A Few Moments in a Day – A Random Thursday

Around noon, Ryan called out. "Hey, Beckett. We just got word that uniforms spotted Jacobson!"

All four members of the team immediately grabbed their coats and started moving out of the precinct, Beckett answering as they headed for the elevator, "Maybe that means we can wrap this up today. We already have all the evidence we need."

Castle held the elevator door open as another detective stepped into the bullpen, and they were off to pick up their murderer.

When Esposito announced them at Jacobson's apartment, their suspect met them at the door with a Glock, which he pointed back and forth nervously between Ryan and Castle. Even with three police weapons pointing directly at him and Beckett's calm voice demanding that he lower the gun slowly, the man they were certain had murdered his brother seemed to consider ignoring them.

Esposito said quietly, while still in his best threatening stance, "Come on, man. Don't make us hurt you. You can't shoot all of us before one of us has to." Jacobson looked defeated, eased the gun to the floor, and put his hands on his head. Everyone, especially Ryan and Castle, breathed a sigh of relief as Beckett and Esposito covered while Ryan cuffed him and Castle moved Jacobson's gun out of his reach. It felt much longer to everyone than the less than a minute it had actually taken to resolve it.

Once they were back at the precinct, Beckett and Castle had a confession in short order and then it was down to the paperwork.

Castle sat while the others completed the reports needed for the file, jotting notes and bits of dialogue in his notebook as he waited; and Beckett turned the closed file in to Gates just in time for all of them to leave at the end of their shift.

"I could use a burger," Castle said as they were gathering their coats more leisurely than they had earlier in the day. "We all missed lunch. Anybody interested in Remy's?"

Both the boys bowed out, but Beckett smiled and said a burger sounded like just what she needed. She and Castle buttoned their coats against the cold February wind and talked and teased as they walked to Remy's to order their dinner.

They made small talk as they waited. Kate caught up with what Alexis was doing, other than her internship, and Castle told her about Martha's new role and asked about Beckett's dad.

As they were finishing off the last of their meal, Kate said quietly, "I was worried for a minute this afternoon just before Jacobson put the gun down. You and Ryan were in his sights. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Awww. You were worried about me. I thought you might see getting me out of the way as a benefit," he teased.

"You don't really believe that do you?"

Without the teasing, he answered, "No. And today wasn't that bad. Only a few seconds of panic for us. I know you don't want to see me hurt. Getting me out of your hair now and then without lethal consequences, though…" And the teasing smile was back.

Kate laughed at him then. "Yeah. Maybe that. But I want you around for a long time. At least long enough to finish off your bucket list. I know you have one. You love things like that; and if I know you as well as I think I do, it's probably a long one, right?"

"Not too long, but there's some good stuff on it. Do you have a bucket list…or things you'd like to do or to have, even if you don't think they're possible?"

"Not a bucket list." She paused for a moment, looking hesitant about answering. "The other thing, though… I'd love to see my mother again. Just for a little while."

Playing to her uncharacteristic sharing of a flight of fancy, he asked, "What would you say to her?"

"I'd want to get a good mom hug and tell her that, even in my rebellious teenage years, I always loved her and was so proud of her…and that I'm sorry for being such a brat the last couple of years she was still here. Try to make things right, you know." She smiled, looking a little sad, and then added, sounding a bit more upbeat, "That's the first thing I'd do."

"What would be next?" he asked with a soft smile.

"I'd introduce you to her."

"You would? Me? In your little bit of time with her?"

"I would." She reached across the table and moved her fingertips gently across the back of his hand. "You're important to me, Castle. If she were still here, you would already know her."

"I would love to have met her.

"She would have loved to meet you, too. She's the reason I started reading your books, by the way. Mom was definitely a fan. "

"Then I'm honored. Do you think she would have liked me?"

Kate smiled and nodded. "She would have fan-girled over you first and probably asked you to sign at least one of her books." Looking a bit nervous and glancing up at him through her lashes, she took in a deep breath and then gave up the words she had been holding back for so long. "And she would have loved you. But not nearly as much as I do."

