"...And this is my other partner, Castle."

Beckett looked up from her paperwork and frowned upon seeing Castle hovering over Esposito. This was the third day after they had arrested Raycine and he had done more hanging around at Esposito's desk than he did at hers. Although she would never dream of admitting it, it bothered her more than just a bit when he passed up their daily banter in favor of getting Esposito's coffee and then joining him in heated debates over who should be on their fantasy football teams. He was supposed to be getting her coffee and goading her with banter laced with sexual innuendo. Oh, and where was her bear claw? Just because Esposito had said that Castle was like a second partner didn't mean Castle needed to start fawning over him...

Oh no.
No way.

She couldn't be jealous of Esposito of all people...could she?

Castle had been ecstatic when Esposito sprung the sudden introduction on him the other day while they were waiting for an ambulance to come to tend to Ike. So shocked in fact, that all he could do then was wave and grin like an idiot at the man lying bleeding on the floor. When he finally recovered, they were on their way back to the precinct and the trip had involved Castle regaling Beckett with stories Esposito told him about Ike and their time together at the 54th. Needless to say, the introduction had bumped his ego up about twenty notches, which meant that he was telling anyone that would listen to him, especially around the precinct. His own mother and daughter had already heard this about a dozen times already and now all he got from them as a response was a set of very familiar, very Beckett-like eye rolls. When did they pick that up without him realizing?

Although Castle insisted on making a big deal out of Esposito's comment, he admitted to himself that there was one person he'd rather hear those words from. That person was currently sitting at her desk, frustrated, trying her best but failing to finish paperwork under the commotion he was making. She finally gave up and came to the conclusion that the best way to drown out the distraction he was making was to distract herself with what seemed like her fifth cup of coffee today. Beckett stood and made a beeline to the break room to refresh her coffee cup. Castle saw this as an opportunity to corner the good detective and bounded away from Esposito and into the break room after Beckett.

He managed to catch her by herself in the break room and stood in the doorway, effectively blocking anyone else from entering. He stopped, stared at her, and waited for her to say something snippy to him. She could feel his eyes on him but didnt say anything as she watched the coffee drain into her cup. Finally she looked up at him and said the same thing she always said when she caught him watching her.

"What?"

Castle looked thoughtful for a bit as he stood but eventually settled for blurting out what was on his mind. "How come you don't call me your partner?"

"Because you aren't a cop." An automatic response she seemed to have rehearsed in her head many times before.

"That's not a reason. Esposito said I was his. Logically it follows that we should be too, since I work more closely with you." Castle pointed out sagely.

"Is this what this whole thing is about? What is it with you and suddenly wanting everyone to notice you? Are you trying to get the whole precinct to call you their partner? You know you technically aren't even a cop, so sorry, you don't qualify for the position."

Beckett knew what Castle was trying to get at, but she deliberately went for the official meaning of the term. She wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of knowing she'd thought about Castle being 'partner' in more ways than one. Kate Beckett was not one to throw around words that held significant meaning. A partner was someone who had your back at all times and in any situation. A partner was someone you were responsible for, but someone you could count on to watch your back and for emotional support. In short, someone you trusted. She wasn't so sure she trusted Castle just yet. After all, he had squirmed his way into her life under the pretense of doing 'research' for his new book. Who was to say that this wasn't research now?

Castle's reaction to her comment appeared and disappeared almost instantly, but she had caught it nonetheless. It vaguely reminded her of a kicked puppy. She steeled herself, getting ready for some witty remark and frowned when none followed. Surprisingly, he seemed to sag emotionally as he grudgingly trudged out of the break room and back towards Esposito where he plopped down on a chair next to him and stared at the screen. Esposito gave him a funny look but said nothing.

Castle was tired of putting up a fight. His ego had taken a massive hit the past week, what with the introduction of pretty boy Demming and Beckett so obviously drooling over him. She was so irritatingly obvious when she spoke with him, something she never did when she was talking to Castle. He wasn't used to losing. He had felt like garbage all week and it really cheered him up when Esposito called him partner. But now, he was right back where he was before, stuck in the dumps. The one person he wanted having call him partner more than anyone in the precinct had blatantly said that she had not ever and will not even consider him as her partner. She probably would consider Demming her partner now. He was a cop... a very good cop who helped underprivileged youth. He made a face at the thought. How could he compete with that?

No.

he couldn't go down like that. He was a Castle, and Castles never ever bowed out of anything gracefully. He had spent the better part of a year laying down the foundation for them. He had been taking down her walls of defense brick by brick and he'd be damned if he was going to let that all go to waste or let pretty-boy continue the work that he had started.

He glanced at the clock, and then at Beckett as she came out of the break room. She messed around with some of the papers from her desk for another hour. It was a slow day today. In fact, after having arrested one of the biggest untouchable crime lords in all of New York, everything else had seemed dull and disappointing. After realizing she'd read the same paper for the third time, Beckett decided that she needed to go home and unwind. She stood, gathered her things, and headed towards the elevator. Castle watched her the entire time, waiting about ten minutes before he stood and left as well.

