I GOT THE PART!
OKAY SO LIFE MADE. ON WITH THE STORY.
Disclaimer: I don't own Castle and I'm too happy to think of anything slightly witty.
Kate sat at her desk wondering what took Rick an hour and a half to pick up their pizza for lunch when Gates called her in to her office.
"Beckett, sit down."
"Yes sir."
"I want to thank you and Mr. Castle for your work on the Dunmore case. Well done."
"Well done?" That was weird. Weird did not even begin to cover it.
"Yes. You did a commendable job."
"Sir, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Theodore...uh… Mr. Sweeney asked me to express his gratitude to you and Mr. Castle. He also says you two make a beautiful couple." Gates raised her eyebrows. Could nothing stay private?
Theodore? It was Beckett's turn to raise her eyebrows. Either Beckett was imagining things, or there was a hint of affection when Gates said Mr. Sweeney's name. It made sense now, all that undercover nonsense to protect the hotel's image. It was for a boy. Beckett would have been mad before, but that undercover mission gave her the world. Nevertheless, she was still surprised to see that Gates had a life outside of work, let alone a romantic one. This feeling was much akin to the old feeling of seeing the strictest teacher at school out in public. She was happy for her boss, but the thought still made her shudder.
"Anyway, Detective Beckett, the real reason I have you in here is to tell you to leave it at home, you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, sir."
…
Castle must have been to three different jewelers today, and he still hadn't picked up their pizza. If he was going to do this, it had to be perfect. Finally, he found someone who said they could do the job right, so he left the jeweler to his business and went to pick up the pizza. He forgot what Beckett had asked for, since his eagerness to get the pizza was mostly a ruse to go to the jewelry store without suspicion, so he just got one of everything.
Carrying the load of pizzas, he went back to the jeweler to collect the ring. It was even better than he hoped.
"Beckett, pizza, yours, here." Beckett couldn't help but laugh when she saw Rick standing there holding a stack of pizzas so tall that his head was hidden behind it.
"Hungry, Castle?"
"Well I didn't eat breakfast if you remember," and leaning into Kate's ear, so only she could hear his next comment, he said, "but this pizza will never be as good as breakfast this morning."
And just like that, she felt the need to jump him and have her way with him on the nearest surface, not dissimilar to their breakfast incident. It took everything she had to make her stop thinking about breakfast, her new favorite meal of the day, the main course: a heaping serving of handsome mystery writer.
"So… uh…. What took you so long? You left two hours ago and left me alone to have a pleasant conversation with Gates."
"Pleasant? Is that code for totally torturous and anything but pleasant?"
"No. It was pleasant. That's what's creepy." She took a slice of pepperoni while she watched Rick's face. It was fun to watch his face. It was easy to read and always interesting.
Rick shuddered at the thought. Maybe he heard it wrong.
"Pleasant?"
"Pleasant."
"Sorry about that."
"She knows about us."
"Oh, shit. She wants me gone, right? Personal and work relationships? I'm sorry. I could call the mayor, but that might make it worse. I'll leave. We can still see each other after you get off work and everything. Keep me up to speed on all the freaky cases though, okay?" Rick was upset. He loved being able to spend all day with Kate, but their relationship was more important than playing cop.
"Rick, slow down. You didn't let me finish. She's okay with it." Rick almost choked.
"W-w-wh-at? Okay with it? Did you bribe her?"
"No, Gates has a soft spot. I think the macho thing is mostly a façade."
"Maybe you're right. You should eat more pizza though, because I have eight boxes and you've only eaten two slices."
They invited the boys over to help them with the pizza, and even sent a box into Gates' office. They invited her out, but she'd already shown her soft side once today and refused. Rick's hand rested on Kate's thigh underneath the table. Rick admired the picture of the four friends sharing a meal, the three guys discussing the latest video games, the two people completely in love, and the one happiest guy on earth.
Kate finally finished her paperwork, and with no dead bodies, she was clear to leave. Rick and Kate decided to talk to Alexis, but Kate thought it would be better if Rick talked to his daughter alone first. She would come over later for dinner if things went well with Alexis.
…
"Pumpkin! Hey, how are you? How was school?"
"Uh, fine Dad. You're happy." Alexis was no idiot, she knew that Kate Beckett was a huge part of how happy her father was lately.
"Alexis, do you have a minute to talk?"
"Is it about Detective Beckett? I already told you I was okay with it, or is your memory that short?"
"I want to marry her. I want her to move in. And I want us to be a family. I'm not talking tomorrow, but I want you to know what my intentions are. Pumpkin, it's not going to happen in one night, but I am going to propose tonight. If you really don't want me to, though, then just say the word."
"Oh. Tonight, Dad?"
"Only if it's okay with you. And this doesn't mean we'd be getting married tomorrow, just that we'd get hitched at some point to each other."
"Dad, I approve of Kate, it's obvious how happy she makes you and she's made you a better person over the last four years, so I can't tell you that you're not allowed to make that a permanent thing. Just, tell me before you get on the plane to Vegas, okay?"
"Pumpkin, you do know that nothing can change the relationship we have. I might be marrying Kate, but I will always love you too, and never any less than I always have. Besides, Kate's not really a Vegas wedding kind of gal."
