A/N: Thank you all once again for supporting my story. I didn't get around to individual responses for the last chapter as I had a personal-life essssplosion. But I love every single review and I really appreciate that you took the time. Now, all is well and I finally got around to writing this. As promised:

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Epilogue:

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Castle was giggling like a little girl. High-pitched and squealing, with an occasional squeak. Beckett could feel every gasp and hitch in his breath vibrate through her mouth where it was attached to the spot at the edge of his ribcage. She laughed softly into his skin and then scraped her teeth over the sensitive spot. Castle jerked and tried to squirm away.

"Beckett!" he gasped, his laughter like a gurgle in his throat.

Beckett wrapped her arm more tightly around his middle so that when he moved away he just dragged her with him, sliding across the bed with their feet toward the headboard, and gave one more teasing, smacking kiss to his ticklish spot. She laughed when he hooked his hands under her arms and dragged her naked body across the disheveled bed to distract her, occupying her traitorous mouth with his own. She let him kiss her, lips meeting clumsily through their mutual laughter. Then she let the fingers of one hand trail back down his side.

He convulsed with the sensation and flipped them , holding both of her hands in one of his and pinning her with his chest over hers and the press of one thigh between her own.

"Beckett," he rumbled into her ear, tweaking it with his free hand, "You promised. No more tickling."

"Did I?"

"Yes," he growled again, this time biting gently at her ear before pulling back to glare at her. "Eight months ago. I put up with it for about four weeks, and then when I told you how much I don't like it you promised."

She just grinned devilishly up at him and shrugged as well as she could with her arms overhead. She pouted at him and shifted her hips against his thigh, breaking into a smile when he hummed approval. When Beckett reached up to kiss him he released his hold on her hands and sank down into her, digging his fingers into her hair and tilting his head to gain easier access to her mouth. They were skin to skin, briefly lost in the friction of his body over hers and her tongue in his mouth.

Then her sneaky, wandering hands skimmed down his back and squeezed his ass, hard. Castle grunted in surprise and she laughed at him, twisting her head away so she could watch the grin spread across his face. He kissed her again, sucking lightly on her lower lip. "I love you," he murmured. "But I'm not eighteen anymore. Gonna need a minute before round two." When he rolled to the side she went with him, snuggling into his chest and draping one leg high over his stomach.

"Love you, too, old man."

He grumbled incoherently, but the way his hand was caressing her naked leg betrayed any true annoyance. His fingers skated as far down her leg as he could reach without moving, just brushing above her ankle. She shivered, and he grinned into her hair.

"Happy anniversary, Kate."

"Nine month anniversary, Castle. Still not a thing."

"Hey," he protested, "if the kids measure in three month increments, why can't we?"

Beckett just hummed against his chest, sated and happy and beginning to feel the pull of sleep tugging at her eyelids. Castle was still chuckling, his fingers drifting around behind her knee. When she sighed in contentment he squeezed the back of her thigh. She grinned, eyes still closed, and shifted against him to get more comfortable without moving away from his hands. His warm hands that were smoothing higher up her leg now, teasing and soothing at the same time.

"Hey," Castle muttered. "How'd this end up here?"

She felt an unusual tug at her skin and heard a little snick before he produced one purple, smudged, wrinkled post-it note. Beckett grinned and propped herself up on one elbow, smoothing her hand over his chest. "Which one is that?"

Castle sat up and turned them around in the bed so they were facing the right way again. He propped himself up against the headboard and tucked her back under his arm. They tipped their heads together to peer at the note.

I like knowing that you snore

Beckett rolled her eyes and snatched the note out of his hand. "Still not your most romantic work, Castle."

Despite her words she carefully smoothed the paper and placed it deliberately on her nightstand amidst a host of others.

"Hey," he said. "It's true."

"Maybe." Beckett, shrugged, unwilling to admit anything. She glanced around. Now that she was looking, she saw there were more than a few post-its scattered about the bed. "How did these all end up here?" she wondered, shaking her head even as the corners of her mouth tilted up.

"We were in a hurry. Must've fallen out of my pocket when you tore my clothes off." Castle smirked at her affronted expression until she smirked and looked coyly at him.

