A/N: Okay, I had planned this as a two parter, but to reward the wonderful readers who have reviewed and requested more, I'm posting one more scene.

Of course, thanks for all the reviews.

Her bruises were more apparent in the brighter light of the bathroom, the dark purple, blue, and blackish hues contrasting sharply against her pale skin. The markings even circled her delicate neck, and Castle swallowed dryly at the sight. Had those been there the night before? Or had they developed in the mean time? She hadn't told him much about the fight with the shooter, but her brevity had clearly left more than just a little out.

Seeing his concern, Kate looked over her shoulder in the bathroom mirror and noticed what had captivated his attention. She turned back to him and gave him a reassuring smile, although he was too immersed in examining at the bruises as he moved his hand across her neck in a feather-light touch. Kate took his hand and pressed it solidly against her skin. "I'm okay, Castle. Doesn't even hurt."

He frowned at the statement knowing it was a lie, but he did not contradict her. Instead, he stepped forward and very gently placed his lips to the spots where the bruises showed, barely skimming the skin. He did not stop until he had put kisses to every single hurt, scratch and abrasion, turning her around in front of the mirror as he moved over the planes of her body. When he arrived at the long, jagged scar on her side, he halted and stared at it in confusion.

"From the bullet," Kate explained quietly, seeing his rapt gaze. "That's where they..."

But he was already nodding, and she let the explanation die. No reason to bring up old wounds when they were busy healing the new ones.

"I didn't know," was all he said in response.

And there was no reason why he should know about that scar. Castle knew about the scar on her chest, the obvious one where the bullet had entered her body. But she had healed from the injury in seclusion, away from everyone but her father. No one besides Jim Beckett and medical professionals had seen the scar on her side.

"I wish I could have been there for you," Castle continued sadly.

The admission cut through her like a knife, the edge of guilt slicing as deeply as any blade. "I'm sorry," she said automatically.

"You don't have to-"

But she shook her head. "No, I do. I'm so sorry, Castle-"

"Shh," he interrupted her, placing his entire hand over her mouth. "No apologies today. Today is not about apologies. Today is about us."

Kate smiled against his hand and he dropped it. "Us," she repeated, tasting the flavor of the word as it fell from her tongue.

"Us," he said again, moving to invade her personal space, putting just inches between them as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Mmm..." Kate hummed against him as they broke apart a moment later. "Maybe we should explore that shower of yours?"

Castle's walk-in shower was enormous. Two of the tiled walls sported showerheads with a third suspended from above which dropped water in a simulation of rain. Castle watched as Kate stepped inside and began adjusting the dials. He laughed at her gasp as jets of cold water hit her. Then, as the water turned warmer, he watched her close her eyes and dip her head under the water. Rivers and streams ran down her body and Castle just stared, captivated by the sight.

A moment later he heard, "You're staring again, Castle. Why don't you join me? The water's warmed up now."

Not needing to be asked twice, he quickly followed her into the shower, shutting the glass door behind him. With her hair slicked back from the water, Kate looked much like she had the night before, wet and wanting. Unable to resist her, Castle leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He had a feeling he would never get tired of kissing her, never get tired of the feel of her body beneath his hands. He really just loved touching her – everywhere. He couldn't get enough of her.

Letting his wet, slick hand slide the length of her, Castle pressed himself against her body, pushing her up against the tile wall of the shower. He quickly realized that while they would have plenty of hot water, logistics could be a problem, what with the slippery tiles and lack of surfaces to use for leverage.

How had he never anticipated this issue before? He decided to call a contractor sometime over the summer and rectify the situation. In the mean time, he supposed that they would just have to figure out a temporary solution.

Running his hands over her body as his tongue explored her mouth, Castle considered all the fantasies his mind had conjured since first meeting this amazing, extraordinary, beautiful, kick-ass woman. None of the wild scenarios his imagination had created could hold a candle to actually holding her in his arms. Suddenly he just wanted to give her something, show her in some way how much he loved her and loved being with her.

So with dexterous fingers, he extended his reach lower on her body, finding the spot even hotter than the water temperature of the shower. She burned as though on fire, her muscles tense at the feel of him. When Kate moaned into his mouth, he knew he had found the exact area he was seeking and increased the pressure.

Kate wrapped her arms around his neck as the rest of her body went limp at his touch. She hummed anxiously against his neck, and the feel of her combined with the warm water washing over them proved tantalizing.

Then she said his name, "Castle," reinforcing the notion that this was not a dream, that she was real, that all of this was real and fluid and-

"Castle, please."

