Castle heard the tremble in her voice, and despite how hurt- and angry- he still felt, he felt an overwhelming urge to hold her, to wipe and kiss those tears away, to just tell her he forgave her so he could go back to feeling love for her. But not yet. If she was going to insist that this was it, better to not have that one last time.

He did, however, finally turn to look at her.

"Do you really think I'd let us stop finding a way to go home? That I'd give up on the idea just because we cut to the chase here and the inevitable happened?"

Inevitable. Had it been? Castle wanted to believe it was.

"There's a balance between 'totally giving up' and 'devoting ourselves to nothing but'. It's not an either or decision. It doesn't have to be unless we choose to make it that." He took a shaky breath.

"I had to look myself square in the eye and see the ugly parts of my personality laid bare and have them broadcast for everyone in this city to see. But that still didn't hurt as much as when you told me none of this mattered to you. Because then I thought that for sure I'd lost you and that that was it. Any time anything bad happens, I make it through it because I know you'll be there to back me up. I want you, but I don't want this to hurt like this, either."