it would not be best to get on his book agent's bad side.

"It's Paula, I should take this. Why don't you go and change…you don't look very comfortable."

"No, I'm fine."

"Kate…"

"Rick…" she mimicked him.

"You've been shifting every five minutes. Really go…"

"Are you sure? I feel bad that you just have to stay in what you're wearing."

"Trust me. The dress looks amazing but I'm probably more comfortable right now than you are…sartorially of course…" he added with a wink in her direction. She slapped his arm playfully and stood from the couch. She walked toward her room and closed the door just as Castle answered his phone.

She changed as quickly as she could. She took care to hang the dress and ensure no portion of it was pooled in a way that it could wrinkle. It was only on loan to her for the premiere and there was NO way she could afford to buy it…so she took special care to ensure it went back in the same condition it came to her.

She walked from her room just as Castle was ending his call with Paula. The look on his face told her he was in shock over something his agent had told him and Kate was busy trying to figure out if it was good news or bad news when he turned toward her.

"Rick…you ok?"

"Yeah…everything is…fine actually."

"Care to elaborate on that any because you're kind of starting to worry me." He looked to her and smiled widely easing all the tension that had been rising in her. She smiled back at him.

"Black Pawn extended the contract."

"What?"

"Book sales are in for In the Heat of the Night and it's done even better than Heat Rises and reviews for Heat Wave are raves! They offered to let me write as many Nikki Heat novels as I want." Her eyes widened. Did she actually hear him correctly?

"So you're saying…"

"Paula already called Robert…Robert called the Commissioner…Gates agreed. I get to come back to the precinct…" She realized she could not speak. Her mouth was gaping open and she knew she looked like a fool right now but there were no words to express what she was feeling. She closed the small bit of space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him close to her.

"Rick…that's amazing!" she whispered in his ear.

"Best news I could have hoped for." He whispered back to her. When they finally parted she took the opportunity to steal a quick kiss, leaving them both smiling as they settled back in on the couch.


The static from the television was buzzing in his ears and finally pulled him from his dreams. He looked to his left where Kate Beckett's sleeping form was cuddled against him - her head still resting where it had been when the movie began. He figured they must have fallen asleep during the movie and couldn't help the feeling that overtook him at the familiarity they had already acquired in such a short time. He allowed himself a moment to admire her. He had never been given this chance – to simply gaze at her while she slept. To study the slow rise and fall of her chest with her deep, even breaths. He noticed a small smile graced her delicate lips and he grinned, wondering what she was dreaming about and hoping it was him. He moved his hand to brush a stray strand of her soft caramel hair back behind her ear and allowed his fingertips to graze her temple then trace the line of her cheek, her lips, her jawbone and finally her neck as his hand fell back to his lap.

Part of him was terrified he was dreaming - that the events of the past hours had not actually occurred. Looking down at their bodies curled together on her couch told him it wasn't a dream – he was still wearing the pants and shirt he had worn for the Heat Wave premiere. She was curled into him in black yoga pants and a loose knit t-shirt that hugged her body in all the right places. He couldn't believe that after four years of dreaming of that first kiss – their first real kiss – the dream had not come anywhere near the reality. He never dreamt his head would spin the way it had, that the skin of her arms would be as soft as it was as his hands ran down them. For the first time in his life – he knew what hunger was…he hungered for her.

He knew he would respect her wishes. Take things slowly and give her the time and space she still needed to heal. He owed her that much.

The sound of his phone ringing ripped him from his thoughts. He slowly extricated his arm from underneath Kate's sleeping form being cautious not to wake her. Once his arm was free he leaned forward and his left hand grabbed the remote - silencing the crackling television - while his right hand reached into his jacket pocket for his phone. He checked the screen to determine who would possibly be calling him at 3 o'clock in the morning, but the screen did not show a number – only "blocked ID".

The writer in him instantly became curious. He knew that when Montgomery's friend called him the ID registered the same way. He looked back to Kate to ensure she was still asleep then stood quickly from the couch and walked toward her kitchen. He pressed the accept button and placed the phone to his ear:

"Castle." He said softly.

"Richard Castle."

"Yes. Who is this?"

"You don't need to know that. All you need to know is that you are someone who has made my life very difficult."

"I'm sorry…?" Castle retorted, more as a question than a statement. He couldn't place the voice on the other end of the line. It was a deep baritone, no accent, nothing distinctive that he could hear. For some reason though the voice sounded oddly familiar.

"Oh no, you're not. Not yet, anyways…"

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" He asked, his ire at the faceless and nameless voice rising with each passing moment spent on the line. There was something Castle finally picked up in the voice – hubris. Whoever this was, they were cocky and very certain of themselves. Which meant, by default, they were dangerous.

"It means that you should be careful, Richard Castle."

"Why is that?"

"Did you really think that by poking your nose where it doesn't belong anyone would be safe?" Castle's posture stiffened. It couldn't be, he thought, this couldn't be about…he tried to feign ignorance.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't play dumb," the voice cooed sarcastically, "You're too stupid for that."

"Hey look here…" his voice was beginning to rise.

"No, you look...right now…turn around and take a good long look at your girl there." Castle turned toward Kate, her face illuminated in an ethereal glow by the television screen. "You think about all the people you hold dear...all the ones you love. Think long and hard, because this is decision time. Whom do you protect? Your one true love - your raison d'être – or your family? Because it's one or the other, Richard Castle. You decide."

Castle turned from Kate's sleeping form and placed his hand over his mouth, hoping to block out some of the sounds of his anger from reaching her sleeping ears. He was readying himself to rail against the mysterious caller but the other end of the line had gone silent. The voice had issued its ultimatum and slipped quietly into the silence of the night.

The phone felt like a ton of steel in his hand as he walked back toward the couch and let it fall onto the soft surface. He let his eyes wander back to her peaceful face and the voice's words echoed in his mind: Whom do you protect? He closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, exhaling sharply. Her voice startled him and he looked up meeting her green eyes.

"Rick? Is everything ok? You look like you've seen a ghost." She said as she shifted towards him and sat on the edge of the couch.

"Yeah…" he said as he moved back to the couch and sat down next to her placing a kiss on her temple. He placed his arm back around her and leaned back into the couch pulling her as close to him as he could. He knew it would never be close enough. "Everything is fine."


Thank you again for reading...hope you enjoyed the ending! And leave a review if you have a moment...would LOVE to hear what you think!

3 Amy