Note: This is very fluffy. Until it's very not. Stop at the break if you want to avoid pain or things seen in the promo for 5x05.

Disclaimer: All characters property of Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC. Because lord knows that I couldn't create this kind of perfection on my own.

Kate leaned against the door frame of the bathroom and just observed. Usually Castle's tactic, sure, but she could see why it was so appealing. He was shaving his face at the sink sans shirt, the running water had muted her footsteps, and he was completely unaware that he had an audience. She watched as he concentrated in the mirror, carefully running the blade over the curves of his face. She was entranced by the movement of the muscles in his arms and back, soft ripples that aided his task; the same muscles that he used to hold himself over her in bed and wrap around her in a welcoming hug. She let her eyes wander up the line of his side, the slope of his shoulder, the curve of his neck. Her fingers itched to trace the same places her eyes did. Is this the torture he endured for so long? Able to look but not touch?

He rinsed off the last of the shave cream and turned to grab a towel, catching the sight of her in his peripheral vision as he did so. He tossed a smirk at her; the fact that she was the one doing the staring was clearly not lost on him. He resolutely turned back to the mirror and began drying his face off. And it was possible that he also cocked out one hip in a way that drew her eye all the way down his leg as well.

"Enjoying the show, detective?" His voice was playful and light, she could see his eyes sparkling in the reflection.

The whole of the moment crashed over her. The domesticity of it, the playfulness, the mirth, they all coalesced into…love. Her heart skipped.

He turned when she said nothing, brows knitted together in concern. "Kate?"

She pushed off the doorframe and walked gingerly over to him, not wanting this bubble to burst. She finally let her fingers follow the path that her sight took earlier; she tripped her finger tips up his side, ran her palms over his shoulders and cupped her hands on the sides of his neck. His hands came to rest on her waist in what had become a familiar gesture. What had become, she realized, a gesture that felt comforting, safe, and like home. And in that moment, there was not a force that existed that could stop the words.

"I love you."

His arms banded around her back, pulling her flush against him as one of his hands reached up to tangle in her hair. He let out a breath and the relief in it was so evident that it made her heart constrict. He hadn't been sure; until this moment, he wasn't sure that she really felt the same. She ran her fingers through his hair, cupping the back of his head. His eyes closed at the sensation and he leaned his forehead onto hers.

"I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier," the apology tumbled from her lips before she could hold it in.

His eyes flew open and he pulled back to look at her. "I'm not. You said it when it was right for you. That's not something that I would ever force from you." He stopped and then hesitantly asked, "You're not sorry you said it now, are you?"

"No!" Her answer was immediate, her arms tightening around his neck, holding him in place. "No, not at all. I mean it, I love you, Castle." How had she gone so long without saying that to him when now the words came so easily?

He let out another relieved breath and tugged her closer again. (She really had to figure out how to stop him from doubting her.) "Good, because I love you. So much."

She leaned in and captured his lips with hers, soft but insistent, using this action to confirm her words. She opened willingly and was unsurprised to find his tongue already seeking out hers, they met in soft strokes that belied the heat in her belly. She pulled back gently, pressing her closed lips to his once more before fully pulling away. This could build into passion later; right now, she wanted to maintain the sweetness of the moment.

That is until her phone called shrilly from the bedroom. They sighed simultaneously and reluctantly released their hold on one another. She ran her fingers down his arm and squeezed his hand before moving away, throwing a smile over her shoulder as she did. She was pretty sure that it was as wide and goofy as the grin he gave in response.

The call was probably on its last ring when she swiped her thumb across the screen and gave her customary, "Beckett" into the receiver.

"Took you long enough," Esposito growled in response but continued before she could say anything else. (How would she even explain that, anyway?) "Got a distinctly Beckett flavored one for you today, pretty sure we'll need writer boy's 'out of the box' thinking as well."

"Okay, text me the address, I'll swing by and pick up Castle so we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Yeah, but hurry because they still gotta get her down."

That made her stop. "Wait, what?"

"Just get here," was all Esposito replied as he disconnected the call.

"We got a body?" Castle's voice came from behind her as her phone chimed with the info of where they were going.

"Yeah," she replied, turning to face him and, oh, there it was again. That squishy, warm feeling of lovelovelove that raced down her spine and out through her extremities. She closed the short distance between them and, taking advantage of the fact that she hadn't put on her heels yet, folded herself into his chest, tucking her head under his chin. His arms fell warm across her back and she felt the vibration in his chest as a chuckle rumbled through. "Don't laugh at me."

"Not laughing at, just amused by. You're adorable when you're in love."

She chuckled at herself a little bit then, his words cracking her face into a luminous smile. She lifted her head to kiss him again. "It's all your fault," she mumbled into his mouth.

"I'll take the blame for that any day," he replied before crushing his lips to hers, eliciting a moan from her. It was fast and frantic for a few moments, hands roaming, tongues dancing, before she broke away, placing her hands on his chest to keep him at bay.

"Crime scene," she panted, swallowing to gain some composure back. "We need to get to a crime scene."

His shoulders dropped dejectedly. "I'll get dressed. But raincheck?"

She pushed up on the balls of her feet to press a heated kiss to his lips. "That's a yes, if you can't tell." Her smile was smug as she lowered back to the ground. "You get clothes, I'll get coffee."

When they arrived at the scene, the boys were waiting for them in the hallway. "What have we got?" she asked.

"We'll give you the rundown on who she is later, right now, you just need to see it. They were waiting for you before…just go in," Ryan answered cryptically, motioning them in the direction of an open door.

Beckett exchanged an uneasy look with her partner before moving down the hall. When they entered the apartment, people parted, uniforms and CSU technicians alike. They basically provided a path straight to the body. But there was nothing on the floor. Beckett glanced around at the other officers and noticed that at least half of them were looking up. So she raised her eyes.

The woman was attached to the ceiling. Attached. With wire. Barbed wire? She heard Castle gasp and then he moved past her until he was standing right under the victim, looking her full in the face.

"Castle, you got something?"

"I know her."

Those three words were the beginning of one of the worst weeks of her life, rivaled only by her mother's passing.

Three little words are all it takes. All it takes to create joy and to shatter trust.

A/N: I had this thought after seeing the promo, "What if they were having an amazing day before all of this goes down? Wouldn't that make it hurt so much more?" And so, even though I'm not really an angst fan, I wrote this. Because I like to cause myself (and now all of you) pain, apparently. I'm leaving it at this though, I'll let the episode figure out how it all shakes out.