Chapter 21
Getting to the end now. Finally. I want to thank everyone who's patience thus far on the story.

Kate watched while the paramedic was checking out Castle. They had an ambulance on the scene as a matter of protocol given the situation and she was very glad of it when Castle collapsed. He had a mild concussion. Bruises and scratches were obvious, but nothing too serious. The cut on his temple looked worse than it was. Still, she had been scared when he passed out. She had screamed for someone to help her; Castle's limp body had been heavy and she had no way of knowing what Gulliver could have done to the writer.

Castle was coming to and the paramedic was telling him he was okay. Kate approached, trying to express as little as emotion as possible. It used to be easy where the writer was concerned, but not now. Not anymore.

He looked at her nervously. "Hey."

She knew he was waiting for her to erupt. She wanted to, part of her was still furious at him, but she was so relieved he was okay and that in the end his plan worked after all. That and she could still hear his voicemail like a song she couldn't get out of her head.

"How are you feeling?"

Touching his head, he nodded. "Okay. Pretty good, considering."

"Considering," Kate repeated, "that you met with a psychopathic monster and lived?"

"Yeah, so I'm pretty good."

She wanted to be angry but his joking was a good sign. Surviving Gulliver was one thing, but it could easily have changed him and the idea of Castle no longer being Castle caused her heart to ache in ways she didn't understand, or refused to try to understand.

The silence lasted for several minutes. Kate waited, knowing Castle wouldn't be able to stand it too long.

He proved her right. "Beckett, I'm sorry about before …"

"Sorry about what?" She needed him to voice it.

He shifted nervously. "For handcuffing you, obviously. I'm sure that was humiliating and probably hurt your wrists …"

"Handcuffing me?" she said, getting more in his face. He cast his eyes down, nervous about meeting her gaze. "How about everything else? For not telling us about him texting? For actually calling him? And for going after him by yourself—"

Castle's head moved up. She hadn't realized how close she had gotten because now they were nose to nose. "I am not going to apologize for that!"

"What?"

"Not for going after him, Beckett." He leaned back some and his features softened. "Kate, I know why you are angry at me for doing what I did and I'd be mad at me, too, but he was threatening to hurt Alexis. He was going to attack her by killing her friends if he had to. I couldn't let that happen."

She fought the urge to reach out to touch him. "And if you have gotten killed? Would it have been worth it?"

"My life to stop him? Yes."

She hadn't expected that and took a step back. "Alexis needs her father, Castle."

"I know," he admitted. "But not at the cost of … what her grandfather was threatening. He would have done it too, you know."

She wanted to argue. She couldn't believe how much it frightened her had Castle been killed. "I know."

"Excuse me." Castle and Kate turned in the direction of the voice. Agent Shaw approached, looking tired, and she regarded Castle. "I should be furious with you."

"It's part of the service I provide to those working alongside me."

She ignored that. "Well, Gulliver is in custody. It's strange to say it after all this time. I won't approve of your methods, but as a parent myself …" she didn't finish the sentence.

Castle nodded. "Thanks."

Kate kept her eyes on Castle. The day was finally catching up to him and she knew he really needed to rest. "So what is the plan now?"

Shaw glanced behind her at her team. "I think you two have a well earned break. We will be taking Gulliver back with us to interrogate him. Well, we'll try, anyway. But if either of you want to come back and watch—"

"No, I've had my fill of dealing with him." Castle declared. "I'll be happy to never see him again."

Kate knew the cop part of her should want to go with Shaw, to try to participate or at least watch how they go about questioning him. In many ways it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but one glance at Castle and she knew she couldn't leave him. And surprisingly, she didn't want to. "Count me out as well."

"Okay. Castle, I'm not sure what status your loft is in since you've been there." With a hint of a smile, "I understand a door needs to be replaced. You probably should stay at the safe house one last night."

"My door? Why do you have to replace my door?" Castle asked confused.

Shaw looked at Kate, who folded her arms and put her best annoyed face on for the writer. "Agent Paul had to break it open to get me out of there."

"Why didn't he use the key?" Castle asked. "Didn't I tell you I left it under the mat?"

"No!" Kate said.

Castle leaned back. "Oh, I guess I forgot. Sorry."

Shaw smiled. "I'll be in touch. We have a few things to wrap up, but for the most part we're nearly done."

She reached out her hand and shook Castle's and then Kate's. Before leaving, she turned around. "Oh, there is one more person who wants to speak with you."

Agent Paul approached, making Castle tense. The agent extended his hand. "I want to say I'm sorry for the manner I've been treating you. This case reminded me of a previous one which caused me to imagine preconceived … well, I shouldn't have held anything against you."

