Semi-Engaged

by RGoodfellow64

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Disclaimer: The only way would be if I had bought that lone Powerball ticket. I didn't.

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Rick Castle couldn't remember a time when Paula's glare was so intimidating. "Are you serious?" she practically screeched at him.

Rick sighed and tried to take back the conversation, "Paula…"

"No! No, you don't get to 'Paula' me, Rick Castle! You kept this secret for how long?"

"Um…a year?"

"A year?"

He almost put his hands over his ears as the screech hit a new high. He only got the sound "Uh…" out before Paula put up her hand to stop him from speaking. She visibly tried to control herself before she said, "Let me make sure I understand what you're telling me."

He was about to say something when her glare shut him down. He meekly nodded his head and waited while she composed herself before speaking.

She glared at him again, pointed a perfectly manicured finger and said, "You have been dating Detective Beckett…"

"Kate."

"What?"

"Kate."

"Kate?"

"Her name is Kate."

Paula sighed and said, "Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"SHUT UP!"

He blanched and backed away from her as she closed her eyes. He saw her lips moving and realized she was silently counting to ten before she opened her eyes and began to speak again. "You have been dating Kate for a year."

When he just looked at her she said, "You can speak now Rick."

"Yes."

"For an entire year you have been off the market and exclusively dating Kate."

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell me."

"That's right."

Paula closed her eyes again and pinched the bridge of her nose before she continued. "Then last week you proposed to her."

"Yes."

"And she said…"

"Not yet."

"Not yet?"

"That's right, not yet."

"She didn't say no?"

"Yes."

"She did?"

"No."

"No what?"

"No, I mean yes, she didn't say no."

She glared at him and said, "You stated drinking before you came here, didn't you?"

"No! Paula, I wouldn't do that…" he paused at the look in her eyes and added in a small voice, "anymore."

With both elbows on the table in front of her, Paula rested her head in her hands and asked, "Since she said not yet," she paused and drew out the next words, "this means you're…" she raised her head from her hands with a puzzled look on her face. "You're what, exactly."

"Semi-engaged."

"Semi-engaged?" she asked incredulously.

He nodded his head, "Yes, semi-engaged."

"You honestly expect me to tell the press that you and Detective Beckett…"

He interrupted her, "Kate."

With another glare she corrected herself and said, "You expect me to tell the press that you and Kate are semi-engaged?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you haven't been drinking?"

"Positive," he said, nodding his head firmly. "I'm not drunk."

"I wish the hell I was," she said as she rubbed her eyes.

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Two days later, he sat at the breakfast bar and enjoyed his coffee when Kate walked up, slammed the latest edition of the Ledger in front of him, pointed to their photo on page 6 and said in a very quiet and scary voice, "Semi-engaged?"

Rick Castle couldn't remember a time when Kate's glare was so intimidating.

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AUTHORS NOTE: There are so many serious post Watershed stories out there that I wanted to do something light. Hope you liked it, it was fun to write.