A/N I had this idea as I was re-watching 47 Seconds- what if Castle never saw Beckett interrogate Bobby? What if he never heard her confession? What if he had been just a few minutes late to the precinct? Because they were so darn close!

This is going to be a two-parter at this point. The second half is just waiting for me to finish it up.

Disclaimer: Belongs to the genius that is Andrew Marlowe. The Castle characters are just so brilliant they make me want to have a turn playing. I'll put them back, I promise. Scraps of dialogue borrowed from 47 Seconds.

"Guy's still not talking?" Esposito asked Beckett as she made her way back to her desk.

"Not yet. I'm gonna let him sweat for a bit," she replied, the ragged edges of frustration lacing her tone.

The elevator dinged across the bullpen. Kate glanced up hopefully, secretly chiding herself even as she did so for the bubble of excitement fluttering in her stomach at the possibility that it might be her partner. Sure enough, Castle strode out purposefully, carrying his customary two cups of coffee. Kate couldn't stop the smile that graced her lips as he held one out to her, fingers brushing against each other in their morning ritual.

"Sorry I'm late," he breathed in a rush. "Alexis forgot something so we had to turn around. We were sharing a cab. Otherwise I would have been here twenty minutes ago. No luck with those witness statements. You guys catch a break?"

Esposito proceeded to fill him in on the events of the morning, and Kate took the opportunity to situate herself at her desk, her mind reeling. He could have been here twenty minutes ago. Twenty minutes ago, she had already begun her interrogation of Bobby. Twenty minutes ago, he would have slipped into the observation room to watch.

Twenty minutes ago, he would have heard her confess to remembering everything, in the worst possible way.

She could only imagine how he might have taken that, what damage it would have done to this precious, fragile thing that was finally blossoming between them.

It had been good for her to say the words, though, even just as an interrogation technique. Kind of like a dry run. She looked up at him as he conversed with Esposito, all broad shoulders and dashing pinstripe shirt that emphasized the blue of his eyes. He caught her looking, and his gaze softened into the eye-smile she secretly hoped he used only with her.

Yes, she was most certainly thinking about her next move, as she had mentioned to Ryan earlier.

A dry run had been all very well, but the second this case closed, she would be dragging him somewhere private, somewhere away from interruptions, and she would tell him, dammit. She had to.

She couldn't put it off any more.

"...So, let's get out of here, head on home, and catch up on some much needed rest," Captain Gates finished.

With tired smiles, handshakes, and the cheerful knowledge that they had bested the FBI, the crowd dispersed in chattering bunches, eventually leaving only three Detectives and their civilian consultant.

Kate moved to her desk, but glanced up at her boys. "You know what? I'm still kind of wired. Do you guys want to go out for a drink?" she asked, glancing between her team- trying not to look too pointedly at her partner, focusing on the boys instead.

"Uh, sorry. I don't. It feels like a month since I've seen Jenny. I should probably get home," Ryan said, tiredness etched on his face.

"Me, too. Yeah, I'm tanked," Esposito said, looking equally worn out. "Holla at ya."

Castle and Kate both nodded and smiled their farewells as the boys headed out. Kate turned to her partner hopefully.

"So I guess it's just us," she said, trying desperately not to give away how thrilled she was at the thought. He smiled at her as he moved towards his chair and picked up his coat, smoothing it over his arm.

"Yeah," was all he said, but the look in his eye warmed her insides, made her stomach flip. Something about it gave her the nudge she needed to move a little closer and open her mouth again.

"You know, now that the case is done- what did you want to talk about?" she asked, her heart in her throat, hoping against hope that he would pick up on the opening she had given him, that he would step in and be brave where her courage stretched thin.

A smile danced around the corner of his mouth. He swept his eyes around the rapidly emptying bull pen, before locking eyes with her once again. Energy sizzled between them as they stared at one another for a long moment.

"How 'bout we go get that drink? Maybe somewhere we won't be interrupted?" he asked softly, the timbre of his voice entirely too low and intimate for a conversation next to her desk. Fighting a delicious shiver, she ducked her head, plucking at imaginary lint on the coat that hung over the back of her chair.

"Sounds perfect," she whispered, looking up at him shyly from beneath her eyelashes. He stepped closer, so close she could feel his breath at her cheek as he slowly removed her coat from beneath her fingertips. Moving behind her, he gently guided her arms into the sleeves, reverently lifted her hair free from the collar, allowing her curls to cascade freely down her back once more. She turned to go, found him so close they were practically breathing the same air.

"Shall we?" he breathed, and she nodded, forcing her eyes to lift from where they were staring at his lips, so tantalizingly close to her own.

They caught a cab to the Old Haunt, the eight inches or so of brown leather seat between them almost vibrating with everything that had yet to be spoken, everything she longed to have the courage to finally say. She kept sneaking glances at him, wondering if perhaps this was it- perhaps finally he was going to repeat the words she had treasured in her heart all those months ago.

He paid the cabbie and opened the door for her, waving a greeting and a signal for a couple of beers at the bar staff as he gently guided her past the crowd of regulars to their usual booth at the back. He helped her off with her coat, brushing his fingers against her as he handed it back to her, before taking off his own and sliding in across from her.

A moment later, one of the bar staff came over with their drinks, exchanging a couple of pleasantries before leaving them alone.

Finally, blissfully alone.

Their eyes locked across the table, and she couldn't help nibbling her bottom lip, suddenly all too aware of the tension flowing back and forth across the table, building slowly higher and higher. His eyes darkened as he followed the movement with his eyes, then glanced away, blindly taking a healthy swig of his drink.

Returning the bottle to the table, he cleared his throat as he stared at the label, his eyes clouded. She reached a hand across the table, brushed the fabric of his shirt cuff with her fingertips. It was as if she smoothed away the frown on his forehead with her brief touch- his eyes cleared from stormy gray to midnight blue, and the look he gave her was so full of gratefulness she had to take a sip of her own drink to clear the sudden lump in her throat.

"You're remarkable," he murmured almost to himself. She shifted in her seat, uncomfortably aware of the flush of pleasure rising in her cheeks. He gave a low chuckle, glancing away to give her the space he knew she needed, then sighed. "What a week, huh?"

"Well, we closed the case. It won't bring all those people back, but at least we can tell them why it happened," she leaned back, happy to talk shop if it meant a break from the intensity she saw in his eyes. He bobbed his head in agreement, acknowledging her empathy with the families of the victims.

"Do you have any regrets, Kate?" he asked suddenly, holding her eyes with a directness she had rarely seen from him. She sat up again, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, blatantly stalling. He raised an eyebrow, challenging her, and she rolled her eyes at him. She could do this.

"Of course," was all she said, however. His eyes softened as he looked at her, yearning and adoration shining out unchecked.

"Me, too," he said. "When I think about what happened to those people, how nothing is ever guaranteed... Kate, I don't want to live with regrets any more."