Beckett's team clustered outside of the courtroom as everyone else filed out, beginning to decompress. Montgomery was all smiles, having been more invested in this hearing, Castle knew, than he would've been if any of his other detectives had been under investigation, although he'd never have admitted that. Ryan and Esposito were alternating between congratulating Beckett and insisting that they'd known it would turn out this way all along... but the clear relief on their faces led him to believe that they'd been more worried than they were willing to let on.

Castle was thrilled. The hearing had ended as well as could've been expected. All the nightmare scenarios he had created had come to nothing, and he couldn't have been more grateful for that. "I think we need to celebrate," he announced. "What do you say? Old Haunt tonight, drinks on the house?"

"Count me in," the captain responded immediately. The boys laughed and agreed as well.

Beckett, on the other hand, didn't seem quite as sure. At this point in the day, Castle would've expected her to be ecstatic, swimming in relief from her myriad of what-ifs, but her response to the gaiety surrounding her was halfhearted at best. She smiled, nodded, and agreed, "Yeah, sounds good," but her mind was somewhere else.

"Eight o'clock," he announced to the group, but focusing on Kate, trying to pull her back in. "Okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, eight o'clock. See you then."

Their group broke up as they left the courthouse, but he stuck with her, hoping to get at least a minute or two to talk. "So, what do you think?" he asked her. "Want to go back to my place and hang out for a little while?"

She shook her head. "No, I think I'll just go home."

Her tone was distant, and although he tried not to be, he couldn't help being a little offended by it. Had he done something wrong? "Oh... okay. Sure. Um... I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah. Tonight."

For the last two weeks, he'd been wishing for this day and these circumstances: for the hearing to be over, everything resolved in Beckett's favor. What he hadn't realized was that when that happened, his relationship with Beckett would very suddenly be returned to the way it had been before any of this had happened. These two weeks, the case, the hearing... it hadn't been good, but there could be no denying that it had brought the two of them closer. But now that it was over... it was over. He was just her partner. And Gates had made sure that that wasn't likely to change any time soon.

He probably shouldn't have been upset. This was the best thing for her. The easiest thing for everyone. She kept her job, and nothing had to change. But then why did it feel like everything had?

It wasn't as if she'd been thrilled about the judge's verdict. She'd been happy, sort of, but not as much as she should've been. And she'd hardly said anything afterward, not to him or anyone else. He'd had visions of the hearing ending in a giant bear hug and a barrage of thank-yous for everything he'd done for her. And it wasn't as if he needed that... he'd helped because he'd wanted to, because he cared about her and she'd needed him, not because he wanted her gratitude, or to have something to hold over her head. It was just that... he had all these feelings for her. Feelings that, if Gates was right... probably weren't appropriate to have in a working relationship. But still, when they were in the Hamptons, he'd gotten the feeling, although it was stronger at some times than others, that she might've felt the same way. But now he was pretty sure that he'd been imagining things. Believing that she thought about him in ways that she probably never had, just because he'd wanted to believe it. And now that he realized he'd only been letting his imagination get away from him... he didn't even have a word to describe it. There was disappointment, and then there was this. The only thing he knew for sure was that it hurt.

He felt horribly for even thinking this, because he knew how much she'd risked to keep him as her partner... but he wasn't sure if he could do it anymore. Seeing her, spending time with her every day, knowing that they couldn't, and she didn't even want to be, anything more than partners, and knowing that his feelings for her weren't just going to go away... it was too much.

He hadn't made any decisions yet. He figured he'd go to the Old Haunt tonight... after all, he'd arranged it... and figure it out then. But he wasn't feeling particularly optimistic.

The party was for her, and she was late. It was past eight-thirty, and still he was staring at the door, waiting for her to walk through it.

Esposito clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past, surprising him enough that he jumped a little. "Relax, bro. She'll be here."

He nodded, although he couldn't keep the frown from his face. "Have you talked to her?"

"Not since we left the courthouse. But I know she'll be here. Hell, it's her party."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Some party."

It should've been, actually. A lot of the cops from the Twelfth had shown up, including the captain, plus Lanie. Everyone except the guest of honor.

He finally broke down and decided to get a drink to help pass the time, but just as he was about to order it, the room erupted in applause. It was slow at first, just a few people, but soon nearly everyone caught on, and he knew that there was only one explanation. She was here.

When he spotted her, she was staring at the floor, looking extremely uncomfortable. It was strange considering he'd been waiting for her to show up all night, but now that she was here, he couldn't bring himself to go to her. She obviously hadn't wanted to talk to him all day. She hadn't called, or texted, or smoke signaled... She knew exactly how to find him, and she hadn't. So he figured he shouldn't push her now. He'd let her seek him out if she had anything to say. And if she didn't... well, maybe he didn't have anything to say to her either. He ordered his drink and grabbed a seat.

But it was only minutes before the empty seat beside him was suddenly full. "Hey, Castle," she said, with just enough volume for him to hear over the crowd. "Some gathering you've assembled here."

He shrugged. "It's your gathering. I just supplied the venue."

"And invited all these people, I imagine."

"No, that was mostly the boys. You're very popular with this crowd, though."

She blushed. "I didn't deserve the applause. I didn't really do anything."

