Wow, after seven months this story is FINALLY finished. Thank you so much to everyone that has stuck with me through this. And it took even longer than it needed to for me to post this, because shortly after I posted the last chapter I couldn't log in to the site anymore. I'm going to try to see if I can get this up by using another computer (this computer is so old I can't do upgrades on it anymore, which is what I think is causing the problem with me logging in to this site) or if Natalie Elizabeth can post it by using her computer. If neither of those works, I'll have to wait until I can get a new computer, which might take a few weeks. :(

Disclaimer: Honestly, would anyone believe me even if I said I owned it? After my reaction to the two-parter, I don't think so. All I can say beware of spoilers that are nothing more than lies.

POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE WHO HAS NOT SEEN UP THROUGH SEASON 4, EPISODE 16. (In the A/N, not the story)

(Case in point: the first spoiler I read last May said that the 'ILY's' would be dealt with mid-season, which it would be a stretch to say the two-parter was in that time frame, and you all know what happened there) I never thought I would say this, but I'm going to be spoiler free from now on, with the possible exception of waiting until Natalie Elizabeth has watched the episodes, since she has said she will go ahead and give me 'Liz-type' spoilers. Those are spoilers that answer the two most important questions right now: 1) Did Kate's secret or Castle's secret come out & 2) Did Kate FINALLY admit how she feels to Castle?

Oh, and if anyone from the East Coast wants to give me 'Liz-type' spoilers, which will be needed more and more as we get closer and closer to the season finale without their secrets coming out-which sadly, looks very possible, but hopefully it will happen before then (and I will pass the spoilers on to Nat, since she usually can't watch the show until a day or two or more after it airs, and tells you how long I am willing to wait so that I can know what's going to happen before watching an episode) I'll put you in one of my upcoming stories. I've done it before. :)

Okay, enough of my mini-venting; trust me, this is no where close to my REAL venting over this issue. :0)

"There's always a story," Iya began the class by saying, "always a chain of events that makes everything make sense."

Rick wasn't at all surprised that Iya chose to start with those particular words. The princess had certainly seen through the transmitters more than enough of his interactions with Beckett and the rest of the precinct to have at least a general idea of how his mind worked. And, no matter the case, Rick focused on figuring out the stories involved. But those had been situations that involved murder, an unknown phenomenon on Amour.

So what exactly was Iya planning?

Rick looked around the room at the twenty-some aliens that were sitting at their desks. He was a little disappointed at how normal everything looked. Well, except for the aliens. Other than that, though, the room looked like a standard classroom. Desks were situated to form a large 'U' with Iya's larger desk at the front of the room. He and Beckett had been directed to sit at desks that were directly in the middle of the 'U', so that to see Iya all they needed to do was look straight ahead. The carpet that covered the floor was a nondescript brown and the walls were a bland cream color. The view of a rainbow sky and golden grass he could see out the window along the left wall was more unique than anything he could find in the rectangular shaped room.

One thing stood out, though. Rick couldn't think of any classroom where boys and girls would sit comfortably side by side. The students appeared to range in age from ten to eighteen, if he had to hazard a guess. Based on his experiences in school, the younger kids should be acting as if the opposite gender had contaminating germs while the teenagers would be flirting with each other. Instead, they all sat calmly side by side, listening to their teacher.

What type of kids did that?

Why weren't they squirming, fidgeting, passing notes-something? Anything other than acting more composed than most adults he knew?

It must be one of those Amourian cultural things that Iya had forgotten to mention him.

"This week we have two special guests," Iya continued. "Rick Castle and Kate Beckett are creatures known as humans on their home planet, which is called Earth. Their world is very different from ours, the least of which is that a human does not immediately recognize his or her destined mate."
"How odd," one of the alien students said.

"To us, it is an extremely unusual idea," Iya agreed. "But it's all they have ever known. Were all of you able to watch the transmission message that Emilan sent yesterday?" Beckett shot Rick a puzzled look. He shrugged. Iya hadn't mentioned anything about it to him.

