A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews! There should be at least one more chapter after this one.

Castle stood in his loft, arms wrapped around Kate, her head burrowed into his neck. For the umpteenth time since she had appeared on his doorstep the night before, he felt a wave of emotion crash over him. He suppressed the desire to crush her to him again; he realized now that she must be hurting after her rooftop battle followed by a very busy night in his bed. She must have sensed his hesitation, because she squeezed him hard, murmuring "I'm ok, Castle, nothing damaged, just a little bit sore. And most of the soreness is the good kind, from you and me, not from the fight."

Pulling back slightly, he met her gaze. "How about a nice hot shower?" he offered.

With a smirk, she replied, "That depends, Castle. You gonna wash my back for me?"

Heat flared in his eyes as her words registered. He immediately ducked down, pulling her over his shoulder and turning to carry her towards the master bathroom. Kate was breathless with laughter, but still managed to smack at his rear with her dangling hands. "Castle, you're such a Neanderthal; I never realized…"

Setting her down on the plush bathmat, he growled, "There's only so much provocation a man can take, Kate, and I've had four years of your teasing. Now that I can do something about it, you'd better be careful about what you say."

Kate gave him her most provocative look, "Promise?" she asked, taunting him with an extra dose of her sexy pout.

Castle growled again, a wordless groan, and immediately reached for her, pulling her hips hard against his, and smirking a bit himself at the breathy sound she made as she felt him hard against her. Reaching into the shower, he flipped the water on and made short work of removing their clothes as it heated up. He tugged her into the generous enclosure as steam billowed around them. Lost in each other once again, they explored and tasted, water cascading over them as their mingled cries of fulfillment echoed from the tiled walls.

An endless time later, they gently bathed each other, solemn faced. In the shower, Castle had found each mark, each tender place left by her desperate battle the day before. He had kissed each one, trying with his gentle mouth to undo the pain she felt. He was thankful for the constant fall of water that disguised the helpless tears that seeing her wounds brought to his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to regret his decision to walk away, because that choice had ultimately led her back to him. Miraculously, she had chosen him over vengeance, over her private war, and he was grateful, so grateful. But he would give anything to have spared her the pain she was feeling now. Well, anything but this, but them together. If the pain they had both experienced was the price of their being together now, like this, he would pay it again gladly.

He knew he had loved her before; he had had four frustrating years to measure the depth of his feelings. But he understood now that his love had been akin to a blind man understanding a rainbow. What he had felt before was real, but he had had no concept of the depths of her, of what they were together; now he knew. He had witnessed the shifting colors of her eyes as he touched her; learned the quiver of her muscles as he rose above her, tasted the salt of her tears as she lost herself in shared sensation. The wicked grin she wore as she teased him mercilessly with her tongue, the fire that rose in her eyes as he marked her skin with his teeth, these were graven on his mind and heart, and the love he felt now was more than he could have imagined just a day ago. His heart felt too small, too weak to contain the emotion he felt as he held her under the warm shower spray, and thanked whatever gods existed for her life.

After he had dried her skin, gently, tenderly patting the water from her darkening bruises, he wrapped them both in thick robes and they wandered back into the bedroom hand in hand. Kate flopped to the bed with a deep sigh of satisfaction, leaning back against the headboard.

"Castle, we have to put some clothes on, take a break. And when is Alexis due back?"

"I told her I would expect her around lunchtime, which means anywhere from 11 to 2, really. What time is it now anyway?" Castle looked around for his phone. Remembering, he walked in to his office to find it on his desk. "It's noon already. You want your clothes, or some of mine?" he asked, as he ducked into the closet.

Beckett smiled "I think I'd better wear my own. No need to freak her out."

Castle stuck his head out and smiled at her. "Alexis knows how I feel about you Kate; she isn't going to freak out. Mother on the other hand, might just hire skywriters to spread the news."

Kate digested this for a moment, toying with the end of the belt knotted around her waist. "So, is Alexis going to approve?" Her tone was casual, but Castle knew her well enough to read the apprehension she tried to hide.

He emerged from the closet, wearing boxers and a shirt, dropping a pair of pants on the bed as he moved to her side. "Kate, you and Alexis have always gotten along well. Of course she'll approve." He stroked a finger down her cheek and smiled at her. "She's been worried that I'll be miserable and alone when she leaves for college; now she won't have to be concerned, because I have you."

Kate smiled, and lifted a hand to swat his tickling finger away from her face. "I think she knows you well enough to expect a certain amount of misery no matter what, Castle. But you're right; at least you won't be alone."

Castle beamed a smile at her, thrilled by her offhand acknowledgement.

"Where are my clothes, Castle?" Beckett inquired, rising from the bed.

"I'll show you where the laundry room is." Castle grabbed her hand and led her back through the door, stopping suddenly as they approached his front door. Tugging her into his arms, he chuckled. "I'm never going to be able to walk through that door again without remembering how it felt to push you up against it and finally kiss you the way I've been wanting to for years."

