A/N: Marking this story as complete is bittersweet. I get so attached to my stories that it's hard to end them. I have loved writing this and sharing my heart with you all. Thank you so much for the amazing response and support. I heart each and every one of you. Please keep an eye out for a one-shot scene insert of the M-rated moments. Also be on the lookout for my Ficathon story in a few days! Happy Castle Monday and happy Holidays.

So many of you have left sweet reviews for the last few chapters and I promise to respond to you all soon! Your words make me smile! :)

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over Castle or any of the characters created for the show. You may recognize a few borrowed words of dialogue, I claim no ownership over it either.

My Compass

"Love is like a North Star; in a changing world it's always constant."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

She doesn't keep him waiting long. Her trembling legs manage to hold her up as she comes to stand right in front of Castle. The deep blue seas of his eyes shine with emotion and love and she knows that he's been planning this far longer than just last night. She fights back her own emotions, determined not to turn into a blubbering mess until she's at least let him ask her properly.

Castle reaches for her left hand, cradling it between his own and smiles up at her. "So, you found my letter?" he asks.

She can only nod at him because she doesn't trust the steadiness of her voice right now.

"I meant every word I said, Kate. All of it. You have proven so much to me this week and I wanted to return that feeling of reassurance to you. I never meant for you to have any doubt about the future I want with you. There is no one else but you, Kate. From the moment I met you I knew that I'd never want anyone else more than you."

He softly squeezes her hand before continuing. "For the past five years I've watched you evolve from a closed off, miserable person to the amazing woman that's standing in front of me. I've watched the light return to your eyes, the joy return to your heart. You let me inside in ways that I always dreamed of, but never thought you would. The depths of your heart still amaze me."

She lifts the hand he's not holding to brush another stream of tears from her cheek and she manages to breath the word "you" in a way that she knows he will understand. He's the reason for all of those things. He is the light in her eyes and the joy in her heart.

"We've talked about all of the ways that I changed you, but you changed me too, Kate. I was immature and reckless before I met you and I never realized how miserable I really was. You showed me all of the ways that I could be better and you brought out the best qualities in me. That's just one of the many reasons that I know you're my soul mate."

And now she really is crying because of all the things they've been through and how far they've come. They changed each other in so many beautiful ways and they're about to get engaged and she's sorry that she ever doubted that they would make it this far.

His smile conveys more thankfulness then he could ever express to her. "I love you, Kate, and I want to continue solving the mystery of you for the rest of my life. I promise to always be open and honest with you and to fight for us even when things get hard, because anything worth having is worth fighting for. I want you in my life—always, because a life without you would be no life at all."

He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a small black box and even though she knows what's inside, her heart nearly stops when he opens it to reveal the beautiful diamond ring. The sunlight filters through it brilliantly and she only shifts her gaze back to Castle when he clears his throat.

"You don't have to search anymore for your place in this world. It's right here, with me. I'll be your North Star, your guiding light, always. This is where you belong. So, Katherine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?"

She drops to her knees before those final words leave his mouth and when he finishes asking her she's smothering her lips over his like it's the first time she's kissed him. She wraps her arms around his neck, tugging him close to her as she breaks the seal of their lips. She's breathless and emotional, but she realizes that his silence means he's waiting for a proper answer from her.

She lifts her head and meets his eyes, letting him see the way he affects her. "Yes, Castle. There was never any other answer but yes. You are my North Star and there's no other place on earth that I'll ever belong more than right here—with you. Yes, I'll marry you."

He kisses her hard then, the insistent press of his lips almost bruising against her own and she welcomes it. She clings to him, letting the press of his body remind her that this is real, they made it.

He only stops kissing her long enough to slide the ring onto her finger and then he's laying back on the blanket that he was kneeling on and pulling her willing body down with him. She settles her legs on either side of his waist and then her lips reclaim his in a fierce, passionate battle.

They make love on the roof of the loft, the soft rays of sunlight painting their skin with warmth. The rest of the world disappears, leaving only a beautifully, sated lover and her North Star. And for the entire day nothing else matters—nothing but them.

Of all the times Kate Beckett ever used a compass while camping in the woods with her dad or navigating through the city she never stopped to think about the internal compass that everyone possesses. An internal device that points us all towards our destiny and our North Star and we need only to follow our hearts to end up where we belong. Each compass has a magnet, a strong pull that points the arrow in the right direction, and eventually when the time is right, and you really listen your magnet connects with its mate and all directions align in the middle. It's a journey we all end up on whether we want to or not, the journey to finding North.

"Then love knew it was called love, and when I lifted my eyes to your name,

Suddenly your heart showed me my way."

-Pablo Neruda

Thank you to all who took this journey with me.

Thank you to Bri, for her constant support and friendship.

Thank you to all of the ThankYouTerri team, for being amazing and forming friendships that I will cherish, always.

As always I would love to hear your thoughts. Xoxo