"Alexis…" Castle cringed, his words breaking. "Could you give Kate and I a second?"

The redhead girl nodded, dog-earing the page of her Charles Dickens novel and taking it with her as she sat outside. The writer turned to the brunette detective sitting across from him on the bed, her legs folded under her and a laugh still playing on her face.

"Can we, um, move this for a second?" Their unfinished game of Sorry still sat on his knees, and Kate quickly bent forward to pick it up. She set it on the bedside table and leaned back, questioning him with her eyes.

"It's been too long, Kate."

Her brow furrowed. She had no clue, nor did she think she would anytime soon, about what he was getting at.

"Don't you think that…maybe after everything we've been through…someone's trying to tell us something?" He was cringing from the pain talking was causing him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to press the Call button without him trying to stop her, which would just cause him more physical exertion, which she didn't want. So she continued to sit back on her heels and wait for his point to arise.

"I don't understand."

"I just mean…that maybe, given that we've been given chance after chance, with your apartment being blown up and now this…that maybe we just need to…"

"Jump."

They'd always been able to finish each other's sentences. Ever since they'd partnered up, he'd finish her thoughts and every once in a while, she'd finish his. But this time, it was different. The fact that she'd been able to complete a thought so important, so huge, meant that she was thinking the exact same thing as he was.

That maybe whatever they had between them, whatever they'd both been dodging for so long, was finally catching up to them.

Maybe it was actually time.

Time to take a leap of faith. Time to forget about everyone else, anyone else who could possibly get in their way, and focus on just the two of them. Time to finally acknowledge what everyone had been trying to get them to see for so long and really go for it.

The next words escaped both their lips at the same time. It was just a reinforcement of the strong bond of friendship, and maybe something else, that the two shared.

"I think I'm in love with you."

At the two conjoined, matching statements, a collective gasp rose between them. Kate had known she had to say it. She'd broken off a relationship with a perfectly good detective for this man. But when he'd said the exact same as her, it had shocked her, surprised her. She hadn't known he would say it too.

She leaned back on her heels, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape in shock. He stared at her, waiting for either a response to come to his lips or for her to break the silence herself.

After a minute of silence, the latter happened.

"Um."

"Yeah."

"So…"

"I…what…"

He positioned himself so that there was more room between his body and the railing of the bed, and patted the space next to him. "C'm 'ere."

Kate smiled. She knew he was with Gina; she had to remember that or else she had a feeling that things might get very, very bad between her and the publisher. But the space next to him, the empty sheets, looked so inviting. She crawled over and lowered herself down, cuddling up next to him. He nestled his arm around her, tracing patterns on her palm.

It was an unspoken rule, though, that he couldn't kiss her. Not until his relationship with Gina was over. Kate wasn't one to cheat, and neither was he, so for now they had to settle for just being together.

A flash of red caught the couple's attention as Alexis sprang into the doorway. A mixed expression crossed her face, a blend of happiness, surprise, pride and…fear. Her eyes were wide, and she was motioning with her hands. She was mouthing one word. Gina.

Kate realized what she was trying to communicate first. She sprang from the bed, smoothing her hair over and leaving a very confused writer with his arm suspended in the air. She flew over to the door and fell into a seat, pulling out her phone and fiddling with it. As if on cue, a certain blonde publisher waltzed into the room.

It was almost as if she knew what had transpired in that same place just moments before, as she clicked her heels on the hard linoleum floor and made her way over to Rick. She stopped by his bed, took his hand, leaned down, and kissed him.

It shouldn't have bothered Kate. She wasn't with Rick, he wasn't hers. Yet. She didn't have a right to be jealous of Gina. But when her lips met his, her fingers clenched around her phone and she had to avert her eyes. Seeing him with someone else…it made her mad, almost. If anything, it made her upset to know that he wasn't fully hers. There was still someone else in the way.

