First, I truly apologize for taking so long to post! Second, thank you all SO much for your reviews and your encouragement to write more. This has been so much fun to write a multi-chapter fic for the first time and I have learned a lot! I hope that you all have enjoyed the story and I look forward to seeing if you like this chapter. So finally, without further ado, here is the longest and LAST chapter of A Christmas Bet!

Disclaimer: Castle isn't mine! Even though that'd be the most awesomesauce thing ever.

CHAPTER 11

Castle still couldn't believe he was about to walk into a room full of New York's finest dressed as an elf. But then again, he also couldn't believe that he had a stunning sexy elf by his side. A stunning, sexy, and noticeably nervous Kate Beckett, that is.

He snuck a sideways glance at her in the hallway as they were approaching Lanie's door. He suppressed a chuckle as he observed her biting her lip and tucking a strand of loose curls behind her ear, in what was most likely an unconscious movement on her part. He couldn't help it though. She was cute when she was nervous. Hell, she was cute almost all the time, even when she was mad.

But he didn't want her to be nervous about tonight. Tonight was about having fun. It was about making sure they had more moments like the other day decorating her Christmas tree; watching the soft glow of the Christmas lights on Kate's face as it began to snow outside.

Castle paused for a moment, stopping just before they reached Lanie's door, and turned back toward Kate with the intention of reassuring her that it was going to be a great night. The only problem was that Kate appeared to be so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Castle's sudden cease in motion.

Kate wound up stumbling right into Castle's chest, nearly toppling them both into the door. Castle instinctively wrapped his arms around Kate, trying to steady them both. But he wasn't prepared for the immediate jolt of electricity that shot through his body as a result of their sudden embrace.

He sucked in a deep breath, trying to ease his now racing pulse.

Apparently Kate was equally unprepared for the current that surged between them because she opened her mouth as though she wanted to scold him but instead found no words. She took a deep breath of her own as she tried to regain her composure but Castle noticed.

"C-Castle, you can let me go now," she finally managed to stutter. "Why the hell did you stop in the middle of the hall?" she added, trying to re-establish control of herself.

Castle took his time pulling back from Kate, purposely trailing his hands down her arms, until he reached her hands. He could swear he felt her shiver.

He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze as he said softly, "I just wanted to say, in case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight."

"Really, Castle?" Kate teased, smirking at him. "Quoting Pretty Woman?"

She rolled her eyes but Castle was pleased to note that there was a hint of smile underneath her smirk. She visibly relaxed, amusement creeping into her eyes as he winked at her. Now they were back to safe ground with their standard wordplay.

"Hey, you know I do pick up on a few things from living with 2 women," Castle said. "Isn't that one of the all-time greatest moviesever in girl world?" he asked.

Kate rolled her eyes again. "Let's go Prince Charming," she teased, nudging him with her shoulder as opening Lanie's door.

Lanie's living room was moderately full as they walked in. Castle could hear Christmas music playing from the stereo, a festive tone to compliment the twinkling lights strung around the apartment. He recognized a lot of the detectives and officers from the 12th, mingling.

Contrary to Kate's nerves and vivid imagination, no one turned around to gape her attire. Although, several of the detectives seemed highly amused as Castle's costume. Detectives Blackman and Reese, who had been standing closest to the doorway, had given him a thumbs up and a slap on the back, chuckling as they resumed their conversation.

After a few minutes, Castle spotted Jenny and Ryan entering the apartment. He braced himself for whatever razzing he was about to receive from Ryan. Somehow though, he was pretty sure that he'd have come to the party naked if it meant Kate would be by his side wearing that green dress.

"Well, don't you too look adooorable!" Ryan said, dragging out the words and smirking with his arms crossed.

He looked Castle up and down, stating, "You make a pretty hot girly elf there, Castle."

Kate laughed at Ryan but her amusement faded quickly as Ryan looked at her with an equally large smirk.

"Don't even think about saying anything, Honeymilk!" Kate exclaimed, using the nickname she knew Ryan resented.

Ryan's grin disappeared immediately, replaced by a glare, while Jenny and Castle looked on amused.

"I wouldn't mess with Beckett, Ryan. Remember what I said about the look? Well, you're definitely getting it right now," Castle said with a visible shudder.

"Alright, alright!" Ryan said, raising his hands in the air, signaling his surrender. "But you do look mighty good in a green dress…Castle," he said winking, as Jenny pulled him across the room, shooting an apologetic look in Castle's direction.

"See, Detective," Castle began, "I've got your back." He smiled at Kate, squeezing her hand again. And, surprisingly, she squeezed back, smiling at him appreciatively.

"No Castle," Kate said, "We've got each other's backs."

Esposito had never been happier about a surprise in his life. "Now THAT was the best mistletoe experience I've ever had, chica!" he stated grinning at Lanie, as they walked into the kitchen.

Lanie grinned back at him, about to respond equally enthusiastically, but was cut short as Jenny and Ryan appeared, greeting them.

"Hey man, Merry Christmas," Ryan said slapping Esposito on the back.

Esposito nodded back, "You too bro."

