Here's chapter 2! I know it's pretty angsty right now, but I promise you that eventually the story will even out :) And if you couldn't already tell, the story is named after the song 'In Your Arms' by Stanfour. Listen to it while you read!

The next morning, Kate woke up early. Like 5:30 AM early. She quietly got dressed in workout clothes, packed a bag with an outfit for work, and wrote a note to Castle:

Woke up early and decided to get a workout in – I took a cab and left the car for you. Going straight to the 12th from the gym. You don't need to come to the precinct today, our latest case just ended so I'll probably be doing paperwork all day, and I know how much you hate that. Espo will keep me in line if something does come up.

Love you. – Kate

She left the note on her pillow and crept out of her apartment just a few minutes before six. Twenty minutes and one cab ride later, she was beating the shit out of a punching bag in the practically empty gym, with just 2 other people there, both on treadmills. At 7:30, she took a shower in the gym locker room and then got dressed in a chocolate brown v-neck sweater, jeans, and a leather jacket. She braided her hair to the side and let a few little curls escape and frame her face, did her eyeliner, and then grabbed her bag. She decided she wanted to walk to the precinct, it was only 20 or so minutes from her gym. While she walked, she pulled out her phone to see if one of the boys had called her about a body. She had one voicemail from about 6 minutes ago, so she called it and was a bit surprised when it was Castle.

"Hey honey, it's me. You're probably in between the gym and the 12th, but I just wanted you to know that I got your note and I'm going to spend the day at the loft writing. You're right, paperwork sucks - ," he laughed and then continued, " – but hopefully it means that you can leave work a little early. Alexis has a sleepover tonight and mother left this morning for one of her 3-day spa retreats, so we'll have the place all to ourselves. I was thinking a quiet, romantic night in, to make up for your crappy day yesterday. Let me know if that sounds good. Anyway, I love you and I will see you later. Don't hesitate to call me if you want me to drop by with lunch or some coffee. Bye, gorgeous."

Tears pooled in the corners of Kate's eyes and she stopped for a minute, ducking into an alley next to an Italian restaurant. She leaned up against the cold concrete wall and pushed the heels of her hands against her eyes, trying to stop the tears. She took a minute to compose herself, checked her eye makeup in the screen of her phone, and walked quickly to the precinct. She needed a case.

Back at his loft, Castle was sitting down at his laptop to finalize the details of Nikki Heat's newest case when his cell phone rang. He smiled, thinking it might be Kate responding to his message.

"Castle."

", this is Dr. Carter Burke, I'm Kate Beckett's therapist. We've met a few times."

"Yes, , hello. How can I help you? Is it about Kate?" Castle shifted in his chair, slightly worried.

"Yes, , it is. I understand that you and are… in a relationship. And I know it was your idea for you to attend one of her two weekly sessions."

"Yes, it was. I was actually going to ask you about making it only once a week at tomorrow's appointment. She and I both agreed that dialing it back a bit might be easier on her."

"That's fine. However, I think that maybe you should stop accompanying Kate to her sessions."

Castle was puzzled. "May I ask why?"

"Well, I can see that you and Kate are very close to each other, and you care for her very much. I just want her recovery to be something she achieves on her own, it will be helpful to her. It will make her stronger."

"With all due respect, , Kate has that strength already. And she wants me there. Besides that, I want to be there. I love her very much, and I want her to feel comfortable and not rushed."

"I see where you are coming from, I do. But doing this alone will give Kate a bigger sense of pride and accomplishment if she works through this on her own. And you two seemed to have worked out whatever problems there are in your relationship."

"Yes, but I was there for all of it. The re-opening of her mother's case, the death of two of her mentors, the shooting. She was bleeding to death in my arms. I almost lost her, do you understand? I can't….. I can't lose her again." Castle's tone grew slightly forceful, and he felt like he might cry. He hadn't cried since… well, since Kate got shot.

"You won't lose her, . Think of how much therapy can help her, the person she will be in a few months, once we start to make some real progress."

"I will lose her. She might decide she doesn't need me, or she might go down that rabbit hole again."

"You won't, , I can assure you. I just think she might make progress faster if her boyfriend isn't there every other week."

Castle rubbed his temples and sighed. "Okay. But if she doesn't agree, I join her."

"We'll give it a few weeks, . I assure you that I want only the best for Kate. Have a good day."

