*** To everyone that has read, reviewed, or added an alert... I apologize for taking so long to update this story. I was totally blocked and if it weren't for friends like Charlie O'Kelley and Jameson Rook, who took time to talk to me about ideas and ways to get over the slump, I still would not have a chapter to post. I'm marking this story as complete but I MAY add another chapter some time in the future.

Lanie filled Jenny in on many things as the cab headed to Castle's loft. She informed her that Beckett was 'Mom' and Castle was 'Dad' and that they were destined to be together but had been fighting it for years. She also told her the amount of money she had riding on a certain bet about when the two would finally get their heads out their asses.

Kate whipped around and glared at her friend in disbelief. "A thousand dollars! Are you serious Lanie?"

Lanie tried to hide behind Jenny as she explained. "The stakes went WAY up after Gina and Josh entered the picture."

"Is that why you were so eager to go over there tonight, Lanie? Did you pick this weekend for me to cave?"

"No Kate, I love you and want more than anything for you to be happy. I honestly just wanted to see my man. Tequila makes me frisky too, remember..."

Kate started squirming in her seat and wringing her hands. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Jenny winked at Lanie as she took hold of Kate's hands. "Do you love him?"

Kate took a deep breath and then looked at her newest friend and her old one. "I tried not to, but I do. God help me... I love him so much it hurts."

"That's a good thing honey." The ME whispered as she reached out to cup her friends face. "That's when you know it's real."

Jenny leaned in closer to the detective and looked her in the eyes. "Do you want to go back to your place?"

Without hesitation, Kate raised her head up and took a deep breath. "No. It's time I dealt with this."

Lanie scooted up and ask the driver to pull over at the next block. She quickly jumped out and told the other girls to wait, she'd be back in a second. When she reappeared in the cab, she was holding a new bottle of El Jimadore. "I think the guys have some catching up to do."

After the taxi dropped them off, the trio stumbled through the main door, to the elevator and up to the last obstacle in the way... Richard Castle's front door. Lanie and Jenny glanced over to Kate as if to make sure one last time that this was what she wanted to do. Kate grabbed the bottle of tequila in one hand and rapped loudly on the door with the other as she smirked to the other women.

Rick dropped his controller and ran to answer the door. "Kate?"

"We got... bored. Thought we'd come over to see what you guys were doing." Kate informed him as she waltzed past him to enter the loft.

Ryan and Esposito jumped off the couch and turned towards the three women. "Just playing Halo and having a beer." Ryan offered up, making sure his fiancee knew that they had been behaving themselves.

"It's time to get this party started then!" Lanie shouted as she took the bottle from Kate, twisted the top off and headed to the kitchen. "You guys gotta play catch up!"

Kate was pretty familiar with Rick's home and she knew exactly where the shot glasses were. She reached over and snagged three and placed them on the island for Lanie to fill. The guys looked at the ladies then to each other and smiled widely as they tossed back their shots. Tonight was going to be very interesting.

"Is there any alcohol in that?" Rick smirked as he slid his glass back over to Lanie. "I could do this all night."

Lanie giggled as she refilled the glasses, this time spilling a little of the liquid onto the counter. "Easy there, Chica." Esposito chuckled as he reached out to steady his girlfriend. "Are you ladies drunk?"

"Very tipsy, but far from drunk." Jenny confessed for all three women. "Quit stalling boys, and drink up!"

"How about, we make this more challenging..." Kate announces as she walks back towards the television and picks up a controller. "When your character gets killed, you have to take a shot."

"And no cursing!" Lanie adds another rule. "If you curse, you drink."

Jenny quickly shouts out her rule for the game. "No saying Drink, Drank, or Drunk either. That one always gets me."

The girls all laughed and looked to the guys to see if they would agree to the rules of the game. Of course the men had no problem with the possibility of getting shit faced with the women, but they didn't want to be the only ones to have to abide by the rules. Castle was the one to speak up, of course; he stated that the girls would also have to play along. "If either of you ladies break one of the rules that you have established for us, they you will be asked to make a choice for your punishment…Truth or Dare."

The gentlemen all did a little a little fist bump and then turned to see if the girls were willing to accept the stipulation. The three women nodded to each other and then Kate announced that the game was most definitely on.

They all moved back in front of Rick's huge TV and the three men picked up their controllers then Rick unpaused the game. Not even two minute into the game, Esposito screamed a swear word to his alien assassin and the room erupted in laughter.

"Mi amante," Lanie purred, "You cursed, you gotta drink!" The ME realized her slip as soon as it left her mouth, but didn't think before she spoke and broke another rule. "Damnit!"

"That's two for you too, Chica!" Esposito laughed, then added "Which will it be...Truths or dares?"

Lanie bit her hand to hold back another curse word and then calmly informed the others that she would take one of each.

"OK, Dare first…" Her lover started, after he downed his two shots. "I dare you to show everyone your tattoo."

