'So let me get this straight, Lanie.' Beckett tapped her fingers at the pictures on the murder board while Esposito, Castle and the ME looked on. 'Hester Hopkins was found first, in the steam room, but Miran Pringle was killed first?'

'Considering the factors of heat deterioration and body temperature, yes. Ms. Pringle died at least four to six hours before Ms. Hopkins was even at the health club.'

'Alright, so we're looking at comings and goings between eight and ten am the day Ms. Hopkins died. Esposito, go goose the IT guys, see what they can give us from the surveillance tapes and swipe card data. I'll start talking to the club custodial staff.'

Esposito shoved off Beckett's and was about to ring up the AV lab when the elevator doors slid open and the newest father of the Twelfth precinct walked off; he was greeted like a king, everyone coming over to congratulate him on the baby, someone even handed him a cigar, when he popped into his pocket.

'Hey big daddy!' Esposito greeted him with a knuckle bump. 'Needed a break from the nursery?'

'Jenny sent me out to get the disposable film we took developed, thought I'd swing by and share some pictures.'

'Alright, let's see.' Esposito took the envelope from his hand, looked at the silly photos of Ryan with Dell on the floor of the living room looking deliriously happy, then pictures of Honey-Milk holding the little guy in a table-topper baby bathtub. 'Oh, little bro's first sponge bath.'

'He didn't like that so much.'

'I can see,' Esposito agreed, seeing how Dell's blue eyes were scrunched shut in a desperate little wail as his mommy rubbed him down with a damp washcloth. 'He's beautiful, bro. You got time for a coffee?'

'Sure.'

Esposito left his partner to show off his precious angel to Beckett and Lanie, heard the added masculine coos that told him Castle had arrived as well. Because he was alone slid the printout out of his wallet while he waited for the coffee to brew. He knew it was a risky move, but he couldn't help himself. Ever since he'd downloaded the picture, he'd felt like a junkie with a fresh stash and looking at it was scoring his fix, especially while Meredeth was still in the Land of the Rising Sun. But the break-room at work? There'd be more than a few questions if he was caught with it.

'Hey, you wanna keep one of Dell's pics for yourself?' Ryan looked over his partner's shoulder, his need for caffeine having driven him to the break room. His round blue eyes popped wide when he saw the image on the paper before Esposito could tuck it back in his suit jacket pocket. 'Holy shit, bro, is that what I think it is?'

'It's nothing.'

'Ryan, what's taking so long? I could have found the beans in Hawaii for...what, what'd I miss?' Castle slowed his rant when he saw Esposito's red face and Ryan's goofy, prideful grin.

'Dude, he's got a picture of a ring. A diamond ring. From Tiffany's.' Ryan drew out the clues, relishing every word as he saw the light of knowledge blink over Castle's head. The writer mirrored Ryan's grin as he turned to Esposito.

'Seriously? Let's have a look.'

Relenting, Esposito held out the paper, scratched his head in self-consciousness. Ryan and Castle stared at it like it was a photo of Jennifer Aniston buck naked on the hood of a Maserati. Even looking at it with them, he knew he'd made the right choice - the simple platinum band, the cluster of glittering jewels forming a flower burst in the center was perfect for his Meredeth.

'It's gorgeous, man. You know your woman. How long you been sitting on this?'

'Since the beginning of July. Well, I knew before then and had looked around, but I picked it out about a month and a half ago. I'm going to pick it up at the store tomorrow after shift.'

'This is freaking amazing.' Giddy as a school boy now, Castle rapped his knuckles lightly against Ryan's chest. 'He's going to propose to Meredeth.'

Hearing the words from another man's mouth hit Esposito like a schoolyard punch to the gut. He tried hiding his grin bashfully, staring hard at his shoes and putting his hands on his hips but it was no avail - one look at the glee on Castle's face had him squeezing his friend in a tight bear hug of nervous excitement, and repeating the routine for an equally excited Ryan.

'What's with all the manly bonding?' Beckett strolled into the break, not bothering to hide her annoyance that she'd sent Castle for coffee and found he'd had gotten sidetracked by her boys, one of whom wasn't even on the clock.

'Can I tell her?' Castle asked. He was all but hopping up and down on the spot; once he got the go-ahead gesture from his partner, he blurted out, 'Esposito's going to propose to Meredeth!'

For a moment, Beckett allowed the cop to turn off. She let out an excited cry, gave Esposito a tight hug. 'Oh that's fantastic! Does she have any idea, I mean have you talked about marriage?'

'Oh yeah, but she doesn't think it'll happen for awhile.'

'He's been carrying around a picture of the ring for six weeks, too,' Ryan added for good measure, handed it to Beckett for inspection. 'Take a look.'

Beckett gave a low whistle. 'Platinum setting, Northern Canadian fair-trade round cut diamonds totalling point-six carats. Unique and beautiful, just like her.'

'And it's from Tiffany's.'

'Thank you Detective Ryan, I can read.'

'Can we get back to that pesky murder case now?' Esposito, having had his fill of embarrassment from his co- workers, poured himself a straight coffee.

'Fine, but you owe us a post-shift beer so we can plan how you're going to it.'

'You got it.'

True to his word, Esposito went with Castle and Ryan to Pookaloo's, a nifty little joint that was casual in feel and stellar in its pub-and-diner menu. They found a booth, flagged down a waitress. Visions of an ice cold Brava vanished from Esposito's mind when Castle asked for a bottle of champagne and three glasses from the waitress. Her eyebrows winged up in a surprise that three men were ordering champagne, but she put in the order and left them to contemplate a snack.

