Happy Ending
Chapter 1
Everyone who was anyone in New York City was in the loft that writer Richard Castle and now his girlfriend Detective Kate Beckett called home. The mayor was talking to the police commissioner about their latest poker game with Rick and some of his other writer friends. James Patterson was chatting up Lanie, the medical examiner, about his latest Alex Cross novel.
Kate, looking absolutely stunning in a Vera Wang dress that fit her like a glove and everyone who saw it knew had to be bought by Rick as an 'I'm sorry' or by her with his credit card to say 'screw him', made her way to everyone around to apartment being the definition of the perfect hostess. After last year's Christmas Eve that had been the first she had taken off since she became a cop she never planned to work that night ever again. Rick, Martha, and Alexis changed their usual plans of a quiet dinner to help throw this party as well. Change had been good for all of them.
Beginning the year with Alexis' mom staying with them for the week while she was sick wasn't exactly ideal for any of them but they all knew that this would be the perfect way to finish it. A party celebrating a year of ups and downs and the fact that no matter what, nothing was going to tear, what the couple affectionately known now among their friends and the city of New York as Caskett,apart.
Castle stood in the front of the living room and tapped a knife on his champagne glass. He cleared his throat as the room became quiet. "I want to thank you all for coming," he began. "To what I am hoping will now be an annual thing for my family and for all of you." He smirked to himself and lowered his head for a moment and then looked up. His eyes met his mother's and then his daughter's and finally fell in sync with Kate's eyes. "Family means everything to me. This night for the last 15 years has just been me, my mother and my amazing little girl having a quiet dinner together and opening our gifts from one another and then waking up late the next morning when I would make a big breakfast and we would just spend Christmas watching movies all day." He paused as he looked around the room at all the faces. His gazed went back to Kate and he smiled. "Last Christmas Eve changed things for me and my family though. It was the first holiday that we got to spend with the lovely Kate Beckett." She smiled back at him as he tipped his glass to her. "You not only became my inspiration for my works but you became the love of my life." Alexis and Martha looked at each other and then back at Rick smiling. "We started off this year rocky when Alexis got sick with mono and her mother came to stay and take care of her."
"Dad!" Alexis interjected sharply.
Rick waved her off and laughed to himself. "Alright, alright," he shook his head and continued. "But spending that week with her, and learning I still don't know what dirty little secrets about me over dinner with her, you are still here. I don't why but here you are. I love you so much Kate. You make life fun and exciting. Well following you around at work does but anyway." Everyone laughed. "Kate, thank you for being you. Thank you for being with me no matter how long it took for you to realize that I truly, deeply love you above all else. Could you please join me over here?" He reached out his right hand to her and she took it with her left hand. She smiled but not so much a happy smile as a nervous one. He saw this and took advantage of the moment. "I love your smile even if it is your nervous smile. I love your hands because I know they will always be there to catch me when I fall. You're eyes are not only the windows to your soul but to mine too. I was lost before you. You helped me to realize that to finally open up to another human being I had to open up to myself and find out who I am and where I come from. When I did find out about my past I finally realized that it was what I needed to realize that it didn't matter and that all I needed to know was that you and Alexis and our family, that is my future." He took a deep breath and knelt down in front of her on one knee. A single tear rolled down Kate's cheek as Rick took a small Tiffany box out of the breast pocket of his jacket. He opened the box to reveal a 4ct round cut diamond in a platinum band. The room went completely silent. Kate breath was completely taken away. Rick ran his right hand thumb over the top of Kate's left hand. "Kate, will you marry me?"
