AN: Sorry it took me so long, I was not in the best place to be writing for a while there. Chapter 3 is done though, so I can have that up much sooner, I'll probably give it a week.


Her eyes darted to the gun, and then up to his, "I'm sorry," she began, dropping the gun onto the coffee table with a clunk that rang of finality.


"I'm sorry too, Kate," he sighed, settling against the back of the couch, facing her, one leg tucked under the other, one arm holding his head up as he stared in her direction. I almost lost her today, he thought, his eyes darting back to the gun on the table momentarily. "I shouldn't have just walked out, but I thought you didn't feel the same way, and I was – I guess I was embarrassed that I continued to follow you around, at your beck and call, and you just didn't care." He swallowed back some of the emotion in his voice, and attempted to continue, "Or at least it didn't seem like you cared, not about me, at least."

"I'm so sorry, Castle," She closed her eyes on the tears swimming in them, causing them to spill over and slip down her cheeks. "I wish – I wish so many things had happened differently."

"Kate," he reached out with his free left hand, cupping her face and brushing the tears away with the pad of his thumb, waiting for her to reopen her eyes. "If we were to look back a year from today, together," he clarified, "do you think it would matter how we began, so long as we ended up together?"

"You're the writer, Castle," she huffed, "you should know by now that the ending doesn't matter without the story leading up to it."

"The reverse is also true, Kate." He looked at her with solemn eyes, rubbing her cheek softly with his thumb again, "The story doesn't matter at all if the ending isn't right."

She swallowed, knowing that it could have ended in quite another way, "So where does that leave us?"

"It leaves us putting in the work." He smiled hopefully at her.

"So, at this point are we still writing the story, or are we just watching the ink dry?" She needed to know if they could still be more.

"Like I said, we're putting in the work. We both are contributing to this masterpiece, and I think, or at least hope, we are both looking forward to the outcome." He raised an eyebrow at her in question.

She nodded slowly, closing her eyes and leaning her head further into his hand.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kate finally opened her eyes again and looked at him carefully. She eventually realized that she still didn't know why he was here in the first place.

"So, you never said," she began, "why are you here?"

"I wanted to confront you about lying to me," he sighed, "and if that didn't work, I was going to tell you that I was done," He told her, his eyes falling from hers as the truth behind his visit came out.

"Done?" She breathed.

"I couldn't stick around and follow you forever like some lovesick puppy, Beckett," he explained. "Whenever I looked at you, the last couple of weeks, all I saw was you asking me to leave. I figured it was time to go." He shook his head, unable to explain just how much it hurt to have been lied to so fully.

"So, you would have just left?" she whispered, drawing back from him slightly.

"Don't tell me that that's any more severe than what you were thinking," he said, pain seeping into his tone, his eyes betraying him and sliding to the gun on the table.

"You're right," she sighed, "but it's still a bit of a shock to see just how close I came to losing my chance."

"Funny, after everything we've been through together, me being 'done' would have been the final straw for you?" He almost sounded bitter. He needed to rein himself in, bitterness wasn't going to help any.

"It would have been one more thing in my life that I couldn't control," she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "and I guess I would have done the last thing that I knew I could."

"Kate, that's not something you can control, that's – that's your life." In his mind he was screaming that it was his life too, but he didn't voice it yet.

"And it would have been mine to throw away," she ground out stubbornly.

"Would you have?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"I don't know, Castle," she withered with the thought, "I don't ever want to find out."

"I don't either, it's- it's a scary thought." He swallowed thickly, "walking away would have been hard, but at least I would have known that you were alive… this-" he motioned toward the table, "this would have been a knockout blow to me. I don't know if I would have survived it any more than you would have."

"So- if the timing had been a little bit worse, everything could have fallen apart," she murmured, more to herself than anything.

"Things fall apart, Kate, it's our job to put them back together- together." He met her eyes gently, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Together?" she mimicked.

"Yes, it's like epoxy- one part Kate, one part Rick, mix it together, let it cure…" he paused, meeting her eyes slowly, "and it'll be the strongest glue you can imagine, perfect for repairing anything from broken hearts to shattered dreams." Her eyes sparkled at his imagery. He had the best metaphors, and they always seemed to be reserved exclusively for her.

"When you put it that way, it's hard to remember why I was sad in the first place." She gave him a small smile before dropping her eyes back to her hands in her lap.

