Author's Note:
This story is set somewhere in the middle of season four before Ryan and Jenny get married. It's my version of their wedding day.
This is my first ever Caskett story and I'm so nervous to be writing them, because I love them so much and I only hope I can do them some sort of justice.
Please leave me a review, so I know how I went.
Thanks,
Paris xxx
"I'm telling you man, everything changes after you are married!" Javier Esposito said to his best friend and partner, as they walked into the 12th Precinct Homicide Division. "The whole honeymoon phase wears off quickly and then you start taking her for granted because you no longer need to woo and impress her. Your pay becomes equally hers and she will use it without asking. You have to give up all your favourite hobbies that you did before you were married. You can't pull all-nighters at the pub with your friends or me, because she will be waiting at home. All her debts become yours as well and you will need to pay out her credit cards whenever she has maxed them out for a shopping spree. Plus you will only realise all the annoying things she does after you start sharing a house with her. Then it's too late, my friend."
"Jenny isn't like that, man." Kevin Ryan said shaking his head in disagreement. "She's the love of my life. There's nothing that she does that annoys me anyways."
"Really?" Javier asked sarcastically. "How's the cleansing diet going? I see you are still struggling to drink your grass drink."
"Okay, fine. The cleansing part is annoying but I'm getting married in three days. I won't have to touch this shit again after that."
Javier shook his head at his friend. Kevin could be so naïve sometimes.
"What? Do you really think she will make me do another cleansing diet?" he asked, a little hysterically.
"I'm telling you bro, shit changes after marriage! Jenny will be ten times worse and you will have to no choice but to listen to her when she is your wife!"
"What are we talking about?" Kate Beckett asked as the two men approached her desk.
"Prison life, you know the old ball and chain." Javier said quickly. "The life sentence you serve when you get married and sign away all your freedom."
"You make it sound so torturous." Kevin cried out.
"Oh, but it is." Kate said nodding her head in agreement. "You have no idea! If I were you, I would enjoy being single while it lasts."
Javier nodded in agreement and winked at her when Kevin was not looking. She loved it whenever Javier messed with Kevin's head. He was such an easy guy to make fun of, especially since he was so gullible and naïve most of the time. Despite being a Homicide Detective and one of NYPD's best; he really could be extremely clueless to the more simpler things in life.
"Kate, you don't really believe that do you? I mean you want to get married, right? It's every girl's dream!"
"I think the key word in that sentence is girl's dream. A strong independent woman like myself doesn't need a man. I enjoy my freedom too much." She said teasingly.
"You guys are probably just messing with me. I get it, make fun of the easily fooled one blah, blah. You know its not too late to make Jenny take you off the wedding invites."
"And save me the time and money that it takes to buy you a wedding present?" Javier asked sarcastically. "You would never!"
Kevin shook his head at his friend and laughed. "Where's Castle?" he asked changing the subject. "He's late. Shouldn't he be here by now?"
"Oh, he is at home." Kate said looking up from the mountain of files on her desk. "You know what he's like whenever there's no murder. The guy hates paperwork."
"Damn him." Javier cursed. "He seriously has the best job. He gets to solve murders without doing all the boring stuff! So really no murders in dangerous NYC today?"
"Nope. It looks like it might be a good day to catch up on our files."
"Who are you calling?" Javier asked Kevin. "I bet it was Jenny. Man, you are so whipped."
"Castle." He replied, shoving his phone back into his pocket. "He didn't pick up though. He told me that he would give me an answer on whether he needed a plus one to the wedding by today."
"He's taking a plus one?" Kate asked, snapping her head up from her work.
"Well he wasn't too sure the last time I spoke to him. I need to know the final numbers by today, because Jenny needs to send the venue the list so they can fix the tables."
Kate tried her best to focus on the mountain of work before her, but all her thoughts were consumed with Castle.
He must be seeing someone, she thought as her heart sank a little. Why else would he need a plus one?
"Dude is Lanie bring a plus one?" Javier asked.
"Why should I tell you?" Kevin hit back quickly.
"Because I'm your best friend and partner."
"Oh, I get it now. So you are allowed to tease me and mess with my head for the last half hour and I'm meant to tell you if you ex is bringing a date to my wedding, huh? Sorry, buddy it doesn't work that way." He said hitting his friend hard on his back before heading to the direction of the Precinct's kitchen.
"That's a no, right?" Javier asked Kate, when Kevin was out of sight.
xoox
"Lanie, are you taking anyone to Kevin's wedding on Saturday?" Kate asked her best friend.
"I knew it." she said sarcastically. "When you said that you wanted a coffee break with your best friend, I knew you had a hidden agenda! You want to take Castle, am I right?"
"What? No." she said quickly. "I mean, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."
Lanie raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at her friend.
"It's just, I was under the impression that we would both be going alone and we would… you know stick with each other the night. But I think he is bringing a plus one."
