Ten

By eight p.m. that evening, they sat across from each other at a cramped table at the Prime Steakhouse in the Bellagio. Despite Kate's insistence that she just wanted a burger, Castle somehow translated that into wanting steak, which led them back to the Bellagio and Prime where Castle—what else?—"knew a guy."

"So it's been a crazy couple days, right?" he asked her after a healthy sip of wine.

Kate shook her head, looking down at her menu. Fortunately, she'd had the sense to throw a pair of black dress pants in her bag. Those coupled with one of her nicer t-shirts almost made her feel as though she was dressed appropriately; almost. At least she was a step above Castle's attire. He only had jeans but, as he explained, when one possessed an AmEx black card, dress codes became very lenient.

"You can say that again. God, Castle." She groaned and rested her chin atop her fist as she gazed at him. "What you must have thought when I put that handcuff key in your pocket…" She had reviewed the scenario in her mind several dozen times in the prior twenty-four hours and she still could not recall what had possessed her other than manic desperation. Because, really, at that point he handcuffs were the least of Castle's worries. They were a cinch compared to the locked police cruiser and two armed escorts.

"Well, I did find it an odd time to be feeling me up but, you know—stress does different things to different people." He winked and much to his great pleasure saw her cheeks turn the slightest bit pink.

They reviewed their menus silently for several minutes before a waiter returned to take their order—and top off their wine glasses. Though she was hesitant at first to over-indulge, Kate realized that after the prior few days, her libations were well deserved. Plus, it wasn't like she was on the clock.

Sensing his partner's still tense expression, Castle swirled his wine glass as he suggested, "Why don't we talk about something completely unrelated to this case—to work at all."

"Okay?" She eyed him curiously.

Castle mused several ideas before choosing the best. "Why don't you tell me about your favorite vacation from childhood?"

Kate protested at first, shaking her head and covering her mouth with her wine glass, but Castle insisted. He knew she must have taken family vacations and he wanted to hear about them. This, he informed her, was because he did not go on vacations as a child and had thus only experienced them through Alexis; he wanted to hear about one from Kate's perspective.

The detective thought for several moments. It was not until after their salads were delivered to the table that she spoke. "Actually…I think probably the one I took with my parents the summer between high school and college was my favorite. I know that's not technically childhood but…but it was the last time I went away with both my parents…with my mom."

Castle nodded. Based on her age, tidbits of her history he'd gathered, and the date of her mother's passing, he deduced that her mother had been murdered during her freshmen year of college. The fact that her final full-family vacation was her favorite broke his heart a little bit, but he still wanted to hear about it. He edged his chair a bit closer to the table and smiled across at her. "Where did you go?"

"Martha's Vineyard; my mom liked it there." Despite it being her mother's favorite, Kate did not recall them traveling there more than one or two times. Then again, with two busy working parents it was not always easy for the Beckett family to vacation. Their casework down time did not always coincide with young Kate's time off from school, but they did their best to take as many family trips as they could.

After her mother's death, Kate tried to soak up as many memories of her as she could. She recalled sitting in her room silently for hours playing videos of her mother in her mind. Remembering that July trip, she could still feel the warmth of the sun on her bare arms and the saltiness of the sea spray as it tickled her cheeks and nose.

Seeing a wistful expression cross her face, Castle asked, "What?"

She met his eye, but only briefly, instead choosing to push some lettuce leaves around her plate. "It's so funny, thinking back to that time now. I was still kind of in my "Rebel Becks" phase and I wanted to spend time with my boyfriend or my friends before I left for California."

Knowing Kate as he knew her now, it was extremely difficult to conceptualize "Rebel Becks" though he would have very much liked to. He hoped one day to hear all her tales. Or, at the very least, see some pictures. "You were way too cool to go away with your parents?"

"Exactly!" she insisted, almost laughing. "And I was so mad for the first day or so of the trip and then-"

Kate's voice cut off and her expression turned sad. How stupid had she been? How foolish? She could have spent so much more time with her mother on that trip. Who cared about the boyfriend she no longer remembered the name of?

Of course, as Dr. Burke often told her, she could not blame herself for that. She did not have a crystal ball. At eighteen, she had no way of knowing she was spending her last summer with her mother, and to feel guilt over that was foolish. It wouldn't bring her mother back and there was no need to let irrational guilt taint her memories.

Plastering as best a smile as she could on her face, Kate took a long sip of wine. "Anyway, it, ah…well, it actually turned out to be a really nice trip."

