High marks to all the people who correctly identified the Dr. Horrible "Laundry Day" reference – it's so reassuring to know I'm not the only Whedon dork out there! I leaned pretty heavily on the creep factor last chapter, so this time around it's really pretty fluffy. But have no fear – the action's going to heat up soon! Thanks so much for the reviews – keep 'em coming! (I really think I deserve at least a few reviews for this chapter…)

"Oh, c'mon detective, it'll be fun!" Castle smiled flirtatiously as leaned on his elbows on the corner of Beckett's desk, trying to convey his excitement to the woman. "I'll buy you another dress…" He said temptingly, cocking an eyebrow.

Kate narrowed her eyes, "That won't be necessary. And you know, Castle, you can't just buy me with pretty dresses."

He raised his eyebrows in victory, breaking into a grin. "Great! So you'll do it?"

The detective sighed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, acting as though agreeing to be Castle's date to his latest book party was a huge drag. Secretly, she was thrilled. "Fine!" She acquiesced, sounding exasperated.

Castle clapped his hands in victory. "Excellent! It's settled then – I'll be by with the limo around 7 to pick you up. The dinner they're throwing for me starts at 7:30, and it's just a few blocks from your place, so I figure we'll have plenty of time."

Beckett was about to ask him about the surprising addition of the limo – just how nice was this "small dinner" Castle had originally mentioned – when Ryan stopped by her desk.

"Hey, Ryan? What in the world was that all about?" Kate asked, motioning with her eyes toward the girl who could now be seen heading down the hall back to the precinct's front door.

"Besides completely bizarre, and slightly frighteningly insane, of course," Castle supplied.

"Right – super bizarre. But she said it was all just a big misunderstanding," Ryan shrugged. "We ran a drug test on her though – just in case – and she came out clean. She said she was still just antsy about getting back out into the real world. And since you're not officially an officer," he motioned to Castle, "We can't charge her assaulting a cop. So we just rang her up on basic assault, made her pay a fine, and she's on her way out."

Beckett waited expectantly. "That's it?"

"Well, the worst of it is that she's got these charges – I kept the traffic stop on her record too, by the way – on her record and she's on probation. So it's a much bigger punishment than it sounds like."

Beckett nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Glancing at his watch, Ryan said his goodnights to the pair and headed home for the weekend.

Smiling, Kate shuffled the last few papers on her desk into a file folder which she carefully placed in one of her drawers before standing and stretching. "Ah – I hate paperwork, but there's something so satisfying about having a clean desk at the end of the day. You can actually see proof of your efforts that day."

Reaching for her jacket hanging on the back of her chair, Beckett was cut off as Castle reached it before her and helped her shrug it on. The pair made their way through the lobby, Beckett's hand finding the crook of Castle's arm as he escorted her, a habit that felt more natural each time they did it.

"Drinks?" Beckett suggested, but Castle shook his head.

"I would love to, but unfortunately, no. I have some work I have to get done myself tonight before all the madness of my day begins tomorrow," Castle said, opening the door for her to walk through the lobby.

Beckett looked momentarily disappointed, then confused. "Well, wait – if you had so much work to do, why didn't you just stay home and do it today? There wasn't really much worth observing here."

Castle paused a moment, his hand on the door handle, preparing to push it open for the two to enter the cold night air. He leveled his gaze at Beckett, "Yes, there was." He corrected.

Beckett, startled by this comment, stared back at him, touched. She was about to say something about how she enjoyed his presence at the precinct, even when he was annoying her, when he broke the gaze and pushed the door open.

"So just how fancy is this dinner tomorrow, Castle? I feel like you're not telling me something," Beckett changed topics as they walked out together and started making their way down the block to their waiting cars.

"Umm… Well, it's minorly fancy," the writer admitted.

"What? But you said –" Beckett started.

"Only minorly fancy!" Castle insisted, cutting off her protests. "You can totally handle it – just the shortest of all red carpets and a handful of celebrity guests."

Beckett stopped walking, dropping her hand out of Castle's arm and turning to face him, her face in full interrogation mode. "Castle, why is there a red carpet at what is supposed to be just a minor paperback release party? Last I checked, the book the party is in honor of has been out for months. What. Aren't. You. Telling me?"

"Well…" Castle flashed Beckett his most charming grin, "The party may or may not also be the official press all call for the Nikki Heat movie. I figured it would be fun to get pictures of the real Nikki Heat with the actress portraying her."

Beckett's jaw clenched tightly in anger. "Castle…" She warned.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Hey! You already agreed to come – I need a date. You said you didn't have any plans tomorrow night. And it's free booze! What more could you ask for!"

The detective crossed her arms, remaining completely silent. She raised an eyebrow, challenging him to continue.

"Well… ok, how's this. If you don't like the party, we can definitely bounce early and go for drinks wherever you want," the writer said, trying to reach a compromise.

"Galway Pub," Kate ordered, naming a bar she had no particular affinity for, but knew Castle hated.

"Galw – really? I hate that pla – " Castle protested, then cut himself off after seeing Kate purse her lips silently, arms still crossed. "Ok, fine. We'll go to your precious Galway Pub if you're not having fun at the party."

He turned, offering his arm to Beckett, ready to resume walking. She didn't budge. Castle looked at her, confused. "What? Do you…. Ok, ok, you win! We'll go to Galway Pub even if you love the party. We will go there, tomorrow night, for drinks, on me, no matter how much you do or do not enjoy yourself at this fabulous, star-studded red carpet event which anyone else in the world would kill to go to. Happy?"

Kate smiled, taking the offered arm. "Sounds like a plan. Now let's go, I'm cold."

The couple briskly continued their walk, passing a bundled up group of passengers waiting at the bus stop. Near the back of the group, a hooded Rebecca smiled as Castle and Beckett walked past her, oblivious to her overhearing their conversation.

