Author's Note: First, I have to apologize to all of you. There's this pesky thing called college (which I've happily just completed) that kinda got in the way of me updating. My muse sort of ran away and hid in the corner because of all the assignments and other stressful paperwork I had to get done in order to graduate, but it's over now, which means she can run wild and give you all sorts of insane stories this summer until I start my job in July. That's a lot of time to have fun, right? I'll get this done before then! I've sort of gone off plan with this, and it's taken on a life of its own but I think you'll at least enjoy the bit of fluff at the end. I'll be working on the next chapter and get it posted in the next few days, I promise! Once again, I'm sorry it's taken me so long, but the wait is over! I hope you enjoy! Please R&R! Oh and there are slight spoilers for the last two episodes, Pretty Dead and Knockout. Consider yourself warned.

Disclaimer: Not mine…so not mine. Sad day.

Rick remembered the playful arguments he'd had with his daughter over her high school years concerning possible colleges for her to attend. Of course, they'd both known even then that she'd be accepted into any one of them to which she applied, but Rick had always secretly hoped she would opt for Princeton, NYU, or Rutgers so she could be nearby. He'd thought he'd be able to go through the choices, weighing the options with her when the time came, but life had other plans. When she'd told him she was going to graduate a semester early and go to Stanford to be with her boyfriend, he hadn't known how to react. At all.

He remembered trying to talk her out of it, hoping that this idea wouldn't last, but he had been so very wrong. It had been Kate who had talked some sense into him, he remembered—she'd always been good at that. So today, talking to his daughter on the phone, he felt a pang of sadness, not just because his daughter was hours away but also because Kate wasn't there listening to the speakerphone, as well.

"I really miss you, Dad." Alexis' voice on the other end of the line had a bittersweet smile gracing Rick's face.

"I miss you, too, pumpkin."

"I can't wait to see you again! I'm so glad graduation is only a few weeks away or I think I'd go crazy."

His little girl was all grown up, Rick thought for what had to be the millionth time. "And when we get you moved back to New York, I'm locking you in your bedroom and not letting you leave until you promise to change your law school choice to Princeton instead of Harvard."

"Dad!" Alexis protested, but he could tell she was only playing along.

"Ah, you know I'm kidding. I may love you too much but I'm not going to keep you away from your dreams."

Alexis had yet to mention Kate, but he knew it was only a matter of time as the conversation continued and they talked of nothing and everything else. Sure enough, she only lasted another ten minutes before she asked, "So, will Kate be at the graduation?"

Castle sighed, ruffling his hair a bit as he ran a hand through it. He realized he didn't know. "I'm sure she wouldn't miss it for the world. She loves you, Alexis. What's happening between the two of us has nothing to do with you."

"How is she?"

"Okay, I guess. I saw her yesterday."

"Well, that's good."

"Her divorce attorney has convinced himself that she should take me for all I've got."

"That's…bad," Alexis replied, sounding uncertain. "What are you going to do?"

"I made an offer. I don't know if she'll accept." Honestly, he didn't want her to accept. He didn't want any of this. He just wanted his wife back.

Silence, and then, "Dad, I usually make it a point not to ask you things like this, but did you really just write and tour this whole year?"

"Of course, sweetie, what do you mean?" Rick asked stupidly, having missed the idea behind the question entirely.

"Dad… There really wasn't anyone else?" He could hear her embarrassment over the phone.

Rick looked at the phone intently as if he were looking directly at her. "Never." The buzzer sounded, alerting him to a visitor. "Hold on just a minute, Alexis. It's probably a delivery or something."

He stood, crossing the short distance from his office to the door in no time. He would later swear his heart stopped beating for a few seconds when he opened the door. Her long brown hair fell in enticing waves about her shoulders and her green eyes searched his for answers. After what seemed like hours but was really only minutes, she raised an eyebrow. He realized he'd forgotten to breathe, and gulped in air. He closed his mouth, which had somehow dropped open at the sight of her on their doorstep.

"Kate, I—"

"Can I come in?" She didn't wait for an answer. She just squeezed past him into the foyer, looking around.

"Dad?" Alexis' voice floated through his open office door. He hurried back, gave a quick promise to call her back, and ended the conversation.

"Alexis?" Kate said from the doorway. He looked up to find her leaning against the doorframe casually, but he knew better. She might as well be a caged tiger. When he simply nodded in reply to her question, she stalked over to his desk. "You didn't have to hang up on her. I could have waited."

"No, it's not a problem," he responded quickly, noticing the book in her hand for the first time. His name was emblazoned across the top of the blue cover, and he knew immediately what it must be. Cold Heat. "Please tell me you didn't buy that."

Kate glanced down at the book and shrugged. "Why?"

"Seriously?" Rick gave her a look.

"What did you expect me to do, Rick? Ask you for it?" Kate retorted. "If my lawyer knew I was even here right now, he'd have a fit."

He scoffed. "He's certainly the type."

"Shut up. Just, shut up, okay?" She slammed the book down on the desk in front of him so hard that he flinched. "I paid cash and the woman at the counter still gave me an odd look. I'm not in the mood to take this from you, too."

Rick wisely stayed silent.

"Now," Kate began, taking on a pose he had often seen her use during an interrogation: hands resting on the desk at either side of her upper body and making full eye contact, "I need you to explain this." She gestured toward the book.

"It's a book."

"Don't get smart with me, Castle," she growled, using his last name to get the point across.

Rick didn't blink. "What do you want to know?"

"Where should I start?" She pushed herself back up into a standing position and paced the room, gesturing with her hands as she spoke, "Why did you write the book in the first place? How am I supposed to interpret it? And that dedication? What was that?" She stopped, meeting his eyes once again.

"You were lost, Kate," he answered simply, gaze unwavering.

"You didn't come after me."

"I tried." Rick slowly came around the desk and crossed to her. "You wouldn't let me in." He averted his gaze, resisting the urge to touch her somehow. "Nikki did. She let me write her pain—what I saw in you but couldn't assuage. She let me ease her pain as she grieved…as I grieved." His eyes flicked back up to hers as he said the last part. "I know we agreed I'd leave our personal lives out of the books, but it was the only thing that kept me from going insane."

Her eyes were fixed on the framed print behind his desk—that disorienting Paris staircase. He could see the moisture gathering in her eyes and gave into the need to touch her, taking her hand. Her sharp intake of breath and quick withdrawal had his heart breaking all over again. They stood like that for a long time. He knew patience might be a better course, but he had to get it all out, then and there, before she dismissed him again.

"I never stopped loving you, Kate. Not once. Remember the first time I told you? You'd just been shot. I thought I'd lost you then. I thought that was it, but that didn't make me love you any less. It hasn't changed since then, and I would never want to hurt you—"

Intense green eyes stopped him in his tracks. "Shut up, Rick," she said, her voice determined, but it cracked when she said his name. The tears came then, streaming down her face as the walls she'd put between them came crashing down.

He was there in an instant, brushing the moisture away with his thumbs as he cradled her face in his hands. "Shh…Kate. It's okay. I love you. I love you so much."

He rested his forehead against hers just seconds before pressing his lips against hers. When she responded, the spark of fire hit him like an electric jolt, but sweeter—more sensual. Her moan only enflamed him more, and he pulled her body flush with his so she could feel his arousal. He suddenly didn't care that so much had gone wrong between them—that there was so much left that needed to be fixed. She was here in his arms, and that was all that mattered.