Kate Beckett wakes in a world where nothing is as she knows it to be. A season 4, AU story. NOW COMPLETE.

Remember all of those times Caskett came so close to being together, but something got in the way? Well in these one-shots, things end a little differently. Oh, sad day for me, but I don't own Castle, all of that belongs to Mr. Andrew Marlowe and company at ABC.

Beckett appears unexpectedly at the loft one evening, after spending the day with Josh. She has some news.

When he found out, he didn't seek solace in his old ways. Instead, as his dream of their future crumbled, he began his withdrawal into himself.

Castle decides to tell Beckett he's been pursuing her mother's case, knowing it will be the end of his hopes for a relationship with her. In the brief time before she arrives, he commits his thoughts to paper.

What if it didn't take a brush with death, or an ultimatum, or a confrontation? What if, one ordinary evening, she just realised she was finally ready to let him into her life?

As Christmas approaches, Beckett gets a little help in realising that by keeping Castle waiting for her, she's also been putting off her own life. A tribute to Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".

Beckett is distraught when Castle seems to have finally given up hope on them ever being more than just partners, and he begins to pull away from her, prompting her to face up to her own feelings.

A thoughtless remark from Beckett makes Castle give up on them ever becoming more than partners, and he leaves. Without being able to talk to him, Beckett must convince him that he's wrong about her feelings.

Beckett is forced to take two weeks of paid leave, and Castle invites her to the Hamptons with him. She reluctantly agrees, and starts to discover that her feelings for him are stronger than she was willing to admit.

kairos (ancient Greek) - (n) the perfect, delicate, crucial moment; the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movement; the time of possibility. COMPLETE