*Here's the final chapter! There's possibly an epilogue to come after this, but it is so close to completion, I can almost taste it. Two and a half years is way too long to draw out a fic, and I promise it won't happen again.

(Castle)

"Are you ready, Mr. Castle?"

Agent Roberts' question startled Castle out of his musings. He'd been so lost in thought, wondering how things were supposed to go back to normal, that he hadn't realized they were back in the city. He looked out the window, saw the familiar glass doors of the 12th, and knew the answer.

"Not in the slightest," he said with a weak chuckle. How was he supposed to walk into that building after everything that had happened? How was he supposed to look Ryan and Espo in the eyes after disappearing for almost two months? And Kate. How could he even begin to make up for what he'd put her through?

"Well, ready or not, it's time," Roberts said. "If I'm not mistaken, that's your mother and daughter that just pulled up."

Sure enough, when he stepped out of the car, he was immediately engulfed in warmth and red hair. He ignored the burning in his side and chest, and savored the feeling of being with his family again.

"Oh, darling." His mother's words were muffled in his coat. Alexis seemed to be beyond words, but he could feel her shaking against him, and he knew it wasn't from the cold.

He didn't know how long they stood there, but eventually Agent Roberts cleared his throat. "We should probably get inside, folks. It's pretty cold out here."

His mother pulled away first. "Of course, of course," she agreed. "You must be Agent Roberts. Thank you so much for taking care of my son."

"It was my pleasure ma'am."

Alexis was still clinging to Castle as they made their way inside, and she didn't relax her hold until they were on the elevator, heading for the fourth floor. "I really missed you, Daddy," she whispered.

"I missed you too, Pumpkin." It had almost been more painful than recovering from the gunshot. Being able to hear his daughter's voice, but not being able to see her, or anyone else he loved for that matter, had been torture.

"How," he started his question, but had to stop to catch his breath and stop his voice from cracking. "How was Kate the last time you saw her?"

Alexis and his mother exchanged a troubled look. "Richard," Martha started tentatively, "what you need to remember is that, up until last night, she thought you were dead. The past couple of months have been very hard on her, and at times solving your…murder was all that kept her going." She paused, sighed. "And then she found your investigation into her shooting, and I can't imagine that that helped."

"Is she angry?" he asked, dreading the answer, but needing to know.

Alexis sighed. "Wouldn't you be, Dad?"

Castle could feel all eyes on him the second they stepped off the elevator. He couldn't really blame any of them. If he were in their shoes, he'd be staring too.

Ryan was the first one to actually come up to him. He stared for a moment, like he couldn't believe that Castle was actually there, and then he gave him a brief, but tight, hug. "Good to have you back," he said.

"We should have known, man," Espo said, coming up and clapping him on the shoulder. "But like Castle Jr. said, it's good to have you back."

Castle cleared his throat, knowing he'd never live it down if his voice broke in front of the guys. "I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am," he started.

"Don't even go there, bro," Ryan interrupted. "You did what you had to do."

Espo nodded. "Yeah, it's water under the bridge." He smirked. "Though, if you really want to apologize, I wouldn't object if you, say, wanted to loan out your Ferrari."

Castle laughed for the first time in weeks, relieved that the guys weren't treating him any different. "Anything you want, 'Sito," he said, pausing to amend, "within reason, of course."

"Well, look what the cat dragged in."

He turned to find Lanie watching them, arms folded over her chest, a grin on her face. "C'mere, you," she said, pulling him into a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Lanie," he said, once they'd separated.

"Aww, c'mon," Espo protested. "I don't get any love?"

Lanie snorted. "Come back from the dead, baby, and we'll talk."

"Baby?" Castle glanced between the two of them. "Does this mean that you two…"

Lanie sighed. "Yes, we're back together." She smirked. "See how much you miss when you disappear like you did."

"I promise, it won't happen again."

"It better not," she warned. "I don't think anyone would be able to pick up the pieces if this happened again."

He nodded seriously. "Where's Kate?" he asked.

"Break room," Espo said. "She shut herself in there about an hour ago. Won't come out, and she won't let anyone in. Wouldn't even open the door for Lanie."

Castle nodded again. "I'll see what I can do."

He made his way to the break room, paused to take a breath, and knocked on the door. "Kate?" he called. "It's me. I understand if you don't want to come out, but please let me in."

It was almost a full minute before the door cracked open and he finally got to see Kate. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and the tear tracks on her cheeks were still fresh. She reached out her hand, brushed her fingers down his chest gently. "You're really here," she murmured.

