It wasn't supposed to take this long for me to publish this last chapter. But when I reviewed the one I had ready to publish, I didn't like it anymore... So I had to rework it. And it took longer than I would have liked. But I hope it was worth it and that you will like it.

I would like to thank all you readers who followed and commented this story. It was really an amazing experience. Writing is a lonely hobby, so to see my first story well received, people being interested in it and even taking the time to write a comment and press the follow button, it made me very happy. And it also made me appreciate even more all of you who write fan fictions. A special thank you to Castle4Eva for making me aware of the differences between British English and American English. I had never really paid attention to it before, but now I know! So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

18 months later. At the loft.

Kate walked into their bedroom and went straight to her dresser. Then she removed her watch and placed it on top of the dresser. A gesture she did every night, it's been part of her bedtime routine for so long. But tonight, as she looked at the photo of her parents she had placed there as soon as she had moved into the loft with Castle, she stopped.

They were so young on that photo, so in love. Her mom and dad. They had their whole lives ahead of them, plans to work on, dreams to make real. But they never did. Never had a chance. Because William Bracken had her mother killed for pocking around too close to him and she had to be stopped. 14 years ago, evil entered her life and it had changed her forever.

But today, she got her chance to put things right.

She had done it. Today she arrested the man who had ordered her mother's murder. She found the evidence against him and now, he was behind bars. And she was the one who put him there. It had taken her 14 years!

14 years during which Senator William Bracken had lived his perfect life without a second thought about the lives he had destroyed. And all this for the sole purpose of achieving his goals of power, fame and fortune. This morning, he was campaigning to become the next President of the United States of America. Tonight, he was in jail.

14 years of anger, agony, despair. Kate had been through all the emotions one could experience when losing a loved one without knowing why that person had to go. 14 years of wondering if she'd ever find the truth. 14 years of feeling like a failure because she could not give her dad the justice and closure she gave her victims' families.

But all that had changed now. Today, she placed her handcuffs around the wrists of the man who had ordered her mom's murder, she read him his rights, brought him back to the precinct and put him in a cell.

Tonight, William Bracken was spending the first night of the rest of his life in jail.

She was home with her family.

All the lives that had been broken, lost, because of that man. No doubt she was going to find many more people Bracken had hurt over the years. It didn't stop with her mom's case. That was only the tip of the iceberg, she knew it.

Why did she feel so empty? She achieved so much today; shouldn't she be happy, euphoric even? Over the moon? But she wasn't feeling any of that. Just tired. Immensely tired. And yes, OK, the past 48 hours had been among the most stressful she'd ever lived, so no wonder she was tired. But this was huge. She arrested the person who ordered her mother's murder 14 years ago, it had been her main goal all those years, but now, it was as if she could not feel anything at all! What was wrong with her?

She had lost her mom, her mentor, nearly lost her dad, nearly died herself several times, nearly lost her job and the best relationship she ever had, nearly ended up in jail. All because of William Bracken. And now, he was the one in jail while she was at home with her family.

Kate looked at the photo of her parents again and tried to smile. She removed the chain with her mom's ring from around her neck. The ring sat in the hollow of her hand. Very softly, her fingers caressed it.

"I did it Mom" Kate said, looking at the photo again, trying to feel something. "I found him and the evidence you had, and now he's in jail. Your death wasn't for nothing." It was such an achievement!

But how can you celebrate anything when the person you want to share your success with the most is no longer here?

This ring and that photo were all she had left of her mom. And her memories... 14 years without her mom...

It started at the pit of her stomach and went straight to her throat. An overwhelming sense of sorrow enveloped her so fast, she did not have time to register it was happening. And out of nowhere, the tears came up. She started gasping, tried to regain control of her emotions and her body but she failed.

She had solved her mom's case, but her mom was still absent.

Kate cried, for the person she missed the most, for all that had been stolen from her since that January day when one person decided that Johanna Beckett was getting in his way. He removed a piece on his chessboard, and she lost the most important person in her life. It was so unfair.

In the kitchen, Castle was finishing cleaning after the family diner. All was back to normal. His mother and Alexis were now in their beds upstairs, his soon-to-be father-in-law was staying in the guest room tonight, and his fiancée was getting ready for bed.

