A/N: A scene insert/post ep for 7x06 because although I already wrote an M-rated post ep, this one demanded to be written as well. Happy Castle Monday! Enjoy!
All mistakes are my own.
Disclaimer: Castle does not belong to me and I claim no ownership over it.
Fill the Void
It starts in the pit of her stomach. A small, uneasiness that slowly blossoms into full on panic by the time they get to the Hamptons. Castle asked her to marry him, right now, and she said yes, because of course she wants to be married to him and right now sounds like the perfect time. Only, the last time they came to this house to get married she lost him for two months. The fact that she's riding in the car with him this time seems to make no difference.
She's still panicking.
Every car that comes up behind them causes that fear to increase. Every SUV has her inching her hand closer to her gun. She thinks she's being discreet, but her fiancé-soon to be-husband notices. He remains quiet until the soft grip she's maintained on his hand tightens to a crushing force.
"Kate, hey, Kate?"
She startles from her thoughts and turns her head to look at him. That's when she notices the whites of her knuckles, realizes how hard she's holding on to his hand and she reluctantly lets go. He doesn't let her go far though, reaching across the console to grip her knee in a comforting squeeze.
"Nothing is going to happen this time, okay? I'm right here and I'll be damned if I let anyone stop me from marrying you tonight."
She nods and reaches for his hand again. This time his grip is the crushing one.
They remain silent for the rest of the ride, content to hold on to each other and think about the step towards their future that they're about to take.
She manages to hold herself together until it's time to go get dressed and she knows she has to let him out of her sight to do so. Alexis is ushering her towards the master bedroom when she rips out of the young girls embrace and runs straight into Castle's arms. He holds her with so much understanding that she starts to sob against his shoulder.
It takes Castle a minute to register that she's speaking words against his neck. "I'm sorry; I just don't want to lose you again."
He holds her tightly around the waste, but coaxes her into lifting her head to look at him. "Kate, you're not going to lose me again. We already made it here. All you have to do is go get ready and then we're going to get married and we're going to spend the rest of our lives together."
She sighs but reluctantly lets go of her hold on him. She turns to her dad who's waiting patiently at the door to one of the guest rooms. "Don't let him out of your sight, please."
"You have my word, Katie." Her dad whispers as he hugs her tightly.
She pulls Castle back to her and in a swift motion presses her lips against his with a force that rocks him backwards. He kisses her back, before softly pushing her away and nudging her towards the master bedroom once again. "Go get ready so that I can make you my wife. I love you."
She smiles at him. "I love you, too."
She's nervous and uneasy as she gets ready, barely listening to Martha and Alexis as they rush around fussing over her hair and makeup. She really could care less about anything other than being in Castle's arms again and finally becoming his wife.
God, she can't wait to be his wife.
Finally, finally it's time. And as she rushes her dad along the walkway she strains to see him. Her heart races with panic until she sees him and then it races for an entirely different reason.
He's there, and he's so ruggedly handsome and he's about to become her husband.
The look on his face when he sees her mirrors her own and for the brief walk down the aisle, no one else is there but the two of them. For the first time since that terrible day that he was taken from her, the void of her heart begins to fill.
She can hardly keep herself from falling into his arms when she makes it to where he's standing. And up until the moment they say their vows, the ceremony is a complete blur. All that matters is him—them. Her vows come from her heart, as she puts everything that he is to her in words. His vows bring her to tears and she fights to hold herself together, knowing that she can cry them into his shoulder later tonight when they're alone—together and married.
When she finally gets to kiss him—her husband, she can't remember a time that she felt happier. He's her future, her everything.
The November wind whips around them as Castle plays their song and wraps her in his arms for their first dance. She'd stand there with him forever if that's what he wanted.
Their guest bid them goodbye a short time later and they can't get to their bedroom fast enough. She just wants him, for the rest of her life.
They finally fall together into their bed, and Castle wraps his wife in his arms and holds her close, knowing what she needs almost better than she does. He holds her while she cries out everything that they've been through to get to this moment.
When she's quiet and the tears have ceased to fall, he lifts her face and brings their lips together. He pours the depths of his love for her into the hot cavern of her mouth. When she's breathless she pulls away and cradles his face in her hands.
"Thank you, Richard Castle, for making me your wife and for finally filling that void that's been present since the day you were taken from me."
He pulls her closer until not an inch of space remains between their bodies. "You're mine, Mrs. Castle, and being married to you is everything I've ever wanted and more. I'll spend the rest of my life filling the voids that this world has left you with."
She smiles down at him. "You've already filled them, babe. You're the only thing I ever needed. I love you."
He flips her onto her back and proceeds to remove the sea of white that's wrapped around her body. "I love you too, so much. And speaking of being filled…"
She laughs and wraps her legs around him. "Oh, Castle, there's nothing I want more right now than for my husband to make love to me."
On that chilly November night, in the heart of the Hamptons, Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle and Katherine Houghton Beckett became Mr. and Mrs. Castle. And their story was only beginning.
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