Grinning up at him, she put her lips to his ear and murmured "Me too, Castle. And I have a whole list of other places I want to try out too."

Groaning, he swooped to take her mouth with his, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth before soothing with his tongue. They stood there kissing for long minutes, savoring the taste and feel of each other, both still enthralled by the sheer fact that they could do this now; that the barriers were finally down. Caught up in each other, neither heard the sound of a key in the lock, so they were still at it as the door swung open and Alexis entered the loft and let out a small huff of surprise.

"Dad…Kate?" Alexis stood gazing at them, dumbstruck.

Kate drew back, swiping a hand over her mouth, her expression an interesting blend of determination and embarrassment. Castle clasped her hand in his own, even as he reached out with the other arm to pull his daughter into a hug. "Hey, sweetie! I'm glad you're home safe. How was your big night?"

Alexis' face was comical as her eyes darted between Kate and her father. Kate wouldn't quite meet her eyes, afraid of what she might see there. Castle, on the other hand, acted as if finding him kissing Kate Beckett was a normal occurrence, not even worthy of mention. Shrugging slightly, Alexis took her father's lead, although her eyes communicated privately that she expected some answers later.

"Great, Dad. We hit all the grad parties and had a blast. But I'm exhausted. I'm going to grab something to eat and go take a nap." She moved past him towards the kitchen.

"There's a ton of Chinese in there, help yourself, but skip the Kung Pao, it's extra spicy like Beckett likes." Castle led Kate toward the small hall past the kitchen where the laundry room lay. "Oh, and Beckett and I are probably going to head out for a while, but we'll be back in time to get dinner if you're up."

"I'll be up," Alexis' voice was muffled, her head in the fridge as she dug through Chinese cartons. "I don't want to get too far off schedule."

Kate stood in the doorway; arms folded across her chest, watching Castle pull her clean clothes from the dryer. "Castle, I know you said she wouldn't freak out, but that was a little bizarre, don't you think? Your daughter had no reaction to finding us kissing in the doorway, you in your underwear, me in a robe." Her eyes narrowed as he grinned at her, "Or is she just so used to women in your house…"

Castle's grin vanished, as he halted her words with a hurried "No, no Kate, nothing like that, not in years." His earnest expression was totally sincere. "She knows that you make me happy, she's known for a long time how I feel about you. She was plenty surprised to see us together like that, but she was trying not to freak YOU out by making a big deal about it."

Kate digested his words for a moment, then turned on her heel and walked back into the kitchen, where Alexis stood dishing leftovers on to a plate. Castle trailed after her, still carrying her clothes, which he placed on the counter.

"Alexis, is this ok?" Kate asked, waving a hand to indicate herself and Castle.

Alexis looked up, startled by her directness. Her eyes held a question as they travelled past Kate to meet her father's calm countenance. His expression gave away nothing, leaving her to respond as she liked.

Alexis took a deep breath, and turned to face her squarely. "I want my Dad to be happy; he's a good man, he deserves it. If you make him happy, then I have no problem with it. But he cares about you Kate, sometimes too much I think, because he'll take crazy risks to protect you. And when you're in danger, he forgets that he has other people in his life who love him and need him not to get hurt or killed."

Kate closed her eyes briefly, the words hitting her like a blow. She sensed Castle about to move, to interrupt Alexis, and she lifted a hand to stop him. He subsided, but a pained expression remained on his face.

"I just want to know that you care about him the same way; that you'll do everything you can to protect him and keep him safe." Alexis paused, groping for the right words. "I know you try to keep him from getting hurt, because that's your job. You're a cop. What I mean though, is that I want you to keep him safe because he's as important to you as you are to him. Do you understand?" Alexis' eyes bored into Kate's intently, demanding an honest answer.

Kate met her gaze unwaveringly as she answered. "Alexis, I'm in love with him. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep him safe, because I couldn't stand it if something happened to him. And as of yesterday, I'm not a cop anymore, so hopefully our days of risking our lives are over."

Castle listened to her words, feeling a wonderful ache in his chest at her declaration. He watched as a wide smile bloomed over his daughter's face, his own grin bursting out as Alexis threw her arms around Kate in an exuberant hug. With one long stride, he moved forward and gathered them both in his arms, squeezing tight until they laughingly begged for release. He dropped a kiss on his daughter's head as he stepped away, threading his fingers through Kate's.

"Ok, Alexis; eat, sleep, and we'll see you at dinner time." he said, pointing at his daughter. Turning the finger toward Beckett, he declared "You need to put some clothes on; we have errands to run. It's disgraceful how you run around barely dressed in front of my child." He reached out a long arm, scooping her clothes off the counter.

Kate nearly sputtered with indignation, until she saw the teasing gleam in his eyes. "I'll get you for that one later, Castle," she promised with a gleam of her own. Tugging on their joined hands, she led him off toward the bedroom as Alexis moved to microwave her meal. "Bye Alexis, see you later!" she called over her shoulder.