And then, there was awkward silence as Lanie and Jenny both tried not to stare at each other.

After about 20 seconds of what seemed like an eternity, both Jenny and Lanie nervously said, "I'm so sorry!"

Esposito and Ryan both let out deep breaths that neither realized they'd been holding and the entire foursome broke out into laughter.

"Thank you for inviting us to the party, Lanie! I really am sorry the last time we saw each other was such a mess," Jenny stated genuinely.

"Girl, I'm glad you both could come. I'm sorry too. Let's just forget that night happened and start over," Lanie replied.

"Does this mean, you girls are up for a re-do on the double date?" Ryan asked enthusiastically.

Esposito, Lanie, and Jenny all shot glares at him and groaned loudly.

"What, too soon?" Ryan asked.

Jenny rolled her eyes, Espo shot Ryan another menacing glare, and Lanie crossed her arms.

At that moment though, all four were startled by the sound of Kate's laughter ringing out from the living room.

Curious as always, the boys and Lanie peered through the doorway to observe Castle gesturing wildly with his hands, obviously imitating someone, while Kate was nearly doubled over laughing.

Lanie raised an eyebrow at the other three and said, "Someone is glowing tonight."

"They look so happy together! Are they always like this?" Jenny asked.

"More like perpetually in denial of the fact that they're perfect for each other," Lanie said with another eye roll. "Always finishing each others sentences and sneaking looks at each other while the other isn't looking," she continued.

Espo and Ryan groaned. "C'mon Lanie, quit talking about Mom and Dad. It's gross," Ryan whined.

"Yeah, chica…I know we all want to win this bet but can we not talk about girly stuff," Esposito added.

Lanie smacked him on the arm. "A little romance goes a long way, Javier," she teased.

Esposito wrapped an arm around Lanie's shoulder and said, "You know exactly how romantic I can be baby."

Now it was Ryan and Jenny's turn to groan.

Kate couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard. Castle's imitation of Pearlmutter (who sadly had not joined the party) was spot on. She wiped at tears in her eyes, trying to recover as Castle grinned.

She actually couldn't remember the last time she'd been to a party that she'd enjoyed so much. Of course she had to be honest, it wasn't the party that was so great. It was Castle. His joy tonight was infectious. Just as it had been on the day they'd gone shopping. She wanted to bottle up this feeling and never let it go. She was tired of making excuses and tired of walls. If this is what it felt like to tear down the wall, she couldn't even imagine the feeling of stepping over it to the other side.

She was so deep in her own head she hadn't noticed a rather cozy looking Lanie and Esposito approach her and Castle.

"Bro, that's a nice costume, did you let Beckett pick that out?" Espo asked Castle.

"Yeah, you know I lost a bet. It was only fair…even if she did cheat," Castle stated, winking at Kate.

"Remind me never to bet with you Beckett," Espo said feigning a shudder.

Kate laughed and joked back, "Not secure enough in your manhood to wear an elf jumper, Espo?"

"Hey now, I'm all man, isn't that right chica?" Esposito protested.

Lanie laughed heartily. "Sure baby, all man," she said stroking his back, placating him.

"Hey Lanie, how in the world did you convince Beckett to dress up?" Castle asked suddenly curious. "I thought you said you couldn't talk her into it!" he added.

Kate looked up surprised. Talk me into it? she thought.

"Wait a second? You asked Lanie to convince me to dress up with you?" Kate asked, confused.

Castle looked a little sheepish as he realized he'd outed himself.

"Well, I couldn't talk you into it so I thought it was worth a shot," he said nervously.

Kate rolled her eyes. Then, she realized the implications of what was going on.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, turning to Lanie. "YOU tricked me into dressing up with that bet!"

Lanie burst out laughing. "Well, girl, you know you'd never have agreed otherwise. You shouldn't have underestimated my skills at darts."

Kate glared at her. "That was not skills, that was you being a ringer!"

Castle and Esposito looked at each other confused.

"Wait, so you lost a bet to Lanie playing darts?" Castle asked at the same time Esposito said, "You have darts skills? That's so hot."

Lanie continued laughing. "Yes, I beat Kate at darts, and you can thank me later, Castle. And yes, Javi, I have highly impressive skills at darts," she said seductively.

It was Kate's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm still here, you know," she said.

"Hey now, you look amazing girlfriend. And you two do look good as elves. So quit your whining and let's enjoy this party!" Lanie stated matter of factly.

The rest of the party passed quickly for Kate. Ryan and Jenny met back up with the four of them and they continued joking and talking well into the night. It was nice to be outside the precinct and truly letting go together.

The party had dwindled down to only the six of them. After Jenny began yawning, Ryan stood up and announced that they were calling it a night and heading home. They thanked Lanie again for the invitation before leaving.

Kate snuck a look at Castle to find that he was already looking at her. The intensity of his gaze made her heart race. Those blue eyes. She could drown in them. She knew one thing, if he kept looking at her like that, she wouldn't even make it home without melting into his arms.

Melting into his arms, Kate? She thought to herself. When did I become so sappy? But the things that man did to her. Or more accurately, the things she was having trouble not imagining him doing to her were driving her crazy. Yeah, it was time to leave before Lanie and Esposito picked up on the fact that she was practically drooling at the thought of her and Castle.

