A/N: With Minneapolis in a blizzard today and me being stuck at home, I decided to finally finish this story. There will be an epilogue after this chapter and given that I'm snowed in, I may even have it done this weekend. It's been a fun journey with this story and I'm disappointed that it took so long for me to finish, but I did finish, so there is at least that.

Rick and Kate stayed in New York one more day, opting to get their own hotel room for the night, before heading back to Hawthorne. They needed to leave since the contractors scheduled a tour of the nearly-completed library for them and the city council members later that afternoon.

"What are you most excited to see in the new library?" Rick asked while Kate drove them back to Hawthorne.

"I'm curious what our offices will look like, or well, I guess I'll be the only one with an office now. I hope they are soundproof." Kate threw him a wicked grin.

"My, my Miss Beckett, are you suggesting we engage in something tawdry in your new office?"

"That wasn't a suggestion, that was a plan. If they aren't soundproof though it would be interesting to see how quiet we can be without anyone knowing."

"Judging by last night, everyone would know within seconds," Rick said.

"Oh shush, you."

"As I recall, I wasn't the one who needed shushing."

Kate glared at him but had a whisper of a smirk on her lips.

"What about the library are you excited for?"

"It's a surprise."

"Why is it a surprise? And for who?"

"For you of course, and it's a surprise because I love you."

"What did you do?"

"You'll see when we get there."

When they arrived within the city limits of Hawthorne, Kate took them to her house since they didn't need to be at the new library for another two hours. She figured she'd take the time to unpack the small bag she brought, but once she closed the front door behind her and Rick, her plans changed and within minutes the two were in her bed for rounds four and five.

Resting her head on Rick's shoulder as she laid half on top of him, she said, "I thought I loved you before, but with the last twenty-four hours it's like I can't get enough of you."

"No complaints here," Rick rumbled and peeked at the clock on Kate's night stand. "As much as I would love to stay here forever, we need to get going."
Kate buried her face into Rick's neck. "Do we have to?"

"Normally I'd be all for skipping out, especially for sex, but I am dying for you to see the surprise."

Kate groaned and moved to look him in the eyes.

"Come on, Baby. In a couple of hours, we can come back and make love all night if you want, or we can scope out some places in the library for a quickie." Rick waggled his eye brows making Kate chuckle.

"Fine," Kate groaned. "This surprise better be worth getting out of bed for."

"Trust me, it is."

They threw on their rumpled clothes and made the short trek to the site of the new library. A few of the contractors and city council members were waiting near the front entrance showing off the newly installed arched window over the doors that read LIBRARY in a stained-glass design.

"We were just waiting for you two," one of the council members said when Rick and Kate approached the group. "Bob is inside with the foreman right now. Shall we head in?"

"Rick!" the mayor called out when he saw the rest of the group walk in. Holding out his hand for Rick and giving it a familiar shake and a quick hug, Bob continued, "I'm sad to hear that you are leaving us to be a famous author. I'm sure Miss Beckett here will be able to handle things just fine in your absence, but Hawthorne won't be the same without you."

Kate, who was standing beside Rick, felt her heart palpitate.

Rick saw her smile falter and said quickly, "Well Bob, I will still be living in Hawthorne, at least until Alexis graduates and afterward I'll see what happens, but I can't leave this place, especially now." He grabbed Kate's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Ah, I had a feeling there was something between you two. That explains the dedication." Bob saw Kate's brow furrow. "Oh, I'm sorry…"

"Rick, what's he talking about?"

"It'll be easier if I just show you." Rick led her toward the back of the library, passing up everything they were supposed to be looking at on the tour. They stopped beside a large room overlooking what was going to be the butterfly gardens when they were installed.

"Remember when I took a couple days off a few weeks ago? It was right after I got the news that my book was being published and that I was getting an advanced check for it. I decided to use the advanced check for this library and during those two days I was working with the construction team to create a reading room. This reading room," Rick gestured to the room they stood outside of, "in honor of your mother."

Kate's eyes widened, and her mouth moved as she tried to form some sort of response. All she could say was, "Rick."

Rick took her near-silence as an invitation to continue and with a hesitant excitement he laid out all the details, "It will be called the Johanna Beckett Memorial Reading Room. There will be a plaque that describes her and everything she believed in and I was hoping to get more input from you on what else to add to the space."

Kate's eyes started to tear up and she wiped away the ones that had fallen. She looked to Rick who had a timid and uncertain smile. "I…I don't know what to say."

"Please say that I didn't overstep the bounds…"

"Rick, you crazy, kind, wonderful man," Kate finally threw her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his, "I can't believe you did this. I love it. I love you. I…"

Kate was cut off when Rick kissed her.

"I'm glad," Rick whispered against her lips then continued with kissing her.

Kate pulled away and in a hushed and sly tone said, "do you think anyone would notice if we just left and went back to my place right now?"

Rick grinned, "Probably, but I'm very willing to be proven wrong."

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