Hey so just wanted to start out by saying that I have gotten several comments on the fact that this story takes place in season 4 because of the Cuffed reference and therefore doesn't really fit their actions but it really is supposed to take place in season 2 or 3 the Cuffed reference just sort of got away with me. Sorry about that. Also sorry I didn't get this done as quickly as I would have liked and I have three very good excuses, SAT's, midterms, and boys :P. That and let me just say it is incredibly hard to focus on writing steamy make out scenes with your grandmother sitting across from you making Christmas cookies. Anyway this is the last chapter so hope you guys like it.

They didn't get out early or at least she didn't. Ryan and Esposito, on the other hand, had their share of paperwork finished in less than an hour and while they had offered to stay back to help her out with her half when they noticed what little progress she had made, she had shooed them away, claiming that she could finish it on her own. Honestly part of her was trying to drag it out, wanted the hand on the daunting clock hanging opposite her to freeze, and allow her an eternity in her haven, the precinct. She didn't mind the paperwork so long as it gave her any excuse to stay in her comfort zone. And of course Ryan and Esposito noticed, yet another one of the perks of working with detectives. A quirked eyebrow at her fake smile, a knowing look at her excuse, yeah they definitely knew. They seemed reluctant to leave but in the end they finally did go, knowing how futile any of their arguments would be.

It was 7:50 when she finally did finish the last of the paperwork, and she would be lying if she didn't say a part of her was a little disappointed. If only it had taken her a little longer then she could justify calling Castle and canceling, but now she knew she had to go. She had to get her phone back and tonight was as good a time as any.

She was only a few minutes late when she got to his place, but by the time she knocked on his door it was a good twenty minutes past eight. She usually wasn't one to be scared away so easily, but then again she had never found herself in a situation quite like this before. That paired with the fact that it was Castle had her pacing outside his door for a good fifteen minutes before she got up the courage to knock.

When she did the door flew open almost instantly to reveal a smiling Castle propping the door open with one hand and balancing a bowl of popcorn with the other.

She nearly jumped at the sight of him, more than a little startled at his sudden appearance. Had he been waiting there the whole time? She brushed the thought aside. He had probably just been in the kitchen making the popcorn when she had knocked.

He smirked at her reaction. "You were expecting someone else?"

" No I just-" she trailed off with a wave of her hand, dismissing his question completely.

Without hesitating he stepped aside, a silent cue for her to come inside and she brushed passed him, shrugging off her coat as she did.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized. "I got a little tied up at the precinct."

He gave her an odd smile and for a second she thought that he had seen through her lie, that he knew exactly why she was late, but if he did he didn't dwell on the subject. Really he was just glad that she hadn't backed out. He had expected her to try, had taken every precaution to stop her, including shutting off his phone so she wouldn't have been able to call and cancel. Just seeing her there alone was enough to bring a smile to his face.

"No problem," he said sliding the bowl onto the counter and turning to help her out of her coat. "Popcorn just got done anyway."

She couldn't help the shiver that coursed through her as his hand slide along her arms, slipping the jacket off her shoulders, making her mind flash back to the night before when his expert hands had taken off more than just her jacket. When she was out of it completely she instinctively took a step away from him, just needing to put some, any, space between them. He raised his eyebrows at her sudden movement but she covered it up by continuing on to the living room. He hung her coat by the door before following her.

The apartment was suspiciously quite as Kate made her way into the loft. She glanced around. "Where's your mother and Alexis," she asked, suddenly curious.

She was hoping they would have been downstairs, maybe she would even have been able to convince one of them to join them for the movie if for no other reason than to simply diffuse the awkwardness of the situation but so far the loft seemed deserted.

"Mother is taking a dramatic pause in the Hamptons for a week and Alexis is at a sleepover with her friend Julie."

Her mouth felt dry. "Oh" was all she managed to choke out. Ok so they were alone that was unexpected but not impossible.

"So Detective," he said, oblivious to her discomfort. He scooped up a stack of DVDs next to the couch and fanned them out like cards for her to see. He grinned. "What'll it be?"

They were halfway through the first movie when she realized the fatal flaw of her plan. She could have kicked herself at her own stupidity. He wasn't going to just leave her alone in his apartment long enough for her to search his room. Why would he? They were having a movie night, just the two of them. It wasn't as if there was anything else to distract him or anywhere he had to be, which would have afforded her the chance to slip away without him noticing.

