Hi again, everyone. This is the second and last chapter of my story.

I first wanted to say that it has been a blast writing this, frustrating as hell sometimes, but fun(boy am I a sadist or what). This story first popped in my head after reading a chapter of FanficwriterGHC's 'Of Finding Innocence'(Please don't hurt me Emma). I had this story mapped out in my head, but then a funny thing happened when I started typing it out. I'll quote RGoodfellow64 when he said in one of his chapters, 'I knew how I wanted it to start, I knew how I wanted it to end, but the middle fought like hell'. I know that's not the exact quote, but it's close. I felt like I threw away a hundred virtual paper balls. I'm still not quite 100% happy, but as long as people enjoy it, that's OK.

Disclaimer: Not mine, if they were not only would all those I mentioned in Chapter 1 be writing, but Stana would have worn an actual bathing suit in the L.A. episode. I didn't see the episode, but those stills(yeesh).

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Confessions Chapter 2

To say that there was an emotional rollercoaster going on in the observation room - for one individual inparticular - would be like saying the sun was somewhat warm. They ran the gambit. From the warmth when they saw Alexis. The humor of her accusing her Dad of doing something wrong. The terror of seeing Alexis start to go looking for them - especially Kate and Lanie, remembering themselves as teenagers(brrrrr), and Roy, having a daughter himself(double brrrrr). The guilt of the way they treated Rick. And finally, the understanding of why he left. Kate and Javier sharing a glance, remembering their conversation before Rick left. 'You think he's hanging around to see you with another guy'.

For Kate, the hope that she was feeling was accompanied by the feelings she was growing for Rick over the past two years. She remembered the things he did for her - rushing to her apartment when it exploded and letting her stay at their home. She also remembered things he did to question those feelings - specifically that bimbo from the Bobby Mann case. Then she kept her feelings for him more guarded. When Tom came along, she thought it would be fun. And it was for a while. Then, when Rick told her he was leaving for the summer, it was like someone threw her in a bathtub full of ice. She made the decision to brake it off with Tom and tell Rick she accepted his invitation, but it was too late. When she got the courage to tell him, in walks Gina, and she's so stunned all she can manage is 'Have a nice summer'.

She, of course, told Lanie(what are best friends for). Admitedly, she gave Lanie the story from her point of view, over liberal amounts of alchohol. And, of course, there was the obvious grapevine. Lanie told Javier who told Kevin and so on until it reached the Captain. 'You hurt one of ours, you get it in spades from all of us' was their motto.

She, along with everyone else, cringed when Alexis stated it matter-of-factly. 'She lied.' Alexis called her on it and she couldn't deny it.

Those positive feelings really came back when she heard that Gina didn't last that weekend. When she heard that the hope she was feeling was strengthened ten fold.

She knew, without daring to look, that the other four were looking at her by then. She lowered her head slightly, hoping her hair would mask the blush she was feeling and her eyes blinking as she tried to keep tears at bay.

Her hope was tempered slightly when she remembered that Rick was found a short time ago, holding a gun over a dead body.

They were all five brought out of their thoughts by a knocking to the observation room door. Captain Montgomery went to answer. A uniformed officer handed him a folder. The Captain nodded his thanks and went back to the others.

Four sets of eyes were on him as he was reading.

"According to ballistics," The Captain paused. "the gun Castle had was not the murder weapon."

All five shared a sigh of relief.

"Sooo, what do we do now?" Kevin asked as they all looked back in the interragation room.

What do we do now? Who knew that five words could cause five different reactions.

Actually, three of them had similar thoughts.

For Captain, he thought about possibly resuming his weekly poker games, his friendship, and seeing seeing Rick - Castle - as a fixture around the 12th again. He brought a something to the precinct that made everyone a little lighter. And anything that could help the men and women of his command with morale...

For Kevin and Javier, they shared similar thoughts. They wanted Rick around the comradere, breaking up the monotany, poker nights, and - as Alexis put it - Malden and Hulu nights. The most fun they had was watching Kate trying to reign Rick in. As Javier put it, 'Better than Shark Week'.

Over the summer, with Rick gone, they grew more protective of Kate - like a kid sister - even though she was their boss. Now that he was back - and knowing what they know now...

