And again, sorry it took so long! This is the last chapter. Hope y'all like it!

Chapter 9

They were bored. Really bored. Even Kate couldn't wait to get home, and it was only just after lunch. Suddenly, Esposito got an idea.

"Yo, Castle, are we goin' to meet your girl some day or will she stay anonymous forever?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ryan replied, "when's that going to happen?"

"Funny that you guys ask. I was thinking, praying no case will come up, we could all go to the Old Haunt tonight, and I'll bring her. And maybe Beckett can bring her boyfriend too?" He looked unsurely in her direction. "That is, if you want to, of course."

"You know what, I'd love to. We were thinking about what to do tonight, and this sounds good. And I bet Lanie would love to see him," Kate replied with a smile.

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other, and then both shrugged.

"Sounds good to me. I'll call Lanie to let her know. What time should we be there?" Esposito asked.

"7.30, maybe?" Castle suggested.

All 3 detectives nodded. Ryan and Esposito both went to make a call to inform Jenny and Lanie.

"Chica, are you free tonight?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Tonight we're all going to the Old Haunt. And guess what, Castle and Beckett are both bringing their 'perfect partner'. But we'll see if they're really that perfect."

"No way, Kate's brining her boyfriend? Of course I'm free! What time do we have to be there?"

"7.30. I'll pick you up at 7.15?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Bye, love you."

"Love you too. See ya." He hung up. When he walked back to his desk, Ryan just came back from his call as well.

"Jenny is coming as well. Said she hadn't seen you guys in a while and that it would be a good opportunity to catch up."

At 5 o'clock, Gates sent them all home. Ryan and Esposito left immediately. Kate was still packing her bag but then left as well.

"So, I was thinking," Castle began, while they stepped into the elevator, "maybe you can go home to change and all the other stuff you need to do, pack an overnight bag, come to my place, and we could go together? Of course early enough to beat the others, and afterwards you can come to my place?" He rambled off the last bit, unsure of what she would say. They walked outside.

"I'd love to, Rick. But… drop the nervous expression. They don't need to know the second they come in," Kate teased.

"I- that's mean, detective. I have a perfect poker face."

"Hmm. Riiight…" Kate drawled. "Anyway, I'll be at your place a quarter to 7, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Bye." Then they both got into separate cabs and went home.

When Kate got home, she first took a nice, hot shower. Then she went to her closet, not knowing what to wear. Damn, not again, she thought. She went through all her stuff. She decided to keep it simple, but not something she'd wear at work. She went through her stuff again, but now looking closer and judging everything. Her eye fell on a yellow top from Yves Saint Laurent she'd never worn before. Ah, perfect; not too much, but still nice. She combined it with shoes of the same brand and a new pair of jeans. She decided not to wear any jewelry, afraid it would be too much. She did add some make up as finishing touch.

Kate checked her father's watch. "Shit," she murmured. If she wanted to be at Castle's in time, she had to pack her overnight bag right now. She threw some stuff in, quickly checked herself in the mirror, grabbed her keys and phone and went out the door.

Rick opened the door and smiled when he saw Kate. "Hey, come in."

Kate smiled as well and walked into the loft. Rick closed the door, and when he turned around, he moaned. Kate frowned and turned around. "What's wrong?"

"Those jeans just fit too damn well. And you really expect me to keep my hands to myself tonight?"

"I said no such thing," she said, and winked. "So, where can I put my bag?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but apparently he changed his mind and instead he said: "You can put it in my room." He didn't know for sure, but it looked like she swayed her hips just a bit more than usual while walking towards his room. After she put her bag down and turned around, he surprised her by standing directly behind her and kissing her on the lips. He wanted to deepen it, but she pulled back. "If you keep doing that, we'll never make it there in time." He nodded, gave her a quick peck and then held out his arm. "Ready to go, detective?"

"Always," she replied with a smile, and hooked her arm through his.

When they arrived at the Old Haunt, there weren't many people yet. They sat down by the bar and then they waited for their friends to arrive.

When Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and Jenny walked in, they noticed Kate and Rick were alone.

"Eh, I thought they were both dating someone else and that we were going to meet them," Jenny said, looking at Kevin, not really understanding it.

"That's what I thought as well, honey," Ryan answered.

"Perfect partners, yeah right. They're late!" Lanie exclaimed.

Then Kate turned around and smiled. "Hey guys!"

Lanie smiled. "Girl, you look fine!"

"Thanks, Lane."

