Castle: Wedding ever after?
I find myself standing in front of a mirror with joy and fear flooding through every vein. It is the day that every little girl has dreamed about. I have pictured this day with my mother comforting me by my side. Now, I can only feel here presence from above. A tear runs down my cheek. At least I found closure by sending that son of a bitch Bracken to jail. Another tear comes crashing down. Justice has been served. Cuffing Senator Bracken on national television gave me overwhelming satisfaction. This tear came from joy; I know my mother would be proud. Luckily, my make-up was waterproof. Castle had a feeling I would have a rush of memories before I walk down the isle. It's sort of cute and annoying that he finds me so predictable.
I don't dress up much from wearing pantsuits to the precinct every morning. But damn, I look good in my wedding dress. The dress was a simple ivory satin, with beading lining the edges; exquisite hand stitching around the button down back. As I stare into the mirror, I don't see a grown woman, but a little girl. Innocent and happy, truly happy. I am about to marry the man of my dreams… It was a long road, but finally we got it right. We sure did make it an interesting love story.
Castle was just finishing up the marring license with the state. God… I was young and stupid. Getting married to that idiot in Vegas, talk a about a shotgun wedding. We went through a freaking drive through! That shouldn't even count! Man, I had the worst headache ever the next morning. I don't know if it was from the whisky or god was trying to teach me a lesson. Maybe I should call Castle to be sure he is on his way. His attention span is so short, could have been distracted by a puppy wander the back roads to the Hampton's. Definitely not! No distractions today or I will show him a side of Beckett he has never seen.
Dial Castle. "Hey to be husband! Are you almost here?"
Castle, "Yea, almost Mrs. Castle. I am about 5 minutes away and I have the papers in my hand. Today will be perfect; I cannot wait to marry you. I will see you soon? I will be that man waiting at the alter for you."
Beckett, "Okay sounds great." My cheeks started to burn from the over powering smile that grew gradually with every moment I was on the phone. "I will the women dressed in white walking down the isle. See you soon! I love you."
Castle, "Love you too Beckett." Click.
5 minutes have passed and I should have been walking down the isle by now. Maybe Castle got stuck in traffic. I asked Laney to call Castle. No answer, weird. 10 minutes later. My stomach starts to churn. No, more like I ate a chainsaw and it's shredding my insides. I asked Laney to call again. No answer. Now, Alexis and his mother began to call. Castle would never ignore a call from his own daughter. No answer. That could have been the worst possible sign. I grabbed the closest glass of champaign and slammed it as if I was a freshman in college and it's a Sunday afternoon. Where could he be! My heart is exploding out of my chest, combined with a side of building hysteria and rage.
Every one starts calling his cell phone, over and over again, each time straight to voice mail. How could castle possibly do this to me! Leave me on our wedding day! I remain calm on the outside, but on in the inside I am plotting a diabolical plan to kick his ass and cause unimaginable pain.
There's a knock at the door. Laney opens the door; it was Espizito, one of Castles best men and part of my team at the NYPD. He looks at me with a pale face full of terror.
Espizito, "A black Mercedes with Castles license plate has been reported in a ditch right a few miles out from our location".
"Take me there now!" I screeched. I ran down the steps holding the lengthy wedding dress in my hands and in heels that were not made for catching a runaway groom. I hop into the first squad car I see. Ryan slips into the driver's seat and Espizito in back. I feel numb and cold. Why? Why me is all I could think. "Ryan hit the gas now!" My emotions are scattered, I don't know how to feel. The weight of my heart dragging along the ground makes it harder to breath.
This drive is taking forever. Time feels as if it has stopped. Gosh, my perfect day has turned into a nightmare. I just pray to my mother that everything will be okay. I can't lose another person in my life, which I love so indefinitely.
Arriving to the crash site, there it was, my worst fear. A black Mercedes on the side of the road engulfed in flames, possibly my fiancé inside. As Ryan came to a complete stop, I threw open the door and… it all black.
