The Domino Effect
Summary: SPOILER ALERTS for season 8 – an AU for season 8 (using an idea borrowed from episode 5). One domino falling can set off a chain reaction. What if that one domino is Richard Castle?
AN: And this is because I wanted a longer discussion than what we saw in the show, but they have a time limit. I miss the days when hour-long tv shows were 55 minutes. But now days though, those extra 13 or so minutes would add significantly to the budget, not to mention reducing the advertising time.
BTW, the words that Judge Markway says come from one of the many wedding sites online - I didn't write them, but they seemed very appropriate for Castle and Beckett when I read them. And now I can't find the link to that site - bummer.
And now we come to the end of another story. And yep, I repeated lines from The Time of Our Lives. Thanks for reading, fav'ing, and reviewing. Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates holidays during this time of the year. Peace be with you.
Disclaimer - I don't own Castle.
Chapter 10 – Third Time's a Charm
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"No," Beckett said as her head snapped up, suddenly as serious as Castle was.
"No?" Castle echoed back, a feeling of Déjà vu washing over him.
"No," Beckett said firmly as if she had had an 'aha' moment.
"No, you don't want to marry me?" Castle asked hesitantly.
"No, no, not that – never that," Beckett said quickly to reassure him, smiling and taking his free hand in hers.
"Then what?" Castle asked hesitantly, shifting so that he was seated once again but not letting go of her hand. "I'm kind of clueless here, Kate."
Beckett looked at him, her eyes bright. "Yes, babe, I want to marry you – more than anything else."
"Then why no?" Castle asked, clearly confused.
"Because you shouldn't feel like you have to settle – to be second place. Because you're not. You are the most important thing – the most important person – in my life. And I acted like you weren't."
She worried her bottom lip between her teeth before speaking. "When we took down Bracken, I thought that it was over and I could put that part of my life behind me so I could have a normal life. But then I found out it wasn't over – that there was someone else out there who was connected to my mom's murder. And I was right back there again – down that rabbit hole that I had tried so hard to get out of for so long." She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "And I knew that I couldn't drag you down too, so I pushed you away to keep you safe."
Castle frowned. "But you could have, Kate – we're partners."
Beckett nodded, tears in her eyes. "I know that now, but when that rabbit hole opened up, Rick, it was like I had blinders on – that was all I could see – and so I did what I always do – I push people away and go at it on my own."
"Well, you did have a little help from Vikram," Castle commented.
"Yeah, but he was expendable," Beckett said, smiling slightly and wiping a tear away from her cheek. "But I was wrong and it turns out that nothing I did really mattered after all, because it didn't keep you safe and all it did was hurt you and drive you away."
Castle cupped her cheek with his hand as he looked at her intently. "No, Kate, what you did mattered. It started the memories that ultimately led us to LocSat and brought him to justice."
He paused for a moment, unsure of how much to share with her so she wouldn't feel guiltier than she already did. "While I was 'there', they said that the stress I was under probably caused the memories start to come back."
"Oh, Rick, I'm so sorry," Beckett said as the tears in her eyes started to well up again.
Castle shook his head. "No, Kate, I'm not. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have remembered enough to start the dominos falling and LocSat would still be out there. He would still be a threat to our family and we would have never known."
He chuckled slightly. "Besides, we don't live in a stress-free world. If stress brought on the memories, imagine what would have happened if I 'Hulked' out at one of Mother's openings or at Alexis' wedding? When it happened, all I did was wound Espo's manly pride and he'll recover from that, especially if I loan him the Ferrari for a month or so."
Beckett laughed softly.
"So now what?" Castle asked.
Beckett shrugged. "I know I've said these things before – in my wedding vows, I said we'd be partners and then I promised you no more lies – but when things got bad, I did the exact opposite. I'm working on stopping that – to not go down the rabbit hole – but I know that if it ever happens again, I need you with me to pull me out."
Castle nodded. "I can do that, Kate, and we'll figure it out." He looked at her intently. "Just so long as you don't shut me out when you tilt at windmills."
Beckett shook her head. "I won't, not anymore."
"Then, I'll ask you again," Castle said, dropping down to one knee and offering the ring. "Katherine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?"
"Yes, Richard Alexander Edgar Rogers Castle, I'll marry you," Beckett replied, smiling.
Castle slipped the ring on her finger and then stood, catching her in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much, Kate," he whispered in her ear.
"I've missed you too," Beckett replied as their lips met.
