Epilogue

The water was hot, filling the bathroom with the steaming smell of jasmine and vanilla, and accentuating the calm of the dimly lit room. It matched perfectly the mood of Kate Beckett, who entered the room wearing a fluffy white bathrobe and carrying a glass of wine in one hand and a small stack of CDs in the other. She set the glass down on the small stand that she'd placed next to the tub, and put the CDs into the player that was mounted to the wall on the other side of the room. She took a deep breath, enjoying the fact that there was nothing she had to do, and a whole evening to do it. Which to her meant that she was going to settle in the tub with the wine and the music and let the last two weeks fade away. Something she always did when she needed to unwind.

She dipped her hand in the water to make sure it was still really hot – the way she liked it best – and was untying the belt on the robe when the sound of her doorbell resounded through the apartment.

"Damn it…"

She hesitated, debating whether she really needed to answer the door, or if she should just ignore it. And pretend she wasn't home.

The bell rang again.

Grumbling about shooting someone if the building wasn't on fire, she tightened the belt on her robe once more and headed for the door. A quick glance through the peek hole made her frown, and she opened the door quickly.

"What are you doing here?"

Castle hesitated at the door, uncertain about her abrupt reception. One arm was in the sling, which extended all the way along his arm to cover his hand where the support went back up and over his other shoulder, and the other was filled with the teddy bear that she'd left with him when she'd been released from the hospital. Not only did she look mad at him – and he wasn't sure what it was he'd done this time – but she wasn't really dressed.

Which wasn't such a bad thing, though, as far as he was concerned.

"I… brought your bear back."

"When did you get released from the hospital?"

"This morning." He flashed an uncertain smile, still not sure if – or why – she was mad at him, but deciding that he'd interrupted her evening plans. She was too levelheaded to still be mad at him for the bullet thing, after all. "By the way, you don't need to pick me up tomorrow…"

She smiled, amused despite her annoyance at being pulled away from her bathtub. Besides, she had to admit it was good to see him on his feet again. He still looked like crap, but he was on his feet. Kind of.

"Come in," Beckett told him, moving out of the doorway so he could go by her. She watched him walk, noting that he was moving a bit stiffly as if his ribs were still aching, but that he didn't wince when he brushed against the door itself. Of course, his ribs would be tender for a week or two – ribs took a long time to heal, she knew – but she also knew that he'd been given some pretty good painkillers to counter it. Which might be why he was crazy enough to be out and about the day he was released from the hospital. He probably wasn't feeling any pain

"Thanks."

"Does your mother know where you are?" she asked him.

"Yes."

"Really?"

He rolled his eyes, more amused than annoyed.

"Yes. And she let me come."

"And she's not worried…?"

He made a face.

"She made me promise to call when I got here."

Beckett grinned.

"You do that, then. I'm going to go change."

He allowed his gaze to slowly wander from her head to her toes and back up again, lingering somewhere under her chin for the briefest of moments before he met her eyes again.

"Don't do it on my account."

"Go sit down, Castle. Call your mom and let her know her crazy son is alive and well." She took the bear from him and set it in a chair in the living room. "Do you want something to drink?"

"A beer?"

"With the medications you're taking?" she asked. "Not a chance. I have juice, water and a couple of diet sodas."

"Spoilsport."

"Someone has to look out for you," she pointed out, as she headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Are you wearing the vest?"

He shook his head, following her and looking over her shoulder.

"No. I'm just being careful not to bump into anything. Can I have that apple juice? Or are you waiting to see if that old pizza is going to evolve and drink it first?"

"I haven't had time to clean out the fridge," she told him, defensively, handing him the juice and shutting the door to the fridge before he could make any more smart comments. "Are you going to call your mom?"

"Will you stay in the robe?"

"No."

She left him in the kitchen and went into her bedroom, closing the door firmly before dropping the robe and changing into a pair of pajama bottoms and a flannel pullover. When she returned, he was sitting on the couch and just putting his phone away.

"She says you are to make sure I don't do anything stupid."

"Good luck with that."

