He shook his head slowly from side to side, unable to make sense of this.
"Most of our victims they- they die for a reason. You know? There's a logic behind it. It's a twisted logic at times, but... at least it makes some kind of sense."
His pain made her heart heavy. "Yeah, but in this case, these people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"And their future and all their plans-" He sighed. "Everything is just gone in a flash."
He looked over his shoulder, to the woman he loved - his worst-kept secret - and swallowed down the feeling of helplessness that rose in his throat like bile.
There was nothing quite like this: being acutely aware that in a matter of mere seconds you could lose everything that is important to you, everything that you hold dear.
"It makes you think about all those things in your own life that you don't want to put off anymore," she pondered aloud as her gaze bore into him.
He could see it in her eyes, the truth: the yearning and the heartache that she had kept buried.
As she held his gaze there was a clarity that didn't exist before; a certainty that this was real - this thing between them - and for the first time, they were both acknowledging it, embracing it.
"Yo-" Esposito's voice pulled their attention and they both looked, dejected, to where he stood in the doorway. "Captain's gathering the troops."
He looked at them, waiting for them to move but they both stayed frozen in place. His eyes darted back and forth between the pair and he nodded, finally understanding that he had interrupted something, and walked away.
Kate turned her attention back to Castle, disappointment in her eyes, and he could see that the moment had passed.
But didn't that go against everything that was just said?
It makes you think about all those things in your own life that you don't want to put off anymore...
Because that's what they'd been doing. Putting it off: one pathetic excuse after another.
Wrong time, wrong place. Too soon, too late.
But no more, he wasn't putting this off again.
Kate pushed herself away from the table and stood up straight, taking a step toward Castle.
"We should go," she whispered as her eyes darted to the ground, too pained by yet another missed opportunity to even look at him.
His mind was a mess as she turned slowly and began to walk away. His heart raced, beating faster with each step she took.
"No," he blurted, stopping her in her tracks.
She turned back to face him, her expression a mix of confusion and hope. "No?"
"I know that this is not the time and definitely not the place but this whole situation just proves that you need to seize the moment!"
He stepped closer and placed his hands on her hips, invading her space.
But she didn't flinch, didn't break eye contact, didn't make any attempt to stop him.
"I don't want to have any regrets," he whispered. "Kate, I-"
She cupped his face and caught his confession with her lips on his.
Slowly and tenderly, she made a silent confession of her own, allowing the love she felt for him radiate from her.
But she was too aware of their setting, too aware of the increased number of colleagues that had flooded the bullpen, too aware of the risk they were taking.
She pulled away from him, looked into his eyes and smiled.
Reluctantly, he whispered: "We should go."
Together they joined the Captain's troops, just that little bit less burdened than before.