Castle knew there had to be more to the story, but he didn't press her. In time, if he was lucky, she would tell him; he was willing to wait.

Not quite two hours later, Kate and Castle exited the Bellagio hotel, their bellies full of steak, Yukon gold potatoes and delicious wine. Kate had to admit that their meal had been thoroughly enjoyable. When Castle stopped acting like a nine-year-old on a sugar rush he was actually pretty good company. Then again, that may have just been the wine, which, much to her chagrin, she drank a bit too much of.

She made her way to the sidewalk in the direction of their hotel, but Castle stopped her before she traveled too far. He insisted since it was nearing the top of the hour they stick around and wait for the Bellagio fountain show. While Kate eyed him skeptically, he whined and insisted she had to see it; she just had to!

When she finally relented, he grabbed her elbow and led her up to the edge of the railing around the lake so they would have the best vantage point. At that time of night the area was fairly crowded, which meant Castle had to nudge his way to the front of the crowd and be a bit pushy about it, but he didn't mind; Kate deserved the best view possible.

Promptly at ten p.m. the soulful sounds of Etta James "At Last" flowed from the speakers. The fountain waters danced in choreographed jets, accented by colorful beams of light. It only took about ten seconds for Kate to become captivated; she leaned over the edge of the railing to get a better view.

As more onlookers arrive, the area became almost uncomfortably crowded, which meant Castle needed to stand even closer to Kate, though he didn't mind that one bit. He ended up directly behind her, his right hand next to hers on one side of the railing, and his left hand resting on the corner post on the opposite side of her.

After just a moment she leaned back with her head on his chest, the top of her head skimming the edge of his chin. Castle was not sure if this move was conscious or not, but he chose not to question it. Instead, he stood and watched the remainder of the water show with Kate tucked neatly against him; he couldn't have been happier.

When the show was over, the crowd dispersed. Castle and Beckett followed the flow of traffic going south on the strip walking so close together that their elbows and shoulders continually bumped together. "Did you like it?" he said into her ear.

She looked up at him with a dopey smile. "It was lovely." The airiness of her own voice surprised her. Maybe she was a little drunk. But, then again, she argued to herself, did it really matter?

When they came to the next street crossing, Castle grabbed on to her hand as they hurried in front of a taxi. The move was a reflex; he'd actually been reaching for her forearm, but somehow grasped her hand instead. The choice to retain her hand in his once they'd made it safely across was, however, completely intentional.

Castle held onto her hand for another block almost stunned she hadn't pulled away, but when he looked down to judge her expression, she didn't seem to notice. She stared at the clusters of onlookers ogling the showgirls and evaded a rather rowdy crowd of college-age kids, but did not drop her hand from Castle's until towards the end of the next block.

There, in a street-level, glass-lined room in the front of the Cosmopolitan hotel was a pop-up wedding chapel. One neon light in the window advertised "Weddings HERE!" Another informed that the location was "Open 'til Midnight!"

Kate's walk progressively slowed until she stopped all together and let her hand drop to her side. She stared in through the glass at the chapel inside. A standard white altar stood at the front of the room while ten rows of four pink frosted chairs followed: two chairs on either side of a white aisle-runner. At that precise moment, an Asian couple in their early twenties recited their vows. They clasped hands, smiling at each other while half a dozen smiling onlookers watched the ceremony attentively.

Though Castle notice the scene inside, his eyes were drawing to Kate. The expression on her face as she stared into the chapel reminded him of Alexis's face the first time she saw her mother, Meredith, dressed up in a fancy ball gown for an evening out: awe, wonder, and a small amount of jealousy.

Then, as the newlyweds shared their first kiss, her expression changed. Her chin dropped towards her chest and her eyes fell almost as though she felt ashamed to look; like she witnessed something forbidden.

"What is it?" he asked her gently.

She glanced back at him, startled, almost as though she had forgotten she was on the busy streets of Las Vegas and not alone in her apartment. Shaking her head gently she assured him, "Nothing; it's nothing."

Castle didn't believe her for a second. "No, what is it?"

Kate's eyes drifted back towards the chapel, where the married couple now hugged each of their guests in turn. "It's just," she began, her voice barely above a whisper and nearly completely drowned out by the traffic sounds surrounding them. "Sometimes…sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be ready for that."

"Marriage?"

