Authors Note: This is alwayscastle2 and BurningxRedxCaskett…together we decided to take 47 Seconds into our own hands. Hope you like it!

Reviews are love, leave some!

-K squared.

"You know, now that the case is done," Kate starts, trying to keep her cool. They were having a very important conversation when they were interrupted. She's ready. She's so ready to be with him, and he was about to tell her how he felt-again. She just needs to hear it again-to make sure she's not just imagining the whole thing. "What did you want to talk about?"

He avoids her eyes for a moment, and shrugs, "Nothing. Nothing important, anyway. I'm gonna head home. Good night."

Kate shakes her head, confusion wracking her brain. What the hell just happened? "Goodnight." She puts on her coat, shakes her hair out, and glances back at the elevator just in time to see a stone cold glare staring at her from her partner.

When the doors close she turns her head away, still confused. She looks up to see Esposito come back for something he forgot at his desk. "Hey, Espo?"

"What's up, Chica?"

Kate walks over to him; she doesn't exactly want to ask him this question for the whole precinct to hear. "Do you know what's wrong with Castle?"

"No," Esposito answers, and shrugs, "he's been weird since he came out of observation."

"What do you mean? When was he in observation?" Kate asks, 'Oh, God! If he heard what I think he did…'

"When you were in the box with Bobby," Esposito says, watching as Kate's face falls. "What is it?"

Kate shakes her head, 'oh, crap.' Not registering Javi's voice, she just keeps shaking her head as she walks back to her desk to grab her bag. She has to explain to him. She can't lose him like this, not when she never really had him. He doesn't get to be cold to her when she didn't even know he was watching her interrogation with Bobby.

"Beckett!" Esposito tries yet again to call her, but she's already heading to the open elevator.

CB

Why did everything take longer when she was in a hurry? The elevator, the cab ride. She just had to talk to him before it was too late, if it wasn't already….

They've been through too much to lose this fight now. She called his cell on the never ending cab ride over and it went straight to voice-mail. He never silenced her calls, until now. Why did he have to hear her talk to Bobby? Why didn't she just tell him sooner?

It was her old excuse. She wasn't ready, but now? Now it could be too late. He may not want to see or talk to her but she would make him listen. He had to hear what she had to say, how much he meant to her

The cab pulled up in front of the loft and Kate threw her money to the driver and darted inside. Another long elevator ride and she was standing outside of his door. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst, and knocked.

She doesn't know how long she's standing there until the damn door finally opens. She looks up, to be met with a pair of blue eyes, the eyes she can pick out of a crowded room, or from miles away. The eyes that once held so much joy when they looked in to her own; now hold hurt, anger, and regret.

"What do you want, Beckett?" His words are harsh, cold. He doesn't move; his body is angled to prevent her from coming in.

"I was wondering if we could talk," she told him, eyes pleading silently to let her in.

"About the case? We closed it. There's nothing else till another body drops."

His words cut like a knife. She still had to try. "Rick, please. It's important."

His eyes are still cold as she stands before him, all but begging. His next words make the knife wound of his previous words deeper, "Well, I'm sure if it's important you'll be able to say in seven months."

Her eyes lock on his at his words, she doesn't even will herself to hold her emotions at bay; her eyes fill with tears as she swallows the lump in her throat. "Rick, that's not fair."

"Not f-" he starts, and shakes his head, his emotions going from guarded and cold to pissed off, "not fair?! Do not tell me what 'fair' is, Kate."

"Well, if you'd let me explain myself maybe you'd understand," Kate shouts, her hands balling into fists at her side. "Please, let me in. Please?"

He stood there for a moment, glaring at her the internal struggle he was facing clear on his face. His silence was killing her. This man, who just this morning would have welcomed her into his home, now looked as though he'd rather slam the door in her face. If only – no. She was not going to wonder if only. She had to fix this now; that was the only option.

