The sunlight pouring into the room slowly roused Kate from her slumber. She stretched like a cat waking up from a nap. Her eyes still closed she slowly stretched her arms above her head and arched her back. Wait. Something wasn't right. Kate opened her eyes and looked over at Rick, expecting him to be asleep. His side of the bed was empty. Quickly, she scanned the room but couldn't find any evidence he was in the room. She looked at the clock. 9:17Am. Umm, maybe he was making her breakfast! She threw back the covers and stood up. Ok, one more stretch. As she twisted and turned and felt herself limber up, she caught a glimpse of her naked body in the dresser mirror. She smiled to herself, remembering the reason she was still naked. She had come in very late last night, around four something and her movements woke Castle as she was climbing into bed. He yanked her over on top of him, summarily stripped her naked and had her screaming his name in a matter of minutes. Maybe, she thought, she could interest him in round two? After all, she had a 3 day weekend – but coffee first - definitely coffee first. Hastily she put on her PJ's, grabbed her robe and headed for the kitchen.

Kate's bare feet made no noise on the hardwood floor as she approached the counter. Someone had made coffee and there were bagels and cream cheese on the counter. Kate poured herself a cup, grabbed some fruit from the fridge and sat down. Still no sign of Castle, weird, she thought, as she slathered cheese on her bagel. Martha's voice broke the silence.

"Good Morning, Katherine!" she greeted her as she sailed into the kitchen. Martha was already dressed in a zebra print pantsuit. "You are up too early my dear, considering what time you got in last night." The last part was delivered with one of Martha's knowing smiles and a wink.

"Good morning, Martha – wait, how do you know what time I got in last night?" she asked with a curious look on her face. She was sure everyone was asleep when she got in.

"Oh, my dear, one thing you will find out is that as you age, so does your bladder!" Her face showed both resignation and acceptance of her aging bladder. "And since I was up, I came down for a glass of milk"

"But that doesn't explain how you knew –"

"And aside from your briefcase on the table, there was rather a lot of noise coming from that end of the loft"

"Oh my God!"

Martha's eyes were dancing with amusement as she watched Kate blush and bury her head in her arms. "Oh Kate, Kate, Kate!" Martha placed her hands on Kate's crossed arms. "Don't you dare be embarrassed!" Kate looked up, still mortified that Castle's Mom of all people had heard her yelling his name. "I am so happy that my son has finally found happiness. And as for you my dear, I have come to love you as well, and I am thrilled that you have found Richard."

Kate could tell that Martha really meant what she said. Still, it was humiliating. It was almost as bad as being walked in on. She covered her face in her hands but not before Martha saw her blushing with embarrassment. "Oh kiddo, it's not anything I haven't seen or done before you know."

"Thanks Martha", she said from behind her hands, "that helps a little."

"Here dear, eat your bagel." Kate took a bite. At least if her mouth was full, there wouldn't be room for her foot in it. She reached for her coffee to wash it down.

"Besides, you're both young, healthy adults, I'd be more worried about you both if you weren't screaming 'Oh God' in the middle of the night", she deadpanned.

- Coffee spewed all over the counter -

"Martha! - really - I don't – I was just – uh, wow – Where is Castle?" she finally managed to say. Dear God, she was never going to live this down!

"Ok, ok," Martha said with a laugh, "you are just too much fun to tease! But I will stop so you can finish your breakfast, my dear. Richard had an early meeting with Paula to go over some business, but he said he would be back by ten, and for you to wait on him." Martha stepped next to Kate and placed a kiss on her cheek, "I am off to my studio darling! Have a wonderful day!" And with that Martha Rogers breezed out of the apartment.

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Kate took a shower after she ate. After sitting in a squad car all night waiting for a killer to show up, plus her late night romp with Rick, she was in need of freshening up. The water was as hot as she could stand it and she just leaned against the wall and let the jets massage her tired muscles. She scrubbed and washed and conditioned her hair. She sat on the stone seat, slathered her legs and reached for her razor.

"I could help you with that you know."

"Aaahhhh! Damn it Castle!" She could see his face peeking in the shower door. He definitely had a lecherous look on his face. "You scared the shit out of me! Wandering in here, like some kind of pervert!"

"Beckett! I'm offended!"

"Why?" It's not nice to sneak up on people – especially in the shower- Haven't you seen 'Psycho?"

