Summary: Through all of the secrets and the lies, the betrayal and the pain, the destination was always the same. They were meant to be together.

Author's Note: It's not M (apologies to those of you who wanted it to be) but it's toeing the line. If you don't like that stuff, skip to about halfway down the page.

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. And neither is the post I based this off of.

Chapter 10

The first time may have been make-up sex, but the second and third and fourth certainly were not.

Round one had been hot and fast, clothing strewn all over the floor, and in their haste, they had barely made it to her bed. Kate had collapsed on top of him afterwards, breathing heavily, body sated.

Well, temporarily. When draped nakedly over an equally bare Richard Castle, feelings of satiation only lasted so long.

Round two had been slow and gentle, passionate and so filled with love that Kate had felt like she might explode...in more ways than one. They had taken their time, fingers and lips and tongues finding the places that made each other gasp and moan and writhe and beg. And, oh, God, she had never appreciated Castle's curiosity more than in those moments, as he took the time to find all of the spots she knew about...and a couple that she did not.

They had drifted off for a bit after that, waking in a sweaty tangle of limbs, very much in need of a shower. They had made their way to the bathroom, attached at the mouth, tripping over each other's feet in the process, thereby commencing round three.

That one had been hot and steamy as he took her up against the wall, and Kate was not sure she would ever be able to look at her shower again without thinking about a wet, soapy, naked Castle and all the delicious things he could do to her in said shower.

After that, they did manage to drag themselves to her kitchen for some sustenance, as it was after eight p.m. and neither had eaten since lunch. Castle was clad only in boxers, Kate in his shirt, exposed legs deliciously tempting as they waited for the pizza delivery boy.

Round four had very nearly taken place right then on her sofa, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door just as Castle began undoing the buttons on her shirt. His shirt. Whoever it belonged to. Given how it looked on her, he was considering letting her keep it and making her promise to wear it at all times when at home.

They ate practically sitting on top of each other on the couch, shoulders bumping with every bite, thighs pressed together, making it very difficult to focus on the food.

After filling up with pizza, though, both found themselves more interested in sleep than anything requiring more...exertion. So they broke open a bottle of wine, popped in a movie, and curled up together.

It did not take long for them to fall asleep spooned on the sofa, movie still playing in the background.

As it turned out, round four did take place on the couch. Somewhere around three in the morning, Castle had woken Kate in the most delicious of ways, and she may still have been tired, but it is not like she ever could have said no. Not when she had drifted into consciousness to the feel of his hands and lips, exploring everywhere at once.

They had fallen asleep again after that, back in bed this time, sleeping soundly until now. Kate could not remember the last time she had slept in until nine o'clock, not even on a Sunday.

Then again, yesterday had given her plenty of reasons to be exhausted.

Communication may not be their strong point, but Kate could foresee no future problems in the physical aspect of their relationship. Well, except for the fact that the attraction was so overpowering, and they were going to have to manage to work together all day every day without going at it like rabbits.

She smiled at the thought, lifted her head off of his bicep, trailed her eyes approvingly over his chest on her way up to his face. When she arrived there, she was startled to find him awake, his blue eyes staring back at her, and rather than smugness that he had caught her blatantly admiring him, she could see in their depths how much he adored her.

Castle cupped her jaw with one hand, never breaking their eye contact. "Good morning, love."

Kate hummed quietly in response, leaned into his touch.

Castle's eyes flickered away then, unable to hold her gaze any longer. Her eyes had always been expressive, always given away the truths she tried to keep locked away. But right now, they were brimming with so much love and happiness that he was not sure he could handle it.

Kate Beckett loved him. He was still getting used to that concept.

She snuggled into him further then, twining her naked body with his, letting his warmth wash over her.

His arms tightened around her automatically and he buried his face in her hair. "God, I love you. So much, Kate."

She lifted her head at his words, eyes sparkling, entire body shining with happiness. She was radiant.

And speechless, apparently.

"You're glowing." Castle spoke again before she managed to find her words. There was a sense of pride in his voice that almost made Kate want to smack him. Almost. Except that she was grinning like an idiot and too overwhelmingly ecstatic to care.

Instead, she reached out and thumbed the remnants of sleep from the corner of his eyes. His bright, blue eyes.

"So are you."

"How could I not be? I just woke up wrapped around you after yesterday. And last night. And this morning. God, you just...you have no idea how happy you make me, Kate."

