A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to get up. I've been busy with school. Better late than never though, right? :)
So, when we left off, Rick Castle has just proposed to his beloved muse Kate Beckett. How does she react? Well you'll have to read the rest of the fic for that.

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own Castle. That would make my name either Andrew Marlowe or Kate Beckett. And I am neither male, nor a badass.

The next morning is dark and damp, but she walks to work anyway. She wants the time to think.

When he'd asked her to marry him, she hadn't said much, just stared at him incredulously for a few moments. And then she'd given him her answer.

She'd said that she needed to think about it.

He'd hopped to his feet, grinning from ear to ear and saying something about going to see Lanie.

"Rick, I didn't say yes," she'd said.

"You didn't say no either." Then he'd run out.

She hasn't seen him since.

She has to admit, her first impulse had been to say yes, to throw her arms around him and never look back. That impulse had terrified her, as pleasing as it was, and so she'd forced it down and appealed to her practical side. She's always faced problems like this – taking the time to contemplate the possible consequences before making a decision.

Wait, did she say problem?

Because no, it's not a problem. He's not a problem. It's just . . .

Complicated.

She sighs as she makes her way up the steps to the tall brick building where she works. Quickly moving through security, she takes a left and briskly walks down into the basement where the ME's office is. Lanie had texted her this morning, saying that she needed to see her and that it was urgent.

She shoulders the door open and enters the morgue. It's only eight in the morning but Lanie is already working on a body.

A body that isn't her vic's.

"Lanie? What's going on? Did you find something new?" she asks. Her best friend looks up and immediately puts down the tool she's working with in order to lean against the table, eyes fiery.

"Girl, what is wrong with you?" she demands. Kate creases her brow, confused.

"I . . . what?"

"You said that you have to think about it? Really?" Lanie points at her. "I oughta smack you."

Kate rolls her eyes. Now she knows what this is about.

"You really had to call me down here at 8am for this?"

"Hell yeah, I did!" Lanie softens her expression slightly. "Kate, that man loves you. He's been watching your back for the past six years, and he's always there for you. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer-"

"Lanie!"

"- in sickness and in health! C'mon, Kate! How are you even questioning this?"

"Lanie, you of all people should know why," she scoffs. Lanie frowns at her.

"That's exactly why there's a problem here, honey. Because I don't."

Kate shakes her head and turns to leave.

"I don't have time for this," she says as she walks out.

"In sickness and in health!" Lanie calls after her. She gives that no response.

But the words are echoing in her head.

He arrives at nine – coffee cup in one hand (as usual), rose in the other (not usual). He sets both of them down next to the case file that she's currently perusing for the hundredth time and takes a seat in his chair, staring at her.

She can feel it.

She smiles down at his gifts but doesn't look up yet.

"You're not going to be able to bribe me, you know," she teases.

"Bribe you? I'm not trying to bribe you." She looks up to meet his eyes. They're shining.

He's lying.

She purses her lips in a silent laugh, shakes her head at him, and then looks up as Esposito walks into the bullpen.

"Hey, Espo. Did we ever find that suspect? The real one. Not this guy." She nods her head at Rick. He chuckles.

"Robert Holden?" Esposito asks. "No. Still haven't managed to locate him yet, but me and Ryan are keeping an ear out."

"Okay, great. Let me know if anything comes up." Esposito nods in response and then leaves.

She frowns at the case file. He notices her frustration.

"No other leads?" he asks. She shakes her head.

"None. Holden's looking like a good suspect but . . ." Her scowl deepens. "What if it's not him?"

"Well then we'll figure it out. We always do," he says with a grin. She looks over at him.

"We do, don't we?" She can feel a smile pulling at her lips as well.

He says nothing to that – he doesn't have to – and instead he changes the subject.

"So what do you think about Remy's for lunch?"

She regretfully shakes her head at that suggestion.

"I can't today. I promised to have lunch with my dad." His smile falters slightly.

"Oh. Well, dinner then?"

"I'll try, but I have some paperwork that needs to be done by tonight. It might hold me up."

"I'll help you," he says immediately. "It'll get done."

She smirks and raises an eyebrow at him.

"Wow. Offering to do paperwork. Are you sure you're not trying to bribe me?" He laughs at that.

"Scout's honor."