She nodded. "Mmhm. I'm afraid I never will be…"

His heart broke at her words. It took great strength (and no small amount of alcohol) for her to make that confession. Save the times she mocked him for his divorces, they never spoke about marriage. This, he supposed, was mainly because marriage fell dangerously close to the other topic they so religiously avoided: the subject of "them."

From all he knew about her, he felt Kate was open to the idea. Many years ago, when they were just getting to know each other, she had famously told him she was a "one and done" type girl. Now that he knew her, this made sense. When Kate made a decision, she made a decision and there was no going back, which meant she was very careful to choose correctly the first time and he had absolute faith in her ability to do this.

Stepping a bit closer, he raised his chest and told her confidently, "You will. I promise you, you will be, Kate." Then, when she looked up at him, her expression still tentative, he added, "We will be."

Her gaze had drifted back towards the chapel, but snapped instantly back to his the moment his words registered. Though it fought several self-preservation instincts within him, Castle did not react; he refused. He held her gaze, steady and calm as ever, for ten more seconds. Then, he blinked slowly, and reached out for her hand. "C'mon; let's go play some blackjack."

Only when he felt Kate's fingers slide into his did he release his breath. Damn, he thought to himself. What made him think he could get away with that one? Maybe ordering that second bottle of wine hadn't been such a great idea. Then again…she hadn't responded poorly, even if her responding in any capacity would have gone against their cardinal rule of not talking about anything—ever.

It seemed that any awkwardness he had created vanished by the time they arrived back in the lobby of Aria. Castle excused himself to the concierge desk when they entered and Kate nodded, staying a few feet back. When she overheard him ask if anything had been left for him, she could not help but feel the slightest bit crestfallen.

Castle was searching for a message from Tyson. And here she'd thought he gave that up. She could not understand why he seemed to believe that Tyson would contact them, but she didn't feel like bringing it him; she wouldn't talk about it unless he did. Despite her desire to drop the issue, she turned her back to him and surreptitiously pulled her cell phone from her pocket to check for messages from the Vegas PD; there were none so she quickly returned her phone so he would not spot her checking.

When he returned to her side, he was smiling despite not receiving any mysterious clues. "Blackjack?" Without waiting for her response, he led the way towards the table games. "I really think between the two of us we could really clean up, Beckett. I mean your poker face is great and mine is, of course, excellent." He rubbed his hands together in a villainous sort of way. "This is what years and years of Famous Writers Poker has prepared me for."

As they neared the table games area and Kate noticed just how crowded it was, she slowed her walk significantly. A crowded, smoky blackjack table was not exactly her idea of fun that evening. After her minor breakdown in front of the wedding chapel, she really was not in the mood for being swallowed by a group of noisy people.

When Castle noticed his partner had fallen behind, he stopped and faced her. "Beckett?"

"Ah, you know what, Castle? Why don't you play; I'm going to go back to the room."

"What?" he responded, almost laughing. "Why?"

"I just…honestly, I don't think I'm up for table games right now, but you go ahead."

"No it's alright." He took a few steps towards her. "Want to play in our room?"

"Oh no." she quickly shook her head. "No I don't want to ruin your fun. You can just-"

"Kate." He smiled at her. "It was only going to be fun if I was playing with you. C'mon we'll play a few rounds of our own. Unless—" he paused and looked at her pointedly. "You don't think you can handle that."

Ugh. She groaned to herself. He would do that… "I don't think that will be the problem."

Up in their suite, Castle found a brand new pack of playing cards just aching to be opened and shuffled. Kate requested another drink, so he pulled a few small bottles of liquor from the mini bar. After grabbing glasses and ice, he carried all the items to the center of the room, where they could play on a coffee table while they sat on opposite sides of the couch.

"Well," he began as he sat down, ripping the plastic wrapping off the new deck. "I'd suggest strip poker, but I don't think you'd be up for that."

"Really…" she replied with notable sarcasm while dumping the entire bottle of scotch into her glass.

"So how about truth or dare poker instead?"

Kate shook her head. "Never heard of it."

He smiled proudly. "That's 'cause I just made it up. Okay, the rules are: whoever wins the hand gets to ask the other person a truth question or give them a dare."

"Okay… " She spoke slowly as though she were speaking to a small child up to no good. This was not exactly how she pictured spending the evening, but the smooth scotch against her tongue convinced her that it probably wasn't the worst thing they could be doing.

Castle won the first hand they played, not even bothering to hide his proud peacock smile. "Truth," he said to her before taking a sip of his tumbler of whisky. "Are you angry you came out here with me?"

