Disclaimer: We do not own Castle.

Co-authored by HPFan1952 and JasmineBelle7. Cover art by the wonderfully talented HPFan1952.

What'aya say girl, we do somethin' crazy
Quit puttin' it off, you know what I'm sayin'
It ain't like it ain't gunna happen, forever's a given
It's already written
Who we kiddin' baby, come on

The stars can't line up any straighter
Let's do it now and think about it later

Why wait another minute
For somethin' we should'a done yesterday?
- Rascal Flatts, Why Wait

One

The hall buzzed with many voices. Some he recognized, others he didn't. They were all here to watch the real Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook get married. The humming excitement reminded him of the night that this chapter of their journey had all began.

They were in fact late for their own party and they were greeted at the door with champagne, and with what seemed like hundreds of voices cheering them on.

"Speech, speech." Someone urged from the depths of the loft.

Wrapping one arm around Kate and leaving one free for the champagne, Castle spoke, "We don't really have words to express how relieved and grateful we feel that this is over...we're just relieved and grateful."

Kate nodded, clinking glasses with him, and raising it to toast the crowd of eager faces, "What he said."

More cheering and a tinkling of glasses, normally reserved for weddings, sounded. Castle dropped a chaste kiss on Kate's lips to save her from embarrassment. The crowd booed, Ryan and Esposito the loudest of them all.

Kate rolled her eyes and pulled Castle in for a kiss that silenced the crowd.

They pulled back, breathless from excitement and desire, prompting Kate to take a generous gulp of champagne. She whispered to Castle, "I'm going to go change and I'll be right back."

"I'll be here, making the rounds – Big Cheese, hey!"

"Ricky, glad to see you showed up."

"Looks like you guys were doing just fine without me." Caterers in their sharp uniforms of black bottoms and crisp white tops milled about the room, passing around hors d'oeuvres and glasses of champagne. A low drinks table was set along one wall and a younger crowd surrounded it. He recognized a few rookie cops from the twelfth but couldn't fathom where the others had come from. Various other characters, from layers to small time reporters, filled his living room. It was cramped but cozy, voices indistinguishable from one another.

He imagined having that big old Victorian house that Kate had mentioned at the graveyard, more space for parties and...for children. His mind jumped to her proposal, if you could call it that. He'd had her engagement ring tucked away for some time now but they'd only been together a few short months and he hadn't wanted to rush it. Being together after all these years was a dream come true already –

"Bro."

"Hey."

Ryan and Esposito came up beside him, deafly grabbing handfuls of miniature sausage rolls on the way.

"Man, I loved being in court today," Ryan admitted through a mouth full of food.

"Me too, and I usually hate it." Esposito grumbled.

"That he does," Lanie agreed.

"You have to wear a suit and tie." Esposito tugged at the one around his neck.

"Which is no big deal," Lanie pointed out, "Unless it is with the added bonus of court."

"Who likes being in court anyways?" Ryan asked, eyes wandering in search of more food.

"I do." Castle admitted. "There are so many people and so many stories to be told. It's the best place-" He stopped, sensing Kate's presence, an invisible string connecting the two of them. Looking up he found her, hesitating at the door of his study and surveying the crowd. Her blue dress with plunging neckline and full skirt had his breath caught in his throat. She looked every bit the princess, the queen, and the warrior, of her own castle.

"Bro, your face is going to turn blue."

He barely heard Esposito's half laughed statement as he watched her cross the room to his side, his heart racing as she took his hand and leaned up to kiss his cheek. He found her gaze, feeling himself fall deep into the light shinning for him alone. He bent down and captured her upturned lips with his own, lavishing attention to her as if the rest of the world existed elsewhere.

"Whoa, whoa, no one called for an encore."

Again, he heard his friend's words at a distance as he reveled in the feeling of her smile against his lips. He pulled back enough to look into her eyes again, the vision of his future blended so seamlessly with the light in them it was impossible to tell one from the other. His mind chose to turn again to the little black box hidden away, waiting, waiting for—

"What?" Kate asked, giving him a curious stare. He swallowed, trying his hardest to remind his thoughts to be patient, to take that step at a time but, the harder he pushed the thoughts from his mind the harder and deeper they became entrenched. His whole body itched to move, to dig into the bedside table's drawer, to begin that trek towards Victorian homes, children; their children.

Castle placed his champagne glass on the counter beside him, and lightly kissed her. "Be right back." He squeezed her fingers and started towards the entrance to his study, oblivious to the suddenly quiet room around him. He passed through one room to the next in a blur and stopped short at the nightstand. Pulling open the drawer, he tossed aside the chapter he had been editing the night before, along with several red pens and other brick-a-brack until all that remained was the small little box in the corner.

"I know that look."

Kate barely registered the speaker as her mind ran over whatever possibilities that man could be up, too. She turned in its general direction in time to catch Ryan's wife take a place at his side, a knowing grin passing between her and her husband. "What?" She asked looking from the Ryan's to Lanie to Esposito and back. "What?" She caught sight of Alexis rushing to take a place beside her Grandmother, both holding the same knowing look her friend's held. Beside them stood her father, a smile on his face and the glint of tears in his eyes.

"Kate."

She nearly jumped at the sound of her own name. She turned around to face him, the look in his eyes confirming the inkling her friend's stares had brought into her mind even as his next words completely sealed it.

"I…I had meant to wait. To take things slow." He started, both hands behind his back, a single foot shuffling the floor, in the world's most noticeable nervous pattern. "But, the truth is I can't wait. We may have only been together together for a few short months but, I have loved you long before I even knew that that was what it was." He paused, to catch her eyes. "You have inspired me to be a better person, a better man. You mean the world to me. Would you do me this honor…" He knelt down in front of her, a small box held between to shaking hands. "Will you marry me?"