Kate gestured for him to come on in. He stepped inside, and Kate closed the door behind him. She turned around after locking the door to find him staring at her.

"We need to talk," he said. His voice gave off nothing but seriousness. His face was emotionless. His eyes didn't have any hint of mischief in them like they normally do.

"I know. Would you like something to drink?" she asked. "No, thanks, I'm good," he replied. Kate went to get her glass of wine and took a sip before looking back at him. She asked the silent question if he wanted to start or not.

"Do you love me?" Wow, he cuts right to the chase. Kate was taken aback by the question and only answered, "What?"

"Throughout these years, all those moments we shared, was I reading you wrong? You keep sending mixed signals. One minute, you're giving me hope that you feel the same way, the next; you're shrugging it off like it didn't matter. This past year, I believed that you would remember me telling you that I loved you, or I'd wait to tell you again when I thought you were ready. Then I find out in an interrogation room that you remembered everything? You tell a perp and not me. Great, now I know I rank lower than a criminal," he said.

"Like I was the only one keeping a secret!" she exclaimed. "What?" he asked. "I know you've struck a deal with a friend of Montgomery's to keep me safe. I know you're investigating the case behind my back," she replied.

His eyes widened. He looked like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "How'd you- My mother told you, didn't she?" She didn't say anything, and that was plenty of an answer for him.

"Kate, I was just trying to keep you safe. I'm sorry," he replied, his voice calmer. "I know that, Rick! You're acting like I'm the one who screwed up the most here! You kept this information from me despite your promise that we would solve it together," she replied.

"I know. He said that he would keep you safe if you left the case alone. I didn't want to lose you again, so I agreed to keep you away from it. Why'd you lie to me?" he asked.

"I couldn't figure out what was real and what was just my imagination. I heard you say it, but I needed time-" "I would've waited for as long as you needed, Kate." "I know, but I wanted to sort things out myself first. I needed to figure out how I really felt about you. That's why I lied. I didn't want to give you false hope. I saw a therapist to sort out my feelings. I wanted to be better for you. I never meant for you to find out that way," she said.

He swore he saw tears trailing down her cheeks. He immediately went to hug her. She silently sobbed into his shirt.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here. I was a fucking idiot to think you didn't tell me because you didn't feel the same way," he said. That earned him a teary Beckett Death Glare. He laughed, "Yes, I'm a fucking asshole to believe that, but I'm a writer. It's my nature to think worst case scenario."

A smile appeared on her face. She snuggled into his chest, and he held her there, inhaling her cherry scent. Silence welcomed them for a minute.

"Rick, you do know I love you, right?" she whispered. He held her at arms-length, his eyes wide. "You love me?" he asked.

Kate laughed for the first time in weeks. "Yes, I love you, Richard Edgar Castle, my 9-year-old-on-a-sugar-rush partner and best friend," she said.

And then he kissed her. She was startled at first, but then she melted into the kiss. What started sweet and simple turned into passion. They poured four years of love into that kiss.

Back at the precinct, Ryan, Esposito, Alexis, Martha, and Jim Beckett were all staring at the conference room. "Why are we all here again?" Jim asked. "Don't know. Lanie told us to come in. she barricaded herself in the conference room and has been staring at the laptop for a while now," Ryan said.

"YES!" Their heads turned. Lanie shot up from her seat. She then started doing a dance that could only be her "happy" dance.

"What the fuck is going on?" Espo asked. "Don't look at me, bro," Ryan replied.

Lanie came into the bull pen. "MOM AND DAD ARE TOGETHER! I WON THE BET! WHOOHOO!" she yelled. "What?" they all asked in disbelief. The entire bull pen got quiet.

"Lanie, were you spying on Detective Beckett and my dad?" Alexis asked. Lanie's face turned flustered. "Uh…No, not exactly. I may or may not have "talked" with them. I also may or may not have made Castle go to her apartment to talk to her," she replied.

Back at Beckett's apartment, they broke the kiss, both gasping for air. "I love you, too, Katherine-I-don't-know-your-middle-name-Beckett," he said with a smile. This smile actually reached his eyes, and his eyes showed nothing but his love for her. "I know. Oh and by the way, my middle name is Houghton," she said. "Hmm…Houghton, like Katherine Hepburn?" She nodded. "I never would've guessed. It suits you," he said.

She hummed in reply and intertwined her small hand in his large one. He looked down at their joined hands, smiled, and then looked up at her again. He saw her bite her lip as she turned and led him away.

From that moment on, everything was perfect. Castle and Beckett spent the night together making up for the time they've lost. Lanie collected her money and even got praises from the captain on how brilliant her plan was which had everybody shocked. Lanie smiled as she slipped the money into her pocket. Mom and Dad were finally together all because Lanie Parish decided she'd had enough of this will-they-or-won't-they dance.

~End~

A/N: Well, there you go. I'm not particularly proud of this chapter, but there's you ending. I can always change it if you want, but that's it. Thanks to all the people who followed and added this story to their favorites. Without you guys, I would've given up this story a long time ago.