A/N: And, here we are at the end. Thanks to everyone who bothered to read my first fanfic story and who put up with the inconsistent postings. It's a relief to finally finish this up, but sad too as this was my first baby. I hope I did it justice; it's much harder to convey what my mind sees in words than I ever imagined. To do it with somewhat consistent grammar and plot advances just adds to the difficulty. I was a biology major after all. :)

I was very nervous about writing anything at all. I've never done anything remotely like this. I don't think I've ever written a chapter without thinking it's the worst thing ever done, is certain to be hated by everyone reading and makes no sense for the story. Yet, I keep getting told nice things by so many people. Surely not everyone has fallen prey to some horrible disease that makes them think I can write half way decently? A collective delusion most likely.

In that vein, I have a bunch of thanks to give out as we finish this up.

Thanks especially to those who have left me reviews and let me know what they liked and disliked. Shout outs especially to those who have been there through it all: Torontosun, ilovetoread09, karisha1, minxheart, wendykw, phoebeluv25, rivertam09, adele madeline heels, and lori gale to name a few. You guys kept me going!

The greatest thanks ever go out to my new friends on twitter: Travis, Adriana and Liz. I'm not able to participate as much as I'd like to with my job and trying to write but I want you guys to know how awesome you are. Thank you so, so much.

For all the incredible writers present on this site, thanks for inspiring me to try and add my little twist to the Castle fandom.

Now, without further ado, I present the last chapter.

She struggles out of the dark dream, hearing the initial gunshot again and the flare of agony in her hip as a bullet slammed into it. Something heavy is pinning her down and for a few seconds she struggles against the restriction until she realizes she is tangled in the comforter and her struggles are making it tighter.

Finally awake she's able to extricate herself from the entrapment of the blankets. The bed is empty, his side is cold. She doesn't have the nightmares often anymore, but they inevitably occur when she's alone in their bed. Today it's still dark out; she can hear the clatter of his fingers dancing across a keyboard in the office.

She smiles to herself, the vestiges of the nightmare chased away knowing he's close by and she's safe in their home.

It's been six months since she woke in the hospital, rose to consciousness after her concussed brain finally allowed her to think coherently. Found him sitting next to her, staring as always but this time feeling the safe embrace of his presence. Never has she felt constricted by his staring ever since that particular moment.

Initially she couldn't stay awake more than a few minutes. Her brain had been knocked around too much. After 4 days though (or so she was told) she'd finally been able to string longer periods together, finally able to recall things they'd been telling her each time her eyes fluttered open.

The first, and most important, thing she learns is that Rick is with her, won't leave her. Any anxiety that was starting to appear after her awakening disappeared knowing he was by her side. He made her feel safe. Warm. Protected. Not something she'd ever needed from someone else since she'd become an adult. But he gave it to her and she took it. From him, only him.

Next, she'd learned that her kidnapper is dead. Whether they'd caught the crazy woman was her first real question. Not that she'd been scared, though she'd be lying if she denied that the whole situation had been traumatic. It was, still is. But with Rick next to her she feels safe.

No, she wants to know if they've caught her because she realized who she was at that last confrontation when she'd been shot. And because the woman had threatened Lanie.

Yet she's told that not only is she dead but that she also shot the hell out of the 12th precinct in a crazed attempt to take out the M.E.

That's when she learns that both Espo and Lanie were injured. Lanie had already been discharged, days before. However, she was still in the hospital. At the bedside of Espo. Like Castle, she won't leave. And like with her and Castle, Lanie and Espo won't be separated again.

Espo had been the most gravely injured, but with his healthy constitution and strong physical body he'd sailed through surgery. He was released 3 days after Kate was released. They both had to do extensive rehab. It was kind of nice to go through it with a friend; they both pushed each other to do better, work harder.

Sitting on the side of their bed, she reflects on those first days. Pain certainly a frequent, unwelcome companion, but there were positive aspects as well. She'd been stripped bare while a prisoner. Had time to reflect over what she truly wanted out of life; what was important to her. Nothing after her recovery changed her mind.

The conclusion was almost comically easy. Rick was everything to her. Her extreme vulnerability in the first days of consciousness brought them closer. For the first time in her life she placed her entire well-being in the hands of someone besides her parents.

It wasn't easy. Her mother had left her, though through no fault of hers. Her father had abandoned her as well, the siren call of the bottom of a bottle too strong to resist.

Rick was the first one she allowed in all the way. And once she finally let go of that control, relinquished herself to him completely, their relationship had truly transcended anything she'd ever had previously.

She was happy, for the first time. She wasn't dependent on him. Well, physically to some degree she was after the shooting. No, she was an independent entity. But the sum of the together had become so much more.

Smiling faintly as she looks down at her hands in her lap, she remembers the first time she'd really awakened for more than five minutes. Rick had been at her side, sitting in a chair next to her bed.

Her eyes had fluttered open, seeking his blue eyes immediately. She'd been able to sense his presence before she'd completely woken up, knew she was safe with him.

"Kate?"

"Rick." Her voice had been soft, hoarse. The sound of it made him break into a blinding smile and her own smile had answered back.

"What happened?" She was still hazy on the details.

"You don't remember?" He sounded a bit cautious.

"Not really." It wasn't a lie. Everything seemed so hazy.

"You were kidnapped, held hostage. Then you were shot and left for dead. You've had surgery on your left leg and hip."

That explained the heaviness she felt on the left side. Pain came from everywhere, but especially her back. It felt like there were a hundred burns covering it, firing off messages of CONCERN, I HURT, HELLO to her brain continuously.