When each of the aliens gave a slight nod, Iya continued. "Excellent. Then you understand that Beckett is one of the individuals who enforce the law on her world and Castle assists her in that task while also gathering research for his fictional stories. They both thrive on solving mysteries. Due to the nature of the mysteries they solve, I have been extremely careful in selecting the transmissions that you will see.

"However, we have our own mystery to solve." Iya rose from her desk and went over to what looked like a regular chalkboard. Iya tapped it with her finger and an all too familiar, and for Rick all too recent, image of the time he and Beckett had been quarantined appeared. "This is the first of three incidents in less than two days time when Castle and Beckett were not entirely certain they would get out of the situation alive." Iya tapped the board again and an image of the time Rick and Beckett had spent trapped in the freezer replaced the previous picture. "This is the second." The princess tapped the board a third time and Rick couldn't hold back a shudder at seeing him and Beckett standing in front of the bomb. If he hadn't pulled those wires... "And here is the third," Iya said.

The princess tapped the board again and the image disappeared. She walked over and sat down at the edge of her desk. She shut her eyes and let out a heavy sigh before opening them again. Rick was startled by the glistening of tears in her eyes.

"Three times," Iya said, "they were close to death and neither one of them expressed how they truly felt. They could have left their world never knowing..."

Rick looked over at Beckett as Iya's voice trailed off. The bland expression on her face threw him. Most of the time the detective's expressions were easy for him to read. Right now he wasn't sure what the look on her face meant.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rick noticed that the female alien sitting nearest to Beckett was fighting back tears. After a quick glance around the room he realized that each and every female alien was having the same problem. The male aliens, Rick noticed, were simply giving him looks of disbelief.

By the time he looked back over at Iya, the princess had seemed to regain control of her emotions.

"The mystery we have to solve," Iya said, "is why? Why would two destined mates, whether they knew that's what they were or not, take such a chance?"

"Yeah, why?" Rick recognized the voice enough to know that it was Evash whom had asked the question.

Rick could give the aliens some insight into the issue, but decided to remain silent. As much as being on an alien planet was the fulfillment of a life-long dream for him, at the moment Beckett was his primary concern. He was curious about what 'evidence' Iya may have come up with, and how it would solve the question she had put before the class. More than that, though, he was worried that the impact the information would have on Beckett. Rather than bring them together, it could instead end up pushing them further apart.

"Before we get to that," Iya said, sliding off the edge of her desk, her feet hitting the floor with a soft thud, "Emilan, it is your turn to lead us in 'The ALWAYS Promise.'"

Rick exchanged a confused look with Beckett. He watched as all around the room aliens turned to each other in pairs. Rick had suspected that the seating arrangement allowed for destined mates to sit together and now he was certain of it. Each pair linked hands, heart-shaped palms touching as they locked gazes with his or her partner. Rick looked over at Iya, whom he noticed had her right hand over her heart and her left arm extended with the palm of her hand facing up, as if in supplication.

"The ALWAYS Promise," Emilan said, and then Iya and all of the students in unison recited:

I promise to each day

Accept differences between us,

Love unconditionally through every trial,

Wait patiently when we are not on the same relational plane,

Acknowledge needs either of us has,

Yield grievances that would wound our bond,

And stand united with my destined mate in all things,

ALWAYS.

Kate was struggling to keep the bland expression on her face as her emotions crept ever closer to the surface. Keeping the mask in place had been relatively easy until Iya had uttered the words 'The ALWAYS Promise.' Twice Castle had said that to her. The first time she had thanked him for 'having her back in there' when they had gone to save Ryan and Esposito and he said it, "Always." Then, when they had been trapped in the freezer and she had thanked him 'for being there' he had said it again.

Was it possible something similar to this Amourian promise was what he'd had in mind when Castle had said that deceptively simple word?

Kate found that she was actually impatient for whatever 'evidence' Iya had thought up for Castle. At the moment she was just glad that both Castle and Iya were oblivious to that fact.

