So... a few of you weren't entirely thrilled by the ending for the last chapter. However, despite the disappointment, you were all absolutely wonderful with the comments and messages you sent me. So, as a thank you, I've added a little extra scene! Ask and you shall receive, I guess. Enjoy : )

4x05 filler/alternate ending
Part two.

He had spent the better part of the past three hours staring at his bedroom ceiling.

"I want to know that you are safe and in your bed so that I can actually get some sleep tonight."

What a joke that had been. He couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he had tried. His mind was too wired; a wild storm of thoughts, each and every one of them about her.

There was something about the way she looked tonight - alone at the bar, fingertip tracing the rim of a half-empty glass of whiskey, brows knitted together in a semi-permanent scowl - that made his heart feel uncomfortably heavy in his chest. He tossed and turned, trying to make himself more comfortable, to no avail. Each time he pictured her - sad and exhausted - his heart grew three times heavier.

Her voice taunted him, too, as the question "what do you want?" echoed through his mind.

Her. He wanted her. He always had, he always would.

Maybe he had read too much into their conversation that day on the swings, maybe he had misinterpreted what she had meant when she said she had to 'work through everything', but he had been so sure that when she said "I'm not gonna be able to have the kind of relationship I want until that wall comes down", that she was talking about him. He had managed to convince himself that, even if she couldn't remember his declaration of love, that she knew, that she understood, that they were working toward something together.

But then, she thought he wanted Serena. The knowledge that she could ever think he would want anyone that wasn't her devastated him.

It angered him.

She was giving up on them before ever really giving them a chance.

Before he knew it, he was reaching for his phone, jabbing his thumb at the screen as if the device had somehow offended him. He didn't know what he planned on saying to her. All he knew was that he wasn't going to let her quit now, he wasn't going to let her give up on the future he had envisioned for them. She was taking the easy way out, telling herself that he could find happiness somewhere else and she wouldn't have to work through everything that made her life complicated.

Even if a future where they existed as more than what they are now wasn't the end goal, he wouldn't let her settle for this life she lived now: a life where she hid from her true feelings in what she deemed to be 'safe'; a life where she never allowed herself to experience anything real in fear of it being taken from her; a life where-

"Beckett."

Shit.

His mind emptied; he couldn't muster a single hello, let alone string together a coherent sentence. Her voice was hoarse, but not because he had woken her. Had she been... crying?

"Castle," she groaned. "What do you want?"

What do you want?

It was the middle of the night, she was asking why he was calling her, but the question he answered was the one from earlier in the night. The one that had plagued his thoughts ever since.

"I want you, Beckett."

The silence was resounding and, as his brain began to function again, fear crept in far too quickly. But it was too late now, he wouldn't take it back.

"Serena was a mistake," he added. "Not that anything actually happened with her. I just- when I asked if you thought I should pursue it, I guess I was hoping you would say no. I didn't even need a reason, just a no. I just wanted to know that I wasn't, I don't know." He sighed, hating that she was just letting him ramble so nervously. Was she even listening? Or had she hung up already? Was he talking to himself? "I just wanted to feel like I wasn't alone in this, I guess."

He waited for what felt like a lifetime. Still, she said nothing.

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, doubt kicking in full force. "I shouldn't- I shouldn't have called so late. I shouldn't have said-"

"You're not alone in this," she admitted, so quietly he wasn't certain he hadn't imagined it. "You're not. I just-" She let out a shaky breath. "I'm not ready. It's not fair for me to ask you to wait aroun-"

"You're not asking."

"Castle, I-"

"Don't," he said firmly. "Whatever it is you're telling yourself - that you're taking too long, or that I'll be happier - whatever it is, just don't. I'm here, Kate. When you're ready, whenever that may be, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

It was a promise he had vowed to keep long before tonight.

This time, he waited out her silence.

"I'm sorry you felt so alone," she said earnestly.

He could hear the remorse in her voice; she had never meant to keep him on the outside.

"I'm not gonna be able to have the kind of relationship that I want until that wall comes down."

He knew, without a doubt, that that was what this was: the first signs of that wall coming down.

"I'm sorry that you thought I was on a date," he replied.

Beckett laughed. Just a small, kind of sad laugh but boy did it bring a much-needed lightness to his heart.

"I did it to myself," she said. "I assure you, I won't be encouraging you to to ask such beautiful women out again anytime soon."

"Good to hear."

Relief untwisted the knot that had wreaked havoc on his stomach all night and a comfortable silence washed over them. Nothing more needed to be said for them both to understand. For now, nothing would change. But, at the same time, everything had changed. They were on the same page; there was no room for doubt. All he had to do was wait.

After a few short moments, he heard a half-stifled yawn from her end of the line.

"You should get some sleep," he said in a soft voice.

As much as he didn't want to hang up, he knew they both needed to sleep after an emotionally draining few days.

"See you tomorrow?" she asked tentatively.

"See you tomorrow," he confirmed. "Goodnight, Beckett."

"Goodnight, Castle."