Kate didn't stop running until she was sure he was not following her. Why did she kiss him? WHY? Sure, she was happy after having read her father's letter but was it a good reason to run into the arms of a man she had met three days before and kiss him? She was not so sure. She didn't have time to think more about it because her cell phone rang. There had been a murder, she was needed at the scene and she still had to go back home and put her uniform on.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

As a matter of fact, she didn't have time to think about the kiss for a few days, due to a very big and very complex case. But when she went home on this Thursday night, she couldn't help but feeling proud. She had been the one to close the case. She had been the one to see that the dates were not matching and therefore destroy the alibi of the prime suspect. She had even been congratulated by the Captain, in person! She had seen him looking at her often in the past few weeks. It was frightening because she knew she just couldn't make any mistakes, but at the same time it was flattering because it meant that she good at her job and getting his attention.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by her chirping cell phone. It was a message from Madison, one of her few remaining friends from high school … whose birthday party was the following day!

"Just to remind you, pick you up at 9, SHORT dress compulsory."

Yeah … she had completely forgotten. OK, planning! Right now, she was going to sleep, she really needed to sleep. The following day would be just paperwork so she should be finished by 4 or 5. They she'd run to the mall and buy a dress, and that will hopefully leave her enough time to eat something and get ready. With this settled, she collapsed on her bed and fell asleep immediately.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

The following day ended much earlier than expected. The paperwork was done by lunchtime and everything was filed. Kate was going to get tout to find something to eat when Captain Montgomery called her in his office.

"Officer Beckett, my office please." he called from his doorstep.

Kate was really surprised.

"Yo Beckett, what did you do?" her colleague Javier Esposito asked form his desk.

She shrugged and headed to the Captain's office. It would either go really well … or really bad. He did not call people in his office for nothing. And when it was case-related, he usually went to see the investigators at their desks, not call them in.

"You wanted to see me Sir?" Kate asked before entering the office.

"Yes, Officer Beckett. Please come in, take a seat." Montgomery said, smiling.

Kate sat on the chair he designated and tried to get comfortable. She was not really of a stressful type but still … being alone with the Captain in his office was impressive.

"So, I heard you did an impressive job on the Mitchell case, Officer Beckett."

"Just trying to do my best, Sir." Kate answered, trying not to blush.

"But your best was still better than what my Detective could do. I have to say, I'm really impressed by you Beckett. You seem so … professional and mature for your age."

"Thank you, Sir."

"So, I've been watching you for a while and I have a proposition to make. What would you think about moving up Detective?"

"Detective? But Sir … I thought there was an age limit. 25? That's in two years for me Sir."

"I know. But the thing is … Detective Habbot is retiring next month and I need a new detective. And you're the best candidate in this precinct. Now, as for the age limit, it has been done before. A certain Victoria Gates has the record so far. You'd beat her. If you accept, of course."

"It … it would be an honor Sir, really." Kate said, completely lost in the conversation. "But … is there so kind of training I have to do? Because … uh … I don't want to be disrespectful or anything but … uh … I really need the money Sir. I can't afford to take an unpaid formation."

"Don't worry about that Beckett. You will be trained by Detective Habbot for two months after his official retirement date. And during that time, you'll keep your officer salary, which is normal since you'll still be working as an officer." Montgomery explained. "So can I count on you? I'm sorry it's such short notice but I'll need your answer before Monday so, here is my home phone number. Call me when you made your decision."

"It's not necessary Sir, I'm in. I don't need to think about it. It's really an honor Sir, thank you so much!" Kate said, getting up and shaking his hand enthusiastically.

"Ok, great!" Montgomery exclaimed, really happy to have recruiting such a promising new detective. "Now, you're on call this weekend, is that correct?"

"Yes Sir."

"Take the weekend off, I'll see that nobody calls you, except for cases of extreme emergencies of course. Now, on Monday, we have a new officer coming in, an officer … Ryan," Montgomery said, looking at some piece of paper on his desk. "Would you mind showing him around and taking him with you and Esposito for the time being?"

"No, of course not Sir, it will be a pleasure." Kate said, still not sure of what was happening.

"Great, now go home and enjoy your free weekend, these will get less numerous once your a detective." Montgomery laughed. "Oh and come by my office on Monday morning, I'll have some forms for you to sign."

"Ok. Thanks again Sir. Really." Kate said, going out of the office.

When she closed the door, a huge smile appeared on her face and she walked to her desk.

"So, what did he want?" Esposito asked, appearing next to her.

"I uh … do you mind if I tell you later? I don't really want to talk about it until it's official." Kate said.

"Sure." Esposito answered. "With that smile you got on your face, at least I'm sure it's good anyway." he laughed, going back to his desk to finish his paperwork.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

After a quick lunch at Remy's, Kate went to the mall in search of the short dress required by Madison for her birthday party. What she didn't know was that she wouldn't be looking at dresses by herself. She had just entered the mall when she found herself face to face with none other than Richard Castle, which made her blush furiously.

"Hello Rick." she said simply.

"Hey. What? You're not kissing me today?" Rick laughed.

Seeing that Kate was more than uncomfortable with the situation, he let it drop.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I uh … I need to find a dress for a birthday party tonight." she said.

"Tonight? And you're only looking for it now?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah well … I kind of forgot about it." Kate admitted.

"Well, let's get to work then, we need to get you the perfect dress." Rick said, taking her by the arm and leading her towards the escalators.

"We?"

"Yes, we, as in you and me. Don't look at me like that. You know that there is no way you'll be finding the perfect dress by yourself in this huge place. You'll need an extra pair of eyes. Come on, I'm not taking no for an answer."

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Kate was getting ready for Madison's birthday party when someone knocked on her door. It was a messenger carrying a box. She signed for it and put it on her table. When she opened it, her breath was cut off. It was a dress. THE dress that she'd been looking at while Rick was choosing ties. It was way above her price range but it was so beautiful, and so perfect for a birthday party at a club! AND, it was calling her name in the shop window. Rick must have seen her before leaving the tie store. She couldn't believe he had bought it for her. She brought it to her bedroom and laid it on her bed, next to the dress she had bought. Her eyes moved form one to the other, comparing. On one side was a simple yet classy little black dress, nothing too much but with the right jewelery, shoes and accessories, it would look really great. On the other side was a simply stunning short strapless purple dress which was just … perfect for the occasion and would go perfectly with her new heels. And it was a gift. It would be rude not to accept it. Right?

After a dinner at a really nice restaurant, Kate, Madison and her group of friends move to a new nightclub, the Club 5. After a few minutes of talking and dancing, a waiter handed her a folded piece of paper. Curious, she opened it, blushed furiously and looked around her.

"I knew this dress would look amazing on you. RC."

here is what I imagined Kate's dress to be: www.dillards.com/product/Teeze-Me-Strapless-Dress_301_-1_301_503218056?cm_mmc=Linkshare-_-J84DHJLQkR4-_-null-_-null&linkshare= (dot)com/affiliate