CHAPTER 12

Castle was nervous, more nervous than he'd been in a long time. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, mentally chastising himself.

It's been six weeks, genius. That's it. You've talked every day. There's no reason to be this nervous.

But he was.

After just a week and a half more in London, Kate had moved back to New York to do her recertification and psych evaluations for her return to the NYPD. She was going to be on patrol for most of the summer and have to retake the Detective's exam after Labor Day, but everyone was confident that she'd pass. And, judging by their daily conversations, she couldn't wait to have her desk back.

Despite their constant communication, though, Castle was a little nervous about seeing her again, so much so that he almost didn't notice the elevator stop at her floor. He stepped out just before the doors closed, though, and knocked on her door with newfound enthusiasm.

Kate opened it almost immediately, the grin on her face wider than he'd ever seen, and grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside.

Castle grunted when she pushed him against the door, closing it behind him, and surged into him. His hands found her hips immediately, thumbs curling under her waistband, while hers worked frantically at his shirt.

"Kate," he gasped when she pulled back for a breath. "Bedroom?"

Kate shook her head, her teeth grazing his collarbone. "No," she breathed, her voice low with what he could only describe as pure, unadulterated desire. "Need you. Now."

"Holy shit," Castle gasped just a few minutes later from the floor, Kate sprawled on top of him.

Kate chuckled against his neck. "I missed you too," she teased, her lips brushing the underside of his jaw. "FaceTime is not an acceptable substitute."

"Agreed." He nudged her off of him and followed her up, groaning when his back popped. "Can we relocate to your bed?"

Kate laced their fingers together and led him through her living room. "Absolutely. You want a tour?" They'd briefly discussed Kate moving into the loft, but once it was apparent she'd be moving back much sooner than Castle, she'd decided to get her own space.

He glanced around, noting that what little furniture she'd acquired was similar to what was in her old apartment. It was still pretty sparse, but was beginning to look like she actually lived there. "You know I have most of your books, right? They're at my place."

She looked up at him with a smile. "Yeah, I know. I wanted to wait until you were home before I rifled through your stuff."

Castle winked. "You've already seen my stuff, Kate," he teased as they crossed into her bedroom. He tugged at the hem of her shirt. "Can you take this off now?"

"Kate?" Castle called out as he stepped into the apartment, dropping her keys back into the bowl he'd swiped them from. He hadn't wanted to leave her door unlocked while she was sleeping, but he needed to run back home and grab a change of clothes, so he didn't think she'd mind. He set his small duffel bag down and detoured through the kitchen to start her coffee pot.

He turned when he heard the soft pad of footsteps, smiling when he saw Kate, hair mussed and wearing—

"Is that my shirt?"

Kate blushed and glanced down at the Captain America t-shirt she'd pulled on. "Yeah, I stole it before I left London. I, um…I sleep better in your shirts."

Castle flipped on the coffee pot and grabbed Kate's hand, lacing their fingers together. "I thought you slept better without anything on," he muttered before stealing a kiss.

"Funny. What I meant was, I sleep better in your shirts when I'm not with you." She sidled into his side, a sigh escaping when he pulled her close. "What's in the bag?"

Castle glanced down at her; oh, she was eyeing the grocery bag he'd set down. "I wanted to make you breakfast, but your fridge is shockingly empty. So I stopped for some groceries on the way back."

"Hmm, okay." She pulled away when the coffee pot chimed, and retrieved the cream and vanilla syrup so he could stir them in. "Thanks, babe," she said after a long sip.

Castle grinned over his mug. "I love when you call me babe," he confessed.

"Oh, yeah?" Kate nudged his hip with hers, pushing him towards the bedroom. "I have something else I think you'll love too."

"Ooh."

"Not that, Castle. Well, not yet. I have something to give you first." She stopped in front of her dresser and gave her a sly look. "Open it," she instructed, tapping her knuckles against one of the top drawers.

Castle grinned and set his mug down before opening the specified drawer. He wasn't sure what to expect; it wasn't his birthday, or a holiday, or any kind of anniversary. But he looked inside anyway, and went from curious to confused.

With the exception of a small envelope, the drawer was empty.

He glanced up at her, brow furrowed. "Kate, what—"

Kate handed him the envelope. "Open it."

He pried open the flap and tilted it; a key fell into his open palm. He looked back up to see her watching him, bottom lip drawn between her teeth. "Kate—is this—"

She nodded. "I know we haven't really been together that long—together together—and I don't think we should move in together yet. But I want you to be able to come and go as you please. You belong here as much as I do."

Castle just stared for a moment before sweeping her into his arms. "Kate," he breathed, his mouth finding hers.

Kate chuckled and pulled back after a few intoxicating kisses. "Castle, wait. Castle." She swatted his hand rom her ass before he could tug her hips into his. "Babe. There's something else."

Castle looked back down at the drawer, the fog of arousal lifted by boyish excitement. "Really? In the drawer?" He patted around the empty drawer; maybe it was in the back, or stuck, or maybe there was a false bottom…

"It is the drawer."

