A/N This is my first attempt at a Castle fic, and approaching Castle/Beckett without any funny is something I didn't think I could do. It's just a real short post-ep for 3x03 'Under The Gun' - it's unbeta'ed, so any mistakes or out-of-character behaviour belong to me. But I hope you enjoy it! :]

Dedicated to Kelly, in the hopes that it'll pacify her until she gets what she's waiting for.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or anything related to Andrew Marlowe.

She's still covered in dirt and sweat and some part of her likes it that way.

Whatever has been keeping her composure intact shatters the minute he opens the door. Tears return with a vengeance, her throat constricts, and he just stands there.

(He won't tell her that he's been waiting for her knock.)

She angrily swipes a hand over her face, but she's still broken.

"I didn't...I..."

"I know," he says, then she's being pulled through the front door and for the second time that evening, he's hugging her whether she likes it or not. Loosely. His arms sit around her, in case this isn't what she needs. He's past the point of caring what she wants, because what she wants always gets her hurt, and he won't have it.

A minute of standing and then her arms are gripping him tighter as sobs shake her frame because suddenly holding onto composure just isn't enough.

(It's never been enough, but until now she's done a damn good job of pretending.)

Her tears soak into his shirt – she's forgotten what it feels like to stop being strong - and his hands are tracing gentle patterns on her back.

Somehow, because the voice that speaks is hoarse and nothing like her own, she tells him that she hadn't lied.

(His own heart breaks alongside hers. It's like symmetry.)

He tells her that Royce doesn't know how extraordinary she is. He tells her that sometimes, just once in a while, it's okay to search for treasure.

For a minute he wonders if she heard him, but then there's a sniff and an almost imperceptible nod.

(She realises he knew all along that the phone call had been the truth.)

When a serious voice breaks through their bubble and Martha offers her the spare bedroom, Kate will only hesitate for a second.

Rick pushes her back so he can see her face and tells her, like he should have done last summer, that any man willing to walk away from her is a fool.

And they're standing there in his living room, together, like that's where she should have been all along.

(Neither of them can admit that it is.)