"Being attractive means shit when you don't have a lover to share it all with. You might not agree with me because you love that you can sit back and enjoy the view, and I can't necessarily say that I don't enjoy the gesture every now and then because I do. It's nice to know that someone can stare all day every day and still have hungry eyes the next morning when reunited. It makes me feel…" she fell silent for a moment as she tried to think of the word to best describe it. She looked around as though she'd find the answer floating in the air around her. That plan did fail ultimately, but the word struck her right before she let the thought go. "Sexy. But being sexy isn't everything. I want to be beautiful."

Richard smirked at the very drunk Kate Beckett. The woman has found the courage to let him in, offering snippets of her past and insights on her latest dilemmas. She wasn't as open as he was, but he knew he was getting somewhere with Kate that no one else ever has before. And if he was wrong, he didn't want to know. He wanted to think that he was the only man she's had this type of relationship with.

Tonight, Kate was telling more than ever before. A bottle of tequila got her started and from there she kept going and going. Now she sat with a bottle of beer and Richard sympathized for her, only able to imagine the hangover she'd be suffering in the morning. He was drinking too, but it's been beer all night for him. He was tipsy. Not smashed.

"You're losing me Kate. What are you trying to say?" he thought her rant was adorable, but he knew she was being serious. So he tried to hide the smirk on his face. He didn't even care that she called him out on staring at her all the time. Would she even remember this in the morning? If she did, she'd be more embarrassed about her behavior.

Frustrated, the detective let out a loud sigh. "Keep up Castle," she shook her. She was sitting on the coffee table, facing the couch that was occupied by Richard. He sat back to give her some space, but their legs touched. He never minded physical contact with her, and tonight in this drunken state, she was fine with it. "In a nutshell, it's nice to know that people think I'm attractive, but being stared at doesn't make me feel beautiful. Just sexy. That's good sometimes, like when I'm working undercover or something, but I want to feel beautiful."

He never imagined her being insecure and he felt bad even putting it into consideration. She's just been through a break up though. Everyone had their issues after ending a relationship. Personally, he was sky high about Josh being out of the picture. "I want you to feel beautiful too, because you are."

She smiled softly as she considered what he said. After a moment, she shrugged it off and took a sip of her beer. "I don't know. If I was so beautiful I feel like people wouldn't be looking at me like I'm a piece of meat."

Richard was sipping his drink but pulled the bottle away from his lips as he shook his head. "Don't ever say that."

"You're one of those people Castle," she downed the last of her beer and placed the bottle next to her. "I guess it's different because you're my friend. I choose to be around you."

"You're beautiful and I never want to hear you say you're anything less. I don't want you thinking it either," he patted the empty spot next to him on the couch and smiled softly when Kate moved there. It wasn't graceful, so he helped guide her. When she rested her head on his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around her waist. "You're sexy and I don't think that will ever change, but I look at you because you're beautiful, okay?"

Kate wrapped her arms around Richard's waist as she thought about what he was telling her. It made sense. Sexy could only hold one's attention for so long. He's been around for a long time now and for whatever reason, he still stuck around. She knew the reasons were much deeper than him needing inspiration for his books.

She remembered a year ago, she hoped more than anything it was because he had feelings for her. After getting hurt, she tried to push that all out of her mind and she told herself not to trust him again. That failed and she couldn't say she minded. This year they've gotten closer than ever and it happened before she could even tell herself to take cover.

Finally, she nodded her head with a sigh. "Okay, whatever you say, writer boy," she kissed his cheek as a form of distraction and she smirked when she saw the smile pull from his lips and his skin turn a rose color. He opened his mouth and she was sure it was to ask why she did that, but when she held up the bottle of beer she took from his hand, he laughed.

"You're going to hate your life tomorrow," he smirked. "You realize you're going to be working with the world's worst hangover, right?" he knew he should stop her, but he hated when he couldn't give her something she wanted. Kate was one of his greatest weaknesses. After she finished his drink, he would tell her there was no more.

Kate giggled softly. "You'll have a hangover too. So it's going to suck to be either one of us."

"I didn't drink as much as you. I think I'll be okay," he argued, smirking at how fast she changed the subject. In an instant, she was perkier, all the worries of physical appearance pushed aside. That was easy.

"I don't have anything to worry about. You'll be with me, so you'll take care of me, right?" she looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

He kissed her forehead and smiled against her skin. "Yes, I'll take care of you. You'll be hung over, not drunk, so you won't like me saying that I'm taking care of you."

