Once again – I don't own the characters; I don't even pay fair market value rent for the use these characters. But it is fun to play in someone else's sand box.

Enjoy and thank you for the support.

Kate nodded her head in agreement, "You would have TOTALLY killed us both."

Grinning like a fool in love, "Without a doubt."

Linking his arm with hers, Castle turned up the charmed and said her title in the way that he knew secretly turned her on, even when she pretended to loathe him. "Detective Beckett, soon to be Castle it would be my honor to take you home and strip you of my winnings."

Cocking her head to the side Kate squinted at Rick and asked with questioning eyes, "Detective Castle?"

"No. No. You need to always be Detective Beckett, that title is so sexy, powerful and" ending with a wink, "well hot. However, I would be honored if you were Mrs. Castle outside of work."

Sharing a smile laced with relief, "I can work with that." Lowering her head, taking a deep breath, Kate huffed out a barely audible, "What if I am Federal Agent Becket?"

Kate kept her eyes averted as she braced herself for Rick's response. Maybe it wasn't the best time to make a back handed announcement that Kate had been offered the job and she desperately wanted to take on the challenge of being a Federal Agent. If she was honest with herself, moving to DC, leaving the 12th and the boys scared the hell out of her.

At the same time the decision to test her skills on a new level thrilled Kate beyond her fears of leaving, well now that Castle was standing beside her. Without Rick, Kate wasn't sure she had the confidence to become the unknown fish in a national pond.

"Hotter. Way hotter. Listen to the way 'f-e-d-e-r-a-l' rolls off my tongue."

Kate's eyes remained focused on the ground over his shoulder. Castle wasn't about to lose the ground they had gained today. He quickly questioned, "Did you miss the preamble of my proposal where I stated that your decision regarding your job wasn't a factor in our relationship?"

Lifting her head, Kate nervously peered at him through hooded eyes. Taking a deep breath Castle saw his opening and took it. "What matters in our relationship is you let me in. Partners. A team."

Kate pursed her lips together in an effort to avoid frowning and narrowed her eyes, silently willing Rick to end the current line of conversation.

Rick refused to back down from Kate Beckett when it counted most, he quickly commanded, "Do not look like that."

Clasping her hand in his, taking a moment to brush a finger across the glimmering diamond that dressed her finger. Rick hoped what he was about to share was going to help them and not send Kate into defensive mode. Judging from the look on her face, Rick knew he had less than ten seconds to make his case before a beautiful afternoon turned sour. "The job debacle wasn't entirely your fault."

Kate ground out a low and serious, "Let's leave my misstep in the past. It was all me. I decided to cut you out before I gave you a chance to tell me you wanted in. I was more afraid you didn't want me, than I was confident that you did."

Fixing a serious stare, willing Kate to meet his eyes, Rick ignored Kate's request. "We need to talk about this."

Kate screwed her eyes shut. Why couldn't Castle just let it go? She apologized, wanted to leave it behind.

Dropping a kiss on her nose, "And we need to talk about it now. You repeatedly questioned where we stood and I wouldn't answer. I saw the way your face dropped when you asked what we were doing and I said 'dating.' I ran into our room and grabbed the ring, when I returned you were so distant and unapproachable."

"The 'dating' comment drove me into shut down mode. I wanted nothing more than to take our relationship to another level and you defined us as 'dating.' Sarcasm dripped from every word as Kate said, "Which by the way joins one of my other all-time favorite words, 'uncomplicated.'"

"I promise neither word is incorporated in my wedding vows."

Kate let out a gasp followed by a yelp, "YOU already wrote your vows?"

"Totally written."

Wearing a shy grin Kate whispered, "We really are doing this aren't we?"

"Totally awesome huh?"

"For a writer sometimes your junior high word choice boggles the mind."

Giving himself a theatrical pat on the chest, Castle bragged, "Totally a kid at heart."

"Tell anyone and I will deny it, but I/our relationship, needs you to stay that way. One of us needs to believe in Santa Clause, fate and the possibility of living on Mars one day."

Waggling his eyebrows at Kate, "That reminds me, I may have also bought you a little land on Mars. I know you are going to ask, so I will save you the time, it adjoins mine. So now we have a farmlet."

Castle's comments earned him a quick thwack to the chest, "Are you kidding me? A farmlet? You better be kidding me."

Rubbing his smarting chest, Castle replied, "Joking. Completely joking, my piece is big enough for us both."