Chapter Twenty

A/N: So here's the last chapter, guys. Though I may have an epilogue still hanging out somewhere in the back of my brain. I really hope you guys like it, I am so insanely nervous right now…I don't really know where that last line came from, I'm having a weird whimsical thing, I think.

"There will be no living with you after this, will there?" Beckett mumbled irritably at her cousin. Ellie chuckled, flipping her hair over the shoulder.

"I was never a fan of Ken and Barbie," Ellie told her.

The next couple of weeks at the hospital had been difficult, to say the least. And they had no one to thank but her now-ex boyfriend Josh. In the end, he had taken the more petty, angry route, convincing the doctor that she didn't need any visitors until she was fully recovered, even her family. In the end, Ellie showed up, accompanied by two of NYPD's finest detectives. Still, Beckett saw that the doctor was far more afraid of Ellie than she was of her partners.

Castle hadn't been to see her. He was keeping his distance, Katie surmised, because of the guilt he felt over her injuries. But after over two weeks in the hospital, not even the doctor under Josh's thumb could find a reason to keep her locked up. And Ellie was the first person to appear at her side when it was time to be discharged.

Josh was skulking nearby somewhere in the hospital, Beckett was sure. He was keeping his distance too, though not out of guilt. When Ellie found out what Josh had done in restricting Katie's visitors, she had walked straight up to him, and, according to Espo, without the slightest hint of hesitation, had kicked him in the testicles. Her detective friend could scarcely keep a straight face when recounting this to her later. As tiny as Eleanor Murphy was, she was always a force to be reckoned with. Even more so with ten tons of pregnancy hormones coursing through her veins.

"Well I don't think he'll be making anymore Kens anytime soon," Beckett mused. Ellie giggled.

"Well at least be know Riley will have plenty of strong willed female role models," she said, "Especially her crazy mommy…" Beckett put a hand on Ellie's stomach and laughed.

"Your mommy is super crazy, Riley," she cooed, "What's her middle name going to be?"

"Riley Johanna Katherine Hart. Yeah, we couldn't decide whether or not to make her middle name yours or Aunt Jo's. So she has two," Ellie answered. Tears of gratitude welled up in Kate's eyes. Ellie's watered in response.

"Okay, so before this gets too sappy, we should leave," said Ellie hurriedly. Kate laughed again.

"Now we wouldn't want that…"

Ellie smiled, and led Kate out by the arm. Halfway to the car, Beckett stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Ellie. Beckett just smiled.

"There's something I need to do, Ells, something else you were right about…any chance you could drop me off at the loft?"

Kate endured thirty minutes of fangirl squealing and excited chatter from her cousin on the cab all the way there.

"Is there no end to you finding weird ways to delay writing?" Alexis' voice interrupted her father. Castle had his legs draped over the back of the sofa and was staring mindless at the coffee table upside down. He squinted at his daughter.

"I'm brooding. All the cool literary protagonists do it, " he informed her. Alexis rolled her eyes.

"You call it brooding, I call it moping," she retorted. She pulled on his arm, lugging him back on the couch right ways up, "Go see her. We both know you want to."

"I can't," Castle mumbled, "Not until I don't suck."

"Then stop brooding like Angel, turn back into a human," joked Alexis, attempting to lighten her father's mood. She got a small smile out of him.

"I have taught you well, young Padawan…"

Alexis giggled.

"Hello, good morning my darlings…What are you two up to?"

"Brooding," teased Alexis. Castle cracked a full out grin.

"Oh, that again…" replied Martha, rolling her eyes, "I have told you once and I will tell you again, my dear boy. Go see your lady detective…"

Alexis grinned as Martha parroted her own advice. She heard her phone chime, and moved to the island to pick it up, as her father and grandmother began to bicker mindlessly about Martha's wardrobe expenses.

Buckle up, Blossom, we have lift off!

Her brow furrowed at this message.

"What?" she mumbled. Reading it once more, it suddenly dawned on her.

If anyone but Ellie had sent her a message like that, she would have asked them if they were stoned. But with Ellie, weird and vague was her pattern. And there was one pattern that would have caused that particular message. She texted Ellie back.

NOW?

NOW!

With that response, Alexis burst out laughing. She interrupted her dad and her grandmother, kissing her father on the cheek and telling him:

"Dad, I've got that lunch with Ashley's parents to go to…and Gram, don't you have plans with Lance Hastings?"

Martha blinked owlishly, caught off guard with her granddaughter's abruptness. Alexis squeezed her arm, hoping that Martha would just agree without question.

