Before you read past this bold print go here: h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ?v = A v 5 0 c n D 2 v u M (start playing it when Kate does) Now you may proceed.

Gnosis

She stands in the doorway of the dining room watching Castle and his family clean up after their wonderful dinner together. Kate can't seem to erase the smile that has formed on her face since Martha hugged her earlier in the evening. She feels a sense of belonging as she stands here. As though she could have been doing it all her life. She can't help but look upon them and wonder if this is how it really could be if she let those walls down. The thought of being here with them, watching this family interact every day...it brings a certain longing and warmth into her heart.

Kate tips her glass of wine to her lips but does not sip. Her lips curve against the delicate glass at the sound of father and daughter laughing together. It's like heaven, and it makes her feel home deep in her soul, something she has not been able to feel for a long time. She catches Martha observing her from her place at the sink. She's holding a glass of wine in her own hand and a dish rag in the other. She had been watching Castle and Alexis as Kate was. Kate's cheeks flush as if she's been caught doing something that should warrant embarrassment. Then again, Martha did catch her swooning. Martha bobs her head and raises her glass with a knowing look. Kate looks down for a moment and raises her glass as well.

Alexis throws a towel hanging from the stove at her dad and says something about going upstairs to get ready for bed. She gives Kate a smile and goes up the stairs to her room. Kate watches Castle as his eyes follow his daughter up the stairs. This look of concern etched across his features. His eyes meet Kate's and she gestures with her glass up towards the second floor. He walks over to her, placing a hand at her elbow giving it a light squeeze before smiling at her in thanks and going to check on Alexis. Kate's breath catches in her throat at the minor contact and she bows her head for a moment and breathes in deep.

"She broke up with Ashley today." Martha offers.

Kate jumps not realizing that Martha was still there, and now standing closer. "I figured it was something like that." She says softly, her eyes drifting back to the stairs.

Martha pulls Kate into a hug. A hug that makes Kate want to cry. The sort of hug you can only receive from a loving mother, and for Kate...it's almost close enough. "Thank you, Kate." Martha says into her ear, letting go and holding her at arms length.

"For what?" Kate asks. She thinks she should know, but somehow the way Martha is looking at her, it's much more than saving them today. It runs much deeper. The red head doesn't say anything at all. She hugs Kate one last time, and pokes her gently on the nose with a mysterious grin before heading off to her own room

Kate frowns curiously, and then shrugs her shoulders. Her eyes drift back to where Castle disappear a few minutes ago, and then roam around the spacious apartment. Castle might be a while, so she pushes off from the wall and wanders around. Her green eyes flick to the various pictures in the living room, that smile gracing her lips. She walks around comfortably with her glass raised just below her chin and her other arm wrapped around her abdomen. Her heels making a sharp clicking sound coinciding with her heart beats. She can't stop thinking about today. How close she came to never seeing Castle again...How he kept her from slipping within herself and wallowing in what almost was to be the second most tragic thing of her life. But he kept her from herself, and now she walks around alone in his apartment and she can't help but feel that sombre ache.

She takes in another deep breath, sighing unsteadily into her glass as she takes a sip, and then her eyes land on the piano over the rim. A pang enters and exists her chest. The one only a secret pianist would feel at the sight of any piano. And this one is beautiful. She quickens her pace stepping up to the magnificent instrument and running her free hand over the black shiny top in a soft caress. She follows the curve with the tips of her fingers until she comes to the bench. She sets her wine glass on a coaster already there, and brushes the seat with her hand before sitting down. She wonders for a moment, if this coaster ever held a glass belonging to a one Richard Castle. That perhaps, he too sat here, his writer's hands gracing these keys. Surly he must know how to play?

Small steady hands lift the lid and she can't help the small gasp at the sight of the black and white keys. Her fingers itch to touch them. Much like how they itch to reach out to Castle every day. Her eyes dart up, looking around her first before her index finger smooths over one shiny white key without pressure. Soon another finger rests on the keys, and then another until all ten rest there. She presses one down slowly, the faint sound rising something a lot like familiarity and contentment in her chest. Her fingers come off the keys quickly almost as if she was shocked. With another glance around, realizing she is still alone, Kate takes a large sip of her wine and places her hands on the keys once more.

She can't remember the last time she sat at a piano, particularly one as beautiful as this...but a song comes instantly to mind. Her smokey colored eyelids slide down over her brilliant green eyes as she starts to play. The melancholic melody echos across the loft, ricocheting off everything and coming back to grace her ears. She's amazed at the sound she produces and she soon gets over that, slipping into a trance, the acoustics drowning out all else.