Her plea broke him. He could deny her nothing.

Balancing her back against a tiled wall, he positioned them both. With an expert hand, he stroked her, gentle at first, and then hard because he remembered how it had been the first time. One finger, then two, adding a slight curl of the digits to make her gasp…

The sound Kate made was unintelligible but definitely good. He wanted to hear that sound from her again. And again. And again. Possibly a couple of times a day, if he could get away with it.

His rhythm had her panting in no time, the sound of her breath almost drowned out by the shower. He could feel her grip on his shoulders and the sensation of fingernails digging into his skin was not lost on him. She was close. Very close.

By the time she was tensing and spasming against him, her arms clutching his neck as her body pulled his against hers, she was crying into his shoulder. She let out powerful sobs and even through the water he could discern her tears.

Panic hit him like a gunshot, bringing back reality in a flash as his every sense honed in on her. Had he hurt her? God, what had he done to make her cry so hard?

Castle held her gently against him, supporting her weight as he quickly turned off the shower heads. He needed to see her, to focus on only her without distractions or anything in the background.

"Kate?" he said, trying to push her back slightly so he could see her face, but she steadfastly clung to his neck. "Kate, please…"

Her sobbing was clearer now without the sound of the water hitting the tiles, even though she was trying to hide it. He could feel her tears hot against his skin, burning like unspoken regrets. Uncertain what to do, he just let her cry against him as he fought the fear and the anguish doing so inflicted on him.

Finally, several moments later, Castle managed to pull her away from him, moving slowly and handling her gently. Her eyes were puffy from crying and would not meet his. Instead, Kate looked steadfastly down, her gaze falling somewhere around his solar plexus. She was also trembling.

"Did I hurt you?" he demanded softly, examining her body for… he did not know what. She had so many bruises, he wondered what had ever possessed him to touch her so intimately. He could have caused her pain in a hundred different ways.

But Kate was already shaking her head – her features no longer betraying pain but rather guilt and embarrassment. To highlight the denial, she said firmly, "No, Castle. You didn't hurt me at all."

Examining her tear stained cheeks and red eyes, and he could only characterize her words as a lie.

"I'm sorry, Kate-" he began, but the apology bought him her full attention.

An echo of his earlier gesture, she placed one hand over his mouth. The motion had broken her from her emotional reaction and she focused her eyes on his.

"No apologizes today," she said. "Just us."

"But I hurt you," he mumbled through her fingers, and she must have seen the torment in his eyes. She quickly replaced her hand with her mouth, silencing his lips with her own.

A moment later, as she pulled away, she told him firmly, "You didn't hurt me, Castle."

Dumbfounded, he pursued, "I didn't? But you…"

"That was… I don't know what that was." Her cheeks were pink with mortification, but she did not let that stop her. "It was just so powerful, Castle. I've never… I've never had that sort of reaction. It wasn't just an orgasm. It was… amazing."

"Amazing?" Castle repeated in disbelief. Was she being serious? He had somehow made her cry, and she was trying to characterize it as 'amazing'?

"I don't know how else to describe it. It was just… overwhelming. I couldn't hold it all in."

She was not lying, he could tell. Castle could usually tell when Kate was lying and her current statement betrayed nothing but truth. He wanted to believe her, so badly. He did not want to think of their first night together tinged with any kind of pain or discomfort on her part.

Speaking of discomfort… he noticed her shivering in the now cold and wet shower as he regarded her with careful scrutiny. Turning the water off apparently had the effect of removing all the heat from the room. Without thinking, he pulled her out of the shower and wrapped her in a large terry cloth towel. He grabbed one for himself, pulling it around his waist as she stood waiting for him, a small smile escaping her lips.

"You're sure I didn't hurt you?" he asked again.

"Not even a little," she answered. This time, she wrapped her arms around him in comfort rather than as a romantic embrace. "I love you so much, Castle."

He understood the feeling. It had burrowed into his own chest a long time before and had never left. Instead, that feeling had blossomed, taking over not only his heart, but also his entire body and even his mind. Half of the time, he could think of little besides her.

"Let's go back to bed for a while," she suggested, and the idea immediately brought back his tiredness from earlier. So much activity in such a short time – so much feeling and overwhelming emotion… it was exhausting.

"Mmm… sounds good," he agreed and let her lead him back into his bedroom.

They dropped the damp towels unceremoniously on the floor and crawled back under the cool sheets of his bed. Kate not only let him wrap his arms around her but actively encouraged him as she pressed her body into the curve of his. They fell back asleep that way, cocooned together like two souls in one body.