"Aaaaaaaaaahhh!", I spring up to a dark room. Dazed, confused, and in utter panic. Drenched in cold sweat, I realize I was in a bed. It's still too dark to make out the room. I take my right hand and drop it, hopefully on the bed stand that should be next to me. The sudden chill of the metal barrel of a gun tingles my fingertips, and I feel some more on the bed stand. Another cold metal item in the shape of a shield. My badge. My gun and my badge. I'm in Castle's room. Well it would have been my room too, but I'm sleeping in bed alone. I look to my left. In big bright red numbers it says 3:45 am.
"Come on…". With those words I fall back, and sink back into the sheets of a king sized bed. I can feel my hair in a disastrous mane that still needs some beauty rest. The nightmare of my wedding day plays like a broken record in my sleep, over and over and over again. I feel like I belong to an insane asylum with my obsession and lack of sleep.
It has been 3 months since that day. Lots of tears, whisky, restless nights, and of course ice cream. Even though I'm head detective of the NYPD, I'm still a woman who got left at the alter… kind of? More so lost my fiancé or he disappeared in thin air and hasn't been seen in 3 months.
On my wedding day Castles black Mercedes was discovered few miles from the wedding site submerged in flames. A body was not recovered at the scene, which means he must have not been in the car when it caught on fire. A few days' later security cameras picked up some film of Castle dropping of a package behind an abandoned warehouse. We were not able to recover the package, but I don't know if it was a good or bad thing to have the knowledge of Castle is still being alive. It's a haunting feeling knowing he is out there. What has he gotten himself into? Why would he leave me? Many of his friends and family feel the same. He literally dropped off the grid with out a goodbye.
Before the wedding we had moved in together. Well more like I joined his apartment where his mother and Alexis also lived. Luckily I still had those to be comforted by and worry with.
3 months of searching for Castle's whereabouts. No leads, nothing. There had been times where giving up was the only other thing that I could do. No! Castle would never do that to me if I disappeared. Still weeks passed and we had no leads. Let alone my team and I have been working non-stop at the precinct to find Castle, I would put in more hours after work back at the apartment. There was a whole board filled with possibilities of criminals that would want nothing more than to ruin mine and Castle's lives. What did Castle get himself into? Even though I was a mess on the inside, I needed to look strong and professional on the outside. Next to my personal problems, my job is to protect New York City from criminals wandering the streets and causing chaos.
My mind just races non-stop, a never-ending marathon. I lay in bed for another 4 hours until my alarm went off. Time to get ready for work. Which pantsuit should I wear today? Lets switch it up. I will wear the pantsuit that I arrested Senator Bracken in. Maybe I'll get some dumb luck and have a break in the case to find Castle. I slum my way into the kitchen to make some coffee.
I recently switched to black coffee. Strong black coffee, I need caffeine circulating in my blood to get me through the day. Sleep isn't helping so I need an alternative. Alexis and Martha are still in bed. Alexis is getting ready to leave back to college and of course Martha is concocting some new extravagant theater… thing. Everyone has some type of distraction and mine is just stuck on finding Castle.
I gather myself like every morning. Same routine, same breakfast, and I always buy the paper at the same newsstand. As I grabbed the New York Times, some asshole runs into me. Not like a subtle shove, but a full on, not paying attention to where you are walking bulldozer shove.
"Seriously Man! Watch where you are going!" I blurted out in anger, as my coffee tumbles to the ground. Great start… just a great start.
"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I didn't even see you, I sincerely apologize. Let me get you another coffee, I feel terrible." The stranger said.
"No, It's fine. I'll just get some coffee on the way to work" I responded. As we gathered ourselves, our eyes meet in a deathly gaze. "Castle?"
"Excuse me?" the stranger said with a bizarre looked.
" Castle. Castle! Your alive! And here!" overjoyed, I tried to jump into his arms and attempted to hug him. I didn't quite get the hug in return from 'Castle'.