"Many times. No, I'm offended you think I wouldn't come in here. After all, an empty apartment, the most beautiful woman in the world getting all hot and steamy in my bathroom…..oh yeah, that brings out the peeping Tom in me…or would it be peeping Rick?…anyway..The point is…I don't think your arms are long… enough to shave those… legs. And I... really… should... help you." She was spreading her knees apart so she could reach her ankles, which was leaving parts of her exposed that were making it very hard to concentrate. "Wow, you really have it hot in here"

Kate smiled up at him, biting her bottom lip out of habit. "Castle – you can barely concentrate on speaking, no way am I letting you near me with a razor." Using her long leg, she pushed the shower door closed. "I will be out in a minute. You could get me a towel if you want?"

"Sure"...was that a squeak? "I can do that! Be right back!"

Kate stepped out of the shower a few minutes later, into the steam filled bathroom. No towel on the towel rack. So much for Rick getting her a towel, she thought. She padded over to the linen closet and that's when she saw him. He was naked, except for a towel wrapped around his waist. He was leaning against the linen closet and looking very yummy. "Why, Mr. Castle! You forgot my towel"

"No, I definitely did not forget it"

"Oh, really?"

"Really." Rick's eyes were moving up and down her body and Kate could feel the heat of his gaze even across the bathroom.

"Then where is it?" she asked, enjoying the flirtatious dance they were dancing.

"It's ...um…right here," he grinned as he pulled the towel from around his waist, exposing his body to her view. He cocked his head to the side, his voice lowered and he gave her the look that made her melt. "You're gonna need to come get it, though" he growled.

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An hour or so later, after many carnal delights and a second shower, Kate was finally putting on her clothes. She put on comfy jeans, brown sandals and her favorite cream sweater. Rick was also in jeans and sneakers. He walked out of the closet pulling a knit shirt over his broad shoulders and said, "Hey babe, don't forget we have that meeting today with our wedding planner"

"I remember", Kate said, walking up to him and smoothing the dark blue shirt across his chest. She stood up on her tip toes to kiss him quickly, "it's one of the reasons I took today off.", she said with a satisfied smile.

"Is Lanie still coming over to meet the Planner with us?" Castle asked.

"Yes. She should be here soon"

Martha had given them the name of the best Wedding Planning service in the city. The company was sending one of their professional Planners and all they had to do was tell her the kind of wedding they wanted, color scheme, location, etc., and the Planner took care of all the details she and Rick didn't have time for. The Planner was coming to the loft at Noon so they could go over details. As her best friend, Lanie and Kate had spent hours talking and planning for the wedding, gasping and giggling like silly girls over dresses, shoes and other frilly stuff.

Kate sat down on the floor in front of the couch and started separating the newspaper. A moment later, Rick handed her a cup of coffee. She met his eyes and smiled.

"Thanks." She handed him the Metro section. "Hey, Babe? Are you still ok with Lanie helping with the planning? Because I don't want you to feel like we're pushing you or your wishes aside. It's important to me that this wedding represents us both."

She was looking at him with such an intense look. She was being silly, of course, but he knew she really feared he might feel left out. He loved that she was so concerned with his feelings. He reached over and took one of her hands in his. "Sweetheart, I know you feel kind of overwhelmed with all this, especially since your Mom isn't here to help." He held her gaze, trying to let his eyes convince her of what he was saying. "I'm glad you have Lanie to help you. And I'm touched that you're including my mother in the process too. It means a lot to her and to me" She smiled at him and he was dazzled by the emotions in her eyes.

"I want to kiss you so much right now", he said as he leaned his face towards hers.

She smile and bit her lip as she leaned into him. "Well you should definitely do that."

"Yeah?" he murmured.

"Oh yes, you should", she said as his mouth closed over hers. His lips teased her lower lip. His tongue moved across her mouth, seeking entrance. She opened her mouth for him and his tongue twirled around hers. He planted soft kisses along her jaw line and she could feel his stubble tickling her. She nuzzled her face into that stubble; the friction was such a turn on. His lips came back to claim hers and his hand cupped the back of her neck, tilting her head to give him better access to her mouth…she moaned.

*knock, knock, knock

"Lanie?" he guessed with a sigh.

"Probably so", Kate answered. "So, can I get a rain check on that kiss for later?

"Definitely". He sighed again and went to open the door.

