Here we go! This one is TOTALLY SAPPY. Fair warning.

IBYL
xo

An hour later, the pair were settled on the couch out on the deck, watching the world go by. Rick was writing half-heartedly as he watched Kate read a book, the first of the Stephanie Plum mysteries. He smiled as she lost herself in the book completely, laughing at the amusing parts and gasping when danger came into play. It was fascinating, but he decided to break her bubble for a good cause.

"Hey, Kate?" He said softly, and she hummed in response. "Put the book down for a sec?" He asked, and she placed her bookmark in her page before looking up at him.

"What's up?" She asked, and he just nodded towards the horizon in response. She smiled, and curled herself into his embrace. "It's a beautiful sunset." She said happily.

"And I'm sharing it with a beautiful woman." He grinned, and she rolled her eyes but smiled despite the cheese factor of his comment.

"Oh, you're good." She teased good-naturedly, and he pulled her into a bruising kiss. When they pulled away she smiled, a sparkle in her eyes. Rick grinned as he spotted it.

"You actually have no idea how incredibly beautiful you are, do you?" He asked genuinely, and she looked at him stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"You're just absolutely stunning. Gorgeous beyond belief, and you have no idea." He said, and she blushed a little.

"I just… people have told me that before, but…" She trailed off.

"You didn't believe them." He said, having to refrain himself from shaking his head sadly.

"Why do you think I blush whenever you tell me? You're so sincere, and every time you tell me I'm pretty or something I just… I never know what to say or do." She said, and he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You'd better get used to it, because I'm going to tell you how beautiful you are every chance I get for the rest of my life." He said, and she blinked a few times to try and hold back tears. Rick gently wiped away the few that escaped and looked at her questioningly. She smiled.

"Rest of your life, huh?" She said with a little smile, and he grinned.

"There's something else I've got to tell you every chance I get for the rest of my life." He said. "I love you, Kate. I love you so much, and I'm going to tell you whenever and wherever I can, for as long as you'll let me." The tears were flowing freely down her face now, but she smiled through them.

"I love you too." She said simply, and he grinned widely before kissing her again. The passion they'd always had for each other but had only just truly admitted to, seeped through into their kiss.

When the pair finally broke for air, Kate smiled as she rested her forehead against Rick's. She looked into his bright blue eyes and saw nothing but sheer joy and love, which made her smile wider, and contemplate what she'd done to deserve such a fantastic man by her side. Little did she know that Rick was having similar thoughts, wondering who exactly to thank for the fact that the girl of his dreams, the love of his life, loves him in return. He daydreamed for a bit before he was interrupted.

"Hey, Rick?"

"Yes, love?" He responded easily.

"Take me to bed." She whispered softly, and watched as his eyes widened comically. When he finally regained his senses, he tucked his arm under her knees and wrapped his other arm around her back and stood up, carrying her bridal-style through the house and towards their bedroom.

XXX

The next morning they woke up as the sun broke over the horizon. Kate smiled into Rick's bare chest as she recalled all of the delicious things they did the night before, before curling closer to him and running her fingers up and down his abs gently, tracing nonsense patterns on him. His eyes fluttered open softly and he smiled.

"Hey. You're drawing on me again." He said, remembering the last morning they'd woken up together.

"Well this time there's no clothing to interrupt my drawing." She said. "Why, does it bother you?" She asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Not at all. I love it." He said, kissing her forehead and making her giggle.

"See, we both have our things. You kiss my head, and I draw on you. We're even." She said, returning to her drawing. He smiled and laid back, simply enjoying the feeling of waking up with a naked Kate Beckett in his arms. When her drawing slowly morphed into writing, he noticed, and started to pay more attention. When he recognised her nimble fingers spell out 'I Love You', he snuggled down while at the same time pulling Kate up to meet him. He kissed her softly, gently, and smiled against her lips, making her chuckle.

"I love you too, Kate." He said, pulling her into a heated kiss.