For Lanie, she wasn't so much thinking about Rick as she was her best friend. She remembered the heartache in Kate's voice when Rick left and the anger she felt at him for hurting her best friend. She made a promise to herself to have him on her autopsy table the hard way. Now, she was watching her friend in a whole new light. She could read Kate better than anyone - except for maybe a certain author(most of the time) - and she wasn't quite sure what she was seeing. She recognized the hope she saw in her eyes. As for the rest...

For Kate, hearing the Rick didn't kill that woman increased her feelings. She thought about having him back as a partner, building theory with, doing what they do best. Hearing Rick's feelings for her, the hope was accompanied by other feelings. One she thought was possibly love, but she wasn't sure. She thought she felt this way before with previous boyfriends, but it wasn't this strong. Even though all the good feelings outweighed the bad, the bad still held her back. She knew the playboy image was just that, an image. But those doubts still weighed on her mind(like the previously mentioned bimbo).

And because of those doubts, she answered Kevin's question in a whisper. "We should tell him he's free to go and send him home."

The way the four looked at her, you would think she just grew three heads.

Lanie stepped up to her, arms folded across her chest. "Excuse me?"

"I said..."

"I heard what you said." Lanie interupted, pointing at her. "Girl, I should smack you!"

Kate sighed. "Lanie, it's..."

Her best friend cut her off again. "I swear, if you say it's complicated, I will smack you!"

"Guys." Kevin tried to interject.

"Lanie..."

"Don't. I remember how you cried on my shoulder, saying how he.." She continued, pointing at Rick. "hurt you last May..."

"Guys." He tried again.

"Lanie..."

"And it's obvious that there's more to this..."

"Hey!" Kevin almost shouted, getting their attention.

Kate and Lanie both glared at him. "What?"

"I think they're gonna start up, again."

'Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.' Lanie thought to herself. She was talking to everyone, but kept her eyes on Kate. "We might as well wait and see, and, No!" She emphasised. "We are not just 'sending him home'."

As they turned back their attention to Alexis and Rick, Kate found herself begrudgingly agreeing with Lanie. If she were twins and heard herself say they should just send him home, she would probably smack herself as well. But she couldn't help herself. She's always been cautous with her heart. Even in the past, when she thought she had strong feelings for someone, the doubt always held her back. The positive feelings, the - dare she say - love, could outnumber the doubt by twenty to one, but somehow that one was able to block the twenty. With Rick, Kate was sure the positive was at least ten times that, but that stupid one had a pretty loud voice. She needed something that would shut that one up. Something...

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Alexis sat there, staring at her father, stunned, trying to figure how to go about this. She knew as outgoing as he appeared, it was an image he crafted - well, his publishing machine, for other reasons - to hide his insecurities and inner shyness. She knew what people - well, most people - would say. 'Yeah, yeah. Richard Castle, millionare playboy and author, shy. Ha!' But two failed marriages tend to make you more guarded with your feelings. She loved her mother, and her father wouldn't say anything about why they didn't last, but - knowing her father as well as she does - she knows it was probably more her fault than his. Gina seemed nice enough, as far as she could tell. But they - her father and Gina - never got along that well. That, and the fact that her dad never let the two of them get close, spoke volumes.

Kate was different. It started out innocently enough, if you call bailing your dad out of jail innocent(technically she met her at the last 'Storm' book party, but didn't really talk to her). It spoke volumes about how her dad felt about Kate when he encouraged her to talk to Kate. Helping at the precinct records room, lunch dates, advice, and the time Kate spent at loft. That showed Alexis how highly her father thought of Kate. And, for a time, she thought the feelings were mutual.

Hearing everything her father said - about Shlemm...Demming, and the going-away party - she couldn't understand the anger being thrown her father's way. There just has to be something more...

"Dad?" He just kept staring down. "Dad?" She tried again... Nothing. "Dad!"

He looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"Dad, I'm..." She cut herself off. She almost said 'I'm happy for you.', but how do - how can - you say that you're happy that your dad is in love with someone when that someone is with another person.

She tried again. "Dad, I'm confused. If what you said is true, that they all knew you were going for the summer and it's not the end of summer, why would they be mad at you?"

He looked at his hands. "I don't know."

"Did you talk to them while you were away?" That panel was attracting his attention again. "You didn't? Not the whole summer?"

"I wanted a clean break." He sighed.

She sighed too, remembering what he said. "Okay. I get that. They might be a little mad at you being inconsiderate, but not that mad." She put her fist under her chin. "There must be something else."

