The Story of Them Chapter 14, a castle fanfic

OH MY GOSH THAT CANADIAN PROMO!

Kate-

My mother, Alexis, and I were talking the week of Ryan's wedding. I asked them how they would kill a man who was cheating on them. They said they'd knife him or shoot him. And there was no hesitation in their answers; they came as quickly as possible. That's one thing I don't want to know about you, and one thing I'll never have to know, because I will never, ever, cheat on you Katherine Beckett. Never.

There is a different thing I would like to know though. I asked you for your number. You asked me beforehand, "If we were getting married, would you want to know about all the men I've slept with?" Yes, the word "all" did interest me quite a bit, but more so I was interested by your use of "if." The word just slid off your tongue like it was nothing. So, Katie, how long have you been picturing us getting married?

We were each other's plus one. You looked beautiful that day Kate, and when I escorted you down the aisle to take your seat, I could picture us in Kevin and Jenny's shoes. At that point, that's all I wanted. It's all I could think about throughout the entire ceremony; how you would look in a wedding dress, Alexis and Lanie as your bridesmaids, Kevin and Javier as my best men, a tear in your father's eye, a beaming smile coming from my mother. After the wedding, I actually wrote a wedding scene for Nikki and Rook…one day it may actually make it into a book. I hope it will.

And maybe the third time really is the charm.

Mayor Wheldon's office is expecting you.

I love you.

Rick

"Two years."

Rick looked at her, figuring out the time line in his head. Three years ago, they would have been working with the counterfeiters/exotic dancers. When she had arrested him after finding him standing over a dead body, when Detective "Annie Oakley" Ryan almost shot him, when he found out she had broken up with Demming. Oh. Oh.

"I was going to go to the Hamptons with you, Castle. I broke up with Tom so—" she took a breath before continuing, "so I could go with you. But Gina showed up. And you took her."

Rick looked devastated. He had no idea. "I—Kate—you—" he stumbled.

She took his hand across the table. "It's okay, Rick. I wasn't ready back then. We wouldn't have made it. It's better this way."

He squeezed her hand, happiness beginning to reappear on his face. After a moment, Kate changed the subject, "So Mayor Wheldon?"

"Yep, he's probably busy, but his receptionist is in," Rick replied. His heart still hurt knowing that he had left her in dust years ago without even knowing she wanted to try something with them. "You know I love you, right?"

"How could I not?" she responded, before standing from the table and pulling him up as well. Kate pulled him towards her, their breath mingling as she said, "I love you too. A lot." He closed the remaining distance between them and melded their lips together.

Kate had parted from Castle at the main gate to the zoo, Rick having hailed her a cab before he found another one to take him home. Mayor Wheldon's office. She had almost cost the man his job and his reputation. But Castle. He convinced her that Robert Wheldon was a good man. If she had moved on Wheldon, Castle would have been gone; Gates would have kicked him to the curb as quickly as possible.

The receptionist at the mayor's office recognized her right away and pulled a letter out of one of her desk drawers.

Kate-

Sometimes a well-placed pawn is worth more than a king.

That's what Mr. Smith told me. I was a pawn in the conspiracy of your mother's murder. I was there to keep you safe. I'd gladly play that role anytime.

You told me that Gates told you it's a long game, and you should play it piece by piece. I think that describes us quite well. It took us a long time to get where we are, and the stages in our relationship were many. I annoyed you. I dug up things you told me not to. You took me back. I amused you. You broke my heart with Demming and Josh. I fell in love with you. You lied. I lied. We were partners. We confessed. We became more than partners. One piece at a time, Kate. And we'll handle whatever other pieces come our way.

I think we should get a puppy. I miss Royal. I was so sad to see him go with Kay Cappuccio It meant we no longer had a precise common goal, a joint custody, a responsibility, and an excuse too see each other more outside of work. I think we'd be great with a yellow lab or a golden retriever. We could name him Sherlock, give him notebook and a magnifying glass. It would suit us.

Your next clue resides at the Pennybaker Club.

I love you…and I'll have the humane society website up when you get home so we can choose a puppy.

Rick

Kate missed Royal too. She let him up on her couch. She liked having someone there in her apartment, to make it more fun and much less lonely. Living at the loft was far from boring, but it was lonely when Alexis was off with her friends living at Columbia. It would be nice to have a dog…little Sherlock. Yeah, she'd like that.

She left the mayor's office and headed for the abandoned Pennybaker Club. Castle loved that case, exploring the 1940's through the journal of a private investigator. Kate was always one for a good love story, and Joe and Vera had been just that. She arrived outside the Pennybaker to find that very journal propped up against the door, a letter sticking out from the top of the pages.

Kate-

You were right. I didn't say "fate's heart quickened." I slipped and said Kate. I was picturing us as Joe and Vera. Do you blame me, really?

I'm grateful you let Joe and Vera (aka Jerry and Viola) off the hook. I knew you loved couple's beating the odds, true love stories.

I've marked quite a few pages throughout the journal, so take a little peek into the mind of Richard Castle via 1947.

I can't give you anything but love.

Rick

Kate closed the letter and started to flip through the pages of the journal. Small post-it notes were stuck to pages, arrows pointing toward particular parts, some with Castle's scribbles on them. Kate started at the beginning.

I'm sorry for the short chapter! I wanted to keep my daily update promise and I'm flying cross country today so I had limited time. Please review!

**runs off to watch the new CTV promo a million more times**