Authors Note: Okay! I don't have too much time to add the note because I need to get this up and then watch castle in … 12 minutes! AHHH! It's going to be epic!

Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: Nope. Not yet… But Christmas is coming up soon!

…

"Well, I heard there was dancing and a show one floor above us tonight! We could go and then maybe I wouldn't be so crazy looking at you in that dress. Plus, we haven't really danced together since the jewel thief case… why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, you got excited. It's kind of cute."

"Is that a yes? I wasn't sure we'd be able to go so I didn't bring it up before… but it could be fun!"

Kate stood, her emerald green gown falling to the floor and draping gracefully behind her, smiling at the idea of dancing with her lo… well, with Castle.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"It's a good plan. Let's just see if it works."

Castle hastily left a tip on the table and tripped over his own feet as he hurried to catch up with his partner.

…

For once, Rick was content to walk slowly behind his muse, even though he was now allowed to walk beside her and hold her hand without the potential risk of harm. Or being shot. And it definitely had nothing to do with the way Kate's hips were moving in that dress.

They needed to get upstairs quickly, so he'd have an excuse to hold her.

"Rick?" She turned around and caught him staring at her – his eyes trained lower than what would've been acceptable until a few days ago.

Focus. On. The. Case.

Smiling, she waited for him to reluctantly catch up to her side.

"Is our friend watching?"

Castle peered over her shoulder. "Definitely. Guess that means we're going to put on a show?"

Kate heard the hesitancy in his voice and hated it. Even after everything they'd talked about, she knew they were still fighting an uphill battle of trust and openness. She smiled, her eyes betraying the love she couldn't yet say. "It's never been a show babe. It's always been just us."

Rick visibly relaxed, but Kate wasn't done speaking. "I know we've put each other through hell and back, but Rick? Do you trust me?"

Castle looked deep into Kate's eyes, and she resisted her instinct to hide her emotions while he resisted his instinct to blurt out his feelings.

"Always."

"Well then, come on partner. We've got a date to get back to."

…

They reached the ballroom upstairs while they made small talk and innuendos about their last night on the boat.

As they walked into the ballroom, Castle asked, " So what happens when we get home?"

"Shh, Rick. Not here. Let's move closer to the speaker so we aren't overheard."

Taking his hand in her own, she lead them close to the band's speaker, giving them some semblance of privacy.

"I don't know."

Castle gave her a quizzical stare.

"Rick. I don't know what happens when we get home."

I need you. I want you. I just don't know what to do. I need you to push a little more.

"Kate." He reached his arms around her waist and pulled her in close, slowly swaying with her to the music. "Tell me to push for us and I will."

"Rick." She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head into the crook of his neck. "Push me. Push us. Pull my pigtails. Don't let me ruin us."

"You could never ruin us. Now that I have you, I'm never letting you go."

In that moment, Rick focused on the feeling of Kate. Her body flush against his, her breath on his neck, and her fingers gently stroking against his soft hair.

"So, let me re-phrase my question. When we get home, what do you want everyone to know about us?"

He didn't need to see her face to know he'd made her smile. He could feel it against his neck. But as suddenly as he felt it, it disappeared and she was pulling her head away to make eye contact.

"Gates. Absolutely. Cannot. Know." The kiss that punctuated each word didn't soften the blow, but the next words out of her mouth were what Castle had been dreaming about for years. "Because as much as I need you in my life outside of the precinct, you're my partner. And I can't lose that because we're finally together. I need both. This isn't a trade off. I need to work with you all day, and go home with you all night."

Castle was so touched by her words that he didn't know how to respond. Even as a best selling author, he was speechless. So he did the next best thing. He kissed her – and he made sure she knew he meant it.

Before she knew what was happening, Rick's hands were gently framing her face and pulling her impossibly close.

When their lips touched, nothing else mattered. The people around them disappeared, the music faded into the background, and the case was nonexistent.