Lanie smirked at him and eased her skirt up, revealing a beautifully inked rendition of the Grim Reaper on her upper thigh, just below the curve of her buttocks. "Happy now, Javier?"

The dark skinned detective smiled at her as he thought of the perfect question to ask as the second half of her punishment. "Am I really the best you ever had?"

All ears were on the medical examiner as she took a swig of her beer, trying to muffle her admission. "You know it, baby!"

Kate and Jenny snickered as they guys all gave props to Esposito, then everyone turned their attention back to the battle on screen.

After about thirty more minutes of Halo, the guys had all been shot, said one of the 'D' words or cursed at least five times each, the women had pretty much learned their lesson from Lanie's slips and just tried to keep their mouths shut!

The tequila bottle was nearly empty when Kate winked to her female friends and then sashayed over to the sound system. She pushed a few buttons and began to sway to the music that flowed from the speakers. She pulled the elastic band from her hair, slid out of her heels, and turned to the others as she worked the top three buttons of her blouse open, allowing just a peek of lace and quite a bit of cleavage to be seen by all.

"Damn!" The three men shouted in unisom as they watched the detective make her way closer to them, toying with the fourth button just to tease them.

Kate sauntered her way up to the guys and pointed to the bottle of tequila and she smiled at them. "Drink up, boys."

"Sh…hoot!" Ryan stammered as he reached for the bottle, catching himself right before he committed another foul.

"Truth or Dare, Beckett?" Lanie giggled as she brought it to everyone's attention that Kate had uttered one of the 'D' words. Kate scanned the faces of her friends and quickly decided she wasn't up for a dare. "Truth" She spat out almost instantly.

Lanie held up a finger to quieten the others as they half-whispered their thoughts about what question should be ask of the seemingly fearless leader. "If your life were a book, what passage would we be reading right now?"

Kate smiled as the perfect quote came to mind; of course it was from one of Rick's books, his words…more meaningful to her now than they were the first time she read them. "Everyone has the perfect story written within the walls of their heart. You just need to open your mind to find the words to share it."

"Sorry guys." Lanie mumbled to the three people giving her a death glare for asking such a dumb question. "I thought for sure she'd quote something from page 105."

Rick wasn't glaring at Lanie, his eyes locked on Kate's for a moment, trying not to smile as his words coming out of her mouth. Was she making some sort of confession to him, admitting she was ready to verbalize her feelings? He quickly scanned the faces of the others to see if any of them recognized the phrase taken straight out of his very first novel. Happy to see that their friends were clueless to the origin of her words, Rick swallowed his last shot and made his way to the beautiful detective. "Free your mind, open your mouth, and let your heart speak." He whispered the next line to her with a huge smile on his face.

Kate licked her lips and raised up on her tiptoes, her mouth just an inch from his as she whispered back to him. "I have every intention of doing just that."

Rick cleared his throat rather loudly and took a couple steps away from Kate fanning the collar of his shirt. "Whew! It's getting a little warm in here." Kate bit her lip to keep from reaching out, pulling him close, and showing him what real heat felt like.

Three words kept repeating over and over in Kate's mind as she watched the writer tug at his shirt. Without realizing it, she finally said them out loud to him. "Take it off."

Rick gave Kate an amused look then he looked back across the room to gauge the amount of privacy they had. The Irish couple was dancing in front of the furthest window, totally oblivious to anything but each other and Lanie was practically dragging Esposito towards the half bath on the other side of the room.

Rick held out his arms and leaned in closer to Kate, the breath that left his lips tickled her ear. "If you want it off, you take it off."

Kate put her hands on Rick's stomach, ran them up his chest then down his outstretched arms and then back to his chest. Her movements were more animalistic than sensual as she quickly released the fasteners holding his shirt together. She even growled a little when she yanked the material free from the waistband of his jeans and popped the last few buttons.

Rick closed his eyes and his jaw was clinched tightly, his arms had dropped to his side but his hands were closed into tight fists; it was taking every bit of will power he could muster up to not reach out for her. He wanted so badly to crush their bodies together, mold his mouth to hers, touch her…hold her…kiss her… "Kate"

The whisper of her name stilled her hands and she looked into his eyes as she slid the shirt over his shoulders. "Yes…" She moaned as she forced the bunched up material past his elbows allowing the shirt to fall onto the floor. Her hands had just come back up to his chest to admire the way the high dollar T-shirt clung to his every curve when Lanie and Esposito emerged from the downstairs bathroom.

Lanie was still trying to adjust her clothing and Esposito looked like the cat that had just swallowed the Canary. They stumbled their way closer to the writer and his muse, giggling and groping each other as they neared. "Best party ever!" Esposito shouted and held out a hand to Rick for their usual 'Feed the Bird' ritual.

Ryan and his fiancée joined the others to let it be known that they also were having a great time. "Fan-fuckin'-tabulous!" Jenny shrieked as she grabbed Kate's arm. "Best fuckin' party ever!"

