If Beckett had been able to talk
"Kate. Shh. Kate, please. Stay with me, Kate. Don't leave me. Please. Stay with me, ok? Kate. I love you. I love you, Kate."
"I - love you, too." It was an echo of a gasp, a hum of a whisper.
But Castle heard her.
And then, she closed her eyes.
Eight Months Later
She thought time might stop when she exited the interrogation room to find Castle standing there.
"Uh... Castle, hi. How long were you...?"
"Long enough that I think you and I need to have a talk. Can we go somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah, sure, I think they can handle things here without me."
"So," said Castle as they stood at the bomb-site, watching people lay down flowers, "when you said you remembered, was that just a tactic to get Bobby to confess or was it true?"
She took a deep breath.
"It's true."
Castle nodded slowly.
"Why?" he asked simply.
"I knew that if you found out I remembered, we would have to talk about it and I wasn't ready to deal with it."
"I would have understood - "
"But see, Castle, we still would have had to talk about the fact that I didn't want to talk about it. It was just easier, to give me time."
"I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation. If you hadn't said it back, I might have thought you didn't feel the same way."
"Castle, I don't know what to say other than I'm sorry."
He took a deep breath.
"You said you needed time. You've had time. Do you think you'll ever be ready?"
"I'm ready now. I'm in therapy dealing with everything, including what we said to each other that day."
"I didn't know you were seeing a therapist."
"Yeah, well, I didn't want to make excuses; I just wanted to put in the work. I'm still not exactly where I want to be but...I'm almost there. Until then, I don't want to waste any more time waiting. I want to give us a chance."
"You're sure?"
"Yes," she said, taking his hand.
"Ok," he smiled. "If you're in, I'm in."
She smiled back.
"I'm in."