Always
He spun her in a circle, before pulling her back into his body, swaying them to the music playing. Their eyes met, and Kate couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, the familiar skip of her heart. He winked at her, once, and laughter bubbled out. She couldn't be more in love.
He sung the lyrics of the song softly into her ear, so that she was the only one who could hear. "I dare you to let me be your, your one and only."
She smiled, a blush spreading across her face, before whispering in his ear. "I suppose I should change the lyrics to ask whether I can be your 'third time's the charm'."
He leaned back, to look into her eyes, suddenly serious. "Kate, you are no third time. There was never anyone like you, and there never will be. I might have been married twice before, but Kate – you're my one and only."
She blinked away tears, ducking her head into his chest as they continued their dance. Trust him to try and make her cry. Even after years, he could still blow her away with the strength of his love. "Stupid Writer Boy, with all the right words."
He laughed, a rumbling sound that reverberated throughout his body. "Always."
"Always," she whispered, before she was suddenly dipped. The air left her body in a rush, as Rick bent to kiss her deeply.
Suddenly, she was aware of the end of the song and the clapping of people surrounding them. Blinking her eyes, she remembered where she was – in the same white wedding dress her mother had worn, her father and Martha both with tears in her eyes, Alexis, Jenny and Lanie giggling together, Esposito and Ryan trading money in some type of bet, and plenty more happy faces of the wedding guests.
She laughed as Rick straightened them both, a blush on her face, whether it was from forgetting where she was or the dip, she'd never tell.
"And that," the band's leading singer voice announced over the speaker, "is how you end a first dance as a married couple."
Rick's hand on the small of her back, he guided her off the floor, before leaning over to steal another small kiss. "I totally stole the show from you, but isn't the wedding supposed to be all about the bride? Forgive me?" His eyes twinkled, knowing she wouldn't really mind.
She laughed, and swatted his chest lightly. "How could I ever be in the limelight with the one and only Richard Castle around? Besides," she blushed at the admission, "I kind of forgot we were at our wedding for a second there."
"Why I never! Who knew I was that good of a dancer!"
"Don't let it get to your head," she warned. "Goodness knows you don't need a bigger ego."
He smiled down at her, their eyes locked, and she found herself lost in the blue. She could hardly believe he was hers, forever, that they'd finally made it work, that they'd be living out the remainder of their days together, that finally she'd learned true love.
With another small kiss, he said, against her lips, "I love you, Katherine Beckett Castle."
She smiled at him, before replying, "And I, you, Richard Castle Beckett," an inside joke between the two of them.
They both added the last word at the same moment.
"Always."