After a few minutes, they were interrupted by Martha's loud, "Ahem" behind the curtain.
"Before you two get too involved and think about joining the mile-high club, the pilot would really like to land. He's already circled once," she called out. "If he does it again, he'll start charging by the hour."
"Killjoy," Castle stage-whispered. "Yes, Mother, we're decent – you can come in."
"Good," said Martha as she and Alexis walked back up to the front. "Because you do need to save a little for the honeymoon."
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Glass in hand, Castle stood by his office door and looked around the loft, impressed by the grandiose scene before him as Christmas carols played softly in the background.
His girls had gone all out when they found out that he would be home in time Christmas and had pulled out all the stops with the Christmas decorations. Martha had even planned a surprise party for him and invited their friends from the precinct and several close associates.
Bob stood by the wet bar, talking with Judge Markway. Ryan, an obviously pregnant Jenny, Espo, and Hayley stood by the fireplace, laughing at something the boys had said. Paula and Gina stood in one corner, whispering, and he was sure they were plotting his upcoming book tours now that he was back from 'researching' his next series of books. Deputy Commissioner Gates and her husband had even come and were talking with Maddie who had catered the affair.
Castle brought the glass to his lips and took a small sip, grimacing slightly – alcohol was on his 'naughty' list, so the sparkling white grape juice would have to do for now – when Alexis walked out of his office and over to him.
"We're ready," she whispered in his ear.
"Thanks, Pumpkin," he said, beaming at her and giving her a hug and a kiss on the temple.
He walked over to the Christmas tree and rapped gently on the glass with a spoon to get everyone's attention, and then waited a few moments for the small gathering to quiet down.
"I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight especially at the last minute," Castle said. "And for your support during these past few weeks – it really means a lot to Kate and me."
He took a breath. "Because, as I'm sure you know, we recently found out that we weren't legally married. So, tonight, we're going to remedy that, and we wanted to share this moment with all of you."
There were several delighted gasps and murmurs as he nodded at Judge Markway who walked over to him.
As they stood there, the wedding processional that Kate had originally picked out started playing and the door to Castle's office opened, revealing Beckett standing there, not in the outfit she had worn at their quickie wedding which Castle had expected, but wearing her mother's wedding gown that had been lovingly and tenderly restored.
Beckett smiled at Castle as she watched the look on his face change to one of joyous surprise and started forward, Jim walking her the short distance to where Castle stood.
"Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Rick and Kate," the judge said. "You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow Rick and Kate to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them."
He looked over to where Beckett and Jim stood. "Who gives this woman away?"
Jim nodded solemnly. "Her mother and I do," he said and then lifted the short veil and kissed Kate on the cheek.
She returned the kiss and then stepped forward as Jim stepped backward to join Martha.
Markway smiled at Castle and Beckett. "As you are aware, marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that – through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as lifemates and partners.
"We've come to the point of your ceremony where you're going to say your vows to one another. But before you do that, I ask you to remember that love – which is rooted in faith, trust, and acceptance - will be the foundation of an abiding and deepening relationship. No other ties are more tender, no other vows more sacred than those you now assume. If you are able to keep the vows you take here today, not because of any religious or civic law, but out of a desire to love and be loved by another person fully, without limitation, then your life will have joy and the home you establish will be a place in which you both will find the direction of your growth, your freedom, and your responsibility."
He looked at Beckett. "Kate, if you will…"
Beckett nodded at him and then turned to face Castle and gathered his hands in hers.
"The moment that I met you, my life became extraordinary. You taught me to be my best self, to look forward to tomorrow's adventures, and when I was vulnerable, you were strong. I love you, Richard Castle, and I want to live my life in the warmth of your smile and the strength of your embrace. I promise you I will love you, I will be your friend and your partner in crime and in life, always."
Castle smiled tenderly at her and started.
"The moment we met, my life became extraordinary. You taught me more about myself than I knew there was to learn. You are the joy in my heart, you're the last person I want to see every night when I close my eyes. I love you, Katherine Beckett, and the mystery of you is the one I want to spend the rest of my life exploring. I promise to love you, to be your friend and your partner in crime and life til death do us part. And for the time of our lives," he finished with a wink.
"And now for the rings," Markway said.
Martha handed Beckett the ring for Castle while Alexis handed Castle the ring for Beckett.
"Please repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you," he directed to Castle who repeated the words and slipped the ring on Beckett's finger.
