Hello! So I've been re-watching season 2 and I read about what Andrew Marlowe about the end of season four and brain came up with this. Spoilers for Heat Rises if you haven't read it (or gone to barnes and noble to read the end after Rise like I did) then I'm sorry. I'm kinda in love with this idea for the end of the season particularly the way things having been going so I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.

Castle isn't mine except to obsess over and borrow from time to time to play with.

Frozen Heat

It was a quiet day at the precinct. Just paperwork, so there was no Castle. He'd called earlier in the morning just to check in. Making sure there wasn't something interesting before he left me to the boring paperwork with promises of calling should anything happening. Which is why I was surprised when his shadow fell over my desk just before lunch that morning. The boys were in court and the Captain was in her office, probably cross checking our compliance with regulations.

"So here it is..." He laid the manuscript box on my desk, "the final Nikki Heat novel." He told me taking a seat in his chair.

That surprised me, "They haven't extended the contract?" They'd given him an additional three books after the first Nikki Heat had been released. I guess I hadn't really put it together that when he finished this one it would be the last one. Which would mean that it was the end of our partnership. An unreasonable knot formed in my stomach at the thought.

"Not yet." He shrugged casually, but I could see he was bothered by the fact that they hadn't. "I think they're waiting to see what I did with Detective Heat. They're afraid I killed her off or permanently broke her and Rook up." He said patting the manuscript softly.

"Well did you?"

He smiled in that cheeky charming way he has, "You're just going to have to read and find out," and then pushed the box of unbound pages towards me.

"Seriously?" my fingers shaking a little bit as I reached for it. He'd never let me read them before they at least had the prototype binding on them.

"I figured that as the inspiration for Detective Heat you should read what could very well be the penultimate chapter first..." He said causally, "After Alexis, but she's responsible for proof reading."

We'd come a long way from me demanding to be able to read the first one as the inspiration, "Thank you." I told him softly in disbelief.

We sat in silence for a few moments before he tapped the table lightly, "Well let me know what you think." He stood up. "I'll leave you to it Detective."

"Have a good afternoon, Castle." I told him opening the box to look down at the unbound pages with the simple title typed across the middle of the page, Frozen Heat.

I glanced up just in time to see the elevator doors close on his whistling figure, giving him a small smile before I set the manuscript aside and went back to my paper work, glancing at it every few minutes before I gave up, and called it quits for the day.

Packing up quietly I slid the box of unbound pages into my purse I stole out of the precinct hoping it would be a while before Gates noticed that I hadn't stayed late as usual.

I flipped over the last page staring at the blank side of the paper in disbelief. Before I knew it I was pounding on the door of the loft. The door opened and there was disheveled Castle looking surprised to see me.

"They get married?" I asked incredulously, sweeping into the loft carrying the box with the unbound pages to the counter.

"You already finished?" He asked surprised following me into the kitchen.

I wheeled around to look at him, "Heat and Rook you got them married?

"Did you like it?" He didn't answer.

"You got them married?" I just started at him waiting for an answer.

"Yes I did." He finally answered, "Can I get you something to drink?" He moved around the counter towards the fridge.

"Why'd you do that?" Knowing that I was the only one that probably could get an answer and I was the only one that was owed an answer.

He shrugged pulling a bottle of wine from the fridge, and two glasses form the cabinet, "It seemed like the right thing to do." He popped the cork, "It made for a final ending but nothing that can't be over come if the series is extended. Just a different dynamic."

Taking the offered glass, I tried to wrap my head around the idea, "At the end of the last book you had Rook lying in a hospital bed in a coma after being shot and somehow between the end of that one and the end of this one they're married happily ever after?"

"Happily ever after takes work too." He challenged.

"But what happened?" I kept pressing.

He pushed back, "Well if you read the whole book then you'll know what happened."

"I…" I didn't really know what to say so I just took a sip giving myself a second to gather my thoughts, "I did read it."

"Well?" He leaned across the counter wiggling his eyebrows, instantly lightening the mood.

I smiled, "You tell anyone I said this…"

"You'll kill me. I know. What did you think?" he waved his free hand encouraging me to continue as he came around this sit on the bar stool next to me.

"It was your best one yet." I confessed.

"Really?" His face did that adorable thing where he's not quite sure he believes the words I've said.

"Really." I smiled

He looked at me for just a moment, contemplating, "So what's with the reaction to the end?" he finally asked looking down at his wine glass gentling spinning it between his fingers.

He caught me off guard with that one, "I… I… Castle you married the characters based on me and you," I stuttered.

He calmly took a swig from his glass turning on the stool to look straight at me. His knees brushing with mine. "They've been in and out of a relationship since the beginning of the series. And given how this one worked out it was a logical progression of their relationship. Just because they're inspired by you and I doesn't mean that they're not fictional characters. I'm surprised at you Beckett you've always been the one denying that they have anything to do with us."

I didn't answer. I looked down at my wine glass spinning it sloshing the red liquid up the sides. I took a deep breath and tried, "Castle… Rick… I just…I…" but nothing was coming out.

He didn't let me go on though; instead, he wrapped a warm hand around my arm. "It's OK Kate." He told me softly holding my gaze.

It seems like hours that his palm burned through the sleeves of my shirt, and his eyes bored into mine.

Eventually it felt like enough and so I cleared my throat and polished off the last of my wine. "So this is the last book?"

He pulled his arm back and cleared his throat with a little smile, "Unless they extend the contract yeah." He got up collecting the wine glasses and taking them to the sink before coming back to lean against the counter this time a little bit further from me.

"So does this mean that you're going to stop following me around?" I joked.