Thinking about the past 48 hours, it amazed him how, once again, Kate and him had nearly lost everything. Bracken surpassed himself this time. He confronted Beckett face to face one last time, before he ordered two of his thugs to murder her, making it look like a suicide. The idea was that Kate killed herself because she was a corrupted cop and knew she was cornered and had nowhere to go but prison. Bracken could not afford to let Kate live while he was running for the White House. She knew too much about him and could destroy him. So he had to get rid of her, just like he had gotten rid of Johanna all those years ago. And he had gotten away with so much over the years that he was confident it would be the same thing this time.

But Bracken had never really understood who Kate Beckett was, how strong, resilient and smart she was. She managed to break free from his men, and she and Castle solved the case. Come to think of it, it wasn't the first time Bracken misjudged someone. Captain Roy Montgomery had been so smart in this whole case. All the things he had done to protect his family, and Kate as well. The way he sacrificed himself to keep Kate alive still chilled Castle. But he had done more than that. For a rookie as he was then, to make a recording of a meeting with Bracken, it took balls. And what a recording it was! Bracken could clearly be heard say that he was used to getting rid of people who were in his way, and that he was working on "that bitch Johanna Beckett". The recording was proof that he was corrupted. Montgomery had taken a huge risk when he made this recording, but it paid off eventually. Without it, Bracken would still be free. To think that Kate and him only found out about its existence a few hours ago... That it was Montgomery who had made the recording. That he gave it to Johanna for safe keeping. That Johanna had placed the tape in her parade of elephants she loved so much. That Kate loved this ornament so much that she placed it on her desk at the precinct not knowing what it hid.

In a way, it was really frustrating to Castle to know that the evidence they had been looking for was waiting for them on Beckett's desk. How many times had he held this parade of elephants in his hand? And not once had it crossed his mind that Johanna might have used it to hide a piece of evidence linked to the case. Given his wild and creative imagination, Castle was a bit annoyed with himself. Because that was one hell of a twist! He had to give it to Johanna, that had been a very clever move. What was the saying again? Oh yes: hidden in plain sight! The evidence had been hidden in the parade of elephants Kate had placed on her desk at the precinct because it used to belong to her mother. The evidence had been in a police precinct all these years, and nobody knew! Now, wasn't that ironic!

Castle smiled. He always had a feeling he would have liked Johanna Beckett. Not just because she was Kate's mother and had a great taste in authors, but because she was resourceful, passionate, loving, smart. There was a lot of her in Kate.

Castle went through the living room and started switching off the lights and making sure the loft was secured for the night. He hoped that they could start to put this case to rest now. The trial would be a big step as well, no doubt about that. He expected Bracken and his lawyers to fight every possible angle to find a technically that would save the crooked politician from a trial. But that recording was their main piece of evidence and it was damaging for Bracken. Bracken knew that his political career was over. His life as he knew it was over.

And hopefully Kate and her dad would now be able to enjoy life without this sadness that was linked to not knowing exactly why Johanna wasn't by their sides anymore. A lot of good things happened today, and Castle hoped they would keep it in their hearts forever, that these moments would help make her absence a bit easier to bear now. Like the phone call Kate was finally able to make to her dad to tell him she was going to arrest Bracken. She called him just before they left the precinct to go and arrest Bracken because she didn't want him to find out from anyone else. Castle had decided not to go with Beckett for the actual arrest. It was something Kate had to do on her own he thought. So he waited outside by the car (for once!). But he watched it on the news later on since Bracken was in the middle of an interview, discussing his programme for his campaign to become the next President of the United States of America. The look on Bracken's face when he saw Beckett walking in straight to him, and when she said the famous words he never expected to hear directed to him, certainly not from Beckett's mouth. And then there was the walk into the Precinct.

That had been quite an experience. He had not been expecting everyone at the precinct to welcome them as they had. But when the doors of the elevator opened and he saw all the officers gathered in the corridor, applauding and congratulating Beckett, it had felt to him like the officers were all behind Kate. They knew what this case had meant to her, all that she had gone through because of it. And for them to drop what they were doing to applaud her as she was bringing Bracken in, it was something he would never forget. It showed what a family these people were.

