Ha… okay this is something that has been literally clawing to get out. For the record, I'm completely surprised that I managed to write ANOTHER fic, and in such a short time. Darn this Castle obsession.

Oh, and Thank you very much to all those who read, review, favorite-ed and alerted "My Partner Castle." You've inspired me to write and post this story.

Crap. She was late. Castle was supposed to be at her door in less than five minutes and she couldn't find the shoes that Lanie helped her pick out for the latest Nikki Heat launch party. Earlier that day, there had been another 'unexpected' dress delivery and Lanie had invited herself over to see it under the pretense of helping Beckett pick out accessories. After what seemed like hours of Lanie's "uh-uh"s and "girl you better not"s they had finally been able to settle on a pair that they found hiding way in the back of her closet. Beckett was amazed at how she managed to find matching shoes each time Castle pulled his little 'let's play Barbie with Beckett' stunt. But now she lost them again and Lanie had bailed on her a few hours earlier, muttering something about how some people still had to look good to reel in men, unlike some people who already made the catch but were dangling the goods regardless.

Her thoughts drifted back to the coming event as she smiled at the thought of arriving as Castle's date. This quickly turned into a frown when she remembered the headlines that would surely follow the next day. They had been officially dating for the past half year or so, but had kept it low-key and away from the press. Beckett wasn't ready to have her personal life splayed across the pages of the latest issue of Cosmo.

Not like it wasn't already thanks to Castle's incessant need to put nearly every detail of their time together in his books.

Everyone at the precinct had known about them thanks to Lanie after she miraculously 'found out' on her own, but she could tell that despite all the endless teasing and grief they gave her (and the flurry of bills that were passed around for the next half hour or so) it seemed the entire office was happy for them.

The press were bound to find out about it sooner or later, and Castle had suggested that they announce it at the launch party for the last Nikki Heat novel. Initially, Beckett was against the idea, wanting to hold onto what little of her privacy remained. Ultimately, she ended up grudgingly agreeing with him only because there was a higher chance of the press printing something decent if they did it that way. This was definitely more preferable than the alternative that Castle had spun for her, which involved casting the whole situation in a gloriously trashy and scandalous light.

The familiar chime of the doorbell cut through her thoughts as Beckett stumbled her way towards the door. Fumbling with the locks, she was met with a face full of red long-stemmed roses that had been unceremoniously shoved at her the second the door swung open.

"Wha-" she spluttered as she carefully swatted the roses away from her face. She frowned when the roses refused to budge, and quickly made a grab at them so the man could no longer hide behind them.

"SURPRISE!" Castle was nearly bouncing up and down in excitement and nervousness. She still found it extremely adorable that he was nervous every time he came to pick her up. Beckett just shook her head and leaned in for a kiss before disappearing into her bedroom.

"We're going to be late, let's go" she said as she tugged on the pair of shoes she had finally managed to locate just seconds after Castle showed up at her door. She frowned when she didn't get a response and turned around to repeat what she said. "Castle... we're- are you okay?" Castle was fidgeting where he stood with eyes glazed, clearly preoccupied with not listening to her. Before he could snap out of his funk, Beckett reached up and tugged on his nose until...

"Ow, ow, ow, APPLES! APPLES!"

Their arrival was very much like she predicted it would be, and the fact that they came together was not lost to the legion of media personnel camped out in front of the building. They were met with dozens of reporters, all with their cameras threatening to permanently blind them both. All the attention they were getting unnerved her as she turned to look at her partner. Castle was expertly working the crowds, waving and flashing smiles all while answering select questions the press threw at them. Although looked for all the world like he was enjoying the attention, she could sense urgency in his steps as as he ushered them both through the doors.

As they walked into the hall where the party was held, Beckett spotted the book pyramid and pulled away from Castle slightly, indicating to him that she intended to pay it a visit and check out his latest dedication. Castle gently but forcefully steered her away from the books and towards the open bar. He wanted her to stay with him tonight and wasn't ready to share her with anything just yet; not even his book. Was it absurd to be jealous of his own book? Beckett threw him a confused and disapproving look as she waited for him to explain.

"I hear the drinks here are fantastic. We should get some before we make our rounds. Cosmopolitan for you?" She nodded and they approached the bar.

Beckett looked around at the crowd that showed for the party, trying to pick out anyone familiar she could talk to. Almost instantly, she recognized a familiar head bobbing amongst the sea of guests and had to do a double take. Now there was someone she never thought she would see at the launch party. He had chosen that moment to turn around and upon spotting her, he started to make his way through the crowd towards her. She groaned inwardly as she suddenly grew very conscious of what she was wearing. Castle merely looked amused as he excused himself to get their drinks.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Jim Beckett looked at her dress in a mildly disapproving manner before he smiled and hugged her.

