Kate Beckett was aware of a couple of things all at once when she blinked her eyes open. First, she was cold, bone-deep cold, so cold, in fact, she couldn't really remember what it felt like to be warm anymore.

Second, Richard Castle was looking down at her with a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips and a look in his eyes that shouted concern, maybe even fear.

She struggled to sit up, but the throbbing in her head made her abandon the attempt before it got very far.

"Shh," Castle said, pulling his arms around her and gathering her, as best he could without jarring her, into his chest. "You're going to be okay. The paramedics are coming right now. Just be still until they say you can move."

"What happened?" she asked in a voice that sounded distant and nothing like her own.

"Morgan happened. But it's okay now. The sheriff has her in custody," he explained as he smoothed the hair from her forehead.

"She jumped me?" Kate asked, again attempting to sit up. She was thwarted by Castle's arms and she acquiesced without much persuasion.

"Yeah, she jumped you, but luckily your friendly neighborhood law enforcement was right down the street. And I just happened to be standing outside the hospital trying to figure out where the hell you were."

Suddenly, his arms were moving from her and she tried to grab him to keep him from leaving but he was faster and managed to get away. "Let the paramedics do their job. I'll be right here," he assured her, moving up to kneel in the snow beside her face and taking her hand in his. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Is it bad?" she asked, shifting her head only enough to see him better.

"Naw, just a bump," one of the young men in blue said after examining the back of her head. "We're going to take you over to the hospital to be sure, but it looks okay."

Castle gave her hand a squeeze to get her attention and she turned her eyes back to him.

"Ryan and Espo called. They got the warrant and grabbed the plants from Morgan's apartment." He told her.

"So it's over?" she asked.

"Completely," he said with conviction.

Rick either persuaded or bribed someone at the hospital once they arrived because the wait was minimal this time and before Kate knew it they were back in her rental car on their way to the airport. Kate sat staring at a list of warning signs of a concussion she'd received from the hospital when they released her and thought about how many times she'd read the same instructions over the course of her career. It was something of an occupational hazard. She wondered how many times a person could be smacked in the head or bashed against something before it caused permanent damage.

Rick dropped one of his hands from the steering wheel and took hold of hers. "What are you so lost in thought about?" he asked, giving her a sideways glance. "You haven't said much since we left the hospital."

She offered him all the smile she could muster. "I'm just glad all this is over."

"So am I," he agreed. "Now everything can get back to normal."

She shifted in her seat, turning to better face him. "I'm not sure how that's going to work out."

He snatched his head around to her with raised eyebrows. "What does that mean?" he asked with a touch of fear in his voice.

"Gates knows about us," she answered quietly.

"I thought you said Gates has known about us for some time."

"She has," she nodded. "I'm just not sure how that's going to play out now that you aren't in danger."

"You think she'll make us stop working together?"

"I really don't know. She's hard to get a read on. Captain Montgomery wouldn't have said a word. He'd have looked the other way and pretended he didn't know anything." Her voice had grown far off, distant and he squeezed her hand in response to it.

"I know," he said quietly. "I miss him, too. He was a good man."

Rick pulled the car into a space outside the rental office and turned off the engine before turning to her. "None of this matters. If we can't work together anymore, I can live with that. What I can't live with is not having you in my life. We don't have to work together to be happy," he said.

She nodded. "I'm just not sure I know how to do my job without you anymore," she confessed and refused to admit to the sting of tears she felt in her eyes.

He smiled. "You'll do your job just like you did before I came around. With or without me, you are the best homicide detective in New York. Having me around getting you coffee and offering absurd, off the wall theories isn't going to change that." Then he shifted again and brought her hand to his lips where he placed a soft kiss to the back of it. "Besides, let's not borrow trouble. Trouble finds us all on it's own. We'll figure it all out when and if we have to."

"You're right," she agreed. "Let's go home. We'll worry about all that when the times comes."