XXX

Three hours and a very steamy shower later, Kate and Rick were eating lunch in the kitchen together, chatting easily about anything that came to mind. When they finished eating, Rick smiled.

"So I was thinking, maybe this afternoon we could go for a walk around town and tonight I can take you on another proper date." He said with a smile, and she nodded.

"That sounds great, Rick. Let me go get ready and we'll go out." She smiled and kissed him softly before she ran to their bedroom to get organised. About 20 minutes later, she emerged from the bedroom and found Rick ready and waiting, car keys in hand.

"We should go shopping." Rick declared as they left the car and began walking up the main street. She chuckled at him a little as she took his hand.

"What could we possibly have to buy?" She questioned in return.

"I don't know. Anything, everything… I want to spoil you." He said, squeezing her hand, and she shook her head.

"No spoiling me, Rick. I don't need it, or want it. Spoiling is only for special occasions, like birthdays and Christmas."

"But your birthday is so far away!" He moaned, and she laughed, leaning in to kiss him softly.

"That just gives you more time to decide HOW to spoil me." She said with a wink, and he laughed before pulling her into a deeper kiss. They pulled away for air and she smiled breathlessly. "How about some coffee?" She asked, and he nodded, leading her towards a cute little café up the street.

XXX

After a teeny bit of shopping, Kate and Rick walked, once again hand in hand, back to where they'd parked the car. Kate had bought a new dress for their evening tonight, but had refused to let Rick see it, deeming that it had to be a surprise because she never got the opportunity to surprise him. When he pointed out that it had only been just over a week since they'd started dating, she stopped dead on the street. As their hands were connected, her sudden stop caused him to halt too. He turned and was struck by the pure shock on her face.

"Kate, what is it?"

"We've only been together a week, Rick!" She said, and he paused.

"And…?" He asked, clearly not understanding where she was going.

"One week is no time at all!" She said, and he squeezed her hand.

"Walk back to the car with me, and we'll go have this conversation in private instead of on a public street." He said, and she nodded, realising that this really wasn't the place.

A few short minutes later, they were back at the house. Kate perched herself on the couch, trying to remain calm. Rick put the shopping bags away, before returning and sitting next to Kate on the couch.

"So, you want to tell me why you froze back there?" He asked, and she looked down.

"I just… we've only been together just over a week, Rick. For half of that time, we haven't been working or doing anything difficult, we've just been having fun. I'm getting ahead of myself. Relationships don't happen this quick." She said, and he nodded in understanding.

"Kate, we've been doing difficult things for years. It's not like you and I have just met – together, we've pulled through some of the toughest situations any person could ever encounter. We're not in a regular new relationship because really, we've been building it for years. We may have been 'together' together for only a week, but I've been in love with you for a LOT longer than that, I can assure you." He said, taking a chance and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She slid her arms around his waist carefully, burrowing her face into his chest. "I think you know this is different, Kate. And I think that might be what's scaring you." He said, and smirked as he felt her nod against his chest. He knew her SO well.

"I dream about you." She whispered.

"I'm honoured. Good dreams?" He asked, and she looked up, a smile of pure joy on her face despite the moisture in her eyes. "I'll take that smile as a yes." He said.

"The best dreams. You and I on dates, you and I at the precinct bickering – extensions of real life. But these past two nights, my dreams have been about more than real life. Like… you proposing, or our wedding day. Last night we were married with a little girl, no more than three, who looked like me but had your piercing blue eyes, and she was skipping around Central Park. You were calling her 'Jo' and she was giggling all the time. It was the most adorable thing, Castle. And it all felt so damn real." She said, biting her lip. "We've been together a week and I've had those dreams, dreams I've never had before." She said softly, and he smiled, tilting her head up to kiss her softly.

"One day, Kate. One day, we'll have all that and more." And he sounded so damn certain that Kate didn't have the heart to protest further.

Review? Two to go...