"Oh, so that's a 'no'."

He laughs some more.

Definitely a no.

No new leads come in so they spend the rest of the morning at her desk. She does paperwork and he pulls some over to his side for once, grabbing a pen and saying how good of a partner he is to be doing his share this time. He not actually working though. She can feel his eyes on her. Staring. Absorbing.

Loving.

And she loves him because of it.

The café is pretty crowded for a Wednesday afternoon. Patrons are swarming in front of the hostess, creating so large of a group that Kate is having a problem scanning the restaurant. She cranes her neck, looking for her father. When she finally spots him at a table in the back, she shuffles her way over and bends down to give him a hug.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hi, Katie."

She takes a seat. Her father picks up his coffee to take a sip, gesturing to the cup in front of her as he does so.

"I didn't really know what you like, so I just got you regular," he says.

"Regular is fine." She touches it up with the milk and sugar sitting on the table. Her father waits until she is done before he speaks.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" he asks.

She hesitates and, instead of replying, takes a long draw from her coffee cup. She lets the taste wash over her mouth.

Still not as good as Rick's.

Staring at the table, she says, "He proposed."

"Who? Rick?"

She looks up, raises an eyebrow at him. His face lights up.

"That's wonderful news, Katie. Wonderful." His eyes soften. "Your mother would be so happy." Then he pauses, considering. "She is so happy. Wherever she is, she's happy. I know it."

She diverts her eyes back to the table and shakes her head.

"Dad, I didn't say yes yet."

His eyes widen.

"Why not?"

"I just . . ." She trails off, trying to get her thoughts together.

Why not? She's been asking herself that since yesterday morning. And her mind has come up with a hundred answers. She chooses to go with the easy one.

"I'm just so scared," she whispers. Her father's eyes soften again.

"Scared of what, Katie?"

She doesn't answer right away, taking more time to think.

"Scared of . . . everything," she confesses. "What if I'm not ready? What if it doesn't work out? What if . . .?" She trails off.

"What if what?"

She purses her lips, studies the tabletop.

"What if something happens to me, Dad?" she says. "With this job . . ." She's at a loss for words again, thinking about her mother.

Thinking about the pain.

"I can't let him go through that," she murmurs, knowing her father will understand.

He's quiet for a long moment. And then he speaks again.

"Katie, what happened to your mother . . . I took it hard. You know that," he says, eyes sharp. "But I can tell you this, all of the grief, all of the sorrow that her death brought me? In no way does it outweigh the joy, the happiness . . . all of the great things that were brought on by her love." He pauses, eyes shining with tears. "I'm looking at one right now."

"Dad-"

"Tell me something, Katie. Does he make you happy?"

She silent for a long moment. Then she nods.

"And do you love him?"

With every fiber of my being.

"Yes."

"Then I can promise you that it's worth the risk," he says, reaching for his coffee. "And I bet that Rick would agree."

The second half of her day is much more productive than she'd expected it to be. Ryan and Esposito are able to track down Robert Holden, and she gets a quick and easy confession. He'd killed the victim for his wallet, needing money to fuel his drug habit. It's probably the easiest case she's ever worked.

The rest of the afternoon is dedicated to paperwork, and she's shocked to see that Rick actually took a decent-sized chunk out of it when she was at lunch.

"See? I told you I'm the best partner ever," he tells her.

She replies with a smile that says it all.

By 5:30, they're almost done. She stands up, stretches, and tells him that she's going to get a coffee.

"You want one?" she asks. He doesn't look up, just shakes his head, focused on the document in front of him.

He really wants to make that dinner deadline.

She saunters into the break room and immediately goes to work on the espresso machine. After five years, she's finally gotten the hang of it. When the aroma of liquid caffeine begins to fill the air, she closes her eyes and inhales. She's loves this smell.

It smells like him.

Smells like everything he is.

The sudden footfalls to her left indicate that someone is entering the room, but she doesn't open her eyes. She knows who it is.

"What do you want, Espo?"

He's silent for a moment, probably trying to figure out how she knew it was him.

"Why're you holding out on Castle?"

She opens her eyes to give him a severe look.

"That's none of your business!"

The coffee is done; she goes to work with the sugar and cream.