"You know I prefer you naked, Castle."

He tilted her head so he could brush his lips against hers, his fingers drifting over her jaw, but they were smiling too much to make it last. Beckett reached down to drag the comforter over their now-cool bodies, grabbing at the few notes that came to within arms reach as she did so. Glancing through them, she felt her face get warm at the onslaught of emotion, both nostalgic and expectant, bubbling up in her chest. She hid her face quietly against his chest for a moment.

"Tonight was great, Castle. Really sweet." Flipping through her little pile she corrected, "Well, not all sweet. Also a little dirty."

She held one up for him to see.

You taste amazing

Castle laughed like he had when he first handed her that one over diner, eyes shining. He wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulders. "Also true," he nodded.

"Really sweet," she repeated, "even if there is no such thing as a nine-month anniversary."

"Actually," Castle sat up a little straighter, pulling her up with him, "it wasn't so much about the length of time we've been together."

Beckett snorted. "That's all you have been talking about all day!"

Castle murmured assent, but he was smiling about something. "Right. But it's not like we've only known each other for nine months. We've been basically dating for years."

Beckett gave him a funny look, but didn't argue. "What, then?"

"Here, you missed one." He casually pulled a note off of the comforter and handed it to her. The handoff was a little sloppy, though, and the little note fluttered away off the side of the bed.

"Hey, wait," Beckett muttered to it, leaning awkwardly off the bed to grab for it. She grappled for a moment before heaving herself back up to her original position. When she opened it, her jaw dropped.

Will you marry me?

"Cas..." she only managed half of the word, staring at the carefully written words and reading them again. And again after that. When she looked up to meet his gaze she found herself staring instead at the ring he was holding up between them.

"Rick." His name was a puff of air blowing out from her lips. And then she said the first thing that occurred to her. "Has this been just waiting around for me to find it all night?"

Castle laughed, but she could see the nerves seeping through in the quirk of his head and the uneven expansion of his naked chest. His adams apple bobbed dramatically. "The ring or the note?" he asked shakily. "Ah, never mind. The answer to both is no. Unless you mean have I had them all night, and then yes. But, not for you to happen upon. I was waiting, you know. For a moment. Or, something. I can't remember," he concluded hastily. He frowned.

"Kate, you haven't said yes."

"I know, it's just so unexpected. I didn't... expect it." Beckett watched his frown deepen, and rushed to gather her thoughts. "But it's good."

"Good?"

"Yes."

"Yes, like, yes you want to marry me?" He looked equal parts confused and hopeful.

"No." When his face fell, she shook her head and turned to face him completely. "I don't mean no. I'm just..." she put a hand on his chest and smiled at him broadly. Castle smiled back, though hesitantly.

"You do know how this works, right?" Then his expression changed to disappointment. "Oh! You wanted something bigger, didn't you? A grand gesture? Damn, it," he muttered, dragging his free hand through his hair while the hand holding the ring trembled and dropped away a few inches. "I should have known."

"No. This is perfect. I was just surprised." Beckett breathed in deeply, and smiled again. She smoothed her hands through his hair and over his cheeks. Suddenly the nervous surprise she had felt melted away, leaving only the strongest certainty she had ever felt. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. When she pulled back, she grinned and said, "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, Castle. I would love to marry you."

He grinned, pulling her closer with one hand and kissed her deeply. Pulling back slightly he nudged her nose with his. "I'm so glad. You had me worried."

"I'm sorry," she breathed. Then she grinned again. She couldn't seem to stop with this man. "We're getting married." After a minute of gazing at him, she sat back. "Give me my ring, Castle."

"Oh, right!" He took her left hand in both of his and slid the ring onto her finger. They both stared at it with equal expressions of near disbelief.

"I can't believe this is happening," Beckett murmured, her smile so wide it almost hurt.

"I can," Castle grinned. "And I can't wait to tell everyone."

"You know when we tell this story, we're going to have to lie and say we were wearing clothes, right?"

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..(end)..

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A/N: Thanks so much for reading. I hope you liked it! Love reviews, and I like constructive criticism almost as much, so have at it. :)