Thank you, Crawlypie for giving me the push to crank this chapter out. I think I am going to leave it at this and mark it complete. This was never intended to be a long story anyway, and I don't want to have to worry about it being unfinished. It kills me that I don't update more often, and I'm sure it pisses people off. But I have 3.5 jobs now, (yes, .5...) and I am so busy all the time, or too tired to create coherent thoughts. Finishing this on an off day seemed like the right thing to do.

Thank you to all of the reviewers and followers of this story. You Rock! Stay tuned to my other stories... I hope to work on some more chapters for those today as well! :)

Don't own 'em...

"I..." she started, and then stumbled on all the sentences that were building up in her mind, but getting blocked before they could filter through to her mouth. Did she want to laugh? Did she want to pour her heart out? What could she possibly say in this moment? There was simply too much to express. Everything from asking if she had crossed some line, to telling him that she loved him bounced around in her brain. The chaos inside refused to sort itself out.

He gave her a knowing smile, that told her of his difficulty with the same simple task. They stared at each other for about twenty seconds, until they both burst into laughter.

"Why the hell did it take us so long to do that?" He wondered aloud.

"Seems so stupid now, doesn't it?" She laughed.

After their laughter had died down, Rick, usually the easily distracted one, seemed to finally grasp his bearings. "I believe I owe you breakfast," he said, casually.

She laughed again, lyrical and genuine. It was nearing 6am now, and it was about time for her to start thinking about getting ready for work. She made a show out of pondering this thought.

"Hmm. Well, a deal is a deal. You did come barging in, and you did an excellent job of, er, solving that 'case'." She said, making air quotes around her last word.

He grinned. "Happy to be of service. Now, as much as I never want you to leave my lap, ever, I do would need you to move in order to get going on some pancakes."

"Pancakes? Really, Castle? How cliché do you want to be?"

"It's not cliché! Pancakes are, according to Esposito, 'an edible way of saying 'thank you so much for last night', not 'thank you so much for this morning.' He winked at her, as she jabbed him in the ribs. "Ow, ow! Okay, okay! Apples! Apples! Eggs it is!"

She gave him one last, slow kiss and hopped off his lap. "I'm going to shower and get dressed. I would invite you in with me," his eyes widened, "but I need someone to start a pot of coffee. Caffeine is a definite must." She smirked as his jaw closed from when it had dropped involuntarily. She sauntered off and left him in the kitchen, dazed.

As soon as she closed the bathroom door, she leaned back against it heavily. How the hell did this happen so quickly? One minute, she was tossing and turning in a bout of insomnia, and the next, she was in Richard Castle's lap, staring into his eyes, mesmerized. And then they kissed! Like, really kissed! There was no taking that back. There was no way to explain it, nor deny it. Inhaling slowly, she willed herself to calm down. This shift was too fast for her, and too scary. She couldn't screw this up, not with him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had always thought that if she ever got together with Castle, that would be the one that stuck. They had just crossed a line that could never be uncrossed, and anything she did to try to backtrack could have disastrous effects. As much as this felt right to her, the idea of this being the start of the last relationship she would ever have was a heavy thought.

She quickly undressed, started the shower, and immediately stepped under the spray. It was far from warm enough yet, but the cold water was enough to snap her out of her tortuous thoughts. As she washed and conditioned her hair, she slowly began to convince herself not to think of this as the beginning of the end. It was just the beginning. Of something. Of what, she didn't know, but it was wrong to categorize it yet. She pushed herself to realize that starting something with Castle was not saying 'yes' to a marriage proposal. But somehow, it still felt that way.

She took her time, more than she would have on any other morning. Finally feeling calmer, she emerged from the shower, got dressed, and made her way to the kitchen, where Castle had breakfast all laid out. The domesticity of it all was almost all too much all over again, but she reigned it in when she saw his bright smile. The way he looked at her made the room alight with his affection. She couldn't help but feel the red rush to her cheeks, and looked down to hide it from him.

He crossed the room slowly, almost shyly. His hesitance was adorable, and she found herself biting her lip and shaking her head at him with an amused smile. When Rick finally rested his hands on her hips, seemingly convinced that she hadn't changed her mind about what had happened, Kate leaned into him, resting her head on his chest. His arms wound around her, holding her close.

"You know, without those killer 4 inch heels, you fit here quite nicely," he said with a hint of wonder in his voice.

She answered with a contented hum, and perched herself on her toes to kiss him softly, pouring her real answer into the way her lips moved over his. He pulled back slightly, only to be pulled back by her arms around his neck. She didn't feel scared, not right now. She was safe right where she was, and all of those thoughts of feeling trapped flew from her mind. She kept the kisses tame, every-so-gently pulling his bottom lip in between her own. She finally gave him one last, light brush of a kiss as if to seal her decision to not let her nerves get in the way of whatever this was going to turn into.

When she pulled away, he looked at her, and asked the question that she was trying not to think about. "So... Where do we go from here?"

The terror came back in an instant. "Castle... I..." She began, but when she caught the look in his eyes, a swirl of affection, a boyish bit of shyness, and most importantly, undeniable love, it vanished once more, and she knew exactly what to say.

"Well, we eat breakfast, and then we get back to work," she smiled softly. The smile that he returned was unmistakable in its message: Everything was going to be alright.

Cheesy ending, you say? Yeah, well... you wouldn't be wrong. My brain isn't working at the moment. Let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions or improvements. Mistakes are my own. I was working without a net because I don't have Word on this computer yet.

Go ahead... click it! :)