She did.

"Oh, yes, you are right…" she said. Her tone was hesitant and confused, but she followed Alexis' lead regardless.

Castle watched in confusion as Alexis ushered her grandmother out the front door, and then stopped to grin at him.

"Don't worry, Dad, you won't be brooding for long…Love you!"

Within a five minute span of time after Alexis and Martha departed came a knock on the loft door. Castle walked towards it in confusion, wondering if in the rush, his daughter or mother had forgotten something, only to be greeted by his gorgeous partner.

Beckett greeted him with a big warm smile, one he couldn't help but return. Without hesitation, she threw herself into his arms, momentarily forgetting the tenderness of her wound, and any and all boundaries she had developed with him. Castle, though surprised, enveloped her in a warm embrace.

"Kate," she heard him mumble into her hair. She pulled back. She looked at him, at his face. There were dark circles under his eyes. The normal mischievous grin held in place by those adorable dimples were nowhere to be found. She laid her hand on the side of his face, a pang of guilt overcoming her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner," she said. Castle nuzzled his cheek against her hand, unable to contain the overload of emotion.

"I'm so sorry, Kate…I never wanted you to…" he had trouble completing his sentence. Beckett shook her head, then leaned her forehead against his.

"It's not your fault," she told him simply. Beckett intertwined her fingers with his and led him to the couch. They sat down side by side, and she released his hand. They stayed close together, neither quite ready to break contact with one another, so they let their shoulders touch. Castle ached for more, and his wish was granted when, to his surprise, Beckett grabbed his hand and draped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, laying her head on his chest comfortably. Both of them dozed off like that, each desperately needing the rest after the trauma they had faced.

Castle woke up with his nose buried in Kate Beckett's hair. It smelled like lavender. Beckett woke up soon after. At first, her brow crinkled as she absorbed her surroundings. Castle stiffened, hoping she wouldn't object when she realized she was still in his arms, but instead, she just smiled at him.

"I didn't come intending to nap…" she admitted. Beckett looked at his face and touched his cheek, as she had earlier. The touch was intimate, loving.

"What did you come here for then?" he dared to ask.

"Castle…Rick…"

She tried to come up with the words. But nothing came to mind. Her mind was a blank canvas. A vast never ending paradise of complete and utter lunacy…all because of this crazy, odd, fun, insightful man-boy before her.

So for once, she didn't think.

She gripped the front of his plaid shirt and kissed him.

At first, Beckett was scared. While she had kissed this man once before, this wasn't because they were in some mortal danger. She simply couldn't think of a better way to show him how she felt about him. And how much she felt for him.

It was far better this time around. His lips were soft, yet demanding. It took him but a moment to catch up with her. He sat up and pulled her into his lap, threading his fingers through her wavy locks. The kiss became heated, passionate, but also steady and tender. His fingers trailed along her spine and she shivered.

Finally, they managed to pull away from one another. Castle met Beckett's gaze with an intense, confused expression.

The crease between her eyebrows formed again, and she sat up. Castle followed her movements.

"Kate…" he encouraged her gently.

"Here's the thing…um…I…"

Beckett ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She got to her feet, and began to pace around the room. She had been in dozens of gun fights and somehow, this scared her far more. This beautiful, odd, insane, insightful man in front of her. She wanted to tell him…she was going to tell him. She had to.

Stay with me, Kate. I love you. I love you, Kate.

Beckett froze. She thought she had dreamed those words, but all of the sudden, she remembered looking into his eyes from the cemetery floor. She remembered his frantic begging.

"You told me you loved me?" Beckett said out loud. Castle stood up, walking to her.

"Yes," he whispered back.

"I…you are completely insane…I mean, there I am, dying, coincidentally enough, in a freaking cemetery, and you tell me you love me?" Beckett was feeling a little hysterical, "I mean, I don't deserve it. I pushed and pushed…I always kept you at arm's length and yet, here you are…Castle…I tried not to, I'm not even sure I knew it was happening until it already…"

"Kate," Castle said, "I…"

"I love you, Castle…"

Such a wave of relief rolled over her entire being as she said those words. But the best part was the happy, teary smile on the face of the man she loved. So she said it again.

"I love you…"

Before she could say it once more, Castle had swept her up in his arms. He twirled her around, smiling as she laughed.

"I love you, Kate Beckett…"

Some would say that happily ever after is a cliché. But sometimes, clichés bring us the most hope for the future. Or so Rick Castle would say, if you asked. And so say I.