Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. The lyrics to the song are "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Lady Antebellum. I don't them either.

Simply Extraordinary

They were stuck. They were stuck in a dimly lit, desolate room with no way out. Worse yet, it was his fault.

"Castle, there was a reason I propped the door open."

He sarcastically replied, "You don't say."

"You don't say? I'd say it's more like you don't think." Kate grabbed his ear and twisted it.

"Apples! Apples! C'mon Beckett, I swear I didn't mean to. Do you think I'd do this on purpose?"

She let go of his ear and glared at him angrily. "As a matter of fact, I wouldn't put it past you."

"Aw…C'mon…You know me better than that. Believe me, if I wanted to get you alone, I'd be a little more creative than this."

"What I know is that there's no way out of here. That door's made out of steel, and it locked automatically when it closed. There's no way I'm gonna be able to knock it down. Face it. This warehouse is abandoned."

Kate looked around the room. The walls were made of brick, which was dirty from being neglected for so long. The room smelled stale and musty. There was one dimly lit overhead light, and a forgotten radio that was plugged into an outlet on one of the walls.

"God, Castle, there's not one window in here. At least we have electricity, or we'd be in the dark."

"Me…you…the dark. Think of the possibilities, dear detective." He raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"In your dreams, Ricky. You just better hope that Ryan or Espo come looking for us. I haven't even had my morning coffee yet. I left it in the car." Kate looked at Castle and eyed the steaming cup of coffee in his hand. The smell of it made her dizzy with want and need. She gave him a predatory look.

"You know, you should give me your coffee. You at least owe me that."

A sinister smile played over his face, and he taunted her by saying, "Now where's the fun in that, Katie. You want my coffee? Play truth or dare with me."

Kate glared at him with an air of indignity. "What? Are we back in high school or something? I'm not playing truth or dare with you. By the way, call me Katie again, and it's your nose."

"Not up for the challenge, detective? It's not like you could have taken my coffee anyway. Don't worry. There's never any shame in knowing when to walk away when you're beat," he playfully edged her on.

"When I'm beat? You're on, writerboy. Bring it on."

"Ladies before gentlemen. You go first." He bowed gracefully to her and smiled.

"Okay, Castle. Truth or dare?"

"Dare." He grinned cheekily.

"I dare you to give me your coffee."

"That's so not fair!" he whined.

"All's fair in truth or dare."

He pouted as he handed the cup of coffee to her.

"You're such an easy mark," she smirked. She desperately took the cup in both of her hands, took a long drink, moaned, and savored the familiar taste in her mouth.

"That's just…hot." With heated eyes, he kept staring at her.

"Focus, Castle. And quit staring at me. It's creepy."

"Fine. My turn. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What's your number?"

"Badge number or phone number?" she smirked.

"You know what I mean."

"You've got to be yanking my chain. You really want me to tell you how many guys I've slept with?"

"Believe me, Kate, when I say that I'm serious as the day is long. That is, unless you're conceding victory to me?"

"Seven. My number is seven," she huffed.

"Names?"

"One question, Castle. Stop cheating. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What's your most embarrassing sexual experience?" she laughed and smiled broadly at him.

"Oh, that's soo not fair."

"Don't stall. Out with it, superstar."

"Okay. I'm only giving you the short version though. I was seventeen and had this crush on Amanda Buckley for quite some time. She was a cheerleader. Mmm…sexy legs…short skirt…"

Kate interrupted him, "If I wanted a book, I'd have bought one."

He cleared his throat. "Fine. So, she invited me to her house for a movie. She said her parents wouldn't be back until after midnight. Let's just say that things got heated. We were in a compromising position on the couch when we both saw lights in the driveway. She quickly got her blouse and jeans on, but I wasn't so lucky. I was stark naked, and she had thrown my clothes across the room. I quickly stood up and scrambled to get to them. In my haste, I tripped and fell on one of her dog's squeaky toys. My arm broke my fall, and I ended up on the floor with all my glory for the world to see. Her mom saw it first, screamed, and yelled for her husband. When he saw me, his face turned fifty shades red with fury. I swear, Kate, if he had a gun, I would have been dead. Instead, he took great pride in calling an ambulance, while he removed all my clothes from the room. The medics and all the nurses and doctors in the emergency room saw me in all my glory as well. They gave me a hospital gown before they put a cast on my broken arm and notified my mother. The next day in school, Amanda signed my cast with three numbers: 911. I had to explain that one for six weeks. Satisfied now?"

