Author's Note: Okay, so this one actually is a date. But I'm posting it here anyway because...well, just because.

5x21 – Still

"Why don't you two head on home, get some rest."

Kate whirls her head around in time to see Captain Gates opening the door of Ryan and Espo's cruiser. "Sir?"

The older woman pauses, offers a small smile, and Kate is so confused by this version of her captain present today. The one who's giving them the afternoon off and who just told her to kiss Castle in broad daylight in front of everyone. The one who's willing to overlook regulations and allow them to keep working together, when Kate was sure that the moment she found out, she'd kick Castle to the curb.

Maybe she was wrong about the woman.

"Paperwork can wait, Detective," she offers with something resembling a smile.

"Thank you, sir," Kate calls after her as she slides into the car, shuts the door.

They watch the cruiser pull away, still clinging to each other for dear life. Their arms are bent at the elbows, hands twined tightly together, like nothing and no one can tear them apart. Then again, they just survived another bomb and Kate loves him, so maybe it makes him cocky, but Castle's feeling pretty damn invincible right about now.

"So," Kate says after a moment. "Goat cheese omelet?"

Castle looks down at her with a smile. "Sure."

She raises their joined hands in the direction of the crosswalk. "Lead the way."

They stop only briefly to remove Kate's vest and toss it in the trunk of her cruiser, opting to leave the car parked where it is and walk to the diner, because despite the tightness of her leg muscles, she really just needs to be moving right now.

They cross the street, make their way up the next block and then the next. Their hands are still clasped together, and Kate can see from the corner of her eye the way Castle keeps glancing over at her, as though assuring himself that she's really here and really okay.

She's sure that by tomorrow, when the fatigue has had time to fully set in, she won't be okay. But for now, she feels awake and alive and happy to be here.

And starving.

They enter the diner, Castle holding the door open and allowing Kate to go first. A delicious aroma wafts through the air as they enter, making their mouths water and their stomachs grumble. Castle can't remember the last time he ate and he knows Kate hasn't eaten all day. Hell, she hasn't even had any water since before she left the loft this morning.

A waitress shows them to their seats and only then do they disengage their hands, slide into the booth opposite each other. The young woman places menus in front of each of them, smiles as she talks about the daily specials before asking for their drink orders and promising to return shortly with water and coffee.

Castle peruses the menu, though he already knows exactly what he's going to get. It may be dinner time, but that goat cheese omelet has been calling to him all day. The waitress returns promptly with water and coffee, jots down their orders before bustling off again.

Only then does Kate finally lift her head to meet Castle's eyes, smiling over the rim of her glass as she downs the entire thing. She didn't realize how dehydrated she'd gotten, but it's been hours since she ate or drank and the coffee Castle brought back is still up in the apartment, forgotten in their desire to vacate the premises as quickly as possible, to leave the horrors of the day behind them.

Castle opens his mouth to speak, to say...anything, really...but he's cut off by the sharp ringing of Kate's cell. She fishes it out of her pocket, startles slightly when she sees 'Dad' flashing up at her from the screen. Then again, she did leave him a rather straight-forward message earlier. One that she wouldn't leave unless she was in trouble, and she can't even imagine how panicked he must be right now.

She answers the phone with a swipe of her finger across the screen. "Hey, Dad."

"Katie," he practically shouts, frantic, and it's loud enough that Castle can hear it from his place across the table.

"I'm okay, Dad."

"Are you sure, because that message..."

"It was a rough day," she admits. "Close call, but I'm okay now."

"What happened?"

"Just..." she sighs, pausing to debate the best way to downplay this for him. He doesn't need to know what happened. Doesn't need to know how close she really came. "I'm fine, Dad. Promise."

From across the booth, Castle reaches out, covers her hand with his on the tabletop. She flips hers over, twines her fingers with his, and he offers a squeeze of reassurance.

"And Rick?"

She smiles, eyes twinkling from across the table. "He's here with me right now."

"Good, good." Jim sounds skeptical still, and Kate doesn't blame him. She didn't really give him any sort of conclusive response, after all. But it'll have to do. "Well, I'm glad you're safe sweetie."

"Thanks, Dad. Maybe we can get lunch this weekend?" she asks timidly, lifting her eyes to Castle's, seeking affirmation.

He nods slightly, squeezes her hand, eyes trailing down to follow the gentle motion, fixing on the link of their fingers as though it's the only thing grounding him, the only thing holding him together right now.

It is.

Castle loses track of the conversation momentarily as images flash through his mind, images that were playing on a loop from the moment Captain Mahoney entered the apartment for the last time. Images that, while mercifully not real, will be burned into his memory for a long time.

He's guided back to reality only by the end of Kate's conversation, her murmur of "Bye, Dad," and the brush of her thumb over the soft skin on the back of Castle's hand.

He catches her eyes as she's setting her phone aside, sympathy in his gaze – probably for her father, for what he must have felt after hearing her brief yet all-to-revealing message.

"I called him earlier," she explains. "After..."

After you left.

"Right, right," Castle says with a nod. His gaze is far away, detached, as though he can't believe today actually happened.

