Knock knock, 'whose there?', 'true love'.

She couldn't wait for the elevator, so she took the stairs and on her way up her mind was spinning with everything that could possibly be about to happen. Was he going to give her another chance? Did he just want to tell her face to face that it really was over and that she shouldn't keep calling him? So many possibilities were running through her mind and every new one made her more and more nervous. When she stopped outside his door, she froze. If she went inside, there was the chance that she would be in more pain when she left...but then again she might be in less pain. There was no turning back now, so she raised her hand and knocked lightly on the door.

Rick had no idea what he was doing as he moved towards the door, she was so close, she was just on the other side and yet...he felt like she was miles away. He didn't even know what he was going to say, but he wanted so badly to just see her again that he pushed through the pain that had been hanging over him for the past week and he opened the door. He tried to smile as his eyes once again touched her face, but what he saw wasn't what he had been expecting. To anyone else, she would appear happy and healthy, but to anyone who knew her as well as he did, it was clear that she had been hanging on by a thread. She looked a lot thinner than before, like she hadn't been eating, her eyes were darker than he remembered them and it looked like her lower lip had been taking a beating. There were big heavy circles under her eyes and the way she was looking up at him broke his heart, so scared and unsure; there was glimmer of hope in her eyes that he knew only he could touch.

Kate was also surprised by what she saw, his clothes were very wrinkled, as if he had slept in them more than once, his hair was messy and it didn't look like he had shaved in a while. But the light that ignited in his eyes when he looked down at her again made her heart beat faster. He stepped aside so that she could walk in and when she heard the door being closed behind her, she released a deep breath she hadn't realised she had been holding onto. She stood rather awkwardly in the middle of the room until Rick directed her over to the couch, they both sat down on the same couch, leaving a space between them; Kate slipped out of her coat and folded it neatly over the seat. Neither one knew what to say or what to do, so silence settled between them for a bit while they gathered their thoughts.

Rick knew that he should probably speak first, since there must be a reason that he invited her into his apartment, but all he could think about was touching her hand or kissing that bruised lower lip of hers. So when she spoke first, he was taken a little by surprise.

"Rick...look, what I did was wrong, I know that. I know I should have just told you the truth and we probably could have just worked through it...but I just needed a little time to think things through, I never thought it would go for so long, I figured I could blame it on temporary amnesia or something...But once I got you back, I wanted to tell you the truth but I was so afraid of losing you...but it looks like I lost you anyhow." She said the last bit rather quietly, but he still managed to hear.

Rick lifted his gaze and found that she was staring down at her hands.

"It's ok."

"No, it's not, I betrayed your trust and I hurt you, it's not ok..."

He had wanted her to know how much pain she was inflicting, but he hadn't wanted her to lose hope like this. He reached out and took one of her hands in his, squeezing it gently. She finally looked at him and he saw the glistening tears that were threatening to fall. His brow furrowed as he contemplated what he should do. He couldn't bear to see her like this, so he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him gently. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck and held onto his shirt, clenching it in her fist as the tears came fast. After all this time, this was all she had needed. She knew he wasn't ready to forgive her yet, otherwise he would have said so, but just the fact that he was willing to hold her made her heart feel so free, like it had been let out of a cage. A week of pain was being released in this moment, running down her face and soaking his shirt.

Rick held her a little tighter, burying his face into her hair and letting his own tears fall. He kissed her head and stroked her back, encouraging her to just let it all out. He had been holding it all in too, not wanting his daughter to see him like this, so now, with Kate wrapped safely in his arms, he let himself cry. Simply touching her, let alone holding her, filled the void in his heart and made him feel whole again. She was his everything, he needed her like he needed to breathe, and beyond all that he loved her. His tears dried first and he pulled back just enough to look down at her face, he smiled tenderly and kissed away her tears. She cast her emerald eyes up at him and he was caught, the colour was back and so was the light and it made him feel so happy that he couldn't stop himself. He leaned closer and kissed her tenderly, slipping his hand around to hold the back of her neck.

Kate sighed against his lips and brought her hands up to slowly wrap around his neck, playing with the short hairs at the back of his neck with her fingers. He ran his tongue along her lower lip and sucked it into his mouth. Kate responded by meeting his tongue with her own, and soon the kiss was getting heated. She tangled one hand in his hair, pulling him closer, and she ran the other one down his chest, hooking one finger inside his shirt. Rick slipped one hand around her waist, pulling her closer as well, and he ran the other hand up and down her back. When she moaned into his mouth, the fire was lit inside him and he slipped that hand up underneath her shirt, gracing his fingers across the cool bare skin. Kate broke the kiss to gasp for air, so Rick locked his lips with hers once more before tracing the line of her jaw and then down her neck with warm, soft kisses.