He kissed the tip of her nose, hugged her even tighter.

Kate sighed, melted into him.

If only he knew how much those words applied to her feelings as well.

When Castle woke again...he did not even realized he drifted off...his arms were empty. He opened one eye, then the other, immediately found Kate. She was seated on the edge of the bed, partially wrapped in the blankets, facing away from him. He could tell that there was a small picture in her hand and knew immediately what it must be.

He sat up and slid over onto what had become her side of the bed, rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Hey," she said softly, eyes still trained on the image.

He kissed her neck, scooted closer. "You okay?"

"I miss her," Kate said after a moment, tracing the outline of her mother in the photograph, a wistful look in her eyes. "So much. Especially times like this."

Castle wrapped his arms around her from behind, held her against his chest.

Kate dropped a hand, laced her fingers with his on her stomach.

"I wish...she could have met you. Seen how happy you make me."

Kate shook her head, smiled in reminiscence. "I used to hate it when she said 'I told you so.' Now I know it would be the first words out of her mouth."

"Smart woman."

She laughed softly. "She really was."

"I know I would have loved her, Kate."

"Hmmm."

He reached up, gently removed the picture from her hand and set it back on the nightstand.

"Wherever she is, I'm sure she's so proud of you."

Kate bit down on her lower lip to stop the tears. She refused to cry over this right now. She missed her mom. She would always miss her mom. But Castle made her happy, truly happy, for the first time since her mother's death.

And for that, she was truly thankful.

"I love you," she whispered, turning her head to brush a kiss to his cheek.

Castle tugged her backwards, settled back into the bed, his arm firm on her bare stomach, body surrounding hers.

She allowed herself to relax into his embrace, to take solace in his words, as she drifted on the brink of consciousness once more.

He simply held her, letting her rest, come to terms with her feelings. Things had been difficult enough after his break-up with Kyra, after his divorces, especially the first one; he could only begin to imagine how Kate must be feeling right now, dealing with so much love and loss at the same time.

But she was strong, stronger than even he realized sometimes. And she was here with him, opening up to him about her internal struggles, and that, more than anything, spoke to just how hard she was working to knock down her wall, how far she had come in making peace with her past.

Castle was amazed, completely amazed, as he lay there with her, naked and wrapped up in her bed. And not just because they had had mind-blowing sex multiple times in the last few hours.

No, it was more than that. He had commented in the past of the depths of her strength and her heart. But in just the span of the last twenty-four hours, he had become acquainted with the depths of her love.

A love that shone through in her every gesture, every word. A love that allowed her to forgive and overcome, and he knew that both of them would be stronger for making it through this past week.

But most of all, it was a love that was deep and true and forever. Because if they could survive this, they could survive anything life could ever throw at them.

Kate was it for him, and though it was probably far too soon to have that conversation, he could see in her eyes that she felt it, too.

One and done.

Okay, three and done for him, because it had taken him a while to figure out how to do this right. But he was done making those mistakes. She was forever engrained in his life, his heart, and even though it had only been less than a day, really, since they had worked it all out and truly taken the leap, he already could not imagine it any other way.

Was it too soon to ask her to move in with him so he could spend every moment of every day with her, hold her in his arms every night?

Kate rolled over then, burrowed into him, almost as though unconsciously answering his question.

Truthfully, if he asked her right now, when she was all snuggly and uncensored and only half awake, he could probably get her to say yes. He might take a beating for it later, but it would be completely worth it.

In the end, Castle settled for a compromise.

"You realize that I'm never letting you go, right?" he asked softly, warm breath washing over her temple.

She smiled against his chest, pressed a sleepy kiss to his bare skin. "Mmmm, good. 'Cause you're stuck with me forever."

THE END

Author's Note part 2: Cheesy? Yes, yes it is. But I know all of the angst in this story took a toll on some of you guys (and on me, too), so I figured we could all do with some sappiness. Especially since their first date night didn't really get a happy morning after.

Also, I know I say this a lot, but thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/favorited and such. You guys make it so great to write for this fandom. And a special shout out to those of you who take the time to review every single chapter...that means a lot to me and I love hearing your thoughts and insights, etc.

I'm sad to see this story end, because it's been the most fun (and most challenging) one I've written so far. But I knew from the start how I wanted it to end, and we have reached that point. However, I do have another one-shot in the works, so I shall be back again very soon.

Until then,

Diana