Still serious, "I really don't think that Captain Gates is going to let me follow you around if there's no real reason other than you like having me around. Even if she has come to tolerate my presence." He sighed.

I gasped in protest, "I don't like having you around."

"Yes, you do you've told me more than once." He grinned sillily.

"OK I like having you around." I grinned back, and then tried to justify it, "You're my partner. I like our working dynamic."

"Well if they don't go for more Heat novels then I'm going to have a hard time convincing Gates that I should keep following you around." He confessed.

"I don't like that." Tumbled from my lips before I could stop it.

"Me neither." He responded, giving me no time to worry about it.

We just looked at each other for a few minutes the silence growing louder with each second. It was time to face the music so I confessed, "I like having you in my life Rick. Nikki Heat or no Nikki Heat."

His grin could have lit the city up, "Well that's good because you're stuck with me."

"Yeah?" I couldn't help but wonder what I did to end up with him in my life.

"Yeah." He nodded calmly, "So what do we do now?"

I watched him, knowing he was studying me waiting for me to make the decision for the both of us. He's been so patient waiting while I worked through my own issues never pushing or asking for more. Just always being there. It's a secret that's been weighing on my mind for months at first it was a fear that I wasn't ready for everything that those words offered, but later as I started to work through it I didn't want to confess to him that I lied. I'd never kept a secret from him except for this one, and this one was huge. By just acknowledging, it would drastically change our relationship.

I looked up at him and swallowed, "I heard you... On that day... I remember."

He smiled wryly, shaking his head softly, "I know."

I was shocked, "You do?"

"You're not the only one with detecting skills." He tried to lighten the conversation just a little bit. And I feel for him. He knew that I heard him and he never pushed it, he would only ask from time to time and always would just ask never push the answer.

"You're not mad?" I had to ask.

He sighed and ran a restless hand through his already rumbled hair. "I am. I was. I..." he paused trying to gather his thoughts, "Kate I watched you die. I saw the glint of the sniper rifle a second too late. If I'd seen it a second earlier, you wouldn't have been hit. God Kate, you died in my arms and again on the operating table. Do you know what it means to me to see you alive and breathing everyday in the precinct? Just to see you standing at the murder board throwing out theories, it makes me so happy. You were gone for the whole summer and you didn't call. It drove me crazy not knowing what was going through your head, if you were coming back, if you were ever going to call me. But you came back and you wanted me around I was just so relieved." He stopped looking at me calmly and probably as serious as I'd ever seen him. "As long as you're in my life Kate, I decided it didn't matter. I figured you'd tell me in your own time. When you were ready."

He'd left me stunned. I didn't know what to do with it. I wanted to give him everything he was asking for, everything he was waiting for. In that moment, it didn't seem so complicated I wanted to confess what I'd known for years and never been able to vocalize. "Castle…I…" but the words weren't coming smoothly.

"Don't." he held up his hands, "I don't want you to say it until you're ready." There was no sign of disappointment in his face. He really meant it. He knew what I wanted to say and he knew that I couldn't quite yet.

It made me want to tell him everything even more, "Rick…"

But he wouldn't let me. Shaking his head with a soft smile, "Even if you feel it now I don't want it until you can say it easily. It'll come, I'm not worried."

Just because I couldn't say the words that I wanted to didn't mean that I couldn't show him. Standing up, pulling my shirt straight, "I want to try something." I told him stepping closer into his bubble, bringing my hands up to his shoulders. He froze unsure of what I was doing so I just stretched up and gently brushed a kiss over his lips. The reaction was instantaneous one of his arms wrapped around my waist and the other hand buried itself in my hair at the back of my neck as he pulled me closer deepening the kiss.

It was another quiet day at the precinct a few weeks later, again it was Castle-less, though this time he was meeting with his publisher. It wasn't long though before he collapsed into the chair next to my desk placing my usually cup of coffee at my elbow.

"How'd it go?" I asked glad for a reason to lean back and talk to someone rather than continue filling out the paperwork in front of me.

"Good they had the same questions as you about the end." He shrugged taking a sip of his own coffee watching me for my reaction.

So I prompted him with a smile, "And what did they think?"

"They loved it." He grinned happily, "Said it wasn't very often that people gave up on the will they won't they aspect and just got them together for better or worse."

I smiled happy for him, "So is it the end of Nikki Heat?"

"That depends entirely on the inspiration for our dear Detective Heat." He told me leaning forward wiggling his eyebrows goofily.

Oh how so?"

"Well does anything have to change?" He asked.

I studied him for just a moment, "From the last few weeks?"

"Yes." He nodded just once.

I pondered my answer for just a second longer than necessary knowing that if I said no he would stop writing the novels if I really wanted him too. But that seemed unnecessary besides he really was useful. I smiled happily unable to contain myself, "I think we can keep going the way we've been going."

"Excellent," He smacked a hand down on the desk, "Detective Heat and Jameson Rook will live to fight crime another day. And they'll figure out how to do it married." He sounded so intrigued by the idea. Then he changed tracks, "What are you up to?" He leaned over my desk trying to read upside down.

"Paper work." I picked up my pen.

His brow wrinkled, "Well that doesn't sound like fun. Let's go get something to eat." His eyes sparkled childishly.

I smiled, closing the folder, "Let's go." The paper work wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

Well what do you think? I bet you forgot like me he only got three more novels and if were following previous patterns season 4 equals the last nikki heat novel. There is so much potential there.

Just a side note I'm working on an au story that I'm hopefully going to be posting soon. I'm rather nervous about it but it has potential so I'd appreciate it if you kept your eyes peeled for it.

Babyrose