When Esposito got home after work, he wasn't at all surprised to find Meredeth in the kitchen chopping onions and peppers as she chatted on the phone. She gave him a wavethen as he poured himself a glass of water, then slumped on one of the bar stools by the kitchen counter. It was poker night, and he was more than a little excited about it - they were having a guy's night only at Castle's and inviting Lanie's boyfriend Dave to join - and Meredeth had promised him mean-drunk jerk chicken to take with him for the boys to snack on.

'That sounds fantastic. No, we'd love to baby-sit for you. Of course you should, it's your first anniversary. Absolutely. Bye-bye.'

Esposito glanced up at the word baby-sit, as Meredeth hung up the phone and poured the diced vegetables into a one-quart measuring cup. 'And who are we playing crash-test parents for?'

'It's Ryan and Jenny's anniversary on the third, and the doctor gave Jenny the all-clear so she and Ryan are spending a romantic night together at the Marriott. I offered to baby-sit for them, so I said we'd look after Dell.'

'I thought you and I were going out Saturday night too.'

'Were we? Did I forget about plans we already had?'

'Oh, damn it.' Esposito closed his eyes; he'd been so occupied by work that day he'd forgotten to tell her on his lunch break that he'd scored tickets to a concert that night. 'I forgot to tell you when I called you on my break. Gil got me two tickets this morning to see Down in Ashes at Circle Square Park.'

'Oh damn. Why don't we give them to the couple celebrating the anniversary? Add something to their night out.'

'Because Ryan and Honey-Milk don't appreciate Canadian rock bands like you and I do, my sweet. Speaking of sweets, though, I got a number for a possible caterer for the wedding from Karpowski.'

'Oh?' She loathed that it had happened, but since Rosalita had given her the planning binder the week before at lunch, Meredeth's radar went up every time she heard the word 'wedding'.

'Yeah, but it depends where we have it, right? Hotel or reception hall, all that? If we're not getting married until next August, where do we even start with everything?'

'I was doing some reading today and I found this website that had a wedding planning checklist, and it says nine to twelve months before, we should be researching and planning the big stuff first, which seems kind of backwards, but it really does take that long.'

Meredeth went to the cupboard, got out the rum and pineapple schnapps and poured triple shots of each over the vegetables. 'So by about the end of November, Thanksgiving-ish, we should have our budget, our venue for the ceremony and reception, our officiant, a preliminary guest list, a colour scheme, my dress, and make sure our passports are up to date.'

'Gimme one of those shots of rum, I think it'd make my head spin less,' Esposito joked.

'I still don't have a clear idea yet of what I want, but I know what I don't want. I don't want a big cupcake dress with a huge floofy veil and a train so long it could make another dress, and I don't want a big fancy to-do ceremony with people I barely know watching us exchange our vows, then getting drunk at an open bar reception so our liquor tab costs as much as the honeymoon.'

'Agreed. I'm sure Mami told you this but Father Paolo is more then amenable to doing a ceremony outside the church, if that's what we want.'

Meredeth gave him a considering look as she pulled out jars of dried spices, measure and blended them. 'Any thoughts on where to have the ceremony?'

'I don't want it in the church. I know I'm a semi-good Catholic, but I don't attend Mass or confession on a regular basis so it'd feel a little hypocritical to get married at San Gabriel's.' He paused, pursed his lips. 'What about somewhere in Central Park? It'll be nice and green, and the lighting in mid afternoon is beautiful for photographs. Plus we're right there, we wouldn't have to worry about moving the wedding party and people to a different location somewhere in town.'

'I was thinking Bethesda Terrace, by the fountain.'

A flash of himself standing by the fairy-tale fountain with his ushers and watching Meredeth come down the famous red-stone steps with her bridesmaids in glowing bridal white had him smiling. 'I think that sounds perfect.'

'Okay, we've got ourselves a place for our date. Now come give me a hand rubbing the chicken.'

