Disclaimer: I own nothing.

December 30, 2011

4:30PM

Detective Beckett signed the last form in her inbox and silently closed the folder. She looked at Castle and smiled; he had fallen asleep in the chair next to her desk. She poked his arm softly a few times and his eyes slid open.

"Hey," Kate said. "I'm done"

"Oh thank God," Rick said. "I'm SO bored!"

"Really? I couldn't tell," she said sarcastically. "Ready to get out of here?"

"Already? I thought you had to stay until 6:00," he said.

"I'm on call until then but I don't have to stay here. Dispatch will call me if a body drops." They both stood up and Rick helped her into her coat. "Let's head to Remy's, I need a burger," she said.

###

They sat in their regular booth and ate their burgers and fries. It had been an easy week, case-wise. Castle called them dull and even though Beckett liked the weird ones most of the time, she could appreciate easy, open-and-shut cases too. She had been able to eat dinner with the Castles and stay at the loft every night because she wasn't stuck at the precinct.

"So…" Kate started. "About your New Year's party tomorrow…"

"What about it?" Rick asked.

"Aren't you going to ask me to be your date?" she said smiling. "Or is that just implied now that we're a couple?"

"What would you like to do?" he asked hesitantly. "Do you want to be my date with all of your co-workers there?" They hadn't told anyone about their relationship except Martha, Alexis and Kate's father.

"I do," she said. "I'm ready for them to know and I think your party is the perfect place to tell them. The only thing I still worry about is ending up in the gossip column. Can we keep it quiet when we're in public? At least for awhile longer?"

"Sure," Rick said. "That's fine with me." He checked his watch. "Wow, I didn't realize how long we've been sitting here. It's almost 6:00 already."

"That means I'm officially off the clock until 6:00PM Sunday," Kate said.

"I think we need to celebrate your 48 hours of freedom. Come on, let's go," he said, getting out of the booth. "What would you like to do? Travel? We could make it to Paris and back by Sunday night." He smiled and nudged her with his elbow. They walked down the sidewalk, huddled close together to keep warm. She laughed, knowing if she said yes, they would be on a plane within the hour.

"Actually I have an idea. Something you would like to do," she said.

He gave her a confused look. "Do tell."

"Take me shopping for a new dress. I want to look amazing for our official debut tomorrow night," she said.

"Really?" he exclaimed. He stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders to stop her. "You hate when I buy you things. Who are you and what have you done with my partner?"

"I'm serious!" she said, rolling her eyes. "You offer to buy me things all the time so I figured I might as well get used to it."

"Ok, whatever you say. We're going right now before you change your mind!" Rick grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards the nearest store.

###

Two hours later, they walked back into the loft carrying several shopping bags. Kate had found 2 different dresses she liked and before she could decide between them, Castle bought them both. Once they had their coats and shoes off, Castle picked up all of the bags and took them to his bedroom. He met Kate in the kitchen where she handed him a beer.

"Is there anything we have to do to get ready for the party?" Kate asked.

"I'll move some furniture around in the morning but everything else should be taken care of. The food is going to be delivered, the bartender is bringing the booze… oh wait, I know one thing we could do now."

She looked at him, eyebrows raised, waiting for him to explain. He crossed the room to the stereo and turned on some soft, slow music. He held out his hand and motioned for her to join him in the middle of the living room. She set down her beer, walked over to him and took his hand. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her close. His lips next to her ear, he whispered, "We need to practice our slow dancing. I plan on doing this with you quite a bit tomorrow night."

Kate smiled. "Oh really?" she asked. "I'm already an exceptionally good slow dancer. What makes you think I need to practice?"

"Ok, fine, you caught me," he said quietly. "I just wanted an excuse to wrap my arms around you. Can you blame me?"

"You don't need an excuse, Castle," she said. "Not anymore." She wrapped her free hand around the back of his neck and pulled his face down to hers. She kissed him, only pulling away when they needed to breathe. They danced for a few more songs before Kate started to yawn.

"Want to go to bed?" he asked.

"Actually," she started, breaking eye contact, "I was thinking about staying at my apartment tonight.""Why? What's wrong?" he asked, immediately assuming the worst. Had he said or done something to upset her?

