Chapter 1

Author's note: So I have this CD in my car stereo, it's one of my absolute favorites, it's Jenny Paquette, a New England based country singer. She performed on a harbor cruise I took back in July of 2001. Lately as I've been listening, some of the pieces sound like they should have been written for Kate and Rick. I can no longer restrain myself from working the lyrics into a story, so that you all can see what I mean.

They rode home from the ball, hands intertwined. Kate smiled fondly, thinking of the moments after Rick had slid the beautiful ring on her finger. She'd laughed when he told her he didn't order a pocket for her gun so she couldn't shoot him. He'd nodded at the orchestra conductor, who had been watching the events unfold along with everyone else in the room. The conductor nodded back, then turned to his podium. Suddenly the band struck up "At Last". Since she was already in his arms, they simply started dancing. She shook her head at him, smiling. She should have been amazed at all of the detail he had put into his plan, all of the accomplices involved (and she WOULD be having a chat with Lanie about keeping mum). But then, was it any different than the carefully constructed and woven plots that made his books best sellers? Only this time there had been more at stake than his reputation as an author. And hadn't he warned her that she would be in for a hell of a courtship?

After their dance they had made their way back to their table, accepting the congratulations of strangers and acquaintances alike along the way. Standing with their knot of friends was Mayor "Bob", who beckoned to a waiter standing unobtrusively on the sidelines. The waiter approached with a tray full of glasses filled with champagne. He passed a glass to each of the assembled well-wishers, before fading back into the fringe. Standing in a tight circle with Kate and Rick, Lanie, Ryan & Jenny, Esposito, the Captain and the judge, Mayor Bob had raised his glass.

"To Rick and Kate. May they find years of happiness, and be so distracted with one another that the rest of us stand a chance at the poker game!" Laughter, clinking and choruses of "Hear, hear" had followed.

Kate blinked and shook her head to clear the memories. They were pulling up in front of Rick's, well, THEIR loft. They had agreed to make Labor Day weekend the official move-in date, but in their minds her apartment was merely a large, distant closet, particularly given tonight's events.

A giggly round of rock, paper, scissors had won Kate dibs on the first shower. Rick helped her out of her dress. He tried to help her out of her undergarments, too, but she swatted his hands away and dashed for the bathroom. He contemplated pouting, but her back was to him so the effort would be lost on her. He settled for admiring the view of her retreating form. She DID have an adorable behind, clad in lace, sitting atop well toned legs. When she disappeared behind the bathroom door, he shrugged and started to undress.

He heard water running, and then…music? He remembered then that she had brought over a docking station for her MP3 player. He listened to the song, not so much by choice as by the fact that Kate had cranked up the volume. Either she wanted to be sure she'd hear it over the shower or she really liked it. Those were essentially the same reason, now that he thought about it.

Never really thought about you and me like this, never crossed my mind to cross that line.

Can't believe that I could be completely unaware that somewhere in time, you would be mine.

He smiled. Hmm. Pretty, and so appropriate for them. No wonder Kate liked it. His theory was confirmed when she started to sing along.

Don't know what happened to me underneath your spell, I only know how helplessly I fell

Ah who knew that I'd be loving you, so unexpectedly love comes, you never know who'll turn out to be the one. Destiny is a big mystery, oh and I didn't have a clue, you were the one who knew.

Wow, it even referred to a mystery and clues. It's like it was written for them. He couldn't help himself, he opened the door, clad only in his boxers now. Kate's soulful voice grew stronger. He hadn't known she had such an amazing voice. There went another layer of the Beckett onion.

Well you knew I loved you, never wanna let you go. Yeah you knew I loved you, knew this love would grow.

Sometimes the obvious is way too hard to see, it isn't always clear what's meant to be.

He eased the shower curtain back, nudging the bathmat into place with his foot so that the water wouldn't splatter on the floor. Not only would that make a mess, but the sound would alert her, and he wanted to enjoy this unguarded moment for as long as possible. She turned around just as the song hit the chorus again. "Ah, who knew that I'd be…" She stopped singing and cried out with surprise. "Jesus, Castle, what are you doing?" She reached for the waterproof remote to the docking station and paused the music.

He merely smiled at her at first, his eyes traveling down her body, following the path of the water flowing over her. He had known many women in his day, and none of them had ever had the effect on him that she did. He dragged his gaze back upward, to finally meet hers. She was still waiting for an answer. At least they had reached a level of comfort that she WASN'T waiting for an apology, although removing the curtain had allowed the draft from the air conditioning to reach her, and she was starting to get goose pimples in the places the water wasn't touching. An apology for that might be necessary, but first back to her question.

"I think I might be listening to our wedding song." She gave him the gentle smile he normally saw when he had been, in her words, "kinda sweet". That smile made him go mushy inside, though at the moment there was a certain part of him that was decidedly NOT mushy, which she seemed to notice when she glanced down at his boxers. That produced an entirely different smile, which made the warm fuzzies subside in deference to his now screaming libido.

