Epilogue

When she woke the next morning, she found herself alone in his bed. The sun had barely risen and she wondered where he had gone. She found a robe on his closet and wrapped it around herself before heading downstairs in search of him.

He was already in his study, his brow furrowed in concentration and his fingers skipping across the keyboard. When she wandered in a perched herself on the edge of his desk, he shut the computer down with a guilty look. "Good morning," he said, one hand moving over to cover her own.

"Good morning yourself. That wouldn't be Velvet Heat you were just working on, would it?"

"Um well … ow, ow, ow," he gasped as she pinched his earlobe between her fingers. "okay yes. But I have to finish it. You were hardly the only reader."

"I know," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"So it's alright. I can write this last chapter?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," she answered, smileing a little when she watched his face fall. "But we can write it together."

"Oh. Oh, I'd like that."

He flipped the screen back up and as it brightened, she moved around behind him to read what he had written so far. Then she reached around him and placed her fingers to the keys, highlighting all but the first few sentences and hitting delete. He started to protest but she bent her head to kiss him just behind his ear and he subsided with a small murmur of pleasure. her eyes scanned what was still left on the page as she contemplated what would come next.

When Castle awoke the next morning he found Kate had already left the bed. He had a moments panic before he spotted her leaning against the wall, her gaze fixed on the slowly brightening sky. he got up and went over to her, his arms encircling her waist. For a moment he just held her there and breathed in her scent.

When the tension in her body melted away and she rested her head back against him, he spoke into her ear. "I hope your not staring out there and planning your escape."

That was where she had cut it off and now it was her turn to add to the story. Chewing her lower lip, she began to type.

"I don't think I could possibly find my way away from you. At least not anymore,' she said with a sigh.

Kate took her fingers off of the keys and waited for him to continue. He looked back at her, reading the questions in her face, then wrote out his answer.

"I guess last night changed the landscape a bit." When she nodded he stroked her hair and hugged her more tightly to him. "I think it's a good thing, Kate. New ground, fresh possibilities. We'll find our way and we'll find it together."

Then he put his hands back into his lap and waited for her to take over.

"Together," she echoed. She turned around, her hand pulling him down towards her until their lips were mere millimeters apart. "Together," she whispered against his mouth, then she kissed him.

When she finished typing, he found himself staring at the words she had put on the page, his heart filled up with her. When his hands went to the keyboard she reached out to stop him.

"I think that's as good a place to end as any," she said.

"It just needs one last thing," he told her. Then, centered on the page, he wrote two words, but they were not the ones she expected.

The Beginning

So, my part of this tale finally comes to an end as we leave Castle and Beckett to find their way through their new relationship. i just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you readers and reviewers. i never dreamed this story would capture the imagination of so many of you and I am flattered and grateful for all the ways you have let me know.