Disclaimer: I don't own Castle
So it'll probably be easiest to imagine that Rick, Lanie and all our favourites are teenagers today rather than in 1970-whatever. Plus Kate is younger than Rick in Castle, here they're the same age.
"Oh Richard, just set those down there for a moment" Martha instructed her seventeen year old son. Rick had been carrying four large boxes full of God-knows-what and put them down with a heavy sigh. It was the day of his mother's wedding and he had been employed as pack horse before his job of walking her down the aisle.
In only a few hours Martha Rogers was going to marry Dr Henry parish, a cardiologist whom she met whilst on holidays in the Hamptons with her son. The mother and son spent every Christmas vacation up in the Hamptons since Rick's father left some fifteen years previously and it wasn't until Martha met Henry that she truly felt what is what like to be loved like that again. There had been suitors over the years (many of which didn't get the seal of approval from Rick) but none ever made her feel the way Henry did.
As if out of a fairytale, Martha and Henry fell in love, came back to the city and saw that love bloom even further. They bonded over their spouses walking out many years before and raising their children on their own. Henry had a seventeen year old daughter Elaine or Lanie as she preferred.
While Martha and Henry had a blissful relationship, Rick and Lanie had a bit of a rocky start. Neither had any experience with siblings and struggled to get used to each other especially once Martha and Rick moved in with Lanie and her Dad. It took them a while but now as their union as siblings was becoming permanent, they protected, respected and bickered like they'd grown up together.
"Wait here for a moment, won't you? I need to track down the wedding planner" Martha asked as she set her suitcase and carry bag down with her son before walking off to find the wedding planner. Dropping down onto the seat beside him, Rick rested his arm over the boxes and let out a soft huff. The wedding hadn't even started and he was exhausted already. With his summer vacation coming to an end, Rick was to start his senior year of high school at a new school in a few days. He'd had no time to prepare and despite having Lanie there with him, he was going in blind. His future step-sister had been so involved with the wedding plans that she hadn't been able to give Rick any insight to his new school. It was going to be a big week with the wedding just the start.
Lanie was going to walk down the aisle before Martha then to stand beside her father. The bride and groom thought it would be lovely to involve their teenagers in the wedding as much as they could. This wedding was more than a union between two people but a union of two families. Both Martha and Henry hoped this would be the start of a great merging of their little families.
"Oh what's wrong Ricky?" Lanie giggled as she saw her future step-brother's posture.
Dressed in a pair of leggings and a beautiful Japanese style silk robe that Martha had given her, Lanie was ready to get her hair and makeup done. She'd come to lead Martha back to the room where they'd get ready.
"Why are you wearing pyjamas?"
Slapping his arm lightly, Lanie gave Rick her trademark glare "This is a silk robe not pyjamas, smartass"
"Could have fooled me" Rick commented with a chuckle. He thrived on feuding with Lanie; they knew how to spark something in the other in a playful way. As the pair continued to bicker back and forth, they didn't notice Martha return with her future husband by her side.
"What are the chances of this wedding stopping you two from quarrelling quite so much?" Henry chuckled. Honestly, he loved the relationship his daughter had with his soon to be step-son. Lanie had always been very reserved and since spending so much time with Rick, she had come out of her shell more. Her greater confidence and enthusiasm could also have something to do with her best friend returning from six months studying abroad in Italy.
"Isn't there some rule about not seeing the bride before the wedding?" Rick asked. He'd listened to Lanie and his Mom gush over this wedding so much that sadly, some of it had stuck in his mind.
"It's only bad luck if I see her in that gorgeous dress before she walks down that aisle" Henry smiled and pressed a soft kiss to Martha's temple.
"A dress which I should probably start getting ready to put on" Martha smiled "Richard, dear will you bring those boxes to the room?"
Martha gave her husband-to-be one last peck on the lips before picking up her suitcase and carry bag and following Lanie to the room. Henry pat Rick on the shoulder as he told him where to find his tux before leaving himself.
"That's ok, I didn't need any help with these anyway" the teenager mumbled to himself with a sigh as he picked up the boxes and trudged off behind his mother.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Rick sat on the padded bench outside the room where Lanie and his mother where getting ready. Checking his watch, the teenager saw there was only twenty minutes until the ceremony was meant to start. Back in the groom's room, a few of Henry's friends had come to encourage and support the doctor before making this lifelong commitment. As much as Henry tried to include Rick in the conversation, the teenager still felt left out. Rick got along with Henry and was appreciative of his effort but he was too young to really fit in with Henry's friends. Especially when the conversation turned to the wedding night and honeymoon, then it just got awkward.
