A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much to htbuzz, TORONTOSUN, GeekMom, hfce, jellybean96, alwayscastle2 and the anonymous reviewer for reviewing the last chapter. If this chapter is on the short side, I apologise. I did try to include everything I initially planned. I'm also sorry for any typos and mistakes there may be in this chapter; I will correct them at a later date, I just don't have time today as I realised this morning that I have four assignments due in in the next three weeks and I have done literally no work towards them. So I wrote this chapter pretty quickly. Sorry, sorry, sorry!
Although they were the first there, Kate and Castle weren't alone. Hotel staff bustled around them, showing them that everything was in place for the reception and checking again that they were satisfied with the table arrangements and settings (even though they had already seen to the tables just days before and finalised all the plans). Moments before the first of the wedding party arrived, glasses of red wine were thrust into their hands.
From that moment on, it was a blur of hugs and congratulations as Kate and Rick mingled with their guests, repeating again and again the stories behind some of the things they mentioned in the vows. In particular, everybody seemed to want to know about how they'd come so close to so many bombs. Their family and close friends, stood at the bar, looking bemused and almost disinterested after experiencing the bombs themselves.
In a quiet moment where they were simply stood side by side, glasses of wine long forgotten, Castle squeezed Kate's waist. She was expecting some profound sentence. Instead, Castle simply said, "When do you reckon the food will be ready? I'm starving."
She laughed, bumping her shoulder into his. "Castle, they told us yesterday that we should sit down to eat at two thirty. Beside shouldn't you be thinking about everything but food on your wedding day, you big lug? Like, oh, I don't know, your new wife?"
"I am thinking about my wife," he replied. "But how am I supposed to carry on thinking about you when I'm fainting from too low sugar levels?"
"The wine gone to your head already?"
"I think I can hold my alcohol, Kate. I just haven't eaten anything since breakfast. Normally I get a smorlette to keep me going until lunch."
Kate rolled her eyes at all of his exaggeration, sliding her hand down his arm to take hold of his hand and tug him forwards. "Come on then." She flashed a look of exasperation at Lanie and Alexis as they left the Terrace Room in search of food. From a staff-member, they managed to get a Mars bar which Castle dug into with gusto. Castle's teeth were stuck together with caramel so he could only smirk at Alexis and her narrowed eyes as he returned with a Mars bar for himself but nothing for her. With most of their guests talking amongst themselves, Kate and Rick joined their families at the bar for a few minutes. Jim pulled Kate into a hug before handing them each a tumbler of brandy.
"Katherine, your vows were marvellous," Martha declared, knowing Kate had been nervous after having come across her struggling to write them. In fact, Kate had followed her new mother-in-law's advice to stop thinking about how good Castle's vows were going to be and trying to wow everyone, and to just write from her heart instead when she finally managed to get something down on the piece of paper she'd appropriated from Rick's office.
Rick nodded fervently beside his mother and from his position behind Kate, squeezed his arms tighter around her waist as he leaned down and nuzzled her neck to whisper, "Better than mine."
The shake of her head was almost imperceptible. Castle only saw it because he could feel the muscles of her body moving beside his. "Thank you, Martha."
Until the food was ready, they were able to talk with Lanie, Madison and the boys, enjoying the chance to socialise outside of the workplace and away from the gritty murders they usually saw each other around.
They were slow, trailing behind everyone else to take their places at the top table and so able to enjoy everyone else's reactions to their 'ingenious table names.'
Between courses, they circulated through the guests again, finding people for the most part too focused on the amazing food to ask them again about their honeymoon plans or whether Rick was going to carry on shadowing her at work. It felt like no time at all before it was time for Jim to give his speech.
Kate squeezed Jim's hand before he stood up at her side and cleared his throat.
"Hello everyone, as Kate's father I'd like to thank everyone for coming today. I know Kate and Rick are both glad so many of you could make it here today. With Rick involved in the planning, I'm sure we're going to have a fabulous evening with quite a few surprises." Light laughter spread through the tables. "Today has been a special day on all fronts, but for me and, I know for Kate's mother, Johanna too, we couldn't be prouder of Kate. When she was a little girl, our Katherine insisted she wasn't going to get married right up until she was twelve when she fell in love with Bryan Adams and insisted she was his future wife."
Kate hid her face behind her hands as everyone laughed again.
"I couldn't be happier that she's chosen to spend the rest of her life with Rick. It's particularly fitting in my opinion since before they even met, Richard Castle was Kate's savior."