He nodded earnestly. "I'm here, Kate. And I'm not going anywhere. Not if I can help it."

She made a noise somewhere between a shriek and a sob, clapping her hand over her mouth to muffle it. She closed her eyes and turned away from him, and he could tell she was fighting tears.

He followed her into the break room, closing the door behind him. He reached out a hand towards her, ghosted his fingers across her shoulder.

Kate turned suddenly, closing the distance between them. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, muffling her sobs in his coat the way Alexis had. He guided them to the couch and sat down, pulling her into his lap. He didn't say anything, just held her close and stroked his fingers through her hair.

She was still shaking when she finally looked up at him, tears still rolling down her cheeks, but she was smiling. She took his face in her hands, smoothed her thumbs over his cheeks, then leaned up and kissed him.

"I'm still mad at you," she whispered when they broke apart, nudging his nose with hers.

"I can tell," he murmured, kissing her again.

She pulled back, trying and failing to look annoyed. "I'm serious," she insisted. "You didn't have to lie to me, Castle. You could have trusted me…with everything."

"I could say the same for you," he said gently, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She ducked her head, scrunching up her nose. "Call it even?"

He laughed. "Done. And if you're still mad, I'm sure I can find a way to make it up to you."

Kate hummed, claimed another kiss. "I think I can live with that."

She snuggled into him, was so quiet that for a while he was convinced she'd fallen asleep. Eventually, she sighed. "Do we have to leave this room?"

"I think we'd better," he mused. "They might send a search party in after us pretty soon."

She nodded, climbed off his lap and offered her hands to help him stand. "Come on," she said, pulling him up. "You've got a press conference to give." She rolled her eyes. "Can't keep your adoring fans in the dark for too much longer."

"It shouldn't take too long," he assured her. "Then we can go home." He sighed, fear momentarily creeping into his chest. "If you want to tag along, that is."

She still hadn't let go of his hands. "As long as Martha and Alexis don't mind sharing you tonight, I'll be there."

"And you'll be there in the morning?" he asked tentatively, not wanting to push her too far.

Kate grinned, pushed up onto her toes to kiss him again. "Always."

(Kate)

She shot up straight in bed, breathing heavily and blinking back tears. It was a dream she tried to tell herself. Just a dream. Just a stupid dream.

But when she checked the spot next to her, Castle wasn't there. She bit back a scream, tried to keep her panic under control, but she couldn't keep her mind from jumping to the worst conclusions.

"Kate? Kate, what's wrong?"

"Oh, thank God." Castle was standing in the doorway, coffee mugs in hand. "It's okay," she told him. "I'm okay. I just…had a nightmare, and then I woke up and you weren't there and…"

"And you panicked," he finished.

She nodded. "It was stupid," she muttered. She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry I'm such a wreck."

"Kate, no." He set the mugs on the nightstand, crawled back into bed and pulled her into his arms. "Don't apologize for something you can't control." He tugged at the hem of her shirt playfully. "If you're going to apologize for anything, it should be for stealing my favorite pajamas."

She laughed, relaxing in his embrace. "I'm sorry I borrowed your favorite pajamas." She kissed him on the cheek. "Still doesn't mean I'm giving them back."

"Give me one good reason why not," he demanded. His hand moved to her ribs. "Keep in mind, my favorite form of torture is tickling."

"I sleep better with them on," she offered shyly. "I stayed here the one night, and they were in the bathroom when I got out of the shower, so I thought Martha had left them there for me. So, I wore them to bed and, I don't know, they must have smelled like you or something because they relaxed me, and I didn't have any nightmares that night."

He kissed her. Hard. They were both gasping for breath when he finally pulled away. "Keep them," he told her. "They look better on you anyway."

Kate shook her head. "I shouldn't need them, now that I've got you."

Castle shrugged. "In case of emergency, then." He sighed contentedly. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"You might have mentioned it once or twice," she said, biting her lip. "But there's a slight chance I could be wrong."

He bumped his nose against hers. "I love you, Kate."

She was blinking back tears again, but for an entirely different reason. "I love you, too."

*Ahhh, okay, so that may have been the sappiest thing I've ever written, and I'm sorry if it's too much for you guys. I actually intended for their reunion to be a lot angstier, but Beckett refused to cooperate. They'll fight about it eventually, I guess just not in this story.

There may or may not be an epilogue coming. I still haven't decided yet. Either way, I'm finally marking this as complete! I hope you all enjoyed the (very long) ride as much as I have. Thanks for sticking with me to the end!