A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews and follows everyone! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Their taxi drops them off at the Bellagio and before they try their luck in the casino, they check the availability of hotel rooms. Castle, again, fails to hide his glee when they discover there are no single rooms available but instead several suites.

"We'll take the Penthouse Suite," Castle tells the hotel clerk before Kate can object.

"Castle!"

"We shared a suite in LA, it'll be fine sharing a suite in Las Vegas. Let loose a little, Beckett. Take advantage of our unexpected trip to Las Vegas and let me treat you to some of life's little luxuries."

"A thousand dollar hotel room is not a 'little luxury' to people living on a cop's salary, Castle!" Kate whispers harshly.

"You can pay me back in winnings from the casino if you're really that concerned about it." He waves his hand like he's swatting away her anger then turns to the hotel clerk and takes the proffered key cards while a bellhop grabs their luggage. Kate continues to glare at him as he walks toward the elevator. He turns and sees her still standing near the front desk.

"Come on, Beckett. Live a little!" He flashes her his signature charming smile. She gives him one last hard glare and walks toward him with slightly less contempt.

Castle unlocks the door to their suite and Kate's mouth drops when she sees the extravagance of the room. She thought their suite in Los Angeles was over the top, but their Vegas suite has it beat. She's welcomed by the lights from the strip glowing throughout the suite. She walks down the short hallway to the living area where there is a long L-shaped couch to the right and a six chair dining table to the left. The curtains over the arched windows are open to reveal the stunning sight of the Fountains of the Bellagio. Kate peeks out the window to see a fountain show in progress entertaining a crowd with water, lights, and music. Kate takes her luggage to one of the bedrooms, still trying to wrap her head around how people more wealthy than her can casually spend a thousand dollars on a hotel room for just one night. Castle thanks the bellhop and tips him then drags his luggage to the other bedroom.

While in his room, Castle makes a quick call to Alexis to give her an update on the situation and Kate sends a quick text to Esposito and Ryan about what happened.

"You ready to have some fun?" Castle asks, rubbing his hands together in anticipation as he exits his room.

"The sooner we go the sooner I can come back and sleep," Kate mutters from the couch in the living room where she was waiting for Castle.

They walk down to the casino and make a few obligatory stops at some slot machines with not much luck and have a couple drinks as they walk around. The two stop at a blackjack table and play a couple of rounds before taking their losses and moving to another game.

After finishing up at blackjack, Castle spots the roulette tables and pulls Kate with him to an available space. Castle changes out money with the dealer for roulette chips and decides to place small bets to start. He places a few chips on black before the dealer waves her hands over the board and says, "no more bets." The ball jumps around the wheel, stops on 22 and Castle doubles his bet.

"Not too bad, Castle," Kate says, nudging her elbow into his side.

"Let's see if I can do it again."

Castle places another small bet on the 3rd 12 and when the ball lands on 28, he triples his money.

"Looks like you may have to go riskier if you intend on giving back your winnings," Kate joked.

"Since we are in Vegas, how about if I win this next one, we get married?" Castle suggests.

Kate's smile falters trying to determine if he's kidding around. She deflects with a joke, "how strong were those drinks you had?"

"Come on, Kate, live a little!" Castle exclaims for the second time that evening.

"Castle…" Kate warns.

Castle turns back to the game and places a split bet on 4 and 7 then keeps an eye on Kate when the ball starts bouncing around the wheel.

"7!" calls the dealer.

Kate's eyebrows raise in astonishment. Castle won three times in a row. She looks at him standing next to her and is greeted by a smug grin.

"If I bet straight up and win, will you agree to marry me? It's the highest odds in roulette and I've won three times in a row. Do you want to take my wager? Straight up, 'til death do us part?"

Kate huffed out a nervous laugh. "You aren't going to let this go are you?"

"I'd bet riskier if it meant I could marry you," Castle said with a level of sincerity that made Kate's heart jump.

"Fine." Kate looks him straight in the eye, defiance and hesitant hope mixing with the greens and brown of her eyes. "If you win this next bet, I will agree to marry you."

Castle lights up and places all his chips he started with on the number 3. The dealer waves her hands over the board again and the ball bounces around the wheel. When the ball lands in the 3, both Rick and Kate's eyes practically pop out of their sockets.

Kate bites her lip like it will calm the fluttering in her chest and turns to look at Rick. He struggles to meet her eyes.

Rick collects his winnings and stuffs it into his pockets like it's evidence of a shameful act he doesn't want the world to know. He walks past Kate to a nearby pillar. Kate follows him, watching and waiting for him to look her in the eye.

"So," Kate begins, drawing out the vowel in what she hopes is a playful tone, "I guess this means we are getting married, huh?"

Rick finally takes his eyes off his shoes and Kate is surprised by the remorse and sadness she sees. She frowns in response.

"Kate, I don't want to make you do this if it isn't something you want. Plus you have a boyfriend. I was only making the bet as a joke. I wasn't serious about it and I wasn't seriously expecting to win."

Kate takes in a deep breath before responding. "I don't believe you. Well, I believe that you don't want to force me into anything, but I don't believe that you made that bet as a joke."

Rick sighs. "I guess you got me there. When I marry yo…" Rick stops. "If I were to marry you, I want it to be because it is something you want."

"What if it is?" Kate rasps, barely loud enough for Rick to hear in the buzzing casino.

"What?"

"What if marrying you is what I want? What if I was serious about that bet?"

"Kate…"

Kate grabs his hand. "I don't take risks in my personal life. It's safer to have a mediocre relationship than taking a chance on an extraordinary one, but I want to risk my heart. I want extraordinary, Rick. I want you."

Rick's mouth is agape, as he tries to find his words. He manages to form sounds before asking, "wha…wha…what about Josh though?"

"What about him? I broke up with him over a month ago, before he went on another Doctors Without Borders trip. It was never going to work out because my heart belonged to someone else." Kate raises her eyebrows as if to nudge him toward understanding what she was alluding to her with her final comment.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rick asks in a hurt tone.

"I didn't tell anyone, Rick. Not even Lanie. I didn't know how to bring it up."

"Do you really want this, Kate? Do you really want to marry me?"

Kate bites her lip and nods enthusiastically. "I've come to realize that I don't want to look back on my life and wonder if only. The only thing I can ever see myself regretting is not being with you." Kate pauses and takes a deep breath. "I could survive if I never caught my mom's killer, I would be okay if I didn't become Captain or even if I wasn't a cop anymore, but I would never get over wondering what we could have been if we were braver and more willing to take a risk on each other. I could never get over you, Rick."

"So… we're getting married," Rick says as a dazzling smile grows across his face.

Kate's expression matches her future husband, "I hope so."

Rick's eyes fall on Kate's lips, she does the same for his. Before either of them can think another thought, their lips meld together, arms wrapped around each other and their hearts soaring.

Rick reluctantly pulls back to look Kate in the eyes, her pupils blown to the size of dimes. She smiles at him with the affectionate ease of people who have been a couple for years and not the five minutes that they truly have been together.

"I love kissing you. I could kiss you forever and never have enough," Rick admits.

"If we're getting married, you better plan on kissing me forever, and only me."

"Not even married yet and you are already pulling rank."

"No, more like I do not share when it comes to my husband."

"I like the sound of that, me as your husband."

"Me too." Kate pulls him in for another brief kiss then grabs Rick's hand and tugs him toward the entrance. "Let's go find ourselves a chapel."

A/N: You all probably saw that coming, but whatever, it's fanfiction and I love me some fluff.

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