Poker night was, as promised, a guy's night only - Castle, Ryan, Esposito, the Captain and first-timer Dave. The air was rich with the scent of cigar smoke as they drank scotch and pushed around the chips and cards on the table. Ryan it seemed was having a hot streak and had won eight out of the first ten hands; his usual bad luck frown was now a greedy smirk as he stacked his winnings into little towers in front of him.

'Must be the new daddy glow rubbing off,' Castle commented. 'Jenny going to be alright with you smoking these here then going home to Dell?'

'Brought a change of fresh clothes with me, I'll toss these in the laundry soon as I get home.'

'I could make all kinds of whipped jibes at you, but I'm saving them for the guy who's next to put on the shackle.'

Esposito shook his head, dragged on the cigar. 'And so it begins.'

'Marriage isn't a shackle, Castle.' Montgomery sipped his Scotch as he shuffled cards. 'Just because you've missed the mark twice doesn't mean the rest of us did. Besides, you're only, what, thirty-nine? That's like the new eighteen, plenty of time.'

'Hey, let me ask you something, sir.' Esposito glanced at his cards, tossed them in; there was no way he'd do anything with a red two and a black ten. 'When you and Elizabeth got married, did you guys share the planning or was it all her?'

'We shared it, though since it was her parents paying for it, they got their way a lot. But it was different times then. You and Meredeth are already starting to get ideas?'

'Actually, we've decided on a date and where we're having the ceremony.'

'Do tell.' Ryan flicked ashes into the Lalique dish serving as an ash-tray. 'Anything's more romantic than a hospital chapel.'

'August thirtieth, at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, with my family parish priest Father Paolo presiding over the ceremony.'

'Sounds very romantic,' Castle said in his dry but gentle tone that told the table he wasn't bullshitting or being a jerk. 'Is that the first major decision you two have made on the wedding?'

'It is.'

'Well unless you're marrying one of those Real Housewives of ...wherever, be prepared that she's expecting you to be involved with everything. I got a swift dose of reality when Hannah was planning ours,' Dave told him; it was easier to talk about Hannah now, especially having Lanie in his life. 'Still gives me nightmares.'

Castle slapped him on the shoulder. He'd spent the most time with Dave out of all the men at the table and knew it wasn't an ex-wife he spoke of, but the one he'd lost to a collision with a semi-truck three years prior. 'That's very enlightened of you, Robbins, but you're in the minority. Most guys are more than happy to leave those details up to the bride. Keeping the woman happy from day one.'

'I do want to be involved though, it is as much my day as hers, isn't it?' Esposito looked around the table for support.

'You're right.' Montgomery sipped his drink. 'Contrary to what every movie, TV show and Castle says,' he said, eliciting laughs from the table, 'it is a day for both of you to celebrate so both of you need to be involved. It'll be hard because you are a cop and your job is time-consuming but she's worth it, so you'll pull through.'

'Best thing you can do is get yourself like two or three big things you're in charge of, things you're good at, like food or music or something,' Dave offered. 'Or the photographer.'

'Or the tailor. He set you up pretty well for the engagement, didn't he? He does tuxedo rentals too. You still have his card?'

'Yep.'

'Oh, flowers, tell her she can't go wrong with white roses. Jenny had a little bunch of white roses when we said our vows, they were very sweet,' Ryan added for good measure. 'I know Meredeth's not exactly a blushing white bride, not with the way you two get romantic, but they'll add to the whole lady in white of the day.'

Dave gestured with his drink towards Ryan. 'Yeah, yeah. I read about this florist, too, somewhere in the Garden District, he does this thing were he uses all natural dyes so you can tint the flowers to match the attendants' dresses.'

Esposito laughed, as the most masculine men he knew - two cops, a paramedic and a writer - devolved into discussing square versus circle tables at the reception and the best places to find cheap but decent looking dress shoes. It looked like the guys only night had turned into a wedding planning night instead.

R&R&Enjoy!