"C'mon, Beckett! The man took weeks to prepare that proposal! He had us in on the plan before he even left for his book tour! And now you're going to make him wait even longer?"

She ignores him, continuing to stir her coffee until she's content. She stalls even further by taking a slow drink from the cup.

That bit of information that Esposito just revealed warms her more than the coffee ever could.

"Beckett!" Esposito is whining again. She raises a hand to shut him up.

"Drop it, Espo." She's using her interrogation voice now.

"But-"

"No buts. Drop it."

She stalks out, coffee in hand.

When she gets back to her desk, she notices that Rick is no longer doing paperwork. Instead, he's staring up at her with a concerned expression on his face.

She loves that expression.

"Something wrong?" he asks, eyes flickering to Esposito.

"No. Esposito is just trying to play big brother."

He draws his eyebrows together; traces of amusement dance in his eyes.

"1984 Big Brother or stereotypical older sibling?"

She smiles, considers the question.

"I guess a bit of both."

He chuckles at that, then nods to the significantly shorter stack of papers on her desk.

"Paperwork is basically all done. You just need to sign off on a few things."

She pulls the papers towards her, grabs a pen.

"Great. I'll finish this up, and then-"

"We can go to dinner?"

She nods.

"We can go to dinner."

She scans the document in front of her, signs her name where she has to, and then stops, turns to him.

"Would you mind erasing the murder board? We have to do that too before we leave."

He stands up eagerly.

"I'm on it."

When she's almost done signing the papers, she glance up to assess his progress. The pictures are all down, and he's wiping away the last of the dry erase marker.

It's time.

"Don't forget to get the back," she says, struggling to keep the smile out of her voice.

"The back?" he asks, confused.

"Yeah. We ran out of room on the front so we had to use the back."

"Ran out of . . . ? Kate, the board was only half-filled!"

She rolls her eyes. He just can't make anything easy, can he?

"Don't question it. Just do it."

His forehead creases as he sighs. And yet, he can't refuse her and she knows it.

The smile is refusing to stay hidden now, so she stares back down at the paperwork, letting her hair fall in a cascade that blocks her face. He's grumbling as he moves to shift the murder board so he can flip it over, and she has to resist the urge to laugh.

God, she loves this man.

When he grows quiet, she knows he's seen. He stands there for several long moments, staring at the board without speaking.

So unlike him.

Finally, his voice cracks the silence.

"Kate?" It's hesitant, yet full of wonder.

She struggles to compose her face.

"Hmm?" She looks up to where he's standing, staring at the one word written in the top left-hand corner of the board.

Yes.

"Kate?" he says again, turning to look at her.

Those eyes.

Those loving eyes.

"What, Rick?" A small laugh of excitement escapes. She doesn't even care anymore.

Because this is really happening.

Finally happening.

"Does this mean . . . ?" He stops to swallow, licks his lips. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

She smirks at him, raises an eyebrow.

"What do you think it means?"

He's suddenly kneeling in front of her chair, looking happier than she's ever seen him.

Ever.

"I need you to say it," he whispers, taking her hand. "I need to hear you say it, Kate."

The raw emotion in his voice bewilders her, and for a moment, all she can do is stare into his eyes . . .

And then she says it.

"Yes."

He leans in closer.

"Yes, what?"

She lets a smile creep onto her face, and then she moves in, closer and closer, until her mouth is right next to his ear.

"Yes, Rick," she whispers. "Yes. I'll marry you."

She doesn't know how it happens, but she's suddenly on her feet and he's holding her tightly.

"I love you. I love you. I love you," he's saying over and over. She buries her face in his neck, hugging him back tightly. She never wants to leave this moment.

And as he pulls back to look at her, wiping a tear away from her cheek and pulling the ring out of his pocket, she realizes something.

All she needs is him. Him and only him.

Her partner. Her plucky sidekick.

Her fiancé.

The ring is sliding onto her finger.

Always, it says.

The precinct erupts in applause as he leans in for a kiss.

Always.

A/N: So this story is now COMPLETE! I apologize for all of the fluff at the end. I didn't exactly mean for it to be like that. It just sort of happened. And the shipper inside of me reached out and embraced it. :)
Did you enjoy the story? Want more? Hit the review button and let me know. Reviews are like Caskett moments, I can't get enough of them and they leave me smiling from ear to ear! :D