August

Standing on the raised wooden deck of the Hamptons estate, Kate leaned against the railing and gazed down at the sand where a giggling little girl in an ivory dress fell into the arms of her Uncle Javier. Kate smiled at her colleague tossed the girl in the air, caught her, and spun her around. Grace's laughter was contagious; she never grew tired of hearing it.

As she watched, Kate felt a pair of arms slide around her waist, skimming across the smooth, silky surface of her white gown. Feeling the smoothness of a newly acquired wedding band on the man's hand, she smiled and leaned back against his chest.

He dropped a kiss on to the base of her neck and asked, "Are you happy Mrs. Castle?"

Kate smiled at the moniker. She had only ben Mrs. Castle officially for a little over two hours, but she knew it would be quite some time before she grew tired of hearing him address her as such. Spinning around in his embrace she leaned up and kissed him. "Very. Are you happy Mr. Castle?"

"Incredibly. I love you."

"I love you too." She kissed him again before turning and nodding towards the sand below. "Do you see how happy Grace is?" At that point, she and Uncle Javi appeared to be digging some sort of hole. Kate could only imagine what it would be used for, though hoped it did not involve burying her daughter in her new, pretty dress.

Castle hummed. "She loves the beach. We have to come out here more often."

Kate leaned in to him as she looked towards where the altar was still standing. Now it was surrounded by half a dozen round chairs where their guests ate and drank as music played. Their wedding had not been a huge, Manhattan celebration, but intimate and familial; Kate wouldn't have wanted it any other way. "I'm so glad we got married here."

"Me too." He sighed. "We'll definitely be like those gross old couples who just keep telling the nauseating stories of their perfect wedding and romance to all their kids and-"

"All their kids?" She interrupted with a tone noting concern. "Just how many do you think we're having Castle?"

He took a half step back to look at her more directly. "You agreed on one or two more."

She nodded; that was what they agreed and she had not changed her mind, however… "Yes, but you made it sound like dozens."

He shook his head and assured her, "Oh no. I think three is plenty."

She flashed him a teasing smile. "Well since I'll be the one giving birth to them you don't have much choice."

He laughed. "Fair enough."

She slid her arms around his waist and leaned into him once more. "By the way—you're wrong."

"About what?"

"We won't be like all the old couples, because our story definitely isn't like anyone else's."

"No," he said, squeezing her a bit tighter. "It's definitely not."

A/N: this is the epilogue and technically it would fit both endings. Sorry its super short. Like i said this was originally meant to be a one shot...but then it grew to 13,000 words...and yeah. "Alt Ending" which is actually like a replacement for the previous part, will be posted later this week

Thanks for reading!