She clung to hoped that maybe she hadn't left it in his room after all, that she was wrong and it was somewhere in his living room instead but so far, as she stealthily scanned the room, that possibility was becoming bleaker and bleaker. So she did the only thing could. She watched the movie or at least tried to. Mostly she spent her time running through a list of scenarios in her head that would award her the opportunity to sneak away without him noticing but so far she was coming up blank. She was so distracted that the movie Castle had chosen hadn't even registered to her, only that the few parts she had managed to pay attention for were actually pretty funny. It had something to do with space but had a western theme to it, weird but surprisingly good. Anyway Kate made a mental note to watch it again later when she could actually focus on it for more than a minute at a time.

In the end it turned out her worries were misplaced. She almost laughed at the irony when less than a few minutes before the credits rolled she looked over to find him sound asleep, slouched against the couch. Apparently her previous white lie hadn't been so far off from the truth after all.

She waited a few minutes before moving, just watching him, as if she couldn't believe her own luck. As if she expected him to wake up any second. Only after she was positive that he was really asleep did she slowly shift off the couch.

It was already late by the time the movie ended and the only light in the loft as she crept across the living room was the soft glow from the menu title repeating on the TV screen. She stole once last glance at Castle's sleeping form before slipping into his room.

His bedroom was dark, darker than it had been the previous night. Quietly, she shut the door behind her, extinguishing the dim light from the nearby room and made her way over to the bedside table in the dark. She could barely see her own two feet but she navigated through his room with ease, the layout still fresh in her mind from last night. When she got over to his bed, she flicked on the small bedside lamp, flooding the room in light.

Not wasting anytime, she made a quick survey of the room. When she didn't see her phone in any of the obvious places she checked behind the table, under the bed and even under the edges of the sheets. Only after she was positive that she had checked every possible place did she finally slump down onto the bed in defeat. It didn't make any sense. There was no other place that it could have been.

She brought her head down to her hands and rubbed her eyes, letting the frustration wash over her. She was positive that it would have been here. So caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't even notice when the bedroom door creaked open or that he had slipped into the room until he cleared his throat.

She sprung up from the bed at the sound and her hand automatically snapped to her waist to her nonexistent gun by habit.

"Castle" she breathed out when she saw him. Her hand moved from her hip to clutch her shirt above her heart, trying to calm her racing heartbeat.

He shrugged. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," he said, though not looking the slightest bit apologetic.

"Yeah well you're lucky I don't have my gun on me" she snapped back.

His eyes traveled up and down her studying her with a peculiar glint in his eyes and she was about to remind him about how him staring was creepy when she suddenly became painfully aware of the fact that she was still standing in his room, for absolutely no apparent reason.

She opened her mouth, fully prepared to stumble out the first half assed excuse she could think up. Then she saw what was in his hand. Dangling at his side, pinched loosely between his thumb and his middle finger she could see the faintest sliver of a sleek black object. Crap. He had her phone.

"I was just trying to find my phone," she blurted out, the first thing that came to her mind. "They need me back at the precinct and I had to make sure I had it before I could leave but apparently you already found it so guess I'll be on my way then."

She took a step towards him, moving her arm forward as if to take her phone but he shifted casually, tucking his arm behind his back more, shielding the phone from her view. He hummed to himself.

"Really." He pretended to think. "Because I found it this morning, before you came over."

She lowered her hand begrudgingly and scowled at him despite her attempt to remain unaffected. "That's probably because I left it here last night," she clarified trying her best to keep her tone steady, "after our other movie night."

He nodded his head as if agreeing with her, but when she tried making another reach for the phone he brought it from behind his back, moving it further away from her reach. He tapped her phone against his jaw thoughtfully. Clicking his tongue, he made a doubtful tsk sound, and shook his head.

"See but I'm still a little confused as to how it ended up in my bedroom."

Her hand feel back to her side in defeat and her head felt muddled as she tried desperately searching for an excuse. He waited patiently, a grin threatening to overtake his face, for her to come up with an answer he knew she didn't have.

She rubbed her temple. "Castle look I don't have time for your little games. I have work early tomorrow and need to go home." She hoped that the irritation in her voice was enough to convince him to back off but of course he didn't. Instead he shifted off the doorframe so that he blocked the exit completely and took a step towards her.

His gaze stayed glued to her as he stalked his way over, inching closer and closer to her with an almost predatory spark in his eyes. She certainly felt like prey. When he reached her she stepped back instinctively and hated herself for it instantly. He smirked and took a step to match hers and she couldn't help it; she stepped back again. He wasn't deterred, didn't even hesitate, before he followed her step with one of his own. If anything his smirk just grew. He followed her with a pace to match hers as she continued walking backwards. With each step he got bolder, stepped a little closer than the last time until he was scarcely a breath away.