Rick pulled open the apartment door and sure enough Lanie Parish was on the other side. "Hello Lanie, how are you today" Castle asked her. "You do not look like an M.E. today!" he acknowledged as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Mmm, no formaldehyde smell either", he teased her with a grin.

"Hey Castle." She said with a bright energetic smile. "I am fine thank you, and I DO clean up nicely if I say so myself!"

Lanie was wearing tight black jeans, with Purple spiked heels and a purple blouse that showed a fascinating amount of cleavage. Rick was trying to determine if it was 3 or 5 inches of cleavage when Lanie's voice pulled him from his observations.

"CASTLE!" she snapped at him.

"Huh?"

"Can me and the girls come in?" she asked, while striking that 'I'm about to smack you' pose.

"Oh yeah, you can all come in" he said slyly and shut the door behind her.

"Kate, what are you gonna do with him girl?" she asked as she put down her black purse and gave Kate a quick hug.

"That's what worries me Lanie," She said rolling her eyes at Rick. "I'm not sure he can be reformed!"

"Um", he said, "I would like to point out that it is not my fault I am genetically predisposed to breasts. And asses, to be honest." He started in on his explanation as he put water on for tea, as Lanie wasn't a coffee drinker. "You see ladies, as a true lover of women; I appreciate all that it means to be a woman. Her curves, her lines…, her…well, you get the point…and they all come in so many wonderful shapes and sizes, that as an expert, it is my duty to observe and commit as many examples of the female form as I can to memory."

"Mmhhmm, Kate, if he's lookin' at boobs, baby, you might wanna think about puttin' out more. Keep his mind off them and ON you." Lanie observed

Kate laughed at Lanie. "Trust me, I put out plenty" OMG did she really just admit that out loud? I must be losing my edge, she thought …or my walls. "But she does raise a good question Castle. Are my breasts not enough for you that you have to ogle other women? Including my best friend?"

Castle handed Lanie her cup of tea and replied, "Why Detective Beckett, are you jealous? Before you answer that, let me start by saying, your breasts are perfect in every way and I am about to pledge my lifetime to limiting my personal breast inspections to yours. But just because a man has the most beautiful artwork in the world, does not mean he can't appreciate other great works. Would you agree, Detective?"

"Not exactly" Kate replied…but she felt one of his infamous traps coming.

Lanie made herself comfortable in the easy chair. This might get good.

"Really?" he asked, with a knowing look in his sparkling blue eyes. "Kate what part of my anatomy did you say you especially like to check out? Just to remind you, this was a couple of weeks ago."

"No, I'm not having this conversation with Lanie present!" she put on her best stern cop face.

Lanie interjected as she leaned forward in her seat, "No, no…don't stop on my account. Please Kate, do tell, what is your favorite part of his anatomy?"

"I'm not saying" she mumbled into her coffee cup.

Suddenly Castle took on the persona of a prosecuting attorney and he turned on Kate as he went in for the kill. "So Detective Beckett did you or did you not reveal to me that you 'loved' looking at my ass? Wasn't it you that said you appreciated a 'firm, tight, well-rounded male ass'?"

"TMI counselor" interjected Lanie, smiling into her teacup.

"No!" replied Kate, blushing and clearly lying.

"So for the record you deny me catching you checking out Esposito's ass at the office the other day?" he pressed his point.

"What?" Lanie leveled her trademark glare at Kate, arching one eyebrow for good measure.

"No!" Castle I wasn't….Lanie it's not like that!" Kate sputtered

"– or Detective Mario in his workout shorts or the bike messenger in ..."

"Stop!" She said laughing, "Ok, ok, so I'm an ass girl! Is that a crime? It doesn't mean I'm going to go around grabbing every nice ass I see!" Kate was getting tickled at the looks Lanie was giving her, plus Castle in his prosecutor act was just all too funny.

"Aha!" Like magic, Castle turned back into himself, walked over to Kate and leaned in close to her face. "I rest my case, sweetheart. You and I are not so different after all. Now, I wonder, can you be reformed? Hmm?" He smiled sweetly and dropped a quick kiss on her lips and sat on the couch near Kate.

They were all still laughing when the doorbell rang.

"Oh! That's gotta be our planner!" Kate said as she sprang up to answer the door. She looked out the peephole. Sure enough, there was a woman standing there whom Kate had never met, she was holding a briefcase with the planning company's logo on it. Kate opened the door.