She didn't have long to wait, for as soon as the 'The ALWAYS Promise' had been recited, the alien students all sat down at their desks and Iya walked back to the transmission screen.

It was odd watching herself walking towards the lifeless body of Alison Tisdale, but it felt even more surreal when the transmission cut over to Castle speaking with his mother and daughter at what Kate recognized as the book launch party for the last of his Derek Storm novels.

Kate wondered if seeing herself onscreen was something she would ever get used to.

Laughter nearly spilled out of the detective when the transmission of her first interrogation of Castle appeared on the screen. He was just so cute!

Not that she had thought so at the time. Or, at least, that hadn't been the thought at the forefront of her mind back then. Instead, she'd been irritated that her favorite author was trying to charm his way out of trouble rather than doing what he could to help her with the investigation. Because even then she hadn't really thought he had anything to do with killing either Tisdale or Fisk. But the victims had been murdered in ways similar to what he'd written in his books 'Flowers For Your Grave' and 'Hell Hath No Fury.'

Other moments that were harmless to Kate's emotional stability followed. Kate wasn't able to keep from rolling her eyes, even though secretly she was still somewhat amused, at the way Castle was proud of knocking Tisdale's killer out with the handcuffs that Kate had put on him in a failed attempt to keep him from leaving the car.

There were no images of the murder victims in the scenes that followed, but there were plenty of moments shown where she and Castle built theory together. Kate enjoyed watching those. It had been one of the ways that Castle had made her stressful job more fun, both his crazy theories and the way they could bounce ideas off of each other.

A gasp rippling across the room caused Kate to give Castle a puzzled look. Her expression changed to a look of suspicion at the guilty look in the man's eyes.

"What?" Kate whispered at Castle as on the screen his voice was heard saying, 'Grande skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla.'

"She took the courting cup!" one of the female alien students squealed excitedly, her gaze transfixed on the transmission that showed Kate accepting the coffee that Castle held out.

"The what?" Kate's tone was a cross between shocked and horrified. It didn't take her more than an instant for her to figure out what the young alien was talking about. She looked over at Castle, accusation clear in her gaze. The sheepish look in the man's gaze finally made sense. "And you knew about this?"

"Not then!" Castle quickly defended himself.

"When, Castle?" Kate demanded to know in a tone that she knew her favorite writer had dubbed her 'interrogation tone.'

"This morning?" Somehow the answer sounded more like a question than an answer to Kate's inquiry.

"This morning," Kate thought back to when Castle had set down what the Amourians had called 'sludge' but tasted exactly like her favorite coffee. "You knew and you still-"

Kate abruptly stopped. She couldn't deal with the implications of that at the moment. Castle's answer to the inquiry could either open the door to giving her what she had recently realized she wanted more than anything-the freedom to love Castle and be loved by him in return. Or he could respond in a way that could crush her hopes forever. The rational part of Kate told her she was being melodramatic, but the emotions churning around inside her made the detective wonder if that was actually true.

Acting as if the conversation had never taken place, she forced the bland expression back on her face and focused all of her attention on the next transmission.

Kate rolled her eyes when the image appeared where Will had told her that Castle liked her. The man had been doped up on pain medicine when he'd made the comment. If Iya was using his declaration as 'evidence' for Castle, Kate had no doubt that the alien would make certain every person that had the slightest inkling that she and Castle were anything more than friends would make an appearance.

By the time Kate's high school friend Maddie said, "You're hot for Castle, you want to make little Castle babies" Kate was certain of it.

An excitedly whispered, "She didn't deny it!" from one of the female students caused Kate's face to flame with embarrassment. She didn't dare look in Castle's direction. Kate's complexion had just regained its normal color when the giggled reaction to Castle's "I heard. Everything" in reaction to Maddie's accusation caused it to flame anew.

