Kate woke up extra early that morning. She stood in front of her closet and stared at her clothes for 5 minutes before finally deciding on something to wear. Today was the day she had been counting down toward. Her house arrest (as she had deemed it) had finally come to an end and finally, she was allowed to go to the precinct and get to work. Sure, she'd be doing deskwork for the next month but it was better then nothing.

Today was also the first day she'd be seeing Castle since she left the hospital 2 weeks ago. She felt guilty about not calling him or inviting him over, but she had needed some time to get her thoughts in order. So much had changed in such a short period of time that she needed some time alone to figure everything out.

It shamed her to admit that she spent about 3x the time she usually spent in front of the mirror doing her makeup. She wanted to get herself just right. She wanted to look natural but with a little bit of an edge. She had left her wet hair up in a towel while getting ready so she could achieve the natural waves that she knew Castle lov—liked so much.

She wanted more then anything to pretend that nothing had changed between herself and the writer. Between her mother's revelations and Castle watching her in her most vulnerable state, she would be a fool to think they could just rewind and go back to the way things were.

The change in dynamic between herself and Castle had been clear to anyone who witnessed them. Obvious adjustments like the way Castle always seemed to have at least one hand on her at all times whether it be her arm, her shoulder, or even within her own. Also the way they now called each other by their first names (waking up and hearing him softly call her "Kate" still sent shivers down her spine… the good kind.)

Despite these obvious changes that everyone (especially Lanie, seemingly) noticed, there were subtle differences too, differences that only she and her writer could see. Before, with just one look Kate had been able to tell what Rick was thinking to a certain degree. Now, however, it was almost as though that connection had a new electricity. Just one look and Rick was able to penetrate her soul and see right through her. Just one look was able to send waves of pleasure coursing through her body like she had never felt before. Yes, the dynamic between the writer and detective had definitely changed.

Looking in her mirror, Kate gave herself a final once over before nodding in approval and heading out the door.

Rick woke up knowing exactly what day it was. He had a legitimate count down on his iphone set up ever since Kate had told him that she needed a little time to herself.

Wanting to beat her to the precinct, Rick rushed to get ready, quickly throwing on his favorite blue shirt and his best black pants. Admittedly, he spent a little extra time working on his hair then he normally would have… but today was not a normal day.

His thoughts were a haze all the way to the precinct. He stopped by his favorite café to pick up his regular 2 coffees and hadn't even noticed himself ordering. It was weird how second nature it was to him now.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the precinct and was riding the elevator up. His heart was beating fast and he had to concentrate hard to keep from sweating. It was odd that he was so nervous to see her when he had virtually seen her almost every single day for 3 years now.

He strode over to her desk, placing one of the coffees in his hand in its usual spot to the right of her computer. Not wanting to seem desperate or anxious, he walked over to where Esposito and Ryan were sitting.

For the next 10 minutes, the boys proved themselves to make good distractions, but the internal clock within Castle's brain kept clicking, letting him know that his favorite detective should be arriving any second.

As soon as the elevator made it's usual dinging noise, he knew it was her. The doors opened agonizingly slowly but finally, Kate was in full view. Rick studied her and watched as she took a deep breath and entered the precinct.

To the untrained eye, it would appear that her demeanor was confident and poised. Anyone who didn't know her as well as he did wouldn't see how she was digging her finger nails into the palms of her hands and how her hair wasn't tucked behind her ears as though she was using it as a barrier.

As soon as she entered the main room, everyone in the precinct began to clap. She smiled, clearly embarrassed and mouthed a quick thank you to everyone before walking over to her desk and sitting down.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Castle counted down in his head. He didn't want to seem desperate and run over to her as soon as she sat down. He didn't want to annoy her.

He strode over to her desk and was happy to see that she had already taken a sip of her coffee. "It's nice to see you again, detective. Would you shoot me if I said I missed you?"

"Smooth." Kate smiled, reminding herself not to be hard or cruel. She wanted to keep up this new dynamic with her writer. "I missed you too, writer boy. Everything was so silent without you!"

Castle couldn't believe his ears. Had she just admitted that she missed him… in the middle of the precinct no less?