Beckett had just finished her dinner of chinese takeout, had made another contribution to her Styrofoam temple, and was making preparations to settle down with a good book (one of his books no less) when she heard someone banging at her front door. She grew alert as her heart rate sped up and flashed back to her old apartment right before it blew. She considered grabbing a gun, but eventually dismissed the thought. Only a handful of people knew where she lived after the explosion. She had opted to tell only a select few, paranoia from the blast still coursed through her. Still that hadn't stopped crazy murderers that killed people for fun before... She told herself to calm down and to look through the peephole before reaching for her gun and jumped back when she saw a single giant eye staring back at her.

The eye pulled back revealing a very agitated Castle, impatiently pacing outside her front door. Beckett was torn between confusion and frustration at the thought of dealing with Castle after hours but here he was, threatening to blaze a trail through the hallway rug. She vaguely considered the possibility of pretending not to be home, but realized that the light streaming through the cracks in the door would have been a dead giveaway. Castle certainly was not one to give up without a fight. She sighed and decided to get it over with, opening the door which grabbed his attention and finally stopped his pacing.

"Castle... to what do I owe this-" He didn't let her finish the snarky remark she had planned out in her head as he barged into her living room. She was deciding between being half amused and half ready to bite his head off for his little invasion of privacy stunt when he cut her thoughts off again.

"Why don't you consider me your partner?" Obviously he had been stewing over this for a while now.

"Castle, we've been through this already... you aren't even a cop!"

"Does that really matter? It's not a term RESERVED for police you know. Partners can mean anything! But if you insist on going that way, let me remind you that I saved you twice in two weeks! I may not know protocol, or how to properly fire a gun, but I do watch out for you right? I help with cases. I offer valuable insight that helps you break cases. I bring you coffee. HELL I bring you bear claws! That's stuff that partners do for each other. I know this and I know that you do too."

With each sentence he spoke he made a subconscious step towards her. With every one of the steps he took she matched his by backing up a step. How did she even get into this position? Yes, she admitted. She spent an unhealthy amount of time wondering what Castle was to her, but she never thought he would ask her directly about it. She just assumed he would poke at her through sexual banter like he always did. But now that he had practically laid out everything that he had done for her over the past year, she could not deny what she had refused to let herself acknowledge for so long. He was her partner. Although he didn't always physically have her back, he had always been there for her emotionally. Her mind briefly filled with snippets of past memories. Although he may not have manifested it in the best possible way, his intentions were almost always in the right place. As time passed from the time she crashed his Storm Fall launch party, she found herself growing more and more attached to him. She hated that she had become so dependent on another person but on the other hand, secretly loving the fact that she could depend on him.

Before she knew it, Beckett found herself backed nearly all the way to her couch. Her eyes never left him during this process, but his did at that moment. Beckett was about to turn and look at what he was so interested in when she felt herself tripping over her coffee table. Just as she was about to fall over, his arm snaked around her waist and caught her easily.

Did he work out? Writers most certainly did not have the kind of muscles Castle had used to catch her. Their faces were now inches apart. They stayed that way, staring wide-eyed at each other for what seemed to both of them like an eternity. He was the one to close the gap between them, acting almost entirely on instinct. He knew she might shoot him, or worse, kick him out of her life forever, but he felt a sudden overpowering need to know where they stood and firmly believed that he needed to do this.

The kiss was exactly as Beckett had pictured it in her many late night daydreams when she stayed late at the precinct. Soft, gentle with almost a healing effect on her frayed nerves. She was about to lean into him and deepen the kiss when he pulled away suddenly. She bit back a disappointed groan and gaped at him, unsure of what he would do next.

"I... I'm sorry. I... uh... I'll just... just be leaving now." He made a frantic but failing attempt to explain himself as he backed towards the door. He turned to fumble at the door, suddenly forgetting how they worked.

"Castle..." Her voice was small but firm. He turned slowly, afraid of what would inevitably end with him hurt in more ways than one. She was fidgeting, much like what he was doing earlier when he first stepped through her doors. She suddenly looked small and unsure of herself. "...You... you're my partner. You always have been."

She had said it. He knew how much it took for her to say those words to her and he was so very grateful that she did. The breath that he didn't know he was holding suddenly rushed out all at once as his face broke into the widest grin Beckett had ever seen. His smile was contagious as her face slowly began to mirror his as they stood grinning at each other like idiots. In a flash, Beckett found herself mashed against Castle's broad chest. She nearly had the wind knocked out of her, but other than that it was a very enjoyable but brief hug before he pulled away. Worried that he might have scared her off with the night's many unbridled displays of affection, he decided he needed to give her time to mull over what happened between them tonight before he would ask her what she wanted from this. He was halfway out the door when she spoke again.

"Castle." He turned again, unable to wipe the hopeful look from his face.

"Yes?"

"If you tell anyone at the precinct about what happened tonight I will kill you." She smirked at him watching as the puppy dog look slid off his face.

"Understood."

A few seconds after she closed the door on her she heard a loud and joyful "YEEEEESSSS" coming from the hallway. She smiled to herself as she allowed herself to look through the peephole in her door. Castle was on the other side of the door fist pumping repeatedly while doing what resembled a touchdown victory dance.

She laughed quietly to herself and wondered idly if he knew that the entire hall could probably hear and see him.

Okay, I thought I would never write anything again, but couldn't resist trying to write some Castle fanfiction, and since I have a terrible track record for finishing stories I've decided to write only one shots from now on. So (sadly) here it is, my FIRST finished piece of fanfiction.