A/N: This took and awful long while and I'm sorry, but thanks to those who are still with me after all this time. I appreciate you and your patience. I hope you like it.
He hears her before he sees her and suddenly he's too nervous to turn around, too nervous to see her face, would she be happy to see him? Would she be angry? Would there be tears in her eyes? Would she walk away without hearing what he had to say? He could deal with all the others, but not the last.
He had sent her a text earlier that day, which he actually hated himself for. The first communication between them was a text, stupid. He should have called, should have went to her house or something less impersonal than a text. But he was afraid she wouldn't even give him the chance to speak and hang up or slam the door in his face, so he sent a text. He told her to meet him in their place, that they needed to talk. He hoped she hadn't taken that in a way he didn't mean.
But that didn't matter now, she was here, he could feel her eyes on him and so he turned, slowly. He hadn't seen her since the accident and the last image of her he has was her bleeding out on the road, he hadn't realized just how much he craved to see her since then. His fingers twitched at his sides as she forced himself to stay put, to not rush over to her and pull her into a never ending hug, he had to let her make her move first.
She was thinner now and he already mentally started planning meals to cook for her, dates to take her out on to fill the hollow that had formed in her cheeks, to make her collar bones less pronounced… had she been eating anything at all? Her eyes were red and shiny, but hollow, with dark circles under them, the same look one would have from crying too much and sleeping too little.
She wore her skinny jeans that were no longer skinny and an oversized T-Shirt he was pretty sure was his. One sleeve hung off of her shoulder, her frail frame barely think enough to keep the clothes on her body. He hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, looking like she never cared much for it after the incident.
It was all because of him.
But she was still the most beautiful being he had ever seen.
She had her arms loosely around her chest, as if holding herself together, looking almost defensive. She was hesitantly shifting from one leg to the other, her eyes flickering between his and the ground, she looked scared, like she was ready to run, or prepared to hear the worst and that was the last thing he wanted for her.
He took a deep breath and took one step towards her, the leaves cracking under his feet and her head snapped up, her eyes shining even more, now filled with unshed tears. She tilted her head to the side and took a small step back.
"Kate." You call for her, your voice breaking despite your best efforts to keep it clear.
She ducks her head and shakes it, a self-depreciating huff escaping her lips.
"You left." She said, her voice sounding void of all emotion and he wondered to himself just how bad he made things, was she lost to him forever? She had never sounded like this before and it just broke his heart to hear her sound so emotionless, so hollow and hard.
He shook his head, "I did what I thought was best for you." He answered before he knew what he was saying.
"But now, I realized, that it was the worst possible thing I could do … for both of us." He takes another step forward and this time she doesn't step back, only wraps her arms around herself tighter and he wants to do nothing more than unwrap her arms and replace them with his.
He needed to feel her against him, needed to feel her soft, warm skin, the beat of her heart, needed to feel her warm breath ghost over his skin. He needed her.
"I thought you didn't love me anymore." She whispered, her voice sounding dejected.
He shook his head and continued moving towards her now trembling body, "No, no, no Kate, I could never not love you. Never. I just – "He breaks off, thinking of some way to explain himself.
He sighed, his shoulders slumping as he came to stand before her, "I thought you would be safer, better off without me."
"Did my dad convince you of that?" She said, her voice cold.
No lies, he told himself.
"Yes." He answered her, "But he also realized that he was wrong. He came to me Kate, he told me how you were, he told me how I was and he told me he now knows that we're it for each other. He told me to come back."
She looks up at him, "You needed my father to tell you all that?"
He didn't know just how to answer that one, but he didn't have to before she was burying herself into him. Her arms wrapped around his waist, her head buried into his chest. Her body was still trembling and he could feel the tears seep through his shirt. He instantly enveloped her in his arms, crushing her to him, burying his face in her hair, not bothering to fight his own tears.
