A/N: Borrowing text from Raging Heat. Obviously I have no claim to these wonderful words. I'm simply borrowing them to further the plot to this little story. No infringement intended.
"She had set her iPhone on her desktop and she caught the thing side-creeping across her blotter from the vibration when she came back from the restroom. Once again, not Rook. Detective Feller was calling in from Flatbush."
She had picked up the book mere hours ago and already she couldn't put it down. 80 something pages and yet again his words had sucked her in. Not that it was a real surprise anymore. The fifth Nikki Heat novel had her hooked just as well as the first one had, hell as much as In Hail of Bullets had all those years ago when she never thought justice was possible.
The difference now was in her. The last several months had been hard and she had just brought herself to read his words again. She couldn't look at any of the drafts the publisher insisted on sending over during those long months. She wouldn't read his words until he was there with her.
So now she's perched against the headboard in their bedroom with him in his office probably avoiding typing out more words for her to consume and playing another ridiculous zombie apocalypse game. The sounds of him so close keep her grounded to the fact that he is here, back home where he belongs. With so many questions and so few answers about the time he was away, escaping into the world he created for her, about her, was exactly what she needed tonight. She just didn't plan on getting hooked this fast.
"When she unlocked the door to her apartment, she almost called "Lucy, I'm home" to set a lighter tone with Rook, but something gave her pause. Heat knew the feel of her own place-the sounds, the scents, the atmosphere-through many years and countless moments. She'd known it as a party space and a work space; a love scene and a crime scene; and all shades in-between. What was off?"
It's official her butt is numb. She hasn't moved from her position in hours and she's starting to feel it. Finishing her current page she marks her spot with her finger as she stretches from her curled up position. At some point she had raised her knees towards her chest and they extended stiffly underneath the sheets. Wait, sheets? When had she pulled them up over her legs? When had the room gotten darker?
She vaguely remembers Rick coming in at some point and telling her he was going to crash. A phantom kiss on the cheek and a mumbled I love you too are somewhere in there as well. Now she sits in the faded light of the lamp on her side of the bed confused. Her partner's deep breathes echo through the quiet room, their rhythm filling the space where his key clicks had filled hours earlier. What time is it anyway?
Making sure her page is marked she stretches around to look at the clock on his bedside table. The glowing numbers tell her she is far past when she should have been asleep. Hours past. She is closer to her alarm than she is to the time she normally is asleep. This is not good. She hasn't done this in years.
Maybe it's the book, or maybe it is the months that were spent questioning if she would ever read them again, but she can't stop. Rolling back to her side of the bed and still propped up against her pillow, she has a decision to make. Try to finish the next 130 something pages now and forgo sleep all together? Or does she do the responsible adult thing and sleep now and leave the book until tomorrow night?
Looking from the picture of Castle that smirks up from the back of the book resting on the bed next to her and the sleeping figure of Rick that is next to her she knows what he must do.
Opening the book she picks up where she left off.
"'Well Captain Heat…'
A sound came out of her, whether a laugh or a cry, it was born of joy, and that's all that mattered. '…Yes, Mr. Rook?'
'I have loved you from the first day we met. And, as unbelievable as it would have seemed to me then, I love you more now-this day, at this moment-than I ever have.'
Nikki wanted to say I love you to him, and almost did, but didn't dare interrupt. So she told him with her face.
And he got it.
'Nikki, I believe in destiny. Not only has everything I've ever done led me to you, every time we are apart-whether I'm in Paris or a jungle or across town in Tribeca-I measure everything, every minute, every breath, by how soon we can be together again. Which, in a way, means we are never really apart. But here. Now. Together like this. This is what I want forever. To spend the rest of my life with you. And you with me. Rockin' happiness.'
After working some swagger, he paused before he continued. 'I want to be your husband. And I want you to be my wife.' He started to choke up and some water rimmed his eyes. Rook collected himself, held out the ring, and smiled at her-an angel's smile. 'Nikki Heat, will you marry me?'"
She quickly shut the book, the acknowledgements didn't matter, they weren't his words anyway. The tears that had formed in her started to flow down her cheeks. This man and his words, he stilled had the power to rip her heart apart and put it back together again. But that ending!
What the hell was that?
Does Nikki say yes? What does that mean for her and Rook? What is going to happen next? How can he leave it on a cliffhanger like that? Doesn't he know that the fans need to know what happens next? Who does he think he is?