"No no, nothing is wrong, I promise," she assured him, "but I've stayed here every night since Christmas. I just think it would be a good idea to spend a little time apart. Besides, I'm still paying rent at my place and it's just been sitting empty."

She walked toward the door. Rick helped her with her coat, sulking the whole time.

"Don't mope," Kate said. "I'll see you in the morning, ok? I'll come back bright and early to help get everything ready."

"Ok…" he said, pouting. "Good night." He leaned down, trying to use his kiss to convince her to stay. Sadly, it didn't work and before he knew it, the door was closing behind her. He knew how much she valued her space and privacy - he just didn't realize it would be so hard to let her go once they were finally together. He shuffled to his office, heading for bed. Standing in his room half-dressed in his pajamas, he startled when he heard a knock. He turned around and saw Kate standing in the doorway.

"Did you forget something?" he asked, wearing only his sweatpants and holding a t-shirt in his hand.

"Yes," she replied. She walked towards him, wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "I made it down to the lobby before I realized, I don't want to go to my apartment. I felt like I should because we've spent 24 hours a day together all week."

"Kate -" he started.

"No wait, let me finish," she interrupted. "With every relationship I've had before, I've always wanted to spend a lot of time by myself. I thought that was normal. It's different with you though - I want to spend every second with you and that scares me. A lot."

She brought her hands up his arms, over his biceps and onto his chest, enjoying the feel of his muscles and bare skin.

Continuing, she said, "I missed you the second I walked out the door and it just got worse the further away I went. I've never felt like this about anyone, Rick. I'm so afraid of screwing this up."

"I missed you too," he said. "I didn't want to say it and scare you away but I want to spend every second with you too." He leaned down and kissed her before adding, "Don't worry about screwing anything up. If we can survive all the near-death experiences we've been through so far, we can make it through anything." He was relieved to see her smile.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go to sleep."

After they had both brushed their teeth and changed, they crawled into bed. They shifted around to get comfortable, both laying on their backs, when Castle thought of something.

"Hey how did you get back in here? I locked the door behind you," he said.

"I used the key you put on my key ring - 'for emergencies' remember?" she replied.

"Right," he said, "but why didn't you just knock? You knew I'd be awake - you were only gone a few minutes." He was pushing her buttons and he knew it, but he just had to find out if his suspicions were correct.

She was glad it was dark in the room so he couldn't see her blush. "Ok, fine, I'll admit it" she said. "I was hoping to walk in on you changing so I could see you naked. Happy?"

"I knew it!" he cried. He rolled on his side to face her and wrapped his arms around her. "You know, Detective, you don't have to try to be all sneaky - all you have to do is ask."

She rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "Castle, be serious. We haven't taken that step yet and it's getting more and more difficult to remember why I wanted to wait. And now, after seeing you even half naked, I've forgotten completely."

"I know it's not easy," he said, "but we'll wait as long as you want. I want to date you properly - you know, treat you like a lady." He smiled and squeezed his arms around her. "And as much as I can't wait to have that sort of fun with you, I love sleeping next to you just as much."

"Thank you," she said. "I don't know what I did to deserve you but I'm glad I did it." She kissed him and rolled over, pressing her back to his chest. They both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

###

December 31, 2011

2:00PM

Castle and Beckett had spent the morning getting the loft ready for Rick's annual New Year's Eve party, set to begin at 8:00 that night. They moved furniture, cleaned and were having a ball putting together a playlist on his ipod.

"Do you have every song ever recorded?" Kate asked. "There's like 10 years' worth of music on your computer!"

"You're just mad because it's going to take longer to choose what songs you want," he laughed.

"True," she said. "That's why you need to help." She tugged on his hand until he was sitting next to her on the couch.

They spent the next hour scrolling through the hundreds of choices, trying to decide what everyone at the party would enjoy. Both of their stomachs growled and they realized they hadn't eaten since breakfast.

"How about if I order Chinese food?" he asked.

"Sounds good."

They both gorged themselves when the food arrived. They knew they'd be busy with hosting duties at the party and probably wouldn't get the chance to eat much later. When they finished, Kate leaned back on the couch and sighed.

"I'm stuffed," she said. She stood up and started to pick up the empty containers.

