Summary: When Kate gets shot on the job, she quits and disappears without a phone number or any means of communication. A year later, she returns and calls up the one person she could always count on, surprised to see that he still feels the same way about her.

Loosely based on the song 'Austin' by Blake Shelton but not a song-fic. Caskett is established, but Kate was never shot in the season 3 finale. However, all of season 4 is basically the same, save the 'I Love You' lie. This is anytime after the season 4 finale - likely end of season 5 or later.

DISCLAIMER: Anything that you recognize is not mine. Andrew Marlowe owns it all. If I did, I would not be writing fanfiction. And there would be a lot more 'handshaking' on screen.

Outside the hospital room, Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan could hear the muffled yells between their teammates - Kate Beckett and Richard Castle. They were fighting. Again. It wasn't the first time this week. Heck, it wasn't the first time today. And while, technically, they didn't know why they were fighting, they knew. They didn't know, but they knew.

She'd been shot. Kate had been shot in the shoulder on the job and the bullet had travelled through her and almost cost her her life. It had been close. It had been too close, even for Kate. She'd quit her job and spent the past month recovering in the hospital. Only two weeks ago, when they'd been about to release her, her body had tensed and there'd been another scare. But she had pulled through.

They weren't fighting anymore. The boys outside figured they'd finally come to some sort of agreement. And they knew who had probably won. They were proven correct when Castle stormed out of the room in a rage, not looking back once.

"Think they broke up?" Ryan asked his partner.

"I hope not," Esposito replied. "Remember how miserable they used to be before they got together? And now? With Beckett out of the force? She's already going to be a mess."

"But Kate wanted a chance to clear her mind and get away from it all. Castle is not going to agree to that, not as long as they're together," Ryan said.

"Even not together, bro," shrugged Esposito. "Let's so check on our girl."

They went into the room and found Beckett with her head in her hands. She looked like she was crying but she wasn't. There were no physical tears on her cheeks, but she was shaking a lot.

"You alright?" Esposito asked.

"No," she cracked a small grin. "I'm not all right, I'm half left."

"Funny," Ryan rolled his eyes. "Castle okay?" That got him an elbow to the ribs from his partner. He added, "Sorry."

"Umm, yeah," Beckett tried to smile. "I'm just going to go and stay with my dad for a while. Get away from the city, I think it might be a good idea."

"A while? How long is a while?" Javier's eyes narrowed.

Kate shrugged, "Until I'm ready to come back. I don't know, Javi. A while."

The tone in her voice made them accept that. She might not be their boss anymore but they knew better than to cross her.

"So, are they releasing you soon?" Kevin tried to change the subject.

"Tomorrow," Kate smiled. "I'm getting out of here tomorrow."

The lock clicked and Kate let herself into her apartment. It had been almost a year since she'd lived there. Longer, really, since she'd spent so much of her time at Castle's.

Castle. The thought of him made her cringe. She hadn't meant to leave him for so long. She hadn't wanted to.

At first, she hadn't called because she wasn't ready. Then it turned into that she was afraid. Eventually, the fear turned to her thinking that it was too late. Months had passed, neither had heard from the other, he would have moved on. She thought he would have moved on from her.

But the first thing she did once she was out of the shower was call him. Even if he was with somebody knew, she had to know. She would rather be in his life as a friend than as a girlfriend if it meant she could be in his life.

The phone rang three times and she knew it would be going to the answering machine before it even did. She waited, contemplating leaving a message when his answering machine picked up and she heard his voice:

"If you're calling about the chapter, I sent it. If this is Tuesday night, I'm with Alexis. If you've got something to sell, you're wasting your time - I'm not buying. If it's anybody else, wait for the tone, you know what to do."

She chuckled at how his machine was set up. Just like it used to be, still set for a week in advance. But what she wasn't expecting was the last sentence:

"And P.S. if this is Kate, I still love you."

Her heart stopped and she hung up the phone before the tone. She couldn't leave a message. She couldn't. She so wanted to but she didn't know what to say.

What do you say to a man who waited a year for you to come back? A year when he didn't know when, of if, you were going to come back? She couldn't believe him. What kind of man would hang on that long? What kind of love that must be...

