AN: So, here's the next installment! Thank you to all of those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. Also, thanks to Kylie for being an awesome beta! As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

Note: This takes place post-Headhunters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Kate sighed as she took her dinner out of the microwave and placed it on the counter. She barely paid any attention to her actions, too lost in thought about the events from earlier that day.

She couldn't believe what happened. Castle had gone to another cop for research, and it was Slaughter no less! She knew she shouldn't have been surprised, especially due to Castle's behavior over the past couple of weeks. He had distanced himself from her since the bombing case and he seemed to have changed his persona as well, going back to his old ways of womanizing and recklessness.

The fact that he sought out another detective for his books stung, a lot, and the fact that Castle's new interest was Ethan Slaughter had left her worrying for her partner's safety. She knew Castle could handle himself -he had proven that in the past- however, there was a reason Slaughter was known among his colleagues as the Black Widow.

And in the end she'd been right to be concerned, she had been the one to save Castle, from himself, and from Slaughter - not that she minded. As she told him, that was what partners did for each other and despite his change, Kate still viewed him as her partner. She just had to hope she had convinced him to stay. Only time would tell though.

After Kate settled herself on the couch, she looked up to see Royal sitting patiently at her door and she smiled sadly.

"He's not coming, Royal."

Upon hearing his name, the dog turned around and barked, wagging his tail impatiently.

That was another thing that had changed. Castle had stopped his frequent visits to her apartment. Usually, around this time, he would walk through the door, dinner or dessert for them and treats for Royal in hand. But, ever since that one case, his visits stopped abruptly.

Not that that prevented Royal from waiting, though.

He would sit at the door, patiently expecting Castle to arrive, to no avail. As time passed, he would lay down, put his head between his paws, and begin to whimper. He would then give up, curling next to Kate for the rest of the evening. Every time she saw this, her heart would break for Royal and herself. The canine's actions served as another reminder that her could-be-relationship was probably never going to happen.

A moment later, like clockwork, Royal moved his body down to the floor and began to whimper. However, it only lasted a minute or two before he got up, and trotting over to the couch, he hopped onto the black leather, Kate's hand resting on his head as she began to pet him.

"What did I do, Royal? Huh? Why doesn't Castle want me anymore, boy?" She bit her lip, close to tears and Royal gently nudged her phone toward her with his nose as if he was answering her.

"Call him? I've tried that and he won't answer." Kate sighed and the dog nudged the phone toward her again, this time seeming more insistent. "Well, I haven't tried texting him…" she trailed off, picking up the cell phone.

Want to come over?

She waited a few minutes, holding her breath. Her stomach dropped when she received no response. She was about to give up, her frown deepening, when Royal nudged her, as if he sensed her discouragement and looking at him, Kate got an idea. She switched to the camera, taking a picture of the dog before typing out another message with the image attached.

Royal misses you.

She waited and waited, and, seeing that she wasn't going to get a response, she moved forward to put her phone on the coffee table. Just as the phone hit the wood, it immediately began to ding loudly. Picking up the device, Kate grinned, her heart thumping in excitement as she read the text. She shook her head. God, when had she become such a teenager? Regardless, she felt a sense of hope at the words on the screen.

I'll be there in a bit.

Almost an hour after receiving the text, Rick knocked on the door to Beckett's apartment. He originally had no intention of going, wanting to sever ties outside of the precinct. He could keep things civil and work with her, but he was determined to move past his feelings for her.

However, he could never say no to a face as adorable as Royal's. He wasn't stupid, he knew what Kate had been doing by sending the text, but he couldn't resist Royal's pleading expression. So, here he was, standing at Kate's door, waiting for it to open.

"Hey," Kate greeted with a smile, Royal appearing behind her, barking excitedly.

"Hey," he said returning the gesture. Civil, he reminded himself.

She let him into the apartment before going into the kitchen. He noticed she had changed from her work clothes into a t shirt and yoga pants, pants that showed off her nicely toned-

Rick abruptly stopped the thought, forcing himself to focus on something other than the woman in front of him. It wasn't hard when he realized the canine was circling his feet. He grinned, gently rubbing Royal's neck.

"He seems happy to see me," he said as Royal licked his hand.

"He missed you," she responded. "He's been waiting at the door almost every day." Her tone was soft and Rick looked up to see her biting her lip, her gaze focused on the dog.

"Well," he started hesitantly. "I'm here now."

Kate nodded. "Do you want anything to drink? Coffee, tea, water?"

