I guess this is the chapter many are waiting for so here goes. I really hope you like it and that I've done the awesomeness that is the end of Always justice.

Chapter 23

Always and After the Storm (Part 3)

Kate hadn't told Castle about her diary but wondered if, one day, she might let him read it. When she'd started writing at Dr. Burke's suggestion, she had never had the slightest consideration that it would ever be read by anyone; the remotest prospect would have terrified her, but now?

Thinking that that was really a problem for another day, probably far in the future, if ever, she carried on writing where she'd left off when Castle phoned.

As I left the precinct, a storm was brewing; the clouds were heavy and I could hear thunder in the distance. The rain hadn't started yet but it couldn't be far away. I caught a cab back to my apartment but I only stayed long enough to leave my bag and change out of my turtle neck. I knew I was about to get very wet and there really seemed no point in ruining a perfectly good sweater. As I headed out of the building, the rain started and it came down with a vengeance but I didn't care. I needed to clear my head and just walk whilst I figured out how to make things right with Castle.

It wasn't long before I found myself in a very familiar place, the park where Castle and I had come to our agreement all those months ago after I'd deserted him for the summer while I recovered from my shooting. It seemed a fitting place to consider my next move. I sat on the same swing and remembered. I remembered that last time I'd managed, somehow, to find the right words and that gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, I could do it again but before I could do that, I had to go see him. So it was that I found myself, in the middle of a thunderstorm, standing outside Castle's building with a thunderstorm of a different kind crashing around inside me. I tried to call him but wasn't really surprised when he didn't pick up so I headed inside and up to the loft.

Now I was standing outside his door, any thoughts of what I was going to say left me completely. For a very brief moment, I considered running but I raised my hand and knocked on the door four times before I could change my mind. I could hear someone approaching, the door was flung open and there he was. He obviously hadn't checked to see who was there because for a moment there was a welcome in his eyes until he realised it was me and the shutters came down. We stared at each other for a few seconds and then, finally he spoke and asked me the one question I could answer with absolute certainty,

"Beckett, what do you want?"

That was so easy and I didn't even hesitate,

"You!"

There it was, in a nutshell. Everything I wanted was standing right there in front of me and I wasn't going to let him go without a fight so before he could respond, I acted. I stepped forward, grabbed his face and planted a kiss on his lips. I could immediately sense his confusion. He wanted to step away but he still responded, just slightly, to the kiss. I kept going. I needed to let him know just how sorry I was for everything I'd done to him, not just the last time we'd spoken, but really over the last four years and the apologies just poured out of me. I probably repeated the same thing about three or four times, our faces so close together, noses almost touching,

"I'm so sorry, Castle."

I leant in and kissed him again as if to try and emphasize my point but this time, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me away, not far, but far enough so he could look into my eyes. I kept my contact with him, though, by placing my other hand on his chest. As always with Castle, he needed to know the story and, with a voice far more gentle than I was expecting, he asked,

"What happened?"

By this point, I was fighting the tears but I could feel them mingling with the rain on my face. I couldn't go into the full story now but I had to find a way to make him understand why I was there. I looked him straight in the eye as I said,

"He got away and I didn't care. I almost died and all I could think about was you. I just want you."

There it was. I'd said my piece. I could see the care and concern in his eyes so I tried to kiss him again. He leant away slightly but I then placed my fingers to his lips and, as the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled, his expression changed and I had a very brief moment to realise that what I now saw was shear desire and want before he was pushing me back against the door and crashing his lips onto mine. From that second, he was everywhere, hands, lips, kissing, caressing and my ability to think was gone; I was just along for the ride and what a ride it was!

He didn't slow down until he started placing kisses down my chest. He suddenly stopped, stared for a moment and then unfastened a button on my top. I knew what he was focussed on; this wasn't a man desperate to remove my clothing, to see my breasts; this was a man suddenly seeing proof of my mortality as he gazed at my scar, that small, round, puckered mark right next to my heart. His hand came up to touch it but he hesitated. I was surprised by how much I wanted him to touch it. I needed him to put his hand there because he would feel, not only the scar but also my heart, still beating (very, very quickly, I might add!). The bullet had almost killed me but it hadn't and my beating heart was proof of that.

Castle's hesitation had at least allowed me to catch up with proceedings a little and after making sure I held his hand against the scar, I raised my other hand to his face and our lips met again, this time, though, the kiss was slower, sweeter, more gentle but no less passionate. We held each other's gaze for a moment, and then smiled. I knew the next move was up to me. Castle had shown so much patience with me over the past four years and there was no way he was going to rush me into anything now so I reached down for his hand and led him towards his bedroom.

Once Castle was sure I was on the same page, there was no holding back any more and so began, what was quite simply the best night of my life. The first time, as was inevitable after the years of resisting temptation, was hard and fast but, and this was only to be expected, we discovered that, in the bedroom as in the rest of our partnership, we were totally in sync with each other, a perfect fit.

After, as I lay there in his arms, completely happy and sated, I realised that I needed to tell him everything that had happened earlier in the day. He held me tight, my back to his chest, as I began to relive the events but when I told him of the fight with Maddox, he turned me round and I could see the effect it was having on him. The look of pain in his eyes turned to horror as I got to the part where I was left hanging from the roof.

"I'm so sorry, Kate. I should have been there."

I hadn't expected that. I hadn't expected him to feel guilty. He had no need and I told him just that, kissing him fiercely to try to emphasise the point.

"Anyway, Castle, as far as I was concerned, you were there."

He looked puzzled but I explained how I was sure I'd heard his voice telling me to hold on and how that had given me the strength and determination to keep my grip for the extra few seconds that I needed. When I explained that it had been Ryan who grabbed my hand and hauled me back to safety, he immediately promised that if Kevin ever needed anything at all that was in his power to give, it would be his.

Finally, I told him what had happened after we returned to the precinct, about our suspension and my subsequent resignation. Initially he was shocked but immediately promised that he would fully support whatever decision I made about my future. At that moment, I realised just how good it felt to have someone be there for me, someone who would help me through anything and everything I would have to face and I decided that the time for talking was over.

Round two was a much slower and sweeter event as Castle made a point of searching out all the bumps and bruises I'd acquired on the rooftop and gently giving them his full attention. Once we were finally fully satisfied again, we slept until I was woken by someone kissing his way up my bare back and just like that, it was time for round three.

This time it was full of fun and laughter as we teased each other mercilessly. I admit that I have had sex many times, with quite a few men over the years but for the first time ever, I now understood the difference between having sex and making love. This was making love and it was a revelation. But what delighted me more than anything else was that we were still the same people we'd always been; in spite of the massive change in our relationship, the banter, the teasing, the joking was all still there.

The need for sleep finally caught up with us. I cuddled up to Castle, head on his chest, arm flung over his torso and legs tangled up with his and drifted off, lulled by the steady beat of his heart.

At this point, Kate decided that she needed a break. She'd been writing on and off for several hours and knew that she had several more to go before she finished the story. Food was becoming a necessity. Although she knew she'd be eating with Castle later, she decided a sandwich right now wouldn't go amiss.

Anyone who has not yet seen After the Storm should probably stop here. I will post the remaining chapters quickly so those people can skip to the epilogue which does not contain any spoilers from 501.