Disclaimer: A.M still owns Castle.. not me

Slow, deep breaths. The steady beeping of the monitors. The smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee. She's afraid to open her eyes because he might not be there. She lied to him for 5 months and it took both of them almost dying for her to realize that they don't have forever. She didn't feel anyone holding her hand, or staring at her. So she slowly opened her eyes, being ready for anything. Even the unexpected: he was sleeping in a chair with his head on the bed rail and his hands slung over them.

She looks at his calm form and then she realizes why he loves to stare at her. Because you never know how long you're going to have with someone. She starts to notice the small details on his face, like the small wrinkles around his mouth from laughing and smiling too much, and how his eyebrows twitch a little bit while he sleeps. She reaches out and puts her hand in his, and puts down her coffee to use her other hand to smooth down the hairs that are sticking up.

Then those emerald eyes mixed with sky blue. "Hi."

He realized that she was here, talking to him. That she was here breathing. "Kate, hi."

"You're still here. I thought that you would have left."

"Why would I leave? Because you lied to me? No, I understand why you did it. You had a lot on you, your moms case, Montgomery. It's okay."

Then, he notices that they're holding hands. "sorry, the doctors didn't think that you were going to wake up so soon." And he unlaces his hand from hers. But he doesn't notice the small bit of disappointment that is showing on her face.

"No, it's okay. You've probably been here all day when you should be with your mother and Alexis. And I understand that you l-, care about me, but you need to see your family Rick." Rick- she never uses his first name unless she is furious with him. Like the night before the hangar.

"I've already seen Alexis, and I have spent enough time with Mother. But they told me to come and see you. So, I'm staying." He smiles at her, but not his playboy, page 6 smile. The smile ethat he saves just for her.

"So you're staying." She gave him a soft smile and took his hand in hers. She notices the confusion on his face. "Almost, I'm working on this, us, with my psychiatrist. But I'm trying really har because you deserve this." He nods because he knows how much she is trying. So he lifts the back of her hand up to his lips and places a soft kiss on it. Then there's a knock at the door, and voices saying "finally" and "its about time. Along with a certain M.E saying "I'm going to be rich!"

The boys were there in wheelchairs(the only way that the nurses would let them see her) with Jenny and Lanie. "So Castle you wanna kiss my hand to?"

"No because nothing's going on. I was just telling Kate how scared I was for all of you."

"Yeah sure. I mean If you wanna hold my hand to sure." Esposito loved making fun of his friend. "And I know that I bumped my head pretty hard but I think that the only people who can hold my hands are still Lanie." He looks up to the woman smiling next to him. "And Ryan."

The group laughs then Rick, Jenny and the boys go to get coffee while Kate talks with Lanie.

"That wasn't nothing was it?" Lanie could always read her mind.

"No, no it yet. But it will be soon."

"He loves you kate."

"I know, and I- I think that I love him to." But what she didn't know was that her one and done was standing at the door with their coffee's when he heard the love of his life say those words that he's always wanted to hear from her.

A/N: thanks for all of the alerts keep them coming