Her fingers clutched at his shirt, as if she was afraid he was going to disappear again, but he wouldn't – couldn't leave her again, not without killing himself in the process.
"I missed you." She murmurs against his shirt, trying to pull herself closer.
He runs his hands up and down her back, grateful that she was here, instead of walking away, too broken to be fixed, to hurt to forgive. He just had to let her know he would never leave her again.
She loosened her arms after a while, not moving away, but tilting her head back enough to look up at his through her tears.
"Don't ever do that to me again." She tells him, "I love you."
He manages to smile a watery smile at that, releasing a breath of relief, "I love you too Kate, so much." He sighs as he covers her mouth with his. His arms tightened around her as she melted against him, her lips moving over his slowly, still so very unsure of everything. He could taste her tears and feel her hesitance, so he buried on hand in her hair, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.
He couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips when she bit down lightly on his bottom lip and then he felt her smiling against his lips and then she started to laugh.
The best sound he could ever hear, the sound he thought he would never be able to hear again.
It was then, as the separated that she noticed the surroundings. It was getting darker now, making the soft light burning in the paper lanterns more noticeable. She gasped and turned in a circle, taking in the trees decorated by the lanterns and tiny pepper lights.
"Castle –"She says quietly, her hand coming up over her mouth when she turns to find him looking up at her, from his perch on one knee before her, "Castle what is this?" She asks, her eyes filling up with tears again.
He reached out and took her free hand, trying to speak around the lump in his throat.
"Katherine Beckett," He started, "I love you more than anything, more than life itself. You're my best friend, you are my sister's favourite person, you are the love of my life. The last few weeks have been the worst for us and for that I'm sorry, but know I never stopped thinking about you, never stopped loving you. I don't think I ever could. You make the world a brighter place for me, you make me want to be a better person for you, you make me want to give you the sun, the moon and the stars, because you deserve it. You deserve the best in life and I will never stop trying to give it to you. From the moment I first saw you, you only get more beautiful, more amazing, more extraordinary each time. Kate, I can't imagine my life without you in it and I don't even want to try. I love you so much, I don't think my heart can take it. I love you to some other galaxy and back and I hope you feel the same way." He pauses, letting her take in everything he just said, before he continued.
"I spoke to your father and it doesn't have to be now, it doesn't have to be next year, heck – it doesn't have to be in the next five years, but I just want you to know that I belong to you and no one else, for however long you will take me. So Kate, Will you marry me?" He asks, presenting the ring he had been fiddling with for some time now to her.
She was crying now, her hand gripping his tightly, she didn't respond for a while, which admittedly had him worried, but then she nodded once, twice and then just kept nodding.
"Yes." She managed to say between her tears, "Yes. Yes. I will marry you."
His face split into the biggest grin as he stood, his shaky hand taking hers, slipping the ring onto her finger, watching her watch the movement. When he had slid it all the way up, she laced their hand together, looking up at him, the happiest smile on her face.
"I love you Rick, God, I love you so much." She whispered, pressing her lips to his in a soft, sweet kiss. She didn't want to get carried away now, not here. After this long time, she needed him alone, needed him somewhere that wouldn't be quick and fast, needed to have his body wrapped around her after and not move for days.
She pulled away and he reached up to cup her cheek, his thumb wiping at a tear as he kissed her forehead gently.
"I love you too and I'm glad you said yes." He whispered, his arm wrapping around her shoulder.
She buried her head against him, unable to keep the smile off of her face, the smile only getting wider than possible when he started to sing the lines of a song into her hair.
"It's a love story, baby just say yes."
She turned her head slightly and pressed a kiss to his chest.
"Yes. Yes, always yes."
End A/N: And this is where I end this little fic. Thanks for reading and reviewing guys! :D
Ps. If this doesn't satisfy you and you want to see anything in particular, you can leave a (nice) review and I'll do my best. My other stories will be updated at some point, I have not abandoned them.
Mistakes are bound to be in this, so I apologize for those.