"Detective Beckett, can I see you in my office?" Gates said the minute she stepped off the elevator two days later when she returned to work.

Kate swallowed hard and hurried to her desk to set her things down before going to her supervisor's office. Gates was waiting for her and she shut the door behind Kate and offered her a chair. Then she circled the desk and took her seat behind it.

"Morgan Daniels is being held in Virginia for the time being where she's facing charges for assaulting an officer. Once that's taken care of, we'll extradite her here. Mr. Castle's drug test results came in and they did find traces of Scopolamine in his system. That along with the plants we got from her apartment and her assault of you means we've got her." Gates told her in a clinical professional voice that made Kate squirm in her seat. She'd almost gotten used to seeing the softer side of her boss. The sudden coolness was more than a little upsetting.

"That's good news, Sir." Kate answered, following Gates' lead. "Thank you for letting me know."

Gates dropped the file she was reading from onto her desk and snatched her glasses off. "Where is your partner this morning?"

Kate shifted. "We weren't sure he should come in, Sir."

"I understand all this must be a lot to deal with. Tell him to take all the time he needs and that we're all glad he's okay," Gates said with the first signs of a smile playing at her lips.

"Well," Kate squirmed again. "All this is a lot to deal with, but he's fine. We just weren't sure whether you would still want him to come in."

Gates dropped her glasses and sat back in her chair. She spent a few minutes eying Kate before she cleared her throat and sat forward again. "You well know that I am not Mr. Castle's biggest fan. But that isn't personal. It's about the fact that he's an untrained civilian out in the field. I don't like that. But what I do like is that this department has one of the highest closure rates in the city. That makes me look good. And I can't help but notice that that number jumped considerably when Mr. Castle started shadowing you. That makes me forced to admit that this department is better with him than without him."

"I know all that, Sir. I just thought that given the knowledge of the status of our relationship, you might have a problem with us working together," Kate explained.

"My knowledge of your relationship is that you work well together. I've seen it myself. I just started this job. I'm not ready to give up those numbers yet. Of course, if there is anything else going on between you, you would be correct in assuming you would need to disclose that to me. So, on the record, is there more than a professional relationship going on with you and Mr. Castle?"

Gates was playing with her glasses, tapping the earpiece against the desk as she waited for an answer.

Kate took a deep breath. "Am I correct in assuming also that if I disclose a personal relationship to you officially, it would mean we would no longer be allowed to work together as partners?"

Gates nodded her head. "I would have to take measures like reassigning you a new partner. I'm not sure what I'd do with Mr. Castle since his purpose here is you."

"Then, no Sir. I have nothing to disclose to you. Mr. Castle and I have a strictly professional relationship," Kate answered quickly.

"That's what I thought you'd say," she said, taking up the glasses and slipping them back on. "That's all. Have a good day and don't forget to let Mr. Castle know that the twelfth precinct is ready for him to return whenever he's ready."

Kate got up and started for the door with a feeling like a weight had been lifted from her chest. But Gates stopped her with her hand on the knob.

"You do understand that I'm putting my neck out here, right Detective?" Gates asked before Kate got the door open.

She turned back to her. "I understand," Kate nodded.

"If this gets out to the wrong people and they find out I knew about it and didn't do anything, it could be bad for me. So I expect the two of you to remember this isn't just about you." Gates warned her.

Kate nodded. "I understand, Sir," she said again.

Gates nodded back at her and Kate took off out the door, searching her pocket for her phone as she went.

By the time she finished the mountain of paperwork Ryan and Esposito had kindly left in her absence, it was late. It was beyond late. Her shoulders ached. Her back ached and she hadn't seen Castle all day. That hadn't helped improve her mood. He told her he wasn't coming in when she called to give him the all clear and she'd said it was fine. At the time, that was true. But now after twelve plus hours of not seeing or talking to him, it was becoming a problem. She was like a junkie jonesing for a fix.