"No," she replied instantly.

He gazed at her with moderate surprise. "Really?"

She chuckled lightly. "I'm not angry, Castle. I was slightly annoyed when I realized you thought you'd be playing a game of Clue with Tyson, but actually it's been okay." She lowered her eyes as she tossed her cards back to him so that he could shuffle. Toeing off her shoes, she pulled her knees up on the couch. "I probably wouldn't have taken any time off myself so I'm kind of glad you made me. Don't tell anyone I said that," she added with an air of danger.

He beamed at her. "Secrets safe with me."

The next round went to Kate. Deciding to mirror his actions, she requested an honest answer from him. "Truth: do you really expect Tyson to send you a message?"

He considered this a moment. "When I came out here, yes; I thought it was part of his cat and mouse game, but now…" He sighed and tossed his remaining cards down onto the couch. Now that he said it aloud it did seem really silly—even for one of his ideas. "I don't know, probably not."

Kate leaned over and placed her hand atop his. "We'll get him, Castle."

The corners of his lips pulled upwards. "I know."

Castle shuffled and dealt but despite his best efforts he was once again unsuccessful. The third round went to Kate, but when he asked her if she would be daring him or asking him for a truth, she responded with a groan.

"Oh I don't know, Castle…"

"C'mon, you gotta pick one or the other. C'mon—that's how the game works." He egged her on, but she simply continued to stare at him, so he narrowed down her choices. "Just dare me to do something—anything."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "You mean like jump naked into the Bellagio fountain?"

Castle dropped his chin to his chest. "Don't you think I've spent enough time behind bars in the past forty-eight hours?"

Kate couldn't help but laugh; of course her suggestion had been a joke. For several moments, she watched him before she came up with what she felt would be a reasonable challenge. "Ok; I dare you to stay away from the precinct for a week."

A wounded expression crossed his face. "Ouch, Kate. Really? I thought you liked it when I…when I was…"

"I do." She assured him; the lines on his forehead began to recede as she adjusted her position on the couch so she could sit on her left leg. "I actually want you to do it for you. I think after all this you need more of a break."

Suddenly, Castle felt like an ass. His original intention for the game was to get them to challenge each other to do hilarious, silly, or at the very least embarrassing things, but there she went turning the tables on him and actually suggesting something that was very sweet and thoughtful. Staring across the couch at her, he considered his response carefully. "I think I'd miss you if I was gone a whole week."

Me too, she answered to herself. Picking up her scotch, she sipped and then suggested with her eyes downcast, "Then… maybe that week we could…we could have dinner."

Castle blinked. Had Kate Beckett just asked him out on a date? Was that even possible? She wasn't looking at him, so he couldn't be certain, but he didn't want to risk scaring her off so he chose not to pursue the issue. Instead, he gathered up the cards and began to shuffle once more.

With the cards dealt, Castle fought to hide his ever-growing grin. His hand was fantastic. When Kate presented nothing but a low-value pair, he claimed his victory with no small amount of pride.

A dare rose to the tip of her tongue. Oh, he wanted to challenge her so much. He wanted to force her to let her hair down; let it all hang out, if only for a moment. But he couldn't let it out. Now when she was there, patiently waiting for his challenge. He had within his reach a Kate Beckett truth serum, which was far more valuable than the several seconds of laughter he would get from forcing her to do something foolish.

"Truth: If we hadn't gotten that lead on Tyson—if he was still out there—would you have let me hide out in your apartment?"

Her gaze remained steady as she answered him. "As long as it took to clear your name."

Suddenly feeling parched, Castle took another long swig of his whisky. That time, Kate took the cards from his hands and took over the role of dealer. Castle won again and this time decided not to waste the opportunity.

"I dare you-"

"Hold on," Kate interrupted him. "Aren't you supposed to let me choose truth or dare first?" It had been well over a dozen years since she had played the game popular with girls at sleepovers, but she was fairly certain those were the rules she remembered.

"We're not playing that way," he responded simply. "I dare you…" He let the words hang in the air. He savored them as she looked slightly unnerved. He liked putting her on edge. He would even go so far as to say he lived for it. "…to lose the next two hands."

She pursed her lips at him. "That feels like using one of your three wishes to wish for more wishes."

He merely shrugged. "That's the dare, Beckett; take it or leave it."

Of course she had every intention of leaving it, but the next hand she dealt herself was a poor one, so she ended up losing anyway.