There were a few alarms going off in their heads, but neither one cared, they were so hungry for each other that they didn't really care if they were moving too fast or if this wasn't exactly the right thing to be doing right now. Rick couldn't explain the emotions bubbling inside him, kissing her neck, stroking her back and smirking against her skin every time he elicited a gasp or a moan from her. Kate panted when his kisses started going across her collarbone and she kissed his head while grasping a fistful of his hair in her hand. She moved closer and before she knew it she had one leg wrapped around his waist. Rick took his hand from her waist and ran it down along her thigh, wrapping his hand underneath it and pulling her just that little bit closer. She made a sound that could only be described as eager anticipation as she landed on his lap, she rolled her hips a little and he groaned. She brought his mouth back to hers and their fiery kisses continued until they were both out of breath. They collapsed against each other, their foreheads resting together while green eyes met blue with lust and heat.

But as they came down from their heated high, both of them started to think straight again, damn it. Kate slipped off of Rick's lap, but remained close to him, and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, blushing wildly and smiling nervously. Rick just couldn't stop looking at her, his eyes were wide with love and adoration and he suddenly didn't give a damn what had happened in the past at all, with kisses like that he was sure he could forgive her and put the lies behind him in no time. He saw the smile on her face and he leaned forward to kiss each corner, making it grow.

"Wow..." He breathed.

"Yeah..." She replied.

They both looked down and realised that their hands were joined; only making them smile more. Rick looked deeply into her eyes and asked the question that needed to be answered before anything else happened. "Are you ready for this?"

Her smile disappeared as she thought about it, chewing on her lower lip and for what felt like hours but was only about a minute, Rick held his breath and waited for her answer. She couldn't say it though, so she nodded and smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes...I'm ready."

Her eyes still held a quiver of doubt, but he knew that she meant it. She wasn't just trying to make him happy; she was really ready to do this, just a little shy about it. Well, after how he had left her before, he really couldn't blame her. The smile that lit up his face was like the sun, he had never been so happy before and he kissed her head, mouth, nose and each cheek to show how happy he was, all the while Kate giggled. Yes, she actually giggled, and it was the most amazing sound.

When Rick sucked in a deep breath and looked suddenly very nervous, Kate got a little worried, wondering what he was about to say.

"Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night?"

She sighed with relief, fearing that she had been reading the signs wrong or something. She smiled wildly and nodded. "I would love to."

The joy that spread over his face made her heart pound inside her chest and she suddenly couldn't wait for tomorrow night.

And then it all broke. Her stupid phone was going off and she reluctantly pulled one hand away from his to pick it up and answer it.

"Beckett." Her voice was a little more bitter than usual, after all, whoever was calling her was interrupting a pretty special moment.

"We got a body, girl, we'll meet you at the precinct?" Esposito tried to make it quick and clear, not wanting to piss his boss off, but at least she wasn't sobbing.

"Ok, I'll be there soon." She hung up and then looked back at Rick. "A body just dropped, you want to come in on the case?"

"Uh...maybe not just yet, there are a few things I need to do before I go back to the station, I've kind of let myself go over the past week and I really should clean this place up and possibly shave too before Alexis gets home, if she gets home and sees the alcohol in the office and the lack-of-a-dad she might panic. I'll see you tomorrow night, ok? If you can wait that long." He teased.

She smirked and leaned in so that their lips were almost touching. "As long as it is worth the wait, I won't mind." She nearly laughed when she heard him swallow hard, obviously his mind was going into all sorts of dirty corners.

He walked her to the door and handed her coat to her, completely helpless to the brilliant smile on his face. She plucked up the courage and kissed his cheek before stepping out into the hallway, she watched as he waved her goodbye and she did the same. Rick waited until she was completely out of sight before he closed the door and let out a heavy breath. She was ready for this, she was kissing him, she was holding his hands, she was coming over for dinner tomorrow night. That last thought snapped him out of it and he took off into his office to start disposing of the empty bottles that were piled on the shelves. He searched high and low, making sure he got every single one, and then he showered, dressed a little better and shaved his face.

He fixed up his hair and found that cocky smirk he was so good at sitting on his face. She was coming over for dinner, Kate Beckett, his place, tomorrow night. What was he going to make? He had to make something wonderful, delicious, he needed wine. He knew he was letting it all go a little easily, but really, it was only one lie, not a big deal; well, not a big deal considering that she felt the same way. Anyway, he knew what that kind of fear felt like, it was why he knew he couldn't tell her the secret he was keeping from her, because if he did he would lose her not just as a friend and a partner, but she would very quickly get herself killed and he couldn't let that happen. The point was that she did know how he felt for her and she was willing to give them a chance, when weighing her lie and his lie, it was clear that his was a lot bigger. But none of it really mattered right now, because he was going on a date, a date with Kate Beckett!

I think we all just needed a little caskett fluff, but it won't be smooth sailing from here on out, so stick around to see what happens next.