What had touched him the most was to see Captain Gates, and LT around Jim, and being very close to him as Kate and Bracken were walking up to them. Castle had never seen Jim so closed up, he could see on his face the hatred he felt for Bracken, and he had wondered if Jim was going to punch Bracken. And just as they walked past, he saw LT positioning himself just before Jim on his right, Gates mirroring him on Jim's left side. If Jim decided to make a move, he would be stopped right away. LT told Castle later on that they had kept an eye on Jim Beckett all the time he'd been at the precinct because they were worried about his reaction when he was going to come face to face with his wife's murderer. They didn't want him to suffer any more than he already had because of Bracken. They knew seeing Bracken in the precinct, under arrest, was going to be a lot for him and more often than not, people do stupid things when they are under extreme situations such as this one. Beckett had worked too hard to get to this point, they were not going to let anything jeopardise her victory, not even her dad. And maybe punching the living daylights out of Bracken would make Jim feel better as it happened, but it would threaten the case and the detective would be disappointed. So they made sure nothing would get in her way. Castle didn't know if Kate had noticed this, they hadn't had time to talk about it. But he sure wasn't going to forget it.

Once he was satisfied that the loft was secured for the night, Castle went to his bedroom. Tomorrow, he wanted them to do something as a family. Something nice, that would celebrate life, love, and the future. They deserved it. There was the problem of the media that, no doubt, would be behind their every step. But they could dodge them, surely. They'd think of something. They deserved a break from this craziness Bracken had brought into their lives. Maybe they could go to the Hamptons, and enjoy the quietness of the place. Both Kate and her dad were exhausted after today, and a change of scenery would probably help them relax. Or they could go back to Coney Islands...

As he walked through his office and arrived to his bedroom, he called for his fiancée. "Kate? I was thinking. Maybe we should... Kate?"

Castle stopped right at the door in complete shock. He found Kate bent over the dresser; one hand in a fist resting on top of the piece of furniture, the other on her mouth. Her whole body was shacking and her face was tense with grief.

Castle rushed to Kate and took her in his arms.

"What is it Kate? What's wrong?" he asked, incapable to hide the panic in his voice.

Kate put her arms around him and held him close, her head in the crook of his neck. She was crying and didn't seem to able to calm down. She could not think; the pain was too great.

"Shhh... It's OK. You're home Kate. You're safe." Shit! What was he supposed to say? How could he help? He didn't even know what was wrong! All he knew was that the woman he loved was in pain and needed him to hold her. So he did just that. He held her closer and kept whispering that she was OK and safe.

"She's gone" Kate eventually managed to say. "She's gone Castle."

Her mom. She was grieving her mom again. He had never lost someone close like Kate had lost her mom, so he was a bit surprised that even after all these years, she still had tears to cry over her mother, especially in such a strong way. He had always thought that solving the case once and for all, bringing Bracken to justice with irrefutable evidence would be a celebration, that it would allow her to put the case behind her and live the life she deserved. But he was wrong. Closing the case was bringing all these emotions back to the surface and it was like losing her mom all over again. What could he do to help?

"I know Kate. I'm sorry."

Her tears renewed and she hid her face in his chest. Castle could feel her body shaking so he decided to carry her to their bed. With one knee on the mattress, he placed her on top of the bed very carefully and then lied next to her and brought their bodies together. He took her in his arms, intertwined their legs and brought the cover over her body. Then he talked to her. About how loved she was by so many people, the lives she had touched by bringing justice to the victims and their families, how her mom still lived in her heart and her father's, how proud she would be of the relationship with her Dad and of her as well, for solving her case, but mostly for the life she was making for herself.

He held her like this for a long time and kept whispering to her.

After some time, Kate realised he was talking to her about her mom, their lives together, their families, how her mom would fit so perfectly in their lives, how Johanna and his mother would be great friends. She focused on his voice and his words, and slowly she calmed down.

Once he noticed she had stopped crying, he kissed her forehead and held her even closer. She could fall asleep like this if she wanted, it was fine by him.

His arms had always been a safe place for Kate. When he was holding her, it was as if time stopped and she could have a rest, just take a minute to breath. And right now, that was all she needed.

Sensations started to come back in her body. She started to stretch her legs a bit but kept her body close to his. She needed the contact. Her left hand was hurting. She brought her arm from underneath his body to between them and opened her hand. Her mom's ring was in it and her palm was red where the ring and her nails had left their imprints.

She looked at the ring. "This is all I have left of her" she said with a broken voice. "I've solved her case, but this is still all I have left of her." she raised her eyes to Castle's. "It's not fair" she added, tears falling again.

"No, it's not" Castle confirmed, trying not to cry too because right now she needed him strong, but damn, it was so hard to see her in pain like this.