Kate was shocked by the urge to grip Castle's hands in both of hers when Demming first appeared on the screen. She had already seen one Castle's memories that she'd experienced via Iya's weird virtual-reality-Freaky-Friday thing, but nothing had surprised her there. Regardless of the questions she had about the depth of the man's feelings, Kate knew they were at least good friends by that point. The frantic way Castle ran to her building and the shock and horror on his face when a large portion of the structure merely exploded didn't mean that his feelings went any deeper than that.

How he reacted to Demming, on the other hand, would tell Kate a lot. Especially since she had experienced Castle's memories of her interactions with the robbery detective first hand.

There was just that nagging question whether Iya had, intentionally or not, altered those memories to fit her assumptions about what the man had really been feeling.

Kate clenched her hands into tight fists to keep them in her lap as she watched the images on the transmission screen.

Watching the Castle on screen walk into the precinct with the two coffees, Kate snuck a quick glance the man beside her.

Was it her imagination or did he seem to tense up a little?

Kate didn't let her eyes linger on Castle, both because it increased the chances that he would catch her staring at him-would he think it was creepy?-and because she didn't want to miss any evidence the transmissions provided.

It made Kate wonder if Iya had done it on purpose. After all, the alien princess had chosen which of Castle's memories Kate would experience, so it was possible.

But this was supposed to be Castle's evidence, not hers.

The question left as fast as it arrived as much more important thoughts raced to the forefront of Kate's mind.

So far, the expressions on Castle's face matched what Kate remembered experiencing. It was obvious that the man felt superfluous.

How could she have been so blind back then? Even if Castle's ritual of giving her coffee nearly every time he first arrived at the precinct or a crime scene didn't have the depth of meaning it did on Amour, she knew it was something special she shared with her partner. True, she had been fascinated by Demming. After all, the man had been single, handsome and a fellow cop. A detective, even.

But when Esposito had pointed out that Demming was probably the reason that Castle was leaving for the summer, if not for good, Kate didn't need to think twice: if she had to choose between Castle and Demming, she knew whom she couldn't bear to lose.

And it wasn't Demming.

The color drained from her face as she realized that in a matter of minutes Castle would be able to see all too clearly how his leaving impacted her. She nervously looked over at him again, startled at the flash of pain that crossed his face.

Why-?

Kate turned her attention back to the screen just in time to watch the Kate on screen share a soft kiss with Demming.

Her gaze quickly flew back to Castle, but he wasn't looking at the screen. Instead, he was looking towards the window, as if the golden grass suddenly held some strange fascination for him.

It only lasted a moment, and the man's expression was serene when he looked over at Kate. He gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to the front of the room.

The detective was relieved that the unease she was starting to feel wasn't evident to the normally observant writer. Merely a brief reprieve, she knew. Because when the transmissions showed Kate's real reaction to Castle's leaving, there was no way the man would miss it.

The shocked tone of Kate calling out, "Castle?" and the three detectives ordering Castle "Dude, dude drop the gun," and "Drop the gun, scumbag" and "Drop the gun, stupid!" filled the room.

Wait, this couldn't be right. That was after Castle had returned from his summer in the Hamptons and she, Ryan and Esposito had caught the writer standing over a dead woman with a gun in his hand.

Where were the transmissions of Kate's conversation with Esposito, her conversation with Roy, her conversation with Castle?

What was Iya doing? It didn't make any sense. If she was trying to give Castle the evidence he needed of Kate's feelings, there was no way she would leave those transmissions out.

The class roared with laughter as they watched on the transmission as Kate ordered Castle to turn around and clap the handcuffs on him.

She thought she had figured out the way the Amourian mind worked, but obviously she still had a lot to learn. What could possibly be humorous about Castle being arrested for murder?
Iya touched the screen, her own eyes dancing with mirth, and the image paused.

"You didn't seriously think he had done it, did you?" Evash asked.

"Yeah, I mean, it's Castle!" Emilan added.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys," Castle said, the delight clear in his voice.