"You'll have to excuse her." Detective Ryan begged as he looked to his colleges and friends. "She gets a foul mouth when she drinks."

Jenny snickered as she huddled everyone together in a kind of group hug. "I may get a foul mouth, but Tequila makes Kate's clothes fall off."

"Whoa! T.M.I., O'Malley!" Lanie shouted as she reached over to place a hand over the bride-to-be's mouth.

The Jr. Detectives looked over to their boss and her shadow, taking note of the state of dress of each and opened their mouths to say something but were cut off once again by the newbie of the group. "Let's dance!"

Rick watched the two couples make their way to his sound system and then turned his attention back to Kate. "Is that all this is, Kate? You thought you'd come over here all hot and bothered and I'd scratch your itch?"

"Castle…" Kate began, "I lied." She took in a deep breath as she prepared to confess everything to him. She pressed her forehead into Rick's chest and let the words just fall from her lips. "I remember everything about the shooting."

Rick pulled away from her just enough to look into her eyes as he questioned what she was saying. "You heard what I said?" Kate nodded her head and her eyes filled with tears as she watched Rick battle the emotions her confession had stirred up. She saw anger first, then elation and finally love. "Why tell me now, Kate?"

"Because I'm ready to say it back."

Rick crushed her back to his chest and without either of them noticing, they began to sway to 'I Wanna Know What Love Is' as it played in the background. They smiled at each other as they barely moved to the first part of the song, but when the chorus started Kate lowered her head back to Rick's chest and her hands fisted in his T-shirt as the lyrics hit close to home.

In my life... there's been heartache and pain,
I don't know if I can face it again.
Can't stop now... I've traveled so far,
To change this lonely life...

"Kate" Rick whispered as he hooked a finger under her chin, tilting her face towards his then lowering his lips to hers for a soft kiss. "I love you."

I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me.
I wanna feel what love is, I know you can show me...

"And I love you." Kate admitted when their lips parted. The music, the dancing, and the company were all forgotten as Rick once again claimed Kate's lips. He tickled her lower lip with his tongue and Kate immediately opened her mouth to him. She nudged him backwards as the kisses got more urgent and hands began to wander.

Rick growled when Kate slid her hand over his denim covered erection. "Bedroom?"

"Kitchen." Kate demanded as her fingers moved up to finish untucking his T-shirt from his jeans. "I need you now."

Rick turned when he felt his back hit the kitchen island and wedged Kate in the corner, well out of the view of the others. The volume of the music drowned out Rick's loud moan when Kate unzipped his jeans and reached her hand through the opening, her fingertips lightly tickling his hard member.

Rick grabbed Kate's wrists and placed them on his shoulders then hoisted her onto the counter. "Ladies first." He growled just before his lips touched hers and his hand slid between her thighs. Their breaths became ragged and the kisses more urgent as his hand slid under her short skirt and inched closer to her hot center. Rick slid the crotch of Kate's panties aside with his thumb and ran a finger over her clit, causing her head to smack against the door of the wall cabinet behind her when she arched into his touch.

They both froze in place as the sound of Kate's head colliding with the cabinet door echoed through the loft. Rick quickly removed his hand from between Kate's legs and gave her an apologetic look. He stepped away from her just far enough to peak around the refrigerator to see if anyone was headed their way.

Kate waited a moment and then pulled Rick back between her legs. "They're not coming to investigate."

Rick quickly claimed Kate's lips again and his hands resumed their previous positions.

Esposito and Lanie had stopped dancing when the loud bang came from the kitchen and they walked over to the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. "Yo! Maybe we should remind those two they aren't alone."

"No!" Lanie whisper shouted. "It's not like they're gonna do the deed in there, just having a little fun." The girls shared a look then Lanie enlightened them on the confessions Kate had made just a few hours ago. "Castle told Kate he loved her at Montgomery's funeral, after she was shot. She admitted to us that she feels the same for him but was afraid to do anything about it until now." She took a deep breath and looked directly at the guys suffering from big brother syndrome. "They love each other and they're not drunk. I think we should leave them be."

"Lanie, you forgot the best part..." Jenny giggled as they all made their way towards the front door. "Kate called herself a chicken shit, drained the last shot of tequila and said, 'Mom and Dad are gonna..."

"FUCK!" Kate's voice echoed throughout the loft as Rick shoved his finger deep inside her heat.

"Yeah... What she just said." Lanie quipped as she opened the door and they all exited the loft. She reached over and shut off the lights to the main room and made sure to shut the door loudly, alerting the couple in the kitchen that they were now alone.

Rick and Kate froze when the lights went out and they both jumped a bit when the door slammed shut. Rick helped Kate off the counter and led her to his room, onto his bed, and back into his arms.

***I know this isn't how I usually end a story, but like I said before...I may add another chapter at some time in the future.