Previously... Ryan had a surprise party. Castle got jealous of all the guys that were hitting on Beckett. He got drunk and told ryan and Esposito he loved Kate.

Chapter 11

It was almost noon, when Castle woke up to a massive headache. The sun was shining through his curtains, causing him to shield his eyes.

"Why, out of all days, the sun chooses to blind me today?" He mumbled to himself. Letting out a growl, he attempted to sit up. The fast motion made him grab his head due to the sudden pain. He laid back down, trying to think what happened the night before. He knows he was at the Old Haunt; he knows there were drinks, lots and lots of drinks; he knows Beckett was having fun...with other guys. He remembered talking to Esposito and Ryan at the end of the night. That's when his eyes shot open.

Holy mother of God. Did I tell them what I think I told them? He sat up straight, ignoring the pounding in his head. Ok, either I said I loved her in front of them or I kept my big mouth shut and only thought it.

Castle looked at the clock on his night table. It was 11:45am. He was shocked he slept that late. Usually, he is up and getting lunch with Beckett around this time. He took his phone and saw no missed calls. Assuming there was no body, he decided that he shouldn't rush to the Precinct. Especially if he did tell the guys about his undying love for their boss. Yeah, he was definitely going to take his time getting there.

...

Beckett was sitting at her desk, tapping her pen impatiently against a file. She looked up from the file every ten seconds, wondering where the heck Castle was. She hadn't drank a coffee all morning. Castle created this daily routine that has her so used to him buying one before she has a chance to buy one herself. She enjoyed that thoughtful gesture.

Three minutes later she heard the elevator ding. She glanced up and saw Castle making his way toward her desk with his head down. He gave an awkward look to Ryan and Esposito, before turning his head quickly. The two Detectives gave each other a knowing look.

Castle sat down in his chair. He felt Beckett's eyes on him. "Hey."

She looked at his empty hands then back at his eyes. He looked down, slowly realizing that he didn't bring any coffee.

He stood up and started walking backwards towards the break room. In a hushed tone he said, "I'll just go make some."

When he left, Beckett walked to Esposito's desk. "Do you guys know what's wrong with Castle today? He's acting kind of distant."

Esposito paused before answering, "Um, well he had a long night."

Ryan joined in, "Yeah, it's probably just a hangover. It'll pass."

She looked towards the break room, where she saw Castle watching them talk. He quickly turned his attention back to the cup that was overflowing with coffee, cursing under his breath.

"Maybe I should help him." Ryan said as he stood and walked over to the panicking writer.

Esposito also stood up, and walked around to the front his desk next to Beckett. He folded his arms.

"Yes?" Beckett asked raising an eyebrow.

"What's going on between you and your boy over there." He nodded his head towards Castle, who was currently cleaning the floor with Ryan.

"What do you mean?"

"What are your intentions with him?"

She was taken aback when she heard him ask that. Hesitating she responded, "Uh, well, when he gets back I'm going to get back to work and he is going to help."

"You know what I mean, Beckett. Are you just dragging him along for the ride or are you in it with him?"

She had a confused look on.

"Look, he cares about you. You might not see it, but that man right there," he pointed to Castle, "will do just about anything to keep you in his life. If you're not in it with him then you should tell him now."

"I care about him too." She was going to continue but Esposito cut her off.

"Really? Because he comes in everyday with a glow in his eyes and you turn him down every chance you get. If you really care for him, you would show it and not avoid the inevitable." Esposito kept his voice soft and almost to a whisper.

Beckett was at a loss for words. She did care about him. More than anyone thought she did. Him being shot, stabbed, and all the other numerous occasions of him being in danger, tore her apart. He made her job more bearable with his jokes and unrealistic theories. However, she did not know where this little interrogation from Esposito came from. All she could think of to respond to him was, "And what is the inevitable?"

"Come on. You don't even realize how much he..." All of a sudden Esposito was interrupted by his partner.

"Wow he really knows how to make a mess." Ryan said putting a hand on Esposito's shoulder and pointed to Castle as he walked back to the little group.

Beckett kept her eye on Esposito before she turned her gaze to Castle, who was handing her her long awaited coffee. Ryan and Esposito retreated back to their desks, as did Beckett.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Castle asked suspiciously.

Beckett kept her eyes fixed on the papers in front of her. Not wanting to tell him about what Esposito was getting at, she gave him a close mouth smile, "And give you the satisfaction of knowing?"

Castle mirrored her smile, deciding that it was nothing to worry about. Maybe Esposito didn't tell her about his little confession from last night.

...

Beckett got a call. Another body. They have been working on the case for hours. They knew the killer was Neal Collins, but had no sufficient evidence that would put him away for good. He murdered single parents, so he can sell their babies to other couples. Castle suggested they go undercover as a couple, to catch him in the act.

"How is that gonna work?" Beckett asked.

"We can pretend to be husband and wife. Since we have Collins' accomplice in custody, he can set up the appointment for us to meet with him. We offer him money; he sells us a baby. We can bust him once we make the deal. It's perfect." Castle said, satisfied with his idea.

Beckett was leaning against her desk, staring at him, "You want us to go undercover to buy a baby from a murderer, who most likely will kill again just so he can sell us said baby?"

Castle furrowed his eyebrows, "Well, we won't tell him to give a us a random baby. So he'll have to hold off on the killing until he has the specifics. We just need to make the deal and you can arrest him." He shrugged.

Keeping her eyes on Castle she raised her voice, "Esposito, can you set it up?"

"No prob, boss." He picked up his phone and started dialing.

