Back to Where We Have Never Been

A/N: Here is a short one for you until my academic duties are satisfied. Thank you, as always, for your continuing support. You all rock! :)

Chapter 26

Castle couldn't move. He couldn't say anything. He needed to say something. He needed to explain, to drop down on one knee or to back pedal. He needed to say something but no words would come and she was just staring at him, eyes wide, lips slightly parted, a martini glass in each hand. She was waiting for an answer to her question. What was the question again? Oh, yeah, he had blurted out that he wanted to marry her. No, that wasn't it. He has said that he was going to marry her.

Some day.

That declaration probably wouldn't go over very well.

"Rick?"

He snapped out of his thoughts, blinking at her soft, questioning tone as she took a step closer to him.

People were starting to gather around, a bulb flashed and Castle fleetingly thought about all of the reporters present. Gina had faded somewhere into the background as Kate stepped into the forefront, the only person he saw. The only one he wanted to see.

"I, um, I," he stumbled slightly before straightening up, his chin jutting out slightly. He hadn't even looked at another woman since Kate Beckett had waltzed into his life all of those months before. Well, whom was he kidding, he had looked, he was a guy after all, but he hadn't even considered giving them a second thought. In the end he would always end up comparing them to Kate and they would always come up second best.

Always.

There was no one else he could imagine marrying and being with for the rest of his life, and who knows. Maybe this time, the third time would be the charm. She would be the charm; she had definitely charmed him, at least.

"You heard me," he stated, more confidently. "I want to marry you."

She continued to stare at him, her right eyebrow raised slightly.

She wasn't answering him. That hadn't been the right statement. He needed to backpedal, to clarify.

"I mean, eventually marry you. Not today or tomorrow but you know, sometime in the future when we have gone on more than just a couple of dates and you aren't looking at me like I'm a complete idiot, which I am slightly offended by, by the way because I am not an idiot even though you constantly tease me like I am one. That is one thing that we really need to work on because it does hurt my feelings, believe it or not…"

Kate turned slightly and placed the martini glasses on a table next to her. Then she was kissing him, holding his face in her hands. His words died in his throat as his hands came up and settled on her waist.

"So, you're not going to kill me?" He whispered as she pulled back.

She bit her lip around her smile and shook her head, her arms still wrapped around his neck. "No, I'm not going to kill you. And I'm not ready to get married yet, either, but it is nice to know that you want to, eventually, someday."

"Yeah," he whispered back. "Someday."

"Just don't go picking out wedding colors just yet, Mr. Castle," she teased softly, a playful glint returning to her eyes.

"Me? Why would I be the one picking out wedding colors, wouldn't that be your job?"

"Please. Like you don't know it would happen."

"Fine, but if I'm the one planning the wedding, then you are the one that has to propose."

She pulled back slightly, her arms still resting on his shoulders as they stood in the corner of the art gallery, the rest of the world forgotten around them. "Excuse me?"

"When you're ready. You propose to me. I'll have a ring. I promise."

A woman cleared her throat and both Kate and Rick turned their heads to see Paula standing next to them in a sleek black dress, hair pulled back in a stern bun, with her arms crossed over her chest and a pissed off expression on her face. Gina was standing behind her, jabbering into her phone.

"Do you know how many reporters are here tonight?" She hissed at them, leaning forward so they were both forced to arch back in an attempt to keep their personal space.

"Umm…" Castle replied as he and Kate glanced around to see a flurry of fingers typing at text messages and reporters whispering into their phones, most of them shooting them glances before turning in the other direction to talk. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"Well, not if you wanted news of your "engagement" plastered all over the front of page six." Paula retorted. "I'll see what I can do but you owe me."

She pinned them both with another glare before whipping around and stalking out of the gallery through a side door and into the balmy New Orleans's night, Gina on her heels.

"Wow," Kate leaned into him as his arm came up to wrap around her waist. "She's…"

"Intense? Scary? Petrifying? All of those will work," Castle supplied and Kate nodded in agreement. "But she's damn good at her job."

