Part 2! YAY! I am really liking the response so far! Thanks so much to all who have read and reviewed.

I forgot my disclaimer before... you know the drill... Not mine, etc. Just like to play with them :D

Also, I don't have a beta... I pride myself on good grammar and try to fix all of my awful spelling... So let me know if there is anything wrong! :)

Happy Reading!

-MTAM

'Til all my sleeves are stained red

From all the truth that I've said

Come by it honestly I swear

Thought you saw me wink, no

I've been on the brink, so

Rick watched her leave, without a doubt knowing that it was exactly what she wanted him to do. His face crinkled into half a glare and half a pout for an instant, and just as quickly as the look had come across his handsome features, it was gone. He watched her hips sway back and forth until she briskly turned the corner, and was out of sight. It was only then that he realized that he had been holding his breath. He had been holding his breath for going on two years now, and each time he had wanted to release that gulp of air, he refrained. He was terrified of what her reaction might be. Releasing the single breath he was holding now in an exasperated puff of air, he turned towards the door, defeated. Not only because she had given him no other choice, but also because he knew that she, once again, scored a point against him. Just another day with my muse, he thought.

Sure, that was Detective Beckett's 'official' title when it came to her relation to him in the public eye, but when that name was bestowed upon her at the very beginning, he had never had the slightest inkling of what was to come. He, of course, was attracted to her from day one, but the emotional attachment that they had become intertwined in was honestly, never a part of the plan. He was glad it had been amended. Because, if he was going to come clean about things, this was, to him, better than simply jumping into bed with her on the day that changed his life forever.

He cared deeply about the detective, that much he knew. He always tried to do little things to earn her trust. Baby steps, he always told himself, especially after sensing what a complicated person Kate Beckett had turned out to be. He could see her coming around, but slowly. Very. Slowly. She flirted heavily with him, but then would take it all away with one stabbing comment, and then back again, giving him an intimate secret peek into what made her tick. Normally, Rick Castle would be frustrated with this notion, but not this time. Besides, as of recent, he thought he sensed a certain softness about Beckett that was becoming more and more evident. Either way, he knew she was different, and was worth the painstaking and puzzling game of piecing her together. Kate Beckett was real, and he had known it since the day that she had walked into his life.

Taking a deep, draining pull from his coffee cup, he began the journey to his loft. Along the way, he clearly decided on two things in his mind; things that he felt like he had really known all along.

One. Kate Beckett was worth the wait, no matter how long that wait might be.

and,

Two. Kate Beckett was extraordinary.

Producing one abrupt, unconscious, and decisive nod, he stepped off the elevator. That, he thought, made her more than a muse.

I thought I was clever right there. Heh. XD

Reviews, please! Next chapter will be up tomorrow, if not sooner, if I get good response! :D