Rick pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to finish the crossword he'd started the day before. He breezed through a few of the clues but it wasn't long until one stumped him. Always having a way with words, the teenager wanted to train his mind to use words and the English language to create something special. Rick aspired to become a writer with his first manuscript saved as a draft on his laptop. He wanted to be able to manipulate words to generate a whole new world a reader can immerse themselves into.
As he pondered a clue he looked down the hall away from the room he was waiting outside hoping the people walking into the ceremony sparked a thought. As his focus faded down the hallway, he didn't hear the door to his mother's room open and a young girl leave until she spoke up.
"'Clavis Aurea' is Latin for 'Golden Key'" she said as she pointed to his phone screen pulling him from his daze.
Looking up at the girl, Rick was suddenly speechless. There was no other word in his mind to describe her but 'breathtaking'. Wearing a floor length, strapless red dress that she wore like a model, she had her bronze curls pinned up loosely in a low bun. It was her gorgeous hazel eyes that Rick was so enchanted by. He could see flickers of gold and green around the iris and he could easily stare into her eyes for the rest of his life.
"72 down, 'Clavis Aurea' is Latin for 'Golden Key'" she repeated which effectively snapped Rick back to reality.
"Uh thanks" he smiled and filled in the answer which gave him enough to see that 68 across was 'Melbourne' for the clue 'Capitol of Southern Australian State'. With a nod the girl took a seat beside Rick and watched him answer 68 across before closing the game "Thanks again. How did you know that?"
"I dabble from time to time"
"In Latin? One doesn't just dabble in Latin like one doesn't just dabble in Shakespeare or the art of French Patisserie" Rick chuckled as his interest in this girl only grew with every passing moment. "Don't tell me you're an expert on Shakespeare and can cook a macaron better than the pastry chefs of Paris"
She giggled "Uh, I don't mind Shakespeare. I can understand it, most of the time but I'm no expert and I can't cook any kinds of desserts. I can't even bake cupcakes without them flopping"
"Then why of all things master Latin?"
"It was one of the language options at school freshman year and I just kind of stuck with it" she shrugged "I'm already fluent in Russian but you can thank my Mom for that"
Rick spluttered at the knowledge that she was even fluent in Russian. This girl seemed too much like a dream. She was smart, talented and incredibly beautiful. How was she real?
"Who are you?"
"Rick!" Henry's friend David called out from the other end of the hall "The ceremony is about to start and Henry wants to see Lanie for a minute"
"Right, I'll just get her" he called back wishing David had been only a minute later.
"I guess that's my cue to go find my seat. It was nice to meet you Rick, break a leg out there" the girl in the red dress smiled as she stood up and raced off toward the ceremony, leaving Rick feeling empty in a way. Capturing his heart then running off into the horizon, this girl intrigued Rick like no-one had done so before. He needed to know her; he needed to melt into those eyes but right now he needed to walk his mother down the aisle.
Standing up from his seat, Rick ran his hands over his jacket smoothing out any wrinkles before making his way over to the door and knocking "Are you girls decent in here?"
"Always my dear" Martha chuckled as she walked toward him letting him see her dress.
"Mother you look stunning" Rick smiled as he pressed a light kiss to her cheek not wanting to mess any makeup. Lanie coughed loudly beside him waiting for Rick to see her twirl around in her latte coloured bridesmaid dress. "You look beautiful too, Lanie"
"Thank you" the teenager smiled triumphantly
"Uh your Dad wanted to see you quickly before the ceremony started"
Promising to be back in a couple of minutes, Lanie grabbed her bouquet and left the room swiftly. She'd gotten so caught up in the fun of getting ready that she forgot all about her Dad and if he was nervous. Lanie could see how much her father loved and adored Martha that she knew there was nothing to worry about. She hadn't seen her father this happy since her mother cheated on him when Lanie was ten.
Martha fixed her son's collar, smoothing it out and making sure his boutonniere was pinned on securely. She continued to fuss over his suit and little things til Rick took both of her hands in his own and smiled "Today is going to be perfect"
"Are you sure you're ok with all this? Ok with Henry and Lanie and the wedding?" Martha asked anxiously. No matter how many times Rick had expressed how happy he was for her; she still held a small amount of anxiety. This was a big change for the both of them and if Rick was uncomfortable then she couldn't go through with the wedding.
Squeezing his mother's hands gently, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles "I'm more than ok with this. Henry adores you, he treats you right and that's all I could hope for you. You deserve to be happy, mother"
"You'll always be my favourite, Richard"
"I better be" he smiled "Now let's go walk you down that aisle"
A/N: So what do you guys think? I hope you figured out who the girl in the red dress is (hint: it's Kate). Should I continue?