A/N: I am so humbled and overwhelmed by the response to this story. It's always lovely to know that I'm writing stories that speak to the readers as much as they speak to me. Every follow, favorite, and review puts a smile on my face! I hope you'll continue on this journey with me and that by doing so, this Hiatus will be a little more bearable for you. Happy reading! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of the ideas borrowed from the show for this story.

You Have No Idea

"I remember that feeling of skin. It's strange to remember touch more than thought.

But my fingers still tingle with it."

-Lucy Christopher

Still November 3rd, 2015

Castle waits until Kate has settled comfortably against his chest before he begins to tell his story and in the quiet darkness of their bedroom she lets his words take her back in time.

"Chapter one takes us back to the first moment that I met you. I turned around expecting you to be another obsessed fan who wanted her chest signed and instead laid eyes on the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen—aside from my daughter. You were all business and I loved that about you. You were intriguing because you made it so difficult for me to get to know you in any way. You were a challenge. I loved it.

The first time you interrogated me was the moment I knew that I had to find some way to get to know you. You were fierce, determined and kind of mean—it made me want you even more. Working that first case with you will always be at the top of my favorites list because although I didn't immediately fall in love with you, I knew that I would.

You hated the idea of having someone new on your team—of having a partner, especially one who wasn't a cop. My initial goal was not to annoy you but back then it seemed that's all I did. It made you even more of a challenge.

I learned little things about you that year. Small tidbits that I either observed or you let slip. At the time I thought it was by accident, but I believe now that even back then you knew there was something between us.

Those first few months working with you, I admit that I wanted to sleep with you more than anything, but once I learned about your mother's murder things changed. I wanted to dive into your life—to know all about the occurrences in your life that had shaped you into who you were. You became more than a conquest to me."

He pauses for a moment to listen to her soft intake of breath and he can't help but wonder if his wife has fallen asleep before he's finished the story. "You still with me?" he whispers against the top of her head.

She hums softly against his chest before she answers and the sleep-laden tone of her voice tells him that she's trying hard to stay awake. "Wouldn't miss this story for anything, Babe."

"I can continue it tomorrow if you're tired?" he asks.

"Mm…no I want to hear the rest now. Sleep can wait."

And because he's never one to deny her what she wants, he continues.

"You reinforced your walls with everything you could that year, determined to keep me from getting too close. Little did you know at the time that I never intended to give up, and you'll probably never admit it, but you didn't want me to. You proved that to me when we played poker, because as good as your poker face was during the game, it wasn't quite as convincing outside of it.

Meeting Sorenson was the first time I realized that I was falling hard for you. He stirred a jealousy in me that I'd never felt before. I'd never had to fight for—prove myself to any woman before and yet you continued to challenge me in every way possible. I saw the way he looked at you, but you never looked at him the same way. Even when I walked in on the kiss—I was jealous of course because anyone who got to kiss you was worthy of being jealous over, but I knew that your heart wasn't in it.

When I started looking into your mother's murder I knew I was taking a big risk. I didn't know how much of a risk at the time, but I wouldn't have cared. I didn't understand the impact it would have on me back then; I didn't comprehend what trying to solve it would do to you—to us. To this day I'll never regret that I re-opened that door, although I'd gladly change some of the things you had to go through to get to where we are now.

I was wrong about a lot of things that year, but opening that file without your permission was and still is one of my biggest mistakes. I never expected you to let me come back after that. But I'm forever grateful that you did.

This brings me to the most important part of this chapter. It's been said that actions speak louder than words, but I like to think of it a little differently. Sometimes touches speak more than the words themselves, leaving a brand on the skin that continues speaking long after the touch is over. In certain circumstances, a brief touch can speak such a volume of words that nothing needs to be spoken at all.

After the first case I worked with you, I tried everything in my power to get you to go out with me. I pulled every trick I could think of to woo you. At the time I thought none of them worked. I was wrong.

You walked me out of the precinct and we stood on the sidewalk prepared to part ways for what seemed like the final time. You reached for my hand, just a polite handshake and yet the brief moment of touch ignited something. In that moment time froze for me but it wasn't until later that night, in the privacy of my office that the words began to swirl in my head and the story formed.

