Thanks for reading and reviewing. I guess I've watched a lot of Castle and it always seems to be the one you least expect. That's what I was trying for anyway.

Chapter 10

Two weeks later….

Hawke sat on the front porch of his cabin waiting for Caitlin to return. She had stayed behind in Texas to spend time with her family. He had wanted to stay with her but he knew that giving her space to deal with what had happened would be best for both of them.

He watched as she set the helicopter down on the peer with ease. She climbed out and then grabbed her suitcase before heading towards the cabin. He smiled at her as she approached him and waited for her to speak first. Instead, she dropped her suitcase on the ground and ran to him, nearly jumping into his arms. He held her tight and kissed her.

"I'm glad you're home," he said. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," she replied. "It feels good to be back."

Hawke escorted her into the cabin. "Have you had dinner yet?" he asked. "I made pasta and I was thinking about opening a bottle of wine."

"No, I haven't," she replied. "That sounds great."

"Okay, you go up and unpack, change into something more comfortable and I'll fix us a plate," he said.

Caitlin went up stairs and unpacked her things. She changed into a pair of sweat pants and a tank top before heading back down for dinner.

Sting had set them up a little picnic in the middle of the living room with pasta, bread, and wine. It looked and smelled so good but Caitlin couldn't take her eyes off of Hawke. She smiled as she sat down to join him.

"Wow, what did I do to deserve this?" she asked.

Hawke leaned over and kissed her before responding. "Oh, I just did it because I love you," he said. "I'd do anything for you. I hope you know that."

"I know," she replied. "I want you to know that I really appreciated you going to Texas with me."

"I'm sorry that it didn't turn out well," he said. "I know it's been hard on you and your family."

Caitlin was quiet for a moment before responding. "It has been. I guess it's still a bit of a shock," she said. "Stacey ruined two lives that night because she acted without thinking."

"I'm surprised she was able to keep it to herself all these years," said Hawke.

"The crazy thing is that if she hadn't pulled all those stupid stunts at the cabin we would have never known," said Caitlin. "There was no way we could have figured out that she was there with him."

"So why all the dramatics with the mannequin and the attack on you?" asked Hawke.

Caitlin sighed. "I spoke to her briefly and asked her the same thing," she said. "All these years it had been eating away at her. She said that deep down she really wanted to be caught. She wanted it to all be over with but she couldn't bring herself to just come out and tell the truth."

"It sure would have been a lot easier if she had,' he replied.

After they finished their pasta, String picked up the dishes and refilled their wine glasses before sitting back down beside her on the floor.

"I think I have a way to help take your mind off of all this," said String. "Care to take this upstairs?"

Caitlin smiled."I thought you'd never ask," she replied.

Hawke stood before helping Caitlin to her feet. He took her hand and led her upstairs to the bedroom.