Okay, I admit it. I have a mini-obsession within my Caskett obsession. It has been driving me crazy that Kate has not said 'I love you' back to Castle yet. Yes, there are understandable reasons-the last two episodes have been pretty action packed and when she was going to tell him he was pulling away ('47 Seconds' through much of 'Undead Again'). But if she doesn't say it in this next episode...Some people have come up with good reasons why it might be a while (sigh). And I'm not going to do a full-blown rant on it here. I just mention it to point out that this one-shot was born from that and the promo for next Monday's episode.

Disclaimer: After what I just wrote, do you really think it's ME that owns Castle?

Kate was going to say it.

She was.

She just needed to find the right time.

The right place and the right words wouldn't hurt, either.

This wasn't it.

Castle was in danger. Or he could be. The evidence that Esposito had given her over the phone less than five minutes ago made the woman Castle was now on a 'date' with their number one suspect.

Castle had said he only invited the reporter to dinner at his loft to keep up the pretense Kate herself had insisted on.

When we're in public, you're single and I'm single, got it?

Her words from the previous morning seemed to be mocking her at every turn. At the crime scene. At the morgue. At the news station.

And within the next few seconds, at Castle's loft.

Kate hadn't been happy about Castle asking out the female reporter, even if it was for the case, but short of acting in a way that would have put their relationship in all of the gossip rags there was precious little she could do.

Although she trusted him, Kate couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy. Because his date, Christina, the entertainment reporter who showed up to every interview in a bikini, was the exact type of woman Castle would have gone for.

Before.

Before clinging to the rooftop of a ten story building had brought Kate to her senses.

Before Kate had told him I just want you.

Before she backed up her words with actions.

What if the woman was too much of a temptation for him to resist?

Kate gave a swift shake of her head as she reached the front door to the loft. She was being ridiculous. Castle would never do that. He loved her.

And she loved him. He had to know, even if she had yet to say the words.

Holding her gun at the ready, Kate kicked open the door. She opened her mouth to shout out the obligatory 'NYPD!' when her brain registered the scene playing right out in front of her.

Christina was down to a bright pink bikini. No surprise there.

What was a surprise, more than that a complete shock, was that the woman was straddling Castle. Worse than that, she was bent over him, her lips attached to his.

And Castle didn't seem to be resisting her.

At all.

The pain that exploded inside her made it difficult to catch her breath.

"Castle?" she gasped.

Christina immediately straightened. The woman looked up at Kate with a satisfied smirk.

For a brief instant, Kate was at a loss. As much as her insecurities may gnaw on her, she had never really believed that Castle would turn to someone else. Certainly not this early in their relationship.

Her police training was what saved her. Although her stomach turned at the sight of Christina's lipstick smeared all over Castle's mouth, Kate forced her expression to go blank.

Castle didn't even have the grace to look guilty when he finally noticed her presence.

"I know who the killer is!" he exclaimed gleefully.

"Yeah, me too," Kate said. "Christina, we're going to need you to come down to the station and answer a few questions."

"What?" Castle and Christina said in unison. The sound made Kate inwardly flinch, although she was careful to keep her stance completely still.

That used to be them, talking in unison. What was next? Was he going to start finishing the woman's sentences, too?

"But she's not…" Castle started.

"Save it, Castle."

She didn't want to hear it. Couldn't hear it. The only way she could keep hold of the tight rein on her emotions was if he kept his mouth shut.

"What was that all about?" Castle asked an hour and a half later.

Kate had just finished interrogating Christina and sent Ryan to verify the reporter's alibi. The reporter was being held in the interrogation room until Ryan returned with the required information.

"I was doing my job," Kate replied, her calm voice carefully concealing the raging emotions within. She took out the proper file and started filling out paperwork, hoping that Castle would just let it go.

Of course, he didn't.

"You were out for blood, Kate."

She didn't bother looking up from the file she was working on. "I did what I had to do."

"What you had to do?" Castle gaped at her. "Kate, you were treating her like a-"

"Suspect?"

"Not a suspect, Kate," Castle said, ignoring the warning glare she shot at him. "More like-"

Kate slapped her hand over his mouth before he could finish the sentence. The feel of his lips soft against her palm caused tingles to dance across the front of her hand.

That did it. If Castle was going to push her, she was going to push back. But not here. Not in the bullpen, where Ryan and Esposito were avidly watching them from their respective desks.

She jerked to her feet. "Not here," she hissed. She stiffly strode to the break room, certain that Castle would follow her.

Castle kept quiet until they were both in the break room with the door firmly closed.

"What's going on, Kate?"

Kate let out a hard laugh. "Really? You're going to pretend like you don't know?"

"No pretending here, Kate," Castle said. "You're acting like Christina is some kind of rival or something. Which you know is completely ridiculous."

"Do I?" Kate challenged.

"Kate, you can't seriously think I would be interested in her when I have you!"

"The evidence says otherwise."

"Evidence?"

"Castle, I'm a cop, remember? I look at the evidence. And the evidence of that woman draped over you, kissing you-"

"Yes Kate, she kissed me," Castle said, his voice hard with rising frustration. "She launched herself at me. She took her shirt off. It all happened so fast-"

"And you were just the helpless victim, I take it."

"Of course not," Castle said. "I didn't think she would take it that far."

"Come on, Castle. The woman wears a bikini every time she does an interview. Do you really think a woman that does that wouldn't try to make a play for you?"

"Kate, why is this such a problem?" Castle asked. "So she was more aggressive than I was expecting. What's the big deal? We've had to do undercover work before. I've certainly had to watch you flirt with guys for information for a case often enough."

"Flirt, yes," Kate conceded. "But you've never had to watch me kiss someone for a case, have you?"

"I didn't kiss her, she kissed me, remember? And she had barely kissed me at all before she saw you," Castle pointed out. "But I can tell you if she had taken any longer I would have pushed her away."

"And you didn't right away because…?"

"I was thinking about the case."

"While she was kissing you?"

"Yes," Castle said. "Did you notice the first words I said were, 'I know who the killer is'?"

"So something about kissing her helped you figure out the killer?" Kate didn't bother to hide the skepticism from her tone.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Castle said. "Well, not the kissing, but right before that, the way she tore the shirt off made me think of-"

"I really don't want to know what that made you think of, Castle."

"About our vic, Kate…" As Castle filled her in, Kate had to agree that his theory could be right. But no case was worth watching the man she loved lock lips with someone else.

Castle was quiet for a few moments after he had finished his explanation before he said, "Kate, you know the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you. If I'd had any idea it would bother you so much-"

"Bother me? Why would it bother me?" Kate knew she needed to calm down but for some reason something about Castle thinking such a thing wouldn't bother her was only making things worse. "I just walked in on the man I love kissing a woman who is draped all over him wearing nothing but a bikini. What about that could possibly bother me?"

"Kate," Castle's awed whisper of her name confused her. What could she possibly have said that-?

…the man I love…

Well, crap.

This wasn't the time she had planned to say it, in the middle of a work day and during an argument.

This wasn't the place, in the break room.

And this wasn't the way she wanted to tell him. Those had not been the words she wanted to use.

But this was the time that she said it.

Here, in the break room, was the place.

And those were the words she used.

Remember, this is just one interpretation of how things might go, in case some of you think she wouldn't react like that. I was thinking of issues she brought up in the conversation she had with Lanie in 'The Limey' to form this version. I'd love for others to write their own version of this scene. I'm curious of what everyone's various theories are of why Castle would be in that situation in the first place and what Kate would say and do about it.