Beckett then repeated the process and they joined hands again.
Markway smiled. "By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! Rick, you may kiss your bride."
The couple happily complied to the applause of the people surrounding them.
As they broke off, Markway said to the gathering, "I now present Richard Castle and Katherine Beckett – and the third time's the charm."
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The rest of the evening was spent partying, with the highlights being the cutting of the cake (a smaller version of the first wedding cake), the toast to Beckett and semi-roasting of Castle, and Ryan and Espo performing the song they had written for the first wedding that never took place.
As the guests were departing, Castle walked over to the bartender as he closed up the wet bar and handed him an envelope.
"I was surprised that you could get the night off," he said quietly to dark-haired bespectacled man.
"Well, it's not every day my son gets married – for real," the bartender replied.
"I'm glad you could be here – both of you," he said, nodding to the head waitress who was boxing up the left-over food to take to a shelter.
"Well, it was a special occasion," Hunt replied.
"So is it really over this time?" Castle asked quietly.
Hunt nodded. "The organization has been dismantled. That doesn't mean there isn't someone else waiting in the wings to take their place, but it'll be a while and we'll be watching. Think of it as a wedding gift."
"Thanks," said Castle.
"And son," Hunt said, "you know that I never wanted this to happen – for you to be involved."
"If I hadn't been, we wouldn't have found out about LocSat," replied Castle. "So in a way, it was a blessing in disguise, albeit a rather strange blessing that I never want again."
"Tell your lovely bride goodbye for us," Hunt said, packing the last box.
"Take care," Castle said as they shook hands.
Beckett walked over to take Castle's arm as Hunt and the caterers walked out of the loft.
After the cutting of the cake and the toast, she had changed into the outfit she had worn for the quickie wedding, but this time had a red bow tied around her waist.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
"Just saying goodbye," Castle replied as he put his arm around Beckett.
Beckett leaned into him. "Do you think we'll ever see them again?"
Castle huffed out a breath. "I hope the hell not," he replied. "They always seem to bring trouble with them."
"Like you're not a magnet for it already," Beckett replied, kissing him on the cheek. "So, your mom and Alexis are staying at her place – do you want to unwrap your Christmas present now?"
"I like the sound of that," Castle replied, shifting her so that they were facing each other. "Except I didn't get you anything."
"Oh, I think I see something I can unwrap," Beckett said as she placed her lips on his.
# # # # # # # #
Later, as they lay in their bed after having unwrapped their presents, Beckett examined the ring that Castle had given her on the plane.
"This is amazing, Rick," she said at the intricate design. "But what's it made of?"
Castle blushed slightly. "The wire from twist ties," he confessed.
At her confused look, he added, "They wouldn't let the 'inmates' have anything made of metal – you know – because of their special skills, but twist ties were deemed safe. There was this one woman who could make these incredible sculptures out of them, so I asked her to make you a ring."
Beckett slipped the ring on her finger with the other rings. "I'm glad you did," she said, gazing at it, and then snuggled against him, his warm arms enveloping her. "And I'm so glad you're home."
"Me too," said Castle as he kissed her hair.
She hummed in contentment against him and then looked up at him curiously. "So did you ever remember what happened to the diamonds?"
Castle chuckled slightly. "Yeah – it seems I wasn't too far off with my fake vision in the real Jenkins' office."
She rolled over so she could look at him.
"When we were in Thailand, I saw these elephants in a shop – they were just like your mom's elephants, only in jade, so I made them stop so I could buy them."
Beckett smiled slightly. Only Castle would think of buying souvenirs on a covert mission.
"They had a secret compartment too, just like your mom's elephants," Castle continued. "When I found the diamonds, I put them there for safe-keeping."
"So the elephants ate the diamonds," she said, quoting what he had said.
"And the snake ate the elephants," Castle replied, nodding.
Beckett looked at him curiously.
"When we were hiding in the swamp, I turned around and there was this big python gliding over towards us with its mouth open, so I took the only thing I had – "
"The elephants," Beckett said.
"And shoved it down its throat. So, if they want those diamonds, they're going to have to hunt through all the swamps to find that snake," Castle finished.
"So you don't want to go back and hunt for treasure?" she teased him.
"No – swimming in the swamp once was enough. I can cross that off my non-bucket list," Castle smirked at her. "Besides, I have all the treasure I want right here that I want to plunder," he said as he hand slid down her stomach and their lips met.
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The End
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