For Pau: Happy Castle Hiatus!
A special thanks to the girls for editing and helping keep this a secret from Pau.
New Partners in Crime?
The first thing Kate Beckett noticed as she made her way towards consciousness was that her arms were wrapped around something far squishier than her normal bed partner. The second was that it lacked the distinctive smell that she had come to associate with Castle. Finally opening her eyes, she noticed that her current be partner was decidedly yellow. Finally focusing on what was actually in her arms, she had to laugh when she realized that it was a stuffed Minion from "Despicable Me", and it was far larger than any of the other ones she had procured over the week.
The Sunday before, Castle has discovered her love for the movie as they were flipping channels on the TV. She had swiftly grabbed his wrist to ensure that he didn't flip past the channel and all but demanded that they watch the movie. Castle had delighted in the fact that the kickass cop Kate Beckett had a serious love for Gru and his Minions. The past week since then, he had taken leaving little plastic toy Minions all around the loft. On Monday she had awakened to find one staring at her from her bedside table, next to it a cup of coffee and a note making fun of her caffeine addiction. The next morning another greeted her in the bathroom in her make-up bag with a note saying, "You don't need this, you are beautiful already". That one sent her back into the bedroom to reward her partner with a huge kiss. Later that day, she had found one in her desk drawer next to the stick figure she had once made at Coney Island with her father. There was no note with that one but when Castle found her looking at it, all he said was "I figured stick man could use some company in that drawer." Wednesday had her stepping on one as she went to put on her favorite pair of heels. After the death glare he received, Castle had to admit that hiding place probably wasn't the best idea.
During a particularly rough case that took up Wednesday and Thursday, she had opened the trunk of her Crown Vic and found on sitting on top of her bulletproof vest. Castle had even gone so far to create its own vest sporting the title "MINION" on it. While she wouldn't admit it then, it had been a bright spot in the day. After finally solving the case late Thursday night, she returned to the loft finding one on the kitchen counter with a glass of her favorite red wine and a note telling her that she had a surprise waiting for her in the bathroom. Grabbing the glass of wine and the minion, she made her way to the master bath and opening the door she had to laugh. There was Castle drawing a nice hot bubble bath for her surrounded by candles and Minions. Needless to say, she hadn't spent the time in her bath alone. Friday had her waking to another coffee related Minion, only this time Castle had placed it in the coffee cup that she used each morning. She had almost poured her coffee right on top of it except for the flash of yellow she had seen from the cup at the last minute. Castle had even gone so far as having the barista draw a Minion on her coffee cup that he brought her later that afternoon. As she crawled into bed Friday night, seeing the 20 or so Minions that were now on her bedside table, she was looking forward to whatever Castle had planned for the next morning. She would never admit it to him but she thought that his plans had been ridiculously adorable.
Smiling as she recalled the past week, Beckett sat up in bed and pulled the stuffed Minion into her lap. Looking it over, she had to laugh at the detail that went into the creation of the creature. It was a perfect replica of a Minion from the yellow of the fur to the overalls and goggles that it sported. It was during this perusal that a quick reflection of light caught her eye, capturing her attention. She reached her hand out to grasp at the shiny object hanging from the cord that had been tied around the Minion's neck. Staring wide-eyed at the beautiful platinum engagement ring that she now held between her thumb and finger, she couldn't believe what she was seeing but she knew immediately what her answer would be. She was drawn from her reverie by the sound of Castle entering the bedroom with two steaming mugs of coffee in his hands.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Kate could only nod dumbly as Castle made his way towards her side of the bed. Approaching her, he placed the coffees on her bedside table and sat down next to her on the bed. Reaching over, Castle untied the string from the Minion and gently took the ring from Kate's fingers before moving off the bed and dropping down onto one knee.
"Katherine Houghton Beckett, from the moment you came crashing into my book party, you have made my life better. You have made me a better man and given me joy on my darkest days. Will you marry me?"
Moving the Minion from her lap, Kate swiftly dropped down to the floor and reverently kissed him. "Yes, oh Rick, yes I will marry you."