Author's Note: A post-ep scene for 6X11 'Under Fire'. Light spoilers for the episode.

Dawn lingers on the horizon once they stumble into the loft, Kate's body pressed firmly against his back as he peels off his jacket and drops his keys onto the table beside the front door.

The cab ride home from the hospital had been silent, both of them far too exhausted and emotionally taxed to begin the dialogue that they can feel building between them. Another close call, another day steeped in life-changing death, another couple who finds themselves blessed to have another day together.

A reminder of so many instances, so many days, that they have had. So many times that death has beckoned one, or both, of them and been left wanting, reaching and, undeniably, waiting for the next opportunity.

Words are beyond them both, but they still remember to touch. It's an affirmation with their hands curled together, hips and thighs kissing as they sit in the cab or stand in the hallway as Sarah Grace Ryan is wheeled into the nursery at Bellevue. The way Rick rests his hand against her thigh, how Kate's curls drape across his shoulder when she rests her head against it.

There is barely a moment when they aren't touching. A theme which continues as they dress for bed - light caresses and grazes that are to comfort rather than ignite and spark. It's Kate's fingers gently scratching against his scalp, his hands skimming across the inch of skin above her sleep shorts as she brushes her teeth in the mirror, their reflections locking eyes in the glass with a dozen emotions held within before she bends to spit her toothpaste out and rinse.

When she leans forward Rick catches the glint of the chain hanging around her neck, the cool silver striking against the tan of her skin. He lets out an exhale, his nose pressing lightly against the nape of Kate's neck with the barest brush of his mouth against her skin.

Even with a light touch, he doesn't miss the shiver that moves across her body.

Neither of them know how long they stand there, his hands bracketing her waist and his lips pressed against her heck but Kate is the first to move. It's the curl of her arms and the tease of her fingers against his cheeks that alert him to the change, encourages him to back away so that she can reach for the clasp of her necklace.

It only takes a moment for the long chain to rise from underneath her shirt, for the two engagement rings strung along the fine metal to glimmer in the overhead light.

She meets his gaze again in the mirror as her ring begins its descent towards her outstretched hand, the barest hint of a smile once the diamond and platinum band lands against her palm.

Rick takes it from there, securing the clasp of the necklace back around her neck with another soft kiss. He reverently pushes the fingers of his right hand through Kate's, breathing deeply before he guides them both to her left and effortless slides her engagement ring into its rightful place.

And then he kisses her again, three soft nips against her jawline as the tears that she's fought for the entire night begin to fall freely from her lashes.

"I love you, Katherine Houghton Beckett," he whispers into her ear as Kate releases a shaky sigh, her hands gripping onto his in a silent agreement because, in that moment, the words fail her. They are caught in her throat, in her heart, in her soul and she can't manage to force them out and have them encompass what all they need to mean.

Because she couldn't have done it - she couldn't have faced him in a burning building, telling her goodbye on the phone as she gave birth to their child.

Kate prides herself on being strong and independent but, in this, Jenny Ryan is stronger than her.

She doesn't feel guilty, she's long since stopped being ashamed of how much she wants and needs Richard Castle by her side, but its terrifying.

She can't imagine a moment where it won't be.

Still, Kate lifts her head to meet his eyes again in the mirror, turning just enough that her forehead presses into his cheek as she huffs out a slow breath, 'It's a special thing that you do - you and Jenny," she says softly, her mouth sliding over the stubble that has appeared overnight, "being the spouse - the significant other - of a cop? Nights like that one….to love someone and know that one day they might never come home, that a bullet or a fire or a bomb could take them from you? You are so much stronger than we are. To willingly give yourself to that - I don't think I could."

Kate can feel him begin to protest, hear the rumble in his chest as the words begin to form, and she reaches up to silence him. One solitary finger pressed against the seam of his mouth before she turns fully in his embrace and brings her lips to his.

"But I love you for being so selfless," Kate whispers just before she kisses him, just the barest brush against his mouth.

Rick makes no move to deepen anything, following her lead with a soft touch until Kate pulls away, until she leans back and he can see that some of the fear and darkness has left her eyes.

"May 24," he whispers, unwilling to break to soft stillness of the moment, but also no longer wanting to delay. They'd put off a date for months, looking for the perfect venue, the perfect honeymoon location, waiting for vacation dates from the precinct.

Rick doesn't want to wait. He wants her. He wants a white dress and a wedding license and Kate Beckett to become Kate Beckett-Castle (because he knows, without asking, that she'll never given up her maiden name.)

Kate considers him quietly, her lower lip captured between her teeth for the briefest pause. There's no mistaking his words, no misinterpreting the date. It's when he wants to get married.

She eventually smiles at him, this soft and shy grin that takes his breath away just like those full-wattage smiles that she so freely gives him now. "Guess I'll make room for you in my calendar."