Kate turned to find Rick's confused eyes resting on her. She had had a feeling that her father would mention that particular part of her love affair with Rick.
"Rick probably knows that Kate is a fan of his work, but I don't think anyone knows how much Kate relied on his books during our family's darkest hour. My wife, Johanna, was a big fan of Richard's books, used to read them the day they were released and rave about them. After she died, it was Rick's book's, Johanna's favourites, that Kate found solace in and it was through them that she began to believe again that justice was possible."
Rick's eyes shone with wonder as they met Kate's. She smoothed her palm over his hand whilst her father continued speaking. "I know both Kate and Rick have said that they didn't always picture marrying each other, but from the moment Kate started complaining to me about Rick following her so he could write a book on her, I knew. It was even clearer to me when I met Rick in person. It was obvious even from just a short meeting that I had met a man who cared more deeply for my daughter than anyone before him. A man who didn't know what giving up was. I'm so grateful that Rick came along and barged through Katie's walls. He's good for her and he makes her happy. It's why I'm honoured to welcome Rick to the family and call him my son. And on that note, I'd like you all to stand and raise your glasses in a toast to Kate and Rick."
The scraping of the chairs against the polished wooden floor filled the room before every voice in the Terrace Room chorused, "To Kate and Rick!"
Once he had finished drinking to Jim's toast, Castle stood up.
"Well, two speeches in one day, let's hope this one is far better than my first. "Firstly, I would like to reiterate Jim and say thank you to all of your joining Kate and I in celebrating our marriage. Some of you had to travel quite a way, so it really means a lot that you could be here. To Jim, I thank you for your kind words and for your generosity in accepting me into your family. I consider it an honour to be part of the Beckett family, and I hope that I don't disappoint you. As always, I give my eternal thanks to my own family, my daughter, Alexis, and my mother for their support both before and leading up to this day and for their welcoming attitudes towards Kate and for always being her friends. And now to Kate, my lovely bride… Well, what can I say? You've quite honestly left me speechless today, love. You look so beautiful that there are no comparisons. I feel blessed to have you sat by my side and I can't quite believe my luck. It has been my pleasure to see you smiling brighter than Sirius and all the other stars. Corny, I know. I just hope I can continue to bring out that smile and make you as happy as you make me. The road to this day and this moment right here, well it's been long, but I would gladly walk it again and again if it meant meeting you at the end. Working with you has brought a kind of light to my life that I didn't know was missing and you inspire me, Kate, not just to write Nikki Heat, but to be different, to be better because that way I might finally deserve you and your love."
He paused to squeeze Kate's hand before continuing with the next part of his speech.
"To Javi and Kevin, the best men, it's been a ride. You both look ready to kick ass in your suits and it wouldn't have been the same without you both stood beside us earlier today since you've been there at our sides all along. I know I'm supposed to thank you for all your help, but I'm not sure I can really thank you for getting me handcuffed to my wife's chair at the precinct." Javi snorted, breaking Castle's flow. "It certainly wasn't my favourite part of the bachelor party."
"I think it's important now to take a moment to remember Rachel Winters. Rachel came to Kate and I as the wedding planner we didn't want. But in our short time with her, I came to see Rachel as a friend and both Kate and I were deeply saddened by her loss. It is Rachel we owe for this lovely occasion because it was Rachel who laid the groundwork for us, so thank you Rachel."
A round of polite clapping took over the room, started by Kate and picked up by everyone else.
"Lastly I would like to pass on my thanks to Kate's wonderful bridesmaids. Lanie threw a heck of a bachelorette party just a few weeks ago. She, Madison and Alexis have all been great through this whole process, helping us with the planning and just being supportive. We couldn't have done it without you. So if you would all please raise your glasses again and toast to these three beautiful ladies right here," Castle said, pointing out Lanie, Madison and Alexis. Once everyone had toasted the bridesmaids, Castle directed everybody's attention to the best men.
As they stood up, both of them smiling suspiciously, Castle muttered, "Oh, God, here we go."
"Javi and I have been very fortunate to have witnessed every stage of Castle and Beckett's relationship," Ryan began before Espo interrupted.
"And let me tell you, there were times when we wished we hadn't. Making eyes at each other, always in-sync during cases, finishing each other's sentences – that kind of cutesy couple-y thing – that's the stuff that your friends really don't need to see, and that was before they even got their act together!"
Kate groaned along with Castle. They were clearly going to be in for a long speech of ribbing from the boys.