"I know," she agreed, then held up the bottle to him. There was enough for one more chug and he accepted it gratefully. He downed the rest as Kate wrapped her arms back around his waist. He balanced the bottle on a pillow so he could hold Kate. A smile played her lips as she was pressed against him. "You'll still take care of me anyway. You always do."

Even though Richard always went the extra mile for Kate without any regret, he was happy to know that she noticed it. "You're right. I'll always want to take care of you even though you usually end up saving my ass."

She laughed softly. "I'm a cop, it's my job," she would always go out of her way for Richard. Acting like she wouldn't and never had was pointless. "And I would be pretty upset if you weren't around to annoy me."

"I'll be annoying you for as long as you'll allow me too," when Kate looked up at him, they smiled at one another. "And even after that."

"Good. I like when you annoy me," of course, it wasn't really annoying having Richard around. His pestering was something she favored now. It made her days brighter, and she needed that since she worked with murder cases day after day. He was extremely personable and made her feel comfortable around him that now, she wasn't above teasing him. They bantered. Oh did they banter.

"I knew it," Rick laughed. "You would be lost without me."

"Stop teasing me right now, I'm trying to tell you something very serious."

The writer raised a brow. She jumped from topic to topic when she was drunk. Clearly, there was a lot she kept in sober and the lid was off now. She didn't know where to start or end. As bad as it was, he was letting her say whatever she wanted. He loved hearing her talk. "I'm sorry. How rude of me," he smirked.

She ignored the sarcasm and missed the smirk on his face, her head resting on his shoulder. "Did you invite me over because I've been upset?"

"No," this wasn't the first time Kate has been over to play poker. She was rare and all of his friends caught on fast. No one else would ever be so lucky to get in on his special poker games, unless they were a writer. Kate was his muse and though that shouldn't count, his feelings had much more substance. "I invited you over because I don't get enough of you in a day," he figured, why not? She wouldn't remember this in the morning.

"Really?" she kissed his neck since she was too lazy to lift her head to kiss his cheek again. Either way, this wasn't something Richard would normally expect from Kate. "That's nice. I thought you just pitied me because of my break up."

"We're friends. I invite you over to spend time with you, okay?" when she nodded her head, he continued. "Besides, you broke up with Josh. I'm sure you had your reasons."

"Damn straight I did," Kate wouldn't be so open about the break up if she was the one who was dumped. Not so soon anyway. And she certainly wouldn't have gone back to Rick's loft.

"Do you want to talk about it?" drunk or not, Rick always wanted to make Kate feel better. When she shrugged her shoulders, he kissed the top of her head. He held it for a couple seconds before pulling back, the sweet smell of cherries awakening his senses that not even alcohol could blemish. "You can tell me anything."

"We never would have worked out, so I ended it. It's very simple I guess," she knew it was anything but simple once you started to pick the situation apart. It had its many layers. The relationship started to fail the moment Kate and Rick kissed. It wasn't an impulse, but an act done while working under cover. Regardless of their reasoning, the kiss was very passionate and to her surprise, she found that he was gentle with her. She wanted to explore it some more and the thought terrified her. She knew she had to figure that all out, but she couldn't string Josh along when she so obviously had feelings for Richard.

Rick was always interested in hearing about Kate's relationships. It helped him see what her past relationships have been lacking. Better yet, what he needed to put on the table for her to finally give him a chance. "Why not? I thought you were crazy for him."

"He was a great guy," she knew that much was true. He was such a great guy. She felt terrible when she broke up with him, seeing just how much she hurt him. The worst part was she couldn't even come to tell him exactly why she was calling things off. "I just feel like he's not the best for me and I'm not the best for him. We wouldn't be able to make each other happy. He didn't see it right now, but he would have been miserable with me. My heart wasn't there."

"So if you heart wasn't there," he knew if she was sober, she'd kill him for asking. Than again, she wasn't sober. "Where do you think your heart is? Or at least, where does it belong?"

She chewed her lip and glanced up at him. When she saw him looking down at her, she smiled and showed off her perfect white teeth. Then she quickly realized what she was about to admit to, and buried her head in his chest. "Don't make me say it."

This was adorable and so unlike how Kate was acting just a couple hours before. She chased a suspect out of his apartment and effortlessly down a fire escape. The man made a wrong turn down an alley and went to jump a fence, Kate grabbed him and battled him to the ground. She won. Now here she was, shy and hiding in his chest. He loved the many sides of her and was willing to find a way to handle them all, for they were each powerful in their own way.