Alexis noticed the detective's reaction and sighed. It wasn't that she didn't like Gina; it was just that she liked Kate better. The detective was a better match for her dad—less demanding, more fun. She knew how to keep him in line, but she had a suspicion that she knew how to have fun as well. They brought out the best in each other, something Gina and her father had never had.

Watching Gina kiss her father brought back memories. Memories of the household she'd lived in for a short while, the fighting she'd secretly heard over who would give her the doll for Christmas or who would tuck her in at night. It had seemed that with Gina, her father had always had to prove himself.

With Kate, he didn't need to do that. He didn't need to prove anything, whether it was because Kate would always beat him at something or because he didn't care if she saw him at his worst. Alexis had a sneaking suspicion that it didn't matter to the two of them if they were laughing or in tears; if they were together, they were okay.

Suddenly, Kate stood, startling the teen. Gina seemed unphased, still trying to make work of the author's lips, but he himself turned his head to look at his friend.

She flew out of the room without so much as a curt nod to either of them.

Tell me now, where was my fault,

In loving you with my whole heart…

While the Taylor Swift cover of a Mumford and Sons song played through her headphones, Kate thought. She thought about everything that had happened, and everything that she wanted to happen.

It was unfair of her to want Gina to leave. The woman was happily dating someone, and even though it hurt Kate to see them together, she couldn't very well sabotage it. She wasn't going to just walk in and kiss him too. If he really loved her, he would know it had to be her and only her.

Suddenly, Alexis exited the room and sat down in the hallway next to her. Without speaking, the teen rested her hand on the detective's shoulder and smiled.

"Go back in there."

"What? No. Gina's there, I…"

As if on cue, the woman rushed out of the room, an angry look on her face. She stopped as she passed Kate, and turned to meet her confused stare.

"Go ahead in," she said menacingly. "I guess I'm not good enough anymore."

And then she walked away, her Chanel perfume lingering in the air.

Kate turned to Alexis. "What—"

"It's you, Kate," explained the girl. "It's always been you, from the start. He's in love with you; I can see it in him. Please, just…go make him happy."

Kate's heart seemed to have stopped. Was this really happening? He was hers, and she was his?

She stood, a foot shorter than usual as she'd left her heels at home and was wearing flats. "Thank you, Alexis."

"Go." She was smiling broadly, happiness alight in her eyes.

Without another word, the detective turned and headed back towards the hospital room.

It was over. Done. What had seemed like a wonderful second chance at something had crashed down for the second time. Before, it would have hurt him to see her go. Now, when he was so in love with someone else, it didn't seem so bad.

He didn't know how Gina was feeling. She hadn't said much, just nodded and said, "Finish your book, okay?" No tears, nothing. It was as if she'd heard him and Kate declare their feelings, or maybe she'd even seen them together on the bed.

It didn't matter. Their breakup hadn't affected their work the first time, and he hoped it wouldn't affect them now. Sighing, he straightened himself up just as Kate poked her head through the doorway.

They both grinned. She looked happier than he'd seen her in a while, and he just looked…well, happy. He was always happy, but this was different. There was excitement in his eyes. He was overjoyed.

They remained there for a while, looking at each other, before he scooted over and patted the bed again. She immediately climbed on.

He looked down into her eyes, alight with excitement and hope. He ran his fingers through her hair and sighed.

"You're so beautiful."

"And you talk too much."

Their first kiss was nothing like she'd ever expected. It was slow, almost hesitant, as they tested the waters of a new relationship together. But quickly, it changed, and they lay on the bed like teenagers making out.

The heart monitor behind them started beeping like crazy, startling them both. Crossing his arms, Castle sighed. "Well. That's embarrassing."

Kate burst out laughing. "We're gonna have to be a little more careful with that, huh?"

He pouted like a little child. "Uh-huh."

I don't know. I kind of like this chapter, but part of me feels like it moved too fast. You know? Anyways, it's up to you guys. Tell me what you think! 3