Luckily for Kate, he stepped back, pulling the door open for her, but turning to stalk over to the kitchen without a backwards glance.

She follows him inside, closing the door softly behind her, swirling with emotion when he turns towards her, looking anywhere but in her eyes. The look on his face is enough to make her believe she's ruined everything, but for their sake, she has to try.

"Rick, I know you were in observation earlier, when I was talking to Bobby," she took a step towards him, and was saddened to see him take a small step back. He looked down at the ground and she pressed on. "I know you heard what I said, about remembering everything that happened the day that I got shot."

He looked up at that, eyes shooting daggers at her. "Why should that matter to me? It's not like I said anything important that day, anything that should mean something to you," Rick was shaking with anger now, his temper she had never seen, getting the better of him. "Clearly I don't mean anything to you. Don't worry, I won't follow you anymore. I have enough material by now to write 50 Nikki Heat books. I won't be a burden on you anymore."

"That's not it, Rick," she took another step forward, closing the distance between them and placing a hand on his arm. Kate flinched when he jerked his arm out of her grasp, but she took his silence as an invitation to keep going. God, how does he have this power over her? She's always prided herself on being a strong, driven, independent woman-never letting her emotions get the best of her…so why the hell is she standing in the middle of Rick Castle's kitchen with silent tears streaming down her face?

"Can't you see, Rick?" she asks, trying to angle her head so she can look in his eyes, but damn him he keeps moving his head out from under her gaze. She finally has enough of his evasive maneuvers, and cups both of his cheeks in her hands forcing him to look at her. "You mean everything to me."

Rick scoffs, "Yeah, right, Beckett. If I 'mean everything to you', then why? Why the secrets? Seven months, you've let me walk around like an idiot when all this time, you knew how I felt."

She shakes her head, he's right. But he's got to know her side of things. "Rick, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I wasn't ready. I've been dealing with so much, and working through everything. I've been trying to make myself into a woman you can be proud of. I've tried so many times to tell you how I feel and something always gets in the way."

"What do you mean, 'a woman I can be proud of', Kate?" Rick asks, and she can see that he's softening, so she takes this opportunity she has, and runs her thumbs along his cheek bones desperately trying to ignore the swarm of butterflies flitting around in the pit of her stomach.

"When I came to see you, at your book signing," she starts, "It was all so fresh in my head, you know? I couldn't handle much of anything. I was a wreck. All I knew was that I needed to see you, and that three months without you was too long.

I told you that I broke it off with Josh, and you followed me. You could have walked away, Rick, but you didn't…and that gave me hope."

Of course he'd follow her. He'd follow her into the far reaches of hell if he knew he'd be with her. "Hope for what?" He wants to hear her actually say it. He needs those walls to come down so he knows what she's thinking.

"Hope for a future," she whispers, looking up and into his eyes as another tear falls, "hope for a future with you."

That was exactly what he needed to hear. He's been waiting for this moment for what felt like forever. Kate watched as his expression softened and was caught off guard when his lips found hers. There was a hunger she hadn't thought possible and before she knew it she was kissing him back as though it was completing her apology.

Before she got completely lost in kissing him, she gently pushes on his chest, but his hands get tighter around her waist…how they got there, she had no clue. She moans softly into his mouth, and uses all of her strength to pull away from his lips. They both need to catch their breath, she feels him pull her body flush against his, her forehead resting along his. "Rick…" she trails off; his hands are so damn distracting, as they're running along her slightly exposed back. "We still have to talk."

"Kate, you've said everything."

She shakes her head, and leans back to look at him. "No, I haven't."

Rick takes in her appearance. Her lips, swollen from his kiss which caught her by surprise; her cheeks, flushed from the fire burning inside her. "What else is there to say?" his eyes asking the question left unasked.

"Before you even think about apologizing for what just happened," she says, leaning in to kiss him softly. "No regrets," she smiles, then she see his eyes light up, so happy compared to when she first showed up here. "I've been in therapy."

To be continued….