So this is the last chapter for this story. I feel like the first chapter was better, because that was what i had originally thought up. Being the caskett shipper that I am, I couldn't stand to leave it so sad and open ended. So I wrote this to kind of finish it. This may be a bit OOC, but I did my best to stay in character as much as i could. This is also less likely to happen than the first chapter, but then again, with Andrew Marlowe, anything can happen.

Disclaimer: still not mine.

Hope you like it!

Kate sat alone in her living room, crying softly to herself, going over the events of the past week. This case had been particularly grueling, and the fact that Castle wasn't there had made it worse. They had finally closed it, but not before two innocent bystanders were caught in the cross hairs. Castle would have come up with a crazy, yet accurate theory and they would've found the suspect sooner. Castle. Oh boy. That thought brought on a whole new wave of tears. She knew she had over-reacted. She got scared, and her walls magically rebuilt themselves, covering themselves with steel reinforcements. And another layer of brick. And more steel. They hadn't spoken since that night, eight nights ago. She had expected him to try to see her again, or at least have flowers or something delivered, but she was wrong. She didn't blame him though. She deserved it. She had lied too. She had kept a secret, and even tried to use it in her argument against him. She figured he was probably more angry about that than anything. She heard him say he loved her. And she told him she didn't. She just wasn't ready. The timing was all wrong. And now their secrets had ruined a beautiful friendship. Who was she kidding, what they had was more than a simple friendship. She didn't know what to classify their relationship as, the only thing she knew was "extraordinary." And they had ruined it. She had ruined it. He really was just trying to protect her, to help her. And although she would never admit it, she was grateful for that. She needed to fix this. But how? Where would she start? He probably hated her now, after all of those horrible things she said to him. None of them were true. She knew that. She sighed and grabbed her coat from the back of the couch, walking out the door before she could change her mind. Anyone who saw her walking down the street would say the same thing: Kate Beckett was a woman on a mission.

…...

She walked all the way to his loft, trying to figure out what to say when she got there. But time was up. She was standing outside his door, lowering her hand after softly knocking. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even realize she had gotten there. As soon as she heard the footsteps, she panicked. But it was too late. He was already opening the door. He saw her, confusion and concern written all over his face.

"Beckett? What are you doing here so late? Is everything ok? Are you hurt?"

She glanced at her father's watch. 3:38 a.m. Oops. She hadn't looked at her watch since 7, and it had only felt like it had been an hour since then. She felt bad for waking him, but not bad enough to leave or let him sleep.

"I..I'm ok."

"Then why...?"

"I..just wanted to apologize. For how I acted the other night. It was childish. I over-reacted. I know you probably hate me after what I did, but -"

"I could never hate you. I know you lied to me, I've known since you were in the hospital. I was angry at first, but I've moved on. It's ok, really. I know you weren't ready. And as for last week's fiasco, it's forgotten. It hurt, but I knew what I was getting into when I started digging. The only reason I haven't seen you since then is because Alexis needed my help with college things. So no, I don't hate you, and I never will."

"How did,"

"I know? Kate," he chuckled, "I've been shadowing you for four years now. I know your tells." He gently grabbed her hand, successfully pulling her into a hug, making her tense. He wasn't usually this touchy, especially when she was so emotional. But he somehow always knew just what she needed, and in this case, a hug was just that. She relaxed into his arms, but didn't hug back. She just let him hold her, just for a second, hoping that they were ok again.

"I should probably go home then," she whispered as she pulled away from his arms.

"Stay," he pouted. But she couldn't not yet. He knew that, he just wanted to make her smile.

"I can't...I..."

"I understand. Thank you, Kate."

"I didn't do anything."

"You did. You apologized. So thank you. It means the world to me."

"Always," she smiled. She turned to leave, but before the elevator opened she heard his voice.

"Kate?"

She turned around expectantly.

"See you Monday?"

She smirked at the hopeful tone in his voice, like after everything that just happened she could still want him gone.

"Monday," she confirmed as she stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind her.

So that's it! Let me know what you think!

Personally, I think I do my best work when I'm extrememly exhausted, which is why the first chapter is better. Thanks for reading!

Reviews make my day. Seriously. Love em.

On a side note, has anyone seen the preview clip for 4x13? OMG. Andrew Marlowe is such a tease. That's all I'm gonna say about it.

Also, I watched it four times.

love you all.

xx ~ C