It must be the middle of the night, he thought. They were having a late lunch, and the next thing he knew they were back in his bedroom. Kate stirred against him, letting out a soft sigh.

"Hi sleepyhead."

"Hey, Castle."

"I really need to ask you something." He saw that she lifted her head and gave him a look that told him to continue. "You and I, we... get along, right?" He hastily continued, with a conspiratorial tone. "Because I'd hate to think you're just using me for the," his voice lowered to an even softer whisper, "ess - eee - ecks."

Kate threw her head back and gave a throaty laugh. "No, I'm not using you for the sex, Castle." He made a hurt face. "Okay, maybe a little... but yeah, we get along."

"Whew. Had me worried there for a minute." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her tighter.

Kate bit her bottom lip. He wondered if she even noticed she did that anymore. Rick tilted his head down until his lips were resting on her forehead while he touched the side of her face - brushing her lips with the pad of his thumb.

"I was thinking," she said.

"I can see that."

"Have you thought much about... us. How things would be if we ever got together?"

"Would you think me less of a man if I said yes - like all the time, yes?"

Kate giggled. "I have too. More than I wanted to. What are some of your fantasies?"

"Oh no you don't. You brought it up - you go first."

"Ugh. Let's see. Well, one of my very first ones was that you met me while I was waitressing, just before I started at the academy. It was a tough time with my dad and I; it would've been nice to have someone like you to lean on."

"Well crap. I thought we were going dirtier. But I can deal with sweet."

Kate flicked his ear, looking at him indignantly. "You can deal with whatever I say, and like it."

"That's more like it. Sexahhhh."

"Enough. Now it's your turn."

Rick put his free hand up to his face, tapping his chin as if he was thinking intently. "Let's see. There was that day that I told you that you owed me about one hundred coffees, remember that?" She nodded into his shoulder. "Well, later that night, I was trying to get some stuff done when I found myself thinking about how you could give me each of those coffees. You know, like with hearts drawn on the lids, notes attached, across the kitchen counter while wearing one of my dress shirts... It was sexy and sweet all at the same time."

"Hmmm. That is sweet. I guess it's my turn for sexy."

He turned slightly more towards her, looking anxious. He took a second to make a mental note - getting ready to pamper her and make her dreams come true. If she thought it was sweet, well, he could be sweet.

"Calm down. We're just talking." Kate glanced at him from under her lashes. She looked a little shy, like she wasn't sure how to say her next sentence. "How 'bout this. There was that time I got all dressed up to see you at one of your book readings. Do you remember? I made fun of you for that line you read... 'as the wind gathered up her hair'."

Rick groaned. "Yes, I remember vividly. When I saw you in the crowd I thought my heart stopped."

Her cheeks flushed as she continued. "Well, I decided on this really short pink dress, and I agonized over what to wear under it. I wasn't going to let you know about it or anything, but there was a part of me that wanted to know I looked sexy under the dress too, and that you'd never be the wiser."

"I hate you right now, Beckett," he said flatly while narrowing his eyes.

"No you don't. Anyway... I remembered a friend of mine telling me about this little shop, the owner was some kind of world traveler - and she made it her life's work to help women pick out lingerie that made them feel good as well as look good. As much for the woman as for the man. I had a little daydream about going there to pick something out. Something that I'd even let you see."

"You're killing me. I wish I'd known. Now I'm dying to find out what you did wear under that dress... and I remember every tiny little inch of it." Rick lunged at her and she backed away.

Kate pushed gently with the hand she had on his pecs, "Hey, I thought you wanted to make sure we were about more than just sex. I'm just going along with your plan for the night."

"Why did I ever even ask about this? Remind me?"

"I dunno. You wanted to make sure I didn't just want your hot body."

"Don't forget, my beautiful, beautiful face. And my really intelligent brain."

"Oh yes, Castle. Gawd... You're so hot when you solve things," she said in a dreamy, completely un-Beckett-ish tone.

"Really?" He asked gleefully.

"No!" she snapped, bursting his bubble. He pouted, like the nine year old he was, till she kissed it away and patted his chest. "Okay, maybe a little," she said with a dazzling smile.

"Well thank you. I'm humbled."

She snorted.

"For the record, I think you're really, very, incredibly hot when you solve things."

She graced him with a smile for that till …

"Like last night when my leg got in the - OW!"

Eh, he thought. Every look was worth it. Even the glares. "Well, I know something - fantasy-wise - we can work on."

"I'm gonna regret this, I know already. Hit me with it."

"We can think of one thing to do a day, but every day the activity starts with the next letter of the alphabet. So on day one, we could... hmm."

"What? Do it in 'a theater'?"

