Author's Notes: So, no update for a while, huh? I'm sorry! I've been very busy lately with school and volleyball and my car's been having problems and eh, everything. Plus my entire right arm is killing me. Well, at least from my elbow up, and I have no clue why. And it's messing with everything. It hurts when I pick up my book bag, when I bend it, when I lean (even just a little) on it, and especially in volleyball, which is really bad because I'm a hitter and everything and it's getting me WAY off on them.

Important! Anyway, thankfully (for ya'll) my plans for this afternoon fell through. :) But I probably will only get one chapter up for this story. I was hoping to be able to get one for this one and one for another one. But our first football game is tonight and I'm going so I'm going to have to get ready soon!

Okay, so there was some confusion about the last chapter. Castle was shocked that Arianna was his daughter. Sure, he had thought that it was true, but never truly thought about it. Get it? I mean, in his position, I would feel the same way. That's why I wrote it like that.

And now Kyra knows, so for him it's kind of like a what-the-fuck-am-I-going-to-do moment.

Chapter Twelve:

Kate rushed up the stairs and tried to stop all the memories of familiarity that passed through her as she was in this building. She pushed open the door leading to the hallway breathlessly. Please, please, please don't know. She chanted internally. God, she prayed that he didn't because if he did then…she didn't want to think of the consequences. She had dropped Arianna off at school earlier than she normally did because she just had to get here to see if he knew.

But why wouldn't he?

He had people that told him everything. Kate stopped in front of the all too familiar door. She tried to swallow back the memories that arose unwelcomed at the thought of this same door all those years ago. The feelings of the numbers being pressed into her back as Castle shoved her into it. She scolds herself and tries to forget those memories as the not so familiar butterflies took residence in your stomach. Beckett swallows before reaching up to knock on the door, trying to remember her cover story. She then remembers the jacket in her hand. Thank God for Castle's forgetfulness.

She hears shuffling on the other side of the door and she takes a deep breath to be able to adapt an expression of neutrality. The door opens, and she fights the habitual need to tense. Be cool. She reminds herself, but when is she ever 'cool' around the author. Beckett automatically expects Castle to answer, but when she sees a woman, her muscles tense. There wasn't any way to stop it this time. Being a detective, her eyes go directly to the puffy eyes, telltale red cheeks, and bloodshot eyes.

Kyra.

Even with the tear stained face, Kate notes that she still looks beautiful. "Kate?" Kyra asked the surprise showing clear in her face. Kate fakes a smile, suppressing her look of shock. She internally fusses at herself for not even assuming that Kyra would be here because of course she would. They probably had been living together for a while before the engagement.

"Yes," Kate holds the coat out for her, ready to run as soon as she takes it because at this point, she doesn't even remember why she was stupid enough to come there in the first place. "Umm…right, can you give this to Castle please? He left it in my car."

Kyra's brows scrunched together and a frown showed up on her face. "He left it in your car?" She repeated.

Kate nodded.

A tight smile appeared on Kyra's face. This so isn't good, Beckett thought. "You can give it to him yourself. He's right in here." She walks quickly in the direction of the living room, leaving the room open for Kate to follow. Beckett shuts the door quickly and follows, once again ignoring the tingling feeling of déjà vu, but a blush somehow crept up in her cheeks. "Rick," Kyra speaks, and for the first time, Kate notices Castle staring out large glass window in the far left of the room.

Castle turns, "Are you leaving?" He starts walking towards his fiancée until Kate catches his eye, and he staggers, but quickly catches himself. He stares at Beckett for a moment, something unrecognizable in his eyes before he remembers Kyra. Then, he begins looking slowly back and forth between the two of them, fear obvious in his expression. Kate sets his coat down on the sofa that she was standing beside before backing up a step.

"I just wanted to drop this off. You left it in my car."

"Oh, ah," his plan had worked. Leaving his coat had given him the chance to see her again like he had wanted, but at the worst possible time. "Thanks." That's all he could think of to say? Thanks! She was the mother of his child for God's sake. Kate nodded before turning to leave.

"Wait." A voice called.

But surprisingly it wasn't Castle's voice that had spoken. It was Kyra's. Kate whirled around. "Stay." Kyra spoke. Almost right after the word had left her lips the doorbell rang. "Those are the girls," she explained, looking to Rick. "Listen, I think, after what Rick's said that you two have a lot to…you know, talk about." She smiled a small smile, not noticing Kate's 'Oh, God' expression. The doorbell rang again, and the shortest brunette smiled apologetically. "They aren't very patient." She grabbed her voice. Walking over to Castle, Kyra kissed his cheek. "Talk," she ordered. "Bye, Kate. It was good seeing you."

Kate couldn't miss the sincerity in her voice.

Kyra grabbed her purse and walked quickly to the door, leaving the two alone. Silence took up in the room. "So," Kate murmured, shivering slightly under Castles' gaze. "You know."

"It's true." It was a statement. Not a question. Kate didn't have to ask to know that it was rhetorical. After a few moments, he spoke again, his voice much quieter and emotional, "I have so many questions, I don't know how to begin."

Kate stayed silent, allowing him a moment to organize his thoughts while staring at the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She didn't look up. "There wasn't a chance to. I found out a few months after…" she trailed off.

"After you left me?" His voice was accusing and for the first time, she looked up to meet his angry glare with one of her own.

"It felt like the right thing to do at the time." She defended herself.

"You couldn't have talked to me about it first? Do you know how much it hurt?"

"Yes," she replied calmly. "I do."

"I was shot, Kate," she flinched at the sound of her own name. "And then you left. I didn't know what to do. You weren't supposed to leave."

"You weren't supposed to get shot." She retorted.

"Really?" heavy sarcasm flooded his words. "I had no idea."

Tears blurred her vision, "I couldn't…" her voice broke. "It was my fault. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been there; you wouldn't have gotten shot. You wouldn't have had to fight for your life. I should have-"

"Please," he shrugged, the anger disappeared at tears flowed down her face. "You told me to wait in the car. I didn't. I should have listened to you."

"No," she argued, taking a bold step towards him. "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have been there at all. Two weeks you were unconscious, Castle. Two weeks. All I could think of was all the things that I could have done. Should have done. I should've known that you wouldn't sit in the car. You never did. It was my fault. Luckily you woke up because I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had taken you away from Alexis. After you woke up, you immediately wanted to go back out into the field. All I could think of then was the image of you lying there on a gurney, doctors working on you furiously to keep you alive. All I could see was you being shot again, and then time not waking up." Kate breathed deeply, embarrassed by her emotions.

She quickly composed herself, but not before she said, "I couldn't let that happen again."

As the tears disappeared, Castle felt his anger returning. "So you left?" He asked, outraged. "I loved you." At his admission, the entire room seemed to freeze. The words repeated over and over in Kate's head, and she couldn't forget the past tense usage. Castle tensed immediately after the words left his lips, frowning. He never was too good at keeping things bottled up. He couldn't forget the past tense usage either.

Kate smiled tightly, "I did too."

"What?" the words left his lips before he could stop them and he stared at her. Once again, silence took up the room. Neither of the adults could think of anything to say.

Finally Castle asked, "What are we going to do…about Arianna?"

Kate looked around, breathing deeply before admitting, "I have no idea."

What do you think? I hope it's not too bad. :) Thanks for the reviews for the previous chapter. :D