Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Just a random idea that popped into my head. Hopefully it's not too bad and you enjoy it.

Wedding Gift

The middle-aged gentleman with the silver hair sat on the park bench, inhaling a deep breath and relishing the late summer temperature. It has been a long time since he's been back to this side of the Atlantic, even longer since he's been able to just sit and relax to enjoy the weather.

He lifted the last section of the newspaper that he had been perusing, Entertainment. He grunted. He has never been one to pay much attention to the Entertainment Industry. All the fake, pretty face actors playing pretend spies when they had no idea what it really takes to do the job. All the training, the dangers and sacrifices that came with being an "Intelligence Asset." Especially the sacrifices. But something at the bottom of the front page caught his eye. It was a colour picture of a man and a woman whom he recognized immediately. Along side it was a small story.

Rumours are abound that bestselling mystery writer Richard Castle is engaged to his muse, the former NYPD detective Kate Beckett. While the pair has never officially acknowledged they are a couple, it has long been suspected that they are indeed an item. Nonetheless, this is an unexpected turn of events as there were speculations the two had broken up when Beckett had moved to the nation's Capital. Unconfirmed buzz was she had taken a top-secret position with the Attorney General's Office. However a recent paparazzi photo showed the two together in DC, with Beckett sporting what looks suspiciously like an engagement ring. Calls to Castle's publicist have not been returned.

The man known to some as Jackson Hunt looked down at the picture of his son and smiled. "Well, what do you know?" he said softly to himself. While Richard was growing up, he had been at the peak of his career, not to mention the height of the Cold War. It was always one mission after another, sometimes not knowing if he'll survive to see the next day. He had checked in on Martha and Richard whenever he thought it was safe to do so, but it was always from afar. It was simply too dangerous for it to be any other way. While he lamented all that he missed out on, what happened to his granddaughter Alexis earlier that year told him that his caution was fully justified.

Jackson Hunt knew that there's nothing he can do to change the past and he had chosen his path long ago knowing full well what it entailed. Still there were things he wished he had been able to experience or events that he was there for. Now in the twilight of his career, his enemies dead and buried, perhaps he can start to make amends in some small way.

He would never be so presumptuous as to think he can just show up and knock on Richard's door and be welcomed with open arms into the close-knit family. He hoped, some day at least, he will get a chance to know his son and granddaughter better and not from a distance. But for now, the time is not yet right to reach out, there were still some loose ends to take care of to ensure his past never comes back to haunt his loved ones again.

Until that time, when he can truly say he's out of the game for good, he at least can start by preparing a gift for his son and his future wife. And he knew exactly what to give them. It will not be easy and it will not be quick. It will not only require the finely honed espionage skills he has developed over the years but a lot of behind the scene wheeling and dealing as well to get everything he needed. Luckily for Jackson Hunt, while his missions had for the most part been overseas, he has made enough powerful connections State-side along the way to be able to make this happen.

A/N: I originally wanted this to be just a one shot since it's not that long a story that I had in my mind to write. But this seems like a good spot to stop. A little bit of a mystery/cliff-hanger.

Well…. I hope it's a mystery anyway. You can be sitting there and thinking "I know what it is! You're terrible at this. Not clever at all!"

Please review, it'll make my day. (I'm going to need the pick-me-up… it's month-end at work, YIKES!)