"Rick invited me." Her eyebrow arched at this comment. He and 'Rick' had been unusually chummy ever since she had introduced them, especially when her father traded stories from when she was a kid for Castle's recounts of her working on her ever-growing weird case pile. Despite the embarrassment she suffered every time they traded stories, she was glad she had introduced them. Her dad seemed to have opened up a lot because of Castle and she secretly loved the fact that her father was beginning to laugh he hadn't laughed in years. "Well, my daughter is the inspiration. I need to be here to check the book and make sure that it's fit for the shelves tomorrow. You know, checking for scenes that fall into the rated R category." Beckett's eyes were the size of saucers as he laughed and winked at her before excusing himself to chase after the hors d'oeuvres. Her father was definitely hanging around Castle way too much. Castle's randy attitude was beginning to rub off on him and she wasn't entirely sure she liked that idea.

Speaking of Castle, where did he run off to in such a hurry? And where was that cosmopolitan he promised her?

She scanned the room for him and after seeing him chatting amiably with an elderly gentleman she took the opportunity to sneak over to the book tower without him noticing and picked up the book nearest to her. It was another of their little traditions now. He purposefully left out the dedication in all of his advanced copies and she always waited until the launch party to read them. He'd dedicated each of his Nikki Heat books to the 12th as a whole, but in each book he managed to highlight one person in particular. The first book had been dedicated to her of course, and then to Montgomery, Esposito, Ryan, and Lanie in each of the following books. Castle had called this book his 'magnum opus' and although she would never admit it to anyone, she was dying to see who Castle had picked as the winner for his next dedication; she was definitely curious and maybe, just maybe, she had felt a tiny bit of jealous begin to simmer.

She didn't notice when the entire hall seemed to plunge into silence as she picked up his latest book. Castle looked up when the room stilled to see her flip through one of the books. He quickly excused himself made his way over to her side; he always liked being around her when she read the dedications. As she flipped through the publishing information to the important parts, she couldn't help but notice how unnaturally long the dedication was. Her full name caught her eye as she squinted down at the page.

To the extraordinary Katherine Beckett:
Working with you on this series has literally been the highlight of my life.
Thank you so much for not killing me even though I knew you wanted to on several occasions.
Also, thank you so much for allowing me to feel something I never thought I would feel ever.
I love you.
Much more than I love myself.
Which I didn't think was possible.
But it is.

Beckett's breath was stolen by the words on the page. She'd never expected this to be the way he would break the news to the press. Again, she could feel utter mortification at the thought of thousands of people picking up the book and reading what was written on the page, but somehow his action stamped that feeling down and replaced it with an even better feeling; joy. This was proof that they worked and that he wasn't about to bound off after the next girl that sparked his interest. There would be no other woman that could spark his interest. Her inner fear of him leaving the precinct, of leaving her, after the end of the Heat series had finally ebbed away. She relaxed into a dazzling smile and stifled a laugh at the open admission of his narcissism. Leave it to Castle to throw crude humor into one of his dedications. There was quite a bit more of the dedication she had yet to read, so she continued. What else could he possibly say?

So there really is only one thing a man can say after that:

Will you marry me?

She stopped reading at this point, not daring to look up at what was undoubtedly everyone at the party staring at her. She suddenly became very self conscious, idly entertaining the thought of making a run for it. Instead, she took a sudden interest in playing with the corner of the dedication page as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. She could practically feel everyone's eyes boring through her and the thought made her insides squirm.

Wait.
Did he?
He didn't.
OH! he DID.

Another feeling started welling up inside of her as the realization of his dedication hit her like a freight train with tampered brakes.

She tried to turn around to get some kind of confirmation from Castle, but suddenly found herself trapped between his arms in a gentle but firm hug. She looked down as his right arm moved up slowly to reveal what he was holding between his thumb and index finger; a stunning diamond ring winking and glinting at her under the dimmed hall lights. She could feel tears threatening to form and quickly closed her eyes in case they decided to escape.

"Castle..."

"You do know if you take this ring you can't call me that anymore..." He smiled widely at her as she felt herself returned it. "You haven't finished reading the dedication yet." He rumbled as he nuzzled her neck softly. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him incredulously for a moment. Didn't he want to know her answer first?

The next part of the dedication answered that question rather nicely.

I know you will say yes.
I know this because I'm standing right behind you now.
Invading your personal space.
Breathing down your neck.
In public.
And you're letting me.

END