Disclaimer: I don't own or have any rights to Castle or any of its characters, sadly.

Authors note: Well, those who wished for the second chapter have gotten their wish. I hope you are happy with Chapter 2.

LONG NIGHT LOVE LETTER

by: Tanas Bartowski

Chapter 2

It had been a long day for Kate Beckett, here body was stiff and her hand ached from largest amount of paperwork that she had ever remembered doing. She was almost home, as the feeling of stress diminished the closer she came to her home. She didn't want to think about work anymore, she just wanted to take a bath, curl up with a good book and go to bed. Pulling up near her apartment, each step she took felt heavier and heavier. It felt as if she would never arrive home, no matter how close she came to it.

Though the trip was long, she finally entered her apartment building. The difference in temperature made her cheeks feel hot. She eyed her mailbox with her last name lazily hanging on it. It felt like such a chore for her at the moment, their was never anything good in the mail anymore, usually just bills and credit card applications telling her she was pre-approved. However something in her told her to get it. Something she couldn't explain told her she wanted the mail today, at least something inside of it was meant for her. She turned the key to her box, that opened easier than usual as it mostly jammed halfway down the cylinder. She pulled out a handful of envelopes, none of which seemed particularly interesting at first glance. Kate threw them under her arm and made her way up toward her hot bath.

Once in her apartment, Kate threw the mail onto her kitchen table, removing her coat and boots as she did so. The tub called to her and she answered as quickly as she dared, letting the water flow as hot as she could stand it. She removed her shirt and threw it near her bedroom, making her way back to the living room to look though the mail. Bill, Bill, Credit Card, Bank Statement, and finally a letter. A letter, no one has written her a real letter in what felt like, and could have very well been ages. The first thing Kate looked for was the sender, R. Castle. Her heart skipped a beat when she read that name. She fumbled with the seal, tearing the envelope ragged. Finally getting to the actual letter.

She couldn't believe her eyes. She knew she was blushing, and didn't care one bit. Once she read the letter threw once, she removed the rest of her clothing and descended into the tub, letter still in hand. She started to read it again. Kate Beckett was getting hot, and it wasn't the tub's doing. She couldn't believe her eyes, as she read the letter through a second time and a third. Before longer scalding hot, but warm. Kate didn't seem to notice, she was to engrossed in the letter. She knew it, but she still couldn't believe it, someone loved her, honest to God, loved her. The letter was the most romantic gesture anyone ever did for her. Reading it for the eighth and ninth time, Kate finally realized that the water she was sitting in had become cold. She unplugged the stopper form the drain with her toes and continued to read. By the twentieth time through, she decided that it was time to get out of the already dry tub.

Kate Beckett knew she had to reply to this letter, she had to tell him that she felt the same way about him, she just didn't know how to express it to him. She dressed herself in an old ratty t-shirt, and searched for her laptop that she hadn't used in months. While it was powering up, Kate side in silence, pondering what to say in her response. She opened up her word document and began to type.

Dear Castle,

I got your letter, and you know what, I feel the same. I love the way that you finish my thoughts, the way you never know when to shut up. The way you always seem to get yourself into a messy situation. I even love your idiocy, but I love you anyway. I love you for your generosity, I love you for your chivalry, I love you for your wackiness, I love you for your writing. I never told you this, but I am a Castle fan, as you probably already guessed, but what you didn't know is that your books are what got me through my mothers death and my fathers decent into darkness. You got me through that before I even knew you, I love you for sticking your nose in where it didn't belong. I love the way you look at me when I enter a room. I love the way you are with your beautiful daughter. All this time, I thought that you were to good for me, here you stood thinking the exact same thing about me. I love the way you wrote me a love letter, it was probably the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. By the way I knew you had gotten enough research, Esposito told me after the second year we worked together. If I was a stronger person I would have told you then. I love you, Richard Castle.

P.S. Once you receive this letter, come by my apartment, so we can talk alone.

Kate Beckett took a deep breath, she couldn't even believe it herself what she had just written. After dusting off the printer that she almost forgot she owned, she printed the page, folded it and stuffed it into a blank envelope.

It was nearly morning when she finally managed to fall asleep, she keep imagining what would happen when Castle read the letter. Hoping he would still feel the same way and dreading the consequences if he didn't. Her body finally caught up to her as she finally drifted into dream land where she dreamed a happy dream.

The day had ended yet again and Beckett had delivered the letter to Castle, she stood against her door for nearly an hour waiting in anticipation for his knock. It finally came, with her heart nearly drowning it out. She opened the door and saw the man she had fallen for on the other side.

"Hey," he said simply.

"Hey," she replied.

He took a step closer to her, she didn't back away. His lips inched their way closer to hers, finally meeting in an explosion of heat and emotion. It wasn't long before simple kiss escalated into a passionate frenzy of emotion. Richard Castle and Kathrine Beckett slowly disappeared as they pushed the door that separated them open and the one to her apartment closed for good.

THE END