Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Prompt: Boredom in a lecture on fungal infections and inspired by the promo pictures from The Limey. SPOILERS for the 47 Seconds promo and The Limey promo pictures – mostly THE dress. I don't know anything more about those episodes so this could be very AU.

The boys looked up from their half hearted poker game at the sound of the elevator doors pinging and creaking open. They had long since abandoned trying to work without any leads. Kate was a vision in her black dress that still managed to sparkle under the dim lights of the precinct and her heels echoed through the silent and empty bullpen. The boys' mouths hung open.

She marched past them and told them it had been a bust, a waste of time. "Go home boys, I'll see you tomorrow," she added with more irritation and anger than was expected.

The boys sat staring after her, stunned by the sight of her in that dress and stunned by the annoyance in her voice.

Castle turned to Ryan and Esposito with an unspoken question burning in his eyes. They nodded, giving him permission to go after her and watched him hurry off.

"Should we stay in case one of them needs us?" Ryan asked.

Espo returned a look that clearly communicated Ryan was crazy.

"What if Beckett needs us to beat him up? What if Castle needs help after she beats him up?"

"I think we would be the ones in need of some help if either of them catches us out here waiting for them."

"Good point."

They couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Knowing that the precinct was empty except for their team, Castle busted through the locker room doors.

She was at the mirror pulling the pins out of her hair with more force than was actually needed. "Oh are you talking to me now? You are so shallow that all is forgotten because of a sexy dress. I saw the way you guys looked at me."

"Kate the dress is beautiful and you are beautiful but I followed you and I am talking to you because you sound upset. What happened tonight?"

"Nothing happened, okay? Nothing."

He was silent, patient, knowing that there was more to come.

"That's the problem, I found out nothing at all."

He interrupted trying to reassure her. "We'll start again tomorrow, with fresh brains and some good coffee."

She wasn't even listening. "You weren't there and I needed you. I needed your help. I needed your presence. I needed your strength and your charm. I shouldn't need you or anything else that you are and yet I was off balance, off my game."

That much was clear to Castle as he watched her move to her locker and strip off the dress. She pulled on sweats, an NYPD T-shirt and old cozy looking Stanford sweatshirt. As if he hadn't already been stunned enough by the sight of her in the dress she was casually and angrily changing in front of him. He had caught a glimpse of the scar, the scar that she remembered every second of its acquisition. He had no words to interrupt her now.

"I need you now and you won't even talk to me, you won't even look at me. Except when you do the hurt and distance in your eyes is too much to handle. I screwed up again, I was too late again, and I missed my chance again."

She was zipping the dress into the garment bag now, cursing under her breath when it caught in the zipper.

He made himself speak; he had the chance now. "Kate, I understand why you didn't tell me, at least over the summer. And I can understand how it would have been difficult to come out and just say it...but I asked you once, I flat out asked you and you lied to my face."

She slid down the lockers to sit on the floor so that way her height with respect to Castle mirrored how she felt under the weight of his hurt gaze. "Secrets start small and then they grow and grow until they just can't stay contained. I let it grow and I didn't let it out, but it just became harder and harder to keep it, just as it became harder and harder to tell you. You should know."

Castle was stunned again; it was a slap in the face. "What?"

"Don't be acting all innocent, Ryan told me."

"When?"

"After the case involving your friend the Mayor."

Castle spluttered at the about turn. "I would have told you when I found something important."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes." The knowledge that she knew his secret was enough to have him sink to the ground beside her. He sat so that their arms and thighs were touching, hips bumping and nerves tingling. "I do know how hard it can be," he admitted, both to her and to himself.

"If I had told you that I remembered then it would be real, it would have to be real both to you and for me. I wasn't ready for it to be real in the fall, but I am now."

"When were you ready?"

"Does it matter?"

He wanted to say yes, knew his answer should be yes. "No, it doesn't. It only matters that you are. Kate?"

Her name was a weighted question, hanging in the air. "Yes." Her answer was just as heavy, full of promise and emotion. "Rick?"

The same tone was thrown back at him; knowing she was asking if he was ready, ready to be with her and ready to accept and forgive. "Yes."

They clutched each other then, Kate swivelling to sit in his lap, the emotions pouring out. She buried her face in his neck and he in her hair. They was no more talking, no touching and no kissing, just the primal need to hold onto someone and hold on tight. They held on tight to their love, the love they had admitted to each other, and would use it to get through the days to come. It united them and it was strong. It was love.

A/N: The next lecture is on parasitic infections so who knows what that will inspire :P Thanks for reading this craziness!