She put her hand up, fully intending to shove him away, when one last step brought her into his bed, the backs of her knees bumping the edge of his mattress. Instinctively she fisted his shirt, a sad attempt to keep her balance, but she fell back nonetheless. The mattress dipped under her weight and he fell with her, his hands landing on either side of her and his knee landing at the edge of the mattress. Before she could get up he shifted further up the bed so that he was hovering over her. Her hand automatically dropped from his shirt, flinching away as if she had been burn.

"What if I want to play a game," he breathed, lowering himself closer to her. Her voice felt trapped in the back of her throat.

His hand moved up to cradle the side of her face but she flinched away from it, refusing to let herself be swept away by the feeling of his skin on hers. But stubborn as he was Castle wasn't deterred. He paused for a split second, smirking, then brought his hand around to her other cheek and gently tilted her head back to face him. He waited until her eyes met his before trailing his fingers along the underside of her jaw with a feather light touch, back up the side her face and finally rested his hand against her cheek.

She was breathing heavily now, her chest rising and falling deeply, pressing more firmly against him with every breath she took. She needed to calm down, needed to keep hold of what little control she had left but the way his eyes were locked intently on her, boring through her as if he could see her every thought, wasn't making it easy.

Then as if the world was conspiring against her, in a twisted turn of events he did tear his eyes away from hers. Not that it did anything to calm her racing heart considering he only tore them away to bring his gaze to her neck as he slowly bent forward and pressed his lips to her pulse point. He let them linger there, feeling her heartbeat against them before he moved down her neck. She sucked in a shaky breath as his lips peppered the side of her neck with feather light kisses but she didn't push him away, couldn't maybe. She didn't want to.

Her heart pounded in her chest, reminding her how dangerous their little game had gotten, another nagging warning for her to stop this from going any further, but the feeling of his lips on her skin was too damn intoxicating for her to pull away. Briefly it even crossed her mind if she could still call it a game when he was hovering over her with his lips latched onto her neck, his tongue swirling deliciously against her skin. She sighed. Though she was reluctant to admit it, a part of her knew that she was just kidding herself. That their little game had ended exactly one night ago when his lips had first crashed into hers. Why else would he be acting so bold?

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks and her eyes flew open.

"When did you remember," she asked so quietly that at first he wasn't even sure if she had really said it.

He stopped his ministrations on her neck and pulled back to look at her. She was biting her lower lip and had her eyes screwed shut, refusing to look at him, almost as if anticipating the blow of his answer.

"Kate," he breathed, a silent plea for her to look at him, but true to her nature she stubbornly kept her eyes closed.

So he bent down and kissed her, languidly massaging her abused lip from her teeth until he felt her lips respond beneath his.

Her eyes fluttered open as he pulled away and she was met with the sight of his deep blue eyes staring down at her with an intensity she had never seen before. He brushed his thumb against her cheek.

"I could never forget you," he whispered.

The mere tenderness of his voice, caused her breath to catch in the back of her throat. That and the look in his eyes, the look of complete adoration, of acceptance left her incapably of even the simplest speech. She almost gave in right then, almost let herself melt into his embrace, accept his love completely, but she was too good at running for that.

He saw the flash in her eyes, the faintest hint of doubt that for a second made him think that he'd convinced her, that she would stay, but the next thing he knew she was shifting away. He hadn't even fully process that she was leaving until she had already managed to slip out from underneath him. When it fully hit him he twisted around towards her and sat up on the edge of the bed just as she was making her retreat for the door.

"I have to go." She told him, scooping up her bag as she did. Her voice was desperate, almost like she was trying to convince herself more than him, but she scarcely made it two steps before Castle's hand was on her wrist, stopping her dead in her tracks. The bag slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a soft thud that echoed throughout the room.

She was barely able to get out a faint protest, his name a whisper on her lips, an unspoken plea to let her go before he was whipping her around, tugging her back towards him. She lost her balance, wasn't expecting him to stop her. As she fell against him one of her knees fell onto the bed beside him, just brushing the outside of his thigh and her hands fell to his chest. She felt the air whoosh out of her lungs at his sudden moment and she caught herself less than an inch away from him.

She tried standing back up but he was quicker. One of his hands grasped her other leg, the one she was still standing on, behind her knee and pulled it to the bed on the side of his other leg so that she was now straddling him.

"No" he stated firmly and she was shocked by his assertiveness, shocked that he had even stopped her in the first place. Usually when she ran away he gave her the space she needed, never pushing any further, but this time he had an odd look of determination set on his face. Facing murderers scared her less than that look.