"I don't know what."

"Well, there has to be something." She paused. "Last impressions are usually the strongest, so you must have done or said something before you left to get them mad."

"I don't know what." He repeated.

"Well... let's go down the list and see if you can remember anything." She thought for a minute."We'll start with Captain Montgomery."

Rick thought for a minute. "He said he'd miss my comic relief and looked foward to seeing me in the fall."

She smiled at the 'comic relief' comment. "Doctor Parish?"

In the observation room, Lanie thought to herself, 'Hey, I'm not chopped liver after all'.

"She made a comment about not having to worry about me touching her tools for the summer."

"Detective Esposito?"

"He made some comment about missing the sharks..." Rick was still confused by that one.

Kate and Javier looked at each other. He smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"Detective Ryan?"

"He said he'd miss me... and my lunch runs." Rick said, with a small smile.

"What?" Kevin said, looking at the other four. "Well, it's true. And I've been...volenteered " He added sarcasticly."..for most runs since he left."

Alexis waited a moment, saving - for lack of a better term - the best for last. "And what about Kate?"

"She said..." Rick paused, thinking for a minute. " She said to have a nice summer."

"Is that all?" Alexis asked, noticing her father's hesitation.

"She..." He paused again, folding his hands together and leaning his forehead on them, thinking back to that time in May.

Kate unconsciously stepped closer to the observation window, watching Rick, hoping for something. What, she wasn't sure.

Behind her, Lanie motioned silently to Javier, Kevin, and Roy. Quietly, all four left, leaving Kate alone in room.

Rick was sitting there, remembering his and Kate's last conversation. Normally, they could read each other, by either body language or the look in their eyes. At the time, he was consumed with the shock for her, as Alexis put it, lying to him and the hurt he felt that he wasn't reading her like he normally would. Now, he was remembering those last couple days without those other feelings. Thinking back to when he told her that that would be their last case, he could see the look in her eyes. If he had to, he would call it a combination of shock and... hurt?

Then he was thinking to the day he left. Kate asked to talk to him in private. She seemed so, well, shy. That wasn't a term he would normally use to descibe Kate. But the way she was talking about how she didn't let on what's on her mind, not being the easiest person to get along with, and really enjoying working with him. He has a feeling that she was going to say more, but then Gina walked in. Looking back, remembering the look in her eyes, he can see the shock, the hurt, the...the...

Realization hits him like a ton of bricks. He suddenly stands up, pacing back and forth and holding his hands over his mouth. "Oh God. No." He keeps repeating to himself, over and over. His eyes have a shiny look.

Alexis slowly stood up, watching her father. "Dad?"

He paces back and forth a few more times, repeating the same thing. Then he leans against the wall - where Kate can see him - sliding down in a sitting position, his hand covering his eyes. A pained expression on his face.

Alexis walks over and kneels by her father, placing a hand on his arm. "Dad, what is it?" she asks in a almost whisper.

He lowers his hand, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "God, pumpkin, I messed up so bad." He choked out.

"What do you mean?" She squeezes his arm to encourage him.

"She..she was gonna say yes." He whispers. "She was gonna give us a shot. And I blew it."

"Oh, Dad."

"I care for her so much." He choked out. "She's so special. So... So..." He couldn't get the rest out. Silent tears were running down his face.

Kate flew out of the door, her doubts leaving her just as fast.

When she reached the interrigation room door, Kate slowly opened the door and stepped into the doorway.

Alexis heard the door open. Not breaking contact with her father, she looked at Kate, then returned her attention to her father. "How long?"

Kate knew what Alexis was asking right away. "Since you got here." she whispered, looking down at her hands.

Alexis gave her father's arm a reassuring squeeze, then slowly got up and walked over to Kate. Alexis, surprisingly, had a small smile on her face. "Is any of what Dad said true?"

Kate nodded, blinking to keep her tears at bay.

"Are you seeing..." Before Alexis could finish the question, Kate shook her head. She put a reassuring hand on Kate's shoulder. Kate looked into Alexis' eyes, surprised to see warmth and understanding instead of anger. She was mature beyond her years. "Talk to him." And with that, Alexis stepped out of the room.

Kate went to where Rick was sitting on the floor. She sat down next to him, reaching out to put her hand over his. He turned his palm up, lacing their fingers together. Silent tears were running down her face.