She grabbed her phone and punched his number as she gathered her things and started towards the elevator.

"Good evening, Detective. How was your day?" he asked cheerfully upon answering.

"Terrible. How was yours?" she asked, punching the button that would take her to the ground floor.

"Awful without you," he said with a smile she could hear in his voice. "Are you on your way home?"

She hesitated immediately. Was that what he expected her to do? Her only thought had been getting to him. She hadn't even considered going to her place instead. "I was actually on my way to your place, but if you're busy..."

He sighed and she could actually hear him roll his eyes. "That's what I meant. I've been waiting for you."

She heaved a sigh of relief, glad to know that they were still on the same page. "Aw, you've been waiting for me? Did you miss me?"

"You have no idea," he answered in a low voice so full of sincerity it nearly caused her to choke up.

"I've missed you to, but it's all your fault. I told you you could come in anytime." She reminded him.

"I had a few things I needed to do today. It was important. You know if it wasn't I would have been there."

"I know," she said, getting into her car and pulling out of the parking space.

"How long?" he asked.

"Twenty minutes if the traffic isn't bad. Do I need to pick anything up?"

"Just get here," he answered again in that voice that made her knees weak. "It's been too long since I kissed you."

"Agreed. I'll be there as quick as I can. Am I allowed to ask what important stuff you had to do that kept you away from me all day?"

"Nope," he chuckled. "It's a surprise."

Her mind immediately did a double take as she remembered who it was she was talking too and all the bad that that statement could mean. "You've spent all day setting up a surprise for me? You know I hate surprises."

"You'll like this one. Alexis helped me. She wouldn't let me do anything you'd hate."

"Alright, as long as it was done under adult supervision," she laughed.

"I AM an adult," he argued.

"That's a statement that's up for debate," she muttered. "I was thinking about stopping by my place to pick up a few things." There was silence on the other end of the line for so long she checked the phone to make sure they hadn't been disconnected. "I don't have to. I just thought it might be more convenient since we spend so much time at your place."

He sighed so loudly it was audible even over the phone. "You have no idea how glad I am that you said that."

"What have you done, Castle?" she asked, immediately on alert.

"I told you, it's a surprise. But don't go to your place. Just come here. I need to see you right now."

"I'm on my way," she said.

"I love you, Kate." He told her and just hearing the words made her stomach tighten and drop to her knees.

"I love you, too, Rick."

She stepped out of the elevator that lead to his penthouse twenty minutes later, as promised and used her key to let herself in. She was greeted with a quietness that instantly set her sense on alert. It wasn't at all like the normal Castle household. The lights were dimmed, and nothing stirred as far as she could see.

She moved cautiously down the hall towards the kitchen with her hand on the butt of her service revolver as she stretched out with all her cop instincts. She didn't relax until she stepped into the kitchen and found Alexis there putting the finishing touches on a what looked and smelled like a heavenly feast.

"Kate, I didn't hear you come in. Dad's in the dining room. We made you dinner," she smiled at her happily.

"That's the surprise? Dinner?" she asked, dropping her hand to her side away from her gun.

"Well, that's not all, but that's part of it. I'm off to a friend's house. And Grams is at a spa for a few days. Tell Dad I love him and I'll call him tomorrow to check on him." Alexis told her and she moved past her and down the hall towards the door.

He wasn't in the dining room when she found him. He was in his study, sitting in his favorite chair staring into the fire that roared away in the fireplace. She couldn't help but remember the last time she'd found him in exactly the same place, doing exactly the same thing, with exactly the same expression on his face. That time she'd been so sure she was losing him, it nearly paralyzed her with fear.

This time, she cleared her throat to alert him to her presence before entering the room and making her way over to him.

"Finally," he smiled as he looked up at her. She crossed the room so quickly by the time the word was said, she was in his lap with her arms around him. "Wow, you did miss me," he murmured after she leaned in and kissed him with all the enthusiasm being without him for a day had built up.