Her body moves with the music, stern in some areas, soft in others, and her head tilts back ever so slightly as her fingers work the keys in memory. As she plays, her heart rate eases considerably, soothed by the melodic phrase of notes and raw emotion. Kate's eyes open, staring down at the keys but hardly seeing them. She puts everything into this song. Something she has a hard time doing with words, and hardly her actions. Her fingers tingle, traveling through the rest of her body in an overwhelming need. A need she can't explain other than with this piano.

Unannounced to her, Martha stands in the large doorway between the living room, and her sons study. Her back is against the wall, eyes closed with her hands up to her chest over her heart. A solemn expression plays on her face, along with some sort of admiration and love for the woman playing. It sounds a lot like...what? Richard could certainly explain it better; The notes rise a warm feeling in the older woman's chest, one that is accompanied with a sense of knowing, a spiritual knowledge from someone who has only ever experienced loss or tragedy. And yet there is a lightness to some of this piece as well. Almost like an awareness to everything other than that first instinct for loss.

Castle walks down the stairs slowly. Taking each step with a few seconds longer between them than normal. His head is tilted to one side curiously and his brow is creased between in wondering eyes. He takes a tentative step onto the ground floor and looks around him. He doesn't see Kate, and thinks she must be playing his stereo in the living area. But as he makes his way there, he spots his mother, tears in her eyes and her head tilted up towards the ceiling. The music gets louder, but his stereo isn't on, and he still can't see Kate anywhere.

He places a hand on his mothers arm. Her eyes open, showing him a sadness he has never seen in her eyes before, not even after today. He goes to open his mouth to say something, but she shakes her head, placing a hand on his cheek and giving it a pat. She steps away from the wall, and then places a finger to her lips to silence him. Her head tilts towards the large windows in the a joining room. She doesn't wait for him to reply and leaves him bewildered. Castle steps around the wall to find Kate at his piano. His heart leaps into his throat on a sharp breath at the sight of her.

Kate's completely engrossed in the piano, her hair cascading over her shoulders, breezing forward and tickling her cheeks as she moves with the music. Richard Castle finds himself utterly captivated. He's mesmerized at the way the city lights cast a glow over her delicate features, which are set in an expression so deep and concentrating, he can't look away or move. He closes his eyes for a brief moment, remembering that magnificent smile that graced her beautiful face today. How much he wanted to reach out to her as well, to just touch her.

His eyes open at a particularly deep part of the song, and it's then he realizes that tears are streaming down his Kate's face. His heart clenches, and aches for her. He takes a step closer, softly and without sound, not that she would ever notice, and stands in front of the piano, laying a hand on the black surface. What he feels there is anything but extraordinary. The vibration seems to come from her very soul. It plucks every heart string.

Kate's reaching the end of the song, a string of softer notes, when she finishes, she drops her hands to her lap. She's just staring at the keys through misty eyes and a single tear rolls downwards to be caught by Castle. She's not startled to find him there, but more so by the intimate gesture of wiping her tears away. He's kneeling down in front of her bench. She wont look at him as she sniffles. He places both hands on her knees and turns her around to face him. Kate's chin touches her chest and she closes her eyes at the feel of both his hands now cupping her face. It ignites every nerve in her body and a shaky breath escapes through her slightly parted lips.

It's silent now, aside from the ghostly echos of her music, and the pounding of her own heart. Can he hear her? Can he hear what his touch and his looks do to her heart and soul every day? Can he feel the flush in her cheeks and the small quiver of her skin as she shakes with unspoken emotions? He must. Surely he must know all these things.

Kate looks at him then, seeing the moister in his glorious blue eyes. He knows. But does she? She wants him to know everything. All that she is doing so she can dive in with him. Give herself completely to him. But she hasn't known how. Until now she hasn't ever known what true love felt like. But looking into the eyes of the man she's incandescently in love with, she's feeling it now, with every fiber of her being. With this knew found knowledge, Kate leans forward, and captures his lips with hers.

How was that?

I was listening to an interview with Stana today, She was talking about some of the songs that have touched her...and this one? Just..wow. I think I have listened to it more then a dozen times and every time it gets me.

Plus I learned that she knows how to play. So In light of last episode, and that fact that Castle has a piano. I used both pieces to my advantage. I hope you liked it, and I hope you listened to the song while you read. It's truly amazing.

The song is called Gnossienne No. 1 by Erik Satie

This is the interview: h t t p : / w w w . k c r w . c o m / m e d i a - p l a y e r / m e d i a P l a y e r 2 . h t m l ? t y p e = a u d i o & i d = g d 1 1 1 1 0 2 s t a n a _ k a t i c