a.n. Thanks to everyone who left a review! I won't blackmail you guys for reviews again.

This one is almost tooth ache worthy in terms of fluffiness. The angst will return, I'm sure.

Disclaimer: This is useless. Of course I don't own Castle.

xxxx

Chapter Sixteen

Previously…

They were interrupted by the sound of the doctor coming into the room. She knew that this ordeal was far from over. Both of them felt immensely guilty over the death of the reporter, and that guilt wasn't going to go away quickly. But he loved her. And she loved him. She knew that no matter what happened, they would get through it together. Always.

xxxx

The next four months passed by quickly. Kate stayed with Castle while he recuperated, and they got closer than ever. She mentally slapped herself every time she thought about how much time she had wasted in her previous time.

Despite being happy with where they were romantically, it wasn't all sunshine and happiness. Castle was not an easy patient. With both legs broken and a broken wrist, he was confined to a wheel chair for the first two months, which made him very irritable. He didn't snap at her or start petty fights, instead he shut himself away in his office until he had to ask for help to go to the bathroom or move to another spot in the loft.

After two months, when he was able to start using crutches, Kate returned to work. She had never taken two months off from the force in her entire career, but she had wanted to be by Castle's side while he made his way through the worst part of his recovery. After she went back to work, Castle's mood grew continually brighter. She brought work home with her, and they built theory and bantered like they did when he had been coming to the precinct every day. The fact that he seemed to be doing something besides sitting around, cheered him immensely.

In the third month after the crash, they started to actually go out on dates again. They still hadn't taken their relationship to the next level, and Kate had been spending her time in the loft sleeping in the guest bedroom, but she was still happy with where they were at. At first it had felt very odd sleeping in the same apartment as her man but not with him, but she had gotten used to it. She wasn't happy about it, but she was used to it. They usually kept their dates to casual restaurants so that they didn't have to deal with the press. They still hadn't told anyone besides Martha and Lanie about their relationship.

Near the end of the fourth month, after a strenuous physical therapy session Castle surprised her by starting a conversation about their relationship.

They were sitting snuggled up on his couch absentmindedly watching TV, just enjoying one another's company when Castle asked, "Kate can I ask you something?"

Picking her head up off of his shoulder and looking at him, she said, "Sure."

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

What does he mean? She wondered. "You mean professionally? Personally?"

He shrugged. "Either one, I guess."

"Well professionally I will probably still be doing what I'm doing now. I love my job and I have very little interest in moving up the ranks. I do what I do for a reason."

"And personally?" Ah, so this is the 'where are we going?' conversation, she thought, giddy with the thought.

"Married with children," she stated confidently, then looked at his face to catch his expression. At first he was shocked by the speed and certitude of her response. Then a huge smile overtook his face, and he leaned down and kissed her passionately. They had shared many kisses in her brief time back, and like it had been before, each one was a new experience for her. This one topped all others. The sheer emotion behind it would have made her lose her balance if she had been standing up. As it was, she felt pure need pool in her stomach.

He pulled away much too soon for her liking. She let out a small whimper of protest before she opened her eyes again and looked into his eyes. "Wow," she whispered.

He chuckled. "Yeah."

"I take it that's what you want too?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Why are you asking now, Rick?"

He sighed and ran a hand over her cheek, cupping it tenderly. "I love you. And I know that a few months ago I said I wanted to take this slow, and I still do, but I'm ready for a little more."

"More?"

He kissed her again, this time not pulling away until they both were in desperate need of air. "More," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

xxxx

Kate woke up the next morning pleasantly sore in places she hadn't been sore in a long time. A wicked grin spread across her face as she thought back to the delicious things they had done to each other the previous night. Castle wasn't yet at full strength or full mobility, but he was still amazing in bed.

Stretching, she lifted her head from where it rested on her partner's chest. She looked up to see him still sleeping peacefully. God, how I love him, she thought. So damn much.

She knew that this was a big step for them. She also felt happy that they both knew what each other wanted out of the relationship. In her time before, she had wondered after she and Castle had finally gotten together if he had wanted to be more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. It had led to one of their biggest fights, her brief career in federal law enforcement, and his rushed proposal. She was thankful that another regret she'd had before appeared to be solved. They both wanted to be married eventually. She smiled again, thinking that eventually couldn't come soon enough.

xxxx

Four weeks later, Castle finally was ready to come back to work with her. They had a busy week planned. She had moved back to her apartment the week before, and while she was sad about that, she knew that they weren't ready to actually live together yet. At least he wasn't. She didn't want to rush him, especially since she was still pretty happy with where they were.

They were also planning on finally making their relationship public knowledge. The Heat Wave launch party had been pushed back a month due to Castle's injuries, and would be taking place at the end of the week, so they were planning on showing up to the event together, and letting the press run with the story.