'I thought we were having beer.'

'You cannot toast an imminent engagement with beer. Nothing but the finest bubbly this place can offer to elebrate. If we're getting food, you should try the cracked pepper short-ribs. They're insane.'

Ryan shook his head as the waitress returned with the bottle of Piat D'Or in a bucket of ice, along with three flutes. 'Thanks a million. This looks great for celebrating.'

'If you don't mind me asking, what's the occasion?'

'Our boy here's going to propose to his girlfriend,' Castle crowed, 'and we'll also take the mixed appetizer plate, along with the garlic salt-and-pepper bread.'

'Oh fantastic!'

'Show her the ring,' Ryan added excitedly, tapping the table with his finger.

'You are obsessed with the ring, bro.' But Esposito obliged him, hauled the picture out of his pocket to show the girl. Like Beckett, the waitress gave a little cry of joy.

'Oh congratulations, it's beautiful! Are you planning the bachelor party already?'

'No, we're planning how he's going to pop the question,' Castle supplied, then waited until she'd left before they got down to the serious task at hand. 'I'm thinking she'd dig a candlelight dinner at home, something low key and sweet.'

'No way. Meredeth rarely lets me cook, which I am perfectly fine with because she is an amazing chef, and I'm not having our engagement dinner be take-out from Petrelli's or Tierney's.'

'Oh, oh, I know.' Ryan bounced in his seat like a five-year-old on a sugar rush. 'Hansom cab ride in Central Park, then you give her a single rose with a ribbon tying the ring to the stem.' He felt his heckles go up when the other two men shook their heads. 'Why not? It's tasteful, classy-'

'And completely over done. Originality is key,' Castle reminded his friend. 'Not everyone elopes like you and Honey-Milk did.' He paused. 'You seem awfully worked up about this, Ryan. Something you want to share with the class?'

Ryan shifted in his seat, then decided to come clean. 'Bro, remember back in June, I was at your place playing Madden and I borrowed your laptop to check my email? I may or may not have accidentally seen the email in your inbox from Francesca giving you info on diamond shopping.'

He waited for the explosion from Esposito but it never came, instead the Puerto-Rican looked relieved.

'Thanks for not bringing it up. I'm a nervous wreck as it is planning this.' Esposito looked at both of them, folded his hands on the table. 'Thank you for your suggestions, really, but I think I have this one in the bag.'

Castle and Ryan leaned in simultaneously like they were a two-headed monster. 'Share.'

'Oh come on-'

'Share.'

'Guys-'

'Share!' They bellowed in unison, making other tables glance in their direction.

'Alright.' Esposito cleared his throat as Castle took the wine from the ice bucket, began to open it. 'The new graphic novel she's got coming out-'

'The one she dedicated to you-' Ryan chipped in.

'Yes, Kevin, that one. There's going to be a small launch party for it at the Waldorf a week after she gets back, and we agreed I'll do a little thanks-for-coming speech, and since everyone whose important to her will be there, that's when I'll ask her.'

'Well I'll be damned. My daughter was right.' Castle shook his head.

'Right about what?'

'When you went on the interview with Meredeth with Craig Ferguson, none of us could figure out what you were up to except Alexis. I didn't really take it seriously, because, well, it's you, you're not one for being public with your emotions.'

Esposito simply shrugged. 'Meredeth brings it out in me. But back to my idea. What do you think?'

'It's ballsy, very ballsy.' Castle popped the cork subtly, began filling the glasses. 'You're not worried she'll find out? You know how gossip runs around this place.'

'She's only back a week before the big night so unless someone is tweeting or texting her, she's out of the loop. Why, you think doing it big like that is a bad idea?'

'Not exactly, there's simply a lot to consider. I mean, It's a public venue so the showiness is a factor, but on the other hand, it's not like it's a jumbo-tron at a Mets game. And Meredeth was notoriously well known for being single until you came along so the press at the party will leap on that like pitbulls on a porkchop.'

'Don't forget, you'll both cry,' Ryan added taking a flute of champagne from Castle.

'Did you?'

'Jenny cried when I asked her and I wept like a baby when she said yes, and I asked her when she was waking up from a nap in the hospital lounge. You'll pour buckets if you do it big and grand like this.'

'Thanks for the tip. Oh, Castle,' Esposito switched his train of thought only slightly. 'Do you think you could get your suit guy to hook me up for the big night?'

'Absolutely. The way you've been racking up the overtime, you could get your two or three if you wanted.'

'Hey look, food!' Thankful for the distraction, Esposito took the stack of small plates from the waitress followed by a flute of champagne from Castle. His stomach gave a loud gargle and he realized he hadn't eaten very much all day - or all week, come to that. He hadn't realized until now he'd been cutting down on his eating out of nervous energy as much as hoarding his Meredeth-prepared meals. As the waitress set the platters down, he heard his phone peep Good Vibrations. With an unabashed grin, he read the text from his beloved.

Found a place in Tokyo that is both sushi bar AND aquarium. I emailed you the pictures. Take care of my cop. Love you. xx M.

Without hesitating, he immediately replied - Sounds awesome but are any of the sharks named Brian? Your cop is staying safe. Love you. xx J.

Castle smiled at his soon-to-be-engaged friend as he put his phone back in pocket. Because he knew it was ridiculously cheesy and completely appropriate, the writer tapped his fork against his glass. 'Alright, a little toast here gentlemen. To Meredeth, here's knowing she'll says yes.'

R&R&Enjoy.