Hey!

This one is for all y'all that have ever read and/or reviewed my stories! You guys rock my socks off! It really means a lot to me! Thank you so so much! You have no idea what it means to me that you guys like my stories! It makes me smile when I see your reviews in my inbox!

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine :/

[Chapter 1]

It was a blazing hot summer morning at the twelfth precinct. Officers and detectives were sprawling around, taking perps in for questioning and working on cases. Phones could be heard ringing, keys on the computer were tapped upon, and pens scratched onto papers. It was your average day at the twelfth.

Detective Kate Beckett sat at her desk, going over a few last minute details on some paperwork. They had just closed their last case before the holiday weekend. You see this weekend was Fourth of July. Many officers had plans and were heading out of town with their families. Esposito was taking Lanie to visit her family, while Ryan and Jenny were going to her parent's place. That left Kate by herself, without any plans, all alone. Or so she thought...

The elevator chimed, signaling that it had arrived on their floor. The large steel doors opened and a loud and distinctive voice was heard, "Hey! Good mornin', Bill!"

Castle was here.

He strutted over to Kate's desk with a huge grin plastered on his face. Rick plopped down in his chair, setting Beckett's usual coffee and bear-claw on her desk.

"G'morning, Beckett!" He greeted, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Hey, Castle," she replied, not looking up from her work. She grabbed her coffee off her desk and raised it to her lips, taking a large gulp. "Thanks," she indicated the coffee by raising it in her hand.

"No problem," he smiled. "So, what are you working on?" He peered over to look at the piles of papers in front of Beckett.

"Just adding a few more things to the Roberts case file. I gotta get the paperwork into the DA's office this afternoon." She scribbled a few more things down on the sheet, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Rick was staring at her, just admiring her. He normally did this, Kate found it creepy. As time went on though, she got use to it and just learned to ignore him. But she could always feel his eyes in her. It flattered her a bit; that he would sit there for hours on end, simply watching her do something as boring as paperwork.

"So..." He pondered, folding his hands and placing them on her old oak desk. "Do you have any plans for the holiday weekend?"

She looked up and turned to face him, giving him her undivided attention. "Not really," she answered.

Wrong answer, Rick thought with a smirk.

Beckett continued, "I'm just gonna relax and take it easy. I rarely get days off, so this weekend will be a lazy one." And she went back to the paper on her desk, looking away from him. "What about you?" she asked.

He grinned. "Oh, well with Alexis staying with Ashley and his family, and with Mother out of town and vacationing with Paul, I was planning on getting out of the city, somewhere secluded and go camping."

"Hmm, sounds nice." Kate commented.

Rick was smiling like crazy. If his smile got any bigger, his face would end up getting stuck like that. "Yeah. So I was wondering...would-"

"No, Castle," She cut him off.

"You didn't even know what I was going to ask!" He exasperated.

"Yes, I do." She tore her eyes off her work to look at him. "You were about to ask me to join you on your little camping adventure."

"I- why don't you?" he wondered, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Because...I don't want to go," she answered, avoiding his question. Beckett wasn't telling him something and he was curious to know why.

"Have you ever gone camping before?" he asked very much intrigued.

"I, um...yeah," she nodded, nervously. "Loads of times."

"Uh-huh. So, why don't you wanna come?"

"I don't want to, Castle," she said irritated.

"Come on..." he pleaded. "We can roast marshmallows over the campfire and tell ghost stories. It'll be fun! We can even lay under the stars one night. And I promise, no funny business. Just a nice getaway from the city with your partner. Who, I might add, is ruggedly handsome," he said with cheeky smile and a wink. Beckett rolled her eyes at his remark. "Please, Kate," he begged. Giving her giant puppy dog eyes and pouting his lip.

"Fine, I'll go," she gave in. Rick leaped out of his chair in joy, yelling out a big victory yes! causing everyone to stare and look at him. All with amused expressions on their faces.

"Castle!" Kate whispered harshly, yanking him by the arm and shoving him back onto the chair. "I will go, but only if you never do that again. And if you tell Ryan or Esposito about this, I will kill you." Her voice was low and threatening but sorta sexy, too.