"Satisfied and enlightened." Kate tried to suppress her laughter, but failed miserably.

He snidely interrupted her shrieks of laughter, "Truth or dare?"

She knew if she said truth, he would ask for the names of her numbers. So, she replied, "Dare."

Castle smiled an evil smile. He slowly pulled a Sharpie out of his jacket pocket. "I dare you to let me sign your chest."

"No way." A look of panic raced across Kate's face.

"Are you chickening out?" he smirked.

"Sign away."

He walked over to her and looked deeply into her eyes. They were dark and heated, and she noticed a confused longing in their depths. He hesitated, and then he slowly unbuttoned the first button on her blouse. She gasped, and he sought her eyes for permission to continue. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, and he got lost in the desire reflected in her eyes. He carefully unbuttoned one more button and gently pulled her blouse open, revealing the black outer lace of her bra. His breath caught, and he lightly traced the exposed lace with his fingertip. The heat from his touch scorched through her body, and she suppressed a moan.

"I think I'll sign right here," he whispered. With his fingertip, he tenderly traced a small circle above her right breast. Her breath quickened, and she looked at him with a sense of yearning and anticipation of what was to come next. She caught her breath as she felt him mark her with his words. After he was done, he reached up, gently cupped one side of her face, and leaned it down so she could see what he wrote.

She felt his warm breath against her ear, as he whispered, "Read it, Kate."

She obeyed. Her eyes grew wide, and she felt her knees go weak, as she read 'Simply Extraordinary' with 'Richard Castle' scrawled underneath. His strong hands immediately caught her shoulders to support her, and they found themselves with their lips only inches apart.

As she looked into the blue depths of his eyes, she whispered, "Truth or dare, Rick?"

"Truth."

She shyly bit her lower lip with her teeth and asked, "Do you want to kiss me?"

He answered by moving his face closer to hers. She trembled with longing, as she felt his breath bounce off her lips. Blue eyes locked with hazel ones, and he whispered, "Yes." She felt his lips barely brush against hers, and she responded by ghosting her lips over his. He reached up, placed his hand behind her neck, pulled her closer to him, and fully claimed her lips. Kate dropped the coffee cup, while one of her hands grasped his shirt tightly and the other found its way to the back of his neck and into his hair. She pulled back to catch her breath, and he traced her lower lip with his tongue. She parted her lips, and he tasted his coffee as he explored her mouth. Before he knew it, she was seeking his mouth as well, and their tongues met in a heated dance. The kiss consumed them, and they lost themselves in it completely.

From across the room, a low guttural moan burst out. They both quickly jumped apart like they had been burned. Breathless, they stared at each other in disbelief.

"Rick…I'm…uh…What was that?" Kate hissed.

"That was hot. I mean, you were hot. I mean…"

Kate interrupted him, "No, I distinctly heard a moan from over there."

"I don't see anything. Do you think it was a ghost? Could this get any better?"

"Castle, there's no such things as ghosts."

They both heard the moan again, and Kate followed its origin in a small hole at the bottom of one of the walls. "It's coming from this hole. Come here. I need your help."

He followed her over to where the hole was, and she said, "Help me make this hole a little bigger so we can see what's in it."

"Kate, I don't think that's a good idea. What if a diseased rat's in there?"

"Then we'll name him, and you can take him home as a pet."

"Funny. Very funny. Has anybody ever told you that you have an adorable sense of humor."

Kate glanced up at him and smiled. She pulled at the wall, and a small piece crumbled off. Castle reached down and helped her break off another small piece. Kate bent down and carefully looked into the hole. "Aw…Castle, it's a cat, and she's stuck. Come here kitty. It's gonna be okay," she said as she reached further into the hole and carefully pulled the cat out.

The cat was dirty and quite small. It was black on both ends and white in the middle. It meowed softly when Kate petted it. "It looks like she hasn't eaten in awhile." She lifted the cat so she could get a better look at her. "I bet you were scared. It's not easy to be all alone and feel trapped, huh?" The cat just looked at Kate and purred.

Castle shot her a concerned look, and she immediately changed the subject. "She puts me in mind of an Oreo cookie."