It took a few moments for her words to register, but when they did, he froze briefly before turning to her. "Kate…"

She smiled up at him, wide and bright, and reached up to touch his collar. "It's your drawer. A place you can put your stuff. Some extra clothes, whatever you want. It's yours."

Castle just stared, speechless, his eyes following her hands when they played with the top button of his shirt.

"Now," Kate started, abandoning his shirt to tug at the hem of hers, "take off your clothes, put them in your drawer…" She pulled the shirt over her head, leaving her bare for him as she turned, "and meet me in the bed."

TEN MONTHS LATER

"Castle, I'm home!" Kate called out, shutting the door behind her. She started unbuttoning her coat, brow furrowing at the silence that greeted her. "Rick? Are you here?" She felt her phone buzz with an incoming message.

Come to the roof.

Kate grinned and tightened her scarf. By the time she stepped through the door that led to the roof, she was bundled up again; it was a cold night, so Castle must have something special planned.

She let out a gasp when she saw the set-up, and her boyfriend with his back to her. He'd strung up Christmas lights, and when Castle turned towards her, she saw the table set, plates full of food.

Castle turned and smiled, reaching a hand up to caress her jaw after taking the few steps to her. "Hi," he said softly, leaning down for a kiss.

Kate wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hi," she whispered against his mouth when they parted. "What's all this?"

"Well, it's our anniversary. Come on, the food's getting cold."

They ate quickly in the cool evening air, the pasta that Castle claimed he'd "slaved over" setting well in her empty stomach. She'd had a very long day; an early morning body drop had forced her to leave before the sun was even up, while Castle was fast asleep. Her lunch had been a hastily eaten slice of pizza several hours before, and as an interrogation ticked past seven o'clock she'd almost given up hope on them sharing an anniversary dinner at a reasonable hour.

She'd underestimated her boyfriend's penchant for big, romantic gestures.

He stood as soon as she emptied her wine glass and extended his hand. "Dance with me."

Kate let him pull her up, and smiled into his coat as she settled into his chest. The quiet jazz provided the soundtrack as they swayed to their own beat. Kate let her eyes close on a sigh. This was heaven.

"Kate?"

Castle's quiet voice cut through the haze of her contentment, and she leaned back far enough so she could gaze up at him. "Yeah?"

Castle's throat bobbed with a swallow. "I have something for you."

"Oh, Rick, this is more than enough," Kate insisted, shaking her head.

He interrupted before she could continue. "No, it's not." He took a small step back so he could take her gloved hands in his. "Three hundred sixty-six days ago, I was lost. I was just going through my days on autopilot, still putting the pieces back together. Then there was a knock on my door, and my whole life changed. Well, again."

Kate gasped when he bent down on one knee, letting go of her hand to slip his into his pocket. She just stared, her vision blurry through tears. "Rick…" she breathed.

"Shh, I'm not done," Castle said through a chuckle. "I know what it's like to live without you, and I don't want to do that again. I can't. And I know we haven't talked about it, specifically, but I don't want to wait anymore." He withdrew his hand from his pocket, a ring between two fingers. "So, Katherine Beckett, will you marry me?"

"Yes. Oh my God, yes," Kate cried out, tugging him back to his feet and into her arms. She kissed him with fervor, gloved fingers clumsy as they gripped his hair. By the time they parted on a laugh they were breathless, faces split with twin grins. She closed her eyes and nudged her nose against his before giving him a light peck. "So, is that ring just for show?" she teased.

"Oh!" Castle chuckled, a low rumble in his chest that reverberated through them both. He helped her tug off her glove, and they stared at their joined hands when he slid the ring on.

Kate blinked through her tears, felt them escape down her cheeks, but she didn't care. Castle proposed. The love of her life wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

She was getting married.

Holy shit.

"Do you like it?"

Castle's voice surprised her; he sounded nervous, a little timid. She raised her head to meet his eyes and saw the line in his brow—oh, he was nervous.

"Like what? The ring?" She took his right hand in her left and brought them up to place a soft kiss on his knuckles. "It's perfect."

Castle pulled her back into his chest, their clasped hands trapped between their bodies. "Hell of a year," he murmured, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

Kate barked out a laugh. "Yeah? Hell of a couple years." She squeezed his hand. "I love you, Rick."

"I love you too. Always."

She pulled back so she could pull him down for a kiss, both of them moaning when she deepened it. They stood for several minutes, kissing until they had to part for breath. Even then, they let their foreheads rest against each other, breath mingling in the cold night air.

"This is perfect," Kate whispered with a smile.

Castle returned her smile with a wide one. "Good." He took a step back and tugged her towards the stairs to go back inside. "Now, the celebrating I have in mind involves a lot less clothes. Come, fiancée."

Kate pulled herself into his side. "Mmm, fiancée. I like the sound of that."

"You know what will sound even better?"

"What?"

Castle paused at their door. "Husband and wife."

Kate yelped when he picked her up and took her into the bedroom. She slid her gloves off, giving her fingers better access to the fine hairs at the nape of his neck, and kissed him deeply before sliding out of his arms.

"I can't wait."

-FIN-

A/N: Thank you all for your support of this story! I enjoyed writing it (yes, even the sad parts, I saw them as a challenge) and sharing it with you. Thank you again!