"Well, they're glad to have you back. As they should be."

"Yeah... listen. Can we talk?"

"Aren't we?"

"You know what I mean. Somewhere... quieter."

She'd had all day to decide she wanted to talk, and she waited until now, in a bar crowded with people wanting to celebrate her victory? He wanted - hell, he needed - to hear what she had to say, but he wasn't thrilled with her timing. "Where do you suggest we go?"

She raised an eyebrow and nodded downward, a slight sparkle in her eye.

His eyes widened. "You're serious?"

"It's private, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah... yeah, it is." "Dark" and "creepy" were two other words that came to mind, but if she was seriously suggesting meeting in the hidden basement under his bar, he was certainly not going to turn down the opportunity. Cloak-and-dagger was one of his favorite themes. "Let's go."

"You should put some more furniture down here." The room had been used as an office, but there was really only a chair and a desk. He hadn't done anything with it since he bought the place.

"I wasn't anticipating using this room for secret meetings..." He met her eyes, and the cute, playful smile on her face was infectious. As mad at her as he'd been just a moment ago, he found that it couldn't last. "...but clearly I should've been. I'll get some furniture."

"Good." Her smile faded a bit, her face growing more serious. "Look, Castle, I never really got a chance to thank you for everything. The last two weeks, and today... it could've gone so much worse than it did, and you... you really helped."

He sighed. "Not today, so much."

"But that wasn't your fault. It's just the way IA set up the case."

He nodded. "Well, I'm happy to help. Glad everything worked out."

"I don't know about 'everything'."

"You got reinstated, right? Wasn't that the goal?"

"Yeah. It was." She let out a long stream of air. "Look, I thought about it a lot today, and I don't want to quit my job."

He frowned, wondering if he'd missed some word, or sentence, or... conversation... that would put that last comment into some sort of context. It had come out of her mouth so naturally, as if it had made perfect sense, but it hit him more like an anvil falling from the sky. "Of course you don't. Isn't that what the whole hearing was about? Making sure you didn't have to?"

"Making sure I didn't have to, yes. Not making sure that I wouldn't."

"What are you talking about?"

"We had this conversation in the Hamptons, remember? I said that with my mom's case solved, it might be nice to just... be a regular person for awhile."

He'd all but forgotten that conversation. At the time, he'd chalked it up to her fear that the hearing wouldn't resolve in her favor, and trying to remain optimistic, to make it seem like a loss wouldn't be so devastating. He'd never once considered that she'd even entertain the thought of quitting after being reinstated. That was so not Beckett. "But... you changed your mind. Right?"

"No, not exactly. I just... I know what I went through with this case, from the time it started to... well, today... and I know that there are other families out there who have to deal with the same thing every day. And it just seems... right... to keep doing whatever I can to make sure that it's a little easier for them than it was for me. That they don't have to-" she smiled, but without any real joy, "-become police officers and solve the cases themselves ten years later. It just... feels like it's what I'm supposed to do."

He nodded. "I get that. And... I knew you'd feel that way."

"But Internal Affairs is gonna be breathing down my neck for the next six months. I mean, you've seen what they're capable of. They knew we were in the Hamptons together, for god's sake."

"So you'll have to be a little more careful for awhile." He didn't quite understand her level of concern. "You can be by-the-book when you try, I'm sure you'll be fine."

She sighed. "I don't want to be careful. I want to be with you."

His mind went blank. "With..."

"You," she finished, with a nod.

She meant at work. She had to mean at work. "Well, I'll have to be careful too, I guess. I'll try not to come up with too many crazy theories to throw you off-"

"Castle," she said, stopping him. "I'm ready. My mom's case is over, I can finally start to focus on my own life. And I'd love for it to include you. As more than just my partner."

His head was swimming. So when she'd wanted to be alone earlier, it wasn't because she'd been ignoring him. They wanted the same thing after all. But... "We can't do that, can we? With IA watching? And Gates said that-"

"I don't care what she said. Montgomery was right, my personal life is none of her business."

"So...?"

"So." She grinned. "Thoughts?"

Suddenly his immense vocabulary degenerated to just one non-word: "Uhh..."

"We will have to be careful," she continued, paying no attention to his very profound remark. "We won't be able to tell anyone, at least not anyone at work, until the probation ends. I think Montgomery would back me if he had to, but it would be better for us and for him if we didn't take that risk."

"Sure. So, we continue to meet in secret underground rooms in the dead of night?"

She smirked. "Works for me."

"Hidden basements, forbidden romances... this is better than one of my books."

"I agree." He hadn't noticed her coming closer, but suddenly her face was just inches from his. And then, even more suddenly, it wasn't. Her felt the softness of her lips as they grazed his, inhaled the delicate scent of her perfume, and let his hand slide across the curve of her back as she leaned into him. Time had no meaning. Air didn't seem important. There was him, and there was her, and nothing else mattered.

A/N: I didn't plan it this way, but it turned out to be pretty appropriate that this chapter is getting posted on Valentine's Day. :) Hope you liked it. :)

I'm pretty sure the next chapter is going to be the last one. So... consider yourselves warned.

As always, reviews are lovely, and thanks for reading! :)