"You don't need to be a detective to figure out he'd never do anything like that," the male alien sitting next to Emilan said.

Kate didn't miss the tinge of reproach in the alien's tone. Directed at her, obviously.

For a brief moment Kate thought of explaining the way things worked on Earth, the procedures that every homicide detective had to follow. But she knew it would be a wasted effort. More likely, the aliens would give her a bunch of reasons why Castle couldn't have done the crime.

Defensiveness caused Kate to glare at Iya. It wasn't like Kate had thought that Castle had actually committed the murder. Her shock and anger had been more over how careless the man had been. His actions were worse than that of a rookie. Heck, even anyone who had seen at least one of the many cop shows on TV would know not to do what the man who had shadowed her for a whole year had done.

Thankfully Iya tapped the transmission board again and the beginning of Kate's interrogation of Castle appeared. It was all Kate could do not to groan at the weakness of Castle's alibi and the flimsy excuses he gave.

"Told you," Emilan said as the image of the captain telling Kate the bullets that caused the victim's death hadn't matched the gun Castle had been holding.

"Hey!" Castle cried out after he saw the way that the detectives and captain had deliberated keeping him in a holding cell even after he obviously wasn't the killer.

"What did I do?" the Castle sitting beside her asked at the same time as the Castle on the screen.

"Yeah, what did he do?" a female student wanted to know.

Kate shook her head at him, silently asking him to drop it. She couldn't go into that now. Not until she knew for sure how Castle really felt about her. And there was one more image she needed to see before she could be absolutely certain.

As if Iya knew Kate couldn't take much more, scenes with Josh-or Gwappo, as she now knew he was called-were the next to fill the screen. She looked over at Castle, whose jaw was clenched and whose eyes were burning with anger.

Kate had to remind herself that his reaction could have everything to do with what happened once he learned Josh was an alien and nothing to do with any feelings he might have for her. Just because the scenes with Demming had bothered him, didn't mean that the images with Josh would affect him the same way. And if they didn't, she would have proof of what she had feared when he didn't contact her once over the summer: that whatever feelings he might have had for her had died a swift death. She just couldn't let herself hope that the experience she'd had feeling his emotions seeing her with Josh was real until she had irrefutable evidence. The cost of being wrong would be too high.

For a brief moment thankfulness flooded Kate when the image of her moment with Josh at the precinct appeared. Finally, the waiting was over. Either way, in the next few moments, she would know how Castle had really felt that day.

Immediately she looked over at Castle, wishing she had the courage to plead with him to let her know the truth about how that had affected him.

And wouldn't that be the height of hypocrisy?

But she didn't need to ask. The pain was clear in the man's eyes. Shame flooded Kate at the way the writer looked her directly in the eye, every emotion he felt clear in his gaze.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and, needing to get a few moments to herself more than she needed to keep up the appearance of being unaffected by it all, Kate did what she did best.

She ran.

By the time Beckett hurried out of the room, Iya hadn't been at all surprised by the detective's reaction to everything that had gone on that day. The princess knew that the woman was a master at hiding her emotions, but the mask had started to slip once Emilan had recited 'The ALWAYS Promise.'

That was why she had decided against showing Castle the images of how his leaving over the summer had affected the detective. True, she had let him see the interrogation and Kate's reaction immediately afterwards, but it wasn't anything he didn't already know.

What he hadn't known was the 'why' of it all.

Iya had been planning to show those images that would have enabled the writer to understand exactly why Beckett, and the rest of his friends at the precinct, had reacted like they did. Until she saw how often the woman kept looking over at Castle, as if trying to figure out his reaction to what was on the screen.

For some reason, Beckett hadn't trusted the memories of Castle's that she experienced. Iya had a feeling that whatever she had seen in the writer's eyes had erased whatever doubts the woman had left.

Confused mummers rippled through the classroom as soon as Beckett could no longer be seen.

