Chapter 12: Brighter Days

It had been a nightmare of a case.

Their leads had been thin at best, the body count was astronomical, and the personal cost to his officers was beginning to stack up. That they'd gotten as far as they had was due mostly to mistakes made by the bad guys rather than the skills of the good guys, and that was a disturbing trend.

Roy wasn't the type of person to overlook serendipity when it's granted, though. He knew there was a force at work greater than he could understand, and that force has smiled on his team.

Kate Beckett should be dead. She had met that place that all officers fear, that crossroads between life and death they come to when their own mistakes lead them off path. Without fail, he had never seen an officer take the right road. He had never seen a cop live to learn that fatal lesson. They always died first.

But then, it wouldn't be fair to say the same person returned to the 12th as left the day Richard Castle was kidnapped. The woman that came back three weeks later was fundamentally different. She was warmer, vulnerable in a way he'd never seen her. He imagined the armor, the walls…all the barriers she placed between herself and the rest of the world hadn't quite been rebuilt yet, but it made her a more complete person. He'd always known she was a warm and compassionate person, but it was a side of her she had always kept under tight control. Now, she welcomed her friends and the support they gave her, and thanked them for it with a genuine smile instead of a shy one.

This was the woman who had let Castle in. Finally.

His continued presence continued to heal her, as did the support of the rest of her team. They'd been a family before, but it was a tighter family now.

They tried valiantly to hide it, but the change was hard to miss. It worried him a little that the two were partners and lovers. It wasn't the first time he'd seen it, really. And if it had been anyone else, he would probably put a stop to it. But Beckett was happy with him – well, when he wasn't being annoying or doing something wrong. He was better about that. He was more careful, probably thanks to her influence. Roy had no doubt the department's insurance underwriters would thank her for that one day.

Beckett had been back a little over three weeks, Castle for a little over 10 days. Beckett was rebuilding her armor piece by piece, but the woman underneath was fundamentally different. That would make all the difference in the world as they faced their next challenges.

Montgomery looked out his office window into the bullpen. Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie were all gathered around Beckett's desk. Castle was in his usual seat beside it. Beckett was leaning back in her seat.

They were all laughing.

"Hey," he called, poking his head outside his office, "don't you people have a case to solve?" The muttered "yes sirs" were immediate, but everyone walked away with smiles on their faces. He saw Beckett glance over at Castle and watched her smile change into something meant only for him.

Yes, Rick Castle was still Kate Beckett's weakness…but he was also her strength.

Together, they could move mountains.

Together, they would slay a dragon.

Final Notes: Take this chapter with a dose of Auto Rock by Mogwai.

I think it's fairly obvious that this ending leaves room for sequels. That wasn't actually my intention. I was going to have the mayor be behind it all, but it just wasn't working. So...instead of killing all those characters off for a purpose, I ended up leaving more questions than answers. That'll be a mistake I'll probably end up revisiting sometime soon...but now that this thing is written, it's my hope that I won't be as distracted for a while.

I hope you enjoyed it.