A/N: home ill from work, so here is the latest update a little earlier in the day than planned! (PS: over 300 of you now following this story - makes me happy, thank you!)

Waking up on Wednesday morning, Castle stayed in bed for a while before getting up. Not like he was due at the precinct or anything, it was he who had to call Beckett when he was ready, not the other way round. It had only been three days since they'd met for lunch and she had told him about what she had remembered but he'd done a lot of thinking in that time.

He was still angry, of course, but he had learnt over the last four years that staying angry with Kate Beckett was a lot easier said than done, the woman was impossible. What he couldn't help though, was the fact that she hadn't flat out refused the possibility of them pursuing something, in fact she had practically said it would happen at some point, and as much as he hated to admit it, that was triumphing over the anger he was feeling.

If he had left when he was planning to after she had admitted she had lied, he wasn't sure he would be in this position now, ready to forgive her, but her reasoning had been so heartfelt and sincere that he couldn't help but be thankful he had stayed around to listen. Like he had ever been able to deny Kate Beckett anyway, he turned to mush when she was around.

And as well as the problems he had with Kate, he was missing the boys and even Captain Gates, too. It had been a week and a half since he'd made an appearance and he was getting agitated at not having new cases to help solve, even if Gates did think he just messed things up for her detectives. He'd said he'd call her when he was ready, but he was beginning to think a visit may be in order today..

After Castle had left the diner on Sunday, Kate had finished her coffee and followed in his footsteps, leaving some cash for a tip on the table - Castle had left enough to cover their bill. She'd driven straight home, needing the comfort of her sister right now.

"Kate!" Charlie called as she walked in the door to her apartment, "how did it go?"

"Uh..as well as could be expected, I guess," Kate replied, dropping her keys and purse on the table next to the door and joining Charlie in the living room.

"What did he say?"

"Well obviously he was angry at first, I thought he was going to leave at one point, before I even had a chance to explain. He gave me five minutes though and I think I possibly managed to save..us."

"So you're okay?" Charlie asked, concern etched across her face.

"That's what I asked," Kate laughed, "and he said 'not right now but I think we could be,' so I guess I just have to wait it out now, wait for him to call."

"See," Charlie beamed, "I told you it would all work out!"

"He hasn't forgiven me yet, Charlie," Kate reiterated, "and I honestly don't deserve his forgiveness and if we work this out then I swear to god I'm going to spend the rest of my life making him as happy as I possibly can."

"Trust me, you naked in his bed would do," Charlie muttered, just loud enough for Kate to hear and shoot her a look that quite clearly said 'stop talking and grow up'.

That was Sunday and today was Wednesday, and like the last two mornings, Kate woke up hoping that today would be the day he would call. After a week and a half of him not being at the precinct, things were starting to feel a little weird. Captain Gates had even called Kate into her office on Monday afternoon to ask if Castle was okay. Kate had been surprised, but as Gates as said, just because she didn't approve of having him in her precinct, she wouldn't wish him any harm and that she knew he was a good man.

The boys hadn't said anything again this week, which she was grateful for. The last thing she needed was the two of them pestering her as to why Castle wasn't around, but thankfully they'd stayed quiet. She had to remember to invite them out for drinks with Charlie and Ethan tonight, actually, she didn't want to be the awkward third wheel, plus, she needed help on checking Ethan out, making sure he was good enough for her sister - without her knowing of course, Charlie would kill her her if she knew she was asking Espo and Ryan to poke and prod into Ethan's private life.

Their Wednesday morning at the precinct passed uneventfully, they'd wrapped a case yesterday and no new bodies had dropped since, so the three of them were going through massive piles of paperwork - Castle definitely wouldn't have stuck around for that.

Glancing at the clock, Beckett saw it was almost 1pm. Putting down her pen, she stretched her arms out in front of her and left her desk to head into the break room. She was just beginning to make coffee when she heard Esposito's voice from back in the bullpen.

"Castle, my man - where've you been?!"

Swirling round faster than a ballerina, Kate saw through the blinds that Castle seemed to paying them a visit this lunchtime - and he'd brought food.

"Hey guys, just thought I'd pop by and see how my favourite detectives are getting on - I brought pizza, if you're hungry.."

Kate had to laugh at that - they'd be eating the pizza even if they weren't hungry. Right on time, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Picking up her now made coffee, she took a deep breath before heading back out into the bullpen.

"Hey, Beckett," Ryan called, "Castle's here and he brought pizza!"

"So I heard," Beckett replied drily, raising her gaze to meet Castle's blue eyes. "Hi," she smiled shyly.

"Hi," he smiled back. "There's um..pizza..if you want some.."

"Thanks," she said, walking over and taking a slice - he'd got her favourite; ham and pineapple. "So, you came all the way over here to bring us pizza? Or did you finally realise you need to do your fair share of paperwork?" She teased.