"I'm sure," Kate replied as she glared at a reporter who was flashing a picture of them. "But you are the one that is dealing with the fallout from this, okay?"

Castle let out a whimper as she patted him solidly on the shoulder. "Why me?"

Kate pursed her lips as her glare turned up to him. "Well, I'm not the one that shouted that I wanted to marry you in the middle of a room of reporters."

"Good point."

Kate's arm flailed out and she let out a pained groan as the bone on the heel of her hand connected with the bedside table in her attempt to grasp the ringing object currently interrupting her dreams.

"Hello?" She croaked out, burying her head into her pillow once more as she brought the phone to her ear and snuggled back into the mattress. The fluffy down comforter warmed her bare back as she nuzzled her face against the Egyptian cotton pillowcase.

"You're engaged?" Kate pulled the phone away from her ear with a moan as the shriek resonated through her head and rattled her still alcohol infused brain.

"Mom? What time is it?" She groaned into the speaker and brought a hand up to rub her eyes.

"It's six am. Answer the question, Katie!"

"Jesus, Mom," she whimpered as she began to feel the onset of the inevitable hangover. Never again. She meant it this time. "That mean's it's five here. Why are you calling me so early?"

"Because I opened the paper this morning and you couldn't believe my surprise when I see my daughter's picture plastered all over the front of page six announcing that she's getting married to Richard Castle. So, I am calling you to find out what the hell is going on, Katie. You got engaged and you didn't tell me?"

"Hold on for a second, Mom." Kate nuzzled her head against the pillow once more and flopped out her free hand to shake the shoulder of the man lying next to her. Rick let out a moan in protest and flipped onto his side, his back towards her as he let out a soft snore. Kate mentally rolled her eyes as she tried, once more. The man slept like the dead.

She held the phone out from her ear slightly as her mother continued to pester her.

"Rick, wake up," She hissed as she shook his shoulder harder and he let out a soft snort as he rolled over and blinked at her, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes.

"Wuz goin' on?" He slurred, letting out a squeaky yawn.

Kate held the phone out to him, watching as he took it, his face twisted in confusion.

"My mom wants to talk to you," she stated succinctly before flipping over and bringing the blanket up to cover her head. Her lips twisted up into a small smile as she heard Rick's questioning greeting, her mother's repeated shriek and Rick's groaned reply promising to fire Paula. They would have to make sure to call Alexis later.

The rest of the night had gone rather well, with free flowing alcohol, a series of banquet tables set up in the largest gallery, and a small wooden dance floor that they had taken advantage of since they had forgone dancing the night before to go dress shopping. A jazz quartet pumping the room full of upbeat melodies.

Castle stared at the menu with a raised eyebrow as one of the entrée options caught his attention.

"What the heck is a Turduckin?"

Kate glanced over at him as she finished chewing the piece of bread she had just popped into her mouth.

"It's a turkey stuffed with a duck which is then stuffed with a chicken. Tur-duck-in: turkey, duck, chicken," she explained as she reached for another champagne flute from the passing tray.

Castle stared at her. "First, it is so hot that you know that and second, I totally know what we are having for Thanksgiving. That is like a poultry smorgasbord. What about bacon, do you think we can add bacon because then it would just be awesome?"

Kate let out a laugh. "I'm sure you could add bacon."

"You are coming over for Thanksgiving, right? I mean we are almost semi-engaged, that means we should probably start spending holidays together. Your parents would be invited too, of course."

Kate smiled at his enthusiasm. "Almost semi-engaged? I didn't know we were that official yet."

Castle looked around before reaching out to the centerpiece in the middle of the table. Some of the other couples at the table looked at him oddly before shrugging it off. They had pretty much learned to ignore the love struck "almost semi-engaged" couple that was still lost in their own world. He pulled back after untying a silver twist tie from around a small bunch of flowers.

"Here," he murmured as he tied it around the fourth finger of her left hand. "Now we are officially almost semi-engaged."

Kate smiled under the blanket as she held her hand up in front of her face, the silver twist tie still wrapped around her finger. She could get used to that.

She could definitely get used to that.