"Please, let me," Iya said to Castle, who after remaining frozen in shock for a brief moment, had hurried to his feet and started making his way across the room. "We can't risk her shutting you out again," Iya whispered for the writer's ears only as the man made his way past her desk. Castle froze. "Please, just a few minutes," she pleaded.

"Five minutes," Castle agreed after a long moment.

"Thank you," Iya whispered and rushed out the door.

Iya couldn't keep the tears from welling up in her eyes when she saw the detective sitting against a wall, her arms wrapped around her knees, her forehead resting on her arms.

The alien princess was at a loss for words, something as rare for her as it was for Castle. If she knew what Beckett was thinking, she might have some idea of how to help, but at the moment, she was clueless.

Maybe she should have just sent Castle.

Iya was just about to ask Beckett if she'd rather talk to Castle when the last words the alien had expected left the woman's lips.

"He needs to know," Beckett said, lifting her head and meeting Iya's concerned gaze.

"Castle?" Iya didn't know who else Beckett could be referring to, but she wanted to make sure.

"Castle needs to know," Beckett confirmed. "He needs to see them. The images you didn't show him. My talk with Esposito, with Roy, with..." Beckett's voice trailed off.

"If you're sure," Iya said.

"He needs to know," Beckett said. "I need him to know. And I don't think I could bring myself to tell him. But I need you to show him." She drew in a shuddering breath and let it out slowly. "Because I can't."

Iya nodded in understanding. For reasons Iya had never been able to figure out, sharing her emotions was incredibly difficult for the detective.

"Do you need a break first?" Iya asked.

Beckett shook her head and got to her feet. "But we need to see it alone," she said. "It's going to be difficult enough..."

"Yeah, of course," Iya said. When she saw Beckett wince, Iya felt like Lanie should give her the smack that she had threatened Beckett with more than once. "It won't be like that," she rushed to reassure her, knowing that she had thoughtlessly used Castle's exact words when Kate had asked to talk to him alone mere minutes before Gina showed up. "Gina's not an issue anymore, remember?"

Beckett nodded and merely watched as Iya went back inside.

"That's it for today," Iya said to her class once she returned to her desk. The groans from the class made her lips curve in a slight smile. She understood their disappointment all too well.

"But I had such a great theory!" Emilan protested.

"Which was what?" Evash wanted to know.

"You know," Emilan said.

Iya couldn't help but chuckle at that. Not only was that one of her niece's most common phrases, but it was probably the truth. Those two could communicate without words even better than Castle and Beckett could. She figured it had something to do with them being twins. Because on Amour usually only twins and destined mates had that particular ability.

"That they have to almost die a certain number of times before they can admit they're destined mates," Emilan said, replying to her brother's query and explaining her theory.

"Maybe," Evash said. "Or maybe they have to be almost murdered first."

"But that happened already," Emilan reminded her brother. "When her apartment blew up, remember?"

"What if it doesn't have to do with near-death experiences at all?" Emilan's destined mate asked. "What if they both have to not be dating someone else at the time? After all, Beckett was still with Dr. Motorcycle Boy, right?"

Iya shook her head. Knowing what Gwappo had gone through, she didn't find the nickname as amusing as she once had. But she didn't want to waste time explaining all of that to the kids now.

"They're all good theories," Iya said, "But right now, we need to go."

Although most of the students grumbled amongst themselves, they all made their way out the side door. They may not understand what exactly had happened, but Iya knew they realized that she wanted them to stay away from Beckett, who had yet to return to the classroom, and so they automatically used the door that led directly out to the back yard.

"Where's Kate?" Castle demanded to know as soon as the last student had left the room.

"Right here," Beckett said, standing in the doorway she had so recently ran through to make her escape.

"Kate, what's going on?" Castle asked.

Beckett looked over at Iya, who nodded and picked up the transmission controller, a flat, long silver metal like object. She tapped it ten times in rapid succession before setting it back down again.

"It's all set up," Iya said. "All you need to do is tap the transmission screen and you'll get the images you requested. You do want them in chronological order, correct?"