"I really did," she answered as she settled more comfortably in his lap.

"I made us dinner." He told her even as his lips moved against her throat.

"I saw," she answered, leaning her head back to give him better access. "It looks delicious. Alexis says she loves you and she'll call you tomorrow."

He raised his head, abandoning his journey along her skin and she nearly whimpered in protest of the action. "So, we're all alone?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Seems that way," she nodded and pulled him back to her for another kiss. "We should eat. I'd hate for dinner to be ruined. It looks like you worked hard on it."

Without warning he shifted her and she was suddenly straddling his hips. Then in one swift move, he picked them both up out of the chair. Before she could tell him to put her down, he laid her on the rug in front of the fireplace and was hovering over her, kissing the words from her lips.

"Dinner can wait," he murmured against her shoulder as his hands went to work on her shirt.

She quickly followed suit, tearing at the buttons of his shirt as well.

A rip of clothing here and a tug of material there made short work of their clothing. And when he finally sank into her, she felt the now familiar feeling she'd come to recognize as coming home.

A few hours later, after the fire had died out and the dinner was little more than a memory, she shifted to find a more comfortable position for her head on his bare chest. He reached down and gathered up the sheet from the foot of the bed to cover them.

"Alexis said the dinner was only part of the surprise," Kate said as she suddenly remembered the conversation. "What's the rest of the surprise?"

The arm around her waist tightened suddenly and she glanced up at him.

"I did something. I hope you won't be mad." He began.

"Oh, God, Castle, what did you do?" she asked, sitting up and grabbing the sheet to her chest.

He moved her off of him and got out of bed. Then he padded over to the closet and pulled back the door.

She blinked a few times in the dim lighting of the bedside lamp to better register what he was showing her. When her brain caught up, her mouth dropped open. "Are those my clothes?"

"Some of them," he nodded. Then he went to the antique chest of drawers in the corner and opened the top drawer for her to see.

She got out of bed, dragging the sheet with her and moved to inspect the contents of the drawer. "These are my things, too. Did you move me in without asking?"

"Not entirely." He held his hands up defensively like he was afraid she might hit him. "But I do have a team of movers already hired and on standby to move the rest of your things over. If you want them to." He offered sheepishly.

"How are we supposed to keep our relationship quiet if we're living together, Rick?" she asked with one hand on her hip and the other holding the sheet to her chest.

"We'll keep your apartment for appearances sake. It just doesn't have to have anything in it," he suggested.

"You could have at least asked me first," she said, though honestly she was having to work to find the anger she thought she should feel.

"I know, but I figured if it was already mostly done, you'd be more likely to say yes." He stepped over to her and took her hands in his as his eyes found hers. "Kate, I intent to spent every available moment of every day of the rest of my life with you. This was just the most convenient solution." He shrugged.

She pulled her hands free of his and took a step closer so she could circle her arms around his shoulders. "I think you might be right," she said with a smile.

"That's not surprising. But what am I right about this time?" he asked with a smile of his own.

"You are going to marry me someday." She informed him matter-of-factually.

"See, I knew you would say yes." He crowed triumphantly. "It wasn't very nice of you to tease me like that. I was actually a little worried."

"I love you," she said with her lips resting against his.

"I love you, too. So you aren't mad that I moved you in without asking?"

"I should be." She told him. "But I'm not. In fact, I think we should call the movers tomorrow."

He looked away from her. "Actually, the movers are already scheduled to come tomorrow. I only needed to call them if you said no."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I guess I should be thankful you gave me a chance to say yes before you went ahead and did it."

"Well, that was my plan. But Alexis said no."

"See, adult supervision." Kate laughed.

"I am an adult," he said, punctuating each word with a kiss along her collarbone. Then he pulled her closer and ground his hips against hers. "Want me to prove it?"

"Absolutely," she agreed as she let the sheet fall to the floor.