Disclaimer: This piece of fan fiction is for entertainment purposes only. I am not seeking a profit and assert that the characters and universe do not belong to me. Any similarity between my own ideas and ones that end up on Castle will be celebrated. Even if I could afford to sue, I never would. That would be stupid.

No upload date because it will tell you in the summary since this is the last one.

Chapter Rating: T

Summary: Castle always thought he was the first one to say "I love you". What if he was wrong?

I kind of prefer the idea that saying I Love You when it's not a deathbed confession or some other emergency or emotional upheaval means more. It's the quiet whispered confessions of the heart that have the most honesty.

- IV2BNSB

#82

The anticipation grew as she got closer and closer to the front of the line until finally, there he was, smiling up at her: Richard Castle.

He looked her up and down; apparently happy with what he saw.

She blushed.

"Why, hello."

"Good, thanks. I mean, hi."

His smile widened as she handed him her copy of Storm Warning.
"And who am I making it out to?"

She merely stared at him for a while. He was real. Well, of course he was real. Get it together, Kate!

She finally managed to force out the words.
"Kate. You can make it out to Kate."

"Well, hello, Kate. I hope you enjoy reading it."

"Oh, uh - " Beckett said. She dealt with criminals every day. Why was she so flustered? "I'm sure it's going to be brilliant! I just love you - uh, your work, I mean."

"Thanks for coming out, baby."

"Thank you, so much!"

He flashed her one last grin before someone ushered her away to keep the line moving.

She looked down at the book and felt a lurch in her stomach. He had written his number, and underneath, the words,

Kate, call me sometime.

- Richard Castle.

Wow. Richard Castle was interested in her? Should she call him? Of course! She would be nuts not to. She smiled warmly, tracing her finger over the writing.

"Oh, my God, Nina! He gave me his number, look."

Her breath caught as she looked behind her. A well-endowed, barely legal blonde was flaunting her book to her friend.

"Big deal, Christie. He gave me his number, too."

Beckett looked back at the author, who was flirting with yet another woman, stung. She had heard about Richard Castle's reputation. She supposed she had hoped it was simply gossip; but here was the evidence.

Stupid Kate! She had actually thought they had shared a moment... what a fool she had been. He had called her Baby, for heaven's sake! She had been so blinded by the idea that her favourite author might be interested in her that she had forgotten all common sense. She wasn't special. He probably wouldn't remember her an hour from now. She was just another potential conquest.

She was going to go home, run a bubble-bath, read her book - despite being an absolute sleaze-bag, he really was a fantastic writer, and she had been waiting for this book for ages - and forget all about her ridiculous crush. Beckett stowed the book back into her bag and left, vowing to never let herself be fooled by anyone like Richard Castle again.

"Wow, that... is embarrassing," Castle said, putting down his sandwich.

"For you or for me?"

"A bit of both. I just wish I remembered."

"I don't. Your earliest memory of me is that night on the roof. I was bad-ass; not some pathetic fan-girl."

"I can't see you ever being pathetic, Kate. So, I guess I wasn't the first one to say I love you."

"Well... no. But that's a technicality. You can still claim the title."

"I'm sorry."

She looked at him thoughtfully for a while.

"Apology accepted," she said finally. She looked up to see his plate empty. She stood up and pulled him up from the box he'd been sitting on cleared save for a few crumbs. "Ok, break's over."

Castle grunted as he straightened and stretched.
"Shouldn't I wait half an hour after eating?" he asked, patting his belly.

"That's swimming."

"Well... you told me a story. Isn't it my turn to tell you one?"

"You can tell me a bed-time story tonight."

He grinned.
"I'm looking forward to it."

He brought his plate you the kitchen counter.

"Hey, you didn't have to agree to move in here if you didn't want to go through the labour of un-packing the boxes," Beckett pointed out.

"I'll live."

He paused his washing of the plate as he turned back to see her un-packing a new box.

"Thank you for asking me to live here, in spite of everything."

She looked up and smiled.

"Thank you for agreeing, in spite of everything. Neither of us have perfect track records." She stroked his cheek softly before getting down to business. "I don't think we can fit all this stuff here. You might have to keep some things at the loft."

"I'm sure mother won't mind. She can keep the guest-room as a storage room for all my stuff."

Castle dried his hands.

"Ok, where do you want me?"

Beckett smirked.

"What would you like me to do next?" he said, amending his previous statement as he stepped from behind the kitchen bench in mock disapproval. "Katherine Beckett, I never."

"Really?" she asked, handing him a box of clothes. "You never?"

"Well, maybe sometimes."

She smiled.

"You can take those to the bathroom. I've got a second shelf cleared out for you in our cabinet."

He bounced happily towards the bathroom, box in hand.
"Our cabinet," he echoed.

"Oh, there's just one more thing - and listen carefully because it's important."

He turned back towards her, surprised tho find that she was already right behind him.

"Yes?" he asked softly, looking down at her as she simpered back up at him.

"I love you."

Special thanks to: Calleigh4eva for insisting on more smut; CastleCrazie for being so supportive and hilariously random; Joss Whedon for making Buffy; Danny Jacobson for making Mad about You(even though it sucked); Taylor Swift for the lyrics that often inspired phrases and even chapter titles; Josh Schwartz for creating One Tree Hill; Lennon and McCartney for their inspirational lyrics; Senor Happy - the song "How Many Ways" was evidently the inspiration for the title; bones35 for calling me on my typos; Chkgn9 for all the helpful info on alcohol - I'll even forgive you for constantly forgetting this work because you always came back to it, even if you didn't remember already having read it; IV2BSBN1 for all your support, suggestions and constructive criticism, Blue Obsydian Butterfly, for your constant support and for agreeing to beta North even though I'm so bad with updates; Minerva89 for all the suggestions and constructive criticism; Stupendous Boo for always encouraging me to write more; Katherine Temperance for the movie trivia; SoniaCaskettShipper for her enthusiasm and suggestions; LittleLizzieZentara for her delightful contributions and just general awesomeness; Tony7323 for your ideas which eventually became an entire chapter of scenarios; whenthelightscutout for your honesty and for not letting me copout; Guest I Guess/Alex for the hilarious misunderstanding - sorry you got hurt in it all, though, that wasn't my intention (I wasn't hurt); Bree21 for her Natalie Rhodes suggestion; Jareya for her constant support, great feedback and insightful suggestions; everyone who stuck around after the April Fool's Incident; everyone who recommended this to their friends and followers (I am still freaking out that one of my favourite authors not only read - and liked! -my work; he actually recommended it to a friend of his. Squee!), all my male followers for willingly subjecting themselves to my fluffy, gushing girliness; every reviewer and follower; everyone who favourited me; everyone who loved my work; everyone who hated it; everyone who had any feelings whatsoever toward my work; everyone who read this story; everyone who clicked on my story and skimmed it; everyone who made a suggestion that made it into the story who I forgot to thank; Andrew Marlowe and all the Castle writers... and last but not least, Caskettlove22, who started it all.

Too Many Ways will continue.

My personal handle is DanJanRob if you want to follow me on the twitter. For fanfic updates, it's Cofkett. DanJanRob is more general Castle stuff and of course obsessive tweeting about Taylor Swift and perhaps occasionally responding to advertisements or complaining to random celebrities. [Edit1.04.14: I also have a tumblr. Same name as on here] Everyone's socially networking these days.

Thank you!