Remember in an author's note in Extra! when I said I was going to post these in order?
Well, I've literally been trying to figure out what I've wanted to do for the May articles for 2 weeks now and can't come up with anything and it's super frustrating... so I figured I should update this with what I have or I may never update it again.
I figured you wouldn't mind.

September 28, 2013

He'd had the ring since last Christmas. He knew he wouldn't propose then, but he had seen it in the store, the round platinum band with the semi-inlaid princess cut diamond with a cushion stone on each side, he knew that it was Kate's ring. He bought it without giving himself a chance to second guess it, took it home, and hid it inside his fire safe where he kept all the important documents like his will and Alexis' birth certificate and social security card.

He'd had the ring the entire time, when she moved in with him, after her mother's case, their trip to India, but he'd never found the right moment to ask her.

Until he had to write the dedication for Heat of the Moment.

Big and intimate she'd told him. Women want to be asked in a way that was big yet intimate.

Well it was certainly big, hundreds of thousands of people would be able to see it, but he wouldn't do it that way. The dedication would be something teasing, something to make her brow furrow before he'd ask the real question, somewhere more intimate, more their style.

To Kate,
Always?

It was subtle, it was simple, and only she would have the possibility of understanding the true depth of the statement.

And that's when he planned the book launch party. He got Paula in on it, and she helped him plan, helped him keep Black Pawn and the groupies and reporters they wanted try to sneak in out. He shut down the Old Haunt for a night, somewhere they were both comfortable. They invited the gang from the precinct, Jenny, his poker buddies and the mayor. Jim and Alexis were there (not drinking) and his mother was there (definitely drinking).

And everyone knew what was happening except her.

Over the last month, he had gotten everyone's blessing. He'd asked Jim first, stating his intentions though Jim told him he knew of his intentions from the first moment he saw the two of them together. Then he asked his mother and Alexis, both of whom told him that he'd finally found the right one. He asked Ryan and Esposito, and they gave him the go ahead after tearing up in the break room and swearing to never let Beckett know that particular chat had occurred. He'd asked Lanie in the morgue which really had been an awful decision because she nearly dropped her bone saw onto his foot before she said "about damn time". He'd told Gates of his plan, and she told him that since they managed to keep their relationship out of the precinct so far, she didn't see a problem with it (he thinks she even smiled at him). And on a day where he had meetings with Black Pawn, he'd left an hour before he needed to, stopped and picked up two small bouquets of flowers, and stopped at two cemeteries, telling both Montgomery and Johanna Beckett that he was going to ask Kate to marry him, and thanking them both for helping bring her into his life, as the woman who brought her into this world and the man who brought him into the precinct where he slowly fell in love with her.

And now it was here. Everyone was sitting at the Old Haunt, the air warm and buzzing with the conversations of everyone. Brian and his mother were tending bar, the soft jazz playing through the speakers as Martha tried to teach Brian a few dance moves. His fellow writers were talking with Captain Gates (he was still surprised she had come) and Paula in a booth in the corner, nursing glasses of his best scotch. Alexis, Jenny, Ryan, and Esposito were playing pool on the table he had brought in, the ladies laughing as Ryan and Esposito tried making trick shots. Kate and Lanie were sitting at the bar, Kate dressed in those dark jeans he loved so much and a black blouse he loved even more because of the deep, draped u in the back that showed off her bare spine, laughing while waiting for their drinks. He was sitting with Jim in a booth, barely listening to the older man tell a story as he watched the two women, the ring heavy in his pocket.

He was nervous, more nervous for this than he had been for anything else in his entire life. He married Meredith because she was pregnant with his child. He married Gina essentially for business reasons, and yes, he loved them both in a way but he wanted to marry Kate purely because he loved her. He didn't care that it would help his book sales (as Paula kept pointing out). He wanted to marry her because he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

And that was daunting. Never had marriage sounded so permanent.

"Nervous?"

He looked over at Jim who was smiling at him knowingly.

Rick nodded, taking a sip of his ginger ale he had been drinking with Jim.

"Extremely."

Jim picked up his own soda and took a drink.

"Don't be…" Jim said, smirking in humor, "haven't you done this before?"