Neither can she. It's all so surreal still and she imagines it will be for a while.

"Castle," Kate murmurs, wiggling her fingers between his to garner his attention.

"Hmmm."

"I'm here. I'm okay."

"I know," he breathes. "I know you are. It was just..."

"Yeah."

They fall into silence before Kate speaks again. "Thank you for not giving up."

"No thanks needed," he replies, though it's so insufficient, so much less than he wants to say. But here and now is neither the place nor the time for any of that. Later, perhaps. Once they've eaten and slept.

For now, they're here to celebrate being alive. And to calm their rumbling stomachs.

Kate reaches out with her free hand, wraps it around her coffee mug, cradling it in her palm. The warmth seeps through her skin, reminds her that she's alive, that they thwarted death yet again.

She doesn't want to even consider the insurmountably high number of odds they've managed to beat, or the agonizing reality that it can't continue forever.

From the look on Castle's face, he's having the exact same realization.

Once their meal arrives, they fall into silence, shoveling food into their mouths faster than is probably socially acceptable. To hell with manners. It's been a long day.

Throughout it all, Castle never lets go of Kate's hand, opting to eat left-handed and without using a knife, because there's no way he's letting her go right now. Or ever again.

He finishes first, devouring the entire goat cheese omelet in an embarrassingly short time, and Kate lifts her eyes a moment later to find his gaze focused on her, eyes roaming over her face, committing every detail to memory as though this is the last time he'll ever lay eyes on her.

After today, she supposes she understands his motivation, so she merely offers a wan smile, returns to her meal.

They order dessert at Castle's insistence – "we have to celebrate, Kate" – and spend the next twenty minutes sharing a sampler dessert platter, containing a spread of chocolate cake, fudge, cheesecake, tiramisu, soufflé, and some sort of ice cream and caramel-topped brownie that's slathered in whipped cream and chocolate chips. It's absolutely decadent and they wind up eating way more than they should, but after the day she's had, Kate doesn't feel bad about overindulging.

Judging by the way Castle's eyes are fixed on her lips as she licks the excess chocolate off of her fork, she has a feeling they'll work it all off later.

They do.

Afterwards, Kate finds herself in Castle's giant bathtub, relaxing back against the solid strength of his chest as the warm water seeps into her aching bones and muscles, easing the tension of the day.

As she relaxes, Castle finds that he is finally able to breathe again, the tightness in his chest easing as she sinks into him. It's comforting, feeling the weight of her on top of him, a solid reminder that she's alive. That she's still here.

Once the water has cooled, they make their way to the bed, where Castle helps her relax onto her stomach, proceeds to work the knots out of her feet and legs, kneading her sore muscles with just enough pressure to ease the worst of the pain. She feels shaky and weak, completely exhausted, but also content here in his bed as he settles in next to her, wraps her in his arms.

Kate rolls over to face him, and the way he's looking at her, gazing down on her so tenderly but with a fierce hint of possessiveness and love...

"What?" she asks.

He shakes his head, eyes dark but adoring.

"Castle."

"Hmmm?"

"You're staring."

"I can't help it," he blurts, reaching up to trace the line of her jaw with his fingertip. "I thought...earlier..."

"I know," she murmurs, reaches up to cover his hand with her own. "I know. But I'm okay, Castle."

He nods, though not convincingly, and she knows it'll be a while before he truly believes that. Before either one of them can even partially suppress the events of the day and the harsh reality of how close they came to losing it all.

Kate settles into the pillows, guides Castle's hand down to rest between them, still twined with hers as it has been most of the evening. In fact, she doesn't think they've been not connected in some form since she stepped off of the deactivated bomb. Not that she's in any hurry to let him go.

"Kate." His voice breaks the silence after a long minute.

She blinks, gazes up at him through fluttering lids as she fights to keep her eyes open. "Hmmm?"

"Earlier...you said..." he trails off, tentative, hesitant to bring it up again given the dire circumstances under which she spoke the words.

"Yes," she murmurs, one step ahead of him.

"What?"

"I meant it, Castle," she promises, quietly but assuredly. "So much."

He smiles then, eyes lighting up in the darkness, and she can't help but tilt her head, steal another kiss. He unlaces their fingers in favor of cupping her cheek with his palms, cradling her face with both hands as he rolls them so she's underneath him. Kate clings to his forearms as their lips and tongues meet, deep yet gentle caresses, a silent exchange of their earlier words.

When they separate, Castle leans his forehead against hers, breaths mingling in the minute space between them.

Kate meets his eyes again, tries to hold his gaze, but she's fighting a losing battle against fatigue and her eyes flicker closed. Castle eases off of her, rolls onto his side, and she comes willingly, body pliant and limp in his arms. He arranges the covers over them, presses his lips to her temple before relaxing into the bed. He realizes only now just how much of a toll today has taken on him as well; his muscles are fraught with tension, his joints stiff, and his neck and head ache from stress. But here, with Kate already drifting to sleep in his arms, he finally feels it start to fade away, the horrors of the day rolling off of him in waves with each warm exhale of air over the bare skin of his chest.

She's here. She's okay.

And she loves him.

Thoughts?