"Good Afternoon", the woman said with a smile. "I'm Lynette Sullivan. I'm here to meet Katherine Beckett?"

"I'm Kate" she said, smiling, as she reached out to shake hands with Lynette. "Please, come in."

"Lynette, this is my Maid of Honor, Dr. Lanie Parish and my fiancé….—"

"Oh My God!" Lynette exclaimed. "Richard?!" she rushed past Kate and Lanie and threw her arms around a very stunned Rick Castle and kissed his cheek.

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"Richard! I can't believe it! After all these years, it is so good to see you!" Lynette gushed and smiled up at him.

On instinct when she had thrown her arms around him, he had responded in kind. "Uh, Lynette! Wow, you look great!" He looked over at Kate, who was looking at him strangely. He realized they were still semi-hugging and he quickly stepped back. "Kate," he said grinning hugely, "Lynette and I were friends a long time ago" He turned to Lynette, "Wow, it's been, what? Fifteen or sixteen years?"

"Yes, it's been quite a while, Richard. But you are still as handsome as ever!" Lynette said, flattering him with charm and style.

"Why thank you," he beamed, "and I do believe you have grown even lovelier." Lynette giggled at the flattery.

Kate and Lanie stood there with polite smiles and quizzical looks plastered on their faces. The wedding planner was athletic, petite and blonde and showing way too much interest in Rick. Lanie looked curiously at Kate; all Beckett could do was shrug in confusion.

Rick ushered Lynette towards the kitchen saying, "Can I get you some coffee? Do you still take it with two sweeteners?"

Lynette looked surprised and completely charmed. "I can't believe you still remember that!...and yes, coffee would be awesome."

Their voices trailed off as they walked into the kitchen, Kate could hear Rick asking her what she had been doing all this time.

Kate's gaze shifted to Lanie. "What the hell?!" she whispered angrily. "Can I not do anything without running into some ex of his? Hell, apparently I can't even marry the man without one of his past flings around!"

Lanie tried to give Kate a reassuring look, but it came over more like a person trying to talk a jumper down from the roof. "Now Kate, you don't know if they were old flames. He said they were old friends. Maybe that's all they were."

"Oh no. They were lovers."

"Girl, how can you possibly know that?"

"Two sweeteners Lanie! You don't remember how someone takes their freaking coffee fifteen years later unless you were screwing her." Kate was hurt and mad. She hated feeling jealous. She knew she was no good at hiding it either.

"Kate, c'mon now, maybe it's not what it looks like, ok?" Lanie reached out and rubbed her friends arm. "Let's just stay calm and the two of us will get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, do not let her get to you! Today is a special day. We are starting the wheels in motion for you to marry the man you love. Now c'mon, grab your coffee and let's go sit at the table and start plannin' this thing."

"Maybe you're right, Lanie" Kate sighed, but she didn't sound convinced.

"Of course I'm right! I'm a doctor aren't I?"

'Coffee would be awesome! Hehehe. I'm more beautiful than ever!' Kate mumbled in a gushing tone, mocking Lynette. "I swear, Lanie, if she turns out to be one of his bimbos I may really shoot him this time!"

"Honey", Lanie cut her eyes up at Kate and rolled her neck, "If this does not end well, I'll help you bury his ass."

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Kate was feeling a bit better after they got started. Castle sat on her left with his arm around her chair and Lanie at her right, while Lynette sat across from Kate. She hated to admit it, but she was glad 'Bimbette' wasn't sitting next to Rick. Lynette was surprisingly professional and Kate was not feeling as upset as she had been earlier. Lynette had taken out a few questionnaires so the first several minutes were taken up with the four of them discussing color schemes, floral preferences, music and other ideas they had.

Rick was barely paying attention to the questions he was being asked. He must be getting most of the answers right because he wasn't getting 'the look' from any of the women. How in the holy hell had this happened?! Lynn acted so surprised to see him, but surely she had seen his name on her papers. Weird. She did look great though. Her light blonde hair was no longer past her shoulders. It was a sexy version of a crop cut. Short on the sides and longer on the top, and it looked as if she had combed it with her fingers in a deliberately mussed style. She had more piercings than he remembered, at least four in each ear; three at the bottoms and one at the tops. Maybe this is what they mean by 'punk chic?' he wondered. He was pretty sure he had heard Alexis use that once.