They'd hashed out his past early on in their relationship at Castle's urging. So much so that Jim was now comfortable joking about it.

Any man, Jim had said, that makes my daughter smile like she has been can't be that bad, no matter what his past says.

"But never for the right reasons," Rick said earnestly, "and never with Kate. Besides… this one will be pretty embarrassing if she says no."

Jim smiled and reached out, patting his arm once.

"She's not going to say no."

He knew that, too.

He looked over at her, and found her smiling over her shoulder at the two of them, her eyes shining before Lanie got her attention and she laughed at something she said.

He took a deep breath, downed the last of his ginger ale and stood up, holding the empty glass in his hand and held out his right to Jim.

"Jim," he said, shaking the older man's hand, "I do believe it's time."

Jim smiled at him, motioning for him to go forward.

He walked slowly towards the bar, seeing the knowing smiles of everyone he passed until he reached Kate at the bar. He put his hand on her bare back, leaning down and kissing her softly on the cheek.

"Having fun?"

She turned to him, and nodded.

Rick stood in front of his bar, nodding at Brian who turned down the music in response. He cleared his throat, grabbing a metal stirrer from behind the bar and tapping it against his glass, getting everyone's attention.

"Everyone," he projected, "if you'll give me a moment?"

He watched as everyone stood up and made their way over towards them, Lanie stepping back slightly, smiling over Kate's shoulder. When everyone was gathered around him, he took a deep breath.

"I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all for coming tonight. I know it's not up to the typical best-selling author standards," Patterson, Lehane, Dennis, and Conrad chuckled lightly, "but I wanted this night to be special. You all have helped me make this book what it is, whether it was the friendly competition," he nodded towards the writers, "locking me in my office and forcing me to write like a good parent does," he smiled at Alexis and everyone chuckled, "or just being awe-inspiring people," he glanced to everyone from the Twelfth, reaching out and grabbing Kate's hand, "I can never thank you all enough."

He squeezed Kate's hand in his own and took a deep breath.

"So… as I'm sure you all would agree…" Rick said, looking at everyone around the bar. He noticed people had their phones out, his daughter surreptitiously taking pictures or a video on her phone.

Good girl. She'd need to send those to him.

"It's only right…" he continued, pulling Kate off of her barstool towards him in front of the crowd of their family and friends, "… that the inspiration get the first copy of the book."

She looked at him suspiciously and then someone wolf-whistled. He thinks it was Esposito and Kate spun around and glared at him and Rick was happy that they were helping to try and throw her off of his trail.

He felt someone nudge him, looked back to see Jim Beckett holding out the book to him with a smile and Rick could hardly keep his hand from shaking as he took it because the man just handed over his marriage proposal to his daughter with a smile and he was happy for the two of them.

Rick dropped Kate's hand and handed her the first copy of Heat of the Moment, bowing dramatically.

"My lady."

She took a step closer to him as he stood up and kissed him lightly, Ryan and Esposito awing dramatically in the background when she pulled away smiling, her cheeks slightly pink.

Castle knew her well, and the first thing she did after running her hand over the cover, was flip to the dedication page. While her eyes were focused on the page, he took a slight step back from her and dropped down onto one knee, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

He watched her brow furrow at the words on the page, reading them no doubt for the second or third time. She looked up to where he was before, the lines on her face deepening. She looked around for him before looking down at the ground, her eyes widening and he swore they looked slightly shinier than before.

"Oh my god," she gasped, still clutching his book against her stomach. She tried to turn away but Lanie was right behind her, pushing her back towards him. He smiled at her reaction, knowing that he had succeeded in surprising her.

He reached out with his right hand and coaxed her left off of the book and held it in his own.

"Kate," he said, quietly, his own voice shaking but he smiled all the same, "You've captivated me ever since the first day I met you. Every day I find something else about you that makes me wonder, something that drives me crazy…" Kate chuckled, "… but it only makes me love you more. I didn't plan on falling in love with you when you walked into my book party all those years ago, but I can't imagine a single day without you by my side anymore. Every future I can write has you in it –"

"Will you just ask me?" Kate said quickly, tears streaming steadily down her face, her face pink.

