I know this is one of only about a thousand takes on the season 4 finale, but if everyone else is like me, one more can never hurt! Post-'Always'. Disclaimer: ABC owns the characters and the most awesome TV couple hookup that I have ever seen.

Thunder and Lightening

Lightning flashed and thunder crashed to break the silence. And Rick decided that this was not a fantastically gut wrenching dream, that the fingers brushing his lips were really there. So he kissed her and the overwhelming force of his love for her had them pushed up against the door in a heartbeat. He reveled in the feel of her soft lips against his, the fingers pressed into his shoulders. He kissed her face and her neck and her chest, every inch of cool skin he could reach. She tasted like sweet rain.

His lips ghosted over the scar between her breasts, the slightly raised skin a reminder of what it took to bring her here tonight, drenched in a thunderstorm yet still stunning. She held the backs of his fingers to her chest and he felt her heart beating strong. He kissed her lips again, softer this time. He felt her smile, and then her hand slipped down his arm to join surely with his. Her eyes were sincere and trusting, and a little bit mischievous, as they set out for his bedroom.

She scaled the stairs facing backwards to maintain contact with him, stopping several times on the way up to steal another kiss, and he couldn't take his eyes off her. She felt so happy and free and for once she was really letting her emotions take over. She had lived almost twenty years of her life working towards a predetermined end—it was time she gave in to whimsy. It was finally time to fall in love and the prospect of falling before Rick was exhilarating.

He backed them through the doorway of his bedroom and kicked it closed behind her. Lighting illuminated her face for a brief second and he had never seen her so focused on anything before. Her eyes burned into his, their depths astonishing. He imagined he could see straight to her soul. The desire that was bombarding him was enough to make his knees buckle if they weren't holding both of them up. He wondered how long this need had been smoldering, how long she'd wanted him but been too distracted by the need to bring her mother's killer to justice.

Thunder rumbled gently in the distance. The storm was passing, its job was done. Kate's leather jacket dropped to the floor with a wet slap as they traveled towards his massive king bed. He peeled her shirt off over her head and her hands settled on his face. She slowly brushed his hair out of his eyes as his thumbs stroked her waist and murmured the three words he'd been waiting a full year to hear from her.

"I love you." She looked directly into his eyes and repeated it, clear as day. "I love you."

Their passion ablaze once more, she pressed her body against his. His shirt fell to the floor, followed by his pants. Their biggest challenge was stripping her of her jeans, which were so plastered to her long legs that he had to pull them off with her lying on his bed and holding onto the sheets. He threw them to the other side of the room and crawled over her body, receiving her kisses as he went. She felt the muscles of his chest rippling beneath her fingers and smiled again in disbelief that she was laying underneath him.

He removed their underwear, marveling even amidst their heated rush at the fact that he was undressing Kate Beckett on his bed. She opened her legs for him to settle between them and then he pushed inside her slowly, cherishing each new sensation like it would be his last. He dropped to his elbows as he began to move his hips at her urging. Her hands wrapped around his back, pulling him even closer, and he cradled her head in his hands.

She was quickly building to delicious heights and she cried out, not for him to save her from certain death, but for him to throw her over the edge and into a brighter future. His thrusts grew more frenzied and then she was falling, falling into a new world with him, where she didn't have to worry about death and everything seemed so much more breathtaking.

"I love you," he breathed heavily. He pressed his lips gently to her forehead as she slowly caught her breath. He withdrew from her and quickly pulled the blankets over them before settling next to her. She pressed herself closer to him, the heat radiating from his body finally warming her to the core, and rested her head on his chest where she could listen to his heart thumping. They lay there in familiar calm silence for a while, and then he brought the hand that wasn't holding her against him up to her face to carefully brush her hair back. She looked up at him and saw the question in his eyes and gave her quiet answer before he could ask.

"He left me hanging over the side of the building," she whispered. "Ryan grabbed me after my hand slipped." She heard his heart stutter in his chest and felt his arms reflexively tighten around her body. She rested a hand on his cheek and rubbed it gently, trying to ease his pain because there was no need for it anymore. "I resigned."

She kissed him tenderly, a reaffirmation of her love for him and a promise of their future, and moved her head back onto his shoulder.

"I love you, Kate. Always."