At that moment, her phone buzzed in her purse, startling her. A text from Lanie, who had conveniently gone into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Lanie: Girl, let Writer boy take you home before he jumps you in my apartment! What are you waiting for? And details tomorrow, please!

Kate suppressed an eye roll. So much for Lanie not picking up on their looks. It was definitely time to go.

She nudged Castle and stated, "Let's let Espo and Lanie have some alone time." She winked at Espo.

The ride back to Kate's apartment was filled mostly with comfortable silence. The twinkle of the lights that still filled the town car cast a soft glow on the interior of the car.

Castle was in awe of how beautiful Kate looked. He wanted to wrap her in his arms again and pull her close. Tonight had been perfect. He hadn't seen her laugh or smile so much in ages. His only frustration came from the fact that as hard as he'd tried, he'd not been able to locate any mistletoe at Lanie's.

Who has a Christmas party without mistletoe? he thought to himself, as the lights of New York City passed by their window.

Kate was nervous again. The night had been perfect so far. And she knew now what she wanted. But, did she have the courage to actually follow through on it.

"Come up for some coffee?" she asked, as the car pulled up in front of her building.

"Sounds great, would you mind if I ditched this jumper?" Castle responded. "I'd rather not be a girly elf now that the party is over," he added, grinning at her.

Kate laughed softly. "I think you adequately fulfilled your end of the bet," she said.

Castle looked relieved as he yanked the jumper off over his deep green shirt and tan dress pants. He also ditched his elf shoes, replacing them with slide on tan Birkenstocks that he'd pulled from under the seat.

Once again, Kate had to drag her eyes from the now fully revealed green shirt clinging to Castle's chest and arm muscles.

She stepped out of the car, followed by Castle, and walked into the building. His hand seemed to automatically find the small of her lower back and she unconsciously leaned into his touch.

"I'm glad you asked me to go with you tonight, Castle," Kate said, almost shyly, as they rode the elevator up to her floor.

"I'm glad you agreed, Kate," Castle responded looking into her deep green eyes, seemingly even greener, enhanced by the dress. "Even if I did have to be a girly elf for you. There's no one else I'd rather have spent my evening with, elf costume or no elf costume," he added, gazing lovingly at her.

Kate laughed and led him into her apartment, stopping in the kitchen to begin the coffee making process.

"Here, let me," Castle stated, brushing his hand over hers to take the mugs she'd been reaching to grab from the cabinet.

Kate watched as he moved about her kitchen, seeming perfectly comfortable there. She leaned back against the counter imagining mornings with him as they'd get ready for work. Him making breakfast. Him bringing her coffee in bed. Her bringing him coffee as he wrote a chapter of his latest book.

He handed her a mug of steaming coffee and she was startled to see the way that he was looking at her again. So full of adoration that her heart ached.

Love, she was in love with Richard Castle. And she was tired of waiting for it to be the right time. Now was the right time. THIS was right. She was going to follow through on her plan.

"Come here," she said quietly, taking his hand.

Castle's eyes opened a little wider, indicating his surprise at her touch but he followed.

Kate stopped in front of the tree, right where they'd stood only nights before, watching the snow fall.

What Castle hadn't seemed to notice yet (too intrigued by the fact that Kate was still holding his hand) was that Kate had hung mistletoe that they were now standing directly under.

"Just so you know, I had a really great time tonight too," Kate said. "And I want to thank you for everything. This," she said gesturing with her free hand toward the Christmas tree, "and this," she added, gesturing to the small space between them.

"You've been so patient with me," she continued. "I know I'm not the always the easiest person to be around. And I've made you wait so long. But, I just want you to know…what we have means more to me than anything."

Kate took a deep breath. Castle looked like he was in shock. He was about to say something so she put her finger up to his mouth, to still him momentarily, and further surprising him.

"Castle…Rick, I just want you to know…I'm ready. I'm ready and…" She paused taking another deep breath.

"I'm in love with you. I love you Rick," Kate finished, feeling like an incredible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. In love, so incredibly and deeply in love with this man.

"Kate," he gasped. "Kate, I love you too," he said pulling her into his arms. "I'd wait a million years to hear you say that."

Kate smiled into his shoulder where her head was now resting. She pulled back for a moment to look into his eyes and said teasingly, "Rick Castle, if you take any longer to notice where you're standing…" and glanced up towards the ceiling.

Castle startled and followed her gaze, breaking out into a huge grin. "Why, Detective Beckett, teasing me and leading me to mistletoe? If I didn't know any better I'd say you're taking advantage of-

At that moment, Kate's lip were meeting his own mid-sentence, silencing him in the most passionate kiss he'd ever experienced. He returned it with equal passion and intensity until the two were both breathless.

"Merry Christmas, Castle," Kate said gazing into his eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Kate," said Castle, as the two of them stood smiling at the tree, in the soft glow of the lights.

Again, thank you all SOOOOO much for all your reviews and comments! I'd love to hear how you felt about the story and the ending.