A/N: The finale's promo practically killed me. D: But, I believe in Marlowe and have faith in the writers.

Disclaimer: If I owned Castle, we wouldn't have to wait until next week for the finale. Nor would I be driving my friends crazy with my anticipation and nerves.

"You take this job, that's the end of our relationship."

Things have been tense ever since Castle gave Beckett the ultimatum. She knew she was wrong for keeping the job offer in D.C. from him, but couldn't they talk things through and discuss it together now that she's told him?

He had left the precinct in the evening while she stayed on to see if there would be any breakthrough with this case they were working on. Beckett guiltily admits that she might have stayed back in the precinct to avoid him. It was childish and she knew it.

She finally gave in when nine o'clock rolled by. With no leads to work on, it was time to head back. She could deal with this case in the morning, but she needed to deal with Castle now.

She unlocked the doors to the loft with her own set of keys. Nostalgically she thought back to the day he handed her a copy of the key to the loft. They had both been so blissfully happy. She missed that honeymoon phase of their relationship.

Beckett called out to alert him of her presence. "Hey, I'm h-"

Home.

That was what she'd almost said aloud.

It was such a domestic thing to say, and she had been comfortable with that phrase for so long. But with how things stood now, she couldn't bring herself to use that word. It didn't sit right anymore.

Clearing her throat, Beckett called out, "I'm back."

"I'm here in the study," was his floating reply. Putting her things away, she headed there.

"Hey," she greeted tentatively, standing at under the doorway. Closing his laptop, he looked up at her and smiled.

"How's the case going? Any breakthroughs?" he asked. Kate couldn't help but notice how polite he was. He gave off a cold vibe, probably unintentionally, and she could feel the distance between them growing.

"Hmm, nothing much, really. We're hoping that we'll have more to work with when the results return in the morning," she replied, heading over to stand beside his desk. "Were you writing?" she asked, gesturing at the closed laptop with her head.

Castle stood up, telling her, "Yeah, I was in the mood."

After a beat of silence, he continued, "Anyway, I think I'm going to go shower."

"You want me to join you?" she offered, feeling unsure of what she should do.

"I think I need some space for a bit," he told her with a slight apologetic look. Space? He'd been alone for hours. How much more space did he need?

"Should I not have come over?" She frowned.

Even though they were stuck in a patch now, it hadn't even occurred to her to go to her apartment for the night. She practically lived at the loft, and going there at the end of the day had become a habit.

"No, no, it's fine," he reassured her, "I'll be quick."

Leaning over, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before heading into his room.

Beckett huffed and plopped onto his chair. He wasn't stonewalling her, but he sure was avoiding her. Her gaze fell onto the notepad on his table. She couldn't talk to him, but she could write her thoughts down.

So many things had happened in the past few weeks and she just needed an outlet. She wasn't writing for him, he isn't meant to read this. She was doing this for herself. Grabbing a pen, she pulled the notepad over and penned her thoughts down.

You said you wanted to help me tear the walls down. You promised to be there when the walls came down. You told me always. You said I was extraordinary. Am I not still extraordinary in your eyes?

How could someone I've met for less than two days know how remarkable I am but the person whose opinion matters the most to me, you, just don't see that anymore? You don't see me anymore.

How does a stranger who has just met me know that I'm a force to be reckoned with, that I am exceptional; but it's nothing to you anymore? How can a stranger tell me that everything about me screams for bigger things but my boyfriend doesn't feel that way? Why can't you see what an amazing opportunity this is for me?

What does this mean for us? Where is our future going? Do we even have a future together? Lately it feels like we're just going through the motions. It feels as though we're already detached.

I thought we were special.

I thought "always" meant something.

I guess I thought wrong.

As Beckett scrawled out that last thought, she sighed and dropped the pen. No, she didn't mean that last thought. Or did she?

Hearing Castle turn off the waters in the shower, Beckett tore off her paper from the notepad and squished it into a ball, throwing it into the trash beside Castle's desk.

Standing up to head into his room to shower, Beckett didn't notice that her balled up note had just missed the rim of the trashcan and had landed on the hardwood floor.

"I'm just gonna go ahead and shower," she told him, entering the warm bathroom as he picked out clothes from his closet. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement before she shut the door.

As he headed to the study to put away his laptop and straighten out the things on his desk, Castle noticed something lying next to the trash. He bent to pick it up and drop it in the trash, but the handwriting peeking out wasn't his.

Wait. This was Kate's handwriting. What had she been writing out here? It was probably some theory about their current case that she had probably struck out or something. Still, he'd like to know what she came up with. Maybe he could help her build theories.

Straightening up, he unfurled the paper and smoothed it out.

Now he knew why curiosity killed the cat. In fact, he died just a little bit reading her words.

A/N: What did you guys think? I might sit down and figure out how Castle would actually react to reading Beckett's note and post a next chapter if enough of you guys are interested... Otherwise, this will just be a one-shot. Review! :)