He looked around at their friends, sighing dramatically. He lifted her hand in his own and pouted.

"I can't even propose to her without having her knock me down a few pegs?"

Everyone laughed and he looked back up at her, his own eyes shining.

"I love you," he said, squeezing her hand.

"I love you, too," she said softly.

He cleared his throat.

"Katherine Beckett…" he said, digging a hand into his pocket. He pulled out the ring and she inhaled deeply, as if none of this had been real until she saw the round metal ring of platinum and diamonds in his hand that he knew would sit perfectly on her finger.

He had thought about what he wanted to say at this moment for months. He could go with humor, ask her to let him be Mr. Katherine Beckett. He could go sentimental and ask if she would allow him to be her one and done, his third times a charm, but didn't feel that it was right. He thought about asking her for always like he had done with his proposal in his book but he didn't want there to be any question of what he was asking, what he wanted. He didn't want her to have any doubt of his intentions (as if it wasn't already obvious enough).

"… Will you marry me?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before opening her eyes again and nodding.

"Yes."

He looked at her, a large smile on his face.

"Really?"

She laughed, happy tears still streaming down her cheeks, "Really."

He slid the ring onto her finger, bringing her knuckle to her lips and kissing the ring, her ring, once before he stood up.

Their friends were all clapping, smiling and crying and happy for them but he wasn't paying attention. At some point she must have dropped Heat of the Moment or someone had taken it from her hands, but as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up towards him, one of her arms wound around his neck, her other hand, her left hand, pressed against his cheek. He smiled as he kissed her, his arms tightening around her waist, lifting her up off the ground and bending backwards because she just wasn't close enough to him.

His fiancée.

His future wife.

His head was spinning at the thought.

She said yes.

September 29, 2013

"Wait, did you just say 'all of our family and friend's blessing'? What do you mean?" Kate asked suspiciously.

It was early afternoon and they were lying in bed, Rick with his laptop out, Kate next to him on her stomach in only his t-shirt and her underwear, already halfway through Heat of the Moment. His Twitter account had been blowing up since the public got their hands on the book, with questions about the dedication and what it meant. He was so excited and she knew that they wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for long, so she told him he could do the big reveal how he wanted to, and he wanted to be the one to write the statement for his website.

He was annoying her, purposefully distracting her by reading what he was writing out loud because what he really wanted was for them to write it together but she refused to put his book down.

He would tease her about that if he wasn't so damn happy.

"Exactly what it says," he responded cryptically.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but let it go, turning back to her book and continued to read. He smiled, and continued to narrate.

"… For the first time since I met her over five years ago, I think I managed to truly surprise her, and she (thankfully) said yes"

She smirked at him, lifting her hand from her book and staring at the sparkling ring with a smile.

"You really did," Kate whispered, "It was perfect."

He let his hand drift from the keyboard, running his hand up her t-shirt covered spine in affection.

"… We are both incredibly happy," he continued, "… and look forward to our future together."

She went back to reading, so he continued, smirking as he typed the statement.

"… As I look at her sitting beside me, reading Heat of the Moment for the first time as I write this, my ring on her finger, I feel so lucky that I was given the chance to meet her, know her, and fall hopelessly in love with her, and even more blessed that this beautiful woman, for all that I've put her through, miraculously loves me back…"

Kate snorted, looking up from the book.

"Please tell me you didn't just write that."

"Why not?" he said, "it's true."

"Take it out, Castle," she said, marking her page and closing the book, "it's too sappy."

He moved his laptop off of his knees and onto his nightstand, reached out once his hands were free and wrapped his fingers around her hips, tugging her across the bedspread towards him.

"You better get used to it," he said, rolling her over. He shifted from his seated position, moving so he was lying down, hovering over her.

"And why is that?" she said, her eyes darkening slightly.

He leaned down, ran his nose along her cheekbone, down the side of her face to her jaw, breathing her in. His hands ran down her sides, inched underneath the fabric of her t-shirt and up her abdomen, smiling as she arched into his touch. Her legs fell open slightly and he took the invitation, wedging his thigh between hers as he pressed a soft kiss against her throat.

"Because you said yes."

I went back and added the dedication in there... but I said it in Extra!...