Looking awed, Castle took her hand in both of his and said in almost a whisper, "Kate." Then he asked hesitantly, "Are we still waiting?"

"I'm not ready to dive in completely quite yet, but it isn't fair to make you wait without actual evidence that there's a reason. I guess worrying about you again today made me think about that. I don't want you to give up on me…or us."

"I'm not planning to. You know, don't you? You remember?"

"I do…on both counts. Knowing that helped me fight my way back after I was shot. I should have told you that much sooner, and I'll talk to you about all of it; but can it not be right now? Right now, could you let me catch my breath and be amazed that my cowardly self finally admitted something you should have already known?"

"We can talk later, when it's just the two of us," he answered quietly. "We don't need to take the chance of sharing that conversation with the rest of the diner tonight, anyway." He lifted her hand to his lips, kissed it and said, "I do love you. You should have heard that again by now, too…with better timing than when you're trying not to die."

She smiled and answered, "I have to admit it feels good to hear it without that kind of distraction." When he placed their hands back on the table, she moved her other hand to join his.

As he squeezed her hands lovingly, he said, "It's hard to believe we're finally having this conversation." Then he asked playfully, "Does this mean I get to give you a goodnight kiss?"

"Yeah, and maybe, you know…a 'May I walk you home?' kiss," she answered flirtatiously. "Or a 'Would you like to stop for coffee?' kiss, or a…"

He smiled the brightest smile she'd seen from him in a while, kissed each of her hands, in quick succession and responded, "So, be creative? I can do that. Are we ready to leave here?"

"It looks like we are," she answered mischievously.

Castle took care of the check; and, as they left, he asked, "May I walk you home, Miss Beckett?"

Giving him a playful look, she answered, "I was hoping you would, Mr. Castle.".

He walked her across the street at the corner, pulled her off the sidewalk next to the fence surrounding a small children's park area, and kissed her gently but soundly. "Was that what you had in mind?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye and his signature smirk. "There's a coffee shop on the next corner. Would you like to stop for coffee?"

"I'd love to."

After another quick kiss, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, and she wrapped hers around his waist as they walked. "I like this," he told her. "It feels right…like something we're supposed to be doing."

"Yeah, it does. I like it too."

He pulled her to the edge of the sidewalk and gave her another quick kiss before they entered the coffee shop. They took their coffee to go and continued their walk to Kate's apartment, talking a little bit and smiling at each other a lot.

"Would you like to come up?" Kate asked when they reached her building. "Warm up a little bit. It's cold out here."

"I would love that."

She tugged on his coat to get him moving and brought him into her apartment.

"Wine?" she asked. "It may not be as good as yours, but it isn't bad."

Castle nodded as he took off his coat, and Kate went to get the wine. Castle got the glasses, setting them on the coffee table.

They snuggled together on the sofa, and talked and kissed and touched, eventually leaving their second glass of wine entirely unattended.

Later, when they were contentedly sated in Kate's bed, limbs tangled together, Castle kissed the top of her head and said mischievously, "Thank you for inviting me in. I'm much warmer now."

"Me, too," she answered with a giggle.

"Kate Beckett giggled," he exclaimed, sounding delighted. "She loves me enough to giggle in front of me."

"I'm actually kind of beside you."

"And that's where I want you for the rest of our lives." When she looked up at him, he took the opportunity to give her a "We just made love for the first time" kiss. And then he asked, "So, other than briefly worrying about my imminent demise, was there a reason that brought out these confessions and all this delectable bare skin and amazing lovemaking on...well...a random Thursday in February?

She kissed his chest near where her head was resting on it and answered, "I've loved you for so long, Castle, even when I was denying it to myself. I wanted to tell you so many times. I guess today, on a random Thursday in February, I just couldn't hold it in any longer."

"I still want to have that other conversation you promised…sometime tomorrow." He looked at her with his little smirk and asked hopefully, "But right now, is there anything else you can't hold back any longer?"

"Maybe."

"Wanna show me?"

She giggled again and conscientiously complied with his suggestion.