A/N: So this chapter is going to be funny, I wanted to add some fun Castle/Beckett time. Next chapter, I believe, is going to be the engagement party, which should also be fun.

"So how exactly did we get roped into this?" Castle asked his partner. He and Beckett were in his apartment, baking up a storm. Beckett was preparing deviled eggs on the island while Castle was mixing chicken salad by the sink, "I mean, you're a cop and I'm a writer, so how exactly did it get to the point where we became the caterers of this engagement party?" Beckett grinned.

"Scared you can't stand the heat, Castle?" she teased.

"No," Castle grumbled, "My point is, how did this happen?"

"Because Ellie needed help," Beckett told him matter-of-factly, "And we're suckers."

"Plus, she's kind of scary…" Castle mused. Beckett chuckled.

"She's always been like this," she explained, "It's crazy, but Ellie can get anyone to do what she wants…"

Castle smiled crookedly.

"Even you?" he provoked her. She glared at him half-heartedly over her task.

"No, Castle, that's why I'm up to my elbows in hard-boiled eggs…"

"It's just funny," he said, "I have never heard you admit to being a sucker before."

"Which, you never will. Because I'm not. But Ellie..." her thought process eluded her for a moment, and Castle observed the expression of tender expression on his partner's face when she began again, "she's like kid sister I never had but always wanted. It's just…so easy to put aside whatever I'm dealing with to help her in some way." She smiled sheepishly. "What about you, Castle? Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know," he admitted slowly, "Part of it is because Ellie is my friend. She's a good kid. Part of it is for you."

He said the last words softly, and Beckett tensed up. As she always did, even when his words were not even remotely meant to be romantic. She caught a glimpse of the sheepish, bumbling expression on his face. It was adorable.

Wait, adorable? Beckett shook the thought furiously, exhaling with much more force than needed. She turned away from him and grabbed a bowl off the counter.

"Cas-" she began. She stopped because when she turned around to face him, she had actually collided with him. And with the bowl of cake batter he had just mixed. Kate looked down at her shirt, dyed brown like the chocolate cupcakes that they were supposed to be making next, "Castle!"

"Ohhh…I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was an accident."

Beckett blew a strand of her hair out of her face exasperatedly.

"Right…so is this…"

She took a handful of the batter and smeared it in Castle's face…

"Ever feel like you've been working so hard on a project, and then look at it and think, 'I'm not even halfway done…'"

Jared looked at his fiancée with both affection and amusement. He admired the cute little crease between her eyebrows and resisted the urge to kiss her senseless. They were headed to Castle's loft in order to help them get the food for their party ready. Well, the plan was to let everyone else cook while Ellie got to lay about lazily, and sample their cooking.

"I'm guessing we're not talking about engagement party plans," he said. Ellie stopped glaring at the floor and smiled at him lovingly.

"You know me so well," she mumbled, getting closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Jared pulled her to him and planted a kiss on her temple.

"That I do, my crazy fangirl," he whispered, "And your weird match-making methods are not exactly a science, babe…" He kissed her on the lips once, then twice. She smiled at him, and to his relief, he could feel the tension release in her body.

"Science or not…" she retorted mischievously, "I feel like I've kind of reached a brick wall. Talking to Josh last week…I don't think I made him understand anything…"

"It's going to take time," he reassured her, "For now, let's focus on other, more pressing matters. Like the engagement party. Or the baby."

He released her and the two of them got off of the elevator on Castle's floor. They held hands as they walked up to the apartment.

"Yes to the engagement party. I already love our baby and all, but I also feel like a whale with a bladder the size of a walnut. Plus, I think the second we get inside, I'm going to eat all the food for our engagement party even before it happens," Ellie told him. Jared nodded in agreement, and knocked gently. When there was no answer, he opened the door. "Holy…"

"What the…ummm…should we leave you two alone?" Jared asked awkwardly. He looked from Beckett, to Castle, to Ellie, then back to Beckett, looking both amused and horrified. Beckett glared, looking thoroughly hilarious with a streak of chocolate running from her hairline diagonal to her chin. Her hair was matted and sticking up in some places. Castle looked like he was wearing a mask of chocolate, and was wearing what the assumed to be the bowl that originally held all the batter on his head.

Ellie couldn't decide which one of them looked more hilarious. It didn't matter anyway, because she couldn't contain her laughter. She fell to her knees in a heartbeat, her laughter echoing off the walls of Castle's loft. Beckett joined in, Jared and Castle soon following.

Castle and Beckett got themselves cleaned up while Jared and Ellie took care of the kitchen. Then they spent the rest of the evening fixing a few more of the dishes needed for the party. The evening is light and jovial, and presented Ellie with much hope that her plans might just be working.

A/N: I had a little too much fun writing that. I wanted them to seem like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. I also kind of think them being goofy and kid-like is fun…