"So, I'll pick you up tomorrow then." Castle said standing up.

"Wait a minute. Do we have to be husband and wife?"

"Of course. Plus it will fulfill your long time fantasy of being married to me." Castle grinned.

Beckett narrowed her eyes, "You wish."

...(Later that night)

Beckett walked into her apartment, beat from the day she just had. Esposito had arranged the whole meet with Collins. She and Castle will go undercover, as a married couple, to a restaurant and finesse Collins to incriminate himself. Simple.

She shook her head as she walked into her bedroom. It was so far from simple. Opening her closet she saw a certain man's clothing hanging. She opened a few of her drawers and saw that Josh's clothes were still there. Sighing, she pulled out her phone.

You still have your stuff here. Let me know when you're coming to get them back and don't forget to bring my key.

She tossed her phone on her bed, and made her way to the kitchen to pour some wine. Tomorrow was definitely going to be a long day.

...(Tomorrow)

"So, you two are going to play house?" Lanie asked, as she was looking through Beckett's dresses.

"We are not playing 'house'. We are going undercover. It's dangerous. Therefore..."

Lanie cut her off, "Say what you want, you are going to be all lovey dovey with writer boy tonight."

Beckett rolled her eyes. Her face tightened immediately, "Oh, geez you're right. I'm going to have to hang on his arm until we get Collins." She threw her head back. "This cannot get any worse."

"I don't know why you're complaining. You are going to a fancy restaurant with Richard Castle on your arm."

Beckett sighed. "Yes, and we are meeting a known murderer. Or did that little detail not cross your mind. Just..help me pick out something to wear."

Lanie chuckled. "Here, this should knock his socks off."

"Lanie, this isn't a date. I need something that I can move easily in. Not something that only covers about a quarter of my body." Beckett said looking down. "But it would leave him slack jawed." She quickly added with a smirk.

"Make sure you call me, and tell me how everything went. Mkay?"

"Fine." Beckett said softly.

Once Beckett found a decent outfit to wear, Lanie decided to leave. Even though she wanted to see the look on Castles face, she thought they should have their little moment to themselves.

Beckett finished putting on her make up, when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it, and saw Castle standing in a very fashionable black blazer and dress pants. He left a few buttons on his white shirt undone, revealing a small portion of his smooth and faintly tanned chest.

Castle watched as she looked at him from head to toe, smiling because he just rendered her speechless. That was a first. He began to look her over, and could not help but open his mouth slightly, at how gorgeous Beckett looked.

Noticing that he was standing there doing nothing, he decided now would be a good time to say something. "Wow, you look amazing." His eyes fell to her feet. "But, what if you need to run? Won't those heels slow you down?" Castle said, meeting her eyes.

She leaned into his personal space, enunciating every letter, "Do you doubt my capability of running in heels, Rick?"

Not giving him a chance to answer, Beckett turned around, leading Castle into the living room. "And thanks to you, I have to make sure I look fitting, when we meet with Collins."

"It's not like you have to try hard." Castle said closing the door behind him.

Thankfully, her back was still to him, so he didn't see her blush. "I just need to get my purse and we can go."

She disappeared into her room, when Castle heard the front door opening. He spun around and saw Josh in the doorway, with a key in his hand. Castle froze. Josh was standing there, staring at the writer with a stoic expression on his face.

Beckett came into the living room, "Ok I'm ready." She glanced up and saw Castle with a worried look on his face. She was about to ask him what's wrong, when she saw movement behind him.

She looked at the man, who was still in the doorway, "Josh? What are you doing here? And do you ever knock?" Beckett asked, annoyed that every time he came over, he always let himself in.

Josh ignored her questions, "What is he doing here? Are you two going on a date? I knew there was something going on between the two of you."

Castle gestured towards him and Beckett, "We are not together." he was about to go on, but Beckett cut him off.

"It does not matter if we are or aren't together. You and I are over Josh. That does not give you the right to barge into my home and interrogate me."

"I did not 'barge' in. I have a key, remember."

"Why are you here?" She folded her arms.

"I came for my stuff. You texted me."

"I also said to let me know when you are coming." She sighed and pointed to a corner, "Just get your stuff and go. Leave my key on your way out."

Castle was standing on the sidelines watching the two have a hard stare towards each other.

Josh moved to the box that was in the corner. Before picking it up, he lowered his voice, "Can we talk about this?"

She almost laughed at him, "Theres nothing to talk about."

Nodding he lifted the box up, effortlessly, and made his way towards the door. He gave Castle a disbelieving look as he past him. He was almost into the hall, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around.

"You forgot to leave the key." Castle said in a loud whisper.

Josh remained stoic as he reached into his pocket, and placed it into Castle's open hand.

"Treat her well." was all Josh had to say to the writer.

Castle nodded, "When have I not."

With that, Josh walked away, thinking about how he had treated Kate. If he hadn't accused her of being unfaithful, and actually tried to make an effort to get to know her fellow Detectives, he might still be with her. Instead, he's leaving her life for good.

Castle closed the door and walked back to where Beckett was standing. "To think we didn't get to the 'fooling a murderer' part of the night yet." He tried to lighten the mood.

Beckett half smiled.

Castle walked up to her side and held out his arm. "Are you ready to be my wife and arrest a dangerous criminal?"

She looked at his arm, then wrapped hers around it. "Ready as I'll ever be."

A/N: So yea, long story short it took me a very long time to start this chapter. Next chapter will be a blast to write so look forward to reading it. I promise it won't take me 2 weeks to write it.

Any suggestions or feedback are always welcome.