"We did it, Rick" Kate said, as she removed the tears from her face with the back of her hand and looked at him. "We found the man who ordered her death, he's behind bars now. I put him there myself, I wrote the report of his arrest, wrote the whole story in it. I secured the evidence. I dreamt of that day for years. But even though I keep on telling myself all that, it still doesn't feel real, you know?"

"It happened Kate. I was there, I witnessed everything, it really happened. You are not imagining all this."

"Maybe it's just going to get me some time to grasp it. Placing the handcuffs around his wrists was so incredible" she smiled as she said the words. "I think that maybe I focussed so much on how I'd feel if I could arrest him that I never thought about anything else. I never thought of afterwards." Kate looked at the ring again. "Nothing has changed. I have my answers but she's still gone."

Castle kissed her forehead and held her closer. "I'm sorry" he said. "I wish there was something I could do or say to make this better but I can't. I'm so sorry. I know you miss her every day."

"I do. I do miss her. There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about her, what she would do, if she'd approve of my decisions, what advice she'd give me... It's been harder lately, with all the wedding preparations".

"But today is different."

"It's like I'm losing her again" Kate said, fighting a new wave of tears, "and it still hurts so much." The tears won. She snuggled to Castle again.

"It's grief Kate. Don't fight it. Let it go."

There was nothing else he could do but hold her and he was really good at it!

Kate managed to regain some control. It was the first time this kind of breakdown happened with Castle by her side. And it made such a difference. Instead of crying alone in bed, she was in his arms and he was so reassuring, helpful, and loving. She didn't want to think about how things could be different if she was to go through this alone. Because she pushed him away so many times...

Her life would be so different if it weren't for him...

She had made so many mistakes with him. It was hard for her to understand why he hadn't moved on. When she told him that she had been lying to him for months, that she remembered him saying that he loved her when she was shot, she had been scared to death of losing him forever. But no, he stayed by her side, fought for the two of them, and they had even recovered from that.

This man, his wonderful heart, his beautiful mind. He changed everything for her. He changed her life!

Kate untangled herself from her fiancé's body. He let her go but she felt his reluctance. She took his face between her hands and kissed him.

"Thank you" she said when she broke their kiss. "Thank you, Rick."

"What for?" Castle asked at a loss. "I haven't done anything! I've just been holding you."

Kate shook her head. "No babe, you've done so much more. You are doing so much more." She smiled at him and caressed his face. "You found a lead. You never left my side even when I pushed you away. You never gave up on us. You made me understand that I had to rethink my approach to the case if I wanted to get my answers. But most of all, you made me understand that my life was more than the case. That my life could be beautiful if only I was willing to put my happiness first. And there would be nothing wrong with that. And you were so right! I've solved the case, and I'm not alone. I've got Espo and Ryan and Lanie. You, Martha and Alexis. I've got my dad." Kate suppressed her tears. "Do you know what he told me earlier? That today was just as hard for him as the day we lost her. He wanted a drink. He's struggling today. But instead of giving in, he called his sponsor. They are meeting tomorrow. I thought Martha's attitude towards him tonight was strange, she was all over him and not drinking any alcohol. But I think she knew. That's probably why she insisted that he sleeps here tonight. So that he's not alone and we can help him if he needs us. It wasn't just so the press would not harass him at home. Martha knew he shouldn't be left on his own, that he needed his family around him. I was so much in my head that I didn't even think about it. You have a terrific mother, Rick. And I love her very much."

Castle was getting more emotional. "She loves you too, Kate. Just please don't tell her she's terrific or she'll be even more of a diva than she already is and trust me, if someone can do it, it's her!"

Kate laughed in his chest. "I love you so much." She breathed him in and looked at him again. "You gave my life meaning, Rick. You gave me a family. You make me happy. I never really believed that I could get all this, certainly not before I could solve her case. I cannot wait to be married to you."

"I love you too Kate. And I just know our life together will be amazing."

Kate felt so happy and so sad, she was smiling and crying at the same time. And she was so tired. She kissed him again and then pressed her forehead to his.

"I'm sorry I'm so all over the place tonight. Not really the evening you expected, is it?"

"You're in my arms Kate. That's how I want to spend all my nights ever since we got together."

Kate nestled against him. "I love you" she said again, closing her eyes and letting sleep take her over in the safety of his arms. They were safe. All the people she loved were safe tonight. And she had her man in her arms.

"I love you too" Castle said softly. "Always".