A/N- First off I would like to thank everyone who has Reviewed, Favorited, and Followed this story. The response to this story has been overwhelming, I never thought it would get this much of a response, *Hugs* to you all. Secondly there will be one more chapter after this which will be rated M. Thanks as always goes out to my amazing Beta Dmarx.

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Castle

Sometimes I test your trust,
Sometimes I don't know why your stayin with me,
I'm hard to love, hard to love,
Oh, I don't make it easy,

Hard To Love by Lee Brice

Kate thinks about going after him, but decides against it, opting to let him cool down before trying to talk to him again. So she starts to clean up the kitchen and put the leftovers in the fridge, then heads to the bathroom to take a shower. Stepping into the shower, she rests her forehead against the cool tiles as the warm water cascades over her body. Castle was right, and she knows he was right. Her actions over the past month were not ones of someone who is committed. She wishes she could turn back time; she would've done things a hell of a lot differently. She would've been honest with Castle, told him about the job offer. She would have never allowed Erik Vaughn to get inside her head and make her doubt what she and Castle had.

She finishes up her shower and shuts off the water; she towels off and dries her hair. She heads to the bedroom to find Castle changing out of his clothes and slipping on his boxers and an old t-shirt.

"Castle-"she starts while slipping on her pajamas.

"I'm really tired right now Kate," he says, not even looking at her as he climbs into bed.

She sighs heavily before climbing in next to him as he rolls onto his side facing away from her. She stares mindlessly up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. How could she be so stupid and selfish? She wishes there was some book or article out there that would tell her how to fix all of this because she has no clue how to do it.

She must have drifted off to sleep at some point because she soon wakes to the pale dim gray light of dawn, slivers of light snaking their way through the blinds, casting shadows over the room. She rolls over onto her back and glances at Castle, who is sprawled out on his stomach, face mushed into his pillow, snoring loudly. She huffs and throws the cover back and slides out of bed, knowing she won't be able to fall back to sleep so she might as well face the day.

The hardwood floor is cool beneath her bare feet as she pads her way down the hall to the front door. She slips on her pair of flip flops before opening the door, and steps out onto the front porch, quietly shutting the door behind her so as not to wake Castle. She breaths in the cool fresh spring air.

She makes her way down to the lake and takes a seat in one of the wooden lawn chairs that sits near the edge. The sun has just begun to peak up over the horizon, casting bright rays over the landscape, the sky a myriad of soft reds, oranges, and blues. It all takes her back to the last time she was here, that summer two years ago, and her hand instinctively moves up to her chest. Whenever she couldn't sleep she would always come out here and sit and watch the sun come up. It had helped calm and relax her, especially on those mornings when she had awoken from nightmare.

She closes her eyes, and revels in the quietness, apart from the chirping of birds. She opens her eyes and notices how the sun hits the water at an angle making it shimmer and sparkle.

She pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around her knees, basking in the sun's warmth. Her mind drifts back to the one question that has been nagging at her all week; how could he want to marry her? She doesn't understand it. After lying to him and continuously not letting him in, he still wants to marry her, even though he deserves better. He deserves someone who isn't fucked up like her.

She doesn't know how long she stays like this; sitting here staring absent- mindedly out over the lake, lost in her thoughts. But she finally decides to head back in and make some coffee and once again try to make amends for her mistakes.

When Castle walks into the kitchen, he is surprised to see her there, sitting on the kitchen counter, her long legs dangling over the edge. She offers him a cup of coffee with an apologetic smile. He hesitates for a moment before taking it, steps back and leans against the sink.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs, ducking her head and allowing her hair to fall over her face. "I've made a lot of mistakes, and I wish I could go back and change things…" She looks up over at him, but he still won't look at her. He just keeps his eyes trained on the floor. "I never meant to hurt you." He looks up at her then seeks out her gaze, and he sees the sincerity in her hazel eyes. "What happened with Vaughn was-was stupid."

He looks at her then, their eyes meet, "Well it's partly my fault,"

"Yeah but Castle I never should have fell for his charm, but he just started questioning me about our relationship and I let him get into my head." She bites her bottom lip, "And that job, I never really wanted it."

"I find that hard to believe," he scoffs, sitting his cup down on the counter.

"The old me wanted that job, not the person I am now." She hangs her head, she grows quiet and he waits her out, "I got scared, Castle. What we have is something real and that scares the hell out of me, and so I allowed myself to revert back to old habits."

Silence falls between them, neither one knowing what to say. "I've been scared too," he says quietly after a moment, "I've been so scared of messing this up; afraid that if I push you, you'll run so I've just been cruising along and following your lead."

She slides off the counter and moves over to stand in front him, touches his arm reassuringly, "Hey, I'm not going to run." But she can tell by the look on his face that he doesn't believe her, and she drops her head, sighing. "I wish there was some way…I could prove it to you."

"Move in with me," he blurts out.

Her head snaps up, "What?"

"Move in with me." He repeats.

She locks eyes with him and can tell he is serious about this. "Okay," she finally manages to get out. "Okay," she repeats a little more emphatically. Her lips curve into a smile and for the first time in over a week she sees genuine smile spread across his face, and when she looks into his eyes she finds a softness to them.

She leans in slowly and kisses him hesitantly, but unlike before he doesn't pull away this time. She pulls back, looks at him, his eyes dark with desire, and she leans back in capturing his lips once again, but this time in a deep, long passionate kiss. She shudders as he pulls her in closer, his hand slips underneath her shirt, roaming over bare skin. His mouth opens under hers allowing her tongue to slip in, a low moan escapes from deep within her throat as her hips roll against his.

She pulls back suddenly, "Castle we can't do this," she says breathlessly.

"Why?" he asks, brows knit in confusion.

"I am not having sex in my father's kitchen."

He glances around the room and nods. "Right,"

"C'mon," she says with a sly smile, grabbing his hand and tugging him toward the bedroom.