As he neared her, he had to remind himself to breathe. His steps slowed for a moment as he took in the sight of her. She was stunning in a shimmery silver-white sleeveless dress that clung to the curves of her torso perfectly, skimming over her hips and thighs, and ending well above her knees in an uneven fringed hem. His mouth twisted in a smile as his eyes continued their journey and found 'modest' 4 inch heels in a metallic grey-silver, completing her look perfectly. She wore her hair down, more straight than curly, but with subtle waves in the front that framed her face. She was half turned away from him, adjusting the black wrap draped over her shoulders, but having trouble as one of the ends kept falling down.

As she finally got the wrap situated, he watched as she lost her hold on the silver clutch under her arm, its contents spilling across the floor. He finally neared her side, hearing a soft "damn it" escape her lips as she leaned over to collect her purse. The stubborn wrap then fell off completely, revealing a scoop back to the dress. He couldn't help but chuckle. Even clumsy, she was captivating.

Kate didn't know why she was suddenly feeling a bit on edge. Even if there was an undercurrent of nervousness at them finally doing something together as a couple, she was truly excited to be going out on a real date with him. She knew that they couldn't keep their relationship a secret forever, and she was happy at the prospect of finally being with him outside of work and the bedroom.

While it was true that Castle's minor celebrity status was always going to be a presence, she reasoned she might as well get used to it. After all, Kate Beckett wasn't one to let obstacles get in the way of what she wanted; and there was no denying it, she wanted Rick Castle. She only hoped he would continue to be understanding of her reluctance to be in the public eye.

She looked up as a shadow was cast over the floor where she knelt. The faint scent of his cologne caused her stomach to do a quick flip and she accepted his extended hand, standing slowly.

"Allow me," he said, gathering her lipstick and other items before placing them back in her purse. She watched as he then picked up her wrap, moving behind her to cover her shoulders and allowing his hands to glide down her upper arms before walking around to face her. His now familiar touch had an unexpected calming effect on her.

He, on the other hand, stood there awkwardly, feeling his muscles twitch as he thought about his next move. He wanted to embrace her tightly and give her a long kiss, but, unsure of what her reaction might be to this type of display of affection in public, he instead opted for a quick peck on the cheek.

Kate almost laughed at his greeting. She studied his face, a bit puzzled at how he appeared almost nervous to touch her. Her eyes settled on the purple handkerchief in his pocket and she half-grinned at him, taking a step closer and resting her hands on his chest. He inhaled deeply, her hands rising with his breath. She touched the soft fabric arranged so perfectly in his breast pocket.

"I see you wore my gift," Kate almost whispered, looking at his pocket and then into his eyes. "Purple is a good color on you, you know? It makes your eyes look bluer somehow."

Castle stared back, fascinated by her voice and how close she was to him. He couldn't help but hope that maybe her fear of being seen as a couple in public didn't run as deep as he'd imagined. He found himself desperately wanting to kiss her.

"Really? I didn't know that…" His voice trailed off as he brought his hand to her waist, allowing his fingers to find the bare skin of her lower back. Kate smiled cautiously at him, not wanting him to get too carried away in the lobby, but enjoying the sensation as his fingers skimmed the skin along her spine, leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake.

Now there's the Castle I know.

She leaned in a little closer, so her nose was practically touching his. "I'm starving," she murmured. She actually was hungry for food, but she had also developed quite the craving for him in the last few days, and being this close to the object of her desire was causing some familiar feelings to stir.

She nuzzled her nose against his cheek a little and whispered, "Come on, let's go eat," before brushing her lips against his mouth in an excruciatingly soft kiss. She felt his fingers dig into her skin a little before she pulled away, smiling tauntingly. Kate realized she was verging on cruel, but she also knew deep down he loved the chase, so any guilt quickly vanished. She grabbed her purse from his hands and hooked her arm through his. Castle closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

Damn, she's good at making me want her.

They made their way outside the hotel and elected to walk the two short blocks to the restaurant. He paused to put on his coat and then noticed Kate didn't appear to have hers with her.

"It's freezing and all you have is that wrap? Here, do you want this?" He stopped and started to hand her his coat.

"Thanks, Castle, but I'm fine, really. I like the cold air. It's invigorating after being inside all day." She took his arm again and leaned into his side a bit as they continued to walk. "But thanks for being such a gentleman."

He smirked a little at this. He was not having honorable thoughts about her at the moment and he felt obliged to let her know.

"Kate Beckett, if I were really a gentleman, I would not be having these very real thoughts of forgoing our dinner reservation and taking you up to the suite right now to show you just how much I've missed you." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction.

Even in the low street lights, he could see that she was blushing a bit at his suggestive comments. She shook her head at him, biting her lip a little as her stomach clenched pleasantly. "You're terrible," she said with a smile.

Thank god he can't read my mind.

He wasn't the only one that had been missing their time together in the bedroom. When it came to him, she didn't just want sex, she felt like she required that intimacy with him in some way that was very different from her recent past relationships. He had reminded her how it could be so much more than just physical pleasure when you were with someone you loved. A shiver ran through her body at how intimidating, yet wonderful, it was to have these feelings for him.