"Leave it," Rick said. "I'll clean up."

"Thanks," she replied. "I need to head to my apartment anyway to pick up some things. I don't have any shoes here that are nearly sparkly for tonight."

"You know…" Castle started as he stood up next to her. He took her hand and said nervously, "if you wanted, you could bring a few more things than just shoes back here with you…" He trailed off at the end, not sure if that was a good idea.

"Bring a few more things as in… move them here permanently?" she asked, her eyes wide and nervous.

"No…" he said, pausing for a moment. "Ok yes…" He hurried to continue before she could say anything. "I don't mean move everything here today. I just thought since you've been spending so much time here, it would be easier if you didn't have to run back and forth so often."

She stared down at their joined hands, unsure of what to say.

"I'm sorry," he continued. "I know, it's too fast. Please, forget I even brought it up."

"No, that's not it," she said. His eyes snapped up to look at her face. Was she actually going to agree to this? After 6 days? He bit his lip to keep from squealing like a little girl.

She took a deep breath and continued, "It's just… I always thought I would be engaged or married before I moved in with someone. It's old-fashioned, I know, it's dumb."

"Not at all," he insisted. "I already told you earlier this week where I want this to go and I was completely serious. Someday, down the road, after we've been dating for more than a week, I want to marry you."

She looked at him and he saw she had tears in her eyes.

"Tell you what," she said, "I won't move anything today but I promise I'll think about it. Maybe soon, ok?"

He hugged her tightly and said quietly, "Deal. Hurry back."

She just smiled and headed out the door. He leaned against it once it was closed and rubbed his hands over his face. He really needed to work on filtering his thoughts around Kate.

###

A few hours later, guests started to arrive. Rick kept glancing at the door, waiting for Kate. He was trying not to worry - he knew she liked to take her time to get ready, especially for a big night like this. He greeted Detectives Ryan and Esposito, Jenny, Lanie and the Captain as they all came in. Finally, after looking at the door for what felt like the hundredth time, he saw her.

She was breathtaking.

Her hair was swept up and she was wearing a black, knee-length dress and shockingly tall high heels. She was stunning. Rick weaved through the crowd and made his way to her side. As soon as their eyes met, she grinned, radiating happiness. He kissed her cheek and took her coat, hanging it up for her.

"Thanks, Rick," she said. "It looks like a good turnout so far."

"I hadn't noticed," he replied. "I've just been waiting for you." He smiled and guided her toward the bar with his hand at the small of her back.

"You haven't been ignoring everyone, have you?" Kate asked, nudging him with her elbow. "That's not being a very good host."

"I don't care," he said smiling. "You can't possibly expect me to concentrate on talking to people when you weren't here. So, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" she asked, confused.

"How are we revealing this to everyone?" he said.

"I was thinking you could make your toast at midnight and kiss me as the ball drops. What do you think?" she asked.

"I like that plan, except the part about having to wait even longer to ravish you." He kissed her cheek again, not being able to help himself.

"You've waited this long," Kate said, poking his side. "You can handle a couple of hours."

He poured her a glass of wine and they started to mingle. They kept sneaking glances at each other and their friends could practically see the sparks between them. Lanie was keeping a close eye from across the room. She saw them touch hands, Kate would hold onto Rick's elbow, or his hand would linger at the small of her back just a little longer than necessary. Lanie pulled Ryan and Esposito away from the other guests they were talking to and pointed out the happy couple.

"Look at them!" she exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. "They are absolutely 100% together."

"Are you sure?" Ryan asked. "They've been acting normal at the precinct. I think we'd be able to tell, right?"

"I don't know," Esposito said. "They do look extra cheery tonight… Lanie might be right."

Just then, as the three friends had their heads together, they noticed Beckett and Castle sneaking off to the bathroom near the entry way.

"Come on!" Lanie cried. "We can catch them in the act!"

"Ew…" Ryan and Esposito said together. They all crept quietly after Kate and Rick, the boys trying not to picture what was happening behind the closed door.

Inside the bathroom, Rick had Kate pressed against the door, lips against her neck, arms hugged tightly around her waist.

"Rick, wait," Kate gasped breathlessly. "We can't do this now, people will notice we're missing!"

