Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket

Chapter 18: Conflict Resolution

A/N: *gasp* here it is, the final chapter! I really hope you all enjoy it, it's been a pleasure writing this story and you guys have made it even more pleasurable with your kind words, follows, favourites, etc. Though as Alexis Castle once said, everything eventually ends, so here you have it. Onward and enjoy…

Castle sat at his overly large cherry oak finished desk, contemplatively gazing at the small amount of amber liquid that sloshed around the bottom of the crystal tumbler as he swirled it around in small circles with the careful flick of his wrist over and over again, monotonously.

Letting out a small sigh his eyes flicked over to his laptop, his screen saver currently chastising him for the lack of attention he's paying to it with the words "YOU SHOULD BE WRITING" flashing across the screen obnoxiously. Pushing the lid of the offending machine shut he turned his gaze back to the glass he held tightly in his hand and brought it to his lips, taking the last swallow of well-aged scotch, his eyes involuntarily closing as the cool liquid slid down his throat, leaving a fiery path in its wake.

A soft knock at his office door startled him slightly and he brought the glass down to rest on the table before straightening up slightly in his chair.

"Come in" he offered calmly.

"Dad" Alexis greeted him as she poked her head around the door, leaning slightly into her father's office and his lips automatically curved up into a smile.

"Hey sweetie"

"Paige is here to pick me up, we're going to rent a movie and spend the night at her place" she explained excitedly and he merely nodded; his smile that was reserved just for her still playing on his lips.

"All right, have fun"

"Thanks Dad!" she grinned back at him before backing up and pulling the door shut with her. He heard her footsteps patter off through the loft, followed by some voices speaking to each other but he couldn't quite hear or figure out what exactly they were saying. His daughter's friend Paige at the door he surmised before bringing his attention back to the bottle of liquor on the far corner of his desk. Unscrewing the cap he poured himself another swallow's worth before closing the bottle back up and returning it to its rightful place on the edge of his desk. This would be his last drink for the evening, he told himself. Sure, he was in a terrible mood after being banished from the interrogation earlier by Beckett but as much as he may have felt the desire to, he was not going to drink himself into oblivion over it. Some small part of him still held a glimmer of hope that she might return to his home tonight and he didn't want to be a drunken mess if and when she did.

"Yeah right" he scoffed at himself into the empty room. Of course she wouldn't show up here, not after… well, everything. He quickly pushed the thought out of mind, not wanting to be hit with the disappointment when she inevitably did not show up.

Another small knock was heard at his office door and his lips quirked upwards again.

"Let me guess, you need money" he called out to his daughter with a sigh, though he didn't actually mind. Lifting himself up slightly from the chair he reached into his back pocket, fishing out his wallet.

"Come in sweetie" he called out to her, eyes fixed down at his wallet as he flipped through the bills. "How much?" he asked absent mindedly, still thumbing through the notes in an effort to find some smaller bills that she'll actually be able to use.

"Oh, I think you've given me enough money, sweetie" the voice startled him and his head snapped upwards in an instant as his wallet clattered to the desk. A look of shock overtook him as his gaze rested upon the last person he thought he'd see standing at his doorway.

Kate.

She stood at the threshold of his office, leaning against the door frame with her arms folded across her chest and her best 'I'm going to kill you' look etched into her features as she stared, or rather, glared at him from where she stood.

Crap. What the hell? How the hell? Get a grip Castle, you can start by picking your jaw up off the floor. He scolded himself inwardly while gaping at her in utter shock.

"Beckett" he began, his voice sounding unsteady and foreign even to himself. He cleared his throat before continuing, "how did you get in here?"

There were a hundred other questions he had for her but for some reason that was the first one that came out. Start with an easy one, he figured.

"Alexis let me in" she shrugged. "She was stepping out just as I got to the door, I didn't even have a chance to knock. She told me I'd find you here" her tone was flat, her face not giving away any emotions other than 'I'm incredibly pissed at you' after all this time together, he's easily been able to pick up on that one.