More importantly he realized he was on thin ice with Beckett. He knew this had to be awkward for her, and he was pretty sure she wasn't buying the whole 'we were just friends' chestnut he had tossed her. She was creepy like that sometimes; how she just knew things. He wondered how he was going to explain this to Kate. Then it hit him; he wouldn't! Yes! There was no need to tell her at all. It had been years, a lot of years, since he and Lynn had dated. And they only dated for like two or three months back when Alexis was three or four years old. It almost didn't even count! Nothing good could come from telling Kate the truth. Lynn was clearly a great planner and was as over him as he was her. He loved Kate with everything he had and he wanted her to have the best planner in New York. And since that appeared to be Lynn, it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

"Castle?" - "Babe, what do you think about this one?" Kate was asking him something.

"Which one?" he answered quickly. Nice save, he thought.

"Which venue." She said, eyeing him thoughtfully.

"Well, what are our choices?"

"Rick, we got it down to three yesterday," she reminded him. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "The Japanese Gardens, The Tower Roof or The Brass Factory?" She was confused. He was definitely acting strangely, yet he wasn't acting all smitten like he had over Natalie Rhodes or Serena Kaye. She wasn't sure what to think at the moment.

"Lynette has more pictures than the magazine had and she has virtual tours we can watch too" Kate smiled at him. The magic of getting married was momentarily drowning out her unsettling thoughts.

"I think that's a great idea", Lanie offered. "The more you know up front, the fewer surprises you get later on."

"I couldn't agree more, Lanie, I'll get the popcorn!" Rick grinned and headed for the kitchen to escape Kate's mind-reading gaze.

After watching all the tours and with considerable debate, Lynette ultimately helped them make a final decision. "Guys, I know you have your heart set on an outside wedding, but let me offer you this scenario to consider. This is your day. This is it. You get one shot at making it perfect. This is New York City!" She spread her arms wide as if to describe its' vast randomness. "What if it rains or it's too windy or something else? I know we can have a plan B for that…but do you really want your day to be multiple choice?" She looked at all three of them and waited on that to sink in. After a moment they all spoke at once...

…"Tell me more about The Brass Factory", Kate said.

…"She does have a point, y'all", said Lanie

…Rick quipped, "yeah, no multiple choice. I get test anxiety."

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"Ok," said Lynette, hanging up her phone."We have The Brass Factory for Friday, September 12th at seven pm!"

Castle hugged Kate to him as she almost squealed with delight. They shared a congratulatory kiss and got lost in each others' smiles for a moment.

"We have a tour tomorrow at 3pm. Rick, I need a check for the deposit, which I will deliver shortly, and we are done for the day", Lynette said with a genuine smile.

Kate walked over to Lynette and reached out to hug her, "Lynette thank you sooo much! We would have killed each other trying to make all these decisions", Kate said with a laugh.

Lanie hugged Lynette too. "Thank you so much for helping out my girl. You have no idea how much stress you have saved the 12th precinct."

"What?" she grinned at Kate who was rolling her eyes at her, "You know I'm right!"

Lynette walked over to Richard who was holding her coat for her. She slipped her arms in her coat and gathered her briefcase. She turned to Rick, looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Well, it was really nice to see you again Richard… Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked?

"Tomorrow", he confirmed with a boyish smile. Kate was quick to glare when he said 'tomorrow'. Shit, that's our thing! I shouldn't have said that. He held the apartment door for Lynn as she left and headed to the elevator. He turned to find Kate and Lanie hugging goodbye.

"See", Lanie whispered in Kate's ear, "It was fine!"

"Yeah", Kate whispered back, "I guess I was worried over nothing."

She hugged Kate tighter and laughed, "One thing for sure, at least Lynette's not a bimbo!"

Kate laughed as Lanie said goodbye to Rick and headed back home.

Rick shut and locked the front door. He wondered which woman would be waiting on him when he turned around. The soft Kate, the excited Kate or the detective Kate. He turned to find her looking a little tense, with her hands clasped in front of her. He just stood there waiting on her to say something. This must be what the criminals she interrogated felt like; just waiting on her to pounce. Just as he was about to cave, she spoke.

"So", she said, looking at him intently, "Tell me the truth."

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A/N: If you like this story please leave a comment :) I am still new (this is only my 2nd attempt), so constructive ideas or suggestions (especially of a technical nature) are always welcome. And if you just like it, let me know. That's fun too ! Chapter 2 is in the works.