"Kate Beckett, I don't know how many times I have to tell you the same thing, for it to reach that thick head of yours! It's really not that hard. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy…get your shit together!" she said before taking a sip of her coffee. "I don't know why you guys keeping dancing around the issue. It's tiring and I don't just mean for you two."
Kate smiled a little. Lanie always knew exactly how to cheer her up instantly. Whenever she needed some sort of perspective or butt-kicking, she would come to her friend. She was so good at giving her the hard facts, no matter how painful or annoying they might be at times. Sometimes she wondered if Lanie knew her better than she did herself!
"You never answered my question." Kate said before taking a sip of her cappuccino. "Are you taking anyone?"
"As a matter of fact, I am."
"Who's the guy? I bet it's going to make Javi so jealous!"
"I doubt it. After all, he broke up with me, remember?"
"I thought the break up was mutual."
"Kind of." she said sighing heavily. "We dumped each other. He couldn't tell me if he was ever going to be ready for marriage and I couldn't wait for a guy that might or might not marry me. I'm in my thirties, Kate! I want to be married and have children before it's too late. My biological clock is ticking by fast. I can't waste my time with someone that doesn't have the same plans for the future, no matter how much I loved him. He was too scared to commit, so we ended things."
xoox
"Rick, darling." Martha said storming into his office and getting his attention. "I just got off the phone with Gina. She thinks you are avoiding her again because you haven't finished Frozen Heat. Please tell me that you are almost done? I really hate having to be the mediator between you two."
"I'm not and you should just screen her calls like I do, mother."
"Richard Castle, that's so horrible!"
"Must you always be so dramatic in the morning?"
"Well darling, I am an actress after all." She said cheekily. "So what are you working on? Please tell me it's at least a draft of some sort so I can tell Gina. She told me that if you keep avoiding her calls, she will come and pay you a visit in person. I figured that's worse given the fact that you guys broke up again a year ago."
"She can come and visit me, I just won't open up for her." he said before taking a sip of his espresso.
"So what have you written so far?" she said walking around to his side of the table to look at his laptop. "Oh, Richard!" she said sighing heavily and shaking her head. "Not this again. I thought you had stopped looking into Joanna Beckett's murder after the shooting."
"I haven't. I mean, I did for a while but I need to keep an eye on things to make sure that Kate doesn't get involved with it again. They will kill her, mother, if she doesn't stop."
"I get that you are very fond of this girl, but getting involved in a case like this is only going to put your life into danger! Think of Alexis, Richard! Do you really think she will want to go off to College if her father gets murdered because he couldn't keep his nose out of someone else's business?"
"No." Richard said solemnly. "You are absolutely right, mother." He said before shutting his laptop.
"So why aren't you at work?"
"Beckett is dong paperwork. She said she will call me if there were any murders. Speaking of the devil." He said answering his phone. "Hello Beckett."
xoox
"So what have you been doing all morning?" Kate asked when Castle approached her with two tall coffees.
"Writing." He lied quickly.
"How's Frozen Heat coming along anyways? When will it be finished?" she said before taking a sip of her coffee.
"You, too? You sound like my mother and Gina."
"Nice of you two to finally join us." Lanie said sarcastically, before Kate could ask Castle what was wrong.
"What do we have here, Lanie?" Kate asked.
"White Caucasian male. Our vic appears to be somewhere between his early to mid-forties. Multiple gun shoot wounds to the chest."
"Do we have an ID yet?" Kate asked.
"No. I couldn't find a wallet on him."
"It was probably dumped somewhere."
"We won't find out who he is until I get him back into the lab and run some tests. I found some sort of bruising on his neck and shoulders…there are a few prints but they appear to be partials. I'll let you know if I can salvage any of them."
"Where was he found?"
"In the dumpster," she said pointing to the big waste unit a few meters behind them. "A waitress called it in about a half hour ago."
"Any idea where the murder weapon is?"
"Not yet. But judging by the wounds we are looking at a 39 calibre."
"And do we have a time of death?"
"I'd have to take him back to the morgue and run some tests to confirm this, but my guess is he's been dead for a few days."
"So you are saying that he was killed before today and ditched in the dumpster?" Javier asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Lanie said with a little arrogance in her tone of voice. "He is already starting to smell, he was more than likely shot a few days ago and then dumped here today,"
"Why do that?"
"I don't know, Esposito." Lanie snapped angrily. "To get rid of the body? What other reasons are there?"
"It makes no sense to kill someone and then dump their body a few days later on, that's all."
"And how else do you suppose that they get rid of a dead body?"
"They could have buried it." he said defensively.
"In New York City? I doubt it."
"It's been done before."
"Guys.." Kate said trying to break up their fight.
"What?" they both growled angrily in unison.
"Ryan and Esposito, check missing persons for some kind match." She said when she had gotten her team's attention. "Castle and I will go and interview the waitress that called it in and the rest of restaurant staff. Lanie keep me updated on what the tox results say as soon as they come in."
xoox
Author's Note:
Hey guys, so that's chapter one.
If you liked it, please leave me a review. It only takes a few minutes.
Paris xx
