Six glorious months. It has been six glorious months since they moved in together and it finally felt like everything was falling in to place.

At first, Rick thought he would never convince her to take that step. His charm level was up to two hundred percent as he pointed out the benefits of cohabitation. He'd point out how great it was every morning they woke up together at her place or, more often, at his. All the methods he thought were surefire blew up in his face, which was why it seemed appropriate that the thing that finally convinced her wasn't something he planned at all.

For two and a half months after he officially parted ways with the NYPD they dated regularly. Dating workaholic Kate was no easy task, yet Rick was up for the challenged. There were more canceled dinners than not and work was always the excuse. If she canceled too many times in a row, he'd simply bring her dinner at the station and sit there while she, Ryan and Esposito hashed through another case.

This little move proved beneficial in two ways. In addition to spending time with her, he was able to provide his opinion on whatever crime solving issue they faced. At first he knew the captain was irritated with him, but the more times he happened they came to a silent but mutual agreement that as long as he wasn't roaming through crime scenes he would not be punished for providing a theory or two—especially if those theories lead the team in the right direction.

Rick's favorite days were the ones after she closed a big case. When all the paperwork was completed, she would come over and they'd share a glass of wine while she regaled him with the story of her latest takedown. He loved to hear the pride in her voice. Though, arguably, he loved her post-case-closure enthusiastic love making a little more than the story.

It was around the tenth week of their relationship that the film version of Heat Wave was released and, naturally, Rick was invited to the New York release party. He invited Kate as his date and after some arm-twisting she agreed. Martha took her shopping for an appropriate dress and their plans were set.

Rick felt like the luckiest man in the world strolling down the red carpet with gorgeous Kate in her sexy, skin-tight one shoulder gown on his arm. When he paused to do an interview, the identity of his date—the real Nikki Heat—was revealed and the paparazzo's interest in their photograph tripled.

Sensing her discomfort, Rick hurried them inside, where they met familiar faces—the cast of the movie, some of whom they'd already met. After rubbing elbows with their on-screen alter egos, they watched the movie, and Kate listened as Rick griped about every one of the scenes they'd removed or changed from his book. At one huge added plot, she thought he was going to jump out of his seat with outrage so she took his hand in hers in an attempt to calm him down. Luckily, it worked.

Later that night after more champagne and partying than she'd done in quite some time, Rick took her home, but she wouldn't let him leave. They both fell asleep quickly, though she awoke a few hours later, just before dawn. She watched him sleep, watched his eyelids flutter as he dreamed, and wondered why she'd fought loving him for so long.

When he awoke, the first thing she told him was that she wanted to move in with him. Still half asleep, he was dumbfounded, but thrilled. Unable to stop himself, he asked what finally pushed her to the decision and she told him that after seeing part of his world, she understood that part of him better than she ever knew she could.

Rick thought that while she had agreed to move in with him she would drag her feet and move only one box a week, drawing the process out as long as she could, but he couldn't have been further from the truth. She had half her clothes moved by the end of the weekend and the rest of her belongings inside a month and, if Rick had to guess, she never seemed happier.

Their cohabitation was blissful, which is why taking the next step seemed natural. Still, there were steps he needed to take. First, the ring. Kate was not a flashy five-carat-diamond type girl as his second wife had been. No, she needed something subtle but elegant. With the ring chosen, he sought the opinion of one of the other important women in his life.

Much to his chagrin, Rick's mother was still living with him. Things could have been worse. His apartment had two floors and Martha mostly kept the second, though there was only one kitchen in the home and more often than either party would have liked, Martha walked in on an intimate moment between Kate and Rick.

Rick found her seated at the kitchen counter sipping a mid-afternoon glass of wine. Kate was neck-deep in a case and would not be seen or heard from for the rest of that day; this was the perfect time.

"Mother, I need to speak with you about something. I…I'm going to ask Kate to marry me," he said as he stood a foot behind her.

Martha set down her glass, rotated her chair and folded her hands across her knee. "Is that so?"

"Yes it is." He let a silent moment go by before asking, "Well don't you have an opinion on this?" For his previous two marriages his mother had voiced a very loud—and very negative—opinion. Most notably on his second marriage since Martha flat out hated his bride (in hindsight he realized her good judgment but by that point the damage had been done).

"My opinion is that its wonderful, Richard. Kate is a dream. I can't think of anyone better. You've finally picked the right one—third time's the charm, eh?"

