As he promised, Castle spent the morning showing Beckett around New York—his New York, with various stops at his favorite spots, or spots that held the most meaning to him. Due to his initial child-like excitement, Beckett feared the day would quickly feel like she was living a low-budget comedy movie, but that was not at all the case. Much to her surprise and delight she actually enjoyed spending the morning with her partner.

After they ate lunch, Castle allowed the female detective to take the reins and show him some of her favorite parts in the city. She took him through art galleries and some of her favorite out of the way shops to find interesting things. He even ended up picking up an early birthday present for his mother.

On their final stop, Castle was surprised to hear Beckett talking freely about her mother for one of the first times since he'd found out about her tragic and untimely death. He wondered if the story came from the memory of the location (a gallery they had visited together) or simply the fact that after spending a day together her defenses were greatly lowered. Whatever the case, he didn't want to question it for fear of running the magic.

"So, Beckett…how about some dinner? I mean, assuming you're not sick of me yet."

She smiled over at her cohort. "Not quite yet; dinner sounds nice."

He beamed at her. "Great! Because I already called and got us reservations by pretending to be Richard Castle's secretary."

"Nice," she commended before asking where they were eating. Upon hearing the name of an upscale Manhattan eatery. "Really, Castle? You know you'll probably have to put on a dress to go there."

"I'm up to the challenge if you are." After winking at her he said, "Pick you up at seven."

"Hold on," she stopped him, placing her hand on his arm. "I should be the one picking you up, remember?"

His face brightened at the realization. "I guess so. See you at seven, Castle."

Arriving at Castle's—well, technically, her—door at one minute to seven that evening, Beckett raised her hand to knock and felt the familiar flutter of butterflies in her stomach. Dropping her arm to her side, she grimaced inwardly. Seriously!? Was she nervous? To go out with Castle of all people! No, she reminded herself. This was nothing more than two partners having dinner. Absolutely nothing more.

She tapped her knuckles swiftly against the door surface and waited patiently for him to open. Truth be told, it was almost…fun getting Castle's body ready for the evening. It certainly was a hell of a lot less work.

When the apartment door whipped open, Beckett could not help her jaw from falling open in surprise. She looked…good. Really good. She was wearing eye liner! Which, considering the fact that it was Castle's brain powering her appendages, was particularly impressive.

"I, ah, wow Castle…are you wearing makeup?" she asked with a slight laugh.

"This is the first and last time I will say this but: yes," he told her with a smile. Okay, so after he stabbed himself in the eye the third time with the mascara brush he seriously considered giving up, but it was all worth it for the half shocked, half impressed look on her face.

"And," she added, observing his navy blue ensemble, "you look good too; I haven't worn that dress in a while."

He smoothed his hand down his hip and looked down at the above-the-knee skirt. "It's nice; I like it."

"Really? I guess I never was a huge fan."

He nodded to her. "Well then I'm glad it's getting a night out."

She chuckled to herself, skimming her hand across her chin. "Wow, I guess I feel underprepared. I mean, I didn't shave your face—I was afraid I might do permanent damage."

"Oh really? I think I did a good job on your legs." As he spoke, he extended the right one and rotated it, admiring his handiwork.

Beckett let out a laugh. "This has to be one of the weirdest conversations I've ever had."

He laughed. "Basically, but you just gotta go with it, Beckett." Then, with a wink, he joined her on the way to the elevator.

"You know, Castle," Beckett began as they stepped off the elevator a few feet from her apartment door. She had Castle's arm looped through her elbow and she didn't even feel weird about it (though, in all honesty, the third glass of wine probably helped with that). "Today was a really great day."

He glanced over at her, his eyebrows arching. "Yeah?"

She bobbed her head. "Particularly considering we're still in each other's bodies…but yeah, I had a nice time. Really nice."

He paused in front of her apartment door. "So we might be more than work friends now?"

She smiled gently and brushed her fingertips against her temple. "Definitely."

"And," he leaned in a bit closer to her, "You could see us having dinner together in the future?"

"Sure. I mean, yeah, ah…" She paused her speech for just a moment and felt herself leaning in towards him as he leaned in to her. Only, it wasn't Castle she was leaning towards, it was her own face. A chill traveling down her spine, she jumped back quickly. "Oh god wait!"

"What? What?" he inquired, slightly startled.

She cringed as she looked at him. "I can't kiss myself—that's just way too weird."

She would have been lying if she said she never thought about kissing Castle during their almost two years together. Those moments were few and far between as he did his best to irritate her at every presented opportunity, but they did exist. Kissing her own face, however, was bizarre on a level she didn't even know how to process.

"So shut your eyes," he suggested before leaning back in; she leaned even further away.

"What? No, that doesn't fix it. We'll just-"

Her protest was cut off by Castle grabbing the lapels of her jacket and smashing his lips against hers. Okay, so it wasn't the most romantic of first kisses. Actually, considering their situation, it may have been one of the world's weirdest, but it did the trick. Just a millisecond after their lips met Beckett felt a jolt in her chest and her brain go dizzy as though she'd been spinning around in a circle too many times.

With a sharp intake of breath, she leaned back and opened her eyes. For the first time in nearly two days she saw Castle's face reflecting back at her. On instinct, she clutched her hand to her chest and, much to her delight, she felt her own breasts. "We switched back!" she said with equal shock and amusement.

Castle looked down at himself and then back up to her. "We did."

"Thank god!" she proclaimed. Then, without waiting another second, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a proper kiss. He skimmed his hands around her waist and drew her body even closer.

Oh, so this is what kissing Richard Castle felt like. Well, she certainly had no complaints about that!

Just as Beckett sank deeper into her bliss, a notion came to her and she broke their kiss. "Wait—you don't think if we had just kissed yesterday morning…"

He shook his head. "No, that wouldn't have worked. It wasn't the kiss, it was us…connecting."

"Right," she nodded. "No, you're totally right."

"Of course I am," he smiled. Then, he leaned his face into hers once more. After several more quick kisses, Castle leaned his shoulder against her doorframe, his expression sated. "So what now?"

"What now?" she echoed with a near laugh. "Now, I'm going to put my pjs on, get in bed and go to sleep. This whole thing was completely exhausting!"

"I don't disagree, but I didn't mean literally now. I mean now—with us," he clarified.

A sly smile crossed her face and she chewed on her bottom lip. "Oh…well, you're not seeing anyone right now, are you?"

He shook his head. "Are you?"

"No."

"So, does that mean, we're…"

She patted his shoulder before unlocking her apartment door. "Guess you'll find out, writer boy. 'night." Then, with a wink, she shut the door.

For several more moments, Castle stared at the door, part of him hoping she would open it again, but she never did. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he turned on his heel and walked back towards the elevator, resisting the urge to skip.

Alright, so maybe the prior thirty-six hours had been the strangest of his entire life. Maybe he had been completely cured of his desire to ever read a magic book again. Maybe he would have nightmares about being trapped in another person's body for weeks to come. But maybe switching bodies with Kate Beckett had become the most important thing that had ever happened in his life. Because, maybe, just maybe, they finally had a real chance.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading this silly little crack!fic - I hope you enjoyed it. I do have one other short 2-3 parter to post and then the really long fic Castle and Beckett: Homicide to be posted probably after Season 7 is over? Maybe? We'll see, but definitely no later than May.

Thanks again for reading!