"Come on, let's move to a table," Rick said, and walked towards an empty one. Jenny and Ryan sat down on one side, Rick sitting next to Ryan. Esposito and Lanie sat down on the other side, and Kate sat down next to Lanie. They ordered drinks and talked a bit. But Lanie couldn't bear it any longer.

"Are your dates coming or what?"

"Oh, that's right. Sorry," Rick said. Lanie immediately looked around, expecting two other people to come to their table. Kate and Rick stood up.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, detective Kate Beckett," Rick said, smiling.

"And I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Richard Castle, mystery writer," Kate said, with a smile on her face identical to Castle's. Then she turned towards him, placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him softly on the lips. He was surprised at first, but he quickly recovered and kissed her back. When they broke apart, they found the others staring at them in shock. And again it was Lanie who spoke first.

"Katherine Beckett! You are so very, very lucky I have a lot of money on you and Writer Boy otherwise I would've kicked your ass. Both your asses," she said, pointing an accusing finger at them. Then she smiled. "But I'm happy for the both of you, I really am. You make the perfect couple and it took you guys long enough!"

Esposito shook his head. "I can't believe you hid this from us. And that we didn't notice… We're detectives for crying out loud!"

"Well, apparently you're not so good as you thought you were, Javi," Kate said with a grin.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought you already were a couple," Jenny said, "and at first I didn't believe Kevin when he said that you weren't. You really make a great couple."

"Thanks, Jenny," Rick said, "guys, I'm gonna have to excuse myself to the men's room." Then he stood up and walked towards afore mentioned room.

"Excuse us," Esposito and Ryan said, who then followed Castle.

Rick had just washed his hands and wanted to go back to the rest, but was stopped by Ryan and Esposito who were blocking the exit. He looked from one guy to the other, confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked, with a hint of fear in his voice.

"We're happy for you and Beckett, man, we really are. But she's like a sister to us, you know? And she's been hurt too many times, and if you even so much as think of hurting her, we'll know where to find you," Esposito said.

"Yeah, and we're trained detectives, no one will ever find your body. And I'm sure Lanie will help us, either with hiding the body or writing it off as 'death by natural causes'," Ryan added.

"I appreciate your concern, but I don't intend on hurting Kate, ever. She means the world to me, and it hurts me as much as it hurts you guys to see her hurt. And if I would hurt her, I'd buy the shovel myself."

Ryan smiled. "We know you would. We just wanted to make it very, very clear. Come on, let's go back to our girls."

The rest of the night they talked about everything and nothing. Around midnight, everyone decided to go home. In the cab, Kate laid her head on Rick's shoulder. "What took you guys so long when you went to the bathroom?"

"Well… They, uh… wanted to clarify… something," Rick answered. "But nothing to worry about, I promise."

Kate nodded, not completely buying it, but she didn't push it. They got out of the cab, and entered Rick's building. When they entered his loft, Rick couldn't control himself any longer. He had been watching Kate all evening, or to be more accurate, the body part that was being covered by jeans that fitted way too well. So he wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her back to him.

She squealed.

Then he turned around and kissed her, not too hard, but with an enormous amount of pure love. Then he softly pushed her back, until she hit the kitchen counter. She moaned, and wrapped her legs around his waist. They broke apart, but only for air. Then she assaulted his mouth with hers. He pushed her a bit harder against the counter, and she arched into him. Then she moaned again.

"Bedroom, Rick, now!"

"Are you sure?" he asked, really wanting it, but not wanting to push her. She glared at him, which was enough for him to lift her up and carry her to his bedroom. Once he was inside, he kicked the door shut and then softly laid her down on his bed. She rolled her eyes at his carefulness, and then she began to undress him, and not so patiently. When all of their clothes were on the ground or someplace else, Castle stared at her. At first she didn't understand, but then he stroked her scar. She looked away.

"They're ugly," she whispered, "They make me ugly." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"No," Rick said, "they're not, and they don't. You're beautiful, Kate, so beautiful." Then he kissed away her tears, kissed her scars, and then he kissed her on the lips. And then they made love for the first time. For Kate it felt like her first time. Yes, she had had sex before, but this was different; it was making love and she knew for sure this would be her last first time.

Kate awoke snuggled into Rick's side, with her head on his chest. She began tracing figures on his naked chest, very softly. When he woke up, she looked up at him with a shy, but loving smile.

"You know I love you, right?"

And all he could do was kiss her with everything he had.

I really hope you all liked this story. Maybe I'll start a new one soon, I don't know yet.

Let me know what you thought of this one!

-xxx-