Surprised, Castle took Paul's hands and shook it. "No problem. I probably didn't make things easy for you."

After letting go Paul glanced at Kate, then back at Castle. "I should have known Detective Beckett wouldn't think so highly of a guy like you if you weren't worth it."

Now it was Kate's turn to blush and wishing to get out of there. "I wouldn't put it like that. I think it's time for Castle to go, though. He's probably exhausted and wants to see his family."

She hurried Castle away before he had time to argue.

Of course, Kate didn't have her car so they had to be driven to the safe house. Kate told Castle to get in the front seat. It would be easier to keep an eye on him. She entered the back seat from the driver's side. She shut the door just in time to see Castle forego the front seat and sit in the back with her. The grin on his face was hard to miss even in the dark.

"So, Beckett, how highly do you think of me?"

Leaning her head back, she sighed. "Oh, God."

"I mean, if it was enough for Agent Paul to notice, it must have been—"

"Castle, if you want to live to see your family, I suggest you hold your tongue until we get there."

Leaning into her, he whispered, "Thinking about my tongue? Why, Detective, what kind of guy do you think I am?"

She snapped her head up to come face to face with him. The old, arrogant Castle was back. Kate should have been furious; at one time she would have snatched his ear, but instead she was frozen in place, only aware of his breathe on her.

The agent getting into the driver's side startled them both and the moment was broken.

Castle did remain quiet on the drive back, but Kate could tell it was more from the exhaustion finally settling in.

When they walked in Castle was greeted by two very upset redheads. Alexis had been crying and Martha's normal reserve was clearly broken.

Castle shook his head, not sure how they knew anything. He looked at Kate who was just as confused as they were. Martha explained, "One of the agents called to tell us that you managed to contact and meet Gulliver, but he was in custody now. She said you were all right, but we were worried that …"

"Oh, no, I'm okay." He took both women in his arms and comforted them while Kate watched. He really was very lucky to be alive. As his words were helping them relax, she had to admit they were also lucky to have him.

After a few minutes Kate cleared her throat. "Well, I'll go get my things. Agent Shaw said you can return to the loft in the morning."

Castle broke contact from his mother and daughter. "You're leaving?"

Kate heard something in his question but chose to ignore it. "Yes, Castle. Gulliver is caught. You are no longer in danger."

"But … you can stay one more night."

"Castle, I've been gone for days from my apartment. I really need to get back." She braced herself for him to whine, but he just stood there and stared. That unnerved her. "Plus, I still have to collect my car. It's at your loft. The agent is downstairs waiting to drive me over there."

Leaving the family, she went into her bedroom and packed what little she had. She felt a weird emptiness overtake her as she did so. It was confusing, but she didn't have time or desire to deal with it.

As she walked back into the living room she could hear Martha cooking. Castle and Alexis were sitting on the couch, his arm draped around her with her head on his shoulder. Kate felt drawn to him, to them, but she fought the feeling.

When Castle saw her, he gently kissed Alexis' head and got up to walk her to the door. "So I take it then this is—"

"I'll be back in the morning. Early morning. I want to help you get back to the loft and make sure the door was fixed." Kate blurted out quickly.

Castle stuck his hands in his pockets, looking slightly relieved. "Oh, okay. Well, until tomorrow, Detective."

A sharp thrill went through her, but she ignored it. "It will be good for things to go back to normal."

For a split second Kate saw something in Castle's face, but it disappeared before she could make out what it was. He opened the door for her and out she went.

Castle couldn't get to sleep. His mind was racing. Not because of the relief that the threat of his father targeting him was now over, but on what it meant moving forward.

He had promised Beckett if she helped him through this case, helped him end this threat, he would leave her alone forever. This offer also extended to any coverage relating to the Nikki Heat series. Back when he made that promise she was barely talking to him. He had also had no idea what they were really facing. Never in his wildest dreams would he had eve guessed he would be targeted by the Gulliver of serial killing fame, nevertheless that the man was also his father. So much had happened.

On the top of the "happened" list was that he had kissed her. He finally kissed Beckett, and she kissed back, or so it felt. He really couldn't remember much more than his own enjoyment and intense concentration of handcuffing her to the railing. She hadn't mentioned the kiss at all.

Even more troubling to him was that she didn't mention the voice message. She had to have heard it by now. Why hadn't she said anything? What did she mean for things going back to normal? What concerned him was that going back to normal would mean not pursuing this new level of intimacy they created because of the Gulliver case. She had practically run out of the safe house now that they were no longer in danger. He couldn't ignore the symbolism in that.

Sighing, he rolled over. Her lack of input on such things led him to only one obvious conclusion.

A/N: Comments? Thoughts?