I was blown away by the response to this story! Thank you so much for all your amazing suggestions. I'm definitely planning on using a few of them.

—

They've been together nearly a year the first time she almost dies in front of him. Well. The first time after becoming them. He thought nothing could be worse than that day in the cemetery, an end before they even got to start, but he was wrong. This is worse. Unbearable. Because now he has her, knows how beautiful it is when they let themselves be in love with each other. If he lost her now he'd be haunted for all the rest of his days.

The bullet comes so close. It nicks her Kevlar vest, fraying the edge. He's breathless and stunned and frozen in place, watching dumbly as she sprints after the shooter like nothing just happened, like she didn't almost get shot. Esposito is the one to take down the perp. He's rough with him, rougher than usual, and Castle has to assume it has something to do with the fact that he shot at Beckett.

He's grateful, but he really wishes Esposito would just shoot the guy. If he had a gun, Castle's not sure he wouldn't kill him.

Esposito walks past him, the guy shoved out in front of him, his cuffs so tight that he winces with every jostling movement. Kate is right behind them and she pauses beside Castle, leveling him with an all-too-knowing look.

He's suddenly so glad they told everyone. If they were still keeping their relationship a secret, he wouldn't be able to touch her. He'd have to pretend that everything was okay and get into the car beside her and wait and it would be awful. But he doesn't have to do that now, they're not fooling anybody, so he grabs her and pulls her against him.

She relaxes into him and he just stands there holding her, feeling the way her chest rises and falls against his with every breath, the steady thud of her heart against his sternum. He doesn't say anything for a long time and she's patient, waits until the hitch in his breath is gone, until his heartbeat smoothes out, before pulling back and meeting his eye.

"I'm fine," she says, but her eyes are dark. He can tell she's rattled too. She's just better at hiding it, has the training to compartmentalize it and not let it break her apart.

"I know," he breathes, but even as he says he drags her close again, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his lips feathering along the edge of her hairline to the smooth skin at her temple.

He wants to kiss her, really kiss her, wants to taste her, drink from her until he can take a full breath again, but he knows he can't. Not here in an alleyway with Ryan and Esposito waiting in their car, a criminal cuffed in the back seat.

"We should go," she says softly and he nods.

She grabs his hand as she passes and holds on, doesn't let go until they reach the car.

—

He doesn't sleep much that night. Neither does she.

They stay awake, wrapped in each other's arms, all tangled up so that he can feel the way she moves, the play of muscle beneath his fingertips, the blood that warms her skin, the quirk of her lips when she kisses him.

"Sometimes I hate your job," he murmurs.

She hums in understanding and he can feel the sound vibrating in her chest. "I'm okay," she says, knowing that no matter how many times she says it, it'll never really be enough.

"What if one day you're not?" he says. "What if I lose you? I'll be wrecked. And what if we have kids one day, Kate? They'll—"

"They'll always have their mother," she says, a promise she can't really make, but it makes him feel better anyway.

"I won't let them end up like me, Castle. I won't."

She sounds fierce and so determined, but there's hurt there too, a shade of grief. He kisses her softly, trying to ease the pain lurking in her eyes. "Okay," he whispers. "Okay."

"We'll grow old together," she murmurs. "Watch our kids grow up."

"And our grandkids," he adds, grinning.

She grins back, a sudden joy in her eyes that wasn't there a moment ago. It makes her happy to think about their future together and it makes him happy to see how happy she is.

"So you want to have little Castle babies, huh?" he says, pressing his lips to the line of her jaw.

She huffs at him. "Shut up."

"Mmm, no," he whispers. "I like talking about this."

"I'm sure you do."

"I can't wait to have a baby with you, Kate." He knows the admission might be a little too much, but he can't help himself, because when she almost got shot today it wasn't just their past that flashed behind his eyes, it was their future too, all the things they would miss if he lost her now.

She's smiling at him though, her body arched into his, pressed close. She's beautiful in the darkness of his bedroom with her tousled hair and eyes the color of the earth—green and brown with sparks of gold.

"I was a little late last month," she tells him suddenly.

He pulls back, regards her carefully. "What? Are you serious?"

She smiles, kisses the frown from his lips. "Just a couple days."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks.

She shrugs. "Two days is nothing, Castle. It happens sometimes. Not a big deal."

"You should've told me," he insists, sounding a little petulant, but he doesn't care. He wants to know these things. Even if it's just two days, even if she thinks it's not a big deal.

"Fine. You're right," she says, smiling a little, clearly just appeasing him. "But that's not the point, Castle. The point is, when I realized I was late, I wasn't scared."

A smile blooms across his face slowly as he realizes what she's telling him. "You would've been happy?"

She nods, mouth pursed in a way that he knows means she's happy. Pleased. "Yeah. I would've been. I mean…if I had my way I'd wait a couple more years, but if it took us by surprise, if it happened tomorrow, I wouldn't mind."

"That might be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me," he says. He presses a light kiss to her lips, feels the shape of her smile against his.

"You're so sappy," she murmurs.

"You love it."

She grins. "Maybe a little."

"Someday, Kate Beckett, I will knock you up and it will be awesome."

She pulls away with an indignant scowl, smacks his chest. "Knock me up? Really, Castle?"

"Impregnate?"

"Oh, God," she groans. "Stop talking."

"What? The verbs are failing me here."

"And you call yourself a writer."

"Okay. Let me think. Alright. Here's one. I will pla—"

She presses a hand over his mouth, effectively cutting him off. "If you say 'plant your seed in my womb,' I'm leaving."

"Okay," he says. "I won't say it."

She sighs, rolling her eyes a little bit. "You're an idiot," she says. "And I love you."

He smiles, leans in for a kiss. "Love you, too, future mother of my children."

"Hm. I like that one."

—

Review please!