"You too," Castle said. He hung up and immediately punched the wall. Oww. He needed Kate to feel safe. After her appointment yesterday, she had been in tears. Part of that may have been from her overall frustration, but still. She needed him there. And he needed to be there for her. Show her he could be serious, and there for the bad stuff, too, not just the fun stuff.

At the 12th, Kate was filling out paperwork. She yawned and looked at her phone clock. 11 AM. She was just about to start composing a text back to Castle (which she had been avoiding since she got his voicemail) when Ryan rolled his chair up to her desk.

"Where's Castle?," he asked gently, pointing to Castle's empty chair. "You guys seemed pretty good there for a while."

Kate smiled softly. She really did love Ryan and Espo for being so sweet to her when it mattered. They trash-talked each other often, as cops do, and Kate herself was very skilled at it. But when it came to certain things, the boys knew when to leave it alone and just be her friends.

"I made him stay home and write. He does have a career besides following me around, you know."

Ryan laughed and wheeled his chair back to his desk, where Esposito was waiting expectantly. They leaned their heads together and she heard him and Ryan exchange a few whispers: "What'd she say, bro?" "Castle's writing. I told you they didn't break up." "Hmm." "You owe me 5 bucks." "I'll pay you later."

Esposito then popped his head up from their little 2-person huddle and called out to her, "Hey Beckett, we got a body. 72nd and Lex."

Beckett grinned, picked up her gun, and jumped up from her chair. Finally.

xxx

Kate got to Castle's building at 8 pm, after spending the whole afternoon and evening attacking her newest case. A murder of a used bookstore owner over a rare copy of a book was right up Castle's alley, and she was excited to tell him about it. Then maybe he would forget that she had been distant today. He had texted her around 2 and asked what she wanted for dinner, and she had just replied with a vague "I don't know, you can choose."

Before the incident last May, she and Castle rarely texted each other outside of the Precinct, or talked on the phone, but since they had reunited, texts with smileys and terms of endearment had become the norm, as well as short little phone conversations just to check in with each other when they were apart during the day.

Kate got off the elevator and let herself into Castle's loft with the key he had given her. She didn't see him anywhere, so she hung up her coat and set her purse and overnight bag in the hall closet.

She was just about to call his name when he came up behind her and surprised her with a hug. She stiffened for a second, but when she realized it was him, she relaxed into his arms.

"Hey."

"Hey," he said, kissing her neck and making her melt. "I got Chinese. You hungry?"

She nodded, not wanting to leave his arms. "Yeah. Starving."

He took her hand and they sat down at the kitchen table, where he had set out Chinese food and poured them each a glass of red wine. The food was still warm, and smelled amazing.

"I had Ryan call me when you left so the food would be ready when you got home," Castle said sweetly, pulling her chair out for her. She sat down and smiled.

"Thanks."

Castle stole a quick kiss before sitting down across from her. Kate looked happy as she piled Chinese food onto her plate from the different containers. He didn't want to ruin what could be the perfect night, but he would be unable to fully focus on the gorgeous woman in front of him if he didn't tell her what happened today.

"Hey, Kate? I got a call from today."

She froze and looked at him over her glass of wine. She looked… for a second she looked worried. But then she bit her lip and looked a bit hopeful.

"What did he say?"

"He is okay with you going once a week, but he thinks I shouldn't come anymore. At all."

Her face softened. "Oh. Well that's okay, right? Maybe it will be good for me, make this whole thing go faster."

Castle was confused. Yesterday, she had wanted him there. Needed him. And now it was "okay" for her to go alone? And that whole thing about the process being faster, that sounded almost exactly like what had said.

"Are you sure? Last night – "

"Last night I was exhausted, and I took it out on you, " Kate said, taking a bite of chicken chow mein. " is a great doctor, and if I open my mind a bit more I think he and I can make a lot of progress."

Castle didn't know how to reply, so he stuffed a huge forkful of moo shu pork into his mouth and nodded slowly. When he finished chewing, he took a sip of wine and said, "Okay. But you change your mind, you let me know. I want you to feel comfortable through this whole thing, Kate."

She nodded and got up from the table, her plate empty.

"I'm going to go slip into my pajamas, okay? Maybe then we can watch a movie or something. Sound good?"

He nodded. "Sounds great, honey."

She picked up her overnight back and smiled at him, still sexy as ever. Castle watched her disappear into his bedroom. He was going to lose her. He could already feel her pulling away. And he couldn't stop the pain.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Review please? ;)