"Yes, thank you," Beckett said.

As much as Iya wanted to watch how everything would play out, she forced herself to quietly leave the room.

Maybe if she was lucky, she would be able to see it all on a transmission later, anyway.

For the first time ever, Kate didn't even try to hide her emotions from Castle. The tears that threatened to fall, her flushed cheeks, her shuddered breathing; she let him see it all.

"Kate, are you all right?" Castle asked her worriedly.

"I will be," was all Kate could say. When he continued to remain standing by Iya's desk, his eyes searching her gaze, Kate said, "Castle, I need you to sit down."

"Kate-"

The concerned hesitation in his voice tore at Kate's heart. How could she possibly have doubted this man's complete devotion to her?

"Please, Castle," she pleaded, her tone soft. "I need you to see this."

"See what?" Castle asked.

Kate closed her eyes for a moment as she said, "Why we all reacted the way we did after you came back from the Hamptons." She opened her eyes and continued. "It's what Iya didn't show you. What I asked her to show you."
"You asked her to?"

Kate smiled at the shock in her partner's tone. The smile quickly dropped from her lips as she realized that each moment that passed, letting him know what was in her heart was going to get harder.

"Yes Castle, I asked her to," Kate said. "It's what she would have shown you if her only goal had been giving you the evidence she wanted you to have."

"But that wasn't it, was it?" Castle said. Although it was a question, there was no doubt in his voice as he said it.

"No, it wasn't," Kate agreed. "She realized that you weren't the one that needed convincing. I was."

"Kate, you don't need to do this," Castle said, lightly putting his hands on her shoulders and locking her gaze with his. "It doesn't matter what any alien thinks, what anyone back on Earth thinks, or what the universe thinks. What is important is what we think. More than anything, I want you to be happy, Kate. And I think you know that."

"I do," Kate agreed, unable to stop the blush as a brief fantasy flashed through her mind where she would be saying those words again, but instead of being in an alien classroom, they would be in a church. Or maybe at Central Park; did they do ceremonies there? Or maybe the loft. Or...

"Kate?" Castle's voice snapped Kate out of her daydreaming and reminded her that they had a long way to go before they reached that point.

"You're right, Castle," she said and rushed on when she saw the resignation fill his eyes. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. But the thing is, they're right. Iya, Mam-Biki, Esposito, Lanie; they're all right."

Kate felt the full emotional impact of Castle's beaming smile. His eyes sparkling in that way that was uniquely his, he walked over to the desk Iya had assigned him and sat down. After giving the transmission screen a gentle tap, Kate sat down beside him, taking his hand in hers.

"It will be okay, whatever it is," Castle whispered, lightly kissing her on the temple. His comment made Kate aware of how tightly she was clinging to his hand and she made herself loosen her grip so that her hand was just resting lightly in his. Castle would have none of that, however, and tightened his own grip before turning his attention to the transmission screen.

Kate couldn't prevent herself from flinching as she watched Castle telling her that it would be their last case. The shell-shocked expression she had kept from the writer by keeping her face averted showed clearly on the screen. By the time that scene ended, she was clutching her partner's hand even harder than she had been to begin with.

As they watched her conversation with Esposito, Kate had moved so that their shoulders were touching. By the time Kate listened to her screen self say, "Yes, it is sad," to the Captain when he mentioned someone dying because the people involved were too scared to say how they felt, Castle put his arm around her and drew her to him. After a split second of hesitation, Kate laid her head on his shoulder.

The arm around her tightened slightly as writer and detective watched as Kate broke up with Demming.

"Before I left?" Castle whispered, his tone more regretful than shocked.

All Kate could do was nod.

When the transmission of his going away party that was supposed to be a surprise but wasn't appeared on the screen, Kate couldn't watch anymore. She hid her face in Castle's shoulder, her eyes squeezed shut.