"Ha ha. No, that's not a real 'a' activity. I was thinking more like taking an aerobics class together, then going home to wash the sweat off." His face transformed into a dreamy far-off look. "On day two, we could bake together, then shower the flour off.

"Are we going to end up showering together for 26 nights, Castle?"

"When you put it like that it just sounds sordid."

"They're your ideas."

"Fine. You come up with something then."

"Okay. We're on a boat."

"Is it my boat?"

"Why would we be on your boat?"

"It's a fantasy. In this fantasy, I own a boat."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. We're on your boat."

"Okay, so we need my boat to help solve a crime - wait... can I call it 'Rick's Love Boat'?"

"Ugh. It's your fantasy boat. Call it what you want." She muttered under her breath, "More like Dick's boat."

He narrowed his eyes. "'Love Boat' it is then. So we go on my boat, and invite the suspects to come along, like a murder weekend. And we have to pretend to be married."

"Why do we have to pretend to be married?"

"We could get 'actually' married if you want," he said with a smug grin.

"This fantasy is getting kinda weird, and a little dangerous...", she said hesitantly.

"You want danger? Sure..."

"I didn't say -"

"So we're solving crime on a boat, no wait... my boat, whilst pretending to be married. And then -"

"And then?"

"And then a blizzard hits!"

"In the middle of the ocean? What is this, Deadliest Catch?"

"Don't ruin my fantasy with your logic. There's a blizzard, in the middle of the ocean, while we're on my boat, solving crime as a married couple and... everyone's there."

"Everyone's there?"

"Yes. Ryan, Espo, Lanie, Alexis, Mother. Everyone. And the murderer."

"Why?"

"Cause my boat will be like Noah's ark, while all this happens this December."

She facepalmed herself. "Doomsday? That's what your fantasy is about? You're even more morbid than I thought." She lifted her head back up. "Okay. Why the murderer? And who's the murderer."

"Hmm. Wait staff we have on the boat, and his girlfriend."

"Why would his girlfriend be on your boat?"

"I don't know. Stop asking so many questions, Beckett. Who cares why she's there? Maybe she's using Dick for her own purposes."

Her eyes teared up while she struggled not to laugh.

"Pfft. Lemme tone it down a little then. How about we take a winter holiday somewhere where we get snowed in, and you hurt yourself-"

"Me? Why do I hurt myself?"

He made a 'duh' face at her and explained, "Because, I'm sure everyone expects me to get hurt, since it's my fantasy, you get hurt, and I take care of you. You'd have to move in with me because you hurt your leg and your building's elevator is broken."

"That's just plain silly. I would so never let you take care of me. I'd try to climb the stairs before that happens."

"Well now - that hurts."

"How badly am I hurt anyway?"

"I dunno, a sprain? A really bad sprain?"

"In that case, you can take care of me. But I'm not moving in."

"Yet."

She sighed. "Think what you like, Castle." Her tone was calm, but she had a twinkle in her eye. "I'd prefer that you don't hurt me any more in your fantasies though."

"Done and done." He shot up suddenly. "Oh man, I totally forgot to ask you... do you like Sweetarts or Necco Wafers? This is important."

Kate tilted her head. "I don't know. Probably Sweetarts."

"That may be our sticking point. I enjoy an occasional Necco Wafer. I like the chocolate ones, but Sweetarts are diametrically opposed to them. We may have to negotiate."

"Is there a fantasy connected to the whole candy thing?"

He growled into her ear. "Hmm. No, but I could probably go there."

"Oh dear lord, please don't."

Rick nipped at her ear lobe with the tips of his front teeth. "I don't need candy."

"Hey. I'm trying to talk here." Kate looked slightly more serious. "I should tell you about this other thing. You know how we talked about my wall?" She saw him nod. "After that talk on the swings, I started thinking about how you could help me take it down, and I got a picture of you bringing me bricks - one at a time."

"Dammit. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because that wasn't where we were back then. It was my responsibility. You'd already done your part."

"You mean, my part was - saying I love you?"

"It did more than you'll ever know."

"Maybe I'll find out, someday." Rick cleared his throat. "No getting all gooey on me, Beckett. I should tell you about what I've done ever since I started shadowing you."

"Why does every other sentence that comes out of your mouth frighten me?"

"It shouldn't. I'm appalled." He was glad they got back to this bantering tone. "Every time we closed a case, I wrote a little note to you. Telling you things I saw - in you, about us, how I admired you. But I only have a few left. I lost some of them when I got a virus... and before you ask, I was not downloading porn."

"That's a load off my mind." Kate's mouth twisted in a wry grin. "You'll have to read the remaining ones to me someday."

"I'd love to. But first I think we should continue writing our story."

double fin.