Disclaimer: Castle doesn't belong to me, neither does the song Someone Like You.

Castle couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe that this was happening. Here he was, lingering in the doorway with a cup of hot chocolate while his girlfriend had basically just dropped a bomb and shared it with his daughter. A bomb that he didn't even knew had existed. But before he could say or do anything, Kate was continuing again.

"No one except Lanie knew the extent of how ugly things were with me at that time. Even the boys only got a sugarcoated and simplified version of things. I got hurt so badly that I was terrified of getting hurt again this time round. That was why I always held your dad at arm's length," Kate explained, wiping away the tears that were a result of the uncontrollable waterworks throughout her narration.

"I… didn't know about that," Alexis wedges guiltily. She hadn't meant to make Kate cry all over again. "I guess when you put it that way, it makes it harder for me to find fault with you," she grudgingly accepts, but warned nonetheless, "but if you hurt my dad, I will have to find you and hurt you. I have no idea how I'm going to do that, but god help me, I love my dad, and I can't stand to see him hurt again."

"Alexis, I didn't even think that I could have survived what happened two years ago. My feelings for your dad has only continued growing these past two years, and if I lose your dad now, I know that I would never survive it."

Finding the truth of Kate's words reflected in her eyes, Alexis cleared her throat uncomfortably and gave a small nod.

"I guess we can agree that the both of us just want to keep him safe," Alexis conceded, and Kate nodded silently in agreement. "Thank you," the teen continued, "for sharing that with me. I know that you're a very private person, and it must have been hard for you to share that particular memory."

"It was, but I wanted to share it with you. Alexis, I am owning up to the mistakes I've made over the years, but I need you to know that I've never intentionally played with your dad's feelings. It's just that I was badly hurt in that encounter and so I've been wary again these past two years," Kate explained.

Castle took that pause in their conversation as his cue to make himself known. Clearing his throat, he walked over and handed Alexis her hot chocolate uncomfortably.

"How long had you been there?" Kate asked worriedly. She couldn't believe that he had gone completely unnoticed this whole time. She was normally more tuned in to his presence, like she had a special radar for him.

"Long enough," he replied, continuing tiredly, "Kate, why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I was ashamed, for being so weak, and for reading the signs wrongly – I was already so embarrassed with the boys and Captain Montgomery, I couldn't bear it; I wouldn't be able to face you again if you'd have ever found out," she said softly.

"Dad," Alexis interrupted, "You guys probably want to talk. I should go to my room. And I'm sorry, for the way I acted earlier on."

Castle nodded his acknowledgement, and Alexis quickly made herself scarce. Castle began when they were alone at last, "So that night, in the precinct, when you called me out to talk–"

"Yeah," Kate interrupted, finishing his sentence for him, "I was about to tell you that I wanted to take you up on your offer to go to the Hamptons."

"No wonder you guys were so cold to me when we met in the autumn. I'm surprised the boys didn't give me a harder time," he mused, settling in to sit next to Kate.

"Heck, I'm surprised you even gave me a chance to come back and work with you guys. I'm so sorry, I didn't know how much I had hurt you back then. If I had known your intentions, I would have never left with Gina."

"I know, Castle. I should have clued you in as to how I really felt sooner - that was my mistake. I had to lose you before I could realize how much you meant to me."

"Thank goodness I won our little bet, I can't imagine how my life would be if I really had to walk away from you."

Thinking back to the bet she had let him win, Kate couldn't help but break into a little smile. Castle still didn't know that she figured out the connections between the victims way before him, and she was content to keep him in the dark.

"What are you smiling about?" Castle asked, when he finally noticed that his girlfriend sported a faraway look with a small smile gracing her face.

Shaking her head, Kate told him, "It's nothing. I'm here now, and we're both here in the present, and that's what matters."

Kate leaned back against him, tucking into his side as they were both left to their pondering.

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.

A/N: Hehe, did anyone notice that I started all three chapters with the exact same two lines, only using different characters each time ;p And we're done, lovelies! Do leave a review :) Please. Pretty Please. or, you could also PM me with prompts.