It takes her forever to pack. Not because she has a ton of stuff to re-fold and put into the chocolate brown weekender but because Castle keeps crowded into her back, his fingers teasing their way along her waist and down under the hem of her dress.

"Stop," she sighs, half-heartedly swatting at his hands as she tucks a t-shirt into the corner of the carry-on.

Castle hums against the crook of her shoulder, the vibrations travelling down along her chest and making her laugh. "Can't. You're irresistible."

She spins, the circle of her skirt brushing his knees. "We need to get on the road by seven at the latest," she says, trying to be stern. And failing.

He has to reach further up along her back to tangle his hands in her hair, tipping her head back so that he can smudge his lips over hers. "I can do fast," he says.

Kate shakes her head, kissing the angle of his Adam's apple. "Not even time for fast. Traffic will be shit to get back to Manhattan and my flight isn't going to wait."

"Fine," he groans, moving to her side to hand her the shorts and underwear to pack. "I'll just save my prowess for when I visit."

She drives them both back to the city. Castle had brought his own car out to the beach house but said he'd send one of the drivers from the car service out to pick it up later. He wants to spend as much time with her as possible.

Somewhere along the route back west along Long Island, things settle between them. He plays with the radio, switching between stations every two minutes. He sings along. He gets excited about seeing the classic cars on the road with them. He begs her to stop for snacks.

It's all so normal that it very nearly makes her forget that she's going to be saying goodbye in two hours.

"I need to drop the car at my dad's garage," she says as they sit in traffic just before entering the tunnel.

"No problem," he replies, sitting a little straighter in the passenger seat. It makes her laugh, how much her father still intimidates the man. "We can take a car back to the airport."

She wants to protest, to tell him that a cab is fine but he already has his phone out, dialing up the car service and asking them for a driver at her father's address. The garage is a block from her dad's apartment. She parks in his space, letting Castle carry both of their bags on the walk to the apartment building.

Jim meets them in the lobby, shaking Castle's hand and giving Kate a kiss on the cheek as she hands over the keys with her thanks. He wishes them both good luck and sends them back outside to get into the navy sedan sent by the car company.

Thankfully, the outgoing traffic from the island isn't as snarled and the driver drops them off at JFK, promising Castle that he'll be waiting in the parking lot until he calls.

She gets as far as the check-in counters before the tightness in her chest becomes overwhelming. Her hand squeezes his, already turning into his body before he can pull her close.

"It'll get better, Beckett," he murmurs into her ear. "It's got to."

"I know. I just... I don't want to say goodbye."

His fingers press into the muscles of her back, easing some of the tension built up along her spine. "It's not goodbye. I'll be there in two weeks at the latest. Just got to turn in the last draft of Deadly Heat."

Kate smiles against his shoulder. "Deadly Heat, huh?"

"What? I thought it was good."

"Just think of it as a reminder of what Nikki and I can do to you if you cross us," Kate says.

She steps back, his hand still on her hip as if he needs the touchstone of her body for as long as possible. His unshaven face scratches against her palm when she rests it on her cheek, fingertips smoothing over his ear, the edge of his smile tickling at her wrist.

"I love you," she whispers, pushing up onto the tips of her toes to kiss him, deep and slow. Storing the feeling away for those times when she wishes he were next to her in her bed in DC. "Thank you for believing in me."

He hands over her weekender, fingers sliding against hers. "I love you too, Kate. Wherever you are, whatever you do."

When she lands two hours later, DC doesn't feel so foreign anymore.