Unlike times in the past Kate has the opportunity to ask these questions that are rocketing through her brain. Forgetting about the hour of the morning she slams the annoyingly cliffhangered book on the stupid writers who think they can get away with that chest. He grunts underneath the book but doesn't wake.
This is going to require drastic measures. This is important stuff and her partner should be awake for this.
Grabbing the book from him she throws it across the floor, unaware of where it lands. Moving to straddle his hips she doesn't waste a second to push her mouth to his sleeping one. It takes a couple seconds for him to respond to the kiss and she knows the minute he wakes. His arms band around her back and his less than graceful move to deepen the kiss would normally draw her in for more fun but she is a woman on a mission. Pulling away with a pop she sits up on his lap staring down as the sleepy eyes of the man she loves. She dislikes him a little right now but she will always love him.
"Not that I mind the wake up but why are you waking me up at 4:30 in the morning? You're not on call so it can't be a body."
How he manages to be so coherent right after waking she will never understand but she rolls with it. "I finished your book."
This has him sitting up into her. He has always valued her opinion on his books. She'll never forget how anxious he got for to read the first one. It's still that way now. That's why she doesn't read ahead, wants no chapters before the publisher's draft is complete. She will only read what he is willing to share with his fans. After all she is his biggest fan.
"What did you think?" He's searching her eyes and at the same time looking around the bed. When he spots something he's looking for across the room his look turns from curious to concern. "Was it that bad?"
"Why would you think I thought it was bad?"
"Why else would it be in a upturned mess on the floor over there?"
Turning to look where he pointed, she spots it spread wide open to cover up on the floor near the door. She is off his lap and across the room in a flash, closing and placing the book on her side table with the reverence it deserves. Who cares if she can get a new copy in a flash? It's special, they all are.
"Sorry, I got distracted trying to wake you up. Didn't know where it landed."
"So you liked it. Is that why this conversation couldn't wait until at least until the sun was up?"
"I loved it Rick, honestly."
"Then why the rush to wake me. Couldn't wait to shower me in praise?"
Lying back with a smug smile on his face, he looked exactly like the smirking figure that sat face down on the table next to them. She wanted to kiss that smile off his face but settled for another method. "As good as it may have been I have a bone to pick with you buster."
"Oh no, not the Detective voice. I'm not awake enough for an interrogation about my interrogations."
"Well wake up Writer-boy. We have something's to discuss."
"It's Writer-man Kate. And what is so wrong with my book?"
"How could you end it right there?"
"Right where. Nikki and Rook are happy how is that a bad ending?"
"Yes but we don't know her answer. Does she say yes? Where do they go from there? What is going to happen with her as Captain? What…" She leans closer to him with every question until he shuts her up the best way he knows how, with his lips covering hers.
The kiss is long and deep and everything she has always wanted from him. So much like that first one they shared in the alley should have been. They may be slowly finding their solid ground but in moments like this she knows they will be there sooner than later.
Pulling away from each other when they were both gasping for air he slowly finds his words. "Kate, I think you of all people know the answers to all of those questions racing through your head."
"What do you mean? I'm not the writer."
"No but you are the muse and the fact that we are here together now should tell you everything you need to know. We are fighting for our happily ever after so what do you think Nikki and Rook will do?"
He always has said she is Nikki Heat, a fact she likes to argue against as the books stray so far from their lives together, but maybe this one time they have something in common. She's working on getting her happy ending, getting her one and done. Nikki is well on her way to the same thing. Looking into the eyes of her own Jameson Rook, the man who fought for her for years she has her answers.
"One more question for you Castle."
"Shoot Beckett."
The matching smiles on each of their faces break the tension that had filled the room moments prior. This is what they are good at, being together in this space. This is their solid ground. This is their forever. These quiet moments spent wrapped up together when it's them against the world. They will find their way back to this place every time.
"Did you love me from the moment we met?"
"Kate, I have loved you my whole life. I just didn't know it was you until that moment. Every moment brought me to you. I love you."
"I love you too."
She said yes when he asked her and she will make it down that aisle to him. They will get their happily ever after and she knows her alter ego will get the same. There are no more questions just a lifetime with the love of her life and the stories he writes for her.
A/N 2: Again I am humbled by the responses I have gotten to this series. The amount of followers, favorites, reviews, and views has been more than I ever thought I would get. I can't thank you all enough. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Review if you feel inclined, share with your friends if you feel it worthy. Thank you.