Rick felt Kate relax into the kiss, and he enjoyed being able to hold her in such a public setting. He was sure that by the time they got home, this would be a rare occurrence, especially if Javi and Ryan were around…

The kiss was brief, but sweet and passionate. Their lips danced for a few moments before Kate pulled back to smile at her partner.

How does it get better every time? How did we wait so long to do this?

It didn't matter how long they waited, only that they weren't waiting any longer.

…

Rick and Kate were still swaying across the other side of the ballroom, wrapped up in their own little when Dmitri began to move. He had been watching the pair much like everyone else in the room.

They were magnets for attention. Their love and sexual tension was radiating off of their bodies and people were drawn to them. However, these stares caused Dmitri to worry. What were these other people seeing in his newest targets? Where they drawn to them as well? Or were they seeing something he was missing?

Dmitri had hoped these two would be his targets from the moment they'd kissed in the casino. But he also had some doubts. These two were different. They weren't like his other victims. They were strong and powerful together, but also independently. Deep down in his gut he had some questions, but one thought kept nagging in the back of his head:

Would finishing off their love finally fulfill his need for revenge?

It was this thought that eventually secured their position as his next targets.

As Rick and Kate kept dancing, Dmitri became distracted talking to his brother.

"I don't know D. Zere is something vierd about them. I don't like it."

"Ah Gus, calm down. Zey are perfect."

…

Across the floor, Castle spotted Dmitri and his brother talking.

"Kate, don't look, but our friend has another friend and the friend of our friend doesn't look happy…"

Kate picked her head up off his shoulder and met her partner's gaze with a confused look on her face. "I can usually follow your theories but… what?"

"Its your damn dress. How do you expect me to think straight when youre wearing that?"

He stopped stammering at the look she threw at him that said 'get on with it or you'll never see how good the dress looks on the floor.

"Oh geeze Beckett, just look!"

At that moment he spun his muse away from him, letting her face in the other direction for a few seconds without arousing suspicion.

As he pulled her back her eyes were filled with worry. "You're right. He doesn't look happy."

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? Slowly?"

"Focus Castle!" she hissed under her breath. "We need to get closer and hear what they're saying."

They tried to dance through the crowd, but all the managed to do was get closer to the stage of dancers and the band.

"This isn't good. I'm open to dumb ideas here."

"Good. Because I've got one."

The next thing Kate knew, her partner was climbing up onto the stage.

…

Kate watched in complete disbelief as her partner climbed up onto the stage and shimmied, kicked, and twirled his way into the dancers formation.

As soon as he threw his hands up into the air a count behind the girls, she lost it. Beckett hadn't laughed that hard in years! She was completely blown away by her partner's "dumb idea" and pulled out her phone to record a bit of the madness. There's no way the boys would believe her without proof.

…

Rick knew his idea was dumb. It sounded dumb in his head, and he knew he looked dumb on stage. But nothing… absolutely nothing… was going to get in the way of his new relationship. And if this case failed, he was afraid Kate would run.

So he did what he knew would work. Dmitri was wrapped up in his conversation, and nobody would think twice about a seemingly drunk man's dance on stage.

I'm doing this for Kate. I'm doing this for Kate.

…

Rick slowly jumped into the choreography. Step, step, kick, hands, shimmy, spin, and kick. Jazz hands! Dmitri.

Dmitri. Focus. Hey this is kinda fun! No, wait – FOCUS!

Finally, Rick reached the other side of the stage and hopped off. Smiling to himself he looked up at… Kate?

"Kate?"

Usually she would've responded with 'close your mouth Castle' but this time she kissed it closed instead.

"While I thoroughly enjoyed your dance, the waiter let me sneak through the kitchen. The entrance was by the stage."

"Well you could've told me!"

"And interrupted your show? Not a chance Castle."

He scowled, and she dragged him to sneak up behind Dmitri.

…

Phewph! I wanted to get this installment up before tonight's episode! More to come over the hiatus I promise. Now I'm off to see how our couple REALLY acts on the ship!

X

C