You see, Kate that moment of touch between us spoke words that I never imagined it could. It spoke of hope, of a future that neither of us could see, but longed for. It formed a connection between us that I'd never felt with anyone else before. You thought I was arrogant, immature and egotistical and yet you saw more to me than that. Your touch gave you away. It's that touch that had me calling Mayor Weldon. It's that touch that formed a determination to be a part of your life. It's that touch that bore the idea for a lifetime of Nikki Heat because I knew that no other muse would ever compare to you.

I enjoyed the challenge that you were, but I think you enjoyed me as one just the same. I'm sure that many men had tried to get close to you before me, but I can promise you that none of them were as determined as I was. But the truth is I never would have been able to get close to you if you hadn't wanted me to. You let me penetrate that wall; you let that first touch ignite a spark that burned through your blood just as much as it burned through mine.

I'm not sure that I believe in soul mates but I do believe in signs—more importantly in touch. I'm pretty sure that you do to, because in reality, if you didn't we might not be here right now. The universe can throw people together over and over, but unless they embrace it, nothing will ever come of it. At some point it's up to us to decide.

When you walked away from me that day I told you that it would have been great. You leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "You have no idea." You may have thought that I missed the slight shiver of your body as it brushed against mine and the shy bite of your lip, but I didn't. You only spoke four words with your mouth, but your body—your touch spoke a thousand more. In that moment our story began and each touch between us formed unspoken words that we were scared to voice, until the novel was written and we had no other choice but to embrace it. This is our story, Kate—our novel of unspoken words. And now it's my gift to you because you were right, I had no idea."

Castle lets his last words paint across the soft tresses of her hair and she shivers against him. He wants to ask her if she liked it, because as many times as she's read his books he still gets nervous when it comes to Kate. Her opinion means more to him than anyone else's and telling her a story that has never been written is completely different than reading her one.

She reads his body language before he can ask, and it's just another proof of the words that their touches speak. She pushes herself up on his chest until she's draped completely across his body and then she lowers her lips to his and kisses him with so much reverence that he could weep. She pours her love for him into the kiss ignoring their need for air until the last possible second. She catches her breath with her forehead pressed to his and her hands on either side of his face.

"Of all of the stories you've ever read to me or written that was the most beautiful, Castle. Your words have always been my weakness. I love you even more for planning this as my gift."

His relieved sigh drifts across her cheek and she kisses him again. "You put so much thought into gifts and it's one of the many things that I love about you. I've thought about our story so many times over the years but I've never thought of it like you just described. Everything you said is true, babe. Our touches have always been special."

"I'm glad you like your gift so far. Have you figured out the theme yet?" he asks.

"Hmm," she pretends to think long and hard about it even though they both know she's figured it out. "I think I'll need another chapter before I'm sure," she teases.

He chuckles and it reverberates through her body. "Well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

She huffs her disappointment and he laughs again, rolling them so that she's snuggled underneath him. "I promise it will be worth the wait."

She laughs then and retorts, "I'll be the judge of that."

She kisses the forming frown off his face and holds him against her. He lets her clear his mind until all that he knows is the warm press of her body against his and the burning heat of her mouth. Just as she starts to wrap her legs around his waist he pulls away and retreats back to his side of the bed again.

"Mm sorry, Kate. Part of this gift is waiting."

She props herself up on her elbow and levels him with a glare that he can see even in the darkness of their bedroom. "How long do we have to 'wait' exactly," she asks.

"Until I've finished the story," he answers.

"Castle, are you seriously telling me that we aren't going to have sex from now until our anniversary?"

He chances a small laugh because she's so cute when she gets like this and if she's complaining now he knows for a fact that she'll be all hot and bothered by the end of the week. It's exactly the way he wants her.

"As I said before, I promise it will be worth it."

She rolls to her side so that she's facing away from him but once again he knows it's only half-hearted. "I've never known you to hold out that long before, Castle. I hope you know what you're doing."

Castle presses himself against her back, smiling against her neck when she lets him wrap his arms around her. "I'm going to echo one of your own lines because, Kate, you have no idea."

Kate drifts to sleep first with the lingering words of their love story swirling around her. Castle holds her close as he thinks about all of the things he wants to include in the second chapter. So many words spoken from each brush of their skin over the years. He's going to take her on a beautiful journey.

Chapter one, complete.

Would love to hear your thoughts! xo