"Yeah, like those cows in the news." He noticed that Kate rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not kidding. Alexis and I were watching the news one night, and they had a whole segment about Oreo cows. I think they call them Belties. Apparently, they…"

Kate rolled her eyes for a second time and interrupted him, "Truth or dare, Castle?"

"I don't think so. If I remember correctly, you asked me last, and I said truth. I believe the question was if I wanted to kiss you, and I know that I completely and thoroughly answered that one." He smiled at Kate like a schoolboy, and she blushed. "Truth or dare, detective?"

She felt her heart skip a beat, and she shyly smiled and replied, "Dare."

Castle looked around the room and spied the radio. He crossed the room and turned it on. Much to his surprise, it actually worked. He searched for a station until he finally found exactly what he was looking for.

"Dance with me, Kate." He stretched his hand out to her. She hesitated, and he growled, "Kate, don't make me dance alone."

She put the cat gently on the floor, and it walked to the corner and started licking its paws.

As she reached out to grasp his hand, she felt her stomach flutter. He tugged her close to him and tenderly placed one hand at the small of her back. He took her other hand into his and slowly brought them both up to rest on his chest. He gently caressed her hand as they began to sway to the music. She felt his warm breath close to her ear, and it sent shivers down her spine. He softly whispered, "This song makes me think of us." As she heard his soft voice singing against her cheek, she melted into his arms, and his scent completely enveloped her.

I know that the bridges that I've burned
Along the way
Have left me with these walls and these scars
That won't go away
And opening up has always been the hardest thing
Until you came

So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go
This feelin' I'm feelin' is somethin' I've never known
And I just can't take my eyes off you
And I just can't take my eyes off you

I love when you tell me that I'm pretty
When I just wake up
And I love how you tease me when I'm moody
But it's never too much
I'm falling fast but the truth is I'm not scared at all
You climbed my walls

So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go
This feelin' I'm feelin' is somethin' I've never known
And I just can't take my eyes off you
And I just can't take my eyes off you…

Halfway through the song, he pulled her back and his eyes searched hers. It was almost as if he could see into her very soul. His voice was quiet and serious as he said, "I want you to know that I consider you to be many things, Kate. My muse. My partner. My friend. Someone I've grown to care deeply about and…love. More than anything else, though, I do consider you to be simply extraordinary." He leaned in, and his lips softly brushed against hers as he whispered, "I always mean what I say, Kate."

She looked up into his piercing blue eyes and softly said, "Me too. I mean…I love you too…so much, Rick"

They looked into each other's eyes with four years of love, want, need, and total realization. They slowly inched their lips towards each other.

Suddenly, they were completely interrupted by a loud banging at the door. For the second time in one day, they jumped apart and stared breathless into each other's eyes.

Before they had a chance to compose themselves, Esposito and Ryan burst through the door. They both looked around the room suspiciously and smiled. Castle and Beckett looked like two deer caught in the headlights.

Esposito was the first to speak. "So, whatcha been up to, Mom and Dad?"

Kate replied, "Very funny. We accidentally got locked in here. It's about time you guys showed up."

Ryan added, "You know, it took us awhile to find the warehouse. The next time you follow up on a lead, you might try leaving better directions. By the way, did you guys discover anything?"

At the same time, Kate answered no, and Castle answered yes.

Esposito and Ryan both looked at each other and smirked.

Ryan raised his eyebrows and said, "Want to elaborate on that, Castle?"

Kate glared at Castle, "Say anything, and it's handcuffs for you."

"I'm pleading the fifth."

They both eyed the detective and the writer for a few more seconds until Esposito spoke up, "Fine bro. I see how this is goin down. We'll see you two back at the precinct. Try not to get locked into any more rooms 'cause next time we might not be there."

Ryan chuckled, "Betcha they wouldn't mind." He elbowed Esposito, and they both laughed and walked out of the room.

Castle and Kate made sure the boys were out of earshot before they said anything.

Castle was the first to speak. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it, Castle."

"So, we're back to Castle now?"

Kate blushed, "Sorry. I didn't mean…"

He interrupted her, "Why don't you come over to the loft for awhile. We'll have the place all to ourselves. We could watch a movie?"

Kate smiled, "That would be nice, Rick."

"Get Oreo, and let's get out of here. I hear a chilled bottle of champagne calling our names. And, Kate?"

"Yes?"

"Bring those handcuffs."

I hope you enjoyed this. Please review! I live for your feedback!