Passions Prologue
By Dana Keylits

Epilogue

I awoke with a start, momentarily disoriented by the darkness that surrounded me, my mind hazy, recalling the vestiges of a disordered dream, disturbing images compounded by my own perceived paralysis. I opened one eye and was thrust into the present, suddenly aware that the screaming noise in my head was actually the piercing ringer on my cell phone. I reached out blind to the bedside table and, getting lucky on the first try, snatched it up, desperate for the chaos to stop! I glanced at the clock and did a double take when I realized it was six o'clock at night. Had I really been asleep all day?

I'd been up most of the night before finishing up a case with Ryan and Esposito, and had stumbled into my apartment in the wee hours of the morning, exhausted, hungry, but grateful that we'd solved the case. Captain Montgomery had told us to go home, but hadn't gone so far as to relieve us from being on-call should another body drop.

And now, judging by the number on my caller I.D., another body had dropped.

Bette came strolling into the bedroom; a mug of steaming coffee perched in one hand, the newspaper in the other. She smiled at me, and then gave me a disapproving look as I tapped answer on my phone. I held up a staying finger when she tried to steal the device from me.

"Beckett." I listened as Ryan filled me in. "Flowers over her eyes?" I questioned, knowing right away what we were dealing with. I glanced over at my bookcase, the ancient hardcover of Richard Castle's novel wedged indelicately between two others. "Okay, I'll be there in thirty." I threw back the covers just as Bette sat on the edge of the bed, handing me the hot mug, steam spilling over its edge. I sat up and cradled it in both hands, inhaling it's soothing scent, savoring it's rich flavor as I took a sip, its warmth cascading down my throat, spreading across my chest like a favored blanket.

"Another case?" she questioned, the look of disappointment on her face giving me pangs of guilt.

I leaned forward and kissed her softly, her lips were warm, gentle, just what I needed and I lingered for a minute, my tongue lazily skimming her bottom lip before I pulled away, my eyes still closed, savoring her.

She giggled. "There'd be more of that, Kate, if you didn't have to run off to work."

I groaned, tossing my phone on the bedside table. "I know. I wish I didn't have to go. But, I'm on call." I swung my legs out of bed and stood up, stretching. I lifted my camisole top over my head and tossed it into the wicker hamper housed in the corner of the room. "I need to get dressed. Is there anything in the fridge I can eat before I go?"

She was behind me before I'd even finished the sentence, her hands slipping around my waist, her lips at the back of my neck. "I can think of something else you could eat before you go," she whispered with that deliciously velvet voice of hers.

I smiled, leaning against her, a familiar twinge tickling my belly as her hands mapped my upper body, gently massaging my flesh, teasing me, coaxing me, tempting me. I turned in her arms, framing her face with both hands as we kissed, slow and sweet, our tongues waltzing lazily from my mouth to hers and then back again.

Until, finally I pulled away, groaning. "Ugh, I have to go. God, this is so not fair," I complained.

She slapped my ass as I walked away. "No shit," she agreed.

Dressed, armed, my badge firmly secured to my belt, I ran a hand through my short hair and sauntered into the kitchen, just as Bette put a plate of warmed up leftover Kung Pou chicken on the counter top.

I sat on the high-top stool, picking up my fork. "Ohhh, you're so good to me."

She flashed me a smile. "Don't forget it, either."

"Oh, I wont," I promised with a lilt of my eyebrow. "Don't worry, you'll be handsomely rewarded."

She threw the empty leftover containers in the trash, pulled out a bottle of chardonnay and poured herself a glass. She held it up to me as if in toast. "Good."

I frowned. "I want," I whined.

"Later. Finish eating. Go to your crime scene, and then get back here as soon as you can so we can try and salvage some of this night. Okay?"

"You'll wait up?"

She nuzzled up to me, kissed me quickly, the alcohol on her lips a temptation to just ditch the case, stay home with her, drink wine, make love, laugh, play, enjoy ourselves.

It was tempting.

"I'll wait up," she promised.

A/N: Coming soon: Passions Present. An AU Castle fanfic in which Kate and Bette never break up, and Kate's partnership with Castle has very different beginnings. It will take place during season one's pilot episode, "Flowers For Your Grave."

Clarification: This epilogue was not intended to be a continuation of the ending of Passions Prologue. The last chapter was "The End." Because as we know, THAT story continued in Passions Past with Kate ending up with Rick. This epilogue is simply a sneak peek at an upcoming AU version of the Passions story.

Again, thank you to all of you for your kind words of encouragement and praise. I truly appreciate it!