They looked at each other for a few minutes, small smiles on their faces.

"Hi." He whispered.

"Hi." She whispered back.

"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time.

They both chuckled a little. He nodded for her to go first.

She looked at their joined hands, composing herself. "I'm sorry, Rick. I didn't mean to hurt you like that with Tom." She looked up to his eyes. He reached over with his other hand to gently brush away her tears with his thumb. She leaned into his touch. "It's just that, well, with your history.." He started to say something, but she stopped him. "I know it's not all true. That most of it is publicity, but some off it did hurt."

He gently squeezed her hand, encouraging her to continue. "That's why I chose Tom. He was a safe choice, and a little fun." He winced a little at that. "When you said that you where leaving, it was like... like being thrown in ice water. It dawned on me that I wanted to try... with you." She looked at their hands. "But then Gina showed up." she whispered.

Rick sat up a little straighter, bringing his hand up to her chin, gently bringing her eyes back to his. "I'm sorry, too Kate. When I thought you and Demming were going away, well..." He paused, composing himself. "It threw me off, to say the least. The thought of you and him..." She squeezed his hand for him to continue. "All I want is your happiness, Kate. I wanted..." he quickly corrected himself. "I want to be the one to make you happy..."

"I want that, Rick." A smile grew on her face. "I want that with you."

A smile grew on Rick's face. "Really?"

"Really."

They sat there staring at each other for a minute. Then, a devious grin grew on his face. Kate raised an eyebrow. "Rick?"

In one quick motion, one of his hands came up behind her upper back, the other under her legs, and he shifted her onto his lap.

"Rick!" She laughed, her arms coming around his neck.

"Yes?" He had a smile on his face. One hand on her thigh. The other gently cradling her neck, his fingers weaving through her hair.

"You know.." her fingers came to rest on his cheek. "we're gonna have to go over some rules."

"Rules?" Their faces inched closer together.

"About public displays." Closer.

"Well, you know how I am about rules..." Close enough that they could feel each others breathing on their faces.

"Let me guess..." She asked in a whisper, biting her bottom lip. "'Rules were made to be broken'?"

"Exactly."

Then they each closed that last whisper between them and brought their lips together. It was tentative at first, exploring, learning and teasing all at once. It amazed them both how good, how right it felt.

For Kate, the way his lips felt on hers, combined with the way his hand held her neck and wove through her hair, like she was the most treasured thing on earth, had her wanting this - this feeling - with him for the rest of her life.

For Rick, the way she felt in his arms, the way his mouth moved perfectly with hers, had him convinced that this would be the absolute last first kiss for the rest of his life.

After a few minutes, and several light kisses later, they leaned their foreheads together. When they looked into each others shining eyes, there was no more uncertainty. No more doubts.

All they saw was newfound joy.

Newfound happiness.

Newfound love.

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Alexis Castle was standing just outside the room, watching what happened. Normally, the thought of watching her father kissing another woman would make her go 'eww'. That was not the case here. She couldn't help the smile that grew watching her father and Kate. She has admired Kate for quite some time now. And while it might be early to go down a certain road, she couldn't help wondering when the time came, if she should call her Kate - or Mom.

Behind Alexis, four other sets of eyes were watching, each with matching smiles.

For Lanie, Roy, Javier, and Kevin, what they saw warmed them for the same reason. That someone that was a best friend, a surrogate daughter, and like a kid sister, had found happiness after what life had thrown her way made them happy beyond belief. Plus, there was an added bonus of welcoming a good friend back to the 12th(not to mention avoiding having to hide the body and the paperwork that might involve).

Suddenly a thought came to Kevin. Stepping back from the group, he pulled a notepad marked 'pools' out of his pocket. After checking today's date with others in the book, his grin grew twice as wide, and he had to resist the urge to do a fist-pump and happy-dance.

Looks like he'll be able to afford that engagement ring for Jenny after all. ;)

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed the story. It was fun and I have more ideas that I hope to put out soon. I make no promises on when and I must apolgize to Emma. I told her quite a while back that I would be posting a story soon. Well, better late than never.

Please leave a review, good or bad. My skin is thick, so come out with both guns blazin'. I'll be at the bar. ;)

Thank You all.

Louis (9-24 updated because a few errors were driving me crazy)