I was listening to music all evening as I was doing my AP World homework and came across a song by Parachute.
Italicized words are flashbacks, normal is current.
Hope you like it.
It was one hell of a case, if she could say so herself. A wife and husband dead at the hands of a jealous mistress. As they wrapped up the case, the stack from the inbox going to the out, Beckett sighed, running a hand through the soft curls of her hair as she looked to her left, gazing at the empty chair that her partner had vacated earlier in the day. The precinct was pretty quiet – too quiet – but she didn't comment on it, taking the silence with fervor. Hearing the familiar sound of the elevator opening, she turned her head, hoping to see her partner walking through the sliding doors to take her home for the day, but was disappointed to see an officer step out.
Turning around, she looked back at her desktop, sighing at the late hour on the corner of the screen before putting her head in her hands, not hearing the sound of the elevator arriving a few seconds later.
The faint smell of his cologne told her that he had arrived, but she didn't move out of her position immediately, not wanting to seem desperate to see him. Just before she lifted her head, she noticed that the precinct had gone eerily quiet, and she twisted her head around to see all eyes on her. Whipping around, she gasped at the sight of her boyfriend/partner kneeling down on the ground next to her desk, having changed earlier into a suit, looking as dazzling as ever.
"Rick, what…?" Her eyes widened slightly as she realized what was going on.
"Oh, don't worry; I'm just tying my shoe." He leaned down and worked on his shoelace which was, in fact, untied. The crowd around them laughed and one or two left before Castle could raise his head back up to look at his girlfriend with amusement in his eyes. "Now that that's done with," he reached out a hand to swivel her to face fully in his direction, his hand taking a hold on hers, "Kate."
She bit her lip, preparing herself for what was going to inevitably come from this man in front of her.
"We've been working together now for five years, going on six. Five amazing, exciting, painful, awesome years. We've been consciously dating for about six months of those years. Those six months are, hands down, the best months of my life. Every single day, I've got to wake up by your side and convince you that I'm good enough for you, but we all know that's not true." He smiled at the 'amens' he got from the crowd before continuing. "I don't want to have to convince you anymore. I want you forever and I hope that you'll take it. Forever and Always has been horribly overused, but I'm willing to be cliché for you under the circumstances. I want you through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to grow old with you and watch as our future kids break the hearts of the world. I want that for us. So, will you, Katherine Beckett, be my forever and always?"
She bit her lip, her eyes dancing with mirth as she clasped her hand tightly around his. Nodding her answer, Beckett laughed with glee as he took a small, black velvet box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a diamond ring in the shape of a heart, surrounded by two smaller hearts on each side.
"I had the diamonds trimmed so that you could wear it without tearing your gloves when it gets cold."
Oh that wonderful, thoughtful man.
"Yes."
Now, sitting a year later at their café, Kate Castle was waiting patiently for her husband, who should've been back from his publishers meeting about 30 minutes ago. She had called a few times, but it had gone straight to voicemail, which wasn't unusual when he was at meetings, but irked her nonetheless.
After finishing off her coffee and bear claw, she finally got a call from someone, opening it without looking at the caller ID.
"Hey, Rick, where have you been?"
"Is this Katherine Castle?" A deep voice said from the other side of the call, causing the small hairs on her arm to rise.
"This is she. Who is this? Where's my husband?" Her questions were fired with a confidence that usually shook suspects.
"Mrs. Castle, this is New York Presbyterian Hospital. I regret to inform you that your husband is in critical condition here at our Emergency Room." The voice replied with sadness in their tone, but Kate stood up abruptly, sprinting out of the café, skipping the wait of a cab, taking off down the sidewalk for the hospital.
Your husband is in critical condition.
She burst through the hospital entrance, asking for her husband immediately and a scrub-covered doctor stepped up to her immediately, remorse on his face.
"Mrs. Castle, I can ex-"
"Please, just let me see my husband."
He lead her down, what seemed to be, a million halls, a maze that was never ending as he regaled to her what had occurred, but she can barely hear him. She tried to keep a straight face as they stood outside of his hospital room, but seeing him lying on the large bed, tubes coming out of every orifice as a monitor on the side of the room beeped, acknowledging his existence, broke down a dam within her. She walked into the room, pulled out the chair by his bedside and held his hand way too tight.
Kate told him about the kids they were going to have and the good life that they planned out already, the house with the red roof and the white picket fence on the hillside where their children would run on the green grass, playing tag and pulling each other's pigtails until one screamed for mercy.
"We would stay there forever," her voice cracked as she thought of his proposal, "Forever and always, through the good the bad and the ugly." She sniffled as she tightened her grip around his hand, willing him to come back to her. "We'll grow old together, but always remember: Whether rich or for poor or for better, we'll still love each other. Forever and always."
"Hey, Kate?" He speaks down to where she is lying on his bare chest, running his hand through her soft chestnut curls.
"Mm?" She hums against his sternum, running a hand up and down his stomach.
"We should renew our vows." She pops her head up slightly to look up at him, her eyebrows furrowed in the cute way he loves so much as she questions him silently. "I mean, I think it would be awesome to be able to have a second wedding of sorts since our anniversary is coming up. We don't have to if you don't want to though, it's just a sugg—" He's cut off by her lips as she kisses him, a hand coming up from behind to brush through the short hairs on his nape.
"I think that would be extraordinary."
Sitting in the waiting room, her hand clutched in her stepdaughters, she blinks back tears as she takes in the information that the doctor had just given them.
"The impact of the blow caused his major organs to be affected too much. They are failing as we speak. I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do but wake him up so you can say goodbye."
Taking in a shuddery breath, Kate stood and made her way over to the nurse's station.
"Can I request a chaplain?"
A few moments later, a chaplain was saying a few verses to the very groggy Richard Castle and the saddened Alexis and Kate Castle, who was clutching his hands in theirs. After the father finished and left, Kate sat on the very edge of her husband's hospital bed, running her hands through his shortened hair.
She stood up, breathing in deeply before speaking up in the small room. "Richard Castle, we've been working together now for six years, going on seven. Six amazing, exciting, painful, awesome years. We've been consciously married for about a year and a half. Those months are, hands down, the best months of my life. Every single day, I've got to wake up by your side and convince you that I'm good enough for you, but we all know that's not true." She smiled through the tears in her eyes as she let out a small laugh. "You didn't want to have to convince me anymore, and you didn't have to. I woke up every morning next to you and relished in the fact that we made it. We broke down the wall and built a new one, one that has kept us running through all this time."
Kate paused, sniffling slightly as she looked down at her husband's smiling face as he gazed back up at her, squeezing her hand in his.
"I need to ask you this one question. Will you be my forever and always? Toughing through the good, the bad, and the ugly? Growing old together, but always remembering the happy, the sad, or whatever, and still love each other?"
A sob broke out on the last part as she heard the heart monitor slow down to a pace of 40 beats per minute.
His voice was low as he responded back at her, "I love you forever. Forever and always. Please just remember even when I'm not here. I'll always love you, forever and always."
35 beats per minute.
"Rick, you told me always." She shook her head, her tears cascading down her cheeks against her will as she placed her forehead against his pale one.
"And I meant it."
A moment of silence.
"We would've been great."
"I wish I had an idea."