"Not for a few minutes," he answered between kisses. "Besides, I couldn't keep my hands off you any longer. It was torture standing next to you out there knowing I couldn't touch you!"

"It's after 11:30," she said. "Less than a half hour and you can kiss me all you want, in front of everyone here."

"Mmm, I can't wait," he said, his mouth nuzzled against the spot behind her ear he knew she loved.

She squirmed against him, still trying to convince him to rejoin the party. "Seriously, we need to go!"

"Ugh, fine," he said reluctantly. He looked dejected as he pulled away but kept his hands at her hips.

"Pouting again?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "Not a good look for you, Castle." He tried to smile but she could tell he was faking it. "Tell you what," she continued. "If you're a good host for the rest of the night, we can have a new kind of fun once the party is over…"

His eyes widened and a real grin spread across his face. "Really?" he said excitedly. "Are you serious?"

"I am," she replied. "Now let's hurry up and get back to the party. How soon after midnight can we start kicking people out?" She smiled as she opened the door.

"You're so evil, Beckett," he said. "If you thought I was a terrible host before, just wait. I won't be able to take my eyes off you now. And to answer your question, I'm telling everyone to leave as soon as Auld Lang Syne is over."

They both beamed as they walked back to the hall. Rick almost ran into Kate as she stopped dead in her tracks.

"What are you doing?" he yelped. Looking up, he noticed Ryan, Esposito and Lanie standing in the hall staring back at them.

"Well well well," Lanie said slowly. "What do we have here?" She crossed her arms and looked both Rick and Kate up and down.

"Um…" Kate stammered. "We were just…"

"I was just helping…" Rick tried to continue.

"He was fixing something on the back of my dress.""Yeah, the pull-y thing -"

"- zipper -"

"Right, the zipper got stuck and I had to…"

"Get it… unstuck," Kate finished awkwardly.

"Uh huh, like we believe that for one second," Lanie said. "How dumb do you think we are?" All three of them shook their heads and stared, waiting for answers.

"Ok ok!" Kate cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Yes, you're right, we're together!"

Rick just watched nervously, hoping Kate wouldn't be mad. She liked to follow plans and he knew she wanted to reveal their relationship to everyone in just the right way. Getting caught sneaking out of a bathroom where they had just been making out was not it.

"Finally!" All three of their friends shouted in unison.

"When?" Lanie asked hopefully.

'Of course,' Beckett thought to herself. She and Castle had both known about the precinct pools about them for years. She looked at Rick and he knew exactly what she was thinking. 'Time to have a little fun.'

"One year ago today," Rick answered.

Lanie looked like she was going to faint while Ryan and Esposito both yelled, "WHAT?"

Kate and Rick both doubled over laughing at their reactions. They were all extremely confused.

"Obviously we haven't been together that long," Kate said. "It's been a week! Come on guys, give us a little credit. Yes, we wanted to keep it to ourselves for a little bit but we're not going to hide it from you forever!"

"A week?" Ryan asked. "YES! That means I win! I gotta go tell Jenny - we're totally upgrading to first class and a giant hotel suite for the honeymoon!" He ran off to look for his fiancé.

"Come on," Rick said. "Let's all get back to the party." He put his arm around Kate and Lanie, guiding them both back to the living room.

"We're not done with this!" Lanie whispered to Kate sharply. Kate just smiled back at her friend, knowing she'd have to give in and spill the details soon enough.

They all danced and drank and had a great time until it was just a few minutes before midnight. Rick turned the music down low and stood on a chair, getting everyone's attention.

"Thank you all for coming," he said loudly. "I'm so glad we could all be together to ring in the new year. I have a feeling it's going to be an amazing year." He glanced down at Kate, the look on her face showing she obviously agreed. "The ball is going to drop in less than a minute so let's allow the professionals to do the countdown." He hopped down from the chair and turned up the volume on the television.

Wrapping his arm around Kate's waist, they all counted down from ten together. As they reached the end, Rick looked into her eyes and said quietly, "Happy New Year, Kate. Here's to an extraordinary 2012."

She smiled up at him as she replied, "Happy New Year, Rick." They leaned in and kissed, completely oblivious to their friends and family cheering around them. As far as they were concerned, they were the only two people in the world.

THE END