A/N: This is the end of the line. To all who have read, reviewed, tweeted, and PMed throughout this process, you deserve much more than a simple thanks; so this chapter comes with virtual chocolates – I just wish they could be real.

Blue252, you also get virtual balloons for fixing all my comma errors and for the constant moral support. You're the bestest!

After this I will be taking a hiatus for a few months, but I will be back late spring or summer.

Applecart

Epilogue Part 2

The following day, Kate woke in the afternoon to see Castle and Esposito standing just inside her hospital room talking in low voices. The detective ran a hand through his short-cropped hair before he folded his arms and shook his head.

"No, Bro. I can't face her until we have answers. I owe her at least that much."

"You're family. You don't owe her anything, Javier." Castle pled.

"Look, I don't expect you to get it, Man. Just tell her we're doing everything we can." He glanced at the empty chair by her bed, no doubt remembering the last time he'd sat by her hospital bed and how poorly that night had unfolded.

Castle knew Esposito was looking for redemption; a way to rectify a phantom wrong that haunted no one but him. When he drew in a haggard breath, Castle turned to see Kate locking eyes with her former partner, who was thrown off balance by her gaze.

"Uh, hey, Beckett. We're still digging and we'll keep digging 'til we have him."

He pivoted awkwardly to escape until he heard her words.

"Javi, wait."

He didn't turn to look at her, just replied, "I'll find something, Beckett; a link, a name, something."

"Please, just sit down for a minute." He complied reluctantly, shifting several times, refusing to make eye contact.

"I'll be back. I'm just going to make a few calls." Castle's voice hardly registered.

Kate raised the back of the bed so she was sitting up and tried to stifle the pain that still came with every subtle movement.

He looked terrible. She doubted he'd slept more than a few hours at any one stretch since the funeral. "I was just here to double check your security coverage. There was a new guy coming on shift and I wanted to introduce him to Castle so he knew he wasn't an imposter or anything. Otherwise I wouldn't have come to you without something to report."

"Espo, Castle told me there's not much to go on. I'm not happy about it, but it's not your fault. I know you and Ryan are doing everything you can. You don't owe me an apology or an excuse. This isn't on you."

"Right." He huffed.

"It's not. You didn't pull the trigger."

"I just let the guy get away."

She considered him then asked, "Javi, who was it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who did you cover when you heard the gunshot?"

"Montgomery's girls."

She nodded, imagining how the scene around her had played out. "In that split second you had to choose between protecting them or catching the guy, which would have been a long shot since he was far off and obviously had an escape plan. You made the right choice and I don't want to hear another apology, about it. Ever."

His lips tightened, physically holding in his self-recrimination. Instead of answering her he tipped his chin at her and asked, "How you holdin' up?"

"I'm in one piece and breathing. They keep telling me that's an accomplishment."

"Yeah, well, my union contract says I only have to attend one funeral per week, so it's just as well you held on."

"Well, now that I know where I stand, if I'm not so lucky next time I'll make it a point to come back and haunt you."

Esposito shook his head. "Nah, haunt Castle, he'd think it was awesome."

"So would Ryan."

"Don't remind me."

Esposito finally smiled.

Castle tapped lightly at the door. "Come in, Bro. I was just leaving –"

"-to go home and sleep for at least eight hours," Kate finished for him.

Esposito grumbled, "So bossy," under his breath.

"You like bossy women."

"No one keeps me in line like you, Beckett." He stood and paused for an awkward moment then shrugged and leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Take care, Kate."

"Yeah, you too."

Esposito clapped Castle on his back as he passed through the door, leaving him to watch over his friend.

Her eyes closed and she hummed as she felt the mattress dip next to her. She turned her hand palm up and Castle took in both of his, caressing her pale skin.

"I'm so tired, Castle. I want this all to go away; the pain, the fear, everyone's pity, the sorrow, the pain, the exhaustion . . . did I mention the pain?" She gingerly probed around the bullet wound.

"Yeah, you did. I wish more than anything I could take it from you."

She felt the truth of it as he leaned over her and kissed her cheek; but she turned so their lips met instead for a long, languid kiss. They had been warned not to push the limits of her fragile heart so their physical affections stayed tentative despite the emotional intensity they carried. Her hands came up to keep him close to her as she assured him. "I know, Rick. I know you'd move heaven and earth for me if you could." She felt his forced, even breaths flow across her skin as she caressed his cleanly shaven skin with her own. Cheek to cheek and fingers tangled in each other's hair, their strength melded together and Kate's overwhelming flood of concerns became bearable for that moment. "You know there is only one thing I would never wish away."

He imagined what it would have been like to be kept at a distance in the aftermath of such a traumatic experience when he needed her reassurances even more than she needed his. He swiftly cast the thought aside. The tenuous push and pull that had defined their first few years together had dissipated. There were still times when his partner needed elbow room and he was certain that throughout her recovery those times would come. But she had ceased full-on retreats in favor of periods of quiet, which were peppered with texts to reassure him until she was ready for company; and at the end of each time she'd greet him with an extended hug and a heart felt 'Thank you.'