Abandoning the spot on her hip, he hooked his fingers in the belt loops of her jeans on either side of her hips and tugged her further onto his lap so that her chest was flush against his. One of his hand snaked around her waist, effectively trapping her against him while the other one cupped her cheek to force her gaze back to his. They were close enough that she had no choice but to rest her hands on his shoulder. When she turned back to face him his lips were less than a heartbeat away from hers.

"Why do you keep running," he murmured, his hot breath hitting her lips.

She felt her heartbeat increase and her mouth go dry. Did she even have an answer? Her eyes flickered to the side, looking for a way out but almost as if anticipating her panic his arm tightened around her waist, taking away any notion she had about running.

"Kate" he warned.

She sighed and turned back to him in resignation. "Castle look it's not a good idea. We work together, we're partners. That's how it needs to stay and," her voice wavered for a second, "and I can't be another one of your one night stands."

She had used the harshest voice she could muster but when she dragged her eyes back to him he didn't look the slightest bit affected. His eyes sparkling back at her with poorly masked amusement.

"You do realize that you're the one who made it a one night stand by leaving, right?" he pointed out clearly trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It wouldn't have been if you hadn't remembered" he shot back but even as she said it, she realized how ridiculous it sounded, a realization that was further cemented when she saw the amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"What," she defended. "If you hadn't found that phone then it would have all gone back to normal. Things wouldn't have been any different. They wouldn't have changed."

He smirked, noting the way her cheeks had reddened well past their previous exertion. "You underestimated my abilities as a detective."

She couldn't help the roll of her eyes. "You're not a detective," she reminded him. She tried her best to remain serious but failed spectacularly to hide the hint of amusement that bled through.

His grin widened playfully, and he shrugged. Oh he was definitely getting to her. "It's either that or you're admitting that a civilian outsmarted you."

She tried to keep a serious face but seeing his smile, she knew she couldn't. It was just so typical Castle. She rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming Castle."

"Oh I will but," he let his hungry eyes travel her body, "my dreams about you don't involve that much talking."

She shivered, couldn't help it, and suddenly all she wanted to do was to shut up him and his intoxicating voice up with her lips. His gaze stayed lock with hers, watching her reaction, and she was sure that he was going to kiss her again but then his eyes turned serious.

"Is that really what you want," he suddenly asked.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?" She quirked an eyebrow playfully. "For you to keep dreaming?"

For the first time all night she saw the faintest hint of uncertainty flicker in his eyes before he diverted his gaze. He lowered his voice."For things not to change."

The smile slipped off her face and shattered on the ground. She didn't want to go back to being serious; she wanted to brush things off with banter like they usually did. And maybe she could have made a joke, brushed off his question but something about the look in his eyes told her that that approach would be pointless.

"What about you," She asked." Did you want it to be a one night stand?" She knew she was taking the easy way out, deflecting, but she couldn't risk putting herself out there. As much as she wanted to she just couldn't.

He, on the other hand, didn't hesitate before answering. "Wouldn't be here if I did."

She fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't expect him to be so blunt, it was Castle after all, she just wasn't expecting him to sound so sure, so sincere. She opened her mouth as if to respond but the words were caught in her throat. She closed her mouth lamely.

"You made a mistake by leaving," he stated firmly.

Taking a deep breath she tried unsuccessfully to calm her racing heart. She should have stayed quiet, should have let him just keep talking but the words just spilled out of her mouth before could stop them.

"I couldn't risk staying," she admitted. "Maybe if I didn't have feelings for the person then it would be fine but if I'm in love with then I just can't, ok Castle. I can't risk it. I'm sorry." When she finished her rant she looked up at him expecting to see him disappointed but when her gaze met his he was smiling.

"You love me"

Her mouth hung agape uselessly as she realized her slip up. But she was done panicking, done running, done hiding. She wanted to live. She wanted him. So she held his gaze, and without wavering said. "Yes."

Any doubts she may have had about her admission melted away when she saw him break into a smile and she was left feeling remarkably flamboyant. Practically glowing at her answer, he leaned forward, covering her face with small kisses, smiling against her skin with each one. She couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up her throat as she playfully pushed him back. He obediently pulled back still smiling and cupped her face.

"I love you too Kate." He whispered "So much more than you could ever know." He brushed back a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

The relief of hearing those words had her smiling back at him like a love-struck teenager and she couldn't help it. She kissed him.

It felt like fireworks.

This time there was no fear, no surprise as her lips parted against his, more boldly than before. Almost instantly she opened her mouth to him and he didn't need a second invitation before his tongue was stroking hotly against hers. Her hands migrated up his shoulders to the nape of his neck to play with his hair, and she couldn't help the rock of his hips when she felt him moan into her mouth. His hands still at her hips, he slowly lowered them back onto the bed until they were laying parallel against it. Abandoning the kiss, she sucked his bottom lip between hers, nipping at the soft flesh and then soothing it over with the quick tip of her tongue. He had always wondered what it might be like to feel her to bite his lip the same way he had watched her bite hers. It was better than he had imagined.