"I just can't help but feel that she's going to replace me after I go to college." That wounded Rick. Alexis literally meant the world to him. Yes, he loved Kate more than anything, but the love he held for his own little redheaded genius daughter was something special between him and Alexis.
"That would never happen." It was impossible. Two different kinds of love, replacement was not an option. He wanted both Kate and Alexis, even if it made him selfish. He needed them both.
"Well, she is the best possible person you could want to marry. Dad, I'm not opposed to you marrying her, I know that's what it probably sounds like, but I'm not. You and Detective Beckett are perfect for each other. I just did not see this coming so soon."
"Sorry, pumpkin, I did not mean to blindside you. I didn't want to keep this relationship hidden from you. I wanted it all on the table, crystal clear. Now, if it's okay with you, I'd love to have Kate over for dinner tonight. Maybe you two can get to know each other better."
"Okay, Dad." She took a deep breath, "that sounds good."
Rick smiled with relief and sent Kate a text: It's all clear for dinner tonight. Pack a bag because I refuse to go to bed without you. In fact, pack a very large bag; you're staying for a while.
Kate's chest twisted and her heart skipped a beat when she deciphered the end of Rick's text. Was he asking her to move in? She got ready for dinner, wearing something cute, but not too raunchy since Alexis would be there, and packed a bag for three days and several sexy nights.
Dinner proved to be altogether uneventful. The atmosphere was slightly awkward at first, but then Kate made a joke at Rick's expense that had Alexis in stitches. The mood softened and Alexis found that she really liked having Kate around. She knew that she was good for her father, but, just maybe, Kate was good for her, too. And it certainly did wonders for her dad's ego.
Rick insisted on doing the dishes and cleaning, and the girls went into the living room to pick a movie. They were talking about school dances when Alexis suggested Footloose (not really Kate's style). Kate told a story about an awful homecoming dance from her high school days and Alexis mentioned that her school's Winter Ball was rapidly approaching.
"Winter Ball? That sounds… cute."
"More like nauseating, but I still have to go because I signed on for the committee to put on my applications, I'm aiming for well-rounded when I re-apply to Stanford."
"Well that's fantastic, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Do you have a dress?"
"No, I haven't really gotten the chance to go shopping yet. Hey… um… if you don't mind Detective Beckett, would you want to… help me pick out a dress?" Alexis immediately second guessed her words, so she decided to give Beckett a way out, "Only if you want to though!"
"Alexis, please, call me Kate, or Beckett, or anything really, but you don't need to put the 'detective' in front of it. And I would love to look for a dress with you. I can pick you up Thursday, if you're free, after work and we'll hit the shops. That'd be great." Kate was a little taken with Alexis. She always liked Alexis, but now she found it easy to want to spend time with her. She did not want to be Alexis' mother—she had one of those—whether she was around or not, and she did not really think a BBF arrangement would be comfortable for either of them, but Kate found herself wanting to be a part of Alexis' life, in some way or another, more and more.
"Great. Fantastic. Thursday it is. Oh, how about Monty Python and the Holy Grail?"
"YES, YES, A THOUSAND TIMES YES!" Came the eager voice of Rick from the kitchen.
Beckett laughed quietly and rolled her eyes, but said, "Sounds perfect." It was a double meaning if she ever heard one. She could get used to the Castle family.
…
That night, after Alexis went to bed, and after a steamy round of letting the day's pent-up sexual feelings out, Kate lay naked on Rick's equally naked torso.
"Thanks for coming to dinner, Kate. And for agreeing to take Alexis dress shopping. If you'd rather not, though, that's fine. I'm sure mother would be thrilled to dress Alexis up like a Barbie doll."
"What do you mean 'if I don't want to'? Of course I want to, I did say yes, remember? Alexis is a great girl and I'd love to go dress shopping with her."
Rick was overjoyed to hear this. None of his wives ever paid Alexis the attention she deserved, and here Kate was, offering herself up to the job. It solidified in his mind that Katherine Beckett would be the last woman for Richard Castle. He had never been surer of anything in his entire life.
They lay there like that for a while longer. Rick was writing something on Kate's back and Kate tried desperately to decipher the message. Finally, she said "Katherine."
"What?"
"You're writing Katherine on my back."
"That was an easy one. Betchya can't guess the next one, though."
Kate focused everything in her on Castle's fingers on her bare back.
?-L-O-?E-Y-O-?
I-L-O-V-E-Y… "I love you!" Kate exclaimed.
"I love you, too. Always. One more."
W-?-L-L-?-O-?-M-?-R-R-?-M-?
W-?-L-L-Y-O-?-M-A-R-R-?-M-E
W-I-L-L-Y-O-U-M-A-R-R-Y-M-E What! No, she had to be feeling things wrong.
W-I-L-L-Y-O-U-M-A-R-R-Y-M-E No, no, she felt right.
"Castle…?"
"Yes, dear?"
"What are you writing on my back…?"
Kate looked up to Rick's face, but instead, her eyes met something else entirely. Her eyes fixed upon a diamond ring, not dissimilar to the one she wore undercover, but the band was different. She was just close enough to make out the inscription on the inside that read "Always" in fancy letters.
"Katherine Beckett, I love you. Will you marry me?"