"Well, that's good because you're never getting rid of me." He brushed his lips lightly against hers, trying to restrain his passion.

"Never?" She ran her fingers through his hair as she kissed him more soundly. Her monitors started beeping faster and while she couldn't have cared less, he cautiously slowed their tempo.

He pulled away just enough to look into her eyes and breathed the word onto her lips, "Never." It wasn't their usual vow, but the word had never sounded so perfect. He started to straighten, trying so very hard to be the responsible party.

Kate leaned forward, her lips chasing the word then she winced. "Argh, this is so unfair!"

He rubbed her shoulder as the pain settled. "We'll get there again, Kate. Remember the first night we spent together?"

"Of course. And I thought a bruised hip was inconvenient," she grumbled.

"That night will always remain precious to me. It wasn't about what we did, but who we were, who we were becoming. I know this won't be an easy process for you but it is my mission to make your down time worthwhile." He hitched up one side of his mouth in a half smile as he thought of spending countless days and nights together.

Kate groaned. "Why is it that when these times of growth occur between us I'm always the one in pain?"

He considered her soberly and said, "Not the only one, Kate. Your pain is my agony." His hand migrated through her hair and rested at the back of her neck and massaged it.

She dropped her eyes and hummed at the feeling. Then, staring at his chest she said, "You know, it's sorta hard to take you seriously when you're wearing a 'Laugh it up, Fuzzball' t-shirt."

"Apparently, this is Alexis' form of payback for embarrassing her with body guards."

She cupped his face with her palm and patted it. "At least it's not the 'red shirt'."

He turned and kissed her hand mid-pat. "So, does that mean you want to keep me?"

"Well, I could never abandon a scruffy looking nerf-herder."

"You might just be the perfect woman," he marveled.

She slid her hand down his jaw, along his neck, and settled it firmly on his shoulder.

"No, Castle." Her teasing tone evaporated. "I'm hardly perfect."

"Kate," he sighed, not wanting to hear any self-deprecation.

"But," her fingertips traced along his collarbone, slipping under his shirt, "I am more than the aloof person I was before I met you. I'm still wounded, in so many ways, and honestly I'm feeling a little cagey right now, but if you keep being patient with me, keep showing up and challenging me, then, well…" She gave him a wan smile. "I'll still never be perfect, but just maybe I'll be less not perfect." She cringed at her own awkward phrasing.

"Kate, I'm not here because I'm waiting for you to be a changed woman. I've loved you since long before we were together, no matter where your mind is, no matter what your struggles. We've both faced demons and we've both changed; but we've done it all together - are doing this together now. I can't imagine if this had happened to you and I had never been able to tell you how I felt; if I'd never had a chance to hold you or kiss you." He closed his eyes and with a measured approach he leaned in and feathered a kiss to her lips. She shuddered and her lips tingled with a want for more. "It would've killed me if you'd insisted on suffering through this alone."

She couldn't stomach the thought of who she would have been and what drastic measures she could have taken in her current state had she persisted in keeping her partner at arm's length.

"Castle, do you remember the Balthazar Wolf case?"

"Are you kidding? After my thinly veiled attempt to plead my case on your doorstep that night? Yeah, I remember it. Of course if that hadn't been enough to cement that event in my mind forever, Maddie spouting off that you wanted 'Little Castle Babies' would've done the trick."

The memory still made her blush. "I knew you'd never let that one go."

"Never. But I'm also wise enough to have tabled that discussion until, well," he shrugged, "there's a practical chronology of things I suppose and given the circumstances -"

"Castle." She admonished lightly.

"Yeah?"

"Not the point."

"Right. The point. What was the point? I got a wee bit distracted just there."

"The point I was trying to make was that back then I was so hesitant, so afraid of you in a way. I had no intention of giving you a foothold in my heart because I knew if I did that I'd never be the same again. You would either upset the applecart and shatter me into a thousand pieces or you'd take the few damaged parts of myself that I could offer and make me whole."

"And the verdict?" he asked gently.

He palmed her ear and wove his fingers in her hair.

She smiled at him coyly and replied, "You have the power to wind me up, frustrate me to no end, make me laugh at myself. But most of all you've given me cause to hope for the future, for our future. Before you made your grand entrance in my life I was focused solely on my past. Now, even sitting in a hospital bed with so much uncertainty looming, I look at you and the darkness fades."

"Eighth Wonder of the World. Right here." He pointed a thumb towards himself.

She rolled her eyes at him. "National Geographic still hasn't bought into that, have they?"

"As long as you do, I couldn't care less."

And with the way he'd challenged her and cared for her, helped her to be a better version of herself, her simple reply as she faded to sleep was, "Yeah, Partner . . . I do."

Best. Answer. Ever.

The End