I watched Katherine and Richard say their vows, Katie looking gorgeous in white. As I sweep my eyes over the crowd, my entire life changes.

The barrel of a rifle is peeking out between the trees, aimed directly at Katie.

"KAT!" I rush in front of my best friend, watching the trigger finger twitch, and an explosion of utter pain in my chest. I collapse to the ground.

I could feel the front of my dress soaking with blood. My blood. I gasp for breathe, every beat of my heart means another wave of torture.

"Talia!" Katie screams, dropping to her knees.

She presses her hands to the wound, horrified when her hands sink into the pool of red.

I hear someone calling 911, and Katie begging me to stay with her, to stay awake.

My eyes were getting heavy

There were spots in vision

I felt lighter, lighter, light

They say dying is just like falling asleep. I felt my eyes closing, my heart slowing. Katie was screaming now, tell me to hang on and that I would live.

My eyes closed.

My heart fluttered.

My heart slowed.

My heart

Stopped.

The room was white. Everything was white. The walls, the floor, the duvet, the rug. The only thing that stood out against the white was my own black hair. A woman in a -you guessed it- white dress appeared in a door that wasn't there before.

"Natalia Felicia Parker." The woman reads off her clipboard. "Died 2:33pm of a bullet to the heart."

"Where am I?" I ask, still sitting in the bed.

The woman continues. "Age 34. Occupation: FBI Agent."

"Seriously, where am I." I ask again

The woman sighs. "Why do I always get the atheists?"

She beckons me up, and I adjust the white dress and pad after her, my feet bare.

"Welcome to the Otherworld." The woman says. "Some call it Heaven, some call it Hell." She shrugs. "There really is no difference. You die, your life is judged, and you live out your afterlife."

"So I'm dead then." I clarify, in a sort of haze. "And now I just hang out?"

"Pretty much."

"Can I go back?" I ask.

"We're going to see Mother." The woman doesn't answer. "Mother and her council will judge you and decide."

I had no idea, but something told me following her would be a good idea.

As it turned out, I was right. We walked down more hallways, eventually ending up in front of massive golden doors.

The woman stopped in front of the doors, and turned to me. "Mother will see you now."

The door swung open on its own, and all I could think of was, "I wish I had listened to my mother and taken Chinese."

The room was massive. Seven pillars surrounded me, three rows filled with women between each. There were Indians and African Americans and I could swear that was Princess Diana sitting next to Eleanor Roosevelt.

"Natalia Felicia Parker." The woman directly in front of me says loudly, and I can only whimper a bit inside.

It was the lost Russian princess Anastasia. I was being judged in Heaven by a lost Russian royal.

"Ваша светлость" I squeak. Your Grace.

"Natalia Parker. Daughter of Anna Aislenova and Richard Parker." The Princess says, her English heavily thickened by an Old Russian accent.

I nod dumbly.

"Occupation: an FBI agent, writer and Russian tutor." The princess lists off a scroll.

I nod again.

"Died saving Katherine Beckett from a sniper at her wedding." The princess looks at me with pity. "Your last day alive, spent watching the woman you love marry another."

I finally found my voice. "Katie loves Castle. My time to make her smile passed. I spent it well, and I am happy to see her find someone she can spend the rest of her life with."

"But you are not done." Anastasia says simply. "Your time on Earth is not yet over."

"I…" I sigh. "I wanted to watch Katie marry him, wanted to visit her in the hospital as she gave birth to her first child. I wanted to remain her friend until the day I died from natural causes."

"Why did you jump in front of her?" A woman to the right asks, and I swear on every last Russian candy stored in the box under my bed that it is Anne Bonny the pirate.

"I did not think. I only acted. If you truly love something, you will go to the ends of the earth to protect it."

I think my choice of words amused her, because she started to laugh before the woman on her left elbowed her. That woman turned to me.

"You still love Kathrine Beckett." She states.

"I won't ever stop."

Princess Anastasia's gaze drops, as if listening to something.

She looks up at me, confused.

"Mother says she is Marked."

The room explodes. "What? Then why is she here?!" Marie Curie yells from my left and that's when everything kind of clicks.

I'm dead, and to pass into the afterlife, you must be judged by the most influential people of your gender throughout history. Marie Curie, Anne Bonny, Princess Anastasia. Each did something to history, changed it, empowered those who came after.

And there was something they didn't like about me.

"Natalia Felicia Parker, as you have been Marked by Mother, you are hereby returned to earth to live out the rest of your natural life." Princess Anastasia thunders above the arguing women, and I stare dumbstruck.

"Protect Katherine Beckett, as is your duty to Mother and the Beyond."


I peeled my eyes open. I died. I felt my heart stop. So where was I? Anastasia said I was to return, something about being Marked.

As feeling started to return to my body, and my brain started to function, I became quite aware of a body pressed against my side, a head curled around my left arm. I raised my opposite arm. It was a bit of a struggle really. The thing felt like it was made of lead.

I looked down at the head of wavy brown hair, and I recognized Katie immediately. I pressed my fingers to her cheek, pulling her out of her sleep.

"Talia?" She murmurs, starting to sit up. Her brain starts processing what she's seeing and she shoots up. "Talia!"

She scrambles off the bed, staring. "You're awake!"

I smile.

"I should probably call the doctors." Katie presses the button, and soon one of the nurses is walking through the door.

"You're awake!" The nurse gasps, and rushes out. I look at Katie questioningly.

"They told us you would never wake up." Katie says, staring at her hands. "The bullet? It slit your aorta. You should be dead."

The nurse returns with the doctor who also lets out a startled, "You're awake!"

Apparently there was a very low chance of me waking if even the doctor was surprised.

The two medical professionals start to bustle around, testing me, checking that everything way alright.

After some water and telling Katie they were going to keep me overnight to watch me, they left and I was alone with Kate.

"What's the last thing you remember?" She asks softly, curled in a chair next to my bed.

"You're wedding."

Oh fuck.

"I screwed up your wedding." I say, horrified. "Oh my god Katie I'm so sorry."

"You saved my life. A new wedding date is a small price to pay." She soothes, smiling. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I am too." I purse my lips. "Hey. How long was I out?"

"A week." She says.

"You're kidding. I got shot, died, then wake up a week later in a hospital." I muse, rather impressed with myself.

"You didn't die. They got to you in time." Katie disagrees.

In that moment, I swore I would never tell Katie the truth. I never died, and there was no Council, no Mother.

But one thing was for sure. If I ever had to face the Council again, I wanted no regrets about my life.


Author's Note:

This is a rather important message. I recently severely injured my knee, and 2.5 hours in the ER and an X-Ray couldn't tell me what was wrong. I am unable to get an MRI until late next week. Worst case scenario, I will be stuck on bed rest for a week or so. Depending on how bad the injury is and whether or not I need surgery will impact how much I write, so there is a chance that will not be many more updates for a while.

Answers to Reviews:

caskett fan 7970: Here you go, the next part of the my little universe? Don't worry, I changed the mistake. Thanks for pointing it out :)

kwarner: Thanks :) Here's the next part

Andrew (guest): Thank you for bringing it to my attention that I brutally destroyed the characters and plot. I hope you noticed he little AU addition if you stopped by to read the next part. And fyi, I do watch Castle. Otherwise, I wouldn't write about it. As a matter of fact, Im watching 4x10 'Cuffed' as I write this lovely little message. Cheers.