"Since no-one else has really cashed in on any of those embarrassing story's, I think the duty has fallen to Esposito and I to get the ball rolling. When Castle first came into the twelfth precinct, so did his books, each and every one of them from the personal library of Katherine Beckett," Ryan stated, shooting Kate an amused look. "Now, some of you may think that obviously being such a big fan, Beckett secretly adored Castle all along. Well you would be-"
"Completely right," Esposito interrupted again, just as everyone thought Ryan was going to say 'wrong.' "You see, these two, they have this weird little teasing thing they do, verbal sword play or something. So you know, Castle will make some joke about how his lawyers would never agree to let him sign the paperwork to shadow Kate and in return she'll ask if she can just shoot him there and then. Other times she'll give him some kind of eyeroll or death glare. I don't think I've ever seen anybody get as many of those as Castle has over the years."
"I don't think I've ever seen someone stare so openly at Beckett on the job," Ryan countered. "Or perhaps ask so many inappropriate questions. Quite frankly I'm glad that she never told Castle what kind of underwear she wears, or where her tattoo is."
"Well, don't forget Beckett practically stripped to save him from Russian mobsters," Esposito said, the tone and timing of his reminder making it clear that he and Ryan had carefully scripted their speech. Beckett sank down in her chair from the astonished looks she was getting from her father, Madison and some of the other guests, while Rick grinned and appeared totally unabashed. "And he had an awful lot of time to admire her while they were handcuffed together."
"Before the tiger appeared, you mean."
Around the room, all Kate and Rick could hear in the pause Javi and Kevin left was whispers of, "Tiger?"
"And to be fair to poor Castle, he's not the only one who makes all of those off-hand, flirtatious euphemisms."
"Thank you! I've been trying to tell her that for months!" Castle called.
"What? I do not do that! That is all you," Kate argued.
"Uh huh? So what exactly did you mean by the statement, 'If you want to be invited into my territory again, you should probably rethink that?'" he asked, making reference to one of the comments she had made when they were making room to move her stuff into the loft.
Kate turned pink and shot her father a quick look before replying, "No comment."
"That's what I thought."
"If we could get back to the Best Men's speech," Esposito said, looking pointedly at his two friends. "Now that you've all just witnessed a prime example of how these two used to act around each other, I think you can understand why most of us were taken by surprise when we found out they had finally gotten together after watching them have everything but an intimate romantic relationship for so long. With that in mind, I think it's time that Sidney Perlmutter receive his winnings for betting that it would take Beckett four years to give in to Castle's flirting."
Ryan crossed the room to the table Sidney and handed him a check. As he rejoined Esposito at the top table, Ryan rounded off their speech. "Despite all the jokes, we couldn't be happier to see the both of you together. The 12th precinct is a brighter place with Castle around. Where would the fun be if we couldn't convince him he'd been cursed by a mummy?"
"Or laugh at him for believing in vampires and werewolves?"
"Demons and spirits stuck inside dvds?"
"Haunted houses?"
"Dude, those things exist," Ryan muttered. "Ghosts, man, they're real."
Esposito gave his partner a flat stare, whilst Kate chuckled at both of them as well as Castle. "The point of all this is that we've worked with Kate Beckett a long time and we've never seen her this happy. She may claim not to believe in the supernatural, magic or fairytales, but it's clear that one thing she does believe in (even if it is intangible) is love and Richard Castle. We can't think of two people more perfect for each other. So if everyone could again raise their champagne flutes. Here's a long life of happiness. To Castle and Beckett!"
"To Castle and Beckett!"
Rick moved to kiss Kate's cheek, finding his lips suddenly atop hers when she turned her head to meet him. Eyes open in surprise, Rick looked lovingly at his wife until Ryan said, "It's now time for Kate and Rick to cut the cake."
Rick stood first and offered his hand to Kate, leading her over to the table the staff had wheeled out. Kate picked up the knife first and then let Rick wrap his hand around hers just as his arm was around her waist. Together they pushed the tip of the knife down into the centre of the coffee-flavoured cake amidst a series of camera flashes then let the cake be taken away again to be sliced.
A/N: I noticed as I was writing this that I kept slipping into present tense (because I'm working on another Castle fic that is written in present tense) so I apologise for that too if there are still any of those . I couldn't quite fit everything into the chapter in the amount of time I had to write it so there will be a second chapter on the wedding reception and Kate and Rick's night before the honeymoon. Thanks for reading!