And so we have reached the end of our tale, I hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing! Please just note that this story was never supposed to be about the poisoning case so I chose not to focus on it.

Seven months into the future…

When Captain Victoria Gates told her best detective to stop investigating a case until later, she had never meant forever. She fully expected Kate Beckett to come into her office a few days, even a week, later and politely demand that she continue investigating her poisoning.

Kate Beckett never did such a thing.

Nevertheless, Captain Gates stuck by her belief that Kate Beckett would have done that. She did not, however, believe that Kate Almost-Castle-Beckett would do it. Gates was not wrong.

She currently sat in her office, behind her "so clean, you can put your makeup on looking into it" desk, reading a report with her glasses down on her nose. The elusive criminal, responsible for three poisonings of women with Carfentanil (one an NYPD detective), was apprehended and plead guilty last night. The arresting officers were not from the Twelfth Precinct, but Gates figured she could let that case closure slide.

The formidable woman sat back in her chair after finishing the report and smiled to herself. She glanced around her walls which had framed newspaper clippings of various cases her Precinct had closed, many featured a familiar duo.

"Good always wins," she murmured.

For the writer in Castle and the closet fairytale enthusiast in Kate, getting married in the Lohrer Schloss was a dream come true. Kate had no idea how her soon-to-be husband managed it, but he got the venue and flew their small number of guests out to Lohr for the ceremony and reception.

Although the story of how they got to the castle had terrible beginnings, Kate, over the months, had realized that the apple that poisoned her made her stronger. She walked away from a personal case. This was a feat she did not know she was capable of doing, as she had never given up her mother's case.

Her mother…

The only part about being in Germany that did not sit well with Kate was that her mother was an ocean away. Her heart felt that familiar ache when the thought came to mind. More than anything, she wanted her mom to see her happy ending. No matter how many times people told Kate "Johanna is watching from wherever she is," the detective would not listen. Even if people could watch from beyond the grave, how was she sure her mom saw it?

There was a knock on the door, and Kate turned from facing the window out onto town.

"Katie?" her dad popped his head in the room, eyes lighting up when he saw his daughter all in white.

She smiled in greeting and made her way to the door before he even had a chance to tell her it was time to go. By silent communication, he opened his arms and she bent a little to hug him. Salty tears stung both their eyes; they knew what this moment meant to one another.

The entire ordeal was the proudest memory Jim Beckett had. Katie walking down the aisle, the ceremony, the "I do," maybe not the passionate kiss afterwards ("so typically them," Esposito had remarked), and the smile on Katie's face throughout the whole reception. A father could not ask for any more than that. He was forever grateful to Richard Castle for making Katie's life happy again.

Everyone talked about their wedding and asked questions about their honeymoon for weeks afterwards. Except for a few…specific details, their friends knew the entire itinerary. The one question Kate would not answer was "what was your favorite part out of it all?" She wanted to keep that a secret. But it replayed in her mind over and over again.

The night after they got back from their honeymoon, the newlyweds stood out on their balcony and watched as stars began to light up the sky. Castle only left one candle lit so that neither of them tripped and fell off the balcony ("I'm not that clumsy!" Kate had protested when he explained his logic. He only chuckled, making sure not to reveal the real reason was for his safety.).

There they stood, Castle's arms wound around his wife from behind as they gazed up at the sky together.

"I have something for you," he suddenly whispered to her.

She turned her head and blinked at him. "Now?"

Castle did not answer, but unwound himself from Kate and went inside the house for a moment. When he came back, he was holding a bundle of balloons that were all tired to a single note.

"What's this?" she asked with an adorable smile.

"Open it," he told her, grabbing the candle and holding it so she could read the note.

Kate opened it to see a picture of her and Castle during their wedding ceremony, right as she was saying "I do," and a message in neat print reading:

In case you missed it, Mrs. Beckett, your daughter's fairytale became a reality. Love, your new son-in-law, Richard Castle

For a minute after reading, Kate did not say anything. She just stared at the note. Then she sniffed. Then her face began to shine.

"Hey," Castle soothed her, "hey, don't cry. It's okay, it's happy." He put down the candle so he could wrap her arms around her once more and press a kiss to her hairline.

She let out one note of a laugh and then sniffed again. "No, Castle, I love it. I'm just… this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Sweeter than being proposed to, even."

"Really?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Really," she replied, "But can I add something?"

Castle nodded and fetched a pen for her. She opened the note once more and, next to her husband's message, printed her own in messier print which read:

Wish you could have been there, Mom! You could have shared the toe-stepping I endured from Dad and Rick. Love, Katie

"Okay," she said, capping the pen, "I think it's ready to be mailed."

Castle's hand over her own, Kate lifted the message and balloons into the air and then released them. The couple went back to their original position as they watched the balloons climb higher and higher into the night sky.

After a while, Kate turned to her husband and smiled up at him. Her eyes swam with emotion when they locked on to his.

"I truly love you, Richard Castle," she murmured as she stretched up to kiss him.

"And I truly love you, Katherine Castle," he replied as he cupped her face, "Always."

And they lived happily ever after… give or take the occasional murderer.

Some trivia for you: Lohr a. Main is thought to be the birthplace of the original Snow White, Maria Sophia Margaretha Catherina von Erthal (excellent name, if you ask me) and she lived in the Lohrer Schloss.

Review please! I really care about your thoughts! Also, if anyone has read my fic "The Strawberry Story," I have decided to continue the arc with another story currently titled "Of Thoroughbred Registries and Baby Names"