"Well, we're going to dinner. This was your idea remember?" she teased.

"Yes, I remember. I'm just saying, if you want to turn around and go back to the hotel, I think we could find enough sustenance in the mini-bar. I'd even spring for room service if you want. Bet you didn't know that at the Plaza you can order entire cans of whipped cream from room service," he said with a naughty grin. "An off-the-menu item, only available to select guests of course," he added with a swift wink.

"I don't even want to know how you came by that knowledge," Kate said stopping in mid-stride. "And I'll have you know, sir, I don't do mini-bars or room service for first dates," she said matter-of-factly.

"So you're saying you will do whipped cream on first dates, then? I'll keep that in mind for later tonight," he said cheekily.

She narrowed her eyes, smacking him on the forearm playfully as they continued walking to towards the restaurant arm in arm. He pulled her closer, smiling to himself at how easily the word 'date' had escaped her lips and at how comfortable she appeared to be. He liked the way this night was going so far.

They arrived at the restaurant, checking in with the hostess who informed them that their table wasn't quite ready, so they wandered over to the bar to have a pre-dinner cocktail. The restaurant had a Spanish-Mediterranean feel with warm, creamy yellow walls decorated with mosaic-work reminiscent of the sea. Cascading ribbons of tile in beautiful whites, blues and purples adorned the wall behind the large wooden bar. Towards the back of the restaurant, they could see that an area had been converted into a casino type atmosphere for New Year's Eve, complete with fake high stakes poker, blackjack, and roulette. There were also a few curtained off areas that looked to have palm readers and fortune tellers.

"Ooh, we should get our palms read after dinner! Or do the fortune teller. Or better yet, both!" Castle exclaimed as they made their way to the bar.

Kate smiled at him, seeing the inner child come alive.

"Castle, you know how I feel about that stuff. It's all a scam."

"Yea, but it's FUN! Don't you want to know what the future has in store? Fame? Fortune?" His eyes were twinkling with excitement in the way that always brought a smile to her face.

"I don't need some lady with a fake crystal ball to know that you've got those two aspects of life covered enough for the both of us," she said dryly as they sat down on a pair of bar stools, Castle motioning to get the bartender's attention.

"Fine, then what about for you? Where will Kate Beckett be in 10 years? Still working at the 12th? Promoted to captain after Montgomery retires perhaps?" He rested his hand on her knee, watching as she shrugged her shoulders in consideration of his musings.

"Wonderful mother to our average American brood of 2.3 kids?"

Foot. Mouth.

He closed his eyes in a slight cringe, hoping she wouldn't be too upset at the suggestion as to where their relationship might be headed. But he could tell by the way her hands jerked as she removed her wrap that the implication had rocked her a bit. Of course, he was already fairly certain that they would be having babies together sometime in the future, hence why the words 'our' and 'kids' had been so easily paired in his mind. While he didn't actually intend to act on any of his fantasies just yet, of late they included various scenarios of the requisite marriage proposal, to which she of course always said 'yes'. Trouble was, in his current punch-drunk-love state, Castle had seemingly forgotten she wasn't yet clued in to any of his plans yet.

Kate felt the blood rushing to her face, and didn't move a muscle for what felt like an eternity. She knew she should try and break the awkward silence, but she couldn't seem to find her voice. Things were moving fast with him, very fast, and she was mostly fine with that so far. They had spent enough time together over the last 2 years for her to realize that the stage where they acquainted themselves as more-than-friends would be at warp speed, so it was somewhat expected that the rest of the relationship might continue at this pace. Nevertheless, she was not quite ready to have this conversation with him, seeing as how they hadn't even eaten dinner on their first date yet. She said a silent prayer of thanks when the bartender walked up to take their order and interrupted the symphony of crickets that was chirping loudly in her head.

"I'll have whatever you're having. Be right back. Ladies' room," Kate said quickly, giving his hand a squeeze.

He turned back to the bar, ordering two Manhattans and inwardly cursed his big mouth. The last thing he wanted to do was to give her an excuse to curl back up in her shell. The past month with her had been wonderful, beyond wonderful. Never, even in his crazy fantasy world, would he have thought things would be going this well. He just hadn't expected her to open up and let him love her so easily. But just like so many times before, she had completely floored him with her complexity and unpredictability. He realized that, no matter how effortless her transition from partner to lover had seemed up to this point, his allusion to having children together had made her uncomfortable. He was still mulling over how to smooth things out when he felt a strong tap on his shoulder.

"All alone on New Year's Eve, Rick?"

He shook his head. He instantly recognized the voice, always with just a hint of a lisp, which had cajoled and nagged him throughout the years.

There's only 1.5 million people on this island, so why the hell not? First Lanie and Esposito… guess all of my friends are going to make an appearance tonight.

He turned and smiled at the sight of a slightly-tipsy version of his agent, Paula.

A/N: I'll bet you thought I had forgotten this story. Nope- just been super duper busy! I hope you'll continue to read. Can't promise there won't be a little delay in updates, but I will try and do better! Thanks so much for sticking with me and for all of your lovely story alerts and favorites, they mean so very much, in ways I can't even begin to express. -KB