"Truth," he said to her. Then a somewhat panicked expression crossed his face, as though he wasn't entirely sure what to ask her. Thus, he words that ended up coming out of his mouth were quite unwise. "What's your number?"

She sipped her drink. "What number?"

"Your number number."

Her jaw dropped. "Jesus, Castle! I'm definitely not drunk enough to tell you that. Unfair question."

"Okay, okay," he relented. Yeah, that was not one of his brighter moments. He took a moment to collect himself before requesting, "How about…how about you tell me something you've never told me before—something about you." The request was simple and fairly open-ended. She could make it as obscure or as personal as she chose.

Kate remained quiet for a moment, introspective. It was funny, she thought briefly. Over the years he'd learned a lot about her. Some things, she revealed purposely. Most, though, came out unintentionally. As time wore on, she found she didn't mind that he discovered more and more about her layers. Ever since her shooting, she'd been making more of a conscious effort, and she decided to continue that by telling him something she knew he'd enjoy.

"You know the vacation I told you about at dinner?"

"Martha's Vineyard?"

She nodded. "Well, the second day we were sitting on the beach and I was sulking because my Discman was out of battery."

Castle let out a laugh. "Discman"

She shot him a perturbed glance. "It was 1998, Castle."

"I know; I'm sorry—please continue."

She took a deep breath. "Anyway, my mom said, 'Here, read this book I just finished; I think you'll like it.'"

Castle could not help but lean forward in his seat. In his gut, he knew. The soft smile on her face; the way she looked at him. Please, he thought, let it be one of mine. Please. Please. "What book did she give you?"

"Flowers for Your Grave," Kate told him proudly; he beamed at her, internally punching the air with joy. "I finished it in two days and she was right—I loved it. We talked about the book and she told me about some of the others you'd written and….and that made it a great vacation."

All he could do was stare at her. In part, his chest swelled with joy. Kate's mother had been a fan of his books. Kate's mother introduced Kate to his books. It was like her gift to them from the great beyond. Yet, on the other hand, his heart shattered for her, because that lovely woman was gone. Kate could no longer call her to chat about the books; she couldn't stop by for coffee or dessert. Perhaps most regrettably, Johanna Beckett would never have the joy of reading about Nikki Heat.

Kate let him stare at her for another moment before she gathered up the cards and silently began to deal. She almost forgot about Castle's dare to her until she found herself with a good hand; a very good hand. A had that would no doubt beat anything he could put down.

She skimmed her right index finger against the top edges of the cards, presenting the perfect poker face to her partner, who grinned a Cheshire cat like grin. He presented three of a kind, but her flush would beat that easily.

"Kate?" he asked when she had not yet presented any cards to him.

"Ah," she dipped her eyes to her deck. "Yeah, I got nothin'." She dropped the cards face down onto the couch and quickly gathered up the discarded cards pile so he could not tell that her hand had actually been better than hers. Truth be told, she was a little bit curious as to what he was going to present her with.

"So what'll it be, Castle? Truth or Dare?"

"Neither."

At his unexpected response, Kate looked up, her brow wrinkling.

Castle tossed his cards aside and scooted towards her so that they were only separated by half a couch cushion. "It's not a truth or a dare, just a request. Marry me, Kate. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Maybe not even next year, but sometime. Tell me there's a future for us."

Kate could only gape at him. For ten seconds she thought she hallucinated the whole thing, but then she looked at him—really looked at him. His azure eyes stared her down, unrelenting. His chest rose and fell at even intervals, though she suspected beneath it his heart hummed at an elevated rate. The feeling in her chest when she looked into his eyes overwhelmed her; overpowered her.

Kate reached for her glass and downed the rest of her scotch in one swallow. She reached for her shoes on the floor and stuffed her feet into them before standing from the couch and walking away from him.

Damn it. He cursed himself. What had ever possessed him to say such a thing? Zero to sixty? Try zero to Mach-One. Damn that Jameson for causing him to be so foolish.

He turned and prepped himself to apologize, half expecting to see her disappearing out of the room, but instead found her shrugging on her jacket and pulling her hair out of the collar. When she caught his eye, she put her hand on her hip expectantly. "You commin'?"

Slowly, he stood, not quite sure he understood what was going on. "What do you mean? Where are you going?"

"Down to that chapel on the strip."

What?

Wait, seriously—what?

Bewildered and a little hazy, he stammered, "W-what?"

She merely blinked at him. "You wanna marry me or not?"