"What are you um, doing here?" he asked meekly, afraid to move from his spot behind the desk, after all he may need it to duck and cover.

"Do not play dumb with me Castle" she quickly scolded, eyes blazing at him from across the room.

Yep, he'd definitely be needing the desk.

"I'm tired and not in the mood" she finished with a huff.

Play dumb? What?

"Beckett, I'm sorry" he shook his head briefly as if he could maybe shake some information loose. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the department of Homeland Security setting up shop in my apartment right now" she hissed at him.

Oh, right. Crap!

He hung his head slightly. He had completely forgotten about that. He'd made arrangements with a private security firm the morning after the first night she had come to stay with him a week ago. They were supposed to be finished before she returned home and they weren't supposed to be fighting so he'd be able to explain himself to her hopefully without receiving any bodily harm.

"Ringing a bell now?" she snapped at him and his eyes closed involuntarily as her anger bit through him. "Imagine my surprise when I came home to find some strange men in my apartment, supposedly hired by my husband" the word came out of her mouth as if it were a curse, leaving a bitter taste on her tongue as she spat it out.

"Seriously Castle, what the hell were you thinking?" her voiced was raised now and he was glad his daughter and mother were out for the evening.

"I'm sorry" it was barely a whisper that left his lips and with his head still hanging down he's not even sure she heard him.

"You're sorry?!" she seethed back at him.

Okay, yep, she heard him.

"No, you don't get to say sorry and we forget it ever happened. You need to fix it, Castle. Take it back!"

Take it back? Is she crazy? Not going to happen!

"No" was all he said, anger evident in his tone as he muttered the word through gritted teeth.

"No?" she scoffed at him and it was her turn to look at him in shock.

"I'm not taking it back" he said authoratively, finally rising from his chair at the desk and standing up straight, purposefully, with his shoulders tense and his gaze blazing at her.

"Castle, it's my apartment, my life!" she reminded him, not holding back herself as she took a few steps into the large room.

"But it's my fault!" he quickly retaliated; his voice raised much higher than he meant to and his fist pounding down against the desk, making her jump slightly where she stood.

His shoulders fell as he realized he hard startled her and in an instant his anger was gone as guilt overtook him. She's been through enough, she shouldn't have to be afraid of him too.

"Sorry" he muttered, his voice quiet again as he stepped out from behind the desk and came around to the front of it, only a few feet of space now between them.

"Look, I know you're pissed" he breathed, running a hand through his hair and staring at an imaginary spot on the carpet at his feet. "But this is the second time that your home, your safety, has been compromised because of me and… I just, needed to do something"

"Because of you?" she looked at him, puzzled.

"Both times your home invasions were all in the name of Nikki Heat, I did this, I put you in jeopardy and I'm sorry Kate but I won't risk it happening again. If anything ever happened to you because of me…" he paused for a moment and shook his head. The mere thought bringing a sickening feel to his stomach and he swallowed hard to keep the scotch from returning as he felt it rising in his throat.

"I just can't let that happen. I care about you too much and I don't think that's a secret anymore Kate. So if means you'll never forgive me for this and it's the final straw that pushes me out of your life, well, I'll have to deal with that." he finished sadly, the words broken as they left his lips and his head hanging slightly, his eyes unable to look at her.

Kate blinked a few times at she stared at him; a broken, distraught Richard Castle. She hadn't seen him like this since the brief moments after her shooting before her eyes slipped shut and her world went dark. He was suffering, slipping into the darkness that once consumed her.

Her brain shouted at her to turn around this instant, walk out of this loft, you're not strong enough to handle this, not ready for the consequences. But her heart couldn't bear the sight of him and she hesitantly shuffled a few steps forward until there was only inches between them; his body leaning against the edge of the desk and hers standing before him.

"I'm sorry too" she told him sincerely and he looked up at her, eyes filled with sadness but a look of confusion coming across his face.

"Sorry? For what?" he asked softly.

"I'm sorry I… can't do this" she finished sadly before a tear slipped down her cheek and she quickly turned to escape from him but his arm shot out and he gently grabbed hold of her hand with his.

