Alright, I get the hit guys; you want to see some Allison action. Well your wish is granted...well not in this chapter. BUT we are down to the final three chapters of this fic. This one and then two more and then Glass Slipper is over. And I'm warning you now, the last too are going to be so sweet you'll get sixteen cavities - okay maybe just five.

Regardless, here is the final lap of Glass Slipper for my lovely readers.

And just a little side note: I haven't read any spoilers for Season 5 so anything that resembles a spoiler in this chapter...isn't. Okay *swak* bye!

Please review and as always you can follow me on twitter you can find me at vatrask

Enjoy 3

They had sex. Yup. And it was star-burstingly beautiful, but neither could really fully enjoy it. In the back of Beckett's mind she kept thinking 'yes, oh god, why didn't we do this sooner' and in the back of Castle's mind he was thinking 'oh god, please don't let this be a one night stand'. Because Kate had shown up at his door after he'd walked away from her – for once she was the one to come to him instead of the other way around – but she just seemed to be after some post-near death sex trip. He'd said he loved her and she said she wanted him. What the hell did that mean?

She stayed. She was there when he woke up the next morning and round seven had been the best yet. She had stood on the other side of the counter and watched him make her coffee, admiring his back side in the sweat pants he'd donned for the sake of her sanity. When he handed her his largest mug that said 'kiss me, I'm a writer' she smiled at him, brushing her fingers with his and finally allowing herself to revel in the tingles that swept down her spine.

They'd had wild, crazy sex and it was his fingers brushing hers over a coffee cup that made her shiver.

They'd even made pancakes and laughed about their private joke from all those years ago when he'd made her pancakes just because they were pancakes and not because they were an edible way of saying 'thank you so much for last night'. Thoughts of what Ryan and Esposito would say made her face fall. Rick didn't know that she'd resigned from the precinct before coming to him – didn't know that Ryan and Esposito were on the outs – hadn't seen the bruises on her neck and back until they were basking in the after-glow of round three and still he never said anything. He was waiting for her to open up, still worried that the tiniest little push would make her run.

He was probably right about that; just thinking about telling him the details of her fight with the man who'd shot her was making her toss her breakfast around on her plate instead of eating it despite the fact that she was famished – not eating for nearly 24hrs and then having hot, passionate sex tended to make one hungry.

They had barely spoken to each other – not that they really needed to – but it made the silence deafening; they were left to their thoughts which were swirly around 'what if's and 'what now's and it got so bad that she left after breakfast.

But she wasn't running – she made that very clear by the deep, slow kiss she'd given him in the open doorway – she just needed to change because her clothes from last night were clinging damply to her burning skin and her hair had begun to curl up into itself. She would shower – alone; if only to escape temptation – and then if she wasn't completely exhausted, she'd invite him over and they could talk; figure things out. It was a good solid plan. It was a nice plan.

She wasn't running away.

She ended up calling him after a nice long, hot shower, a bowl of cheerios for lunch – she hadn't really had a chance to go shopping lately – and an hour segment of Temptation Lane. He was over in less than twenty minutes and she had to push down the cop inside of her that wondered if he was speeding. That wasn't who she was anymore; she just hadn't told Rick yet. She would – she really would – if only to get him to stop saying 'detective' in that leering tone like it was secret code for 'I've seen you naked'. It was endearing at first but after a while, it just stung.

She opened the door, offering him a shy smile as he stood in the doorway, practically out of breath – yup, he'd sped here. When he saw her standing there fresh-faced and tidied up compared to the last time they'd been in a doorway, he was momentarily stunned. Kate Beckett hadn't run away; she was standing there waiting for him. This was new and delightfully wonderful. She mistook his hesitation for discomfort and dipped her head closer to whisper "if you want to kiss me Castle you can."

Her words brought him out of his revere and although that wasn't what he was thinking about, he certainly wasn't going to turn her away. After only a breath of hesitation, he met her lips but there was no passion to their kiss; the oddest sense of right lingered in the air between them. It shot shivers down her spine but the shockwaves through her fingertips kept her from touching him. Not knowing what to do with his hands, Rick brought them down to her shoulders and held her there – though she certainly wasn't going anywhere soon. It was only as they were parting that he noticed her drop down onto her heels; her bare heels, making her several inches shorter than normal. Something about the image of Kate Beckett standing on her toes just to give him a sweet kiss made him pull her back to him by the shoulders, this kiss a little warmer than before. And it certainly lingered; opened mouthed kisses in the vanilla-scented air – he loved her shampoo. But they still parted after what seemed like the shortest span of eternity and she kept her eyes closed.

Even as he stared at her in awe and worry, she kept her eyes closed, breathing him in – breathing them in – and trying her best to hide her smile.

"You came," she whispered. "I didn't think you would."

He titled his head, more worried than awe-struck now "Why not?" His breath still caught when she fluttered her eyes open. Those hazel eyes that had first attracted his attention four years ago.