She wondered how long that had been on his answering machine. Had it been there since she left? Or was it more recent? Or did she imagine it all together?

Now that she thought about it, she could have made it up. She was very tired and had spent the majority of the day driving. Perhaps it was all in her head. She wanted to try again and see but she was scared of him picking up. She didn't know what to say yet.

A few days later, when she'd gained back her confidence and overcome her tiredness, she picked up the phone, daring herself to call again.

She dialled three times before she finally let it ring for the full three rings. And, again, she got his answering machine:

"If it's Friday night, I'm at the ballgame. And first thing Saturday, if it's not raining, I'm heading up to the Hamptons and I'll be gone all weekend long. But I'll call you back when I get home on Sunday afternoon. And P.S. if this is Kate, I still love you."

There it was again. She definitely had not made it up the last time. No, it was real.

She glanced out the window. The sun was shining and it was the perfect Saturday afternoon. Chances were he was with Alexis at the Hamptons enjoying the weather.

This time, she made an impulse decision and she let it go to the tone. When it beeped, she quickly spit out her number and hung up. She left nothing but the number - not a name or a hello, just her number.

Sunday evening rolled around and she spent it sitting by the phone. One of his books was perched in her lap but she was having trouble concentrating on the words. She kept staring at the phone, waiting for it to ring, hoping it would.

It did. The phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID and smiled.

She picked up and said, not giving him a chance to speak, "If you're calling about my heart, it's still yours. I should have listened to it a little more. Then it wouldn't have taken me so long, to know where I belong. And by the way, this is no machine you're talking to. Can't you tell that this Kate and I still love you. I still love you."

His breathing was heavy on the other end, almost like he was trying to convince himself this was real. He probably was, he hadn't heard from her in a year.

"Castle, it's me, it really is," she smiled into the phone.

"Kate," he finally breathed her name and it felt so good to hear it come from his lips.

"Yeah, it's me, I'm here," she said. "You waited for me? Castle..."

"Course I did," she could picture him shrugging with that lopsided grin of his. "I love you Kate, always have, always will."

She smiled at the phone again and shook her head, emitting a small laugh.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm coming over," he said and he hung up the phone, but not before she heard the jingle of his keys.

"Hey," she opened the door to him.

He didn't respond, he just pulled her into him and crushed her lips with his, pushing against her like she was sure he had wanted to for the past twelve months.

"With a welcome like that, I should disappear more often," she joked. But the second it was out of her mouth, she realized how unfunny it would be. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"Don't," he whispered against her. "Don't ever disappear on me like that. Never again, okay?"

"I promise, Castle," she melted into him. "I swear. Never again."

"Good. I love you Kate," he kissed her again and then cradled her in his arms. "Missed you too."

"Oh, god, Rick," she wrapped her arms around him. "I've missed you so much. And I am so sorry. I am. You don't know how sorry I am. But you waited for me. And I love you for that. I love you so much, okay? And I'll never leave again."

They weren't perfect. They would still have to work hard to overcome their year apart. But in that moment, wrapped in each other's arms, they were okay. They were happy and together and that was all that mattered right then and there. And they still loved each other. That was always an added bonus.

It was a few months since Kate had come home. Everything was slowly returning to normal. Kate had even reapplied at the precinct and, after undergoing several tests that were definitely not needed, she had been reinstated in a position similar to her old one, only with Esposito now as the leader. He let her take point on some cases though, just to relive the old days.

It was late at night and a body had dropped. He would be taking point on this one and didn't really need her help yet. But he called anyway. He called her at her place and waited for the phone to ring. The phone in the loft rang three times and then went to the answering machine, which was now an odd combination of their two voices:

"If it's Monday, we're with Alexis. If it's Wednesday evening, we're at that couples yoga class Kate talked me into. If it's the Saturday, we've gone to the beach. If you're calling about a dead body, call later or something or call us on one of our cells. Everybody else, leave a message after the tone. And, P.S. I still love you Kate."

Esposito chuckled and hung up the phone. He considered calling her on her cell but decided against it. He would let them have their night. Not everybody was lucky enough to find somebody so perfect for them. He would let them enjoy it and he'd call in the morning.

Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Please review?

A link to the song 'Austin' can be found here: watch?v=kCn5ofh9PlE