After what could have been minutes, or hours, they finally separated, both quietly gasping, and slightly flushed. Rick leaned forward, to whisper in her ear, "I'm surprised you didn't moan like you did, when we kissed, in the alley."

Her face went from the light shade of pink, straight to a deep shade of maroon, flicked his shoulder, as if to say "Shut up about that, especially in front of our friends", and then confessed, in a teasing tone, "Well, Castle, if you must know, I know how to control the noises I make, when I'm turned on, in front of our friends."

Castle just stared at her, jaw almost hitting the floor, "Oh really?" he asked. Kate could see the wheels turning in his head. She could see that he had a plan, and she didn't like where his mind might be going. She may be intrigued, but she was definitely nervous.

They finally turned back to the group, bracing themselves for their friends' reactions. Gates was smirking, Ryan and Espo were in shock, and Lanie looked like Christmas had come early. She was beaming.

After a lot of truths being told, and dares being done, Kate, once again, found herself being asked, "Truth or Dare," by Rick. She was afraid to answer "Truth" again, wanting to avoid talking about the "I love you," which Kate was more than sure Rick was suspicious of, and would ask if he got the chance.

"Dare," she replied.

"I dare you to do something..."

"Oh, gee, that's a good dare, Rick."

"I didn't finish. I dare you to do something. But they..." he pointed at the others, "... cannot know what I dare you to do. The dare will take place at the precinct tomorrow. They may or may not figure out what the dare is, over the course of the day."

"No."

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun."

"Give me some kind of hint, or something, because I don't like what might be going on in your mind right now."

"Well, hmm... Okay, the dare does not include us making body any kind of physical contact, or me seeing any part of you that I cannot see right now."

"Okay, so we won't be touching, and you aren't going to dare me to flash you or something," she clarified.

"Right."

"Okay, fine, nothing you make me do tomorrow could be that bad, or inappropriate, if those are the rules... Fine, I agree."

"Excellent!" he laughed, standing up and putting his chair back where it belonged, "and it's five o'clock, so we can go home now. I have some planning to do! I'll be over at your apartment in a few hours, to go over the plan for tomorrow, detective." he put his jacket on, winking at her, and then ran to the elevators, to get started on his plan.

"Oh, God, what have I gotten myself into?" Kate sighed. No good could come from Castle being that excited over a simple dare. Especially one with those rules.

Everyone followed Castle's lead, and left shortly after.


Two hours later, Kate hears a knock at her apartment door. She opens it to find Castle, ecstatic, holding a bag in his hand. She was even more nervous than when she had originally made the plans.

"Come on in, Castle," she said, "do you want anything to drink?"

He wasted no time in sharing his plan with her. "No thanks, I'm good. Okay, so are you sure you're willing to go through with the dare?"

"No, I'm not sure, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to do it."

They both decided to sit on the couch.

"Okay, but just remember, you asked for it. Give me your hand," he said, pulling something out of the bag.

"Um, okay?" she replied.

He put something the size, shape, and color of a robin's egg in her hand. Attached to the "egg" was a string. "Castle... What is this...?" she asked, her eyes widening when she realized what exactly it might be.

Surely enough, he pulled out a remote control, and pressed a button. The egg started trembling in her hand, and she gasped, her face, once again, turning red. He just chuckled, watching her reaction. Tomorrow was going to be FUN!

"Castle, you are not using this on me, tomorrow," she said, anger in her tone.

"Sorry, detective, but you said you'd do it. You never back down from dares, do you?"

"But this is completely inappropriate!"

"Just consider it a punishment."

"For?"

"For lying about what you remember from Montgomery's funeral."

Her eyes bulged out of her head, "You know-"

"Yes, I know that you remember. I know that you're not ready for us to be together, like that, yet. But I also know you feel the same way, even if you're not ready to say it, yet."

"But how-"

"Kate, I can read you like a book. You should know that by now. I figured out that you remembered when you didn't look me in the eyes when I asked you about it the second time. I know you're not ready to be together because of the wall you have, and you know I'm willing to wait. Finally, I know you feel the same way as I do, because I can see it in your eyes. But, we won't talk about it until you're ready to."

She was at a loss for words. How Rick could be so understanding, and caring, was beyond her. She then remembered the toy that was still vibrating in her hand, and that he planned on punishing her with it. At least it would be a fun punishment, she thought, the corners of her mouth turning upwards, just a tad.

"You said you can control the noises you make in front of our friends. I DARE you to try. Of course, there will be no coming, unless I tell you to, and you're not allowed to get yourself off in the bathroom. That wouldn't make it a punishment. That would make it way too fun for you, and way too easy of a dare."

"You're evil, you know that?" she remarked, after a minute.

"I know, but you'll enjoy it."

"I don't doubt that," she said, under her breath.

Rick heard what she said, and laughed. He was shocked that she didn't fight him over it, and agreed. He never in a million years expected her to agree to it, but she did, and that made him all the more happy and excited for tomorrow.

"Put it where you want to put it... You know, in or around your... Well... You know what to do with it...," he stammered out, awkwardly, recovering with, "... when you enter the precinct, I'll have the time of my life trying to get you gasp or moan, inflicting a pleasant torture on your body. It'll be all the more fun, because only you and I will know what's going on." He stood up to leave, and she stood up, too. "Oh, and no taking it out, detective. That would ruin the fun, too."

"Castle?" she asked

"Yeah?"

"Um, how many settings are there on the vibrator?"

"Ten," he replied, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh, God," she replied, falling back down, onto the couch, putting her head in her hands.

"I'll let myself out. It's obvious your mind is currently occupied" he said, laughing all the way to the door, "See you tomorrow, Kate," he smirked, as he shut the door behind himself.