"Say it," he whispered in her ear.

She shook her head. "Maybe I'll tell you more about it another day," that was enough for him to know that she was talking about him. And then to confirm it, she looked up at him again. "I think you should ask me out sometime."

It didn't matter if she was drunk. She meant it. He knew deep down that she did. "I'll do just that."

"When?" Rick saying he would ask her out made her nothing less than anxious.

He smiled. "When you're not drunk so you could remember it every time we talk about that moment that brought us together as a couple. Every monthiversary and anniversary, we could look back on that day together."

"That sounds nice," she told him sincerely. "You know we're going to get as far as having anniversaries?"

Rick nodded his head in affirmation. "Absolutely. I've been trying to make you mine for a long time now. I'm not letting you go. I think I can make you very happy."

Although Kate wished she could have heard this a year ago, it meant more now. An entire year has passed that has brought them closer than ever. "You already make me happy. We would make it," she yawned as she nuzzled her face in his neck.

"Come here," he gathered the detective in his arms and stood up. His balance wasn't at par, but he would never let Kate fall. He walked carefully up the stairs. "Tell me. How would you like me to ask you out?" why not ask? He wanted the moment to be perfect since only he would remember this. He needed to ask her in a way that wouldn't scare her off. Kate had a way of avoiding things, even if she wanted them. She was scared and he was going to show her that he would keep her heart safe.

She giggled. "Nothing special. Tell me how you feel and just ask. Extravagance is something you'll go crazy over, trying to get all the details right, when I just want you to ask. I know you better. Don't do it."

He wanted to argue with her. He wanted to do something special for her, but maybe something special for Kate was being simple. "Okay beautiful," he carried her into his bedroom and carefully laid Kate on the bed. He took off her shoes and put the blankets over her.

Rick went downstairs and a few minutes later, was back up in his bedroom, smiling at the sight of Katherine Beckett in his bed. He had a glass of water in his hand and placed it on the nightstand. "Drink it all," he whispered and kissed her on the cheek. Before he could pull away, she returned the favor.

"I hope you ask me out tomorrow."

"You won't remember this in the morning," he chuckled. "So it will be killing me more than it will be killing you."

She shook her head. "I've wanted you to for a while. It's killing me too," she watched as Richard smiled and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

He stood in the doorway and looked back at her. "I'm going to sleep on the couch."

"I feel bad."

"Don't. You're tired, stop fighting it."

"Kay.." Kate closed her eyes and pulled the blankets over her head.

Richard smiled to himself. For Kate to give up on an argument, she really had to be out of it. He went down the stairs quietly, keeping in mind that his three favorite girls were all up there.

He turned off all of the lights on the way to the living room and took the throw blanket off the back of the couch. He laid down and made himself comfortable and cocooned himself in the blanket. Satisfied with his rather unusual night, he managed to fall asleep in time.

Kate groaned to herself and held her head between her hands as though that was the only thing keeping it attached to the rest of her body. Even with her eyes closed, she knew she wasn't in her room. The sheets felt softer and the scent wasn't her own, but it was familiar. It belonged to…

No.

She opened her eyes and she was indeed in Rick's room.

Kate jumped out of the bed and stumbled a bit. She noticed a glass of water on the nightstand and quickly downed the whole thing, in hopes that it would help her out. She had work in two hours according to the digital clock.

"Still in my clothes.." she mumbled to herself and counted her lucky stars. She found her shoes neatly placed on the floor and slipped them on. She remembered coming the night before to play poker and since she wasn't exactly an author, she didn't have much to relate about. So she drank. And apparently she kept drinking from there.

She quietly made her way downstairs, figuring Alexis and Martha were still asleep in their rooms. She went into the kitchen and found her purse on the counter and sifted through it. Everything was in there. Perfect.

Hearing someone move around in the next room grabbed her attention. She found Rick sitting up on the couch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

That ruled out them sleeping together. There was a silver lining in this mess.

"Kate, where are you going?" he whispered.

"Umm I have to go to my apartment to get ready for work," she didn't want to stick around for any awkward conversations. She ran a hand through her messy hair and tried to hide the terror on her face. The night before was up in the air. What happened? She couldn't find it in her to ask.

"You don't want breakfast or anything?"

He wanted her to, she knew that, and she did too. She couldn't though. She needed the next two hours to get ready and to compose herself for the rest of the day she'd be spending with Rick. "Bring my coffee, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay."

"I got to go."

And with that, she was gone.