A/N: Wow, thanks for all the great reviews!! They mean a lot to me. Read and enjoy :D

Why the hell had she let him talk her into this? She wasn't a party type of person. She wasn't social. She didn't want to go.

Would it look to suspicious if she suddenly caught the flu?

Yeah, it probably would.

Kate stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair wasn't cooperating, her dress was too tight around her hips and to lose around her chest, and her shoes were killing her. Plus, her make up was smeared. This wasn't going to be a good night, she could tell already.

Kate smoothed the dress over herself. This had always been one of her favorite dresses, out of the very few she owned. It resembled the one she had worn to Castle's book signing. She still couldn't help but smile when she thought about the totally shocked expression on his face when she showed up. The dress she was wearing now was a dark red, and ended just above her knees. The neckline was an oval and showed off some of her shoulders. In the middle of her back, the fabric made an x and showed off some of her back without revealing too much.

Kate began to think that she was imagining that the dress didn't fit her right as she turned around to look at her back. This dress hugged her curves and made her feel sexy. Now that she really looked, she noticed that her make up wasn't smudged either. And her hair didn't seem to be sticking up at odd angles anymore.

She was freaking herself out for no reason. She looked good. She was just nervous.

The knock on her door made Kate jump. She looked herself over one last time, grabbed her tiny red purse, and went to the door. She opened it to reveal a smiling Castle, dressed in a tux and bowtie.

Castle's eyes scanned down her body, lingering just a moment to long. Then he looked back up at her face and smiled. "You look amazing."

"Thank you." She said, shifting her weight between her feet. She couldn't help but feel self-conscious. "You don't look that bad yourself."

"Aw, thanks Beckett." He said, putting his hand on the small of her back and leading her towards the elevator. "That compliment just made my day."

Kate rolled her eyes.

The ride to the party was uneventful. They made casual conversation, got into a brief argument, and soon they arrived.

As soon as Beckett and Castle entered, a rush of people, mostly girls, came running towards them.

"Oh my gosh, Mr. Castle, could you please sign this!?" A young woman exclaimed, shoving a book towards Castle. There was a chorus of agreements as the other women began handing over books or else asking Castle to sign parts of their bodies.

Kate was pushed out of the way by the fans, and decided to get a drink. She walked over to the bar and took a seat next to a woman who was holding a martini and watching the scene with Castle and the girls with an amused smile on her face.

"You know, he really is something, isn't he?"

It took Kate a few moments to realize that the woman was speaking to her. "Oh, uh, yeah I guess he is." She looked towards Castle, who was busy signing a woman's chest, and couldn't help but smile. Castle was annoying as hell, but he made her life interesting. He gave her a reason to look forward to new cases…not that she would ever admit that. She didn't really feel the need to add to his already inflated ego.

The woman next to Kate sat her drink down and stuck out her hand. "Melissa Wilson."

Beckett shook hands with the woman. "Kate Beckett."

Melissa flipped her curly blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled at Beckett, who was taking a sip of the drink she ordered. "So, are you dating Rick?"

Kate nearly choked. "Wh-what?"

"You two came in together. It looked like his arm was around you." Melissa shrugged. She picked up her drink and swished the alcohol around. "Plus the way you look at him…I just assumed that you two were an item."

"No." Kate said quickly. The way I look at him? What? What way? WHAT!? "Me and Castle? No, definitely not." She laughed, trying to hide her discomfort. "We just work together…sort of."

Melissa's eyebrows pulled together and then her eyes widened. "You're Nikki Heat!"

Kate smiled slightly. "Well, she's based off of me."

"Beckett, I'm so sorry!" Beckett turned around to see Castle standing there. "Rabid fans. What's a guy to do?" He grinned.

Beckett just shrugged. Castle opened his mouth to say something when he caught sight of the smiling woman sitting beside Kate.

"Hello Ricky. It's been a long time."

Ricky?

"Melissa!" Castle exclaimed. His mouth curved into a smile. Melissa hopped off of her stool and walked over to him.

"It's really been way to long, Rick." She smiled as he hugged her.

Beckett looked away from them, not wanting to eavesdrop. She didn't know why but she felt uneasy about having that woman near Castle. She hated the way this Melissa casually touched his chest and face.

Kate nearly gagged on her drink for a second time that night. She hadn't been expecting Melissa to kiss Castle. On the lips. And what was worse, she didn't expect to feel so angry about it. What did she care if Castle and mystery woman over there started to make out? It wasn't her business what kind of sluts he spent his time with.

Castle's hands were resting on either of Melissa's hips as she played with his hair and giggled stupidly at something he said. Kate felt an overwhelming urge to take the rest of her drink and throw it in Melissa's face. Instead, she downed it and ordered another.

Castle pushed away from Melissa slightly and walked up to Beckett. He smiled at her, as did Melissa. Melissa's fingers were laced with Castle's. Kate felt her hand twitch as she longed to rip the fake eyelashes right off of blondie's face. So much for there not being any blonde bimbos at the party...

"So Rick, this is the woman you based Nikki Heat on?" Melissa smiled at him and motioned towards Kate. "We were just talking about it."

Castle glanced at Kate and then back at Melissa. He casually pulled his hand away from her. "Yeah. She agreed to come with me tonight so that I could show her off." He grinned at Beckett, who smiled back even though it was forced.