"Are you in pain sweetie?"

Ignoring the hated nickname, she nodded her head slightly.

He picked up a device from her bed. It had a button on the end, glowing green, and had a white cord running off under her blankets.

"This is the button you can push for more pain meds. Do you remember it?"

She shook her head no. He gave her a look, silently asking her if she wanted him to push it.

"Not yet, want to ask some more questions."

"Ok. What do you want to know?"

"How long?"

"How long have you been here in the hospital? Four days. How long were you missing? Over a week. How long do you have to stay here? Not sure yet."

She contemplated this. Even she wasn't sure which question she'd wanted answered; now she knew the answers to several things but those answers just brought up more questions.

Rick was sitting on her left side, holding her hand. She tried to move the right hand to brush some of her hair out of her face when she realized it was aching as well and was much heavier than she remembered. Looking down, she saw more plaster on the right arm.

"What are my injuries?"

"Well, you've got the gunshot wounds that I mentioned already. They've removed the bullets. Your thighbone is broken and they pinned it. Your pelvis is broken too, but didn't need anything. You've got a broken arm over there and a bunch of shrapnel was dug out of you. Mostly in your back. You had a concussion and a small amount of bleeding in the skull that didn't need anything done for it, thank goodness."

It's overwhelming; too much information, literally.

"Kate. Look at me Kate."

His voice breaks through the haze, aborts the panic that was starting to flutter in her chest.

"Kate, you're going to be fine. They patched you up and there's nothing that some rehab won't fix. We'll get through this."

She relaxed at these words, sinking back into the pillows once again. Hair still bothering her, she moved her left hand out from his and started to brush the recalcitrant strands into place when she froze.

"What? What is it? Are you hurting?"

"Rick." Her voice sounded raw, wounded. "Where's my ring?"

He smiled at her then, relieved that of all the things that could be wrong, could be questioned, this is what has her frozen in concern. This he could fix; wanted to fix.

He reached into his jacket pocket and carefully slides it out. He'd put it back in its original box to keep it safe.

Her eyes are fixed on the box, unable to look away. The first time she'd seen this ring, the box had been left in his pocket; the ring the only thing she'd seen between his fingers. Now knowing what was in the box, hidden by the closed state of the hinges of the box, she finds the anticipation of the reveal to be almost as suspenseful as the original proposal.

This ring, this ring that she'd worn for several months as a declaration of their love; this ring carried a lot of meanings for them together. She couldn't wait to get it back on her finger where it belonged.

He was watching her watch the box. She finally looked up at his eyes, watching her so carefully. He gave her a smile, the kind meant just for her. The one that melted her.

Slowly, ever slowly, he opened the box. The gleam of the ring captured her full attention. He reached in and carefully removed the ring from its resting place.

She wasn't breathing. Couldn't hear anything beyond him. Nothing existed outside the two of them.

He reached for her hand again, holding it in his left.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett I love you. With all of my soul. When you were missing I didn't think I'd survive if I never saw you again. It was only knowing you needed me to find you that I was able to keep going. I don't ever want to be separated from you again. With this ring, I proclaim my undying love for you. Please tell me you'll be my wife soon."

She was crying; silently, but tears streaming down her face. As he slid the ring gently over her finger she felt like a missing piece of her life had clicked back into place.

"I love you so much," was all she could manage.

He started to wipe her tears away with his thumb but there were too many.

He was reached in his pocket and withdrew a scrap of cloth.

She stared at it for a minute, brain not catching up to what her eyes were seeing. He'd frozen as soon as he realized it wasn't the handkerchief he'd been meaning to pull out.

Mouth agape for a minute, jaw hinging open and shut as words failed and then he was trying to stuff it back.

"Richard Castle, why do you have my underwear in your pocket?" she hissed.

A laugh burbled up through her body as she sat on the edge of their bed, remembering. Admittedly, it'd taken some quick talking and then later deeper explanations and confessions for her to find that particular memory funny. Her underwear! Really, the man had no shame. But she'd understood the primitive need to keep a piece of her close. What could she say after all? She'd invented Fastle and had day long discussions with the figment of her imagination.

And while the memories of the months since that day are sometimes painful (rehab) and difficult (more rehab) there are so many that are wonderful (all of those with Rick).

Coming home for the first time.

The day she'd finally been cleared to resume their intimate activities. That was a particularly good memory.

Her wedding shower with her friends and family.

Most of all their wedding a month earlier.

Their honeymoon in the Maldives.

She still hadn't been completely cleared for work, but her physical therapist thought she'd be ready within the next few weeks.

Before the kidnapping she would have been going stir crazy without work. Her job had defined her as a person for so long; it was unimaginable to think she'd be content with weeks or months without it.

Yet she was. Post kidnapping Kate Beckett, now Kate Castle, was a different person. Now she reveled in her time with him. She worked hard in rehab; she wanted her body back and that was the best way to accomplish it.

But it wasn't a desire to be whole for her job, not anymore. Now it was a desire to be whole for him. She'd still work, but the drive, the burning need to work had been removed, kidnapped with her and never recovered.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the sound of his fingers dancing across the keyboard stop or the sound of his chair push back on the floor.

His body looming in the doorway between the bedroom and the study brought her out of her reverie. She stared at him; details obscured in the shadows were invisible. But she knew his body, every square inch committed to memory. She had his presence, his heart, his love.

Kate stood, held out her hand silently. He silently crossed the room and joined his hand to hers. As one they turned to face their day, their entire future stretched in front of them. Together. Always.

Thank you everyone.