"Uh, no. No paperwork for me. I um, I actually came over to talk to you..I mean, I know I said I'd call but-"

"Oh no," she interrupted, "that's fine, we can talk. Um, the break room is empty?"

"Okay, lead the way," he said, picking up another couple of slices of pizza.

Beckett was nervous. She'd spent the best part of three days hoping he'd call like some fifteen year with with a crush but now that he was actually here, she had no idea what to say. Taking a seat on a stool at the table, he sat opposite her and handed her another slice of pizza.

"I know it's your favourite, I was uh, kind a hoping it would soften you up a bit.." He did sheepishly, taking a bite of the other slice.

"Soften me up? Shouldn't that be the other way round?" She asked.

"Ha, yeah, probably but I was kinda hoping it was a good enough excuse to drop by unannounced.."

Beckett laughed. "You don't need an excuse, Castle, you can drop by whenever you feel like it," she told him.

"Yeah? Try telling Gates that! Anyway, I um, I came over to talk to you about..about what we spoke about the other day." She looked at him but didn't say anything. "I was angry at first, guess I still am a bit but after your explanation I knew I'd forgive you at some point, because whether it's a good idea or not, I love you." Beckett glanced around nervously, worried that someone might overhear but no one was around. "And yes, you should have told me months ago, but you didn't and as much as I disagree with your reasons, I understand them from your point of view." Wait, was he saying.. "so uh, if you'd like, I guess we could..keep whatever this is going and um, see where it goes?"

As long as it ends with us both naked, I'm not bothered, Beckett said silently. her heart practically jumping for joy at his words. "So..does this mean we're okay?" She asked, a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I guess it does," he replied with a laugh. "Look, I understand that your past has made you who you are and I respect that, but I'm planning on making sure your future is everything you ever hoped it could be."

"What did I do to deserve a man like you?" She whispered, her gaze falling into her lap. He really was the most amazing man she'd ever met.

"You're just you, Beckett. Any man could fall in love with you, given half the chance..guess I'm just the next on the list."

"You're the last on the list," she replied boldly, reaching her hand across the table and taking his. "I promise you, I'm going to try my hardest to be the best I possibly can for you, nothing less than you deserve."

"Just knowing that one day you're going to be mine, that's enough for me," Castle said, appreciating this open and honest side of her, pushing away the little voice in his head that was telling him he was hiding what he had learned about her moms case.

"Come on, let's go and see if Espo and Ryan have left any pizza," Kate said, hopping down from her stool.

"I doubt it," Castle laughed, "but to be honest, I brought it to distract them, give me a chance to talk to you."

"Well I think it worked," Beckett replied, Espo and Ryan hadn't interrupted them once.

"There you two are," Ryan said, "we were wondering where you'd got to!"

"Just catching up," Castle said, smiling at Beckett.

"Right," Espo said. "So er, does this mean you're coming back now or.."

"If she'll have me," Castle replied with a nod of his head towards Kate.

She was tempted to reply with 'always', the little promise they sometimes spoke, but didn't think it was appropriate in front of the boys. "I guess so," she sighed dramatically. "Who else is going to feed us?" She said with a wink.

"Oh, so you're just using me for pizza! I see how it is," Castle huffed and the other three laughed. God, it was good to be back.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Kate said, "Charlie is having drinks with this guy she met last weekend. She's already been on a date with him but she asked if you guys wanted to come too and I was uh, kinda thinking you could help me check him out..see if-"

"Yeah yeah, we get it," Espo replied, "we can do the whole protective big brother thing again, can't we Ryan."

"Sure thing," Ryan replied, "she taking him to the old haunt?"

"Yeah," Beckett told them, Charlie had told her yesterday that they were catching an early movie and they'd be at the bar around 8. "Thanks guys, I appreciate- wait, what do you mean again?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the two detectives.

"What?" Espo asked, suddenly realising his mistake.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Ryan said, backing his partner up.

"Castle? You got anything to say?" Kate asked and Castle visibly gulped at the look on her face.

"I..um, no?" He said, posing it as a question and not a statement.

"You sure?" She asked again and the three boys were saved from answering by the ringing of Beckett's cell phone.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when she returned, telling them they had a body, seeming to forget the conversation they'd been having previously. None of them wanted to see her reaction when she found out Espo and Ryan had questioned Castle - more than once - on his intentions with her. She might approve of it for her sister, but they were under no illusion that Kate Beckett needed protecting - didn't stop Espo and Ryan making sure Castle wasn't going to hurt her though.

A/N: I'm not sure everyone will agree with the Caskett chat in this chapter, but I hope it's okay. From my point of view, it's one of the many conversations they needed to have before getting together! Your thoughts are very much appreciated :)

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