"You know, you're letting in a draft here." She paused, and he had the apology at the ready, until her next words. "You coming in or not?" She was aware that this was a clever twist on the phrase she had used on a couple of occasions, her way of accepting the olive branch he extended, letting him know that for the moment he was out of the doghouse.

He was out of his underwear and into the shower beside her before the words "or not" finished bouncing off the tile walls. Pulling the curtain closed with one hand, he reached for her with the other. She let him kiss her once, twice, then put her hand up and gently pushed him away. She motioned for him to turn away from her, which he did, but not before giving her a look of curiosity. There was no suspicion in his eyes, mostly because he was game for anything she wanted to try. Hitting the fast forward button on the remote a few times, she said "I think you'll like this..."

"Honey, I'm in the shower with a gorgeous naked woman. The only way I'm NOT going to like it is if that woman intends to kill me, and even then it might be worth it."

She didn't bother rolling her eyes, he wouldn't see it anyway. She grabbed her exfoliating gloves and slid them on, then poured a dollop of his shower gel in her hand. Though he would probably be more than willing to trade smelling like cherries for what she was going to do for him, she wasn't that mean. He had been amazing to her tonight, and she wanted to give him a little special treatment in return, although when she had thanked him for everything during the ride home, he had pointed out that her acceptance of his proposal was more thanks than he would ever need.

She hit "play" on the remote, then rubbed her hands together to make some lather. As she reached for his shoulders, an upbeat music intro started, and she began to sing again.

Boy aren't you lucky that you're standing beside me

I let you in cause all your knocking drove me crazy

I haven't let somebody get this close for a long time

She worked her way down his back, continuing.

Guess you could say I hid behind a big wall

Compared to mine the one in China ain't no wall at all

Couple of times I almost let down the ladder but I changed my mind

Trying to focus on the words she was singing was a challenge, due to the fact that his senses were trying desperately to sort out what she was doing to him. He'd heard the sound of the soap being squeezed out, but rather than being followed by her smooth hands gliding over him, he felt a light scratchy sensation, sorta tingly. She seemed to deliberately bypass his ass, diverting her hands to either side and work her way down his hips and thighs. He snapped his attention back to her singing before it had the chance to contemplate where her hands would end up next.

I'd let them in a little, but never all the way, somewhere in the middle, my heart would get afraid

So tentative and hesitant, you tell me that you're heaven sent, and I have to laugh

Yeah and how can I say no to a get to me face like that?

At that HE had to laugh. The song continued. So did her hands. She was trying to drive him crazy, he was sure of it now.

Guess your persistence really paid off for you

You got your way I hope you're happy, 'cause I'm happy too

That silly smile of yours is making me believe in all I never could.

She crouched now, scrubbing down and back up his left leg, then his right, her thumbs touching to make a U shaped scrubbing tool. The song returned to the chorus.

I'd let them in a little, but never all the way, somewhere in the middle, my heart would get afraid

So tentative and hesitant, you tell me that you're heaven sent, and I have to laugh

Yeah and how can I say no to a get to me face like that?

She stood back up, and slid her hands under his arms to lather his chest and stomach.. When she ran the gloves over his nipples he nearly lost his mind. He groaned. And still she sang.

You know what you're doing, 'cause you found a way to get through the door

The places you've been going, nobody's been there before.

She maneuvered him around to face her, dropping the gloves to the floor of the shower. This time when she sang the chorus, her eyes were locked on his. He waited until the last strains of the song died, before pouncing on her, his eyes nearly black with passion. His kiss was demanding, ferocious, and stole her breath away. He growled and picked her up, entering her in one smooth motion and pinning her to the wall, her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist. He froze then, his control as thin as spider silk, knowing that as soon as he started moving within her, it would be over in seconds. "Oh, Kate, I…can't…" He looked at her desperately, and she seemed to understand his predicament. Her heart melted when she realized that with all she had done to him, he was still worried about meeting her needs first. She placed her hand on his cheek and nodded her consent. When he still looked uncertain, she shifted her hips forward slightly in encouragement, embracing him with a well-practiced Kegel contraction. Shock and awe flitted across his face, then ecstasy, followed by rapture as he found his release less than a minute later. He rested his forehead on the wall, trying to catch his breath. She was surprised he still had the strength to hold her up. As though reading her thoughts he slowly backed up, letting her feet drop back to the floor of the tub. She turned them both in a circle to rinse off whatever soap remained, then turned off the water.

She led him out of the tub and grabbed a towel, opting to blot at him rather than rubbing. Any more stimulation and the poor man might spontaneously combust. She guided him back into the bedroom, grabbing a towel for herself along the way. Once he was seated on the bed she started to dry herself off, and he started to come back to his senses. He finally had the presence of mind to climb beneath the covers and hold his arms out to her. When she was sufficiently dried, she accepted his invitation. The last thing she heard was "Good song…" before they both drifted off to sleep.