MILE FIVE:

Before she could begin the new story, however, Kate was distracted by the newly-filled sidewalks. They had entered a residential area, and families were lining the streets, kids staring open mouthed at the sweaty runners.

"Hey Castle." Kate maneuvered closer to the sidewalk. "Look." And she stuck out her hand, crouching down a little and high fived six kids in a row. Their faces lit up, excited to be a part of the race. She moved closer to Castle and looked back, smiling as her trend continued with runners giving the kids high fives. "They don't get it - the running - and none of the participants ever pay attention to them. They love it when you incorporate them. Look, there's another group of kids!"

Castle crossed behind her and skipped sideways up the line giving out multiple high fives to all the kids. She laughed and winked at one of the moms who seemed puzzled. The mom smiled back gratefully, realizing what Castle had started as a few more runners exchanged high fives.

Once Castle came back, he gasped. "KATE! Kate, look." Castle pointed ahead of them to a family holding a sign that said: RUN! ZOMBIES ARE CHASING YOU! "I found another perfect sign."

The sign inspired Kate's story choice and she deviated from the one that she had thought of before. "Ready for your story?" At Castle's eager nod, she continued. "This story begins with a hint. See if you can solve it." Kate hummed a theme song.

Castle narrowed his eyes, recognizing the music, but unable to place it. Finally, he exclaimed, in time with the music, "GHOSTBUSTERS!" He smiled broadly. "Is this going to be when you tell me you actually are a Ghostbuster?"

Kate laughed lightly. "Nope! However, I am going to share the two ghost stories from my family. I wasn't present for either of them, but they're still good stories. Ready?"

"Ready."

Kate smiled. "So the first was when my grandfather on my mother's side passed away. As the family sat at home together, talking, a knock sounded on the door. My grandmother answered it, spoke with the men at the door for a while, and then returned. My mother asked what the men had been there to say. Apparently there's a tradition in my grandfather's church for the family to leave out a piece of bread and a glass of water the night after the funeral. It's supposed to be food and drink for the next stage of life."

Kate smiled lightly. "My mother didn't put much stock in religion or the supernatural - like me - but she knew her father, and her father loved his whiskey. So she responded that her father wouldn't ever come back for some toast and water. But, she said, he might come back for a whiskey. And BAM." Castle jumped as Kate accented the moment with a clap. "The back door swung open. The weird part was the door had been closed and there wasn't any wind that night."

Castle shivered. "Spooky."

Kate shrugged. "It's easily explained by just a well timed prankster or a sudden gust of wind in the city alleys. Nothing supernatural. But we always enjoyed telling it that way."

"For gullible people like me?"

"Exactly." She rolled her eyes. "For people who actually believe air movement was my grandfather's soul."

"But what if it were..." Castle's voice trailed off at the incredulous look on Kate's face. "Okay, okay, never mind. What was the second ghost story?"

"My father's grandmother, so my great grandmother," she clarified at Castle's calculating face, "was pretty much the most incredible person ever. She was ridiculously strong and brave. She immigrated to be with a guy her family didn't approve of, and never spoke to them again after they didn't ship her her hope chest."

Kate smiled. Of all the people in her family that she wished she had been able to meet once, she really wanted to meet her great grandmother. Castle looked over and saw the smile on Kate's face. "She sounds incredible, Kate."

"She was. Anyway her husband and her were married for some insanely long amount of time – I want to say something like 60 years – before he passed away years before her. He was buried in a family plot. One day when my grandfather and my father visited her - my dad must have been 10 or so - she told them that they had to move her husband." She laughed. "My grandfather was outraged. Why was he going to have to dig up his father, a month after the funeral? She stared straight at him and said, 'He told me he's sitting in water. You have to move him.'"

Castle looked at her, puzzled. "He's sitting in water?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, my great grandmother had been seeing him constantly – in dreams, in their bedroom, all over. And every time they talked, he always ended the conversations by saying, 'I'm sitting in water.' So my great grandmother promised to move him so that he wouldn't be sitting in water. After at least a few more weeks of my great grandmother harassing them, my grandfather finally gave in, and he and my dad went to the plot with shovels and dug up the casket…" Kate paused dramatically. "Which was filled halfway with water."

Castle stared at her, and accented each of his words as he spoke next. "He was actually sitting in water." Kate shrugged. "You can't seriously not think that's awesome." He looked at her incredulously and pushed her slightly in retaliation for her obvious disbelief.

Kate almost stumbled into another runner, but righted herself before she did. She shot a glare at Castle. "It's not that special. She must have realized the ground was particularly wet there, and somehow her subconscious realized that would affect the casket."

Castle replied, "OR! The supernatural is actually real, and your great grandmother actually did hear from her husband that he was sitting in water."

Kate shook her head but knew she and Castle would never see eye to eye on this. "To each their own, Castle, to each their own." She smiled lightly. She'd never admit it, but in the case of this great grandmother – she believed that if anyone could determinedly access the other world, it would be that woman.

Castle stuck out his arm, interrupting her internal thoughts. "Look at my arms! I have goosebumps. Your family is creepily awesome. I love it." She winked at him. "And there's mile marker five." He threw his head back in protest. "Ugh! How is it I've only run five miles? I want to die, Kate."

She grabbed his hand for a second, giving it a squeeze. "Come on Castle. You're more than a third done! In fact, you're almost halfway!" She glanced at the clock, which read 57 minutes. They started nine minutes after the gun, so they'd been running for 48 minutes. She did the calculations in her head: somewhere between a 9:30/9:40 mile pace. Castle may be groaning and complaining, but he's running a respectable half marathon, especially at his age – though Kate would never say that to his face.

She looked him up and down. His shirt was sweaty, slick against his back, and a few strands of his hair had taken on a life of their own, sticking up every which way. He looked handsome, even with his childish pout on his face. In his eyes there was determination – he was enjoying this challenge.

It was in moments like this that her love for him overwhelmed her. She loved him with a ferocity that was both terrifying and exhilarating.

She resolved that she'd say those words for the first time at the end of the race. They would be his final story, how she fell head over heels for the writer who, despite not being a runner, signed up for a half-marathon with her, for the writer who punched out someone who threatened her, for the writer who loved her too.

But for now, she needed another story for the next mile.

Author's Note: I don't own Castle, but I DO own the two ghost stories - they're my families'! In honor of an early Halloween, I decided to use them. :) Reviews, as always, are so welcomed. Happy reading!

A reminder that this story was started WELL before Kate ever said "I love you" or they were engaged. And I'm sticking with that in terms of the timeline - mostly because I just really like the idea of a sweaty, runner's-high, giggly declaration of love. So bear with me.