"Water is good." Rick grabbed one of the many chew toys from the couch and held it up in the air. "So, did you miss me, buddy?" Royal barked in response, jumping up in an attempt to grab the toy.

Kate chuckled. "He hasn't known what to do with himself since his second owner has been absent."

"Second owner?"

"Well, yeah." She sighed. "I mean, you were coming here so often that you were practically his other owner."

"Oh." A silence fell between them, and he could sense the tension in the air, bad tension. When had it come to this?

Without their notice, Royal had walked over to where his toy pile was and picking up one of the softer, plushier play items, he returned, dropping the toy at Rick's feet.

"You really love that one, don't you?" Kate cooed, grabbing the object that looked like an iPad. "Dr. Burke sure knew which one you would like, even if he was afraid of you." She laughed as Royal grabbed the toy from her with his mouth.

Rick furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Who's Dr. Burke?"

"Oh." Kate looked up at him, seeming surprised at what she had said. "He's my, um, psychiatrist."

She had been seeing a therapist?

"I didn't know you were seeing someone," Rick responded in a surprised tone and she rubbed her arm, something he knew she did when she was nervous.

"Yeah, I've been seeing him since my shooting." Kate smiled. "He's helped me a lot with coping. Dealing with everything that happened. I've been improving a lot since I started going to him. I mean, it's going to take a while, but I'm slowly starting to heal." She grinned. "I took Royal with me one day and Dr. Burke said that he was definitely helping me. So, he bought the toy for Royal as a reward for helping, for fixing what's broken." She rolled her eyes.

"Who said you needed fixing?" The question was out of his mouth before he could fully think it through.

She frowned. "I know I need it. If I don't do the work, then I'm not-" She ran a hand through her hair. "I want be able to open and free, and not be second guessing every one of my actions. To have one foot out the door. I want to be in a healthy relationship..." The "with you" hung in the air.

Rick frowned, mentally kicking himself. It sounded like she really had been trying to get help and become better, but still…

"Open? So, absolutely no holding back and no secrets?"

Kate nodded her head. "I know it's part of my nature, but - I want to be more than that. I don't want to keep everything inside."

"That's good." He smiled reassuringly.

"Royal's been helping me relax and let loose. I know what it's like to have fun because of him." She kneeled down and began to scratch the dog's ears. "Haven't you, boy?" Royal gently nudged her with his nose. "I know I'm not completely ready for a relationship, yet. But one day I will be." She looked up at him, her eyes begging him to understand.

He did.

Rick paused for a moment, looking at her, maybe what he'd assumed- listening in on her during that interrogation- had been wrong. And if she had come clean, it was probably only fair that he do so as well.

"I have my own confession to make." She looked at him curiously and he pressed on. "I heard you in the interrogation room, that you remember."

"You heard me?" She looked at him confused. "What do you mean… oh, oh!"

He nodded. "What I just want to know is why? Why did you lie to me for so long?"

Kate frowned. "As I said, I'm not ready for a relationship. I thought acknowledging that I heard you would accelerate things and I was too scared for that."

Rick pursed his lips. "Still, you should have said something."

"What was I supposed to say? I heard what you said but I couldn't handle it, that I still can't right now?" She bowed her head, wringing her hands together.

"Maybe not that exactly, but some type of acknowledgment would have sufficed." He shook his head. "I've spent the last few weeks thinking you don't feel the same."

"But I do feel the same," she insisted. "I just thought telling you would add pressure."

"I would never pressure you, Kate," Rick responded before sighing. Did she really think he would do that?

"I know and I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Thank you." They were silent for moment before he said, "This doesn't totally fix it. There's- I trusted you." His tone became gentle, wanting her to understand. "I'm not trying to be a jerk, but what you did has shaken that." He reached forward, gripping her shoulders softly, and she looked up at him.

"I understand, Castle, and I'm going to work at earning your trust back. I want this, I want us." She gave him a small smile, intertwining their fingers and he squeezed her hand, glad that everything seemed to be clear between them.

As they were looking at each other, something furry came between them, bumping their legs and they both laughed as one.

"Aww, sorry for ignoring you, buddy," Rick said, petting Royal's back. "Guess it's time to play." He picked up the iPad toy, throwing it across the room and Royal bounded after it excitedly. The duo laughed as the toy kept slipping out of the canine's grasp and angling toward Kate, Rick smiled at his partner.

It would take some time, but someday soon, everything would be okay between them.

AN: There you have it! This is about as heavy as this story will probably get.