He shook his head with a sad twitch to his lips, and reached out to take one of her hands. "Kate, it's not a switch, give it time, you can't just flip the sadness off- or at least not that way." He teased lightly, despite himself.

"Oh?" She questioned, eyes lighting up at his joke. "And who, pray-tell, should I flip off?"

"Um…"He floundered for a moment, "Jacinda?"

"As much as I would love to flip her the bird," she smirked, before sobering. "I'd rather just forget about her altogether."

"As would I, but truthfully, there's not much to forget, thankfully." He sighed, thankful that despite seeing the woman several times, he never took it beyond a nice meal and a polite conversation.

"Thankfully? What, were you drunk the whole time and can't remember?" she asked, plenty of venom in her voice.

"No," he shook his head emphatically, "I meant she isn't very memorable, and all we did was go on a few dates and talk a bit."

"Really? The illustrious Richard Castle didn't even make it past first base?" she challenged icily.

"Ouch. I thought you knew me better than that," he said, withdrawing his hand from hers.

"I'm- I do." She hung her head, "I guess I was – I am – jealous."

"Why do you think I didn't do anything else with her, Kate?" he asked sincerely, waiting for her to meet his eyes before he continued, "I couldn't just jump ship on you like that. Yeah, maybe I wanted you to actually notice me again, but that doesn't mean I reverted back to the way I was years ago. I like to think that I've matured since I started following you around."

"You have. I should have known better than to assume that of you." She peeked up at him, hoping he would forgive her jealous fit.

"Kate, if we do this, if we get together, I need you to know that there is no one else for me, there never will be."

She sat there in stunned silence for a little while, unable to fathom it, even if she had been hoping for it for a long time.

"Kate?" he asked eventually, unable to contain himself.

She nodded, still unable to form any words.

"Do you…" he paused, taking a deep breath before plowing on, "do you feel the same way?"

Suddenly, like the first ray of sunshine after a storm, the answer was illuminated. Before her sat the man of her dreams, her fantasies, the man she loved more than anything, and she needed to tell him.

"Castle, I told you once, a long, long time ago…" her eyes glazed over slightly, remembering back, "I told you that when I decide to settle down, there will only be one person for me, and I'll be done. You're it for me, Rick." He smiled broadly at this, and tugged her into his chest, embracing her as fiercely as he could. After the initial surprise , she squirmed her arms free and wound them around his back, nuzzling her face into his chest. She had always wanted to do that, and now she was going to make the most of the opportunity.

"Hmmm…" He hummed planting his face in her hair and inhaling deeply. "You really do smell like cherries, you know."

"It's my shampoo, Castle." She rolled her eyes, he was so random at times.

"Can I buy you a lifetime supply?" he murmured into her hair, nudging his nose down toward her ear. "Because whatever it is, the way you smell is my favorite scent in the world; and that includes pancakes and bacon."

"So… are you saying I smell like something you could eat?" she smirked against his chest.

"Mmm, you have no idea," he whispered against her ear. She trembled slightly in his arms, and shifted her position to straddle him on the couch.

"I thought that was my line?" she joked lightly.

"You were taking too long to say it." He pulled back, a twinkle in his eye, and kissed the tip of her nose, even as she scrunched it.

"You're so cheesy!" she whined, dropping her forehead to his shoulder.

"Only when you need it, Kate." His eyes shone with sincerity when she brought her gaze back to his. "I'll be anything you need, any time you need it," he vowed.

"And you're also undeniably sweet," she breathed, her eyes dropping to his lips, and then flashing back up to his. "I don't know if I deserve you after- after everything."

"You deserve the world, Kate, and I want to give it to you, if you'll let me," he susurrated, hoping she would.

"I don't want to fight it anymore. I want to give all of myself to you, and I want you to give it all to me, and I- really, I just want you, anything and everything else is a bonus."

"I don't think I could have put it better myself." He kissed her forehead, relishing in the fact that he could.

"There's so much that we still have to talk about, Castle, and I'm worried…" she trailed off.

"Shhhh, shhhh. Rest now, there's more to come. The pushing may be hard, but it'll all work out in the end," he murmured into her hair, pressing another gentle kiss to the top of her head.

He eased them back on the couch, kicking his feet up on the far arm and resting his head on her Union Jack pillow. She nuzzled her head into his chest, burrowing her nose in the gap in his shirt and inhaling deeply. They both calmed, their breaths evening out slowly, until they each fell into a much needed slumber.

Thoughts?