He gave her an unappreciative look and she merely smiled. "I assume there's a ring?"

"Ah," he paused for dramatic effect before pulling the box from his coat pocket. He flipped it open and Martha peered down on it.

"That's it? With all your money you could have a least afforded a full carat."

"This is a full carat," he said with annoyance. "You know Kate—she's not flashy. I didn't want her to be mad at me; she tends to hit…or at least poke me really hard."

Martha rolled her eyes. "Well you know her better than I do, I suppose so if you think she'll be happy with it. I just want you to be happy, Dear."

Rick beamed. "I am, Mother."

"Well that's wonderful. So," she said picking up her wine goblet once more. "Have you and Kate talked about having children?"

"Children!" he almost gasped at the unexpected subject.

"Well, yes…Kate's what? Thirty-one? I'm sure she's starting to hear the ticking of her biological clock. And you're certainly not getting any younger."

"Thanks," he groaned.

She waved her hand casually. "Just saying."

"No, we haven't talked about it but I guess," he paused and allowed a flash of Kate cradling their child to fill his mind and warm his heart, "I wouldn't be opposed to the idea."

"Good. I'm very happy for you Richard."

He thanked her and the excused himself to his study; he needed to call the other important lady in his life because he needed her opinion as well, even if she was away at school.

Three nights later the plan was set. He confirmed with Esposito that no last minute case had come up and then he set to work on the elaborate dinner he was making. He'd considered several options when choosing a proposal location, many of them quite elaborate, but at the end of the day he remembered who he was proposing to and knew that Kate would be more irritated than impressed by a proposal on the big screen at a Knicks's game. He chose an intimate, at home setting for his romantic ideas and hoped she would be impressed by it.

Table, candles, roses, food—everything was set by the time she arrived home. He greeted her with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. She expressed surprise and inquired about the occasion. He brushed it off as writers block and doing everything he could to avoid his deadline and, thankfully, she believed the ruse.

With their meal finished she began to clear the table, but he stopped her. "I have something for you."

Her brow furrowed lightly. "What?"

His heart thundering in his chest, Rick dipped his hand in to his jacket's inner pocket and produced the black jewelry box, which he slid across the table to her.

"What's this?" she asked, her tone playful. He shrugged and encouraged her to open it. As she did so, his heart soared. She may have been good at bluffing in an interview room, but he knew her well enough to know she genuinely did not expect a ring inside the box.

With the box's contents revealed, she let out a light gasp of, "Oh my god," and covered her mouth with her hand. Rick slid from his chair and took a knee beside her. Only then did she meet her gaze and he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

As a writer he'd written this scene several times with his perfected literary elegance. Yet, somehow, in real life, he always seemed at a loss for words. He could have gone on for hours about how much he cherished her, but yet the writer in him knew that sometimes less was more.

"Kate, will you marry me?" he asked simply.

She blinked and a tear slipped from her left eye and rolled down her cheek. "Yes, yes of course." She slid from the chair in to his arms and kissed him soundly. He wrapped his arms around her in response and held her as tightly as he could.

"Oh my god," she gushed a few minutes later, rubbing the tears from her cheeks. "This…I just…I don't know what to say except this ring is huge!"

Rick almost laughed at how her opinion differed from his mothers, but he merely smiled and avoided commenting. He plucked the ring from its velvety resting place and slid it on her finger before kissing the back of her left hand. "I love you," he told her.

"I love you, too. And as soon as we put this food away I'm going to show you just how much." She flashed him a devilish grin before standing, grabbing their plates and walking them to the kitchen sink. He watched as she deposited the dishes and then gazed down at her left hand with amazement.

Rick approached her slowly from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Can I ask you a somewhat random question?"

"Mmmhm."

"Well my mother—after I told her I was going to ask you to marry me—she asked if we were going to have children and I, um, I wasn't sure what your opinion was on the subject so…"

For a moment she didn't move, but then she spun around in his arms, grinning. "It's funny you say that because I'd actually been thinking about that—becoming a mother—more and more lately. I guess I'm getting to be around that age… but yes I definitely want kids."

"You do?"

She nodded. "I always have I just…I wanted them to have a good father so we'd have a strong family, a great family like mine was and," she paused to look him directly in the eye, "I can't think of anyone who would be a better father than you."

Unable to respond with words, he merely captured her lips with his and held her body close. "Thanks," he sighed.

"For what?"

He shrugged, once again at a loss for words. "Everything."

She smiled at him. "Always."