"I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me;" it was almost a smile but it didn't reach her eyes. "I thought you were done."

He understood, he did, and the only reassurance he could offer was a dark one, pulling her just close enough so she could rest her forehead against his "I thought you'd be dead by now."

"Well I'm not." There was that sad, sweet smile of hers – the one only he got to see.

"And we're not." He promised, taking the liberty of kissing her lightly just because he could. It felt so weird having permission to do it after four years of resisting the urge to even hold her hand but he was determined to figure it out.

"No we're not." The words were like heaven, or something really close to it. She was offering him comfort about the future – that's what it was – and he loved it.

Now was the perfect time for more practice, he decided, bringing his lips down to hers harder this time, pressing into her and bringing her flush against his hip. She moaned in surprise, sweeping her arms around his neck as he dipped her slightly so he could press his entire weight into him. It felt odd kissing him after all the nights she'd spent reprimanding herself for the one they'd shared last year – even though it was all she could think about – but she was determined to become accustomed to it by doing it as often as possible; kind of like how she grew accustomed to Castle just because he was always there.

Always; she knew those words meant more and now they were just sinfully sweet.

They couple jumped back when they heard someone clearing their throat in the doorway. They caught sight of a practically giddy Kevin Ryan in his usual blazer and dress pants and smirk on his face that was just tender enough to pass for a smile. Kate bit her lip, suddenly entranced by the design of her open apartment door while Rick cleared his throat one too many times, shifting his hands into his pockets.

"Well," the couple simultaneously looked at the ceiling hoping for something interesting up there to distract him "aren't you too just cozy." She wanted to glare at her friend but feared it wouldn't be nearly as useful when she was blushing hot pink and fighting a happy smile.

So instead she hesitantly looked him in the eyes, flashing back to yesterday when he pulled her from the roof and stared at her with guilty relief thinking he'd betrayed her by calling Captain Gates and saving her life. "Hey Ryan." Was all she managed. In the light of the morning, she'd managed to calm down and realize that Ryan had literally and figuratively saved her life and she had yet to thank him for it. "Listen about yesterday"

"Actually yeah, that's why I was here." He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Me?" She shot a glance at Rick and then back at Ryan who was watching them both intently "I'm doing okay." She lowered her eyes "how are you?"

He shrugged, trying to seem casual but she knew better "it's going to be kind of quiet around without you and Esposito but I'll manage."

"You're a good cop, Ryan." It was his turn to blush but it turned into that adorable leer of his as the subject quickly changed.

"So how long has this been going on?" No one needed to know what he meant.

"Since yesterday." Rick spoke; he almost sounded defensive but they all knew he had no reason to be.

"Before or"

"After." She told her friend who nodded in understand – happy understanding but it was still grave as thoughts of everything that happened yesterday floated around them.

"Well," he shrugged "I just came to see how you were doing," he shifted onto the balls of his feet "and I can see you're just fine so I'll be going now."

He turned to leave and was half way down the hallway when Kate stepped into the hall after him "Hey Kevin," he turned, a little shocked to hear her call him by his first name "thank you."

He smiled "no problem." When she turned to go back inside, it was his turn to stop her "You know Kate," her head shot up "if you give Gates a few days to calm down, she'll probably give you your old job back."

"Thanks," she nodded her goodbye like they would see each other tomorrow and then he was gone.

When she stepped back inside – remembering to shut the door this time – she sighed, knowing it was time to face the music; Rick was patient with letting her tell him thing so n her own time but that was a little too much information overload for even him to handle. "Okay, I'm sorry; I need to know what happened yesterday."

She led him to the couch with two fingers curled around his index and sat on the coffee table across from him. And she told him everything that had happened since he walked away from her concluding with "and then I gave Gates my gun and badge. I resigned." And she was sounding do casual that when Rick stood in outrage, it didn't surprise her.

"What the hell, Kate? Why would you quit?"

"Because I don't need it anymore." She tried to pull him down by lacing her fingers with his. It was supposed to be comforting but his palms were too sweating for that. "I only became a cop because I wanted to solve my mom's murder." Her eyes grew serious and it was probably that single breath that made him sit back down "I meant what I said, I don't care anymore; I'm moving on."

His voice was calmer now but she could tell he was still jittery "but you love being a cop; catching the bad guys, helping the victim's families. You love your job."

"I'll find something else to love." She insisted.

"Just," he held up their linked fingers so could examine them together; her fingers were long and slender and yet so small compared to his writer hands "don't give up just yet okay?" It was hard, knowing that she was no longer a cop when that's all he'd ever known her to be "you would be extraordinary at anything you do" he quickly cut in "but let it sink in a little before you decide anything okay?" And there was that word again – extraordinary – plunked in the middle of a sentence like it was any other word. But she knew better and she thought he knew better but it didn't matter because he knew her weak spot; him.

"Alright I'll think about it." By September she'd be back at the precinct.

So, did this make them a couple?