"How in the world did your face heal so quickly?" Beckett asked as she opened the door when she heard the knocks at 7 p.m. sharp, revealing a tuxedoed Castle with no apparent damage to his face at all.

Castle remained silent, slowly drawing his appreciative gaze down the length of the detective's curve-hugging red dress that stopped just above the knees, bare legs, stiletto black heels, and back up. He lingered momentarily at the simple, straight cut boat neck of the dress. Ignoring the detective's annoyed throat-clearing, Castle pursed his lips and resumed his gawking for a few more moments. While for all intents and purposes it was a very simple dress – no fancy sequins or plunging necklines – it fit Beckett like a glove and came across as beautiful and classy with a subtle sexiness. While he certainly wouldn't have minded if the detective had decided to show some skin, he couldn't help but give his full approval.

Finally, he snapped out of his reverie, looking Kate in the eyes. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

She rolled her eyes, "Enjoying the show? I asked how you got your face to look so good."

"Well, aside from just being born that way, I have a confession," he admitted, shooting her a boyish grin. "I'm not going to lie to you detective, I may be wearing more makeup than you this evening."

Beckett laughed, breaking into a broad smile. "Well, whoever did your makeup worked some magic. You'd have to be right up in your face to even tell anything was off."

Castle leaned in, "Are you sure about that? Maybe you could step a little closer and see for yourself."

Kate rolled her eyes again, this time still smiling. "I'll go get my jacket."

With that, she turned and walked back into his apartment, revealing that the dress was completely backless and plunged daringly low. Castle sucked in a sharp breath.

"You ok back there, Castle?" Kate's humored voice echoed back through the apartment to the front door. She obviously knew exactly what was going on and was enjoying it.

"Yup, just… uh… trying to get rid of the hiccups," he lied, trying his hardest to cease the endless stream of memories of their kiss from flashing through his mind. Tonight was going to be a long night.

"Could you believe it when that Times reporter asked me if I had any experience in stripping?" A slightly tipsy Beckett giggled, leaning over the small two-person table she was sharing with Castle at Galway Pub. Her barstool wobbled at her shift in weight, causing Castle to lean forward and steady her.

"Whoa there, calm down," he laughed, enjoying this rarely-seen side of Beckett. "Wouldn't want to end this night with a broken leg."

"And then," Beckett continued, ignoring her near accident, "that guy from the Post asked me if I would have a cameo in the Nikki Heat movie?"

Castle, satisfied that Kate was firmly back in her stool, leaned back. "Well, why would that be a weird question? I'm sure you could have a cameo if you wanted one. I'm definitely going to be in there somewhere."

"Wait, really?" Beckett stopped laughing, seeming to consider the possibility seriously for the first time. "Well then I guess I actually should have given that casting guy my phone number when he asked."

At this, Castle's eyebrows shot up, "Wait, who asked for your number? Because they don't need it. If anyone needs to get to you, they can go through me. Just how much did you drink at that party? I mean, I know you've had a few drinks here, but you barely touched any champagne at the party – there's no way you actually believed some idiot guy who said he was the casting direc…" He trailed off as Beckett broke into laughter. "Oh, very funny. See? I knew you were smarter than that."

"A little overprotective there, Castle?" Kate teased, taking a sip from her martini. " 'If anyone needs to get to you, they can go through me,' " she imitated, smiling over the rim of the glass.

Seeing she was nearing the bottom of her drink, Castle motioned to the bartender for another. "Hey, it's only natural. You spend the majority of your day protecting me from criminals and gangsters and anyone else with a gun and judo-trained skills who would want to do me harm. I figure it's fair if I try to protect you from a couple measly scumbag guys every now and then."

"Oh, yeah?" Kate put the glass down, the liquor making her brave. She leaned forward on her elbows, lowering her voice so Castle had to lean forward. "Is that what you were doing the other night when you kissed me? Just protecting me from the scumbags of this world?"

Gulping, Castle took a deep breath. He knew Kate had been drinking, but he had drunk with her before. She could hold her liquor better than he could, and he was just beginning to feel the effects of his drink. That meant she was perfectly aware of everything she was implying. This was his chance. "Well, yes…" He started, leaning even closer, a mere inch from the detective's lips. Their eyes met as his voice dropped to a whisper, "But maybe it was also because I wanted to…" He leaned forward, reaching one hand up to clasp the side of Kate's face.

"Hey, Katie!" A loud girl's voice bubbled from above, breaking the spell. The partners sat up quickly, Castle's hand almost knocking over the full martini glass he hadn't seen the bartender deliver.

"Uh… Rebecca?" Kate asked, running her hand through her hair to compose herself. She cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact with Castle as she addressed the girl. Castle smiled, noticing that Beckett's cheeks were bright red. Then he turned his attention to the girl, fully intending to return the punch she'd given him earlier for interrupting the moment.

"You… sure look different…." Beckett said, slowly taking in the girl's appearance. She was dressed in straight cut jeans with heels and a fitted collared shirt, tucked into the pants. A leather jacket topped off the outfit.

Beckett and Castle exchanged looks. Rebecca was wearing a nearly-identical outfit to what Beckett had been wearing at work the previous day.

"Oh, I decided that I'm going to go by Becca now!" The girl said brightly. "I got a new wardrobe, too. You know, just kind of a physical way to express my fresh start on life now that I'm out of the hospital on have my second chance!"

"Becca?" Castle asked apprehensively. "As in… Beckett?"

The girl looked at Castle, annoyance flashing on her face before it was replaced with surprise. "Oh, why I didn't even think about that! How funny is that, Katie? We have the same name now!"

"Uh-huh…." The detective said slowly, staring intently at the teen. "Funny."