"That's right, kitten." Beckett smirked, sliding off her stool so that she was standing in front of Castle and the whore—er—Melissa.

Melissa raised one eyebrow but decided not to ask. Castle casually leaned away from her, and put his hand behind Kate. "Come on, Beckett, there's some people I'd like you to meet." He smiled at Melissa and said, "I'll see you a little later tonight, Mel."

"Okay." She said, smiling at Castle. Kate swore she saw Melissa's eyes darken and her smile falter as she glanced at her. "I'll be waiting."

Castle pushed Beckett through the crowd until they were on the opposite side of the building and had a bunch of dancing people separating them from Melissa Wilson.

Castle sighed and looked at Kate. "I'm sorry."

She just raised an eyebrow. "For what, Castle?"

"I had no idea that she would be here." He said, glancing back at where Melissa was. "I haven't seen her for years, and then she shows up out of the blue. I didn't know. And believe me, I'm not exactly thrilled that she's here. She's probably the most…," He bit his lip, searching for the right word. "annoying ex-girlfriend I've ever had. I did not want her hanging all over me." He wrinkled his nose.

"Don't worry about it, Castle." Beckett said.

"I'm serious." He said. He touched her shoulder so that she would look at him. Kate felt an electric jolt go through her body. "Remember how I called Meredith a deep fried twinkie?"

Kate nodded.

"Yeah, well, Melissa is a deep fried oreo. Not quite as good as a twinkie, but it still has its moments."

"Alright, I get it." Beckett said. "Now who did you want me to meet?"

"Oh, no one." Castle shrugged as Beckett looked at him. "I just needed an excuse to get away from the deep fried oreo."

Kate smiled slightly, and rolled her eyes at him. The music that was playing changed from a fast song to a slow one, and Castle took Kate's hand in his.

"Kate Beckett, may I have this dance?" He asked.

"I don't dance." She shook her head. "Sorry."

Now it was Castle's turn to roll his eyes. "Everyone dances." He tugged on her hand and pulled her into the crowd of people who were dancing already, ignoring her protesting. "Beckett, I've danced with you before."

"Yeah, well that was in order to solve a murder." Kate protested. "It was different."

Castle placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close to him. Kate felt her heart rate jump at the sudden closeness. This wasn't what she was used to. She was the type of person that kept everyone at arms length.

"Come on, Beckett." Castle said. "Don't be shy. Put your arms around my neck."

Beckett did what he told her to, figuring that there was no escaping. She let her arms rest on his shoulders.

Castle grinned. "There. Now, see? This isn't so bad is it?"

"No." Beckett replied. "I guess it isn't."

The two of them moved to the music, and Kate couldn't help but smile. It felt nice to be in Castle's arms. She liked it. She loved the way he smelled, his cologne mixed with that natural manly smell. She unconsciously leaned her head against his chest.

The entire party seemed to fade away, leaving just her and Castle dancing together. Kate felt like she was the only woman in the world, something that she had never felt like with any other guy before. Come to think of it, she never felt the butterflies in her stomach when he smiled at her, or an electric shock go through her when he touched her with another man either. It was only Castle who had that effect on her.

Beckett let her mind wander, and she listened to the lyrics of the song. Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you. How ironic was that? Because, in all truth, Kate knew that she was falling for this man.

Wait, what?

What had she just thought? There was no way that that was true. Not at all. Never. But then again...Kate suddenly had a vision of two miniature versions of herself fighting inside her head. One of them was the romance-deprived one, and the other was the sensible one.

The sensible Kate usually won but in this case, who knew? Things were different. After all, it's not like she ever had an annoying author following her around before. Plus she hadn't actually fallen for anyone in a long, long, time. She hadn't even been in love with her last boyfriend. She had cared for him, yes, but she never felt the butterflies.

The song began to come to a close and Kate felt disappointment wash through her. She wanted to spend more time in Castle's arms. Would she ever admit that out loud? Hell no. But she knew, in her heart, that it was true.

"Kate,"

Beckett looked up at Castle. His face was mere inches away from her, and he was smiling. One of his hands left her back and cupped her cheek. Castle leaned towards her, his lips only centimeters away from hers. Kate felt her breath hitch in her throat as she looked at his lips, and then at his eyes.

Excitement began to course through Kate's body as she felt Castle pull her closer. She could feel his breath on her lips. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Castle began to move his head towards her—

"Ricky?"

Castle and Beckett jumped apart, putting nearly a foot of space in between them.

"Melissa." Castle said, sounding slightly agitated. His eyes were still focused on Kate.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I really want to dance with you." She said, smiling. She grabbed Castle's hand and pouted. "Please, Rick?"

Castle tore his eyes away from Kate for a second to glance at Melissa. "Um, okay." He looked back at Kate and his eyes told her that he was sorry. Kate smiled slightly and shrugged her shoulders, saying wordlessly that it was okay.

Even though it so wasn't.

Beckett made her way back towards the bar. She took a seat and ordered another drink. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She had been about to kiss Castle and then that woman had to interrupt.

That was the final straw.

If this woman wanted to play, then Kate Beckett would play.

A/N: Thanks for reading. The song was Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade if anyone cares, haha. Please review!

Tolazytologin: Hahaha that sounds like a great episode!