As his palms rubbed up her sides, causing her shirt to bunch up further above her stomach, her hands traveled to the top of his shirt and started undoing the complicated line of buttons down the center. Once she had flicked open the last button, her hands spread against his chest, exploring the newly exposed expanse of skin now available to her.

Then all of the sudden she pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. He gave her a questioning look. "You were never really asleep were you?"

He gave her a boyish smile. "oops?"

He bit back a moan when she sat up, causing her weight to press fully against his hips. Dragging a finger down his bare chest, her teeth sunk mischievously into her lower lip as her fingers traveled lower and felt his muscles become taunt beneath her fingertips. At the boarder of his jeans, she stopped her downward descent and skimmed her nails along the edge, reaching the side of hips before trailing them back across his stomach. Her fingers circled the button of his jeans then flicked it open, reviving in the sharp intake of breath he made, and hooked a finger under his belt below.

She leaned in close and purred seductively, "that fine I'm sure I can think up a few ways," she gave a sharp tug against his belt and he made a sound somewhere between a yelp and a moan, "to get back you."

His hands found a place at her hips again and he waggled his eyebrows. "And I will gladly accept any punishment you deem fit."

"Castle," she smiled wickedly, `"Shut up." Then she dove for him again, attacking his lips with hers until his smile melted away in a needy moan. And finally for the first time all night Castle stopped talking.

It was still night when she woke up, and the first thing she felt was the weight of her arm against her abdomen. This time she didn't need five minutes, a minute or even a second for her memory to come back. It hit her instantly, memories streaming nonstop in mind. She waited for the panic to follow like it had the previous night, waited for the urge to flee to hit her like usual, but it never came. In fact she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this relaxed. She shifted deeper into the mattress and felt his arm tighten around her.

Letting out a small chuckle, she tilted her head to drop a delicate kiss to the inside of his elbow. He responded with a lazy sigh as his fingers traced small circles against her bare arm.

She smiled against him. "You know Castle holding someone against their will is still a crime. Are you trying to get me to arrest you?"

He chuckled, snuggling in closer to her, and placed a lazy kiss against the curve of her neck.

"No but if you hinting that you want to use your handcuffs, I certainly have no objections." His voice was heavy with sleep but she could still practically hear the smirk laced in his tone.

She fell silent for a few minutes simply enjoying his presence and the warmth of his body pressed against hers before she spoke again "So is there any particular reason you have me in a death grip." She teased.

When he didn't respond right away, she figured he had fallen asleep until she felt him murmur sleepily against her neck. "Couldn't risk waking up without you again,"

Her heart skipped a beat. She turned around in his arms to find him staring back at her. His eyes were heavy with sleep but there was still an intensity to them, his emotions hidden in their blue depths. They read like an open book. Traces of adoration, contentment, and love occupied the majority of the vast pools of blue, but there was still something else, something past that. Fear. The lingering trace of fear that she wasn't really his, that she would still run, from this, from him. Her stomach lurched at the sight. She had put that fear in his eyes, had been the cause of his uncertainty, but she was going to take it away.

Trailing her fingertips along his arm, her nails gently scrapped against his skin and she felt him shiver at her touch. His eyes fell down to her hands. She waited for his reluctant gaze to travel back to met hers before she brought her hand up to caress the side his jaw. He leaned into her touch, humming appreciatively. She smiled softly at him. "There's no chance I won't be here in the morning."

In an instant he had her rolled over, his hands pressing into the bed on either side of her shoulders to support himself as he hovered over her. She rested her arms comfortable around his waist and threaded her fingers together at the curve of his spine, not at all affected by his sudden movement. He smiled down at her, his eyes shining with hope even as he struggled against the sleep that threatened to overcome him again at any moment. Leaning forward his cheek brushed hers and she couldn't help the light gasp that fell from her parted mouth when his lips brushed the soft skin under her ear. She sucked in a breath as his lips fluttered up the edge of her ear, his hot breath coming in spurts, curling against her skin.

"Promise." He murmured against the shell of her ear, his voice so raw so breathy that her eyes dilated from the sheer pulsing need that the sound of his voice incited. She blinked, fighting to stay focused, to not just give into the urge to kiss away his doubts, kiss away his thoughts completely.

Instead she nuzzled her nose into his neck, pulling him down to her, closer than when he had been holding her. Her whole body pressed into his, molding perfectly against him and just before she brought her lips up to meet his she whisper, "Always."

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