"Hey" he spoke softly; silently begging her to turn back around but she refused to face him, still half turned toward the door.

"You won't do it alone" his soothing voice continued after a moment. "I'm in this too, right here with you. Always" his hand squeezed hers slightly tighter as the last word lift his lips and he tugged her to him, her body collapsing into his embrace and her arms wrapping around his neck as she let out a few quiet sobs muffled into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry" she sobbed into his shoulder as her hands fisted in his shirt, holding him close to her.

"I'm sorry too" he soothed, gently rubbing small circles on her back with one hand, the other wrapped securely around her waist.

They remained in the tight embrace for a long while until Rick could feel her tears slowing down and her breathing return back to a normal rhythm. Gently he pulled her back from his shoulder so he was able to look at her, his bright blue eyes getting lost in her soft brown ones.

"You okay?" he asked softly, swiping his thumb across her cheek to catch the last tear from falling.

"Mmm hmm" she simply nodded at him, not trusting her voice just yet.

He set his hands on her shoulders then slowly dragged them down her arms until both his hands captured hers and he rubbed his thumbs back and forth across her knuckles as their hands swayed between them.

"Look, I know we have a lot to talk about but you're exhausted right now and I know it's my fault that you can't go home and go to sleep so will you please, just stay here tonight?"

He was right, she was beyond tired and she'd be crazy to decline any invitation for a warm bed right now. She was glad that he was giving her an out for now. Yes, they had much to talk about but after the emotionally draining day that she's had she's not sure she'd be able to handle that tonight and he's obviously picked up on that.

"Okay" she breathed, giving his hands just the slightest squeeze of assurance before letting them go and dropping them to her sides.

He stood from where he was seated on the edge of the desk and gave her a small smile before wrapping a hand around the back of her head and leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Come on, your things are in my room. You forgot your bag at the front door this morning" he told her as he led her through the back of his office to the bedroom door.

"You can use the bathroom, I'm just going to grab a couple things here" he gestured towards his dresser and she nodded before picking up her duffel and heading off into the bathroom.

The moment the door shut sealing her inside Castle let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn't believe she was here, again. Now he had to do everything he could not to screw it up, again. Rifling through his drawers he found a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and quickly changed into them, throwing his dirty laundry into the nearby hamper. He took one last look at the closed bathroom door then turned to head back out towards his office.

"Castle?" Her voice was soft but he still heard it and he paused in the doorway between his office and bedroom, not yet turning back to face her.

"Yeah Kate?" he asked just as softly, still facing the office with one hand resting against the door frame, the other hanging loosely at his side.

A hand slid up his forearm and wrapped around the crook of his elbow and his eyes closed involuntarily at the sensation of her warm skin against his.

"Stay" she breathed; that one word causing a rush of relief to flood over him. Maybe he hadn't completely ruined everything.

"Okay Kate" he murmured and her hand slipped from his arm as she padded off towards the bed and he followed after her.

Reaching the bed Kate pulled back the blankets and crawled in to the middle of the bed, facing away from him and he gently slid in beside her facing the same way with his face burying in her hair as he wrapped an arm around her and held her close against his chest. He knew better than to say anything right now, if this is what she needed now then that's what he would give her. They would talk tomorrow, for now he was content with the promise of another day with her.

"Until tomorrow Detective" he whispered into her hair, and even though he couldn't see the small twitch of her lips into a smile, he knew it was there.

END.

A/N: Well folks, I certainly hope you enjoyed this little ride my imagination took you on. I hope the ending didn't disappoint but I didn't want them to rush into too much because I feel that would be contradictory to the story so I decided to have them ending back as they we saw them in the beginning, only this time with the promise of a future ahead of them. Maybe I'll be inclined to write a one or two-shot sequel at some point but for now this is the end. I do have a few other story ideas (even a couple chapters already written of a new fic I've been working on!) so don't worry, I'll be back! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my wonderful and faithful readers and reviewers! If it weren't for you I would never have gotten this finished! Anxiously awaiting to hear what you all thought of the conclusion. Until next time…