Hearing the tender note in Castle's voice as he spoke to Gina, Kate felt the tears that had been brimming in her eyes start to fall. She was thankful that Castle kept watching rather than reacting further to her obvious emotional turmoil. This whole thing had been difficult enough to go through the first time. Seeing, or in this case hearing it again amplified to her how difficult that day had been.

Once the room went silent, Kate lifted her head off Castle's shoulder and forced herself to meet his gaze. She could feel the way tears clung to her lashes and the wetness of the drops that slipped slowly down her cheeks. The loving tenderness in his eyes dulled the edges of the pain that still ached in her heart.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment, his hand cupping her cheek. His thumb caught a couple of the teardrops that finally reached her jaw line.

"You're sorry?" Kate said. "I'm the one who's sorry. I was too late. I waited too long. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"But if I had waited-"

"When you didn't even know there was anything to be waiting for?" Kate shook her head in amazement. "Castle, I should have told you as soon as I realized. I just-"

"Wanted to do things in the right order and break up with Demming first?" Castle supplied.

"And-"

Castle again supplied the missing words, "You still had a lingering doubt that maybe I was the playboy type that the media portrays me as?"

"A little," Kate admitted. "But mostly I was just scared. Even though I didn't believe in soul mates back then, and I'd never heard of destined mates until a little more than a week ago when Iya and Mam-Biki first mentioned them, I think even then a part of me realized that I was going to be opening my heart to my 'one and done.'"

"And now?" Castle prompted.

Kate knew he didn't say the words for himself, but for her. To give her the encouragement she suddenly realized she needed.

"And now I know that's what I'm doing," Kate said, lifting a hand to Castle's cheek and caressing it like he was doing to hers.

"I love you Kate," Castle told her seriously. "Always. And I mean that both in our definition of the term," Kate knew he was referring to having her back and being there whenever she needed him, "and the Amourian one."
"Me, too," Kate finally told him. Yes, finally. It had seemed to her mind to take forever for her to finally get the courage to say those all-important words. "I love you, Rick." It felt odd using his first name, something she generally seemed to do when she was pushing him away. But she had a feeling that even when they fought-which, she had to be realistic, even destined mates fought; why else would they need Iya to perform the role of a marriage counselor. "And there's something I want to do," she said, as she dropped the hand that was caressing his cheek gently wrapped it around the wrist of his hand that was at her cheek. Understanding lighting his gaze, Castle held out his hands and Kate touched her palms to his, their fingers folding together.

"The ALWAYS Promise," they said together, looking each other directly in the eyes. "I promise to each day..."

For some reason, Kate didn't find it odd that she and Castle both seemed to have the pledge memorized, even though they'd both only heard it once. She figured it must be a destined mate thing.

They both laughed when they heard a faint, "Yes!" Obviously Iya hadn't gone as far away as they thought.

"And just think," Castle said. "If there any marks on our necks when we get back, we can tell Ryan and Esposito-"

"Yes, they really are hickies," Kate said the rest of his thought with him, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. But the affect was blown when a moment later she smiled wide, her eyes brimming with amusement.

Yep, that was her Castle alright. Tender one moment, a goofball the next.

How could she help but give her heart to a man like that?

I would be totally shocked if this is not my longest chapter ever. I have NO idea of the # of words, but its 12 pages. That's quite a bit. :)

Please R&R. I'm really curious how you guys liked the conclusion of this one.

And just FYI, I'm going to wait until I finish the next story before I start posting, so I can post a chapter a day. I do NOT like a long time between updates, especially with my stories. So it just might be a while before I post another story.

Next up, 'Purrfect Love.' How is Kate going to tell Castle how she feels when a gypsy has just turned her into a cat?

After that, 'Wisdom Of The Force." Kate and Castle get some much needed relationship advice from characters from the original Star Wars trilogy. This idea is still percolating in my head, but Luke, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewie, C-3PO and R2-D2 may make an appearance. But make an appearance, Yoda definitely will.

And then, 'Bachelor Auction.' What is Kate going to do when Castle takes part in a New York City celebrity bachelor auction?