The morning that Castle was scheduled to come back to the precinct, Beckett arrived at her desk early, eager to start the day. She was looking forward to getting back to normal. She needed her partner back, and since they hadn't seen each other in a couple days, she was really looking forward to seeing him.

"Good morning, Detective," he said as he came up to her desk and handed her coffee. He looked amazing. Her breath caught as she thought of the previous month and how they had spent almost every night tangled in his bed. She felt her cheeks flush at the memory before she pushed it aside and said, "Good morning, Castle. Thanks for the coffee."

"You're welcome. So, do we have a case yet? I'm a little rusty."

"Is that some sort of euphemism saying you're getting old?"

He scowled at her. "Very funny, detective. If this whole detective thing doesn't work for you, a career in standup comedy might be your next stop."

"I think I'd be good, don't you?"

"Maybe. I'd be worried about the first person who heckled you. You might go out into the audience and introduce them to your four inch heels the hard way."

She laughed. "God I missed having you here."

"I missed being here. We're on for tonight? I missed you these last couple days."

"Oh, yeah. My apartment is lonely, and I miss the loft."

"Well, we can't have that. Dinner and a movie tonight okay? Maybe just hangout instead of something fancy?"

"Sounds nice," she said before turning to her ever present mountain of paperwork.

xxxx

The next morning the happy couple was awakened by a knock at the loft's door. She could hear Castle groaning. "God, that better not be a Jehovah's Witness," he moaned as he extricated himself from underneath her and made to put on his boxers and robe.

Now fully awake, Kate decided she wanted to know who was at the door too. She pulled herself up and pulled on her own underwear before pulling her robe around her. She had kept some of her things at the loft even after moving back to her own place.

Following Castle to the loft's entry way, she frowned when she saw his agent Paula Haas at the door.

"Paula? What are you doing here so damn early?"

"Rick. You're not going to believe this."

Oh, no, Kate thought. She remembered what happened next, even if she wasn't present for it the first time.

Paula shoved her way past Rick and stopped in her tracks when she saw Kate standing there. "Rick you didn't tell me you had company."

"I didn't know you were going to drop by," he said sarcastically, walking back to stand beside Kate. "Besides, we were keeping this between us for a while. We're planning on announcing it publically when we go to the launch party."

"So you guys are together then?"

"Yes."

"Good." Well that wasn't the response Kate expected from Paula.

"So, Paula, what brings you here at 7 in the morning?" Castle asked, looking at the clock above the stove.

"You aren't going to believe it. I can't even believe it."

"Believe what? I'm still sleeping aren't I? Kate," he said, looking at her, "pinch me. I'm having a dream where my book agent has shown up at my house to not tell me something." Kate laughed, loving that even half sleeping he was still able to make her laugh.

"Sorry, babe, you're awake."

"Damn." He turned to look at Paula. "Now what are you talking about?"

"Okay. Nothing's official yet, but you…my dear… are at the top of their list. And I can't give you any more than that."

"You want some coffee? I'd love to sit down and not discuss this further. And I know Kate wants coffee."

"I'll tell you this," Paula said, following them into the kitchen. "It's a major re-launch of a major franchise. A three book deal. And they want you."

"Heat Wave comes out at the end of the week. The book party has already been a pain in the ass to schedule and I've been stuck in meetings the last two days. I've already agreed to preliminary terms for more Nikki. So why would I get involved with another book franchise?"

Kate looked between the two of them, and despite her wariness regarding the eventual end of this conversation, she found their dynamic very interesting. She could tell that they had worked close for years, and that they both trusted and respected each other. While she had no reason to be jealous, she still felt a little something bubbling up in her stomach.

"What if I told you," Paula continued, "that the character in question is a certain British Secret Agent?"

"Bond?"

"Don't say it! You'll jinx it!"

"He's the reason I became a writer," Castle said, looking contemplative. Then he shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Paula. Even if I were interested, I'm attached to Nikki and I'm not ready to move on from her yet." Kate smiled, relieved. She remembered how the first time this happened how Castle had almost left to write about James Bond, and how much she had wanted him to stay but how she hadn't had the courage to ask. Still, she felt guilty about holding him back from something he would have obviously accepted had she not been in his life.

"You'd give up the opportunity to write your boyhood dream?" Paula asked, stunned.

"Yes."

She sighed, and started to say something but was interrupted by the sound of Beckett's phone ringing.

"Beckett." She listened as the dispatcher alerted her to a body drop. She memorized the address before turning back to the two people standing in the kitchen.

"We've got a body, babe. I'm going to jump in the shower."

He walked up to her and gave her a deep kiss. Pulling back she smiled and ran her hand over his cheek before making her way to the bathroom to start her day, a spring in her step every step of the way. She was so very happy.

xxxx

a.n.2. We will cover this case. It's one of my favorites of season 2. But we'll do it in the next chapter. I didn't want to spend chapters covering Castle's recovery, so I did it this way instead. I hope it was okay.

Please leave a review. Do so and be awesome.