"Oh, don't look so surprised, Castle!" She said, biting her lip. She must know that it drove him crazy when she did that.

"You can't have been that lonely, Josh must've been around a lot." He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. Not only because of obvious reasons, but her face fell a little when he said this—the playful spark in her eyes dulled a little.

"Josh and I broke up, actually." She said, quietly now.

"I hope you're ok, Kate. Honestly though, you're too good for him. It may not seem like it now, but you deserve someone that will always be there for you." Rick had not meant to say 'always' but somehow, the word had slipped out of his mouth without his consent.

"Actually, apparently I'm not too good for him because he broke up with me." She hated admitting this, but in all honesty, she was curious about how he would react. As well, she had made a new rule for herself over the past two weeks. No more lying to Castle (with some exceptions). He deserved to know the truth and she knew he was a good man who wouldn't use those truths against her.

"Follow me." Castle said, getting up and leading her to the interrogation room. She had expected some sort of reaction out of him but this definitely wasn't it.

As soon as they were both inside, he closed the door and locked it behind him. He didn't think about, nor did he care, whether or not anyone had seen them enter the room. At this moment, he had one thing on his mind and one thing only.

"Kate. I'm not going to touch on the breakup because you know how I feel about that. That ass hole doesn't deserve you and if he had the nerve to break up with you… especially after all that has happened, he doesn't deserve anyone." He took a deep breath, getting ready to say everything he had practiced this morning.

"Living with the knowledge that you may have died at any moment was torture for me. Though you were the one who had took 2 weeks for yourself to think and straighten things out for yourself, it also gave me some time to do the same. After weeks of deliberating and second guessing myself, I hadn't come to a conclusion until I saw you walk through that elevator this morning." He held out his arms and took her hands in his own.

"I don't deserve you, Kate. I don't believe I am a good enough man to ever be worthy of you but I promise if you give me the chance I will spend every day for the rest of my life attempting to be everything you need." Kate looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"Why are you saying this, Rick?" She asked, giving him one final opportunity to back out. It was all or nothing now.

"I'm saying this because I am positive that you are the love of my life. Katherine Beckett, I have fallen for you harder then any woman has ever made me fall, and I never want to get back up. I want to be there for you always. I want to be the person you call when you are sad or even when you just want to talk. I am saying all of this because I want you to give me a chance to show you that I can be your one and done. I want you to go out with me tonight and every night after. And though this seems like such a menial title for everything I feel for you, I want you to be my girlfriend."

Kate was silent. Her emotions were going haywire and she had no idea how to respond. She found it so cute how he stumbled over his words and was giving such an awkward speech because he couldn't find the right ways to express himself.

"I mean, you can always say no. Like if you don't feel—" Kate pressed a finger to his lips to cut his rambling off.

"Castle. For once, shut up." She paused, moving forward. "And please, please kiss me."

The writer clearly didn't need to be told twice for as soon as the words left her mouth, he leaned down into the most passionate kiss Kate had ever experienced.

His hands ran through her hair as their lips crashed together in a frenzied heat, their tongues battling for dominance. She squealed as he lifted her up and placed her easily on the interrogation table (that she would never look at the same again) and leaned into her further.

She grabbed his face with his hands and tried to no avail to hold back the moans of pure pleasure from escaping her lips. He smiled against her mouth at the sound she had made.

They pulled apart from each other only for air, still only mere centimeters away from each other's faces.

"I would be honored to be your girlfriend, Richard Castle."

Inside the observation room, Ryan and Esposito stood with 5 other members of the precinct, exchanging bills and collecting winnings. "I knew they'd make it, bro." Esposito said, as he high fived Ryan and collected his money. He, his partner and Lanie had been the only ones left in the precinct who were rooting for the couple. Everyone else had given up on them but they had known all along.

I DON'T KNOW IF I LIKE THIS! It felt awkward to me. Feedback would be amazing, thank you so much. The next chapter will be the last. I'm thinking of doing a future chapter like a "5 years later" type thing… thoughts?

I was toying with the Ryan and Esposito ending for a little while but in the end I just had to put it in.

Thank you so much for your continued feedback, it amazes me how many people read my stories. You are all amazing.