The man pushed me off delicately. "Ma'am you must be mistaken. My name is Robert Manor."
"No, your Richard Castle. A famous mystery writer for Nicky Heat, consultant for the NYPD, and my fiancé "an awkward pause "who disappeared 3 months ago on our wedding day". I took a closer look at this man who I sincerely thought was Castle. No doubt it was him, unless it was a clone from Mars. That's something Castle would say. "hah" I giggled…. Castle and his outrageous delusional theories. Then a sudden cascade of unhappiness took over. I missed him so much.
"Lady, I'm sorry you are crazy. I am just a small time campaign manager."
"What?"
"Yea? Well, I'm going be late for work. Have a good day." Roberts insisted
"Castle, No! We need to take you to the precinct or the hospital or somewhere!?" I expelled in worry.
"Um… no?
"Castle your coming with me"
"My name is Robert and I'm late for work"
In frustration I decided to take measures into my own hands… even if it could have been slightly illegal.
"Robert Manor, you are under arrest"
"What! You can't do this! This is illegal."
"Sir, relax I am only taking you to precinct" Well, my comforting words didn't help very much. I got an ear full of Robert Manor in the police vehicle.
Walking through the precinct door, everyone's mouths dropped. I escorted to 'Castle' to the interrogation room. As I shut the door Ryan and Espizito run up to me like hyenas.
"So… why is Castle arrested?" Ryan questioned.
"Well it is a little more complicated then you think…"
"Well he looks like Castle, walks like Castle, and smells like Castle"
"But thinks his name is Robert Manor. Do a background check for that name, see if he really exists."
"On it Beckett."
Now what do I do? I walked into a room that looks into the interrogation room. Castle is just sitting at the table looking around in the room. My mind starts racing… I can't tell if I am angry or happy to see Castle. Finger print technicians walked into the room. I could already tell its was going to be a long couple of days. It was going to be a waiting game. Once the fingerprint and the DNA results comeback, I will be able to know if it is Castle or not. Doppelgangers are real… But both in the same city? Very, very unlikely.
In a few hours, I walked into the room. I wanted answers for the past three months.
"So… Robert Manor, if that is your real name."
"Well, it is?! I moved to New York 3 months ago from Ohio"
"Ohio…. What town?"
"Well, I came here from agency based out of Cleveland."
"Are you sure?"
"Yea! Of course I am."
"Well my records say that your name is Richard Castle and you are a mystery writer based out of New York."
"That must be wrong! Run it again! I know who I am, I have been working as a political advisor for the past 3 months."
"Well, we triple checked it and we took your DNA and the system says your Richard Castle. Do you remember anything before you moved to New York 3 months ago?"
"Um….well…."
"Seems like you don't exactly remember?"
"This is absurd. I have been working on restoring Senator Brackens campaign. He has been arrested under false pretenses. There is barely any evidence proving he is behind the murders. Bracken could have been set up…"
The words coming from Castles mouth brings nausea and a tad bit of disgraces into my taste buds. He has got to be kidding me. Through everything we have been through he is on Brackens side. This is crap. Maybe he is a doppelganger.
"Are you serious? What happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
Our eyes are caught in a gaze, the silence combined with confusion. A sense of tension started to arise. The same idiotic tension that started the whole affair between us from day one. It's definitely Castle, why is he being so arrogant?
"So you seriously don't remember anything?"
"No? but something about you… I don't know I can't put my finger on it"
"You were my fiancé and the day you disappeared was our wedding day" I showed Robert paperwork and articles about our engagement. I even explained our history.
"Beckett" came from the speakerphone.
As I walked out of the interrogation room, I immediately met Espizito and Ryan. Both had an interesting concerning look. What? What else could there possibly be?
"Beckett, your not going to like this…: as the words came out of Ryan's mouth. A gorgeous blond walked through the door of the precinct. Light bounced off her hand releasing a blinding sparkle from the distance.
I turned my head and blurted out loud, "CASTLE!"