"Deal," he said with a goofy grin. He couldn't contain his excitement.

"No funny business, right?" she asked.

"No funny business," Rick confirmed, nodding his head. "You're gonna wanna start packing, we leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Couldn't have given me more notice?" she questioned, sarcastically.

"Nope!" he smirked and rose from his chair. "I will pick you up at seven o'clock sharp. Until tomorrow, Detective." And with that he skipped over to the elevator. Yes, Richard Castle skipped. And he did not give Beckett the chance to respond.

Looking over to the elevator, she could see Rick sneering as the double doors closed, blocking him from view. She sighed running her delicate fingers through he chocolate brown trusses. What did she just agree to?

With that, she got up and headed toward the one person that could help her get her head back on straight.

Kate marched through the huge doors, entering the morgue. Lanie turned around in a flash upon hearing the doors fly open.

"Girl, what are you doin' here?" the medical examiner asked, confused at seeing her best friend storm in.

"Castle," Kate mumbled as she took a seat on a vacant table top, her legs dangled off the sides.

"What'd he do now?" Lanie wondered, removing her blue latex gloves and pulling a chair in front of her friend. She took her seat, looking up at the anxious detective.

"He-" she struggled, looking for the right words. "He, well, he in-invited me to go camping with him this weekend." Lanie was shocked, her jaw dropped but she remained silent as her friend continued. "An- and I, um...said yes." The last word was barely over a whisper. Kate timidly bit her bottom lip as she waited for Lanie to respond.

Lanie remained where she was, not saying a word. A smile began to appear on her face. All of a sudden, she shot out of the chair and threw her arms over Kate, crushing her into a big hug. "I'm so happy for you!" Lanie squealed, still holding onto the detective. Eventually she pulled away and returned to her seat. "So?"

"So...what?" Kate asked, flabbergasted.

"So...what made you agree to going with him? Have you finally realized your true feelings for him? Did you tell him? You better tell him. Are you going to?" Lanie rambled and let out about fifty other questions before Kate was able to finally stop her.

"Lanie, one question at time! Jeez!"

"Sorry!" Lanie apologized, trying to regain her normal breathing pattern.

Kate then answered the first question. "To be honest," she looked down to her folded hands in her lap. "I really want to go with him...I'm not sure why but I do." Her eyes moved to look at Lanie. "I think that it will be good for me to, you know, get out of the city and-"

"Beckett," Lanie cut in. "I think you and I both know that you want to go for a different reason," she lifted her eyebrows and softly smiled.

Kate sighed. Lanie was right, she wasn't going to just get out of the city for a few days. She was going because of a certain author.

"I don't think I can ignore these feelings anymore. We've worked together for three years now and he's certainly changed since I first met him," Kate stated, thinking back on that very day, that very moment that changed her life forever. "He's way more than a shadow, he's my partner." She then added, whispering, "He's my one and done."

"Damn, girl! It's about freakin' time!" Lanie exclaimed with a chuckle. Kate was ready for that next step in their relationship. She was ready to dive into the unknown, ready to take some risks for once.

"Are you gonna tell, Writer Boy?" Lanie wondered, still grinning like a fool.

She just nodded, a blush came to her cheeks.

"Finally! About time you two!" Lanie got up, calmly this time, and wrapped her arms around Kate, giving her a sweet and gentle hug. "I'm happy for you, Kate." Lanie pulled back to look at her in the face, still holding onto her. "I really am," she said sincerely.

Kate whispered, "Thanks, Lanie." She was still beet red from head to toe.

A few seconds passed, before Lanie gasped, a look of bewilderment and excitement lighted up her face.

"What is it?" Kate asked, worried.

"You gotta pack!" Lanie shrieked. Kate rolled her eyes in annoyance. "We gotta get you some new clothes!" And with that last statement, she grabbed Kate's hand and rushed out the door. They were going on a little (HUGE) shopping spree.

Kate's pleas were the last sounds to be heard in the morgue as they echoed off the walls...

YAY!

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