He smiled and tried to open his juice by holding it between his knees and using the hand not caught up in the sling to twist off the top. It wasn't working very well. She took it from him and opened it, and then joined him on the couch.

"You remember those nightmares?" he asked, turning to face her and looking a little smug considering the question he'd just asked.

She frowned. They weren't really something she'd forget in only a week.

"Yeah. What about them?"

"I figured them out."

"What?"

"You were worried about me."

"Yeah. So? You were hurt."

"Right, but you had the one the night of the plane crash – before I took the swim that really hurt my ribs – and that means that you were worried about me even before you knew I was hurt."

"What?"

"I told you that the change of course shouldn't have made the controls black out like they did, and somewhere in that magnificent detective brain of yours, you already had some kind of suspicion that there was something else going on besides a plane crash."

"But-"

"And then, once we were found, you knew that the danger was still there – only that now there was a lot more than could go wrong, since we were in the city where anyone could have a gun – and that's why your dream went from me being killed in the plane crash to me being shot. You weren't even positive that it was me that was the target, which is why your dream assassin guy pointed the gun at you, first."

"You're giving me a lot of credit, Castle…" she told him, uncertainly. It actually made sense, but there was a lot of reaching, too, and she wasn't ready to admit that it sounded like he might know what he was talking about. It was also a little disconcerting to think that he understood her so well. "I-"

"It was all subliminal," he reminded her. His smile lingered, though. "But the more you think about it, the more amazing it is, huh?"

"Kind of creepy, really," she corrected. "You did get shot, after all."

"But I didn't die."

"No."

"And I saved your life."

"No you didn't."

The denial was automatic.

"I took a bullet for you. Almost took five. How is that not saving your life?"

"He might have missed."

"Five times?"

"Maybe. You don't know."

"Fine. But I got us rescued."

"They would have found us eventually. Besides, you were the one that needed the medical help more than I did – which means you got yourself rescued. It's just a bonus that they found me, too."

"Bonu-"

"Castle." she interrupted him before he could say whatever smart-assed comment he was going to use to annoy her, and brushed her finger lightly against his lips to keep him quiet. "You really were amazing."

He smiled, his eyes locking with hers, even as he blushed a little at the unexpected compliment.

"Thanks."

She nodded.

"Thank you. For everything. Really. And if you tell anyone I said that, I'll kill you. Understand?"

His eyes lit up with good humor even before his smile broadened.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

"Now… about that romantic interlude…"

She smiled.

"That was just to keep your spirits up."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He leaned toward her a little, setting the juice down and taking her hand before she could move it, although his grip wasn't firm enough to hold her if she didn't want him to. She didn't pull away though.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Definitely."

Her voice didn't sound nearly as certain as her words did, however, and she didn't even realize she was leaning closer to him until her free hand landed on his leg to keep herself from overbalancing and maybe hurting him by falling against him.

He chuckled, softly, and kissed her.

Beckett sighed, giving herself up to the moment, and leaned into him just a little more, careful not to touch him like she wanted to so she wouldn't hurt him. It wasn't going to be more than a kiss, and they both had to know it. Not with his ribs screaming at him every time he moved too suddenly. All the pain medication in the world wasn't going to be able to change that.

He groaned and broke the kiss, before he allowed himself to do something that he knew would truly be stupid. She chuckled, and cuddled up beside him on the couch, bringing his arm around her so he was holding her like he had when they'd been alone in the woods.

"This is nice," he said, softly, brushing a kiss against her hair.

"Yeah."

"Can I go to the next convention you're going to attend?"

She smiled.

"We'll see."

The END

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's note: Well, there it is. My very first Castle story. I have to admit I had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm sure some of you wanted me to continue it, but it finished the story of their trip and that was really what this one was all about. If I went any deeper on this one, it would definitely belong on an adult fanfiction site (which I actually did post a very brief story on, hehe) but wouldn't belong here. I really do appreciate all the reviews and comments, and I might write another one, although I doubt that this will turn into a series. (I know I said that once about the Campers series for those SG-1 fans that read my work) but this time I probably mean it. Thanks for being such good fans!